Previously:
Damn! What now…!? Sinbad thought, cursing their bad luck. It was just one thing after another tonight! "What is it?" he asked, instantly on alert, when a man came running into the room.
"We've got trouble, Sinbad-san!" the man said. "Right now, outside… The Imperial Army has started their attack!!"
Meanwhile, Alibaba, who had received a similar report, immediately rushed to the nearest window to have a look for himself.
"So they have finally begun their attack," one of the men near him wailed, panicking at the sight of the soldiers below. "We're doomed!!"
"No…? Look, everyone…" another said. "It doesn't seem like they are attacking…"
Alibaba saw what he meant. A very imposing man was marching at the front, flanked by several subordinates. But it was a very small group, and he recognized the leader. "That person is… Barkak! He's Balbadd's general…" Alibaba exclaimed. "What is he doing in this type of place…?"
Barkak gave a signal, and waited on guard as a carriage pulled forward. Alibaba's surprise at seeing the general was nothing compared to what he felt when its door opened and the occupant stepped out for everyone to see.
"…!?" Alibaba gasped. "That is…!?"
It was Balbadd's Deputy King, Sahbmad Saluja.
Chapter 50: Savior
"Man, the shit's really hitting the fan tonight, huh?" Faith remarked, making her way forward through the crowd with Sinbad, Ja'far, Masrur, and Morgiana, who they met up with along the way. They could see the new intruders and their carriage, and that Alibaba had already beaten them to them.
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather remain with your sister?" Ja'far asked her.
"Nah, she hasn't slept for the past few days, and she was running short even before that," Faith said, shoving her own anxiety over her sister's condition into a tiny box at the back of her mind. "She won't be up anytime soon, and she'll want to hear about what happened while she was out."
"…" Masrur glanced at her out the corner of his eye briefly before turning his attention to the people up ahead again. He, along with Sinbad and Ja'far, recognized their faces when they could see them. And, with his keen Fanalis ears, he could already hear some of their conversation with Alibaba.
"Young master, even though the Deputy King is in this state, he insisted on seeing you… just to tell you something important," Barkak, General of the Royal Army of Balbadd, told Alibaba with a hand placed on Sahbmad Saluja's trembling shoulder to support him. "To us, this place is our enemy's territory. Please try to understand how the Deputy King is risking his life coming here."
"Ah! If it isn't Sahbmad!" Sinbad greeted the timid man, stepping forward to insert himself into the conversation.
"O… Ojii-san," Sahbmad stuttered.
"For someone who is so afraid to appear in front of others, why are you here?" Sinbad asked. "It's rather plausible that… this is just another one of Ahbmad's orders, right? Be at ease. I will prepare a place for our discussion. And I will ensure your safety as well."
"O… Okay," Sahbmad agreed nervously. "But… I have to apologize… to have you face such dangers…"
Faith raised an eyebrow at that.
"Hmph… I understand now," Sinbad said calmly. "Although I have already figured that for someone to hold such important information, it had to be someone who holds a key role… If it's you, I can understand."
"?" the Fog Troupe members were confused.
"In other words, the one responsible for the information leaks about the military and your location at the hotel… was this guy?" Faith said. She and Hope had had the same suspicions as Sinbad, and it didn't get much higher than 'Deputy King'.
"Yes. They were all your doings, weren't they… Sahbmad!" Sinbad said, pointing at the man. He could understand why he did it, but it still pissed him off a little that he had tried to throw him to the sharks.
Alibaba and the other troupe members stared at the Deputy King in astonishment, stunned by the revelation.
"… That was an inevitable move. At the time, I couldn't let you defeat the Fog Troupe," Sahbmad said.
"… You're partners with the Fog Troupe?" Sinbad asked.
"It's… It's not like that…" Sahbmad said, fidgeting. "I… I don't have any affiliations with the Fog Troupe, nor have I met any of its members. Even so, I leaked that information to save them… because Alibaba was there."
"!" Alibaba gasped, surprised. It was obvious from the look on his face that he hadn't known about any of this.
"If Alibaba was with the Fog Troupe, they could probably do something for this country… Because since the beginning, Alibaba has always been someone who could do things that I never could," Sahbmad explained seriously, doing his best to put on a brave face as he raised his head. The truth was, he really admired his younger half brother.
"Deputy King…" Barkak said. So, that was how he felt.
"I had wanted Alibaba… to stop Ahbmad-oniisan…" Sahbmad continued, lowering his head again with shame at the thought of all the terrible things their older brother had done, of the things that he still planned to do.
