me. "Lily, you okay?" I whispered. The

to go home,"

sniffles meant I didn't have to. My knees warned me of splinters and loose nails, but I ignored i

rt you, did the

shake her h

oke up. There was silence among ou

from Lily and

do w

hould

ur only plan's been for just sitting here and waiting

d shrugged. "Yeah, well, muc

here yet," s

e idiots," R

s better than trying not

re huge, and they're not going to just let us

overhead. "Shut up in there!" ca

They're even listening now. We don't have a chance agai

. "She's

ive up on me now,

ed. That means we can't swim, and we can't beat

"So we just wait here

de me. "And we stic

th that. . ."

from our fellow captives. I sat in the middle of the floor and felt the waves of the lake rock beneath ou

on. What better place to take a group of kidnapped women than a deserted island? Perhaps they would sell us to slave traders, or have thei

I heard shouts. My fellow captives coiled into themselves. The herd mentality overtook me and I, too, cringed. My one anchor of cou

her no matter what

the boat knocked into something firm. The boots clamored down their plank, and in a mome

le to the holding ce

at quaked in our hearts. The other women screamed and plea

e let

t tell

s parked on a new pier. This one was in better condition with new, freshly sealed boards. There was another boat at the dock. That one was smal

ar right side of the island, but the rising sun blotted out most of them. Ahead of us at the end of the dock was a dirt path that wound its way up the rocky front of the islan

alance, we stumbled and fell. The men pulled us up by our collars and pushed us along. I could see Karissa and Lily a

g, wide hallway that had been carved into the hill. The rough walls were a mixture of primitive concrete and stone, and the floors were uneven. Torches hung from the right-hand wall and lit the way, and