Chapter 21

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*Thud.* Dana knelt down, "Elder, Sahar has gone out. When the Hadim brothers said they were going to help the guerrillas, Sahar said he was sick first. Then, when the Hadim brothers left, Sahar sneaked out. I don't know what he went to do. Elder, Sahar is not a traitor."

Although the village had never produced a traitor, a village a few mountains away had once produced one. It was said that the villagers buried the traitor's lower body in the ground and then used countless stones to smash his upper body, killing him alive.

Thinking of this, Dana shuddered. Would Sahar also be stoned to death by the villagers in this way? What should she do?

Dana lowered her head and began to sob.

"Hmph, Brother Sahar, how dare he do such a thing! Instructor, I know a small path. I'll go and bring him back now!" Hadim said angrily, about to leave.

"Wait, come back!" Muhammad said.

From the time Hadim came in to call for help until they discovered that Sahar was a traitor, more than an hour had passed. In the darkness, a person could run a long distance in over an hour. It would be impossible to catch up.

"Elder Masud, tonight's incident has involved the village of Ghosht." Muhammad said, "Now, we need to trouble the elder to have all the villagers retreat to the deep mountains for a few days. We'll return after this matter is over to avoid involving the people."

Although the able-bodied men had gone to help unload the truck, there were still the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled left in the village. If the Soviets really came and found the able-bodied men gone, the others in the village might be captured and interrogated, forced to reveal the guerrillas' whereabouts.

Don't expect the Geneva Convention or any policy of not harming civilians. In a real battlefield, nothing matters except victory.

Masud sighed, "This can't be blamed on the guerrillas; it can only be blamed on our village for producing someone like Sahar. It's a disgrace to our village of Ghosht. I'll mobilize the villagers to retreat to the mountains tonight."

Masud felt helpless. He never thought Sahar would be such a person.

In an instant, Masud seemed to have aged.

It was several miles of mountain road from here to the nearest Soviet outpost. By the time Sahar reported and the Soviets arrived, it would be dawn. So, there was no immediate danger as long as the villagers evacuated before dawn.

"Let's go back," Muhammad said. Besides having the villagers evacuate, he also needed to drive the truck to a conspicuous place to attract the Soviets' attention. Once the Soviets found the truck, they wouldn't target the village anymore.

Muhammad could only do this for now.

"Elder, what should we do with Dana?" Hadim asked.

Regardless of what Dana said, since Sahar was a traitor, Dana, as Sahar's wife, was a prime suspect.

"Elder Masud, can we take her? We need to use her as bait to lure out Sahar. This traitor must be eliminated," Muhammad said.

Hearing Muhammad's words, Masud did not hesitate and immediately agreed, "Alright, take her away. You must capture Sahar, the traitor!"

Masud was highly respected in Ghosht village, and his words represented the village's will. They all hated traitors.

Muhammad, along with Durani and Hadim, escorted Dana back to the truck. At this point, almost everything on the truck had been unloaded.

"Instructor, you're back," Khwaja said, then noticed the woman following them and became curious.

"Captain Khwaja, there's a traitor in the village. Our guerrillas' presence here has been leaked," Muhammad said.

Hearing this, Khwaja was stunned. He knew what it meant; Ghosht village had been implicated by their guerrilla unit!

"Instructor, what should we do?" Khwaja asked. At this moment, even if Muhammad asked him to climb a mountain of knives or dive into a sea of fire, he wouldn't hesitate. Even if Muhammad wanted to do something unspeakable, he wouldn't frown.

"Send a few people to cover the villagers' evacuation. I've already talked to Elder Masud. The villagers will retreat to the deep mountains for a few days and return after this matter is over. After you finish unloading, retreat to the base," Muhammad said.

"What about you, Instructor?" Khwaja asked.

"I'll take Durani and Hadim to create a diversion and hopefully draw the Soviets away," Muhammad said.

Hearing this, Khwaja was deeply moved. This instructor was excellent at commanding battles and always took the dangerous tasks himself. Last night, it was already very lucky to escape from the Soviets, and now, he was going to deliberately lure them again, which was very dangerous.

"Instructor, you go back to the base, I'll draw the Soviets away," Khwaja said.

"No, you can't drive," Muhammad rejected.

"I can, Instructor. I've driven many types of cars, and I just watched you drive..." Khwaja knew that Muhammad was leaving the danger to himself, but he also had to bravely take on this task.

"Have you driven this Kamaz truck before? Can you shift gears without using the clutch? Are you as skilled as me?" Muhammad asked three questions in a row and then opened the driver's door.

Khwaja watched Muhammad get in, knowing he couldn't stop the instructor.

"Instructor, I'll wait for you at the base," Khwaja said.

"For the next few days, focus on training at the base. When I return, we'll do some big operations," Muhammad said.

Hearing this, Khwaja was full of confidence.

"Take Dana to the back seat," Muhammad said.

This heavy truck had a rare double-row seat, perfect for Dana to sit in the back.

The long robe was a bit cumbersome, but Dana got into the truck under Durani's watchful eye.

Then, Durani also sat in the back to monitor Dana, while Hadim sat in the front.

Muhammad glanced and understood Hadim's thoughts. Although Sahar was a traitor, Hadim still respected Sahar's wife, possibly because they knew each other before. Now, it was very awkward, and Hadim didn't want to sit too close to Dana.

Muhammad's heart was cold. He knew that Dana might not have known about this, but as Sahar's wife, she had to pay a price. Moreover, Dana had lied to him when they first knocked on the door, which was unforgivable.

In war, there is no room for mercy. If Muhammad was soft-hearted, he wouldn't survive the war.

At the time, he could only take Dana with him. Otherwise, she would have to evacuate with the other villagers. If Dana played any tricks, the entire village could be exposed to the Soviets. If the Soviets massacred the villagers, Muhammad would feel guilty for the rest of his life.

Dana seemed as submissive as a gentle Eastern woman. Apart from a few initial protests, she had no objections. When he decided to use her as bait, she remained silent and cooperative.

Now, as he escorted her onto the truck, she was still so compliant. Muhammad rarely saw such a woman.

He hadn't decided what to do with her yet. For now, keeping her with him was a precaution.

"Bind her hands," Muhammad said.

*Vroom, vroom.* Muhammad started the engine, turned around in the only open space at the village entrance, and drove down the road.

Khwaja waved frantically and shouted, "Instructor, I'll wait for you at the base, the guerrillas are all waiting for you!"

Muhammad smiled. He had successfully gained the support of the guerrillas. In the future, he would lead them to greater victories until they completely drove the Soviets out of Afghanistan!

*Vroom, vroom.* Muhammad pressed the accelerator. The Kamaz, now empty, roared like a lion out of the mountains.

After an hour, the sky began to brighten. The mountains became lower, and they were about to leave the mountains.

Muhammad's eyes were bloodshot from staying up all night, but he was still energetic.

In the rearview mirror, he could see Dana, wrapped in a burqa, seemingly asleep.

The dashboard was made of metal, and Muhammad saw the fuel gauge needle at the bottom, indicating the truck was almost out of fuel.

*Puff!* Muhammad stepped on the brake, stopping at a crossroads.

"Turn right at the next intersection to go to Jalalabad, turn left to go to the eastern border," Hadim said, thinking Muhammad was lost, as he knew the area best.

Should they leave the truck here and return to the base? That way, they wouldn't be in danger. But if the Soviets saw the empty truck, they might continue into the mountains and find Ghosht village.

Or should they stay here and wait for the Soviets to arrive, then lead them away?

While he was hesitating, he heard Hadim shout, "Soviets, the Soviets are coming!"