"Stop? Ahbmad…?" Sinbad said, surprised. "Although it's true that the country is in shambles, and it can also be said that it is Ahbmad's fault as the king… However, is it that bad that you must rely on the help of a thieves' guild!?"
"Yeah. He's your bro, so why can't you just talk to him?" Faith added. "Are you scared of him or something?"
"…" Ahbmad flinched, and his trembling seemed to increase under their prodding. "Scared…? Yes… yes… I'm afraid of Ahbmad-oniisan…" he confessed. "But what should be feared are the things he does… No… that isn't right…" he said, holding a hand over his face. He was sweating bullets now. "Whatever it is, something scary is going to happen to this country… Just why did it lead to this… Not understanding this point should be what scares people the most…!!"
"… Sahbmad…" Sinbad said. A bead of sweat slid down the side of his face. He had never seen the Deputy King like this before. Not even on the days when his chronic anxiety was at its worse.
Holy crap… Faith thought seeing the terrified expression on his face. The Deputy King looked like a character from a horror movie that just found out he was in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Whatever he knew, it must be cataclysmically bad. She wished Hope was there to calm him down. She was good at that, and he looked ready to break down any minute.
"… Allow me to explain from here," Barkak said, while his men tried to comfort Sahbmad. "This country started changing when the previous king fell ill."
Faith listened intently with the others while the general recounted the story behind the circumstances that resulted in the current situation. It began with the appearance of a man named Markkio, who had presented himself to Ahbmad as a 'Banker'. That mysterious person had come to the palace and claimed that he was an economic expert. He said that he had travelled to various countries and had managed their finances, and he offered his services to Balbadd. At that time, when their country was in a desperate situation because trade had stopped between their country and Partevia, they accepted him—someone with experience in managing the finances of many countries—to solve this problem. As part of his solution, the Banker introduced them to huang, the paper notes distributed by the Kou Empire as money.
If this happened while the old king was still alive… I'm pretty sure Alibaba said his dad around two years ago… so I guess that lets Hope off the hook… Faith thought, knowing her sister would be relieved that she hadn't been responsible for Kou's decision to manipulate Balbadd's economy using paper money, since it had begun before they even came to this world.
She turned her attention back to Barkak while he continued his story. The Banker had told them they held a fixed value and advised them to use the large amount he had produced for them in their next trading session. During commercial trade with the Kou Empire's neighboring countries, the paper notes had indeed displayed an incredible power. Huang could transform into many high-valued gold products, working tools, daily necessities, and more. They were all awed by their power. And, so, they decided to use these paper notes called 'huang' in their country as well. When their country imported goods, they would pay using huang. They also received huang when they exported their goods. They were leant an unlimited supply of huang by the Banker. However, it came with a small amount of 'interest'. And hence, Balbadd's economy solely depended on huang.
"… Such stupidity," Sinbad said, frowning in disapproval. "To depend on another country which decides the value of these paper notes in your own country's economy…" Ahbmad was even more incompetent than he thought. How could he tie the nation's economic standards to such a thing?
"Why… Why is that?" one of the troupe members asked.
"You are right," Barkak told Sinbad grimly. "The value of each of these notes changes constantly, and this troubled our people. Items that only needed one huang the previous day would require two huang the next. In other words, the value was halved. Every change resulted in great losses for our economy," he explained.
"That is what scares many people," Sinbad said. "In the end, 'paper notes' are just ordinary papers. They don't hold much value in the first place. The value of paper notes is determined by the country which distributes them."
"Hmm… that's pretty much what Hope said…" Faith remarked, remembering the conversation they'd already had on the subject.
"Yes, your sister had a good grasp on the situation," Ja'far replied. "That is why, even though Sindria has the contract of using gold to exchange goods, it's only temporary, and we barely use it in our country. It's never used outside. The central bank which distributes the money is also prohibited from adding interest as well."
"Yeah, if you're not careful, the interest you owe can build up at a scary rate if you don't keep up with it…" Faith said, recalling the time one of their school friends got into trouble because she couldn't pay off the debt on the credit card that she had started without her parent's permission.
"Indeed," Barkak agreed. "Before we knew it, the debt we had accumulated to enormous proportions. Following that, it also became impossible to pay that small amount of interest that came with the debt. Coincidentally, the Fog Troupe began their activities at that time, which increased our military expenses as well. Because of the huge debt, our country had to keep borrowing. However, Markkio was not willing to lend us any more for free. As collateral, our various assets were frozen. Our authority on the seas, regulation rights, land concession contracts… recently, even our trade authority…"
Alibaba and the other troupe members paled in shock, horrified.
