Chapter ten

Though unable to communicate, Linda and Emily had decided to at least try to continue their escape. Their only clue had been the mountains they could see at the horizon, indicating them the direction towards the South. But after climbing another dune, they had found out that walking in the desert wasn`t a good idea for someone who was naked and already exhausted.

It had been Emily who had detected rescue for the moment: a rock that offered some shadow, just enough for the two girls that crouched behind it. In addition, Linda found a piece of rock with a sharp edge and so, they could finally cut the leather bands and ungag themselves.

»I think we will wait here for the night. Tomorrow, we will sure find another oasis, maybe even some peasants or shepherds. They can`t be all criminals«, Emily had decided and Linda had agreed. Sitting in the shadow, they had soon dozed off, despite their fear.

What had wakened them were not their abductors hunting for them, but the fact that they were beginning to freeze. Once the sun had disappeared, it had become surprisingly cold – and they were both naked and without any shelter. Shivering, they had sat there, their arms slung around them. Then, Linda had reached for her knickers. They had dried in the sun, but they had been used to gag Emily – and before that, they had been in the mouth of Queen Boobs, the girl they had had to leave behind. But originally, they belonged to her and they were at least a little protection. Grimacing at that, Emily covered her pubic area with the black girl`s loincloth that had been her gag. Then, they tried to make use of the scarves that had completed their gags. One cloth, they tied over their breasts and with the other, they tried to cover their shoulders. However, the thin silk didn`t help much and they both knew that the only source of warmth were their bodies.

Closer and closer, they cuddled to each other.

»We are just doing this to survive?«, Linda asked.

»Sure«, Emily answered, cuddling closer to her. Then, she kissed Linda`s lips.

»He!«, Linda protested, but not in an angry tone, »How does that help us to survive?«

She now kissed Emily`s lips and the redhead answered:

»I just wanted to tell you that – what we did – had to do earlier-«

Linda let her hands run over Emily`s back and whispered:

»It`s okay, dear! Actually, in another point of view, it was even better than just okay!«

This time, their kiss lasted much longer.

***

Much to Arthur`s surprise, Nadima did not want him to get her back to Muscat, but she told him of a nearby house where she had some friends. Scantily clad as she was, she said she could not walk the streets and so, he escorted her through a valley and up a hill, all the time hiding from the few peasants that worked there. Arthur somehow felt that, although he was the one with the gun, Nadima had taken the lead.

After some time, they had reached a hill with a fortress on it. Arthur frowned, since this old castle looked as if it had been abandoned a hundred years ago, but Nadima pointed at a rock. There, hidden under a bush, was a small gap that seemed to be the entrance to a tunnel. Nadima slipped inside and reluctantly, Arthur followed her.

Nadima had already passed a junction and he could hear her say something in Arabic. Then, when he tried to follow her, something hit his back and everything went black.

With an aching skull, he regained his consciousness little later, finding himself lying on a sandy place, obviously some court. His revolver was gone, but he still was unbound. However, he was not alone. Nadima, now dressed in some kind of bathrobe, was standing beside a man in Arabic clothes, escorted by two armed men in similar fashion.

»What the-«

He stopped, staring at one of the guards. He knew this man – it was the one they had negotiated with, about selling the kidnapped girl from the ship to him. He seemed to recognize Arthur too, but now, the leader of the group spoke:

»So, you are one of the men that wanted to become my – concurrence in business!«

It was a statement, not a question. Arthur just tried to cope with the situation and the man continued:

»Luckily, my dear Quabus«, he padded the shoulder of the man that Arthur, Ben and Omar had spoken to, »finally came to the conclusion that being loyal to me is better than some extra money and so, he told me about his negotiations with you and your friends. Since I managed to get your – merchandise into my hands, I decided to forgive you – but now, you are disturbing my business again, by kidnapping one of my co-workers!«

He had become a bit louder, sounding threatening, and Arthur understood that he was referring towards Nadima who now looked down on him with contempt. His eyes spun around, looking for an escape, but all he could see was another armed man, standing behind him. He looked at the slavers` boss who now said:

»Now, do you have something for me? Information about your accomplices, for example? Information so valuable that they are worth your life?«

***

»I somehow still don`t trust him!«

»Neither do I, but sure, Sheikh Abbas will not do anything that will confront our whole organization. He knows that our boss is nobody to be fooled around with!«

Both Yusuf and Mahmud had been surprised to find Abbas` tribe camping just some three hours away from the oasis. His clan had some 500 people and the Sheikh was rich, at least according to Bedouin`s standards. However, negotiations with the nomads were always quite difficult. They had some contempt for people like Yusuf and Mahmud who, though Bedouins by birth, were living in the city and worked for someone who wasn`t their Sheikh. In addition, they always tried to pay with horses or dromedaries instead of gold.

