Africa (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-One

Kam had been keeping track of the days since he had been taken captive — sixty-five and counting. Just over two months. He wasn't sure when, or how, he would escape, but he knew he would. The thought never left his mind. It became his obsession, much like how he had become a world champion.

He broke it down into three parts. First, he needed to remove the thick metal shackles that bound his hands and feet. Step two was to get passed security and escape the compound. Finally, and perhaps the most difficult part of the escape plan, was figuring out how he would survive on his own in the jungle and what would become of his life. He had a girl that he deeply cared for, but no way of finding her. Bill and Nancy were presumably still out there somewhere, but the chances of finding them were slim to nil.

Time seemed to move slowly as he filled baskets of fruit and vegetables. Yesterday he was digging potatoes, today he was on blueberries. His hands were filthy and he felt disgusting, but it was something he was used to at this point. He would rub dirt all over his sweaty body to protect him from the sun as well as soak up the sweat and mask some of the odor. To pass the time, he would sing to himself, make up games, get lost in his imagination and fantasize about a better life. Nothing seemed to distract him for too long until reality came roaring back and smacked him in the face.

There were strict rules about not eating on the job, but there was no way to monitor workers that closely. He discreetly looked around and when no one was watching, he popped a couple of berries in his mouth. The sweet berries crushed between his teeth and filled his cheeks. He swallowed the juice, quenching his desert dry throat. He did that all day, filling his stomach, until he became careless about it.

A gunshot went off, which startled everyone. Kam looked around wondering who had been shot. When he saw two guards marching toward him, he became nervous. They looked upset. Their shredded muscles glistened with sweat.

"Open your mouth!" one of the soldiers shouted.

Kam was frozen in fear. He held his hands up passively in defense, which did nothing to mollify the situation.

"Open your mouth!" the man demanded once again. He then raised his gun and shoved it into Kam's chest.

Kam swished his tongue around his teeth and swallowed in an attempt to hide the evidence. With his hands still raised, he opened his mouth. His blueberry stained tongue stuck out of a set of blueberry-stained teeth.

"What is this?" the soldier shouted. "You steal from us?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't punish me," Kam pleaded.

As soon as he spoke, he was on the receiving end of a boot to the face. Instinctually, Kam put his hands up to block it, but it still made it through. The soldiers began to stomp Kam, as he curled up to protect himself. For the next twenty seconds, Kam felt a barrage of kicks, stomps, and punches from all angles, but his punishment didn't end there. To add insult to injury, the solider began to urinate on him in front of everyone. They were making an example out of him so that nobody would ever think of stealing from them.

Humiliated and broken, Kam laid in a puddle of foamy hot piss. He was then hauled to his feet and escorted off the field. He looked back and saw everyone looking at him. He thought for sure he was going to be executed. In his mind, he was being led to the pig pens where he would be shot in the back so that he would fall face first in the mud, only to be devoured by blood-thirsty pigs.

He had no idea where he was going. He passed by two security fences and then led to another area on the north side of the compound. He was brought to the edge of a large open pit over fifteen feet deep, with steep dirt walls covered with a clay plaster.

With a gun barrel shoved in his back, Kam looked over and noticed it was empty. It was not a pit for dead bodies, it was a type of prison cell — their version of solitary confinement. He would likely remain there the entire night in urine-soaked clothes, with no food and no shower. As he turned around, he felt a stern boot slam into his chest, launching him backward like a scene in a movie. All that was missing was the man shouting, 'This is Sparta!' Kam landed hard and was in a lot of pain. Since his hands and feet with cuffed, he couldn't use them to brace the impact. Taking the full brunt of the fall, he lay on the ground, grunting for a breath. That's when a shadow was cast upon him. A large hatched was placed over the opening of the pit, sealing him inside.

Kam slowly inched his way to one of the walls, wincing with each movement. He rested his back and head against the cold clay wall and let out a deep breath. Even that hurt. There he would remain for the rest of the day. His posture eventually slumped and he found himself laying on his back, stretched out and catching up on his sleep. He thought to himself, this wasn't bad.

As night set, the temperature dropped and he began shivering. Huddled in a ball, he felt his muscles constrict, which amplified any pain he was feeling. He thought he might have broken a rib and tore a ligament in the fall. He barely got a wink of sleep all night.