"That doesn't make any sense," Faith said with a frown. Why cripple a country's economy if they owed you money? You'd never get your money back that way. Also… "If that's the case, then why didn't you stop borrowing huang from the Banker and try switching to someone more reasonable who could help you trade the paper notes back to gold, or declare bankruptcy? Surely the upper classes would've noticed something was off and said something?"
"Unfortunately, the nobles and politicians who handle this country's politics couldn't sense the threat. Because the debt of the country didn't affect their standards of living at all," Barkak replied. "They also didn't care about the suffering of the common people caused by the huge debt, or the collapse of social security."
But the worst was yet to come. Faith couldn't believe her ears when she heard what happened next. When the nobles and politicians finally began to panic because they were desperate for more huang and were running out of resources to use as collateral, it was then that Ahbmad, who had been staring down at the people in the streets from the safety of his palace had said, "What are you talking about… There are still many more left. The next collateral… will be the citizens." The others in the room were taken aback. Since they didn't seem to understand, Ahbmad explained, "This country is still left with so many citizens! After the trade authority, we will use the citizens' human rights as collateral! With this, we can still borrow a lot more haung!"
"…" Faith frowned and clenched her fist. That better not mean what she thought it did.
"Hey… using the citizen's human rights as collateral, just what in the world does it mean…!?" Alibaba asked.
The Deputy King, who had overheard the conversation while hiding behind a pillar, was just as shocked and horrified as the Fog Troupe was now. He still was. "Ahbmad… he… decided to sell our citizens…!!" Sahbmad said, trembling harder as he spoke. "Selling off Balbadd's citizens to Kou, to Reim, or to Partevia… as a source for labor…!! Ahbmad decided to transform Balbadd into a slave-exporting country…!!"
"!!" Faith narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth in anger when her suspicions were confirmed. Damn!! she thought. Of all the stupid…!!
"Transforming Balbadd into a slave-exporting country!?" Alibaba repeated in shock, feeling sick to his stomach.
"In other words, Ahbmad, he has betrayed the citizens?" Sinbad said, narrowing his eyes in a furious glare. He was outraged. For a king to do such a thing to his own people was unforgiveable.
"Yes, that's right… Onii-san said it himself…" Sahbmad said, still trembling.
Everyone was on edge while they listened to him talk about what happened next. "The citizens do not matter to us at all, right?" Ahbmad had said. "As long as I, the king, am here, the country is here. Also, humans can reproduce as many as they want when there is a need to. If it's like this, we can borrow huang forever!!" The other nobles and politicians had only hesitated for a brief moment before accepting the king's proposal.
"No one… rejected that idea…" Sahbmad concluded.
Alibaba furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth in anger while the other troupe members started to panic. "That… What the hell is that!!?" his men cried in alarm.
"… The nobility and politicians in this country really are the worse kind of scum," Faith remarked coldly.
Sahbmad hung his head in shame. He couldn't deny that. "After that, the Kou Empire decided to take the citizens of Balbadd and sell them off as slaves to other countries…"
"Wait just a moment!" said S Nando, standing with his brothers. "While bad people, like us, trade and handle slaves, we have never heard of a country that would do such a thing."
"Sahbmad. Just what in the world is happening?" Sinbad asked sternly. "Has Ahbmad rotted to that extent?"
"I don't understand either," Sahbmad said with regret, biting his lip. "But Ahbmad-oniisan, as well as the other nobles and officials, have been spending money like it's nothing. They're unable to see anything else. The nobility and officials, to secure their own lifestyles, follow Ahbmad without question…"
Faith and Alibaba glanced at Morgiana when she suddenly stepped forward with a grim expression on her face.
That's right… Faith thought. Morgiana used to be a slave, so she knows better than anyone what'll happen if those assholes succeed in carrying out this crazy plan…
"Deputy King!" Morgiana said, marching straight towards Sahbmad to stand face to face with him. "Are you asking for us to stop them? That's the reason you're here?" she asked earnestly.
Sahbmad was startled, but he managed to answer anyway. "Yes… That's right."
Morgiana immediately spun around to face her friends. "Alibaba-san, let's do this," she said anxiously, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Let us stop that ridiculous plan!"
Alibaba stared at her, eyes wide with astonishment. He could feel her hands trembling while she held him.
"Well, you can definitely count me in," Faith said, cracking her knuckles. "And I know Hope will say the same."
