- In An Airport - China
Erik stepped out of the plane onto the bustling tarmac of the airport.
He followed closely behind Mei and Shen, his adoptive parents as they wove through the crowded terminal.
The noise of the airport was a mix of announcements in Mandarin, shuffling feet and the hum of conversation.
They waited near the arrivals gate, standing silently beside Erik as though they were simply passing time.
After what felt like an eternity.. A man in a dark suit appeared.
He walked toward them with purpose, his expression stern.
Mei and Shen immediately began speaking with him in Mandarin. Their conversation was quick, the words sharp and businesslike, nothing about it felt familial.
Erik stood off to the side, pretending not to care while keeping his ears open.
He caught snippets of their conversation, but couldn't make sense of what was being said.
After a few minutes, the man nodded once and turned his gaze to Erik.
Mei placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, her touch light but firm.
"This is your uncle." She said, her voice devoid of warmth. "He'll take you to the house."
Erik raised an eyebrow, skepticism prickling at the back of his mind. "And where are you two going?"
Shen smiled, the same thin, practiced smile Erik had come to recognize. "We have some business to take care of first. Don't worry, we'll meet with you later."
He knew better than to trust them, but he nodded, playing along. "Sure."
Without another word, Erik followed the man.
He was led through the airport, weaving through the crowds until they reached a black car parked just outside.
The man opened the door and gestured for him to get in. Erik slid into the backseat, his eyes scanning the unfamiliar surroundings.
Hours passed as they drove through the sprawling Chinese landscape.
At first, the scenery was urban. Towering skyscrapers and busy streets. But soon they were traveling along winding roads through vast green hills and quiet towns.
Erik sat in silence, his mind racing. The further they went, the more isolated the surroundings became.
He glanced at the man driving, trying to gauge his intentions, but the man's expression remained cold and unreadable.
He looked out the window again, watching the scenery change with each passing mile.
After several hours of winding through narrow roads and seemingly endless countryside, the car finally slowed to a stop.
Erik leaned forward, peering out the window, his eyes narrowing at the sight before him.
They had arrived at a small village nestled at the foot of towering mountains. It was remote, isolated.. The kind of place that didn't show up on maps.
The entire village was surrounded by tall fencing, barbed wire twisting along the top like a silent warning.
Armed guards stood at the entrance, their rifles slung over their shoulders, eyes scanning for any threat.
His so-called "uncle" stepped out of the car and exchanged a few hurried words with the guards in Mandarin.
Erik watched through the window, as the conversation became more animated.
Soon, one of the guards broke away from the group and approached the vehicle, his face stern and unreadable.
The guard barked something in Mandarin.
"I can't understand you." Erik responded calmly in english.
The guard's face darkened with frustration. Tension hung in the air like a thick fog and before Erik could gauge the situation, the guard raised his rifle and pointed it directly at him, his voice rising in a broken snarl of English.
"OUT!" The guard screamed, his eyes narrowing.
Erik opened the door, stepping out of the vehicle without a trace of fear.
He raised his hands in the air as a gesture of compliance, his mind racing but oddly calm.
The situation felt dangerous, but not unfamiliar. He'd expected something like this.
He glanced around the village, watching the people hunched over, laboring under the watchful eyes of armed guards.
Their movements were slow, exhausted—eyes hollowed by whatever nightmare had trapped them here.
"Is this a prison?" Erik wondered to himself, his gaze sweeping over the compound. "A forced labor camp?"
His eyes flicked back to the guards, their weapons held tightly in hand.
He kept his hands in the air, studying the scene with a cold detachment.
For a split second, he considered fleeing, his eyes darting to the surrounding mountains and the vast wilderness beyond the fences.
But he dismissed the thought almost immediately.
I'm here for a reason.
There was no way they would go through so much trouble-transferring him all the way from America to here just to force him into some labor camp.
If they needed simple workers, they could've found them anywhere in china.
Is this a test? Erik wondered as he started to follow the soldier into the camp. His sharp eyes took everything in.. The armed guards, the watchtowers, the fenced perimeter. Whatever this place was, it wasn't a fun one. He felt the weight of it in the air.
Glancing over his shoulder, he caught sight of his so-called "uncle" climbing back into the car without a second glance, the engine roaring to life before he sped away, disappearing in a cloud of dust.
"You bastard" Erik murmured with a smirk, shaking his head.
The pieces were falling into place.
First, two strangers took me from the orphanage to China. Then, another person brought me from the airport to this village. Will someone else take me from here to another place? Erik mused, observing his surroundings.
They're taking a lot of precautions.
Every step of his journey had been carefully orchestrated. Nothing was left to chance.
He could feel the weight of their control in every move they made.
The secrecy only confirmed his suspicions further: something bigger was at play here and they were ensuring he remained in the dark until the moment they chose to reveal it.