I woke up on the floor with a strange cat staring at me. As I stood up, the cat walked off into the dark. “What was going on?” I thought to myself. Then I remembered that I had been captured by slavers overnight. As I peered around, I saw there were coils of rope and fishing nets thrown all over the place. I picked one of the lengths of rope and put it in my pocket. It might be useful. I saw the wooden walls were curved. That must mean the slavers took me by boat. There would be no escape until I arrived. For now I should rest, I was still feeling dizzy from the confrontation. I heard a male voice from above saying “Should I check on the kid?” A second voice, another man, replied, “Yes, and if he’s awake, knock him out again. The boss said not to take any more chances.” Quick as I could, I ran to where I was before. I lay down, closed my eyes and pretended to sleep.
The door opened and I heard the sound of boots coming towards me. Suddenly the noise stopped and I could hear his heavy breathing. An awful smell of dried fish drifted up my nose. The smell was unbearable! I tried to keep it in but I couldn’t! I coughed at exactly the same time as there was a yell from above. Had he heard me? I stayed still and waited for him to react but nothing happened. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes. The cat from before was sitting beside me. I got another whiff of that awful smell, so it must have been the cat not the man’s breath. As I looked at the cat, I noticed his eyes were emerald green and its fur was black as night.
Next thing I knew, the boat had stopped. One of the men shook me really hard and said “Get up!” I opened my eyes and got up. The man was big with scars on his face. He tied my hands behind my back and put a cloth in front of my eyes so I couldn’t see. He pushed me to walk. We must be getting off the boat. Finally we stopped and the man took the cloth off. We stood in front of a big, empty building. He took me to the back of the building, to a storage room. He threw me in. “You’re sleeping here tonight kid,” said the man and he locked the door behind him.
As I sat on the cold stone floor rubbing my bruise, I saw a window. I looked closer. There were bars behind the window. I had to get out of here. I got up and looked around for things that might be useful. Something came out of the shadows - the cat from the ship! It was pushing a crowbar towards me. Odd! “Thanks puss”, I said. I lifted the crowbar over my head and smashed the window. Glass went everywhere. I started on the bars. I heard shouting outside and I heard the door being unlocked. Two men walked in and I squeezed through the bars and out I went.
I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. I didn’t care where I was going, I just had to get away. The two men ran behind me. Sooner or later they were going to catch up. I needed a hiding place. I ducked under a pipe into a narrow lane, but then I came to a tall brick wall! A dead end! How was I supposed to get out of this one? The two men appeared at the end of the lane. I looked around for any means of escape. The cat from the ship was there again, sitting on a rubbish bin, hidden in the shadows next to the wall.
I climbed on top of the bin and jumped onto the brick wall, but one of the men grabbed my leg and began to pull me down. I lost my grip and crashed back into him. I got up but the man gripped me by the hand. I bit him and knocked him out with a punch to the head. The other man tackled me to the ground but I kicked him hard. His head hit the wall and he fell cold. I got the rope out of my pocket and tied their hands. Quickly I ran back down the street until I came to an entrance to a sewer. I found a girl and a boy sitting next to a small fire, the girl was distinctly older. Then it all went black. It was all too much.
I was woken by the cat, licking my face. I sat up and saw the two children again. I touched my head and felt a bandage around my head. “Don’t touch”, said the girl, “You will be all right. My name is Jasmine and this is my brother Jack. What happened?”. “I’m Jono. Please help me to get away from the slavers!”. “You are joking, right?” Jack laughed. “No one escapes the slavers. They have spies everywhere. You don’t stand a chance!”. “We’ll try to help you,” said Jasmine. “Jack, please find someone who can transport Jono back home.” “Yes sir!” jeered Jack and he left.
Jasmine took me to the town centre. It was a very busy place and the streets were full of people selling food and other stuff. As we walked past some stalls, a crowd separated Jasmine and I. When the crowd cleared, I looked around for Jasmine. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the two men who had taken me and another man in a black coat. He must be the boss. They were talking quietly. I moved to the stall next to them so I could hear their conversation. They were planning to capture all the children in town and use them as slaves! I stepped back to get away but I stepped on a bowl. The men turned. “It’s him! Get him! He heard our plans!” said the man in the black coat. I got up quickly and run. I slipped into the crowd, out of sight. When I found Jasmine, I told her everything. “We got to report them”, I said. Jasmine did not say anything but took me to a fruit shop.
The shop was dim and full of fruits. An old woman appeared from nowhere. “Hello Jasmine. Who is your friend here?” said the old woman. She was stroking the black cat from the ship. “Grandma, meet Jono”, Jasmine quickly introduced me and explained the situation. The old woman nodded. “This is Emerald. He is magic. If he helped you before, he will help you again. Emerald only helps people that he likes. He will show you the way”. Emerald walked out of the shop. “Well, follow him”, said the old woman. We followed Emerald.
He led us back to the sewer and disappeared when we saw Jack. “Did you find anything Jack?” asked Jasmine. “Yeah, I found a boat that will take Jono back,” replied Jack. “Come”, he said. “What about the children here?” I asked. “I don’t want them to be captured by the slavers”. “Don’t worry, they won’t. Just follow me”, said Jack. I felt uneasy, but did not say anything. I was too tired to think, it is too weird.
We arrived at the docks. I could just make out two figures standing by a fishing boat. I knew who they were. The two men who had captured me! As I turned around to run, Jack whipped out a knife and put it against my throat. One of the men caught Jasmine. “Jack!” yelled Jasmine, but Jack ignored her. “How could you?” I said. “Easy! I trade you for money”, Jack replied in a mocking voice. The boss stepped down from the boat. “You know too much. Now you can join all the children we are going to capture”. They all laughed nastily, including Jack.
Suddenly, there were policemen everywhere. The men yelled. Jack let go of me and ran. I kicked the man holding Jasmine and pulled her away. For a while, there was confusion everywhere. When all the men and Jack were captured by the police, we saw the old woman from the shop with Emerald watching. “At least the children are safe now and you can take that boat to go home. “Thanks for saving me” said Jasmine and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Bye Jono”, she said. Jasmine and her grandma walked away slowly. Emerald came close and looked at me with his green eyes. “Thank you Emerald.” I said, patting his head. He purred and then he followed the old woman. I turned towards the boat and started my journey home.
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