The children who had just been captured ranged from ages eight to fifteen. All of them were victims of their own naivety and had allowed Ms. Beth to lure them into a sinister operation. Once they entered the boat they were ambushed and whipped by the soldiers and forced into submission. The children who played on the ship’s deck were only there for show and to bait other kids to the ship. Sadly, they were already trained and brainwashed to follow the orders of the soldiers, so they never tried to escape during the travels.
“Grab her! Take her to the second floor,” Ms. Beth ordered as she blew out tobacco smoke and pointed towards Liberty. Ms. Beth didn’t want her to go to the bottom of the ship where the rest of the children were being held. Throughout their voyage, Ms. Beth and her traffickers usually experienced a couple of deaths due to starvation or hypothermia. Liberty was too valuable to put at risk in such a way. Ms. Beth couldn’t allow Liberty to die before she cashed in.
“No! Don’t touch her!” A’shai screamed as he saw the soldiers focus on Liberty. A’shai tried to shield Liberty’s body, and he held her tightly as she began to scream but it was to no avail. The soldiers tore them apart and forcefully grabbed Liberty by the back of her neck. Another soldier pushed A’shai to the ground immediately and stood over him.
“Don’t try it!” he said as he pointed his gun at A’shai. A’shai quickly stood, trying to get to Liberty as they pulled her away. Liberty kicked and screamed to get to A’shai, but the soldier just flung her like a ragdoll, controlling her movements. A’shai gathered all of his strength and hit the soldier in front of him with a right hook to his pelvic area causing him to crumble on contact. He then ran over to the soldier that had Liberty in his grasp.