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.Flashes of light ahead like strobe.Two Somalis flailing in slo-mo, falling.One of them Adem recognized—Abdi Erasto, just fifteen, always happy.Shot down without a fight.Beyond them, more of their soldiers running like Adem had done.Another standing casually behind a stone hut, edging up and firing blindly around the corner, even into his own people.The wall next to Adem and Madoowbe pinged several times, pieces of rock flying, cutting Madoowbe's face.He screamed, held his hand to his eye.Too dark for Adem to tell if there was blood.More pings and cracks around them.He grabbed his partner, pulled him down to the ground.Half a foot away from a pile of donkey shit.The cows and asses in town were freaked, braying and howling.More gunfire overhead on the wall.Shards of rock flying, slicing across their backs.Then it was dark again.The gunfire stopped.Adem's vision was filled with bright specks, changing colors, and darkness.He blinked.Kept on.Couldn't get rid of the flashing ghosts.Finally caught a glimpse of men in sandals coming their way.Ethiopians shepherds.One said, "A couple of prisoners?"Another."No, no, we hang their bodies in the square and desecrate them.Make sure God will not accept them in heaven."Adem pushed himself to his knees, grabbed the other boy's shoulder, pulled him upright.Still pressing the heel of his hand against his eye.Adem couldn't find his own gun in the dark.He reached for Madoowbe's gun.His hands were slapped away."You can't have it!""Hey, we're going to die!""That's mine! Let me kill them."Madoowbe pulled his hand from his eye, a sliced up bloody mess, already beginning to swell shut.He lifted the rifle and let loose.The bullets sprayed everywhere, like a fireman's hose, no control whatsoever.Lighting up the whole wall, probably not hitting a thing.Then the shepherds fired back.Knew exactly where to aim.Precise.Right at Madoowbe's chest and head, ten, fifteen, twenty.Adem jumped back, scuttled on the ground like a crab to get away.His partner's body animated like a marionette for a moment before collapsing under the barrage.Maybe they hadn't seen him.He felt around carefully, quietly for his own rifle.Nowhere to be found.He didn't have a pistol on him, not even grenades.He'd been afraid they would blow him up without warning.At that moment, he wished he hadn't been such a baby.Quick shallow breaths.Afraid he'd need to gasp and give away his position.The shepherds had made it to Madoowbe's body, one reaching over to lay the guy out flat, search his pockets, take his gun.Another lashed a rope around his head, tied it into a noose.The third was keeping watch around them.Adem lay flat on his stomach, trying not to breathe.He was close to a thatched fence and hoped it was throwing enough shadow to keep him covered.If only he had a pistol.The shepherd looked directly at him.Squinted.Eased his rifle up."Another one."Oh, no, please, God, no, I'm so sorry, Mom, Dad.So Sorry.The other two dropped the dead Somali.Turned.Rifles ready.The lookout pointed at the fence.Adem's exact location."There, you see? He's trying to be still.See?"One of them set off a flurry of shots.Puffed the ground in front of Adem, the fence behind.Grazed the backs of his legs.Stung like a bee.He gritted his teeth and tried to keep from calling out.But he failed."Jibriil! Help, God, help me!"More gunfire.Adem covered his head and rolled out of the way, through the donkey dung, wondering how he was not yet dead.He looked up.More strobe.The shepherds turned and fired at someone else.Six or seven Somalis on the attack, running right towards the shepherds, one of them falling.Someone grabbed Adem's shirt and began yanking hard, yelling, "Get up! Get up! Move!"Jibriil's voice.Adem rolled onto his feet and followed Jibriil and two others out of the village.Jibriil turned, running backwards, firing until his clip ran out.The others—Garaad and a tall, caramel-skinned man from another unit.More Somalis sprinted away towards the other trucks as the last of the three shepherds fell, new men coming out of the darkness to replace them.Gunfire lit up the road behind them, zipping by or thudding into the ground all around.Garraad, supposedly the baddest of the crew, ran fastest.Far ahead of the others, not looking back.Adem guessed that was how he had survived so long in this war—hit em hard and get out quickly.Just ahead of Adem, the tall man kept looking back, asking if Adem was alright.Checking on Jibriil, who had finally run out of ammo and was catching up fast, pistol in hand.Too dark to see how many followed, but bursts of rifle-fire lit up the black.No way they were going to make it.No way.Adem's legs were way past cramping, now burning.The fire moving up his thighs into his chest.Garaad out of sight.The tall man still keeping pace with Adem, rifle strapped to his back.Surely he could run faster than this.But he was determined to make sure Adem and Jibriil made it.Shouted, "We either all make it or none of us do!"Jibriil shouted back, "No! You go! I'm in command now! Get Adem out of here!"Jibriil in command? Then the leader was dead.The leader's right-hand man, dead.Jibriil now the highest ranking, holding it together.Adem could see what he was about to do.As soon as Adem and the other soldier were far enough along, he was going to turn and make a stand with his pistol.Total suicide.It was the only move they had left.Adem wanted to slow down, talk Jibriil out of it.But he couldn't.He was on automatic pilot.Pumping those exhausted legs.Jibriil already slowing, giving them space.This wasn't the way it was supposed to be! They were going to fight together, discover what made them Somali to the core.Not this.A shit border town, an ambush, and a humiliating retreat.Adem looked over his shoulder.Jibriil, still slowing, flashed him a smile and wink.Then Jibriil stopped, turned, and started firing.Adem looked ahead on the road.Saw taillights heading for him fast.Way too fast, going to slam into him.He stopped, leapt to the side of the road as the truck screeched to a hard stop.It was their truck.Garaad leaned out the driver's window."Get up, you ass! Get in!"Adem pushed himself off the ground and stumbled for the back gate.The tall soldier was already there, helped Adem inside.He fell on his shoulder.Hurt like hell.He hurried around and grabbed the soldier's hand as the truck lurched backwards again at high speed and made another jarring stop right before it hit Jibriil.He turned, tossed the pistol into the truck and grabbed their waiting hands.Bullets zipping by, slapping into the metal of the truck.All three inside, they shouted at Garaad to floor it.He did, jerking forward, gaining speed.The Ethiopians were gaining, bullets exploding the side mirrors, back glass, barely over their heads
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