Somehow I'm Alive (part 5)

I'm sorry if this weeks is a little confusing. I'll have to go back in forth between Jaslina's and Ryan's points of view a lot. If I don't the plot of the story won't work out the way I want it to.

I'm glad that all of you are liking the story. Please tell me what you think of this part in the comments. Once again, I'm sorry that I have to switch view points so much. :D

Created by: Topaz
  1. What is your age?
  2. What is your gender?
  1. ***Jaslina's Point of View***While I'm in the depths of my thoughts the door creaks opened. Crrreeeeaaaakkkk! Now in the doorway stands the entire Caroga trio. Great, now that they all know I'm awake they've come to torture me. Sighing silently, I begin to pray in my head. "Dear Jesus, please help me. I'm confused, tired and horrified right now. If there is some sort of purpose for my being here, I pray that you help me achieve it." There are several seconds of intimidating silence. Finally, the White-dressed Woman says, "Tie her up, Ryan." Ryan comes over and shoves me against the wall. Clearly his roughness with me is not accidental. My hands are tied together so tightly that it feels like it could cut more than my circulation, perhaps my hands themselves."There, tied nice and tight mom." says Ryan.What am I, a pair of Lily's knock-off tennis shoes? "Well done, my son." she turns to me. "I can't wait to sell you. You sneak out of your room; mouth off at us, and everything else. You'd better straighten up before this afternoon. Your master won't have any of this." I decide it would be best to not respond. The last thing I need before meeting my master is to get into a fist fight with my kidnapper. Without another word Ryan grabs me by my elbow and drags me up the stairs. The White-dressed Woman is in front of us and Sapphire is following close behind. Half-way up, near a turn, Ryan almost falls. Since my hands are tied up I have to help balance him with my shoulder. He squeezes my elbow in what I take as a thank-you squeeze. It was too soft to have meant any harm. On the main deck next to the door is a pile of black cloaks and black veils meant to cover our hair. I don't want to wear a cloak and veil, but I guess this is Saudi Arabia. Both Sapphire and her mother put one on over their clothes. I'm temporarily untied so I can slip into mine, then I'm tied up again
  2. Getting off of the boat I realize that the city we're in is kind of deserted. There are still people around though. I guess the city we're in isn't one of Saudi Arabia's major cities. Then again, why would it be? The White-dressed Woman is an international criminal. Also, I notice that it is all deserts around here even though there are people around. Because I am dragged along so quickly, I don’t get much time to see the sights. Before I can even blink, I am thrown into a rusty old pick-up truck and we’re driving out further into the desert. We drive out so far that it goes from a few people to no one at all. It’s only me, Sapphire, Ryan, and their evil kidnapper mother. That does not make me feel very confident. Finally, after three hours we stop in the middle of the desert. Oh, and just to set the record straight, our car didn’t break down. She came to a slow and gentle stop and turned off the engine. My first thought is, ‘What the heck? Was I brought all this way just to be left in the middle of the desert to die? This is crazy!’ She steps out and taps on the hood of the truck three times very loudly. I don’t think that I am being deserted out here. After a long pause she taps on the hood three more times. “Come out of there, child. It is time for you to meet your fate.” I step out the best I can with my arms tied behind my back. I try not to hesitate. What good will it do. It’s getting dusky, and it gives me the feeling like I’m in one of those black and white horror movies. Only, this isn’t a horror movie. This is real life the way I had never imagined it. Looking at the horizon, I see a dark figure heading toward us. “Yes, yes. He is right on time.”As he gets closer, I begin to notice his facial features. He is really dark. I mean Middle Eastern dark. He looks to be in his mid- forties. He is wearing black clothing that looks to be American. “Good evening Mrs. Caroga.” He says with a thick Saudi Arabian accent. “Do you have my slave?”“As a matter of fact, I do. Of course, you will only get her if you have the money. Do you have the money?”“Yes. All of it is here.” He hands her a check. “May I take her now?” “But of course. Good day, Akmal.” “Good day, Mrs. Caroga” She gets in her truck and drives away, leaving me with my new master. As soon as they disappear over the horizon, he starts circling me. I feel like a caged animal. I guess my hands being tied together and being alone with him in the middle of the desert might have something to do with that.
  3. “Ah, I see that I have made a fine purchase. I just hope that you will be worth the extra three-hundred and fifty riyals.” he says with coldness. I thought coldness didn’t get any worse than the White-dressed Woman. Well, I was very wrong on that. My new master is colder than anything imaginable. You can see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice, and see it in every little move that he makes. “Come along. We do not have very far to go. What is your name anyway?” “Jaslina Rowe.” That is all I am willing to say to him.“Jaslina Rowe. That name is a very unique name. Even for an American. You will address me as Master Akmal and nothing more. Am I understood?”“Yes.”“Yes what?” “Yes, Master Akmal.” After that we were silent. We walked in silence. Actually, he walked while I was dragged along by my elbow. By the time we finally reached our destination, it’s dark. Really, I didn’t even know that it was our destination until we stopped. He squatted and started clearing away sand. After he gets to the three feet point, a huge metal door appears in the ground. He says something in Arabic, and the door comes opened. He pushes me in first.
