Original subtitles

We were going south in the Philippines. I had no idea this could mean danger.

He could pull the trigger and I'd be gone.

They were the most brutal and most violent of the kidnap gangs in the

Philippines.

The best way for me to fight the situation was to find a way to escape.

He said, no money, you die soon.

For about 20 years, I had been very successful in hospital supervision and

management.

I was given awards and promoted.

Really was on top of the world.

I had a feeling that at that point, the Lord looked at me and said, You

think you're that successful?

I got more in store for you.

I was doing my usual rounds in the hospital and slipped and fell and

a disc.

I was in a lot of pain, became a lot weaker, and from that point on,

everything just disintegrated.

Things began to spiral out of control within a matter of months.

Not only had my wife abandoned me and my friends, but my job also squeezed me

out.

It reached a point where I became very, very desperate.

I always went to the beach when I needed to think.

I dedicated my life to helping people, and it never occurred to me that if I

ever needed help, that nobody would be there for me.

I was desperate. I was alone.

And I remembered that I had the gun under the seat.

I thought, maybe I could use this to escape all the pain.

I looked at it, and I spun the gun barrel.

One thing occurred to me, and that was my children.

How could I leave my children with this kind of a legacy?

That their father was a coward and found the easy way out.

And that stopped me.

One way or another, I was going to find a way to survive.

I was looking for something in my life that would give me some kind of

so that I could begin believing in myself again.

Church became the one thing in my life that was positive.

The Bible tells us that we are supposed to love kindness. One Sunday the pastor

began to talk about how the church was working in different countries and their

need for missionaries. And one of the countries he mentioned was the

Philippines.

I began to think this was something I could do.

I could continue to languish on the streets or go to another country and

something of myself again.

It was a pretty easy choice.

So I told the pastor, and he gave me the number of the pastor in Manila.

I told him he could expect me within the next two weeks.

I didn't feel like I was doing something reckless.

He said, if you really want to come, you're welcome to come.

Even with the excitement of finally finding something to do with my life,

hardest part was going to be leaving my children.

I told them that Daddy was ill, that I needed to go somewhere to be fixed, and

that I would come back.

They seemed to understand that and accept that fairly well.

I'm looking forward to the excitement of a new adventure and hopefully a new

beginning for me.

On the airplane, I was acting a little bit impulsive.

I began talking to a missionary called Blind Prophet.

Twice a year, she would go to the Philippines and help raise money for

children.

And she invited me to go with her.

I said, I appreciate the offer, but I have plans in Manila.

As I was turning to leave, she said to me, well, we'll see you soon.

It was as if she expected to see me again, and I thought that was sort of

But that's what she said.

Welcome to the Philippines.

I just buzzed with sight and the smell of a brand new place.

There was people in colorful jeepneys and colorful clothes.

A lot of traffic, cars honking.

There was a lot of energy around me.

This was a place that I was meant to be.

As soon as I got into the hotel, I freshened up a little bit in the

I grabbed the map and was back out the door.

The agreement I had with the pastor was that I would meet him at his church as

soon as I reached Manila.

I was able to find it fairly quickly, but I was surprised to see that it was

still under construction.

There was a young lady in there at a desk.

working on a computer.

Hi there, my name is Greg Williams. She looked sort of surprised to see me and I

said, you know, is the pastor in today?

And she said no.

He injured himself during the construction and he wouldn't be coming

Is he going to be in next week?

It became obvious that she wasn't going to give me any more information that she

already had.

I was sort of left standing there with my mouth open wondering, what am I going

to do now?

Here I was again with no place to go and nothing to do.

I was sweating profusely and wanted to go someplace to cool down and sort of

collect my thoughts.

I only had a hotel room for a couple days. I had no more money after that to

take care of myself.

I'm beginning to panic.

I began to see things in patterns and sort of like signs.

I suddenly remembered the conversation I had with the woman on the airplane.

Here was a sign.

I found the number and I called it.

Not really expecting them to even remember who I was.

Before I even said a word, she said, I've been expecting you. I said, is

still something you could use me for?

