“Lyna! Mariam! Can you hear me?” Ron yelled with concern.
A cough came from the back where Mariam was crying hysterically. He wriggled free from his seatbelt while holding on to the door and reached down for Lyna. Ron felt her shoulder and shook it. “Lyna! Lyna!” There was no response.
Mariam coughed again behind him, in between her sobs. “Mariam? Can you hear me? Shadow, listen to me.”
Ron reached towards the back to find Mariam's hand. When he did, he held it tightly.
“Shadow, we will be okay. I am here. Can you hear me?”
Mariam stopped crying. Through her sniffing, she answered, “Yes, I hear you.”
“Are you okay?”
“My arm hurts.”
“Can you move it?”
“Yes, it moves.”
“Is it bleeding?”
“No blood,” she answered panicky.
Ash fell from the sky like snowflakes. Pieces of shrapnel dropped like hail. A huge chunk of car landed ten feet from their Toyota. Once Ron stopped hearing the clattering of the falling debris he yelled above the chaotic frenzy-taking place outside.
“Mariam, if you can, climb out of the window towards the sky. Can you do that?”
“I think so. I will try.”
“Good. I must help Lyna.”
Mariam began to whimper. “Is she okay?”
“I'm not sure but I may need your help. Please try to get out.”
Despite choking while climbing out of the vehicle, she succeeded.
Ron maneuvered into a position behind Lyna and hoisted her up towards the window.
“Mariam, reach in and grab Lyna.” She held Lyna with all her might while he pushed from behind until she reached the window. “Hold her right there.”
Ron moved to the back, climbed out and ran over to Lyna, completing the extraction by lifting her out through the window. Finding a semi-clearing between the fallen debris, Ron gently laid her on the ground and began a medical assessment. Although Lyna had a pulse, she suddenly stopped breathing. Ron immediately placed his mouth over hers, pinched her nose, and began breathing air into her lungs. After several seconds, her eyes opened and she coughed a few times. “What happened?”
“Car bomb. Can you walk?”
Mariam knelt beside her as two soldiers ran past. “Lyna!”
“I'm a bit dazed, and have a headache, that's all. I hit my head.”
Ron quickly looked into her eyes with a pen light he had handy, studying her pupils. After sliding it into his shirt pocket, he placed his hands on her forehead, thumbs on her temple and slowly, gently slide them across her head beneath her hair to the back of her head.
Lyna watched him with frightful eyes the entire time. “Anything?”
“Slight lump, right lateral above ear. No open wounds.”
“This is good, yes?”
“Stable for now. We have to go. Ron stood over her and extended his hands. Try to stand, please.”
Lyna groggily stood with Ron and Mariam's assistance, stumbling slightly, and then falling into Ron before he caught her and hoisted her over his shoulder. He gingerly walked over to a nearby abandon wall and gently laid her down against it. “Wait here a minute.”
“I'm not going anywhere.”
“Mariam, wait here with Lyna. I'll be right back.”
She nodded her head and knelt down beside her.
Ron ran back to the Toyota, stopping in the middle of the exposed rooftop. He noticed briefly the absence of cars where several were previously. Many Iraqis clamored around, some in a daze, others wailing over their dead or dying loved ones.
Ron leaned up against the SUV and began pushing with all the strength he could muster.
Two other strangers suddenly appeared and joined in to give a final heave. The vehicle slowly tipped over and landed on the tires with a thud, releasing another cloud of powdered dirt into the hazy sky. Ron turned to thank the other two but they had vanished into the dusty cloud. He ran back to Lyna and Mariam.
“How is she doing?”
“She is sleeping and sometimes awake.”
“Let's go. Stay with me.”
Mariam stayed at his side while Ron placed Lyna over his shoulder, walking her back to the cruiser, and then setting her gently down in the back seat. She opened her eyes.
“How do you feel?”
“Exhausted.”
“Try to stay awake for now.”
“I'm thirsty and need some water.”
Ron looked towards the back and caught Mariam's troubled eyes. “Are the water bottles okay? There's some left?”
