War Brothers

Several cars and motorcycles pull up at the camp and the commanders step out, along with hundreds of soldiers. Kony arrives in a big Jeep to the cheers of the whole camp. The soldiers perform prayers and blessings, and then Kony stands and begins a speech. He tells the soldiers that they are fighting to create a homeland for the Acholi people against the government of Uganda. The soldiers begin to cheer and dance, which Jacob interprets as madness. Afterward, the boys consume more food than they’ve been given in months.

Later that night, Kony meets his generals in an open tent while most of the other soldiers leave. The boys go to sleep, but Jacob is awakened in the middle of the night by Lizard pressing a gun to his head, angry over the food he caught them stealing earlier. Lizard asks Jacob to choose which of his friends should be killed, and when Jacob is silent, the soldiers lead Norman away.

Oteka crouches down next to Jacob and tells him that the soldiers will kill Norman the next day. Oteka also tells Jacob that his father, as the representative of the parents of the kidnapped boys, has tried to negotiate for their release, but the deal has fallen through. Since they will all soon be killed, the boys have to escape that night. Oteka informs them that they are a mere 100 kilometers away from Gulu. Oteka has determined a path out of the camp and will guide the boys to the edge of a village.

However, Jacob decides to rescue Norman and tries to send Oteka and Paul off before him. Oteka refuses and goes to save Norman himself. Jacob and Paul hide to wait for Oteka and Norman. When Oteka returns, he tells them that Norman is being held in a commander’s tent. The boys sneak over to the tent and spy on Norman, who is being held in a hut right by the commander’s tent, as well as Hannah, who is slicing fruit and meat for food. Jacob crawls under her table and gets her attention before scurrying back into the darkness. Hannah comes behind the hut to meet the boys.

Hannah agrees to turn up a radio to mask the sound of the boys cutting through the back wall of the hut to rescue Norman. Jacob opens the cut and sends Norman off to meet Oteka and Paul. Hannah is beaten for turning up the radio volume, but she manages to get away. The five children slip away into the night.

Using a knife called a panga, Oteka cuts their way through the underbrush, allowing the children to silently flee from the camp. When they take a break, Hannah reveals that she’s brought four mangos for everyone to share, to the group’s delight. After walking for a long while, the group reaches the Victoria Nile by following the sound of the waterfall. There, they face danger from various animals: The river is full of crocodiles; Oteka warns them about the threat from hippos; and Norman is almost bitten by a venomous puff adder.

Hearing rustling in the brush, Oteka helps haul the other children into a tree to hide, with only Oteka and Jacob remaining on the ground. Oteka passes his gun to Paul, and then he and Jacob run off to try to lead the lion who’s been stalking them away from the group. As they flee, they encounter Lizard and other soldiers coming out of the darkness. Pursued by both lion and men, the boys flee into the forest, back toward where Paul and the others wait in the tree. Jacob and Oteka scramble up into the branches, and the lion pounces on Lizard, killing him.

In the morning, once all the danger has left, Jacob remembers that Lizard had a cell phone and digs through his remains trying to find it, but the phone is dead so he smashes the phone in anger. However, he also discovers Tony, who came with Lizard as a soldier, hiding in the roots of a jackfruit tree. When they get back to the group, Oteka informs them that they are on the wrong side of the river.

Hannah tells the boys she might have a solution: She earlier overheard a commander talking about a boat the Lord’s Resistance Army no longer had a use for. The group agrees to split up, with Jacob and Hannah watching Tony while Paul and Norman head upriver and Oteka downriver.

After the other three leave, Jacob tries to draw Tony out of his shell, but Tony refuses to communicate. Hannah starts removing thorns from Jacob’s feet when he asks about Musa Henry Torac, his father’s friend, and his grandson who was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Hannah reveals that Musa Henry Torac’s grandson was Lizard.