The Mamluks (The Mamluks Saga: Episode 1) Read online

The alien got out and went to a sandstone bench that was built into the floor. She grabbed a thin piece of cloth off the top and dried herself. Then she walked to the front of the room and put her clothes on.

  The one guarding the door lifted her arm to her mouth and pressed a button on her device.

  “Prepare the next group,” she radioed to someone.

  Seconds later, the pool drained and sprinkling water came down from the ceiling.

  “Rinse yourselves and exit the water.”

  I dropped the mula and stood in the water for a minute. This was even better than stepping into the water and feeling the blissful warmth take over me. It’s the little things that add up to so much.

  I climbed out with the other women, and the alien guarding the door pointed to another sandstone bench. There was a stack of thin cloths on top of it. When we got to the bench, the first thing I noticed was that it was human sized. I looked at the other bench to make sure. Clearly, it was larger. I stood there for a moment, at a complete loss.

  Why would they go out of their way to make a smaller bench for us?

  Chapter 11

  At sundown, the Mamluks ordered us to the ground to sleep. All the women from our area appeared to be gone. Still, the soldiers took their time and double checked. There were ships flying around, too, shining lights on us.

  Madison was still in the hole, sticking her head out of the dirt to breathe. I was lying right by the edge of the hole, trying to shield her.

  A soldier stopped in front of me. “Are you hiding something, Human?”

  “No, Sir.” I stumbled to my feet and moved away. He kneeled and sniffed at the ground. Then, he pressed a button on his device, and a flashlight came on. My palms got sweaty as I watched him scan the hole.

  Finally, he put the light on me. “Return to the ground.” He got up and walked away. I exhaled and got down.

  After a while, the patrolling dropped off a little.

  “Madison?” I whispered into the hole.

  “Yeah?” she whispered back.

  “I think it’s safe to come up now.”

  “No way.”

  “Trust me. They’ve backed off a little.”

  I waited and listened to Madison climbing up. She stayed low and got face to face with me. I reached up and helped her brush some dirt off her face.

  “So, have you thought about it?”

  She nodded, trembling. “Yeah—I’m in.”

  I smiled. “All right. But we have to go now.”

  “What? Are you insane?”

  “If we wait until morning, they’ll catch you. This is our only chance.”

  “Andrew, I can’t. I’m scared to death.”

  “I know. So am I. But we have to try.”

  “Psst, psst. Hey, it’s me from before,” the guy from before said. “Word from the grapevine is, there’s an opening not too far from here. Going that way,” he went on, pointing to my left. “I heard a few jumped in when they took the women.”

  I nodded and reached out to him, tapping his arm. “Thanks, Buddy. Hey—you sure you don’t want to come with?”

  He laughed. “No, I’m not that brave—but good luck to you.”

  Chapter 12

  We got on our stomachs and checked the area. There were four soldiers nearby and about ten ships flying overhead.

  I took a deep breath and looked at Madison. “All right. We can do this. You ready?”

  She gave me a speedy nod. I closed my eyes for a moment, said a small prayer in my head, then opened my eyes.

  “OK—go.”

  Madison crawled ahead, weaving through the sleeping crowds. I stayed right behind her, watching the Mamluks from the corner of my eye. We went on for a few minutes and stopped when we got close to a soldier. He walked past us, shining his flashlight a few feet away.

  The soldier kept going, and when we were a good distance from him, Madison continued. I followed her for another five minutes or so. Thereafter, we came up to another soldier, and Madison stopped. She was thoroughly checking the area with her flashlight. I looked at Madison and saw her shaking uncontrollably.

  “Relax. Relax,” I whispered as the soldier got closer. “Curl up and put your head down.”

  Madison quickly got in a ball and pretended to sleep. I did the same and closed my eyes. The light went over us, and I felt the soldier’s footsteps go by. I waited as I listened to her move along. Finally, I opened my eyes and peeked at Madison.

  “All clear.”

  She got up and went ahead. The path we were on had no Mamluks in sight. We took advantage and sped up a little. But after a while, we got tired and slowed down. Then Madison stopped completely and gasped.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “My legs are cramping up.”

  I looked up and saw the sky turning blue. “We can’t stop now, Madison.”

  She tried to continue but quickly stopped and took a huge breath. “I can’t. My legs are shot.”

  Someone tapped me from behind. I crawled at an angle and looked back. It was a young boy.

  “Are you trying to get to the hole in the ground?”

  I nodded. “Yes. Is it close by?”

  “Yeah, I remember passing it right before they told us to stop for the day.”

  It hurt to see someone so young going through this. I exhaled and gave the boy a sorrowing stare.

  “Where, Kid?”

  He got up and pointed to his left. “Over there.”

  I looked up ahead and glanced to my left. The opening was about fifty yards away.

  “See, Madison? We’re almost there.”

  She took a quick look. “All right, come on.”

  I crawled backwards and patted the boy on his back. “Stay strong.”

  He nodded.

  I looked back to Madison and saw her dragging herself forward. I followed her for a few minutes. Finally, she stopped and sat up, gasping for air.

  “We made it.”

