Hassan I Sahba

A sea of squat concrete houses erratically placed encroached and dirt alleys awkwardly wound there way between them. Each house whitewashed to deflect the merciless sun seemed to brim with about every generation of the brooding within them. There was barely a hovel doorway without a wrinkly or a snotty urchin vacantly staring out in limbo. The alleys bustled, despite their lack of breadth, just about everybody, his donkey, a herd of stray water buffalo and the entire population of every neighbouring village for miles crowded along them.

It was market day.

The market square was no better, worse in fact. The alleys smelt of buffalo shit, but the market smelt of camel, and dozens of these beasts threatened trample all in their erratic path. The nomadic riders having no concept of pedestrian rights let alone forethought.

The haggling at most of the stalls was reaching epic proportions as strapping black clad women in deceiver’s veils aggressively barged one another to get to the front of the stalls. At one stall two women stood screaming at one another and close to blows as they had both grabbed the same meagre ware simultaneously.

The heat was searing and not an inch of Jessica’s body wasn’t soaked in sweat. Another damn camel passed in front of her but travelling slowly this time. A dark skinned Bedouin who looked old before has time, years of the dry desert sun had taken it’s toll on his skin, sat on top, complete with turban and scimitar. She could be in any century, this man’s life was no different from his grandfather’s or his grandfather’s grandfather’s. She wondered if he knew what a time warp was.

From the saddle of the camel ran a long chain culminating at the iron collar of a dusky Arab beauty. She wore only a layer of desert dust and a suntan that looked like it stretched back an aeon. Her hands were held behind her back by iron rings and a chain ran from the back of her collar to a similarly attired second girl and third, six in all. Off to the selling block thought Jessica.

Serendipitously Jessica spied her prey, a stall without any customers, she wouldn’t have to fight her way through the crowd today. Slowly she approached the holder, turned her back to him, bent over a little and handed him the list. Without a word he filled a bag with the requested items and handed it to her, she then span around leant forward over his stall and gave him the wallet. He took his payment and returned it. She felt relieved, a relatively painless market day. Now she could go home.

* * * *

Safie was late, over an hour late, it was going to be bad for them when they eventually did get home. It was unusual for Safie to be late, the market was second nature to her, she been doing it all her life. It was Jessica who had the problems and needed to avoid crowded stalls. Safie had taken on the more difficult of the two jobs, she had left Jessica to get the fruit and veg while she went down to the fish market.

The dust stirred up as Jessica paced back and forth in frustration for the thousandth time. It was no good, Safie just wasn’t coming. Something must be wrong, but what to do. She could go home alone and inform her master of Safie’s disappearance, but hurrying wasn’t and option with her ankles chained that way. It would be nearly an hour and twenty minutes before her master returned. By that time Safie would have been missing for almost two and a half hours. Jessica bit her bottom lip and made the decision, she was going to have to go and find Safie herself.

The large indoor fish market was as close to hell as Jessica had ever come. It lay in a small depression in the town centre led to by a narrow winding cobbled path. When she was less than halfway down the hill the puerile reek already began to assault her nose and the cobbles turned a sticky black and slimed the soles of her bare feet.

Gradually as she got closer street fish sellers began to line the sides of the path with their meagre produce laid out on blankets before them. Not the large sleek ocean fish that infest the waters of a large chilly Nordic isle, but the pug ugly runts that pass for fish in tropical fresh waters. Fish was an expensive delicacy in this part of the world but Jessica struggled to understand why. They were the size of a runt Goldfish, tasted like dirt and when you had cut away the innards, the head and the bones, which they were served with, amounted to little more than a single gritty tasting mouthful.

The giant inner market was upon her. Brick built and a single roofed room which smelt like it hadn’t been washed since it’s construction. Within stalls crammed in rows with no gaps between and paths for buyers to walk little more than a metre wide. Half the population of the country it seemed were in there already, surpassed in number only by the flies that swarmed on the uncovered fish. All kinds of monsters adorned the stool holder’s undersized pitches. Hideous fresh water crabs, tied but still alive, giant blue foul tasting farm prawns and still kicking sand eels both with and without heads.

Jessica always bulked at the entrance, she never knew if it was the stench of death or the sight, but probably both. She had only ever been in there a few times and despised every moment of it. She couldn’t understand how Safie could like it. Safie had once confided in her she actually preferred to go to the fish market than the fruit when a couple of years ago they had agreed upon the division of labour. To Safie the fish market was out of the sun and to her keeping her skin light was the main priority in life.

