Chapter Three
The president stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat. “The people who are standing in front of me today, I have tragic news to pass on to all of you. We have had trouble with the British in the past and now we are having trouble with them again. They are now capturing American ships and taking our men prisoner.” Hearing that, the people in the crowd began shouting random sayings at the president. “What about my husband, son, brother and what are we going to do about it!” The president hushed the crowd and said, “I promise with my heart and soul I will bring your loved ones back, without a scratch on their head with any means necessary.” The crowd seemed pleased with that response and applauded the president as he stepped off from the podium.
Unknown accents were being heard in the background. Zachary’s wrist hurt from the handcuffs they put on him. His father was not in his cell which worried him deeply. The cell was filled with strangers that he did not know. “Father where are you!” Zachary shouted. “Don’t worry Zachary I’m here,” a voice said in another cell. “Father I’m glad you’re alive! Do you know why they’re doing this?” His father said in a low voice, “No, not exactly Zachary I overheard one of the men say something about a Navy.” Zachary responded confused, “You mean we are going to work in their Navy?” Then some footsteps became clear in the distance and Zachary was silent. A guard wearing a red jacket sat in a wooden chair between the two cells. “You Americans will never learn the way of the British.” Then a man stood up and said back, “We beat ya the last time and we’ll beat ya again!” The soldier stood up in rage, “Be quite American!” Then a riot stirred up in both cells with men shouting and shaking their fists. “Attention!” a voice exclaimed at the men. The men stopped and turned their heads toward the voice. “Lieutenant Jameson what is going on here?” The Lieutenants voice shook as he spoke, “Well…Captain there was a… outburst caused by one of the prisoners.” The captain walked down the aisle glancing in both of the cells. Zachary stared at the gentleman with his sword glistening in its holster, wearing a high rank hat and also a bright red jacket. “Lieutenant Jameson from now on try to control these men, and please try not to rough them up if you know what I mean.” The man replied shakily, “Yes…sir.”
None of the men could sleep on the ship the following night. Both of the cells were crowded like packed sardines. It was dark with water seeping through the boards of the ship. The sea was rough and kept on rocking the ship back and forth. Somehow Zachary got a few seconds of sleep, but in the sleep he had a dream. He dreamed about being in the British Navy and fighting for them. He was winning the battle until a British soldier betrayed him and he was gone. He awoke in a cold sweat and looked around at what surrounded him. Some of the men were staring at him and others were minding themselves. He noticed the guard was gone from his post and looked across to the other cell. He called out in a low voice, “Father I’m afraid about what will happen to us. I mean will we ever make it back home?” Then his father said, “I believe in my heart we will make it home, the both of us.” Zachary responded back, “But how are we going to escape from the British?” His father thought a little while before answering, “I don’t know son but we’ll find a way, I promise you.”
The next few weeks were hard and filled with boredom. The prisoners were not nourished healthily and got sick. The starting number of prisoners were forty but quickly dropped to twenty. Instead of being treated like prisoners they were treated like slaves, but luckily all the men of John Siketon’s crew still remained, but how much longer could they last? When they reached England the men anticipated what would happen to them. They still had to wear the shackles around their feet and hands when they stepped off the ship. They were taken to a place called Brixton Naval Base. There they were checked for diseases, broken bones or any other medical ailments. They were also given uniforms if they passed the examinations. The men felt like they were betraying their country for wearing the “Red coats”. For the rest of that day the men felt like their old self was gone, which included their independence, life, and body.
Colonel Arthur Westminster was the lead man at the naval base. He was around six feet tall with an athletic build and was in his late thirties. He never really liked being in war with anybody, but had to carry out his duties for his country. He was attending with battle plans when he was interrupted by the arrival of the prisoners. He didn’t like using Americans to enlist in the British Navy. The reason was that his men were dangerously low because of failed battles. When he saw them they looked weak and tiresome. “Lieutenant Jameson, take these men to their barracks.” By seeing these men Colonel Westminster felt ashamed about using these poor souls. As the men followed to their barracks one of them looked back at him with evil eyes.
The barracks, which was specifically chosen for them, was dirty with the sheets on the cots look as black as coal. The men didn’t seem to care; they just loped around like slugs. Zachary was glad that he and his father were not separated anymore. They chose cots next to each other and talked about escaping. “Well it’s gonna be difficult with these soldiers everywhere,” John Siketon began. “Are you skillful with guns father?” John thought about the times he had shot a gun and nearly shot his foot off. “No, I’m afraid not, we’re gonna have to have the other men’s help.” “But the men have already given up hope,” Zachary said. “We’re just gonna have to cheer them up,” John said back. John stood up and shouted out, “Attention men, for those of you who don’t know me I’m John Siketon. I’m a trader just like you and I also have a family. I’m sure that we would like to get back home to them. To do that, we all need to work together to escape from here.” A man then stepped up and said, “Mr. Siketon there is no way we can escape from here, it’s all over for us.” John replied back, “No, it’s not over we just need to put our strength and strategies at work. Come on men, If we just stick together we can beat them easily.” The men were silent for a long while until a voice said, “I don’t know about you men but I really want to see my family again, so I say let’s do it.” The men looked at each other and they all stood up together in agreement.
Chapter Four
The next day all the soldiers awoke at dawn for roll call. The British soldiers had to go through drills, but fortunately the Americans did not. They used their time wisely to discuss the plan and gathered anything that was needed. Now it was time to escape the bird cage and be free men again. The first step of the plan is to take all the guns needed out of the ammunition house. This was difficult because soldiers guarded the house. To achieve this step, two men went behind the house and crept behind the soldiers to only euthanize them. Then each of the men would load his own rifle. The second step was to get enough food for everybody on the voyage back home. This was very easy during breakfast the men would combine all their food. Then steal some from the pantry when the chef was out taking a break. When they make their way outside of the base they have to disguise themselves as civilians. In order to do so, they took back the clothes that they were wearing from the garbage pile. Now the men are coming to the final step of the plan.
Colonel Westminster was getting a shave when one of his soldiers called out. He cleared all the cream off his face and darted out into the main yard. He was amazed of what he saw; all the men were lined up with their backs straight and were confident. “What’s going on here?” Westminster asked. John stepped out of the line and responded, “We’re going to escape this place so we can get back home to our families. If you won’t allow us to pass we will use force.” Westminster decided to test them, “You won’t be able to escape here, and you don’t have the strength or confidence.” John gestured to the men and all aimed their rifles at the British including Zachary. Westminster saw how headstrong they were and they had heart. “All right I will let you pass, guard open the gate.” Lieutenant Jameson was beside Westminster, “What are you doing? You can’t do this!”
“Lieutenant I don’t care if I go to prison or whatever. We ar
e not going to do this anymore and pass that on to the other bases.”
The men made it to the harbor and on a British ship without trouble. The voyage took weeks but when they reached the Massachusetts harbor they were happy. All the men got to meet the president and were rewarded for their bravery and smartness. Sarah was hysterical when she saw her husband and son back. John never went back out to sea, instead he began making furniture. For Zachary he still liked being out in the sea, and so he built his own ship called “Red Coat” and traded with all foreign countries. He bought in tons of money for his family and became rich and lived out his life in comfort.
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About the Author
Hello! I currently live in Tennessee and in my spare time I like to read any genre of book and watch Person of Interest.
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