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"So, I just retrieve some sort of lamp?" Zahir raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What's so special about a lamp?" He almost scoffed but didn't like the scrutinizing glare the woman was giving.

"If you retrieve it, and anything else valuable you find, you get to keep one third of the treasures. Deal or not?" The woman crossed her arms over her chest haughtily. She was getting impatient with his dumb questions.

"I don't trust you." Zahir tapped his foot which were now wearing new sandals. They had been all quite generous but he couldn't wrap it around his head. Food, clothes, and luxury baths? And one third of the treasures he might find in some old cave in the middle of the desert? There had to be some sort of catch to all this.

The woman sighed and stepped towards him hesitantly. They were back in the room again with the candles and velvet couch. Zahir still had no idea where they were.

"Look." The woman sighed, inching nearer. She was finally standing in front of him, trailing her long, slender finger down the side of his face. "My name is Fatima. I'm a sorceress."

"A sorceress." It wasn't a question. More of a repeated statement with a hint of anger. Zahir's thick brows furrowed.

"Now, darling, do not be afraid." Her lips frowned. "We're doing this for a member of the royal family. One third for you, one third for me. The rest and the lamp goes to him. That's the deal."

Zahir still hesitated, averting his gaze from the seductive woman.

"Oh, c'mon. It's not a bad deal. It's a quite handsome pay. All we have to do is go through the day's journey getting there and then back in no time. You go your way and I go mine."

"Okay, okay." Zahir stumbled back as Fatima got even closer, startling him. "I'll do it. But one third for sure."

"You have my word." She smirked, giving him his space. A good liar, she was.

Soon, they began packing for the day's journey. The young soldier, named Waheed, and the other who had a toothpick chewing habit, named Jalil, were to come with them. Each, including Khaled, carried a pack of food and water.

Finally, Zahir and Khaled were led out of the hallway by the others and they realized they were in some sort of restaurant. People bustled about, laughing and eating until they paused to stare at Fatima leading the others out. Seemed like an odd bunch-- a gorgeous woman, two soldiers, a dashing man and a child. The place was lit by bulbs, giving a dingy glow to the restaurant. Zahir didn't know why he was so fascinated by the electrical glass balls. How did they even work? They used lanterns or candles to get some sort of light in the slums. The area was furnished by a few wooden tables and chairs. Waiters and waitresses brought food to those who ordered. The sound of sizzling meat could be heard from the kitchen and pots and pans clanging about.

The group filed out the glass doors-- another thing Zahir found odd. He has never seen glass doors or windows before.

"Where are we?" He mumbled loud enough for Fatima to hear.

"The City." She glanced at him as they came to a spacious road. "Have you never been here before?"

Zahir shook his head, amazed by what he was seeing in the cool night. The City was closed off by tall, concrete walls and were only accessible by gates with scanners. Not that he wasn't ever allowed to come here, rather he was intimidated by the idea of The City. The slums told many stories about it, how there were huge buildings and billions of lights. They were only half right-- tall buildings loomed over the bunch as the group went past many people walking about. People in robes and long garments brushed or pushed past Zahir and the others. Khaled held onto the hem of Zahir's kurta tightly so he wouldn't get washed away by the herds of people coming in like waves.

Various of chatter made the road lively as people screamed, talked, and conversed. As the group passed restaurants and shops, Zahir caught some stores displaying human shaped bodies wearing clothes. The sky like black marble was specked with billions of stars. It loomed over them as the trudged along the busy streets of Arbiyyah City. The road was brightened with millions of hazy, golden lights illuminated from the buildings and giving the passerby's some guidance through the dark. The floor wasn't a dirt road, rather cement was paved everywhere in a perfect grid. And there was glass, so much glass. Every building seemed to have glass doors and windows.

However, the stories of the slums also said there were cars and trains but no such thing existed in The City. People were either on foot, bicycles, or carriages.

Khaled was shocked the most-- and in awe. His gaping jaw and hopeful, mahogany eyes wanted to catch some sort of airship in the sky but everyone knew those didn't exist either. Zahir didn't know the Kingdom actually had some sort of proper city. The tall buildings were left by the last world and since the Radiation Zone hadn't seeped into the land of As-Sau'diyyah, there wasn't that much damage to the cities that stood on the land. After a thousand years, they were still able to maintain them and keep civilization going.

"We turn here." Fatima finally broke the silence and she leads them right. They entered a quiet street, much narrower as the buildings stood close together here. The structures menacingly caved over them and every step they took became darker. Zahir perceived the large walls coming up since The City was circulated by it. It was for safety measures. If the Radiation Zone ever expands, they would close off The City to protect it. The Palace had the same system as it was surrounded by walls too.

"Are we able to get through the gates and outside the Kingdom?" Zahir asked warily.

"No." Fatima replied without glancing at him. The soldiers muttered in confusion as they neared the gates that led outside where no one was allowed to venture. It was the gateway for the scientists to come in and out but they weren't scientists.

"What're we gonna do?" Zahir began to grow increasingly worried as he saw the Palace guards standing in front of the gates with guns.

"Don't stress." Fatima walked faster, and soon the pavement disappeared and they were on a dust road.

"What're you guys doing here?" One of the guards called out. Suddenly before they could take a step, they stopped in their tracks, gazing into space.

"Go." Fatima ordered as she looked straight at them, her hands shaking slightly. Zahir squinted his eyes at the light layer of blue radiating off her skin. What was that?

Zahir hesitated, intrigued by the sorceress's powers and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but was dragged by the soldiers. They passed the very still guards, who were still in a paralyzed stage. They slipped through the sensors of the gates, and they went off but soon stopped in a matter of seconds.

