Fallacy

1

The day we forget the horror...

We will repeat it. Never forget your past.

It will make you less human, less than human.

― Katherine Reay

Screams sounded to my left. I jerked forward with a start and pried my eyes open. Chaos was everywhere. People thrashed about, sporadically concealing the source of the commotion. An arm swung through the air. A body thrown against a wooden wall. The earth tilted and swaying beneath everyone's feet. A large black clad man. Screams. Voices hushing one another. My head pounding with the beat of my heart. Water climbed up suddenly against the outer side of the timber walls.

A ship. How the hell had I gotten on a ship?

A wave of nausea washed over me as I crawled to my feet. The last thing I remembered was falling asleep, the foggy image of white sheets, faint candle light and the scent of cinnamon tickled my senses, and then it was gone. Was it home? It seemed like the most logical thing. Either way it mattered very little, I still couldn't deny the facts of what surrounded me. Ocean. Teenagers. An endlessly open expanse crowded and overflowing with the panic of its inhabitants. The scene painted a picture similar to a disturbed ant colony, something with no specific direction but one constant overwhelming emotion. Terror was swarming.

Confusion devoured my thoughts as I stood up to observe. This had to be a dream. An incredibly vivid, confusing dream. It occurred to me that maybe if I followed along with the events that were unfolding perhaps I'd wake up. So I did. Instinctively I struggled through the crowd, I wasn't sure why but the impulse to see the cause of the chaos was overwhelming. Logical judgement was obviously still tucked away in the unconscious parts of my brain. When I finally reached the eye of the storm my veins turned to ice, breath caught in my chest. A boy stood on his toes, his shirt clenched within the fist of a large male. He was being strangled. He appeared so tiny compared to the brute who towered over him, it was almost impossible to imagine that he was as tall as the people watching him, or potentially taller. He wriggled like a rabbit caught in a trap.

"You think you can steal from me!" the strangler bellowed in a gritty voice. His body was a taught structure, all muscle, encased in leather armour like a guard. The boys face cringed with disgust at the guard's accusation. How he had enough air to react I didn't know.

"We... are hungry." The boy choked back, as deeply ferocious as he could muster. He attempted to spit, only exacerbating the gruff man's look of frustration. With a quick flick of his wrists he tossed the boy effortlessly across the deck. His body slammed against the side of the ship with a jarring thud, an antagonised moan escaping his lips.

"Look around boy," and as commanded the boy's head turned, surveying the crowd. When his startled eyes raked over me he paused a moment, eventually cringing back to the large male. "Because of you I'm halving everyone's meals." The guard grunted, turning in place to walk away from his mess. "This is not your ship, learn your place."

My feet dragged me forward in a fleeting moment of anger. Before I could stop myself words tumbled from my lips. "You won't get away with that," I said, quietly at first. My body froze as realisation took hold. My actions had been spurred on by adrenaline and now I found myself torn apart from the crowd in solitary dismay. The guard stopped in his tracks, turning back to see me in the centre of a cleared space.

"What did you say, girly?" he cocked his head to the side in a menacing expression. The man looked staggeringly ruthless surrounded by so many frail people and mentally I scorned myself for being so rash. My emotions often jumped into situations my head would generally think better of, although I wasn't sure how I knew that for certain the statement felt true in my head. I'd past the point of no return. With a breath of courage I repeated myself, and this time I was not quiet.