War Kids Read Free

down the hallway. Bone-chilling screams follow the sound of terror.
    I have a lump in my throat. Oh, shit, they’re here; why would they come here? The unthinkable is happening - they’re attacking my school. The thunderous barrage of shots continues as they move down the halls.
    Bursts of explosions make the walls tremble, and cracks appear in front of my eyes like someone is drawing them with a pen. Dust from the ceiling falls onto the cream tiles. They’re getting closer. I have nowhere to run. I’m trapped like a rat here, in the boys' bathroom on the second floor of the school… my great idea to hide away from a stupid test! There are windows, but they have metal bars over the front of them to stop thieves from getting in. Now they’re trapping me in and blocking my freedom.
    How the hell am I going to get out of here? I push open a stall and jump back in surprise. There is a boy sitting on the toilet; I don’t understand how he can be quiet! I recognize him from my science class. Jacob, I believe. We’re the same age, although he’s much smaller.
    His body is trembling. He has his head down between his knees and is slowly rocking back and forth with his hands over his ears, whimpering.
    “We need to get out!” I whisper loudly. Jacob places his hand back over his ears and continues to rock, his eyes glazed over with tears. He knows what’s going on, and he’s terrified.
    Gut-wrenching screams filled with dread and horror echo in all directions; I can hear what sounds like a teacher pleading between firing, “Stop, stop! They’re only children.”
    Bang. Thud !
    Oh fuck, they’re outside the bathroom! I have to get out of here or they’re going to kill me next. Cold sweat rolls down my neck as I race to the end cubicle to get as far away from the door as I can. I jump onto the toilet seat and place my hand over my mouth, trying to silence my heavy breathing.
    “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” a deep, masculine voice fills the bathroom. Then the man lets out a heavy breath. “It’ll be easier if you come out. I mean you no harm, and I just have a question for you.”
    Adrenaline rushes through my body. Trembling, I crouch low on the toilet seat, waiting to hear a sound. Is he at the first cubicle? Has he found Jacob? Jesus, what’s he going to do?
    “Hello, little boy. I just want to ask you a question.” Oh no, he found Jacob. “Just one question: how old are you?”
    “Sixteen,” replies Jacob.
    “Perfect, my favorite age,” replies the intruder. A wave of relief floods over me. I’m the same age. If he’s fine, so am I.
    A sudden explosion comes from the cubicle, and then the sound of Jacob’s body falling to the floor.
    He killed him! He killed him!
    SLAM goes the next door. SLAM, SLAM, SLAM ! He’s right outside my cubicle… he’s going to kill me….
    I take one last, deep breath. Now it’s my time to die.
    There’s another SLAM as a door swings open. But it’s not mine; it’s the main door into the bathroom. A split second later, my door flies open, and in front of me I see a black army boot lowering and the soldier wearing it.
    The man is around my father’s age, but unlike my dad, he’s quite heavyset. He has dyed-black hair with gray roots, a thick mustache, and a cigarette in his mouth. But his eyes are averted as he stares back at the bathroom entrance.
    Jesus…
    My door quickly swings closed. He didn’t see me.
    “Captain,” says the soldier in front of me.
    “At ease, soldier.” I hear the captain walk over to the first cubicle where Jacob is.
    “What’s your name, soldier?”
    With his attention distracted, I seize the opportunity to make my move. I quickly and quietly jump down from the seat and scramble beneath the partition beside me to the stall the soldier just checked.
    “Heen Dara.”
    “Good work, Heen. Carry on.” With that, the captain exits, leaving Heen and me in the room alone. Heen kicks open the cubicle where I just was and sighs at