Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 37

the ship -the 5 cannons mounted on each side of the ship. We had only 8 cannonballs, since the
government had expected us not to run into trouble as Zheng He was the captain. Turns out he wasn’t such
a captain at all, or he would have put more protection around the boat. We gingerly inserted the
cannonballs into the cannon and ignited the rope. The air around us smelt of burning just as the cannon
gave a large bang. The cannonballs spat out simultaneously , just as the ship gave me last sag and completely
lost it .It felt like a rope was suddenly cut and we were the falling end of the rope .My heart skipped a beat
as I lost my footing .We stood in total astonishment as we saw the first cannonball hit the creature , taking
its life instantly , and the other cannonballs lined up behind it . With a dull thunk, they reflected off the
cannonballs in front of it and it ricocheted back to the falling boat. We all took an involuntary step
backwards due to the cannonballs rocketing towards us. They slammed into the falling side of the boat,
punching a dent in the wooden body, and causing the ship to rocket to the other direction. The ship
hesitated a bit before settling in its original position, but only temporarily. Zheng, He told us to take the
opportunity to fix the hole in the bottom of the ship. We ripped out planks from the floor of the deck, and
with hammer and nails, quickly leaped down into the water, with our legendary breath-holding skills and
incredible water-repelling eyes, we waded to the gaping hole, and used the planks, nails and a hammer to
fix the hole. We then went down to the basement of the ship and emptied out all the water by using
porcelain vases we planned to give away. We all then stripped our mattresses clean of the bedsheets and
using a needle, merged them together into a huge sail. We quickly filled the sail with wind and scampered,
in fear that the creature might return. After that incident, we were ordered to keep strict watch everyday
day for any of the creatures. If we really can manage to slip away from death, I’ll be happy to do it.
This incident made us more aware of our surroundings and be prepared for the worst. I hope all the best to
us as we continue to embark on our journey.