War Kids (17 page)

“I’ll be fine on my own,” I mutter to myself a few moments later, kicking at the dirt.

No, I won’t.

Tears begin to roll down my face. How can I go from being so happy to feeling like this? I can’t believe he said those things and left me like that.

I wipe the tears away from my cheeks. I cannot cry over a stupid boy!

HAYTHAM

“When we got to the border, the younger children were terrified. For days, we’d been running from soldiers, and today we were driving straight toward them,” I tell Laura. But she doesn’t need to know I was scared too!

“What happened next, Haytham?” she asks.

“The soldiers directed our truck inside the camp. I could just see the wire fence with guards lined up against it,” I inform her.

“Then what happened?”

“We had to get out of the truck.”

“How did you feel?”

Great, is she trying to make me cry?

“I felt relieved and sad,” I say with a deep breath. “I got my family to safety, but I had to leave people behind, the people who helped save us.”

I hold my camera firmly, staring down at it.

“Haytham, do you have a photo of the people who helped you?”

I nod. “Yes. I have several.” I turn my camera on and hold it so I can see the images, skipping through a few photos of the war to the good ones.

“This is my new baby sister, Jada. My mother named her after the girl who saved us.”

“How old are they, the kids who helped save you?”

“Jada was fourteen. She turned fifteen this week. Zak is sixteen. They were the oldest children in the gang.”

“Do you have any more photos of Jada and Zak?” Laura asks.

I scroll through the photos for another moment, then pause and feel a smile cross my face.

“This is Jada the day she arrived. She was only with us for one night. She’d been through a lot, just like the rest of us.” I pass the camera to Laura.

“How do I zoom in closer?” she asks me, and I lean over and show her.

Laura takes a picture from her pocket, and starts glancing back and forth between the camera and the photo.

What’s she staring at?
I step forward for a better view and gasp.

“Why do you have a photo of Jada?” I ask.

“People are looking for her,” Laura replies with an astonished expression on her face. She hands me back the camera. “Haytham, where were they heading?”

“Here.”

“How far away were they?”

“I thought about two days' walk, but it’s been longer. Maybe they went the wrong way, or…” My voice fades, as I can’t say the fears that fill my mind.

“Haytham, try not to worry. We will find them.”

JADA

I walk into the church in a daze, still angry and upset and confused. Why are guys such jerks?

“OUCH!” a young boy runs into me and falls back onto his bottom. He looks at me in surprise, then jumps up and carries on as if nothing happened. I glance around the room and notice that everyone is hurrying around, excited. They’re all heading in the same direction – to the far corner of the church.

What’s going on?

Hurrying over to the spot where my backpack is hidden, I quickly grab it and follow the direction of the crowd. I catch myself automatically scanning around for Zak, and then I scold myself. I’m not talking to him, and I don’t need him! I don’t care where he is!

Instead, I start looking around, hoping to find Mansur or someone from 3F.

“Jada, we’re over here,” I hear Tilly calling. I see her off to the side holding hands with Zak, and she waves.

I have no choice but to go over there. Zak just looks at me and shrugs his shoulder.

Whatever…

“Hi, Tilly, what’s going on?” I focus on her and try to ignore Zak, but he nudges his head toward the front of the crowd.

I turn around for a better look and see the watchers standing at the front; it looks like they are getting everyone ready for the Keeper to come out.

I look back at Zak with wide eyes, and he smiles at me. We know what this means… it’s time to rescue our fathers!

My shoulders relax, and as much as I hate to admit it, it makes me happy that Zak smiled at me. I really don’t want to fight with him, and at least I won’t be on my own now.

The Keeper’s office door opens, and the room falls silent. He walks out with the watchers on either side of him, almost like they’re his bodyguards. He shows no emotion on his face as he moves to the front of the crowd.

“Today we will be reunited with our fathers!” the Keeper announces with power and passion. Crazy cheers bellow around the church, echoing off the walls. “Today is our day to stand together! Who is with me?”

Cheers of “I am, I am,” fill the room. One after another, the children yell out. The energy is contagious, and soon I join in the chant.

“I’m in!” I yell. Tilly looks up at me and smiles. Zak looks across at me. He is not chanting. His mouth is open in what appears to be shock from the scene around him. The Keeper waves his hands downwards to indicate silence.

“The smaller children will stay here with the watchers looking over them to keep them safe. A war zone is no place for the young ones,” he explains, and the watchers nod.

Zak will not like that. He hates leaving Tilly with them.

“As for everyone else, the watchers at the prison have informed me that there are very few guards left. Everyone has gone north. These two here will pretend that they have captured me and get the guards to open the prison doors. Once in, we’ll begin the attack from the inside, and then you will all follow. We have weapons for everyone. We have them hidden on the route to the prison.”

The room is silent -- the Keeper is a powerful speaker. “Gather what you need,” he continues. “We will be traveling to Mezzeh Prison at ten o’clock.”

With that, he turns and leaves the room. His final words elicit cheers of excitement from the younger children, happy they will be reunited with their fathers shortly. The enthusiasm is contagious, and I feel a smile appearing on my face.

I look over at Zak and Tilly. They are in the midst of a heated conversation.

“Will you tell him? He won’t listen to me. I’ll be fine here with the watchers,” Tilly says to me.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her.

“He says he’s not going. He doesn’t want to leave me on my own!” She scowls. “I’m not going to be on my own,” she says, flinging her arms around to indicate the number of people around us.

“Zak, she’s right. They’ll watch over her. She’ll be fine. We’ll be back before dark, and we need your help.”

He just stubbornly shakes his head.

