World Under Siege
an excerpt

“Alex?” he called. “The water will not start.”
“What do you mean, the water will not start?” Alex answered. Then it hit him. “You are trying to stall, right?”
“I am not!” Broderick exclaimed defensively. “I am being completely serious!”
“Knock it off, kiddo. You are too old to be playing these sorts of games,” Alex called up to his brother.
“Come up and see for yourself!” Broderick cried.
In the interest of humoring his brother, as well as the glee he would get when he turned on the tap and water flowed from it, Alex started up the stairs.
“If you are wasting my time…” he began.
“Come on!” Broderick said. “Look at it yourself.”
Alex entered the bathroom and opened the tap. Nothing happened.
“You see?” Broderick said. “I told you!”
Alex was barely paying attention. The entire house seemed to be falling apart. He tried the tap over the sink as well. Nothing. Wordlessly, he pulled out his mobile phone and selected his father’s number from the speed dial menu.
“Well,” he said, in an effort to lighten up the situation. “I guess you get to skip taking a bath tonight. Why don’t you go get ready for bed while I try and reach dad.”
His brother again vanished. It only then occurred to Alex that the phone never rang. It didn’t even go to voicemail. It was just…silence. Desperately he ran for the landline phone, and held it up to his ear. No dial tone.
Broderick reappeared, dressed for bed. The phone fell from Alex’s hand, useless. He knew his little brother was looking for answers, and he did not have them. Their eyes met.
“I’m scared,” Broderick said.
...

Alex did not sleep long. He was awaken by a thunderous sound, so close that he knew it could only be the sound of the front storm-door being blasted off it’s hinges.
“Damn,” Alex muttered. “What kind of robbers knock down the door with an explosion? What ever happened to stealth?”
Broderick had awakened also. He looked as though he was about to scream, so with speed impressive for a sleep-deprived teen, Alex flew across the room just in time to clasp a hand over his brother’s mouth.
“No!” he whispered. “It’s ok, just try to stay quiet.”
More sounds from the lower level. Alex was certain it was gunfire. Broderick buried his face in Alex’s chest. He made little noise, but the wetness on Alex’s shirt told him his brother was crying.
Then the voices came. Alex understood what they were saying, but it was not English.
“快點! 一樓沒人, 快上去啊!”
How could this be? What were Chinese military men doing here? Alex knew only one thing. They were coming upstairs. He wrapped his arms around his brother.
Alex heard the footsteps, and could tell they were entering their parent’s room. He prayed that they still had not made it home.
“好像這裡也沒人!”
“好, 你去看另外那方間!”
Alex breathed a sigh of relief. At least his parents had escaped. But there were other matters. He heard more gunfire. Perhaps they were attempting to destroy the whole house, and the only thing separating Alex and Broderick from that nightmare was a single closed door.
With a sonorous blow the door was kicked clean from its hinges. Light flooded into the room. Before the boys stood a man dressed completely in black, covered except for his eyes, bearing a military rifle.
“這裡有兩個孩子!” he called to his comrade. Then to the boys, he said “你們兩個! 快走啊!”
He moved his hand in a way to convey moving towards him. Of course, Alex perfectly understood his meaning, and hastened to obey. Best to listen when there was a gun pointed at your face.
Broderick, however was no so quick to get the message, and received a swift blow to his back from the butt end of the man’s rifle. He let out a scream of pain.
“你這一個小鬼啊! 趕快!” The man shouted.
“好啦! 不用大聲講!” Alex yelled as he rushed to comfort his brother, who was now crying again.
The man, as well as his comrade who had just come down the hall, froze. Alex realized his mistake as the words came out. He had just removed the one advantage he and his brother may have had against these men. But the men too had lost a key advantage.
The second man grabbed Alex by the shoulder and forced him around so they were facing, the gun at Alex’s head.
“小子! 你聽的懂我在講什麼話嗎?” he asked Alex.
A thought rushed through Alex, but he then decided it would be best not to lie with the gun pointed at his face.
“聽…聽懂了,” Alex stammered.
The man stood there for a moment. Then he turned to his comrade.
“小心點. 這一個小傢伙會講,” he said.
“是的.”
In all this, Alex felt slightly insulted when the man referred to him as a ‘tool’. Still there were other things that needed to be worried about. He draped an arm around Broderick, who was still sobbing a little.
“It’s ok, buddy,” Alex told his brother. “We will get through this.”
“好啦! 我們已經浪費了太多時間. 不可以講話!” One of the men shouted. “聽好. 你們要出去. 趕快!”
Alex moved out, leading Broderick with him.
“What’s going on?” Broderick asked.
