Time Stealers

3. Harris

CITY OF MERV

"Argh." I groaned when my back fell flat on the floor. I woke up with a throbbing ache in my head. I shook myself to clear my blurry vision and the dizziness. Ugh. My nose was dripping with blood. Why was it so hot in here? I hurriedly wiped it with my clothes when I noticed something was wrong.

I'm not wearing my lab gown and I am clothed with worn-out dirty rags. What on earth happened? I scanned my surroundings and eventually realized the reason of the extreme heat. I'm in a desert. A desert?! Memories of the men barging inside my laboratory, fully armed with black suit and guns flashed back. I have an inkling that those men came because of the time machine. Somehow, I heard Old Harris whispered about the so-called time police.

Old Harris knew something transpired when we entered the future. Old Stephanie is even expecting us to come, yes they said something about GILA, new world order, and nuclear war. They explained something like that. For what particular reason? The time machine could've malfunctioned but there is really something wrong here.

"You!" I jumped at the sudden voice. A huge man in desert robes with square scarfs, probably a chafiye hanging loosely around his head pointed at me. "Stand up and drink this! We can't afford to lose another slave for the auction." He yelled and dropped a bottle of water at my feet.

I watched him as he strode his way to his camels. He was speaking with several men wearing the same type of clothes and armed with swords and scimitar. I turned around and saw several people clothed with rags and worn-out boots greedily stealing the bottle that was lying at my feet. I admit I was never kind and compassionate that I always ended up bantering with Steff and Arielle. So before the other 'slaves' take the water away, I hurriedly pushed them and took a swig of it for myself.

"Selfish." The women muttered at me.

"Thieves." I retorted back. I finished the water before throwing the bottle on the desert sand. Ugh. That water is not enough to quench my parched throat. It's too hot in here.

"Damn those mines!" We were startled by a sudden shout. A man with a patch in his left eye hissed. He realized that the slaves were listening to his complaints and turned to us. "We have to arrive at Merv before noon time, the heat will be unbearable after that. So move your ass now!" We hastily obeyed the man in command.

We were in a huge caravan, considering that there are estimated hundreds of slaves. I'm the last person in line. The men in charge were riding Bactrian camels, based on its two humps on its back. Dozens of those beast are heavy of food and water. After the so-called consideration of the slave traders, the slaves including me, started again our journey. Most of us are traveling on worn-out shoes with sands covering it. Thankfully, I'm wearing a footwear. I noticed some of them in front are not as lucky as I am. Our necks are tightly bound with chains. Exhaustion is eating me, the climate is too dry and my skin is burning from extreme heat.

Hell, I hate the feeling of being leashed like a pet. We can choose to escape but there were two unsaid consequences, killed by the slavers or get killed by the desert. Either way it still means death.

My brain was working abnormally fast. Adapting to environment while figuring out what was this place and how on earth the time machine brought me here. Several images of my best friends and my future self, flashed inside my head. Then I recalled the words of the men in command said. Merv. Slaves. Desert. Camels. And the language they're using was different. Although I can fully comprehend them. Very familiar. It has a tinge of Arabic accent.