The Frozen Desert by Moein Mansoori Fard (early reader chapter books txt) 📖

locks which are very similar to the locks of a suitcase. I put my fingers on its edges and slowly open it. It is still dark inside and nothing is seen. My hands tremble, I gulp my saliva and wink.

A metal plate shows off. I touch it. Its surface is polished. When I take it off, the bottom of the box suddenly lights. A monitor is devised on its bottom and a message appears on its screen:

“look at the metallic plate”

I take the metallic plate and hold it in front my eyes, but I can’t see anything. The plate is completely polished but it reflects nothing. I change my position to get help from the moonshine, but, again, nothing can be seen on the plate. I look at the monitor, another message appears:

“The FIRE is what you see on the metallic plate”

I look at the plate carefully. I don’t know why I can’t see my face on the plate. Nothing can be reflected on the plate. Suddenly I remember Saidan’s words: “the fire destroys everything”. His word completely corresponds with the lack of reflection on the plate. All of a sudden another message appears:

“do decide”

Then display turns off and goes aside. The complete space of the box now is visible and I notice a very small black box. There is a tiny monitor which shows a message:

“saving the world”

I replace the metallic plate into the box without deliberation, close its door and hold it in my hand tightly. My heart beats in my head. I close my eyes tightly and take a deep breath. Then I remove my necklace and open its secret door. Luckily the box is so small that my necklace holds it easily.

I wear the necklace and stand up to walk and empty my mind. Two hours still remain to next one’s turn to stand guard. I keep my distance from the base and just move around it.

The wind has scattered my hair completely on my face. My raincoat is sailing with the wind like a sailcloth and its sounds companies the howling wind. An irking silence makes me take step in different direction. All the events parade in front of my eyes. Why I entered this case?

When I go away from the base, suddenly I hear a strange sound. I stop and listen carefully. It is like a snake is creeping on the ground or…maybe a creature…or maybe it is just the sound of the wind which makes imaginary sounds in my exhausted mind. I try not to notice it but…the sound is closing to me. Surely, the wind has carried this sound from afar to this point. I go toward the base. I feel something bad. I should warn my friends. Maybe someone or more people are coming here.

Mansidan’s here!

Saidan comes out of darkness and stands in front of me with an agitated face.

What do you mean? Where’re you? Didn’t you sleep?

Saidan takes my hand:

We’ve no time, we should leave here. I’ll tell you what happened.

Wait! What do you mean? Mansidan…?

I said no time to explain. Some were following me.

I enter the base and block the door by putting a chair under the door handle. Then I go toward the room and suddenly I see Samirana who stands in front of me with an anxious face:

What happened?

Some are approaching here. I don’t know who they’re. We’d better leave here as soon as possible.

Samirana wakes Vorarin up.

Take your knapsack. We shouldn’t lose time.

Vorarin says in wonder:

What about others’ knapsacks?

Saidan, while puts his knapsack on his shoulders, says decisively:

We can’t carry excessive load with ourselves.

Vorine gathers the blankets confusedly and takes his knapsack. All are ready to get out of here. I go to the door to take the chair away from the door that suddenly I see eight shadows who are standing in front the base.

Seek refuge!

I listen to Samirana’s warning and go near the window and lurk just there. Those shadows, who are increasing in number momentarily, are standing in a military line in front of us.

Surely they’re not of our group.

I agree with Saidan

The walls are not tenacious here. We should go in the room.

Upon my word, all enter the room and take refuge. We have no way to get away at all. Anyhow, we can’t escape from here. Vorarin has receded as far as he could and held his gun in his hands tightly. Saidan and I are standing on both sides of the room. Samirana is standing near me and looks at them through a hole on the wall.

They have aimed their guns toward us and three of them part from the rest and come toward the base. I look around to find a way to get away, but only a window in the room shows us outside. I try it but it is too small. I kick the wall angrily and say:

Damn! We are caught. There’s no way to escape, what to do now?

No one says anything. Vorarin is panting, Saidan has leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. Samirana is standing unarmed and looks at me. All of a sudden, blasting sound of the guns is heard. Saidan asks all of us with a shout to lie on the floor. I lie on the floor before he shouts. The bullets make holes on the wall unrelenting, and the sound of ricocheting bullets can be heard. Inside the base, a tenuous fog of dust engulfs everywhere. If they continue this way, the building will collapse, but the gunfire finishes soon.

Two shots are fired at them; Saidan shoots aimlessly. When I follow his approximate aiming direction, I see three red soldiers who have approached the entrance door. Saidan fires another bullet to keep them away.

Although everywhere is engulfed with dust, I can see the tracks of the bullets which have formed here like a strainer. Suddenly an idea comes to my mind:

I have an idea. Watch for the door. Saidan come here.

