Fiction: Group 3
“Why have we been kept here?”
“For labour. This is one the biggest illegal iron production projects in China. You will work here
for the rest of your life.”
“What do you mean, ‘rest of my life?’ We have to be set free someday, right?”
“Don’t waste your time holding onto that hope. I have been working here since I was seventeen. I
was rebellious at first. Then I realized that it was useless. The men would do anything to stop being exposed
and I tell this to you by experience. A couple rebellious workers had tried to escape. They were caught in
less than two days and no one saw them after that. I worked for four years when an overseer decided to
promote me and make me in charge of the delivery of the kidnapped children. I convinced myself that I was
only going to be driving the boat and that was not incorrect.”
“What if I tell you that I have a plan to escape? Now that you are no longer seen as a child, you
can escape more easily.”
This made him stop for a moment.
“So, what’s your plan?”
Obviously, I was improvising. I had to think of something quick to tell him.
“I can get you out of here if you assure me that you know the Pearl River Delta well.”
***
We walked out of the factory. There was a man guarding the entrance. He let us pass without
questioning. The hair on my arm stood up when the guard glared at me. The port was a short way from the
factory. We grabbed a motor bike parked just outside the factory. Luckily, the keys were still in the bike.
We were not going to port without unwanted company.
We skidded to a stop at the jetty. Without sparing a second, we jumped into a dingy boat. Just as
we got in, we ducked down in the boat and hid under a tarp that was lying in the boat. There were people
in the port and they were searching for something using powerful flashlights. All I hoped was that it wasn’t
us they were looking for. The light swung over us a few times. I could see the light through the tarp. The
lights soon went away and the voices dwindled. We still stayed under for a few minutes before scrambling
out. I turned on the engine while Lee took the wheel.
“Where are we heading?”
“Jiangmen. Do you know any shortcuts?”
“No, but I can make it quick.”
We had barely moved when we heard a few more shouts behind us and an engine. We were being
pursued. Lee increased the speed. After half an hour, the other men were out of sight, however our relief
was short lived. The engine suddenly stopped. After a minute of confusion, Lee noticed that the fuel had
run out. We could do nothing but wait.
The other boat pulled up beside ours. A man lunged towards us, however, I could push him away.
I did not know where this sudden rush of courage some from, but I certainly wasn’t going to stop. The
other man on the adjacent boat tried to pull out gun on us, however, Lee threw the tarp on him before he
could do so. We jumped into the other boat and threw the man overboard. It was an exhausting night. That
was all I remember before I fell into a deep slumber.