Two days later, there I am in Cebu in a hotel lobby with the blind prophet and

her entourage.

It felt good.

They were obviously planning for a trip to another island.

They explained where they were going, but the names meant nothing to me.

I knew that we were going south in the Philippines, but I had no idea that this

could mean danger.

The blind prophet introduced me to this guy.

His name was Remy.

He was going to look after me until we left the next day.

After a disastrous start, I feel like everything's back on track again.

Remy was very proud of his city and was very exuberant in showing me some of the

favorite hangouts in Cebu.

Everywhere I went, they treated me like a king.

Remy explained the Filipinos' view that all Americans are rich, and this could

make me a target.

With my blonde hair and blue eyes, I stuck out like a sore thumb.

He said one of the leading criminal activities is what they call a kidnap

-ransom gang, targeting people who are part of an organization from which they

can extort money.

It did make me pause and think there were certain dangers walking around in

streets.

By the end of the night, Remy and I had become good friends.

In hindsight, I wish I had showed him more appreciation for the brief time

we ended up having together, because for Remy, it was going to end badly.

It was a beautiful morning.

I felt ready for anything.

We all needed to get taxis that would take us down to the ferry to one of the

southern islands.

The blind prophet and her entourage get the priority.

Another taxi pulled up, and we jumped in, and off we went.

He would go in and out of traffic. Other times he would go down little

alleyways.

I knew we'd catch up with the blind prophet and her entourage quickly.

Remy's smiling and chuckling about the cab driver's driving.

I guess Remy was more accustomed to it. I certainly wasn't.

I could see the masts and the antennas from the ships.

We were at the port, but we were in the cargo area.

I was concerned, you know, is this guy going in the right direction?

And Remy said, yeah, don't worry about it. He's got his own shortcut he's going

to take.

The car screeched to a halt and threw us up against the seat.

The cab driver let out this strange kind of a yelp, almost like a dog.

We saw these guys standing there with Black ski masks over their faces,

AK -47s, pointed at us.

I saw them, but I couldn't believe I was seeing them.

It's very strange to see someone in that heat with a black winter mask covering

their faces.

I was confused.

Are these guys the police?

Remy said, no, I think they're bandits.

Okay, we're going to get robbed.

We're going to empty our pockets. They're going to take our stuff and go.

Someone reached in and pulled Remy and threw him up against a container.

Boom.

He hit it very hard.

All of a sudden, I'm very alone.

My fear is growing.

I just froze.

He motioned to put my arms above my head.

I wasn't going to argue with him.

I was so shocked at what was going on that my whole body was just like buzzing

with a numbness.

I was looking at that barrel, almost going cross -eyed.

If he could pull the trigger, and I'd be gone.

We'll return in 60 seconds.

They stuck this dirty rag in my mouth.

Everything went dark.

Boom, there's this hood over me.

I had this overwhelming feeling of helplessness.

You want to run, but you have no option.

I'm thinking, why didn't they just take my wallet?

And then I remembered what Remy said about kidnapped for ransom gang.

They're making a big mistake.

I'm certainly not valuable to anybody.

I'm less than zero in my own mind already.

I was just in the dark.

I could hear the water lapping against a dock.

They're pushing me and pulling me, but I'm resisting.

I have the fear that I'm just going to slip and fall right into the water and

tied up the way I am. I know I'll drown.

But they finally yanked me hard enough.

Where am I going?

Where are they taking me?

I

began

to think maybe they had separated me from Remy and the cab driver.

Maybe they had even been killed.

And I moaned.

hoping that I would hear a moan back.

I did not hear a response.

I began wondering if the blind prophet knew what happened to us.

They might have just thought we got lost.

There was a fear that no one would ever find out what happened to me.

And I knew what they would say.

They'd all say, yep.

It's true.

He just ran off.

He ran away from his responsibilities.

I've been in the boat for a long time.

The engines stop, and I can hear a spang up against the beach.

And then they pulled off the hood.

