Instead of a barrage of bullets, there was only silence. I peeked over the weeds and saw the man with the rocket-propelled grenade launcher loading it. That’s when I realized he was just practicing how to use the launcher. It would be much more efficient just to shoot me. But this guy was going to use a rocket.

I got up on my knees ready to bolt if the rocket came right toward me.

He fired and a blast of flame came out of the back of the launcher. The rocket carrying the grenade flew at an odd angle. I knew from my experience with RPGs in training that sometimes older, poorly made rockets didn’t fly straight. This was a perfect example.

It made a corkscrew-like motion and whizzed past me about fifteen feet to my left. It struck the wall at the end of the alley. The concussion and explosion knocked me back down to the ground. A piece of concrete from the wall nicked my cheek. A half an inch higher and it would’ve knocked out my left eye. Instead, I just had a trickle of blood running down my face.

More importantly, now there was a gaping hole in the wall. I was able to jump up and bound toward the wall. I dove through the opening just as the men raised their rifles and started to fire. The wall took all of the gunshots.

I could’ve tried to shoot it out with them from the cover of the wall, but I was down to only two bullets. I needed to get out of here quick. The blast and resulting escape route gave me a burst of adrenaline. It’s funny how a rocket will do that to you. I sprang up from the wall and started to run at full speed toward the column of smoke. My plan was to get my bearings from there and decide which direction to run.

There were shouts from the other side of the wall and it sounded like more people were joining the men who shot at me. Briefly, I considered what would happen if I were captured. The idea of being tortured or possibly beheaded did not appeal to me.

Just when I was starting to feel low again, I heard something unusual. At least something I didn’t expect. It was a rhythmic thumping—a helicopter. I crouched and looked up in the sky. Immediately, I saw a black blur coming from the south. A US Army Black Hawk, and it looked like it was ready for action. This wasn’t just a random flight. They were low and hovering in different spots.