Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 - 2017 | Page 113

“You…. there !” shouted the tallest raggedy man, pointing to somewhere on the other side.
When Huiling didn’t move an inch, the shorter man started sharpening his knife with a rock, and showed a
blood-thirsty look on his face. She immediately got intimidated and scrambled to the wall on the other side. The men
walked towards her, clutching their knives in their hands.
Huiling leaned back against the wall and realised it was a little unstable. She pushed against it harder and harder as the
men got closer and closer, hoping behind it was open land so she could escape. The wall cracked a bit, but then the
men heaved her up and away from the wall.
The men pulled open a trapdoor on the floor and rolled her into the dark hole.
She landed with a thump on the hard wooden floor, and realised she was surrounded by dozens of women squatting
on the ground groaning with pain. They stared at Huiling curiously.
“New prisoner, eh? I’m Chen by the way,” Chen said glancing down at her with pitying eyes, “We’re all like ya, lost,
hungry, cold, not a good place here, not a good place.”
“How do we get out of here?” cried Huiling, wishing she’d never went out the border walls in the first place.
“We’d all be gone if we knew,” sighed Chen as the others nodded in agreement.
Chen was clearly upset, Huiling didn’t want to bother her with more questions so she kept her mouth closed.
“Maybe the new prisoner can try it again!” suggested another woman, she pushed Huiling under the trapdoor.
“Yeah! You’ve got more energy than all of us, jump’n crack it open!” yelled Chen facing Huiling.
Huiling swung her arms up, bent her knees and jumped. She busted the trapdoor open, but then the trapdoor closed
as one of the guarding raggedy men closed it.
“That always happens,” a few of them groaned.