Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 102

in the ship of Chen Zuyi and his pirates and spy for him. Boy I was so eager to prove myself, but it all went wrong.” ~Year 1404, before the departure of the Treasure Fleet~ “Shi, I require your assistance,” said Admiral Zheng, a hero declared by the HuiZhou and my family. “Experienced fishermen have warned me of the pirates we may face on our expedition to the West, and although I am confident of our fleets’ military force, I think me and my men would rest easier with some extra information inside the pirates.” “I don’t understand Admiral, what do you require me to do?” “Shi, the most feared pirate of Southeast Asia is Chen Zuyi, he has more than 5000 men and 10 strong ships. I need you to sneak aboard and update me every two months by sending me letters,” Admiral gazed at me with such pride and confidence I felt myself stand taller. “Of course, I’ll do it sir! I’ll make sure the fleet stays safe from Chen Zuyi and his horrible men!” *** “And I did for a whole year, spying and sneaking information for him. Until last year I met… met… Cheuk Lam.” It was as if Shi Jinqing was in a trance. “Dude did you seriously have to take in a deep breath before saying her name then sighing and pausing for the effects of how love seems gross for us to sink in?” “Just let me finish would you, dude ?” *** Cheuk Lam. She was everything I thought of since the day I first saw her. In midst of the savage pirates, food and water belonged only to the strongest. Weaklings, cowards, fought for the scraps left, no compassion was shown. And in two days, I was starving. I was sure death would come, but through the blurry haze of hunger, I saw an angel. She fed me what the little food she had and nursed me back to health. And after a month we were together and she became pregnant and now she’s close to having a son. And I’m becoming a father. But there just wasn’t enough time! I had to notify Admiral Zheng that Chen Zuyi has been committing atrocities and scheming to lead the Treasure Fleet into a trap. If I notify him, my beautiful wife and unborn son may perish; but if I do not, I only fear that Admiral Zheng may not survive! ~Year 1407, back on the deck of the Treasure Ship~ “You still came here, what made you decide to?” I asked. “Cheuk Lam,” Shi Jinqing sobbed, “my kind, selfless wife, told me to come and warn Admiral Zheng. Said they were off no good, ripping off innocent people and looting city after city. But now… I can’t confess my love for a pirate to the admiral, I’ll never be able to live with the shame! But oh God how am I supposed to let her die!” Shi Jinqing began crying hysterically. Tony and I shared a look and nodded. “Hey Shi dude? You go get your wife, and escape to the nearby city of Singapore, you’ll be safe there, free of shame and the nasty pirates. Me and Lucas here?” Tony winked at me, “ We’ll take care of Chen Zuyi and the pirates.” “Oh thank God! My family is saved!” His eyes filled with tears of joy which quickly turned into sobs of hopelessness, “But… how are the two of you young men going to defeat 5000 fierce men?” “Oh we got it covered.” I reached for my bag, and pulled out the Blazer Lazer 1000. Shi Jinqing sighed in relief and the weight was lifted off his shoulders. He dashed back to his wife, his heart brimming with gratefulness and hope for his future. The next hour or perhaps day passed like a blur, the last thing I remember was Tony yelling “Charge!!!” And we flew to the starboard and aimed the Blazer Lazer 1000 at the on coming ships and opened fire. KABOOM WHIZZ BANGGG The Lazer cut through the the first few rows of pirate fleets, burning everything down to smithereens. The pirates abandoned ship and swam towards us. Teeth bared with a scowl fixated on his face, the pirate in front of me slashed the Blazer Lazer broken, then came for me. I ducked and backed up swiftly but my feet caught on some loose rope and I tripped and fell. The pirate snarled in triumph and held me down. Gasping for air, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a screwdriver, in a swift motion I slammed it on the pirates head and he landed thump beside me. I grabbed the pirate’s sword and found Zheng He cornered by Chen Zuyi, the Admiral was unarmed and just as Chen was about to behead him I jumped in front of him and deflected the blow. Sword against hook, good against evil, we slashed and thrusted as the wind howled and thunder roared. Rain began to fall and just as I too, were about to fall from exhaustion, Tony ran over and tackled Chen Zuyi on the ground, however Chen was bigger in size and threw off Tony. Three short stout pirates surrounded him and attacked in synchronised movements, it was impossible for Tony to fend off all their blows and he lay scratched and bleeding. More pirates came, I looked to Zheng He and his crew, but they were all hiding below deck, helpless and aghast at the unexpected attack. My best mate was injured, I