Fiction: Group 2
Outlaw Trouble
International Christian School, Kwok, Chung Sze - 9, Fiction: Group 2
owards the middle of the night, Cynthia checked to make sure her parents were sleeping. Lighting
the oil lamp, she draped a faded, threadbare shawl on her shoulders, and started reading a book that
she secretly bought, about pirates near her home, the Pearl River Delta.
Every night after a day of hard work, she would secretly study. Worried about her parents,
Cynthia used her blanket, covering part of the light. Her parents, who considered learning a waste of time,
forbid her from learning.
Cynthia finally finished her book after what seemed like an eternity. She snuggled into her
blanket on the straw mattress, and fell into a light nap.
Cynthia woke to the sound of intense chattering. The faint sounds drifted towards her, allowing
her to catch a few words and understand that there were outlaws near the village. She knew that the village
now needed to be extra careful, especially during the night.
The next night, Cynthia felt another presence while she studied. Turning around, she found
herself face to face with her angry mom. “Learning, huh?” She scolded. “What did I say about that?”
“I’ll still help with work if that’s what you want. Studying will be useful in my life”, Cynthia replied
smoothly and calmly. Not taking any excuses, her mom yelled, “I don’t care! I mean what I said!” Just
then, her dad walked in and shouted, “Go to sleep. Now! ” Knowing that arguing wouldn’t help, Cynthia
reluctantly returned to her bed, her eyes swirling with anger.
Tossing and turning, Cynthia tried to fall asleep. Willing as hard as she could, she squeezed her
eyes shut, and finally drifted off to sleep. In her dream, she was running through the bumpy roads, with
footsteps chasing her. Her heart pounding wildly, Cynthia sprinted as fast as her legs would carry her. The
men drew closer and closer, and soon Cynthia realized they trapped her…
Cynthia’s eyes flew open. Relieved that was just a dream, she sighed. But then, she began hearing
running footsteps in the distance, advancing nearer and nearer. Slapping herself, Cynthia shook her head. I
must be mad, she told herself.
Abruptly, her parents dashed towards her corner. Grabbing her hand, they dragged Cynthia out
the house to the barn, hiding behind the horse stall. “Is this about the footsteps?” Cynthia whispered. “I’m
afraid so”, her dad replied, worry and fear coating his voice.
Suddenly, kicking sounds filled the air. Peeking through a seep on the wall, the door to Cynthia’s
home burst open, making way for a group of armed men. The leader of the group shouted orders, and the
bandits scurried off immediately. Looking out, she could see other houses being raided, too.
Cynthia watched as a small group of fearsome men pointing knives in many directions, looking for
them. Cynthia’s heart thumped wildly. This has got to be a dream, she told herself.
The door to the barn broke open. Cynthia’s family was cornered to the wall while the outlaws tore
everything apart like a wild tornado, looking for money and treasure.
The men loosely tied and marched their prisoners down the twisted road. Stumbling and tripping
in the process, the villagers finally reached a vast area near the water. One man growled in frustration, “We
hardly found anything! We should just drown everyone and get going.” Afraid, Cynthia spoke up, “I read
that years ago, China had many different groups of pirates. Back then in the 1850s, around the time when
they had war with the British, some people say that they have treasure buried in the woods, around the
southeast.” Hearing the word ‘treasure’, the robbers’ eyes lit up. One of them said, “I’ve heard something
similar to that before. Let’s go!” Immediately, they sent most of their crew away to find the buried
treasure.
The men left to watch the villagers started huddling together, discussing the treasure they hoped to
find. Cynthia took this as a chance and motioned with her tied hands for everyone to come closer. The
villagers nudged each other and scooted nearer. Lowering her voice, Cynthia whispered, “We’re tied pretty
loosely. Help each other untie their ropes, then using the ropes pin them down. Then, tie them up and call
for help.” Nodding in response, everyone assisted each other, and soon broke free. Cynthia led them in
tiptoeing towards the group. Signaling with her hands, the villagers pounced. Taken by surprise, the
outlaws didn’t have time to react.
The villagers tied the men up with their knot-tying skills they learned for fishing. A group of fast
runners set off to a close neighboring village to request for help.
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