Yossi dropped to the dirt next to Adira. She was screaming, which brought an odd sense of relief. At least she was alive.
“I’ve got you, motek. I’ve got you,” he said soothingly as he reached for her right leg. He hadn’t needed to look hard for her wound. The rear part of her foot between her ankle and her heel was pretty much gone. What was left brought bile up into his throat. Around him, the gunfire continued. Adira wasn’t the only one screaming.
Think, think!
There was no way she could walk. They were in the middle of an open field. Behind them, terrorists were firing automatic weapons in their direction. Ahead of them, the field was open for the next 500 meters, at least.
Adira was saying something to him, and he looked down at her. “Am I going to die, motek? Am I going to die?” She grabbed him by the shirt as she repeated the phrase over and over.
Smoothing her hair back, he took her head firmly in his hand. “You are not going to die, my love. I will not let that happen.” Then his voice softened, and he held her cheek with his hand. “But it’s going to hurt, babe. There’s nothing I can do about that.”
As evidence, a fresh wave of pain caused Adira to cry out. Yossi held her to his chest.
When he laid her back down, she pleaded, “Promise you won’t leave me here, Yossi!” Her eyes were big, and her breathing was rapid. Unless he calmed her, she would begin to hyperventilate. “I heard the screams, Yossi. I know what they’re doing. Please don’t leave me.”
Locking with her eyes, he said, “I will never leave you. Do you hear me? Besides, Nir gave me one job, and I always follow my orders.” He winked, and she smiled weakly.
Another wave of pain hit her, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He held her firmly until her breathing began to slow again. Finally, she released him and said softly, “So, you’re just following orders?”
“What?” Yossi saw a strained smile on Adira’s face, and his love for her grew even more. He kissed her on the forehead, then on her lips. Then he put her back down.
“I’m sorry, motek. This is going to hurt,” he said as he pulled his T-shirt over his head. “I’ll do what I can, but there is no way around the pain. Try to think of something different. Think of our future house, and what our firstborn will look like.” He tried to ignore the sounds of the gunfire as he used a pocketknife to cut the shirt into strips. Then he began to wrap up her foot. Adira shrieked and her hand grabbed tightly onto his calf. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry,” he repeated as he wound the strips around her destroyed heel.
When he was done, he turned back to her.
“Tembel,” she said, trying to force a smile.
Yossi feigned offense, then returned a sad smile. “Yeah, I deserved that one. Okay, now we need to go.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think I can walk.”
“Don’t worry, motek, I’m your personal Uber.” Reaching under her back and legs, he lifted her up. She stiffened with the pain as she slid her arm around his neck. “Oof, you had to have those falafels at the snack tent, didn’t you?” Yossi groaned.
“Oh, don’t make me laugh,” she said, wincing as he took his first step.
Yossi was a strong surfer with lean, muscular legs and a well-toned upper body. He also had an incredible sense of balance, which was helpful as he made his way across the uneven ground.
The gunfire began to fade, an indication that they were not being followed. All around, others were hurrying past. Every now and then, one would say, “May God bless you and strengthen you,” and other words to that effect.
Yossi didn’t know how long Adira would survive without getting to a doctor. Already she had bled through the makeshift T-shirt bandage, but at least the wound hadn’t started to drip yet. He also didn’t know how long he had. His superhuman adrenaline strength was wearing thin. While Adira was on the small side and very fit, carrying anyone for a long period over uneven ground took its toll.
Nir’s voice echoed once more in his thoughts. “You have one job.”
Yalla! Let’s go!
He pushed on.
It took about ten minutes to make it to the far end of the field. From this point on, it was trees and scrub. Yossi stopped under an acacia tree and set Adira down against its trunk. There were tears in her eyes, and her moaning had been steadily increasing in volume.
As he held her close, she wept into his shoulder, “Oh, Yossi, it hurts so bad.” She held him tight, her fingernails digging into his bare skin.
“I know. I know,” he said. But the fact was, he didn’t know. He couldn’t imagine the excruciating pain she was feeling. Judging by her blood loss, he figured she wasn’t far from going into shock. He wasn’t exactly sure what that meant physically, but based on all the TV dramas they had watched together, he knew it wasn’t good.
If only I could ease her pain somehow. Wait…
“Motek, listen to me. Do you have any more of the MDMA?”
At first his question didn’t quite register with her. Again, he asked, “The Molly—do you have any more?”
There was a guilty look in her eyes as she nodded to her left. “In my pocket.”
He reached in and felt two tablets. Resting under the tree had allowed Adira to calm some, and in a strained voice, she said, “I’m sorry. I bought four in case we liked it. But I don’t ever want to do that stuff again.”
“I know you don’t, but listen. I remember reading an article somewhere about people using MDMA as a pain reliever for PTSD patients. I have no idea if it will help you with what you’re going through. But it’s worth a shot, isn’t it? Just this one last time. Then, when we’re home, we’re done with it forever. Okay?”
Adira whimpered but nodded.
“Okay, work up some spit.” Then when she nodded again, he slipped a pill into her mouth. The other he put into his pocket. She swallowed, gagged, then swallowed again. “Good job. Who knows, maybe we’ll meet another nice old artist—a sculptor this time?” Adira didn’t respond, other than to continue straining through her pain. “Okay, bad joke. Listen, we’ve got to get going. Hold tight and let me do the work.”
Yossi lifted her and began moving. It didn’t take long for her groaning to quiet down. Within ten minutes, she hung limply like she was asleep. He couldn’t be sure that she wasn’t overdosing or hadn’t gone into shock, but her breathing seemed okay. Rapid, but steady.
He could still see people running up ahead. As long as he kept them in sight, he figured he was going the right way. But not only was it the right way, it was the only way. Behind them, the dirt bikes had started up again, and he could hear them drawing closer.