“I lived for months in a storage compartment under one of the staircases,” he added quietly. “No windows. No air. They made an example of me.” But before they could dump the container, he’d hidden a message inside a taped plastic bag and sealed it behind a wall panel. “I didn’t know if it would ever be found. But I had to try.”
For a long moment, no one spoke. The people in the container—silent witnesses to Ahmed’s story—watched Katherine with guarded hope. “You’re not alone anymore,” she finally said, standing tall. “We’re getting all of you off this ship.” Around her, the air shifted. It was still heavy—but now, it held something else. Resolve.