A Hiatus

By: Brianna Lee Hubler

Copyright © 2022 Brianna Lee Hubler. All rights reserved.

__________Enclosed within a small, dark space, twelve-year-old Oaklyn sat uncharacteristically still, and with her knees pressed tightly against her chest. The moon plucked waves from the body of the sea. The waves tossed the boat that rode them. The boat rocked the wooden crate that carried Oaklyn to who-knows-where. Her stomach churned. Designed to transport produce, not people, the rough wood of the crate splintered Oaklyn’s tender, bare feet. Tears streamed down her cheeks when she remembered how her day began.

__________Less than a day ago, Oaklyn’s parents left her home alone for the first time. They left her a list of emergency numbers and quizzed her about simple safety procedures, just before leaving for their weekend date. Oaklyn assured them that she would lock the doors and keep her phone close. She would not answer the door for anyone or tell anyone that her parents were out. Her parents left with minimal anxiety.

__________Oaklyn reveled in her newfound freedom. For the first few hours, she felt as though even simple, everyday tasks, like fixing dinner for herself, were dramatic steps into adulthood. She listened to the music she liked as loud as she wanted, watched her favorite movies, and played video games without competition for the television. But, since she wanted to prove herself as mature as she felt, she brushed her teeth, showered, and dressed in her fairy-themed nightgown. At precisely 9:00 p.m., she locked the doors, placed her cell phone on her nightstand, turned off the lights, and settled into bed beneath her plush, pink comforter. She closed her eyes and readied for sleep.

__________Then she heard it; the sudden whoosh from her window as it was forced open. The crisp, nippy air from outside rustled her long, brown hair and swept across her bare neck. The chill gripped her, and her eyes hazily opened, until they focused on the two heavy, black-leather boots of the invader.

__________Oaklyn kicked off her blanket and leaped for her phone. With a single arm, the invader slammed her into her bedroom wall. With his free hand, he shoved Oaklyn’s phone off the nightstand. The phone disassembled as it hit the floor; its back cover popped off, the battery vacated its dock, and the separated pieces scattered. The assault knocked the wind out of Oaklyn. Before she recovered enough to scream, the invader wrapped an arm around her neck and clapped a gloved palm over her mouth. Oaklyn kicked and flailed, thrust her entire body weight downward to escape the man’s grasp, but the muscled arm that gripped her neck choked her.

__________Then a second man pulled in through Oaklyn’s bedroom window. He pulled a syringe from a loop on his belt. He jabbed the needle of the syringe into Oaklyn’s thigh and shot the clear liquid of the syringe into her bloodstream. Helpless in the clutches of her attackers, Oaklyn dizzied and swooned.

__________Before she awoke, someone dropped her into a produce crate, imprisoned her within, and loaded the crate onto a ship. Later, the ship’s turbulent drift through the rough sea awoke her. Alone and scared, she sat and eavesdropped. She heard heavy footfall and tense voices. Men trod the ship, and they uttered phrases in a language she did not recognize.

__________Oaklyn was silent. She feared her captors might dull her senses with another sedative. She sought escape, but she knew that beyond the crate was a minefield of unfriendly faces. Even if she managed to force the crate open without being noticed, she could trip one of those mines with a single, misplaced step or disruptive noise. Even if she reached the edge of the main deck undetected, the ship was most likely miles from shore; she would dive into an unforgiving sea.

__________As Oaklyn contemplated her predicament, a pair of her assailants argued above her. Though their words were foreign to her, the anxious tone of their voices relayed: “Something went wrong.”

__________Oaklyn shivered. Someone’s frantic footfall descended to her level. The stranger hoisted her crate into his arms and climbed back upstairs. He spoke for a moment with another crew member. The tones of their exchange relayed a quick question asked and a curt answer given. The stranger threw Oaklyn’s crate overboard. Oaklyn braced herself and held her breath She expected to be plunged into the sea, but the crate hit a rock and burst open, like a squashed tomato.

__________The crate took most of the impact, which spared Oaklyn a second knock out. She crawled out from under the loose, splintered boards of the shattered crate, climbed down the rock, and immersed her toes in the chilling seawater. She glanced up at the ship. It turned and sailed past her. Another ship tailed the one that dropped her. Oaklyn breathed a sigh of relief; her captors had bigger things to worry about. She steeled herself, slid down the rock, and into the sea. Her only hope for survival was to make it to shore.

__________The light of dawn crept upward, exposed and outlined the nearest island. Oaklyn silently thanked her parents for the series of swimming lessons they forced her to finish. Were it not for the strength those lessons awarded her, Oaklyn would have been dead in the water.

__________The restless waves of the sea whipped back and forth and tossed Oaklyn from side to side. The largest waves splashed over her and drove her beneath them. Each time she was plunged deeper into the sea, Oaklyn held her breath and fought her way to the surface. The path to the island was a constant, brutal struggle, which ended only after Oaklyn heaved her exhausted, battered frame onto the sandy shoreline, like a beached, juvenile whale.

__________Oaklyn crawled several feet inland, and then fell asleep beneath the fronds of a stunted palm tree. Her dreams forbade she ponder the trials of tomorrow, for already the cards of fate stacked high against her, and the lucky draw that bought her escape was spent. The discarded ace could no longer serve her. Thus, Oaklyn’s subconscious lulled her with a vision of a guardian angel, who watched over her, and shielded her from assault. She slept soundly, and her happy dream prepared her for the unhappiness to follow.