"Hey, hey… those girls…" S Nando said as a bead of sweat slid down the side of his face. He and his brothers were soon covered with a sheen of nervous perspiration when they recognized them.
"Are extremely angry… Is it because they noticed us!?" L Nando asked anxiously. None of them wanted a repeat of what had happened the last time they crossed them.
"It's all right," S Nando reassured his brothers. "We are just typical thieves after all… those girls may not have remembered us…"
"We do remember," Morgiana and Faith stated bluntly, turning their heads to look at them.
"That isn't something we're likely to forget is it?" Faith added darkly with a vein throbbing on her forehead, cracking her knuckles again, while she glared at them. "I still haven't finished paying you three back for that time, have I? Where's the rest of our stuff? You'd better not have sold it already…" She and Hope had managed to recover their jewelry because it was in the same bag as Ugo's flute and the keys, but they hadn't been able to find their carry-on bag or the rest of its contents.
"At that time, you were planning on selling slaves too, weren't you? Why are you with the Fog Troupe!!" Morgiana asked sternly as they stalked dangerously towards the three brothers, who quickly shrank back in fear.
"Wait a second, Morgiana, Faith," Sinbad called out to stop them. "Although I don't know what conflict you have with them from before, they are currently also members of the Fog Troupe. We should allow Sahbmad to continue first."
The two girls stared at him.
"… Okay," Morgiana eventually relented.
"… Fine," Faith said grudgingly, turning back to the brothers to give them the evil eye, pointing two of her fingers from her eyes to theirs. "But I'm watching you..." she told them, giving off a threatening aura that made the brothers begin to consider actually returning the twins' belongings to them.
"I beg of you, Alibaba…" Sahbmad began again when he felt it was safe to speak. "If we don't hurry, the day of the contract signing ceremony will be upon us!"
"Signing ceremony, did you say?" Sinbad asked.
"Yes, that's right," Sahbmad said. "It's actually for the engagement between Ahbmad-oniisan and one of the Kou Empire's princesses. In… In five days, they will be holding the wedding ceremony. At the same time, they will be going through the contract signing ceremony with the citizens as the collateral…" He clenched his fists. "But if it's me, I can't stop them. That is why I'm here today… I'm begging you, Alibaba!! Please, with you power, stop Ahbmad-oniisan…!!" he pleaded desperately, startling his younger brother when he suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders. "If it's me, I won't be able to do anything…!!"
"…" Alibaba stared at him with wide eyes, speechless.
Whoa! Way to lay on the pressure…!! Faith thought, sweat-dropping. She thought it was strange that a Deputy King seemed to think Alibaba had more power than him as a leader of a bunch of thieves, but she assumed he must be talking about his crippling social anxiety. Even when surrounded by guards, he looked like he was in danger of being paralyzed by fear. All the power in the world wouldn't do you any good if you couldn't use it. She did not envy Alibaba. Judging by the sweat he had broken out in and the troubled expression on his face, he was struggling to come to terms with the huge amount of responsibility that had just been dumped on him.
Sinbad sighed. He could see Alibaba's hesitation, and it was obvious that this had become too much for him. "… I have understood everything you have said, Sahbmad. Just leave it to me," he said. "I will contact my allied countries, and we will come together to oppose the Balbadd government. Although I'm not certain that we would be able to make it in five days for the ceremony, I will absolutely stop this idiotic plan to export citizens as slaves!"
"Mmhmm… but…" Sahbmad said hesitantly, glancing between Sinbad and Alibaba.
"…" Alibaba could only stare back at his brother, wondering why he was looking at him.
Faith thought it was pretty obvious that Sahbmad still wanted Alibaba to be the one to save everyone, but Alibaba had an annoyingly clueless expression on his face that kind of made her want to hit him.
"Deputy King, it's about time we return," Barkak announced. The night was almost over. They needed to get back to the palace before Ahbmad awoke and noticed their absence.
"Mmhmm…" Sahbmad mumbled and slowly removed his hands from his brother's shoulders, knowing he was right.
"Young Master, we're counting on you…!" Barkak said seriously as they turned to leave.
"Ah… Ah-ah…!!" Alibaba said in agreement, apparently too stunned to give a more intelligible answer, while he stood there and watched them depart.
So, after causing quite a commotion for the Fog Troupe, Sahbmad returned to the palace. After that, the long night finally ended and brought in daybreak. Faith had retired to Aladdin and Hope's room with a yawn and was out like a light as soon as she curled up next to her sister.
