Pirate City

Chapter 5 Invasion

I got my own tray for dinner after the incident, trying to avoid further interaction with the boy. I sat across from him at the table and didn't take my eyes off my food. I looked up at him when he wasn't looking and saw the purple and black spot on his cheek, looking at it made me gag. I felt nauseous and decided not to eat the pasta and parmesan on the plate in front of me; if I got sick I wouldn't be of any use to the crew, that could get me killed.

That night I wedged a chair against the handle of the door, making it act like a lock. If I was going to sleep here I wanted to survive. I wanted to survive.

The memories of everything still tormented me weeks later, I often woke in the night to awful dreams or weird noises. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do anymore, it wasn't safe for me there but I had grown to kind of like it. I had a constant supply of food, I had almost no responsibilities, and almost everyone was good to me. I didn't really have a choice though, I was on a ship, it wasn't like I could leave when I wished. Not that I would get very far though, my leg was still hurt. Maybe not broken, but hurt.

***

I had made it 25 whole days without incident on the ship, it was easy to let the days slip into one another. It was a lot calmer than I'd imagined a ship full of mafia men to be. Until it wasn't.

I was wandering the ship when a loud voice came over the speakers, I covered my ears to bear the noise. I had picked up some of the language, which, I confirmed, was Italian, and I understood some words. I couldn't understand what the muffled voice was saying but it sounded urgent. Before the voice had turned off, hundreds of men swarmed the deck with handguns tucked in holsters on their belts and throwing knives ready in their hands. They crowded the rails, swarming like bees around the edge of the ship.

I backed into a wall and slid down, shoving my head between my knees and squeezing my ears shut. I covered my neck with my hands and tried to slow my heartbeat. I heard fast footsteps and felt the wind as people ran past me. I dug my nails into my neck, trying to distract myself.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder and sprang up, the boy stood with his arm extended and his hand open. I was surprised, I didn't trust him and I knew full well that he didn't trust me. Why was he helping me? I looked up at his face and there was a message, some kind of silent understanding that we were all the other person had. 

I hesitated, then took his hand and stood up. His fingers laced in mine and ran across the deck and through a door. It was a simple room, much like the one I slept in, but there was a handle sticking out of the floorboards and when he pulled on it, a square in the ground opened. It was a trap door. He climbed down a ladder in the hole and stopped when half of his body was sticking out. He looked up at me and beckoned me towards him. The hole was pitch black and small.

"You'll be fine, come." He said, showing some understanding. It felt like there was something in my throat. I closed my eyes and turned to go down the ladder.

"Finch! Watch out!" It took me a second to realise that he was talking to me. I opened my eyes as my heels stood before the ladder, rocking up and down as the boat churned. A man stood about 4 metres from me with a long cord wrapped around his hands. I knew he would hurt me, try to kill me, but I didn't run. We both stood completely still, staring at each other. The man started sprinting towards me, the cord wrapped around his hand.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." I kept repeating. I had no idea why I was saying it but it felt necessary. I closed my eyes and yelled as I sank into the floor. "IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY!" My voice got more and more muffled with sobs every time I repeated it. 

When I opened my eyes the man was standing just a few feet away, his big chest rising and falling with his heavy breath.

I brought my foot slowly down the ladder. The man tensed. I stopped. The man took a few cautious steps forwards. All too quickly I was diving away from the man while the man dove for me. I screamed as his weight fell on top of me.I felt the cord slide down my face and squirmed to try to free my hands. As the cord neared my neck I tried to scream again but his weight had pushed out my breath, he was still on top of me. My injuries throbbed under his weight, I felt like I was going to pass out but I managed to stay conscious with the thought that I was going to die.

The cord wrapped around my neck, I was trying everything in my power to prevent it from tightening. I bit the hand on my neck and tasted blood. The hand lifted from my neck and for a moment I thought he would get off of me. I felt strong wind at the back of my head and my face was forced into the ground. The rope tightened around my neck. I heard Stephano yelling outside the door but I knew well enough he was too late. I looked to where the boy was but he was gone. 

I felt the man being pulled off of me as I slowly lost consciousness.