Burnt Shadows

Just outside the camp, Raza wanders dangerously close to the edge of their path through the mountains and briefly mistakes the men in the camp below to be part-angel, confused by the sun glinting off their rifles.

Once in the camp, Raza is so nervous that he is unable to speak, embarrassing Abdullah. Raza lies down to keep from vomiting, and a green-eyed man splashes water on him. Raza wonders if the man could be Harry, then passes out. Later, the green-eyed man wakes Raza, warning him that he’s slept through two prayer times. Raza joins the rest of the men in prayer. Overwhelmed with fear and loneliness, Raza experiences a “true sense of reverence, which he had never felt before” (233), and prays to escape the camp. After the prayer, Abdullah apologizes to Raza for telling another soldier about Raza’s possible CIA connection, which Abdullah still does not know is a lie. Raza is questioned by the camp commander and drops his “Raza Hazara” act, telling the commander that the American Abdullah saw at the fish market was Harry Burton. The commander knows Harry Burton as the CIA is part of the network supplying weapons to the training camp.