Double Vision
Yi Kang Toh, Group 4: Fiction, Zhuhai International School
010/8/9
“
I am out of here!”
“
Please, don’t go, it’s dangerous.”
“
Whatever, I am not taking your **** anymore, I am leaving!”
“
Boom!” he slammed the door shut. He could no longer tolerate his wife’s constant nagging. “No
matter what, I am going to the Great Wall,” Josh Wall muttered to himself as he walked towards his car. He
packed his equipment the day before and was heading out. He needed a vacation, and he needed one away
from civilization. Josh Wall moved to Beijing, China, a decade ago with his wife, yet ever since moving here, he
had never been able to relax. Working as a lawyer did not help at all. For these ten years, even though it is
only forty minutes’ drive from his house, he had only been to the Great Wall once and it wasn’t great. It was
hot and the stench of sweat was unbearable. All they could see were people, crowds and crowds of them.
Today, however, he was heading toward a remote part of the wall.
1510/8/9
“
Attention!”
“
Men to your stations”, barked Wang.
“
Yes Sir!”
Wang was the officer of a section of the Wall, JianKou. Under his wing were 30 men patrolling a kilometer.
They were the army of the great Ming Dynasty. Wang was only a farmer’s son in a village nearby, but was
drafted in to the army. Due to his natural ability to lead and his display of courage in battles, he was quickly
promoted to an officer. Yet now, after his glories in battles, he was here patrolling the Wall. Wang sighed,
“
Another day started. I should be back at home tending the fields, living with my family, yet I am still here.”
Wang went out and started checking on his men.
Josh was already on the highway, his Audi A7 blowing by any inferior China-made car. He was on the
road for at least an hour before stopping at a store to buy some water for his journey. He turned at a crossroad,
leading towards the notorious JianKou. The roads got steeper, the forest got thicker and sounds of civilization
faded as he continued on. Finally he reached the bottom of the wall. “Yea, finally, away from civilization,” he
thought to himself. Josh was happy that he was finally there, but this wasn’t what he expected; the walls were
destroyed and there was no one in sight, none, not a single human being. However, this didn’t stop him: he
hated not finishing something he started. Josh whipped out his hand phone -- 12 missed calls from his wife. He
ignored it, pinpointed the location of his car, and started the climb of his life.
The day was still young, yet Wang felt sleepy. However he could not give in; “mind over matter, mind
over matter,” he told himself. Wang was the officer, the role model for his soldiers, yet with a thud, he fell. By
the time he woke up, the world was turned inside out. There was blood everywhere and the distinct sound of
swords clashing caused him to think that the worst had happened: the barbarians had attacked. “No this can’t
happen. No way. How did they even get up?” thought Wang. He found his sword on his desk and just
when he was about to leave his room, a barbarian and one of his soldiers flew towards him in a deadlock. Wang,
with his combat experience, stabbed the barbarian. His soldier, blinded by blood, started screaming. However,
Wang had no time to help him. He rushed out of the room and started attacking the invaders. “Men to your
arms!” His voice sounded throughout the Wall, hoping any soldiers resting would hear him, aiding them in the
battle. The place was a mess; blood and chunks were everywhere; in the air -- cries of pain mixed in with the
sound of swords clashing and the pungent smell of death.
It looked as if his troops were in a losing fight. They were overpowered, outnumbered and the barbarians
had more men climbing up the Wall. This gave him an idea. There were hooks on the wall which allowed them
to climb up. Wang cut off the ropes. Just then a sword came down on him. Before slashing through him, he
grabbed his attacker and threw him down, bringing several others with him. The battle raged on. The invaders
were without reinforcements and had about a dozen men left on the Wall. Wang rallied his troops. The injured
ones disregarded their pain, sensing their victory and gathering motivation from Wang. The barbarians were
annihilated; like a tidal wave, they were swept away by the superior Ming soldiers. “Today, we lost many good
men, and the enemy caught us by surprise, but with our bravery we defeated a much more powerful enemy.
We cannot let this happen again, but tonight men, we shall rest for we had a great victory,” Wang shouted.
However, he could feel the fear in the cheer for they had never been attacked before. Wang sent messengers to
their headquarters to request reinforcements and reports.
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