  I smiled and let out a sigh of relief. Then, like a sharp wind from a raging storm, a horn sounded and a ship flew over us, shining a bright light.

  “Run!” I yelled, jumping to my feet.

  I heard the ship make a buzzing sound like it was about to shoot. I tackled Madison from behind and leaped into the opening. As we fell into the darkness, a laser came out of the ship, brightening the hole. It struck the splintered opening, evaporating the rocky edges. Chunks of dirt and rock caved in on us as we dropped down.

  We landed hard on a pile of rubble and got covered in falling debris. I rolled away and protected my head. The debris stopped soon after, and I staggered to my feet.

  “Madison? Are you all right?”

  I heard her coughing from afar. “I’m fine.”

  I limped forward with my hands out. “Where are you?”

  Madison tapped the rubble hard. “Over here.”

  I carefully moved toward the sound. “Keep doing that.”

  I quickly found her as she continued and pulled her up. “Come on. Let’s go before they send someone down.”

  Chapter 13

  I was stunned to see the kind of treatment we were getting. At first, I thought they were going to take us to a dungeon and lock us in. Instead, they brought us to furnished rooms that were very spacious. And, we all got our own room. They even gave us silk nightgowns to wear. But as I enjoyed the hospitality, I still couldn’t help but wonder why.

  The rooms had no doors. Just wide entryways. And there were stone candles embedded in the walls.

  I sat on the edge of my bed, looking around like a restless child. Moments later, I heard a knock from the hallway. I turned my head and saw a woman waving at me, peeking into the room.

  “Hey there. Can I come in?”

  “Ah, sure.”

  I watched her carefully as she came into the dim light. She had long red hair, light green eyes and freckles. “My name’s Katie. I was just walking around, looking for someone to talk to.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,
Katie. I’m Emily.” I moved over a little. “Have a seat.”

  She walked to the bed and sat next to me. “This is all so exciting.”

  “What?”

  “Well, yeah. I mean, they’re like making us part of their tribe or something.”

  “How do you know that? What if they have something awful planned for us?”

  Katie gave me the dreaded airhead stare. “No, I don’t think so. I mean, why would they treat us so good, ya know?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “So… you’re OK with all this? You’re OK with them taking all you’ve ever known and destroying it?”

  “Well, it’s messed up and all. But what can we do?”

  “What about your friends and family? Don’t you wish you could see them again?”

  Katie looked down and picked at her nails. The look on her face told me I had struck a nerve.

  “They’re all dead.”

  I didn’t know what to say at first. Then, I reached down and took her hand.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She cried a little before going on. “I can’t get them back. So I might as well make the best of things.” She reached up and wiped her eyes. “You probably think I’m crazy.”

  I shook my head. “No. But there’s still so much we don’t know. These are aliens from another world. Who knows what they have planned for us?”

  Katie shrugged. “I know. But you have to admit—so far things have been pretty awesome.”

  I chuckled. “Sure—but let’s hope it stays that way.”

  Chapter 14

  Katie was still in my room when morning came. The sunlight coming from the windows on the back wall lightened the room.

  An alien walked in, carrying a wooden tray. She set it down on the wooden table by the bed and pressed a button on her device that made all the candles go out. Lastly, she looked at us and smiled kindly before leaving. “Enjoy this food, Humans.”

  Wasting no time, Katie went right to the tray and dug in. “See, what did I tell you?”

  I stood up and checked the food. It was an odd-looking vegetable wrapped in a soft shell. There was also a wooden cup of something I didn’t want to drink on the tray, and a wooden cup of water. Katie finished off half the food and patted her lips.

  “How was it?”

  She flashed a wide smile. “Pretty good.”

  I shrugged and moved to the window. There was a group of soldiers standing by the building, having a lively conversation. I put my hands on the ledge of the window and leaned my head outside. I turned slightly and stuck my ear out. It sounded like they were talking about the women.

  Some movement from the hallway caught my attention. I moved away from the window and stepped forward.

  A soldier stopped at the entry and leaned into the room. “Finish your food and join us in the corridor.”

  We left the food and hurried into the hallway. They were gathering all the women on our floor. Another soldier came from around the corner and marched down the hall. He walked up to one of the other soldiers and lifted his arm. He pressed a button on his device and a hologram popped out. I looked closely and studied it. It was thin and rectangular like a laptop screen, and it was showing text.

  “I have a report of forty female humans. Are these numbers accurate?” he said.

  “Yes. I have counted forty,” she said.

  The soldier nodded and did a quick head count. To end, he pressed a button and the hologram went away. “Humans, follow me.”

  We followed him into a massive room at the end of the hall. There was an alien sitting on a wooden chair on the far side.

  The soldier led us to him and dropped to a knee, bowing his head. “My Champion, these are your first subjects.” He rose quickly and stepped aside.

  The alien sitting in the chair stood up and stepped forward. He was wearing a white shirt that was open down the middle, brown pants and black boots.

  “Humans of Earth. I am Adomas, Champion of all Mamluks. As the females of your species, you have been brought to me for selection.” I took a big gulp as he looked us over. Then, at last, he went back to his chair and sat down. “I allow the first subject to step forward.”

