A Slave's Journey by Lotte

At last, we were half dragged onto a mammoth vessel bigger than any spindly canoe I had ever seen back at my home in Africa. I could feel the slaves I was chained to trembling as a stiff leather whip cracked my back until I was blue with bruises. I saw my mother looking agonised from the deck of a neighbouring ship. That was the last time I ever saw her. As the dirty iron chains rubbed my sin red raw, a cockroach crawled over my sore bare feet. Dust and dirt infected my deep wounds but I remembered being whipped and promptly shut my mouth. The evil crew screamed at us in a rough tongue I did not understand. A few of the more fluent adults started up our tribal dance and I joined in proudly until I realised the crew’s smiles were actually sneers. I shut my aching eyes tight to block out the terrible suffering around me but the smells and sounds of torment roared on inside my head like a night mare, as finally the shout came to head below deck.

M0ving from the sweltering heat to the dingy hold was a huge surprise.

The first thing to hit me was the smell. My new prison was stifling and the air was thick and wet, making it hard to breathe. I heard people crying, groaning and vomiting in the terrible stench of the hull. Roughly, we were then chained to crude, splinter-giving posts. Soon it was pitch black as the lamps were extinguished for night.

Rest would not come. The terrible wails and cries of my fellow passengers kept me awake as well as the horrific stench that was still sickening and making me gag. The slaves I was chained to whimpered in their sleep. I did not wish to join them. My eyes watered tears that rolled down my dirty cheeks. A sudden lurch made my stomach swoop as the ship moved away from the land I would never see again.