Chapter 9

"Dallan wakeup, Dallan wakeup!

As I slowly regained consciousness I heard what sounded like Jeffe.

"Are you sure he is alive Omar? As far as I can see from here he hasn't moved since we've been trying to wake him."

"Oh yes Jeffe, he is alive. He is starting to move now."

"Jeffe? I seem a little slow Jeffe. Is something wrong? I don't feel normal Jeffe." I tried to focus on the shape above me. "You aren't Jeffe."

"No Great One, I am Omar. You would not remember me Great One, you saved me from the sand pit."

I slowly brought him into focus, "Of course I remember you Omar, you saved us BOTH. I asked you not to call me that. I heard Jeffe didn't I?

"Yes Great One, he is at the entrance, he can not get in here, he is too big." As he finished speaking he helped me to get to the entrance and I started to leave when I turned back to look at the room but nothing was there.

Hmmm, something isn't right, there should be something here. I remember bottles of water and crackers but there isn't anything here now. I'm forgetting something, something important. WHAT?

"Yes, now I remember, he is too big and the Protector kept him from trying to enter. That probably saved him. He would not have been able to enter and the delay would have meant he was caught in the storm. A Protector again saved someone. We saw the sandstorm and he left just before it was going to strike." I crawled out into the sun from the dark and I was blind. "Jeffe, are you here?"

"Yes Great One, I am here. Please Great One, please forgive me for leaving you behind. I thought you were right behind me. Please Great One, forgive me?"

I could see his shape now, kind of anyway, he was on his knees in front of me begging forgiveness.

"Oh Jeffe, you did nothing wrong for me to forgive. The Protector prevented me from going to my horse. As I watched you ride away my horse following right behind you. Just as the sandstorm was about to strike I crawled into the burrow and the Protector disappeared. And why are YOU calling me Great One? You know I am just a man the same as you are."

"Because you ARE a Great One. Who else could have a Protector following him? Who else could survive a sand pit? Who else could have two Great Mothers as companions? Who else could survive a sandstorm for over six days without food or water?"

I saw him flinch when he mentioned the Great Mothers. I remember something about danger, Ellen and Chris being in danger. My Grandfather!

"Jeffe! What is wrong with the Great Mothers? What is wrong with my Ellen and Chris?"

Jeffe gives me a small meal and water as he starts to explain the happenings for the last few days. Shortly after leaving he saw that I was not with him but it was too late to try to return. He had hoped that I had gotten into the burrow and that he swore he would return for me as soon as he could. He would tell the Great Mothers what happened and they would find him as soon as possible. When he arrived back at the caravan without him the Great Mothers almost killed him but pulled back and only knocked him out. He didn't get a chance to tell them I was in some kind of burrow or hut in the sand.

"I was going to tell them about it when the storm was over but I never got the chance. When the all clear sounded we started to dig out, they ignored me and told everyone that since you had to be dead they were going to go work for Ali."

"WHAT? They would never do that, NEVER!"

"I am sorry Great One, I have nothing else to tell you."

As I finished the meal I looked at Jeffe, he looked to be near a breakdown and wouldn't look at me.

"Jeffe, I will tell you again and this time you must listen to me. You did NOTHING wrong! You are my friend. Later we will discuss things for the future, you and I. In the mean time we need to get back to the caravan and find out what is going on with my Chris and Ellen. I also want to thank you for saving me."

"How did I save you Great One? I did nothing."

"Jeffe, you did do something, you required us to always have water stored in our cloaks. That water and some food I had also stored was enough for me to survive. THAT is why I want to thank you for saving me."

Jeffe finally looked at me and as he saw my smile he finally started to smile too. His shoulders straightened and he seemed to have his confidence back as well. I looked at Omar and he was smiling again as well. I looked at both of them as said, "this is between just us. Say nothing of what went on here to anyone." They both nodded and the smiles now turned to grins and those grins got even bigger. They reminded me of the look on Duke Nukem's face when he found the BFG in the game.

We mounted up and headed toward the caravan.

"Jeffe, do you know who is on guard duty?"

"Yes Great One. Ali's guards are on this side of the caravan."

"Did you place them there?

"No Great One, they just went off in this direction when I started to get ready to leave so I had the others fill in as normal." He hesitated. "I have failed you again Great One. I was not thinking about Ali or his guards."

"Jeffe, you have not failed me or anyone else. You were doing your duty as you saw it. Ali probably ordered them in that direction to keep an eye on YOU since he thinks I'm dead. This is the direction you came back from. It might be in our best interest to circle around the camp a bit and enter from another direction. One that has our guards covering it. Tell any guards that see us to be silent about us. I want to see Ahmed first so we will wait for dark before entering." Jeffe nodded then changed direction and angled away from the caravan as we slowly continued on.

As we approached the caravan I saw two caravan guards standing outside the circle of wagons. Jeffe and Omar approached them on foot as I came up behind Jeffe. He quickly spoke to them and continued toward the Caravan Masters wagon. As I came into the light the two guards eyes grew very big as they recognized me from our weeks of shared patrols, as they started toward me I waved them off and motioned for quiet. They stopped, looked in toward the wagons and returned their gaze to me with a quick nod acknowledgment of the request and then a formal salute, they turned back toward the desert and continued their patrol. I was surprised at the salute, why the salute? I'm just another guard, no, actually I'm a guard apprentice they would normally just BARELY accept my presence unless Ellen or Chris was near. Then they ignored me completely paying all the attention to the Great Mothers. Why the salute? I would have to ask Jeffe if there was something he didn't tell me.