Trapped in the Hills Set in Sligoville, St.Catherine Jamaica It was early in the morning about five am (5:00am) a group of students set off on a camping trip. Walking along the Rio Cobre River they traveled at a steady pace they wanted to reach Bog Walk before the sun came up, they had only one thing on their minds and it was about the exciting time they were going to have at Pinnacle they had all their camping gears and all the cooking equipment that was needed. They arrived in Bog Walk went to the Police Station to inform them that they were going to be in the area and told them about the planned adventure ,the officers wished them well and they went on their way. Mark was emerging as the natural leader of this group as he was the one who saw to it that everything was in place for the journey, “Crystal did you bring the sleeping bags?” yes she said. “I have most of the things we need even though we are going to be in the wilderness it doesn’t mean I’m not going to look glamourous” Sharon laughed at that “get a life we are going to the bush”. They reached Pinnacle at noon the sun was very hot and they were hungry, they had enough water and food but they started eating crackers and the sandwiches that they had packed. They started clearing the area and began setting up tents, after that they rolled out the sleeping bags ready to take a well-deserved nap, “I’m not going to sleep I’m going to scout the area and see if I can find anything interesting” Mark said; he had heard that there were caves in the area and he also wanted to find treasure. Mark walked slowly and deliberately up the hill and stopped to view the beautiful valley below there was a meandering stream and he continued until he found a spring near a cave, he was delighted to find both the spring and the cave, it solved two problems that they might face in these hills, water and the cave was large enough to house all six of them. He ran back to the campsite shouting as he ran.” I’ve found a cave and a spring come and take a look”. Sharon, Crystal, Angela, Tony and Ian were suddenly roused out of their slumber, “whats wrong with you Mark? Why are you frightening us we need our rest, it was a long journey here” .”this is very important you really need to see this” Mark explained. They all went to see what Mark was talking about, and they were delighted at what they saw the oohs and the aaws that came from the group left Mark grinning from ear to ear “let us move our camp to this spot we can use the caves as well as our tents whenever we want” Mark said. Tony was delighted and they all agreed to move the camp to the new site. after a nice dinner they started playing games and it was whooping and hawing and lots of fun and enjoyment after all of that they were exhausted and settled down for the night. Meanwhile a group of men who were up to no good drove out from Bog Walk they had been having drinks in a bar and were having a whale of a time, they were immersed in deep
Trapped in the Hills conversation, they spoke in hushed tones as what they were discussing was the money they would get from the cocaine they had stashed in the cave. the leader of the group was Antonio a rather gruff and stern individual he asked the men if they had spoke about the stash to anyone including members of their family. they all protested as they knew the consequences of them revealing the secret. Antonio whispered in Sam’s ear “I hope you haven’t told the other’s how we’ll be splitting the money” Sam replied “you know I wouldn’t do that Ant”. “I’m glad you know where your bread is buttered. “lets move out its time to check out the merchandise the plane will be landing at 0300hours in the morning we best be on time” .”we don’t want any foul ups”. They paid the bill and walked out of the bar. Driving down the road from Bog Walk to Sligoville the cool night wind on their faces the men laughed and carried on they were all talking about what they were going to buy with their money, the man that Antonio had a deal with was flying from Miami with loads of money to pay for the merchandise, what they didn’t know was that Antonio and Sam was planning to kill the other three men as soon as the plane was loaded and they received payment, it was a real sinister plot between men who had worked together for years together, as they passed a small shop the men reversed and stopped and asked the shop owner if he had any Beer the shop owner answered in the affirmative they came out of the van and ordered five red stripe beers the popular beer in Jamaica that had gained world recognition in a movie done by Tom Cruise. The men were enjoying the beers they were really killing time because they knew they had another ten hours before the plane would land, they were there enjoying themselves not knowing that their hideout had already been discovered by the campers, albeit innocently as the contraband had not yet been discovered. The students were fast asleep at that moment. after consuming more than two dozen beers, the men decided to leave they paid the shop owner and drove off at breakneck speed the time was fast approaching when they would see the merchandise for the last time, they wanted everything to be in place so that when the buyer came there would be no problems they would deliver the product get their money and get out of the wilderness and begin a life of luxury.
