was scary, Bree?”
She shakes her head and waits several seconds before speaking. I realize she is remembering.
“ They took me. I was all alone. Then they put me on a bus, and took me on a boat. We were all chained together. It was so cold, we were all so scared. They took me inside that house, and you wouldn’t believe the things I saw. What they did to those other girls. I can still hear their screams. I can’t get them out of my head.”
Her face crumples as she starts to cry.
My heart breaks into a million pieces. I can’t even imagine what she’s been through. I don’t want her to think about it. I feel as if she’s scarred forever, and it’s my fault.
I hug her tightly, and kiss her on the forehead.
“ Shhh,” I whisper. “It’s all right. That’s all behind us now. Don’t think about that anymore.”
But still, she continues to cry.
Bree buries her face my chest. I rock her as she cries and cries.
“ I’m so sorry honey,” I say. “I am so so sorry.”
I wish I could take it all away from her. But I can’t. It is now a part of her. I always wanted to shelter her, to shelter her from everything. And now her heart is filled with horrors.
As I rock her, I wish we could be anywhere but here. I wish things could be how they once were. Back in time. Back when the world was good. Back with our parents. But we can’t. We’re here.
And I have a sinking feeling things will only get worse.
*
I wake and realize it is daytime. I don’t know how it got so late in the day, or how I slept so long. I look around me on the boat, and am completely disoriented. I don’t understand what’s happening. Our boat is now floating, adrift in the Hudson, in the middle of the huge river. Bree and I are the only ones in the boat. I don’t know where everyone else is, and I can’t understand how we got here.
We both stand at the edge of the boat, looking out at the horizon, and I see three slaverunner boats speed right for us.
I try to burst into action, but feel my arms bound from behind. I turn to see several slaverunners on the boat, see that they have cuffed me from behind, hold me back. I struggle for all I can, but am helpless.
A slaverunner boat stops and one of them gets out, his mask covering his face, steps onto our boat, reaches down and grabs Bree. She squirms, but is no match for him. He picks her up in one arm and begins to carry her away.
“ BREE! NO!” I scream.
I struggle with everything in the world, but it is useless. I’m forced to stand there and watch as they drag Bree off, kicking and screaming into their boat. Their boat drifts away on the current, towards Manhattan. Soon, it is barely visible.
As I watch my little sister get farther and farther away from me, I know that this time I lost her for good.
I shriek, an unearthly shriek, begging, crying, for my sister to come back to me.
I wake up sweating. I sit bolt upright, breathing hard, looking all around, trying to figure out what happened.
It was a dream. I look over and see Bree lying beside me, everyone else asleep in the boat. It was all a dream. No one has come. No one has taken Bree.
I try to slow my breathing, my heart still pounding. I sit up and look out at the horizon and see dawn beginning to break, a faint sliver on the horizon. I look over at the dock, and see Ben sitting guard. I think back and remember Logan waking me, remember standing guard myself. Then I woke Ben, gave him the gun, and he took my position. I must have fallen asleep after that.
As I look over at Ben, I realize he is slumped over. I can see from here, in the faint light of dawn, that he is asleep, too. He is supposed to be standing guard. We are defenseless.
Suddenly, I spot movement, shadows in the darkness. It looks like a group of people, or creatures, heading closer to us. I wonder if my eyes are playing tricks on me.
But then, my heart starts pounding furiously in my chest, and my mouth goes dry, as I realize this is not a trick of
She shakes her head and waits several seconds before speaking. I realize she is remembering.
“ They took me. I was all alone. Then they put me on a bus, and took me on a boat. We were all chained together. It was so cold, we were all so scared. They took me inside that house, and you wouldn’t believe the things I saw. What they did to those other girls. I can still hear their screams. I can’t get them out of my head.”
Her face crumples as she starts to cry.
My heart breaks into a million pieces. I can’t even imagine what she’s been through. I don’t want her to think about it. I feel as if she’s scarred forever, and it’s my fault.
I hug her tightly, and kiss her on the forehead.
“ Shhh,” I whisper. “It’s all right. That’s all behind us now. Don’t think about that anymore.”
But still, she continues to cry.
Bree buries her face my chest. I rock her as she cries and cries.
“ I’m so sorry honey,” I say. “I am so so sorry.”
I wish I could take it all away from her. But I can’t. It is now a part of her. I always wanted to shelter her, to shelter her from everything. And now her heart is filled with horrors.
As I rock her, I wish we could be anywhere but here. I wish things could be how they once were. Back in time. Back when the world was good. Back with our parents. But we can’t. We’re here.
And I have a sinking feeling things will only get worse.
*
I wake and realize it is daytime. I don’t know how it got so late in the day, or how I slept so long. I look around me on the boat, and am completely disoriented. I don’t understand what’s happening. Our boat is now floating, adrift in the Hudson, in the middle of the huge river. Bree and I are the only ones in the boat. I don’t know where everyone else is, and I can’t understand how we got here.
We both stand at the edge of the boat, looking out at the horizon, and I see three slaverunner boats speed right for us.
I try to burst into action, but feel my arms bound from behind. I turn to see several slaverunners on the boat, see that they have cuffed me from behind, hold me back. I struggle for all I can, but am helpless.
A slaverunner boat stops and one of them gets out, his mask covering his face, steps onto our boat, reaches down and grabs Bree. She squirms, but is no match for him. He picks her up in one arm and begins to carry her away.
“ BREE! NO!” I scream.
I struggle with everything in the world, but it is useless. I’m forced to stand there and watch as they drag Bree off, kicking and screaming into their boat. Their boat drifts away on the current, towards Manhattan. Soon, it is barely visible.
As I watch my little sister get farther and farther away from me, I know that this time I lost her for good.
I shriek, an unearthly shriek, begging, crying, for my sister to come back to me.
I wake up sweating. I sit bolt upright, breathing hard, looking all around, trying to figure out what happened.
It was a dream. I look over and see Bree lying beside me, everyone else asleep in the boat. It was all a dream. No one has come. No one has taken Bree.
I try to slow my breathing, my heart still pounding. I sit up and look out at the horizon and see dawn beginning to break, a faint sliver on the horizon. I look over at the dock, and see Ben sitting guard. I think back and remember Logan waking me, remember standing guard myself. Then I woke Ben, gave him the gun, and he took my position. I must have fallen asleep after that.
As I look over at Ben, I realize he is slumped over. I can see from here, in the faint light of dawn, that he is asleep, too. He is supposed to be standing guard. We are defenseless.
Suddenly, I spot movement, shadows in the darkness. It looks like a group of people, or creatures, heading closer to us. I wonder if my eyes are playing tricks on me.
But then, my heart starts pounding furiously in my chest, and my mouth goes dry, as I realize this is not a trick of
Similar Books
