The Frozen Desert by Moein Mansoori Fard (free e books to read online TXT) 📕

Now I realize Jonadin’s purpose. I have to glide on the wires. But being the first experience and the height, frighten me. Suddenly I hear a footstep which comes close to this room:

I heard a sound from here. I nose around here and then come back.

His footsteps shows that he comes to this side. There is no way to return anymore. At the same time the soldier enters, I take the rod and put it on the wires. I hold its both ends tightly and release myself.

At the same time I fly away, I hear the red soldier’s shuts who calls his confrere. Because of my speed, the wind has made my eyes wet. The contact of the rod and the wires, makes arcs above my head like the squib. At first, the gradient of the wires is slightly high but it becomes as horizon line gradually and at the end turns to an ascending and upward line. Fortunately, this gradient helps me to stop easily at the end of the way. But in the midway, my eyes meet something horrible which makes me lose my endurance to hold the rod and I am near to fall down. About ten red soldiers are standing in the middle of the street and are waiting for me, who just like a culprit is dragging to the deathsman unwantedly.

The height is considerable and after that I come down, ten guns are aimed at me. Finally I stop on a post without any trouble. I put my feet on the holes of the post and hold its top with my hands tightly. I detain myself may someone comes to help me, but I just exhaust myself. They are still standing at a distance of ten meters from me like the statues, all armed to the teeth. At the same time that I am coming down from the post, one of them who seems to be their front man, approaches me. I release the post at a height of one meter above the ground and land in with a jump. The soldier, gun in hand, stands between me and the other soldiers and says:

Where’s the fire?

I haven’t anything to say and just look at him. He again asks:

I said where’s the fire?

The thing you’re looking for, isn’t with me.

He calls two soldiers with his hand signal.

Search him!

Two soldiers parted from the rest and come to me. One of them grabs my collar and pulls me:

Open your arms, hurry up!

I resist a little but then I open my arms like the wings of an airplane. I am sure they will find it. So I have to do something, but nothing comes to my mind. All of a sudden my eyes meet Vorarin who hid behind a wall in the street on the left hand. To be sure, I peep into the street without I turn my head. He is standing there.

Nabidak is certainly with him. So I should detain the red soldiers a little. I move my hand toward my gun, but I remember that I mislaid it in the laboratory. I damn myself. I have to detain them in other way:

Hey, I said the fire is not with me!

The same soldier again pulls my collar:

Shut up and be quiet or I’ll break your neck!

I said it’s not with me.

Then I push them back and they immediately draw their gun at me and one of them says almost shouting:

Seems you like we stretch you just here on the sands. It’s the same difference to see you dead or alive body, so beware of changing my decision. Now put your knapsack on the ground.

Doing this, they both will depredate my knapsack and they will find the “fire” which is in the pocket of my raincoat. Luckily, for the time being, my knapsack belt has blocked my pocket and they can’t find and bring it out. It seems that Vorarin is not determined to do something; he is steel standing there and just looks. Suddenly one of the soldiers shouts:

Grenade! Lie on the ground!

All the soldiers and me immediately lie on the ground. I put my hands on my head and close my eyes involuntary. All wait for explosion but nothing happens, no terrific sound is heard and no light is seen. I stay more at this position for sure, but again, nothing happens. I look around through my fingers.

I feel I am in a white room. A white mist hung and swallowed everywhere; I can’t see no one. Maybe I am dreaming or I am dead. I rise immediately. I try to cleave the mist to come out of this imagination. I gradually feel pepper in my throat. I feel I am standing in a sauna. My eyes are tearing and shed tears, as if some onions are minced near my eyes.

I become sure that I am not dead but if it goes on this way, I surely will die. I am almost near to fall on the ground that then my hands are pulled and I begin to run. As I take steps involuntary, the mist becomes thin and goes aside like a curtain, as though I get out of the sauna.

Someone held my and pulls me following him. My eyes filled with tears and I can’t see him clearly. I just take steps with him. The rush of fresh air invigorates me a little, but I hardly keep my balance. With this condition, I throw him off balance too. Sometimes he bear my weight and then has to pull me.

I wipe my tears with my sleeve but it doesn’t lessen the irritation of my eyes. The irritation is so much that I wink so fast that my eyes are almost close. I am close to be suffocated of over coughing. If he release my hand I would lost like a child among the crowd. I want to stop moving and bend on my knees but he pulls my hand to I take step with him.

Come on! We haven’t much time. Be patient a little.

