Chapter 134: A herd of animals
Translator: Lionwwang Editor: Lionwwang
There’s so much difference between first-class treatment and here!
I’m leaning in the corner, but the smell around me is suffocating me. I carefully find two pieces of paper from the bag to knead them into two balls to block my noses, and breathing with my mouth. That’s a little better.
Lying below, besides the unpleasant smell, the most unbearable thing is the lack of oxygen.
There are so many people crowded in the narrow cabin, but the upper cabin door is closed, and dozens of people are huddled in the cabin to breathe, feeling as if their lungs are blocked by something. For a long time, people inevitably feel dizzy.
Under me is the hard deck, very harsh. I lean in the corner to make myself comfortable and press the bag behind my waist.
Over time, my eyes have adapted to the darkness of the cabin and am able to see something dimly. Maybe it’s hallucination or I’m too sensitive. I always feel like some guys around me are sneaking at me. Several eyes are staring at me in the darkness, peeping at something.
The woman next to me is still coughing, but her voice is so depressed that seems afraid to make too much noises. I think it’s a little strange. Do you have to hold coughing and not dare to make a sound?
I sit in the cabin, don’t know what is going on outside, I can’t even count how long it has taken. In the darkness, I have sat for a long time, trying not to sleep at first, but eventually I close my eyes.
Don’t know how long it took. I feel someone is touching me. I wake up and see two dark figures are crouching beside me. One person is touching my feet, and the other seems to be reaching out the hand to my waist.
I’m instinctively shouting: “What are you doing?!” Then I kick one person’s hand and waving away the other person’s hand in front of me. When the two men see me wake up, they do not sneak at all, but rushing to me flagrantly.
These two people, one is holding my waist, and the other one is pressing my legs! I’m shocked and angrying. I twist away from them. Then I squeeze the nearest man’s wrist and twisting hard. The man is screaming and immediately falling to the ground. The man who is pressing my foot is kicked on the face by my rightfoot, and the man is covering his face screaming away. I’m immediately turning over and sitting up, pinching the man whose wrist was dislocated by me, grabbing his neck, and lower my voice to ask: “What are you doing?”
The man is shouting in a language I cannot understand, and in the darkness, I can only see his eyes are staring at me. There are some malice and timidity in his eyes. They are like hyenas in the wilderness, mean and vicious, but full of timidity at the same time.
I can’t tell which country he is from. But I know that these two men are also stowaways, not the crews above.
I’m just breathing a sigh of relief, but I see three or four people are approaching to me. At first sight just know that they don’t mean well. They see me have knocked down two people so quick, hesitating to come over.
Then the man who is pinched by me saying something in a hurry.
I feel that his body is not struggling, then I slightly loosen the hand that holding him by the neck. Immediately he is sitting up and stepping back carefully, opening his hands. This is a gesture of surrender or compromise.
He steps back carefully out of the safe distance, then his eyes are still staring at me, and suddenly a short word is coming out of his mouth.
“Water!”
I understand this time.
“No!” I say.
The man adds: “Food?”
“No!” I still say.
Still, he does not give up. He says a few more words and makes gestures. I can’t understand his language, but according to his gestures, I know that he seems to want to exchange food for water or water for my food.
I’m sneering and still refuse him.
If I’m still on weekdays, I would have gone up and beaten him up.
I know it very well that just now they wanted to steal my things while I was sleeping! And when I wake up, they want to rob me! If I haven’t been good at fight, I would have been bullied by them.
Damn it! Can’t rob me, just want to exchange with me?
I’m staring at him coldly and thinking it has already been your good luck that I don’t come to rob you!
Those guys dare not to come near me again, confronting me for a while, then retreat.
I don’t want to get into trouble too. Because in the darkness, don’t know how many people they have. In this situation, I tell myself not to be too arrogant and try not to mess with things. This is not my territory!
Several people retreat behind the crowd. I find a few people are sitting on the ground, not far from me, looking at me secretly.
These people clearly saw they robbing me while I was sleeping, but no one spoke to remind me. But I’m not surprised. Don’t expect anyone to be so great when you go out!
To my surprise, the woman who has been coughing at the nearest place also sitting up a little and seems to facing me.
However, because it is too dark in the cabin, I can’t see anyone clearly at all. I only feel vaguely that she is looking at me.
She coughs again and again, but her voice is quiet and she is tring to hide something. I feel her voice sounds familiar, but I don’t think much about it.
Have encountered this matter, my heart adds a little more vigilance.
Don’t know how long it is in the dark. I’m feeling hungry. My mouth is dry, so I search in my bag for a while. There are two bottles of water inside. I take out the first bottle and find it was given to me by the Vietnamese black man who drove the motorboat to send me.
This bottle seemed to have been drunk by him. I instinctively change it for an unopened bottle. This bottle is taken from Old Snake’s ship. I open and drink a few mouthfuls.
In the darkness, the sound of my drinking water is so clear that everyone around can hear it. Although I can’t see, I can feel as if a lot of greedy and covetous eyes are staring at me.
I don’t say anything, just tighten the cap of the bottle and put it back coldly. My stomach is still hungry and I can only bear it.
I suddenly have an illusion that I am not with a group of people, but with a group of hungry wolves!
Finally, as my hunger tolerance reaches its limit, there’s a sudden sound outside, and the door of the cabin is opened. A beam of light is coming down from the outside, and then two crew members are coming in fiercely, with the guns in hand and their mouths are full of abuses. Several people sitting near the door are driven away by the gunbutts.
