Samos

III

After midnight, dense clouds hid the moon and darkness had taken over the immensity of the sea. Almices had no visual reference to follow his course. He began to doubt his ability to fulfil the trip he had proposed to his siblings. He clearly lacked the experience to be able to pilot the boat in these conditions, he was simply led by his intuition. He went almost an hour without seeing any stars to confirm the course. The wind had not increased; but since they had left the canal, formed between the island of Samos and the continent, the waves were more intense. The waves constantly splashed onto the deck and at times the crossing felt eternal. Telma was soaked and now sitting next to her sisters. Nerisa was still scared but nevertheless tried to console Janira, who had woken and not stopped crying or calling for her mother. Almices cursed himself for the course he had chosen. Instead of going directly east to the nearby continent, he went south to mislead both his neighbour and the Romans in case they had a ship in the other bay. Now he did not know how far they were from the continent, which on clear days was perfectly visible from Samos. He knew that the island of Kos was south of Samos, and therefore it was very difficult for them to get lost. The route he had traced with his father on his journey to the island had followed the coast of the continent to another stretch of it that almost reached Kos. Finally, they got their wish. The clouds parted to reveal the light of the moon. Almices scanned the horizon of dwindling darkness in search of a reference point that might lead back to a good path. Suddenly the boat turned sharply, it’s course marred by a wave. Telma, startled, grabbed the mast and the little ones grabbed her.

"Almices! What are you doing?” Nerisa yelled.

"I'm sorry," her brother apologized, rectifying the course. “We have land in front of us, but it’s too soon to be Kos or the continent.”

"Don't you know where we are?” The question made Almices nervous. The boy tried to remember the other fishermen’s descriptions of the nearby islands.

"I suppose it may be the island of Agathonisi. I have never been there with father. If so, we are on the right track; although it is a dangerous area, with many small islets around and we could get grounded. Better if we stay away from the coast and wait until dawn.”

"How far are we from Kos?”

“If this is the island I'm talking about, we still have a whole day's journey ahead, ahead, maybe more. We cannot continue toward her right now. We must keep our distance, so we do not run into trouble. I hope that the storm will subside and, if the clouds clear a little more, I might know for sure the direction I should take. Rest a little. Poseidon will soon call a truce.”

The dawn was long in coming. The girls remained quiet. Nerisa was no longer sure about being a fisherman; she did not think the sea was romantic any more. Telma, discomposed by the swaying of the boat, kept her eyes closed praying to herself. Janira had finally fallen asleep from pure exhaustion. Almices, tired of fighting the sea, struggled to keep the boat away from the coast. The storm had passed at last. He thanked the gods and stood on the bow of the ship. Now he could see the irregular coast of the island through the breaking light of dawn. He spotted several islets. It had to be Agathonisi. He rinsed his face and raised the sail to catch the wind. Soon the boat recovered its course.

At noon, the continental coast was once again on the horizon and the boy changed his course to the south. Fortunately, there was no trace of Andreas or the Romans. No doubt they had been misled. They had deviated from their initial course, but had now recovered it. The bad thing was that the clouds had reformed, threatening a storm similar to the night before. Although the girls had eaten, they were not feeling well. The lack of sailing experience had left them with seasickness that they could not shake.

The sun was setting when a strong wind rose that forced Almices to retract the entire sail. Telma and the young man started to row. The waves were heavy and soon it began to pour. When they looked out to sea, the sky looked like a watery mantle. Almices was determined to get closer to the coast. He didn't want to risk being approached by an unknown ship. The area was famous for pirates, but the risk from the sea was greater. The storm threatened to be much more intense than the night before.

The afternoon passed and the storm continued to grow. The boat was not far from the coast. Almices did not want to risk getting closer for fear of the rocks. Then they suffered a tremendous blow that sounded in their ears like a scraping moan.

"What happened?” Telma stood up hugging her sisters forcefully. The young man took a quick look at the deck.

"We have a leak.” Almices rose quickly to try to plug the gap that had formed in the bow. It wasn't a big hole, but the water was already threatening to flood the boat. They wouldn't get far if they didn't plug it. The little ones cried again, and the tension gripped them all.

