FOUR

A’SHAI HELD LIBERTY’S HAND TIGHTLY AS THEY followed Ms. Beth and the other children onto the boardwalk that led to the ship. A’shai looked back, hoping not to see any of his father’s rebels.

“Shai, I’m scared,” Liberty whispered as she took a glance around also checking for Ezekiel’s rebels.

“Don’t be. Look,” A’shai said as he pointed to the big ship at the end of the dock. Liberty looked at the boat and her eyes lit up. She saw more kids playing on the boat’s deck. Balls were flying and laughter echoed through the air and the ship looked like a big carnival.

“Wow,” Liberty said in amazement as she looked up at the gigantic ship and all the fun that was aboard. A big word stretched across the front of the ship: it read MYRTLEVILLE. Wide smiles grew on both A’shai’s and Liberty’s faces. The other kids giggled in excitement as they followed Ms. Beth down the boardwalk. The ship, in the children’s eyes, looked to be one hundred feet tall and everyone couldn’t wait to board the ship of fun.

Ms. Beth smiled as she stepped back, threw her arm around Liberty, and whispered. “We have games, food, and entertainment on the MYRTLEVILLE ship. We travel all across the world and do charity work for kids. You guys are going to love it,” she said. Ms. Beth’s smile was like no other and there was something about her that they both trusted. Anything was better than the life that they were living. A’shai was trying to lead them to safety and show Liberty that he could take care of them both but was falling short. He tried to plan their next move but came up with nothing. He was running out of ideas to keep them safe. At least we can get some food on the boat and then I’ll figure out what we will do next, he thought as they neared the ship. Once the kids got within one hundred yards of the ship they cheered and took off running full speed. Everyone wanted to be the first one to get on the ship of fun that Ms. Beth described to them. A’shai watched as Liberty smiled, and it made his young heart warm to finally see her happy. He had yet to see her smile genuinely and when she did, it did something special to his soul.

“Come on slow poke,” Ms. Beth said as she giggled and took off towards the ship with Liberty’s hand in hers. A’shai smiled and ran to catch up with them. Although their day had been full of grief, they were about to get a brief moment of solace . . . or so they thought.

As they approached the boat, there were young soldiers passing out candy as each person walked in. A’shai caught up with the rest of the crowd but as soon as he walked in, everything changed. It seemed as if their world was taken right from underneath them.

“Get to the bottom now!” one of the soldiers yelled as he pointed the automatic rifle at the children. What was thought to be a ship of fun turned out to be a human trafficking ship. A’shai held Liberty tight in his arms as she cried and shivered in terror. Laughter and anticipation quickly turned to cries for help and screams as the harsh reality reared its ugly head. They were about to be trafficked and there was no turning back at that point. The ship’s doors closed, and no one could hear their screams.

The two of them were waiting in line with the other children who were being forced one-by-one into the lowest deck of the ship. It was pitch black and nothing could be seen as they were shoved forward. The smell of human feces and body odor reeked from the door opening, giving the air a horrendous smell. The children were forced down the wooden stairs by two soldiers who all had skin that was as black as tar. The worn-out army fatigue uniforms and combat boots they wore intimidated the kids, and their brute force was severe. In between barking orders, they spoke amongst each other in a language that neither A’shai nor Liberty had ever heard before. The newly captured kids looked to Ms. Beth who stood back while smoking a slim cigarette. Her once warm, inviting smile had turned into a sinister stare as she looked at what were merely cattle to her. The children were nothing but future cash deposits that she would traffic through the exploited country of Mexico. She kept her eyes on Liberty as she noticed her beauty, knowing that she would be worth the most because of her beauty and youthfulness.

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.

“Let her go!” A’shai demanded just before he punched the soldier catching him in the mid-section. The blow did not faze the man, but it did infuriate him. He loosened his grip on Liberty and focused on A’shai.

“You little bastard,” the soldier yelled as he went for his sharp pocketknife. He stormed towards A’shai and slashed him across the face. A’shai cried out in pain as the right side of his face split open like the red sea. Blood began to flow out of the wound and A’shai held his face as his own blood crept between his fingers.

“Take him downstairs!” Ms. Beth ordered as she walked towards Liberty and grabbed her hand. Liberty cried hysterically as she reached for A’shai. The soldiers pulled him down the stairs, and A’shai began to scream for Liberty.

“Liberty!” he yelled as he reached for her. However, the men overpowered him and forced A’shai into the bottom deck where the others were. The soldier pushed A’shai down to the bottom of the ship and what A’shai saw blew his mind. It was total chaos. Three-dozen boys and girls were cramped under the ship, and a foul stench filled the air as A’shai looked around. He tried to run back up the stairs to exit, but the guards had closed the doors and padlocked them shut. No matter how much he kicked at the wooden door, it wouldn’t budge and his frustration took over as he thought of what may be happening to Liberty.

