CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Six hours left until Gene's non existence. I found myself worrying more about that than my own well being or the fact that Harrat had the lamp. If Gene disappeared forever, it would not even matter that Harrat was in possession of the lamp, because there would be no more genie to make the wishes come true.

I had become quick friends with Gene in the last few days. I did not want to lose him. I had already left the only few other good friends in Illinois when I moved to Jersey. It was just too cruel that I would lose the first person I had made friends with.

"This sucks," I said aloud. It was something my sister Meg would state. She always knew how to capture the gist of things very well.

The guard looked up at me. "Quiet up there," he said.

"I've been up here forever," I said. "I can't even keep myself some company?"

"No."

I frowned. These people were too serious for their own good. I hoped that I would be rescued or released, or something soon, because I couldn't take hanging up there for much longer. I wished I had been able to get Harrat to make more wishes. Maybe I could still try it somehow. I could pretend that I was ready to tell the truth. Then maybe the guard would take me down and bring me to Harrat. If I could get him to waste two more wishes, I could make him wish the last time to be able to see Gene. By then it will have been his fifth wish and he would have none left. It would be fun to see the look on his face when we told him that, even if it did mean another black eye for me.

Or maybe I could try to convince him to let someone else give it a try. He didn't seem to know too much about how the lamp worked. Maybe he didn't know that once you made a wish and someone else read the inscription, your wishes were up. Either way would work. I just wondered which plan would put me in less danger.

I was still debating whether or not I should even alert the guard that I was ready to tell the truth, when Gene reappeared.

"We're on our way," he said. "Just hang tight-."

I gave him an annoyed look.

"Sorry, no pun intended. We'll be here soon. We've got a plan."

I nodded and Gene vanished again. I was glad they would come soon, because it was definitely past time for me to be freed. I had been held captive so many times in the last few days, I was beginning to tire of it. I hoped that their plan was good, and that it wouldn't put any one in any more danger.

I wondered what had become of Jafar and Aladdin. Had they ever reached the others? I certainly could not have asked Gene. Maybe if he came back I could say something as if I were talking to myself. The guard would get mad because I talked, but he probably wouldn't think I was talking to anyone. I decided that if Gene came back before I was rescued, I would do just that. Until then, though, I guess I just had to "hang tight" as Gene had so nicely put it.

Suddenly I caught something moving out of the corner of my eye. I lifted my head a bit to see Jafar, walking along the cave wall, making his way towards my guard. He had come back in through the tunnel. I supposed that they had not met up with the others, as I had told him to do. Turn around, turn around, I willed Jafar, but he kept coming towards us. If only he knew that the others were already on their way to rescue me.

Unless this was their rescue plan, to send Jafar back in through the tunnel. I wasn't sure what to think, but either way, Jafar was coming. He stopped about half way from the tunnel to the guard and pulled out some kind of device. I strained my eyes to make out what is was: a slingshot. He picked up a rock from the cave floor, moving slowly and quietly, and loaded the slingshot. He swung it over his head, creating great momentum for the rock. Then he let loose.

The rock went soaring through the air and hit the guard right on the back of his head. The guard crumpled forward, knocked out. I was even afraid he was dead, but I did not want to know.

Jafar raced forward and waved up at me. I waved back. He untied the rope and lowered me down. Once again, I was happy to have my feet on solid ground. Jafar unhooked me and began to untape my feet as I tried to stretch out my back. By the time he had gotten all of the tape off of me, I was standing straight, although it hurt to do so. My arms were pretty scraped up, but I didn't mind, I was free!

Jafar grabbed a rock to start beating the cuffs on my wrists, but I moved out of the way in time.

"No way!" I said. "You could miss and break a finger instead."

"Suit yourself," said Jafar, dropping the rock.

"Did you find the others?" I asked.

Jafar shook his head. "I left Aladdin at a nearby temple, they are tending to his wounds. I told you I would come back for you."

"Thank you," I said. "But we can't leave. Harrat has the lamp."

"Harrat?" Jafar questioned.

"The leader of the forty thieves," I explained. "He has the lamp. We have to get it back before we escape."

