Orphaned Stars (original title Humanity)

Chapter 3

Dawn spread throughout the land and a lonely jeep journeyed through the desert landscape, the dust flowed like coloured powder from the back wheels. Although the world seemed silent, the humming of the jeep echoed around the flat plains.

Inside the air tight jeep was a man of thirty years. His shoulders relaxed behind the steering wheel, he stretched his neck for a closer inspection in the rear-view mirror, his neck stained with blood, but he was unharmed.

An unconscious Shahnaz stirred from her wounded head. As her vision cleared she would have been happy to see a human, but this particular one greeted her in an unconventional fashion, as she soon discovered when she tried to move her arms.

Shackled to a railing with her hands behind her back, she tried to yank herself free. The clanging got the man's attention.

"Good, you are awake," he said in a low deep voice with a hint of an African accent. "I thought you would sleep throughout."

There were many things Shahnaz could have said.

"You hit me," she stated.

"My apologies. I haven't seen a human in these parts and to be honest you frighten me."

"Frightened you?" she spat the metallic taste of blood from her mouth. "How could I possibly frighten you?"

The man considered answering but shook his head. "What's your name?"

She didn't want to say. She should have been obliged to reveal her name to a man who just saved her life.

"Water," she croaked.

"Your name's Water? I'm Sergeant Junayd Darzi." When she didn't respond he glanced in the mirror to see her head drooping to the side, her mouth ajar.

He stopped the car but he didn't open the door. He didn't trust the air. He climbed from his seat and grabbed a flask from the side. Kneeling beside her he placed it to her cracked lips.

Her eyes opened, a broad faced man with dark skin that contrasted sharply with the whiteness of his straight teeth. His deep kind brown eyes held her stare.

"I will untie you now, but if you cross me in any way you'll be tied uncomfortably for the rest of the way."

With his strong meaty hands he pulled the chain apart and Shahnaz nearly fell onto him. Catching her, he picked her lightweight body up, like a man holding a baby and placed her in the passenger seat.

He placed himself back in his driver seat, adjusting the gear stick and side mirrors with a control. Shahnaz winced, touching her abrasions she sustained from the fall.

"I've done the best I can for your wounds. Once I take you to the valley, you'll be cared for."

Still Shahnaz did not respond. How could she? She didn't know where to begin. He drove the car.

"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked, once again trying to break the ice.

"You were hitting me."

Junayd sucked his teeth. "Apart from that." he paused. "Do you remember the Great Explosion of 2015?"

Shahnaz stared ahead. "The family I used to work for, the Collins and my family got into the evacuation truck. But I gave up my seat for a wounded boy. Then the blast happened. The ground swallowed me. It felt for a moment I rested my eyes because I woke up in a cave." He gripped the steering wheel as she continued her story. "When I left the cave, I walked for so long. I found a military base, made it liveable for a day until those creatures arrived. Then you came and now I'm here." She noticed his sharp jaw clenched. "What are those things - aliens?"

A smile followed by a laugh settled across his full lips. "They're not aliens." He turned to face her, releasing the steering wheel, the car in auto-drive. "You have no idea what happened after that explosion."

"No one else has told me. You're the only human I've seen since I left the cave."

The jeep roared at thirty mile per hour. Junayd wiped the sweat from his brows with the back of his black sleeves.

"Humanity was never the same again."

A/N - ok what do you think about Junayd Darzi? I think Idris Elba is perfect for this role. And who do you think would play Shahnaz? Let me know in the comments below.

Junayd = ʤu:neɪd (ju as july and nayd as in maid). Means battalion or small army in Arabic.