To make things even worse, Yusuf belonged to a tribe that had an old feud with that of Abbas. However, since there was no honor in fighting just two men, they had been invited and had described the three girls they could offer him. Abbas had been interested, but more than once mentioned that he could »overrun the oasis and take the girls without having to pay a single coin«.

It had been more a joke than a threat, an attempt to lower the price. But both Yusuf and Mahmud knew that some of the Sheikh`s more than 100 warriors could consider this a good idea. In the end, however, Abbas had told them that he would come and »have a look« the next day.

Approaching the oasis, they saw an almost peaceful, idyllic scene: Ahmed was lying under one of the palms, holding Queen Boobs in his arms. The girl was still bound, gagged and blindfolded, but they could see that she was cuddling to the man quite deliberately. Yusuf sighed. He had seen how Ahmed had looked at the Black and knew that he would not like the idea of selling that one.

Now, Ahmed had recognized his colleagues and he rose to his feet. The others dismounted and Yusuf said:

»Tomorrow, Sheikh Abbas will come! We better take care that the girls look their best!«

Ahmed showed no emotion, but after some seconds, he nodded slightly. Then, however, they heard a curse from Mahmud who had went for the tent Ginger and Blondie were in – or at least should have been. But except for some discarded ropes, they had gone.

For a while, they quarreled if it had been the fault of Ahmed who had been occupied by Queen Boobs only, or the others who hadn`t tied the others properly. Then, however, Yusuf decided:

»They cannot be far! Let`s go!«

The sun was about to set, but there would still be the moonlight. And so, whilst their dromedaries had quenched their thirst, they prepared for a manhunt. Ahmed pointed at Queen Boobs who was still lying on the ground, helplessly bound and gagged.

»What about her, shall we leave her here?«

»Get her ready for transport! We have to take her with us. She has just increased her value, for if we won`t find the other girls, she`s all we have to offer!«

***

»It never rains, but it pours!«

Kazeem knew all too well that this saying was true, but he would have appreciated if it had not come true right now.

After they had hastily left the cemetery, he and Omar had tried to leave Muscat and get back to their hideout as soon as possible. However, this time, there were controls at the doors and when a soldier had stopped them, Omar had panicked and whipped the mules to make a quick getaway.

The result had been a terrible chaos, since the cart ran into another one and also, a shepherd lost control over his sheep. This allowed Kazeem and Omar to escape unharmed, but they had to leave the cart and the mules behind. Kazeem`s ankle hurt from walking fast pace, but he gritted his teeth and did not utter a complaint as they approached the barn.

»Oh no, look, it`s Ben!«

The Black was lying on the ground and for a moment, they thought he was dead. Then, however, he moved and now, they could also see the empty bottle rolling from his hand.

»This idiot`s drunk! Omar, get him sober, I will have to interrupt whatever Arthur is doing to the little tart!«

He limped into the barn, only to see that both the girl and Arthur had gone. According to what it looked like, there had been no fight, but Arthur had freed the captive and left together with her.

Kazeem`s grip on his cane tightened. He was about to beat the shit out of Ben who was just snorting when Omar spilled water from his canteen over him. Then, he brought himself into a sitting position, wiping his eyes. Recognizing Kazeem, he blinked and tried an apologetic smile, but then, he saw the rage in the older man`s eyes. However, Kazeem knew how he could hit Ben even more than by just breaking his cane on his back:

»I hope you know that this cost you more than us! Omar and I may have lost a fortune, but you have maybe lost the chance of ever seeing your little sister again!«

This indeed had a sobering effect on Ben. His eyes widened and his face became grey. Then, he turned away and threw up. Omar was about to kick him in the side, but Kazeem stopped him, pointing at the adjacent valley.

There were five men on horses, galloping directly towards the barn. They did not look as if they were there accidentally and they all seemed to have rifles with them.

***

Both Linda and Emily had been too exhausted to start something serious, but to both girls, it felt good to feel the other and to exchange kisses. They hadn`t talked much and despite all odds, had fallen asleep. Then, after some time however, Linda was awaken by a hand on her mouth.

»Mmhmmph!«

»Shhh, it`s me!«, Emily hissed, »I heard a camel snort!«

As electrified, Linda came to her feet, looking at the dark dunes. Indeed, there was an approaching shadow. When her eyes had fully adjusted to the dark, she could see it were indeed three shadows: three men sitting on dromedaries.

