Chapter 35 (1/2)
Chapter 35 Fear
Chang hesitated.
Everyone feared death, but the ways in which people dealt with death were completely different – a lot of people learned to live with the fact that they would be burned to ashes after they died, but no one wanted to be torn into pieces by disgusting tentacles in the stench of the sewage and rot with maggots covering their body.
If this was what Chang would face when he died, he would rather be gnawed to death by the giant dog – at least it sounded like a more decent way to die.
He wanted to get out of the sewer, but facing death wasn’t as easy as he thought.
Therefore, he looked up and down for the halo on top of his head and the dark sewer… It was a great dilemma for him.
The fear of death and prospect of choosing how to die was probably the worst feeling anyone would ever have. It was like asking a convict how they wanted to be executed, “Do you want to be shot or beheaded?”
The fear invaded his heart bit by bit; in the darkness, even a slight sound of dripping water could make him become tense; the barking from the manhole made him even dizzier. He didn’t even have the courage to go further in the sewer to look for another exit because it was too dark down here. The darkness seemed thick and dark, tempting him to move closer. As if he was reaching the end of his life, he imagined numerous tentacles lurking on the sides, just waiting to tear him apart without ever being heard from again.
Chang was scared, so he stayed inside the beam of dim light from the manhole, as if it was warming Chang. He began to fade from consciousness as past memories flooded his mind–
He thought of the college entrance exam, recalled his three year high school life and subsequently, his teenage and childhood memories.
Hanging out with friends, staying up late playing video games, reading numerous novels, watching anime and studying occasionally…
The homemade braised pork he ate, the basketball field covered in sweat…
His stable and worry-free life, and the lanterns that he lit up with his childhood friends in Mid-autumn festivals…
His nagging parents, and the smell of his home…
Chang never clearly knew how happy his life had been before this moment – he had been living in heaven! He used to complain so much and gotten bored so easily. He even pitied himself for living such a stable life…
He used to argue with his parents because he didn’t want to study, and he even ran away from home and pitied his own life while sitting on the ancient city wall…
“Would what I’m currently experiencing be different if I studied harder?” Chang curled up under the light and started sobbing.
He always thought that he was the kind of person with a strong mind. Even in the apocalypse, he was stronger than most of the people he had met. But in darkness, he still felt the urge to cry when he thought of his parents and the life that he had before.
He started losing sense of time in his sorrow…
It was a chaotic moment for Chang, but it was broken by sudden erratic barking from above, followed by a few gunshots.
“Chang!”
“Chang!!”
After the gunfire, Chang heard two familiar voices. He sprang up after he recollected himself and carefully stared at the circular halo to confirm that it wasn’t his hallucination.
“Am I saved?”
“Chang!!” The same shouting came from above, and he knew who it belonged to – Jing.