"Can I help you?” Telma had stopped rowing to reassure her sisters and then approached the bow.

"Pass me the pitch and hemp. They are down there.” He pointed to a pine box wedged under one of the banks.

Telma was surprised at her brother's ability to solve the unexpected problem. They fixed the leak, but the storm was still raging, and they nervously discovered that Telma's neglected oar had disappeared, taken by the sea. With just one oar, guiding the ship in the middle of the ocean was a near-impossible mission. Almices decided to lift the sail, just by a third to use wind and thus guide the boat through the hectic waters.

The day gave way to the night and the wind accelerated. The momentum of the boat, even with so little sailing space, gave it an unmeasured speed. The hole was still leaking, but was not a concern at the moment. Almices calculated that, at that speed, they would arrive at Kos before dawn. The sail was being forced to its limits and he kept his eyes constantly fixed on it. The ties he had made to keep only part of the sail unfolded were loosened without warning and the entire sail suddenly inflated. The ship swung sharply toward the bow and the mast gave a dry roar. The children looked up. They saw that the sail had torn and was fluttering violently. The ship drifted through the strong waves. The four of them hugged each other, praying for the mast to withstand and to avoid the coastal breakers. Almices mustered some courage and tried to lower the rickety sail with the intention of repairing it. His efforts were fruitless, and he realized that it was impossible in the midst of the storm. With dusk they lost the reference of the coast. The boat was now carried by the whims of the waves and soon Almices did not know where the storm was pushing them.

Dawn surprised the Theopoulos boat. It had been a long, tense night in which they had finally fallen asleep one after the other. Telma was the first to wake and she checked quietly that all four were still on board. Despite some damage, the ship had endured the storm. She looked up at the remnants of the sail, then turned to look at the horizon. There was no land in sight. She was concerned, so woke her brother.

"Brother, wake up," she put her hand gently on his shoulder. Almices opened his eyes. Lying face up, he saw the sky was cloudy, but it didn't seem to be raining. He sat up.

"Good morning, Telma. How are you and the little ones?”

"Exhausted, it's been a very long night. I'm still dizzy. You fell asleep and then the little ones wet themselves.”

"Yes, I can smell it.” He gave them a loving look. They were still asleep. “Last night I was so exhausted it was hard for me to keep my eyes open,” he tried to excuse himself.

"Almices, I'm worried. I can't see land anywhere; we have to do something.”

"We don't have another sail on board. We will have to use one of the blankets as a sail.”

"Do you think it will work?" Telma was ready to pick up one of the blankets that was soaked by the storm.

Noon was approaching and the wind, as strong the day before, did not show signs of abating. Janira, tired by the rugged voyage, was alternating between sleep and waking, between sobs and nightmares. Nerisa had closed herself off. She woke up shortly after her older siblings and without a word curled up in a corner looking toward the sea as if she were a statue. Telma had tried to talk to her on several occasions but she only replied with monosyllables, her gaze fixed upon the horizon. The old blanket tied to the mast was so heavy that it wasn't even blowing in the breeze. Almices constantly tried to steer the boat eastward, fighting the current with one oar while Telma held the helm.

“A boat!” Nerisa exclaimed with hope in her voice. “Look Almices, a, boat, over there.” Nerisa pointed insistently to the port side. Her brother glanced to where she was pointing.

"We don't know if they are friend or foe, Nerisa. It’s better if they don’t see us. We must be cautious," Almices replied. Indeed, a small sail could be seen on the horizon.

“We won't be able to get anywhere like this, brother," Telma chipped in. “We’ve almost ran out of water and we don't know where the nearest land is. Maybe they can help us.”

"It's very risky," her brother insisted, doubting whether it would be the best.

"Almices, you’re just like mother, always distrusting people," his older sister responded. “We cannot risk any more, Janira has to rest, or we will lose her too. We have no choice but to ask for help.” Nerisa nodded in agreement.

"Okay, we'll turn to that boat, see if they can see us." He took over from his sister at the helm and changed direction, then began rowing with the only oar toward the boat that appeared to approach them.

