Seoyeon was quiet when the sailor (could she even call him that?) led her harshly below deck and into a small, tight corridor. The handcuffs on her wrist burned on her flesh, and when he shoved her in a cell, they dug tighter into her skin, making the girl hiss in pain. 

The space of the cell was small, barely fit for a person. She shifted uncomfortably, craning her neck to see through the bars and into the dimly lit hallway. It seemed that there were no one else than her, even though a part of the hallway was completely dark due to there being no lanterns to light the path up. Seoyeon looked at the man in disdain, and in return he casted a glare at her. 

”That way you won’t be trying any nasty tricks of yours.” He spat and soon after disappeared up the stairs. 

She shrunk back in towards the wooden wall, sighing. Why was there no one on this ship? How the hell did they get a hold of handcuffs that blocked out powers? That had to mean one thing, and one thing only. Somehow, somewhere, there had to be people like her. Otherwise how the hell did they manage to come up with something like that? Otherwise, why did they purposely guide her to the wrong ship that only seemed to contain her in it?

Seoyeon decided that it wasn’t the time to dwell on questions, rather it was time to find a way to free herself and turn the ship back to where it was supposed to lead her. She had to find a solution. Or maybe all she needed was a sliver of luck. 

************

A few hours later—Seoyeon guessed it was nearing night by now—heavy thumps were heard descending the stairs and two men came with dirty trays in their hand. They both stopped at the entrance of the hallway. As quietly as possible, she sprawled herself on the moldy and humid ground of the cell, and closed her eyes, unmoving. Her only reliable sense now was hearing. 

”Go give it to the fugitive, I’ll give food to this one.” Seoyeon heard one of them say. Then footsteps. They got louder, and louder, and the girl held her breath, staying as still as possible. 

There was a familiar sound of small metal objects jangling together, which she recognised being keys. Then, mechanic sounds emitted from the door, and not long after a heavy, loud, metal creek was heard before the footsteps were basically by her. She could feel the man freeze before her. 

”Hey.” The man kicked her foot. ”Wake up, food’s here.” 

Seoyeon didn’t move a muscle. 

”Hey.” He growled more insistently, now sending a kick towards her leg. Nothing happened for a few seconds. She guessed he was reacting to the fact that she was giving no reaction to his calling at all. 

”.” He finally said. ”I think she passed out.” 

There was a sound from the other end of the corridor. ”What?” She heard the other man ask. 

”I think she passed out.” 

The sound of nearing footsteps. She didn’t dare to breathe. ”Passed out? Did you bring her water throughout the day?” 

There was an awkward silence for a couple of seconds. ”I, uh, forgot.” 

”You what?!” The other man hissed. ”Boss said that we had to bring them in good shape, how the hell is she supposed to fight in the ring in this condition? And she’s a special one too. If he finds out, you’re done for.” 

”Maybe she has injuries we didn’t know about. Check if she’s still breathing.” 

”No, this was your mistake. You go check!” 

A sigh, and then more footsteps, until Seoyeon felt him crouch in front of her. She could perceive his calves as they brushed her legs. She in her breath, remaining as limp as one could be when he without care grabbed her hair, pulling her relaxed face to meet his. The man then grabbed the back of her head, Seoyeon understood he had neared his ear to her nose to hear if she was breathing. Mere seconds passed, though they felt like years to her. She felt a shaky breath fann her face. 

”I can’t hear her breathing.” 

”You, dumb, little—” Seoyeon opened her eyes, and before any of them could react, locked her thighs around the man’s knees in an iron grip. He yelped in surprise as she brought her legs forward to gain strength, and in a sharp movement threw him backwards, letting go of the grip. He hit his companion, and they both groaned in pain rolling onto the floor. Seoyeon looked around, and her eyes lit up at the sight of the jumble keys laying at a small distance from her. That was it. The small sliver of luck. The man had dropped the keys when he fell. 

She picked them up, but didn’t get time to unlock her handcuffs as the two had already gotten up and were lunging at her. She managed to dodge the first punch, and ducked. Holding the ring of keys in her cuffed hands, Seoyeon lunged it in an uppercut-movement up his jaw. He stumbled back, holding the bleeding mandible with both hands, and she took the opportunity by sending a kick right on his stomach. 

Not bothering to see him collapse unconscious, Seoyeon turned to the other man. He had been staring at the scene, paralyzed, but snapped into action soon enough. She swatted away the tray with her metal cuffs when he launched it, but was overwhelmed with a surprisingly fast punch that landed a blow on her left cheek. Seoyeon groaned in pain, but didn’t let him retract his arm. Instead, she tucked it under her cuffed arms, leaving no escape as the girl twisted it with force. It didn’t break it, but caused evident pain, because the man broke out in a painful yell. Arms still locked in place, Seoyeon dragged his bruised arm towards her, now gaining access to his shoulder. The man kicked her in the ribs as she did so, and the girl promptly ignored the pain, focusing instead on spreading her legs apart and creating a posture of balance. That way, she used the man’s heavy weight against him, taking advantage of his lack thereof, and threw him over her shoulder, dropping the keys onto the ground. He landed on the humid wood groaning in pain. 

Seoyeon picked up the stack of keys, and stalked to the second man she had got on the ground, pressing a foot on his bruised abdomen. 

”Which one of these is the key to my handcuffs?” She demanded. 

He remained breathing heavily on the ground, unwilling to cooperate. Seoyeon pressed her heel harder into him, gaining a pained growl from the latter. 

”Which one is it?” She asked again. No response. ”Okay then.” Seoyeon shrugged, and was about to press harder onto his stomach until the man desperately fanned his hands in front of his face. 

”Okay, okay! The one with the blue handle.” He pleaded. Keeping her foot on him, she picked out the right key and with her teeth placed it in the keyhole of the handcuffs. It took a bit of trouble, but after a couple of seconds she finally managed to twist the key sideways and the metal object unlocked with a satisfying click. 

She dropped the handcuffs on the floor, and looked around. One of the men was unconscious, and the other was too weak to fight. Seoyeon didn’t hesitate to climb up the stairs, completely ignoring the fact that the cell to which the second man had gone before the incident was open. 

*********

Scanning the main deck, Seoyeon counted the amount of men on the forecastle. Six. That had to be all of them. Like she had predicted, the sun had set long ago, and the only lightning available was those of lanterns hung here and there. Chances were they hadn’t noticed her yet, which gave her the element of surprise. 

She crouched quietly between two barrels, concentrating on the men’s banters and their position while her hands materialised