The Horrors of the Gobi
HKMA David Li Kwok Po College, Masira Ahmad, Fiction: Group 3
A
nd now, about your term-project…”
I groaned inwardly. Another term project? On the Gobi Desert? What was so
fascinating about a large amount of space full of sand?
“Let me remind you, you are all required to hand it in by the time you come back
after Term Break. So you better start working on it now! Class dismissed.”
And why the Gobi Desert of all the places in the world? I could just imagine the face of my
Uncle Bernard when he hears about this. All excited and ready to shoot out facts like a rapid-gun
machine till the other person is filled with bullets or in this case, tons of information. My uncle
Bernard is an archeologist, you see. A short, grubby man with a silver walrus-like moustache and
onyx eyes almost, if not as big, as the magnifying glass he kept with him all the time, and very
very boring when it came to his studies and findings. Don’t get me wrong though. I loved my
Uncle Bernard, it’s just that him peering over my head while I wrote my essay and trying to edit it
here and there was not my idea of fun.
But it wasn’t just that…
“Another murder in the middle of the Gobi and there seems to be no lead on the murderer,
only the fact that each and every one of the bodies had their faces distorted and were found
paralyzed … the death toll now mounting to 20. Who is this murderer and why have the
police not found out anything yet? Stay tuned to watch our interview with the Chief of the
Investigation Bureau…”
The news everyday seemed to be reporting something happening there. And it was scary and
made me worried for my Uncle Bernard. Oh, did I tell you that my Uncle Bernard lived in the Gobi
Desert and was currently doing research on the ancient legend, Mongolian Death Worm?
“Have you ever heard about the legend, Mongolian Death Worm, Harold? It’s about this
mythical creature that lived in the most desolate parts of the Gobi and was so poisonous that a
mere touch meant instant death. They say it was used by the holy people to drive the evil ones
out the once fertile land. I’ve been interviewing the families of those who’ve said they’d seen it
and all of their description of this creature seems so accurate it’s hard to not believe this creature
actually exists. The long-time inhabitants of this place seem to be blaming the murders on
this creature. Not only that, they say one of the holy priest’s soul actually dwells in the Desert.
Interesting, isn’t it?”
I remember inwardly scoffing at the theory (it was probably some venom-spitting cobra that
they were describing) and telling him to take care of himself since the murders were still not over.
Anyways, I was going to his place for Term Break to get inspiration for the project.
So a few days after Term break had begun, I was on a flight to China and was going to see
my uncle. I had visited my uncle very recently, just around Christmas Holidays, in fact. So you
can imagine my surprise when I saw that Uncle Bernard did not have the large plump belly that
always made him look like Santa Claus. He looked pale and tired and the happy lines around his
face were replaced by the frowns creasing his forehead. I hardly recognized him.
* * *
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