Author's note
I apologize for the late update. Things haven't been going well for me writing wise. I hope I will be able to finish this story, before I move to England next months, so fingers crossed that my muse will let me.
Thank you all for the comments.
Enjoy!
Bass's POV
(Everything in Italics is meant to be Arabic)
"Stay down" Nutter says and pushes me further behind the bushes. He kneels close to my head and Reggie close to my feet with their guns pointed towards the road.
I can hear voices, which are coming closer rapidly and they are, by the sound of it, riding on a wagon, with a horse attached to the front. A little old school but folks in this region don't always have the money to buy a car or a truck.
"Farmers?" I question and try to sneak a glance through the bushes, pulling at my wound in the process. I have to bite down on my lower lip to not scream out loud.
"Possibility" Nutter whispers back. We sit there in silence for a few more minutes and wait for them to pass. Suddenly Nutter jumps up and before I can latch onto him, steps around the bush and yells at the people on the road.
"HEY...HEY wait...We need help!" He shouts and Reggie limps after him on Reggie's six. I try to pull myself a little further forward, so that I can see past the bushes to at least try to be some sort of back up for them, and only succeed with great discomfort.
I briefly close my eyes, to fight the nausea and the blackness that is trying to envelope me once again. The wound is getting worse and the pain is nearly unbearable. I am trying to hold on as best as I can, but the chances of those people being able to help us, are slim. It's a mystery how I survived two days of hiking.
"Please...we need help...Our friend is injured." I hear Nutter shout. His gun is hanging loosely around his neck and his arms are raised, to signal them that he doesn't mean any harm. Reggie is keeping an eye on the people from a little further away.
"You are Americans?" One of the men on the wagon questions loud enough for me to just make out what he is saying. There are three of them. The one who just spoke is the oldest and there are two boys with him. One seems to be a little older than Alex and the other one is probably around 18.
"Yes we are and we need help. We don't have a working phone. So if you have one, could we borrow it?" Nutter questions carefully. You never know with these people. They could be Taliban or IS soldiers disguised as Farmers.
"We don't have a phone with us, sorry" The man replies.
"Can you tell me where we are at least?" Nutter probes further and the man, who spoke just a second ago, steps of the wagon.
"We are close to Zozanên Doskîa" He replies and Nutter looks down on the map, which he just took out of his pockets. "We are here." The man adds and points to a spot on the map.
"Shit….that's at least a day's walk." Nutter curses and turns towards Reggie.
"We are not going to make that, Nutter." Reggie remarks and tries to balance on his good leg. He too has lost blood, but he is in far better shape than I am. They could have been half way to the village by now, if they just had listened to me.
Last night as we made camp and had a small fire going, he burned his wound and was able to close it. He tried to do the same to my wound, but it didn't quite work. All it did was make the pain even greater.
The men on the wagon fall into Kurdish, which I don't understand. They seem to have a heated conversation, before the older boy jumps off the wagon too and approaches Nutter. "We can help you move to Zozanên Doskîa" He says in broken English.
The older man nods and motions for us to hop onto the wagon. "We will take you" he assures Nutter.
"Reggie, get Monroe" Nutter orders and shakes hands with the man. "Thank you!"
Reggie helps me up and supports me all the way to the wagon, while supporting himself on the piece of wood he is using as a crutch.
"Thank you" I shoot the older man a grateful look.
"You are welcome. Here use this to cover yourself up. We can't have them find you with us, or we are all dead" The man says and gets back on the front seat.
"What is you name?" Reggie questions.
"Abraham and these are my sons Anah and Gabir" He replies and then gets the horses moving. "What are your names?"
"Reggie, Sebastian and Christopher" Nutter tells him and points towards us as he says our names.
"It's nice to meet you" Abraham nodsand we all fall silent.
"Bass…Bass…stay with me brother…we are almost there. Don't quit on me now" Nutter shakes me and I open my eyes again. I have been fading in and out of consciousness all afternoon. The slight swaying of the wagon makes me really sleepy.
Thankfully we haven't encountered another human being so far. I don't know how long we have been on this wagon for, but dusk has settled, in so I assume it's been almost six to seven hours.
Sometime ago Reggie felt my forehead and got a concerned look on his face, after I started hogging all the blankets because I was freezing my ass off. He didn't say anything but I think I have a fever, which is not good either.
Suddenly we come to a hold and Nutter and Reggie immediately grab their guns and look for threats.
"Lower your guns. We are at my house. No threats here" Abraham tells us and motions for them to lower the guns. After a beat of silence Reggie and Nutter deem it somewhat safe and lower their guns.
"I thought you were taking us to Zozanên Doskîa?" I question weakly.
"Zozanên Doskîa is another two hours that way" Abraham answers and point down the hill. "Your friend needs help now. I will take you in the morning, if he is up to it" Abraham adds as he looks at Nutter.
