ANTHONY GARNETT
Page Title
Exit 11 (Saga of Ace), CHAPTER 11 (THE DREAM)
Ace awoke... or so he thought!
The rocking motion, his body encountered caused him to believe he was on some sort of boat.
On his back, he laid on a wooden floor. He slid his hand to retrieve his phone for some light, and found nakedness.
The chains became heavy around his wrist and ankles. He lay still, and not only did he hear the waves crashing outside the boat, he heard a low conversation at a mumble. It sounded like hundreds were talking just low enough so the person next to them could hear. He also heard crying and wails of different octaves. There were full grown men to the tiniest child.
All were with Ace on this boat.
Ace tried to move to one side and pulled a woman around his age along with him. She was also naked and crying. She was chained to Ace, and someone was chained to her.
As the boat rocked, Ace's neck and shoulders were shifted into a puddle of slimy, foul, semi-liquid substance. It smelled of human waste.
But there was nothing he could do.
Heavy footsteps were overhead. Moving slowly!
Then one set, walked from one side of the ceiling to another. A door creaked open and light from the sun exploded inward.
After a few seconds of adjusting to the light, Ace saw a fat, but muscular figure descending to the bottom of a set of stairs, which was not visible in the dark.
With the aid of the light, Ace saw rows and rows of black men, women, and children shackled in chains upon the floor. Some were sitting against the bulkhead with their arms in chains. Mainly women with children were in this position.
The mumbled overtone got louder and the fat Caucasian yelled for silence.
Some obeyed, some didn't. Some even mocked him. But he continued his count. When he got to Ace, their eyes met. His eyes scolded Ace.
He kicked the man on Ace's other side. The man did not respond. He was kicked again, but harder.
The Caucasian man then turned his gaze back to Ace and said, “You are of a different species.” He bent down and did something to disconnect Ace from the others.
Ace was then pulled to his feet and dragged up the flight of stairs.
On deck, Ace was met with about twenty or thirty other white men. All were unshaven and fat, like the first one he saw.
Ace was forced onto a plank that extended from the stern of the boat. As he walks to the middle of the plank, water splashed on his naked body. It was cold.
As he turned to face the men on the boat, a wave hit and Ace lost his balance.
Ace awoke on his couch; to water being flung from the locs of a towel wrapped Zola. She smiled a sly smile, as she looked back over her shoulder and said, “Oh I'm terribly sorry!” “Did I get you wet?”
Ace exhaled and said, “No it was a fat white man.”
“Huh...?”
“Never mind!” Ace said, “Just a dream!”
“Oh you dream too?” She said standing there without bashfulness clothed in a towel meant for a person a size smaller.
Ace stared at his house guest and tried his hardest not to undress her with his eyes, “Oh yes, awesome!” “I-I mean often!” “I dream often!” Feeling embarrassed, he changing to the subject, Ace asked, “You ready for some breakfast?”
Zola giggled and sauntered back to the bedroom.
Excerpts from Exit 11 (Saga of Ace)
Saga of Ace (Book One)
For years Ace held resentment inside, but never had anyone to blame. And like any person would, he started to lay blame on himself. But for Ace, his way of acting out was distance and lots of it.
After college, Ace moved to Newark, NJ to become a homicide detective.