Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 -1 2019 | Page 101

Ming Treasure Fleet Dulwich College Beijing, Soldati, Sophie - 11 The feeling of cold steel upon my neck sent a shiver up my spine. “Answer or else!” a voice bellowed into my ear… I was crouched in that stuffy cabinet for what felt like weeks. Time slowed down to a nearly stagnant trickle of minutes and hours. Actually, it was only two days since I hid on the ship of Zheng He, the admiral of Ming China’s treasure fleet. If my hideout was discovered, my life wouldn’t last long... Suddenly the cabinet was yanked open and I rolled out into the daylight. The next few minutes past in a blur. Then, a terrifying voice bellowed, “Who are you? Answer or else!” I blinked my eyes open fearing whatever was coming for me. Knowing that something had to be done, my voice blurted out, “No please don’t kill me! I can be useful!” Zheng He raised his eyebrows, loosening his grip on me and motioned me to continue. Still aching with pain, I scrambled to my feet. Suddenly, someone shouted with urgency, “Captain, come quickly, 2 of our men are dead and 15 more are sick!” I saw my chance, “My Granny taught me some witchcraft. I can help!” Zheng He turned back to me and hissed, “Later I shall deal with you.” I had survived…for now… The following morning, I woke up to the distant sound of yelping noises coming from the deck. It took me a few seconds to realize where I was: in the hold of Zheng He’s ship. My dry mouth and cracked lips reminded me that I didn’t have a drop of mouth since the port. As I was making my way to the door, an unsettling feeling began welling inside me. There was something wrong about the sounds up on the deck. Hurriedly, I made my way up the dusty staircase. As the deck came to view, my heart sank. The air, heavy and stuffed, was filled with blood-curdling screams of people in agonizing pain. The boat was full of sailors kneeling on the wooden floor, holding their stomachs and screeching, vomiting on the floor; a horrendous sight to see. I stood frozen to the spot and stared at the scene in front of me. Feeling my bones tremble in fear, I did the only thing that came to my mind - find the captain! As quickly as my legs would carry me, I wound my way through the disaster zone and ran for Zheng He’s cabin… Certain that the captain wouldn’t be pleased to see me, I knew I had to go in. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the heavy door. The captain was lying on a bench clutching his stomach in pain. “It’s you again, what do you want?” he growled at me. “Captain, what has happened?” My voice rose to a squeak. Hesitating he replied, “All potable water on this ship was poisoned.” “What can we do?” my voice trembled and my palms got wet, as panic flooded me. “Nothing, we all are doomed to die…” The room span and I squatted on the floor, trying to make everything slow. Only one question knocked my mind: how could I save the sailors? Suddenly, a muffled yet familiar voice sounded in my head. Granny! “88, 88,” she repeated twice. “Key to knowledge.” It took me a while to comprehend her wisdom: books are the key to knowledge! As my eyes scanned the bookshelves in the captain’s cabin, in the furthest dark corner an ancient book shining caught my attention. Engraved on the front was the number 88. Wondering how Granny had known, I hurried over to the mysterious volume, cautiously risking a glance at the captain who was still clutching his stomach and letting out ear-splitting cries.