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Everything was in an uproar.

Kami’s protests that he “couldn’t do that to her” were mingled with Yasmin’s entreaties that he reconsider. But when both Chris and Liam jumped in the fray and argued their points of view, Gedo had enough.

“Stop this babbling!” he cried. “I think I know what’s in the best interest of my granddaughter. I am half tempted to send Yasmin with her. If it were safe enough to send her home to her family, I would. This is not a place for children.”

“As if I am still in preparatory school!” Yasmin said scornfully. “Chris has done more to fight these creatures than the entire police force combined, and he’s not even twelve yet. You need us to get Neina back. If Kami wants to stay, she has the right. Neina is her grandmother too.”

“How did I ever raise such a disobedient child?”

“You never raised me to be disobedient, but you also never raised me to be subservient. You raised me to be an independent thinker and to speak my mind. It is too late to change that. I’m a grown woman now, and I am finding Neina.”

“Me too,” said Kami. “Besides, you never really invited me anyway, so it’s not like you can withdraw the invitation. I’m staying.”

Gedo threw his hands up in the air. 

“I’m surrounded by obstinate girls. What did I do to deserve this?”

Yasmin kissed him on the cheek.

“Where do you think we get it, Gedo?” she said, giving him a loving look. “I am so glad to have you back. I was so worried about you. I'm so glad at least you are safe.”

It was amazing to see the transformation, the softening of his features, and the affection in his eyes. Liam was right. Gedo was like putty in Yasmin’s hands. What defense did he have against that kind of love?

Kami saw it, but struggled to understand it. How do you show affection to someone who yells at you? Belittles you? It seemed easy for Yasmin, natural even. But Kami couldn’t help resenting his verbal thrashing. The words foolish female still rang through her mind. He didn’t even know her well enough to know if she was foolish. She didn’t need his protection. She didn’t want his protection, especially when he’d made it clear how much it put him out. 

Yasmin filled Gedo in on what had happened since he’d been abducted.

“I want to meet this Jemal Ibrahim,” Gedo said as he shook his head. “We need to understand the kind of power this jar piece wields.”

Haji left to bring the car around.

“I’ve already met the freak,” Samuel said, rubbing his neck absently, “and I’m not terribly excited about seeing Mr. Crater Eyes again. You all go ahead. If we’re going to pull this off, we need to do it soon. I’m going to buy supplies to build us all laser sabers. Christopher, you go with them. Hopefully you won’t run into any more shadow creatures, but if you do, they’ll need your protection. We’ll meet back at my compound. Sound good?”

Everyone nodded.

Samuel took off down the street in a brisk walk just as Haji pulled up. They climbed in and drove back to the building where Jemal Ibrahim lived. 

It looked exactly as they had left it. As they drew near to the door, though, they noticed it was ajar. Gedo knocked, but no one answered. He carefully swung the door open, stepped in and said something in Arabic that sounded like a curse. 

The place was torn to shreds. The prayer rug lay in tattered pieces; the candle was crushed. A ripped up mattress lay propped up against a wall, as if it had been thrown against it. Deep scratches were carved into the walls and floor.

Chris clutched the Laser Saber, his eyes darting back and forth, beads of sweat dripped off of his forehead. Liam stood close to Kami, his square jaw clenching. 

She wanted to be brave, but the tightness in her chest and sharp breaths betrayed her. It was obvious something was wrong, terribly wrong. She braced for the worst, whatever that was. 

Gedo led the way to the bedroom. It was in even worse shape than the main room. Torn pillows, spilled feathers, and shredded blankets were strewn all over. A smashed dresser sat in the corner. 

“Look at this,” Liam said grimly.

They walked to the corner where he was pointing at the dead bodies of Ibrahim and the woman who had answered the door earlier. They were left like the men Samuel had seen. Their corpses were drained clear. 

Kami had only been to a few funerals, one of them her father’s. She still vividly remembered her Baba lying there. The essence of him was gone, but his face, his body had looked at peace.

Ibrahim’s body was nothing like that. It was as if the man froze as his essence was being drained. Even in death, his face held an expression of horror, his mouth open in a scream. His limbs were rigid, palms out, as if he were trying to push something away. The sunglasses had fallen off during the struggle and were near his head, smashed. It was eerie—the silent scream molded on his face and the vacant eye sockets staring at them. She could see through his skin to the skull underneath. Kami had to turn away.

The bodies, though inhuman and grotesque now, had housed a man and a woman who had recently been as full of life, hopes, and dreams as any of them. It was a sobering reminder of the fragility of life, all the more fragile with whatever was attacking. 