Alex held up a hand for silence. He would explain later, as soon as he figured out what exactly was going on.
“But…” began Broderick again.
Alex brought his hand over his brother’s mouth. Best not to tick off the men with the guns.
The scene outside was like nothing Alex would have ever believed. There were more of these men, all dressed the same, and they had brought in massive portable lights; the same type of lighting one might find at a high school football game. The street was illuminated as clear as day. And the people. It seemed as though the entire street, no; the entire neighborhood had been evicted from their homes by these men.
The boys assimilated into the mass. There were many voices, all talking at once. There was panic, confusion, and chaos. Alex could understand why. He, more than any of them, knew what was going on, and even he was not entirely certain.
“Alex,” came Broderick’s voice. “What is going on?”
Alex knelt down so that he was at eye level with his brother. He placed both hands on Broderick’s shoulders.
“Listen, kiddo,” he began. “I’m not sure what is happening. It seems that the military of China wants to kidnap us. For now, there is nothing we can do about it. We just have to do what they say, to hopefully increase our chance of living.”
Broderick burst into tears again. “I don’t want to die!” he wailed.

...

Broderick did not know how long they walked, but he knew it was a while. The sun had come up and set again before they had stopped. Alex explained that they were permitted to stop for a brief rest, and to drink from the nearby stream. He did not feel well. He was tired and hungry, and his head felt fuzzy.
Alex was sitting against a tree. Broderick sat down next to him, and laid his head against Alex’s chest.
“I feel awful,” Broderick told him. “My head feels all fuzzy.”
“That would be from not sleeping,” Alex said. “I know what that can feel like.”
Alex might have said something more, but Broderick did not hear it. He closed his eyes, and sleep came over him within seconds.
Someone was shaking him. There was a voice. Distant, but familiar.
“Come on, bud,” it said. “You have to get up now.”
“No,” he whined. “I want to sleep.”
“It’s time to go. Get up.” Alex’s voice.
“I don’t want to!” he cried.
“Come on Broder! We have to move, NOW!” Alex was yelling now.
Powerful arms pulled him to his feet. He began to fall down but something caught him. He felt a sharp jolt of pain across his cheek. He snapped his eyes open and realized Alex had slapped him. Tears came to his eyes.
“What was that for?” he wailed.
“Later, just MOVE!” Alex screamed at him.
Alex pulled him by the arm. Broderick felt the sensation of being dragged along. A force pulled him up by his other arm, and he realized that Alex and Justin were on either side of him, dragging him along.
A much shorter time period passed when the men said something. Alex explained that they would be stopping for an extended period of time. Broderick opened his eyes and realized they were in another development.
“Do you think they are gathering more people?” Justin asked Alex.
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Alex responded. “I guess they have to be complete, don’t they? We might as well sit down, at any rate.”
The trio leaned against another tree. Broderick sat next to his brother but did not look at him. He was wide-awake, too scared to sleep again. Tears flowed freely down his face. Alex put an arm around him; he wriggled away.
“Come on, kiddo,” Alex said. “What’s bothering you? I’m not going to understand unless you explain it to me.”
“You screamed at me and hit me,” he whined.
Alex sighed. “I know. I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.”
Alex’s arms were around him again.
“Look,” he went on. “If we are going to get through this, we can’t be upset at each other like this. Its not worth it for us to be fighting when there are more important things at hand.”
“I’m so scared,” Broderick said. “What’s going to happen to us?”
“I don’t know,” Alex replied.
There were more screams, and more gunfire as people were removed from their homes and thrown in with the crowd. Soon, though, the man with the megaphone addressed the crowd again.
“Let’s go,” Alex said. We’re moving.”
“What’s up with this?” Justin asked. “If they want to kill us, why don’t they just do it?”
That word again. Kill. Broderick hated it. Why were they all talking about death? Perhaps they were not going to die. But where were these men taking them? And why? He had so many questions to ask, but he knew that Alex was not in the mood to answer them. He knew one thing, though. If you don’t eat, you die. If you don’t sleep, you die. If you don’t drink, you die.
The sun was coming up again. That meant they walked for a very long while. Broderick remembered that they were taken on a Friday night. That meant today was Sunday. He had not eaten since Friday evening. He felt weak, sick, and the walking certainly did not help matters. Time passed.
He could not go on. His feet hurt. His head felt as though it would explode from the pain. He couldn’t see straight. They had stopped only for brief water breaks at streams. He walked between Justin and Alex so that if he began to fall they would pull him back up.
“I can’t go on, I can’t,” he whined.
“You MUST go on,” Alex said.
“It hurts,” he moaned.