Miriam climbed to the back. “Yes commander Hawk.” She grabbed a bottle and handed it to him. Holding the bottle to Lyna's lips, Ron spoke softly. “Take little sips.”
Lyna reached for his hand with both of hers and held his hand to the bottle tightly. Together, they glided the bottle towards her mouth. Looking into his eyes, Lyna whispered, “My head hurts.”
“You're going to make it, Lyna. Stay with me. I am going to get you back for help.”
Lyna smiled, placed her hand on Ron's face. “You make a good husband.” Then she closed her eyes, releasing her grip on the bottle.
“Oh God, not now! Lyna!” He placed his fingers on her neck to feel for an active carotid pulse. There was still a feint beat. Ron noted she was still breathing as well, though labored.
“We have to get moving and get her to a doctor.”
“You have one where we are going, yes?” Mariam asked in fear.
“Yes, but she may not make it there. I am putting her back here with you. Watch her breathe and tell me the moment she stops.”
“Okay.” She answered uncertain.
After softly placing her with Mariam, he moved to the back of the vehicle and dug around through his pack to find his medical kit. After rummaging through its contents, he pulled out two packs looking similar except for the color. Ron pounded his fist on both and went back to the girls. “Mariam, listen carefully. This one is hot and this one is cold. Here feel.”
Mariam touched both and shook her head.
“Good. I need you to place the hot pack on Lyna's head right here.” Ron grabbed both of her hands with the pack and guided it towards Lyna's head, the spot where he felt the lump.
Mariam was doing fine following instructions and after laying the warm pack on her head, she nodded again to Ron.
“Good. Keep it there for only 5 minutes and then you must change to the cold pack, okay?”
“Okay, Mr. Hawk.”
“Thanks Mariam,” Ron said smiling. “We need to go. You change this pack every 5 minutes, okay?”
She approved with another head affirmation.
“But, you must not message or rub her head. Just lay them on very still.”
“Okay.”
After a quick inspection of the Toyota's exterior, Ron rummaged through his gear and pulled out his radio. It was a Wideband, AN/PRC-117G. The Harris was a wireless Adaptive Networking Wideband Waveform (ANW2), designed for high bandwidth data operation, streaming video, simultaneous voice and data feeds, and collaborative chat.
“Fullback, this is frontline, over.”
Ron waited twenty seconds before he repeated his call sign.
“Go ahead, frontline, this is Halfback.”
Ron was glad it was Chris on the other end rather than Brad Davis. “Any chances of air Evac, over?”
“Hold one, break.”
Ron waited a few seconds more.
“What's your status, over?”
“In route from Tikrit, break. Coming in with casualty, possible subdural hematoma; break. Will need immediate assistance upon arrival, over.”
“Roger, frontline. Negative on current wings, break. I'll keep you posted, over.”
“Frontline, out.”
Ron placed his small man-portable radio back into the pouch he had hidden and then placed it next to him on the passenger seat. He checked the settings and made sure he kept it in th
e 30 MHz to 2 GHz frequency band for continuous coverage. Ron was impressed with the new model since it operated off a single standard battery while maintaining a peak transmission power of 20 watts UHF.
Ron inspected the vehicle and settled into the driver's seat.
“Just a few dents and scratches. Tires good to go. Now for the real test.”
The keys were somehow still in the ignition so Ron turned them clockwise. To his delight, the engine sputtered to life and remained operational.
“Let's see if we can get out of this mess.” Ron proceeded forward cautiously.
Mariam looked wide-eyed and terrified out her clouded windows at the carnage around them. Then, in an instant, she turned her head away, shielding her eyes with her hand, and threw up.
Ron stopped the vehicle and jumped out. “Are you alright, Shadow?”
Mariam began crying again. “No, please don't stop. Keep going. Let's leave here!”
Ron looked around at the same nauseating sight Mariam had witnessed. Piles of grayish-black ash lay face down in the dirt on the side of the road; human bodies incinerated by the blast.
