LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

BAD GUY or GOOD GUY

As he approached them, he exclaimed loudly, "What beauty do I behold? Why does the leader and his deputy have such wonderful wives, and I don't?"

Lena screamed in fear when she saw him and said, "Stay away from us, you criminal. What do you want from us?"

Noor angrily warned, "Don't come near us, don't you fear your leader's punishment?"

The guard, ignoring her threat, said, "You two are nothing but slaves in service to the leader. As for me, I am a brave warrior who served the leader for a long time and protected him in battles. I don't think he will care about your fate."

Noor determinedly said, "We won't allow you to approach us. We'll defend ourselves."

Lena shouted at the top of her lungs, "Stay away from us, you monster. Don't you dare touch us. Stay away."

The guard attacked fiercely and grabbed Lena, covering her mouth with his hand to prevent her from screaming and threw her into the water. He tried to hold her down as she struggled and attempted to push him away.

As for Noor, she quickly grabbed his shirt and tried to push him away from Lena. But she couldn't move him. She then struck him hard on the head multiple times. The guard felt pain and became enraged. He let go of Lena and turned towards Noor, grabbing her and throwing her into the water. Then he grabbed her forcefully as she resisted and pushed her away from him. But he was a strong man. She scratched his face with her nails. The man screamed and then slapped her, dunking her face into the water. He was angry and didn't think about the consequences.

Lena got up and approached him, pushing him with all her strength. But he didn't budge. She then grabbed his neck from behind and tried to choke him. But he hit her with his head when he moved back forcefully. He hit her in her nose, and she started bleeding heavily. Then she fell to the ground, holding her nose and unable to move due to the intense pain.

Noor gasped for air, realizing she was on the verge of death. She began to recall her life, seeing everything she had lived through as if it were a movie. She said to herself, "It's okay if I die here. I don't want to live in this place with these monsters. I'm sorry, Mom and Dad. I'm going to die young."

At that moment, Mickey leaped into the river and struck the guard forcefully until he fell to the ground. Then he angrily said to the guard, "You will regret this act. How dare you attack my wife and the leader's wife?" Then, without looking at Lena, he said, "Check on Noor's condition. Is she okay? Get her out of the water."

Lena hurried to Noor, carried her, and pulled her out of the water. Then she asked her, "Noor, are you okay?"

Noor coughed and said, "I'm fine now. I wasn't hurt."

Lena, embracing Noor and crying, said, "I thought I was going to lose you, Noor. I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

Noor said, "Don't cry, Lena. I'm fine. Gather your courage."

Mickey apprehended the guard and pulled him out of the water. Then, without looking at Lena and Noor, he said, "Put on your clothes and head back to the tent. I'll make sure this traitor is punished."

Lena asked, "How did you know we were in danger?"

Mickey replied, "I heard your screams, so I rushed to you."

Noor said, "You saved me. But the fault is yours. Can't you control your followers?"

Mickey didn't respond to Noor and took the guard back to the camp. As for Noor and Lena, they put on their clothes and also headed back to the camp. On the way, Noor said to Lena, "Your husband is trying to behave respectfully. He didn't even look at us when we were naked."

Lena exclaimed, "Don't call him my husband again. I never accepted the marriage, and I never acknowledged him as my husband."

Noor replied, "Don't get angry. I'm just kidding. But I really envy you for that. I wish I hadn't been with that Blake."

Lena felt sorry for Noor and said, "Doesn't Blake treat you with respect?"

Noor responded, "He's just a brute. He doesn't see me as a human being; he sees me as a tool for his selfish desires."

Noor and Lena stood in front of the tents, watching as Mickey tied the guard to a pole, with all the men surrounding them, tense, observing the situation. After completing his task, Mickey approached Noor and Lena and instructed them to enter the tent immediately. He told them to stay together inside the tent, and when Blake returned, he would take care of punishing the traitor. After this warning, Noor entered their tent with Lena and sat on the mattress placed on the ground.

Noor: "Tonight, we will escape, so be prepared when night falls."

Lena: "Alright, I'll prepare to escape after Mickey falls asleep. I'll leave the tent, and you stay in yours."

Noor: "I'll wait for you behind the tent. We need to sneak out quickly before the guards see us."

Lena: "How will we pass without the guards seeing us?"