But sleep continued to elude Alibaba, so he found himself sitting in a chair next to Aladdin's bed. "Hey, Aladdin… You and Hope still haven't woken up…" he said quietly with concern. He knew Aladdin couldn't hear him, but he needed to talk to someone. He had no idea how Faith could fall asleep so easily when there were so many things to worry about. "After you collapsed, Sahbmad-oniisan came. He said he wanted me to save this country… Although it's true that this country is facing a huge problem… and that someone has must do something about it… is that really something for me to do?" he asked.
"…" Faith, who wasn't as dead to the waking world as he had assumed, opened her eyes a little when she heard that, but closed them before he noticed and pretended to still be asleep.
"Aladdin… I've worked hard before, haven't I…?" Alibaba continued. "Joining the Fog Troupe and becoming their leader so as to change the country. But… no matter what I do, nothing comes out right… even though you expected something from me… but I think you were wrong after all."
Faith's eyebrow twitched.
"In this world, there are real heroes… That's right. For example… people like Sinbad-san… That person is simply amazing," Alibaba said wistfully. "He has great spirit, great strength, and great prestige. People like me wouldn't even be able to compare to him."
Faith frowned and silently removed herself from her sister's bed while he was busy staring out the window.
"Bringing everyone in the Fog Troupe together in an instant. Really, I can't compare to him at all… Isn't that right… Aladdin—!?" Alibaba said, startled when Faith suddenly delivered a karate chop to his head from behind. "Wh-What are you doing!?" he demanded incredulously. Who just hits someone like that? He was having a serious moment!
"Shut up. How the heck am I supposed to sleep with you acting so pathetic?" Faith retorted bluntly, putting her hands on her hips as she stared down at him. "Of course Sinbad is better than you at handling a crisis. He's had, like, at least ten more years experience living than you have. And he's already used to ruling a country. Of course he'd react better than a young noob like you."
"…"Alibaba looked away while he held his sore head, sulking. "I already know that…" he muttered, wondering why she felt the need to rub it in his face.
"But so what?" she continued strongly, causing him to look back at her in surprise. "'Don't compare the first chapter in your own story to someone else's twentieth'—is what Hope would say if she was awake. If you lack experience, then make it up! Keep working hard, and when you know better, do better. Aladdin would be pissed if he could hear you now," she said, heading for the door so she could use what passed as a bathroom in this place. She paused for a moment to turn back and point a finger at him. "Quit focusing on your weaknesses! You may not be a Sinbadass, but you have your own strengths, right?"
"…" Alibaba just stared as she left, stunned. He looked down and clenched his fists.
"Sin. What are you planning on doing from now on?" Ja'far asked his king, who was seated at a table with one cup and jug of wine, while Masrur stood against the wall behind him. They had retreated to another room for a little privacy while they finished processing the new information they had learned. "To think that the Kou Empire is at the center of all this. Even if we managed to discuss it with our allies, it may be of no use at all."
"Yes, I know that," Sinbad said. "Even if we found a way, it is still impossible to solve this problem entirely."
"That is because the country's system has already been broken quite badly," said Ja'far.
"Yes. That is why, to rebuild this country into an utterly different form, we need to rely on those people that serve this country wholeheartedly," Sinbad replied.
"Are you planning on destroying the current king's rule?" Ja'far asked. "For example, by pushing Alibaba as a candidate for the king's position."
"Alibaba, huh…" Sinbad said, picking up his cup. "Right now, we can't expect much from him. I have considered him before, but his strength as well as his confidence aren't enough. Aladdin… why did Aladdin choose him in the first place… I had high hopes for Hope after she managed a partial djinn equip, but it doesn't look like we can rely on her for much either… She doesn't have enough fortitude…" he mused with regret, draining his cup of wine. They couldn't have her collapsing like that again. Seeing her fall short of his expectations had disappointed him the most.
"Hey, Sin, it's this early in the morning, and you're already drinking so much," Ja'far scolded him, wishing he would slow down. The wine jug was already near half empty.
"I can't help it…" Sinbad said grumpily, feeling irritable from lack of sleep. "Ever since arriving in this country, I haven't even gotten a single moment of rest…"
WHAM! Ja'far and Sinbad flinched in surprise as all three men turned their heads when the door abruptly slammed open without warning.
Morgiana and Faith stood in the open doorway and glared at Sinbad. The floor had cracked a little beneath Morgiana's feet, and Faith was holding the door handle so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. They had overheard enough from the hall to be pissed with him.
