HANGING OF RACHEL SCHMIDT

A shiver passed through me as I wrapped my arms around my cold legs to pull them closer to me. Laying my head onto my knees I thought of the warmth that I was forced to leave behind hours before. I could only feel the stone-cold ground, rough-in everything including textures, but it was the only thing keeping the prisoners away from the raging seas.

Singing coming from prisoners in the cells opposite of mine, but out of sight, filled in the silence.

Let me tell you a story
Of a time when lads were in love.

Oh, let me tell you a story,
Of a time when two lads found their wealth in pearls.

By that time, I knew a softer voice would join in. It sounded like a woman, who spoke of a loss that she couldn't get back, as the man's voice was louder and deeper.

For on the river of Gold, much could be seen.
From the pearly blue skies and tales of sky folk
who would come visit; To the love that feathered throughout
the cities and the high hills.

My arms tightened as another joined in, though he seemed to be blurting out the words. Not giving a care to the ears that would hear his awful singing.

Oh, I'll tell you a tale of a love so far known,
That these lads took the rivers by storm
And became known as the villainous duo.

Their hearts were as yellow as the
water and as hot as the sun.
Oh, how they loved, this ugly duo,
Though loved no one but each other
And the pearls they could find.

I couldn't put where the song came from. It was nothing I had heard even when I was a child and tried to find everything I could on the gold river legend. Though a part of me knew that they couldn't be speaking of such a river.

Oh, how they loved and how they took,
This villainous duo.
For their love was as true as could be,
And their effects as graceless as a black swan.

Oh, let me tell you a tale of a love so far known,
of two lads who were as wicked as Snow.

As the song continued, I could see the lanterns swinging from the ceiling, as the building once more shook from the winds and waves. It was as if the storm was enchanted by the song and wanted to know where it came from. Though it sparked a little of something, my surroundings made it difficult for me to want to know more.

Water splashed through the window in the cell opposite of mine, soaking the hunched prisoners my eyes could see. They bared their teeth each time it happened. Not that it did them any good.

I knew the waves couldn't normally reach windows, even if half of the prison was outside of the walls that protected Carlisle. This was clearly no normal storm for us.

Coughing broke out from somewhere else. Sickly coughing. I wasn't the only one freezing in that place with the soaking wet clothes I had on when they brought me hours before. It would be these clothes that they hanged me in.

They were my last items to have and own.

"It's a derecho." A voice came from beside me.

"What?" I looked at the older man I was sharing the cell with. "What's a derecho?"

From the light of the shaking lanterns, I took in his pale yellow skin and how rotten his teeth were as he grinned at me with a half-crazed look. Yet, his sentence before had sounded completely sane.

"We're all going to die. This storm is going to allow the sea to swallow us whole."

"Knock it off, old man," a voice hissed as something clicked against the cold metal bars. "We don't need to hear this nonsense you're always speaking when a storm comes."

I looked at the woman, her eyes sharp and cold. I didn't say anything as I once more buried my head into my knees. The raging storm outside was doing nothing to help calm my nerves.

"And you three!" She shouted as she moved away from the cell. "What have I told you about singing!"

I wasn't sure how much time passed after that when it happened. For the briefest second, everything became quiet, the waves settling. It was as if to give us a warning for what was about to come.

The prison suddenly rocked, my hands snapping out to stop myself from slamming into the ground, as water flooded through the windows and down the stairs. Shivers raced through me, as screams filled the large room. Chunks of stone broke from one of the cells further down, letting more water rush in and rise to my ankles.

The cells remained locked and unbreakable.

A large destructive wave had crashed into us and this was no doubt only the beginning. Fear gripped me at the that thought. Being trapped in a cell like this, in a place like this, was one of the worst places I could imagine being.

Instead of hanging, I would drown.

I sprung forward to the door, my hands feeling the warm rough metal that was opposite of the cold water. My body was moving before my thoughts could catch up, as it shook the bars while I listened to everything else that happened. The current tugged against my legs, pushing me towards the left and against the wall, but I refused to budge as I tried to get free.