She peered sidewise at Gedo, who stood immobile, his hands trembling, his face slack. She couldn’t fathom why she was handling this better than he was, other than the fact that she had already been through so much she was starting to become conditioned to weirdness.

“The queen?” Liam asked.

“I cannot be sure,” Gedo said. “It may be the work of her creatures.”

“We’d better go,” Chris said. “We don’t know if whatever did this is still around. Even if it isn’t, we don’t want to be here when the police arrive asking questions.”

“Good point,” Liam said. They quickly left the apartment. They took the stairs two at a time and hurried to the car. Kami hoped no interested neighbors were paying attention. Gedo was already wanted by the police. They’d been seen at the library when the shadow creature had attacked. If they were placed at the scene of this murder, it would make things that much worse. Their best bet was to lie low. Samuel and Chris’s place was about as good a place as any to do that. It would take a few hours to get back, but that would give them all time to collect their thoughts and formulate a plan. 

Kami glanced out the car window and watched the sun set. It was a brilliant scarlet red ball of fire. The heat waves from the desert mixed with the ever-present dust made for an unusual and, what would have been under other circumstance, beautiful scene. Now it just reminded her of death and blood. She could feel a growing threat, as though a shadow was enveloping the land. It was as if it were pursuing them and would overtake them once the sun retreated behind the horizon. 

She had never seen such gruesome and frightening deaths, and the images of their twisted bodies haunted her. She shuddered at the thought of how close each of them had come to a similar fate. They had talked to Ibrahim just hours before his death. She popped her ear buds in and cranked up the music on her ipod to distract her.  

Haji made quick time back, and the first thing Kami did upon arrival was take a long shower in Samuel’s makeshift stall. It worked better than she had anticipated. There was something about the water that seemed to cleanse not only her body, but her soul as well. She popped a few painkillers in her mouth and lay down on a cot.

She heard the water running again and figured it must be Yasmin taking her turn. It seemed only a few minutes before Yasmin entered their “room,” drying her hair with a towel. 

“You awake?” she asked softly.

Kami rolled over to face her. 

“Yeah. I can’t sleep.”

“Here, sit up for a minute, and I’ll brush your hair.”

Kami sat up obediently, feeling the brush gently pull at the tangles. It felt surprisingly good to be indulged like this. She couldn’t remember her mother ever brushing her hair, though she must have when she was really little. 

“Such beautiful features! You seem to capture the best parts of both your parents heritage. So what is this with Liam calling you his habibti?” Yasmin teased.

Kami rolled her eyes.

“He was just trying to win a bet,” Kami said. “He doesn’t mean anything by it.”

“I would not be so sure,” Yasmin said. 

“Do you know what he threatened to do? Kiss me to make Gedo mad!”

Yasmin laughed.

“You should watch out for that boy. He is trouble.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking!”

“Do you think Haji is cute?” Kami couldn't resist asking Yasmin.

“It doesn't really matter what I think,” she laughed. “I overheard him speaking with Liam. He  has a sweetheart back home. His family is Bedouin and very traditional. Haji's mother would probably be appalled if he brought home a girl like me.”

“Why?” Kami asked.

“Well, for one, I want an advanced education and to become a politician. My guess is Haji's mother wants him to marry a girl more like her, one who prefers to stay home and raise a family. I think that's what he wants too.”

They were quiet for a few minutes as Yasmin continued to brush her hair with smooth, even strokes. It felt relaxing.

“Yasmin?”

“Hmmm.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Kami asked.

“No.”

“Have you ever had one?”

“No, not really. It’s...more complicated here.” 

She sounded a little sad. There was more to this, but Kami didn’t want to press. 

“Are you ladies decent?” Liam said, his voice muffled by the tent flap, making the girls jump and laugh.

“No,” Yasmin said.

“Good. I’m coming in,” he said.

“Don’t you dare!” Kami laughed.

“All right, all right. I hope your adrenaline’s still going, because we came up with a plan.” 

He paused dramatically.

“Go on,” Yasmin prompted. 

“We need to break into a police station.”

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So I am super happy to announce my father-in-law @lloydbenson has started to post his writing on Wattpad. He's still brand new, so he'd love it if you checked out his "Memoirs of a Worker." It's a series of short stories about unique things that have happened while working around the world. Trust me, you don't want to miss it! Links below.

This chapter is dedicated to my sweet older sister Ruth. I have patterned a lot of Yasmin after her, including her sisterly affection and protectiveness for Kami. We used to brush each other's hair, so when Yasmin offers to brush Kami's hair, I knew I had to dedicate this chapter to her. Love you tons Sis!