"There is no way we can pull that off by ourselves," Jafar argued. "We should go and find the others, and then work with them to get the lamp back."

I realized that this was the more logical thing to do. I was just worried. There were only about four hours until Gene expired and would cease to exist.

"I guess we should go," I said finally. "We do have to find the others, because I think that they are still planning on rescuing me. We have to stop them before they do, and change their plan to get the lamp back instead."

"All right, then, let's go," said Jafar. "The sooner we stay here the more of a chance we have to get caught."

"True," I agreed. "Let us go."

We rushed along the cave wall to the tunnel and our freedom. I heard a yell from behind me. Suddenly I was stopped in my tracks. I tried to move forward, but my legs refused to obey me. Jafar was in the same situation.

We heard footsteps pounding towards us and knew that we had been caught.

"My wish worked!" I heard Harrat exclaim. "It worked!"

I guessed that Harrat had wished for us to stop moving. By the time the thieves had reached us, we were still frozen.

"Well, well, well," said Harrat. "Looks like I fixed it." I wanted to smack the smug look off of his face.

"Pick them up and hook them up again," Harrat instructed his people. There were about fifteen guards with him.

One of the guards tried to pick me up and move me, but I would not budge. The guard trying to pick up Jafar was having the same problem. Harrat was getting exactly what he wished for, I supposed. Jafar and I were not moving, at all.

"We can not move them, sir," the guard that had tried to pick me up informed Harrat.

"What? Why not?"

"Your wish, sir," said the guard who had tried to pick up Jafar. "They will not move."

Harrat grunted in frustration. "Geez, the genie does not have to take me so seriously. I guess I can waste another wish on them. I'd still have three left. That is more than enough to get myself what I want. And I will make them pay for making me waste two wishes on them."

I was glad that the wish kept me from moving, or else I would have burst out laughing. If he wasted another wish on us, he would only have one wish left. I'm sure he would use that one last wish in no time. Then he would be surprised to find that the lamp would stop working once again.

"Sir," one of the thieves interrupted. "Maybe it would be best to just leave them there. That way, they will not be able to escape at all, and no one else will be able to help them escape either. Takes care of several problems."

Harrat thought about this for a moment. "I suppose that will work. Good suggestion. You can stay and watch them. Everyone else, come and help me think of what wishes I am going to make."

The smart thief stayed to watch over Jafar and me, although we certainly were not going anywhere. Everyone else followed Harrat back to the elevator.

Now we were in trouble. We could not move from the positions we were in, and no one else could move us either, except for Gene. The only way we could be freed is if Harrat used up another wish. That seemed unlikely, since the smart thief now guarding us had stated the folly in that. The others would come to rescue us and not even be able to move us. Maybe they would be able to think of something else to set us free.

At least being frozen was not as bad as hanging from the ceiling. It was less painful, although slightly annoying. I could not move any part of my body. I could not move my eyes or blink.

I was not sure how long Jafar and I were stuck like that when Harrat came back.

"We have struck a new deal with Ali Baba," he informed the smart thief, Jafar, and me.

"What is it, sir?" Smart Thief questioned.

"I wish them free, and let them go, and then they will tell me how to use the lamp."

"But, sir," Smart Thief objected, "you already learned how to use the lamp."

"Yes, but only one wish worked. I do not know if the others will. And I still can not see the genie. Ali Baba says he can take care of the whole problem for me, if I wish them free. I figure, I do not really even need them anymore. I have what I want. I think I am going to make the deal. I wanted to know your opinion on it."

"My opinion, sir?" the thief seemed suspicious. "You have never asked my opinion before."

"Well, you have proven yourself, I believe," said Harrat. "Your opinions have proved valuable in the past. Besides, I need someone to blame when things go wrong." Harrat laughed as if it was some big joke, but Smart Thief was not laughing. He looked more nervous than anything.

"So what do you think?" Harrat asked.

"I say…make the deal. Have them tell you what you need to know. And then…kill them all."

