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For the next two days, we didn't talk much. We were under the blankets most of the time. It was February and although there was no snow outside, it was freezing at night.
Pam was shivering, and I didn't want to tell her to come closer, but she asked first. I think it was not the time to be shy; we were both in survival mode, but I felt ashamed of myself. I put all the blankets on top of each other and wrapped my arms around her. Her body was cold, so I kept her close. It was too dark that night, but not in my imagination, it was not. It was like a thousand suns shining in front of my eyes, and I could see every cell in her body. She was so beautiful as if my hands had eyes, my chest had ears to hear her heartbeat, not only getting warmer but faster for no other good reason. I was like a stone; I didn't want to move at all, for any movement might give me away, but something else might as well. I turned around and told her to wrap herself around my back to keep warm, but then her breasts were like fire thawing the ice beneath. I felt my heart turning towards her forgetting where the true north was. I was ashamed to have had all these feelings in such a situation, but I could not help it. She must have felt something, too, but she didn't move away. We were both freezing.
"I'm sorry, Pam. Don't be..." I tried to say more, but nothing else came out.
"Good night, George."
I thought that would be another night without sleep for us, but for some unfathomable reason, as soon as we were both warm, we slept like babies.
I woke up first; she still had herself wrapped around me. I didn't want to wake her up, but there was some noise outside. I didn't want to make a lot of noise, but I turned towards her, and as she opened her eyes, the door was open, and there he was standing right above our heads. Ramsey was back.
"But this cannot be the only way," I said to Ramsey, but I knew we had no other choice.
Pamela was listening to our conversation, she did not share her thoughts, not after Ramsey said, "Or would you prefer to stay here a little longer. The mountain air seems to suit you well."
I didn't want to say anything in our defense; it was the least severe crime we were accused of, and I didn't want to risk making Ramsey angry; the man was our last hope.
"The police came to the village and talked to other people and to me. They suspect you might have come here, but they don't know where you are."
A sudden look of fear struck Pamela's face, which Ramsey noticed right away.
"Don't worry. Nobody followed me here. Nobody knows where here is, but it will not stay like that forever. You have to move, and the only way you can go is north into Syria."
It was the best part of our great escape plan, going to Syria, war-torn, riddled by a million warlords fighting for a hundred gods and a thousand religions. War was raging in Syria between the government and the rebels, and the best part was the illegal mountain passes which were war zones most of the time.
"Can't we stay to prove our innocence? We are innocent. We might die on the way there. We are innocent." Pamela spoke to Ramsey, maybe for the first time ever.
"Everything is against you, and you know who the man was. His people got crazy; I don't think they want the police to catch you. You need to understand this. Two more days, and I will come back. You need to be ready. The journey will not be a walk in the park." Ramsey didn't even try to sugarcoat the truth, or maybe he was, but I was a little optimistic.
"I brought you some food and clothes. Be careful and don't do anything stupid."
Ramsey was dealing with us like two foolish kids who ran away from their parents and got married without the world's consent. He should know this happened a long time ago, and I was a kid, but I couldn't complain, he was doing for us what nobody else would.
Pamela's face was getting serious. We both knew it was not a walk in the park as Ramsey put it, not only for the journey ahead to Syria but for the rest of our lives.
"I don't know, George." Pamela finally talked
"I don't know if I can do this. Yes, I am an independent girl, but I will not survive this."
I paused for a while, then I said, "You can go to the police and tell them what happened. You haven't killed anybody, but I don't think they will leave you alone. Somebody from that scum's family must have known about his shit, and they will cover it any way they can. Trust me, we need to get out of here as soon as we can, and all the raging fire in Syria will be much easier than the hell waiting for us here. I'm sorry Pam, but this is the only way."
Pamela said nothing, but she looked like she knew I was making sense in a story where nothing made no sense at all.
"Listen, I think I lost my family, and I know you're not a family girl, but we are each other's family now. I'll be there for you. I won't let anybody hurt you anymore."
Those words coming from a man my size in a Hollywood movie would put the audience and the damsel in distress at ease, but life was far too much real, and I wasn't sure I was making a promise I could keep. Yet I meant every word.