War Kids (18 page)

TILLY

Watching my brave brother walk away to rescue our father, I am excited and scared for him; but I know he’ll be okay. Jada will keep him safe; she promised.

I place Zak’s pack on my shoulder and nearly fall backwards under its weight.

“Tilly, are you okay?” one of the children asks me as I tumble into him.

“Sorry, Zak’s bag is too heavy.”

He laughs. “It’s bigger than you are. I bet you can fit inside it!”

He’s right, I probably could. I adjust the shoulder straps and attach the center clip across my chest. That’s better. I look like I’m hiking. I bet I look silly! I start petting Liquorice -- that always makes me feel better. He wags his tail as I stroke his back.

“They’ll be okay,” I tell Liquorice, trying to reassure him and myself.

“Okay, kids, inside!” yells the watcher.

Oh, no, sounds like we are in trouble.
Maybe he’s in a bad mood because he wanted to go to the prison as well. He has an angry look on his face and a gun in his hand. My heart starts racing, and I feel nervous.

I wish I hadn’t told Zak and Jada to go. Something inside me is telling me to run. My stomach feels hollow, and my mouth becomes dry. I hurry inside the church with the other children. I think we all have the same feeling. Looking around from one face to the next, we realize we’re alone... away from the leaders of our little gang, the people who helped us get here, the people who kept us safe.

Once inside the church, I can see a line of watchers standing in the far corner where, just a few moments ago, the leader spoke. Each of them is holding a gun. Why are there so many watchers inside? They are looking at us like we are the enemy. I have a bad feeling about this…

I hide in the crowd of children as we move around the room. I have to get out of here. I follow the crowd over to the kitchen. I need to go to my safe house. I wish I hadn’t told my brother to go; I am alone now.

I make it to the kitchen with Liquorice. Everyone else is in the main section of the church. I put Zak’s backpack on the ground, remembering that I’d found a map when we were in the city.

I lay it on the ground and study it, trying to get my bearings and a sense of exactly where we are and where I need to go.

…
Here’s the city. We walked up this way. This is the church, just past the outskirts of town, but before the next one. When they left, they headed north. So the Mezzeh Prison should be around here.

Looking over the map, I cannot find it. There’s only the train station there, then after that, nothing… just wasteland. Am I reading it right? It looks like they’re going the wrong way.

I must be reading it wrong. The sounds of the church doors open, breaking my concentration. I hear deep voices… adults.

“No!”

Blood-curdling screams echo around the room. Gun shots and booms bounce off the walls. I squeeze my hands over my ears… this cannot be happening! Everyone who could protect us has gone. Slowly I will my fingers to move off my ears; the gun shots have been replaced with silence.

I’m frozen to the cold kitchen floor. Liquorice stands on all fours, ready to leave. He nudges me in the shoulder, trying to wake me from my paralyzed state. Quickly snapping out of it, I move closer to the kitchen door to hear what is happening. I can just make out their voices.

“Good work, watchers. I see the captain’s plan is underway,” one of the adult voices says. I hear heavy footsteps moving around the room… too heavy to be the children.

“At ease, soldiers,” the adult’s voice bellows out.

Oh no, they're soldiers. They’re here, and they’re working with the watchers. But why?

“What are we going to do with these?” a younger voice speaks up.

“They’ll come work for us. I hear Keeper has had them in training for us, ha, ha, ha.” The soldier laughs. All this time they were training us so we could work for the soldiers!

“And when they’re older, they will become watchers, too, or we will kill them.”

I hear a deep breath of shock fill the church; the children must also be listening, silent in their fear. They came so close to freedom.

They are going to kill everyone.
I have to find Zak and Jada and warn them. I know he said I need to go to the safe house, but I cannot let them walk into a trap.

Liquorice and I leave quietly through the kitchen, holding the back door to prevent it from slamming shut. I cannot risk going around the front; the men might see me.

I run through the cemetery. I have to move faster. I need to catch up to them before they get to the train station. That must be where the Keeper is leading them. What is waiting for them there?
Oh no, they have sent more soldiers, but why?
We are the last children here; why do they care about us? They have everyone else, so why not just leave us alone?

The group cannot be that far in front of me. There is a stone building, and I hide behind it.
Perfect
, I can see up and down the street. The church is set back a little… they won’t be able to see me when I run. There are soldiers standing everywhere. I was right not to go around to the front.

I squeeze my eyes together and look in the direction my brother headed. I can see them… barely. They’re on the horizon, almost out of sight. I have to be fast, or I’ll lose them.

I set off running, with Liquorice next to me. I try to keep a steady pace, but my legs are short, so the distance seems great. I can go for a long time before I run out of breath, though. Tears roll down my face from fear and anger. I can make it to them -- I have to. I wish Zak was here with me now.

