The Accidental Slave (Aya's story Part 1) (2 page)

“No, honestly, you should have seen the way they
were checking me out and insisting that I give them my passport…
something was not right.”

“Hmm.” Aston pulled out and they took off at
high speed. “Not everyone’s a Masi warrior, and you can’t blame a
man for checking you out,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone that
annoyed Aya.

“No, it wasn’t like that at all. The guy was
really scary.”

Aston shook his head slightly. “Listen, Aya…
you, arriving in those tight jeans and long blond hair, probably
made their month. Don’t put more into it than it was, alright?”

Aya narrowed her eyes and decided she really
didn’t like Aston at all; he was far too arrogant and sure of
himself.
He thinks I’m a fragile paranoid little flower… but I’m
not!

“How would you know? You were there for thirty
seconds, and it sounds to me like you were busier assessing my ass
than the situation.” This was far more aggressive talk that Aya was
used to, but she was angry with him for being late, for doubting
her judgment, and for being so condescending to her.

“As I said, you can’t blame a man for checking
you out,” he said dryly.

Aya rolled her eyes. “You’ve been too long in
the desert. You need to get out more.”

“Well, they don’t exactly have strip clubs and
night life here, if that’s what you mean.”

Snide replies were forming in Aya’s head, ones
pointing out that his pumped biceps were probably a side effect of
too little female attention and too much masturbation. But she
couldn’t possibly be that vulgar, so instead she searched for
non-offensive things to ask.

“How long have you been working for Spread
Life?”

“About a year,” he replied.

“What do you do at the camp?”

“I’m the cook.” His sarcastic tone of voice
revealed that he found her question ridiculous, as his uniform said
it all.

She was offended by his lack of patience and
friendliness. “I’m trying to make polite conversation here. There’s
no need to go all Rambo on me.”

He didn’t answer.

“Isn’t there a rule about being nice to the
newcomer for at least twenty-four hours or so?” Aya asked while
bumping in the seat because of the holes in the road.

“I’m the Director of Security.”

Aya nodded. It explained his soldier look with
the short hair and serious expression.

“Okay. Do you like it?”

Aston made a sound that she couldn’t quite hear
because of the noise from the car. It sounded like a snort.

She continued, “When I left Norway we had lots
of snow, so it’s quite a change with this heat.”

“I’ve never been to Norway,” he answered
shortly.

“It’s very beautiful with mountains, lakes, and
woods… if you like that sort of thing…”

Aston didn’t reply so she continued her small
talk.

“I’m a ski instructor and I hike and kayak in
the summer, so I love nature.”

He gave her a side-glance. “Do you like stones,
dust, and sand too?”

Aya shrugged. “I hope I can get used to it.”

“But you didn’t fly in from Norway.”

“No, I had the mandatory introduction week in
England.”

Aston nodded and for a long time he didn’t
speak.

“So what brought you here?” Aya asked him.

Aston shrugged. “I was in the first troops that
Great Britain sent when the war broke out five years ago. I’ve been
back several times and speak the language, but I was getting tired
of being a soldier, so when Spread Life recruited me for this
position I accepted.”

“Because you love living in a dusty desert so
much?” Aya joked.

“No,” Aston said impatiently. “Because I want to
make a difference and keep some very vulnerable people safe.”

“Oh, I see.” No wonder Aston was so serious if
he had spent almost five years in a war zone.

“So you are an expert on Spirima, are you?”

“You could say that.”

“So what’s your take on the war? When do you
think it’ll end?”

Aston looked straight ahead when he started
talking: “It’s hard to say really. What you see now is a country
destroyed by war, but even when we first arrived five years ago
Spirima was a crippled land on the burst of collapse. The country
was far behind on technology, education, and infrastructure because
of decades of sanctions from the outside world. The king was forced
to give in to pressure from abroad that human rights should be
honored if Spirima were to receive any loans or trade with other
nations.”

Aya chipped in. “From what I understand they are
fighting because the king banned the Masi religion?”

“Yeah.”

“But couldn’t the king let people have their
religion and then regulate their behavior with laws instead?”

“He probably could, but I think he wanted to
send a signal that this was a new beginning and Spirima was leaving
slavery and human sacrifices in the past.”

“So what went wrong?”

“The rich and powerful people didn’t want to
give up their privileged life, so they started a rebellion to
overthrow the throne. It’s been very bloody.”

Aya didn’t ask more questions after that and
Aston didn’t talk to her either. If everyone at camp were as stiff
as Aston, Aya would be very lonely.

When they arrived at the camp Aston showed her
the way to her tent, and it seemed that the closer they got the
more tight-lipped he became.

“This is where you will be staying.” He pointed
to a tent in front of them. “Your roommate’s name is Tara.” He put
her bags down and left quickly.
Wow, he can’t get away fast
enough.

“Thank you,” Aya called out to him but he didn’t
even turn around; he just raised a hand to signal that he had heard
her.

The tent was going to be her new home for the
next year, and eager to see the inside, Aya entered. The tent
wasn’t big, but tall enough that she could walk around at her full
height. There were two beds and on one of them lay a young woman.
Aya guessed her to be her own age and assumed she was Tara, her new
roommate. The girl jumped up from her bed but instead of greeting
Aya, she popped her head out of the tent.

“Didn’t Aston pick you up?” she asked, and
looked disappointed that she couldn’t see him outside.

“Yeah he did,” Aya confirmed.

The girl closed the tent door and looked at Aya
with large green eyes, framed by brown hair that only just reached
her shoulders. She was very pretty.

“Was he mad?”

Aya frowned. “I wouldn’t say mad, but serious, I
guess.”

