The Ocean’s City
Chapter 56

Shit! I cursed to myself. “Help me, please!!!!” I screamed bloody murder, and it echoed back to me. Fuck fuck fuck. “Dan, are you there?” I screamed louder. “Is anyone there?”

“Ma’am?” A deep, manly call echoed in the water and came from all directions.

“Yes, please help me.” My voice showed desperation, and the man seemed to react to it. There were several commands and the sound of water being splashed around.

“What in the world are you doing out here by yourself?” he asked, readjusting the strap of the gun that lay on his back and leaning over to offer me his hand.

Hysterics took control of my emotions as I clung to him. “I- I don’t know how I ended up here, I woke up, and I was in the swamp, and then these people saved me, but then they tied me to a bed and said I couldn’t leave, and then I was told you could help me… please. Please say you can help me!”

The man had kind blue eyes with a glint of gold reflected in them from his lantern. He pulled me onto a decently large boat with three other men dressed in uniform. One man was already wearing his coat to wrap around. “oh! Thank you! Thank you!” I cried.

He gave me a pitiful look and nodded his head. “Please, sit down, ma’am.”

Another man rose and leaned over the man with blue eyes, still staring at me like I was a puzzle to be pieced together. The other man whispered something, causing the blue-eyed man to nod. “Yes, we will take you to the master. He will help.”

Master? That sounded like the kind of position Dalton would be taking. Constantly calling the shots, always being the boss. I wanted it so badly to be him, but if it was… would that mean my fears that I was being punished be true? Was my attempt to escape just him altering reality, causing me to be too scared to act out, forcing me to play every act he wanted me to play without question?

“Oh, thank you! Thank you!” I cried again. I didn’t care if this was a punishment; I just wanted to be safe again. My heart ached with so much hope. I hoped I would finally see Dannie again and be under Dalton’s protection again.

“Alright, gentlemen, let us shelter this lovely lady here.” The swamp no longer felt like a dark, scary nightmare, with four men escorting me to safety.

Within minutes, the men were paddling us up to a massive house. It had multiple stories and glowed with lights at every angle. It was my beacon of hope. A man who was standing guard called out our arrival, and the blue-eyed man called back, stating they had found another girl.

Another

That hope fluttered in my chest. The boat made it to the dock, and some soldiers helped me from the ship. There was a hum of noise coming from the house. “Take her to meet with the Master.”

“Yes, sir. Right this way, ma’am.”

I followed the men into the house, where my eyes lit up. The house was fancy and well-decorated, but that only caught half my attention. I wasn’t expecting so many girls in elegant gowns and feathers in their hats to be around, as if it were some kind of party. They all stopped what they were doing to look at me. Even the pianist in the corner stopped playing to watch as a guard lightly touched the small of my back and led me upstairs. I tried my best to look into the eyes of everyone, searching for Dannie.

“Another one.” I could hear them whisper. There was no sign of Dannie yet, but that made me hopeful.

I crossed my fingers as I walked up the carpeted stairs and to closed double doors the soldier knocked on once.

“Enter,” A voice called, and the soldier opened the door, leading me inside but not coming with me. Instead, he closed the door behind me. Inside sat a man in a chair facing away from the door. I instantly could tell it wasn’t Dalton and felt the disappointment pang in my stomach.

It was just us two in the room if you didn’t count the animals’ heads on the walls and the books on the shelf. It was a cozy study. I wouldn’t mind being here waiting to be found. I nibbled on my lip, worrying about how long it would take to be found. I started planning what I would and wouldn’t say to this man. My heart fluttered, and my palms began to sweat as I thought about replaceing Dannie. Would I see her here? Would I not replace her? Will this man save me or send me back to the swamps?

“Hello, dear.” The voice spoke, calling me back to the moment and away from the rabbit hole of dark thoughts. I froze. His voice sounded familiar. It couldn’t be, though, could it? Every bone in my body began to shake, pleading that it wouldn’t be true, but I knew it was true, and if I was hearing this voice, it really couldn’t be good. The strings that tied my questions together began to unravel as I felt like I was starting to understand something Dalton couldn’t tell me before. Not existing is worse than death…