Jessica stood before the entrance and scanned the legions of buyers inside in hope of glimpsing Safie without venturing in. It was a forlorn hope as the malaise of animation within stood testimony to. Although slaves were in the minority, the bulk of the inhabitants being faceless black-clad women and white be-dressed men. The few slaves Jessica saw, naked and chained were well concealed within the thronging masses. It was no good she would have  to go in and make a more pronounced search.

Avoidance mode still hadn’t left Jessica when a thought struck her. Maybe she could escape going in by circumnavigating the building and looking within through the windows. It was a longshot. The windows were high up, she could barely see through them on tip toe, they were dirty too, a decade of ooze seemed to have accumulated on each pane and many were obscured by boxes piled up against them inside. But even this wild fancy was more desirable than entering the odorous hell.

Jessica began making her way along the long cluttered alley beside the market building, her shackled feet making each step in the obstacle course take and age. As she sank deeper and deeper within she became more and more wary of concealed snakes. Quite a few minutes later she found herself approaching the far end of the alley safely and approaching the small path that ran behind the back of the market. Then she heard a clanging sound.

Instinctively Jessica headed for cover. Fortunately there was plenty available. She hid in a small light wooden crate, a fish crate to her disgust and the reek she was now having to endure, but the gaps between the boards of the box afforded her a good view of the path ahead. As the clanging noise approach Jessica crouched with anticipation and then the source appeared.

It was a false alarm just another slave like herself out shopping for her master. The tall slender Arab girl hands linked securely behind her back holding a shopping bag hurried along ankle hobbles clanking. Jessica would have smiled to herself over her naivete but for the fishy stench that now smothered her. She began to raise herself from her cover when another noise halted her.

It was the cry of a man’s voice. Two Bedouin appeared dressed in black robes and turbans wielding long scimitars. Instantly they set upon the girl who turned dropped her shopping and tried to run from them. Despite the hobbles she was making good distance, when a third Bedouin appeared front of her. Surrounded what little fight the born slave had, deserted her and she fell to her knees resigning herself to her fate.

One of the Bedouins stepped forward, tall with long back hair and what look like knife scar descending almost the whole length of the right side of his face. He quickly issued orders to the other two. They wrapped her from head to foot in a blanket and then one of them put her over his shoulder and began to head down the path. Horror struck Jessica. She had heard of this before Bedouins coming to town and stealing slaves was a story that all slaves knew of. It’s was the slave’s bogeyman story. You run away the Bedouins will get you. You dawdle in your work, run off the beaten track or stay out too late, the Bedouins will get you. You misbehave too much master will give you to the Bedouins.

Now here she was witnessing it first hand. She remembered the initial fear and then resignation in the poor girls face. Undoubtedly she would now be taken to another town and sold on the block or even worse kept to serve the Bedouins at one of their oasis. Jessica felt it was time to make haste when an even more horrific thought crossed her, Safie’s disappearance. It was too much a coincidence not to be true. Safie was here and now she was gone. They had her.

What to do was the now the problem. What could she do a chained slavegirl. Her feet hobbled and her wrists shackled firmly behind her. Safie too. And wherever the Bedouin held Safie all the had to do was attach her collar to one of their long slave chains and how could Jessica release her. Her master’s house where the keys lay wasn’t an option, too far. She could go to the authorities not far from here. Getting them to believe her wouldn’t be a problem they were well aware of the Bedouin menace. Her pidgin Arabic may cause trouble but even the authorities weren’t so dumb that they couldn’t put two and two together when faced with a distressed slavegirl shouting Bedouin. But where would she tell them to go?

It was clear, even if she did alert the authorities the Bedouin could have cleared out long before they locate where they’re holding their captives. She would have to follow the three she just saw back to their hideout and then go for help. This would be extremely risky in lei of her present restraint but what else could she do, it was this or abandon Safie.

Jessica made of along the path in pursuit of the abductors. She did her best not to rattle her ankle chains and was thankful they stuck to the main noise ridden alleyways. The pursuit was longer than Jessica had expected as they headed towards the outskirts of town. Gradually the paths were widening and deteriorating. Gaps started appearing between the hovels and in the distance the open desert beckoned.

Unnoticed pursuit was becoming more and more difficult as all one of the Bedouin had to do was look back and she’d be lost. Jessica was forced ever more and more to drop back to remain from view. When ahead the last vestiges of the town ended at a small ravine. The three Bedouin turned off down the last alley and were gone from sight. Jessica panicked, all this way to lose them now. She picked up her pace and rushed towards the alley and on arrival cursed herself for her prior timidness, the alley was empty.

