Chapter 1
The wind whistled by my face as the waves trashed the ship around. From the bars of my cell and the small window I could see through, we seemed to be in the open sea — no one around to hear my cries for help. The ship jerked to the left, knocking me off the tiny chair that sat in the cell.
A male pirate rushed past. “Lower the sails!” he screeched as his fat, drunk body thumped up the stairs onto deck.
A blast rocked the ship around as the fire spread to my cell. The heat was overwhelming. My eyes stung, and my blood boiled as it rushed to my head. The room turned upside down and began to spin. My head felt hot, and a moan escaped my lips as another shot rang through the air, punching a hole in the cell two away from my own. Three pirates ran down and began to open my cell. I reached out a desperate hand as my legs began to shake, and my head collapsed on the ground. As the hole in the wall grew, my back fell through the opening. I had my last glare at the dark black sky before my body hit the water with a splash, and I saw the blurry images of the three men yelling from the hole, watching me, yelling commands. My mind pushed against the forever sleep, my body fought as I sank, the feeling of death crept over me, the warmth spread through my veins, my life was over, I was going back to him.
“Come,” his voice whispered in my head.
Chapter 2
The sand felt like thousands of needles poking through my skin. I pressed my eyes against the pain, counting the seconds until he came to torture me again. Seventy-two seconds passed till I realized that nobody was there, I was alone. Everything was pitch-black, apart from the blood red sand. My mind zoomed back to the blood dripping down the dark cave walls as my brother and sisters sat cramped up, trying to stay in the shadows, desperate to survive. My mind hurt from thinking of the past of a different girl. I was past that, and nothing was going to bring me back to it.
I knelt on my knee and stood, trying to get a better glimpse of my surroundings. I had nothing to do but walk forward and try to figure anything out. I picked up a rock to chuck it into the darkness, see if it would fall anywhere, but when I bent to pick up the rock, my hands slipped right through it. I tried again and again, desperate for anything. It made no sense as to why I couldn’t pick up a simple rock! The only reason I could think of was if I was a ghost, but that was not possible — I mean, how would that happen?
The memory of the sun’s rays shining through the water came back to me.
Chapter 3
But if I was dead, then how was I alive? It was not possible for me to be here. I would be in the underworld if I were dead. This wasn’t possible, unless some sort of magic had brought me here. Or maybe… this was the path to him. No, that was not possible! That could not be possible! I was NEVER going to go back to him, ever. I would rather die a billion painful deaths than go back to him. He had destroyed everything I loved, and if getting back at him was the last thing I did, then so be it!
I kicked the sand with frustration, thinking that the sand deserved it just for being there. The bits of sand flew in my eyes and mouth, and I spit it out bitterly. I was not going to stay here forever, and if I was going to stay here, I was going to do something! I started pacing around the whatever-it-was until I realized I had circled back to my footprints. I had been walking in circles for hours, with no end!
Chapter 4
Walking in circles with no end was going to do me no good. I was going to have to branch out if I was ever going to get out of this dungeon-dark place. I started walking forward cautiously, feeling where I was going before stepping, but after a little while, everything was the same. There was no point in being cautious.
I took a big step forward, then a couple others. It felt good to not be so cautious for a little while. I took another… I was sinking through open air! My arms flailed as I tried to scream, but no sound came out, and besides, if I wasn’t already dead, then surely I would be now. My hip hit the the ground and I rolled over in surprise and pain, grabbing my hip as I rolled down the hill. And splashed straight into a pond. I glared around as a body walked through me like I wasn’t there. The body — a girl — turned around. It was a younger me, the me from the day that my life changed, and the war struck.
Part 1 is over.
Part 2 is coming soon.