"Did something happen, Morgiana? Faith?" Sinbad asked, a little confused when he noted how angry they seemed to look.
"The treatment of the wounded has been completed," Morgiana reported crossly, while Faith narrowed her eyes at him, too furious to speak.
"Is that so… thanks for informing me. Go ahead and take a rest then," Sinbad told her kindly.
"All right… but before that, I have something to ask," Morgiana said coolly.
"What is it?" Sinbad asked.
"You seemed to know that person called Judar as well as the people that were behind him," she said. "Just who are they?"
"…" Sinbad was silent for a moment, suddenly looking very serious. "It's about that, huh. I understand, we can talk about it later," he said, adopting a lighter expression so the girls wouldn't worry. "But you must be tired, so take a break for today."
"I understand," Morgiana said, turning away to face the door. "Please explain everything in full detail later. Because I would like to understand my opponents clearly." She reached out and opened the door again. "Then, I will take my leave."
"Ah, yes," Sinbad said, wondering why her tone sounded so strict with him. He also noticed that Faith hadn't moved a muscle since entering the room.
"Also, about Alibaba…" Morgiana said, pausing in the doorway. "He does look like… he doesn't have any confidence… But he saved me when I was a slave. It wasn't just anyone. It was him. Hence, this is how I feel… the one who is able to save this country… is him!" she stated with absolute certainty and determination.
Sinbad and his subordinates stared at her in astonishment.
"Then… I will take my leave now…" Morgiana told them, stepping out and closing the door behind her, while Faith stayed. She could tell the older girl still had something to say to them.
"… Are you all right…?" Sinbad started to ask Faith, growing concerned by her strange behavior, when she suddenly closed the distance between them and slammed her good hand on the table with a loud bang, nearly knocking his cup over.
"Ya'll think… Hope lacks fortitude…!?" she growled incredulously, keeping her head low, so that her face was cast partially in shadow, and her eyes were hidden by her bangs. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about… My sister is not weak…!!!" she yelled furiously, raising her head to glare at him. If looks could kill, the king of Sindria would have burst into flames right then and there.
Sinbad stared at her with wide eyes, startled by the sudden outburst.
"You have no idea what she's been through… What she's still going through…" Faith said sternly. "That storm we told you about… did you think being attacked by looters was the only thing we had to deal with!? Didn't you think it was strange that she could face those looters the other night, yet she freaked out at the mere sight of tub!?"
"…" Sinbad was silent, wondering where she was going with this.
"If that's the case, then let me tell you the whole story!! See who lacks fortitude then!!" she snapped. "It happened ten years ago. There was plenty of warning before the storm hit… plenty of time to get out… But we'd had so many misses from other hurricanes that a lot of people thought this one would miss too. Everyone knew for certain that it was coming days in advance, but the forecasts of where it would hit were only educated guesses. We stayed in the city because our mom was a nurse, and she had to stay behind as part of the skeleton crew at the hospital she worked at, because it was easier than trying to evacuate all of the patients whose conditions were too serious for them to be able to leave on their own. The day before it hit, the storm had become so strong, that the mayor issued a mandatory evacuation, because the storm was expected to make landfall overnight. A lot of people still didn't leave. At that time, the only ones left were either poor, employees essential to maintaining the basic infrastructure—like for the water pumping station, hospitals, police, or emergency responders—or people who were just too stupid for their own good. Our mom still had to stay for the hospital, but she tried to get us out. The rest of our family living in the state had already gone… so she tried to get our dad to come get us, but his work prevented it…"
Sinbad frowned and furrowed his brow. If it had been his father, he would have come no matter what. No matter what the obstacles, his father would have found a way to make sure his family was safe.
"We didn't want to leave her anyway," Faith continued. "Especially Hope… she was worried about what would happen if our mom had to stay there alone. And we already had enough emergency supplies for the three of us. We always kept a basic disaster supplies kit with three days worth of food for each of us in our pantry during hurricane season, and we made sure we had at least one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days for drinking, and Mom filled the tubs in both bathrooms in case we ran out, and to use for sanitation. She boarded up the windows and made sure anything outside the house that could've been tossed around by the winds was secured. We were scared, so she let us sleep in her bed with her. It was unusually quiet that night… we had started to think maybe we wouldn't be hit after all, that the storm might have turned at the last minute…" she said with a frown. "But then we woke up the next morning to the sound of the nearby electrical transformers exploding… We couldn't see anything because all the windows were covered, but that's what Mom said it was, because our power went out." They knew that because the LED display on her alarm had died, and they couldn't get the lights to come on. "Another hour passed. The winds were so ferocious, it sounded like they were howling. And, above all that, we could hear the sound of glass shattering and metal being sheared off the roof or scraping the pavement. The three of us huddled together with a flashlight, and Mom tried to tell us a story to calm us down… but we mostly listened to the storm's groans. We switched rooms when the ceiling started leaking. It went on like that for hours…"
That must have been terrifying for them… Sinbad thought, feeling sorry for the frightened little girls he pictured the twins as.
