Until then our trip had been going well, and the vast deserts of Oman provided area for a variety of adventure sports. Lennon, Tyler and I were heading to one such site for adventure sports. The Al-Hayek Fort stood in the middle of the desert and was a tourist attraction because of the fort itself and also because it was a major hub for dirt biking. We had been driving all day and as the sun began to set there was a substantial decrease in temperature. Within half an hour the sun was completely set and we were compelled to put on our jackets.

      A couple of more kilometers and something glowing was now visible in the horizon, it was the fort itself. As we approached the fort the full scale of the fort was now visible although some parts were hidden in the dark of the night. But even before its scale, what struck us was that it seemed to be vacant. The grandeur gate of the fort was wide open, its interiors were completely unilluminated and two huge fog lights were throwing light at the fort, both of them kept at some distance from the gate. Earlier on Lennon had pointed out that there were no incoming or outgoing vehicles on the road that connected the fort to the city but we could not give justification on that matter.

     Nevertheless, we decided that staying there till the morning was the best proposition because neither of us were in a state to drive all the way back to the city. So we parked the car in the huge courtyard of this might fort, and decided to sleep in the car itself.

     In the middle of the night I was woken up by the sound of some artillery and gun fire, my friends were woken by the same. With hazy eyes I saw some heavenly dressed armed men much like the United States Special Operatives Force. They were placed on the towers and balconies of the fort, many more were marching in from the gate. A few of them approached our car and grabbing us all by our collars took us to a secret underground bunker where an elderly man whose uniform , as I noticed was studded with medals and batches , looked at us and ordered his men to take us to the interrogation room. We were not only terrified but also puzzled, every few minutes there would be a blast and the roof of the bunker would shake and the only source of light in the room would flicker and begin to sway vigorously. A couple of minutes passed, the blasts stopped. Then suddenly there was a thunderous boom and the bunker began to collapse. Two men came to guide us out of the bunker. Apparently the opposite side had dropped a hydrogen bomb as I came to hear from one radio a commando was holding. Everyone was rushing to get into the helicopters.

       Now, only one was left, and we could see the wave of explosion advancing towards us. The helicopter was facing technical issues but soon managed to start. It was too late; the wave of explosion was already here. As the helicopter rose up, we could see the area of impact of the explosion. Thankfully the helicopter was fats enough to get us out the radiation zone.

      We reached the United States embassy safely after a few hours. On our way, some operatives helped us understand the situation. As it was told, the Al-Hayek fort had been shut down for tourists as it came in the conflicted zone of Oman and the United States. The zone had a lot of oil fields which was a source of income for the terrorist organizations of the world. The United States had helped Oman fight against many of these organizations and wanted full control over the area but the Government of Oman detested. This started a war and finally Omanis dropped a hydrogen bomb to make the area inaccessible for either side. By the time the area becomes radiation free there would have been multiple switch of governments in the United States and the Omanis hope new governments would concede to their demands and leave the area to Oman.

         Why our hotel manager not tell us about this conflict, still remains a mystery. One of the theories put forth by Tyler was that he wanted us to get into trouble because we were Americans and we indeed had a hearty laugh about this. But all of us admitted that it indeed was a narrow escape from death. If we had stayed in the wave for any longer we could have died of radiation poisoning.