  4. ***Ryan's Point of View*** I can't believe that we just left her there, and I didn't do anything! I hate myself. Couldn't I have stolen the truck when mom got out, and driven Jaslina to safety? Sure there would've been Saphire to deal with, but I could've gotten around that problem. I've gotten around bigger problems than my sister. For example, once my mom went weeks without grocery shopping, and I survived only on cafeteria food and a bag of potatoes.(Finally I stayed at Kain's house for a few days and ate while I was there. I had to give him half of my life savings just to pay him back!) "Ryan, we're back at the ship. Get out of the truck, idiot!" Saphire's words bring me out of my thoughts. I get out of the vehicle and follow mom and Saphire onto the ship. Before I can lock myself in my room mom says, "We'll spend the night here and then head to the Akmal Plantation tomorrow morning. We need to stay out of sight for a while." I lock myself inside of my room feeling a strange anticipation for the coming day.
  5. ***Jalina's Point of View*** The underground room I'm in isn't as scary as I thought it would be. Even though I should be terrified right now, my curious side takes over. I’m shocked to see that the room I’m in is very small and dimly lit. The room contains a small round wooden table and two chairs. Also, against the wall is a metal chest that is securely locked. After looking closer, the room appears to have no exits or entrances into any other rooms. This seems to be the only room down here. After a long moment, Master Akmal jumps down here behind me, landing skillfully on his feet. He walks over to the other side of this small, dark room and puts the chest on the table. He takes a ruby out of his thin jacket and pulls it into two separate pieces making a key fall out of the inside.There is really nothing incredible inside of the chest. There’s only a bunch of clothes and paperwork. Replacing the key to his turban, he pulls out two tattered dresses. They’re brown and have a lot of holes in them. The first one is sleeveless and knee length. The other one is a high-necked tank top and the skirt is a tad bit shorter than the skirt on the other dress. He hands them to me and unties my hands. “These are your new clothes. I am Saudi Arabian; however, I think that it is disgraceful for non-Muslim women to wear cloaks and veils. So, you will be wearing these.”“Why did you untie me?” I ask hesitantly. “Why not? You cannot run away. Once we are back on the surface, if you do attempt to run away and actually make it without getting caught, you will not survive anyway. It is the desert. You are stuck here, Jaslina.”It ends out that there really is an entrance into another room. He lightly touches a spot on the wall. It sinks in, and a fingerprint scanner comes out. After the scanning, an entire section of the wall slides out of the way. I don’t see a room, only an elevator. He steps inside and pushes a button. I quickly follow. I guess if I’m going to be stuck with him for a master, then I might as well start obeying him no matter how awful he is. “Just to warn you,” he says “this isn’t a normal elevator. It goes left and right, not up and down. There is no need for us to go underground.”I don’t really know what to think of that; an elevator that takes you sideways? If the situation I was in wasn’t totally creepy, then I’d probably find it almost cool.
  6. We climb up several stairs to another metal door. Before we exit out, he blindfolds me. “Sorry, but I mustn’t let you see the secret entrance.”I hear the door open. Once we exit, I feel the warm night air hit my face. Then I hear the door slam shut and leaves rustle. Wait, leaves? There are trees around here. After we’re a good five minutes away, my blindfold comes off but that’s okay. He was going to take it off anyway.As soon as I see the scenery around me, I don’t believe what I see. There are trees all around me. There are huge, or should I say, giant trees all around me. They are just like the ones in the U.S. Also, there is this beautiful mansion. It is four stories high and made almost entirely out of brick. There is one part that isn’t made out of brick and that is the sunroom. That part is made entirely out of glass. Wow! This is so cool.“This is the home that belongs to my wife, my children, and I. Go around to the back and you’ll find your cabin. Yours is cabin number four. He heads for the front door. On the way he turns and says, “The girls there have been told of your arrival.”Now alone, I go to the back of the house carrying my rags. I see that there are two sets of cabins; each has four to a group. As soon as I see the door with a large four painted on it, I walk inside and collapse on the nearest sleeping mat. I never knew how tired I was until I hit the mat. It’s hard and stiff but I don’t’ care. I don’t take in the scenery. I don’t notice the other two girls asleep next to me. Now I’m dead to the world.
  7. ***Ryan's Point of View*** We step off of the hidden elevator, and climb up several stairs to the metal door. It hardly fazes me; I've seen it several times. My family has hidden out here so many times I can't count them. Because of that, I know this place like the back of my hand. The Akmal Mansion is directly in the middle of a tiny forest of oak and maple trees. (Trees in Saudia Arabia. Wierd, huh?) Behind that are the slave quarters. Normally I try to avoid the slaves quarters. By the way I remeber there is a flower garden around here somewhere. I'm really not sure where the garden is. Other than that, I know this place like it's my second home. Well, it's not really a "home" at all. It's more of a secret hideout that I'm forced to stay at so I never have to meet the FBI.
