New Tales Of The Gobi Desert
The Chinese Foundation Secondary School, Yu Jianan, Fiction: Group 4
W
hat’s so hard about looking straight in the camera without looking like you just ate
a cockroach?!”The man shouted, his face red with anger, “You are a journalist, a
reporter! You’re supposed to be a professional!”
Hank looked down, feeling embarrassed. Apart from enthusiasm, he had not a
single quality that a reporter needed.
“Ok, here.” The man sighed, slumping down into a chair nearby “I’ll give you a job, real easy,
no need to be on camera. Go to the Gobi Desert, find out what’s going wrong currently, take
pictures and videos, come back, and write a report. Clear?”
The Gobi Desert. Hank went completely still as he heard the name. There were a lot going
on in the Gobi Desert lately. Terrifying rumors, internet discussions, actual news reports… He
suddenly realized, the man didn’t want to offer him an easier job; he wanted him gone, probably
once and for all.
“Isn’t it crazy? Sending us to the Gobi Desert.” On the train to northern China, the
cameraman, Nick, said. “Have you heard of all those reports? Scary illusions at night, large
sandstorms that didn’t exist that couldn’t be detected by the Observatory, disappearance of nearly
every living soul that entered the desert…Nobody dares to go into the desert now, even the
famous silk road had to change directions. Anyway, we’re friends now, right? Good mates. Better
cover each other up…”
Nick went on and on even though he received little response from Hank, he just needed to
make some noise to keep himself distracted, distracted from how afraid he was.
The desert was far more deserted than what they had imagined. They expected to see cactuses,
camels, signs of life, but nothing. Holding their backpacks tight, they headed into the desert.
They walked non-stop until night, trying to search for a source of water. Although their
backpacks were full of water, hey all knew that it couldn’t last for long. The sun was burning, and
they were sweating a lot. It was a lot of effort not to gobble down a whole bottle each time.
At night, when it turned darker and darker, they managed to find a big boulder to sleep on.
They curled up, cuddled together, trying to keep warm: the temperature in day and night was
really a big contrast.
“You know Hank, I have kids to feed.” Nick said softly in the dark, “I can’t imagine how life
would be for them without me.”
Hank still didn’t answer. There was absolutely no point in talking about these affairs now. The
urgent problem is to find out what’s wrong, so they can go home.
Hank was just about to fall asleep when everything began to roar. A weak moan, at first, but
it soon turned into screams as the sand twirled violently around them.
“What’s happening?!” Nick shouted, but his voice was barely audible with the screaming wind.
“Stay down!” Hank gasped, his mouth full of sand the moment he opened it, “Sandstorm!”
They held on to the boulder, to each other, and tried to keep calm. The wind screaming in their
ears, sand blowing into their faces leaving tiny but painful cuts, things couldn’t possibly get worse.
They soon lost count of time. How long did the sandstorm last? An hour? Or two? Actually, it
might only have lasted for ten minutes. When the surroundings finally calmed down, Hank and
Nick just sat there, panting and coughing out sand, glad to still be alive.
The next morning when Hank woke up, Nick was gone.
“
