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

and with the help of my hand dive into the building through a window. Then, pushing my body on a door, I enter the room. I go up stairs to the second floor. I go to another building over the ruined part of the wall with a long jump. Then I jump down from the rooftop and enter a side street.

Upon this escape, now they are far from me. I enter other buildings in the same manner and bewilder them by changing my direction. But they are still around me. I reduce my speed to both gather my attention and get my breath back. My breast stings and I cough.

I bend on my knees and press my sides. Then I take step tottering and pass through a building. I should take a rest. I feel nausea. I go toward a wall, sit and lean on it. I feel lack of oxygen. I have to take deep breath to prevent of suffocation.

The footsteps of the red soldiers are closing to me sporadically. I hear their shouts cursing each other. I make no attempt to escape and just sitting here. I am so thirsty. Maybe darkness helps me.

Hey, are you sure he came this way?

Yeah, I myself saw him. He was going this way, he couldn’t go too far. He seemed to be wounded.

Search everywhere carefully. He may hid somewhere.

I close my eyes and say:

My God help me.

When I open my eyes, I see Samirana standing in front of me.

Are you okay?

I try much to avoid frowning but I can’t control my voice:

Where were you?

Stay here. Now is my turn.

She disappears behind the wall. I hear her footstep which changes to running.

I found him! He’s getting away from here! Come this way.

Then I hear their footsteps in chase of samirana.

The diluted air flows in my lungs little by little. Now I breathe almost easily and regularly and my body fills with energy gradually so that I can move my feet again. My body is sticky and my palate become coarse. My shoulders slightly aches but luckily my wounds don’t. I should have a look at them. They may be infected during this period of time.

Although the weather is calm, I feel cold which increases momentarily. The moon is upper than the horizon line of the buildings and I can see it easily. I bring out my insignia and turn it on. Then I enter the “group members” option and, looking for a turned-on insignia, I review the list. All is off except for one: Saidan. He is almost two hundred meters away from me and is moving. With an approximate and assumed line, I draw a pathway for him. As I see, he is going to the place which we arranged.

I stand on my feet with the help of the wall and remain that way to get my balance. Then I take step in the dark and go for Saidan. The earth is slightly lighted under the moonlight and I can recognize my way.

I go toward that point from each way which shortens my way, but at a fixed speed to be able to react in case of danger. When he reaches that point, I am just twenty meters away from him. At a distance of five meters, I stand just behind a wall of a building. Then I go toward a wall which is full of the holes and cracks and look inside. I see Saidan sitting on the debris and is busy with his insignia. He pushes a button and brings it close to his mouth:

Where’re you Zairas?

I go toward the entrance door and enter without replying him. As he sees me, Saidan stands up and asks frightened:

Are you safe?

Yeah!

He takes a deep breath and says:

What happened to you? How you managed to escape?

I ask in wonder:

What? What do you mean how I did escape?

All of a sudden a shadow appears at the door and, while she pants continuously for breath, says:

The mission accomplished.

Then Samirana enters the building, while she put her hand on one of her kidneys.

Where’s Vorarin?

I bethink myself of Vorarin with Samirana’s question. I had forgotten Vorarin completely.

I’m here!

Vorarin gets out of the room in front of my wondering eyes and while he has a flask of water in his hand says:

What a plan you made!

Hey! What’s going on here?

I can’t avoid asking this question. Samirana, while one of her eyebrows is lifted, says:

What’s happened then?

What’re Vorarin doing here?

Where he supposed to be? We had gone to save Vorarin, if I’m not wrong!

Vorarin was caught in the last moment.

Saidan interferes and says:

Hey, hey wait a minute. There’s a problem. How did you escape from there?

Samirana is confused, so she says:

Let me see, what happened? You talk slightly strange. Didn’t you act according to plan?

I say:

Saidan is speaking a little strange.

Saidan says excited:

I thought you understood.

I open my arms and say:

What?

Do you remember when you jumped at me?

Yeah.

After I caught you, I tried to take you into their base but that guy came and prevented me.

Well?

Then I tried to find a way but I couldn’t approach the base. I had to stand guard. They were watching me from the first and second floor. If I made a suspicious act, they would find out.

I don’t realize at all what do you mean.

When Samirana exploded the building I wasn’t there.

You mean you didn’t open the door?

He lifts his hands and says:

No way. When the building was exploded, a group of them went out. I take advantage of the opportunity and went to the base. I turned around the building and I came where you and Vorarin were supposed to get away from. That time, I saw you coming out through the hole. Unluckily, that moment, the soldier who was protecting the vehicles, saw us. vorarin jumped at me and I was constrained to arrest him. After that those three soldiers followed you, I took advantage of the opportunity and went away from there with Vorarin.

