Chapter 16On the third day, early in the morning, they were given the opportunity to make a phone call. Cillian had no one he wanted to reach, but Jack did. He had to find out if his parents were still alive, and he wanted to tell them that he was safe. Though Cillian and the others didn’t have access to a TV, he thought for sure that some word of what happened on the Educator had reached the public. Therefore, if Jack’s parents were alive, they must have been terrified that their son, granddaughter, and son-in-law were dead. The whole family crowded around the phone as Jack dialed the number.
It rang four times before his mother picked up. When she heard his voice, she began crying. In Arabic, she spoke quickly. Cillian couldn’t understand a word of it, but he got the gist. She missed th
