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"Wake up", a voice urged me as I slept, "Wake up!" I jolted awake as the whispered shout rang in my ears. A guard kneeled beside me, holding a lantern to my face. Shielding my eyes, I whispered, "What do you want?" "M-18?" "What's it to you?" The guard straightened up & said, "Come with me." Rubbing my eyes, I saw dying light streaming in from the upper levels. Must be the same day, but later, I thought. Pulling myself slowly out of the ragged bed, I followed the guard to the door of the cell, where he pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt & slapped them on my wrists. I allowed him to do this without an argument, my mind far away, lost in thought. If it was this late in the day, why take me out now? I usually worked mornings, so why had no one woken me up? Before I could come up with an answer, I heard a clanking sound as the rusty cell door unlocked. The guard tugged on the rope now fastened around the chain binding the handcuffs, and I wordlessly followed him out. As I walked through the dimly light hallway behind him, I stared first at the upper levels, then at the lower levels. I was astonished to see at least one kid being escorted in a similar fashion down the long, winding hallway.

I half-expected to turn right towards the Auction room, but the guard made a left, leading me down a hallway that led to the hangar where captured ships were docked. Why bother sending all these kids this late in the day to the hangar? I thought. And that's when it hit me. While I slept, the large new ship that had been expected had arrived. I was being brought to help document how many new arrivals there were. All those other kids I saw were being brought to help load kids off the ship. As we approached a desk, the guard motioned for me to sit down. In the light, I could see his face more clearly. It was Thomas, one of the younger guards who sympathized with the kids. That explains why he told me to wake up instead of kicking me awake like the rest of these morons, I thought. Taking a seat at the desk, I looked over to where Brad & several others already stood, watching as a massive cruise ship sailed closer & closer to its new home...And its new prison.

As the ship docked, the boarding ramp was lowered & confused adults & children walked down. Helping the younger children down, I watched as their mouths moved, already knowing what they were saying despite not being able to hear it: "If you have any special skills, tell them." As the first of the children began to file down the line, I picked up a pencil & began writing as they told me about themselves, making sure the younger kids were placed in cells I knew had friendly people in them & tolerable guards patrolling. As they finished, I was unable to do little more than offer my condolences as they were escorted away by a guard. The last person in line strolled confidently up to where I sat. Looking up to see their face, my jaw almost dropped. A girl of about 16 with Asian ethnicity(Vietnamese or Laotian, I could never tell the difference) stood in front of the table. Even 3 years older, I recognized her with ease.

"Alex?" I asked softly. Shocked, she stepped back & said, "How did you know my name?" I leaned forward, letting the sunlight dance across my scarred & dirty face. "Samuel?!" she gasped. I nodded solemnly & recorded down everything I already knew about her. "Was this where you went when you...Disappeared?" she asked. I nodded & continued writing. "I though you were dead", Alex whispered, "What is this place? Who are these people?" "Trust me, you don't want to know..." I muttered back. "What does that..." she started, but a guard walked up & shoved her down the hallway, shouting, "Let's go!" I jumped to my feet & rushed after them, but it wasn't long before the rope pulled taught & I fell hard on my back. The guard looked back at me & said, "Oh, I see. This is your special lady or something, huh? I'll make sure she gets the extra special treatment." A devilish smile on his face, he shoved Alex again & walked down the hall. I took one last sad look at her before she disappeared around the corner. I turned to watch Thomas detatch the rope from the metal loop hanging from the wall. He started back down the hall towards my cell, & I wordlessly trudged after him.

Stepping back into the cell, I looked around to my cellmates who I knew had been there to unload the kids-Brad, Brandon, Nikolai, and Hannah. Brad stood in the corner, a somber look on his face, while Nikolai & Brandon comforted Hannah as she cried into the cloth of her ragged bed. "They got my brother." she sobbed, over & over again. "They got my brother, he's here. You should've seen the look in his eyes when he saw me..." "Hannah, listen to me, It'll be fine", I said reassuringly, "I made sure Jacob was transferred to your cell. He may be here as soon as a couple of hours." She looked up at me, two clean streaks stretching from her eyes to her cheeks through her otherwise dusty & dirty face, smiling. "Thank you, Sam." she said, closing her eyes. Brad walked up to me & whispered, "How many newbies we got?" "57, that I counted. Probably double that number if you count what the kids at the other stations counted." I replied. "Dammit, we don't have room for that many kids in the plan, Sam!" he said. "We're going to have to go with our original estimates. If a few get left behind, too bad." "No", I said sternly, "We all go, or none of us go." "You're actually willing to risk our shot to get out of here to save a group of kids you know nothing about?" Brad hissed. "No one should have to suffer in this place", I whispered, "So I'll say it again. All of us, or none of us." Fuming, Brad stormed back into the corner of the cell, sitting & burying his head into his forearms.

