Peter Liu - Bald New World

Another thug approached and slugged me in the face. I tried to fight but the pain was getting too much for me. One of them threw me to the floor and kicked me in the belly. More feet swarmed my way and I suddenly had a flashback to my childhood. It enraged me and I laughed defiantly. “You guys should do feet massages.” I felt an explosion inside my gut and four pairs of legs assailed me until I saw a huge fist coming my way and—

VI.

I tried opening my eyes but it was dark. I was blindfolded and felt a cold chill. There was nothing covering my body. I was naked and my arms and legs were tied behind me.

“Are you up?” I heard, immediately smelling strong perfume. Shinjee.

“What do you want?”

“I’m trying to help you.”

“I don’t want your help!”

“Keep your voice down,” she whispered furiously. “If you don’t listen to me right now, you will live a life of misery and die without anyone knowing you’ve disappeared.”

“What?”

“They’re taking you to a labor camp, either in Russia or near the Manchurian border.”

“Why?”

“It’s too complicated to explain. Take this,” she said, and put a key in my palm that stuck by an adhesive. She stuffed a pill in my mouth. “Eat this.”

“What is it?”

“They’re going to inject you with something that’ll make you pass out for the whole trip. This’ll wake you a few hours after you get knocked out. Swallow quickly.”

I was tempted to bite her fingers, but realized I didn’t have any other choice than to trust her. “When you wake up, free yourself and get out of the truck within thirty seconds or they’ll release sleeping gas. It’ll be an automated driver so you’ll be all right as long as you get out quickly. If you do get out, disappear so no one finds you. Think of it as a second chance to be whoever you want to be.”

“If I get out, I’ll find you,” I warned her.

“I don’t blame you for being angry. I didn’t want this to happen to him either. He was too naive to survive in a world like ours.”

I was already plotting my revenge when I heard her abruptly make her exit. I heard grunts, then heavy steps. Something sharp pierced my elbow. Nap time.

It felt like I’d blinked and I was already up. I was groggy. My body was encased in something cold and metallic. I was standing upright. From the bouncing and heavy engine noises, I knew I was in a vehicle. The key was adherent to my palm. I used it to unlock my manacles, then removed my blind. I was in a truck with about seventy others, all of whom were restrained naked against the slabs. They were unconscious prisoners and a part of me wished I could help them. But as soon as I stepped forward, an alarm blared. I had thirty seconds before they released the sleeping gas. I felt for the poor slobs who were being shipped off to a life of slavery. I sprinted for the door and opened it, jumping out, then tumbled off the road, scraping my elbows and the side of my back. The harsh reek of asphalt wracked me. It was freezing and I was buck naked. I wondered if I should follow the road back but then saw a car coming from behind, an escort in case of any mishaps. This constituted a mishap. Someone ordered from a speakerphone on the car, “Stay where you are!”

There was a forest a few meters from the road and I ran into it. My feet hurt as they had no protection against the stones, branches, and dirt. Still, the pain was no match for my desperation. I ran without thinking, ran without any specific destination. I was running to run. There were too many trees, tall, goliath bark, shadowy skyscrapers that formed this wooden city. A panoply of leaves above provided an umbrella, though the moonlight cast an eerie luminescence. Parts of my body were feeling itchy and I realized mosquitoes were swarming me even though I couldn’t see them. I swatted away my invisible foes and as I did, I remembered that Larry was dead. My skin, already numb from the cold, became even more frigid. My eyes were blind to the geography. Poor Larry. Shinjee called you naive. I thought you were too brave. I never should have let you go alone. Even if I couldn’t have done anything to help, at least we could have died together, brothers in life and death. You were the closest thing to family I had. If there is a God in Heaven, please help me escape so I can avenge Larry . I hadn’t been expecting anything like a literal salvation. But I saw a bright light in the distance that made lined contours of the forest, vertical strips of black backlit by a shining halo. Was a miracle awaiting me? Had some higher power come down to give me aid, perhaps a mission, some super powers to allow me to overcome my foes? After I avenge Larry, I will undertake any mission you send me on. Have some heretics you want me to deal with? Send me and I will be your avenging angel! I will make the punishments of the Old Testament seem merciful in comparison. Just save me please. I am useless to you as an angry forest spirit wandering pointlessly about .

When I arrived at the light, I was shocked to see a huge glowing cross. It was a building of some sorts. Perhaps a church? I launched myself through the front door, ready to receive my mission from God. This was as close to a burning fire as I was going to get and unlike Moses, I was willing to take my divine commission. Desperation demanded total humility. To my surprise, the pews were filled with mid-aged women who looked at me and gasped. I looked down and remembered I was naked. Screaming ensued.

“I’m here to answer the call of God!” I declared.

“The Devil cometh in many forms!” a man at the front altar declared. “Arrest him!”

“No no no, you don’t understand. I prayed for a miracle. I prayed for this—”

“Beware of the wolf in sheep’s clothing. But this wolf doesn’t even bother with his clothing!”

A bunch of men rushed towards me and tied me up, afraid I was going to corrupt their womenfolk. Had I just exchanged one prison for another?

I.

I never missed sleep so much. They had me tied up against the wall with rope. The room was freezing and lit by candles. It smelled of befoulment and blood. A bony man approached. His lips were dry and I wished I could use lip balm to get rid of the dead skin hanging from his mouth. He didn’t have a wig on, though he wore a hooded cloak like a wizard from those MMORPG games I used to play. The skin clung tightly to his cheeks and the jaw muscles stretched when he spoke, giving him a skeletal facade. He had large blue eyes even though he appeared Asiatic, and he leaned on a staff, elderly in age.

“My name is Elias Mardi,” he said. “Most people call me Mardi. What’s your name?”

I figured I’d make one up. “Terrence Kang.”

“Mr. Terrence Kang. Why are you here?”

I explained briefly about the North Korean spies, the labor camp, and my escape into their church.

Mardi pounded the ground with his staff. “I’ve heard a lot of crazy stories, but none like that. Let’s try again. Why are you here?”

“I told you, I was—”

The old man flung his wrist with a speed I didn’t expect. A thin whip sprang out of nowhere and slashed me across my chest. Red ripped apart my skin and the piercing sensation forced me to howl.

“What are you doing?!” I demanded.

“The first step to absolution is confession. You have lied to me twice already. I won’t tolerate a third.”

“What am I lying about?”

“Your name is Nicholas Guan,” he said. “Why are you here?”

Had they checked my fingerprints? Had they scanned my blood? There were a hundred ways they could have checked my identity and now they had me at a disadvantage. What kind of answer was the old man looking for?