Murderville Page 0,13

to keep moving, but he could withstand the hunger . . . however, he would never expect Liberty to.

“Okay,” A’shai said.

Following Ms. Beth towards the crowd of children that were assembled in a single file, A’shai looked up at the large steel cargo boat. Graffiti decorated the side of it. The word . . . MURDERVILLE . . . had been tagged in black and red. Had A’shai been able to read maybe he would have understood where his feelings of apprehension were coming from. The boat’s ominous moniker gave off all the signs, ringing a silent warning to the children standing in line waiting to board it. It was the worst decision that the two would ever make, and it was the ill-fated day that changed their lives forever.

FOUR

A’SHAI HELD LIBERTY’S HAND TIGHTLY AS THEY followed Ms. Beth and the other children onto the boardwalk that led to the ship. A’shai looked back, hoping not to see any of his father’s rebels.

“Shai, I’m scared,” Liberty whispered as she took a glance around also checking for Ezekiel’s rebels.

“Don’t be. Look,” A’shai said as he pointed to the big ship at the end of the dock. Liberty looked at the boat and her eyes lit up. She saw more kids playing on the boat’s deck. Balls were flying and laughter echoed through the air and the ship looked like a big carnival.

“Wow,” Liberty said in amazement as she looked up at the gigantic ship and all the fun that was aboard. A big word stretched across the front of the ship: it read MYRTLEVILLE. Wide smiles grew on both A’shai’s and Liberty’s faces. The other kids giggled in excitement as they followed Ms. Beth down the boardwalk. The ship, in the children’s eyes, looked to be one hundred feet tall and everyone couldn’t wait to board the ship of fun.

Ms. Beth smiled as she stepped back, threw her arm around Liberty, and whispered. “We have games, food, and entertainment on the MYRTLEVILLE ship. We travel all across the world and do charity work for kids. You guys are going to love it,” she said. Ms. Beth’s smile was like no other and there was something about her that they both trusted. Anything was better than the life that they were living. A’shai was trying to lead them to safety and show Liberty that he could take care of them both but was falling short. He tried to plan their next move but came up with nothing. He was running out of ideas to keep them safe. At least we can get some food on the boat and then I’ll figure out what we will do next, he thought as they neared the ship. Once the kids got within one hundred yards of the ship they cheered and took off running full speed. Everyone wanted to be the first one to get on the ship of fun that Ms. Beth described to them. A’shai watched as Liberty smiled, and it made his young heart warm to finally see her happy. He had yet to see her smile genuinely and when she did, it did something special to his soul.

“Come on slow poke,” Ms. Beth said as she giggled and took off towards the ship with Liberty’s hand in hers. A’shai smiled and ran to catch up with them. Although their day had been full of grief, they were about to get a brief moment of solace . . . or so they thought.

As they approached the boat, there were young soldiers passing out candy as each person walked in. A’shai caught up with the rest of the crowd but as soon as he walked in, everything changed. It seemed as if their world was taken right from underneath them.

“Get to the bottom now!” one of the soldiers yelled as he pointed the automatic rifle at the children. What was thought to be a ship of fun turned out to be a human trafficking ship. A’shai held Liberty tight in his arms as she cried and shivered in terror. Laughter and anticipation quickly turned to cries for help and screams as the harsh reality reared its ugly head. They were about to be trafficked and there was no turning back at that point. The ship’s doors closed, and no one could hear their screams.

The two of them were waiting in line with the other children who were being forced one-by-one into the lowest deck of the ship. It was pitch black and nothing