(Day Seven)
A searing pain erupted in my chest
as I staggered backwards. The whiff of singed gunpowder heightened my dismay,
along with ringing in my ears from the rifles fired. Behind me, I heard gasps
and shrieks. Those fools were cowards, acting like caged chickens.
The seven of us had nodded throughout
the night. The group huddled in this wind whipped shepherd shack nestled amid
the towering peaks of the Zagros mountains to
keep warm.
Now, I glanced down and noticed
splattered blood on the ground.
Seriously?
Unconsciously the throbbing
brought my hands to my chest, where I found three wet warm holes from which my blood
oozed. It took a moment for this incident to register in my brain.
They had actually shot me.
Despite this nuisance, yet another
thought aggravated me.
Where was He?
He had been missing for over an
entire day, as I pondered on his whereabouts.
Why had he abandoned me?
Six days ago, we had initiated our
agreement.
It should have been a simple task,
a kidnapping for the insurance ransom policy. We agreed not to harm anyone, at worst they might be shaken up
and bruised.
That had been our goal until those avaricious bandits upended everything. They deviated
our plan, and everything.
Consequently, no one predicted my
current condition.
Dammit, I have not overcome these hurdles to lose it all.
Furthermore, I heard shouts from
that foreign-tongued Military Captain. It had to be a command by its tone. His four
youthful soldiers hesitantly shuffled back inside the shack, while aiming their
semi-automatic rifles in a jittery manner.
I knew how it must have felt for
them, having shot someone in cold blood.
To my side, I observed our trusted
guide Ahmad speaking in multiple Arabic and Kurdish directives to no avail. They
had barricaded our only entrance, thus surrounding us.
Abruptly, I cramped uncontrollably
forward like having my appendix burst. Without warning my legs collapsed. I dropped
knees first to the floor. I groaned as my chest slammed into the terrain.
The teenage soldiers retreated to the door-frame in
fright. It must have been serious. My body started depleting of its strength.
In that moment, I wondered why nurse
Naomi had not attended to my injuries. She had been our rescued medic. I could
still remember her weeping over Michael's dead body, while she tried frantically
to save him.
But what about me?
She just stood there, dumbstruck like
the other five.
Nevertheless, I lay crumpled on the ground inhaling dirt without a
single person aiding me.
There was another barked order
from the Captain.
My eyesight flickered as the morning
sunlight emitted shadows from the soldiers scurrying away from the door.
Briefly, their fumbling movements distracted my excruciating pain.
Had he come to rescue me?
Someone had knelt to my side, and begun
rolling me over.
Might it be?
Yes, dear God.
His once gentle hands felt like rose
branches, when he cradled me. I could hear him speak, though his voice seemed muffled
for his presence. My life had begun swiftly fading.
I could smell the musk scent of
his moistened hairy chest heaving. His heart beating rapidly.
Finally, He had arrived for me.
My body begun to shiver. I could
feel no warmth even from his comfort. My bones felt chilled, which had caused
my muscles to tense. My breathing became laborious in this mountainous elevation.
I tried to speak, but only
coughed. It had been a mixture of mucus with blood, which made me gag. Once again,
I coughed. This time it had been mostly blood.
I had begun to panic, when I started
drifting from consciousness.
I raised my left hand to his unbuttoned
smeared shirt and grabbed hold with all my resilience.
After I spat again from my mouth, I
noticed him leaning inwards to my face. He had propped my head up, but still
blood dribbled down from the corners of my mouth. He held me in tight
desperation. His eyes divulged his regrets for our failed mission.
His stubble chin caressed against my cheek, while he crouched
inward.
I muttered to him with my last
breath, "You idiot."
No comments:
Post a Comment