Yuxuan

4

Many days have passed, and we were still at sea. However, the sound of screaming and yelling and clacking footsteps on wood woke me up out of my slumber. I opened my eyes and rubbed them.

"What's happening?" I heard Peterson shout.

"We hit a rock! The boat is sinking!" I heard someone reply. After hearing that, I felt fully awake. I swung my feet off the bed and felt a pool of liquid rise above my feet. I gasped and hopped off immediately, grabbing my leather bag and rushing to the main deck.

It was pouring rain, storming. And the boat was slightly tilting to one side as it sunk. Several sailors started throwing lifeboats into the water, trying to get to safety. I searched around for my assistant frantically. "Hansel!" I shouted, but there was no reply. "Hansel! Where are you?"

Before I could listen out, I felt a strong arm grab onto mine and I looked at whoever it was. It was James, and he dragged me to the edge of the ship. "There's no time! We have to get you to safety!"

"No, wait!" I shrugged him off. "Hansel is still on here!"

"If we stay on this ship we'll be good as dead!" He hissed.

"I'm not leaving until I find my assistant!" I snapped back. James rolled his eyes, and hopped over the ledge, into the rowboat below. "Suit yourself!" He said. Peterson shoved me aside before hopping into the boat as well.

I slipped on the slippery boards below my feet and felt myself get flung off the boat and into the water. I struggled as the waves washed over me, pushing me further into nowhere. I was trying to resurface because I was losing air very fast.

"Help!" I broke through the water before sinking back down, waving my hands frantically. I really wish I had learned how to swim. It felt like forever, with me bobbing my head back up and down while kicking frantically. I was getting tired, and I felt my body accept its drowning fate, allowing myself to sink when I didn't have any more energy.

I felt someone yank me by the wrist back above the water, and I gripped onto a wooden crate that kept me afloat. After coughing violently, I looked at whoever just saved my life. It was Hansel, and he was searching around behind him. "Just hold on, miss!" He yelped.

"W-where is P-Peterson?" I sputtered.

"I can't find them— wait!" Hansel squinted his eye, staring at something in the distance. "There they are!" He pointed with one hand. I turned to the direction he was pointing, and sure enough, the two bodyguards of mine were on the boat, not too far away. "Peterson!" He shouted.

Another wave washed over us, almost knocking me off, and I climbed closer to the crate that was saving both Hansel and me from drowning. Hansel shouted at the two men, but they ignored us and continued rowing their boat in the opposite direction.

~

After almost coughing my lungs out, I stood on the sand beneath my feet, then helped Hansel up.

"I knew.." He panted as he stood. "This crate would come in handy." He straightened himself out and gave me a warm smile before tapping the crate with his knuckles.

I stomped right over to the two men who were in charge of watching me. "You both left us out there to die!" I wheezed, coughing up more water.

"You were the one who stated you wouldn't leave without your.. fatso of a help." James spat, directing the insult towards him.

"That's no excuse to leave us! We were still alive and calling out to you guys!"

"Did you hear any girlish screams, Peterson?" James shrugged and looked at his partner. Peterson shook his head and shoved past me. I couldn't believe it. These goons watched us almost drown and acted as nothing had happened.

"I saw you look dead at me James! My father hired you to keep me safe! If you can't even hear my cries then what is he even paying you for?" I shrieked angrily and folded my arms. Peterson was gazing at the island and hadn't attention to anything I just said. "Are you even listening to me!?" I hollered, tapping his shoulder.

"It seems that the sailors.. they may all be on other sides of the island, or probably dead." Peterson stepped forward, ignoring me. He pulled out a compass from his pocket and glanced down at it for a moment. "We're going to have to find a way to civilization that can help us so we can get back."

"What do you mean 'get back'?" I sauntered over to stand in front of him. "Is this not Thailand?"

Peterson scratched his head. "I'm sure it is."

"Then I'm going to stay here and search for elephants! I'm not going back to London until I find them." I huffed and folded my arms. James sucked his teeth and let out a soft chuckle.

"I understand that you want to go on your animal adventure, sweetie." Peterson stalked forward, and I took small footsteps back until I slipped and fell. He kneeled over and leaned in close to me. "But how do you suppose we'll get back home after you find your precious beast?"

He had a good point. "You don't know? Then keep those lips of yours shut. Until we get back home, I'm the man in charge." He grumbled and stood back up. "Is that understood?"

Everyone except me nodded. Peterson stepped over me, and walked back over to the rowboat they came in and pulled out two rifles. One for him, and one for James. He threw it at James and nodded at him. "Let's go search for a village."

I stood up slowly and followed after them, but James shoved me back down to the ground. "What are you doing?!" I whimpered.

"You're not coming with us." James spat and gestured for Hansel to come over. "As a woman, you'll slow us down."

"You can't just leave me here!" I whined. James cocked the barrel of the gun to my face, and I froze.

"You're really starting to piss me off, no wonder your father called you troublesome." He narrowed his eyes. "Be a good girl, and watch our stuff. We'll be back before sundown and come for you."

Hansel glanced back at me with apologetic eyes before leaving with them, disappearing into the trees.

~