The sail was slowly approaching. The Theopoulos’ took for granted that they had been spotted. Almices calculated they were about five hundred stokes away when the ship turned to them. The die was cast. They had some money, if they were fishermen the children hoped they could pay their way to Kos; if they were not, better that everything happened quickly, the boy thought. It was a much larger vessel than the battered boat of Hermes Theopoulos. A large triangular sail pushed her decisively toward them. From the small boat they could see several people moving about on deck. The animation onboard warned Almices that they were preparing to board them, they began to retract the sail.

"Ahoy there! who are you?” a voice arose from the bow, a man with a strong complexion raised his hand with a friendly gesture. Almices was prepared to respond.

"We come from Samos, the storm broke the sail and we’ve been drifting. We need help getting to Kos.”

“Your ship is damaged, come on board, we’re going to Nisyros, which is next to Kos. I guess we'll be able to leave you somewhere on the island.”

The two ships were placed next to each other and the children went on board leaving the small boat empty, drifting by. The burly man who had spoken to them appeared before them.

"Good morning, children. I am Zamar, the captain of this ship, welcome.” He smiled sardonically. “These are my men.” He gestured to the crew. A dozen men of various ages, each more dishevelled and dirtier than the next. The siblings feared that they were not fishermen. Some of the sailors leered at Telma's breasts, which stood out thanks to the girl's clothing, still soaked by the storm. The ship was certainly large, had to have several compartments for the crew and considerable space for cargo. No nets were seen anywhere.

"Thank you for picking us up," said Almices. “What can we offer you as compensation?”

"Don't worry about that now, go and rest, and in a couple of hours we will eat and talk about everything.” The captain smiled, made a gesture to go below deck. The children, a little suspicious, felt exhausted, and after speaking briefly discussing the offer, ended up accepting the invitation.

The ship’s interior was sparse. They descended down some rough wooden steps and found themselves in the cellar. On both sides, some jars were irregularly stored near bunk beds that must be used by the crew. The sailor who guided them went to the bow and made them enter a small chamber. The sailor left, leaving the door open and the Theopoulos children relaxed. It was a small room, smaller than the deck; but it was dry and laying down they all fit perfectly. Almices and Telma were still uneasy, but their escape had been exhausting. They soon surrendered to sleep.

“Let me go, damn you! Get off me! Almices, help me!” Telma's screams woke her siblings up. The first thing Almices thought was that his sister was having a nightmare. He opened his eyes to see what was happening.

“Get off my sister!” The boy jumped up to defend her, but a tremendous punch made him fall on the little ones, who were screaming in fear.

“Stay there, brat!” The bearded sailor threatened. Almices got up again and without a second thought kicked the man between his legs. The surprised crewmember squirmed and howled in pain. The young boy jumped over him. Another sailor stuck out his leg and Almices fell flat on his face besides the ladder, at Zamar’s feet. The captain of the ship, strong and arrogant, was standing above him. Almices stared at his nose. It was large, half-crushed and deflated, a token of an unfortunate encounter with a powerful opponent. A thick scar covered his forehead, ending by the left eyebrow, giving him an even more fierce appearance.

“I ordered you to let them rest. Let go of her!” The sailors became defiant when they heard the captain's order.

“It's our reward," said one of his men, who was gripping Telma’s arm Zamar pulled out a small dagger without thinking drew it across the sailor’s throat.

“Let go of her! Right now!” his tone was sharp, leaving no room for doubt. The sailor released the girl. Telma crouched crying to her brother. “You three, go up on deck and don't let me catch you down here again.” He then bowed his eyes to the young ones. “As for you two, it will be better if you returned to your compartment. I apologise for my crew. They are men of the sea and lack the manners for how to treat guests. I assure you they will not bother you again.”

The two siblings, still startled, rose up and returned to their cabin. They hugged their sisters. Nobody spoke. Frightened, they didn't know if they could trust the captain of the ship. Zamar, who watched them leave mumbling something to himself as he also headed away. Noon passed and although they had a bucket full of water in their compartment, no one came down to offer them food. They refused to ask about it. Instead, they let the day pass in silence, thinking privately that it had been a mistake to climb into this ship, sharing looks of fear until late in the afternoon.

