Fiction: Group 2
Zero Hour
Clearwater Bay School, Cheng, Ryan - 10, Fiction: Group 2
woke up with the sun radiating in my eyes. It was a scorching hot day and my feet felt like they were
standing on molten lava. Looking around, I saw an abundance amount of farmers working in their own
farming area. Lettuce, carrots, and countless other juicy-looking vegetables sprung from the ground. I
asked a farmer where I was and he spoke in a language that I didn’t understand. I ran to another farmer and
asked him the exact same question. Again, he spoke in the same language as the other farmer I asked earlier.
I was immensely frustrated, but at the exact same moment, I realized something and gasped.
There was a colossal wall that was separating two very different sides of the place where all the farming was
going on, and one of them was a side with lots of cargo in big metallic containers and shipping boats
shipping out the big metal containers. I glanced around and saw a few little kids playing tag with their older
brothers and sisters. I wanted to ask the kid where in the world I was but I was afraid that he would speak in
the same language as the farmers. Eventually, I still decided to give it a try. I sneaked my way to one of the
older kids and asked him where I was and he spoke with a deep stern voice and said, “ You’re in Shenzhen,
a part of the Pearl River Delta.”
I muttered upon myself “What in the world is the Pearl River Delta?” “Why am I even here in this so-
called Pearl River Delta?” Unfortunately, the older brother heard me and growled, “ This so called Pearl
River Delta is my home.” I was obviously scared. I didn’t want to get punished by this 14 year-old boy.
Reluctantly, I asked him politely where I was and if he knew how I got here. He also told me his name,
Minho. Calming down, Minho told me how the Pearl River Delta turned from a peaceful place in China,
to a completely polluted place with lots of business people running around not caring about China’s
environment.
“Long, long ago, nearly in the early 1800s, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Zhao Qing, Hong Kong, Huizhou,
Zhuhai, all these places were a sight to behold with breath-taking sceneries and wonderful valleys. All of
these places were and still are part of the Pearl River Delta. Sadly in the 1980s, the Pearl River Delta
became a business area since the Pearl River Delta had a river that was handy for cargo ships shipping out
products to other countries. Since then, the Pearl River Delta was for shipping out products to other
countries.” Minho’s explained. “Okay…” I said, with a perplexed look on my face. “But why am I even
here in the Pearl River Delta?” I asked. “I don’t really know,” said Minho scratching his head. “I was just
playing with my younger siblings when you showed up.” I stood there confused as a person who just lost
their memory. Me? Showed up out of nowhere? I had an overpowering urge not to ask Minho if he was a
little drunk. “Do you know if there could be anyway that I could have got here?” I asked. Minho shrugged,
“Stuff like this only exists in legends,” he said slightly flummoxed. Then what happened next was out of the
ordinary and terrifying at the same time.
Minho’s eyes stared at me like I was a supernatural monster made of garbage. At that very moment, I saw a
color in his eyes that I couldn’t describe. I didn’t really know if I was imagining it, but one of Minho’s eyes
looked like a mix between fiery red and sea blue. The other eye looked like another mix between emerald
green and neon yellow. He muttered in a soft silent voice “No, no, no. It can’t be. ” Then before I even
noticed, Minho was dragging my arm to a place with an incredibly serious look on his face.
I was terrified. Wherever he would take me I would be trembling with fear. Even if he took me to an
amusement park with cotton candy and silly clowns. Instead, he took me to an odd-looking place. It was
shaped like a giant pagoda with blood red paint covering the walls when some of it was chipped off making
strange chipped blobs in the wall. The wall was also covered with Chinese decoration such as gold
phoenixes and dragons. He dragged me inside and my jaw dropped.
I was in a beautiful room where there were gorgeous paintings and amazing photographs on the walls.
There was a soft, silk bed placed in the corner of the room. He took me further into the house and took me
I
