With one eye struggling to stay open, due to the pain in her head, the glare of the sun, and the stench of the Captain’s odor, Katie replied, “No, I think it’s still you.”
The Captain slapped her across the face. As Katie was nearly on the ground already, she didn’t fall far, though she did fall face first. The Captain then lifted her off her feet and held her close to his face.
“Where is it?”
“Where is what?” said Katie, stronger willed, as if the pain had given her energy.
“My treasure,” the Captain answered. “I didn’t take that ship down for nothing. I know there were valuables.”
Katie paused before answering. She nearly managed a cocky smile and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The Captain slapped her on the cheek again, and again Katie slammed onto the deck. “You’re lying to me,” the Captain said.
“Katie!” yelled Tyson, who had been watching the whole time, along with Cyrus, but both hadn’t said a word. But Tyson wasn’t able to see much more of it.
The Captain turned around and glared at Tyson. Tyson’s eyes widened with fear, but he set a look of determination on his face, though his legs were shaking, ever so slightly.
“Put them all in their cells,” the Captain ordered to no one, but once again, as if they were always ready, five more of the Captain’s henchmen arrived on deck to execute his orders. “Tomorrow I’ll get the girl working properly. I have a special job she will do for me.” He then knelt and whispered to Katie, “If you know what I mean.” The Captain winked and stood up.
“Until then, let them all go hungry.”
Katie, Tyson, and Cyrus were escorted down below and thrown into their gloomy cells of damp wood and rotting smells. On her way, she caught a glimpse of the blond man who had tried standing up for her. Still, he was unconscious, and a new trail of blood seeped from his head.
The floor felt cold and wet as Katie dropped down inside her cell. She didn’t feel like talking at the moment. Apparently, no one else did either as they all sat in silence and Katie allowed her mind to succumb to her thoughts.
She wondered if the pirate knew about the necklace, or if they just knew that there was treasure on the other ship. But if they did know about the necklace, did they work for Nayara? Or perhaps she tipped them off? Ordered them to retrieve it, in exchange for gold, or something.
Then she thought of the special job the Captain had for her, which most likely involved him leering at her, or worse…
She forced herself to stop thinking.
Katie soon fell asleep and was greeted with dreams of her mother, both with delightful memories and painfully vivid scenes of her death. Along with that, Sabrina’s face haunted each of her dreams. Katie wanted to punch it, strangle her, but like a cat chasing a laser, she couldn’t touch her.
A loud noise and a thump on the ground woke her up. Her body, sore from sleeping on the floor, was shivering. Footsteps accompanied the sound. Katie got up and tried to see through the bars without being too noticeable. Another sound of someone falling. She heard a grunt. They had acquired another prisoner, or freeloader, as they called them.
“Move!” someone shouted. Katie heard a sound like a foot stomping on the ground. Then more footsteps. It sounded like the prisoner had given in, instead of struggling with the pirate. As they passed, Katie caught a glimpse of the prisoner; a young man, maybe a few years older than her, with olive skin and short dark hair.
“Leave him until morning,” Katie heard someone say. “Then the Captain can tell us what to do with him. He’s a nasty little snake, thinking he can sneak up on us.”
The pirate walked passed her and she heard two sets of footsteps go up the stairs. Again, there was only silence in the prison hall, other than the sound of the rushing sea that had never felt as menacing as it did now. Katie listened hard to see if their new guest was awake. She could hear breathing, but eventually, the man fell asleep, as did Katie.
Katie didn’t even hear the cell open and woke only when she was kicked in the stomach. “Wake up,” she heard a deep voice say. “The Captain is waiting.”
Once again Katie was pulled to her feet. While she was dragged across the floor, she attempted to see Tyson and Cyrus, but their cell was empty.
When she got on deck, the cool and salty air felt warm to her. The morning sun over the horizon momentarily blinded her, but her eyes adjusted quickly.
They were still way out at sea, with only blue water and sky surrounding them. She saw Cyrus, Tyson and the blond man whom she was thankful that he was alive, if only barely. His eyes were both swollen shut and his hair was so stained with blood it was brown. There was a younger man, who she was able to recognize as the new prisoner. He had dark, unmoving eyes. They all had their arms behind their backs.
“Get in line,” someone told Katie and shoved her forward.
Katie stumbled her first few steps and then slowly walked towards the others. She noticed that they all had their heads facing the ground. The blond guy looked like a rag doll tossed off a building. Tyson mainly looked tired. The new guy just stared straight down, almost like he was deep in thought about hurting someone. What shocked Katie was the look on Cyrus’ face. Not only did he look worn, tired and beaten, but there was something else Katie couldn’t quite