A’shai cried as his young mind tried to take in what was happening to him. The sounds of the others’ cries and sniffles overwhelmed the room. Ms. Beth and her traffickers preyed on the weak and homeless in third world countries, assuming no one would look for them, which worked in her favor. A’shai would soon be trafficked through Mexico and that’s where his fate would be decided. He called for Liberty as blood continued to drip from his face. Rather than feeling sorry for himself, he worried about her.

“Liberty!!!” he yelled at the top of his lungs as he dropped to his knees.

A’shai’s stomach rumbled as he clenched it tightly. He sat balled in the corner as he sniffled, wiping his runny nose with his hand. It had been three days and he had yet to receive any food. The damp, dark deck was full of feces and vomit from the severe conditions. The first couple of days A’shai heard children crying and begging for mercy but the cries eventually turned into moans and grumbles. The swaying of the ship only added to the torture as they waited to reach their destination. A’shai regretted betraying his father and replayed the scenario in his head a thousand times, wishing he would have thought of a better way to save Liberty than the one he opted for. A’shai wondered what Liberty was going through just a deck above him. For some reason, he felt like Liberty’s protector. Their souls connected and it was something that his young mind couldn’t fully understand. He just knew for sure that he was supposed to keep her safe. It killed him inside that he was no longer able to. Although A’shai rarely thought about his deceased mother, his mind began to think about her. He saw an image of her when he closed his eyes and her beautiful face was smiling, which gave A’shai a brief moment of happiness. A’shai felt that he would die soon, so his short life was flashing before him. Liberty and his mother had the same skin tone, same smile, and the same piercing eyes. A’shai’s mother died five years earlier of malaria and ever since then it was only A’shai and his disciplinarian father.

Weak and parched from extreme thirst, A’shai mustered what strength he had left and got on his knees. He put both hands together. “Please God, help us. Help us get out of this bad place. Please watch over Liberty and keep her safe. Amen,” A’shai whispered as he looked up at the white light. Is this what heaven looks like? A’shai asked himself as the light shined down on him. It was too bright to see anything but white, and he knew that he was approaching death.

“Everybody out!” a guard yelled as he stood in the door, blocking the light. That’s when A’shai realized that he wasn’t dying, but the soldier had opened the door letting in sunlight. The soldier had a gun in hand as he barked orders telling everyone to hurry up. It was as if he was a sheepherder and the children were his cattle. Everybody scrambled to get to the door as the soldier stood by handing out bread as each person exited. A’shai was the last one in line to exit, and the soldier focused on him. It was the same soldier that slashed his face. The soldier smiled as he saw A’shai walk slowly while gripping his stomach in agony. A’shai’s face had bloodstains on it, and the wound had slightly scabbed over.

“Your big mouth isn’t so big now, huh?” the soldier said as he dropped the last piece of bread on the floor. He wanted to humiliate A’shai and let him know who was boss. A’shai looked at the soldier and then at the piece of bread on the floor. He wanted to step over the bread and keep walking to hold onto his dignity, but the hunger pains wouldn’t allow him to. A’shai slowly bent down and began to gobble up the bread, stuffing the whole slice into his mouth. The soldier put his hand on his slight gut and began to laugh at A’shai’s animalistic actions. Although A’shai was not in a position to say anything, he vowed that he would get revenge if the opportunity ever presented itself.

“That’s right! Eat off the floor, you filth, and come to the deck when you’re finished. We are almost to our destination,” the guard said as he left A’shai there kneeling on the floor.

The bright lights nearly blinded Liberty as she stood in line to exit the boat and go onto the dock. Ms. Beth had kept her along with ten other girls on the upper deck in a dark room for the entire trip, giving them food every six hours. Liberty had cried so much that she had red marks beneath her swollen eyes. The soldiers hurried them off the ship at gunpoint. They had already explained to them before they opened the door that if they tried to run they would be shot. All of the young children were petrified, so running was not an option. Liberty looked for A’shai but his group had already been escorted to the warehouse where the kids were housed.

Ms. Beth shook the hand of El Garza, an overweight Mexican man. Then she accepted the bag with about six million pesos inside of it, which was about half a million dollars in American currency. She smiled knowing that she had enough to return to the States and relax off the money she had just made. She looked at what she did as nothing more than a job. She left her feelings and morals at home while she stole unknowing victims from their native third world countries.

The children were herded into a factory where the immigrants were kept. Liberty looked frantically for A’shai as she entered the gigantic, open-spaced building that had cots set up everywhere. It was full of people of different ethnicities. The loud chatter from everyone was overwhelming as Liberty timidly looked around. The armed men closed the door, leaving them in the warehouse amongst the pandemonium. Young Mexican guards walked around with guns to keep everyone in order.

