End of The Tunnel

Two days later in the afternoon, Chess and the elderly man Mohammed were standing just outside the village with a few refugees waiting for the UN buses to arrive. Time passed and it was evening but there was no sign of the buses.

"I thought you said they will come today," said Chess to Mohammed

"They normally do my dear, I don't know why" Mohamed replied

"Let's go back to the house, maybe they are having a little problem," added Mohammed

Days passed but the buses still did not show up. A week later, there was news that the camp could not take any more refugees so the buses will not come at all. Chess, Mohammed and his wife Hadiza were sitting at home in the afternoon when a man knocked on their door. Mohammed went outside to talk to the man and while they were talking, he turned and looked at Chess with a glum face. When he finished talking with the man, Mohammed closed the door and walked slowly to Chess and his wife.

"What is wrong?" Chess asked Mohammed

"It's the buses," said Mohammed as his face became sorry for Chess

"There are not coming again," he added

They were all quiet for a while and Chess became worried, "how will I get back, what should I do?" she thought to herself

"Is there any other way to get there?" asked Chess as she looked at Mohammed and his wife with little hope

"What of the camel?" Hadiza asked her husband in Arabic

"It's our only camel. If we give her, what will we use?" Mohammed replied also in Arabic

"We can buy another one or borrow from our neighbor's right," said Hadiza in Arabic

Mohammed thought about what his wife said for a moment "Are you sure we should give her? It will take almost all our savings to get another one," Mohammed asked his wife in Arabic.

Hadiza nodded in agreement and they both turned to Chess who was wondering what they just discussed.

"We have a camel, it will take you about a day to reach Azraaq but it's the best option right now," said Mohammed to Chess.

Without hesitation, Chess agreed to use the camel and was soon packed and ready to leave but Mohammed stopped her on the way out.

"It's better if you start out early tomorrow morning. The journey will be easier," said Mohammed.

Chess was disappointed but agreed with Mohammed to stay back until tomorrow morning.

Later that night, Chess could not sleep because she was excited about finally being safe but the thought of her friends dawned on her. Chess kept thinking about what they might be going through. Suddenly, the door to her room slowly opened. Hadiza slowly walked in holding a lamp and closed the door behind her when she saw Chess was not asleep yet.

"You are not asleep yet, what is wrong?" Hadiza asked

"Nothing, I was just thinking about some friends" Chess replied as she sat up on the bed

"Why are you not sleeping?" Chess asked Hadiza

"Well this few weeks that you were with us, it was really nice. It was like I was with my boys again and now you will leave…" replied Hadiza in a disappointed voice

"It will be really lonely here again," Hadiza added

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Chess

"I hope you find them someday," added Chess

"I hope so too" said Hadiza with her eyes filled with tears.

They both kept quiet for a while then Hadiza quickly wiped of the tears that were about to roll down her cheeks and stood up

"You have to sleep so you can travel well tomorrow," Said Hadiza as she opened the door.

"Right, good night" said Chess

Hadiza turned around and smiled before walking out and closing the door. Chess then laid down and closed her eyes.

Early in the morning around four thirty, Chess jumped up from the bed sweating and breathing heavily ass if she was suffocating. She sat on the bed thinking of the nightmare she just had. She then stood up and went outside. She met Hadiza already up and cooking.

"Good morning Sarah" said Hadiza with a smile

"Good morning Mrs. Hadiza. You are up early," replied Chess

"Yes, I have boiled hot water for your bath, it's in the kettle and when you are done, your food should be ready," said Hadiza pointing at the kettle filled with hot water

"Thank you very much, you shouldn't have," said Chess as she picked up the kettle and headed to the bathroom.

When Chess finished taking her bath, she met Hadiza in her room placing a plate of food beside her bed. Chess quickly ate her food and wore one of the clothes Hadiza and Mohammed got for her while she was staying with them. She then headed out and met Mohammed and Hadiza outside the house with a camel. Mohammed also had a bag with her military uniform, three bottles of water, some fruits and a flask of food in it.

"Here, for your journey" said Mohammed as he handed the bag to Chess.

"Follow the road; you should arrive at the camp by evening. The road passes close to the camp," Mohammed added

"I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for me, I am really grateful" said Chess to Mohammed and Hadiza

The three of them said their goodbyes and good lucks before Chess set off for the journey ahead. Hours later, the sun became scorching hot, that was when Chess realized how far she had gone. She looked around but there was no shade for them to rest in all she could see was the parched ground and few shrubs. With no choice, she looked into her bag. Drank some water, gave the camel some fruit, and continued the journey.

Late in the evening at the UN camp when the sun was starting to set, Shawn, Toby, Alex and John were in the tent resting, they arrived from the outpost of Captain Velazquez about half an hour ago. They all lied on their bed feeling disappointed about not finding their friend. Suddenly, a woman wearing a long yellow dress and brown leather sandals walked into their tent and stood still staring at them. Her body was covered from head to toe with dust and her face was wrapped with a white vail leaving only her eyes. There was an awkward silence in the tent for a while

"uhmm mam, the refugee tents are that way" said Alex breaking the silence as he stood up to take her out and direct her.

The woman then pulled down the veil and smiled again, there was silence in the tent. The four men froze as if they had just seen a ghost. At once, they all flew with open arms and gave her a tight hug. Chess their friend has returned from nowhere.

"How? What happened?" asked Toby

"It's a long story guys, those bastards took me to some place and a woman helped me escape. I found refuge in a small village and now I'm back," said Chess

"Yea, back in a pretty dress," teased Alex

They all laughed and teased Chess more about how she looked so feminine.

"What about the doctor?" asked Chess

"AWOL, somehow he just vanished" replied Shawn

"We have reported him to the authorities though," Alex added

"Yea right, like they are going to do anything about it. They will just talk and talk about it until the sun freezes," said Toby

"Well it's not like we can do anything about it. The guy has connections so he can murder the president and still walk," said John

"The good news is we are still alive and together right," said Shawn

They all talked, laughed, and had a good time until they slept off.