The Siege of Haniya [ONC2024] ✔

7. Crimes of Akkadiyah

Sarah entered the study room with a tray of tea and some biscuits. She was Commander Zaid's daughter, and she and her husband-who was also a warrior-were in charge of the safehouse.

"Salam, you can take your toys' bag and play here," she said to Salam, who lit up at the suggestion before she ran out of the room to take her bag.

"Did she always come here?"

Sarah nodded as she poured the tea into cups. "Whenever Hamza is on duty and needs to leave their house for days, he'll bring her here. She's an adorable little girl, isn't she?"

"She is," I agreed, a smile tugging on my lips when Salam re-entered the room with her bag. Her little steps echoed in the hallway before she plopped on the carpet and pulled out her soft toys.

I turned my gaze to Sarah, who put down a cup of tea on the table in front of me. "Sarah, have we met before? You know, before the siege and before I lost my memories?"

She kept her silence for a while, contemplating an answer. "As far as I remember, our first meeting was at an event hosted by the dean of the University of Haniya. It's a conference about the current geopolitics of the region, and you're launching your first book with the university."

"The Crimes of Akkadiyah book?"

She nodded.

"Do you know some of my friends at the university that can help me with my memories?"

Tears gleamed in her eyes before she looked down on her lap. Her hands balled into a fist as she gripped her skirt. "I do... but they're not here anymore," she murmured sadly.

"What happened to them?" I whispered, my heart thumping against my ribcage at the thought of something terrible happening to them.

"Like you, they also surrendered themselves to Akkadiyah during the siege." She stopped for a sigh. "We don't know what happened to any of the people who surrendered, and when you showed up at the checkpoint, everyone was shocked. The tourist guide said you were banished to the Red Desert and lost your memories. So, there's a high possibility that the others faced the same fate."

Shivers ran down my spine. "But why did they banish me with Prof. El-Azizi and Leila? They could have banished me with the people from Haniya."

"That's what we don't understand. My father had instructed the cyber department to find out more about the two of them. He's a bit suspicious of them."

"Why?"

Sarah sent me a worried look. "Do you even know who they are?"

I pursed my lips. Her question caught me off guard. The desperation for survival and the bond we established for the past few weeks clouded my mind with how little knowledge I had of them. The only thing I knew about Leila was that she used to work with the government of Akkadiyah, and she was banished after they found a replacement for her position. But that didn't explain the reason why she had those nightmares. And the reason for the banishment didn't sound as plausible.

Prof. El-Azizi, on the other hand, well, the things I didn't know about him were more than what I knew of him. As far as my knowledge about him went, he was imprisoned for a long time, his career was that of a university professor, and his family had left Akkadiyah sometime during his imprisonment. I couldn't recall if he even told us the reason for his banishment.

I held the side of my head, leaning against the sofa. "It never occurred to me that I should be suspicious of them. We're too busy trying to survive, and they're the first people I met after I lost my memories. I can't help but trust them."

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to say they're bad people. But I felt it was strange that they just left you here and went out of the city without you, since you guys had spent the last few weeks together. It's like..." she sighed. "My father is worried that this is a trap by the Akkadiyah."