Page 2 of The Death
“What happened here?” Dominic asked gently. “Do you know? We need your help.”
“We were staying with our auntie today,” Zola said. “Our mother went to another village to sell quilts that she makes. We heard screaming outside and saw the men and their trucks. They came at us with their guns and machetes.”
Alora was crying. “Our auntie told us to hide outside. We crawled under here and heard her and our cousin screaming. There was blood… Those men were killing everyone for no reason.”
Zola looked around dazedly. “Is anyone else still alive?”
Dominic glanced at a smoldering pile that he knew could be the children’s aunt and cousin. “We haven’t seen anyone else yet. I’m sorry.”
Alora sobbed uncontrollably. “I want my mom!”
“It’s a good thing she wasn’t here,” Dominic said. “We’ll get you to her, don’t worry. But we need to find out everything we can about the people who did this. We’re not going to let them get away with it, I promise you.”
The children were silent for a moment, until Zola finally spoke up. “They all had yellow scarves.”
Dominic and Rashid exchanged a look before turning back to the boy. “Are you sure?” Dominic asked.
Zola nodded. “And they had yellow flags on their trucks.”
“That’s helpful,” Dominic said. “Very helpful, Zola. Have you ever seen these people before? Any of them?”
He shook his head no.
“Did it seem like they were looking for something?”
“No. They just came here and started hacking away with their knives. People were screaming and offering them money and food, but those men didn’t care about that. They just wanted to kill everyone.”
Dominic turned toward Rashid and whispered, “Sounds like Zakira’s followers.”
Rashid nodded. “I’d bet on it. All it would take is for the village elders here to turn down Zakira’s invitation to join his flock. He’d wipe them out without thinking twice.”
“I’m familiar with their tactics,” Dominic said. “But it’s strange… Zakira’s armies usually leave at least a few warriors behind for a few hours to eliminate residents who might have been away.”
As if on cue, a truck engine sounded in the distance.
“You were saying?” Rashid turned toward the sound.
“Get down!” Dominic crouched next to the two children and grabbed the large sheet of tin. “Come on, get back under. All of us. Now!”
Dominic and Rashid slid underneath the tin sheet with the children and listened as the truck roared closer. They peered through openings in the panel and saw a beat-up old pickup truck with a machine gun mounted in the bed. Two men rode in the cab, and another manned the gun. A yellow flag flew from the car’s antenna, and each of the men wore a yellow bandanna around his head.
“Zakira’s crew, all right,” Dominic said.
“We were lucky to get here,” Rashid said. “They’re probably patrolling the village and the surrounding areas.”
“They were lucky we didn’t see them earlier,” Dominic said grimly. “But their luck has just run out.”
“What’s your plan?” Rashid glanced at Dominic’s set expression and then watched as he grabbed his knapsack and unzipped it.
“Just a little welcome party. I don’t like the idea of them having all the fun. You stay here and keep an eye on those kids.”
“Maybe we should both stay here with them,” Rashid suggested tentatively. “After the patrol passes, we can probably slide down the ridge without being seen.”
“If my plan doesn’t work, feel free to do that,” Dominic said absently as his gaze narrowed on the patrol.
Rashid shook his head resignedly. “Dominic…”
But Dominic climbed out from under the tin sheet and ran toward the muddy road. He reached into his pack and tossedhalf a dozen black disks to the ground. They were each about the diameter of a hockey puck, but half the thickness. He’d been assured these latest models would work, but the field tests showed mixed results.
