The next day, Autumn barely paid attention to what she was doing while cooking dinner. She hadn't seen Daniel all day. It was killing her. The ship was nearing the next port. Robert was going to leave her there to offend on her own. She didn't know how to survive. She longed to talk to Daniel about it.
At dinner, everybody complimented on her cooking. Daniel wasn't seen at the table. He had decided to take his dinner in the cabin. She barely ate. She was very upset. After dinner, she shut her door and got ready for bed. She fell asleep right away.
Autumn woke up with a start. It was the middle of the night. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could make out a silhouette leaning over the bed. A hand clamped over her mouth. She felt the mattress on the bed dip as someone climbed into her bed. They came on top of her.
Soon she felt a hand squeezing her breast. She began to panic and tried to buck them off her. They removed their hand. Seconds ticked by as she waited for them to move off her. Suddenly she felt a hand on her thigh. They had her nightgown around her waist. She heard fabric ripping.
The person on top of her fumbled to unbutton their trousers. They spread her legs and settled between them. She struggled to push them off. She tried to scream, but their hand was firmly clamped over her mouth again. Her tears fell down her cheeks.
Daniel! she thought. Daniel, help me! I'm being raped!
Then she felt something at the entrance of her womanhood. Her attacker pushed him inside her. Panic came full blown. She bit the hand over her mouth. Her attacker cursed and removed their hand. She took the opportunity to scream. Her attacker began to tighten their hand around her throat. She soon had trouble breathing.
Suddenly, someone came running into her room. She saw something flash in the moonlight. The grip on her neck loosened. The person who burst into her room grabbed her attacker by the back of their shirt. They pulled the attacker out of her room. She heard feet pounding on the deck. Robert came into her room, carrying a lantern. He walked by her bed.
"Are you all right?" he asked. "What happened?"
She didn't answer. She was in shock. Robert went out of the room. He came back with another lantern. Then he left again. She looked down at her clothes. The front of her nightgown was ripped. The rip went down the center of her chest. She knew she should change but she didn't move to the closet. Instead, she went to a corner of the room and sat on the floor. Her back was against the corner. She bent her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs. She stared into space.
Outside, Daniel stared at the man in front of him. It was John. The man who attacked Autumn. Daniel had heard her scream. He got up and grabbed his knife. He ran into Autumn's room. He found a man on top of her. When he got closer, he saw the man putting his penis inside Autumn. Rage swelled up inside him. He stabbed the man in the back.
Robert handed Daniel his gun. "I told John to stay away from the woman," he said. "He disobeyed and he will suffer the consequences. I give you my permission to shoot him." He stepped away.
Daniel raised his gun and pointed it at John's chest. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" he asked. "Any last words?"
John just stood there. With his eyes, he dared Daniel to shoot him. Without any regrets, Daniel pulled the trigger. A shot ran out. John fell to the ground. Blood seeped out of the bullet hole in his chest. His eyes grazed over. Two men picked up his body and flung it into the ocean.
Daniel calmly handed Robert the gun. He walked over to Autumn's cabin. She was still sitting in the corner. She looked up as he entered the room. At first she didn't recognize him. She quickly got up and grabbed a bucket by the tub. She threw it at his head. He ducked.
