Passage Through The Gobi
Singapore International School, Ray Kwek, Fiction: Group 2
T
he sun beat down on my barely alive body, the sand scalding hot under my blistered
feet. My throat parched, my canteen empty. I am following the ancient route to riches,
the answer to all my prayers. I have with me a dozen camels, each carrying a huge load
of silk. But with such great rewards, comes even greater danger. The Gobi desert is a
terrible place. Many have tried to cross it. Only a handful survived. Even worse, it is summer. The
sun will have no mercy on me, except for these few hours.
Time to rest. The sun is setting. In the day, temperatures are scorching.But at night, it is the
total opposite. The last rays of golden light disappears and the temperature start plummeting.
Soon, it will be freezing.
I get into my sleeping bag and toss and turn, all the while trying to keep warm. Then the
ground shook.A cold wind penetrated my many layers of clothing and sends shivers down my spine.
Suddenly, like in a horror movie, shouts rang out, lights flash and the smell of death hung in
the air.
Then, as sudden as it came, it all vanished, the sky once again a blanket of darkness. I don’t
remember falling asleep, but I remember having trouble.
Another day in the desert. After hours of dragging my sore body over miles and miles of
anhydrous sand, i spotted some lush green cactus- a sight for sore eyes in the unchanging barren
landscape of the desert. But for me, it only means one thing. Water!
“Gulp...gulp…” I gulp the tasty juice greedily, every drop feels like a million dollars. I fill my
canteen. My camels waiting patiently not far away.
“ROAR!” the earth-shattering cry echoed around the the area. Then, right in front of me, the
ground exploded. Sand flew everywhere as out of the explosion came a Giant Worm. The Death
Worm. Legend has it that it was over a metre wide, and extremely long. One end is a Gaping
mouth filled to the brim with razor-sharp fangs while the other is a long whip-like tail coated
with deadly liquid, said to be for inducing excruciating pain.
Almost no one has survived an encounter with it, but I intend to be one of them. I take out
my machete and held it up. I brought it along for emergencies. This seems like one. It charged at
me, its blood red body undulating in the sun. “Whoosh!” it whisked past me like lightning, barely
missing me. For such a big lump of meat, it was fast. I slashed to the side, the blade sinking into
the soft underbelly of the beast. Thick yellow pus with a tinge of white came oozing out of the
wound, and though small, the beast bellowed in pain. First blood to me.
The beast circled round me, its tail dripping wet, the rest of its body as dry as the desert itself.
I am drenched in perspiration, and they drip onto the sand like rain. Suddenly, the beast lunged
right at me, and i jump to the left again. Drops of water travel from my canteen to the beast. But
instead of going straight past me, it swerved to the right at the very last second and flicked its
tail, almost missing me. Almost. The sheer force of the blow sends me soaring.
So this is what it’s like to fly. My thoughts were interrupted and I crashed heavily, luckily on
soft sand. Even so, it caused a small crater on the ground. Remember that the liquid was said to
cause pain? I can prove it. My body hurts like crazy. My leg is worse. I examine it carefully. The
monster had slashed my thigh, drawing blood out like a waterfall. The blood was a sickly yellow. My