“Zak, you have to go. Let’s just say if there’s a problem, which there will not be, Tilly can go hide out in the little stone house in the woods. No one will find her there. Only we know about that area. She can stay there until we get back... it will be a safe house for her.”

I don’t want to go on my own, and I want Zak to be with me.

“Jada, that sounds like a good plan. I can hide in that house if there are any problems, which there won’t be. Zak, don’t worry about me. Please, can you just go and rescue my father for me?!” Tilly demands. They are both as willful as the other.

“You two are not going to stop, are you?” Zak yells out, dropping his arms to his sides.

“Okay, I give up. I will go, but on the condition that if there are any problems, and I mean any, you’ll make a run for the stone house. You don’t come looking for me, and you don’t leave the stone house for anyone, do you understand?”

Tilly smiles.

“I understand, Zak. Really, don’t worry about me. Just get Father back.” She reaches over to give her big brother a hug. He leans down and kisses her on her head. Tilly looks up and smiles; she then grabs me and pulls me into their embrace.

We stand together, hugging, as everyone else in the room runs around. It’s crazy in here.

Zak passes Tilly his bag. “Keep hold of this for me. Keep it safe. I love you, little sis. Stay out of trouble, and if there is trouble, run and hide!”

“Will do. I love you too. Now go get my father!” Tilly orders. She is stronger than both her brother and me sometimes.

I arrange my hat, making sure all my hair is hidden away so I look like a boy. I’ll bring my bag with me; it’s the only thing I have left. I empty out some clothes to make it lighter.

Liquorice will stay with Tilly. They’ve been hard to separate and are always playing together; except at night, when he curls up in a ball right next to me, and I wrap my arms around him. He will watch over her.

“Jada, make sure Zak doesn’t get into any trouble!” Tilly demands. She is quite bossy at times.

“Okay, Tilly. I’ll make sure he stays out of trouble. We both will.”

Zak and I head to the door with the older children. We both turn around to see Tilly standing next to Liquorice, waving us off as if we’re on our way to school. The crowd of children at the door pushes us through. They are excited; we’ve all been waiting for this attack. I cannot believe the day is finally here. I miss my father a lot.

Outside the church, the Keeper stands with the watchers next to him. The watchers all have guns already, and some of these boys I’ve never seen. Maybe there were some who were away watching the prison… that makes sense.

“Today is the day you will become men! Follow me!” the Keeper shouts.

And women!
I hate it when we’re not classed as equals! My gun is firmly placed in the back waistband of my pants, and I am ready for anything.

The Keeper and his watchers begin marching in front. “We head north,” he yells out, not turning back to us. His deep voice echoes off the empty buildings. Excitement fills my body. Father trained me for this… I am ready! Time to take my revenge!

I turn back for a second to look at the church. Tilly and Liquorice are standing at the door with the other children, and the watchers are ushering them back inside. That’s good – keep them out of sight.

Luckily Zak didn’t see her, or he would’ve gone back to tell her off. “What’re you looking at?” he asks me. I shake my head.

“Nothing. So are you talking to me now?” I say in a sarcastic voice. He’s lucky I’m talking to him!

“Not much choice. Zombies are no fun to talk to,” Zak replies, shrugging his shoulders. Is that some type of back-handed compliment? He’s lucky that I don’t want another argument with him.

“How far do you think it is? It’s weird walking during the day. I guess all the soldiers have moved on,” I say, as I look around uneasily. I was much happier traveling in the night time, hiding in the shadows.

“This whole thing is weird, but I’m not getting into that now.” Zak says.

Great, he’s in a bad mood again. This is going to be fun.

“Have you got your gun?” he asks me a few minutes later.

“Yes, in the back of my pants.”

“Good. I wonder when I’ll get mine.”

I am wondering that, as well.

“They said they have them hidden, so I guess it’ll be soon.”

Zak moves closer to me. I know he wants to hold my hand. I want to reach out for his, but it’s not the right time, since we’re on our way to battle. We have to stay focused, but it’s hard to concentrate when he’s next to me. I look down at his hand.

“Nice cap. You look like a cute boy!” Zak laughs.

I jab him in the side, finally getting a bit of revenge for our argument.

“Ouch,” he yells out.

Everyone stops marching and turns to us. The Keeper shakes his head, looking at us almost in disgust; I shift my gaze down to the ground, embarrassed over my actions. Here we are off to war, and I’m messing about.

I look over at Zak, and his cheeks are getting red. Oh no, he’s angry at me. I’ve done it again!

“Sorry,” I whisper to him. He looks at me, confused.

“Why are you sorry? I’m not cross with you. It’s him... it’s them. I cannot stand them. The quicker we are out of here, the better!”

Oh well, I’m just glad he’s not mad at me.

Zak and I stay toward the back of the group, and suddenly Mansur jogs over to us.
Great.

“Hey there. Long time since I’ve seen you,” Mansur says, placing his arm around my shoulders.

I guess Zak is going to get even more cross, now that Mansur has his arm around me. I look over at Zak; he just rolls his eyes and shrugs.

“Hi, Mansur. How long will it be until we get there?” Zak asks with a big smile.

“It’s less than an hour away. We’ll be there in no time,” Mansur replies.

“Great. Will we get the weapons before then?” Zak asks. I know he feels vulnerable without a gun. I would if I didn’t have mine.

“Mansur, how did you get a gun?” I ask, as I notice a handgun in a holster on his hip.

“This old thing? The Keeper gave it to me earlier. I was one of the first waiting outside, and they had a few to give out. You two must’ve missed his handing them out.”

Zak shakes his head in silence. I guess this is going to be a quiet walk.