For nearly thirty minutes Jessica searched the surrounding area for signs of her quarry but it was useless they just seem to have vanished. She had half resigned herself to failure when something caught her eye. Beside the small dried up ravine Jessica spied a small warehouse. Her attention was drawn to it by the fact it appeared to be Bedouin that were entering and leaving in abundance.

The question now was, were they the same Bedouin who had kidnapped Safie. She was loath to do it but there was only one way to find out. Trying to sneak a view inside would be perilously dangerous but before her failure to take risks had lost her her pursuit. This would be her last chance.

The warehouse stood on the very edge of town by the rope bridge that spanned the ravine. A prime location for commerce, doubly so if the river at the bottom of the ravine ever had water in it. A few scattered hovels with the mandatory broods being the only other nearby constructions.

Jessica skirted her way around the warehouse giving it wide birth. She attracted little attention from the hovel dwellers who treated the sight of slavegirls as a natural daily occurrence. When she judged herself behind the building she then cautiously began to make her way towards it. The warehouse itself was a decrepit old slum quite small and only a single storey with just one entrance at the front, so it was unlikely anyone would venture behind. The back wall did have some windows though and it was there Jessica intended to look.

The first problem was the height of the windows, the bottom of which were over two metres from the ground, she would need something to stand on. The second problem being as what she needed to stand on would have to be at least a couple of feet high and the chain between her ankles only a foot, she would need something to stand on to get on the something to stand on. The final problem with her hands locked behind her back with thick chainless shackles would be moving the somethings to stand on into position.

Fortunately after two years in her bonds without break her shoulders had become quite supple and her feet quite dextrous. Not as supple of dextrous as those born into slavery who had worn their bonds all their lives but it would have to do. Nearby Jessica was able to locate what look liked and old water tank. It was heavy and rust ridden but basically sturdy. She backing up behind it rolled it over to the window pushing with her shackled hands and set about standing it up straight. Squatting beside the tank lying on it’s side she gripped the rim and tried to stand up. She got little leverage from her barely spread legs but over the last couple of years her thigh muscles had developed unknown strengths and with some pain she got her thighs upright.

Next she found and old hollow wooden television with the glass gone and the inner electronics pulled out. She slid that beside the water tank. She lifted her hobbled left leg to the full extent of the chain but it wasn’t long enough to lay her foot on top of the television. Instead she was forced to sit on the top of the television and place her feet on and try and stand. It was dangerous and she nearly overbalanced more than once but got to her feet ok.

The water tank provided the same dilemma and same solution but she would have to get on top first. To do she would have to jump up from the tele. The instability of the tele being enough to ensure if she failed to land on the water and came down back on the tele it would most likely topple over. Jumping in hobbles is stupid at the best of times but from standing atop a tele it’s just plain dumb.

Jessica leapt and landed on her backside in the middle of the water tank with more than a modicum of relief. She then set about standing up. The larger surface of the water tank making it easy than the tele, but the raised height making it much more frightening.

Jessica didn’t stand up fully. She crouched down enough to ensure she wasn’t visible from inside the window. Slowly raising her head she could see the inside of the warehouse. The tall scarred Bedouin with long hair was standing in the middle of the large single room, beside a row of stolen slavegirls. Each girl was in standard slavegirl dress, completely nude, ankles on a short hobble and hands secured behind their backs. In addition to this each wore a thick dark steel collar that complemented their dusky complexions and flowing black hair so well. But each set of bonds differing slightly, a give-away to any slave enforcer that these slaves are stolen from different owners.

The Bedouin had left them in the bonds they came in but added one. A long chain ran between the collars of each girl linking them about a metre apart into a long line, this line being attached to the back of a camel. Jessica realised the Bedouin were about to move them out. Quickly she scanned the line of eight girls but Safie was not there. Further inspection of the room revealed in one corner a large communal cage with about fifteen more girls held in. Jessica’s legs weakened and she almost came crashing to the floor as there she saw Safie.

One of the other two Bedouin she had seen earlier came in and began to address scarface. Jessica’s Arabic was poor even after to years and the window cut out most of the sound, but she was that he addressed scarface as Malik. Both Bedouin then gave praise to Allah, kissed and then one Bedouin climbed on the camel and slowly drove the slavegirls out. When he was gone Malik began what looked like preparations for the next consignment. He produced a second long chain and lay in a line across the floor.

