The Blood Island, Marisa Cooper [read dune TXT] 📗

I faced the ocean. The azure surface seemed like a stone; smooth and hard. The Dream Land

smoothly sailed, contradictary to my first impression when I learned of who would be on it. Two sailors, the captain, and a passenger; myself.
"Pirates!" Jack shouted. Jack and Zack were the sailors; the only other young folk on The Dream Land

beside me. They were twins with brown hair and brown eyes. Jack was serious and slow to action; Zack was light-hearted in almost all situations and impulsive. They were around ten or eleven and were only on The Dream Land

because of the captain being their uncle.
Christopher Brooke was the captain of this venerable ship. He had brown hair also; however, while the twin's hair was trimmed short, Brooke's hair was to his shoulders. Brooke had blue eyes and a serious manner; when alone, he was also as light-hearted as Zack.
Now, Brooke ran for the stern, where Jack clutched the rail. "Are you sure, my boy?" He said quietly in his serious tone. "Did you see a pirate ship?"
"Yes sir! I saw her! It was..." Jack started to tremble.
"Yes, Jack?"
"Oh, uncle! It was The Bloody Bones

!"
Brooke turned pale. And with good reason. The Bloody Bones

was the most feared pirate ship on the seven seas. The tales whispered late into the night were horrific; the vile crew of The Bloody Bones

were said to have used children as dart-boards, to carve their arms into mincemeat if hungry for a snack. They mistreated women, threw the men to Davy Jones' Locker, and sank ships to the bottom. Their captain, Blackheart, was ruthless. The Bloody Bones

was one of the fastest ships to ever sail the seas; it had even caught The Scorpion

, the fastest ship in the Queen's fleet.
I blanched as scenes of horror flashed through my mind. We'd never make it. We were going to die.
Brooke's eyes darted to the sea. "Which direction were they heading, nephew?"
"There!" Jack pointed southwest. "I saw them from the back."
"Then it is possible that they did not see us." Zack pointed out. "We should continue on our way."
"We will." Brooke fiddled with his jacket. "Eliza, you have not said anything. What do you think?"
"I don't know, sir." I said truthfully. "I am just a girl and can not do much. You men-folk make the decisions; I know not what to say or do."
Brooke sighed. "Continue on our course." He called to Zack, whom was at the helm. "We should be in the colonies in about three days."

My name is Eliza. I wasn’t always Eliza; my first owners named me Eliza after a popular actress at the theater.
I was stolen from Africa when I was three years old. The slave traders sold me in Bath, England to the McBride family. There, I was made to do domestic duties. I woke with the sun and went to sleep with the moon.
Life at the McBrides was tolerant; even enjoyable. Then I found out they were planning to sell me to the Fishers. The Fishers were infamous for their cruelty and malice toward inferior folk as myself.I decided rather than become a slave to a vile master, I would run away.
The next night, I escaped. The only things I had left in this world was a change of clothes and some money, which I had stolen from the McBrides. It went against my conscience to do that, but I would do anything to be free.
I had heard of the colonies, where almost everyone was free. I decided to travel there and make me a home in a free land. Then, I could go back to England and pay back the McBrides.
I bought my passage on The Dream Land with the last of the McBrides' money. Christopher Brooke and his two nephews were also traveling to the colonies to live there. They had no predijuce against Africans.
As I stood on that ship for the first time, I vowed to myself that never again will I serve as a slave. Never again will I have to steal. Never again.

Text: This was but a dream. All in this novella is entirely consequential.
Publication Date: 09-15-2011

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
To my mother, who encouraged me to dream big.