Empire

Chapter twelve

Our next stop is India. When we get there in the morning Maroon dyes my hair black. I'm a bit alarmed until she tells me it will wash out. Magenta darkens my face with something that she says will only wash away if you use goat milk. Then she puts two clear things in my eyes.
Before I can look in the mirror Indigo takes a colourful piece of fabric from the closet. She gives me an underdress to put on and then wraps the fabric around me in a dress. A part of the dress also forms a veil. Then I am allowed to see myself. I'm surprised by what I see. I have black hair and my blue eyes are now brown. I look like I'm from India.
They also give me a small purple pill, so that I won't get sick from the climate change again.
This time instead of a party we are going to a market. We are all given rupees and are allowed to buy what we want.
I almost laugh when I see Tretan. He looks so strange but still like himself.
The reason we have to change our appearances is that most of the people have never seen a white person. The borders of countries are highly guarded and there is almost no trade with each other. Another way to keep us all in line.
The market is a burst of colours with fabrics, food, and people adding to the rainbow. There are all sorts of animals wandering around. Cows are everywhere. Also a little brown animal with a long tail that climbs everything and steals fruit. Once I see a man with a flute in front of a basket. The basket has a big snake in it. The snake copies the man.
I mostly just wander around not knowing what to buy.
I wander close to the edge of the market and see tiny shacks that are people's homes. I can see a little girl crying. Her face is streaked with dirt and she looks hungry. I am about to go closer to help her but am blocked by two officials.
"You must stay in the market." one of them says.
I turn around reluctantly and walk back to the market. Part of it is open and is mostly full of food. Others are narrow with roofs made of brightly coloured material. I can't get the little girl out of my head. The emperor says there is no more poverty. He is a liar, I think angrily.
A stall catches my eye. A man is selling fishing gear but that's not what I notice. On the sign advertising the business is a fish and the fish's eye is a cross.
"Are you interested in fishing? I have good lures. You catch big fish." The man says.
I'm not interested in fish, but I'm pretty sure there's a code in what he said.
"How big?" I ask hoping it's the right answer.
He gestures with his arms the size of the fish.
"I was hoping for something a little bigger than that," I say "maybe something big enough to catch men?"
The man smiles "Come sister I might have what you want."
I smile back. I was right, this man is a Christian. He takes me to the back of his stall. Hidden in a barrel of lures are ten small bibles. I get a little thrill. Now I can get a bible for Flair. I realize that Tretan probably doesn't have a bible either.
"Can I take two?" I ask.
"Yes. Here, I'll wrap them up for you." he says and takes out two book covers about Indian plants and puts them on the bibles. Now if anyone stops me, unless they look closely, will not think they are bibles. I pay him from my bag of rupees and go to find Flair and Tretan.
I find Flair at a jewelry stand. She's carrying a bag and looks like she's buying something. When she sees me she smiles "I haven't been able to go shopping in ages!" she says. I can tell she's enjoying herself.
"Have you seen Tretan?" I ask her.
"Not recently." She answers.
Two officials approach us then "Your time is up. You need to come back now." one of them says and they escort us to our hotel.
"I have a surprise for you!" I tell Flair when we're back in our room, we are sharing a room again.
"I have something for you too!" She says "You can go first."
When I take out the book she looks confused and like she's trying to be happy. But when I take the fake cover off her face brightens and then she starts crying. She takes the bible from me and holds it close while tears run down her face.
"Thank you!" She says finally "This is the best thing anyone has ever given me!" she gives me a hug and then says laughing "My gift seems kind of silly now."
She takes out a pearl necklace from her bag and gives it to me. Every other pearl is pink and the rest are white. It is beautiful.
"Thank you." I say.
We stay in the same outfits for the team drawing. I bring the bible for Tretan with me hidden in my veil. His reaction when I give it to him isn't quite as good as Flair's but I know he's happy about it.
This time we draw discs again. I draw purple and go stand by Anaya who drew before me.
In the end there are seven teams of four. Marisol, Anaya, and Nicolas are with me. After that it's the helicopter again. I wonder how many vehicles they have used to transport us everywhere we've been.
The official on board with us hands us each a package and says "These bundles are very important. What's inside will help you in the next challenge. You are not allowed to open them. A few miles from where we will drop you is a giant hedge. It is patrolled by guards and is full of thorns. You must get your package across the hedge in whatever way you can. The winner of this challenge will receive a hundred points."
Straight to the point as always, they never waste words. I wonder if they have to train for that. By the time he is finished we have arrived at our destination. Another clearing in another forest. Over the past month I have been in a lot of forests, but all of them have been different.
This one has tall thin trees and undergrowth made up mostly of ferns. I hear birds and see more of the little brown animals.
I look around unsure of where to go until Anaya spots an arrow pointing into the trees. We follow her this time since this is her country. I'm glad to be on her team. She messed up last time I was with her but I think she's more comfortable here.
The sun is just starting to go down and it's still pretty light out.
My package is a medium size and I'm not sure where to hide it. It has a strap so I just carry it on my shoulder for a now.
