**~~My story~~**
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Na7lah
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“Let’s go see if we can find anything.” Ahmed whispered to me.
We went to the front yard and looked around.
“You think she imagined it?” Khalid asked.
“I don’t think so. But we were in the backyard why didn’t we hear anything?” I said.
“Hey Khalil. The guy left a note for you.” Ahmed called. He was standing next to the car waving a small paper. We walked up to him and I took the paper.
“To: Khalil.” That was all it said.
“They didn’t finish whatever they were going to write.” I said as I turned the paper over. “Look at this. They drew a couple of pictures on it.”
“Let me see.” Khalid said. I handed the paper to him.
“A skull and a coffin.” He frowned. “Khalil you think this has anything to do with Amin?” he asked worriedly.
“I don’t know. You think Amin has a gun?”
“What are you boys looking at?” I heard dad ask. He walked up to us.
Khalid gave him the note. “Ahmed found this next to the car.”
Dad looked at it and frowned. He looked up at me.
“I don’t like this.” He murmured.
We went to the front yard and looked around.
“You think she imagined it?” Khalid asked.
“I don’t think so. But we were in the backyard why didn’t we hear anything?” I said.
“Hey Khalil. The guy left a note for you.” Ahmed called. He was standing next to the car waving a small paper. We walked up to him and I took the paper.
“To: Khalil.” That was all it said.
“They didn’t finish whatever they were going to write.” I said as I turned the paper over. “Look at this. They drew a couple of pictures on it.”
“Let me see.” Khalid said. I handed the paper to him.
“A skull and a coffin.” He frowned. “Khalil you think this has anything to do with Amin?” he asked worriedly.
“I don’t know. You think Amin has a gun?”
“What are you boys looking at?” I heard dad ask. He walked up to us.
Khalid gave him the note. “Ahmed found this next to the car.”
Dad looked at it and frowned. He looked up at me.
“I don’t like this.” He murmured.
Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
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Hmm now it's getting serious... I was wonderin the same thing, prolly has to do with amin or yunus or somethin lol.
Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
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Inshallah sis, take your time! 
Na7lah
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Salam 
i'm back alhamdulillah
“I don’t like this.” He murmured.
Suddenly we heard a loud crash. We turned our heads towards the street.
“What was that?” Ahmed asked.
We shrugged and walked to the next door house. There was a moving van next to it. Zakir was there. One of his little brothers Zaid was standing next to him.
“What are you doing?” dad asked him.
He was staring at a huge vase that lay next to his feet. The glass had scattered everywhere.
“Zaid was carrying it when he tripped.” He explained.
“Oh yeah. I just remembered. Zaki told me you guys were going to move in here. I totally forgot about it.” I remembered.
He nodded. Then his father came out of the house.
“Assalamu Alaykum!” he greeted us smilingly.
We answered the greeting, but his smile vanished as soon as he saw the broken glass.
“What happened?” he asked. Zakir explained to him.
“Well we should clean it up before someone gets hurt.” His dad said.
We stayed to help them get the furniture out then we went home.
And after eating dinner we went to sleep.
Suddenly I awoke to someone shaking me awake.
I looked up and saw Khalid standing over me.
He mentioned me to be quite. I sat up in my bed and wiped my eyes drowsily. He pointed towards the window and I looked there.
Ahmed was standing looking at something outside. I got up and joined him there. I looked outside the window but I didn’t see anything.
“Look at the bush over there.” Ahmed whispered pointing. There were two indistinctive figures hiding there. I looked back at Khalid.
“Should we go get dad?” he asked.
“You go. We’re gona go outside.” Ahmed answered for me. We opened the door. Khalid headed towards my parent’s room. I followed Ahmed outside. From the porch we could see them stand up and move towards dad’s car. I saw one of them take out a small pocket knife and thrust it into one of the tires slashing it.
“What?! What do they want?” I asked Ahmed.
“Shhh.” He hissed. I noticed that the guy was walking towards the other tire.
“He’s gona slash all of them. Are we suppose to stand here and watch?” I asked. I didn’t hear any response. Suddenly I felt a cold hand wrap around my neck.
“You’re suppose to be in bed.” The person hissed. He tightened his grip, and I gasped for air. I twisted trying to loosen his grip. It worked. But then to my horror I saw him shove his hand into his pocket. Even though it was dark outside I could see him sneer. One thing that caught my attention was the huge scar that was shaped like a star on his jaw bone. I took a step back but he took one too.
Then I saw someone walk up behind him and tackled him onto the ground. Khalid. I joined in. The man fought like a wild cat though; punching and kicking wildly he managed to get away and run of into the dark. The other man followed him. The yard soon flooded with light as dad came outside with Ahmed right behind him.
“Are you ok Khalil?” he asked. I nodded.
“Yeah.”
“I think we should call the police.” Dad said. We went back inside. Mom was pacing in the room nervously.
“Alhamdulillah You’re ok.” She exclaimed.
Soon a police man came and asked a few worthless questions.
“Did you see the person that attacked you?” he asked.
“Yes.” I answered.
“Can you describe him?”
“He was pretty tall. He had long black hair. And a star shaped scar on his cheek.” I answered him. He took a couple of notes and asked a few more question. Then he left. I glanced at my watch. Surprisingly it was almost Fajr. We went upstairs and made Wudu’.
i'm back alhamdulillah “I don’t like this.” He murmured.
Suddenly we heard a loud crash. We turned our heads towards the street.
“What was that?” Ahmed asked.
We shrugged and walked to the next door house. There was a moving van next to it. Zakir was there. One of his little brothers Zaid was standing next to him.
“What are you doing?” dad asked him.
He was staring at a huge vase that lay next to his feet. The glass had scattered everywhere.
“Zaid was carrying it when he tripped.” He explained.
“Oh yeah. I just remembered. Zaki told me you guys were going to move in here. I totally forgot about it.” I remembered.
He nodded. Then his father came out of the house.
“Assalamu Alaykum!” he greeted us smilingly.
We answered the greeting, but his smile vanished as soon as he saw the broken glass.
“What happened?” he asked. Zakir explained to him.
“Well we should clean it up before someone gets hurt.” His dad said.
We stayed to help them get the furniture out then we went home.
And after eating dinner we went to sleep.
Suddenly I awoke to someone shaking me awake.
I looked up and saw Khalid standing over me.
He mentioned me to be quite. I sat up in my bed and wiped my eyes drowsily. He pointed towards the window and I looked there.
Ahmed was standing looking at something outside. I got up and joined him there. I looked outside the window but I didn’t see anything.
“Look at the bush over there.” Ahmed whispered pointing. There were two indistinctive figures hiding there. I looked back at Khalid.
“Should we go get dad?” he asked.
“You go. We’re gona go outside.” Ahmed answered for me. We opened the door. Khalid headed towards my parent’s room. I followed Ahmed outside. From the porch we could see them stand up and move towards dad’s car. I saw one of them take out a small pocket knife and thrust it into one of the tires slashing it.
“What?! What do they want?” I asked Ahmed.
“Shhh.” He hissed. I noticed that the guy was walking towards the other tire.
“He’s gona slash all of them. Are we suppose to stand here and watch?” I asked. I didn’t hear any response. Suddenly I felt a cold hand wrap around my neck.
“You’re suppose to be in bed.” The person hissed. He tightened his grip, and I gasped for air. I twisted trying to loosen his grip. It worked. But then to my horror I saw him shove his hand into his pocket. Even though it was dark outside I could see him sneer. One thing that caught my attention was the huge scar that was shaped like a star on his jaw bone. I took a step back but he took one too.
Then I saw someone walk up behind him and tackled him onto the ground. Khalid. I joined in. The man fought like a wild cat though; punching and kicking wildly he managed to get away and run of into the dark. The other man followed him. The yard soon flooded with light as dad came outside with Ahmed right behind him.
“Are you ok Khalil?” he asked. I nodded.
“Yeah.”
“I think we should call the police.” Dad said. We went back inside. Mom was pacing in the room nervously.
“Alhamdulillah You’re ok.” She exclaimed.
Soon a police man came and asked a few worthless questions.
“Did you see the person that attacked you?” he asked.
“Yes.” I answered.
“Can you describe him?”
“He was pretty tall. He had long black hair. And a star shaped scar on his cheek.” I answered him. He took a couple of notes and asked a few more question. Then he left. I glanced at my watch. Surprisingly it was almost Fajr. We went upstairs and made Wudu’.
Na7lah
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I was asleep when I heard a shout. I jumped up from my bed. I got up and looked out the window. A man was standing next to our front yard. I saw a hand poke out from the bush and pulled him away from view. I nudged Ahmed awake. Together we watched waiting to see if they would come out.
“Wake up Khalil. He’ll kill us if we let him sleep through this.” Ahmed said.
I shook Khalil. He looked up at me sleepily. I mentioned him to be quite. He got up drowsily and followed us to the window.
“Should we wake up dad?” I asked him.
“You go and get him up. I’ll go outside with Khalil.” I went towards dad’s room. I knocked on the door and waited. Dad opened the door. He yawned and stared at me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Dad there are some guys outside hiding in the bushes.”
That seemed to get him up immediately. He went back into the room and got a powerful flashlight. He turned it on and I squinted at the light. He ran down the stairs and I followed him. When we got to the door he mentioned for me to be quite. We opened the door quietly and went outside. Dad turned of the light. I glanced around and saw Khalil. He was struggling with a man. Somehow he got out of the man’s grip, but then I saw the man place his hand into his pocket and step forwards. Khalil stepped back.
I ran up to them and tackled the guy down. Khalil joined into the fight.
But even though the man was outnumbered he somehow got away and ran into the darkness. Dad walked up to us. Ahmed was behind him.
“Are you ok?” he asked Khalil.
Khalil nodded. We went back inside and dad called the police.
After a while a policeman came and asked Khalil some questions.
“The man had a star shaped scar.” Khalil told the policeman.
After he took some notes he thanked us and left.
We went upstairs to get ready for Fajr.
Then I went outside with Khalil to check the tires. The man had slashed two of them. Khalil shook his head.
“That’s going to take a long time to fix. We won’t make it to the Masjid.”
“Let’s pray here then. At least it’s still Jama’ah.” I said.
We ended up praying together at home then we went outside to fix the flat tires. We watched as Ahmed raised up the car.
“Wake up Khalil. He’ll kill us if we let him sleep through this.” Ahmed said.
I shook Khalil. He looked up at me sleepily. I mentioned him to be quite. He got up drowsily and followed us to the window.
“Should we wake up dad?” I asked him.
“You go and get him up. I’ll go outside with Khalil.” I went towards dad’s room. I knocked on the door and waited. Dad opened the door. He yawned and stared at me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Dad there are some guys outside hiding in the bushes.”
That seemed to get him up immediately. He went back into the room and got a powerful flashlight. He turned it on and I squinted at the light. He ran down the stairs and I followed him. When we got to the door he mentioned for me to be quite. We opened the door quietly and went outside. Dad turned of the light. I glanced around and saw Khalil. He was struggling with a man. Somehow he got out of the man’s grip, but then I saw the man place his hand into his pocket and step forwards. Khalil stepped back.
I ran up to them and tackled the guy down. Khalil joined into the fight.
But even though the man was outnumbered he somehow got away and ran into the darkness. Dad walked up to us. Ahmed was behind him.
“Are you ok?” he asked Khalil.
Khalil nodded. We went back inside and dad called the police.
After a while a policeman came and asked Khalil some questions.
“The man had a star shaped scar.” Khalil told the policeman.
After he took some notes he thanked us and left.
We went upstairs to get ready for Fajr.
Then I went outside with Khalil to check the tires. The man had slashed two of them. Khalil shook his head.
“That’s going to take a long time to fix. We won’t make it to the Masjid.”
“Let’s pray here then. At least it’s still Jama’ah.” I said.
We ended up praying together at home then we went outside to fix the flat tires. We watched as Ahmed raised up the car.
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After we finished changing the tires we went inside and everyone went in separate places. I followed Khalil to the family room. He was playing games on his laptop. I switched the TV on and surfed through the channels.
Mom came into the room. “Khalil can you take these books back to the Masjid Library?” she asked him. He took them and went outside. I went upstairs and fell asleep.
