The Elantra Pirates

Chapter 25

Chains clinked on the wooden floor, all of the Purks looked confused, they didn't recognize the familiar faces that usually appear. Fear struck most of them, some were befuddled.

"Holy shit." Brentha quavered.

"How did we not notice them before?" Shug asked looking back at the crew. He was the closest to the slaves. "What the fuck do we do?"

"No clue." Jinlin expressed.

"Ummm." Yunga scrambled for answers in her brain. "We could drop them but we'd have no place to leave them in time."

"We couldn't do that!" Zunci butted in. "Even if we could, we'd leave them in the wilderness or a town where they're just as defenseless."

"That's the only other solution, besides the obvious one." Jinlin said next.

"What do you mean?" Shanta inquired.

"We can't drop them off. And there's nothing we can do besides feed them what food we can spare. It's either we leave them or have them join the fight."

"Why are you talking about them like their animals!" Brentha snapped. "They're not just some play thing, they're just like you! Help me release their chains." She went down the tiny set of steps and inspected the chain that held them to the pole.

Shug joined right alongside her. Her small outburst shocked all of them, they were left in a stunlock.

"They need a key to unlock." Shug pointed out. The chain ran along the room that interconnected all of them. They were separated in rows, the pillars being the linking point. All of them could be unlocked with a single key. "I'll check the captain's cabin, it's probably there."

"Yeah, go check." Brentha backed him up.

Shug dashed up the stairs, flying by everyone else. Brentha still tried yanking at the chains. The one in front of the line flinched as she got closer.

"It's ok." She comforted. "We're here to free you. Just relax."

The Purk looked frail, their eyes were baggy and sunken. Just like the rest, they were malnourished, their boney frame being extenuated by starvation.

"They-" He tried to speak, his voice shaky and hoarse. "They usually have the key on them."

"The guards?" She catechized.

"Yes." His voice gave out, letting out a wheezing agonizing cough.

"Don't worry we'll find it." She rose off her knees. "Let's get these poor people some food."

Yunga went back up to the deck to check their bags and storage for the available poultry they had at hand. Zunci tagged alongside her while Shanta stayed down with Brentha. Jinlin started to inspect the lock himself, checking if he could pick it.

Shug came back down, coming up with nothing in his search. "Couldn't find any key." His shoulders lowered in disappointment.

"It's alright." Jinlin stated, still looking down at the lock. "I can pick this."

"You can lockpick as well?"

"It's a lot more useful than people realize. Can you retrieve my bag on the deck, please?"

"Sure." He darted back up the stairs, slipping on the steps almost toppling down.

Yunga and Zunci returned with heavy boxes they hauled in their hands.

"We found these crates of food." Yunga announced as they carefully tiptoed down. "It's mainly fruit but there's plenty for all of them."

"Fantastic!" Brentha gushed.