Chapter 3 - A Sentence of A New Life -

Chapter 3

Oh, I can’t stand this any more! Thought Emily desperately, pulling her shawl around her and quickly running up the steep steps to the door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. She quietly opened the latch, and tip-toed onto the deck.

Surely no one will notice me.

She ran over to the ship’s railing and took in deep breaths of the fresh air. The stench in the hull had been so strong that she couldn’t bear it. People had been sick in the rough storm when they were just of England’s coast. Now they were halfway, and she didn’t know weather to feel happy or scared about the new country she was heading towards. As she stood there, the salty breeze blowing her straggly hair, and pondering, all the struggle of the last couple of days was forgotten for a short time, as she savoured the moment of freedom. She forgot she was on a prison ship, and imagined that she was...

“Oy” a sailor hailed her, and then swaggered over, looking her up and down. Emily shrank from him, and wrinkled her nose in disgust at his unwashed smell. He leered at her and grabbed her arm, squeezing it cruelly.

“You come with me, miss” he hissed, starting to pull her roughly away from the rail.

“No, let me go you brute!” she gasped and beat at him with her small fists. The burly sailor laughed raucously, and pulled her into his arms. He grabbed a handful of her hair to stop her getting away. She screamed, and slapped his face with all her might. He swore loudly, and drew back his hand to hit her, when the captain spotted him.

“Leave her alone and get back to your work” he commanded, striding down the gangway. The sailor snarled at Emily again and pushed her away from him, against the rail, before stamping off angrily.

The captain stopped next to the now sobbing Emily.

“You shouldn’t be on the deck. It’s your fault. Most of the sailors are not worth their salt. But you’d better be getting back down” he firmly took her back to her dark, smelly prison. She stopped halfway down and glanced back at him. The look on her face was one of despair and sadness. The captain quickly shut the door and locked it, clenching his teeth.

Blast it; a man can’t let his feelings get the better of him on a ship like this! She’s only one of hundreds of such unfortunate dirt. He pushed the incident out of his mind and went back to his cabin.

Down below, the confused and hurt Emily huddled in her corner, quietly crying.

Some other women looked up

“What made you do such a silly thing as to go up there? Pfff, stupid...thought she could jump over the side, did she?” the ringleader laughed shrilly, and some others joined in. Emily curled up tighter, and put her hands over her ears. The woman poked her in the back and said something to her friends, and they started laughing again, one of them began imitating what she thought had happened, and the room got very noisy. Some other convicts yelled at them to be quiet, but they didn’t take any notice, until a guard banged on their door.

They quickly stifled their laughter, but the ringleader snorted and the door was thrown open. An officer came down as far as his nose would let him.

“Who started that ruckus? Asked the officer, glancing around and grimacing at the conditions he beheld. The shabby woman stood up and put her hands on her hips defiantly, and fluttered her eyelashes at the man. He took no notice of her, but ordered a sailor to tie her hands behind her back. She squealed and struggled

“What did I do, I was only laughing at a joke, let me go you – “she protested, as she was hauled out of the hull.

Soon, Emily felt sick, as she heard the dreadful screaming, and the sound of the cat o' nine tails. Later, the beaten and now silent woman was thrown back into the hull. She lay where she had fallen, and no one around her blinked an eyelid at what had gone on.

Oh, I wish this would end...