Out of Captivity : Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle

Broken Bones and Broken Bonds215he was on the outside, he pulled the fence toward him and there wasno more give in it. He couldn’t maneuver the fence in any way to liftthe bottom up so that he could crawl under it. To make matters worse,the terrain sloped up a bit in that spot, reducing the clearance in thechain-link even more.Just as he reached the fence, he could hear the sound of a guard’sboots approaching on the walkway. He only had a few seconds to react.He pushed the fence back toward the compound and it grudginglybegan to give way. Readjusting his grip, he gave it a more forceful push,opening up just enough room for him to squeeze his body between theends of the fence and the dirt of the ground. He was back inside. Hewas safe.It was only then that he realized his mistake: He’d dropped his flashlight.He looked back cautiously and saw it lying in the grass. If hetried to reach for the light, there was a chance the guard might seehim. The sound of the boots got louder as the guard drew near. If heleft the light there, the guard might see it or he might not, there was noguarantee, but if he went back for it, there was no way the guard wouldmiss him.He didn’t have much time to act. Hesitantly he drew back into theshadows behind the bathroom, leaving the flashlight on the ground.The guard passed by and Marc went unnoticed. Cautiously he retrievedthe light and returned to the hooch.As Marc stood before us now, he was exhausted. The adrenaline thathad been pumping through him had finally slowed. With each passingmoment, he relaxed a bit more. Suddenly Keith turned to him with agrin.“You ain’t no chicken, are you? Your bird would have gotten backin here with no problem.” At the mere mention of Marc’s chicken, weall cracked a smile and laughed for the first time in a bit. Keith put hishand on Marc’s shoulder. “Glad you made it back, bro.”The FARC confiscated all the flashlights following that night, and we