people had been lost already. He refused to let his father be next. He refused to be left to face this monstrous
world alone.
He ran up the hill, towards the wall with his tears blinding him. He felt tired, tired of his existence, of
trying to dodge death all the time. He was mentally drained and emotionally exhausted. He didn’t want to think,
to feel anymore. Everything just hurt too much. He sat on the wall, desperately pushing away the darkness in his
mind, keeping it from crumbling over him. His body was betraying him, dealing with his suppressed emotions
the only way it knows how to, by sleeping. Everything became blurry around the edges as his eyelids drooped,
fluttering into blissful, oblivious slumber.
When he came to, it was dark and stars dotted the sky. His sleep was filled with shadows and whispers,
prompting him to make his decision. His face was an emotionless mask of severity as he walked towards the
tribe.
First, he went down to the factory and stole as much water as his portable water tank could hold. Then,
he continued on into the stockroom and took a few bags of grain. He emptied the sand from his sleeping sack
and put in the tank and the food, slinging it over his shoulder.
He will find a cure for his father. He will defeat the illness. It doesn’t matter how far he had to go. He
stole away under the cover of darkness, not telling anyone of his plan. They would only try to stop him, too
afraid of the outside world, of the unknown, forever reveling in their familiar desert sand.
Zhangwei didn’t believe that people everywhere had to fight for survival. Some would get to live their
lives. There had to be some place where not everyone had to struggle to stay alive.
Travelling northwest, the boy walked through endless desert for three weeks, travelling by night,
resting by day, grinding through the moisture-sucking desert. He pressed on, until, one night; he saw lights
appear in the distance, artificial light.
In joy and relief, he hurried forward, towards an iron gate. Up close, he saw concrete. This had to be
one of those advanced civilizations his father had taught him about when he was younger. City. The unfamiliar
word echoed in his head.
As he approached the gate, a man in structured black clothes demanded harshly, “State your name,
origin and intent! Display your papers!”
His language was the same, although there were differences in their accent. Zhangwei replied, “I am
Zhangwei, from the tribe of Zhang, near the Great Wall. I don’t own any papers.”
The stranger clad in black gasped. “Zhyangwei? You’re the leader’s son, aren’t you?” Seeing the boy’s
surprised expression, he continued. “I used to live there, back when you were a baby. Are your brother and sister
doing well?”
“
They’ve died,” Zhangwei said bitterly. “I am here for a cure for my father. How could you have left
the tribe?”
The stranger was stunned. “Your father is still alive?” Zhangwei nodded. “That’s incredible! Well, to
answer your question, I left the tribe when the healers found out that I got the illness. I was a young boy of only
16
then. I wasn’t content to sit there and wait for death. So I left, looking for a cure.”
“
And you found the cure. That is the only reason you could be standing.” Zhangwei noted.
“
Yes. And I can get it for you. The cure is utterly worthless here. No one gets cancer anymore. Super
viruses and bacteria are worse types of sickness here. I’ll fetch us a bag.”
“
Wait. Us?” Zhangwei asked frantically.
“
I’m coming with you, of course. I have to go home one day. I just was never able to find the way
back.”
“
But everyone you knew is dead,” Zhangwei argued.
“
It doesn’t matter. Home is still home. And your father isn’t dead. I knew your father.”
“
Fine,” Zhangwei gave in. “While you’re at it, get some extra provisions. We will need more water and
food if we’re going trekking back through the desert.”
“
Wait here,” the stranger said, and he disappeared into the night. The boy now realized that he still
hadn’t told Zhangwei his name.
The man returned with two bags, and showed Zhangwei the medicine. They looked like inhalers for
people at home who couldn’t breathe properly. “It’s a DNA overwriter. It overwrites the cancerous DNA in your
body with healthy human DNA. Just inhale the dosage every two weeks.”
Zhangwei turned then, impatient to get home. “It’ll be some time before we get back. We’ll start
walking now so we can cover some distance before sunrise.”