The man that approached was tall, and he was wearing all white. He stood above me, blocking out the sun. I couldn't focus well, the heat and the lack of water combined with the weight of Tabitha's body was taking its toll. I gasped for breath, feeling the sands heat up against even the parts of me that were cooler. The man leaned down after seeming to watch me suffer in pity for a moment and gripped Tabitha's hair, throwing her off of me. Her body made a hard thud on the ground beside me, and I turned to see her lifeless body sprawled out. Before I knew it, the man was gripping onto my hair as well. Holding onto my ponytail, he dragged me to one of the surrounding buildings. I struggled, my hands holding onto his, trying to release some of the weight from my hair. He shouldered into the wooden door, which silently swung open into the dark, cool room. He twisted and tossed me into the wall, where I fell onto my side and laid in a fetal position, holding onto my scalp in pain. He shut the door and pulled up a chair in front of me. The room was dark until he flicked on a hanging light in the center of the room. He cleared his throat, and leaned forward towards me. He looked into my eyes, and laced his fingers together.
"I don't want to hurt you." He began, his accent thick. He was younger. About sixteen or seventeen, and he had stubble around his well formed jawline. I blinked, and he chuckled. It was an attractive kind of chuckle, one that showed the deepness of his voice. He spoke with a slight accent, but obviously knew his English.
"You sure about that?" I said quietly, barely above a whisper, and looking at my hands that were smeared in light red blood from my scalp. He smiled, and it was one of those smiles that models did. The half smile. He shook his head and looked at his feet, and when he rose his head back up, he looked serious. "Look. Listen and listen good. Stephanie, is it?" I was silent.
"Look. My people and your people. We don't get along. And your people shot one of mine. Did you know that?" He spoke sternly, and seemed to have pain put into the last sentence. He shot up out of his chair, and turned, looking up and rubbing his forehead before shooting back around towards me. "Whatever happens after this, know that it was your fault! You did this! You shot him!" He yelled, scaring himself more than me. I shook me head and looked into his green eyes. "Who are you?" I asked, sitting up against the wall now. He sighed and sat across from me. He pulled off the turban that was protecting his tan skin from the sun, and his hair, noticeably was pulled into a tight bun, and I could see his sideburns and his facial hair. He tossed the turban across the room and turned his head back towards me. He was handsome. And he knew it. I shifted on the floor, looking away from his stare.
"Adnan." He said after a few minutes of this. There was a pause while I regained his stare. "What?" I whispered. "My name. It's Adnan." He said again, nodding his head when he said 'Adnan'. I mouthed the name to myself. He noticed, and smiled before he spoke up. "Abiding. Stays in one place. He who loves land and makes it similar to paradise. Pleasurable." With each word he seemed to be reciting, he said slowly and clearly, nearly abolishing his slight accent. Minutes passed as we sat in silence, listening to the often gunshot from outside. Far outside. "How do you know my name?" I finally asked, breaking the peaceful quiet.
"I have to know my targets." He said staring blankly at the wall beside me.
"Your targets?"
"You should be dead right now."
"What are you talking about?"
He snapped out of his staring contest with the wall and his gorgeously green forest eyes met mine once more.
"If I were to do my job-"
"I would be dead." I finished emotionlessly.
"Yep." He responded.
This time, hours passed before our next converse. I began wondering if Beau was looking for me. Or if he even knew I was missing. But I sat and sat. Soon enough the sunlight leaking in through the cracks in the wall died down and was replaced by the slight blue glow of the moon. Finally, Adnan stood. He walked over to the door and placed his head up against the wood, looking through a peep. I took the seconds to feel along my waist, where my holsters sat looking for anything to defend myself. The only thing with me was a dagger that Beau had strapped on at the last second. I silently unbuttoned the singular button that held the straps of leather around the nine inch blade. Not taking my eyes off of Adnan, I heard a click. Not seeing any noticeable movement from him at the door, I continued sliding the knife out, and placed it under my thigh. I sat straight once again as he turned around. Had I been a second late, he could have noticed. He swaggered over, more with exhaustion than showing off, and slowly but definitely surely he slid his distasha off, showing his insane abdominals. I glanced down, pretending not to notice as he sat, head in his hands on the small two person dining table by the door. I creeped my fingers to the handle of the knife, that was not noticeable in the night. I wrapped my fingers around the steel handle and pulled it out from underneath my leg. I scooted across the ground silently, Adnan remaining motionless. I got into a crouching position once I was behind him, and began sneaking towards him. As I got closer I stood more and more, until I was feet away. Finally, I lunged forward, grabbing onto his shoulder and the knife pressed up against his Adam's apple. He gulped, moving the knife along with his movement. "Well played." He said humorously, raising his hands at the elbow. I didn't know what to do next. I was acting on impulse alone. "T-tell me who you are." I demanded weakly, being the only thing that could come to mind. "Us?" He asked, mocking me.
"Shut the hell up." I said, teeth clenched and tears forming in my eyes, and an angry emphasis on 'hell'.i tensed up, jamming the blade farther into his neck. He began breathing heavier as I saw one of his hands move downward. "Keep your hands up." I demanded, now hissing with anger. He shot his hand back up and he chuckled. "You think this is funny?" I said, trying to keep my confidence, but my shaky voice gave away my undying fear. Suddenly, after minutes of the both of us in silence, mumbling came from outside, and Adnan stood, taking my distraction as an opportunity to escape my grasp. He flipped my onto my back in seconds and straddled my hips. And the worst part was the smile that took over his face. My dagger was just out of reach, and I he was staring me in the eyes.
"I like you. And I don't want to hurt you. But don't pull that shit again." He grabbed me by the front of my jumpsuit and yanked me up, throwing me over his shoulder. I was motionless. Why hadn't I killed him? He kicked the door open, and there before us was a military jeep.
It's gotta be Beau I thought to myself, but I was horrified to see a man in a turban open the back of the jeep to make it easier for Adnan to throw me in. As I sat in the back of that truck, facing an Arabian man, my hands behind my back, I unhooked the pouch which held my last resort. A pin grenade.
