Don't Forget Me

Prologue

The bottom of the ship shuddered and groaned beneath my bare feet. My fingers, raw and chafed, worked at the ropes bound around my wrists. The ropes - surely they were enchanted - refused to give. They hadn't for days.

I leaned my head against the wall and studied the low ceiling. I just about had every marking and indent memorized.

I clasped my hands together tightly as my mind replayed the events that had brought me here. From the four days I had been down here, I had found twenty-seven different ways I could have done it successfully. I told myself to stop overthinking everything.

So what should I think about?

I counted the wooden planks that I knew the sailors were clambering over above me on deck. One, two, three, four... I got to twenty-three before my eyelids became heavy. I closed them and sighed. If only I had not tried to escape.

My hands were going numb.

Suddenly, I heard a shout from above my small prison. My eyes flew open and I stood up from my chair. The voice sounded urgent and panicked.

More shouting followed although I couldn't decipher what they were saying. I moved closer to the ladder that led up to the deck.

"Pirates!" Someone directly above me yelled. My heart gave a nervous skip. Friend or foe? It was always so hard to tell with pirates.

The floor gave a dangerous shudder and I heard wood cracking. We'd been hit.

I couldn't stay down here any longer. Hooking my fingers onto the ropes and shoving my foot into the first rung, I used my elbows to brace myself as I slowly crawled up the ladder. It was slow work, my elbows scraped against the dry wood and my hands cramped, but finally, I was at the top. Leaning my back against one wall and my feet against the other, I used my hands to push open the hatch door.

The first thing I noticed was the smell of the sea breeze. I took a deep breath, thankful for the fresh, cool air that filled my lungs. I shoved my torso out of the hatch door.

I took in the scene before me. The crew ran around in a panic, none of them really helping the situation. I could make out the captain, and my new master's, ugly, twisted face up by the wheel screaming orders nobody heeded.

Then I saw the ship and my breath caught in my throat. The silver hull cut through the water like a knife. The black billowing sails whipped in the wind. I spotted a flag that sported a skull and crossbones.

Their crew, unlike ours, was perfectly organized and currently throwing hooks onto ours.

Deciding I didn't want to be down in a hole when all of the action happened, I pulled myself onto the deck on my stomach and pushed myself off the ground. The crew was too busy panicking to pay me any mind, so I rushed to the railing to get a better look. I couldn't see the captain of the pirate ship, although I heard his voice shouting orders. The pirates were preparing to board us.

The sharp metallic glint of the hooks burrowed into the deck caught my eye. Perhaps they were sharp enough to cut my ropes. Then I could sneak aboard the pirate ship and escape next time they reached land.

I knelt in front of the closest hook and rubbed the ropes back and forth against the metal. The first pirates boarded the ship and I kept rubbing, hoping they wouldn't pay me any mind. Then the fighting started. Swords clanged and men shouted. I kept rubbing.

Suddenly, a hand gripped my shoulder and yanked me back. I fell hard onto the deck and, towering over me, was my master, his eyes as cold and hard as flint.

"You know you can't break those ropes, so why even try?" His voice sounded like there were a bunch of rocks in his throat, and his dry, cracked lips twisted into a cruel smirk. "No rations for a week. And if you try and escape again," I could almost hear his lips cracking as his mocking smiled widened. "I know people who would pay me a large sum of money for what you can do."