CHAPTER 44

A HERO

“Now you don’t want to die here, so let the girl go and put the gun down,” said Ez standing in front of Karl and myself.

“No way and you don’t move,” sneered Karl.

All of a sudden I felt his iron grip loosen as he flopped to the floor behind me in the penthouse. “Are you okay, Tam,” said Ez West.

“Yes,” and then I burst into tears, falling to the floor.

“Tam, come here and it is going to be okay,” said Spike, holding me.

The rescue crew saw what happened and I realized everything had been captured on camera. “Are you the missing Tam Benderson,” asked a journalist, shoving a mike in my face.

“Yes, I sure am,” I said bursting out in tears, realizing that now I was indeed free.

“Now, we go this way, Tam, downstairs,” said Mr. West as I slowly walked outside of the mountain towards the others and more media personnel. I was blinking from the unfamiliar sight of the sun and found it hard to compose myself as everything felt suddenly surreal.

“It is okay, Tam,” said Spike as he held me.

We were transported to the Bhutanese rescue centre by helicopter and I nearly fell asleep due to exhaustion. I soon met up with Lune, Khandi, Hare, Munga’s nephews, Mova and the others as I stepped in Bhutanese soil a free woman.

“Now Ms Benderson, how does it feel to be a hero,” said a journalist.

“Hero? Me? No. Impossible,” I thought to myself as I tried to comprehend that I was no longer a hostage, but free as a bird waiting to start a new life, as my image was beamed around the globe.

“A hero,” I thought to myself...that sounds pretty good to me.