As I said all this, I was racing through my options. I was in deep trouble! I had absolutely no desire to join some obscure armed group, and even less to toil for these soldiers. But I couldn't express my dissent, so my only option was to resort to deception, as force wasn't going to cut it. I hoped they'd trust me and let me go alone, then I could simply cross the river and return to the girls waiting for me. If there was a convoy... that would be much worse, but it still left a chance for escape.
It seemed I'd managed to confuse those guards. They'd expected a completely different reaction from me: hysteria, an attempt to escape, pleading and begging to be let go. Now they were looking at each other, unsure what to do next. Everything was pointing to them simply letting me go alone. And