Mom came into the room. “Khalil can you take these books back to the Masjid Library?” she asked him. He took them and went outside. I went upstairs and fell asleep.
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“Hey Khalil!” I heard someone shout. I turned around and saw Zaki walking up to me. I had some books in my hands. Mom wanted me to take them to the library. “Where are you going?” he asked.
“To the Masjid. I have to return these books for mom.” I answered him.
“Can I tag along?” he asked. I nodded.
“You look exhausted.” He said.
“We had a long night.” I filled him in on what happened the night before.
“Wow! I can’t believe it. What did they want?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
After a while I noticed him looking back a little bit.
“Hey, don’t look now but I think the guy is following us.” He whispered.
“What guy?” I asked trying not to look back.
“He’s been walking behind us for some time now.”
I stopped and placed the books on the ground. I acted like I was tying my shoelaces. The man seemed surprised. He paused for a second, and then he walked right past us whistling casually. I stood up and picked up the books. The man kept on walking. Now we were behind him but he made a quick turn forcing us to walk ahead of him. From the corner of my eye I could see him turn back and walk up behind us again.
“Do you know him?” Zaki asked me.
“No. But I’m sure I’ve seen him before. Except I can’t remember.” I whispered back.
“Is he the guy that attacked you last night?”
“No way. I would have noticed that guy; he had a star shaped scar on his left jaw bone. Besides he was bigger built then this man.”
“Yeah. This guy is just a pile of toothpicks. Let’s stop and ask him what he wants.” He said slowing down.
“Umm… ok.” I said reluctantly.
We stopped suddenly and whirled back to face the man. He was taken aback and he stumbled a few paces back.
“Hello.” I said casually.
“Oh…uh, hi.” He stammered.
“Why are you following us?” Zaki asked him straightforwardly.
“Following you? Now why would I do that?” he laughed nervously.
“Khalil look out!” Zaki shouted. I turned around and saw a black car racing towards me. I jumped aside just in time, the car raced right past us then screeched to a stop. Zaki helped me up and picked up the books. When we turned we saw a muscular man coming out of the car. There was another man behind him. I gasped when I recognized the second man. Zaki seemed to know who it was too. The man sneered at me.
“Are you hurt?” he scoffed as he walked towards us.
I stepped back. The skinny man was no where to be seen. I looked back at the men. They seemed that they wouldn’t be leaving without a good fight. They were the predators and we were the prey. I whispered a silent prayer. The scar man walked towards me with raised fists. Zaki stepped up next to me. “Oh so you want to stick with your friend don’t you.” The man sneered. He threw a punch at Zaki who stumbled back a bit. I was about to step up to him when I heard Zaki shout and point behind me and then I saw total blackness as I felt something hit the back of my head.
Thud. I hit my head on something. That bolt me awake from my uncautiousness. I tried to raise my hands to the back of my head which was throbbing. Then I realized that my hands were bound. I stretched my legs and felt them bump into someone or something that was next to me.
“Ow. Stop it Khalil.” It hissed. Zaki.
“Zaki? Where are we?” I whispered.
“In the trunk of that car that nearly ran you down. After they knocked you out they tied you up and at gun point they placed me in here.” He answered.
“Are you tied up?” I asked him.
“Yeah.” It was dark in here and I could hardly see anything. The only light came in from a small crack next to the lock. I could feel the car moving under us. Then it slowed down to a stop. Bang! I heard a door close. Then footsteps came closer to the trunk.
“Remember just do what they ask you. And try to act weak. Don’t fight back.” Zaki warned. I was about to reply when the trunk was snapped open. The light flooded into the small trunk. We blinked as we tried to get use to the light. Rough hands pulled us out. Then they marched us into a small room. I looked around. There was a small window but it was high up. There was nothing else in the room except a couch, and a small water faucet. They threw us into the room and locked the door behind us. I glanced at Zaki he was pacing up and down the room. I sat down on the couch.
“What are you doing?” I asked him as he started jumping up and down.
“I look silly don’t I?” he laughed. “I’m just trying to get my blood circulation going again. I hope they don’t cramp us up into the trunk again.” He chuckled as he sat on the floor.
“What do you think they want?” He asked me after a while.
“I don’t even know who they are. Except that they slashed our tires and nearly choked me last night.” I answered.
“I wish they would just take this rope of our hands. It’s eating through my flesh.” He complained. I sighed and leaned back on the couch trying to recollect my thoughts. Mom. She kept on popping up in my head. Then I sat bolt up. “Zaki! I just remembered something.” I exclaimed happily.
“What?” he asked looking up at me.
“Mom.”
“What?” he asked confusedly.
“Mom, remember? She told me to take the books. I dropped them when the car nearly killed me. If these guys didn’t pick them up…then…”
“Then someone will know something happened to us.” He cut me off.
Then he got somber again. “But still, no one knows where we are. I mean neither do we.” He said. We heard the door creak open. We looked up and saw a huge overweight man standing at the entrance. The man with the scar was standing next to him. They both had evil looking expressions on their face. The fat man stepped into the room.
“Well Khalil we finally meet. This is great. I’ve always told my men how much I longed to see you.” He laughed. His laugh sent shivers down my back. “Well relax no one is going to hurt you or your dear friend. Yet.” He emphasized on the last word.
“Enjoy your life Khalil. It certainly will be a short one since I shall be taking it after a while.” He laughed his evil laugh again. I looked down at my bound hands. Ya Allah give me a chance to use my hands and overcome these men with them. Ya Allah help! I prayed silently in my heart. “Don’t worry we’ll untie your hands.” The man seemed to have read my mind. I looked up shocked. He started to laugh again.
I glanced at Zaki he was staring at the entrance. The scar man had a gun in his hands. He noticed us staring at him.
“Yes that’s Killer. Kevin Killer. He’s fuming mad bout last night. I suggest that you don’t get him angry. He might lose control and fire that thing.” The fat man said behind me. I looked back at him. He had a knife in his hand. I scooted away from him eying the knife. He laughed again.
“My, you certainly jump to conclusions pretty fast. I’m not gona hurt you I just want to untie the ropes.” He said. He took a step towards me. I moved back slightly. I still didn’t trust him. He squatted down in front of me. I watched carefully as he sawed through the thick rope. I was worrying that he might saw through my hands. When he was finished he stepped up to Zaki. When he was done he stood at the entrance and turned to us.
“Now listen carefully boys. I’m a pretty patient person, but if you get me mad… you don’t want to think about it. I have only two simple rules for my prisoners. Yet many have failed to accomplish them and they were…never mind. The first rule is, you must respect all my men. Don’t pick any fights with them. Second rule, no escaping. I have men every where. There is a small chance for you to escape. And if you do, well we know where to find you.”
After that he left. The scar man came and threw us some blankets.
“Sleeping is the only thing you can do here.” He smiled evilly. “We’ll bring you your food later on. Your food and your friend. Like you he had a big mouth.” Then he left, and the door was closed. Locked.
“Which friend?” Zaki asked me.
I shrugged but I was pretty sure who it was. Big mouth? Then this had to be connected to Amin and them someway.
“What does he mean big mouth, Khalil?” Zaki asked again.
I was quite for a while as I tried to decide if I should tell him. Why not? So I filled him in. He was speechless.
“So that explains it.” He thought aloud after a while.
“Explains what?” I asked.
“The fight between you and Yunus.”
“Yeah. He thinks I told his dad, but I didn’t.
“So Yusuf is the friend with the big mouth?” he chuckled. I nodded.
“How are we ever going to get out of this place.” I asked getting up.
“Only Allah knows.” He mumbled.
“If we ever get out of here, remind me to never go anywhere with you.” He said after a while. I pretended not to hear.
I went to the faucet and made wudu’. Then I took one of the blankets and placed it on the floor.
“It’s Dhuhr time. But which way do you think is the Qiblah?” I asked him.
He glanced at the window. “I can’t tell. The window is too high up to see from. Just pray to which ever direction seems right to you.” He said as he headed towards the faucet.
So after a few seconds of thinking I chose a direction and started praying.
One ayah came to my mind. Is it not He who responds to the distressed one, when he calls on him, and who removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations? Is there any Ilah (god) with Allah? Little is that you remember! From surah An-Naml. I repeated it and repeated it asking Allah to help us.
“To the Masjid. I have to return these books for mom.” I answered him.
“Can I tag along?” he asked. I nodded.
“You look exhausted.” He said.
“We had a long night.” I filled him in on what happened the night before.
“Wow! I can’t believe it. What did they want?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
After a while I noticed him looking back a little bit.
“Hey, don’t look now but I think the guy is following us.” He whispered.
“What guy?” I asked trying not to look back.
“He’s been walking behind us for some time now.”
I stopped and placed the books on the ground. I acted like I was tying my shoelaces. The man seemed surprised. He paused for a second, and then he walked right past us whistling casually. I stood up and picked up the books. The man kept on walking. Now we were behind him but he made a quick turn forcing us to walk ahead of him. From the corner of my eye I could see him turn back and walk up behind us again.
“Do you know him?” Zaki asked me.
“No. But I’m sure I’ve seen him before. Except I can’t remember.” I whispered back.
“Is he the guy that attacked you last night?”
“No way. I would have noticed that guy; he had a star shaped scar on his left jaw bone. Besides he was bigger built then this man.”
“Yeah. This guy is just a pile of toothpicks. Let’s stop and ask him what he wants.” He said slowing down.
“Umm… ok.” I said reluctantly.
We stopped suddenly and whirled back to face the man. He was taken aback and he stumbled a few paces back.
“Hello.” I said casually.
“Oh…uh, hi.” He stammered.
“Why are you following us?” Zaki asked him straightforwardly.
“Following you? Now why would I do that?” he laughed nervously.
“Khalil look out!” Zaki shouted. I turned around and saw a black car racing towards me. I jumped aside just in time, the car raced right past us then screeched to a stop. Zaki helped me up and picked up the books. When we turned we saw a muscular man coming out of the car. There was another man behind him. I gasped when I recognized the second man. Zaki seemed to know who it was too. The man sneered at me.
“Are you hurt?” he scoffed as he walked towards us.
I stepped back. The skinny man was no where to be seen. I looked back at the men. They seemed that they wouldn’t be leaving without a good fight. They were the predators and we were the prey. I whispered a silent prayer. The scar man walked towards me with raised fists. Zaki stepped up next to me. “Oh so you want to stick with your friend don’t you.” The man sneered. He threw a punch at Zaki who stumbled back a bit. I was about to step up to him when I heard Zaki shout and point behind me and then I saw total blackness as I felt something hit the back of my head.
Thud. I hit my head on something. That bolt me awake from my uncautiousness. I tried to raise my hands to the back of my head which was throbbing. Then I realized that my hands were bound. I stretched my legs and felt them bump into someone or something that was next to me.
“Ow. Stop it Khalil.” It hissed. Zaki.
“Zaki? Where are we?” I whispered.
“In the trunk of that car that nearly ran you down. After they knocked you out they tied you up and at gun point they placed me in here.” He answered.
“Are you tied up?” I asked him.
“Yeah.” It was dark in here and I could hardly see anything. The only light came in from a small crack next to the lock. I could feel the car moving under us. Then it slowed down to a stop. Bang! I heard a door close. Then footsteps came closer to the trunk.
“Remember just do what they ask you. And try to act weak. Don’t fight back.” Zaki warned. I was about to reply when the trunk was snapped open. The light flooded into the small trunk. We blinked as we tried to get use to the light. Rough hands pulled us out. Then they marched us into a small room. I looked around. There was a small window but it was high up. There was nothing else in the room except a couch, and a small water faucet. They threw us into the room and locked the door behind us. I glanced at Zaki he was pacing up and down the room. I sat down on the couch.
“What are you doing?” I asked him as he started jumping up and down.
“I look silly don’t I?” he laughed. “I’m just trying to get my blood circulation going again. I hope they don’t cramp us up into the trunk again.” He chuckled as he sat on the floor.
“What do you think they want?” He asked me after a while.
“I don’t even know who they are. Except that they slashed our tires and nearly choked me last night.” I answered.
“I wish they would just take this rope of our hands. It’s eating through my flesh.” He complained. I sighed and leaned back on the couch trying to recollect my thoughts. Mom. She kept on popping up in my head. Then I sat bolt up. “Zaki! I just remembered something.” I exclaimed happily.