Ron grabbed a towel from the back, wiped up the mess and threw it out into the desert. Jumping back into the car, he crept anonymously ahead, through the surreal land of dreadfulness. Thanks to the pandemonium surrounding them, they proceeded undetected. Just over an hour after the initial car bomb, they were on the highway, heading back to Kirkuk. “How is she doing?”
“She is breathing. Like she's sleeping.”
“As long as she keeps breathing for now. We have to get her help though.”
“Commander Hawk?”
“Yes, Miriam?”
“What is wrong with her? Will she be okay?”
“She can be fine with treatment. Just keep watching her and keep those compresses on her.” He looked back at her pleading eyes. The poor girl has been through so much in one day, Ron thought. “Miriam, we will take good care of her, like we will you. She has bad bump on her head, like a concussion. The doctor can take good care of her. Keep trying to talk to her.”
“This will help her?”
“Yes, by applying hot and cold compresses to her head, her blood vessels can dilate and contract, allowing blood to flow normally and the pooling to stop.”
“What?”
Ron chuckled. “Just believe me. It will help her blood flow better.”
Ron sped away and skirted the western and northern part of Tikrit heading straight towards Kirkuk to the northeast. He determined this would be the quickest, most direct route, avoiding the major highway to Baiji where he would have had to turn east and travel through Hawijah, a town reportedly under ISIS control.
“Mariam, if you see any vendors with fruit, please let me know.”
“Okay.”
“I'll watch for them also. Two sets of eyes are better than one.”
Just before leaving the vicinity of Tikrit, Mariam spotted a small stand by the side of the road. “Right there, commander Hawk.”
“I see it. Thank you.” Ron pulled up to the stand quickly. “Wait here. You're doing well.”
Mariam saw Ron barter with the vendor then pay cash while loading a bag of fruit and returned in less than 5 minutes. “My mother takes much longer than that.”
“Most women do.”
They both shared a laugh.
Ron handed Mariam the bag. “Please help yourself and if Lyna wakes up try to get her to eat some of it.”
Mariam inspected the bag and saw a variety of fruits. There were some currants, plums, prunes, melons, and apricots.
“I forgot I had these in my pocket.” Ron handed her a couple boxes of raisins. Eat these too.”
Thirty minutes down the road, the radio cackled. “Frontline, this is Halfback, how do ya copy, over?”
Ron reached over and grabbed the mike. “Loud and clear, Halfback, go ahead.”
“Fullback is not in area, break. I'll try to secure a bird myself, over.”
“Copy that. Good luck, over.”
“Be careful, frontline. Out.”
13
“Frontline, this is Halfback, over.” Ron grabbed the mike.
“Go ahead, halfback.”
“I had to pull strings, but was able to secure a bird, break. What's your L O C, over?”
“Wait one, break.” Ron quickly pulled over to the side of the dusty trail and after coming to a halt, pulled out his map. “We just crossed the Nahar al' Uzaym River north of Ramel, over.”
“Got it. Be careful frontline, you're moving towards Maryam Beg, hostile territory, break. “I'll see what I can do for an extraction north of your position and south of town, over.”
“Good copy, halftrack, break. Will mark the spot, over.”
“Roger. Confirm, three PACs, one injured, over?”
“Affirmative, out.”
Ron walked quickly to the back of the Toyota and found the black, wide-stripped electrical tape. As he climbed onto the back hatch, Mariam yelled for him. “Commander, Hawk. Lyna is waking up now.”
Ron laid the tape on the roof, jumped down, and looked across the back seat from the rear. “Lyna, can you hear me?”
“She is smiling at me.”
“That's a good sign. Lyna, can you talk?”
Lyna moaned, “Stop nagging.”
Ron laughed. “Mariam, see if she'll eat some fruit. I'm going to finish.”
“Okay. What are you doing?”
“Taping an 'X' on top of our car so the good guys can spot us from the air.”
“They will come for us?”
“Soon!” As Ron resumed his task, he heard the two girls engaged in conversation followed by laughter. “What's so funny?”