He then went over to the cage door and unlocked it. Jessica noted it only bolted shut and did not have a lock. A ripple passed along the frightened girls in the cage as they began to cower away from him but defenceless to resist in their restraints. Malik was dispassionate about his job and simply grabbed the nearest girl at hand. Pulling her by her cuffs she was forced to walk backwards behind him trying not to trip in her ankles chains. Unceremoniously he frog marched her to near the front of the chain and picking it up padlocked her collar to one of the links.

Jessica observed the process repeated over and over again and could only hope Safie was not one of the ones selected. About halfway through the process the third Bedouin she had seen earlier returned with a camel and attached the end of the chain to the back of the saddle. Seven girls were now linked to the chain and Malik returned for the eighth. He swung open the age door and the remaining girls huddled in the corner. As he crossed the cage it was clear Safie had lost out in the rush of girls and was the easiest to grab. Malik sensed this too and headed for her.

He grabbed her roughly then stopped, holding her there in the middle of cage he began examining her. An evil grin crossed his face. Jessica recognised it and she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Malik had noted something Jessica had already, Safie was the prettiest girl there. It was obvious what was going through Malik’s mind. This chainload of slavegirls was for the other Bedouin, so he’d get another girl to complete the chain and keep Safie for himself. This bought Safie some more time, but if rescue didn’t come!

Malik thrust another girl forward to complete the chain, eight girls long and shortly the third Bedouin aback the camel was off with his consignment. Now just Malik and nine more girls remained. Malik began to lay out another chain. Jessica knew she must act or Safie would be lost forever, there was no time to alert the authorities, but what could she do in her bonds.

She realised she could do little staring through the window. Only Malik remained so it would be reasonably safe to head out front. Jessica sat down on the water tank and lowered herself onto the ground. She hurried along the alley and stopped at the end sneaking a glance around to the front of the warehouse.

It was deserted, the door closed and a lone camel tied up outside. A short way in the distance the second camel leading the chain of girls headed towards the open desert. The girls heads hung and struggling to keep pace in their hobbles. Far ahead the first camel was visible too but just a line of matchsticks.

In five minutes it would be too late, Safie was bound to be padlocked to the chain and there was no way Jessica could get the key from Malik, she needed a plan. Jessica made her way to Malik’s camel. It was tied to a hitching post in front of the warehouse. She noted the wiley old bandit had tied a highwayman’s hitch in case he needed to escape the authorities quickly. This was the first piece of luck she had had. She doubted with her hands bound so she could have undone a complex or tightly tied knot.

Jessica pulled the hitch instantly releasing the camel, who didn’t move. She had seen this done by many children being cruel to animals, the local sport, but had never done it herself. It was dangerous and stupid at the best of times but in her restrained state positively ludicrous. She stood behind it bending over as much as she could raising her arms as high as possible, locating the animal’s tail she gave a sudden hard jerk.

The camel howled and bolted, and began to run away from the warehouse. Jessica had intended to use her bad Arabic to pretend to be a local hobble dweller, bang on the door and inform Malik his camel was on the loose. It was the weakest part of her plan. However once again fate dice fell on her side and the noise the camel made as it bolted alerted Malik. Jessica heard someone opening the door and rushed around to the side of the warehouse out of sight.

Sure enough Malik appeared and seeing his camel heading of into the distance he set off in hot pursuit. Jessica now ran inside the warehouse praying Safie was still in the cage not on the chain. As she entered she as relieved to see only two girls on the chain and neither of them Safie.

Quickly she ran over to the cage and removed the bolt screaming at the seven girls to run. Six startled girls finally left but Safe just stayed there almost unable to believe the sight of the naked and chained Jessica coming to her rescue. She began to thank Jessica in Arabic but Jessica told her there would be time for that later, now they must move.

The plan was simply law of chance now. Nine girls would be making a break for it and there was only one Malik. If he had his camel by now he couldn’t round up everyone and if he had any sense would make a break for it. If he didn’t have his camel he would continue to chase that. Desert logic, camels are worth more than women.

Safie and Jessica were the last to exit as the stupid girls ahead ran away in a pack instead of scattering in all directions. The two girls on the long chain struggling to keep up. Another sight brought even worse tidings, Malik was mounted on his camel an heading back fast. Jessica had to improvise instead of making a break for it she led Safie around the side of the warehouse and began making her way along the ally. It was longer and slower but they could leave the same she had came.