“What?” he asked looking up at me.
“Mom.”
“What?” he asked confusedly.
“Mom, remember? She told me to take the books. I dropped them when the car nearly killed me. If these guys didn’t pick them up…then…”
“Then someone will know something happened to us.” He cut me off.
Then he got somber again. “But still, no one knows where we are. I mean neither do we.” He said. We heard the door creak open. We looked up and saw a huge overweight man standing at the entrance. The man with the scar was standing next to him. They both had evil looking expressions on their face. The fat man stepped into the room.
“Well Khalil we finally meet. This is great. I’ve always told my men how much I longed to see you.” He laughed. His laugh sent shivers down my back. “Well relax no one is going to hurt you or your dear friend. Yet.” He emphasized on the last word.
“Enjoy your life Khalil. It certainly will be a short one since I shall be taking it after a while.” He laughed his evil laugh again. I looked down at my bound hands. Ya Allah give me a chance to use my hands and overcome these men with them. Ya Allah help! I prayed silently in my heart. “Don’t worry we’ll untie your hands.” The man seemed to have read my mind. I looked up shocked. He started to laugh again.
I glanced at Zaki he was staring at the entrance. The scar man had a gun in his hands. He noticed us staring at him.
“Yes that’s Killer. Kevin Killer. He’s fuming mad bout last night. I suggest that you don’t get him angry. He might lose control and fire that thing.” The fat man said behind me. I looked back at him. He had a knife in his hand. I scooted away from him eying the knife. He laughed again.
“My, you certainly jump to conclusions pretty fast. I’m not gona hurt you I just want to untie the ropes.” He said. He took a step towards me. I moved back slightly. I still didn’t trust him. He squatted down in front of me. I watched carefully as he sawed through the thick rope. I was worrying that he might saw through my hands. When he was finished he stepped up to Zaki. When he was done he stood at the entrance and turned to us.
“Now listen carefully boys. I’m a pretty patient person, but if you get me mad… you don’t want to think about it. I have only two simple rules for my prisoners. Yet many have failed to accomplish them and they were…never mind. The first rule is, you must respect all my men. Don’t pick any fights with them. Second rule, no escaping. I have men every where. There is a small chance for you to escape. And if you do, well we know where to find you.”
After that he left. The scar man came and threw us some blankets.
“Sleeping is the only thing you can do here.” He smiled evilly. “We’ll bring you your food later on. Your food and your friend. Like you he had a big mouth.” Then he left, and the door was closed. Locked.
“Which friend?” Zaki asked me.
I shrugged but I was pretty sure who it was. Big mouth? Then this had to be connected to Amin and them someway.
“What does he mean big mouth, Khalil?” Zaki asked again.
I was quite for a while as I tried to decide if I should tell him. Why not? So I filled him in. He was speechless.
“So that explains it.” He thought aloud after a while.
“Explains what?” I asked.
“The fight between you and Yunus.”
“Yeah. He thinks I told his dad, but I didn’t.
“So Yusuf is the friend with the big mouth?” he chuckled. I nodded.
“How are we ever going to get out of this place.” I asked getting up.
“Only Allah knows.” He mumbled.
“If we ever get out of here, remind me to never go anywhere with you.” He said after a while. I pretended not to hear.
I went to the faucet and made wudu’. Then I took one of the blankets and placed it on the floor.
“It’s Dhuhr time. But which way do you think is the Qiblah?” I asked him.
He glanced at the window. “I can’t tell. The window is too high up to see from. Just pray to which ever direction seems right to you.” He said as he headed towards the faucet.
So after a few seconds of thinking I chose a direction and started praying.
One ayah came to my mind. Is it not He who responds to the distressed one, when he calls on him, and who removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations? Is there any Ilah (god) with Allah? Little is that you remember! From surah An-Naml. I repeated it and repeated it asking Allah to help us.
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I felt someone shaking me awake. Thinking it was Khalil I turned on my bed and buried my head under the pillow.
“Khalid.” I heard my mom’s voice say. I slowly sat up and turned to look at her. She seemed worried.
“What happened?” I asked her.
“Nothing. Do you know if your brother came back?” she asked.
“I don’t think so. Why?”
“He’s been gone for more then two hours now.”
“He’s probably at the Masjid.” I said but she seemed more worried. “I’ll go with Ahmed to check. It’s almost Dhuhr.” I said as I swung my legs of the bed and went to the bathroom.
Five minutes later I was walking to the Masjid with Ahmed. We heard someone call us and we turned around. Zakir was hurrying to catch up with us. “Do you guys know where Zaki is?” he asked.
We shook our heads.
“Zaid said he saw him leaving with Khalil.” He said.
“We can’t find Khalil either. Mom sent him to the Masjid to return some books. It’s been more then two hours and he’s still hasn’t come back.” I remarked.
“They’re probably playing basketball or something.” Zakir said trying to lift our spirits. He was always so positive.
We walked towards the Masjid in silence.
“When are people ever going to learn not to liter?” Ahmed asked pointing ahead of us. It looked like someone had thrown his books on the floor.
As we came closer I felt my heart sink. They must have realized this because they asked me what was wrong.
I picked up one of the books. It looked like someone had stepped on it. The others were in better condition though.
“These are Mom’s books.” I said quietly.
“Your mom’s? How’d they get here?” Zakir asked.
“Khalil was taking them to the library.” I frowned as I pondered over what would make him throw the books.
“You think something happened to him?” Ahmed asked quietly.
I forced the idea to the back of my head.
“Let’s go to the Masjid.” I said and they followed me quietly.
When we got there Sheikh Fiez was just leaving.
“Assalamu Alaykum Sheikh.” I said trying to smile but it was unsuccessful.
“Wa Alaykum Assalam. Is something wrong?” he asked.
“Have you seen Khalil or Zaki today?” I asked.
“No, I haven’t. Did something happen?”
“Umm… we can’t actually find them. Khalil was supposed to have brought these books to the Masjid about two hours ago. We saw them scattered on the street just now.” I answered.
“Let’s go inside. Maybe Sheikh Muhammad has seen him.” He said.
We went inside to the Sheikh’s office he was on the phone so we waited outside. I glanced at Zakir. He seemed so worried.
I was surprised; Zakir was usually happy and optimistic.
Sheikh Muhammad opened his door and told us to come in.
He immediately noticed our worried faces. “What happened?” he asked.
We sat down and related to him what happened.
“Subhanallah…I can’t believe this.” He said as he shook his head.
“Have you seen them?” I asked hopefully even though I knew what the answer was going to be. He shook his head sadly.
“Where’s your dad?” he asked me.
“At home with mom.” I sighed and leaned back in my chair.
“Should we call the police?” Zakir asked.
“They won’t do anything about it because they’ve been gone for only a couple of hours. For a search to take place they have to be missing for about twenty-four hours.” Ahmed remarked. I looked into space thoughtfully. Khalil can take care of himself I’m sure, but can he stand against some thugs with guns in both hands? The more I thought about it the more my worry increased. I didn’t notice Sheikh Fiez talking to me until he placed his hand on my shoulder. I jumped.
“Don’t worry Khalid, we’ll find them Inshallah. They can’t have gone that far.” He said trying to cheer me up.
My thoughts went back to Khalil and for some reason I remembered that day that we fought and he wrote me that note. (I like it when you get me out of all the messes I get in. Even though we’re brothers I think you’re my best buddy. And I’m proud of that. ) I’ll get you out of this one too, I thought. I made a promise to my self to not stop until I found out what had happened to Khalil. After staying at the Masjid and praying we went home with dad. Zakir stayed with his dad. When we got home Ahmed went to the room. I went to the kitchen. Khadeejah was making lunch. She was cutting onions and her tears were pouring out. I knew it wasn’t the onions that were making her cry. Khadeejah was the only person in our family that could cut a hundred onions and not shed one tear. “You ok?” I asked as I leaned against the counter and stared at her. She just nodded. I looked up as mom came in.
“What happened?” she asked me.
“Umm…we went to the Masjid but he wasn’t there.” I said simply not wanting to upset her more. She sat down on a chair and faced me.
“Where do you think he is?” she asked. I shrugged. I glanced back at Deej; she was staring out the window absentmindedly.
I went upstairs to dad’s office. He was pacing back and forth while talking on the phone. I sat down and waited for him to finish talking. When he did he sat down behind his desk and placed his head on his hands.
“Dad?”
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “What are we going to do?” he asked out loud, more to himself though.
“Do you think Yusuf knows where they are?” I asked hopefully.
He shook his head. “I just spoke with Amu Jihad. He says Yusuf is not there either. Yusuf went outside to take out the trash. He didn’t come back so after twenty minutes they got uneasy and went outside. The trash was scattered all over the floor and Yusuf was gone.” Dad shook his head like he couldn’t believe it. I sat there quietly not knowing what to say.
Dad’s phone rang again so I went outside to our room and threw myself onto Khalil’s bed.
“This is so stupid.” I said to no one in particular.
“Yeah. We’re sitting here wondering what to do and Zaki and Khalil are God knows where. I hope they’re ok.” Ahmed looked up from his book.
“Yusuf’s missing too.” I told him as I sat up.
“No way! This is more then a coincidence.” He exclaimed.
“I’m surprised Yunus isn’t missing.” I mumbled to myself.
“What?” Ahmed asked.
“Nothing.”
“You said something about Yunus.” He said.
“Forget it.”
“I’ve never seen you like this before, Khalid. You remind me so much of Khalil.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Ahmed you wana go to Amu Rashid’s house?” I asked after a while.
“Why?” he asked as he looked at me confusedly.
“It’s not far from here so we can walk. Besides Amu Rashid is a police officer and maybe he can help us.” I said getting excited.
“How?”
“Maybe he can search a little about that man with the scar on his face.”
“Which man?”
“The one that attacked Khalil last night. You know he had a star shaped scar on his face.”
“Yeah. But how is knowing about the guy going to help us?”
I was getting frustrated by his questions. “It’ll help us in everyway. I have a feeling that the scar man has something to do with this.”
“Why?”
“Oh my God Ahmed! Stop asking so many questions!” I replied angrily.
“Ok no need to explode. Are you sure you’re not Khalil?” He joked but I didn’t find it funny at all. My brother’s missing and he’s cracking jokes.
“Let’s just go.” I said as I headed out the door. He followed me out.
“Khalid.” I heard my mom’s voice say. I slowly sat up and turned to look at her. She seemed worried.
“What happened?” I asked her.
“Nothing. Do you know if your brother came back?” she asked.
“I don’t think so. Why?”
“He’s been gone for more then two hours now.”
“He’s probably at the Masjid.” I said but she seemed more worried. “I’ll go with Ahmed to check. It’s almost Dhuhr.” I said as I swung my legs of the bed and went to the bathroom.
Five minutes later I was walking to the Masjid with Ahmed. We heard someone call us and we turned around. Zakir was hurrying to catch up with us. “Do you guys know where Zaki is?” he asked.
We shook our heads.
“Zaid said he saw him leaving with Khalil.” He said.
“We can’t find Khalil either. Mom sent him to the Masjid to return some books. It’s been more then two hours and he’s still hasn’t come back.” I remarked.
“They’re probably playing basketball or something.” Zakir said trying to lift our spirits. He was always so positive.
We walked towards the Masjid in silence.
“When are people ever going to learn not to liter?” Ahmed asked pointing ahead of us. It looked like someone had thrown his books on the floor.
As we came closer I felt my heart sink. They must have realized this because they asked me what was wrong.
I picked up one of the books. It looked like someone had stepped on it. The others were in better condition though.
“These are Mom’s books.” I said quietly.
“Your mom’s? How’d they get here?” Zakir asked.
“Khalil was taking them to the library.” I frowned as I pondered over what would make him throw the books.
“You think something happened to him?” Ahmed asked quietly.
I forced the idea to the back of my head.
“Let’s go to the Masjid.” I said and they followed me quietly.
When we got there Sheikh Fiez was just leaving.
“Assalamu Alaykum Sheikh.” I said trying to smile but it was unsuccessful.
“Wa Alaykum Assalam. Is something wrong?” he asked.
“Have you seen Khalil or Zaki today?” I asked.
“No, I haven’t. Did something happen?”