»D-do you think they h-have seen us?«

»If not, they soon will! They are coming directly to this place!«

Linda looked around with upcoming panic. She knew that the best would be to just wait for their captors. They had no chance to run away from the men on their camels, there was nowhere to hide and perhaps, they would punish them less if they`d give in. But Emily grabbed her hand and pointed to a nearby dune.

»Let`s get over there! Perhaps, they haven`t seen us yet and perhaps, there is a cave or some other place to hide!«

The two girls ran. They had not reached the top of the dune when they heard a triumphant yell, followed by commandoes to spur the dromedaries.

Screaming, they stormed to the top, when Linda slipped. She literally rolled down the sand hill whilst Emily more or less managed to keep on her feet. Then, the redhead saw it: there, just some 200 yards away, was a group of riders.

»Help! Help!«

Linda struggled to get to her feet and followed Emily who was waving her arms to the group. Then, she looked around and saw the three riders on top of the hill. She wanted to scream when she suddenly heard a shot.

The two girls watched with fascination as the riders began to open fire upon their abductors who quickly turned their camels to flee.

»Rescue!«, Linda thought and turned her head towards Emily who was approaching two of the horsemen. One of them seemed to swing his arms in a strange way and suddenly, she saw Emily stagger and fall.

»No!«

She saw that it was a net the man had thrown over Emily, trapping her. Linda turned around and began to run, but then, she heard the sound of hooves from behind, accompanied by a hissing sound. Then, another net was thrown and, helplessly entangled, she landed on the sand.

***

Usually, three armed men inside a barn stood a fair chance against five attackers, but neither Ben nor Omar were used to firearms and wouldn`t have hit an elephant on short distance. However, Kazeem had ordered them to man the window and to fire a few shots, just to indicate the five men that they were willing to defend themselves. Indeed, they had dismounted and hidden behind different rocks and palms. At least, it had bought them some time.

»Give up and you will be left alive!«, one of the men yelled. Kazeem fired at the vague direction.

»Shouldn`t we do what he says?«, Omar asked. He looked frightened. Perhaps, he was a criminal, but he had been a deck steward for the last years and never seen a serious fight. Ben also had been inflicted in several brawls and was no coward, but he was of no use in a shooting. However, Kazeem said:

»I am afraid that we will have to give up – but not yet! Perhaps, if we hold our position a little longer, they are forced to make offers. After all, they cannot besiege us here forever!«

He did not mention that they would not be better off if a British patrol would come by and shoo their attackers. He was looking for a way out.

The barn had a small back window, but if they would get out there, their attackers would see it. Of course, he could offer them the rest of his money, still some 2000 Pounds, but they would also get it if they killed them all.

How could he have been such an idiot? He had assumed that Pettigrew was cooperating with the slavers, but instead, they had obviously sent the black girl to him as their spy. Sure, the officials in the Colonial Office talked to each other about what they did and so, Pettigrew was informed about planned actions against the slave trade, too. And sure, the little tart had found ways to make him talk about his strenuous work. In terms of her interest, the girl didn`t even have to fake anything.

And now, they had kidnapped her. If she had still been in their clutches, it would have been even better, but the little tart had managed to seduce Arthur and make an escape whilst Ben had got drunk. He sighed: right now, Omar who was trying to keep his hands from trembling was his most reliable man.

Yet somehow, he felt responsible for these two. And so, he decided to at least reduce the damage:

»Ben, Omar, get ready to run!«

The two men gazed at him. They thought that he wanted to send them into the fire of their besiegers. But Kazeem explained:

»I will run for that rock over there and draw the fire upon me! That gives you the opportunity to get up to the street and get out of this all. If you run zigzag and be quick as hell, you should make it! Keep your heads low until the British have lost their interest in hunting for you and then, perhaps you can both work as fisherman! You may sell my motorboat – I don`t think that I will need it in the near future!«

He looked at Ben and Omar who both gulped, but finally, they nodded. Kazeem smiled and checked his revolver. Then, he took those of the others, too, since he would need as much firepower as he could if his plan should work out.

»All right, wait for me to call ›yet‹!«

Kazeem estimated the distance towards the rock; it was some 15 yards. He put the two reserve revolvers in his belly, where the djellaba hid it. His own weapon, he tied to his arm by a thin cord and hid it in his sleeve. Then, he stepped outside with raised hands.

»All right, we are giving up!«, he yelled. It was a risk, but he guessed that these men were no marksmen and they were some 50 yards away. Slowly walking towards them, he waited for their first move.

Indeed, one of them rose from his cover to fire at him. A trained soldier wouldn`t have done so, but these men were just criminals and also too confident, thinking they had already won.

