The Puppetmasters (46 page)

When the meal was over, the women went out to tend the sheep. They laughingly pulled Kendall with them. Rashid looked over to see her walking with the other women. He was amazed that she just blended right in.

He had joined the men as they were finishing their meal and green tea. He ate quickly of the fare that was offered. A few of the men left to tend the goats and sheep. He walked over to the large roped-off area with them. The men lined the goats up for milking. Rashid watched closely and joined in. As the men picked up the pace, they joked and cajoled each other to finish first.

Suddenly, there was a roar overhead, and two helicopters swooped low. The men looked up and shrugged their shoulders. Affecting curiosity, Rashid inquired about the helicopters. The men stated they had come by four days in a row now, usually just once, and then weren’t seen again until the next day. They seemed to be looking for something, but the men didn’t possess any further details.

In the meantime, Kendall was out in the field with the sheep and the other women. She had hold of a stick like the other women, and they were herding the sheep a little farther out. She blanched when she saw and heard the whir of the rotor blades overhead but kept her head down and appeared focused on running after a lamb that had been spooked by the loud noise and creeping dark shadows.

The two stayed another hour and then indicated they needed to push further north to meet up with the rest of their tribe. It took them another thirty minutes to get their supplies loaded onto Babar. As they set off for the north, Rashid and Kendall said their goodbyes and waved at the people.

They headed north for the cover of a grove of willow trees their new friends advised them was about eight miles ahead. Rashid figured if they moved rapidly, they could get there before nightfall. It would be a perfect place to set up their camp for the night and provide shelter from prying eyes from above. He also felt optimistic with the addition of Babar, and that they were traveling in local costume.

Perhaps he was feeling a little too sanguine, given the precarious journey they had embarked on and the perils that would soon befall them.

They were exhausted and dirty when they made camp that night. The stream was a little farther away from their campsite than Rashid had wished. At least they were protected by the willows. Kendall bathed first and changed into a pair of jeans and thick muslin shirt with the usual robes over the top. She washed out her dirty clothes and hung them on a lower branch under one of the willows. Rashid made camp and had dinner ready when she returned. While she ate and drank her tea, he bathed in the stream and washed out his clothes.

An hour later, he joined her for the last remnants of the smoldering campfire. She asked him about the goats and wished she could have watched or helped them. Rashid vigorously shook his head. “That would never be allowed. In this tribe—they told me—only men can milk goats.”

She was incredulous. “What? Why?”

“It’s part of the culture that’s been handed down for centuries. And anyway, I don’t think you want to know why. It has something to do with cleanliness and the way women are viewed.”

Kendall sniffed. “I hope you don’t subscribe to those beliefs.”

“Did I say that I did? Have I not been defending you and treating you as an equal whenever we’re alone? Do you see me handling you roughly and without respect?”

She shook her head, feeling guilty at projecting her anger at him. “No. As a matter of fact, you’ve been completely wonderful. But I get so mad at the ignorance of this country.”

“Kendall, that’s not fair. It’s a combination of a tribal culture, a mix of so many different ethnic groups, and decades of war. It’s just different from your world. That’s all.”

“Would you ever consider living in the U.S.?”

He was thoughtful for a few minutes. “I suppose it’s like living in England, where I went to the University.”

“Somewhat, but things are not so close together.”

He laughed. “I can’t even imagine what you mean.”

She didn’t want to get into another debate with him, so she changed the subject. “Tell me about Hindu Kush. What does that mean?”

“Everyone has their own explanation for the name. One of the most popular stories is that the word
‘Kush’
means death. The name came from the days when Indian slaves died in the mountains here during their transport to Central Asia. Another story is that a medieval traveler called it ‘Hindu Killer’ because the inhabitants of the mountain region were enemies of the Indians who lived on the plains below.”

“Are all the Afghan mountain ranges pretty much like what we’ve seen so far?”

