Left to Wither

Chapter 1: All Hell Breaks Loose

     As the boat swayed heavily to the left, I threw my body right and caught the side railing, cold metal bringing me back to reality for a moment. A sudden sickness swept over me blocking my previous intention, I hurled my head over the banister and wretched until most of the food left my stomach. This was probably the worst thing that could have happened too. Only God knew where this hell ride would take us, and I had a feeling that I would need all the food my stomach could hold. I wretched again, this time completely losing the last of my stomach’s contents. I worried about my father, Clemence, and even Jeremy. I prayed they were alright, and I fought back the last image I remembered of home.                      

     “Oh well” I said to myself, “Work with the cards the dealer throws you.”

       I pulled myself back over the edge of the boat and tried to regain balance, which soon proved to be unsuccessful. Giving up I sat on the dirty fiberglass floor and let the waves move me. Sickness swam up and once again clouded my vision. Not wanting to go to the side, I gagged and put my head between my knees. Knowing that I couldn’t possibly have any more food in my stomach, I stayed cemented to the floor, put my shaking hands behind my head and relived what had put me in this position.

     I rubbed my arms as an attempt to erase the pain. The newly forming bruises ran like rings around my wrists, caused by the restraints that previously held me. The welt on my lower leg throbbed, and it was a constant reminder of my failed attempt to outrun the exterminators. Dried blood flaked from my scalp and my hair was matted with it. I most likely had a concussion, but what worried me more was the open wound. Could the infection on this boat get into my injury? I quickly tore a piece of my sweatshirt and tied it around my forehead. Questions clouded my thinking process. Where were they taking us? How could they be sure we were diseased? They didn’t even give me a blood test. Didn’t laws matter anymore? It felt as if my rights to being a human were stripped, along with my pride and dignity. I had to stop thinking like this, panic would get me nowhere.

     The dark ocean lapped at the side of the small boat as the sky opened up and released the waters of heaven. I watched as a single drop fell from the cracks in the clouds and landed next to my left foot. Then the clouds came faster, blackening the sun and blotting out the light. Drops fell with obscene speed and the wind picked up significantly. I groped for my knees and drew them into my chest, shuddering at the shock of cold rain penetrating my dirty sweatshirt. Soaked, cold, and wounded, all I wanted to do was go home, but there was no going back, there was no more home, there was no more hope, I was apparently infected, and as far as anyone was concerned I was as good as dead.

     All around mothers cried holding wailing children. Men banged on the captain’s door screaming, cursing and exulting needed energy. Guys, roughly my age, huddled together and cried, young women walked in circles sobbing and raising fists to the skies. I couldn’t show weakness, I couldn’t lose my mind like the others.  So I did the only thing that made sense, I stayed clam, knowing that wherever they were taking us, I would have to physically and mentally fight to stay alive.

      The boat, hitting a wave, was thrown into the air faster than anyone was prepared for. It suddenly slammed back onto the water, striking like concrete. A woman to my left was whipped into the air and the entire crew of people rushed for her as she was thrown over the side. I reached the edge as her body was completely submerged by the black water.

     “Stop the boat!”

     “Somebody turn this thing around!”

      “Help her!”

     “Doesn’t anybody care, she’s going to die out there alone” and other cries emanated from the chaos.

     I stayed stationary knowing fairly well that none of these people would have the ability to stop what the boats driver had in store for us. Then I watched as a man with a loaded pistol, jumped down from the top of the ship. He landed fiercely, posed like a fighter with his muscular legs bent and apart. Crouching he raised his arm and scanned over all the people with his gun.

     “All of you shut the hell up!”  He said while taking steps forward.  He didn’t let up his stare as he singled out some of the more out-spoken individuals on the boat.

     “Nobody is here to listen to you damn cries!” He waved the gun and with his free hand he pushed a cluster of wet tangled hair from his eyes. “It isn’t going to help anyone if you are voicing your opinions, so you might as well stop complaining and just deal with it. That woman was the luckiest one on this ship. She got the easy escape, and where you’re all going is a hell of a lot worse than that ocean!” He paused signaling toward the ocean with his gun still raised.

     “Trust me when I say, you’re going to wish you were dead.”