Chapter 1 — The Capture
Chapter 1 — The Capture
A shout.
Then another.
The entrance burst open.
Heavy footsteps. Angry voices. Shadows rushing through the darkness.
Lin Yichen barely had time to open his eyes.
Someone seized his shoulder.
Another grabbed his arm.
“Hey! What the—”
A fist struck him across the face.
His head snapped sideways.
Before he could recover, two men dragged him from where he had been sleeping.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
Nobody answered.
The shouting continued. He couldn’t understand a single word.
For a moment, Yichen could think of only one explanation.
Burglars.
He twisted violently, trying to wrench his arm free.
“Get off me!”
A blow landed in his stomach, folding him forward.
Something rough was pulled over his head.
Darkness.
“Help! Somebody—”
Another blow.
A sharp pain exploded behind his skull.
Then nothing.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
A violent jolt.
Yichen stirred.
His head throbbed.
Something hard pressed against his back. His body rocked from side to side, accompanied by the rhythmic creaking of wood.
He tried to open his eyes.
Darkness.
His head was still covered.
He listened.
Hooves.
Horses.
Wooden wheels rattled beneath him. Men spoke nearby in an unfamiliar language. Occasionally, one shouted and another answered.
He tried to move.
His hands were tied behind his back.
His ankles were bound.
Kidnapped?
His mind struggled to make sense of it.
Who were these people?
What did they want?
He tried to remember what had happened before the men burst in, but the pounding in his head made it difficult to concentrate.
The vehicle struck another rut.
His shoulder bounced against the wooden boards.
He groaned.
Someone nearby laughed.
Yichen attempted to shout, but his voice emerged weak and muffled beneath the covering.
Nobody responded.
The wheels continued rattling.
The horses continued moving.
Eventually, the rocking and the pain became too much.
He slipped back into unconsciousness.
The wheels stopped.
Voices.
Footsteps approached.
Strong hands grabbed him.
He was lifted, carried a short distance, then thrown onto a hard surface.
His shoulder struck something wooden.
Pain shot through his body.
“Ah!”
He curled instinctively onto his side.
Someone pulled the covering from his head.
Dim light flooded his eyes.
Yichen blinked rapidly.
Once.
Twice.
His vision gradually cleared.
He was lying in the corner of a small wooden enclosure.
Thick wooden bars stood in front of him. Beyond them, curved walls covered in felt rose towards a wooden roof frame.
A tent?
He looked around, bewildered.
A wooden cell inside a tent?
He tried to sit upright. The room swayed, forcing him to pause until the dizziness passed.
Then he glanced down.
His clothes.
He was wearing a coarse, loose tunic tied at the waist with a strip of cloth. Thick trousers covered his legs, and his feet were wrapped in unfamiliar boots.
He stared.
What the hell am I wearing?
He twisted awkwardly, examining the sleeves and the fabric around his waist.
He couldn’t remember putting any of it on.
Who changed my clothes?
His hands were still tied behind his back.
He pulled against the rope.
It was tight.
Beyond the bars, a man stood watching him.
The stranger wore a thick woollen coat, a fur-trimmed cap and heavy boots. A curved blade hung from his belt.
He said something sharply.
Yichen looked up.
“What?”
The man repeated himself, louder this time.
“I don’t understand.”
The stranger frowned.
He muttered something under his breath, then turned and walked away.
Yichen stared after him.
“Hey! Come back!”
No response.
“Where am I?”
The man disappeared through the entrance.
Yichen was alone.
He leaned back against the wooden bars and took a slow breath.
Think, Lin. Think.
But before he could organise his thoughts, shouting erupted outside.
Several men were approaching.
The voices grew louder.
Yichen quickly lowered himself onto his side.
Better pretend I’m still unconscious.
He closed his eyes.
The entrance flap was pulled aside.
Heavy boots crossed the floor.
Through a narrow gap between his eyelids, Yichen saw two men carrying someone between them.
The man’s head was covered with a dark cloth. His feet dragged across the ground, and his arms appeared to be tied behind his back.
The guards opened the wooden gate.
Then—
Thud!
They threw the prisoner onto the floor beside Yichen.
The man groaned.
One soldier pulled the covering from his head.
A few words were exchanged.
The gate slammed shut.
A heavy wooden latch dropped into place.
Their footsteps faded.
Yichen waited.
One second.
Two.
Three.
He slowly opened his eyes.
The newcomer lay on his side, breathing heavily.
He looked young, perhaps around Yichen’s age, with tangled dark hair and a dirt-streaked face.
“Hey,” Yichen whispered.
The man stirred.
“Hey, you. Are you okay?”
The stranger opened his eyes.
The moment he saw Yichen, he scrambled backwards.
