Under the Olive Tree

27. Sab'a Wa'Ishrun

Muhsin raced in and a few moments later, two other soldiers were forced out of the front doors. One was pushed back with a force that threw him onto the jagged ground past the freshly washed steps of their home.

"Get back!" Their neighbor shouted, racing up the steps as Muhsin appeared, shielding a crying Amjad behind his back.

"Breaking into a home with only children," Muhsin spat. "I should be shocked, but your cowardice has become old news. I should cut off your hand for touching my brother."

One of the soldiers spoke as the others struggled to help their comrade of the ground. "We should kill all of you for what you've done," the familiar voice spat. When Amani stopped a few feet from them, she recognized the soldier with the scarred nose.

Fayza had left a mark on him.

"You've been trying for centuries, haven't you?" Muhsin challenged. "But we still stand and your weapons are useless."

Yazan tugged Amani. "Get back, it's not safe."

"We don't need weapons to do what we need to. Just like we killed your father, we did the same to your sister with only our hands," he snorted. "You are the weak ones. If you were wise, you would fear us."

Muhsin's face stilled. "What did you say?"

"Move!" Amani pulled herself away from Yazan. She pushed through the soldiers and hurried up the steps to tug Amjad away from his brother as Muhsin took a step down the stairs, forgetting he'd been holding the boy entirely. His eyes had shifted to something unforgiving when he watched the soldiers. A switch flipped within his mind at the armed man's words.

"Are you okay?"

Amjad nodded, hugging Amani tightly.

"Have you buried her yet or shall I bring my men to finish the job?" He snorted in amusement. "Your sister was difficult to put down but, once she fell, she could not rise. It was quite a sight, you know. Fayza Awad on the ground and unable to protect herself. I am shocked she has not been taken by your God yet."

Muhsin stepped onto the floor, moving slowly toward the man who spoke. Amani's heart swelled in her chest, growing three times its size and beginning to ache against her ribs and heart. "You do not believe in our God?" He asked.

His calm tone sent shivers down Amani's spine.

"You would be a fool to touch me now," the soldier said. Every person in the street was quickly growing aware of the shrinking space between Muhsin and the green men, even them.

Muhsin smiled. "Then why don't I send you to meet him."

Amani's hands flew over Amjad's eyes as his brother gripped the soldier's neck, throwing him onto the floor and jumping over him. In a moment, all the soldiers' rifles pointed at him. In only a second, all the men in the street threw their bodies in front of him and wrestled the soldiers away from Muhsin.

Between them, Muhsin's hands shattered the protective shield on the soldier's helmet and his tightened fists rained down on the man who'd been stripped of his weapon. "How does it feel then?" He shouted at him, his words jolting with the fury of each blow. "How does it feel to be on the ground and unable to rise, ya kalb?"

"Go inside," Amani quickly pushed Amjad through the front door and away from the violence unfolding before his eyes. "We have to find your little brother. Where's Ezzo?"

Amjad cried. "They're going to kill Muhsin like they killed Fayza. They're going to kill all of us," he trembled in fear, holding his face in his hands so the tears slipped over his knuckles.