With the Unthinkable Comes Humanity
Karen Ng, Group
anchester, 1509
wom
part
3:
Fiction, Island School
He was to celebrate his 72nd birthday tomorrow. All the city’s most prestigious men and
en had been invited to Sir Caius Dawnford’s soiree, and most, if not all, would not miss the
y for anything.
Deciding a cup of tea would be rather pleasant, he shambled over to the kitchen, accidentally
knocking a forgotten framed photograph, amongst many others, off his desk, along the way. Picking it up from
the carpeted floor, Caius ran his finger over the photo slowly.
M
It was a photo from his past, when he was young and sturdy still. A young man stood proudly, arms linked
with a fair haired woman. On the far right, there was another young man, his hair a glistening gold. Chuckling,
Caius brushed his hair, now a darker gold, out of his eyes. The photograph was the only piece of evidence of the
adventure he had had with Parkinson’s disease patient Dahlia Severton and Charles Vaughn. Charles. What a
man he had been. If only Marvella had found them earlier, Charles would not have gone so brutally, so
painfully...So traumatically. To this day, Caius still remembered his passing as clear as day...
Tianjin, 1457
Several years ago, three foreign teenage outcasts had decided to make their mark in the world, to show their
peers they weren’t the fools everyone thought they were. So came the idea to embark on an expedition to
Beijing. The officials of Tianjin encouraged this idea, and hoped they would come back having learnt something.
Photos had been taken, records had been written.
Now, they were each 20 years old, old enough for adventures and exploring. They set out just before
sunrise, beginning the long trek, across to Beijing.
Beijing, 1457
Two nights later, they arrived in Beijing. “Whoa,” Dahlia said, astonished.
“
We’ve arrived. We’ve arrived! The three travellers have accomplished what everyone else thought
impossible! Who’re the fools now?” Charles cheered.
The Great Wall looked every bit as magnificent as Charles had described before the trek. It was very long,
but Caius could see that the people intended to continue the wall for a long way. The construction of this
masterpiece had begun more than a thousand years ago. How tiring it must be, to build such a gigantic wall. It
was already a beautiful piece of architecture, the wall was so long - it must’ve been about 4000 miles! Cannons
lined the walls, watch towers were growing taller and taller. The wall towered impressively over the three
adventurers, and it cast a shadow that seemed to soundlessly utter one single word. Slavery.
The people who were lifting the stones, bricks and bones had scars - physical ones, deep and bloody across
their bare arms and legs; mental scars, scars so deep they would never heal again. Caius looked into the eyes of
the nearest slave, seeing pain beyond anything he had ever known, pain so severe Caius was almost certain the
man had killed his own family.
They moved on.
Charles drew in a sharp breath. Dahlia hugged him tightly. Caius’ eyes widened. An increasing number
of bones were being used to build the wall now. Flesh, most likely that of a dead slave, was being torn apart and
devoured savagely by skinny slaves in rags. Noticing the three staring at them, the slaves quickly stopped eating.
“
We have no choice,” one cried out in despair.
“
We are given no food,” another whimpered.
“
They beat us if we become ill,”
“
We must eat our fellow slaves, if not the emperor will have us all killed!” a young boy, no more than the
age of 5, mewled.
It saddened Caius greatly, to see a boy of such innocence be forced into this brutal lifestyle - Emperor Jing
Tai had already repaired the Grand Canal...Why hadn’t he put an end to this horrific slavery?
The sun set, night fell. The sun rose, it became day. This continued for about a week or so, until one
morning, Caius woke to a shaking Dahlia screaming. Looking around for Charles, he realised he wasn’t there.
He raced outside, only to find nothing left of Charles but his head. The slaves had eaten him.
That night, Caius didn’t sleep. His best friend had been eaten alive, and his 20 year old girlfriend who
couldn’t walk properly due to involuntary tremors to take care of. How was Caius supposed to break the news of