On the Other Side

Chapter 6: Hungary

Laughter could be heard from behind them as they ran into a thicket of trees.

They didn't want to kill us then, Najid realised; they just wanted to scare us away.

He kept leading his sister through the snow-ridden forest, following a small trail of blood Halima had left behind. Najid saw her climb over the fence and hurting her leg. He was just glad he had closed his eyes before he could see Halima rip the barbed wire out of her. The laughter slowly died away as the siblings ran deeper into the woods.

They aren't following us, Jawl realised in relief.

"Najid," she huffed, "We can slow down now, it's okay..."

After glancing behind him one last time, he stopped. Immediately he turned to Jawl and examined her cheek. Her birthmark looked like it had been cut in half.

"Najid, let go of my face!" She said ripping his hands off her, "You know I don't like it when people stare at it!"

"But it's bleeding- I have to clean it!" He replied incredulously.

"Let's find the others before we do anything, okay?!" She hissed as she instinctively covered her face with her hair.

"Jawl-"

She stormed forward, following the trail of blood droplets.

"Halima! Halima, it's us, Jawl and Najid! Are you nearby?"

Najid sighed and scampered after her.

"Halima! Where are you?"

They received no reply.

"Do you think... do you think she's in trouble?" Jawl mumbled nervously.

His eyes widened in doubt, "I- no. No, she's fine, I'm sure of it."

Without conferring, the two broke into a run. Their muscles screamed in complaint, but their adrenaline rush was still high, helping them run even faster. Jawl held her cheek with her right hand, as she traversed the uneven terrain, where every step she took hurt her cut. The trail of blood was getting thinner now, which both worried and gave hope to the children. The trees were retreating, giving way to the grey clouds threatening to snow once again. As they stepped out of the tree line, they spotted the group in the distance.

"Halima! Guys! We're here-" Jawl began as she spotted.

"Jawl and Najid, stop!" Irfan shouted.

They heard other voices. As they ran forward, they spotted 2 men wearing uniforms with their arms outstretched in the universal sign for 'stop.' Irfan, Halima and Abal had their arms raised above their heads in surrender. Once the Hungarian guards had noticed the children, they beckoned them towards the group.

"You... speak... the English?" One of the guards asked in broken English.

Irfan, Abal and Halima shook their heads.

"I speak small English," Jawl replied slowly.

"You speak English?!" Najid whispered into her ear.

"My favourite book is 'Around the World in 80 Days,' remember?" She whispered back, "Do you really think they have that book in Arabic where we lived? No, of course not!"

"You go Germany?" The same guard interrupted.

"Yes, we go Austria and Germany."

"We take you border Austria!"

"Austria?!"

"We drive you in car."

"Car to Austria?!"