The Girl in The Green Scarf

S i x t e e n

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
HAMSA

"This is all your fault."

"I heard you the first million times, Sebastian, and for the millionth time, I said I was sorry,"

"Yeah keep that to yourself, it won't do me any good."

"How is this even my fault, seriously?"

"Well if you hadn't forced me to stop for praying, and hadn't stalled us, making me wait for you for an hour while the car is running, since of course I couldn't turn it off and risk it not starting again."

"I didn't hold your hand behind your back and force you to stop. And I was down for half an hour at most. Stop being one of those whiny girls."

He shoots me a dirty look which I dodge with grace.

"This is your fault," he repeats, his voice dripping with malice.

"I got it dude, just shut up and let us walk in peace," I snap at him.

"You stay on your side of the road I stay on mine."

We go on like that for Allah knows how long, since we had no way of knowing the time. The road gets bumpier and slants upwards as we move further, making it harder to move. My shoes are comfortable, but walking this much in anything gives a person blisters. It becomes painful to keep moving after a while but Sebastian refuses us any rest in fear of Talal's men catching up to us. I tell him if they are following, they'll eventually catch up, whether we keep going or take breaks, so what's the harm in being well rested to have a fighting chance when they actually do?

The sun gets warmer and I no longer shake like I'm set to vibration. When I figure it's probably Al Zuhur time, Sebastian grants me a brief stop, and as soon as I'm done, we hit the road again.

We walk in silence for long, and every now and then I catch Sebastian shooting me glares and I fight hard the urge to roll my eyes at him. He's being so immature; he knows he can't actually pierce me with his stares, right?

Our main goal remains to stay as far away from the woods as possible. Inside it's a maze, and we'll get lost for sure. But moving without a lead on where we are headed gets frustrating after a while. Suddenly the sound of walruses growling inside Sebastian's stomach breaks the silence, and I glance at him, dubious.

"What?" He demands forcefully.

"Nothing." I divert my eyes to check the birds flying above us. If there's one good thing about being stranded in the middle of nowhere with a person you can't stand; it's the scenery.

"No seriously, you never had your stomach make sounds when you're hungry?"

"Umm yeah sure, just not that kind of sound," I say trying not to snicker, he hates me enough already, without me making fun of him.

"This is your fault," he says, huffing indignantly.

I shoot him an incredulous look.

"Just tell me, how is everything supposed to be my fault?" I ask.

"You'd think a person planning an escape would at least consider bringing along some food," he says.

"Well excuse me, I was too absorbed with the getting out alive part, to worry about my stomach, or yours for the matter." I shift the heavy backpack from one shoulder to the other. It has been keeping me back, but Sebastian never says anything. I don't actually except him to be a gentleman and offer to carry it for me, but he's being inconsiderate about it.

"Why are you weighting yourself down with this bag? What's in it anyway?" He asks nodding his head at it.

It never actually occurred to me what I am carrying along. I just know important things are inside, but what they are exactly doesn't concern me. Now that Sebastian asks, I get kind of curious. I sling the bag off placing it on the ground, much to my shoulder's pleasure. I unzip it and rummage inside. Sebastian moves closer to check it out himself.  I take out a blanket, a flashlight, a piece of folded paper, a first-aid kit, a bottle of water, and a medium sized leather satchel.