Chapter 114

Chapter 114: Chapter 114

Selena

The nail was small, but the rope around my wrists was old and worn.

I had been working at it for what felt like forever, carefully scraping and pulling at the strands whenever the guards weren’t looking.

My fingers were beginning to ache, and sweat had gathered along my forehead, but I was finally making progress.

One more pull.

I adjusted the nail and worked it against the remaining strands... The rope loosened slightly.

I held my breath and continued until I felt the last few fibres give way. My hands were finally free.

For a moment, I simply stared at my wrists.

The skin beneath the rope was red and sore, and a few places had been scraped raw. I rubbed them gently before hiding the nail inside my palm.

I couldn’t celebrate yet.

I raised my head and studied the dock.

There were eight guards that I could count, a single barge stationed beside the wooden platform, and several captives being loaded onto it. Sally was already halfway up the plank, walking with the others.

My eyes followed her movements. I needed to act before they finished loading everyone.

The guards were spread across the dock, but most of their attention was directed toward the captives.

One stood close to the barrels where I had been ordered to wait. Another was watching the men carrying supplies onto the barge.

The others were positioned along the plank and near the entrance to the slaughterhouse.

I couldn’t fight all eight of them. Not in my current fragile condition.

My body was still weak, and I wasn’t certain how much strength I could summon if I needed to run or defend myself.

But I had to create enough confusion to give the captives an opportunity to escape.

I glanced toward the barrels beside me.

They were stacked in several uneven rows, and from the smell coming from them, I guessed they contained fish preserved in brine.

An idea formed in my head so I waited for a while.

The nearest guard turned suddenly and shouted at a labourer who was struggling to move a heavy container.

"Are you blind? I told you to take it to the other side!"

The labourer hurried to obey and that was my chance.

I pulled the nail across the last remaining strand of rope and snapped it free. Before fear could convince me to reconsider, I drove my shoulder into the stack of barrels.

The first barrel toppled, then another and within seconds, the entire stack came crashing down.

The noise was deafening.

Wooden containers split apart as they struck the platform, sending brine and slimy fish spilling across the dock in thick, foul-smelling torrents.

"What the hell?" A guard turned around just as the liquid reached his feet and he slipped immediately, hitting his head hard on the wooden floor.

Another tried to avoid him, only to collide with a third guard. They crashed into one another, their weapons clattering against the wooden floor.

One of them slid dangerously close to the edge.

Before he could grab anything, he disappeared over the side of the platform and plunged into the river.

The commotion drew everyone’s attention and I didn’t waste another second.

"SALLY!" My voice rang across the dock.

She turned sharply.

For a brief moment, our eyes met, and she seemed to understand exactly what I was asking her to do.

She didn’t hesitate.

Sally swung her bound fists into the face of the guard standing beside her. He staggered backward with a shout, clutching his nose.

She immediately reached for the key ring attached to his belt and pulled it free.

"Get these things off us!" she shouted.

The guard tried to recover, but Sally struck him again before tossing the keys down the queue of captives.

A man caught them clumsily.

"Open them!" Sally yelled. "Quickly!"

The man fumbled with the first lock, his fingers shaking as he struggled to find the right key. Another captive moved closer to help him.

Within moments, the first pair of restraints fell away.

The freed man immediately turned toward the next prisoner freeing each one of them.

Chaos erupted.

People began shouting, pushing and scrambling for the keys. Some were so desperate that they didn’t even wait to have their restraints removed before attacking the guards.

One man drove his shoulder into a guard’s stomach, sending him crashing against a stack of crates.

Another grabbed a wooden pole and swung it at the guard approaching him.

The dock became a battlefield.

"Stop them!" someone screamed.

A guard tried to reach the prisoners, but a woman who had just been freed seized his arm and bit down hard enough to make him howl.

I hurried toward the plank just as an arrow whistled overhead.

I ducked instinctively as another one struck the wooden platform nearby.

The guards who had fallen were beginning to recover, and those who had remained standing were now drawing their weapons.

Someone shoved the bargemaster. He stumbled backward and landed inside a large fishing net, tangling himself so badly that he couldn’t immediately get up.

"Get him out!" one of the guards shouted but nobody listened.

The captives were fighting for their freedom, and the guards were struggling to regain control.

I reached the beginning of the plank just as Sally turned toward me.

"Come on!" I shouted, grabbing her arm. "You need to go!"

She looked at me in confusion. "Why should I go?"

"Find the group. Go back to the others and tell them everything you’ve discovered. Tell them about the labourers, the cellars, the docks and the people being transported. They need to know what House Hawthorne and the Kavanaghs are doing."

She shook her head. "I’m not leaving without you, Selena."

"Sally, listen to me. You need to get away from here."

"No!" She pulled her arm out of my grip. "I came here looking for my sister. I’m not leaving without her, and I’m certainly not leaving you behind."