Locked In

New Order

"My Lord. May I have permission to speak?" Black Hawk asked.

It had been seven weeks since the relocation of the American Muslims. None of them had given up their religion so they were all in camps throughout the United States. Last week the Devil's Thorn had ordered the President to pass a law banning the religion of Islam by punishment of death. Black Hawk knew that there were possibly Muslims in hiding who acted like Christians or Jews during the day. It had been a horrible few weeks for the slaves and messengers of the Devil's Thorn.

Black Hawk and a couple other slaves were crouched in front of Lord Liquistor and Lady Gemini. They did not raise their heads and Black Hawk's friend, Blaze, was shaking. Black Hawk's sister, Marigold, was cowering on the floor at his right. They were considering forming a resistance to the Devil's Thorn. Black Hawk had found a Muslim girl not far from the Devil's Thorn's secret meeting place and had quickly hid her before the loyalists to the Devil's Thorn found her.

"Speak then but make it quick," Lord Liquistor said.

"Thank you my Lord. A few of us would like to know if we can leave your services. We are tired of being mistreated and beaten and would like permission to be set free in order to live new lives."

"Is that so?" Lord Liquistor and Lady Gemini looked at each other. "Why do you wish to leave our service? Did you forget how we rescued you and your sister, Marigold there, from the streets of Chicago and saved Blaze from his abusive master when he came into America from China illegally?"

"No! We are grateful for your helping us. We always will be. But..."

"Silence! If I hear of any type of insubordination again then I will punish you and anyone else who seeks to leave the service of the Devil's Thorn! I will not tolerate this insolence from a stupid slave. You should be grateful that I do not kill you right now! Now get out of my sight!"

He waved his hand at them and they slowly backed out of the Meeting Room. Once they were out of sight they quickly ran to the slave quarters of the castle which was in the dungeons and motioned for a few other slaves to join them. Together these fifteen people would try to escape the Devil's Thorn though they knew that they would be sentenced to death if caught. No one could escape the Devil's Thorn. There were spies everywhere in the Devil's Thorn. It was hard to know who to trust.

"What did the Lord and Lady say?" An eleven year-old named Jewels asked.

"He does not want to hear of us being free," Black Hawk replied.

"What will we do?" Candy asked quietly. Of all of the fifteen slaves Candy had the most to lose. Her own mother and father were loyal slaves of the Devil's Thorn. If she was caught her own parents would be commanded to kill her.

"We must try to escape. I'm going to go see the Muslim girl we rescued."

"Be careful Black Hawk," Marigold said.

"Don't worry sister. I'll be fine."

"One of us should go with you," Blaze said. "To keep watch."

"Fine. Candy come with me." He said motioning to the fourteen year-old girl.

Swiftly yet silently they crept out of a secret passageway and into the bushes behind the castle. They moved quickly after taking a quick glance around them to make sure there were no guards in sight. There was one guard they could count on to help them escape. He too had grown tired of the way the Devil's Thorn behaved toward the slaves and messengers. His own wife had been a slave, a girl of fourteen who had been brutally beaten to death by Lord Liquistor himself for failing to become a harlot of his. It was common knowledge among the servants of the Devil's Thorn that the Lords of Devil's Thorn had up to ten mistresses besides their wives. His wife had died rather than shame her husband. But he could not risk escape or else he would be killed.

"Draco. Are you there?" Black Hawk called into the night.

"Yes Black Hawk. Who's that with you?"

"It's Candy," Draco said.

"Be careful tonight. There are rumors of the hunter dogs out tonight."

"Hunter dogs!" Shouted Candy.

"Be quiet Candy or you will give us away!" Black Hawk admonished.

"I'm sorry Black Hawk. If hunter dogs are out tonight then we are doomed."

"We will be safe as long as we are quick and don't attract attention to ourselves. Thank you Draco for informing us of the hunter dogs. We will be careful."

"Don't mention it Black Hawk. I only wish I could come with you when you run."

"As do I my friend."

They crept quickly through the fields and turned off onto a narrow deer trail. It was hidden by a thick bramble of rose bushes so it was perfectly concealed. They ran on down the winding path stumbling and slipping on the rocks that led down to the river. They got in a small canoe and rowed across to the other side. They pulled the canoe behind some bushes and climbed up the embankment to the small cluster of trees and ran to a small cave that lay behind a stone rock that partially covered the opening. They pulled aside the small brush they had piled over the opening and stumbled inside. It was pitch black and with the moon hidden behind the clouds which made it easy for them to avoid being seen.

"Candy stay here. I'll go on ahead."

"Sure thing Black Hawk."

Black Hawk grabbed a torch from the wall and pulled out a flint from his pocket. He set the torched between his knees as he struck the flint together and lighted the torch. Then he continued down the narrow cave entrance to where the Muslim girl was hidden.

"Lucinda its Black Hawk," he called.

He heard a small sound and spun around to see a couple of children standing behind him. Beside him appeared a teenage boy and next to him was Lucinda. They stared at him. The two children huddled together behind the teenage boy. "Lucinda who is this?"

"I'm Kenya. This is my brother Kumar and my sister Hawwa. We are the last of our family. Our parents and older sister were killed when the Muslims were rounded up. Only we managed to escape."

"Are you related to Lucinda?"

"No."

"But how did you get here?"

"We took shelter here from the storm. We met Lucinda and she told us that you had rescued her from some thugs."

"Do you know who I am?"

"No. Not even Lucinda knows who you are."

"I am a slave of the Devil's Thorn. They are the ones who started the war on Muslims once President Obama's term was over."

"Who is the Devil's Thorn?" Lucinda asked.

"They are a secret society who is higher than the Illuminati. They were thought to have died out one hundred years ago but a couple of families resurfaced and brought the Devil's Thorn back. They are the ones who put President Fitzgerald into office. They are the ones who are in quest of a new order. By controlling the Muslim population, they are ensuring that the world will be safe from the threat of Islam. Not all of the slaves of the Devil's Thorn agree with their policy to get rid of Islam. It is by law of the Devil's Thorn that Islam is now a crime in America."

"Surely the American citizens wouldn't vote on a law like that?" Kumar asked.

"The Americans are a bunch of racists. Remember how we were treated when we came to America?" Kenya asked his brother.

"Well it was mainly the conservative Born Again Christians who voted for the law. As you must have noticed over the years, the sharp increase in Born Again Christians has risen sharply."

A sound made the four Muslims shrink back into the shadows. Black Hawk cursed under his breath and then doused the torch. They peered into the darkness.

"Black Hawk we have trouble!" Candy shouted.

"Who's that?" Kenya asked.

"A friend and a fellow slave. She won't bother us. What is wrong Candy?"

"Hunter dogs."