“Fuck!” he curses.
I crawl past him, and hit the bottom of the stairs before he grips my ankle, pulling me backwards. I scream out loudly, and I feel him drop to his knees as he wraps his arms around my chest, pulling me backwards. One, large arm holds me to him while the other presses against my mouth so hard I feel my teeth bite into my lip. I squirm and kick, giving every ounce of fight I have inside. He slams my head back into his shoulder, and his hand tightens over my mouth.
“Stop,” he orders.
I shove my head forward, and slam it back so hard he makes a loud oomphing sound. He snarls, and lets go of my mouth, pulling his gun from the floor and pressing it against my temple. “Don’t make me kill you, because I don’t fucking want to.”
He doesn’t want to?
He doesn’t…want to?
I begin to shake so violently, I lose all my fight. My body slumps, and his arm flexes as he holds me up. He’s panting, and my entire body moves with each angry breath he takes. He slowly lowers the gun from my head before pulling me back and getting to his feet, lifting me with him. He doesn’t let me go, he simply takes me into the cell and lowers me down onto the floor. Then, finally, he lets go.
“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be,” he says. “I don’t want to kill you or your friend, so just stay quiet.”
I nod, and drop my head. He watches me a moment longer, before turning and storming out. I crumple backwards, and a loud, wracking sob escapes me. There’s no way out. We can’t escape. Eric crawls to the bars, and he gently whispers, “Indi, it’s going to be okay.”
“It’s not okay,” I wail, clenching my fists, and shaking my head from side to side. “Eric, he’s going to sell me. What am I going to do?”
I lift my head to see Eric’s face fall. “We’re going to get out of this, I swear it Indi.”
“There is no way out,” I scream.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he murmurs, reaching out and taking my hand. “I swear.”
What he doesn’t understand, in his goddamned black and white world…is that there’s nothing he can do to stop this one.
They leave us in that cell for another entire night, and all of the following day. They didn’t give us any more food and water. I have never wanted to die so much in my entire life. The idea of dying is so much kinder to my mind than the idea of living and slowly dehydrating, and suffering until my body can’t take it anymore and shuts down. My tongue feels like it’s a thick chunk of sandpaper. My throat is so dry I am terrified to swallow, because the pain is too much. My body has gone beyond starving, and is now edging on shutting down.
“Indi?” Eric croaks from his spot by the bars.
“I’m here,” I whisper. My head is hanging, because it’s too hard to lift.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m…getting there.”
“We can’t do this much longer. We’re going to die if we don’t do something soon.”
“They won’t let me die,” I say, hoping I’m right. “I’m the prize money.”
“Maybe they have found something else. We can’t rely on that,” he says, his voice so hoarse it’s barley recognizable.
“What do we do, Eric, because I sure as shit can’t figure out how to escape this god forsaken ship!” I bite out.
“We need a plan, for when they come back down. We can’t see anything down here, we can’t see rooms, or escape routes - nothing. We need a way to get up there.”
He’s right. Of course he’s right. I know there’s only one way out, and that’s perhaps stealing a lifeboat, or a raft, or hell, a barrel. There has to be something we can escape on, and getting up on deck to see is the only way to know. But how does one get up there?
“We’re in a tiny cell, Eric. How do you suppose we get out?”
“If you’re their prize,” he says, his voice low, “they won’t want you to die.”
“What are you getting at?” I whisper impatiently.
“I think you should pretend to have passed out when they come back down. They might freak, and take you above deck. You can scope the place out, find a way to escape.”
“It’s not a bad idea,” I say, nodding. “But they might not come down here for days.”
“Maybe not, but if they want you alive, they will.”
I close my eyes, focusing on my breathing. “We can only try. There’s no other option for us.”
I hope this works.
We have nothing else.
“I’m yer cap’n, and yer me lassie. For real, that be!”
“Indi,” Eric whispers frantically. “Wake up!”
I stir from my spot on the floor and my entire body aches. I blink rapidly to try and focus my gaze on Eric.
“They’re coming down!”
I try to move my body, but it really is stiff and sore. I hear the thumping above deck, and the sound of the cell door being unlocked. He’s right; they’re coming down. How many days has it been? I don’t know.
“Pass out, Indi,” Eric whispers. “Don’t get up.”
I stay in my position, trying to relax myself so that it looks real. I have to steady my breathing to make my body look less stiff. I hear the sounds of boots, and then the room seems to brighten. I can tell this, even though my eyes are closed.