A few hours later, I heard footsteps approaching the cell. Quickly, I tucked my journal into its hiding place & rushed for my bed. "No need, Samuel." Thomas said as he walked up, Jacob & another kid, a girl hidden in the shadows, trailing along behind him. "You know my name...?" I said. "I know quite a lot about you." he replied. "All from that journal you keep. You really shouldn't read aloud when you write." I strode towards him, cracking my knuckles, & said, "If you've told the Chief..." "Relax, Sam, I haven't said anything to Duke", Thomas said, "In fact...I brought you a little present. Two of them, actually." Unlocking the handcuffs around the girl's wrists, he urged her forward...And Alex stepped out of the shadows. Her eyes lit up as she saw me & we embraced warmly. "Thank you, Thomas. How'd you find her & change where she was headed? I thought she was going to C block..." Undoing the handcuffs around Jacob's wrists, Thomas said, "About that...I found her right when Henderson was about to give her the 'special treatment'. I shot him dead. I took Alex here because I knew you were here. I heard about your plan. Know that I'm willing to help in any way possible." "What's he talking about?" Alex asked. "What plan?" "We're busting out of here." I said. "You can't be serious!" she said fearfully. "They'll kill us!" "Maybe so", I said, "But I'm starting to think that dying while trying to gain our freedom is better than living in a place where we have none."

Turning back to Thomas, I said, "All right, what's the second thing? You said you brought 2 'presents'. One was Alex. What's the second?" Thomas grinned & pulled the sidearm out of its holster on his hip & turned its handle towards me. "If you're gonna get outta here", he said, "You're gonna need some kind of weapon." Grabbing the gun, I tested the weight of it. A thought crossed my mind & I said, "How can I be sure this is even loaded? And what am I supposed to do when I'm out of bullets?" Grinning again, he said, "You'll just have to trust me. As for more bullets, figure something out! You're a smart kid. I have faith in you." Tipping his hat, Thomas stepped out of the cell & locked the door, then walked down the hall. "Tell me that's something that'll help us bust outta here." Brad said groggily as he walked up, rubbing his eyes. Grinning, I held up the gun & said, "What's it look like to you?" A smile on his face stretching from ear to ear, he patted me on the back & said, "Sammy boy...Looks like good fortune's finally come our way.

"You lost it?!" Duke shouted as he paced around his study, Thomas in front of him. "Sir, it was just one pistol, and it wasn't even loaded", Thomas lied, "I think you're overreacting..." "Overreacting?!" Duke said angrily, spinning around & pacing towards Thomas. "You know what happens if one of those kids find that gun?" he said. "They're going to threaten their way out of this place, loaded or unloaded. Who knows how many they'll take with them...And who loses profit when that's however many kids escaped that weren't sold? ME!!!" Swiveling around & tapping his finger on his desk, Duke said, "Don't think I don't know who's been pushing the cops in my direction. I got dirt on you, Thomas. Remember your little girl at home. Who's to say you won't go to jail for participating in a human trafficking ring?" As Thomas stared down at the ground, thinking over his options, Duke leaned in & whispered, "I can make sure that never happens. Give me a name, you have my word you will never, ever go to jail while you're working for me." Eyes burning with an intense ferocity, Thomas said, "Even if something is going on...Why do you think I'm involved?" Duke reached into his pocket & fished out three photos, then said, "Because of these." Thomas stared with horror at a picture of him handing a gun to M-18, or Samuel, as he was known. Suddenly, he felt the cold, hard steel of a gun barrel press against his forehead. "I have no room in my organization for traitors, Thomas." Duke said calmly. BLAM!!! Thomas dropped to the floor, an expanding halo of blood around his head. "Such a shame..." Duke said as he wiped a gooey chunk of brain matter off of his eyebrow.