As she and Safie ran up the ally Jessica glanced back, Malik had pulled his camel up in front of the girls and they had just surrendered, the lack of fight in lifelong slavegirls surprised even her. Now Malik was heading back with them. Even worse as she looked at him, she saw he was looking at her.

Safie and Jessica reached the end of the ally and were behind the warehouse, from within they could clearly hear Malik screaming at the girls to get in the cage. In minutes he would be behind the warehouse looking for them. The route back was long and in their bound state there’s no way they could outrun a man, let alone a camel, but there was only one way to go. Or was there?

Jessica gestured to Safie and they continued along behind the warehouse to the ravine. Jessica continued looking back for signs of Malik. They made it to the far end of the warehouse and were around the corner just as Malik appeared. He didn’t see them. After a few seconds of trepidation Jessica plucked up courage and peeked around the corner. It had worked Malik was heading the other way towards the town and expecting they’d taken cover in the erratic sprawl of houses.

Jessica and Safie continued till they reached the ravine. Across the ravine lay rocks and cover. Malik would never think they had crossed the ravine and were hiding in the rocks, he would presume he’d lost them in the town. The only way to cross the ravine was the rope bridge, it was not going to be easy in their bonds. The bridge was sturdy enough and well kept with a metre wide floor boarded walking platform and thick ropes as banisters if you had free hands to hold them.

One by one, Safie and Jessica mounted the bridge and began to cautiously cross. It was easier than expected as the rope didn’t sway too much, the only real problem being not going to fast because of the incline. Safie as usual got her footing quicker than Jessica and was soon well ahead of her. When she passed the middle the incline turned into a hill and made her walking even easier. Then suddenly from behind Jessica heard a whooping.

It’s was Malik! He had found them. ‘Run!’ Shouted Jessica to Safie and they both began to hurtle towards the far side. Behind Malek started acting curiously, instead of dismounting from his camel to cross the bridge he started charging towards it. Surely he wasn’t going to try and ride his camel across. Malik drew his scimitar put his head down, screamed ‘Aaaaarghh,’ and dug his spurs in the camel’s ribcage.

Seeing this both Jessica and Safie were panicking, what was this crazy bandit scheming? They kept on running Safie pulling even further ahead nearly on the other bank and Jessica past the middle. Malik didn’t slow as he approach the bridge but instead of riding his camel onto it he swerved at the last moment bringing his scimitar down heavily on the rope supporting the left banister rail.

Safie and Jessica continued running as fast as their hobbles carried them. With a gasp of relief Safie made it to the end of the bridge and set foot on terra firmer. Jessica was three quarters of the way across now, when suddenly the left banister went limp. This alone wasn’t a problem but the side effect was that it was providing additional support for the whole left side of the bridge and suddenly the floorboards went from being horizontal to being at a slight slope to one side. If Jessica had her hands free or wasn’t hobbled maybe she wouldn’t have lost her balance but as she was she had no chance.

She tumbled sideways scrambling to latch onto something as she fell, but it was in vain. First her body and then legs hurtled over the side of the bridge and plummet into the ravine. Until suddenly she jolted to a stop floating in mid-air. She was saved, one of her legs had tangled in the loose hanging remains of the banister ropes. Jessica lay they there half on the bridge half hanging over tangled in the remains of the rope. Safie looked back and saw Jessica fall and screamed. She turned and ran back to the rope bridge but dared not step onto it.

Casually Malik walked along the bridge to Jessica’s position his scimitar once again sheafed. He halted by Jessica and spat, cursing her in Arabic. Malik gestured to Safie who was standing at the edge of the rope bridge she fell to her knees. Then he turned to Jessica and drew his knife. One by one then began to slice through the ropes that supported Jessica laughing as he cut each one. Gradually the remnants of the banister rope began to fall away and Jessica felt herself slipping further and further over the edge of the bridge. Until suddenly the sensation of falling crept over her.

She fell for a few seconds then felt another jolt in her leg. She was swinging upside down hanging from a single strand swaying side to side a hundred metres above the jagged rocky floor of the ravine. Malik sheathed his knife and began walking towards Safie. As he left he said to Jessica, ‘I’ll come back tonight, if your still there I’ll take you. Alternatively you may escape or be rescued. Maybe even one of poor from the nearby houses will stumble on you and take you for their slave. Personally I wager the rope holding you doesn’t last that long. Whichever your fate’s in the hands of Allah now.’