The official said it was only a few miles to the hedge but through the trees and not knowing our way it could take awhile. There are a few more arrows but mostly we have to find our own way.
I feel like we're being followed, once looking behind me I spot an orange and black tail. I turn and almost walk into a vine covered tree. I stop just as one of the vines moves. It slithers around and soon a small head is looking at me as it's forked tongue flicks in and out. I back up slowly not wanting to alarm the others or spook the snake. I make it away fine and the snake moves off. My heart still pounds in my chest though.
Finally at the edge of the tree line we see lights. The hedge is right ahead of us. A border station stands close to where we are. I can see soldiers talking to each other. A little to the right of us is a small road. We all sit watching. After awhile a couple comes down the road and tries to cross the border.
The soldiers search the man carefully, unpacking all his belongings and making him take all his outer garments off. They're worse with the woman though, they search her even more carefully, making rude comments all the while.
Marisol murmurs "Those are British soldiers. We can't let them recognize us as Spanish." She gestures for us to follow her along the hedge away from the station.
"How are we supposed to cross that? We can't climb it and going through the station isn't an option either!" Nicolas says, frustrated.
"Could we go around the hedge?" I ask.
"No, it stretches on for many miles." says Anaya.
"What about going under?" Asks Marisol.
"It's possible but we'd have to find a hole or weak spot which could take a long time." Anaya answers.
I look at the hedge again. It's made of short and tall trees with thorns growing everywhere among them. I don't see any way to get through or under it... then I notice a very tall tree that isn't part of the hedge but is taller than it. Some of the branches dip down on the other side. That could be a way to get over.
I show the others and they agree but Anaya says "It's still too close the guard station. We need some sort of distraction..." She trails off then says "Too bad no one else is coming down the road."
"Why don't some of us go through the station leaving our bundles with the others while they cross over with them." Marisol says.
"Good idea. But who will go through the station?" Anaya asks.
"We should go two and two. So two girls will be together and Nicolas will be with the other girl" I say.
"I will go through the border," Nicolas says "I don't want you girls to go alone through that. If that woman earlier had been by herself it would have been worse for her."
"I can go with Nicolas." I offer, not really wanting to.
"No I'll go," says Anaya "I have the right accent and I don't know if I can climb that tree."
With our plans made we put them into action. Nicolas and Anaya walk through the forest to the road so it will appear they were traveling on it to the border. Marisol and I have to wait till we see them to try to climb the tree. Marisol takes Nicolas' bundle and I take Anaya's. We move quietly to the tree and hide behind it while we wait.
I take off my overdress and lay it on the ground. I put both bundles on it, wrap it up, and wear it on my back. Now I can use both of my hands. Marisol does the same with hers.
We wait for maybe fifteen minutes before we see them. By that time we've been eaten alive by mosquitoes.
The border guards stop talking to each other and turn to Nicolas and Anaya. I already found which branch will work best so as soon as I see them distracted I start up. Marisol follows after me and turns out to be a better climber than I am.
I reach the overhanging branches and look down. It is a twelve foot drop to the ground. It's hard to tell what's down there. I see more ferns and other trees close by.
I sit on the branch holding me and then slowly lower myself. Now my feet are only seven feet from the ground. I drop and try to roll with the fall. It's not as bad as I thought. Marisol follows me, landing on her feet. After that we follow the hedge to the road to wait for Nicolas and Anaya.
We can see them from where we're waiting. They are still being searched. Finally after ten more minutes they're let through and we meet them.
We walk down the road in silence except for Anaya who I can hear sniffling. She was scared and she reacts in tears.
"Are you all right?" Nicolas asks gently.
"Ya I'm just so glad you were with me." she says.
I wonder if we'll be picked up soon.
We don't get picked up at all. Instead we walk till around midnight when we stumble on a small village. We're all tired but don't know what the people here would do if they saw us. So we lay down in a small field outside the village and go to sleep.
I wake up with the sun and see a man sitting nearby watching us. It takes a minute for me to realize where I am. When I do I wake up the others. Nicolas is immediately on defence when he sees the man.
"Who are you?" He asks suspiciously.
"I'm an official. I've been sent to bring you back to our base." He says.
He looks like many of the men in the market so we didn't realize he was an official.
We follow him on the road back to where we were staying. The helicopter apparently crossed the hedge to drop us off.
Back at our hotel we are given breakfast. Then Maroon washes the dye from my hair and Magenta makes my face look normal again. After that I'm allowed to go to sleep. Last night wasn't very restful and this whole competition has been draining.
When I wake up Flair is in the room watching the small tv.
"Hi," I say "when did you get back?"
"An hour ago. I couldn't sleep and I wanted to see who won the challenge." she says.
"Who won?" I ask.
"The team Tretan was on. It was also Zia and Edwin's team. The other girl from India was on it too." She answers.
If Tretan won that means he got a hundred points. That's really good for both of us.
"Who was second?"
"Your team." She says.
I'm not sure how many points you get for second place but that's really good. We have a good chance of winning this.