The atmosphere, the heat, the humidity, and the smell of the salt air hit me.

I look up and I see like a mountain range in front of me.

It's almost a beautiful scene.

Under normal circumstances, it probably would be.

They grabbed the rag in my mouth and pulled it out.

Now I can ask the questions that are going through my mind.

Where am I?

I felt the tearing pain.

I can taste the blood in my mouth.

It scared me to see the brutality.

that these guys were willing to use with no thought at all.

I just decided, don't push your luck.

Hopefully the next few hours will be less painful.

How wrong could I be?

I can see in front of me Remy and the cab driver.

It was good to see they were okay.

There was a hope that I would be able to rejoin them.

but I soon lose sight of them.

My mind was becoming filled with depression.

I could end up just being a skeleton in that jungle, and no one would ever know

that it was me.

It was a feeling of being totally alone.

After climbing for hours, in the darkness, I heard voices.

We had come into sort of a clearing.

I'm looking and hoping to see someone who is the leader, who could give me

answers.

But instead, there's sort of a chaotic scene.

I saw kids.

One of them was carrying an AK -47.

Do these kids know how to shoot?

Could they accidentally shoot me?

This is not getting better.

It's getting worse.

Out of the darkness, another figure came right up to my face.

I found out later that this was Abu Sabaya, the leader of the group.

He just stares at me, and I'm staring back at him.

And suddenly he grabs my arm, starts dragging me toward a tree.

There was this realization that maybe they're going to hang.

My heart skipped a beat, and the hair sort of stood up on end.

I just sort of wilted, both physically and emotionally.

My whole body was shaking.

Somebody was pulling my arms up behind me, going the wrong way, and was just

ripping my shoulders apart.

The pain was excruciating.

And I remember thinking, well, if they're going to tie my arms to the

they're not going to hang me.

I'm angry, and I want answers.

You know, who are you?

Why are you doing this?

But there was just this laughter, just total contempt.

It was just killing me not to know why I was there.

And then I just passed out.

The next day, I'm trying to focus my eyes.

I suddenly realize where I'm at.

And my heart just sank.

I couldn't help but think about how brutal they might have treated

Remy.

I was hoping against hope that my friend had somehow been surviving this as I

had.

They dragged me over to a little hut and put change around one of my ankles and

chained it to a tree.

There was that fear of the unknown.

What are they planning to do with me?

A relief to finally hear someone speak in English.

My name is Joseph.

Your name?

This is the moment that I had been waiting for.

Maybe I could finally get some answers.

My name is Grant. Joseph. Using Joseph as a translator, Sabaya told me that

group was the Abu Sayyaf.

Suddenly, the whole mood changed.

He said, where is the blind prophet?

My worst fears were confirmed.

They knew that I had been with her and that they would be able to get money for

me. But they were not able to contact her to make a ransom demand.

He said to me, you tell me where your friends are.

And I let you go.

I started to get excited.

Here I was being offered freedom.

My mind was racing to remember any clues of where they were going.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized, no, I really don't know

where they are.

Oh, you're lying.

Sabaya was not getting the answers that he wanted.

That's when...

He started out basically by punching.

It absolutely physically shook you.

I vehemently tried to convince them. I am just a random American that had only

joined the church because I had nowhere else to go.

I was just along for the ride.

I knew they'd be coming back.

All of a sudden I wanted to fight.

And the best way for me to fight the situation I was in was to find a way to

escape.

I was just staring at this chain that had me shackled around the ankle.

And my mind began racing.

How can I get it off?

I began to look for weaknesses.

Bingo.

One of the chains was warped and twisted.

I needed a tool.

Something would give me leverage.

I began to look all around me, even into the thatching of the roof. I was

looking for nails.

I realized there was nothing around me hard enough.

But I knew this was the golden opportunity.

I had to come up with something I could use.

During the late afternoon, while I'm eating, this cook walked over and handed

another bowl with spoons in it.

That would be perfect.

Would he miss the spoon?

Maybe not.

I was able to slip the spoon in my pocket.

I couldn't wait to start working on that link.

