1| MARINE MCCALL [TEEN WOLF]

Chapter 1: Coming Home

"Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances. And they become more extraordinary because of it."

- r o b e r t s o n  d a v i e s

I weakly stumble through the sandy town- the pain from my wounds significantly slowing me down. My breaths are harsh and ragged as I fight through the pain. It was a wonder how I survived let alone escaped the clutches of the Taliban.

Tears streamed down my face as I tried to run and not get caught by the men chasing me. Shouts and orders can be heard in both English and Arabic as they continue to search for me. I walk past a stand selling hijabs and quickly steal one without the owner noticing. Quickly dressing myself and covering my ruined uniform, I continue my escape.

I hear gunshots and screams from the area I just left. Flinching, I make a sharp turn into a shop and slam the door behind me. Sighing, I close my eyes for a few seconds just to catch my breath for a few seconds. I don't know how much longer I could go on. Suddenly, I hear shuffling behind me that causes me to turn.

The woman behind me jumps as I turned towards her. But I merely raise my bloody hands as a sign of peace, "P-please.. help me."

I can no longer hold myself up as I fall to the floor. My breathing is shallow as my vision begins to blur. Tears slip from the corners of my eyes as I fear what my future may hold.

"Help me.."

. . . .

A cool cloth touching my neck causes me to flinch awake. I sit up quickly causing the young woman beside me to flinch away. My heart races as I look around the unfamiliar room and at the unfamiliar faces. A few elderly woman glance at me from their cleaning with relief written across their faces.

"Where am I?" I ask them as I try to climb off the bed. The young woman pushes me back down causing me to wince. My frown deepens as I observe her and the older women, assessing them to determine whether they are a threat to me or not.

The younger woman looks at me apologetically, "You are in a room in our shop. We helped you after you fainted yesterday due to your physical state." Suddenly the memories of my escape flash through my mind. I glance at everyone and send them a smile that shows my gratefulness.

"Thank you." I whisper to them and getting smiles in response. However a question remains in my mind, "Why are you all helping me? If the Taliban found out they would kill you." The young woman beside me sighs but before she could reply, another older woman walks into the room and shouts her name.

"Amari! عجل ومساعدتها. الرجال يبحثون كل مبنى في البلدة." (Hurry and help her. The men are searching every building in the town.) My heart rate picks up at her words and I glance at Amari with panicked eyes. She sends me a calm yet determined stare in return as she scurried back to my side.

She grabs a hold of my hand and carefully sits me up, "We are helping you because the Taliban are evil and vile men. Our husbands were killed for not believing and agreeing to their ways. Many people in this town hate the Taliban just as much as Americans. But many are too afraid to fight back. There were so many we could not save, but we will do what we can to save you."

Amari then carefully helps me turn to slide off the bed. The older women scurry over to help me stand causing me to smile in thanks.

"Come this way." One of the women states and I am led out of the room. We walk past the door leading to the shop and towards the back, "We called the nearby base and informed that of your presence." Once again, I am shocked because not many people are supposed to know of the location of the base.