“I know,” Alex replied, reaching into his pocket. “Look.”
He had handed Broderick a small piece of paper. It was written in funny symbols that Broderick did not understand:
“走, 勿停. 你停, 你死.”
“Pardon me,” Justin spoke up. “But why, exactly, are you carrying around a painting that looks like it was done by a long-dead caveman?”
“Justin,” Alex began. “Did it ever occur to you, even once, to maybe, possibly, TRY to learn another language?”
“No,” said Justin simply.
“What does it say?” Broderick asked.
“Well,” began Alex. “It’s written in extreme shorthand, but I think I got the gist of it…”
“What is ‘extreme shorthand’?” Broderick asked.
“It’s what you write in when you talk to people on IM. People forget how to read properly when they are in front of a screen,” Justin explained.
Alex laughed. Broderick felt he would be sick if he laughed.
“In reality, its what you write when you are in a hurry. You omit words that aren’t important,” Alex said.
“So what does it say?” Broderick asked.
“‘When walking, don’t stop. Stop, and you’re dead’,” Alex said.
Justin said something. Something about getting so may words out of so few symbols. Broderick wasn’t listening. Death. Dead. Kill. It was everywhere. Everywhere he looked, that was the only thing he saw.
“I don’t want to die,” he said.
“Then MOVE,” Alex said.
They picked up pace again. Fortunately, none of the officers noticed the slowing in pace. The crowd had grown so large it was impossible for them to possibly tend to the whole thing at once. Broderick stayed in between Alex and Justin, and people on all sides surrounded them.
He was too scared to stop now, but what bothered him most was the hunger. His head still hurt, which Alex attributed to ‘lack of sleep.’ He could not see ten feet in front of himself.
The pains only got worst. During one of their rests, he approached Alex, who was sitting under a tree.
“You don’t look so good, kiddo,” Alex said.
“I feel terrible,” Broderick moaned.
“Come on, hurry up and sit down.”
Broderick made to do so. He felt his legs falling from underneath him. Darkness swelled around his eyes, and he knew no more.
He heard the voices first.
“Get water.”
“Get water? With what, exactly?”
“I don’t know, be creative! But hurry!”
Cool water splashed over his face. He opened his eyes but nothing was in focus. There was a massive pain in his head. He couldn’t feel his legs.
“Ow ow ow!” he cried.
“It’s ok, buddy,” came Alex’s voice. “Don’t cry. I know it hurts.”
“What happened?” Broderick asked through his tears.
“You slammed your head into a tree, that’s what happened,” Justin said.
“Justin, please,” Alex said. “You blacked out. I couldn’t catch you before you hit the tree. You’re bleeding.”
“I can’t feel my legs,” he wailed.
The voice came over the megaphone again.
“We’re moving,” Alex said. “Can you stand?”
“No,” Broderick moaned.
“It’s ok, bud,” Alex said. “I’ll carry you as far as I can.”
Alex picked Broderick up and they continued on. Alex and Justin talked in low voices, but Broderick did not pay attention. He started to feel better. Hours passed.
“Listen, I’ve got to set you down now,” Alex said.
“Its ok,” muttered Broderick. “I think I can walk again.”
Broderick felt his feet touch the ground. He tried to walk and nearly fell on his face, but Justin caught him.
“Easy, now,” Alex said. “Start slowly.”
Broderick slowed now. Feeling began to return to his legs.
They had not walked far when they came to a complex enclosed by a massive fence. Only two of the buildings seemed to be in good repair, the others looked to be falling apart. They stopped at the fence.
The megaphone man spoke again. Broderick looked up at his brother for a translation…and was shocked but what he saw. His brother, the strongest, bravest, smartest person he knew was standing there looking as though he had just heard something very bad.
“Alex, what’s he saying?” Broderick asked.
No answer. Broderick saw something he had never seen on Alex’s face he had never before seen: fear.
“Alex, what is going on?” he asked.
...

Alex could not believe what he was hearing. This was the kind of thing that happened in movies, not in real life. Something that you might see in those movies about Germany in the fifties. Not something you find in the United States in 2010.
But here it was. A modern day concentration camp. If the stories from the Second World War were not true, these certainly would be. It was no different, except that the people were the whites instead of the Jews.
There were several buildings spread out, much like a college campus. Only two of them appeared like they were well kept. The others looked run down, as if no one had been there in ages. The entire encampment was surrounded by an electric fence. One thing was certain; there would be no escape.
Alex became aware of Broderick tugging at his shirt.
“Alex, what is going on?” Broderick was saying.
Alex looked around suddenly, as though he had forgotten where he was. Broderick was tugging at his shirt. Justin was looking at him oddly.
