Free Veil of Silence by K'Anne Meinel Page B

though he alone were responsible for their existence, but he took no opportunity to interact with them other than to show them off. He made a gesture and Marsha continued on to the tent.  She worried, her heart pounding, as though he could read her thoughts…that he might discern her plans…. 
    As she approached, she was pleased to see Bahir playing with others.  She quieted Amir by placing him against her shoulder, stopping to wait for Bahir to see her.  The child stopped playing at her second mother’s silence.  At Marsha’s head jerk, she headed for the tent, not knowing if she was in trouble or what, but learning to obey instantly from past discrepancies.  It was not from Marsha, but from what Zabi and Malekah had been teaching ‘their’ children.  Inside the tent, Marsha quickly went to Malekah’s things and took a burqa for Bahir, placing it over her nice clothes.
    “Moray?” Bahir protested.  She liked her new and bright clothes to show.
    “Shhh,” Marsha ordered her, taking another and placing it over Amir who was much smaller.  It enveloped him totally.  At first he protested.  He was crabby from playing, tired and ready for a nap, but the novelty of the outfit had him playing with the material as Marsha took him once more in her arms.  “Come with me,” she ordered Bahir, who obeyed without question.  For once Marsha was grateful for the absolute obedience that these people insisted on from their women and children.  Marsha peeked and slipped outside the tent.  She would be another anonymous woman in a camp full of tribesmen and women.  No one noticed her as she made her way slowly to where she had spotted the jeep, parked outside the camp and out of sight by a curve in the hill.  It was perfect.  If only she could get away.  She knew to be caught with it would mean death for her.  She froze when a group of chattering women passed by her.  She kept her eyes lowered and they looked at her curiously, but seeing her walking with children, ignored her.
    Marsha looked around, her old soldier skills rising within her as she assessed the situation.  Arriving at the jeep, she swung Amir in the back, putting a belt on him before he could think to protest.  She swung a surprised Bahir over as well and tucked her into the seat next to him.  She knew questions would be forthcoming from the little girl if she didn’t hurry.  Once more, she looked around ensuring no one could see them.  She got into the driver’s seat, released the brake, put in the clutch, and the jeep began to roll down the hill backwards.  It wasn’t until it was at the bottom that she turned the wheel so it was facing the other way.  She turned the key, at the same time making sure it was in first gear, and cringed at the noise as it turned over smoothly.  She breathed a slight sigh of relief, her heart beating painfully in her chest as she popped the clutch and simultaneously gave it gas and they started to drive forward.
    “Moray?” she heard from the back seat, Bahir no longer keeping silent and sounding rather alarmed.  The novelty of the machine had worn off and the fear of its strangeness was beginning to scare her.
    “Mo…?” Amir’s little baby voice echoed his big sister, not nearly as coherent.  He was enjoying the newness of riding in the jeep.  Zabi and his brothers had already taken the toddler up on their horses, teaching him the ways of their people at a young age.
    Quickly, she stomped on the gas, all of them pulled further back into their seats by gravity as she sped away down the mountainside.  She changed gears as she could, never going into third or even fourth until she was on a straightaway.  All she could think of was to get away, to try or die trying.  Her greatest fear was that she would die and her children would be raised by those people.  Before she had become pregnant, she had tried to escape many times, but she’d been brought back and punished.  It had given her a