There was always a guard outside that hut.

Usually by the tree.

And I realized, don't do something rash or stupid.

I decided that I better wait.

I felt completely abandoned and completely alone.

I searched every corner of the camp to see any indication that Remy and the cab

driver were here in the same camp.

With me.

When I saw someone who looked like Remy, my heart sort of leapt.

But I was always disappointed.

Sometimes hope is all you have to hang on to.

That evening, I realized this was my best opportunity.

I pulled the spoon up and I started working on this link.

As I tried to use the spoon as leverage, the spoon bent.

I tried it again from a different angle and the spoon bent again.

I couldn't believe this thing bent so easily.

I had a sinking feeling that, oh no, this is not going to work.

My hopes of being able to escape was dwindling.

The next morning, as the sun rose

over that clearing, it became very, very hot.

I was in sort of a daze.

My mind going many different ways.

I had no idea what was happening to that person, but it certainly sounded

like something terrible.

They've emerged from the jungle, dragging a headless body.

My stomach just sort of twisted.

It was like a surge of fear.

I was hoping that it wasn't my friend.

I found myself looking at the body to see if it was thin and muscular and

By the time they set the body down, I was pretty convinced that it was

not Remy.

Sabaya had a bolo, what they call a bolo, a machete, in his hand.

This demonstration was being performed for my benefit.

They've just showed me how I'm going to die.

There was a new energy inside me that just wanted to run.

Part of me sort of rose up and said, find a way.

You have to find a way.

And I remembered that I had the spoon in my pocket.

How could I make this stronger?

I ended up doubling it and doubling it until it finally had some body.

Very, very slightly, I could feel the link giving, little by little.

Yes!

This is working.

I just got to keep at it.

It was very slow and arduous.

But eventually, I reached a point where, with a couple nudges,

I could pull this apart.

I got so excited, my hands were shaking.

And the spoon slipped.

And there was a... I immediately knew that if I heard it, he heard it.

And I thought, oh, my God, what a dummy.

It scooted to cover the spoon, and I reached up and cracked my knuckles,

just praying that that answer would come to the guard.

The noise he heard was me cracking my knuckles.

In my mind, it sounded close enough.

He walked over and looked down at me.

He looked around again, and I looked up, and I could see him turn around.

Boy, I just dodged a bullet.

I knew that if I waited at the hour of dawn, all those people were going to be

sleeping off an alcohol -drunken stupor.

It was difficult holding myself back.

As I lay there, I imagined slipping that link off.

I imagined where I was going to head.

I imagined I was going to find a way.

I'm feeling very good.

I'm feeling like I'm going to be able to do this.

It's still nighttime.

He's kicking me in the side, kicking me awake.

Why are they getting me up in the middle of the night?

They unshackled me.

There's no way they could know I'm trying to escape.

My heart is like sinking with every step because I've missed my opportunity to

escape by hours.

I'm thinking, you really should have went when you had the chance.

Why did you wait?

My thoughts are racing.

There had to be a reason why they were doing this.

Maybe they've got the ransom.

And they're going to release Remy and I both.

That hope disintegrated quickly.

I found myself being pushed from the back by Sabaya into this hole.

I started to resist.

Am I entering the gates of hell?

And it turned out, that my instincts were right.

I had the distinct feeling that this could be the last place on earth that I

saw.

I felt hands on my shoulder, sort of steadying me, as if they were

preparing to brace me for something.

This was going to be different.

I recognized it right away.

It was a livestock needle.

And I'm thinking, what in the world is he going to do with that?

Joseph looked at me and said, no money, you die.

I would have peed my pants if I hadn't been so dehydrated.

I just buzzed with shock, not wanting to believe that it was happening.

Because I knew it was going to end badly.

Bam!

He drove a needle right through one of my knuckles.

He impaled it against the table.

I felt like I was in the middle.

of a tornado of anger and violence.

Suddenly there was no sound.

I was above myself, looking down, feeling no pain.

It was an incredible feeling of redemption and peace.