“Umm… we can’t actually find them. Khalil was supposed to have brought these books to the Masjid about two hours ago. We saw them scattered on the street just now.” I answered.
“Let’s go inside. Maybe Sheikh Muhammad has seen him.” He said.
We went inside to the Sheikh’s office he was on the phone so we waited outside. I glanced at Zakir. He seemed so worried.
I was surprised; Zakir was usually happy and optimistic.
Sheikh Muhammad opened his door and told us to come in.
He immediately noticed our worried faces. “What happened?” he asked.
We sat down and related to him what happened.
“Subhanallah…I can’t believe this.” He said as he shook his head.
“Have you seen them?” I asked hopefully even though I knew what the answer was going to be. He shook his head sadly.
“Where’s your dad?” he asked me.
“At home with mom.” I sighed and leaned back in my chair.
“Should we call the police?” Zakir asked.
“They won’t do anything about it because they’ve been gone for only a couple of hours. For a search to take place they have to be missing for about twenty-four hours.” Ahmed remarked. I looked into space thoughtfully. Khalil can take care of himself I’m sure, but can he stand against some thugs with guns in both hands? The more I thought about it the more my worry increased. I didn’t notice Sheikh Fiez talking to me until he placed his hand on my shoulder. I jumped.
“Don’t worry Khalid, we’ll find them Inshallah. They can’t have gone that far.” He said trying to cheer me up.
My thoughts went back to Khalil and for some reason I remembered that day that we fought and he wrote me that note. (I like it when you get me out of all the messes I get in. Even though we’re brothers I think you’re my best buddy. And I’m proud of that. ) I’ll get you out of this one too, I thought. I made a promise to my self to not stop until I found out what had happened to Khalil. After staying at the Masjid and praying we went home with dad. Zakir stayed with his dad. When we got home Ahmed went to the room. I went to the kitchen. Khadeejah was making lunch. She was cutting onions and her tears were pouring out. I knew it wasn’t the onions that were making her cry. Khadeejah was the only person in our family that could cut a hundred onions and not shed one tear. “You ok?” I asked as I leaned against the counter and stared at her. She just nodded. I looked up as mom came in.
“What happened?” she asked me.
“Umm…we went to the Masjid but he wasn’t there.” I said simply not wanting to upset her more. She sat down on a chair and faced me.
“Where do you think he is?” she asked. I shrugged. I glanced back at Deej; she was staring out the window absentmindedly.
I went upstairs to dad’s office. He was pacing back and forth while talking on the phone. I sat down and waited for him to finish talking. When he did he sat down behind his desk and placed his head on his hands.
“Dad?”
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “What are we going to do?” he asked out loud, more to himself though.
“Do you think Yusuf knows where they are?” I asked hopefully.
He shook his head. “I just spoke with Amu Jihad. He says Yusuf is not there either. Yusuf went outside to take out the trash. He didn’t come back so after twenty minutes they got uneasy and went outside. The trash was scattered all over the floor and Yusuf was gone.” Dad shook his head like he couldn’t believe it. I sat there quietly not knowing what to say.
Dad’s phone rang again so I went outside to our room and threw myself onto Khalil’s bed.
“This is so stupid.” I said to no one in particular.
“Yeah. We’re sitting here wondering what to do and Zaki and Khalil are God knows where. I hope they’re ok.” Ahmed looked up from his book.
“Yusuf’s missing too.” I told him as I sat up.
“No way! This is more then a coincidence.” He exclaimed.
“I’m surprised Yunus isn’t missing.” I mumbled to myself.
“What?” Ahmed asked.
“Nothing.”
“You said something about Yunus.” He said.
“Forget it.”
“I’ve never seen you like this before, Khalid. You remind me so much of Khalil.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Ahmed you wana go to Amu Rashid’s house?” I asked after a while.
“Why?” he asked as he looked at me confusedly.
“It’s not far from here so we can walk. Besides Amu Rashid is a police officer and maybe he can help us.” I said getting excited.
“How?”
“Maybe he can search a little about that man with the scar on his face.”
“Which man?”
“The one that attacked Khalil last night. You know he had a star shaped scar on his face.”
“Yeah. But how is knowing about the guy going to help us?”
I was getting frustrated by his questions. “It’ll help us in everyway. I have a feeling that the scar man has something to do with this.”
“Why?”
“Oh my God Ahmed! Stop asking so many questions!” I replied angrily.
“Ok no need to explode. Are you sure you’re not Khalil?” He joked but I didn’t find it funny at all. My brother’s missing and he’s cracking jokes.
“Let’s just go.” I said as I headed out the door. He followed me out.
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We both sat quietly on the blankets asking Allah to help us. Just then we heard the door open we turned around to see a tall man come in with a tray of food. Behind him was Yusuf. He wasn’t tied up though. When the man left he smirked.
“Hey guys.” He said happily.
I exchanged glances with Zaki. “What’s there to be happy bout?” Zaki asked him. Yusuf chuckled.
“Why are you so cheerful?” I asked him.
“Just wait until I tell you. Scoot over.” He said to me as he sat down next to us. He glanced over his shoulder then he turned towards us.
“Yesterday I went to the Masjid. Amin was in the back lot talking on his cell. And I overheard him saying something about us getting captured or something like that so I came prepared.” He beamed. We didn’t say anything. I knew this had something to do with Amin.
“Guess what I brought with me.” He said as he stood up.
He didn’t let us guess he just started pulling stuff out of his pockets.
“First I got a few bucks. Two hundred to be exact.” He said pulling out his wallet. He threw it at me.
“How did you manage to get two hundred?!” I asked as I caught it.
“It’s from my Eid money.” He said.
“What are we going to need money for?” Zaki asked.
“We’re going to need it if we ever get out of this place.” Yusuf explained. “And you’ll never guess what else I got.” He said excitedly. He fished through his pockets and took out a pen.
“A pen?” Zaki asked. “What do we need a pen for?”
“It’s not a pen. It’s a spray gun.” He said throwing it towards us.
“Cool. Can we test it on you?” I asked jokingly.
He ignored the comment and tossed a small container to me.
“They’re tacks. I don’t know if we’re going to need them but I got them just in case.”
“You should have brought some rope.” Zaki said as he took the tacks.
“I’m way ahead of you.” Yusuf chuckled. He pulled up his shirt. He had a long piece of rope wrapped around his waist. Zaki and I tried our best to stifle our laughter. He ignored us. “You’re going to be thanking me one day. Besides there was no other place to put the rope.”
We got serious after that.
“The last thing is the best. A GPS.” He said proudly as he pulled out a small devise that fit in his palm.
“Cool. I didn’t even think of that. We’re going to need it if we want to tell where we are.” Zaki remarked happily.
“One thing I forgot is my cell phone.” Yusuf said soberly.
“Yeah I wish I brought mine with me, but who thought I’d need it when I’m just returning some books.” I replied.
“You’re forgetting something.” Zaki said after a bit. We looked at him. “How are we going to get out of here if that guy has guards everywhere?” he asked. We both looked back at Yusuf.
He pointed at the window. “We’ll climb out. Besides the boss only has about five men and that’s it. We’ll wait until its night time then we’ll try to go.” He said.
“How will we know what time it is?” Zaki asked again. I pointed at my watch. “It works.” I told him.
I glanced at it. “It’s Asr time you guys.”
“Hey guys.” He said happily.
I exchanged glances with Zaki. “What’s there to be happy bout?” Zaki asked him. Yusuf chuckled.
“Why are you so cheerful?” I asked him.
“Just wait until I tell you. Scoot over.” He said to me as he sat down next to us. He glanced over his shoulder then he turned towards us.
“Yesterday I went to the Masjid. Amin was in the back lot talking on his cell. And I overheard him saying something about us getting captured or something like that so I came prepared.” He beamed. We didn’t say anything. I knew this had something to do with Amin.
“Guess what I brought with me.” He said as he stood up.
He didn’t let us guess he just started pulling stuff out of his pockets.
“First I got a few bucks. Two hundred to be exact.” He said pulling out his wallet. He threw it at me.
“How did you manage to get two hundred?!” I asked as I caught it.
“It’s from my Eid money.” He said.
“What are we going to need money for?” Zaki asked.
“We’re going to need it if we ever get out of this place.” Yusuf explained. “And you’ll never guess what else I got.” He said excitedly. He fished through his pockets and took out a pen.
“A pen?” Zaki asked. “What do we need a pen for?”
“It’s not a pen. It’s a spray gun.” He said throwing it towards us.
“Cool. Can we test it on you?” I asked jokingly.
He ignored the comment and tossed a small container to me.
“They’re tacks. I don’t know if we’re going to need them but I got them just in case.”
“You should have brought some rope.” Zaki said as he took the tacks.
“I’m way ahead of you.” Yusuf chuckled. He pulled up his shirt. He had a long piece of rope wrapped around his waist. Zaki and I tried our best to stifle our laughter. He ignored us. “You’re going to be thanking me one day. Besides there was no other place to put the rope.”
We got serious after that.
“The last thing is the best. A GPS.” He said proudly as he pulled out a small devise that fit in his palm.
“Cool. I didn’t even think of that. We’re going to need it if we want to tell where we are.” Zaki remarked happily.
“One thing I forgot is my cell phone.” Yusuf said soberly.
“Yeah I wish I brought mine with me, but who thought I’d need it when I’m just returning some books.” I replied.
“You’re forgetting something.” Zaki said after a bit. We looked at him. “How are we going to get out of here if that guy has guards everywhere?” he asked. We both looked back at Yusuf.
He pointed at the window. “We’ll climb out. Besides the boss only has about five men and that’s it. We’ll wait until its night time then we’ll try to go.” He said.
“How will we know what time it is?” Zaki asked again. I pointed at my watch. “It works.” I told him.
I glanced at it. “It’s Asr time you guys.”
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Mom asked us where we were going and I told her we were going to visit Amu Rashid. She looked at us suspiciously but she didn’t say anything.
We mainly walked in silence. I was thinking about what we were going to say to Amu Rashid when Ahmed broke into my thoughts.
“Weekends are supposed to be for relaxing and having fun but here we are looking for your missing brother and we don’t even know where to start.” He remarked. “I wish we had even one clue to go on.” He went on.
I didn’t say anything.
“What do you think Amu Rashid is going to do?” he asked me.
I shrugged. “I don’t know but he’s the only person I can think of right now.”
We reached their house and knocked on the door. Amu Rashid’s son Yahya opened the door. He was about nine years old. He stared at us.
“Hi Khalid.” he said happily.
“Is your dad home?” I asked him.
He nodded. “He’s in the backyard planting.” He answered.
“Can we see him?”
He opened the door wide so we could come in. Then he took us to the back yard and went back inside the house to resume playing.
Amu Rashid looked up when he saw us. He smiled.
“Assalamu Alaykum boys! What brings you to my house?” he asked cheerfully.
We answered his greetings then I told him what happened and he looked greatly concerned and surprised.
“How long has he been missing right now?” he asked.
“Right now it’s been about five to four hours.” I told him.
“Also another one of his close friends Yusuf, Amu Jihad’s son, has gone missing. He went out to take out the trash and that’s the last time they saw him.” I said. He scratched his head as he thought.
“Hmmm… this is serious. I’ll alert a search party for them. Right now I think you guys should stay at home. I’ll see what I can do about this.”
So we left after that. When we got home dad had already left. I asked Mom where he went but she didn’t know. She said a tall skin man had come while we were away. He told dad that he knows what happened to Khalil. Dad went somewhere with him.
We mainly walked in silence. I was thinking about what we were going to say to Amu Rashid when Ahmed broke into my thoughts.
“Weekends are supposed to be for relaxing and having fun but here we are looking for your missing brother and we don’t even know where to start.” He remarked. “I wish we had even one clue to go on.” He went on.
I didn’t say anything.
“What do you think Amu Rashid is going to do?” he asked me.
I shrugged. “I don’t know but he’s the only person I can think of right now.”
We reached their house and knocked on the door. Amu Rashid’s son Yahya opened the door. He was about nine years old. He stared at us.
“Hi Khalid.” he said happily.
“Is your dad home?” I asked him.
He nodded. “He’s in the backyard planting.” He answered.
“Can we see him?”
He opened the door wide so we could come in. Then he took us to the back yard and went back inside the house to resume playing.