Then they take a barrel from the top and throw it on the ground with a bang. One of them are laughing a few times.
The barrel seems to contain foods such as bread, but I can’t see it clear. One of the crew members has an evil smile on his face, looking around at the stowaways who want to come up. Suddenly, he is raising his gun and giving a loud cry, which immediately frightenes people to step back. He picks up a piece of bread, like playing with animals in a zoo, and mocking the hungry people below for a while.
I don’t know how to describe that scene, but I know if it is possible, I would definitely chop this animal.
The companion next to him seems to be somewhat disagreeable. He says a few words impatiently and takes him away. At this time, the stowaways are immediately rushing to grab bread in the barrel.
Immediately, I’m jumping up from the ground, striding past, shoulder the people in front of me, and trying to squeeze in.
Don’t know how many people are cursing, shouting or screaming, but I don’t care about that much. This is not the time for me to behave gracefully.
I only know one thing: If I’m one step late. I’m going to starve!
I open the crowd in front of me with my fists and feet, and then squeeze out a way. I am also beaten several times, but my fists are heavier. After I knock down several people, I have rushed to the edge of the barrel and grabbed a few pieces of bread in one breath.
These breads are so hard that it’s just like the wood. I have to pinch them in the hand. I don’t care about the scolding around me. Someone else seems wants to hit me. I swing an elbow and knock down the nearest man, then grabbing the bread as fast as I can. At this time, I’m hit in the waist, and I immediately stumbled. I turn around and see several people are looking at me in spite of the bad intentions. With their figures, I immediately recognize that the persons in front of me are the guys who wanted to rob me while I was sleeping!
Without hesitation, I rush over and hit the man in the nose with a punch. Then I slam the other man against the wall and use my knee kicking his stomach. The other man is immediately backing away and does not dare to to conflict with me.
I squeeze out the crowd and go back to the corner. When I sit down, I feel my legs are soft. To tell the truth, I’m hungry and not strong enough.
I pinch the so-called bread in my hand. I wonder if my teeth can bite them. I can feel they are very dry. Don’t know how long they have been put. Some bread has a suspicious coat on it.
My heart is suddenly bursting into an anger, but as the anger passed, a sad feeling is coming to my heart.
Is that me?
Is this brother little 5?
Is this Chen Yang?
I’m kept in the cabin like an animal. They feed me like feed the pigs. I’m grabbing the food like an animal!
With two angrily laughs, I wipe out some suspicious moisture from the corners of my eyes, and then clench my teeth to bite the bread open.
The outer layer must not be eaten or bitten, and there are some soft parts inside. After I break it apart, small pieces are thrown into my mouth. I try my best to withstand that weird smell.
It tastes a little sour, seems to be rancid.
Suddenly I look at the stowaways in front of me, and feel funny. I am chased and have no idea to run away! What about you? You spend a lot of money on smuggling. Don’t want to be a damn good people, just come here as a livestock!
Don’t know when, I feel that my heart seems to have changed, my heart is full of resentment and disgust! In the past, I might have had a little compassion for these people, but now… I think these people deserve it!
After trying to eat some bread, I stop eating. I take a break and looking around. The guys who have grabbed the food trying to eat as fast as they can. People didn’t get food can only sit and sigh.
Of course, some of them, who are strong enough to see food nearby, just rushing to grab it. Tearing and shouting sounds are filled the cabin for a while.
I look at these guys and tell myself: See, Chen Yang? These are not human being, they are animals!
Just as I’m about to take a rest, the door of the cabin is opened again, and I see the light comes in, judging that it’s daytime outside.
Two crew members come down first to take out the empty barrel, and then move a barrel down. This time, I feel everyone are staring at this barrel!
The thing in the barrel are ripple and shinning. That’s… Water!
Then a man is coming down, the black man!
He still has the grim face, bare upper body, showing strong muscles, lower body wearing trousers and boots, with a dagger in his waist, a long gun in his hand. He is walking slowly down the stairs, followed by two crew members, and then he is sitting down on the stairs with the barrel of water beside him.
Although people are trying to rush up to grab water, but the two crew members behind use their guns to force everyone away.
Suddenly the black man is grinning, showing his white teeth. I feel a very evil feeling in his smile.
Then he is reaching out a finger suddenly, pointing to a stowaway standing in front of him. That’s a small, middle-aged man with eyes fixing on the barrel.
The black man is snapping his finger to motion that man stepping forward. Then he freely takes out something from the barrel, seems like a ladle or a wooden bowl, spoons half a bowl of water, hands it to that man, and then lifting his chin.
The middle-aged man is showing a surprising expression and immediately takes a big drink. But only two sips, the black man grabs the bowl back and kicking that man back to the crowd.
Then he is laughing and looking around the crowd. Then he hooks his fingers from time to time and points out the persons he allows coming out to drink.
His face is high and arrogant. Anyone is pointed by him can come out and drink water. But they can’t drink too much, just take one sip! If you drink too much, you’ll get a kick!
A barrel of water is soon drunk most of it, and this fellow seems to be teasing these people like teasing the animals.
Suddenly, he is turning his finger in the crowd for half a day, ignoring the eagerness and expectation of those people, but stopping at me in the last row.
I’m taller than these people, and although I’m in the last row, he still notices me.
The fellow is smiling coldly and then hooking his finger at me.