Scorched 18

scorched-1 - scorched-2 -scorched-3 - scorched-4 - scorched-5 - scorched-6 - scorched-7 - scorched-8 - scorched-9 - scorched-10 - scorched-11 - scorched-12 - scorched-13 - scorched-14 - scorched-15 - scorched-16 - scorched-17

Omar watched the blade come down and rolled away just in time, but the blade didn't reach down, a small knife blocked it, slicing through Aazim's fingers but didn't severe it. Omar looked back, Mariam had thrown the knife and with good aim. Aazim hollered in pain and dropped the sword, he wrapped his bleeding hand with the cloth he wore and gave Mariam a death stare.

"You!" He growled. "You...will pay for this! You will learn to be tamed. I will tame you!" He looked at the man closest to him. "Get her here now!"

Mariam let Parvina's body rest on the floor and picked her sword. Saadiya, empowered by rage over the death of her best friend, stood ready to attack. Their eyes were bloodshot, both from crying and from anger, they were ready to fight. Omar, using the distraction as an opportunity rolled closer to the man holding a gun and tackled him to the ground and wrestled the gun from his grasp before slitting his throat. As he stood up, there was suddenly a sporadic shooting and he got down immediately, bringing the body of the man he just killed on top of him. Mariam and Saadiya cowered down with their hands above their heads. Aazim who was taken unawares, crawled under a chair.

Mariam dared to turn her head and she saw armed uniformed men entering the courtyard from the hall ways. The military. She heaved a sigh of relief and pressed her hands to her ears and shut her eyes. The sound was deafening and she began to feel fear so she reached out for Saadiya who first flinched at her touch before holding her outstretched hand tightly. The shooting went on for a few minutes before everything fell silent, Mariam didn't move, she was still shaken so she remained on the ground till she heard her name being called.

"Mariam!" It was her father. She looked up. He was also dressed in a military uniform. He took off his helmet when she stood up and with tears in her eyes, she ran for him and allowed him swallow her in his embrace. She cried.

Slowly Saadiya stood up and looked round to access the situation. Dead men in Black laid around the courtyard and the soldiers were walking round looking at the bodies. She sighted something moving under a chair, at a closer look, she knew that was Prince Aazim.

"Aazim!" She yelled. "Come out!" She ran towards him.

King Jaan, on hearing Saadiya yell Aazim's name, released Mariam and let his gaze follow the direction in which she was running towards. Aazim. He clenched his fists.

"I want him alive." He spoke to the soldier beside him, he nodded and walked towards Aazim.

Aazim who had come out from under the chair, was scared but kept a bold look on his face. As he watched Saadiya approach him, he withdrew a small knife from under his shirt and held it out of the sight of the others. He smirked. Saadiya ran up to Aazim and kicked him hard on the face with the sole of her shoe, the force brought him down and she readied for another blow but a soldier held her from behind. She trashed about in his arms, yelling at Aazim and wanting to claw at his face.

Omar who was suffocated by the bodies on him yelled, while pushing with as much strength as he could muster. The soldiers trailed their guns at the place where the sound was coming from.

"Omar..." Mariam whispered. "Omar!" She yelled this time. "Don't shoot! It's Omar. Help him out!"

They began dragging the bodies off him and as the last one was taken off him, he gasped for air and coughed. They helped him up.

"You're hurt." Mariam said. He looked at her and smiled weakly, holding on to his stomach. The blood had soaked through his shirt down to his trousers. He wobbled.

"Help him out." The kind ordered. "To the hospital."

Omar rested on the soldier who placed his right hand over his neck, he groaned in pain when another tried to lift his injured left arm.

"Don't, he's hurt." Mariam spoke, stopping the soldier from lifting his left arm. She looked at Omar lovingly and held onto his injured arm, squeezing his hand a bit. "Take care of yourself and get better." She really wanted to kiss him on the cheek but restrained herself. She smiled from underneath the cloth which still covered the lower part of her face and let him go. The soldiers took him away.

"Jaan..." Aazim spoke, drawing the attention he wanted. He smiled. "Brother."

"Take him away." The King ordered and they hand cuffed him. Aazim allowed them drag him outside without struggling. There would still be a next time.

Mariam and Saadiya went to where Parvina's body laid and knelt beside her. They held hands and cried for their friend.

@Ozzyy @Hanzell I actually miss parvina now😭