And they just suddenly stopped, stood up, and walked away.

And at that point, I actually felt sorry for them.

Later that evening, the guards basically partied.

I actually began to have conversation with Joseph.

I was surprised at how quickly he let his guard down.

I realized I had an opportunity to possibly influence him.

I said, what is the most important thing to you?

He said, my children.

And I said to him, do your children know what you do?

What would your children think of what you do with Abu Sabaya?

He appeared to be angry that I put him on the spot like that.

I remember saying to myself, you idiot, how could you blow this opportunity

to connect with Joseph?

I was out in the fresh air, and all my senses came alive.

Every time I saw Sabaya coming, I always had a sense of foreboding.

The person he was pulling along behind him was Remy.

He seemed to be happy to see me, but as he got closer, I noticed...

This look in his eyes, it was a look of terror.

My eyes are caught by a flashing of the blade of the bolo.

They were saying, time has come, time has come.

I looked at his face.

I saw Tobiah raise the bolo.

I instinctively wanted to reach for him.

There was a very swift motion.

There was a yelling, there was a screaming, there was a frenzy.

My mind was trying to wrap itself around what I was seeing.

I remember a retching in my throat.

Joseph turned to me, and he said, You speak or you die.

Soon.

When they took me into the tunnel, I felt relief, but at the same time I felt

guilty.

I had always tried to be the best person I could be, but I had done nothing.

To save Remy's life.

I felt an overwhelming shame.

I felt like a coward.

And I knew it was just a matter of time.

I reached the point where the finality of things hit me.

It felt like somebody just dropped a rock on my heart.

Thoughts about my children flooded back into my mind.

My biggest fear is that they're never going to know what happened to me.

I found that strength in my prayer to feel good about what was going to

happen. I just faded, faded into sleep.

I couldn't breathe, and my eyes opened, and I realized that there was a

hand around my mouth.

The person who was choking me twists my face.

It's Joseph.

And he's giving me these gestures like he's trying to help me, but I'm not sure

I trust him.

Why would he do this for me?

Maybe he's just unlocking me to take me to Sabaya.

As the shackle came off, I hesitated a moment.

Oh, my God, I might be able to get out of here.

He's leading me into the darkness.

Why is he taking me into the back of this cave?

I think I'm being tricked.

I realized that I either had to trust him and follow him or try to run out

the front of the tunnel where all of the guards were going to be sleeping.

It was a pretty easy choice.

I'm going to die anyway.

There's a better chance of me getting through this tight opening than getting

through what they're planning for me.

My head popped out of this vent.

And it was like, wow.

It probably was only taking about 10 minutes, but it seemed like a lifetime

me.

I almost wanted to scream. I felt so happy.

Joseph's pulling on me like, what are you doing?

Let's get going.

The fear in me is beginning to rise.

I realized I'm not out of this yet.

Sabaya would search the whole island for me.

I still got to get away.

Joseph led me down a path to the beach.

Joseph turned to me and he said, you and my daughter.

take boat.

But now I'm thinking, wait a minute, what's going to happen to him?

I knew that he was putting himself and his family at risk.

I looked at him and I said, are you going to be okay?

And he said, yeah.

He said, no worry, no worry.

I was going to have to take his word for it, that he was smart enough to take

care of himself.

I said,

Why?

Why did you risk your life for me?

He said the most incredible thing to me.

I believe that we are brothers under the same God.

Then he sort of waved his hands and said, Go now, go now.

I felt like...

I had started a new life, and there was absolutely nothing to fear.

I was actually in captivity 13 days.

When I went home to recover, there were physical wounds and there were also

emotional wounds, and I began therapy.

for post -traumatic stress and chronic depression.

As I got back on my feet, I made an effort to go to Florida to be with my

children again.

It was such a wonderful feeling to see that we still had a connection.

Every once in a while, I would think about what Joseph did and wonder if I

capable of doing the same thing.

I knew without a doubt that I would risk my life for him.

Whether I would risk my family to rescue him.

I have to admit, I wasn't sure that I could do it.