They reached the caves around midnight enough time before the plane came they were planning on getting in some sleep before three (3)am, they all set the alarms on their cellphones. There were more than one entrance to the caves but they parked the van at the section of the road close to where the students had their original campsite, the men came out of the vehicle and started walking down the hill cross the valley and up the hill, when they found something strange the land had been freshly cleared but that was nothing new as Pinnacle was the site of the original Rastafari Community it was where Leonard founded the Rastafari movement in 1935 on the ascension to the throne of Ethiopia by emperor Haile Selassie 1.and many visitors came there but not at that section it was a very secluded part of the pinnacle property that no one ever went.
Trapped in the Hills “This is very strange someone has been here, this is very unusual said Antonio” the men continued walking until they came to the mouth of the caves and to their surprise found a number of tents and on taking a look found the six students sleeping soundly in them. “what in heaven’s name are you doing here get up now” Antonio shouted the students were so frightened that they jumped up and rubbed their eyes and mark said “who the hell are you we’re just students on a camping mission we are not troubling anyone leave us alone we need our rest” . Antonio was very angry and exploded saying “you’re in big trouble, tie them up men and take them into the cave” he said. The men began tying them up with ropes and wires and dragged them even as they protested into the caves. They whispered to themselves, they wondered what they would do with these pesky youngsters, they didn’t want to kill them but there wasn’t any alternative as they couldn’t leave any evidence. It was now 1:30am and they had to take the merchandise out of the caves. With the students tied up they began taking out the bags and bales of cocaine out of the cave and took the to a large plateau where the plane would land it was hard work and with the students being there anxiety and worry. They finished taking out the merchandise at about 2:40am they sat down and began smoking waiting for the plane to land. Meanwhile inside the cave the students were in a state of panic they knew these men were criminals, because they had heard what they said about the Bags and bales that were in the cave.“ one of of us will have to escape and inform the authorities” Mark said as usual it was Mark who came up with the ideas, “how are you going to do that” Crystal remarked, Mark thought that he would find a way, the men had searched them but they had found the small Knife Mark had hidden in is fab pocket in his jeans ,he began cutting through the rope until it finally fell off him he stayed in his position with the ropes on him the men had finished taking out the stuff and were waiting on the plane.” I’m going to try and get to the station somehow their phones had been confiscated so that was the only way to save the day. And get these men captured by the police he said his goodbyes to the others and took off. Mark didn’t even know where he was going he didn’t know about the different entrances and exits to and from the cave, but he soldiered on and eventually he came out of the cave into a clearing and he ran as fast as his legs would carry him he had fight off thorns and the fact that they were in the wilderness wild animals, he ran and ran until he saw street lights, as he was walking on the road he saw headlights he wanted to duck into the bushes but he knew he had to take a chance he called out to the driver who also took a chance on him knowing it could be a trick. the man at the steering wheel asked in a gruff tone ”what are you doing out here at this time by yourself”? Mark explained about the men and asked to be taken to the Bog Walk police station. “I’ll do much better than that I’ll call 911 we’ll wait until the police arrive then we’ll all
Trapped in the Hills go to the spot” the police would have to be quick as in about twenty minutes the plane would land and the men would get away with this dastardly act. They waited for what seemed to be an eternity, then the police came they drove quietly to the spot no sirens blasting. Meanwhile the men heard sounds of a plane and they clapped soon they would all be rich unaware that one of the students had escaped and had alerted the police who were literally there waiting to nab them, they prepared for the plane to land. They had bright solar lights set on the plateau ,the plane landed and taxied slowly until it came to a stop .Antonio shouted to the men to begin loading the plane. In the meantime the police were watching everything and were ready to pounce on the men as soon as the plane was loaded and the money changed hands. The pilot came out with a large case and began walking towards the men, he called out “Antonio how are you my man all is well”? Antonio said yes he took out a knife and cut one of the bales with cocaine and tasted it then he said “good, good” he then handed the case with the money to Antonio and walked towards the plane when he heard the sound “don’t move police” the men tried to run but they were all captured. Mark was hailed as a hero and the entire group was lauded by the government, they were rewarded with vacations and scholarships, looking back on the entire affair they remarked on the whole situation, it was harrowing experience one they would never forget.