Chapter 4

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 It was dirty on the ship, nasty even. The conditions got no better as we went below decks. We came to a large room, with twenty-four bunks all lined up on the walls. In the middle, was a huge table, where we evidently were to eat meals. The bunks had no mattress, just one worm-eaten blanket, which you could choose to either sleep on top of, or sleep under. There was one barrel of drinking water with one ladle to drink out of, and flies rimmed the edge of the barrel. These were no condition to live in, and we all were repulsed by the smell of rotting, moldy wood, rodent dung, dead rats, and a sourness nobody can explain. Dead roaches were scattered here and there, and one young woman even stepped on a dead rat. The Officials told us to simply lay down the whole day and be quiet. It was still early in the day, I guessed, and none of us felt like resting. So we just sat on our bunks and were sobered by the reality that we would be living like this for the next few weeks. I chose a bunk near Theseus, as to hold up on my promise to Percy. People were still watching him curiously because Athens never, as long as anyone could remember, had a volunteer, much less someone related to the king in any way. It’s not like he was super strong. He was just determined. Determined about what, I have no idea. It was scary, the concentrated look pasted to intensely to his serious face. Theseus stayed quiet and just sat up and stared around at people, some who were sobbing, some were staring at the ceiling, others looking quite sick like I felt. It was an odd sensation, being in a room full of people who all knew they were going to die. I sat there trying to be brave looking, so then maybe Theseus would ally himself with me. But he was watching Maya, who was sitting up in a hunched position, arms around her legs, eyes closed, mouth moving in silent words I could not hear, her head slowly going back and forth and banging itself against the wall with each breath, in time to the rocking of the ship. I decided if I wanted Theseus to know how brave I was I had to something nervy. So, I stood up and strode, in brave, bold steps across the cabin. Everyone stared in wonder. Some people even hissed for me to get back, but I took not notice of them. I didn't know exactly what I was trying to accomplish by being this bold and stupid, other than I wanted Theseus to know that I was brave. It crosses my mind that this may actually convince him that I was impulsive and dumb, but I brushed this thought off quickly, fearing it would ruin my already bold start on my unformulated plan. One girl from town named Esmeralda grabbed my hand as I walked by, and held me back.

     "Let go Esmeralda!" I said harshly, not wanting her to make me appear weak in any way, since she was a pampered town girl herself. But Esmeralda's will as well as her grip were both surprisingly strong. She did not let go, not even when I yanked at her hand roughly.

     "No Xenia. You mustn't go doing anything that will make the Cretans angry. Don't you see? They will punish Athens even more severely by going back as soon as they dump us off in Crete, and they'll just get another boatload of people to kill! You can't do anything irrational!" she said with such desperation in her voice that I had to pause a moment. Her voice brought a sudden flashback to me, standing on the platform, only a few minutes ago, (it seems like a long time ago though) Percy screaming at me to make a promise to him. The desperation levels in their voices matched exactly. I then felt a tug at my heart, and realized what I was doing was totally stupid. What was I doing? I actually didn't know. Where was I going to go once above decks? Jump overboard? That actually struck me as a good idea for a second, but I made myself think reasonably. Inside I cursed my stupidity. She was, of course, right about it being irrational.  I allowed myself a quick glance at everyone else. Maya had stopped whispering nonsense and banging her head against the wall. One boy had stopped crying. Another had stopped pinching himself, telling himself to wake up. And Theseus had stopped people watching carefully, and now had a quizzical expression on, watching me and Esmeralda with intensity, so much it made me want to disappear into nothing and crawl away. Then he stood up, which made me even more intimidated. I unclasped Esmeralda's hand from mine and walked, my face red, staring at the floor to my bunk. But when I sat down, I noted that I still had to appear bold. So I sat down, pulled out the hidden ( and most certainly illegal ) knife, spun it in the air four times, and caught it easily by the handle, then flung it with all the force I could across the room at the seal of Crete that was carved in the wall, and landed a nice, deep stick in the soft stone, right on the smug carving of Minos' chubby face. I smirked, satisfied with my tricks. All the people gaped at my knife, since it was an unspoken rule that you didn't even try to sneak a weapon onboard. But I just did. And I knew how to use it too. Guess I didn't look like the criminal type to them. How wrong were they! I retrieved my knife and as I passed the wondering faces, a boy of about 11 called Paris yelped. Just then, there was a disturbance outside the door, and a heard a couple of voices, coming straight for the door. I had a moment of panic...if they saw this weapon, I would most certainly be in serious troube, or at least get it taken away. I didn't know what else to do with it, since I was still frozen in the middle of the room, so I flung the knife upward so that it stuck in the ceiling, buried in up to its shaft, hanging downward. It was better than nothing. At least now, if they did a full body search, they wouldn't find anything. But I'll admit it was not my first choice in hiding it, but you see, my options were limited. Sure enough, two Cretan officials came in dressed in blood red uniform, grinning nastily.

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