**Chapter 14: Road of No Return (Part 2)**
📍 Ecuador → Colombia → Panama
📅 February 15–28, 2000
Joseph's POV
Crossing into Ecuador felt like stepping into a quieter kind of chaos. The roads narrowed. The trees grew taller. The danger changed tone—not gone, just... recalibrated. In Guayaquil, we were handed off to a new guide—Elisa, a stocky woman with a limp and eyes that had seen more than they should.
"El Zorro paid through Quito," she said bluntly. "After that, you're on your own. You want to survive Colombia? Then don't act like you're afraid of it."
Lola and I nodded. We didn't tell her we were already used to walking with death beside us.
The bus to Quito was rough. Steep mountain passes, winding roads, and checkpoints where armed guards didn't ask questions—they just stared long enough to make your blood turn cold. The altitude made Lola dizzy. Her breathing grew shallow. I pressed her hand into mine and whispered prayers I didn't know I remembered.
Quito came with thin air and thick warnings.
"Elisa was right," I muttered to myself. "Colombia's next. And it's going to be hell."
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Lola's POV
I had a dream in Quito. The baby had already been born. We were safe. We had a little house with yellow curtains and the smell of bread in the mornings. I could almost believe it.
But when I woke up, I was in a basement. Cracked floors. Rusty pipes. And a woman yelling in rapid Spanish upstairs. My stomach churned—not just from pregnancy, but from fear. This wasn't just migration anymore.
It was war.
And Colombia was the battlefield.
Our journey through Cali and Medellín was like threading a needle in a storm. We dodged cartels, corrupt border officials, and local gangs who'd trade your life for a pack of cigarettes. Bogotá was our only goal—because from there, we'd meet "The Priest."
He wasn't holy. But he moved people.
When we arrived, he didn't smile. Just nodded. "Panama's possible. But you'll need to go through the Darién Gap."
Joseph and I had heard of it—the most dangerous jungle crossing in the world.
We were back to jungle paths.
But this time... there was no Kwame. No Caleb. No Penny.
Just us.
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