Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 - 2017 | Page 375

‘It’s all for our country! We’ll need extra labour in our colonies,’ he retorted.
‘What a perfect excuse! Do you really think “serving your country” is enough to relieve you from your guilty
conscience? You and your comrades slaughtered people in our city, boy! You took lives! What’s more, you sell innocent girls off
to unknown territories just for money! Smell your dirty bloody hands!’
Shock, laden with guilt, was imprinted on the soldier’s face. How impetuous had he been?
The soldier’s loss in contemplation suddenly brought Winser back to her mission. She had to sink the whole vessel
along with all the people in it after rescuing the girls. She realized she’d wasted too much time on him. Before releasing the
soldier’s collar from her grip, Winser snatched his pistol. When she was about to turn and head towards the end of the passage …
‘It’s Fein…’
‘What…?’ Winser asked while looking back, slowing down her pace.
‘The name’s Fein, not “boy”.’ He smiled sadly at Winser, and she felt a pang of mercy for the poor guy.
‘I’m sinking the ship, so you’d better escape fast. Where are the girls?’ Winser asked when she caught up to him.
‘Go downstairs and turn left. It’s at the end and here’s the key,’ Fein said as he tossed her the key. ‘I’ll go with you.”
That was a good boy; he was going to tell his friends the truth. Winser hoped that at least there wouldn’t be so many
guards to handle, or there’d be a bloodbath.
Luckily it was Fein’s friends that guarded the room where they kept the girls. That spot was guard-free then. There was
only one staircase leading down there, so anyone that entered or exited will be clearly visible to Winser. She took down a bunch
of other soldiers on the way, some even before they could utter a single word.
'I am here to save you girls. Your families are outside on the boats. Jump off and swim to them as fast as you can,
alright?' The girls nodded their heads obediently. Winser returned a reassuring nod before taking them all outside to the deck.
Winser was the first to reach there, clearing a handful more guards. She checked if the boats waiting were ready and
then herded the girls overboard quickly. Upon reaching the cabin where Lord Francis was, she splashed oil at the doorway, lit a
match and watched the room burn. The autumn wind helped the fire to spread. In water not far away, Winser watched the huge
boat engulfed in flames and sink underwater.
'A storm struck and sank the boat,' the British officers were told when they came to investigate the mysterious accident
that kept Lord Francis and his people forever in the realm of China. Of course, it would remain an unfortunate accident ...