"Leave This Place"

Out in the savanna in the middle of the summer is like swimming in fire, the heat is so intense and the water supplies are limited. Your mouth is so dry that it feels like it’s full of sand. The humidity replaces the air in your lungs. Without a doubt you are extremely uncomfortable in your own skin and all you want to do is cool down. I felt this way for the first month I was in Africa and I wanted to get out as soon as I could. My name is sgt. Pablo Escobar, you may know me as a drug dealer but I have changed my ways. Although the U.S government doesn’t see that and asking for forgiveness would be nothing more than a suicide mission. I took my only way out of that life and fled Columbia and ended up in Somalia. Not a smart move on my part, see I didn’t know that the U.S Army and Somalia government where at war with each other, so instead of taking a breath cause I got away I have to stay on my toes. Habr Gidr Clan was trying to over throw the government; you may know it better by the name of the battle, Battle of Mogadishu? Well yeah that is what’s going on in my so called sanctuary.

Ok so I get there and the life I tried to get away from fallowed me. I started my way west trying to stay in the shadows. It was 3 days I was there and I met a man by the name of Donovan "Bull" Briley, he was a pilot of Super Six-One and he abandoned his post due to his fear of death. With his intelligence I took advantage of fleeing with him. We got in the outskirts of Ethiopia in the town of Dolo Odo. But once we arrived things seemed to be not right. There was a group of about 80 if I remember correctly and they were screaming to the havens. I and Donovan look at each other with a concerned look and then out of nowhere a man walks up on us with a machete gripped tightly in his hand and says “why have you come to this place” Donovan replied saying “we are only passing through” once again the man says “why have you come to this place?!” but in a more aggressive tone. By now Donovan lowers his body and raises his armalite AR-18 and asks to pass. The man with the machete starts to approach us and in a panic others from the group of natives spot us.

I examine the individuals more as they get closer and I look at their faces, something is wrong, they are bleeding from their eyes and mouth. Donavon yells “they got it!” standing there ready to run thinking to myself “got what”? Then in a second things go black and hazy, I hear Donavan screaming and shots firing from his weapon.

I regain my sight but only to find myself on the floor. With all my energy I jump up to assist my friend but the moments I stand up my eyes are coated with a red sticky substance. Realizing I was struck in the head with something and that I’m useless to help, I’m dragged away by the man with the machete. Very frantic he stairs me in the eye and say, “now you must leave this place”. My arm starts to lose feeling from the tight grip he’s dragging me. In frenzy I get leverage and rush him to the floor, and then he bites me on the cheek. His eyes and mouth start dripping with blood, his body begins to shake. I take that 1st step into my escape and head back to the village. Now Donovan is standing there asking me “Pablo, why have you come here?”

Feeling weak and scared I ask what he means, what does that mean? And he says “this is our holy land, leave this place” I walk up to him and try to make sense of things but he pulls his weapon up and fires. Im hit with the wave of 762x9mm full metal jackets. Gasping for air I drop to the floor.

Suddenly things are not so hot the temperature drops, my mouth is not so dry, and the humidity is nowhere to be found just fresh cool air.Time to go home, time to leave this place.