No Place for Females

Chapter Twenty Two

Amir had been driving for hours. He'd stayed on the road onto which the tracks had led. He was certain that, if she was still alive, she would be here.

If she had made it through, she was probably well on her way back to the base, and it was all over for him. If she hadn't, it would be equally disastrous for him. Any idiot Talib could have found her by now. They might have killed her or they might be transporting her to some camp in Pakistan. Or--God knows what. Something much worse. Any scenario except the one in which he found her would be a worst-case scenario, as far as he was concerned. Finding her was his last hope.

As he entered the city on the main road, he heard gunfire. He recognized the sound of AK-47 and M4 rifles. The Marines were here. Had they come to get the girl? He couldn't be sure. He had nothing to lose, so he drove towards the sound of the battle.

He pulled off to the side of the road and got out of the truck. His AK-47 was ready to go, and his pistol was strapped to his side. Despite the ache in his shoulder, he was pumped.

It was time to go hunting.

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After what felt like an eternity, I crawled out from the garbage pile and looked around. I couldn't withstand the stench for another second. If I was going to die, it wasn't going to be on a fucking trash heap.

I brushed off the debris that was stuck to me, adjusted the strap of my rifle, and checked the clip of my pistol. I still had most of my bullets, but it was my only clip. Earlier, during the ambush, I had lost the one that was on my body armor.

I hoped it wouldn't be necessary to use any bullets. I just wanted to find another way to find Khalesia and escape from the city. I had no idea how to find her. Where would they have taken her and her brother?

The only way to find out was to try to head back towards the market area. This would be a crazy thing to do, because that's where the shooting was concentrated. I hadn't been in the city long enough to familiarize myself with the layout, but I could tell that the gunfire was coming from that area. In my heart I knew I could not leave her. She might already be dead, but I had to know for certain.

I began walking in that direction. I stayed close to the buildings as I scurried along, moving as quickly as I could without seeming as if I was fleeing. Most people I passed paid no attention to me. Some even moved aside as I walked by. I guessed that smelling like garbage was what I should have done all along. It seemed to keep everyone out of my way.

The sound of gunfire grew louder, and I knew I was getting closer to its source. I wondered who was fighting whom. I heard shouting and screaming, and more gunfire. I peeked around the corner of a building into a street that ran along one side of the marketplace. Men were running and shooting, but I withdrew my head before I was able to tell exactly what was going on. I didn't dare look for a second longer. That was a recipe for getting my face blown off.

I doubled back on myself and went down a different street, so I could enter the market from the other side. When I got close enough, I peeked around the side of a building to get a better view of who was fighting.

Marines. Oh my God! They were right there. They could rescue me. Acting on instinct, I almost started running towards them, but I  managed to stop myself. They were in the middle of a firefight and they would shoot me full of holes before they realized who I was, if their opponents didn't get to it first. I didn't know how to get their attention without drawing attention from the enemy as well.

Dammit! I was so close. I needed to find another way. I started running down the street in the opposite direction from which I'd come. If I could just find a way to approach them, they would help me. I tried to figure out their position. They were holed up. Why hadn't air reinforcements come to help them? Where was their backup?