The Request [Under Construction]

10. Go! Run!

10. Go! Run!

 "Hurry up!" Ahmad yelled.

I locked elbows with Amna and half dragged her with me.

Three more bangs followed us and Amna squeaked.

We turned a corner and then immediately turned again. There was a broken building to our left and Ahmad hurriedly dived through the open doorway.

"Here, quickly!"

I followed him, heaving Amna in behind me. Ahmad was peeking out of the doorway, and I made sure Amna was lying down before I slumped against a wall to catch my breath.

After a few minutes of silence, Ahmad came back into the room.

"They're gone."

"Thank God," I muttered, wiping my forehead.

I crawled over to Amna, who was flat on her back, clutching her thigh.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Biting her lip, she shook her head.

"Have you changed the dressing since Friday?" I asked, kneeling next to Amna.

Another shake.

"Here," Ahmad said, handing me a bag and kneeling down next to me. "That Adon guy handed this to me when we met him yesterday."

"Okay. Do you have any medical knowledge?"

Ahmad shook his head.

With a sigh, I uncovered the dusty box in my brain labelled "First Aid". I took the bag from Ahmad and rifled through it quickly.

There was a bottle of water, some bread and medical supplies. I hunted for a clean bandage roll, anti-septic liquid and cotton swabs. When I found them, I set the bag to the side and faced Amna.

The bullet that had grazed my hip the night we ran had hit Amna's leg. With some of my first aid knowledge, I'd managed to get the bullet out and bandage up her wound at our first hideout.

It had been about three days since we'd started running. Adon had been helping us whenever he could, why, I didn't know. If it weren't for his warning, we would have been dead. Had we even hesitated for a few more minutes, we'd have been shot.

It was dark but the sky lit up every few minutes when a bomb dropped to the ground and exploded. We were alive, for the most part, and that was all that mattered.

There wasn't really a spot where there weren't soldiers patrolling, so we had to change our hideouts at least once a day. It was difficult to keep running without being seen, especially with an injured person.

"This is going to sting a bit," I murmured with a warning, wincing when Amna winced slightly as I dabbed an anti-septic ladled cotton ball on her wound.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course," I answered with a smile.

Amna nodded.

"There, we, go," I murmured, tucking the end of the bandage into itself. "Does it still hurt a lot?"

"Not as much as it was hurting."

"Good, good."

"You must eat something," Ahmad said, handing Amna the water bottle and a slice of bread.

She shook her head and muttered something in Arabic.

"Amna, you have to eat," Ahmad replied firmly.