Chapter 28: Struggle
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Jack was on a ship.
That much he was certain. Having spent most of his life on some seaworthy vessel or another, he could always identify the subtle way a craft shifted to know when they were not on land. It was a large vessel too, as the shift wasn't as noticeable as it would have been on a smaller boat.
The current destination was unknown but he knew the ultimate destination would be the dark land of Swabia. Jack took a deep breath at that thought. He twitched his arms, finding the slack of the cuffs too confining to allow for anything beyond basic movement.
They'd been sailing for about three days now based on his judgment but time was largely meaningless in this tight prison. He was so far into the bowels of the ship that there was no sunlight nor any port windows to the outside. All he had was a dim red light near the door, enough for him to see but not enough to get any semblance of a bearing on time or whereabouts.
Mostly, he slept. There wasn't much else to do. There was an initial surge of adrenaline when Adalbert captured him. He had hope of an escape when he was still in Daban before they reached Swabian lines. At one point, Jack even surprised him and popped the Swabian in the jaw. He'd nearly overpowered him until the whore that Adalbert lived with stuck a steak knife in Jack's back.
The pain had been excruciating. Jack lost a lot of blood before they had him bandaged up, and then he had to watch while Adalbert smacked the whore around for almost killing him.
"I need him alive, you stupid twat!" roared Adalbert with another heavy backhand.
After that, Jack was out. With the pain from his back, it was easier just to surrender to the darkness.
When he awoke, he found himself in a small cell guarded by Swabian soldiers. Based upon the sights and smells, he was on the other side of Swabian lines on the outskirts of the city. He didn't last long in that prison. On his first opportunity, Jack assaulted the lone guard in another escape attempt but quickly found himself surrounded by other soldiers. They took turns beating him with the butt of their rifles until he couldn't offer any further opposition.
After that, Jack didn't have the strength to continue to resist.
The next time he awoke, they were already outside the city. He was being carried by two men to be placed into a small boat. Adalbert was next to him, looking down at Jack's battered body with seething contempt. Jack had no recollection of getting out to sea. The waves crashed so hard against that tiny boat that every time it rocked, the pain made him want to pass out.
The next thing he noted was being in the small red light room.
Jack made a tentative movement to rub at the open gash on his calf. The shackles prevented most movements, but he was still able to rub at the damaged places on his body. Of course, most of the wounds had turned black and blue over the course of three days but several of them were still open. His back still ached from the knife but it was bandaged up and he couldn't reach it with his hands, even when the area around it became itchy.
In short, he felt like a caged animal.
He was even fed once a day—a watery type of gruel that wouldn't ordinarily be fed to dogs. It tasted like heaven to Jack, not having had a proper meal in nearly a week. It always went too fast, but it wasn't a question of getting seconds.
He knew the answer to that question would be another swift blow from the business end of a rifle.
There wasn't much to do in his tiny prison beyond sleep and think. When he was awake, he mostly thought about those he knew.
Kat and Abigail.
Vera and Greg.
Luke and Kim.
Jocelyn and her family.
He thought of Aedan and Picardy. He thought about his entire anti-Swabian alliance. He thought about the unborn child in Kat's belly. He hoped all of them were well and weren't worrying about him too much but he knew that wouldn't be the case.
He could only imagine how frightened Kat and Abigail were. He just hoped they had some idea of what happened to him. If they thought he'd just vanished into thin air, they'd drive themselves mad with trying to figure out where he went.
On the other hand, they might find some closure if they knew the Swabians really did have him. And take the time to formulate a response.
In any event, Jack didn't dwell on any thoughts about Java. He thought if word got back to Bancroft about his capture, the fleet admiral might actually be giddy with excitement. Certainly the emperor wouldn't sweat it too much either.
The only ones that would care were those here with him in the West.
There was little comfort in that thought but at least those memories of his friends, family, and women kept him from going insane in that cramped room. When he found his mind running too rampant, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
At least his dreams couldn't harm him.
It was on the day of the fourth feeding when he received a visitor. Even in the faint red light, Jack could see the look of triumph and satisfaction on Adalbert's face as he stepped into the room. He noted Jack's reclined position on the floor and carefully stepped around his body to the lone chair that occupied the far wall.
Jack had thoughts about putting that chair to his use but the chains prevented him from getting off the floor.
"You smell," said Adalbert as soon as he sat down. "Like piss and shit."
