No Place for Females

Chapter Twelve

"Hello," I said, feeling breathless with anticipation. Oh my God, this was it. They were calling to tell me they were coming to get me. "Hello?"

"Who is this?" said a male voice. He said something else, but I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying, because the connection kept cutting in and out.

"This is HM3 Lena Jacobs. Can you hear me?"

Static and half words filled the phone. I had five bars of signal, so I didn't understand why I wasn't hearing the other person.

"Jacobs?"

"Lena Jacobs. Echo Team. Has Maria told you where I am?"

He kept talking, but his voice was drowned out by static.

"I can't hear you!"

Finally, the static stopped. I looked at the phone. The call had been dropped.

The sound of my scream echoed into the distance. It was pitch black out here. The battery icon had turned yellow, which meant it was dangerously low. I checked the signal again. I still had full reception. I wondered if the Marine had heard me say my name. If they knew I was alive, they would keep searching for me. They wouldn't give up.

The phone rang again. Oh sweet Jesus, thank you.

I answered on the second ring. “Hello?”

"Hello," said a man. Now that the line was clear, I could hear that he spoke with an accent.

"Oh, thank God. This is Lena Jacobs. Who am I speaking with?"

"I am Amir."

"Is Maria there? Did she tell you where I am?"

"Maria?"

"Our translator."

"She is not here."

"Where is she?"

"She is hurt. The Marines took her."

"Oh no! Is she going to be okay?

"I don't know. Where are you?"

"I’m not sure. Maria knows where I am. She was supposed to tell you. What happened to her?"

"Can you describe what you see around you?"

"It’s dark. I'm stuck out in the middle of nowhere. The only people who might know where I am are these two kids who helped me. But I'm pretty far from them now, and I didn’t tell them where I was headed. I thought it was better if they didn’t know.“

"Kids?"

"The girl is named Khalesia. I never found out the brother’s name."

He didn’t answer for a while. In the silence, I began to feel uneasy. I didn’t know this man. He was probably a translator for the infantry guys, but still, I would have felt better talking to a Marine.

"Can you find your way back to them?"

"I guess so. I don't think I should go back, though. There were some men who came to the house. I think they were looking for me."

I waited for him to speak. "Umm, can I speak to one of the Marines?"

"They are busy. I will tell them where you are. Go back to the children. We will be there in the morning."

"But--"

He hung up.

I wondered whether I should call back. Hopefully someone else would pick up. I was worried about draining my battery, but I wasn't sure if Amir had really understood me. After a few seconds, I decided to call back.