“Can you tell me what you were thinking, assholes?” Zamar asked, as he headed toward the three sailors in the privacy of his small deckhouse. “Are your heads filled with air?” One of the sailors, the one who caught Telma, spoke.

"Captain, you told us that we’d have our spoils on this trip and we thought…"

Zamar interrupted him, angry:

"You thought! You have no idea how to think! Don't you know how valuable those kids will be in Tyre? I’m sure they’re all still virgins, and I want them to stay that way!” he emphasized this by looking directly in their eyes. “Is that clear?” The three sailors nodded. “They don’t know how to sail. I just saw their boat. They want to go to Kos and so we’ll take them there.”

“But we can’t go to Kos. They’d hang us," interrupted another of the sailors with irony.

"You don't know a thing, stupid. It’s better for everyone if they think they are free, that way they’ll be less trouble when we get to Tyre. We’ve not been very lucky on this trip, but these children are worth much more than we can even imagine. I know we haven't been in port and resting for a while, but just wait. If any of you harm them even slightly, I will leave them at the first port we dock without pay or loot. I hope that is very clear. There is a lot of money at stake and I will not allow any of you to spoil it by behaving like animals.”

The ship was heading east. He sailed throughout the day; the calm sea and the gentle wind of the northwest were favourable to them. At sunset, the captain sent the children to their accommodation. A sailor went to look for them and them, hungry and unconfident, they rushed upstairs, staring at all the crew who were in their way.

"Go ahead, my friends," Zamar greeted smiling from the door. “I hope you managed to rest, we have had a lot of work up here and thought that after the incident this morning the best thing was to let you rest until the afternoon". The siblings entered the narrow compartment and settled together on one of the benches fixed to the ground.

"Good afternoon, captain," Almices began to speak. “Why did your men act like this?” Zamar expected the question.

"You have to excuse them; they have been on board for a long time and sometimes they are a little overtaken. I have already warned them. Well, tell me, I know you want to go to Kos; I don't know how you got to the point where we picked you up.” Almices quickly told him, without going into many details, the escape from Samos and the odyssey suffered with his boat. Zamar apparently listened attentively as he estimated how much he could get for each of them at Tyre’ slave market.

"So, you’re fugitives?”

"No, not at all," Telma said, somewhat taken aback by the comment. “We are not fugitives. We left Samos because we no longer had family there, our closest family is in Kos.”

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. Whatever it may be, you are now safe on my boat. Come, you must be hungry, eat a little.” He sat next to the table too and served himself a succulent roast chicken thigh. Nerisa and Janira immediately imitated him greedily eating the food. Telma and Almices glanced at each other, hesitating for a moment before joining in.

The dinner was quiet, the children recovered strength and satiated their appetite, two days had passed since their parents murder, two eternal days in the middle of the sea. They were not used to eating meat, their usual diet almost always included fish and vegetables, and the ate meat only on exceptional occasions. They regained the desire to move forward.

"I see that it’s been a while since you've eaten," Zamar scratched his head as he spoke, digging between his battered hair.

"Yes, we brought food, but not a lot; most of it was dried fish, we thought the crossing would be easier. We thought we’d be in Kos by now.”

"The sea is very scary. Fortunately, you are alive, though you have deviated quite far from your route.”

"How far away from Kos are we?” Almices was startled, surprised.

"Not far, a couple of days away; the current dragged you west. In any case, we'll take you there. It doesn't take us far from our route.”

"Don’t worry, captain, we have some money to pay for our passage.” Almices took the coins out of the inside of his clothes and offered them to Zamar. The captain collected them observing them, they were coins minted by the Ptolemy.

"It's little money, but enough," he cheered and changed the subject, keeping the coins in his bag. “Tomorrow will be a long day, better to retreat to rest.”

"Thank you, captain, we will," Telma replied whilst standing.

"One more thing, I prefer you not to walk on deck, I mean the crew, they are good people, but avoiding them is better.” Zamar undressed the young woman with his eyes as he spoke. The girl certainly had much more value than the rest in Tyre’s markets. The pirate smiled to himself as he dismissed them.