He shook his head. “Not at all. In fact, I wish you could see the mountain range due north of Kabul. The glaciers are more visible, the peaks higher, and the temperature varies greatly from night to day.” Looking into the darkening skies, he took her there with his vivid account. “It’s called an ablated snow hummock, or
penitentes.
They’re quite magical the first time you see them. It’s a formation of the snow that’s a few feet high, sort of like an ice stalagmite. It’s caused from the bright sunlight and quick evaporation and then rapid
decrease of temperature at night. It gives you an illusion of a kneeling figure. The whole floor is covered with them. They really stand out in the early morning light.”

“Sounds breathtaking! I’d love to see them.”

“And so you shall some time. But not on this trip.”

She nodded solemnly. “Yep.”

The first thing Rashid noticed when they got up the next morning was how quiet the campsite and surrounding area was. He was instantly on alert. Something wasn’t right. He looked around, but all seemed quiet. Just to be on the safe side, he took out his nearby semi-automatic rifle, made sure it was loaded with a full magazine of bullets in the clip, and leaned it up against the nearest tree for quick access.

When Kendall stepped out of the tent a few minutes later, she saw the rifle and quickly looked to Rashid. “What’s that for?” she demanded.

He tried to appear casual. “I just want to be ready.”

“You’re scaring me. Do you think there are troops nearby?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, but let’s get going.”

“Okay. I’m going to wash my face at the stream and brush my teeth. Is that okay?”

He wasn’t happy that she’d be that far away, but didn’t want to alarm her. “Fine, but make it quick. I’m anxious to get going this morning. In fact, do you mind if we skip a fire and sort of eat on the run?”

“You mean, no tea this morning? Well, okay, if you think it’s necessary.”

He gave her an intense look. “I do, Kendall. I, uh, just want to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“All right, give me five minutes.”

With that, she grabbed up her few personal items and ran down the path for the stream. She was reveling in the cold, crisp mountain spring water as it splashed over her face. She felt quite refreshed, and hurriedly brushed her teeth. As she shoved the face cloth and toothbrush into her small sack, she thought she heard voices. When she lifted her head to concentrate on the muffled sounds, she realized with horror those were the unmistakable sounds of angry voices … at the campsite.

She carefully made her way toward the campsite, looking around for any soldiers. She stealthily moved over the rocky ground, making sure not to step on a stick and make her presence known. As she approached three large poplar trees growing together at the edge of the campsite, she peered through their leaves. Three soldiers with their backs to Kendall were about seventy-five yards away on the other edge of the campsite.

One of them moved, and Kendall sucked in her breath. The three soldiers had their weapons trained on Rashid, who was on his knees facing them with his hands behind his head. They were clearly about to shoot him, but were demanding to know where Kendall was.

She quickly looked for Rashid’s weapon and saw it in the same spot as when she had left. She laid her things down, and in a crouched position quietly covered the ten feet to the weapon and swung it into her arms. Using the cover of bushes and boulders all around her, she returned to the hidden place behind the poplar trees. The weapon felt heavy in her arms, and she knew she needed help steadying it, especially if she was to get off three shots.

She brought the barrel up and rested it on one of the low branches of the tree. She looked through the scope and lined up the farthest soldier between the crosshairs. Even if she got off one shot, the other soldiers would shoot Rashid. She refocused her attention on the area immediately surrounding the soldiers and caught sight of Babar munching on some vegetation off to the left of the men. Kendall reached down and grabbed a small rock and then re-sighted the soldier in the crosshairs, being careful to stand with feet wide apart and her weight forward to absorb the repercussion. She disengaged the safety button and then, without taking her eye from the gun sight, threw the rock toward Babar as hard as she could. It landed at his feet, and he gave a moaning bleat. The three soldiers instantly reacted and looked over at him, retraining their weapons toward Babar.

Kendall got off three quick shots, hitting each soldier in the back of the head, dropping them where they stood. They were precision hits, and both Kendall and Rashid were amazed. With the blast from the first gunshot, Rashid had dropped the rest of the way to the ground, unsure of who was actually shooting. He scrambled to his feet and checked to ensure the soldiers were dead.

