The Demon Deception Read Free

pants, plus a jacket, vest, and
sandals. He had a Pashtun turban wrapped around his head. A
Kalashnikov rifle was slung across his back. The swords that he had
used against the creatures were sheathed on his hips.
    She stiffened, and pulled away slightly,
realizing that he might be Taliban. He felt her stiffen, “Don’t
worry, love, I’m not Taliban, or even Afghani.”
    His English was perfect, with just a slight
accent that she couldn’t place. She relaxed a little bit.
    “Can you stand unaided?”
    She felt better, so she nodded.
    He slowly let go of her, standing ready to
catch her if she fell. She didn’t look like she was going to hit
the dirt, so he bent over and picked up her rifle. She braced as
she realized he had both weapons, realizing that she didn’t have a
weapon to defend herself with. He noticed her reaction, but he
didn’t say anything. He checked to make sure the rifle was on safe.
He did a press check to make sure there was a round in the chamber.
He handed the rifle back to her.
    “You’re going to need this.”
    She took it, immediately feeling better with
the rifle in her hands. Now, she was pretty sure she could trust
him as well. If he wished her harm, he would never had given her
the rifle. She emulated his motions, checking it to make sure it
was on safe, a quick press check to ensure it had a bullet in the
chamber, and smacked the bottom of the magazine to make sure it was
still firmly seated.
    He nodded in satisfaction when he saw her
check the rifle, which indicated to him that she was getting over
her shock, “Are you ready? We have a few miles to cover to get you
back to your unit.”
    She nodded.
    He smiled, “You’re a quiet one, aren’t you?”
She didn’t say anything, and he continued. He pointed in the
direction they needed to walk, “We’re going that way. It’s not the
way you came from, but I can get you back to the Ring Road quicker
in that direction.
    She would have to trust him, she had no
choice, “Okay.”
    “I’m going to walk in front of you. You know
your Army’s hand and arm signals, right?”
    She nodded.
    “Okay, this is stop, this is freeze, this
means danger zone, and this means enemy, yes?”
    She nodded again.
    “So, if you see me make these signs, you
follow them. Or, if you see me stop, you stop. If you see me kneel,
you kneel. If you see me lie down, you lie down. And, most
importantly, if you see me running, you run in the same direction
that I do, and try to beat me to wherever I’m running to,
okay?”
    Another nod.
    He turned and started walking. She followed.
Like before, she concentrated on putting one foot in front of the
other. There were a few low hills in front of them, and she
followed him as he led her across. They walked for a mile, and then
two. Time passed slowly. They topped one more, low hill, and she
saw the prettiest sight she had ever seen. It was her convoy,
sitting at the juncture of Highway 1 and the road where they had
been ambushed. They were only a mile away.
    “Okay, we’re almost there.”
    She started crying again. She hated her
weakness. She remembered one of her favorite movies, and thought, “There’s no crying in the Army!”
    He turned to her, “It’s okay. No problems.
You’re going to be okay, I promise.”
    “Will you stay with me until I get back to my
unit?”
    He thought about it, and rubbed his beard,
“Well, it’s going to complicate my life just a little bit, but I’ll
stay with you until then.” He nodded his acquiescence to her
wish.
    He turned to walk down the hill, to the group
of Humvees and trucks. She reached out and stopped him before he
could take a step.
    “Please?” she asked.
    “What?”
    “Please, who are you?”
    “Oh, my name’s Eli. Come on, let’s get you
where you belong, okay? It’s not too far now. I’m pretty sure
they’re worried about you.”
    She nodded, suddenly realizing that she was
missing in action. Her professionalism came back. She knew she
needed to