We slinked up one more set of stairs thatlet us out onto a small deck. I could see the horizon, the thinsliver of the distant sun’s rays poking through the darkness. Icouldn’t make out a single landmass. A burst of wind whippedthrough my hair as we climbed up a metal ladder on the outside ofthe ship. Jeremy looked down at me and mouthed, This isit.
I knew it would mean he was going to slowdown, and I’d have to be even more careful. He stopped for a minuteor so and then moved quickly to the top and disappeared over theedge. There must be people moving about. I hurried to the top andpeeked over the edge.
Someone on the crew was smoking, justoutside the entrance to ship’s controls. I hung on, peeking overthe edge occasionally to see if he had gone back inside. It took agood three minutes before he did. We were wasting too much time.Shift change was only ten minutes from now. I hurried over the edgeand found shelter under an overhang. I heard some movement to myleft and saw Jeremy’s foot protruding around the corner of acontainer—the container. We’d found the one where they werekeeping the kids.
The foot moved. I followed. Jeremy stood,his hand on the handle that opened the door to the container. I wasrelieved to see he had one of the same tools Carson had used toopen the container. He winked at me before opening it and goinginside. I rushed to the side of the container where Jeremy had beenand waited. I couldn’t hear what happened next, but the fact thathe was in there for a few minutes was a good sign. He’d definitelyfound the kids. I knew he must be instructing them on our escapeplan. I took a deep, steadying breath. It was going to be supertricky to get seven people off the boat without being seen bysomeone.
Once the door opened, Jeremy came out first,then a bruised Mikado. I grabbed him into a silent hug as the fourkidnapped kids made their way out. They looked pale and terrified,but they didn’t say a word as we led them around the corner. We allhuddled behind the container as Jeremy filled me in on theplan.
“We’re going to climb down two containerslower. From there, we should have a clear shot to the middle of theship, where we should find a ladder that leads to the main deck.We’ll see. If it’s not there, there will be one at the back of theship.”
“I was hoping you weren’t going to suggestwe jump from here. We must be 200 feet up.”
“No way. No one would survive that jump. Weneed to get a lot lower. You lead the way. Mikado and I will bringup the rear to make sure no trouble comes after us. I already toldthem they would be crouching to the middle of the ship. Let’s getmoving.”
I was glad we wouldn’t be far from thewater, and we could easily pull an inflatable lifeboat in with us.The four former prisoners were eerily docile. They shuffled alongbehind us, wordlessly, and I was disturbed that their faces didn’tregister any emotion—no hope, no fear. Just acceptance. They musthave been captive for quite some time.
We scurried along like squirrels until Ifound the ladder. It felt secure, and I couldn’t see anyone on thedeck. Jeremy took up a position of watch about ten feet down fromus. I pointed to the area of decking right next to the ladder.
“Lie flat,” I whispered. “When it’s yourturn to climb down, keep as low as possible. I’ll go down first andmake sure the coast is clear. Mikado, you take up the rear. Makesure everyone gets down safely.”
Mikado nodded, and the four prisoners laydown on their bellies beside the ladder. I quickly looked over theedge and, seeing no one, started down the ladder.
Once my feet hit the deck, I immediatelylocated a little alcove for everyone to get into while we waitedfor everyone to get down. It should keep them out of sight ofanyone walking along the deck. I hid behind a container and keptwatch as they climbed. Once the first two boys had made it down, Iput my hand up for Mikado to hold the others, and I ducked into thealcove with the first two. I had heard footfalls. Two shipmenpassed us.
“Just keep an eye on that one. We may haveto transfer all of its contents if it continues blowing fuses likeit has.”
“Got it.”
Shift change was in full motion now. It wasprobably a good thing because the crew was focused on informingeach other about what had happened on the previous shift and whatneeded to be done instead of looking for rogue passengers. Ifigured they wouldn’t be paying attention to much else. I checkedto make sure the guards were gone before having Mikado send downthe others.
One by one, the last boy, the girl, Mikado,and Jeremy made it down the ladder. I watched nervously for guardsas each one descended, pulling them all into the shadowedalcove.
“Shift change is in full swing,” I said,quietly. “I’m sure the men in the fridge and the one I killed areabout to be found. We don’t have much time before the whole shipstarts searching for us.” We really had to speed it up. We heardfootfalls and pushed closer together.
The shipmate who had been explaining whatwas going on with the refrigeration section walked past us in ahurry.
“We need to find a lifeboat.” Jeremy’s eyesdarted around the ship, and he scratched at his hand. “Amber, youlook that way, I’ll look this way.” We went opposite directionsalong the ship’s main deck, leaving the others to hide in thealcove. Everyone else stayed put with Mikado.
Voices echoed from a nearby stairwell. “Ihave no clue,” one of the crew said as the door opened.
I scampered into a cubby just to the rightof the stairs and hoped Jeremy had heard the men coming.
“They’re going to be in so much trouble whenthey’re found,” the other crew member said. They passed me. Ipeeked