“Alex, what’s going on?” Broderick repeated.
“Come on,” Justin said. “It can’t be that bad.”
“It’s…” Alex began. This was the second time in his life he felt himself stutter. The first had been with the Chinese men in his home.
“It’s a concentration camp,” he said finally.
Several people around them gasped. Justin looked as though he would be sick. Broderick, however, looked confused.
“What’s a concentration camp?” he asked.
Alex hesitated. He half expected Justin to come up with some witty response like, “You’ll see.” He didn’t. Alex shot a glance over at his friend and realized he looked truly fearful. His hands were clenched in fists and his knuckles were white. Alex remembered something that on any other day would have been completely irrelevant. Justin was Jewish.
Alex turned back to his brother. He knelt down so that they were at eye level with each other.
“Its like a work camp,” he said. “A place where the military forces criminals to do some sort of labor. Basically a prison.”
“But,” Broderick began. “We aren’t criminals.”
Alex couldn’t resist a smile. What he would not give to be that innocent again.
“In these guy’s minds, we are criminals just for existing,” he said.
The gates of the camp opened. They started walking again. Justin walked with his head down, dragging his feet. Alex placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Listen,” he said. “I know what you are feeling. It isn’t right. I know. But we have to deal with it.”
“HOW can they do this?!” he exclaimed, and for an instant Alex thought he might start crying. “After everything my people went through. HOW can they reduplicate the circumstances?”
“I know,” Alex said again. “But we have to keep going. I didn’t let Broder give up during the walk, and I’m not going to let you give up here. If we are going to get through this, then we have to stick together.”
“You’re right, I know,” said Justin. “But it just makes me so MAD!”
“Me too,” Alex said.
They came to a stop. The megaphone man spoke.
“排了兩隊!” he called. “女生這兒, 男生那兒! 趕快!”
“Two lines,” Alex said. “Women on the left, males on the right. And hurry.”
With the mass crowd broken up, Alex got his first good look at the camp. It was brown, with no vegetation. There were shafts leading underground, to what Alex guessed might be mines of sorts, possibly coal. Most of buildings were a wreck; Alex supposed these would be the sleeping accommodations. They were all simple brown barns.
Two of the buildings were newer. Alex could make out characters reading something to the effect of ‘Boss’s Room’. The second building was off in a corner, tucked away at the far end of the camp. There were no markings on it.
...
They were led across the field to one of the old buildings. It became apparent as soon as they entered that this was their sleeping accommodation. There were six beds in the room, mounted on wooden frames. There were three others in the room already. The man spoke.
“這裡是你們要睡覺的地方. 今晚可以休息, 明天就要開始工作!"
“Sleeping accommodations,” Alex translated after the man left. “We can rest tonight. Work starts tomorrow.”
Broderick and Justin sat down. Alex took a moment to observe the other people in the room. There was an older man, probably around sixty. He looked weak, but seemed alert and had an air about that suggested an inner wisdom. There was also a younger man, probably in his twenties. He looked well built, and Alex knew he would be a powerful ally should escape be attempted. The third was a boy even younger than Broderick, who sat on a bed with his head down, tears coming off his face. Alex walked over to him.
“Hey, buddy,” he said. The kid looked up. “What’s your name?”
“Ch…Ch…Chandler,” he said between tears.
Alex put an arm around him. “I’m Alex,” he said. “How old are you?”
“S…s…seven,” he sobbed.
“Are you’re parents here too?” Alex asked.
“I…I don’t know. I was home with my babysitter, in bed at the time. I heard noises and got scared so I went to find her. That’s when the men grabbed me. As they carried me outside, I thought I saw her body. On the floor. I thought I saw blood too. I think…” the rest blended together with his sobs.
“It’s ok, kiddo,” Alex said. “I’m not sure where my parents are, either.”
“I’m so scared,” Chandler said. “I don’t want to die.”
“I know,” Alex responded. “I don’t want to die either.”
Alex stood up. He had become aware that the other two men had stared at him since he first entered the room. He turned to them. The younger one spoke first.
“You speak Chinese?” he asked.
“Err,” began Alex. “Yes, yes I do.”
“Fluently?”
“Yes.”
The man smiled, and then extended his hand. “I’m Ben,” he said.
“Alex,” Alex replied. They shook hands.
The elderly man extended his hand as well.
“Rob,” he said.
“Alex.” They shook. “This is my brother Broderick, and my friend Justin.” He paused. “At any rate, we are likely going to be together for a very long time, so we might as well get along.”
They all sat in a circle on the floor.
“So, what exactly is going on here?” Ben asked.