GERARD

“Faith, you made it. How’re you feeling?” Laura asks, as we enter the tent. Faith’s arm is in a plaster cast from the bombing.

“Hi, Laura,” Faith says with a smile. “A lot better, thanks to you. Gérard told me you found Jada. Where is she? Is she here? Is she safe?”

The last time Laura saw her, Faith was in tears, struggling with the guilt of telling Jada to run from the soldiers in the hospital, not realizing that it was UN soldiers who were there to help. Poor Jada has been on the run since that day, and Faith has felt terribly about it.

I just hope Laura has some useful information. I have to find Jada for my own reasons. I cannot help but think she is my daughter.

“She’s not here, but a young boy named Haytham showed me photos of her. They were together. She helped rescue his family. Jada’s a hero!”

She sounds like my daughter! I can see Faith relax a little as Laura speaks.

I put my arm around Faith’s shoulders, but I'm not sure whether it’s to reassure her or myself. Faith looks up affectionately. Glad it worked for someone.

“Haytham told me they should’ve been here already,” Laura says. “I’ve been able to round up some UN soldiers to help us look for her. They owe me a few favors. We have a truck waiting for us.”

Jesus, she’s good!
“I cannot believe this.” I turn to Faith. “I don’t want you to come. You haven’t recovered; you should still be in a hospital now.”

“I’ll see you outside,” Laura says. “We have to go in a minute.” She smiles and heads out of the tent.

“Gérard, she’s out there on her own because of me,” Faith exclaims. “I have to find her. What if she’s injured? It’s my fault. She asked me to protect her, and what did I do? I sent her out there to die!”

“I can go get her. You stay here. I don’t want you out there in the war zone. I cannot bear the thought of losing you; I’ve lost too many I care for.”
Jesus, that sounds soft!

Faith marches out of the tent, turning as she gets to the entrance.

“Are you coming?”

Of course I’m coming. What a stupid fucking question!

JADA

I’m not sure how long we’ve been walking. It seems like forever. Mansur has not stopped talking.

Looking back at the church to try to figure out how far we have come, I see something moving in the distance. It’s coming closer. It looks like someone running in our direction, heading right for us.

I stop; Zak and Mansur continue walking, with Mansur still talking. They don’t notice that I’m no longer there. I squint my eyes, placing my hand on the brim of my cap to block out the sun. It cannot be. Is the heat getting to me? It looks like Tilly and Liquorice. They’re running toward us.

They’re getting closer and closer, and Tilly is waving frantically. Surprised, I wave back to her. She moves both her arms in the air wildly. I turn to Zak.

“Zak, Zak, your sister has followed us!” The whole group stops.

“Stupid kid!” Mansur says.

What did he say?! I look over at him. Did I hear right? The expression on his face has completely changed. He looks like a different person now.

Oh no
. Zak was right… he looks just like the Keeper. I see it now.

“We were nearly there!” Mansur snaps. I can see the anger filling his eyes. He looks like he’s about to explode. Oh, my God, I’ve never seen anyone look this scary.

I glance over at Zak, and his eyes are bulging, his pupils dilated. His shoulders are up and his chest is out, making him appear bigger. He’s looking around the group.

All the watchers surround us. They do look the same, except now the zombie expression is gone from their faces and has been replaced by one of hatred and disgust. The inner group is acting like scared cattle that have been rounded up for slaughter.

The Keeper stands at the front of the group with his gun across his body, both hands on it, ready to fire. He has the same look as Mansur. They are brothers… I am sure of it!

Tilly is getting closer. What is she shouting?

“It’s a trap! It’s a trap!” she repeats, again and again. “It’s a trap!” She runs towards us with Liquorice, waving her hands in the air, and then the expression on her face changes. She is not looking at Zak and me anymore.

She stops abruptly, her face filled with horror, as if she’s looking at the devil himself.

I turn to the direction Tilly is facing, and I see Mansur standing there with his gun drawn, his eyes soulless.

The bottom corners of his mouth turn upward in an evil grin, and he places his finger on the trigger and squeezes it. Everything moves in slow motion except the bullet. Tilly collapses to the ground before the sound of the gun explodes around the streets, bouncing from one building to the next.

Zak is frozen with shock.

NO!

I know what is going to happen next, before Mansur even knows. It’s as if I’m reading his mind. Swiftly I remove my gun from my waist belt. Leaning over to Zak, I reach my arm outwards and push him back. Zak turns to look at me; the movement has broken his frozen state.

Mansur can see what is unfolding. I reacted faster than he did, and he wasn’t expecting me to have a gun. I look him directly in the eyes. For a split second, I see fear in him, and I don’t think twice. I pull the trigger.

He moves sideways, out of the direct line of fire, but I get him. I hit him in the shoulder. Blood sprays everywhere. Mansur drops his gun on the ground, yelling out in pain. Zak sweeps the gun up in one fast motion.

