The Docks

Amanda and Amy ran barefooted through the dirt away from the sound of the patrol, ducking down an alley just in time to hear a shout from one of the guards. He must have spotted the bag and shredded clothing on the ground. Soon there would be more of them, the girls had to get away. Lucky for them the town consisted of a maze of streets, alleys, and dead ends formed by the buildings lining either end of the main road. It formed a rat warren that was impossible to navigate by anyone who didn't know where they were going.

The sound of the guards disappeared in the background as the girls made their way deeper into the city. Their footsteps raised sandy clouds of dust as they ran, but the dust also muffled their footsteps. The only sounds they made were gasping breathing and the soft sound of flesh on flesh as they moved. When they finally stopped to rest they found themselves in the middle of a dark alley with buildings blocking the light from the moon. Amanda had no idea where they were, but it didn't matter because they had escaped from the the patrol of guards. Now she just needed to find the docks. Amanda left Amy behind a stack of crates in the alley, she didn't have to worry much about her wandering off. When she glanced back, Amy had already resumed her position: exposing herself to the empty alley while her chest heaved against the ground. She'd worry about that later. Carefully she made her way down another alley until she came to the edge of the shadow. Beyond lay the main street of the town: dusty, well lit, but empty. Having a glance around, she didn't recognize any of the buildings but she could read the signs that labelled them. "Proprietors of fine slaves" read one, "**** grading and marking" read another. This must be where all the fresh slaves brought to the island were processed after being sold at auction. It must be close to the docks she reasoned, it was their only hope of escape at the moment if it was. So she didn't dwell on that thought too much. Satisfied with her scouting trip, she worked her way back to where Amy was stashed, grabbed her hand, and brought her back to the edge of the alley. A quick glance left, then right to check for guards and they went sprinting across the street.

A few streets later Amanda left Amy again to scout ahead. She ran lightly but without knowing where she went she had to take the time to weight each and every cross alley when she came to it. Was it worth it to turn off the path? Would she be able to find Amanda again if she lost her way?

Suddenly she ran full **** into something solid. The **** of the impact knocked the wind from her and she landed with a soft thump in the dirt of the alley.

"What the fuck?" came the gruff voice of a man as a blinding light was brought to bear on Amanda.