Free Little Black Girl Lost 4 by Keith Lee Johnson

breath.
    The girl continued staring at Ibo, wondering if Rutgers had opened his eyes and saw that she was no longer in the chair. Ibo’s index finger was still at her lips. Then she raised both her palms to the girl, letting her know he was still sleeping.
    When the girl heard Rutgers snore, her face contorted. Then she whispered, “What happened?”
    â€œThe prince says to wait.”
    â€œWait? For what?” the woman screamed a whisper. “For them to kill us all? To be thrown in the water and be eaten alive? To be forced again and again? Is this what we wait for?”
    With strong resolve, Ibo screamed a whisper of her own. “If necessary, yes!”
    â€œThat’s easy for you to say! You just sit there and watch! You don’t have to worry about the white man forcing himself inside you like the rest of us!”
    â€œNot now, no. But later, I’m afraid we will all suffer the same fate. We must stick together, or we will all die one by one.”
    The woman swiveled her head to the left and looked at Rutgers. He was still asleep. She eased off the bed and started looking around.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” Ibo asked. “Lay back down before he wakes up.”
    â€œNo. I will kill him now. While he sleeps.”
    â€œWait. If you kill him, what will the other white men do?”
    â€œI don’t care what the other white men do as long as I kill this one.”
    The girl slid open a drawer, looking for a knife to plunge into his heart. Finding nothing, she eased open another and another, only to be disappointed again and again. Then she looked under the bed and found a case. She grabbed and opened it and discovered that it held the firearm that she had seen him use.
    When she stood up, a triumphant frown covered her face; a look of murderous rapture sprang forth. She pointed the gun in Rutgers’ face, right under his nose, determined to blow it clean off.
    Ibo grabbed her arm just before the weapon discharged. Ka-boom!
    Sulfur filled the air.
    A very naked Captain Rutgers woke up and saw the two girls struggling over the gun. When the woman realized that he had awakened, she dropped the gun, broke away from Ibo, and ran through the open cabin door. Rutgers grabbed his pants, slid into them as quickly as he could, and ran after her. Ibo stayed behind them and watched from the open doorway.

Chapter 21
    Someone was about to die.
    I bo watched Rutgers run down the passageway, chasing the girl who had tried to kill him. The other officers came out of their cabins, shirtless, with their weapons drawn and pointed toward the ceiling. They were puzzled by the gunshot that woke them all. Suddenly, the corridor was filled with naked, hysterical women, screaming and running, trying to escape the men who had plundered them.
    Rutgers told his men what had happened. He told some of the men to guard the cargo hold. They ran in haste down the stairs. The rest of the officers ran after the girl, who was on her way up the stairs to the deck. Evil covered their faces.
    It was then that Ibo began to second guess herself. Standing there in the doorway, she began to wonder if she had done the right thing. Then she realized that if she had let the woman kill Rutgers, another officer would have surely taken over and he, given what was happening to all the women, would have forced her that very night.
    On the other hand, she realized that by saving Rutgers’ life, she had doomed the girl to death. They were going to catch her, she knew. There was no doubt about that. They were aboard a ship at sea. How far could she run? Where could she hide and for how long?
    The Windward crew was going to be alert for the rest of the voyage. Security would be tighter. Freeing Amir was going to be nearly impossible now. She wished she hadn’t denied the girl the satisfaction of killing Rutgers before her rendezvous with the grim reaper. If she had, at least one of the Dutchmen would be dead.
    Then it