Harrat was laughing once again. "See? You are a smart one. That is a brilliant idea! Why didn't I think of anything like that? Haha, that will work perfectly. Keep an eye on these two. I am going to go tell Ali Baba that we have a deal." Harrat walked away, still laughing to himself. Smart Thief blew a sigh of relief. I guess he was afraid of being punished.

I had to find some way to warn them. But how could I possibly do that? Everything was going wrong. There were only three hours until Gene no longer existed, Ali Baba was going to tell Harrat to wish that he could see Gene, and Harrat would have one wish left to do anything he wanted. Then he could pass the lamp on to someone else and more bad wishes would be made. All of this would go down in the next three hours. Harrat was going to win, Gene was going to cease to exist, and we were all going to die.

I had to warn them, I had to. But I could not move! It was so frustrating. I wished that Gene was not so powerful. I wished there was someway I could break his control. But only Gene can do that, another part of my brain said, and if he did he would die. But he was going to cease to exist soon anyways, yet another part of my brain said. I wondered what was going through Jafar's mind at that moment. He was probably feeling helpless like me. If only there was something we could do, anything. I could not live with myself if Ali Baba or anyone else who was trying to rescue me died in the process. It had been my stupid idea to go running outside of Ali Baba's house. It was my fault that I had been caught. If someone else had to pay for my foolishness…I could not bear it. And Gene! I had to save Gene from ceasing to exist. I did not go through all of the adventure just to lose him in the end.

I could hear people approaching. I was not sure who was coming, though, since my head was stuck facing the other direction, but it sounded like a lot of people.

"There they are, see?" I heard Harrat's voice from behind me say. "They're fine, they're not hurt."

Suddenly Arth was in front of Jafar and me, looking us over. "Not hurt?" he yelled incredulously. "She has a black eye, her arms are rubbed raw! And my son's hand is burnt and he has several bruises as well! I consider that hurt."

"What's wrong with them?" Ali Baba asked from behind me. I wondered who all had come besides Arth and Ali. Who all would pay for my stupidity? If only I could move my mouth, say one word, anything.

"I wished for them not to move," said Harrat. "And it worked."

"Well you better unwish it right now," I heard Rachel say. "We are not helping you fix the lamp unless they are mobile."

"How do I know that you will help me after I wish them free?" Harrat asked.

"Because you will still have us in your custody," said Meghann. "You still have the advantage."

"What do you think?" I figured Harrat was asking Smart Thief.

"You can wish them free," said Smart Thief. "What does it matter? You are going to let everyone go after anyways."

I hoped someone had heard Smart Thief's emphasis on the 'let everyone go'. But no one did or said anything about it, if they had noticed.

"All right, then," said Harrat. "I wish that Ebony and Jafar could move again."

"Wait, sir!" Smart Thief exclaimed suddenly. I supposed he realized that we knew that they planned to kill us all, and we would tell the others. But he was too late, I was free. I guess he was not so smart after all.

I fell to the floor in front of me as the wish was released. Not that I lost my balance or anything. I fell to the floor to grab a rock, but I pretended the fall was due to the uplifting of the wish. When I stood back up, the rock was hidden in my hand. I passed it to Jafar, who I knew still had the slingshot in his possession. He loaded it and whirled it around his head just like he had before. He struck the Not So Smart Thief right between the eyes and he went down like a fly.

"They're planning to kill us!" I warned. I realized that there were a few people who had not come on the rescue mission. Neel and Nida did not come of course, and Nisha, my mother, and my grandfather were not present either. Gene was there, however. Not that Harrat or any of the other thieves could see him.

"Run!" Jafar added.

But along with our rescue company, there were also fifteen other thieves. They came after us before we had a chance to run. There was nothing to do but fight. I was afraid for my sisters, we were definitely not born fighters. But Ali, Arth, Jafar, and Sheba joined together with my sisters to help fight off the thieves. They were in good hands.

None of the thieves were coming after me however. At least, I didn't think so, until I realized that Harrat was glaring at me.

"This is all your fault!" he yelled. "You devil of a child!" Harrat pointed a finger at me. "I wish you to kill her!"