mud for cement. It seemed like a giant movie set but Charles could see, from the primitive tools used, that he
was not in the twenty first century. The workers closest to Charles stopped, startled at seeing a Caucasian in
their midst. He looked human enough but was clearly different to them. A quick rebuke from the guards focused
them again. He could see the cry in their eyes reflecting the torment from the guards who stood over them.
Charles sensed he had travelled back in time, to the construction of the Great Wall of China…
The guard shouted as he shoved Charles forward. He could feel the blazing sun on him. The guards tied
him onto a stock with one bucket filled with mud and the other with stones. Unexpectedly, a worker fell to his
knees near him, and seconds later passed out. Charles had little opportunity to sympathise as his guard pressed
the tip of his spear into his ribcage. Climbing the steep steps, his legs started to ache. Charles did not know
where they were taking him but he knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. He had not eaten at for what felt
like an eternity. He dragged his feet along the rough surface, enslaved in confusion, drenched in sweat, and
dressed in ragged old pants. He climbed up the stairs with his heavy load, one step at a time, one foot in front of
the other. His legs bucked as he climbed up the third hill.
A guard shouted. Charles groaned. “Get up!” No answer. Charles was exhausted. The guard used his
whip, leaving Charles with a bloodied scar on his back. “Get up!” repeated the guard, now more impatiently.
Now the pangs of thirst caused Charles more pain the groans of hunger. Slowly he got to his feet and carried on,
the only incentive being the point of the guard’s spear.
After what seemed like an eternity, they stopped as the sun started to go down. Charles fell to his knees
as the heavy stock was removed from around him. Every muscle in his body ached. The guards shoved Charles
roughly into a hole in the ground that doubled as a makeshift cell. A heavy wooden frame covered the entrance
barring his exit. A soldier passed him a rough wooden bowl of rice. Another handed him a ladle of water. As his
eyes got used to the darkness inside his hole, it revealed the desperation of his situation. He had to escape and
somehow get back home to his own time. As the night wore on, Charles resisted the overwhelming urge to sleep
as he watched the regular inspection by the guards.
Charles prised a rock out from the side of his cell as he awaited the next inspection. When the short,
stocky guard approached, Charles reached out and hit the guard’s foot with the rock. Startled, the guard reached
down but Charles was ready for him. He grabbed him by the neck and wrestled the guard to the ground, putting
him to sleep with a lock. He took the key from the guard and unlocked his cage. Working quickly, he relieved
the guard of his uniform. He threw the undressed body back into the hole where it landed with a thud,
motionless. The uniform was a little short and small for Charles but it would have to do.
Charles headed towards the small clump of trees near the top of the hill. With luck, he should be able to
make it there by the time the others noticed that their comrade was missing. Halfway to the top, Charles heard
shouting and a bell being run. He was still under the cover of darkness. A rocket exploded high in the sky.
Suddenly the night sky was bathed in a yellow, red light, illuminating the hill as bright as day. Charles was
spotted. The guards ran after him. Charles struggled up the hill but found his legs sapped from the heavy lifting
and lack of nourishment. There was no escape. He was going to be caught. He had failed. He was doomed.
* * *