His voice is like vorarin’s, but he couldn’t be him. There was no sign of Vorarin until the last second. All of a sudden my hand is released but then my other hand is held quickly. Changing my hand, the path also changes. We turn right and I hear the stranger’s voice who goes on his way.

This time I am not lucky and fall in the ground with the sudden change of direction and my escort also lose his balance, but I don’t know he fell down or not. I try to open my eyes even for a short time, but it is so painful that they open and close spontaneously.

Come on Zairas! Get up, we should get away from here soon.

Now I recognize the voice. He is Vorarin. I gather all of my power in my feet, put my hands on the ground, and, while he looped his hands around my waist, I stand on my feet.

Yeah, that’s it... get up.

While I am rising, suddenly I lose my balance but I manage to keep my balance with my hand and his help. I stand on my feet slightly bended.

Just come with me quickly. Hurry up. We haven’t time anymore.

Then he pulls me severely. I follow him winking. My throat stings so much that I can’t say anything; I just cough nonstop.

Faster Zairas! Come on! We should get away from here soon. Come, come.

But I can’t. My head aches so much that my muscles become loose and I fall on the ground again. My feet are exhausted and I just creep on the ground. Vorarin tries to lift me up.

Get up now. Get up, come on Zairas, get up...

When he sees my indifference, he remains immobile for a while. Then he says agitated:

Get up! Get up! We should hide out. They’re coming here. Come on Zairas. Get up. Get up!

Again, he loops his hand around my waist and lift me up in force. I hardly hold myself on my feet. Then we enter a building on the left side. I keep my balance with the help of the wall and we hide behind a burnt wooden commode in a dark room. He covers my mouth with his hand tightly and says panicky:

Hush! Be quiet! They’re somewhere around here. Don’t move!

I bend my legs to have more control on them. My eyes sting reduced, yet I can’t keep open my eyes even for a short time. I ensure Vorarin and he takes his hand off my mouth after a pause. Although my mouth is closed, I cough nonstop.

Hush! I hear their footsteps. They’re coming here.

Then he pauses briefly:

What should we do now?

I bethink myself of the “fire”. So I bring it out of my pocket and hold it toward him. Then I say between my coughs:

Ta..ke it..you…sho..uld take…It…away…fr…om here. I...can’t…co…me…with…you. the…y are…loo…king for…me. You…can…

No, I don’t know where I should go.

I say persistently:

The…y don’t…know…the fire…is…with…you. Yo…u should…get…it out of…here as…soon as…possi…ble. Hurry…up! What…are you…wai…ting for? Take…it…

He pauses for a while and then he takes it from me:

Stay here we’ll come for you.

I ensure him with shaking my head. Then he gives me a gun and says:

Just God grants they don’t see me. Now, they’re everywhere.

He enters the corridor we came here through it and moves forward cautiously. The sound of his footsteps on the debris is heard and then, after a while I can’t hear his footstep anymore.

Chapter 24

The plan

I don’t know how long is I hid behind this commode, just I know that it is as long as I only cough once in a while just because of my throat stings and my tears dried away now. My winking now is normal and just my head aches a little.

Vorarin should be away from here. Just God grants him and hope that nothing bad happened to him. No sound is heard anymore. It is just the wind which visits its territory. Where are the rest of my group? What happened to them? What should I do? Where should I go?

I bring my insignia out of my pocket with a mild attempt and before turning it on, I bethink myself of Parkad’s words: we should keep our insignia off. But I have no choice now and the wireless range is short. Before entering the acceptance option, I take a look at the list of group personnel, maybe I find one of them. I look at the off options dispiritedly until the A-4 option becomes on in disbelief. Brasen or Saidan has turned his insignia, but it is soon to trust it. He is closing to me but his direction is not exactly toward me. I don’t know whether I keep my insignia on or not. It is possible someone else is using his insignia. Maybe I’d better go toward him, but it may be a trap. I keep my insignia off. I myself should go toward him.

I go toward the exit door cautiously. The sun now shines milder and the sands are flying in the air again. Before I exit, I look around carefully. No one is seen in this confine. I check Saidan’s or Brasen’s position step by step. He is steel closing to this confine. I should come in his way so that he wouldn’t be able to see me. He moves in an almost straight line, and just occasionally changes his way but then he returns to the same direction.

I take position in the first floor of a building which is almost in his way. He or someone else is approaching momentarily. He stops once in a while, reduces his speed until he reaches me. I try to see him through a hole on the wall, but it seems he