Finding Muna: A Palestinian Novel

Chapter Forty One

It was late in the evening when April began to notice roaming helicopters which were roaming in a way she'd never seen before, Lamees was on the mat, trying but failing at her attempt to sleep while April just sat on a rock, watching and waiting for their doom.

Suddenly, she heard a loud screech and she gasped and tried to get on her foot but instead she fell on the ground, Lamees was also seated at that point, staring at her with widened eyes. The both of them were terrified as they didn't know the source of the screech but assumed it was from Israeli soldiers judging from the screams from their neighbours in their tents.

They were still in their trance when they heard continuous shootings and increased screaming, immediately, Lamees jolted up and tossed April's stick to her and they both got out of their tent.

Lamees's memory went back to the phone call they had received and for some strange reason, she felt like the soldiers were at the camp to get she and her friend, she was sure they had found out about the messages with Asma and they wanted to eliminate them since she didn't heed to their warnings.

Her heart began to hammer against her chest as she desperately thought of ways to keep April safe if at all she would be captured, her mind was blank and she almost felt as if her tongue was in the pit of her stomach, as she found it hard to say something.

The situation in the camp still seemed surreal to them until a bullet passed by them and hit the person behind them on the head, as they watched the person fall to his knees and die, Lamees's seemed to have found her lost voice as shivers ran through their spines.

"You need to go and hide somewhere April," Lamees said in urgency while April frowned.

"Are you crazy? Let's go together, what do you mean?" April asked.

"I feel like they're here because I didn't listen to their warning, I'm scared and I don't want you to be punished for my mistake," Lamees said and April quickly shook her head vigorously.

"It doesn't matter, if I'm hiding, then you'd be hiding with me."

"But they're going to track us down!" Lamees exclaimed as she flinched from another loud gunshot.

"Let's leave our phones behind then! Or let's remove the sim cards; we can also put the phones on airplane mode."

"You think that'll stop them from tracking us down? They're the IDF April, be reasonable!" Lamees argued as her face reddened in fear and growing anger.

"I don't care, you're crazy if you think I'm leaving you alone," April said and Lamees shook her head.

"It's me that disobeyed and it's me they need, if they take the both of us, they'll probably prefer to keep me alive to punish me, but you? They don't really need you; if they take you with me then I think they wouldn't hesitate to kill you."

"Please April, I would hate myself if you die because of me," Lamees pleaded with urgency while April's face softened as she swallowed in Lamees's words.

"I'd rather we are both alive and separated than watching you get killed, please April go," she persuaded yet again while her eyes stung with tears.

April was reluctant to leave as she watched Lamees beg her as she looked around in worry, then they heard another gunshot in their direction and watched as the bullets passed by them yet again.

"April, the first and second gunshots were a warning, they were purposefully missing the target, leave before they fire the third," Lamees said as she pushed April away from herself and darted away from the tent to distract the soldiers from firing at her friend.

Lamees shed hot tears as she ran farther away from the tent, worried on how April would run with a stick, but her worries was cut short as a sharp pain surge through her leg, she hissed as she sucked in her teeth, coming to a halt; her knees hit the ground in shock and she opened her mouth to scream at the top of her lungs while she was holding on to her injured leg.