Fatima followed, and as they finally made it out of the Kingdom, the guards regained consciousness. They already had forgotten that they came across anyone. The group slipped into the dark parts of the land as there were destroyed buildings here. Zahir gazed at the looming skyscrapers, falling apart. He was out beyond the Kingdom, it was all so new to him.

"What did you do to the guards back there?" Khaled perked up. His big eyes gazed at Fatima.

She shrugged,replying. "My magic can come in handy."

Where'd she learn all this stuff? Zahir wondered. He didn't quite trust her yet. She still hadn't explained why he was needed for the job anyways.

They scuttled along the ruins under the moonlight that bathed them. No sign of life out here at all. Zahir could tell a pathway had been made through the ruins as maybe it was a way for the scientists to come in and out. There was known to be a Science Facility somewhere a few miles away. What they did there, Zahir didn't know.

They finally made it out of the ruins and into the sandy dunes of As-Sau'diyyah. The cave was located South-East from where they stood, and Zahir realized it was going to be a long, hot 24 hours.

They trudged along the rough terrain, a warm breeze blowing sand into their faces. They decided to grab scarves and cloth to block any debris attacking their eyes or mouths. Glowing stars twinkled in the obsidian sky, blanketing over the panting group. It should be about 11PM now but there was no time for rest just yet.

They continued to stroll far away from the Kingdom and Zahir glanced over his shoulder from time to time to see the ruins of the skyscrapers disappearing in the thick, dusty air. No one talked, it took too much breath out of any of them. Waheed and Jalil were the faster ones, practically jogging across the empty landscape. They eyed the vast terrain, trying to spot any threats. What threats could be there anyways other than the Science Facility that they should have long passed by now?

Suddenly, Waheed spun around, fear flashing in his chestnut brown eyes. They glistened in the bright moonlight as they became wide as saucers. "Get down." He hissed, diving into golden sand. Jalil was quick to follow, ducking behind a large, jagged rock.

Fatima and Zahir briefly glimpsed at each other while Khaled let out a small whimper. The rest fell to the ground and no one moved a muscle. A faint whirring noise traveled through the air and curiosity won over Zahir. He wanted to see what was up.

"Zahir, you stupid lunatic." Jalil screamed in a whisper. Zahir ignored their curses as he crawled over the dune, peeking to see what they were so afraid of. Then he could see why. It was an extremely large machine walking on all fours. A bright light from the middle of its body scanned the area. It was covered in dirt and the faint whirring of its engines lingered in the air. It was terrifying to see such a large thing that wasn't human or animal. Zahir sucked in his breath as he continued to watch the thing wobbling around, looking like some sort of giant electronic spider. He slid down, facing the rest of the group.

"What were you thinking?" Fatima whispered, crawling next to him.

"What the hell is that?" Zahir demanded.

"A robot." She answered. "The Kingdom has these things guarding the Science facility and the perimeters."

"To keep what out exactly?" Zahir pulled down his scarf from his face to breath properly. Fatima didn't answer. She climbed the dune to take a glance herself before turning back.

"We should keep moving before it decides to come look here." She motioned for the others.

"Would it kill us?" Zahir continued to ask questions.

"Yes." She gave a curt reply before moving on. They crawled on their knees and hands before finally getting out of the risky area.

Zahir couldn't grasp the idea that things like that still existed and the Kingdom kept it a secret. Well Fatima and the soldiers seemed to know the secrets but they were part of the Kingdom anyways. What were the things supposed to keep out? As far as Zahir knew, nothing existed beyond the Kingdoms and Science Facilities. Maybe animals roaming around but that didn't seem like such a threat that they had to build huge spider-like robots walking around.

Zahir was so lost in his thoughts about the secrets of the land when they came across an abandoned town.

"We'll rest here for a few hours and leave right before dawn." Fatima stated. Everyone nodded and Khaled- who was wobbling his way through, collapsed.

"Khaled?" Zahir knelt down in fear only to see Khaled had passed out in exhaustion. His auburn hair glinted in the moonlight and Zahir picked him up the rest of the few steps. As they neared the town, Waheed and Jalil ventured forward to see if there were any threats in the area.

Fatima and Zahir, holding Khaled, followed closely behind, looking around in the dark. They entered, seeing destroyed homes buried within the sand dunes. No sign of life could be seen anywhere and they found an apartment they could get into. Because of it being buried deep in the sand, the first floor was actually the third. They found the number three engraved by the elevators.

"We'll check out the next two floors, M'aam." Jalil and Waheed made their way upstairs as Zahir and Fatima check the first-actually-third floor. No one had been here for a while. There wasn't anything interesting in the rooms anyways for scientists or robots to research.

Waheed and Jalil returned and the group entered an apartment that seemed safe enough. There was broken furniture in the small area and it was extremely dusty. The cough their way around, taking cloths and dusting off sand and dirt off of surfaces. The living room had the most space so they took out their supplies. They laid down sheets, taking out some canned food and water.

Zahir woke Khaled to get some food in him. They both were used to going to sleep hungry so that's why Khaled refused but Zahir insisted.

"C'mon kiddo. Get some food in you." He raised a spoonful of kidney beans and rice. Khaled reluctantly took a few bites, washing it down with warm water. Zahir gulped down rest of the can before taking a swish of water and laying down next to his brother. Fatima and the soldiers took their places to sleep and soon they all were knocked out.

However, deep into the night, Zahir woke to a blinding white light. He squinted, furrowing his thick brows. What the hell?

He shook his head, raising a hand up to block it. Soon, the light went off and he sat up, dizzy. He narrowed his eyes to make out a robotic figure looking in from the windows.

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