The Prophecy of the Sands
Sha Tin College, Sami Wong, Fiction: Group 3
T
roy! Troy!” I woke up to the call of my name. Groggily, I turned around and checked the
time. 3 am, 12th of June, 2113. There was still an hour until we had to wake up for the
day. I stood up, and fell back down again. Gah, when will I get used to sleeping in a tent
in the middle of a desert. I hated Unit 22. I hated General Don. I hated the war.
I heard Jessie calling out my name but I ignored her. Then she shouted, “Troy! The ‘Duck’ is
looking for you!” The ‘Duck’ was General Don almighty. Muttering to myself, I stood up, hit my
head on the top of the tent, crouched down, exited, and saw Jessie waiting for me in full combat
gear. Typical her, she was always ready for action. I nodded to her in acknowledgment and walked
forward. Inside the tent was the Duck sitting crossed legged on the ground. This did not surprise
me. What did surprise me was the thing beside him. It was a man, no taller than 4 feet, with
piercing black eyes. I remembered a childhood story “Queen of the Desert” where he must have
come from. This was no ordinary man. It was a pygmy, protector of the Queen of the Desert, a
race thought to be extinct. Before I could utter a yelp of surprise, the Duck spoke. “Troy, Qadan
here refuses to speak to anyone but you.” As if on cue, Qadan walked forward and pulled me out
of the tent, back into the darkness.
He put a finger up to his mouth to silence me, and spoke. “We are the pygmies of the Gobi
Desert, and we are the protectors of Mother Nature. You were chosen to be here. You are different
and have a duty to fulfil. The Desert is beautiful, but humans are killing it. Our duty is to chase
away your unit, before more harm can befall her. You can help us. I shall be at your tent tomorrow
night, and I expect an answer.” With that, Qadan melted into the darkness, and I was left alone
with my thoughts. I re-entered the Duck’s tent.
“Well,” said the Duck, “what did he tell you?”
“Nothing much. He just dropped by to say hi.” I lied, then turned and left.
What could I tell Qadan? It was like he knew everything about me, including the fact that I
hated Unit 22. The next day, Jessie and I were on sentry duty. I hated sentry duty. However, today
I was almost grateful for some time to think over what Qadan had said. Just as I was about to
despair, Jessie whispered to me, “Don’t you think it’s a shame that they’re going to destroy the
Gobi desert as well?” I sat there listening, and thought: Yes. It is a shame. I had seen too much
destruction. The four largest deserts: the Antarctic Desert, the Artic, Sahara and the Arabian
Desert were gone. The Gobi Desert was next.
I stayed awake the whole night, waiting for Qadan. At sunrise, a jerboa appeared next to me,
and I cautiously put my hand out, trying to coax it nearer. I did not want to harm it. I just needed
a closer look. It crept closer and disappeared. In its place was Qadan. But it didn’t frighten me.
It was almost as if I had expected it to happen. Whilst my thoughts were swirling around inside
my head, Qadan grinned and boomed, “Well done Troy, you have passed the test! You know that
Nature is unpredictable! Welcome to the Desert Protectors!”
Without hesitating, he continued, “Your job is to eliminate the Nitriavo barrier around your
camp so we can enter. We will attack two sunsets later, so be prepared. But whatever you do, make
sure Jessie is within your line of sight. She is different from us, and I feel that she is connected
to Mother Nature. I will not see you until the big day.” He was gone before I could reply, and all I
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