had known where Paul and I were going, and I hadn't checked in with the newspaper for a couple of days before we left on our ill-fated journey. The constant confinement was really starting to wear me down, and my spirits were dropping with each passing day.
Then, on the tenth night, as I was fast asleep on my crude bed, all hell broke loose. At first I thought it was a violent thunderstorm or perhaps even an earthquake, but as I gradually woke up and came to my senses I realised that the bangs I was hearing was gunfire, and the deafening cracks were caused by some kind of explosives. The door to my cell opened, and one of my captors came in, eyes wide with fear and panic, with his rusted old firearm trembling in his hands. He closed the door behind him and locked it, gesturing for me to move to the back of my cell and take what cover I could.
There were three more loud cracks, and a thin white dust began to swirl in through the cracks in the rickety door. I could hear cries of terror from outside, and my heart was in my mouth as I realized that this was a rescue attempt.
As my captor skittered backwards and forwards like a hesitant rabbit caught in car headlights, the door crashed open, kicked off its hinges by a United States military issue boot. My guard raised his weapon as the doorway was filled by the silhouette of a tall, imposing figure clad in military fatigues.
He stepped forward out of the cloud of dust. He looked like some kind of futuristic warrior with his thick body armor, helmet and state-of-the-art weapon. Without a word he strode into the center of the room, his muscular frame leaning into his rifle as he kept it steadfastly aimed at the trembling terrorist. "Put your gun down," he growled in a low but commanding voice. The guard just stood there, paralysed with fear, unable to comply even if he'd wanted to. "To hell with this," the soldier said, lowering his gun and punching my captor square in the face, knocking him out with a single blow.
"Are you all right, ma'am?" he asked. "Sorry it took us so long to get here. You were kinda hard to find."
It took me a moment to remember to breathe again.
###
Leutenant Arden, as I later found out, was part of a three-man stealth unit tasked to find Paul and I and bring us back to civilization. With the other two soldiers covering the entrance of the cave and sending in concussion grenades to "soften up" (as he put it) the enemy in a surprise attack, it had been his job to single-handedly infiltrate the cave system and make contact with Paul and I. It had been a textbook operation: the grenades had knocked out what little resistance there had been, apart from the one guard who had made it back to my cell.
As he briefed me on the situation, Lt. Arden dragged the unconscious bodies of the other kidnappers back to my cell, tying them to the walls using the same large metal rings that they had used on Paul and I. It was amazing to me that Lt. Arden and his cohorts had managed to pull off the rescue mission so quickly and effectively and with so little bloodshed - they made the terrorists look like children playing silly games in comparison.
Lieutenant Arden was a brisk, no-nonsense man who went about his duty with a calm stoicism that was instantly reassuring to me. It also helped that he was a fine figure of a man: tall and dark, and with a square, stubbled jaw, his impressive physique seemed barely restrained by his uniform. His muscles bulged beneath his camouflaged desert fatigues, and his body armour gave him the look of a medieval knight. In that cramped, night-cooled cave, lit only by the light of several flickering torches, he was like the archetype of the timeless warrior, a paragon of strength and avenging justice sent to sweep me up and carry me away to safety.
Needless to say, I was a little smitten right from the start. To his credit, he kept up a courteous and professional attitude for a surprisingly long time - he was every inch the professional
Then, on the tenth night, as I was fast asleep on my crude bed, all hell broke loose. At first I thought it was a violent thunderstorm or perhaps even an earthquake, but as I gradually woke up and came to my senses I realised that the bangs I was hearing was gunfire, and the deafening cracks were caused by some kind of explosives. The door to my cell opened, and one of my captors came in, eyes wide with fear and panic, with his rusted old firearm trembling in his hands. He closed the door behind him and locked it, gesturing for me to move to the back of my cell and take what cover I could.
There were three more loud cracks, and a thin white dust began to swirl in through the cracks in the rickety door. I could hear cries of terror from outside, and my heart was in my mouth as I realized that this was a rescue attempt.
As my captor skittered backwards and forwards like a hesitant rabbit caught in car headlights, the door crashed open, kicked off its hinges by a United States military issue boot. My guard raised his weapon as the doorway was filled by the silhouette of a tall, imposing figure clad in military fatigues.
He stepped forward out of the cloud of dust. He looked like some kind of futuristic warrior with his thick body armor, helmet and state-of-the-art weapon. Without a word he strode into the center of the room, his muscular frame leaning into his rifle as he kept it steadfastly aimed at the trembling terrorist. "Put your gun down," he growled in a low but commanding voice. The guard just stood there, paralysed with fear, unable to comply even if he'd wanted to. "To hell with this," the soldier said, lowering his gun and punching my captor square in the face, knocking him out with a single blow.
"Are you all right, ma'am?" he asked. "Sorry it took us so long to get here. You were kinda hard to find."
It took me a moment to remember to breathe again.
###
Leutenant Arden, as I later found out, was part of a three-man stealth unit tasked to find Paul and I and bring us back to civilization. With the other two soldiers covering the entrance of the cave and sending in concussion grenades to "soften up" (as he put it) the enemy in a surprise attack, it had been his job to single-handedly infiltrate the cave system and make contact with Paul and I. It had been a textbook operation: the grenades had knocked out what little resistance there had been, apart from the one guard who had made it back to my cell.
As he briefed me on the situation, Lt. Arden dragged the unconscious bodies of the other kidnappers back to my cell, tying them to the walls using the same large metal rings that they had used on Paul and I. It was amazing to me that Lt. Arden and his cohorts had managed to pull off the rescue mission so quickly and effectively and with so little bloodshed - they made the terrorists look like children playing silly games in comparison.
Lieutenant Arden was a brisk, no-nonsense man who went about his duty with a calm stoicism that was instantly reassuring to me. It also helped that he was a fine figure of a man: tall and dark, and with a square, stubbled jaw, his impressive physique seemed barely restrained by his uniform. His muscles bulged beneath his camouflaged desert fatigues, and his body armour gave him the look of a medieval knight. In that cramped, night-cooled cave, lit only by the light of several flickering torches, he was like the archetype of the timeless warrior, a paragon of strength and avenging justice sent to sweep me up and carry me away to safety.
Needless to say, I was a little smitten right from the start. To his credit, he kept up a courteous and professional attitude for a surprisingly long time - he was every inch the professional
Similar Books