“Whoa! Easy!”
The man kept crawling until his back struck the wooden bars.
His eyes were wide with fear.
Yichen stared at him.
What’s wrong with him?
“Relax. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The stranger said nothing.
Yichen twisted his body to show the rope binding his wrists.
“Look. I’m tied up too.”
He turned a little further.
“See? Same as you.”
The stranger’s gaze dropped to the ropes.
He stopped retreating.
“Good. That’s better.”
Yichen shifted into a sitting position, wincing as pain shot through his shoulder.
“Do you know where this place is?”
No answer.
“Where are we?”
The stranger watched him without speaking.
“Are we kidnapped? Do you know who these people are?”
Nothing.
Yichen sighed.
“Do you speak English?”
The man blinked.
“English? No?”
Still nothing.
“Okay. I’m Lin. What’s your name?”
The stranger tilted his head slightly.
Yichen tried again, more slowly.
“Lin. My name is Lin. What’s yours?”
The man continued staring.
Wonderful.
Yichen switched to Mandarin.
“你聽得懂中文嗎？”
The stranger’s expression became even more confused.
“你叫甚麼名字？”
No response.
Yichen studied him for a moment.
Then he had an idea.
He lowered his chin towards his own chest.
“Lin.”
He repeated it.
“Lin.”
Then he raised his head and pointed his chin towards the stranger.
“You?”
The man frowned.
Yichen tried again.
“Lin.”
He nodded towards himself.
Then towards the stranger.
“You?”
A few seconds passed.
The stranger’s expression slowly changed.
“Ah!”
He nodded.
“Lin.”
Yichen almost laughed with relief.
“Yes! Lin!”
The man pointed at him.
“Lin?”
“Yes! Yes!”
The stranger nodded again.
Then, slowly, he pointed his chin towards himself.
“Boro.”
Yichen leaned forward.
“Bo... ro?”
“Boro.”
“Boro!”
The man’s face brightened.
He nodded enthusiastically.
“Good! Very good!” Yichen grinned. “Lin. Boro.”
He nodded first towards himself, then towards the stranger.
“Lin. Boro.”
Boro repeated the two names, pointing in turn.
For the first time since his capture, Yichen felt something resembling relief.
At least I’ve found someone I can talk to.
Well, almost.
“Okay, Boro. Now, where the hell are we?”
Boro’s smile disappeared.
Yichen looked around the cell.
“Where?”
He raised his eyebrows dramatically, turning his head left and right.
“Where are we?”
Boro watched him.
“Where? Where?”
Yichen twisted his body, looking exaggeratedly at the wooden bars, the felt walls and the entrance.
“這裡是哪裡？”
Boro blinked.
“哪裡？Where?”
Yichen tilted his head towards the ceiling, then looked left, right and behind him, as though searching for something.
“Where? Where is this place?”
Boro followed his gaze.
He looked at the ceiling.
Then at the wooden bars.
Then back at Yichen.
Suddenly, Boro began speaking rapidly in his own language.
Yichen listened carefully.
Not a word made sense.
“Wait, wait! Slowly!”
Boro continued, gesturing with his shoulders and nodding towards the entrance.
Yichen shook his head.
“No, no. I don’t understand.”
Boro stopped.
Both men stared at each other.
Yichen sighed.
Great. We’ve established our names. Only another thousand words to go.
He was about to try again when Boro suddenly turned towards the entrance.
His expression changed.
Voices.
Men shouting somewhere outside.
Yichen heard them too.
The voices grew louder.
Footsteps approached.
Boro immediately lowered himself to the floor.
Yichen understood.
“Oh, right.”
He quickly lay on his side, shut his eyes and let his head drop against the ground.
The footsteps stopped outside.
The entrance flap rustled.
Through barely opened eyelids, Yichen saw several pairs of boots enter the tent.
Two men were carrying someone.
Another prisoner.
His head was covered with a dark hood. His arms hung awkwardly between the men, and his feet dragged across the ground.
One of the soldiers barked an order.
The wooden gate creaked open.
The men carried their prisoner inside.
Then—
Thud!
They dropped him heavily onto the floor.
Yichen fought the urge to flinch.
The new prisoner landed only a short distance from his feet.
One of the guards pulled the hood from the man’s head.
A few words were exchanged.
The gate slammed shut.
A wooden latch clattered into place.
The soldiers left.
Their footsteps gradually faded.
Silence returned.
Yichen waited a few more seconds before opening one eye.
Across from him, Boro was doing exactly the same thing.
Their eyes met.
Neither spoke.
Then, almost together, they turned towards the newcomer.
Three men.
One wooden cell.
Yichen looked at Boro.
Boro looked back at him.
What the hell is going on?
