Trusting Dust

Chapter 7

The bandits walked up to them and motioned for them to get into the carriage again. They both followed the captors, not wanting to cause any trouble at the moment. As they sat in the carriage Ava listened in on the bandits' conversation outside. After a while, she turned around and faced Connor.

"You were right. They do have a boss, and that's where they are taking us." Connor was confused.

"Why are they supposed to bring us to the boss? Since he has men working for him, doesn't he want to remain anonymous?"

Ava didn't know the answer. Connor was the one who knew more about their situation, and it made her uneasy that Connor didn't understand it.

The carriage ride had started and Connor and Ava were forced into long hours of silence. About five hours into the trip, or what seemed like five hours to the passengers, the carriage slowed. The bandit sitting opposite them seemed alarmed. Outside they heard several horses galloping toward the carriage. One of the men on horseback spoke, but Connor couldn't see them.

"On behalf of the king of Hazrad we order you to reveal the contents of your carriage."

The leader of the captors replied, "What could we have that you are looking for?"

The man on horseback responded immediately, "Are you men fools and know nothing, surely you have heard of the kidnapping!"

The leader remained calm and replied, "A kidnapping, that is horrible! But who was kidnapped?"

The man sighed in annoyance, "Just open up your carriage now, we don't have time for this."

Connor heard some of the horses move towards the back. When they opened the back door they would surely see them, but Connor didn't get his hopes up. The bandits had gone through too much to give up everything now. His thoughts were confirmed when the leader whispered something in Arabic to the man across from us and Ava's eyes were filled with fear.

When the door was opened the light was blinding, but not enough to cover up the killing that followed. It seemed as if the men fell down like dominoes, one after another. Ava buried her head in Connor's shoulder trying to forget what she had just saw, but his eyes were glued to the scene of the crime. Five bullets, five men.

The blasts from the bandit's gun continued to ring in Connor's ears. Ava began crying, but Connor sat eerily still and gritted his teeth. He believed that there was always to prevent killing, the reason he never became a bandit, and these men had acted like killing the five soldiers was nothing.

And they did it with guns. Guns were never seen in the Hazrad kingdom. There was no need for them and they only caused problems.