  8. Despite how well I know the layout of the land, I don't the the first thing about the house. Akmal always brings us up the back stairs to the attic. All I've ever seen of the house is the attic. On the bright side the attic is so nice and spacious that staying there isn't bad. There's a carpeted living room with leather furniture attached to a small kitchen and dining room combination. There are also three bedroom and a full bathroom. In reality, it's certainly better than mom's crappy little apartment.
  9. ***Jaslina's Point of View*** I didn’t wake up until early afternoon the next day. Why hadn’t anyone wakened me? I sit up to look around. My back is killing me. I’ll have to sleep like this every night? I stand up so I can look around. This place is hardly fit for living. Near the back wall, where I’m sitting, are three thin woven sleeping mats on the floor, and that’s all. No blanket or pillow, only a stupid mat laying flat on the hard dirt floor. I guess that explains my current back problems. The two mats on the other side of me each have a folded up dress like mine on top of it. Now standing up and stretching, I take in the rest of the scenery. The wall on the other side of this one-room cabin contains a small fire place. It’s too small for my taste but still probably good for cooking and heating water. Next to the fireplace sits a big iron kettle which contains three wooden spoons and bowls. Also, on the other side of the fireplace is a huge wooden washtub. My guess is that it’s most likely for bathing and washing clothes.I take off my veil and throw it across the room and shrug out of my cloak. I replace it with my ugly tattered gray dress with the sleeves. I fold up the sleeveless one and place it on top of my sleeping mat the way they are on the other mats. I hear the door open. A girl that is around my age walks in. She has long thick dark brown hair and caramel brown eyes. She is only slightly shorter than I am. She too wears rags. A raggedy short-sleeved gray dress and a black kerchief tying back her hair. “Oh, you’re finally awake.” she says, “You must be the new girl here. Master Akmal told us you were coming. Hi. My name is Rayla.” She seems friendly enough. “Hi, Rayla. I’m Jaslina. So why didn’t you wake me up this morning?” “You looked exhausted. So, Tammy and I decided to let you sleep.” “Who’s Tammy?” I ask. “Does she stay in this cabin too?”“Yep.” replies Rayla. “She should actually be here any minute. It’s our thirty minute lunch break.” “Oh.” That is all I can manage to say. “I should probably tell you what we’re supposed to do.” “Okay. So where do we work?” “You and I work in the mansion. We take care of the children, clean the first floor, cook, and take care of the garden if one of the gardening slaves pass out.” “That sounds like a lot.” I say flatly.“Trust me, it is.” She says her voice revealing drowsiness. “On the bright side, we hardly ever tend to the garden. So, there we’re pretty much in the clear.”“Okay, that’s good anyway. Is there anything that I can do to help with lunch?” “Sure.” says Rayla. “Go around to the back and get water from the well.”“The well?” I didn’t even know there was a well. I thought that we’d probably have to go to the nearest stream!“Yeah. The well is in between where the eight cabins intersect.”“Okay, thank-you.”
  10. I grab the kettle and run outside. I can actually see the well the moment I am out behind our cabins. The other set of four cabins is right behind us. At least the well is close by. I dip it into the cool refreshing water and scoop up as much of it as I need. Still I’m wondering why there are trees back this way. There are no trees in Saudi Arabia. Where the heck am I? When I re-enter the cabin I see Rayla opening a cloth bag of rice. “Good you got the water.” says Rayla taking the kettle.“Hey, Rayla?” I ask. “Where are we exactly?”“What do you mean where are we? We are on a plantation.” I’m frustrated. “I mean where we are in Saudi Arabia. There aren’t trees in Saudi Arabia are there?” “No there aren’t. I’m not really sure where on the map we’re located. This place is like top secret. No one except the people that live here knows that this place even exists. Even though we know that this place is here, only Master Akmal himself knows how to get here once he leaves. Well, him and one other person.” “Who is that?” I ask. Rayla has my attention now.“One of the boy slaves.” Rayla replies. “He is the smartest one amongst us. He knows how to hunt, what water in the streams is good for drinking, how to pick locks, and a lot more. Of course, the most useful skill that he has is one that Master Akmal knows nothing about.”I am about to ask what that skill is, but she replies before I get the chance to ask.“He can speak and is literate in English, Spanish and Arabic. He can listen into Master Akmal’s conversations and Master Akmal has no clue.”“Who is this kid?” I ask. “I might as well not tell you. You will know him when you see him. You can tell that he’s genius just by looking at him.”The rice is done and Rayla scoops it into three bowls. She said that Tammy and the other field slaves get here late so she always gets her lunch for her and leaves it on her mat for her. I’ve got to say that this is the worst food that I’ve ever eaten. It’s wet, drippy, and soggy and tastes terrible. Also, some of the rice isn’t cooked all the way and is still hard. The slaves grow mainly rice here so the slaves get all of the bad rice that doesn’t turn out good. After we get done, Rayla and I head for the door. “What do we do first?” I ask.“Just follow me.” she says. “You’ll get the pattern down by the end of the week.”

Remember to rate this quiz on the next page!
Rating helps us to know which quizzes are good and which are bad.

Related Quizzes:

What is GotoQuiz? A better kind of quiz site: no pop-ups, no registration requirements, just high-quality quizzes that you can create and share on your social network. Have a look around and see what we're about.