Two girls come running out of the small house, which is hidden away by trees and the hill, followed by a middle aged woman. In the dark I can make out a few pigs and cows close by, as well as a barn. This confirms my suspicion of them being farmers.
Nutter helps Reggie down, before they both get me off the wagon. The woman, who I assume is Abraham's wife, makes wild hand gestures while talking to our new found ally in Kurdish.
"If this is a problem, we can move on. You helped us out enough. We don't want to impose" I tell them, making the wife look at me in surprise.
"You speak Arabic?" She questions curiously and steps forward.
"Yes, we do. We have been here too often not too" I answer honestly.
"You are injured" She remarks and steps even closer, giving me a once over look.
"I told you so." Abraham remarks dryly and rolls his eyes. I laugh and then wince in pain as my stomach muscles contract.
"If you want me to help you, you won't say a word right now" She says sternly and throws me a glare, which reminds me of Charlie. She is just like this woman.
"Yes, Mam" I nod.
"Bring him in." She motions for us to follow her into the house. The inside is one big open space, there are no walls. On one end is the kitchen, on the other the beds. "Put him down there." She tells my friends and motions towards one of the beds.
She grabs a knife and cuts my shirt. "You remind me of my wife" I tell her to distract me from her poking around my wound. Reggie is standing right next to her and Nutter has taken a seat close by. Both of them watching her every move.
"Are you a nurse or a doctor?" Reggie questions, just as the woman is about to say something in return.
"What is she going to do?" I question him weakly.
"I don't know what I am going to do…We need to stop the bleeding as well as get the bullet fragments out, if there are any." The woman answers in a perfect British accent, making all our heads turn.
"You are English!" Reggie points out astonished.
"Yes. I am Amira by the way." She replies, but never takes her eyes of my wound. "There are some gloves and alcohol in that cabinet. Grab it for me" Amira adds and points towards the kitchen area.
"Are you a nurse or a Doctor?" Nutter repeats Reggie's question, as Reggie goes to grab the things she asked for.
"Neither, but the war has taught me a few things" She replies. "If you want to help, help…if not I am sure my husband could use another set of hands outside as well."
"You go, I stay and keep an eye on him" Reggie ensures Nutter.
Next thing I know, she pushes a clothes in my mouth and pours the alcohol onto the wound.
"Argggggggg" I try to scream, but the clothes is muffling the sound. My head start to swim and everything darkens around me.
"Welcome back to the land of the living" Nutter says and throws me tight smile.
"How long was I out for?" I ask and my mouth feels like it's filled with sand.
"A couple of days" He informs me and pushes me back down onto the bed, as I try to sit up.
"Did you get hold of anybody?" I question hopeful, but Nutter shakes his head.
"No…too dangerous. Abraham went into town and they said there were people looking for us. We have just been biding our time here, waiting for you to wake up." My friend answers and hands me a small cup to drink out off.
"Ahh our sleeping beauty is awake" Amira smiles as she walks into the house, with a basket in hand.
"How is it that you have an English accent?" I look at her curiously.
"I am saved his life and that is the first thing that comes out of his mouth?" She looks at Nutter and laughs.
"His mother didn't teach him any manners and his wife considers him a lost cause" Nutter shoots back.
"I understand…" Amira grins and comes closer. She lifts my shirt, un-wraps the bandage and inspects the wound. "It's looking good. But an ugly scar will stay back as a reminder of this trip. Since neither I nor Reggie are plastic surgeons, you will have to make do."
"No worries…Thank you for saving my life" I reply and hold out my hand for her to shake.
"You are welcome. I don't usually get to use my skills out here anymore. Which is a good thing I suppose" Amira sighs and re-wraps my wound.
"I thought you were neither nurse nor doctor?" I inquire confused.
"Well technically I am not. In England I used to work as an Ambulance Paramedic, but that was ten years ago." She tells me and sits next to me on the bed.
"What brought you to these parts?" I find myself asking. "Sorry…you don't have to answer…I don't mean to pry."
"Well I came here with the Red Cross; fell in love with Abraham and stayed." She answers and takes the cup away from me. "Take it easy on the water."
"You gave up civilization for this?" I question baffled. "You are living in a war country."
"Yes, but I am happier here. Thankfully the Taliban never bothered us. Abraham made sure I speak like a native so that I won't make any one suspicious. And with my darker skin and black hair, I hardly stand out." She points out.
"Smart thinking." I reply. "How is Reggie?"
"We fixed his leg and he is as good as new." Amira answers.
"Not to be ungrateful, but when can we get out of here? Charlie is probably worried out of her mind or worse thinks I am dead." I ask and look at my friend and fellow Soldier.
"Abraham and I talked…and I will go with him into the city tomorrow and call for rescue." Nutter tells me and gets up. "Now rest. You need your strength."
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