Page 66 of Astrid at Sea

My brain hurt to think of last night and all that had happened. I couldn’t think of anything that could have led to me being here right now.

Viktor and I had been on night duty. We had docked at Treasure Island, which had appeared deserted. We spent the night out on the deck, docked at the island, planning to explore with the crew as soon as the sun rose in the morning. We must have fallen asleep when we were supposed to be on night duty…and now I was here…wherever this was.

All the racing questions going through my mind gave me a headache.

Where was Viktor? Was he okay? Did he wake up in a similar situation to me? Was he just as confused?

Where was the crew? Were they still asleep? Or had they been abducted as well?

My heart hurt as I thought of Viktor and how he must be worrying about me. I didn’t want him to worry about me, but I had no idea where I was or how to escape from here.

Desperate to figure out where I was, I looked around for a clue, but nothing stuck out.

It looked like I was on a regular bottom deck of a ship. Unlike The Serpent, where the oars rowed automatically at the step of a button–thanks to Chip–there were seats for people to sit and do all the rowing themselves. This was how it used to be for us before Chip had thought of the idea and turned it into a reality, and it was strange to see it again when we were so accustomed to the fancy invention.

On the other side of the deck, there were a few barrels neatly stored in the corner, but other than that, nothing else caught my attention. Not until I sighed in defeat and laid my head back against the wall. I groaned and rolled my neck, trying to get thekinks out after a rough night’s sleep, and that’s when the silver caught my eyes.

My hands were chained to the wall.

There were four pairs of chains, three on one side and one more on the other. I was the only person in here, chained.

Why was I in chains, and who put me in them?

My breath hitched in my throat, and my heart began beating dangerously fast as I tugged on the chains but couldn’t get out of them. They rattled and rattled but didn’t budge from the wall. They remained around my wrists, and despite my efforts, I was none the freer.

I was still tugging on the chains when I heard footsteps coming this way. I squeezed my eyes shut and lay limp against the wall, pretending to be asleep.

When the door opened, and the footsteps became louder as the person approached, I focused on keeping my breath slow and even. Judging by the heavy footsteps, it was a man.

My ears perked up at the sound of the chains rattling together, and when my first hand dropped to the floor, I knew he was releasing me. But why?

What was the point of releasing me so soon after chaining me?

The man was rough in his mannerisms as he let my other hand drop, my knuckles grazing against the rough wall on the way down. I remained in that flaccid state the whole time, even when I felt one hand slip behind me and press into the small of my back and the other under my legs.

Before I knew it, the man threw me over his shoulder. When I opened my eyes, they were wide with fear as he began walking out of the bottom deck–not all that careful with the way he was holding me. They were also wide with disgust at how close my face was to his ass–practically on eye level. Not to mention howdangerously closehishand was to my ass, but I didn’t dare say anything and give myself away.

I listened to his footsteps. He walked up one flight of stairs, down the hallway and then up another flight of stairs. I heard a door open, and when the fresh air hit me, I knew we were on the top deck. The gentle, occasional water sloshing against the ship’s side told me we were docked at the shore.

But this wasn’t The Serpent.

Where had this ship come from? Viktor and I hadn’t seen it last night.

I held my breath as the man continued walking, and I dared to peek to confirm that we were on the top deck. My eyes widened when the man suddenly jumped over the rail, landing with a loud thud on a wooden plank. I realised then that he was walking off the ship with me still draped over his shoulder like an expensive scarf.

He walked down the sandy shore of the beach, and the further he walked, the more I could take in the ship we had just been on.

It was then that I realised it wasn’t just a ship but apirate ship.

But how was that possible? The pirates were supposed to be nothing more than a rumour…except that it was most definitely a pirate ship docked beside The Serpent.

When Dustin and I were younger, Father used to tell us bedtime stories about his many trips to sea. Our favourite stories were pirate stories, and he always mentioned that pirate ships always had black flags and masts. Sometimes, the black material had a white skull and crossbones painted on it, and this pirate ship was no different.

I was so busy staring at the pirate ship that I hadn’t noticed where the man was taking me. Far too late, I squeezed my eyes shut and went back to pretending I was unconscious.

“Looks like our little prisoner here is awake,” one of the pirates chuckled, his mouth filled with a handful of nuts I recognised to be from The Serpent. These were the same ones that Crosby had put his neck on the line for as he ran across the shore of Canne, carrying the sacks on his shoulders while he tried to escape the cannibals that chased him, and these pirates had just helped themselves to them like it was nothing. Like they were entitled to it.

“Oh, I didn’t know she was awake,” the man holding me chuckled, and my body shook with the vibrations from his chest.

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