Amu Rashid looked up when he saw us. He smiled.
“Assalamu Alaykum boys! What brings you to my house?” he asked cheerfully.
We answered his greetings then I told him what happened and he looked greatly concerned and surprised.
“How long has he been missing right now?” he asked.
“Right now it’s been about five to four hours.” I told him.
“Also another one of his close friends Yusuf, Amu Jihad’s son, has gone missing. He went out to take out the trash and that’s the last time they saw him.” I said. He scratched his head as he thought.
“Hmmm… this is serious. I’ll alert a search party for them. Right now I think you guys should stay at home. I’ll see what I can do about this.”
So we left after that. When we got home dad had already left. I asked Mom where he went but she didn’t know. She said a tall skin man had come while we were away. He told dad that he knows what happened to Khalil. Dad went somewhere with him.
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Soon after we prayed Isha we sat down on one of the blankets and discussed what we were going to do. The Boss’s men have checked up on us about three times that day.
“If we even escape they’ll find out in less then a split second.” Zaki commented. Yusuf sat thinking. He glanced at the couch then to the door then back. His face lit up all of a sudden.
“I have a great idea.” He said getting up.
We looked at him waiting for him to explain.
“What time is it?” he asked me. I glanced at my watch.
“it’s almost nine-thirty.” I answered.
“Ok then we’ll wait till one o’clock tonight. Then we’ll dispatch my plan.”
“Which is?”
“You’ll see.” He said mysteriously. “We’ll go to sleep for now and then we’ll wake up at one o-clock. Except we don’t have an alarm.”
“I have my watch. It has a small alarm.” I told him.
“Great. I call the couch.” He exclaimed as he threw himself onto the couch. Zaki and I each took a blanket and layed down. I set my alarm then after a while I was asleep.
I woke up a few hours later to the sound of my alarm. For a moment I forgot where I was and I looked around me and remembered that I was a captive somewhere on this earth. I stood up and stretched. Then I went to the sink and washed my face. I walked up to Yusuf and Zaki and woke them up. Zaki pulled the blanket over his head but after a few minutes he got up. Yusuf was energetic like always. He stood up and looked at us.
“Listen you guys. If we mess up, we’re history.”
“Thanks for the encouragement.” Zaki mumbled.
“Ok first thing: keep your voices low. You never know who’s awake. Besides we want them to think we’re still sleeping.”
We nodded.
“Second thing we do is, we have to move the couch against the door.”
“Why?” I asked him.
“Look around the room is small right? If we place the couch horizontally against the door, it will reach the other side of the room. That way if they try to open the door, the couch will be stopping them. And they wont be able to get in.”
“They’ll just bomb it and make a hole then come in. How simple is that?” Zaki quipped.
“Come on you guys get serious. Even if they get in, we’ll be long gone before then Inshallah. So help me move this thing before they decide to check on us. Then I’ll tell you the next step.”
We helped him move the couch. He made us pick it up instead of pushing it. He was worried that it would make some noise that would draw attention towards us. When we finished we turned back to him.
He took out his rope. “We’re gona have to find a way to get up there.” He said pointing to the window which was twice as tall as me.
“I have an idea.” Zaki said. “If I give Khalil a boost I’m sure he can get up there. Then we can toss him the rope and he can pull us up.”
“Why me? I asked. “Besides if I do mange to pull you guys up how are we going to get down? We don’t even know what’s on the other side.”
“Still, it’s worth a try.” Yusuf said.
“Come on Khalil.” Zaki encouraged.
I agreed and he gave me a boost. I grabbed the window sill and pulled myself up. The window was open and I looked down. It wasn’t that far down; about twice my height though.
“You think we can get down?” Yusuf whispered. I nodded. They threw me the rope and I caught it.
“Who’s first?” I asked. Yusuf volunteered.
I dangled down the rope and he grabbed on. I pulled him up but it was hard. My arms strained and my muscles ached. Finally he managed to grasp the window sill. He pulled himself up and looked down.
“Throw the rope that way and I’ll slide down.” He said.
So I did and he got down. As soon as he landed on the ground he hurried and climbed one of the trees.
“Hurry up Khalil.” Zaki called. I groaned at the thought of having to pull him up too. But I threw down the rope to him and he grasped it. I pulled him up and worried that my arm would rip of its socket. When he was only a few feet away from the ground I felt the rope slip from my hand. I tried to get a better grip but it was too late it had slipped. Luckily Zaki wasn’t that far from the ground and he jumped safely down. I massaged my aching arms. I glanced down. Yusuf had climbed down from the tree. He was standing next to Zaki. They both beckoned me to jump. Are they crazy?! I’ll break every bone in my body I thought.
“Come on Khalil, we’ll catch you. Hurry up.” Yusuf hissed. I took the chance and jumped. They broke my fall and caught me.
“Let’s go. We cant waste a single second.” Yusuf said. We followed him through the dark. We crept through the trees and bushes trying our best to not step on any twigs. After we walked for twenty minutes we stopped and caught our breath. My arms still ached.
“You guys weigh about a million tons.” I complained. They both chuckled.
“Let’s try to see if we can get a signal on the GPS we have to know where we are.” Yusuf said as he took out his GPS. After a while he put it away.
“There’s no signal?” I asked.
“There is. I saved the location since we don’t have a paper or pencil to write it on.” He said.
“Let’s keep on walking then. The farther we are from this place the better.” Zaki whispered. We got up and kept on going.
We were about two miles away when Zaki asked me what time it was.
“Three in the morning.” I answered.
“There’s a small town coming up. Maybe we can find some help there.” Zaki said.
Yusuf shook his head. “That’s too obvious. That would be the first place they’d check for us. Besides we don’t know any one there or if there will be and open stores at this time. It’s pretty late.”
“Early you mean.” Zaki corrected.
We kept on walking. My legs were starting to hurt but I didn’t say anything.
I think we walked about four miles when Yusuf let us stop. We were still concealed behind the trees and greenery.
“We should preserve our strength. We wouldn’t want to wear it off.” He said. That’s just like Yusuf. I thought. He always thought of everything.
After ten minutes we started walking again.
“Yusuf?” I heard Zaki say.
“Yeah?”
“Where are we going?” he asked. Yusuf didn’t answer. I guess he doesn’t know. I thought.
“I don’t know.” He confessed. “I have my mind set on finding a busy city or town where we can get help.” He said. We walked in silence for a while then he spoke up again.
“Do you guys want to know where we are?” he asked. We both nodded.
“First of all we’re not in Portland and believe it or not, we’re not in Oregon…”
“We’re out of state?” Zaki interrupted him.
“Yeah. We’re in Washington. Seattle Washington to be exact.” He whispered. We were still trying to be quiet just in case. We were on the edge of the highway in the woods so we were sure no one could see us but we weren’t going to take any chances.
I glanced at my watch it was near six o-clock.
“Yusuf maybe we should try to get help now. It’s almost six. Most stores will be opening by now.”
“Ok that sign says there’s a food stop about one and half mile away.”
So we kept on walking until we got to the exit. I was surprised at how lit up the streets were here. We saw many gas stations but Yusuf refused to stop at them.
“We want to find some busy place with a lot of light and a lot of people.”
We got to a supermarket. Yusuf hesitated at first but then complied to go in. It was just opening and there weren’t that many people.
Yusuf took out his GPS.
“We’re approximately nine miles away from that place. I need a paper and pencil but I don’t want to buy them.” He chuckled.
“Why not?” Zaki asked.
“I don’t want to waste any money. We might need it later.”
“You want to ask the clerk if he has any.” Zaki asked.
“It’s a she you guys.” I corrected.
Yusuf walked up to the counter with the GPS device in his hands.
“Hi. Umm…I was wondering if you might have a pen and paper. I have to write this down immediately.” He told her.
“Yes I have some right here.” She said as she bent down to get a small notepad. She ripped a page out for him and then she gave him a pen.
“Thanks.” He said as he turned and walked towards us.
He scribbled something down and then stuffed the paper into his pocket.
“What do we do now?” I asked him.
“Call the police?” he asked. Zaki and I agreed. There wasn’t anything else we could do anyways. Yusuf took charge again.
“There’s a pay phone in the front of the store. Some one has to go and call. It’ll be better if two of us stay here. Other wise they will spot us. Three is easier to spot then one. Who wants to go?”
“I’ll go.” I volunteered half heartedly. I took the note from Yusuf and some change then I went outside. I dialed operator and asked to be connected to the police. The man asked me my name and what I wanted to report. I told him everything from since I left the house until now. Then he asked me if I knew where their hideout was located. I glanced at the paper and told him the exact altitude.
“We measured where we were after we escaped. But the place will be a few yards away though.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll find it. Right now I’m going to send a squad car to pick up you and your friends. Also you may want to contact your parents. Don’t leave the supermarket under any circumstances.” He warned.
“If we even escape they’ll find out in less then a split second.” Zaki commented. Yusuf sat thinking. He glanced at the couch then to the door then back. His face lit up all of a sudden.
“I have a great idea.” He said getting up.
We looked at him waiting for him to explain.
“What time is it?” he asked me. I glanced at my watch.
“it’s almost nine-thirty.” I answered.
“Ok then we’ll wait till one o’clock tonight. Then we’ll dispatch my plan.”
“Which is?”
“You’ll see.” He said mysteriously. “We’ll go to sleep for now and then we’ll wake up at one o-clock. Except we don’t have an alarm.”
“I have my watch. It has a small alarm.” I told him.
“Great. I call the couch.” He exclaimed as he threw himself onto the couch. Zaki and I each took a blanket and layed down. I set my alarm then after a while I was asleep.
I woke up a few hours later to the sound of my alarm. For a moment I forgot where I was and I looked around me and remembered that I was a captive somewhere on this earth. I stood up and stretched. Then I went to the sink and washed my face. I walked up to Yusuf and Zaki and woke them up. Zaki pulled the blanket over his head but after a few minutes he got up. Yusuf was energetic like always. He stood up and looked at us.
“Listen you guys. If we mess up, we’re history.”
“Thanks for the encouragement.” Zaki mumbled.
“Ok first thing: keep your voices low. You never know who’s awake. Besides we want them to think we’re still sleeping.”
We nodded.
“Second thing we do is, we have to move the couch against the door.”
“Why?” I asked him.
“Look around the room is small right? If we place the couch horizontally against the door, it will reach the other side of the room. That way if they try to open the door, the couch will be stopping them. And they wont be able to get in.”
“They’ll just bomb it and make a hole then come in. How simple is that?” Zaki quipped.
“Come on you guys get serious. Even if they get in, we’ll be long gone before then Inshallah. So help me move this thing before they decide to check on us. Then I’ll tell you the next step.”
We helped him move the couch. He made us pick it up instead of pushing it. He was worried that it would make some noise that would draw attention towards us. When we finished we turned back to him.
He took out his rope. “We’re gona have to find a way to get up there.” He said pointing to the window which was twice as tall as me.
“I have an idea.” Zaki said. “If I give Khalil a boost I’m sure he can get up there. Then we can toss him the rope and he can pull us up.”
“Why me? I asked. “Besides if I do mange to pull you guys up how are we going to get down? We don’t even know what’s on the other side.”
“Still, it’s worth a try.” Yusuf said.
“Come on Khalil.” Zaki encouraged.
I agreed and he gave me a boost. I grabbed the window sill and pulled myself up. The window was open and I looked down. It wasn’t that far down; about twice my height though.
“You think we can get down?” Yusuf whispered. I nodded. They threw me the rope and I caught it.
“Who’s first?” I asked. Yusuf volunteered.
I dangled down the rope and he grabbed on. I pulled him up but it was hard. My arms strained and my muscles ached. Finally he managed to grasp the window sill. He pulled himself up and looked down.
“Throw the rope that way and I’ll slide down.” He said.
So I did and he got down. As soon as he landed on the ground he hurried and climbed one of the trees.
“Hurry up Khalil.” Zaki called. I groaned at the thought of having to pull him up too. But I threw down the rope to him and he grasped it. I pulled him up and worried that my arm would rip of its socket. When he was only a few feet away from the ground I felt the rope slip from my hand. I tried to get a better grip but it was too late it had slipped. Luckily Zaki wasn’t that far from the ground and he jumped safely down. I massaged my aching arms. I glanced down. Yusuf had climbed down from the tree. He was standing next to Zaki. They both beckoned me to jump. Are they crazy?! I’ll break every bone in my body I thought.