»Yet!«

Kazeem threw himself to the ground. Whilst falling, he grabbed the hidden revolver and fired. The overzealous slaver yelled and dropped his weapon, bleeding from an arm wound. Before the other four had reacted, Kazeem had rolled towards the rock.

Now, the bullets were flying around him and Kazeem also fired from time to time. In the corner of his eye, he could see Omar and Ben run. He rose and fired a few rounds, to make sure the slavers were distracted from the two. As he had hoped, several shots forced him back into his cover, but he was rewarded by someone yelling:

»Damned, they have escaped!«

The shootout stopped and Kazeem quickly checked his weapons. Now, he had just three bullets left.

»Come and get me, you sons of chickens!«, he yelled!

***

Horses were faster than dromedaries, but in the sand, they could not reach their full speed and so, the riders could not just easily reach Ahmed, Mahmud and Yusuf. A shot from the latter had also convinced the ten or twelve men to keep some distance between them. However, the three knew that they had no good chances to escape their persecutors.

So, Yusuf had given the order to separate. It had worked – for two of them. Now, all horsemen were behind Ahmed and the reason for that was sitting right in front of him.

They had originally thought that they were going after the escaped girls and so, he had not protested against taking Queen Boobs with them. Since he had not expected to get into a shootout, he had placed her in the saddle in front of him.

Samira had been too puzzled from what had happened to fully realize it until Ahmed had tied each of her ankles to her thighs before he had heaved her upon his saddle. She still had her hands and elbows bound and she still was thoroughly gagged and blindfolded. Now, she felt herself wedged between the man`s body and the saddle horn, his arm slung around her body to keep her in the saddle.

She trembled when she remembered what the men had said. The other girls had escaped, but she was still in the hands of her slavers. The horrifying reality had driven away her irrational dreams.

Ahmed had been gentle to her – more than that. He had touched her, caressed her and it hadn`t taken him long before she had enjoyed it. His lips on her breasts, his fingers thrusting inside her, strong and deep, when she had been sitting on his lap and had been riding on his hand. Samira had not only reached the second climax of the day, but also, she had developed an irrational hope: that Ahmed loved her, that he saw more in her than just some merchandize. But then, the man had agreed upon selling her to the highest bidder, just like a piece of meat!

She had squirmed on the saddle, but Ahmed had drawn her closer to him, whispering into her ear:

»Don`t be afraid, Queen Boobs, I don`t let you fall off!«

She had angrily moaned, shaking her head vigorously. Falling from the saddle definitely hadn`t been her biggest concern! But he had then simply ignored her and after a while, the girl had stopped struggling. Then, she had felt his left hand on her breast.

»Mmhhmph! Nnngg!«

Again, she had shaken her head, but he had ignored her resistance and started a gentle massage. Samira had squealed, trying to signal him that she did not want to be touched by him anymore. However Ahmed had either misunderstood her or he had been playing with her.

»Oh, I see, the saddle horn!«

Indeed, whenever the camel was riding down a dune, she was pressed hard against the saddle horn that pushed against her pussy. Ahmed lowered his hand and she mewed when she felt it between her legs.

»That`s better, isn`t it?«

There seemed to be the next dune, for now, they had to lean back and Samira felt him press her closer against him.

»Don`t be too afraid, Queen Boobs! We sure will find Ginger and Blondie and then, we will not be so dependent on selling you. Abbas is more interested in white flesh and so, I think the sum will not be too high for me if I bid against him!«

»Mhm?«

Ahmed had laughed friendly and said:

»I have made quite a fortune during the last years and I somehow don`t like the idea of Abbas or any of his small-cocked tribesmen putting their hands on you! Maybe, I am just keen on you, or maybe-«, he stopped and Samira could hear him clear his throat.

»Well, we will see, once we have some more time for each other!«

Then, he had fallen silent, but all the time, his hand had been there between her legs. He had not grabbed her; he had just kept his fingers there, protecting her from the saddle horn. When it had become colder, he had even draped his wide cloak over her and so, a treacherous thought had come up in her mind: she had hoped that they would get the others.

Then, however, the shooting had started and though she still was blindfolded and Ahmed hadn`t explained anything to her, she knew of course that some men were chasing them. Then, after some time, the camel stopped and Ahmed pulled her with him as he jumped from the saddle.

Even in the night, he knew this part of the desert. However, his persecutors did so also and so, he had not been able to shake them off. And now, they were approaching a more rocky area, where the horses could outplay their greater speed. At the top of one of the last dunes, Ahmed had stopped, made his camel get on its knees and taken cover behind it. With the rifle in his hand, he waited.

