Chapter 4 - The Onshore

The Onshore " Let go of me" she said as she tried to pull her hand away from his grip but it was too tight as he was stronger than she was. " Let me go" she yelled again, fighting her way out from his grip but he wasn't ready to let her go any moment from now. He pulled her to him and placed a handkerchief on her face which made her blacked out in a few minutes. In those few minutes, no one knew that the young girl had been abducted, all that was left of her was the basket she carried which was rolling on the floor. Marilyn woke up to the sound of thunder and rain. The rain that had been threatening to fall earlier had suddenly started pouring and she could hear the clouds rumbling angrily. Her head hurt, her eyelids heavy and she didn't know why. " Where am I ?" She asked herself, totally confused as to where she was. She stood up and looked around her. She was in an enclosed room that had no window Wait? Was she in a cabin? What in the world? How did she get here? She could hear a wavelike sound and it wasn't like she was ashore. She was certain of that, it felt like she was on a floating surface. All she could ever recall was going out to get the medicine her stepmother had sent her for her sick father, how in the world did she get here? She recalled getting flushed and seeing a black fuzzy tunnel closing in on her before falling unconscious. Was her mind playing tricks on her or was she really onshore? There was not much light source in the room and she could barely make out what was in the place. She could not say whether she was alone or not. She tried her best to see past the dimly lit room. The light in the room was spilling from a candle that had melted beyond half, it was placed on a table and she was sure it would burn out soon. She tried to remember how she got here, the last thing she could recall was when she met the so-called ' Local Doctor' and he had held some sort of haggard looking clothes against her face which she was certain made her blackout. What she was not in the least aware of was how she was taken away from the market to be brought to this place. Where in the world was this place? " Is anyone here?" She asked no one in particular as she took her step little by little towards the door of the small room. " Hellooo" she shouted as she walked to the door, not knowing whether she was going to hear anyone respond or not. She just wanted to know where she was and why she was here. What was happening? It all felt like a dream. "Somebody help!!!" She yelled again as she banged the door loud this time around to make whoever was nearby listen to her cries and give her answers because at the moment she was going to run crazy soon with confusion obviously written on her face. " Anyon..." " That's enough" came a very quiet voice behind her, nearly making her jump in fear. She had no single idea there was someone in the room. Marilyn turned her head towards the direction of the voice and she could make out the frame of a woman emerging from the shadows. The poorly lit light from the candle could not give enough illumination to the corners of the room where the woman came from and that was the reason she didn't even notice another presence in the room in the first place. She was all black and had mixed brightly with the darkness of the room which made it hard for Marilyn to put a face to the stranger she had been in the room with all these while. Since when had she been there? It wasn't until the woman came into the area that had light that Marilyn could see her face. To her surprise, the woman was also a young girl like herself. Probably just a few years older than she was. She had a very rough sandy brown hair that looked unkempt and scattered. Her appearance was rough, ragged and dirty in contrast to her own. She had left the house with her neat dress and her blonde hair tied in a long braid that cascaded all the way to her waist which made people nickname her the 'Northern Princess born in a slum'. Marily looked around to see if there was going to be another human that would appear from the dark corners of the enclosed windowless space. " Please....do you have any idea where I am?" the innocent and clueless girl asked the stranger. " I don't know how I got here...I don't even understand what's happening right now. " She said further. " Miss" Marilyn continued. " I'm not supposed to be here. There is something wrong somewhere" " Do you know what this place is?" the other girl asked her and she shakes her head in the negative. " We're on a ship right now" she said to a stunned Marilyn. She had suspected it also but the young woman had just confirmed her fears and suspicions now. The lady went back to the darkened corner to sit on the ground with her back resting on the wall. Marilyn walked towards her. She needed answers to the many burning questions flowing through her puzzled and confused mind at the moment. " You said we're on a ship. Ship? Why ? To where?" A confused Marilyn asked all at once. " I don't know yet either," the girl said. " But what I do know is that we're probably away from our small town, Northern Island." " What?!" Marilyn screamed out very loud. This was a more shocking discovery. " Shhh" the girl placed her index finger on her lips, warning her to be quiet. " They will punish us if we make any noise or cause any disturbances"