Samos. Xisco Bonilla

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СКАЧАТЬ told us that we’d have our spoils on this trip and we thought…"

      Zamar interrupted him, angry:

      "You thought! You have no idea how to think! Don't you know how valuable those kids will be in Tyre? I’m sure they’re all still virgins, and I want them to stay that way!” he emphasized this by looking directly in their eyes. “Is that clear?” The three sailors nodded. “They don’t know how to sail. I just saw their boat. They want to go to Kos and so we’ll take them there.”

      “But we can’t go to Kos. They’d hang us," interrupted another of the sailors with irony.

      "You don't know a thing, stupid. It’s better for everyone if they think they are free, that way they’ll be less trouble when we get to Tyre. We’ve not been very lucky on this trip, but these children are worth much more than we can even imagine. I know we haven't been in port and resting for a while, but just wait. If any of you harm them even slightly, I will leave them at the first port we dock without pay or loot. I hope that is very clear. There is a lot of money at stake and I will not allow any of you to spoil it by behaving like animals.”

      The ship was heading east. He sailed throughout the day; the calm sea and the gentle wind of the northwest were favourable to them. At sunset, the captain sent the children to their accommodation. A sailor went to look for them and them, hungry and unconfident, they rushed upstairs, staring at all the crew who were in their way.

      "Go ahead, my friends," Zamar greeted smiling from the door. “I hope you managed to rest, we have had a lot of work up here and thought that after the incident this morning the best thing was to let you rest until the afternoon". The siblings entered the narrow compartment and settled together on one of the benches fixed to the ground.

      "Good afternoon, captain," Almices began to speak. “Why did your men act like this?” Zamar expected the question.

      "You have to excuse them; they have been on board for a long time and sometimes they are a little overtaken. I have already warned them. Well, tell me, I know you want to go to Kos; I don't know how you got to the point where we picked you up.” Almices quickly told him, without going into many details, the escape from Samos and the odyssey suffered with his boat. Zamar apparently listened attentively as he estimated how much he could get for each of them at Tyre’ slave market.

      "So, you’re fugitives?”

      "No, not at all," Telma said, somewhat taken aback by the comment. “We are not fugitives. We left Samos because we no longer had family there, our closest family is in Kos.”

      "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. Whatever it may be, you are now safe on my boat. Come, you must be hungry, eat a little.” He sat next to the table too and served himself a succulent roast chicken thigh. Nerisa and Janira immediately imitated him greedily eating the food. Telma and Almices glanced at each other, hesitating for a moment before joining in.

      The dinner was quiet, the children recovered strength and satiated their appetite, two days had passed since their parents murder, two eternal days in the middle of the sea. They were not used to eating meat, their usual diet almost always included fish and vegetables, and the ate meat only on exceptional occasions. They regained the desire to move forward.

      "I see that it’s been a while since you've eaten," Zamar scratched his head as he spoke, digging between his battered hair.

      "Yes, we brought food, but not a lot; most of it was dried fish, we thought the crossing would be easier. We thought we’d be in Kos by now.”

      "The sea is very scary. Fortunately, you are alive, though you have deviated quite far from your route.”

      "How far away from Kos are we?” Almices was startled, surprised.

      "Not far, a couple of days away; the current dragged you west. In any case, we'll take you there. It doesn't take us far from our route.”

      "Don’t worry, captain, we have some money to pay for our passage.” Almices took the coins out of the inside of his clothes and offered them to Zamar. The captain collected them observing them, they were coins minted by the Ptolemy.

      "It's little money, but enough," he cheered and changed the subject, keeping the coins in his bag. “Tomorrow will be a long day, better to retreat to rest.”

      "Thank you, captain, we will," Telma replied whilst standing.

      "One more thing, I prefer you not to walk on deck, I mean the crew, they are good people, but avoiding them is better.” Zamar undressed the young woman with his eyes as he spoke. The girl certainly had much more value than the rest in Tyre’s markets. The pirate smiled to himself as he dismissed them.

      The night passed without further incidents. Janira fell asleep fast. Telma and Nerisa were worried because the youngest wasn't speaking, in two days she said practically nothing, neither wept nor played. It was as if she had retracted herself, isolating herself from everything around her. Almices felt responsible for their situation, especially Janira; after all, she was the most defenceless.

      In the morning they went on deck for breakfast with the captain, it was a good excuse to get some fresh air. The lustful glances that some men gave Telma made them return quickly below deck. They had plenty of time to think. Almices found that they were going to the east, it was clear that they had deviated; although he had not said that they were so far from Kos, he did not understand how they managed to get so far from their original route. They ate lunch and dinner below deck, they preferred not to leave. The captain went down several times to visit them to make them feel safer, anticipating that they would probably arrive in Kos by the end of the next day.

      It must have been after midnight when rough hands grabbed Telma by covering her mouth. She tried to fight, but several men held her and took her out of the dank room without disturbing her siblings. She tried to release herself to ask for help, as she once again, scared, fearing the worst; but her captors' hands were like shackles. They carried her next to the base of the mast, under cover. The men spoke in whispers as Telma's frightened eyes tried to find an escape route. In the midst of her helplessness, her muscles were desperately trying to get away from her kidnappers. A strong blow to the head stopped her from struggling.

      One of the sailors tore off the linen that covered her torso. Her breasts were shaking in the light of the lamps, reflecting the sweat caused by the struggle. Another crew member, without making noise, lifted her remaining clothes above her waist and indulged his most basic instincts. Telma came round, screaming in terror. She was fully aware of what was happening, her worst fears were being fulfilled and she had to escape at all costs. The rapists had let their guard down and Telma had her hands free, she tried to get away from the large sailor who was claiming her. At that time, Almices woke up, startled by the noise, he looked around and saw his sister in the middle of the room under the sailor's body. He ran full of rage towards the aggressor, wielding a small knife that he had hidden in his clothes, from which he never parted, while Telma continued to scream and struggle, digging her nails with all her strength into the eyes of the abuser above her. The sailor’s comrades tried to move Telma's hands away from their partner's eyes.

      "Get off her, you son of a bitch!” Almices pounced on one of the men who he stabbed in the shoulder with the small blade. He kneed him in the stomach, which left him lying on the ground, winded.

      “Let go of me, you bitch!” The sailor who was raping Telma stood up in pain, with one eye torn out of its socket. He grabbed her neck with all his strength and hit her head several times against the base of the mast with unusual violence while she wailed. It was the last thing he did.

      "What СКАЧАТЬ