The boy yelled something and pulled his sister away. She wriggled free and looked back at me. The boy began yelling again and trying to get in front of her.
"I just need help," I said, trying to hand her the phone.
The girl started to look worried and did not stick out her hand to take it.
"Maria,” I said, putting the phone to my ear again, “they won't take the phone. I can't get them to listen to it.”
"Can you put it on speaker?"
"You’re a genius!" I fiddled around with the phone for a moment, wondering how to make that feature work. “I don’t know if this phone has that function.”
"Press 1 and the Send button at the same time."
I did it. A little speaker symbol appeared in the screen. It worked!
"OK, Maria, you’re on speaker." I held out the phone
"OK."
"As-salamu alaykum..." Maria started saying words that I didn't understand. I watched the faces of the children, hoping that this would help bridge our language gap.
The girl moved closer after hearing the first few words. She looked at me, and then her brother. Then she spoke tentatively into the phone.
Maria and the girl spoke to one another, and the boy looked on, distressed.
"Maria," I interrupted. "What are you saying?"
"I'm telling them that you are a friend and that you won't hurt them, and that they need to help you to get back to the military base."
"Can you tell them to let me go?"
"I did. The girl says you are free to leave anytime."
I looked at the girl. "What's her name?" I asked Maria.
More words came through the phone that I didn't understand.
"Khalesia," said the girl.
"And the boy?" I asked Maria.
She spoke, and Khalesia answered, "Musa."
OK. So now I knew their names.
Khalesia looked worried.
"Maria, when the Marines come to get you, you have to tell them that I am still alive. Especially Corporal Cooper. He must be going crazy."
"I’ll tell them. The kids told me which town you are near. I'd suggest rather than leaving, you remain in position and let the Marines come get you."
"I don't think I can do that. Two men came here. They didn’t see me, but who knows if they are coming back? I didn't know whether or not they were relatives of the kids. But if these kids are caught helping me, I don't think it's going to go down well for any of us."
"I understand. But don't go far. I'm expecting extraction soon. Don't worry, we'll come get you."
"I won't. Be safe, Maria."
"When they are coming, I will have them use this cell phone to call you, OK?"
"OK. I have to turn mine off, but I'll try to turn it on once every two hours, starting now. The battery is pretty low and I can't afford to have it go out on me."
"Got it. Be brave, Lena."
"Be brave, Maria."
We hung up.
Now I had some choices to make. Would I be better off staying there with the kids and waiting for an extraction? Maria said she was getting picked up soon. If I stayed put, I might be out of there within the next few hours. But what if those men came back? I should have had Maria ask the kids about those two. But whether or not those men were relatives, it was clear that the kids were hiding me. And that meant I was a risk to them.
YOU ARE READING
No Place for Females
Action"I wasn't even suppose to leave the base." The only thing Lena Jacobs ever expected to do in Afghanistan was work at the military base clinic to which she was assigned. But when she arrives she finds out that she must fill in as a medic for a U.S. M...
Chapter Eight
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