“Come on Khalil, we’ll catch you. Hurry up.” Yusuf hissed. I took the chance and jumped. They broke my fall and caught me.
“Let’s go. We cant waste a single second.” Yusuf said. We followed him through the dark. We crept through the trees and bushes trying our best to not step on any twigs. After we walked for twenty minutes we stopped and caught our breath. My arms still ached.
“You guys weigh about a million tons.” I complained. They both chuckled.
“Let’s try to see if we can get a signal on the GPS we have to know where we are.” Yusuf said as he took out his GPS. After a while he put it away.
“There’s no signal?” I asked.
“There is. I saved the location since we don’t have a paper or pencil to write it on.” He said.
“Let’s keep on walking then. The farther we are from this place the better.” Zaki whispered. We got up and kept on going.
We were about two miles away when Zaki asked me what time it was.
“Three in the morning.” I answered.
“There’s a small town coming up. Maybe we can find some help there.” Zaki said.
Yusuf shook his head. “That’s too obvious. That would be the first place they’d check for us. Besides we don’t know any one there or if there will be and open stores at this time. It’s pretty late.”
“Early you mean.” Zaki corrected.
We kept on walking. My legs were starting to hurt but I didn’t say anything.
I think we walked about four miles when Yusuf let us stop. We were still concealed behind the trees and greenery.
“We should preserve our strength. We wouldn’t want to wear it off.” He said. That’s just like Yusuf. I thought. He always thought of everything.
After ten minutes we started walking again.
“Yusuf?” I heard Zaki say.
“Yeah?”
“Where are we going?” he asked. Yusuf didn’t answer. I guess he doesn’t know. I thought.
“I don’t know.” He confessed. “I have my mind set on finding a busy city or town where we can get help.” He said. We walked in silence for a while then he spoke up again.
“Do you guys want to know where we are?” he asked. We both nodded.
“First of all we’re not in Portland and believe it or not, we’re not in Oregon…”
“We’re out of state?” Zaki interrupted him.
“Yeah. We’re in Washington. Seattle Washington to be exact.” He whispered. We were still trying to be quiet just in case. We were on the edge of the highway in the woods so we were sure no one could see us but we weren’t going to take any chances.
I glanced at my watch it was near six o-clock.
“Yusuf maybe we should try to get help now. It’s almost six. Most stores will be opening by now.”
“Ok that sign says there’s a food stop about one and half mile away.”
So we kept on walking until we got to the exit. I was surprised at how lit up the streets were here. We saw many gas stations but Yusuf refused to stop at them.
“We want to find some busy place with a lot of light and a lot of people.”
We got to a supermarket. Yusuf hesitated at first but then complied to go in. It was just opening and there weren’t that many people.
Yusuf took out his GPS.
“We’re approximately nine miles away from that place. I need a paper and pencil but I don’t want to buy them.” He chuckled.
“Why not?” Zaki asked.
“I don’t want to waste any money. We might need it later.”
“You want to ask the clerk if he has any.” Zaki asked.
“It’s a she you guys.” I corrected.
Yusuf walked up to the counter with the GPS device in his hands.
“Hi. Umm…I was wondering if you might have a pen and paper. I have to write this down immediately.” He told her.
“Yes I have some right here.” She said as she bent down to get a small notepad. She ripped a page out for him and then she gave him a pen.
“Thanks.” He said as he turned and walked towards us.
He scribbled something down and then stuffed the paper into his pocket.
“What do we do now?” I asked him.
“Call the police?” he asked. Zaki and I agreed. There wasn’t anything else we could do anyways. Yusuf took charge again.
“There’s a pay phone in the front of the store. Some one has to go and call. It’ll be better if two of us stay here. Other wise they will spot us. Three is easier to spot then one. Who wants to go?”
“I’ll go.” I volunteered half heartedly. I took the note from Yusuf and some change then I went outside. I dialed operator and asked to be connected to the police. The man asked me my name and what I wanted to report. I told him everything from since I left the house until now. Then he asked me if I knew where their hideout was located. I glanced at the paper and told him the exact altitude.
“We measured where we were after we escaped. But the place will be a few yards away though.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll find it. Right now I’m going to send a squad car to pick up you and your friends. Also you may want to contact your parents. Don’t leave the supermarket under any circumstances.” He warned.
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After that I hung up and went back inside. Yusuf and Zaki were in the electronics section. I walked up to them.
“They told me that we have to stay here until a squad car comes and picks us up. The man said we should try to contact our parents too.” I told them. Yusuf seemed doubtful.
“It’s pretty early I doubt that they would be awake. We’d just be wasting money if we called and no one picked up.” He said.
“Why are you all about money all of a sudden?” Zaki asked jokingly.
Yusuf ignored him. We looked through the electronics until we heard a voice boom from behind us. We turned around and saw a policeman standing behind us. He looked at us for a bit.
“Which one of you is Khalil?” He asked.
“I am.” I answered.
“I’ve been ordered to pick up a Khalil, Zaki, and Yusuf.” He said as he read a small slip of paper. We followed him outside and he told us to get into his police car. He drove to the police station and we got out. Compared to the rest of the city which was all shabby, the police station was new and clean. The man took us to a room. They started searching our pockets and they took almost everything Yusuf brought with him.
“Why?” Yusuf asked them.
“Don’t worry we’ll keep your stuff safe here. You can have them back when you’re leaving.”
Then they took us to another room where we had to sit waiting for over three hours. I glanced at my watch it was nearing Dhuhr time.
I got up and walked over to the police man who was standing next to the door.
“We have to pray.” I told him.
He shook his head. “Not now. I’m not aloud to let you leave this room under any circumstances.” I was about to argue when I felt some ones hand on my shoulder. Zaki was standing next to me.
“Don’t worry Khalil. We can pray later at Asr time. We’re considered to be traveling so we can combine our prayers together.” We walked back and sat down next to Yusuf and waited for another three hours.
Finally they let us go to the bathroom to make wudu’. Then we prayed in a little room. They placed a guard to watch us.
“Why are they guarding us so much? It’s not like we did anything wrong.” Yusuf murmured later when we finished praying. They escorted us to a small room. Another guy who I think was the chief was sitting on a huge chair. He looked up when we came in.
“Hello boys. Sit down.” He said in a voice that wasn’t really hospitable.
We sat down on a bench that was in the room. The other policeman gave a slight nod then he left.
“Tell me, what’s going on.” The chief said staring at us coldly.
I opened my mouth to talk but Yusuf started before me.
When he was finished the chief looked at us from one face to the other.
“You said there was a man named Kevin Killer?” he asked as he got up and started pacing in front of us. We all nodded.
“Well let me tell you this. We brought in every worker in that factory that you were held captive in and we couldn’t find a single man that fit your description of Kevin Killer. Furthermore, they have all testified that there were three boys who have been working for the boss by selling and trading drugs. Does that sound familiar to you?” he asked.
I couldn’t hold myself. “Are you accusing us?” I retorted angrily.
The man didn’t seem to change his cold and unfriendly mood.
“Do you have any other explanation?” he asked.
“Yes! I do. And…” I started but he cut me off.
“Right now you don’t have to say anything. First we want to the other prisoners to identify you three.” He said as he mentioned us to follow him from the room. We walked behind him slowly.
He took us to stand behind a glass window. There was a group of people behind it. None of them looked friendly.
“Try not to look nervous.” Yusuf whispered to us.
They squinted at us and some of them shook their heads others nodded pointing straight at us.
“How could they say that? We’ve never even seen them before!” Zaki whispered to us. We could see some officers questioning the men. After an hour they took them away.
Then a few officers took us back to the chief’s office. This time they stayed.
“Well the majority of them say it’s you.” He said smiling – a smile that had no warmth.
“Can we talk now?” I asked between clenched teeth.
He stared at me for a moment before saying yes.
“First of all, we have never in our life seen these people.” I started. Yusuf and Zaki nodded in agreement.
“They’re mistaking us for these other boys in our community. We know them personally. In fact one of them is my brother Yunus. He and two of his friends have been mixed up with these drug dealers. My father had just found out about it only a while ago. I doubt that they’ve seen these guys either. They’re just making false accusations so they themselves won’t get into trouble.” Yusuf remarked angrily.
“Also if we were dealing with something wrong why would we go to the police and give ourselves in?!” Zaki said. We were all staring at them angrily. I couldn’t believe that they were trusting some thugs’ words over ours. Stereotyping. If it wasn’t that I don’t know what else it was.
“Well the first thing we’ll be doing is calling your parents to let them know you’re ok. Then we’ll take you to a hotel to spend the night in.”
He gave us a paper to write our name, parents’ name, address, and phone number. I wrote down dad’s cell phone. Then I passed it down to each of them. When we were done we followed another officer out.
When we were leaving they gave back Yusuf all his stuff.
Then we got into the police car. He drove us to a hotel that wasn’t far from the police station. It wasn’t actually a five star hotel but it wasn’t too bad. It seemed clean and organized so I didn’t mind. It wasn’t crowded either. The police man who’s name tag said Rodney walked up to the reception desk and talked to the clerk there. After that he escorted us to our room and turned to talk to us.
“You will be staying here until we can get in contact with your parents. You are not allowed to leave the hotel unless you ask permission from the chief. We expect you to remain in good conduct. You may order whatever you need from room service. Also feel free to roam around the hotel they have a basketball court downstairs and a private indoor swimming pool upstairs. You may reserve it for yourselves when ever you like. Good Bye.” He said and left closing the door after him.
“Talk about bossy. He treats us like little kids.” Yusuf said as he threw himself onto his bed. He took the middle one and I chose the one on his left side. Zaki took the other one. Zaki sat up on his bed and glanced at us.
“What do you think is going to happen?” he asked us.
I shrugged. “What do you think happened to Kevin Killer?” I asked.
“He probably ran away as soon as he found out that we escaped.” Yusuf remarked. He was reading a newspaper he found on the drawer next to his bed.
“What about the boss?” I asked him again.
He was half listening and he just shrugged.
“I guess they caught him. Or maybe he got away too. I don’t remember seeing him in that crowd that was identifying us.” Zaki answered.
“Let’s pray you guys. It’s nearly past Maghrib.” Zaki said after a while.
I headed to the bathroom and made Wudu’ then I took one of the sheets and laid it on the floor. When we prayed we sat there in silence each of us observed with our own thoughts. After a while we all went to sleep.
I woke up later at fajr when my watch started beeping. I forced myself out of bed and glanced out of the window. I was surprised at how much it was raining. I could hardly see anything outside.
I went and made wudu, and then I woke them up. At least I tried. Zaki got up but Yusuf just groaned and turned on his bed.
“Come on Yusuf!” I said trying to shake him up.
“If you don’t hurry up, we’re gona pray without you.” Zaki called from the other side of the room as he placed one of the extra sheets on the floor.
Yusuf ignored us a bit then he threw the covers off and went to the bathroom. I rolled my eyes and joined Zaki. We prayed two rakahs for Sunnah as we waited for Yusuf to come out. We were taking turns on who would be Imam. Right now it was Yusuf’s turn.
He finally came out and we waited as he prayed his own Sunnah prayer. Then he stood in front of us and picked up his hands up to his ears and called a quick Iqamah. I stood in line with Zaki and we waited for him to start. He paused for a second then he raised his hands again.
“Allahu Akbar!” he said and he brought his hands down to his chest. We followed in unison. He read the Fatihah and paused for a second as he decided on a surah. He recited Al-Inshirah. One ayah caught my attention. Verily with every hardship there is ease.
When we were finished we sat down and quietly made dhikr. Zaki broke the silence after a while.
“You know, right now it’s like we’re under hotel arrest.” He joked.
“I know. I’ve experienced it before.” I answered but my mind was in its own world. I was thinking about what was going to happen and my mind was making all sorts of stories. I shook my head to loosen my thoughts.
“What? Was it that bad?” Yusuf asked.
“No. I’m just thinking about something else.” I answered.
Suddenly Zaki held up his hand for us to be quite.
“Did you guys hear that?” he asked. He was whispering.
