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Dawn had just come over the hills and Molly could see people running in several different directions. Pandemonium reigned.
“What’s happening?” Molly demanded, catching an orderly by the shoulders.
He stared at her. “The rebels are coming! You must go…now,” he said urgently. “Do not wait.”
“Dr. Morton?” Molly pleaded. “Have you seen Dr. Morton?”
He shook his head wildly, then broke away, running toward the row of parked vehicles.
“Richard,” Molly shouted. She couldn’t, wouldn’t, leave without her friend. His sleeping quarters were on the other side of the compound, but crossing the open area was nearly impossible. Sounds came at her from every direction. People were shouting in more languages than she could understand. The pervasive sense of fear nearly immobilized her.
“Molly, Molly.” She whirled around to see Richard Morton frantically searching the crowd for her.
“Here!” she shouted, waving her hand.
She had to fight her way to his side. Briefly, they clung to each other.
“We have to leave right away. Mwanda has a truck waiting.”
Molly nodded, her hand gripping Richard’s. They’d been fools not to heed headquarters’ warnings. A coup had seemed like a distant threat that wouldn’t affect her, but she was wrong.
“What about the sick?” Molly pleaded. Richard was on one side of her and the six-foot Mwanda on the other.
“We will care for them,” Mwanda promised in halting English. “But first you go.”
Richard and Molly were thrown in the truck bed, and covered with a tarp. They huddled in the corners, waitingfor Mwanda to drive them somewhere else. Somewhere safe.
As the truck fired to life, Molly peered out and saw a tall, thin boy vaulting toward the truck, speaking furiously in his native tongue. Over the past couple of years, Molly had picked up some vocabulary, although she wasn’t as fluent as she would have liked. The cold hand of fear settled over her as she translated the frantic words.
Dr. Morton was also peering out from under the canvas tarp, and her gaze met his. She could tell that he understood the message, too.
They couldn’t leave now. It was too late. The countryside was swarming with rebel troops, bent on vengeance. Many innocents had already been murdered.
Richard and Molly were trapped inside the compound.
Mwanda turned off the engine and climbed out of the truck. His eyes were empty as he helped them climb down from the back.
“What do we do now?” Molly asked.
Richard shrugged. “Wait.”
Wait for what? Molly wanted to ask. For death, and pray that it would be merciful? She doubted there was any real chance of rescue now. If they were captured, her fate—as a woman—didn’t bear thinking of.
Surprisingly she wasn’t afraid. The fear left her as quickly as it had come, replaced with a sense of calm. If the rebels broke through the compound, they weren’t going to find her cowering in some corner. They’d find her doing what she did each and every day, helping her patients.
“I believe I’ll do my rounds,” Richard announced, his voice quavering slightly.
“I’ll come with you,” Molly said.
He seemed pleased and offered her a shaky smile.
Mwanda shook his head and, with a resigned shrug of his shoulders, moved away. “I will go back to the kitchen,” he said with a wide smile. Molly thought she’d never seen him smile more brightly. Or bravely.
Clinging to routine was of primary importance to them, to their psychological survival. The thread of normalcy was fragile and threatened to break at any moment, but it was all they had to hold on to.
Gunfire continued to sound in the distance, creeping closer, bit by bit. Radio communication with Makua City had been severed, so they had no way of knowing what was happening in the capital. Had the entire country been taken over?
It was not knowing that was the worst. A number of patients left, preferring to take their chances on reaching their families. Richard tended to those who were too sick to walk away from the compound. Some of the fleeing patients had tried to convince Molly and Richard to leave with them, but they refused. This was where they belonged. This was where they’d stay. Molly was shocked to realize that only a handful of people remained in the compound. No one could guess how long they’d be safe behind its protective walls.
