Chapter 25
The hold of the boat was close and hot despite the cold outside. The slaves weren't chained; the door to the hold wasn't even locked, but they were trapped more surely than if bars blocked their escape.
Paul's binding sat on him like a second skin, but like everything else it didn't matter. He didn't feel the despair that his fellow slaves exuded, nor did he wait eagerly for someone to tell him what to do next. Paul understood the slaves. They were the extreme result of people following the Book. They were so afraid of offending God that they were willing to sell their will so that any offense would fall on their owner. They traded away any responsibility for their lives.
Paul sat in a corner and let the motion of the boat move him. At first he'd tried to fight it, but it was like being a slave. He just let it happen and he stopped noticing it. Daniel had come down once and not returned. Paul had given him the Page.