I grab the back of Zak’s shirt and pull him toward me before he can raise the gun to kill Mansur.

His time will come, but now we have to run. Our very own World War III is unfolding. The Keeper and the watchers are stunned as well… Everything is happening so fast, they’re still processing it.

“Run!” I yell to Zak, as I drag him away from the screaming Mansur. We both sprint for cover, preparing ourselves for the shower of the bullets about to be released upon us.

We get to a building and dive though the open doorway, just as a hail of bullets rains down upon us. We quickly slide up against a brick wall, and I hold my breath as I look up and down my body. There are no bullet wounds; I’ve not been shot. Neither has Zak. It’s a bloody miracle.

“Tell me it’s not real… tell me he didn’t just kill her,” Zak moans.

The firing continues outside. Based upon the sounds, I think they are still in the same position in which we left them. They haven’t moved yet. We need a plan.

“Zak, they killed her because she was warning us. We have to kill them – kill them all.” I need to get him angry, get him fired up. He is of no use to me in his current state of mind. I need him to snap out of it quickly!

Zak moves his position, points his gun out the window, and begins firing round after round, aiming for Mansur.

Mansur dives out of the way, into the building behind him. Zak is firing in anger, but he’s not hitting anyone – he's wasting bullets.

Kneeling next to Zak, I begin firing, hitting one watcher after another. They fall to the ground and die. I do not want them to get back up. The remaining watchers realize that I’m firing to kill. They don’t know it’s me killing them. They cannot see which one of us is shooting.

They begin to retreat into the building where Mansur is hiding. The poor children are trapped in the middle, defenseless, and with bullets flying over their heads. They never got their weapons.
Of course not.
The Keeper bloody lied to us. Zak was right!

There is no one left to fire upon because they’re all hiding. Zak is out of bullets, and he throws his gun to the ground. Slumping down, he leans against the wall and fumes. I have extra ammo in my backpack. I begin to add the bullets into his gun.

“It’s pointless, I cannot use it. I can’t even kill the man that killed my sister!” Zak says, defeated.

In the silence of the battle, like the eye of the storm, I place my arm around him. It’s my fault Tilly is dead. I told him he was being paranoid and that Tilly would be fine… that the watchers would look after her.

“I’m so sorry, Zak,” I whisper into his ear.

My heart breaks as I say those words; it makes it all too real.

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t fire the gun,” he says.

I know I didn’t, but I may as well have.

“Come here, Liquorice. Come here. Good boy,” Mansur calls out.

No!

“Mansur, leave us alone! Why are you doing this to us?” I scream.

“Because I can! You shot me, you little bitch. Now I will kill your dog and then you!”

I slide out from the cover of the building. “Liquorice, come here, come here!” I yell desperately. Suddenly there’s a loud
POP,
and it feels like a hot drill is stabbing a hole in my leg and twisting it. A terrible burning sensation follows and shoots up my thigh.

My leg collapses, and I am on the ground, unable to move from the shock of the bullet ripping through me. I’m not in pain yet; it’s a weird delay.

But it’s coming. My body is preparing itself for the inevitable agony. A pool of crimson begins to form under my leg, pouring from the back of my thigh. I’m unable to breathe, and my lungs feel like they are being crushed.

“No!” I let out a piercing cry as the excruciating pain hits me and fills my body. I cannot stop screaming.

The pain, the pain is unbearable. “Help me, Zak,” I gasp. “Help me!”

Zak stops firing and leaps to my side. “I got him,” he says, breathless. “I shot Mansur.” He quickly takes his belt off as he speaks. “We need to stop the bleeding. Do you have any bandages in your backpack?”

“I’ve been shot!” I scream out.

“We don’t have much time. They’ll come for us; they know you’re injured,” Zak says calmly. He is becoming the leader again. He’s right… they’ll be coming for us. Soon. We don’t have much time, so we need to move. I try to focus on his question, but my brain cannot think straight. The pain is scrambling my thoughts.

“Yes, there are some in my backpack,” I say, breathlessly.

Zak cinches the belt around my thigh and tightens it. “Ouch!” I let out a scream. He passes me a bandage.

“Hold this down. You need to add pressure to stop the bleeding.”

It hurts so badly, I don’t want to touch it! But I have no choice if I want to live. I push it down on my leg, screaming. The pain is indescribable.

“Jada, you are strong, you can do it. I’m not losing you as well,” Zak says. I look up at him.

He’s wiping my blood off his hands onto his pants.

“Zak, I need you.” I’ve never needed someone as much as I do him right now.

He kneels down, placing his arms around me, and gives me a passionate kiss. Oh, how I have longed for his kiss. I had to get shot for him to kiss me again!

We both open our eyes at the same time. Something is happening outside. I hear the sound of a truck suddenly brake, and then the sounds of heavy feet marching.

Soldiers are here.