My Girlfriend's Childhood Friend Tried to Scare Rebels With Our Passports When We were Trapped Abroad

A sudden rebellion broke out in Ukraine while we were there to talk about foreign trade cooperation abroad. Unfortunately, we got trapped in the war zone. Later, we heard that the rebels had set up a checkpoint at the port. They were asking for $5,000 to let one person go.

My girlfriend's childhood friend, Otto Blackmoore, laughed and asked, “Why should we waste money? Just show the US passport. They’ll let us through right away.”

My girlfriend, Yvette Mulligan, quickly agreed.

“Otto is right. That’s how it always works on TV.”

Since the team leader agreed, the others followed too. I was the only one who strongly disagreed. I said the rebels were desperate and only cared about money.

Due to my insistence, everyone sold their watches and jewelry to gather enough money to buy our freedom. In the end, we escaped safely.

On the ship going home, Otto was still angry about losing his old Rolex. He stormed onto the deck, shouting at the sea. A wave hit him and he fell overboard. His body was never found. Yvette, heartbroken, turned on me and pushed me into the sea.

“You came up with that stupid idea and got Otto killed. Now you can die with him!”

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Otto wanted to use his passport to get past the rebels.

——

“Why should we waste money? Just show the US passport. They’ll let us through right away.”

Otto’s voice echoed in my ears.

I pinched my thigh. The sharp pain told me it was real. I had been reborn.

“James, stop being so stubborn! You even sold your watch to buy a pass last time! What were you thinking?”

Otto looked at me with a smug face, full of pride and disrespect. Somehow, he had always bragged about his close connection to the boss. It caused everyone, including Yvette, tried hard to stay on his good side thanks to that.

When Otto questioned me, Yvette and the others looked at me with impatient eyes. If I disagreed again, they looked ready to tear me apart. I smiled calmly.

“Otto, you really understand people. He saw right through the rebels’ fear.”

“Let’s get ready, then! Let’s grab our passports and walk through!”

When I agreed, Yvette gave me a rare smile.

“Good. You're finally making sense. I was about to scold you!”

I didn’t argue with these fools. After all, I was already planning the safest way to escape. There was a black market 300 meters east of this street where I could get US dollars. I had a Rolex that could be exchanged for $10,000 there, which would be enough for a pass and supplies to escape.

In my past life, Otto and the others didn’t have valuables worth $5,000. I ended up selling my family’s gold pendant. That money bought them passes and food.

After we escaped, none of them thanked me. Instead, they blamed me for the idea and for losing their stuff. They even asked for compensation. If I got another chance, I wouldn’t care if they had money or not. I’d let them try their passports.

When they weren’t watching, I would leave quietly. Once I had already gotten money from the black market, I would immediately escape from this place on my own.

After making that choice, I felt much better. My mind became clearer. I remembered my father gave me a tracking device before I left. If I pressed the ‘Send for Help’ button, he would get my signal.

In my last life, I was too scared during the war to even remember I had the device. I only found it after escaping. Now, even though help might not come right away, I decided to use it just in case. Perhaps my father could still do something.

Right after I sent the signal, Otto came over and patted me on the shoulder.