Though, even I knew it was pointless to shake a cage door. No one had ever been able to break out.

"Let us out of here!"

"We're going to drown!"

"Bastards!"

Different people shouted from the cells. Some with slurs as they woke up still in their drunken states. Some showed the fear that had wrapped around all of the others.

No one showed bravery in those seconds.

The shouting was pointless. Even if the guard heard us, she wouldn't come back. That rocking from before and the stone falling meant we had taken a big hit. The damage above was no doubt going to be worse than what we saw.

But I didn't want to die by drowning. I didn't want to end up in Davy Jones' Locker. Not yet. I'm not ready.

Another wave crashed and shook the prison. Stone splashed in the water. Some of the echoing screams got cut off.

Another wall sounded as if caved in, taking more victims. I looked over my shoulder as my hand tightened on the bars. I rough surface, and unlike many of the other cells, there was no window to let in water. To let in light.

How many got windowless cells?

The question didn't matter at the thought of my own wall caving in like the others. If I was right, even if it was just a hunch, then the waves were hitting the side I was trapped on. This side of the building.

But what was I supposed to do about that? How was I supposed to survive this? Was it possible for me to get out?

A thunderous boom echoed through the sky, much like a cannon being fired. Screams continued to come from the cells that surrounded me. Just like haunting ghosts coming for a visit.

It wasn't the screams from the cells that I was hearing. Outside the prison were other ones. They were almost hidden underneath the storm's howling winds and raging waters.

My fingers tightened on the metal as the water continued to rise and soon reached my waist. There was no way out. No escape.

Hope started to slip from my reach. Thunder crashed, louder and more powerful. Water came through the window opposite me as waves hit from that side. But the waves started coming less and less from over there.

A hand touching mine had me backpedaling. My head snapped to see who it was as a shiver passed through me. No one was there.

No one was outside the cell.

"The Boss said you got spooked," the voice came from in front of me, but lower than I was looking.

A frown appeared as I looked down. "A dwarf?" He scowled at my question, looking as if I offended him. "Sorry?"

Water rushed past his short stature, yet he wasn't getting pulled along with the strong current. If I hadn't been in the cell, I knew I would be having a lot more difficulty just standing there like he was. Yet, he made it seem so easy.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"You can call me Peace."

I watched as it looked like he attempted to pry the cell door open. Confusion once more settling in me. Why was he at my cell?

"What are you doing?"

He didn't answer me. The door didn't budge as he worked to pick the lock. Whatever he planned, I knew that it was impossible.

No one has ever been able to break out of Carlisle's prison. Though, plenty have attempted it from the whispers I heard. But as a loud creaking noise filled the air, I knew that I was witnessing the first break out and that I was also part of it.

Peace stepped back, his frown deepening before he grabbed the cell door and pulled.

Once. Twice.

The third time the door gave and collapsed on top of him. I was frozen for a moment before I rushed forward, my legs feeling heavy in the water. My bare feet hit the side-bar of the cell, a sharp pain shot through my body.

Wincing, I resisted the urge to pick my foot up to see just how badly I had stubbed it. The water was freezing cold, the numbness spreading through the rest of my body. I looked down at the silver water, unable to see through the thick color and find out which part of the door he was trapped under. The prisoners across were yelling at me to find a key to unlock their cells, as I searched for him.

There, I found the cell door, further down than I thought it could have gone. The current pushed and pulled against me, trying to drag me under its darkness. Bending, my hands wrapped around the cool metal bars and I pulled, feeling something hit my injured foot.

Wincing at the pain, the door slipped from fingers and back onto him. Hissing in frustration, I made sure my second attempt to help Peace was more successful. He broke free of the water, gasping for air.

"You trying to kill me? The sea is wicked but it is beauties like you I have to fear." I frowned at his way of saying thanks. "We must hurry or the boss won't pay me what I am due."

"Who hired you?" I asked, looking towards the stairs the water was rushing from. "And how are we getting out?"

[to be cont.]