Vorarin, whose face has turned pallid and his gun trembles in his hand, goes to the door quickly and leans on the wall. Samirana rises from the floor with the dusty face and clothes and takes position on the other side.

They’re surrounding us from three direction.

Vorarin’s warning makes Saidan comes to me, and he, while bites his lips, says:

Zairas! Do whatever you wish, but soon. Maybe we have no other way.

I have to make some holes on the wall by some bullets and then we should try to break the wall by hit. Look, have you any bullets?

He begins to fire at the wall without replying me. He fires five bullets in a row at the height of the wall. The intervals between the holes made by the bullets, makes a line about one meter long on the wall. Then I also shoot five bullets at a distance of half a meter from Saidan’s, on the wall. I fire two remained bullets at the top of the wall to make the one in half meter rectangle. Saidan uses another cartridge to reduce the intervals between the holes. Then we hit the wall with all force after counting down.

The wall shakes with each beat we make and the split between the beams increases. Vorarin and Samirana fire at them once in a while, but all of Samirana’s shoots miss the target or hit the wall. Vorarin, while his brow is dripping with sweat, seldom appears in front of the door and shoots. Just a few of them fire at us from outside. The wind is blowing severely now, and the sands which are floating in the air, come to help us and block their vision. This is a chance that we should completely take advantage of. All of a sudden, gunshot from outside stops, and after a short time a thick voice says:

You’ve something in trust from us and we held a few people of you in trust. You’d better come out and talk with us. Some of your group are our hostages. Giving us the fire, the case would be finished.

I don’t notice his words and say to Samirana and Vorarin insistently:

Just don’t let them to come close.

We’ve not enough bullets.

We hit the wall with all force and finally a dim light comes in through the crack on the wall. Saidan has covered his mouth and is coughing. My throat also is agitated gradually and stings. I should give a rest to my foot and use my other foot to hit the wall. Now I almost can pass my hand through the crack. It should be the end of our work.

Samirana, Vorarin! Come here. We should wreck the wall with a hit.

Four of us stand in a row:

Now!

We all hit the wall very hard. As I guessed, the wall falls down, and, like a bomb, makes so much dust. We close our eyes and put one hand on them as a shelter and use our other hand as a cane.

I get out of the dust confine. My eyes are tearing and my hand pushes the air away, looking for fresh air. I feel pin stings my eyes. I rub them and wink fast. The rest are coughing while they put their hands on their knees.

We haven’t much time. We should get away from here before they notice our escape. Maybe a few soldiers are waiting for us behind the building. No resort, it is our last alternative. So I go toward them and say:

Hurry up! We should leave here. Vorarin and I from this way, you two that way. We can escape more easily this way and have more chance.

Saidan says:

Where we would meet each other again?

We’d be in call with each other.

Then, while they are still coughing, go on their way with the fast steps and get away from us. We go toward the wrecked buildings. No one is chasing us. Maybe they have lost us. We move ahead in a narrow road full speed. No soldier waylays us or shoot at us. Although we’ve kept enough distance from there, we still take step long and fast without reducing speed.

Vorarin stumbles. His face is red and his kerchief, which he has wound around his head, is wet. He runs after me. I reduce my speed until he reaches me and suddenly I see Brasen. Mansidan is standing near him. They are standing near a building and are talking with each other. For a moment, I feel that my heart stops beating; my head becomes heavy and my eyes become hot. Vorarin says:

Hurry up Zairas! What’re you doing?

All of a sudden, upon seeing me, they get out of sight behind the wall. I change my direction and run following them. Suddenly a shadow comes out of darkness. He is in red. I reach out my hand toward my gun frightened to draw it out, but it is too late; he aimed his gun at me. I frowns to get my confidence.

He doesn’t notice to Vorarin at all. It seems he hasn’t seen him yet. I leer at Vorarin, he is in darkness. Moonshine draws Vorarin’s gun on the wall. The red soldier is still standing there and doesn’t move. I am waiting for Vorarin but it seems he is in doubt to shoot, or his decision is something else. The way the red soldier is standing, his next move can’t be predicted. Maybe he is killing time until his other people arrive.

Against my expectation, Vorarin finally overcomes his hesitation. I can see his finger movement which is pressing on the trigger. I close my eyes involuntarily and ask Vorarin for help after God, in my heart. Then I hear two gunshot which tremble my body. All of a sudden, my hand is throw backward insomuch I lose my balance but I keep my balance again before I fall down.

When I come to myself again, the red soldier has disappeared. My fingers and palms sting. Suddenly I hear a shriek from left side. So I quickly turn toward the shout. Vorarin