I feel that I have faced with the hardest mathematical problem.

So who opened the door for us?

Saidan shrugs. Samirana asks:

How did you escape?

While I try to concentrate my mind, I say:

After the explosion, the door was opened according to our plan. One of the soldiers did that. But there was a problem which was the first and second floor hadn’t roof, that is, I mean there was an empty space through there the soldiers in those floors could see downstairs easily. We were constrained to enter the next room and make them imagine we escaped. All of the soldiers got out of the building. We took advantage of the opportunity too and got out through the hole. You know the rest.

When I finish my word, all sink in thinking about our savior. I can’t believe that a spy from the “Hope” group is among the reds, or maybe the matter is something else. Maybe the reason for he helps us is something else. Maybe, maybe…there are thousands of reasons for someone to help us. Vorarin reaches out the water flask to me:

I think you need some water.

I take the flask from him and then he continues:

He might be anyone but he’s been a chance for us.

I can’t forget that soldier. It seemed that he knew us and was aware of our plan, or without knowing the plan, he conformed to our plan by the chance.

There’s no sign of Nabidak and Parkad and others. What should we do now?

We all come down to earth with Vorarin’s words. Saidan, while shrugs, with a loose face and half-opened eyes, says:

I don’t know anything at all. My mind is blocked. I’ve never been in such situation. They’re caught on one hand, and the fire on other hand…

Vorarin says:

What about we search for them? Maybe we could find them. There’re three hypotheses; they’re prisoner of the blue group, prisoner of red group or, they managed to get away.

I say:

In my opinion, we should get out of here; this is the law of our group: if one is caught, we shouldn’t go to save.

They turn and stare at me as I guessed. Saidan leers at me while he frowns. Although he says nothing, his face remains frowning.

A mild smile can be seen hardly on Samirana’s face. She looks at me with her eyes alight.

I agree with Zairas. The fire is more important.

Her words correspond with her face mood. Vorarin also agrees with two of us.

I agree with you too. Our goal was to keep the fire away from them.

Saidan shows his opposition at last and says:

Maybe the need our help. We can’t leave here this way.

Samirana folds her arms and says:

You seem you’re not of our group. Don’t you know the laws of the group? When you have a big goal, even your friend doesn’t matter at all. This is a brief of the laws.

Saidan shows no resist and, while hold his hand in front of her to show his deference, says:

Well…okay. I have nothing to say anymore.

I show them my empty hands and say:

We can’t get out of here without our knapsacks. We need foodstuff and tools.

Saidan goes toward the entrance door and says:

So let’s go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 26

 

 

The savior

 

 

 

 

Each one of them has occupied one side of the base for themselves. Saidan fell asleep with my insistence under the blanket up to his chin. Vorarin also has lain completely under a blanket. Samirana, also has lain on her side under the blanket just in the same row of Saidan, but on the other side of the blanket. She has put one hand under her head and is drawing different obscure figures with her other hand on the sands on the base floor.

I slightly distance myself from the window to be safe from the wind. Then I enter the room through the door which is made by human and nature, to find something warm for myself in the knapsack. Maybe I could borrow some clothes from those three. I wish lapse of time was fast and tomorrow would come soon. Nabidak’s, Parkad’s, kidaton’s and Brasen’s knapsacks are still here. This means they have faced with the problem.

I bend over my knapsack but I can’t find something useful. It comes to my mind to use the blanket but it is cloggy. Maybe I find a clothes in others’ knapsacks.

I wanna tell you something.

Samiran says this quietly, while remains in the same position and as she continues drawing on the sand, without turning to me. I leave the knapsack and go toward the door and lean on the wall:

I hear.

I owe you a thanks.

For what?

For your help. I’ll stand guard.

I didn’t help… I’m just looking for a clothes. We should stand guard in turn.

To show her I am serious, I go away from the wall and go out.

You can find a coat in my knapsack.

When I go over her head to take her coat out of the knapsack, her eyes are closed. I open the small pocket of the knapsack, take her coat and get out of the base.

At first, the wind trembles my body so that I decide to return in, but if I return, I will fall asleep. So I go toward the building which is next to our base and sit on its steps so that I position in a depth and nobody can see me.

Moon still shines dimly and draws back darkness and enables me to see. The monotone of the galloping wind and replacing sands encourages me to sleep. Cold also can’t prevent me from sleeping, I should keep myself busy.

Thinking of the past affects me more and put me to sleep.

I reach out my hand and bring the “fire” out of my raincoat back pocket. Its box is so tempting, as if it says taciturnly “do open me”. I spin it in my hand and look at the blue wavy grooves all over it. What may be inside it? What is it which has played all the people off against themselves?

I open its two small