So this is what happened.

We went to the party that we had been waiting such a long time for. On the way, I was stopped by the police and fined 1,500 NIS, plus 10 points on my license for speeding, but I didn’t care. We were on our way to the party to clear our heads. 

We got to the party and everyone did whatever they did. Yaniv and I started to tease each other because we were wearing our army boots, checking that the dog tags in them were ours. We were at our peak, on the same wave, every few moments talking about how this was the best party we had been to. This was the first time I had ever connected with the phrase, “Circle of Love.” 

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The sun started to come up and with it, the red alert sirens began. They let us know that the party was over, we packed up our equipment and boom, the MD [type of psychedelic drug] started to work and everything looked like the scene of a movie. The only thought running through my head was that if someone would film it in slow motion, it would look like some deadly movie. 

“The only thought running through my head was that if someone would film it in slow motion, it would look like some deadly movie.”

I got a hold of myself and we started heading towards the car. I got behind the wheel and told my friends that I didn’t know where I was driving. We went to the left from the party (Highway 232) and someone suggests that we should stop at a migunit [small, roadside concrete shelter], but in my head, I thought that if we were already on the road, I wanted to drive home.  

I drove with the windows open so we could hear if there was another siren. A car passed by us and the people inside yelled that mortars were falling on the road (turns out they were a group of terrorists, but we didn’t know anything yet). I did a U-turn and we went back to the party. There was chaos on the road, and we didn’t know what to do. I shouted at everyone to get out of the car and stay close to the driver’s side. We move about 15 meters from the car, and only then did I realize there had been an infiltration. I saw a policeman and a girl who had been shot.  

“We ran like chickens from the slaughter…”

We made the decision to run into the open field. We ran like chickens from the slaughter, and made it to a covered area under a cliff. The four of us were quiet, each with their own thoughts. I realized that I had to get a handle on the situation. I left the bush, looked up and realized that if we stayed there we would die, so I shouted at them that we needed to run. 

We started running. Yaniv and I were on the outside, and I made sure to look back all the time to see that we were all together. We ran to the noise of the bullets. We ran into some trouble and turned to the right. It was an open area, a run of about 200, 250 meters.

Yaniv and Yoav were ahead, and I waited for Sitvon to pass me, and then ran behind him, like a wall. The run was difficult for me; there were holes in the ground and I had taken four different kinds of drugs, which made me lose my ability to judge distance, so I started to fall behind my friends. Towards the end of the run, I slipped and fell. Time went by slowly, but my head didn’t stop working. I saw my three friends get into a car, Sitvon started it and they drove off, a moment of relief.  

“I got up with half a glance behind me, saw weapons in the air and bodies on the ground.”

I have a tattoo on my hand in memory of my sister, and I heard a voice (probably from all the drugs) that told me to get up. I got up with half a glance behind me, saw weapons in the air and bodies on the ground. I continued running and made it to a car, opened the door and there was room. I turned my head and saw a girl’s face and her eyes said everything. I loaded her and her friend into the car, closed the door and hit the top of the car to tell them to move out. 

I continue running, and the bullets came closer. A bullet went by me a second before I got to an orchard and continued to run. My general direction was towards Patish. I reached a greenhouse and a big group of people, and a lone policeman, joined up with me. The policeman told us to get into the greenhouse. He had 30 bullets and would do everything he could [to protect us]. I decided that I was going to Patish. The policeman tried to argue with me, but there was no point, I wasn’t going to stay there. There were about 100 people next to the greenhouse. 

I followed my own thoughts and started to walk. On the way, I sent messages and a picture to my family and friends. I have never smiled such a fake smile in my life. I walk alone until I saw, opposite me and at a distance, four people in black. I didn’t know if they were terrorists. I looked behind me and saw a group of people about 150 meters behind, and decided to go forward at a run. Luckily, it turned out that they were security from the party. 

I was fine, and so were the people behind me. It was another 30 or 40 minutes until we reached Patish. After that, everything went smoothly and we got to Patish. 

That’s my story. We had just wanted to dance…    

Ori C.

This story was first published on october7.org.