"That first day was insane…" she said grimly. "The first floor of our house started flooding in the middle of breakfast, so our mom made us wait on the stairs while she rescued our emergency supplies. The water in the tub on that floor was contaminated. We expected more flooding after learning a levee breached, so Mom took us to work with her, and we hitched a ride with one of her coworkers who owned a boat. It was pretty miserable there. Me and Hope did our best to stay out of the way while we entertained ourselves, and our mom got another ride to take us back home at the end of the day. The second day, Mom let us stay at home. We heard on the radio that the governor issued an order for the emergency shelters that they had set up to be evacuated, and she had buses commandeered to start taking the people there out of the city. The National Guard was deployed to help restore order when the looting started. The third day, Mom wanted to take us to work with her again, because we were the only ones left in our neighborhood, and she didn't want to leave us on our own with all of the looting and other violence going on… but her bosses wouldn't allow it. We found out later that it was because they were evacuating the patients at the hospital… the ones who couldn't be moved were euthanized… That's probably why our mom seemed so freaked out when she came home. She wasn't herself…" Faith clenched her fist. "We finished the last of our bottled water that night and had to refill them with water from the upstairs tub. The looting was worse the next day. We actually heard gunshots coming from somewhere in our neighborhood…"
Sinbad couldn't help but wonder about many of the items she mentioned. Radio? Buses? Gunshots? He had never heard of these things before. He wanted to ask her about them, but decided to wait until she had finished her story. She seemed very determined to make him listen.
"Now… this is the part I really want you to pay attention to…" Faith said grimly with a hard expression. "I must have dosed off after lunch, because the next thing I knew, I was waking up to the sound of Hope screaming… I cried out for Mom and ran down the hall to see what was wrong. Hope came running out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her before I could see what was in there… I'll never forget the look on her face… When I asked her why she screamed… she didn't want to tell me. She made some lame excuse and told me to go ahead and get started on supper without her. When I tried to push past her, she stopped me and dragged me back to our room before telling me the truth—our mom was dead."
"…!!" Sinbad's eyes widened in horror.
"I didn't understand how she could suddenly be dead. So I yelled at my sister and called her a liar. And I kept pestering her until she finally explained what had happened. Our mom had committed suicide. We were both in our room when it happened. Hope found her bleeding out in the tub when she went to the bathroom. It was only then that I noticed the watery bloodstains on my sister's shirt. She had tried to save her, but it was too late. Our mom had lost too much blood and slipped down below the water's surface to drown… She was probably already gone when Hope found her. I tried to go into the bathroom to see her, but Hope wouldn't let me. She said it was bad enough for one of us to see it, and she didn't want me to have to go through that too… but she knew that wouldn't stop me. The upstairs bathroom door had weird lock on it… It could be locked from the outside… so Hope did that and hid the key while I wasn't looking. Our mom was too heavy to move, and we wouldn't have known what to do with her even if we could, so she draped a blanket over the tub in an attempt to preserve her dignity or something… I was mad, because I wanted to say goodbye… but she did it to protect me…"
"…" Sinbad felt his heart breaking for them. He had lost his parents at a young age too, but he had lost them to war and illness… For a mother to abandon her own children and kill herself… he didn't understand how she could do that them.
"It got worse," Faith said, looking like she was in danger of crying. "The looters came on the fifth day… you know what happened then. We were already out of food. So they tried to take our water along with anything else they could carry off that looked valuable… A human being can only go three days without water before they die. We knew that because our mother was a nurse… and we also knew the water left in the tub was unusable… So I tried to stop them and take it back. But I was just a kid who didn't even know how to fight. Hope got hurt when she ran over to shield me when one of them tried to hit me with the butt of his knife. He hit her hard enough to make her bleed. I screamed and cried, but she wouldn't move… I thought she was dead… That was the first time I ever caused a poltergeist… It scared the shit out of them."
"Poltergeist…?" Sinbad asked. That was another word he had never heard before.
"Yeah, you know… causing objects to move around on their own… making light bulbs and other glass things break… banging noises…" she said, ticking each phenomena off on her fingers while she spoke.