Tara rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s Aston.
Always so damn serious. But hey, don’t take it personally if he
seemed a little upset. It’s because of me.”

“What do you mean?” Aya tilted her head.

“We had a major fight just before he left… he’s
my boyfriend.”

“Ohh.” Aya flushed, thinking about how Aston had
admitted to checking her out, but Tara didn’t seem to notice her
red cheeks.

“Yeah, it’s no big thing. We fight all the
time.” Tara shrugged.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be.” Tara lit up in a genuine smile. “The
make-up sex makes it totally worth it.” She stretched her arms in
the air and made a slow sway with her hips. This girl was
well-shaped, with generous proportions in a Marilyn Monroe kind of
way, and Aya could see why men would find her sexy.

“Right.”
So much for my masturbation
assumption.
Aya smiled internally. Tara was such a contrast to
gloomy Aston. If he was reserved and stiff, Tara was chatty and
without a filter. It was hard to see what they had in common.

“Make-up sex… really… that’s… ehh, great… but I
thought relationships between staff weren’t allowed.”

Tara arched her eyebrows disapprovingly. “Ah,
don’t tell me you are one of those rule followers. You are not
going to tell anyone, are you?”

Aya shook her head. “No, of course not.”

“Good. Besides, we’re all human… we have needs,
you know.”

“Sure,” was Aya’s only reply.

And then Tara broke into a loud laugh. “My God,
I don’t think I introduced myself, did I? I’m Tara, your new
roommate.” She held out her hand for a formal introduction.

“My name is Aya.”

“Aya and Tara… it almost rhymes, and I like
short names, it’s easier to remember, right?”

“Yes, short names are great.” Aya hid a smile
and concluded that rhyming wasn’t Tara’s strong side.

“If you want I can show you around the camp.
There’s not much to see, but I remember when I first arrived. I got
lost all the time. Everything looks the same.”

Aya had already gotten a first impression from
her walk with Aston but she was eager to see more.

“I would like that,” she said.

The camp was big and had more than six thousand
refugees living in tents and portables. Tara showed her the kitchen
facilities where the refugees worked under supervision from staff.
She pointed out washing facilities that were very primitive and
explained the division of the camp.

“Okay.” Aya nodded and looked at the many
refugees walking pass them. Her attention was caught by staring
eyes at a distance. A group of refugees sat crouched down outside a
tent with nothing else to do than stare shamelessly. Aya seemed to
be the most interesting thing they had eyed all day. One of them
was a young woman who tilted her head and shot Aya a curious look.
She was dirty, her hair was greasy, and she had a big scar on her
leg that looked too symmetrical to be caused by nature. Someone had
burned her.

“Come on, I’ll show you the infirmary where we
work,” Tara pulled Aya along. The young female refugee got up and
followed them, and it made Aya a bit nervous.

“The mark on her leg… what is it?”

“Oh, that… it’s slave markings. They all have
different ones depending on who owned them; some have several.”

Aya could feel the woman catching up to them and
stopped to face her with a pounding heart. But there was no threat
in the woman’s eyes, just curiosity as she reached out and touched
Aya’s hair.

“What did she say?” Aya asked unfamiliar with
the word the woman had spoken in Spiri, the local language.

“She said Angel,” Tara translated.

“Ohh.” Aya smiled at the refugee.

“Long blond hair is a rare thing here,” Tara
continued matter-of-factly. “Maybe you better think of braiding it
or something.”

Aya stood still, allowing the young woman to
feel her hair, and forced herself to not move when the woman leaned
forward to smell her hair. “Angel,” she repeated in awe.

“Okay, that’s enough. We don’t want to start a
religious fan club of yours. Come along.”

Aya waved at the young woman and followed Tara
to the infirmary. Only one doctor and two nurses were on duty, and
they were happy to see a new face.

“So glad you’re here,” the doctor said politely.
He was a middle-aged man with a kind smile. The nurses were both
with patients but they looked up and nodded their heads in
greetings.

Tara brought Aya along to see the rest of the
camp and pointed to a portable. “That’s the security station where
Aston and his team works from. Come on, I’ll introduce you to a few
cute guys.”

Aya took a step back; she was tired from the
journey and felt sticky from the heat and sweat, but Tara ignored
her reluctance and just pulled her along.

Inside the portable a ventilator was working
overtime to cool down the room, and Aston and two other men in
their mid-twenties sat spread out around the room, working on
computers. They all looked up when Tara rang a little bell on a
counter and spread her arms in a theatrical manner. “Hey, guys…
you’ve got ladies in da house.”

“Oh, hey, Tara,” a big red-haired man got up and
approached the counter.

“Christian and Jimmy, come and meet my new
roommate,” Tara demanded.

The two men came around the counter and shook
hands with Aya.

“These guys are some of the best-looking men at
the camp,” Tara exclaimed in a light chuckle, positioning herself
in the middle of them and hooking her arm under theirs.

“Aston, come over here,” Jimmy called, but Aston
just scowled and stayed focused on his computer.

“We already met,” he murmured.

Tara laughed and lowered her voice slightly.
“Don’t worry, Aston is just in his big bad wolf mood today. Let him
huff and puff a bit, then he’ll come around again.”

Aston narrowed his eyes and hardened his jaw but
said nothing. Instead he got up and moved to the other side of the
room, opening some file cabinets with rough movements. When he
found what he was looking for he smacked the cabinet door, making a
loud noise.

“I can see that you’re all busy and I really
need to go and unpack, but I look forward to getting to know you
both later,” Aya told the men with a polite smile.

“Sure. We’ll see you later, Aya,” Jimmy said in
a friendly fashion while Christian glanced towards Aston, who had
returned to his desk and was now typing uncommonly loudly.