“You listen to me,” I whisper, reaching through the bars and touching his hand. “There is always a way.”

“Indi…”

“No, Eric, don’t you give up now. If you give up, we have nothing.”

“I’m so hungry,” he says, his eyes wide and pained.

“I know, me too.”

I lean back against the bars, still holding his hand. I hear his breathing become deep again, and I know his body is exhausted. He’s been beaten, he’s dehydrated, and he’s hungry. If they don’t feed us soon, the outlook isn’t going to be good. I close my eyes, and they burn angrily. I focus on my breathing, and try to steady my pounding heart. I need to keep calm. I need to be strong and find a way to survive this.

If I don’t…

Eric and I will both die.

I won’t have that.

Life is pretty good, and why wouldn’t it be? I’m a pirate, after all!

Throwing up when there is nothing left in your stomach is the worst feeling in the world. I get seasick the next afternoon, and even though I’m dehydrated and starved, I end up crouched over throwing up bile because it’s all I have left. Eric has passed out again, and he’s looking worse and worse with every passing hour. I’m worried about him. He’s not strong mentally, and he’s been beaten to top off the rest of the trauma we’re experiencing. I think he’s shutting down.

The pirates came in and gave us some food and water this morning. I gave mine to Eric. He didn’t hesitate as he scoffed down my food, and then threw it all back up again. I knew that would happen. I warned him to eat slowly, but he didn’t. I kept the water, slowly sipping it, gently easing my stomach into it. It didn’t last long, though. Outside, the wind is howling and the ship is rocking. There is only so much my stomach can take.

I find myself the cleanest spot on the floor, and curl up as my stomach turns and protests. I close my eyes; my body is exhausted. I know I need to turn my mind off and rest, but I’m terrified. How will we get off this ship? God, will we get off this ship? What happens after they sell me? Will they kill Eric? Dump him in the ocean? I would never sleep again knowing something had happened to him because of me. And, let’s face it, this one is on me. I was the one who tried to run.

I feel my mind spin and I try to count, in a poor attempt to settle it. I need to rest. I need my strength. Everything inside me hurts, and the outside is so battered I don’t even want to think about it. I just want to go home. I want to go and re-make every stupid decision in my life that led me to this point. Would I ever see another person again? Or would these pirates be all I knew forever? Worse, if they truly did sell me, would I spend the rest of my life as a sex slave?

I shiver and my stomach coils tightly.

I won’t cry.

They don’t deserve that.

“Police!” someone suddenly yells.

Police? I bolt upright, and my body screams in protest. I tilt my head to the side, and try and listen to the noises above.  Beside me, Eric begins stirring.

“Get the guns ready,” another bellows.

“They’re close, but they know they can’t bring us in,” a pirate barks. “Let them try. We will blow them to smithereens before they get the chance.”

There are police close by? I get to my hands and knees, and my stomach turns angrily. Is this our chance for freedom? Can we escape? Eric is awake now, and he’s staring at me, his gaze a little far off. “W…w…what’s happening?”

“The police!” I cry. “They’re outside.”

His eyes widen, and he gets on his hands and knees too. “We need to make noise, scream for help.”

“They’ll kill us,” I cry, shaking my head.

“They’re going to kill us anyway, Indigo. Scream!”

“HELP!” I scream, my entire body filling with adrenaline. “Someone HELP!”

“HELP US!” Eric bellows loudly. “HELP!”

We hear cursing and shuffling on board, as well as loud yelling. Every inch of my skin tingles, and my heart is thumping so hard it is making me feel a little ill. This is it, possibly the only chance we’ll ever get to escape.

“HELP!” We both yell at the same time, so loudly I have no doubt they heard. We keep going.

I hear the cell door swing open, and Hendrix comes storming down. Okay, he is the last person I expected to see. His eyes are wild, and he charges in until he hits the bars. He grips them and glares at me. “Shut up,” he barks.

“Like hell,” I croak. “HELP!”

He pulls his gun from his jeans, and he points it at me. “Shut it, or I kill you.”

“Do you think I care?” I scream. “Go ahead and kill me, it’s got to be better than what you have planned.”

Something flashes across his expression for a moment, before he turns his gun to Eric. My body freezes.

“But you do care if I kill him.”

“Don’t,” I rasp.

He turns his dark gaze to me. “Shut your mouth. One more word, and I fucking blow him to pieces in front of you.”

“Just let us go,” I cry.

“Didn’t you hear me?” he bellows. “I said, shut up!”

I get up to my feet, and everything inside me shakes. I walk over, gripping the bars and glaring through them. “Kill us then, you’ll be doing us both a favor. HELP!”

He snarls, rips a key out of his pocket and unlocks the bar. As soon as he pulls the door open, I charge. His arm lashes out and hits me in the chest, sending me flying backwards. I land on my backside, but my body is full of far more determination than anything else he could throw at me. I lunge to my hands and knees, and I crawl forward, hitting his legs so hard he goes stumbling backwards.