Noor: "We have to carefully watch the guards and know their whereabouts well to successfully avoid them."

Lena: "I'll trust you and follow you, Noor."

Noor: "Now let's rest, then later we'll go out and walk around the camp to know the guards' locations."

After some time, Blake arrived at the camp with some of his men and found the guard tied to a pole. He asked Mickey about the reason for tying him up in this manner, and Mickey informed him about what the guard had done to Noor and Lena and how he mistreated them. Blake became furious and said he would ensure his punishment for what he had done, ordering him to be left tied up until his punishment was carried out.

Mickey said that Noor is resting in her tent with Lena and that she should be left there to recuperate because she was harmed by what happened to her.

Blake: "Alright, brother, I'll leave them with you for now, but come with me. I caught a wonderful prey today. Let's prepare it for lunch."

Mickey: "Did you catch a deer? That's great, we'll grill it today."

Blake and Mickey joined forces to prepare the deer meat, carefully cutting and preparing it, then gathering firewood and lighting the fire. This hard work took hours until it was time for noon. Then, they all gathered around a long table. Blake distributed food to everyone, then invited Noor and Lena to sit beside him and Mickey. Blake noticed that Noor wasn't eating much, so he took a piece of grilled meat and placed it in front of her, saying, "Here, Noor, this meat is very delicious, eat as much as you want." Meanwhile, Mickey was serving Lena the best pieces, and she was happily eating them. After finishing the meal, the men went to their places, some slept at noon, some went on guard duty, and some walked around the area. Mickey suggested to Lena that they go for a walk together and chat for a bit, but she refused, saying she wanted to stay with Noor in their tent. Mickey agreed and told her to do as she felt. At that moment, Noor said she was tired and wanted to sleep, asking Lena to go with Mickey. Lena understood from Noor's looks that she wanted her to help with the escape plan, remembering that she had told her before that they needed to know the guards' locations. So she agreed immediately and said to Mickey, "Alright, I'll go with you because Noor wants to sleep, so let's take a stroll." Then Mickey took Lena to a beautiful spot in the forest overlooking the sea, while Noor went to her tent and slept there. As for Mickey, he sat with Lena in the forest.

Mickey: "What do you think of this place? Did you like it?"

Lena: "Yes, it's a wonderful place. I love the sea a lot, but I wanted to explore around the camp."

Mickey: "Alright, we'll explore in a bit. Walking will help us digest the meat we ate. Did you like the grilled meat?"

Lena: "Yes, it was very delicious. I've never had deer meat before coming to the island."

Mickey: "I'm glad you liked it. But I'm curious, what was your profession before coming to the island?"

Lena: "I'm a university graduate specialized in biology, and I also do reading and research."

Mickey: "You truly impressed me. You don't seem like a researcher."

Lena: "What do you mean? Did I come off as dumb?"

Mickey: "No, of course not, I didn't mean that, but your personality seems somewhat childish."

*Mickey smiles and chuckles*

Lena arches her eyebrows with a grim expression, anger evident on her face, then turns her face away from him.

Mickey: "I'm just kidding with you. Come on, let's take a walk, I'll show you something. And since you're a researcher, you'll find this very interesting."

Lena eagerly accompanies Mickey to see what he will show her, and they walk until they reach a bush on the ground full of wild berries. Mickey plucks one berry from the bush and shows it to Lena.

Lena: "Is this all you wanted to show me, just a wild berry?"

Mickey: "Don't rush, Lena, look at this berry in my hand. If we come back tomorrow, we'll find that it's back in its place."

Lena: "How can it return to its place?"

Mickey: "This bush has a remarkable property; no matter how much we pick from it, it regrows its fruits in one day."

Lena: "That's unbelievable, that's impossible, you're lying to me."

Mickey: "No, I'm telling the truth. We'll try it out; we'll pick all the berries and see what happens tomorrow."

Lena: "But how can this happen? What is the explanation for this?"

Mickey: "That's why I brought you here. You said you're a researcher, so you need to discover the secret of this bush."

Lena: "If what you're saying is true, this will be the greatest discovery in history. No one has ever seen anything like this before."

Mickey: "You seem amazed. I'm glad you like surprises, but I have another surprise for you as well."

Lena: "What's the other surprise? Is it another strange thing?"

Mickey: "Come with me, I'll take you to the place."