“I’m not so sure myself,” Alex said. “I know that the men are Chinese military. This place is a concentration camp. We will start work tomorrow. As for what we will be doing or why, or for how long, I do not know.”
“But this is the U.S.A.!” Ben exclaimed. “We have border regulations and such! How could the entire Red Army simply show up and start taking people like this?”
“I am unsure,” said Alex. “But I do this; before our house was invaded, it might as well have died. The phones, both landline and mobile were dead. The water did not run. And the T.V. no longer received. But here is the strange thing. When the T.V. seemed to only be receiving static, I played around with the wires for a while. See, I thought I had heard a voice in the background. Turns out I did. In Chinese.”
A long silence followed Alex’s words. Finally, Rob spoke.
“What did it say?”
“There was still a considerable amount of static. It must have been a recording, because it kept repeating. The only words I could clearly make out were ‘today is’ and ‘Mainland China will’,” Alex responded.
Another pause followed. Broderick had begun a conversation with little Chandler. The other four sat, trying to make sense of this all. The door opened, and one of the guards walked in, bearing a tray with six bowls and six glasses of water, as well as six sets of chopsticks.
“你們的晚餐,” he said shortly, and then left.
“Dinner,” Alex said.
He pulled one of the bowls toward himself. Although he had expected it, he was still a little shocked.
“Rice,” he muttered. “Of course, makes sense, seeing as how they are Chinese.”
They ate in complete silence. Each had not eaten in so long that they were simply relieved to see food again. Within five minutes they had all finished and again sat in silence.
The guard returned to collect the dishes. This time though, a second man accompanied him, this one was armed. He extended a single finger toward Alex.
“你,” he said. “過來.”
Alex pointed to himself. “你說我嗎?” he asked.
The man’s temper flared. “你這個小傢伙啊! 我當然說你呀! 趕快過來!”
“好啦, 好啦!” Alex said. “我來了, 我來了!”
Alex stood up and moved toward the guard.
“NO!” Broderick screamed. He made to run to Alex, but Justin restrained him.
“No, Broder!” he said. “We have to stay here! Alex can take care of himself.”
Broderick continued to fight for a moment then stopped. Alex turned his head.
“Listen to him, Broder,” he said. “Justin, take care of him for me. I’ll be just fine.”
With that, Alex turned and followed the guard out the door.
“請問你要帶我去哪裡?” Alex asked.
“老闆要和你講一句話,” the guard said.
“這樣子,” Alex muttered.
They approached the building that Alex had before identified as the boss’s quarters. The man opened the door and motioned for Alex to enter.
It was like a palace inside. The room was beautifully decorated; massive gold statues of lions and dragons adored it. The ceiling was high, and red columns stretched from floor to ceiling. A staircase extended up to a platform where a massive, beautifully hand carved throne sat. An older Chinese man sat on the throne.
“你好, 你好!” he exclaimed, descending the stairwell. “聽說你會講中文啊?”
“是嗎?” Alex asked coolly. He did not move.
The man clapped his hands. “是真的! 等, 你怎麼讓我這樣沒禮貌的講? 讓我介紹我自己. 我是世界上的國王!”
So this was the man who was behind everything. This was the man under whom so many had suffered.
“世界上沒有一個國王!” Alex shouted.
“是嗎? 那, 為什麼我在你的國家, 把你們美國人當作我的工人? 為什麼都沒有人來救你們? 你說啊!”
Alex was at a loss for words. He could not explain why there was no rescue, or how any of this could have happened in the first place.
“怎麼了? 說不出來啊?” the man asked. “不管, 情況就是這樣. 你要幫我的忙.”
“我怎麼能幫你?” Alex asked.
“因為你會講英文還有中文,” the man said. “你要幫我翻譯. 這樣, 我會知道如果有要殺我的人.
“如果我不要幫你的話?” Alex asked.
“非常好的問題!” the king exclaimed. “你的身體有那麼強, 可能你比較喜歡被打你, 讓你餓死了, 等等. 但你的心理呢? 你有一個小弟弟, 不對嗎? 你喜不喜歡看到對他發生了不好的事情?”
Alex’s temper flared. He did his best to keep his voice level. “若對他發生了不好事情, 我永遠不會幫你.”
“我已經知道你會這樣說,” the king said. “但你看! 我是一個好人. 若你幫我的話, 不只有你的小弟弟, 而且, 另外你住跟他們四個人都不會有事. 但你要小心點. 如果我後來發現你故意地騙我, 他們就會死掉. 第一個是你的小弟弟, 第二個是另外那個小男孩.”
Alex nodded. There was nothing more to say.