Chapter 5
Eight years ago.
"Run! They’ll catch us if we slow down. We’re almost to the wall!"
Thirteen-year-old Rose tried to keep up with the two boys before her. If she fell behind, Rose knew that they could not wait for her. One mistake would have them captured.
She could hear Graham’s dogs giving away their position not far behind her. The dog’s ruthless calls added to her adrenaline. A mixture of fear and excitement pushed her to run as fast as she could, not stopping when her worn-out shoes opened causing the bottom of her feet to be pained by the rocky path.
"I do not want to be made a slave," said Mathias, one of the young boys she had befriended. He had been reluctant to join them in the escape, but once Rose and his friend Alexander started to run, he followed and could not stop.
Rose did not want to be turned into a slave either. To have the painful branded mark and be sold no different than an animal. The older women who were placed in the same room as her had warned Rose of where a pretty flower like herself would end up if sold.
Rose didn’t like the crude jokes they told of needing to get used to serving men. Rose had been sold once before by her father. She did not want to be sold again.
Rose had a second of feeling relief as they neared the wall they were told about. A stone wall with an opening just enough for their small frames to fit through. They were smaller than other children Rose had a glimpse of as those to be sold were not fed well.
Once they made it out through the hole, they were to make their way to the port to sneak onto a boat and leave the dreaded life they had left behind.
Alexander was the first to make it to the wall, squeezing his way through to the other side while the others waited for there to be space for another to join. Once on the other side, Alexander offered his hand to Rose for her to go through next.
While he and Mathias shared the same fate as being sold as slaves, he had overheard Graham, the brothel owner,’s son speak of how special Rose was.