Risking All for Love (Wattpadprize14)

Chapter Thirty-One

Like Gary and Margaux, Lisa and David took their own walking tour to Popahlahun and Vahun.  There in Vahun all hell broke loose.  Waves of boys age ten to twelve years of age charged into the town, firing their weapons in the air and rounding up hapless villagers.  But among the fighters was Musa from Sosomolahun and a dear friend of Lisa. When he saw them, he called out to Lisa, David, and Francis.

"Teachuh Lisa, David, come one time!"  He then indicated to Francis, their escort, to join them. "Trust me, Inna?"

Musa then pretended to march them down a trail at gunpoint in order to execute them. They continued on the trail until they were well out of sight. Then he unshouldered his automatic rifle.  "Cover your ears, my friends."  Musa fired a few bursts of rounds in the air.  "Now we must hide here until the follow-up patrols pass."

Musa motioned for them to remain behind him while he stood with his rifle ready. "Say nothing, teachuh.  Don't move. We must wait until the others leave."

"What's going on, Musa?" Lisa asked.

"This raid was on behalf of the Greater West African Republic, my friends."  Musa stood with pride. "We are carving out a new country out of the old ones.  Today we needed workers to grow our new prosperous economy.  Every day it grows richer, and people are happier."

David asked, "Why then, Musa, are you still a soldier in rags?"

"They will give me a uniform some day."

"Are you not often hungry?"

"When I raid a village, I get rice."

Lisa then held out her arms to Musa.  "Can you put your weapon down long enough to give your teacher a hug?"  The boy began to cry as Lisa wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss on his cheek.  "What are they doing to you, Musa?" 

David shook Musa's hand to make him feel more important. "Musa, Lisa in now my wife."

"Oh, teachuh, that is too fine!"

"Musa," David said further.  "When you return to your forces, will you just look around and see for yourself what is really going on?"

"I will think about it."

"Musa, do not ask too many questions, lest they harm you."

"Yes, teachuh."  Musa then slipped away after asking them to wait until they heard no noise for a while.

Lisa and David returned to Bolahun by the road to Mbalatahun Leper Colony.  Once there, Father Anthony called a meeting of mission staff, teachers, and local town chiefs.

"War is likely to come soon.  There is a build up of boy soldiers, weapons, and ammunition across the border with Sierra Leone. To support their offense, they are seizing vehicles and mounting machine guns on them.

Chief Carpenter, who was a Liberian but a retired master sergeant from the US Army Special Forces, said, "We need to make plans to move our peoples father into the bush and far out of the way that where the fighting will erupt.  There we can cut away the bush and farm well away from the fighting.  We can keep small boys on watch along the trails by day to warn of patrols.  I can intercept them and lead them away from our new village."

"The Order of the Holy Cross and Sisters of Saint Helena will remain at the mission as long as possible before we evacuate.  We will make excess food stuff available to the people to carry with them," Father Anthony said.  He turned to Principal Willie. "What about school?"

"Father, when the children are finished helping with the new farms, we can teach school in the bush.  We can make classrooms and crude chalk boards. We can make some kind of chalk tablets for kids' lessons. We can rotate the same lessons among the grades, adding more detail for the older children.  We will divide the graded books among the kids to carry to the new school. We want our kids to read and write no matter what happens. I am convinced that we at least will provide the best basic education kids can have in a war zone."

"Peace Corps?"

Gary spoke up.  "Lisa and Margaux are working for the mission now. If Peace Corps does not acknowledge the danger here, both David and I will resign in country and stay with our wives.  We will stay as long as possible, but we will have to evacuate with the other mission workers if war comes."

So for the next few months Lisa and David would cross the road every night to join Gary and Margaux at bridge or chess.  As batteries became scarcer, they rationed their flashlight usage and stomped heavily on the ground as they walked to warn snakes to move.  In addition they limited their radio to two hours a night. They always used wind-up alarm clocks, which needed no batteries. At night they turned their kerosene lamps lower.  Now and then they built fires outside and sang along with students and other friends. By then Felicia was used to the others being married and no longer turned red when they made occasional comments about love making.

As the rainy season progressed, Gary and David took Lisa and Margaux with them down to Monrovia for the Peace Corps Conference.  Although fighting along the border had been quiet, it had flared up again near Gbarnga's police-army check point.  Although there were no bodies on the road as before, burned-out cars and small trucks continued to litter the roads.

With Lisa five months pregnant and tiring easy, they took two days to travel to the capital. On the first day they drove their mission Land Rover into Cuttington University to stay overnight. Lisa was feeling somewhat better when the continued the next day.

The Conference took place on the weekend of July Fourth, or the American Independence Day.  That was the day in which the beleaguered American Colonial Army was holding on against well-equipped British forces in their rebellion for independence.  Risking trial by the British for treason, the American Colonials declared themselves independent of Britain.  After the Americans defeated two British armies, the British agreed to recognize American Independence in the Peace of Paris in 1783.

But instead of rice and country chop, Americans celebrated in their embassy with hotdogs, soft drinks, games, singing, and the marine band brought in from a nearby ship and played the American National Anthem.   Lisa was eating for two and could not get enough hotdogs.

Because of Margaux's upbringing, she was often taken for American.  But she took pride in Liberia and corrected anyone who asked if she was American. But she said she would go anywhere with Gary because he was her life.

Nevertheless, when it came time to sing the American National Anthem, Margaux sang with enthusiasm with the others.

At the conference, the Peace Corps Representative or head of the local volunteers, refused to believe Gary and David, who warned of problems along the Liberia's border with Sierra Leone and with Guinea. After the conference they both resigned from the Peace Corps effective at the end of the school year.

Upon their return, Chief Carpenter told them that small boys brought word troop movements. There were patrols of ill-dressed small boys led by officers and sergeants in uniform.  Using his bolt-action, five-shot rifle along with local hunters with ancient muzzle loaders, Chief Carpenter ambushed a patrol of twenty soldiers.  He had no problem killing the adult leaders and but with reluctance also took out two armed boys firing at him. Having captured the rest, the chief disarmed them and isolated them for hours.  After he pretended to kill all but one boy, he sent the last one back to the warring faction he came from.  The boy reported that he was the only survivor of the patrol, and that was enough to convince the warring factions to stay away from Bolahun until December. The remaining boys, who had surrendered, chose to live in Bolahun. 

As the word of more raids about ten miles away came, Gary and Margaux visited Pa, the Time.

"I am not going to leave Bolahun,"  he said.  "The soldiers will not humbug me during the fighting,  When they come looking for food, they will steal what I have and be satisfied. Small boys will stay with the rest of my hidden food until the soldiers are gone."

"Aren't you afraid?" Gary asked.

"My friend, I came here as a young man, and now I can able to be an old man.  The work here at the mission has been my life.  I know the streets of Monrovia, and they are too busy for me.  Maybe a man cannot know everything here in Bolahun, but here I learned more than about life by stepping on the road in front of my house.  Here I will be content,  No harm will come to an old man."

That night Margaux lay next to Gary.  "Do you worry, my lovely husband?"

Gary adjusted their mosquito net, turned to her, and pulled the sheet over them. "No, you are my life. After what you have been through, I don't worry about myself."