After that we turn to the tv as they announce the third place team. As they announce it they show highlights from that teams run.
Amandi was on the third place team. The girl from Jamaica, Takira, distracted most of the guards and got them to chase her. Amandi, Aki, and Kimi took out the remaining guards and got through. By that time Takira was back already with the soldiers far behind her and they crossed through the station with no other problems.
Based on the time it took them to get through the border they probably beat my team. But it took them longer to get there so we're still faster.
Flair's team was last place. I can tell she is disappointed but she's still happy for me.
That afternoon we take a plane to Saudi Arabia. There's nothing we have to do here so we are given the evening to rest.
Flair has the great idea to invite Tretan and Tayo to our room and have a bible study. She also asks if Aline, the girl from Peru, can come. I'm a bit hesitant, we don't want too many people knowing about us. But if we can help Aline then it would be wrong not to. I agree and Flair sets out, with Indigo as a guide, to invite her.
I take Maroon with me to go ask Tretan and Tayo. When we get to their room I knock on the door and wait. Amandi opens the door and I almost jump in surprise.
"Is this not Tretan's room?" I ask.
"It is," he says. Then Tayo comes up behind him.
"Hi Susan, what do you need?" He asks.
"I was wondering if you and Tretan would like to come our room for a while. But I didn't know you had company." I say feeling a bit disappointed.
"Oh that's fine, it's just Amandi here. I'll ask Tretan, we'll probably be over soon." He says.
I walk back with Maroon then. At our door she starts walking away but I stop her "Maroon?" I ask "Could you please join us?"
She smiles and says "I would be honoured."
I think that even if she won't agree with us she won't report us either.
We go in and I set about making room for everyone. There are a few chairs and I use a few cushions and pillows from the bed to make more places. Flair comes back with Aline, Grey is with her as well. I'm a bit wary, I don't know what he'll think or do when he finds out why we're here. The boys come a little later with Amandi.
Suddenly it's very full in our room.
I whisper Flair's idea to Tretan. He agrees and opens his Bible which he thankfully brought with. Everyone quiets down and sits in a circle around him. I can tell Maroon is confused and Grey is irritated.
"Where should we start?" Tretan asks Flair since it was her idea.
"Could we go through Romans? I read it the other day and I was confused about some things." she says.
I wonder when she had time to read all of Romans. Long bathroom breaks and lights on at night suddenly make sense. I'm glad I got that bible for her.
Tretan turns to Romans and says "Let's pray. Thank you Lord for your many blessings and for this chance to gather with our friends. I pray that you would help me to explain this book well and that you would keep us all safe. Amen."
"Amen." Flair, Tayo, and I say.
Then he starts reading. He reads a verse and then explains it and sometimes asks what we think about it. At the end of chapter one he stops.
Aline who hasn't made a sound the whole time says "We've all sinned haven't we? If we're all evil than how do we get God's forgiveness?" She sounds desperate.
"That's where the gospel comes in." says Tretan "God sent his only son Jesus to take our place. The punishment for sin is death. Jesus was the perfect man, he never sinned. He died for us and then rose from the dead so we could have life. He is now with God his father interceding on our behalf!"
A tiny smile forms on Aline's face and I can tell she will think about this for a long time. I'm wondering what Maroon is thinking right now.
We go our own ways after that. At the door I thank Tretan for coming "I didn't know you could speak like that. Are you going to become a preacher?" I say. I'm only half teasing.
"Maybe," he says with a smile "good night Susan." he leaves with Tayo and Amandi who hasn't said anything all evening.
I'm walking back into our room when I hear Grey talking. Something stops me from going further and I listen.
"Flair, listen to me" He's saying "believing in their God will only get you killed. I know you don't believe me but you've never seen it happen. I have. If the officials find out you're a Christian the best thing that can happen is getting arrested. Then you'll have to be a slave for the rest of your life. More likely they'll kill you. Is it really worth it"
I smile when I hear her response "I don't care if it gets me killed. Before I knew about Jesus I had no hope. I hated my life. You don't want to know all the things I did. Entering this competition was my last chance. If I lost I was planning on killing myself. Now I have peace and forgiveness and wonderful friends who actually care about me."
Grey sounds sad when he asks "I won't be able to change your mind?"
"No Grey."
"Well, I'll do my best to keep you safe then, but you had better be careful about who you talk to. Don't mention anything about your Jesus to people like Edwin and Zia." he says and starts walking out of the room. I make myself busy pretending I wasn't listening. He gives me a sad, angry look before he leaves.
When I come in Flair is close to tears. I give her a hug and a smile. "I'm proud of you Flair. I know it would be easier to listen to Grey."
She nods and goes into the bathroom with her bible.
Maroon is the only one still here. She cleaned the room which isn't part of her job.
"What did you think?" I ask her.
"Well I don't know exactly. Thank you for inviting me though." she says and then she leaves as well.
The room feels empty now. I go over to my bed and pray for all my fellow contestants including Zia and Edwin. I pray for Tretan and Flair most of all.
This was a wonderful evening of rest. Tomorrow the competition keeps going.