down his face was turning the streaks of mud to a wet paste. He gave me a big grin, his jagged white teeth flashing against his shiny skin.
‘Happy days or what, we made it!’
I grinned and nodded, but to be honest I didn’t feel the same relief. I could only focus on one thing. ‘Where’s Toki?’ We looked back at the field, scanning every inch of maize.
‘Look!’ Si’s arm shot out as he pointed. ‘Edge of the maize. Half left.’
Sure enough, there was Toki, bent forward with Flash’s body draped around his shoulders. I jumped and waved my arms in the ditch.
‘Toki, quick. Over here!’ As he looked up to hear where my voice was coming from, he hitched Flash further up his shoulders and headed towards us.
‘Woah!’ Si gripped his weapon tightly but remained stock still. ‘Talis!’
Four Taliban had sprung out of the maize. They didn’t appear to be taking aim with their AKs, but were running straight for Toki, and they were catching up with him fast.
Like Si, I too was frozen to the spot. Couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, could only look on in terror. Si’s voice came through in short, sharp, terrified bursts. ‘Mate, what do we do? What do we do?’
As the Taliban closed in on Toki and Flash, they began to scream out. It sounded like Indians attacking a wagon train in one of those old black and white westerns. Toki dropped Flash to the ground and looked wildly about him. He swung his weapon up, ready to fight, his bayonet glinting in the early morning sun. ‘Come on, you bastards! Come on!’ he screamed back at them. He had worked out what was happening before we did.
I felt Si grip my shoulder. ‘They’re not shooting …’
My eyes didn’t leave Toki as he stood over Flash. A wave of panic spread through me.
‘That’s because they’re trying to take him!’
As I watched Toki stand his ground waiting for the Talis to come to him, something shifted within me. It began to rip through my heart and churn my guts, twisting and turning inside. Without thinking, I began to scramble up the bank.
‘Where you going?’ Si already knew the answer.
‘Come on!’ It didn’t matter whether he was going to follow or not.
‘Mate, we only got bayonets.’ Si’s voice was pleading, but he was already scrambling up the bank to join me.
I looked across the hundred metres of open ground at Toki, preparing to fight to the death, and a wave of emotion blasted through my body. It seared through my lungs, roared through my throat and finally broke free. ‘Bollocks!’ I screamed and broke into a run.
I kept my focus on Toki as I raced across the field. He stabbed his bayonet at the first Taliban, who dropped to his knees, wounded in the shoulder. But the other three were too quick. They kicked and punched Toki to the ground, took hold of his arms and legs, and started to bundle him back towards the maize. As they dragged him off, Toki writhed and screamed until the tallest one hit him over and over again with the butt of his rifle. The tall one then ran back to help his injured friend, who’d got hold of Flash by one of his heels. Flash didn’t resist as they dragged him off in the same direction as Toki. He couldn’t. But he lifted one arm to protect his head as it banged against the rocks jutting out of the ploughed field. He was still alive!
As I ran towards my mates, it was as if my head knew what my body wanted to do and it just sort of happened. All sound became muffled. I was sure Si was following me, but I couldn’t actually hear him. I knew I was screaming out loud, but I could barely hear any sound come from my mouth. The Apaches must have been approaching, but I wasn’t aware of the roar of their rotor blades. I was running in slow motion and all that mattered was getting Flash and Toki back, nothing else. I had to get amongst it. I had to help them. I couldn’t have stopped myself even if I’d wanted to. I just kept on running, kept focusing on Toki and Flash getting dragged closer and closer to the maize, where they would be lost to me for ever.
This time my war face just happened. I didn’t have to think about it, but I knew it was there. I wasn’t