The night passed without further incidents. Janira fell asleep fast. Telma and Nerisa were worried because the youngest wasn't speaking, in two days she said practically nothing, neither wept nor played. It was as if she had retracted herself, isolating herself from everything around her. Almices felt responsible for their situation, especially Janira; after all, she was the most defenceless.

In the morning they went on deck for breakfast with the captain, it was a good excuse to get some fresh air. The lustful glances that some men gave Telma made them return quickly below deck. They had plenty of time to think. Almices found that they were going to the east, it was clear that they had deviated; although he had not said that they were so far from Kos, he did not understand how they managed to get so far from their original route. They ate lunch and dinner below deck, they preferred not to leave. The captain went down several times to visit them to make them feel safer, anticipating that they would probably arrive in Kos by the end of the next day.

It must have been after midnight when rough hands grabbed Telma by covering her mouth. She tried to fight, but several men held her and took her out of the dank room without disturbing her siblings. She tried to release herself to ask for help, as she once again, scared, fearing the worst; but her captors' hands were like shackles. They carried her next to the base of the mast, under cover. The men spoke in whispers as Telma's frightened eyes tried to find an escape route. In the midst of her helplessness, her muscles were desperately trying to get away from her kidnappers. A strong blow to the head stopped her from struggling.

One of the sailors tore off the linen that covered her torso. Her breasts were shaking in the light of the lamps, reflecting the sweat caused by the struggle. Another crew member, without making noise, lifted her remaining clothes above her waist and indulged his most basic instincts. Telma came round, screaming in terror. She was fully aware of what was happening, her worst fears were being fulfilled and she had to escape at all costs. The rapists had let their guard down and Telma had her hands free, she tried to get away from the large sailor who was claiming her. At that time, Almices woke up, startled by the noise, he looked around and saw his sister in the middle of the room under the sailor's body. He ran full of rage towards the aggressor, wielding a small knife that he had hidden in his clothes, from which he never parted, while Telma continued to scream and struggle, digging her nails with all her strength into the eyes of the abuser above her. The sailor’s comrades tried to move Telma's hands away from their partner's eyes.

"Get off her, you son of a bitch!” Almices pounced on one of the men who he stabbed in the shoulder with the small blade. He kneed him in the stomach, which left him lying on the ground, winded.

“Let go of me, you bitch!” The sailor who was raping Telma stood up in pain, with one eye torn out of its socket. He grabbed her neck with all his strength and hit her head several times against the base of the mast with unusual violence while she wailed. It was the last thing he did.

"What the fuck are you doing, assholes!” Zamar had just stabbed the sailor from behind with his sword. “I told you to keep you away from them. Stupid!” One of the sailors faced him with a thick wooden plank.

"Who do you think you are to boss us around?” He was an enormous being, who remained bent over to avoid hitting the ceiling with his head; Almices, still on the ground, contemplated the scene but did not dare to stand up; he had never seen a man so big. He lunged at Zamar, who swiftly swung his left hand and plunged a pair of knives into the man's chest, who crashed down next to the stones that acted as the ship's counterweight. The third man, the one who wounded Almices, dropped the plank he was carrying, begging for mercy. Zamar’s sword pierced human flesh a second time that night.

Nerisa and Janira had woken up, startled by the uproar of fighting, and watched the scene horrified without daring to leave their cabin or even move. They remained still like statues. The other crew members of the ship approached lurking. Almices got up and moved slowly to his older sister. Telma was lifeless, her head deformed by the attack, her hair tangled, and blood trickled down her neck. His soulless, tear-filled eyes were focused on the ceiling. He lowered her clothes to cover her genitals and covered her breasts.

"How is your sister?" Zamar asked as he approached.

"You told us we were safe with you!” The boy responded, his voice was an amalgam of anger and contempt. “My sister is dead; your men have killed her. Is this what you call help?” He turned his face toward the captain with a frosty look, which for an instant altered the cold composure of the captain.

"I didn't want this to happen, I’m sorry about your sister. I have lost a lot of money because of these imbeciles, but they will no longer bother me.” He put his sword back in his belt.

