LITMIR.BIZ

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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 the fuck are you doing, assholes!” Zamar had just stabbed the sailor from behind with his sword. “I told you to keep you away from them. Stupid!” One of the sailors faced him with a thick wooden plank.

      "Who do you think you are to boss us around?” He was an enormous being, who remained bent over to avoid hitting the ceiling with his head; Almices, still on the ground, contemplated the scene but did not dare to stand up; he had never seen a man so big. He lunged at Zamar, who swiftly swung his left hand and plunged a pair of knives into the man's chest, who crashed down next to the stones that acted as the ship's counterweight. The third man, the one who wounded Almices, dropped the plank he was carrying, begging for mercy. Zamar’s sword pierced human flesh a second time that night.

      Nerisa and Janira had woken up, startled by the uproar of fighting, and watched the scene horrified without daring to leave their cabin or even move. They remained still like statues. The other crew members of the ship approached lurking. Almices got up and moved slowly to his older sister. Telma was lifeless, her head deformed by the attack, her hair tangled, and blood trickled down her neck. His soulless, tear-filled eyes were focused on the ceiling. He lowered her clothes to cover her genitals and covered her breasts.

      "How is your sister?" Zamar asked as he approached.

      "You told us we were safe with you!” The boy responded, his voice was an amalgam of anger and contempt. “My sister is dead; your men have killed her. Is this what you call help?” He turned his face toward the captain with a frosty look, which for an instant altered the cold composure of the captain.

      "I didn't want this to happen, I’m sorry about your sister. I have lost a lot of money because of these imbeciles, but they will no longer bother me.” He put his sword back in his belt.

      "Money? What did you want to do with us, you wretch?” Zamar punched him in the mouth. Almices endured the pain as the blood came out of the inside of his lip filtering through his throat and leaving a bitter taste.

      "You fools! I'm going to sell you and your sisters in Tyre, we'll arrive in town in a week.” He laughed. “Did you really think you could pay for your passage with a few coins? It's a shame your sister is dead, they would have given me a lot of money for her. At least I have you and your beloved sister's body will be able to satisfy the rest of the crew while it is still warm, at last she will serve for more than just to complain.” Almices lunged toward him, blinded by anger. A sharp blow to his back knocked him out again.

      After a while, Almices woke up locked in the small enclosure next to his little sisters, who were crying. On the other side of the wooden barrier, which was used as a wall, they could hear noises. He tried to push the door open; it was locked from the outside, they were trapped. Almices then looked between the slits in the wood. What he saw left him feeling deflated. Some of Zamar's men were queuing up to abuse his sister's lifeless body. They had no respect for the dead. He began to scream, curse, plead; but his cries were ignored. The gods must have been busy with other more important tasks not to intervene in this sinister event. He could have spent an eternity begging and hurling threats, but he finally succumbed to his emotions and cried with his sisters looking up at the cracks in the ceiling. What had they done to the gods to displease them this much? What hopes did they have for this life now? What did the sinister future have in store for them? There was nothing in the world that mattered. Perhaps not even their gods were the true ones, maybe they did not even exist. Almices wanted to die, and wished they were all reunited with their parents.

      "Up, children," the voice of a sailor called them, knocking on the door . Nerisa was the first to open her eyes, it was noon. The small opening in their cell on the ship's bow let a clear light shine through. Her eyes were sore from crying. She stood up to wake up her sister. Janira opened her eyes in terror, envisioning another tragedy. Her sister smiled at her and hugged her tightly. Almices woke up too and put his hand to his lip, he could barely touch it without groaning.

      The door opened and the sailor dryly asked them to leave. Almices looked at him carefully, trying to recognize if he was among those queuing up to abuse his sister's body hours earlier, but he did not recognize him. The man urged them to go on deck. Almices grabbed his sisters by the hands and headed toward the steps that went up to the deck. Next to the base of the mast, a small reddish spot indicated where his sister’s life was taken. He looked around, but could not see her body.

      Nerisa was right, the sun was high when they stepped foot on the deck. A sunny day greeted them. Fresh tears flooded the young girl’s eyes, unsure whether it was because of the dazzling light or that neither her sister nor her parents would ever enjoy this feeling again. Janira was still silent. She had a permanent look of fear in her eyes. She stared at the ground so as not to deal with her new reality. Almices blamed himself for falling asleep without knowing what happened to his sister's body. He searched for her again on the deck, but only found some bloodstained fabrics by the starboard side. He assumed she had been thrown overboard, along with the bodies of her rapists. The very idea shook him.

      "I hope you have rested," Zamar greeted them as if nothing had happened. The young man was surprised by his tremendous cold blood. That man had executed some of his men and then, without hesitation, allowed them to dishonour his sister's lifeless body. “I have called for you to tell you what will happen to you from now on. These things happen, the last night with your sister did not need to happen; however, and to avoid further incidents we are going to put some beautiful shackles on your feet so that you cannot cause more problems. I don't want to lose more money.”

      "You can't do this!” Nerisa was worn down.

      "Wow, I think genius runs in your family," the captain laughed. “I can do whatever I like with you, even offer you as food to the fish. Your sister has already fed them tonight.”

      "You pig!” Almices struggled to free himself from his captor’s grip.

      "No, no more than those who killed your parents.” Almices was surprised, they hadn't told them how their parents had died. “Surprised?” Zamar continued as if he had read his mind. “You talk in your sleep, so the whole crew know what’s happened to you. As I said, I don't want you to die, I just want to be paid well for you. Slave life is not so bad, you will always be fed. And if they cannot feed you, they will sell you to another. You will be properties with a value. People in the West do not mistreat their slaves, sometimes even treat them better than their families.”

      "What have we done to you? We only asked for help.” Nerisa didn't understand the captain's attitude.

      "That's life, little girl, you're very young and you have your whole life ahead of you to try and earn your freedom, but that

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