I glanced at Yusuf and we both shook our heads.
He got up and crept up to the door. All of a sudden he pulled open the door. A boy of about fifteen fell into the room. He was eavesdropping!
I stood up and so did Yusuf. I saw surprise in the boy’s eyes. He jumped up and tried to run but Zaki was standing at the entrance. He realized he couldn’t run away. His shoulders sagged and he looked up looking totally defeated. For a moment I felt sorry for him. Yet he seemed so familiar.
“Listen. We’re not gona hurt you. Just tell us why you were eavesdropping.” Yusuf told him.
“No! It’s not what you…” He started but then he stopped and looked up.
I followed his gaze. A big muscular man was running toward our room. A clerk was right behind him trying to stop him. He didn’t seem to be having any luck. The boy seemed terrorized when he saw them.
The man burst into our room. He glared at each of us. When his eyes rested on the boy they looked like they would emerge from their sockets.
“What are you doing to my nephew?!” he shouted. I couldn’t decide which was scarier his voice or him. He grabbed the boy by the arm and started pulling him out of the room. They boy was beyond terrified he was horrified. But he didn’t pull back he just followed the man.
The clerk stood at the entrance. He placed his hands on his hips. For a moment I remembered Khawla. He shook a skinny finger at the man.
“I should have you reported. You broke a valuable vase and you have disturbed our peace. This will not be tolerated. I will have to ask you to leave and never come back to my hotel.”
“They told me that we have to stay here until a squad car comes and picks us up. The man said we should try to contact our parents too.” I told them. Yusuf seemed doubtful.
“It’s pretty early I doubt that they would be awake. We’d just be wasting money if we called and no one picked up.” He said.
“Why are you all about money all of a sudden?” Zaki asked jokingly.
Yusuf ignored him. We looked through the electronics until we heard a voice boom from behind us. We turned around and saw a policeman standing behind us. He looked at us for a bit.
“Which one of you is Khalil?” He asked.
“I am.” I answered.
“I’ve been ordered to pick up a Khalil, Zaki, and Yusuf.” He said as he read a small slip of paper. We followed him outside and he told us to get into his police car. He drove to the police station and we got out. Compared to the rest of the city which was all shabby, the police station was new and clean. The man took us to a room. They started searching our pockets and they took almost everything Yusuf brought with him.
“Why?” Yusuf asked them.
“Don’t worry we’ll keep your stuff safe here. You can have them back when you’re leaving.”
Then they took us to another room where we had to sit waiting for over three hours. I glanced at my watch it was nearing Dhuhr time.
I got up and walked over to the police man who was standing next to the door.
“We have to pray.” I told him.
He shook his head. “Not now. I’m not aloud to let you leave this room under any circumstances.” I was about to argue when I felt some ones hand on my shoulder. Zaki was standing next to me.
“Don’t worry Khalil. We can pray later at Asr time. We’re considered to be traveling so we can combine our prayers together.” We walked back and sat down next to Yusuf and waited for another three hours.
Finally they let us go to the bathroom to make wudu’. Then we prayed in a little room. They placed a guard to watch us.
“Why are they guarding us so much? It’s not like we did anything wrong.” Yusuf murmured later when we finished praying. They escorted us to a small room. Another guy who I think was the chief was sitting on a huge chair. He looked up when we came in.
“Hello boys. Sit down.” He said in a voice that wasn’t really hospitable.
We sat down on a bench that was in the room. The other policeman gave a slight nod then he left.
“Tell me, what’s going on.” The chief said staring at us coldly.
I opened my mouth to talk but Yusuf started before me.
When he was finished the chief looked at us from one face to the other.
“You said there was a man named Kevin Killer?” he asked as he got up and started pacing in front of us. We all nodded.
“Well let me tell you this. We brought in every worker in that factory that you were held captive in and we couldn’t find a single man that fit your description of Kevin Killer. Furthermore, they have all testified that there were three boys who have been working for the boss by selling and trading drugs. Does that sound familiar to you?” he asked.
I couldn’t hold myself. “Are you accusing us?” I retorted angrily.
The man didn’t seem to change his cold and unfriendly mood.
“Do you have any other explanation?” he asked.
“Yes! I do. And…” I started but he cut me off.
“Right now you don’t have to say anything. First we want to the other prisoners to identify you three.” He said as he mentioned us to follow him from the room. We walked behind him slowly.
He took us to stand behind a glass window. There was a group of people behind it. None of them looked friendly.
“Try not to look nervous.” Yusuf whispered to us.
They squinted at us and some of them shook their heads others nodded pointing straight at us.
“How could they say that? We’ve never even seen them before!” Zaki whispered to us. We could see some officers questioning the men. After an hour they took them away.
Then a few officers took us back to the chief’s office. This time they stayed.
“Well the majority of them say it’s you.” He said smiling – a smile that had no warmth.
“Can we talk now?” I asked between clenched teeth.
He stared at me for a moment before saying yes.
“First of all, we have never in our life seen these people.” I started. Yusuf and Zaki nodded in agreement.
“They’re mistaking us for these other boys in our community. We know them personally. In fact one of them is my brother Yunus. He and two of his friends have been mixed up with these drug dealers. My father had just found out about it only a while ago. I doubt that they’ve seen these guys either. They’re just making false accusations so they themselves won’t get into trouble.” Yusuf remarked angrily.
“Also if we were dealing with something wrong why would we go to the police and give ourselves in?!” Zaki said. We were all staring at them angrily. I couldn’t believe that they were trusting some thugs’ words over ours. Stereotyping. If it wasn’t that I don’t know what else it was.
“Well the first thing we’ll be doing is calling your parents to let them know you’re ok. Then we’ll take you to a hotel to spend the night in.”
He gave us a paper to write our name, parents’ name, address, and phone number. I wrote down dad’s cell phone. Then I passed it down to each of them. When we were done we followed another officer out.
When we were leaving they gave back Yusuf all his stuff.
Then we got into the police car. He drove us to a hotel that wasn’t far from the police station. It wasn’t actually a five star hotel but it wasn’t too bad. It seemed clean and organized so I didn’t mind. It wasn’t crowded either. The police man who’s name tag said Rodney walked up to the reception desk and talked to the clerk there. After that he escorted us to our room and turned to talk to us.
“You will be staying here until we can get in contact with your parents. You are not allowed to leave the hotel unless you ask permission from the chief. We expect you to remain in good conduct. You may order whatever you need from room service. Also feel free to roam around the hotel they have a basketball court downstairs and a private indoor swimming pool upstairs. You may reserve it for yourselves when ever you like. Good Bye.” He said and left closing the door after him.
“Talk about bossy. He treats us like little kids.” Yusuf said as he threw himself onto his bed. He took the middle one and I chose the one on his left side. Zaki took the other one. Zaki sat up on his bed and glanced at us.
“What do you think is going to happen?” he asked us.
I shrugged. “What do you think happened to Kevin Killer?” I asked.
“He probably ran away as soon as he found out that we escaped.” Yusuf remarked. He was reading a newspaper he found on the drawer next to his bed.
“What about the boss?” I asked him again.
He was half listening and he just shrugged.
“I guess they caught him. Or maybe he got away too. I don’t remember seeing him in that crowd that was identifying us.” Zaki answered.
“Let’s pray you guys. It’s nearly past Maghrib.” Zaki said after a while.
I headed to the bathroom and made Wudu’ then I took one of the sheets and laid it on the floor. When we prayed we sat there in silence each of us observed with our own thoughts. After a while we all went to sleep.
I woke up later at fajr when my watch started beeping. I forced myself out of bed and glanced out of the window. I was surprised at how much it was raining. I could hardly see anything outside.
I went and made wudu, and then I woke them up. At least I tried. Zaki got up but Yusuf just groaned and turned on his bed.
“Come on Yusuf!” I said trying to shake him up.
“If you don’t hurry up, we’re gona pray without you.” Zaki called from the other side of the room as he placed one of the extra sheets on the floor.
Yusuf ignored us a bit then he threw the covers off and went to the bathroom. I rolled my eyes and joined Zaki. We prayed two rakahs for Sunnah as we waited for Yusuf to come out. We were taking turns on who would be Imam. Right now it was Yusuf’s turn.
He finally came out and we waited as he prayed his own Sunnah prayer. Then he stood in front of us and picked up his hands up to his ears and called a quick Iqamah. I stood in line with Zaki and we waited for him to start. He paused for a second then he raised his hands again.
“Allahu Akbar!” he said and he brought his hands down to his chest. We followed in unison. He read the Fatihah and paused for a second as he decided on a surah. He recited Al-Inshirah. One ayah caught my attention. Verily with every hardship there is ease.
When we were finished we sat down and quietly made dhikr. Zaki broke the silence after a while.
“You know, right now it’s like we’re under hotel arrest.” He joked.
“I know. I’ve experienced it before.” I answered but my mind was in its own world. I was thinking about what was going to happen and my mind was making all sorts of stories. I shook my head to loosen my thoughts.
“What? Was it that bad?” Yusuf asked.
“No. I’m just thinking about something else.” I answered.
Suddenly Zaki held up his hand for us to be quite.
“Did you guys hear that?” he asked. He was whispering.
I glanced at Yusuf and we both shook our heads.
He got up and crept up to the door. All of a sudden he pulled open the door. A boy of about fifteen fell into the room. He was eavesdropping!
I stood up and so did Yusuf. I saw surprise in the boy’s eyes. He jumped up and tried to run but Zaki was standing at the entrance. He realized he couldn’t run away. His shoulders sagged and he looked up looking totally defeated. For a moment I felt sorry for him. Yet he seemed so familiar.
“Listen. We’re not gona hurt you. Just tell us why you were eavesdropping.” Yusuf told him.
“No! It’s not what you…” He started but then he stopped and looked up.
I followed his gaze. A big muscular man was running toward our room. A clerk was right behind him trying to stop him. He didn’t seem to be having any luck. The boy seemed terrorized when he saw them.
The man burst into our room. He glared at each of us. When his eyes rested on the boy they looked like they would emerge from their sockets.
“What are you doing to my nephew?!” he shouted. I couldn’t decide which was scarier his voice or him. He grabbed the boy by the arm and started pulling him out of the room. They boy was beyond terrified he was horrified. But he didn’t pull back he just followed the man.
The clerk stood at the entrance. He placed his hands on his hips. For a moment I remembered Khawla. He shook a skinny finger at the man.
“I should have you reported. You broke a valuable vase and you have disturbed our peace. This will not be tolerated. I will have to ask you to leave and never come back to my hotel.”
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The man looked as if he would blow up. He walked up to the man and spoke between clenched teeth. “You don’t tell me what to do.” He said in a quite voice even though it sounded like he was shouting.
The clerk was gona argue. I could tell and he did.
“I so can tell you what to do. I’m in charge at the hotel today. I… OOMPH!” he didn’t finish his sentence. The man had socked him. The blow sent him flying backward. He banged his head hard on the floor. Ouch. I thought. That must have hurt. The man smirked and walked away in a quick stride pulling the boy behind him. None of us moved for a second. Then I saw Zaki kneel down next to the clerk. I joined him and checked the man’s pulse. It was still strong. And he was breathing.
Zaki looked up at me. “I think he just got uncautious. Call the hotel doc Yusuf.” He said. I helped him pick up the guy and lay him down on one of the beds. Yusuf hurried to the phone that was between my bed and his.
As soon as he finished a man with a doctor’s suite came knocked on our door. We let him in and he hurried towards the bed. He seemed nervous like and I hoped he knew what he was doing. He checked the clerk’s pulse and breathing. “I think he just lost cautiousness. Yes he just lost cautiousness.” He said in a jumpy voice.
“Some doctor.” Zaki mumbled to me. I held back a smile. The man seemed completely out of his mind. He looked frail and thin as if he hadn’t eaten for a week. I guessed he’d be blown away with the first breeze. Yusuf walked up behind him to ask him something.
“Excuse me?” he said. The man jumped up so high in fright. Yusuf stared at him for a second. His face showed clear surprise.
“You shouldn’t scare an old man like that. You shouldn’t. You shouldn’t.” the man stammered. Yusuf backed away from him. I tried not to laugh.
Then we heard a knock at the door. I walked up and opened it.
A tall man looked down at me. A tag on his shirt pocket read Manager.