Kendall was momentarily stunned from the roar of the semi-automatic weapon. Her shoulder was bruised and battered from the recoil action. But her adrenalin was pumping, and she simply ignored the pain in her ears and shoulder. She re-engaged the safety mechanism and ran over to Rashid. Overcome with unbelievable relief, he gave her an impromptu hug and kissed the side of her head. Grabbing onto her arms, he pushed away from her and searched her face. “Now you see why you practiced so much? Good shooting!”

Kendall’s eyes were still wide from the shock. “I didn’t have time to be scared. It was them or us. I chose life.”

He nodded, and she continued. “Wasn’t Babar wonderful?”

Rashid laughed. “Let’s get going! We need to hide the bodies. The good thing is that we now have three additional weapons and more supplies.”

They quickly ran around gathering the items and loading everything onto Babar. They dragged the soldiers’ bodies and pushed them under some brush.

Rashid figured they wouldn’t be discovered until the smell of their decaying bodies gave them away in a few days. They hastily cleaned up the campsite, using branches to hide their presence. The ashes from their fire were scattered about. Rashid wrestled with whether to take the troops’ radios but knew they contained radio frequency or tracking chips. He was fairly certain how to remove the chips. But if he made a mistake, it would lead the others to them. He made a quick decision to remove the chips, destroy them, smash the radios, and leave all of it behind with the remains.

The fleeing duo was finally on the move and proceeded higher into the mountains. Rashid made the critical decision to move away from the river and streams. It was too easy to track them. They filled all of their water skins, including those taken from the soldiers.

As they worked their way higher into the rocky mountains of the Hindu Kush range, there were fewer trees and more outcrops and rock faces. Rashid had miscalculated the need for trees. On the higher slopes, it was easy to spot approaching aircraft from afar and to find shelter in a cave or under a rocky ledge. Even Babar was able to keep out of sight whenever the helicopters and planes flew overhead.

They stopped only briefly for small breaks to get something to drink and a quick bite. Otherwise, they made good time. Rashid felt they were able to trek some ten miles toward Mazar-e-Sharif. In the early evening, as they looked for a somewhat spacious cave that could accommodate a dromedary and hide a campfire in the dark, he scanned the horizon. All day, they had seen various aircraft circling the area way off to the east. Rashid was relieved they had gone in a northwesterly direction. Their trail had apparently been lost, and General Omar’s troops were no longer on their heels.

They found a perfect cave where they made camp for the night. They weren’t even going to need the tent. Rashid made a large fire, and they were soon sipping hot green tea. Kendall had never wanted anything more in her life, having gone all day without any warm beverage. The taste of that hot drink calmed her nerves and helped her relax. She knew there’d be no bathing tonight and probably tomorrow too, but she was thankful most of their water skins were full and that no one was breathing down their necks.

In the morning they had a quick campfire for hot tea and then gathered their belongings. Rashid was taking stock of the weapons and handed Kendall an MK25 P226 semi-automatic handgun. She stared at it, and raised her eyebrows. He waggled the gun at her and urged her, “Go on, take it! You should’ve had this on you the moment we left the lakes. Now, you’ll feel safer.”

“Is it loaded?”

“Check it! You know the drill. When someone hands you a gun, you should always check its status.”

She turned away, slid the chamber open and verified there was no round in the firing position, ejected the magazine, and saw that it was fully loaded. After shoving it back into position and making sure the safety was engaged, he showed her how to clip it to her waist. He then pulled out a knife and sheath that had come from one of the dead soldiers, and strapped it to Kendall’s leg. “There, you are ready for war now.”

She frowned. “Not funny! I hope I never have to shoot a gun again. My shoulder still hurts.”

Rashid chuckled. “Yeah, well, as long as we’re prepared, then you know we won’t need them.”

They continued their way north and were happy to run across a small stream at midday. As they sat down next to a rocky outcrop for a brief meal, Rashid went around the corner and behind a cluster of trees. Kendall was sitting on a fallen log with her back to the rocky projection. She had her hands at her waist, undoing the P226. All of a sudden she heard a strange chuffing sound followed by a breathy snort overhead. Babar, who was grazing nearby, let out a long moan and loped off in the direction of Rashid.