Unveil The Veil

Chapter 17: Aleena

Aleena's Point of View:

Happiness, sadness, loss and gain all pass away. What they do to us is what remains."

- Yasmin Mogahed
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Bang. Bang. Bang.

I awoke to loud gun shots ringing through my ear. My eyes slowly opened and I instantly felt the pain in my foot grow and spread like wildfire across my leg. The pain increased and I frowned when I realized I was hoisted in someone's arms, one under my leg and the other wrapped securely around the small of my back. Their arms supported my weight, but when I looked up, I couldn't see anything but their t-shirt. My face was pushed into their chest as the noises increased. The rapid beats of their heart echoed the loud gun shots behind me. I pushed at their arms, feelings uncomfortable at the thought of someone holding me, when the gunshots rattled through me again.

Suddenly the person holding me figured out I had awoken and released their hold on my legs and gently placed me on the floor, their other arm still around my back. I frowned and looked up at the individual who so swiftly carried me and released me, and gasped when I realized it Tariq. His hair has grown in length, a beard formed around his jawline down in smooth waves to the tip of his chin. I took a step back and watched my jaw drop at the scene around us. Suddenly, the pain in my foot became foreign to me. The men lined up with the heads of their guns directly at my body shocked me like never before. The fact that all this happened in mere seconds confused me. Seconds ago we were free and now we're near death about to be killed.

I turned to my left and gasped when I saw a little girl unconscious in Noah's arms. My eyes trailed up from his arms wrapped around her small frame to his heart-broken expression. His eyes were purely transfixed on the Chief, and I saw the sad look on his face as he did. His eyes seemed moist but his firm stance proved otherwise; as if he didn't want him to know he was hurt. He turned, caught my gaze and gave me a grim look before turning back to the officers. My palms grew moist and I felt my heart instinctively triple its beats from the pure shock running through my veins. I turned to Tariq and found his attention elsewhere. When did he get here? How did I get here? Why are Tariq and Noah together? Where's the girls, and did they make it safely? All these questions swarmed my mind but the moment I saw the look of pure shock on Tariq's face, I stopped and turned.

I suddenly watched as I realized the gun shots weren't coming from the officers but the people behind them. Nearly forty men shot into the air, their faces emotionless and ready for battle. I froze and watched them repeat the same process, and flinched when the gunshots rang through the open sky. The officers steadied their guns when the Chief raised a hand to stop them from shooting and watched two men walk through the middle of the circle. It was then I noticed we were in the middle of the mess, the officers around us, and then the other men I have never seen before around them. The two men walked slowly through with confidence.

One of the men I had never seen before, but the other was Hisham. My eyes widened a bit when he locked eyes and I saw the recognition in his gaze, and faint of a smile appear at the corner of his lips. It immediately disappeared when he turned back to the chief and crossed his arms over his chest and spoke. "Release them or you start a battle you know you cannot win."

The number of men tripled behind them, each armed and ready. I watched, jaw slacked from shock, as the chief slowly placed his hands on his sides, and glare at them. His eyes wandered the masses of men pointing at him and his men, and in that moment he realized he was highly out numbered. I continued watching when I realized Hisham was staring at me. I watched him raise two fingers in my direction while glaring at the men, and I frowned. That was the signal for attack Shiba had taught him. I instinctively took a step back towards Tariq and Noah and spoke gently while everyone seemed to stare at each other.