“Liberty!” a familiar voice yelled, catching her attention. She looked around and saw A’shai heading her way. She hurried to him, and they hugged once they got close.

“Shai, I’m scared,” she said as she broke down crying.

“I will protect you. I promise,” A’shai stated as he hugged her tightly. He guided Liberty over to a less crowded corner and they sat down while holding each other wondering what was to come next. Their lives had taken an unexpected turn for the worse in such a short time and the only thing they had was each other. They both knew that things would never be the same again.

* * *

A’shai and Liberty had been at the factory for more than two weeks where they both were quickly put to work. They found out that they would be expected to help cultivate the cocaine fields. A’shai stayed close to Liberty as much as he could. He tried to protect her, not only from the Mexican drug cartel that ran the fields, but also the other trafficked prisoners who were hostile about the scarce food. A’shai remembered the day so vividly when Liberty was ripped away from him and their lives took two totally different paths.

Young Mexican boys, members of the infamous Garza drug cartels, patrolled the fields with shotguns in hand as they made sure the field workers were working and not horse playing. A’shai was side by side with Liberty as they held their individual sacks and stuffed them with coca leaves. The Mexican drug cartel used these leaves to produce grade A cocaine that would eventually be smuggled into the U.S. for wholesale. The hot sun beamed down on the workers as they toiled for hours under the tyrannous, watchful eyes of the armed cartel members. The coca leaves grew wildly and were limitless, and the cartel took full advantage. A’shai and Liberty worked frantically so that they could fill up their sacks. The rule was: no full sack . . . no food, so the children and women had to work quickly because they only had about an hour before the sun went down.

“Shai, I feel like I’m about to pass out. I’m hungry, and I can’t do this much longer,” Liberty whispered as she bent down to snap off a leaf.

“Okay, listen. Just walk next to me, and I will fill your bag up,” A’shai said as he noticed that Liberty’s bag wasn’t nearly as full as his own. He began to work overtime as he stuffed Liberty’s bag as well as his own. After half an hour of hard work, he had finally gotten Liberty’s bag nearly full. He sweated profusely but it was all worth it for A’shai. He just wanted to help and protect Liberty.

As they made their way down the row of leaves, a young boy of Haitian descent eased up on them. Neither A’shai nor Liberty ever saw it coming. The boy snatched Liberty’s bag out of her hand while dropping his own half empty bag.

“Hey man!” A’shai yelled as he looked up and saw what the boy had done.

“Give me my bag!” Liberty yelled as she tried to grab it back but the boy slapped her hand away. The young Mexican guard heard the fussing and quickly fired a shot into the sky to regain order. He spoke in Spanish telling them to get back to work. A’shai wanted to tell the guard that the Haitian stole Liberty’s bag, but he knew that it wouldn’t make a difference. He had gotten caught slipping, and he would have to pay for it.

“Get back to work!” the guard said as he pointed to A’shai.

A’shai clenched his teeth and gave Liberty his full bag, while taking the half-full bag that the boy left. The whistle sounded off while A’shai tried desperately to make up for the leaves that were stolen but his attempt was futile as they had to make their way back to the warehouse. He looked at Liberty and she had tears in her eyes; one of them would not eat that night. A’shai had already decided that he would give Liberty his bag and would miss the only meal of the day. He would do anything to keep her safe, including sacrificing his own well-being.

A’shai lay on the floor of the warehouse with Liberty in his arms trying his best to keep her warm. All of a sudden the sound of steel doors being opened awakened them. The lights clicked on, and a bullhorn sounded off as a group of men and one woman barged into the building.

“Everybody! Get up!” a man said in broken English on a bullhorn. The woman led the pack as her eyes scanned the place and everyone wondered what was going on. She began to point out girls who would then be grabbed up immediately by the guys. Obviously they were rounding girls up for some reason, and A’shai began to get nervous as they approached Liberty and him.

“Her!” the woman yelled as she pointed to Liberty. A guard rushed towards her, snatching her out of A’shai’s arms.

“Nooo!” Liberty yelled as she reached for A’shai, lunging for him as the men pulled her away.

A’shai stood up quickly and yelled, “Let her go!” One of the guys pushed him down and caused him to fall on his back. The woman then signaled for them to go. She had gotten the girls that she wanted and was ready to leave. What they didn’t know was that the woman had just gone shopping . . . shopping for prostitutes that she would soon exploit in the States. A’shai yelled for Liberty as they walked out, and he would never forget the look in her eyes as she was ripped away from him. It was the beginning of a painful path for Liberty, and all A’shai could do was watch helplessly.