Chapter 3: Captives in the cages

Music Recommendation: Ships are Coming- Trevor Morris

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Mrs. Flores quickly pushed her two young daughters behind her to hide and protect them from the eyes of these pirates. She and her husband tried to look brave, but their expressions gave away fear and worry.

"Who are you people?! You are not welcome here!" Mr. Flores firmly said, while standing between the three pirates and his family.

But just as the words left his lips, the pirate leader pushed him with force, and he almost fell on the ground before he found his balance. He pushed back the pirate with all his strength, but this only resulted in him being punched in the face.

"There are two girls in here," said one of the men, approaching where Mrs. Flores and the two young girls stood.

"Leave the woman and take the two girls," the pirate leader ordered his two men.

"NO!"

Mrs. Flores grabbed the closest utensil that her hand could grab and swung it in front of her, "Don't you dare come near us!" She threatened the two men, who stepped in front of her. When her eyes shifted to look at her husband, who was now pushed against the wall by the man with the scar, one of the men snatched Marianne from her.

"Mama!" Marianne screamed as the man caught her small wrist and dragged her out of the house.

"Let her go! She's an innocent child!" Mr. Flores shouted, while struggling to get away from the iron grip of the man with a braided beard.

Anastasia turned scared as she stood behind her mother. She clutched onto her mother's skirt, while they moved backwards until there was nowhere else to go.

"We will give you anything you want, but please spare my family! They are all that I have!" Mr. Flores pleaded to the men.

But the pirates didn't heed to his request. The third man, whose hands were free, slapped Mrs. Flores cheek with force, which had her crash against some of the utensils. Soon Anastasia was caught by the man and like her sister, she was dragged out of the house. The pirate leader raised his hand before landing a blow at Mr. Flores so that he wouldn't chase after them, leaving Mr. Flores unconscious on the floor.

"Don't take them away from us! Please don't do this!" Mrs. Flores sobbed, while torn between following the men and staying with her unconscious husband.

"MAMA!! PAPA!!" Marianne and Anastasia screamed for their parents, while their small bodies were hauled on the men's shoulders before being pushed inside the cage that was built on the cart.

"Papa help!" Anastasia shouted with tears like the other children caged with them. Some women who were captured and placed in the other caged cart shouted for help, and so did the children, crying for their families. But the families were taken care of by the pirates, who had pushed and injured them, before being threatened.

Soon the pirates started to move from the village, while keeping a few behind for an hour to ensure they weren't followed.

"Mary! Anna!"

The two young girls heard their parents shout for them, but they couldn't see them.

The two carriage carts filled with—young girls, young women and three young boys. Most of them clung to the grills, hoping to see their family. Hoping to be rescued. But no one came, and the carts were surrounded and guarded by the men, who had swords.

When one of the captured young girls continued to cry loudly, the men on the horses got annoyed. One of the men raised his sword and hit it on the iron grills of the cage,

"Shut up! I hear another sound and I will rip your head off your body," he warned in a voice that left fear in the minds of the young captives.

Marianne quickly stopped crying, wiping her eyes and cheeks before turning to her younger sister, who continued to sob softly. Anastasia turned to her sister with her light brown eyes filled with tears that continued to spill down her cheeks.

"Don't cry, Anna," Marianne whispered to her sister as she wiped her tears.

"Where are they taking us, Mary? I want to go home," Anastasia said with a sniffle. She wanted to go back to her house where their parents were.

Marianne shook her head, and the sisters hugged, "I don't know. But we'll see mama and papa."

"Promise?" Anastasia asked in a small voice.

"Promise," Marianne nodded, even though she was helpless like the others inside the cage.

The pirate with the scar loudly said to the captives, "Behave well and you will get to eat later. Behave badly, and you will be punished. We expect you to obey. The last thing we need is to damage the goods that need to be delivered," a dark chuckle escaped from his lips, as his eyes skimmed through the people in the cages.

Hours passed since the pirates had attacked and captured people from the village of Hawkshead. The pirates and the captives headed in the West direction until they reached the waters, where a galleon ship stood waiting for them.

"Aye! Bring them on the ship!" The pirate leader shouted. "Careful with the captives!"

Soon the horses and carriage carts were taken on the ship before setting sail in the water. The captives were taken to the lower deck, and their hands were tied in shackles. Marianne and Anastasia looked terrified, but it only worsened when the ship moved up and down. All they could hear was the sound of waves.

When it was time to feed the captives to keep them alive, but not enough to have them cry or shout. One of the pirates ordered the captives,

"Step forward and take the food!!"

Everyone came forward as they had been left unfed for long, and like others, Marianne and Anastasia's stomachs growled in hunger. But when the girls came to the front with their hands stretched forward, Anastasia was offered a small bowl of porridge that felt more like water, while her elder sister was offered a piece of bun.

"Keep moving!" The pirate who was serving glared at them, and it sent the two girls scurrying to the side.

"Let us split it," Marianne whispered to her sister, tearing the bread in half and offering one piece to her younger sister.

Anastasia was quick to eat the bread as she was hungry. Marianne took a sip from the hot watery porridge and realised this wouldn't be enough. She returned it to her sister, saying, "I am full, Anna. Here."

The young girl looked at her sister with questioning eyes, "But you are bigger than me. You need it more." She shook her head and pushed the bowl back to Marianne.

"How about we take a sip each then?" Marianne asked before raising the bowl to her lips without drinking and offering it to her sister.

Anastasia believing her sister was drinking the porridge, she ended up drinking the entire bowl without realising it.

Not far from them, a young girl around their age cried, "T—take me back to my parents, please… P—please, help me," she sobbed as she tugged on the pirate's shirt.

"Stop it," the pirate glared at the young girl.

Other people took courage from this and started to protest by saying, "We want to go home!"

"I miss them. Please take me back, I—I don't want to be here," the young girl begged for help, and tugged him with a little more force.

The man, seemingly lost his patience, raised his hand and smacked the girl hard enough to have her fall unconscious on the ground. A sudden eerie silence fell in there. The man then turned to look at the others with his eyes that were pulled slightly crossed. He ran his tongue at the front of his tooth as if something was stuck with a scowl on his face, and he said,

"If anyone complains next, you will be thrown into the sea. And mind you, it will swallow you," he threatened.

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