  I looked around and checked the other women. They were all hesitant. Terrified, I exhaled and moved forward. I stopped in front of Adomas and studied his face. He had ocean blue eyes, a strong chin and full lips. Seeing his eyes on me felt like a burn going right through me. “Undress—and present yourself to me.”

  I quickly took off my nightgown and put my hair back. And instinctually, I put my hands on my hips and straightened my posture.

  Adomas looked me up and down, nodding. “Very good—you may go to the left side of the room.”

  I picked my gown up and went to the left side of the room. The next woman stepped up. She was crying and holding her head down. I glanced at Adomas and saw no emotion on his face. The woman undressed and stood with her hands down.

  “Go to the right.”

  The woman snatched her gown off the floor and put it on in a hurry. She walked to the other side of the room with her head held high.

  Katie was up next. She danced like a fool as she walked up to Adomas. Oh God, what is she doing?

  I checked Adomas, and he was still looking on with a blank stare. Katie took her gown off and rubbed her hands all over her body like a stripper. I rolled my eyes and looked away. But when I heard her snapping her fingers, I couldn’t help but look back to the silliness.

  Katie turned sideways and shook her backside. Finally, she stopped and spun back to Adomas with her arms out, smiling. Surprisingly, he grinned and waved her to the left.

  Katie did a lively fist pump. “Yes!” She happily grabbed her nightgown off the floor and pranced over to me with a big smile. “How about that?” she whispered, giving me a high five. “I wasn’t going to waste my chance.”

  I shrugged. “Hey, it worked.”

  When it was over, there were thirteen women on the left side of the room and twenty seven on the right. I was happy to be on the left side. But I was also worried for the other women.

  One of the Mamluks led my group to the hallway. As we left the room, another set of women entered. We were brought to a room on the first floor. There was a Mamluk inside, standing by a set of wooden tables that were filled with clothing and shoes.

  “Humans, I am Linas. This is your attire,” he said, putting his hand out toward the tables. He was dressed in a flashy outfit, which made me think he was some kind of clothing designer. “Find a bin, take what you need, and return to your rooms.”

  We glanced at each other for a second, then headed to a stack of wooden bins.

  Katie laughed. “Wow, this just keeps getting better and better.”

  I picked up a bin and got to work. They had everything. Funky looking dresses—pants of all shapes, colors and sizes—a variety of blouses. After picking a few outfits, I went to the shoes. There were so many different kinds I didn’t know where to start. Finally, I grabbed a pair of weird-looking boots and some shoes that looked comfortable.

  I left and headed upstairs. When I got to my room, I put my stuff on the floor and sat on the bed. I stayed there for a moment, desperately trying to understand what was happening.

  Feeling lonely, I looked out the window and thought of Andrew, wondering if he was still alive.

  Chapter 15

  We had been walking for a long time. I was exhausted, and the foul smells were making us vomit.

  “Wait, stop.” I dropped to my knees, threw up, and coughed wildly.

  Madison got down and put her hand on my back. “This is awful. We should never have left.”

  I stood up and wiped my mouth. “We’ll be all right.”

  Thereafter, I saw a light coming toward us. At first, I thought it was a Mamluk with a flashlight. But as I looked harder, I realized the light was a burning fire.

  “Hello? Is anyone there?” a voice called out.

  I smiled. “Yes, over here!”

&nbs
p; A group of six came forward with burning logs in hand. They walked up to us and raised the logs a little higher. The man in front extended a hand.

  “Hello—I’m Robert.”

  I nodded and shook his hand. “I’m Andrew.”

  Madison leaned forward and shook Robert’s hand. “Hello, I’m Madison.”

  “It’s nice to meet you both,” he said. “Come on, follow us. We found food and a place to sleep.” Robert and the others led us through the rubble and into a small encircled area. There was a fire at the center of the space.

  “Make yourselves at home,” Robert said, placing his burning log on the fire.

  The others did the same.

  There were about twenty people crammed in the area. Madison limped ahead and found a spot by the fire. I checked along the walls and saw some supplies.

  “Where did you guys find all this stuff?”

  “It’s from the rubble that fell through the surface when they demolished the city. We dug through it to see what we could find. Eventually, we found a lighter and made a fire.” Robert walked to the wall and collected a few things. “There’s some clothes over there in the corner. Grab something to keep yourself warm.”

  I went to the corner and found a muddy, tattered sweater. I shook off some of the dirt and put it on. Then I turned and walked to the fire.

  “How are you feeling?” I said, taking a seat by Madison. “I’m doing good.” She reached down and grabbed my hand. “Thank you, Andrew.”

  I strengthened our grip and gave her a caring smile. “We did it together.”

  Robert came over and sat next to us. “You’re probably starved.” He handed us some cans of beans and two bottles of water.

  “Thanks, Robert,” Madison said.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  We used a rock to pop the cans open, then poured the beans in our hands and ate them quickly. To wash it down, I opened the bottle of water and took a big gulp.

  “How long have you been down here?” I asked Robert.

  “A day. Maybe two. We found an opening in the ground right after they took the women—I’d seen enough.”