“Lyna's dream about you. She said…”
“Shhh,” Lyna interrupted while putting her finger to her mouth.
“She said what?” Ron yelled.
“Never mind, Commander Hawk.”
“Must not be good.”
“It was not bad,” Lyna mumbled.
“So tell me.”
“Maybe later. I'm hungry now.”
Ron finished with placing a large X on the roof and crawled back to the rear. “We'll take a quick 10 minutes here. There may be trouble up ahead but Sergeant Short is planning to pick us up in a chopper.”
“What about Davis?” Lyna asked.
“He didn't mention him.”
“I bet he ran away when he found out we survived.”
“Maybe. Chris didn't say. We'll find out when we get there.”
Lyna just looked at him while biting softly into an apricot.
Stooping into the opened middle passenger door, Ron reached slowly for Lyna. “Can I take another look at your head?” Mariam started to giggle again, in between her handful of raisins she plopped into her mouth, causing her to choke. “Be careful, I don't need two casualties.”
Lyna faced Ron and looked up into his eyes. “Go for it.”
Ron removed his pen light and quickly flashed the light into her eyes and then went back to study her pupils.
“What do you see?” Lyna asked.
“When I look deeply, I see your soul.”
All three of them laughed. “Tell him!” Mariam urged, nudging Lyna's arm.
“Tell me what? Ron asked while continuing his probe with his hands, stroking gently across Lyna's head.”
“My dream about you,” Lyna answered.
“Okay, what was it?”
“She dreamt…”
“Shhh, I'll tell him myself.”
Ron stopped his examination and looked at her. “Go on.”
“In my dream, you…you were holding me in your arms. Then you kissed me.”
Mariam began to snicker.
Ron looked into Lyna's eyes for a moment and answered, “I was only breathing for you. I'm glad you are feeling better.” Backing out the side door, he went around to the front and plopped into the driver's seat. “Break time is over. We need to get moving.”
“Go ahead, halfback.”
“Pick-up launched with ETA to your LOC in two-zero mikes. How copy, over?”
“Roger that. Will keep eyes open, out.”
Five minutes later the radio came to life again. “Frontline, this is halfback, over.”
“This is frontline, go.”
“Be advised, convoy of five trucks heading your way from Maryam Beg, break. Bad guys. Stop your vehicle and we will arrive ahead of convoy, over.”
Ron pulled to the side of the road and got out of the SUV. Grabbing his binoculars, he scanned the horizon in the northeast direction, both in the air and on the ground.
“What is it?” Lyna asked as she came up to him from behind.
“This is where we stop. Chopper with the good guys on the way. Trucks with the bad guys are on the way also.”
Lyna walked quickly to the back of the vehicle and pulled out her AK-47. “Not this time.”
“Take it easy, Lyna. The bird should arrive first.”
“Not taking any chances.”
“Frontline, this is halfback, over.”
“This is frontline, go.”
“We have a visual, over.”
“Nothing from here, over.”
“Check your two o'clock, break. We're in a Bell CH-146 Griffon, over.”
“Canadian Huey?”
“Upgraded version, break. Quieter.”
Ron continued to span the horizon. “Alright, sighting confirmed, over.”
“Frontline, move out now! Second convoy moving fast from your six, out.”
“Get back in the car, now!” Ron shouted.
Lyna jumped in the front passenger seat without asking any questions, holding her assault rifle in her lap. Driving off the road, Ron sped away towards his visual sighting of the chopper.
“What is it?” Lyna asked.
“We have company coming from the north and south, trying to pinch us in the middle.”
Lyna, looking uneasy, aimed her weapon out the window.
“Commander Hawk, are we in trouble?” Mariam asked from behind.
“Not yet, Shadow. We should be fine.”
Seemingly, out of nowhere, the helicopter appeared and loomed like a large silhouette in front of their window. As it descended, Ron brought his Toyota to a stop. “Lyna. Please take Mariam to the front and wait for sergeant Short to come get you.”
Love In The House Of War Page 21