"I'm getting fed up, Tintin. We've been waiting in here for eight hours for that chap to poke his nose about with a plan." The Captain complains.
"Be patient, Captain. He probably can't do it in broad daylight; we need to keep waiting," Tintin replies plainly.
A few hours later, we can hear footsteps outside the window and Ali's whispers following.
"Psst!"
Ali gestures to the file he has brought with him and passes it to Tintin, who immediately sets to work on the bars.
It takes a while, but with consistent perseverance and some brute strength, we are able to climb out the window.
Ali beckons us to follow him behind a sand dune where he has four horses waiting.
Well, at least it's an improvement on the camels we had earlier...
The Captain suddenly freezes and grabs Ali's shoulder.
"Wait a minute; before we go on, I want to know why you are helping us. Why should trust you? For all we know, you could be leading us to our doom."
Ali surprisingly doesn't flinch from the sudden gesture.
"Like I said in the note, sahib, I believe that you are innocent. I do not like Bab el Ehr and his aspirations, but unfortunately I could not find work anywhere else. He's had many prisoners that were eventually executed and I wanted to put a stop to his actions. But I knew what it could have meant for my job." He pauses to wipe his brow before continuing. "When I saw that he was arresting you, with a woman and a child no less, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to do something."
I know exactly how you feel, Ali. I want to say, but decide against it.
"Now as for trusting me, that is completely your decision. I assure you that I only want to help you, but of course I will not interfere with your judgment. Now if you want any chance of escaping at all, then we need to leave right now before they find out you're gone." Ali mounts his horse.
Just when Tintin, the Captain and I are about to do the same, we hear an earsplitting alarm.
"Come on!" Ali hollers, already galloping towards the darkening horizon.
I slide onto the horse, with Elizabeth behind me.
"Hold on tight!" I warn.
Elizabeth nods and grips my torso before we go cantering after the men.
Before long though, we can hear shots exploding through the dusk that seem to be getting closer and closer.
"In the name of Bab el Ehr, we command you to halt!" The guards order as they gain on us.
When I feel a bullet whiz just past my ear, my horse rears up, pawing at the sky before I force it to go on.
Somehow, the Captain has managed to be sitting on his horse backwards and Tintin is constantly ducking to avoid a certain death. Ali is just riding like wildfire, almost as if this were the Santa Anita, not a run for our lives.
"If we can get to that gathering of rocks over there, we'll be safe!" Ali shouts, before picking up speed along with Tintin and the Captain, who's howling all the way.
Unfortunately being the city person that I am, I'm not able to maneuver the horse as fast as the others and soon enough, I find myself beginning to trail further and further behind the men.
Then without warning, a bullet narrowly misses my head once again and in my attempt to dodge it, I tumble off of the saddle and land awkwardly on my ankle.
Right as Elizabeth lands on my back, the horse rears up and screams in terror before its hoof pounds back down on my skinny left bicep.
I unleash an agonized cry as blood rushes from the injured area; I don't even care that the guards can probably hear me.
I hear oncoming hoof beats, causing me to contract into a fetal position on the sand as I await the enemy attempt to capture me again.
Oh, no…
"Are you all right, Katrina?"
I continue to writhe in anguish, cradling my bruised and bloody arm as I find in surprise that Tintin is at my side.
"I think so…" I lie as the ginger-haired reporter allows me to put my weight on him with my good arm, wincing as intense pain shoots up my leg before I crumple back onto the ground.
"It's my ankle. I must have twisted it when I fell…" My voice trails off as Tintin wastes no time and heaves me over his shoulder before hastening towards the rocks to meet the others, with Elizabeth and Snowy trailing closely behind.
Feeling my face darken to match the shade of the young journalist's hair, I immediately feel uncomfortable at this gesture.
"Tintin, that's really not necessary…"
But he says nothing in response.
When we finally reach the hiding place in the rocks, the now-familiar glare that the Captain gave me at the estate makes a second appearance at the sight of me in Tintin's strong arms.
Tintin, I told you. That girl is nothing but trouble. His blue-gray eyes read.
After the guards have mysteriously cleared away and my injuries are bandaged and set (courtesy of Tintin), we emerge from our hiding place in the rocks and set up camp for the night a little further out.
"I just don't understand. Our supplies have been stolen; we've had guards waiting for us in the desert, and to crown it, those same guards inexplicably disappeared when we tried to escape." Tintin thinks out loud. "My first impulse is to think that this is a put-up job…"
I nod.
"I don't know what else it could be," I agree.
"It could merely be a coincidence, lass. Stop your blubbering and help us figure out what to do next." The Captain glares at me before I realize how close Tintin is sitting next to me.
Blushing madly, I immediately scoot away but find myself regret doing so.
Somehow, I manage to regain my composure.
"Captain, from what Tintin has told me, I would think that by this point that you wouldn't believe in coincidence anymore."
If the Captain hears me, he doesn't show it, but I can tell that Tintin is slightly horrified at my jab.
"It's hopeless. More than half of the Arab army is on our tail and you expect us to continue to Khemikhal? To the lion's den? Then I think we should go back to Wadesdah and head for home…" The Captain says with his eyebrows raised.
"Captain, that isn't going to solve anything. If someone really wants to get a hold of us, they can follow us back to Brussels just as easily. And what about the Professor? We can't just leave him here," I contradict.
"If he's here," Tintin adds. "We can't go on, as we will most likely have guards waiting for us in Khemikhal and the truth posing that Katrina needs medical help due to her injuries. But we can't turn back considering Elizabeth and the Professor's sake, in addition to the fact that we've come too far already."
" Then, I say we continue. We can't just give up. If we're having interruption after interruption, then we must be close to reaching Professor Calculus and I'm certainly not going to let my injuries get in the way of our goal."
"The memsahib is right. You must continue. Otherwise, many troubles will befall you." Ali cuts in.
"Blue blistering barnacles! If that's not a threat, then…" The Captain roars.
"It is not a threat, sahib. I am just telling you that if you return, my master will surely have all of you killed upon sight."
"And so what if we have guards waiting for us in Khemikhal?" Elizabeth says. "We've been able to escape them once, and surely we can do something about them again."
"Oh, all right! You've convinced me!" The Captain hangs his head in defeat.
"Are you sure you'll be fit to handle this, Katrina?" I'm surprised to see worry in Tintin's sky blue eyes.
Don't fall for his faux sincerity, Katrina. That's exactly what men specialize in…
"I'll be fine," I reply plainly.
"Next stop, Khemikhal!" Elizabeth announces triumphantly as Snowy barks for joy.
Well, here's an update finally!
But what will become of Tintin, the Captain, Katrina, and the others in Khemikhal? Can they really trust Ali, who seems to be so eager to get to the destination? What about Elizabeth? Why is Tintin suddenly so concerned about Katrina's safety and just what does Katrina mean when she says "That's exactly what men specialize in" ? Find out in the following chapters!
I really am sorry to keep you waiting, one thing came after another during the past week (the main reason for my delay being that my Wi-Fi at home wasn't working for a while, but I got it fixed and I'm now back in business!)
Again, I apologize for taking such a long time. Thank you so much for reading this, and for being so patient with me. I would absolutely LOVE a review… (Pretty please with firecrackers on top! :D) and I will update in the very near future!
Btw, 555 brownie points for you if you recognized the reference from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" when the Captain said that they were entering "the lion's den". (Hehe, references are so much fun to write…)
See you soon! YAY! :D