Sinbad thought that sounded a lot like magic.
"Anyway, I was so relieved when Hope woke up again!!" Faith exclaimed with a sigh. "But… the looters had still gotten away with most of our water. We only had enough to last the two of us through the night. It was hot and humid, and our throats were dry when we woke up the next morning. The only water left in the house was in Fred and George's—our dwarf hamsters—water bottle, but we couldn't take it from them, because they needed it just as much as we did. Besides, there was only a quarter of it left anyway, not even enough for each of us to have a full mouthful. We spent the rest of the day moving as little as possible and listening to the radio to see when help would arrive. The eighth day was pure hell. Our mother's… body… had started to smell within hours of her death… Have you ever smelled a dead body, I mean a decaying one…? It has a rank and pungent smell mixed with a tinge of sickening sweetness. Imagine the smell of the mouth of person with the worst dental hygiene possible, full of the scent of tooth decay. Take that stench and magnify the odor about 1,000 times. Combine that scent with strong morning urine or urine after eating asparagus, mixed with diarrhea and sat in an unflushed toilet, add a touch of the sweet scent of a used wine glass that sat overnight and rotting meat, and you're somewhat close to the odor of death…"
Sinbad and Ja'far felt nauseous just hearing about it.
"Now, imagine being stuck in a house that's had all of its windows boarded up. By the eighth day, the stench was so overwhelming, that we were literally choking on it… Imagine knowing the source of that smell making your eyes water and your nose and throat burn is your own mom… Couple that with the knowledge that you were about to die of thirst and hunger, and all the pain that comes with it… How do you think a child would react in that situation? I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't do anything except lay there and cry… because, on top of everything else, Fred and George had died. They were over two years old… so it was probably just their time… but it was too much for me. I was hysterical, paralyzed with fear. We were alone. We'd been attacked…I thought me and my sister were next…"
"…" Sinbad reached out and placed his hand over hers in an attempt to comfort her. He doubted anything he imagined could ever begin to compare with what they must have felt while trapped inside that house.
Faith surprised him a little when she grabbed it and raised her head to look him straight in the eye, dead serious as she continued. "But not Hope," she said. "Even though I know she was just as scared and lonely as I was… she hadn't given up! She was still thinking of me and trying to find a way for us to survive. While I was wallowing in self-pity… she went back into the bathroom. She knew from the smell and the flies buzzing around what she would find in there, but she went in anyway… because she remembered our mom had told her before that the water inside the tank at the top of the toilet was sanitary... What she saw in there was so disturbing, that she had to stop to throw up in the hallway… but she kept going! She took those empty bottles and refilled as many as she could…!!" She squeezed his hand harder. "She saved us. With that water, we were able to last another two days… she kept us alive long enough for the army to rescue us! If it wasn't for her, we'd be dead!!"
"!!" Sinbad's eyes were wide with astonishment. To think that they had faced something so terrible at such a tender age… Not only that, despite all obstacles, Hope had overcome her fear to secure their survival.
"But… even though we were rescued, it took us a long time to get over it…" Faith said sadly with a frown as she released his hand. "Hope blamed herself for our mom's death… even though it wasn't her fault, she held herself responsible for not being able to save her… I don't think she's ever forgiven herself. That's why she had such an extreme reaction, the guilt. She didn't just see a tub, she saw our mom's death. She's always been more sensitive than me, and I mean that in a good way. She's also has a really creative mind... So when she saw that covered tub here, with the same kind of claw feet as our old one, her imagination filled in the gaps. The beans under the blanket became our mom's corpse… the rust stains became blood… Her mind forces her to relive every excruciating detail, right down to the smell… And she's been carrying that with her ever since we were eight!! We've both learned how to cope since then… and she's been through things that would drive most people insane… But on the rare occasions when she does actually have a full-blown attack, like last night… I guarantee that when she wakes up, she'll act like nothing's wrong. Her only concern will be how it affected the people around her. So, tell me… do you still think my sister 'doesn't have fortitude'!?" she finished hotly, shooting him a sharp glare, before turning on her heel and stomping out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
"…" Sinbad stared at the closed door for a long moment before raising his hand to scratch the back of his neck. He felt like the worst sort of cad for doubting Hope now that he had heard the full story behind her panic attack. "… Ja'far. About what we were talking about, the thing about Alibaba and Hope… It seems that it is still too early to determine whether they're good candidates or not."
"That is because you're drunk, Sin," Ja'far stated bluntly.