Was this it? He could still hear the echoes of the man's final death screams, and he couldn't help but be aware of Patrique's body laying in the dirt beside where he still knelt. How long before they came for him? How long before he too was dragged across the compound and into that bloodstained tent to meet death at the end of a bullet? So tired, he couldn't kneel anymore, couldn't keep his arms raised above his head anymore, did he dare risk defying them now? Then again, what was the worst they could do to him? Could the price they would ask of him be any greater then those who had stayed with him already paid?
It wasn't supposed to have been like this, he had come to the Congo to prove that he could still make a difference as a doctor. He had come to pay penance for all the mistakes he had made and instead he was responsible for more harm, and yet another innocent had lost their life because of his actions. If only there was something he could do to spare Chance's mother any further harm, if only he could prevent Chance from having her innocence brutally stolen from her. At the very least he could offer up a prayer that they be allowed to live when the Mai Mai finished with them.
As he forced himself to his knees again he could swear he heard music, where was the music coming from? Cocking his head, he found himself listening more closely, it had to mean they were coming for him, he was sure of it. If it was true, he needed to make his peace with God, more importantly he needed to ask him to spare the lives of Chance and her mother. It had been so long since he had prayed, did he even have a right to ask for a favor like this after so many years of blaming him for the death's of those he loved? What did he have to lose, he had no doubt that his own life was already forfeit, likely before day's end he would finally be re-united with Danijela and their children. If there was a chance it could save the little girl and her mother, he would take that risk. Clasping his hands together, he closed his eyes, then bowed his head and called up the long repressed prayer.
"Oce nas, koji jesi na nebesima,
sveti se ime tvoje...
dodi kraljevstovo tvoje,
budi volja tvoja...
Kako na nebu tako tako i na zemlji.
Kruh nas svagdanji daj nam danas...
I otpusti nam duge nase
kado i mi otpustamo deznecima
nasim...
I ne uvedi nas u napast,
nego izbavi nas od zia."
(Luka's prayer is "The Lord's Prayer")
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