I let him in and he walked up to the doctor.
“How is he?” he asked.
“He’s fine. Yes, he’s fine.” The Doctor replied.
“That’s good. I was worried for a second. Jim is one of my favorite clerks.”
“He will wake up soon. He will, soon.” The doctor said bobbing his head up and down. And true to his word Jim woke up in a few minutes. He blinked a couple of times before raising a hand to his mouth and gasped.
“Oh. I have to get back to the desk.” He said as he tried to get up. The manager man pushed him down.
“Don’t bother yourself Jim. I’ll get you to one of the rooms so you can rest.” He said as he helped the man out of the room. The doctor followed them. When he got to the door, he looked back at us and waved.
“Good bye boys. Good bye boys.” He said as he closed the door behind him. When he left Yusuf fell on his bed laughing.
“Talk about weird.” He remarked.
I grinned. “Why do you think he repeats everything twice?”
Zaki shrugged. “You guys are laughing bout the doc. What about that guy and the kid? Why do you think they were here?”
We got serious and Yusuf sat up. “I don’t know. But I do know one thing. It’s still early and I’m going back to sleep.” He said.
“You don’t wana find out bout that man?” I asked. He shook his head.
“Fine then. Good bye Yusuf. Good Bye.” Zaki joked.
The clerk was gona argue. I could tell and he did.
“I so can tell you what to do. I’m in charge at the hotel today. I… OOMPH!” he didn’t finish his sentence. The man had socked him. The blow sent him flying backward. He banged his head hard on the floor. Ouch. I thought. That must have hurt. The man smirked and walked away in a quick stride pulling the boy behind him. None of us moved for a second. Then I saw Zaki kneel down next to the clerk. I joined him and checked the man’s pulse. It was still strong. And he was breathing.
Zaki looked up at me. “I think he just got uncautious. Call the hotel doc Yusuf.” He said. I helped him pick up the guy and lay him down on one of the beds. Yusuf hurried to the phone that was between my bed and his.
As soon as he finished a man with a doctor’s suite came knocked on our door. We let him in and he hurried towards the bed. He seemed nervous like and I hoped he knew what he was doing. He checked the clerk’s pulse and breathing. “I think he just lost cautiousness. Yes he just lost cautiousness.” He said in a jumpy voice.
“Some doctor.” Zaki mumbled to me. I held back a smile. The man seemed completely out of his mind. He looked frail and thin as if he hadn’t eaten for a week. I guessed he’d be blown away with the first breeze. Yusuf walked up behind him to ask him something.
“Excuse me?” he said. The man jumped up so high in fright. Yusuf stared at him for a second. His face showed clear surprise.
“You shouldn’t scare an old man like that. You shouldn’t. You shouldn’t.” the man stammered. Yusuf backed away from him. I tried not to laugh.
Then we heard a knock at the door. I walked up and opened it.
A tall man looked down at me. A tag on his shirt pocket read Manager.
I let him in and he walked up to the doctor.
“How is he?” he asked.
“He’s fine. Yes, he’s fine.” The Doctor replied.
“That’s good. I was worried for a second. Jim is one of my favorite clerks.”
“He will wake up soon. He will, soon.” The doctor said bobbing his head up and down. And true to his word Jim woke up in a few minutes. He blinked a couple of times before raising a hand to his mouth and gasped.
“Oh. I have to get back to the desk.” He said as he tried to get up. The manager man pushed him down.
“Don’t bother yourself Jim. I’ll get you to one of the rooms so you can rest.” He said as he helped the man out of the room. The doctor followed them. When he got to the door, he looked back at us and waved.
“Good bye boys. Good bye boys.” He said as he closed the door behind him. When he left Yusuf fell on his bed laughing.
“Talk about weird.” He remarked.
I grinned. “Why do you think he repeats everything twice?”
Zaki shrugged. “You guys are laughing bout the doc. What about that guy and the kid? Why do you think they were here?”
We got serious and Yusuf sat up. “I don’t know. But I do know one thing. It’s still early and I’m going back to sleep.” He said.
“You don’t wana find out bout that man?” I asked. He shook his head.
“Fine then. Good bye Yusuf. Good Bye.” Zaki joked.
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“Do you know who he is?” Ahmed asked me. I shook my head. Dad had a lot of friends and I didn’t know all of them. The man was probably someone he knew. But I kept my hopes up. The man said he knew something about where Khalil is, I hope they find him.
“Oh Ahmed, your parents are coming back tomorrow.” Mom told him. He nodded. “They called me last night and told me.” He said.
“We’ll go and pick them up from the airport tomorrow Inshallah.” Mom said as she turned to go to the kitchen. I could tell she had a lot going on in her head. She’s probably worried about Khalil I thought.
I locked my self upstairs in my room, trying to think when I heard a knock on the door. Ahmed opened it and came in.
“My parents are coming tomorrow you know.” He said obviously trying to remind me even though I just heard mom say that about three minutes ago. He took out his suitcase and started piling his clothes in.
I watched him for a moment. “What are you doing?”
“Packing up.” He answered. “I’m gona miss staying here.” He kind of chuckled.
I didn’t reply.
“You know I’m praying so much that your brother comes back or is found.” He said. I stared at him.
“You want to know why?” he asked. I shrugged.
“It’s because you’re so boring and grumpy now. You were so cool to hang out with before. Hey don’t take it as an offence.” He said when he saw a frown growing on my face. I lay back on my bed. My whole mind was foggy and I couldn’t think of anything. Ahmed lingered around a bit.
“You want to shoot some hoops?” he asked hopingly. I shook my head. I didn’t feel like doing anything right now. He shrugged and went outside.
I must have fallen asleep. I woke up with dad shaking me up.
“Come on Khalid. You’re going to miss the Maghrib prayer if you don’t get up.”
I got up and after a while we were all walking to the Masjid. By now news had spread out in the small Muslim community and after Salah almost everyone crowded around dad, Amu Jihad, and Amu Nadir.
They all expressed how sorry they were and that they were willing to do anything to help. Sheikh Yusuf was there too. Sheikh Ahmed had said that he was going to leave soon but Sheikh Yusuf was staying. Khalil and I were happy about that. I walked away and stood outside. It was raining pretty hard but I didn’t mind. I glanced at the Masjid entrance and remembered last Ramadan when Khalil and I would stand there with the rest of our friends in the rain. I pictured Zaki with his long jet black hair, wet, and plastered on his face as he laughed along with us. And I pictured Yusuf who was always joking around with Khalil and always refusing to go inside no matter how bad the weather was. I felt a big lump rising up my throat; I swallowed it back down and forced back the tears that were threatening to spill out. I felt a hand on my shoulder. Startled I whirled around nearly throwing the man out of balance. Shiekh Muhammad was behind me. He seemed startled at my reaction.
“Sorry Khalid. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He said. He was quite for a bit. “You remind me a lot of Khalil right now. He had always liked to daydream and have his head in the clouds.” He chuckled. I grew tense.
“What do you mean, had?” I asked snappily. I hadn’t meant to sound so rude but it just came out and it was too late to take it back. He didn’t seem bothered by it though.
“No, I didn’t mean it that way Khalid.” He sighed. “I know you’re worried about your brother. Just keep on praying to Allah that He keeps him safe. Who knows if you’re sincere he might be knocking at your door the next day.” The sheikh said. Then he walked away and engaged into a conversation with another man. His talk kind of lifted my spirits but I still felt gloomy. I didn’t feel like staying for the Halaqah and we went home. I was upstairs in Dad’s library when Khawlah and Khadeejah came in.
“Hi Khalid.” Khawlah said cheerfully. I looked up from the book I was reading. They started searching the shelves until they found the book they were looking for. Then they sat down on the floor and looked through the books. Khadeejah started scribbling down some notes.
“What are you two doing?” I asked them.
“It’s for class. The teacher made us partners so we’re working on our essays together. Right now we’re just looking for some info.” Khawla explained. When they finished they put away the book but they stayed in the room.
“You know, the house seems so strange and empty without Khalil.” Khawla remarked. She was sitting behind dad’s desk with her chin in her hands.
“Yeah. I really hope he’s Ok.” Khadeejah said.
We all sat in silence for a while then I got up and went downstairs. After praying Isha with dad and Ahmed I went back upstairs. The rest of them stayed downstairs but I didn’t feel like talking to anyone so I went to my room.
“Oh Ahmed, your parents are coming back tomorrow.” Mom told him. He nodded. “They called me last night and told me.” He said.
“We’ll go and pick them up from the airport tomorrow Inshallah.” Mom said as she turned to go to the kitchen. I could tell she had a lot going on in her head. She’s probably worried about Khalil I thought.
I locked my self upstairs in my room, trying to think when I heard a knock on the door. Ahmed opened it and came in.
“My parents are coming tomorrow you know.” He said obviously trying to remind me even though I just heard mom say that about three minutes ago. He took out his suitcase and started piling his clothes in.
I watched him for a moment. “What are you doing?”
“Packing up.” He answered. “I’m gona miss staying here.” He kind of chuckled.
I didn’t reply.
“You know I’m praying so much that your brother comes back or is found.” He said. I stared at him.
“You want to know why?” he asked. I shrugged.
“It’s because you’re so boring and grumpy now. You were so cool to hang out with before. Hey don’t take it as an offence.” He said when he saw a frown growing on my face. I lay back on my bed. My whole mind was foggy and I couldn’t think of anything. Ahmed lingered around a bit.
“You want to shoot some hoops?” he asked hopingly. I shook my head. I didn’t feel like doing anything right now. He shrugged and went outside.
I must have fallen asleep. I woke up with dad shaking me up.
“Come on Khalid. You’re going to miss the Maghrib prayer if you don’t get up.”
I got up and after a while we were all walking to the Masjid. By now news had spread out in the small Muslim community and after Salah almost everyone crowded around dad, Amu Jihad, and Amu Nadir.
They all expressed how sorry they were and that they were willing to do anything to help. Sheikh Yusuf was there too. Sheikh Ahmed had said that he was going to leave soon but Sheikh Yusuf was staying. Khalil and I were happy about that. I walked away and stood outside. It was raining pretty hard but I didn’t mind. I glanced at the Masjid entrance and remembered last Ramadan when Khalil and I would stand there with the rest of our friends in the rain. I pictured Zaki with his long jet black hair, wet, and plastered on his face as he laughed along with us. And I pictured Yusuf who was always joking around with Khalil and always refusing to go inside no matter how bad the weather was. I felt a big lump rising up my throat; I swallowed it back down and forced back the tears that were threatening to spill out. I felt a hand on my shoulder. Startled I whirled around nearly throwing the man out of balance. Shiekh Muhammad was behind me. He seemed startled at my reaction.
“Sorry Khalid. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He said. He was quite for a bit. “You remind me a lot of Khalil right now. He had always liked to daydream and have his head in the clouds.” He chuckled. I grew tense.
“What do you mean, had?” I asked snappily. I hadn’t meant to sound so rude but it just came out and it was too late to take it back. He didn’t seem bothered by it though.
“No, I didn’t mean it that way Khalid.” He sighed. “I know you’re worried about your brother. Just keep on praying to Allah that He keeps him safe. Who knows if you’re sincere he might be knocking at your door the next day.” The sheikh said. Then he walked away and engaged into a conversation with another man. His talk kind of lifted my spirits but I still felt gloomy. I didn’t feel like staying for the Halaqah and we went home. I was upstairs in Dad’s library when Khawlah and Khadeejah came in.
“Hi Khalid.” Khawlah said cheerfully. I looked up from the book I was reading. They started searching the shelves until they found the book they were looking for. Then they sat down on the floor and looked through the books. Khadeejah started scribbling down some notes.
“What are you two doing?” I asked them.
“It’s for class. The teacher made us partners so we’re working on our essays together. Right now we’re just looking for some info.” Khawla explained. When they finished they put away the book but they stayed in the room.
“You know, the house seems so strange and empty without Khalil.” Khawla remarked. She was sitting behind dad’s desk with her chin in her hands.
“Yeah. I really hope he’s Ok.” Khadeejah said.
We all sat in silence for a while then I got up and went downstairs. After praying Isha with dad and Ahmed I went back upstairs. The rest of them stayed downstairs but I didn’t feel like talking to anyone so I went to my room.