"Money? What did you want to do with us, you wretch?” Zamar punched him in the mouth. Almices endured the pain as the blood came out of the inside of his lip filtering through his throat and leaving a bitter taste.

"You fools! I'm going to sell you and your sisters in Tyre, we'll arrive in town in a week.” He laughed. “Did you really think you could pay for your passage with a few coins? It's a shame your sister is dead, they would have given me a lot of money for her. At least I have you and your beloved sister's body will be able to satisfy the rest of the crew while it is still warm, at last she will serve for more than just to complain.” Almices lunged toward him, blinded by anger. A sharp blow to his back knocked him out again.

After a while, Almices woke up locked in the small enclosure next to his little sisters, who were crying. On the other side of the wooden barrier, which was used as a wall, they could hear noises. He tried to push the door open; it was locked from the outside, they were trapped. Almices then looked between the slits in the wood. What he saw left him feeling deflated. Some of Zamar's men were queuing up to abuse his sister's lifeless body. They had no respect for the dead. He began to scream, curse, plead; but his cries were ignored. The gods must have been busy with other more important tasks not to intervene in this sinister event. He could have spent an eternity begging and hurling threats, but he finally succumbed to his emotions and cried with his sisters looking up at the cracks in the ceiling. What had they done to the gods to displease them this much? What hopes did they have for this life now? What did the sinister future have in store for them? There was nothing in the world that mattered. Perhaps not even their gods were the true ones, maybe they did not even exist. Almices wanted to die, and wished they were all reunited with their parents.

"Up, children," the voice of a sailor called them, knocking on the door . Nerisa was the first to open her eyes, it was noon. The small opening in their cell on the ship's bow let a clear light shine through. Her eyes were sore from crying. She stood up to wake up her sister. Janira opened her eyes in terror, envisioning another tragedy. Her sister smiled at her and hugged her tightly. Almices woke up too and put his hand to his lip, he could barely touch it without groaning.

The door opened and the sailor dryly asked them to leave. Almices looked at him carefully, trying to recognize if he was among those queuing up to abuse his sister's body hours earlier, but he did not recognize him. The man urged them to go on deck. Almices grabbed his sisters by the hands and headed toward the steps that went up to the deck. Next to the base of the mast, a small reddish spot indicated where his sister’s life was taken. He looked around, but could not see her body.

Nerisa was right, the sun was high when they stepped foot on the deck. A sunny day greeted them. Fresh tears flooded the young girl’s eyes, unsure whether it was because of the dazzling light or that neither her sister nor her parents would ever enjoy this feeling again. Janira was still silent. She had a permanent look of fear in her eyes. She stared at the ground so as not to deal with her new reality. Almices blamed himself for falling asleep without knowing what happened to his sister's body. He searched for her again on the deck, but only found some bloodstained fabrics by the starboard side. He assumed she had been thrown overboard, along with the bodies of her rapists. The very idea shook him.

"I hope you have rested," Zamar greeted them as if nothing had happened. The young man was surprised by his tremendous cold blood. That man had executed some of his men and then, without hesitation, allowed them to dishonour his sister's lifeless body. “I have called for you to tell you what will happen to you from now on. These things happen, the last night with your sister did not need to happen; however, and to avoid further incidents we are going to put some beautiful shackles on your feet so that you cannot cause more problems. I don't want to lose more money.”

"You can't do this!” Nerisa was worn down.

"Wow, I think genius runs in your family," the captain laughed. “I can do whatever I like with you, even offer you as food to the fish. Your sister has already fed them tonight.”

"You pig!” Almices struggled to free himself from his captor’s grip.

"No, no more than those who killed your parents.” Almices was surprised, they hadn't told them how their parents had died. “Surprised?” Zamar continued as if he had read his mind. “You talk in your sleep, so the whole crew know what’s happened to you. As I said, I don't want you to die, I just want to be paid well for you. Slave life is not so bad, you will always be fed. And if they cannot feed you, they will sell you to another. You will be properties with a value. People in the West do not mistreat their slaves, sometimes even treat them better than their families.”