Alex opened his eyes to the sounds of the ship making port.  Above him, he could hear the crew yelling orders, until the ship bumped lightly against the edge of the dock.  He groaned as he sat up, stiff from sleeping on a hard metal bench for hours.  "The second boiler needs more oil..."  He rubbed his face with dirty hands, the shackles that bound his hands together clinking with his movement, before looking around at the hold.  It was relatively large, but with twelve of them packed into it, it felt closed in.  Above them, a single light bulb swung back and forth on a thin wire, casting more shadows than light.  Now that they had made port, wherever it was, he figured they would soon be brought out.<br/><br/>He had been careful during the journey, trying not to get himself too dirty.  Even, or perhaps especially, as a slave, a first impression could change a great deal.  He couldn't keep himself clean, that would have been impossible in a place like this, but he kept the grime from becoming almost a part of him, as it seemed to on some of the others.  It was a look he was used to, his thin gray shirt and simple pants smudged but serviceable, as if he had been working someplace dirty and simply had yet to clean himself.<br/><br/>Finally, the hatch above them opened, letting in a blast of sunlight that blinded him for a moment.  There were yells for them to stand up as the crew came down and grabbed hold of the slaves' shackles.  Alex stood and followed the man who grabbed his shackles, blinking his eyes to adjust them to the light.  They were lead up and out of the ship, and onto the dock.  They were lined up on the dock, presumably before being taken to wherever it was they were going.  Beyond them, Alex could see a coastal town beyond the docks, bustling with activity.<br/><br/>Alex kept looking around, carefully but curiously.  It seemed they had been lined up for inspection, as several curious people were looking over at them.  Alex noted, however, how many people spared them barely a glance.  So, wherever they were, a shipment of slaves wasn't entirely uncommon.  He could see a truck in the distance heading their way, but with so much foot traffic, they would be on display a while long.