The horsemen stopped and their leader yelled:

»There is no need for bloodshed! Just hand us the girl and you will be given a head start as long as it takes us to do her, one after the other!«

»Only over my dead body!«, Ahmed murmured. Then, raising his voice, he answered:

»Everyone putting his hands on her will not see the next dawn!«

»There is ten of us!«, the leader yelled. Ahmed began to understand: obviously, Abbas had allowed the young warriors to get out and try if they could take him and the other two by surprise and get the slave girls for free. If they were successful, Abbas sure would give them some of the money he had saved; if they failed, he could tell Yusuf that these young men had done so from sheer cockiness and of course without his permission. However, the youth of these men was his only chance.

»Ten of you by now! But if you come any closer, there will be some weeping mothers in Abbas` camp!«

They started swearing and calling him names, but none of them dared to step closer. Ahmed had the moon in his back, which was to his advantage, too. So, if they would try to attack him from the sides, some of them would pay for that. However, he could not fight off all of them.

»Now, what is it? Shall we fight for the girl like men – in a duel? Swords or daggers, it`s your choice!«

Ahmed knew that this would give them something to think about: if they agreed and he would win, then not only would one of them be dead, they would also be dishonored if they`d attack him afterwards. On the other hand, they knew that he was a better fighter than any of them. At least, that was what Ahmed hoped for.

»Mph!«

Now, Queen Boobs made herself noticeable. Ahmed gently brushed through her hair.

»Only over my dead body, my Dear!«

He looked down and could see two of the men trying to circumvent him from the right.

»Mind for the sheep shit on that side, you two! Otherwise, your comrades might have difficulties in telling what is your dead bodies and what is just some dung!«

The two stopped and he could see that they were still considering what to do. Then, as if on command, they mounted their horses and galloped back to where they had come from. Ahmed just watched their retreat, fighting down his urge to provoke them by calling them cowards. When he could no longer hear the sound of their hooves, he turned to the girl that was still lying on her back, now panting heavily and sobbing into her blindfold.

Ahmed removed the scarf from her eyes and smiled at her.

»Are these tears the sign you were worried about me, Dear?«

Samira sniffled, but did not shy back when he kissed her eyes. Then, he looked into the direction where Abbas` men had vanished and murmured:

»I wonder if they have really retreated – or if they are fetching some two dozen men more, till they dare confronting me!«

He turned back to the girl who looked at him with a strange expression in her eyes. Ahmed licked his lips and let his eyes wander down on her boobs.

»Girl, is it just the cold or are you impressed by my bravery?«

He gazed at her nipples that were indeed pointing out, hard and erect. Ahmed bent over Samira and as he touched her, she opened her thighs and sighed with anticipation.

***

Though the walk had been strenuous, both Linda and Emily were not glad that they had reached the camp. The young men had tied their wrists behind their backs and tied nooses around their necks. The other ends of these ropes had been tied to the pommels of two horses, forcing them to follow these riders. Both still had their knickers respectively loincloth, but their captors had taken the scarves from them they had bound over their breasts. These cloths were now, with a big knot in the center, tied between their lips and knotted at their napes.

Too many hands had touched their boobs, kneading and fondling them, but otherwise, both girls had been left unharmed. Neither of them could understand what they were saying, except for a name that was yelled repeatedly: Abbas.

Then, after a few minutes, they had mounted their horses and so, their trip had begun. Both Linda and Emily stumbled more than they walked, though their captors made their horses walk very slow. But both girls were exhausted and dehydrated and besides, they suffered from once again having jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. Obviously, nobody in this land was interested in doing them well.

The camp, consisting of some hundred or more black tents, was lit by several campfires and it seemed that everyone, from the smallest child to the oldest grandmother, was on his feet to see what the men brought home. Some children danced around the two nearly naked girls, grabbing for their hair or just admiring them. Linda could see that, despite being exhausted and blushing from the humiliation, Emily still walked upright. She breathed deeply; then, she raised her upper body and did the same.

They were brought to an almost round place in front of a tent that was larger than the others. The men untied the ropes from the saddles and used them as leashes to force Linda and Emily to stumble towards the entrance and to stand side by side. When, after a short while, an old man with a grey beard stepped out, their captors forced the girls to their knees.

He looked down on them with a sardonic smile before he turned to the crowd and held a short speech. The two captives didn`t understand a word of what he said, but they understood what happened next: the greybeard, obviously Sheikh Abbas, gave order to get them into his tent; as he followed them, he rubbed his hands and seemed to be anticipating whatever he had in mind for his helpless victims.

***