Chapter 7

Back out on the streets, Danni and Sarina were immediately struck by the heat from the hot sun and high humidity. But Sarina didn’t seem to mind it because she was used to it and Danni shrugged it off as something to endure.

The sounds of gunfire and the clouds of smoke seemed more distant today. Danni surmised that although the rebels were still near the outskirts of the city, the government forces had managed to hold them there. That was good news but on the other hand, with battles still going on, it meant security was going to be super tight. She would have to be careful. Although her credentials were good, she didn’t want them scrutinized too closely by government agents, especially since she didn’t have any for Sarina. And she most certainly didn’t want to run into any rebels, which might happen once they were outside Bogota.

Danni held Sarina by the hand as they made their way down the crowded street towards a train station. She thought it was the fastest way to make their way towards a border. Which way to go was the question? South was completely ruled out because it was where the rebels were congregated. That left west to the coast and the Pacific Ocean, north to the Caribbean Sea or east to Venezuela.

As they waited for a train to arrive, Sarina sat quietly on a bench while Danni studied a map of Columbia. North to the Caribbean Sea seemed the safest because every mile took them further away from the rebel forces, but it had a huge disadvantage because between the three options, it was the longest by far and Danni wanted to get out of the country as quick as possible.

That left east or west and although the west looked inviting because it was a shorter route with lots of port cities to lose themselves in it also had a drawback. Once they arrived at the coast, the only way out of the country was by ship and they would all be carefully watched by the government agents. On the other hand east was the same distance and would have much less government officials because it was less populous. The big negative was it being partly full of dense jungle. Although travelling through it with a little girl presented its own set of problems, Danni decided it was also the safest because it would be easy to slip across a lightly guarded Venezuelan border.

In the end Danni chose the best of two options. They would take the train north as far as they could and because Venezuela was shaped like a pie the further north they went, the closer to its borders they came. Hopefully they could take the train a long ways north and if worse came to worse they could depart the train and make their way through the jungle. A look at the map indicated that at its narrowest point there would be maybe 50 miles of it to navigate. It might be difficult but it could be done. It wasn’t impossible.

Decision made, Danni purchased tickets to Riohacha which was on the Columbian side of Caribbean Sea coast and a stone’s throw from the Venezuelan border. With luck they could ride the train all the way there but if luck ran out there was always the jungle. It would be tough but they would have to take their chances with it.

Danni made sure she was prepared for the trip by going to a drug store. She bought basic medical necessities such as bandages, gauze, tape, off the counter pain pills and foot powder. By the time she finished she had herself an emergency first aid kit, handy in case of a forced trek through a jungle. Then, to keep Sarina, occupied on the train ride, she finished off her shopping spree by the purchase of some children’s books she caught her eyeing.

The train was the exact opposite of the nightmare bus ride. It was more of a pleasant dream with air conditioning, not nearly as crowded and there were no unruly passengers. Once aboard, Danni and Sarina were able to find comfortable seats and get settled in for what they hoped would be a long train ride. According to the railway depot clerk it would take a day and a half for the train to reach its most northern point on the Caribbean coast. Danni didn’t mind. Nothing mattered as long as they kept going north.

Since their tickets included food which was plentiful, Danni decided to take advantage of it. Each time they got something to eat or drink, she got something extra. Sometimes it was sandwiches and fruit and other times it was bottled water. She stowed it in their knapsacks just in case of an emergency, like having to suddenly leave the train and go through the jungle. It was a prospect she wasn’t looking forward to, especially with the girl to look after but she wanted to be prepared anyway.

Their luck held until almost the entire trip. It wasn’t until the train slowed down just before it reached Santa Manta that trouble found them. Danni had been snoozing the time away in her seat with one ear and one eye open when she felt the train slowing down and then coming to almost a complete halt. She stirred and looked out the window and as she train crawled its way through a tight curve she could see down the tracks. What she saw galvanized her. Even from this distance she could see dozens of armed soldiers waiting for the train to come to a complete stop.

She reacted by instinct and moved fast. She instantly shook Sarina who had been engrossed in a picture book of animals, grabbed their knapsacks and hurriedly left her seat with the girl in tow.

“Hurry, hurry, there are soldiers everywhere up ahead,” she whispered to the girl. “We gotta get off this train right now so you stick right by me, no matter what.”

They were seated near the rear of the train. It gave them a few precious moments of time as their car would be the last to reach the waiting soldiers. While other passengers were only beginning to stir Danni was already half dragging Sarina down the aisle. When they reached the rear of the car Danni peered outside again. From what she could see the soldiers seemed to be concentrated on one side of the train, the one where passengers got off.

Their only option was to get off on the other side. There was a door opposite the main exit but it wasn’t used because passengers would be forced to take a giant step down onto gravel and weed filled rough ground. The main exit abutted a level, sturdy platform that could be reached with an easy step.

Danni continued to move quickly. She pulled the unused door open and, with their knapsacks in hand jumped off the train. It was slow moving, almost at a standstill but even at that slow speed she had a difficult time keeping her feet under her. Once she caught her balance she began walking beside the open door where Sarina stood watching her. There was a terrified look on her face. Her eyes were bugged out as wide as saucers. Her lips quivered and it looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment. But as usual, she wasn’t saying anything.

Danni knew the girl was too frozen in fear to move, but in the short time since she’d taken the girl out of the apartment she had come to know her a little. If she had to hazard a guess she would have picked definitely scared out of her mind but willing to trust Danni. But there was no time to worry about it.

“Hang on I got you,” Danni told Sarina as she reached into the train car and snatched her. She was still walking at a rapid pace so the sudden weight of the girl in her arms almost sent her flying but she was agile enough to stay on her feet.

She didn’t even stop to set the girl down. With her in one arm and their knapsacks in the other she ran as quickly as she could towards some nearby clumps of bushes. As soon as she was behind them she set the girl down and crouched down beside her, hoping the thick bush would hide them.

It was just in time too. No sooner had they reached the bush than Danni spied a couple of armed soldiers in fatigues making their way along the side of the train they had just jumped from. Danni immediately crouched lower and whispered into Sarina’s ear, “don’t move a muscle and don’t say a word.’

She watched, holding her breath when the soldiers noticed the open door and started to investigate. First they peered into the now stopped train and then began looking around the area. Danni thought she could almost feel their eyes on them as they moved over the bush she and the girl were crouched behind. The wait seemed interminable but in reality it lasted only a few seconds before the guards’ attention suddenly moved elsewhere.

Danni sighed in relief. Somebody else was trying the same trick she just pulled. A tall, thin man in raggedy clothes and a baseball cap suddenly leaped out of a car that had been just ahead of the one she used. He bolted and began running down the railroad track in long, loping strides. The soldiers shouted, then immediately gave chase. All three raced away from where Danni and Sarina lay hidden.

Danni didn’t move until the solders and the man were out of sight. She indicated it was okay for Sarina to rise by giving her top a slight tug. The girl was up instantly and staring at her with those big dark eyes again. They still looked fearful and on the verge of tears but they also bespoke a trust, as if a bond between them had strengthened a little more.