Hello, my name is John. I was a slave from 1710, I think. So, I’m going to tell you a story about my slave life.
When I was six, I got separated from my family. People took me and my parents away from Africa. For the next seven years, we had been working and working, treated like peasants.
One day, I heard our guard, Mr. Simpoop, saying that there was a myth that there was an apple in a cave that could cure any sickness. Thousands of people had tried to get it, and no one had come back. I heard they were getting some soldiers to go inside the cave to get the apple. Our guard was cracking up when he heard that.
“Ha ha ha ha. Yeah right, there’s some magical apple in a cave. Hahah ha ha ha. Oh my god. Nice joke, but it can’t fool me. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.”
“Okay, whatever you say, Mr. Simpoop.”
Then, the guy left. In my head, I kind of wanted to do it. Get freedom. He would never let me though. I guess I would never try to do it.
When I went to bed, I had a dream.
I was working, and a voice told me, “Go get it. You are the chosen one. Wake up and leave.”
Suddenly I woke up, and I was not sure how, but I knew where to go. I left the house and went into this run down wooden shack. I saw a sword and took it. Suddenly, the ground disappeared, and I fell into a hole. There was a cave. I took out my sword and walked slowly down the cave. I did think that it would be very dark inside the cave, but it was really red, and it kind of had the feeling like it was evil. Suddenly, a rock fell behind me, and I knew I could not leave yet. This would be a big adventure.
I continued walking and realized I was being watched, but I didn’t know where. I continued, and I saw light. I felt like I had not seen light in years, even though that was not true. For a moment, I thought that I had found the apple, like I was done with the mission. But I had a feeling that this was only the beginning. Once I got to the light, it had disappeared. And I heard a laugh but not some ordinary laugh — an evil laugh, very evil, and it was coming from on top of me. So I went up the stairs, and it was still laughing, but there was no one there. Then, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around, and there was a man but not some ordinary man. He was not a human. He was like a monster but in a human form. He had an evil smile. I swung my sword at him, and I could not move. I was stuck. I tried to swing at him with my sword, but it would not let me. I felt numb and lost consciousness.
Then, I woke up in a large cage filled with white people. They were all staring at me. I thought that these were the people who tried to get the apple but never came back. Most of them were dead. Everyone else was very, very tired. I had to figure out how to escape while I still had the energy. I was feeling sleepy. I looked around to see if the monster guy was there. I didn’t see him, but I felt like he was always watching. I looked around for my sword and realized he had taken it. But I saw one man who was looking at me, smiling, but not an evil smile — a nice smile.
Then, he said, “Hello, who are you?”
I did not know what to say because, well, I was a slave. And he was not a slave. He looked poor though. So, I told him that I was a slave and my whole story. I tried to hit the metal bars, but nothing happened. I looked in the pockets of the other people and found a penny. I didn’t pick the lock yet because I still had a feeling that he was watching. Suddenly I felt like he had gone. I knew that this was my chance. I picked the lock on the door and left, tip-toeing. I went inside a room with my “friend,” and I found my sword. I called it Byuma, the name of our tribe.
Then, I heard footsteps — the same footsteps as the monster. His big and loud footsteps. He was coming! So, I quickly went under a table with my friend. The monster went right past us. I felt like he saw us, but he did not look at us or stay in the room. He left the room, and it sounded like he disappeared. But I knew not to go because he might be at the exit of the room. And I didn’t think that he would be very happy when he saw us out of our cage. I looked up and saw a paper. I was not sure what it said, but I had a feeling that it was important. I wanted to get up from under the table, but I knew that I would have to wait. So, I waited about 30 minutes then finally got up and looked at the paper: You are here to trap the mortals, you cannot leave this area, do not try to leave you will regret it. That gave me an idea! If he wasn’t able to leave, maybe the best idea was to make a run for it. Try to leave the area and run. So I told my friend the idea — I think he nodded.
I went and ran towards the exit, and I saw the monster behind, levitating. He was very fast, but we managed to make it out in time. Woah, that was very close. We continued running and saw a blanket with a beam of light coming out. I took the blanket off, and there was the apple. My friend was silent, and I was too. We had found the apple. We turned around and saw the monster — he was not behind us. He was still in the area we had been captured in. Suddenly, he started to levitate towards us, but the second he left the area, he disappeared. And we saw the people in the cage walking out of the cage, and they were all energetic (except for the dead ones — they were really dead).
We all poured out of the cave, and everyone ran home. When I showed my owner the apple, I used it to heal his wife who was sick. After that, Mr. Simpoop gave us freedom. So, you would think this would be the end of the story. But you’re wrong. There were still some people that wanted this apple. The story is far from done. So, I’ll continue. So, I did get the apple, but that did not make a difference. I was free, but I had no house, no food, and people still tried to take it from me. I just wished I was still in Africa with my tribe, Byuma. Man, I really wanted to see my grandpa and grandma. Suddenly, five men came up with bats. They were big, tough-looking bullies. I started running and not surprisingly, they followed me. They were very fast. After five minutes of running, they stopped. They were cursing at me like crazy. I continued running and hid inside an alleyway. I thought I was safe. I was, for now.
But one day later, I was not. I went to bed inside this alleyway. And I woke up early. I didn’t know the time, but I could tell it was early. There was barely any sun. The wind howled like there were thousands of owls. But no other noises. So, I walked out of the alleyway thinking, What I should do with my life. How would I get back to Africa? Where should I eat? I had no money, no anything. I was so hungry. Suddenly, I realized that I had the apple. It was magic. Maybe it could cure my hunger. So, I had a bite of it, and I had no words. It tasted so good. And I wasn’t hungry at all. Maybe I could live with this apple: it regenerated each bite. I continued walking around the city, looking for anything I could do. Then, I thought about how I could get home. I just needed a boat. The problem was I did not know which way was east and which way was west. Could the magic apple do more than I thought?
I tried asking it how to get home, and I heard a voice saying, “Left, my friend. Left.”
Did that mean I had to go to the left? Since I didn’t have anything else to do, I went to the left. Was there a boat waiting for me? Was it an even bigger surprise? There was only one way to find out. I continued walking for about 30 minutes until I found a horse with someone on it. At this time, I was surprised someone else was awake. Maybe that was why she was telling me to go to the left. The person told me to get on the horse. So, I went on, and the guy hit me with a bat. And the horse ran off with me. Later, I woke up in a cage. Oh god, not again. The guys looked like bandits. They had tons of money on a table. And there was no one else in this cage. I nothing to do. The apple told me the wrong thing.
Then, I heard the a voice saying, “Do not worry. This was planned.”
I thought, What? Planned? But I didn’t say anything.
“Turn around, and you will be free. I must go now. Good luck.”
I turned around, and I saw my friend, the one I met while doing the apple quest. He took off his mask, and he was black. He was a slave undercover to get the apple. It all made sense now. He gave me a drink. So, I had it, and I felt weird.
Then he said, “Follow me.”
And he walked through the wall. So, I tried to copy him, and I walked right through the wall too. And when I looked, I saw a boat. He told me to go on the boat. And once I went on the boat, I was in Africa next to my tribe: Byuma. I was so happy to see my family.
The End