I'm going to die.
The thought raced through Willan's head with each and every running step she took. She knew that by now they were looking for her, and that even though she'd managed to sneak away from the plantation before dawn, they could still catch her on horseback.
The whip marks on her back stung like a thousand fresh beestings, and she knew from experience that the back of her ragged shirt was bloodied. Last night began to come to her in flashes-the dead chickens that she found, her master coming upon her at exactly that wrong moment, her sentence to one hundred lashes.
The remembrance of the injustice and the pain somehow pumped more adrenaline into her overworked, strained muscles. Buildings began to come into view, but Willan didn't dare pull off the road, for fear that she's break her ankle on the uneven ground. As the streets and buildings of Port Royal began to close in around her, she headed for the docks, knowing that her only hope, her only chance for escape, was to stow away aboard a ship.
Reaching the docks, she looked up and down the long row of boats.all of them royal navy but one. Running for that ship, she didn't stop to think about what kind it might be.all she knew was that she had to get away.
Frightened by the sounds of horses behind her, she quickly banished all her misgivings and climbed up the nearest mooring, not pausing until she swung her leg over the side of the rail and pushed herself onto the deck. Her feet hit the wooden planks, and she looked around quickly, searching for somewhere to hide.
She heard a gruff voice, and then her world went black, along with the pain in her head.
The thought raced through Willan's head with each and every running step she took. She knew that by now they were looking for her, and that even though she'd managed to sneak away from the plantation before dawn, they could still catch her on horseback.
The whip marks on her back stung like a thousand fresh beestings, and she knew from experience that the back of her ragged shirt was bloodied. Last night began to come to her in flashes-the dead chickens that she found, her master coming upon her at exactly that wrong moment, her sentence to one hundred lashes.
The remembrance of the injustice and the pain somehow pumped more adrenaline into her overworked, strained muscles. Buildings began to come into view, but Willan didn't dare pull off the road, for fear that she's break her ankle on the uneven ground. As the streets and buildings of Port Royal began to close in around her, she headed for the docks, knowing that her only hope, her only chance for escape, was to stow away aboard a ship.
Reaching the docks, she looked up and down the long row of boats.all of them royal navy but one. Running for that ship, she didn't stop to think about what kind it might be.all she knew was that she had to get away.
Frightened by the sounds of horses behind her, she quickly banished all her misgivings and climbed up the nearest mooring, not pausing until she swung her leg over the side of the rail and pushed herself onto the deck. Her feet hit the wooden planks, and she looked around quickly, searching for somewhere to hide.
She heard a gruff voice, and then her world went black, along with the pain in her head.