Opium Warfare Page 6

  Chao felt as though the drops evolved over time. At first they were cool and he felt as long as they were cool he could keep counting them, but then they turned warm and he was losing himself. Slowly his mind began to unravel, and the drops felt stagnant, and then they felt raw hitting his forehead. After a while, Chao became so used to the drops that he stopped feeling them altogether. Every now and then, he felt a slight stinging tap upon his head, but it no longer clouded his thoughts, it became his thoughts. To make matters worse, he swore he heard rats making noise. As clean of an establishment as Chao knew he ran, he knew rats always had a possibility of finding their way in. He wasn’t afraid of them; in fact, he grew quite fond of them as a boy, but then, he wasn’t laying here helpless. Back when he was a boy, he didn’t think much of what sewer a rat crawled out of or of how wretched and dirty it was. Then suddenly, Chao felt something else on him, but this time, it wasn’t a simple erratic drop upon his head. Since he was strapped down, he couldn’t look down to his feet to see it. There was a small rat gnawing on his shoe. Then he heard it squeak and his eyes widened.

  Slowly he felt the rat crawl up his leg and into his lap. Chao began to whimper frantically. He felt it slowly crawling on him and he lay there helpless, unable to do anything about it. It was like an itch he couldn’t scratch. Like one of those itchy feelings inside the ear that you know you can’t get to and wish you could open your ear like a door to scratch it. This however was no simple itch, and Chao’s focus was no longer on the drops upon his head but the rat by his lap. If only he could just shoo it away, he would be happy, but he couldn’t. His arms were strapped down firmly and in the entire time he spent there, he never once thought of trying to break the straps until now. Then before he knew it, his focus was back on the drops hitting his head. He didn’t know whether it was the drops themselves or his simple will of mind to concentrate on them, but his attention was back on them.

  The door to Chao’s opened and in came Shin Shaojin and two of his men. Shin slowly approached as his two men stood by the door. He smiled jubilantly as he looked down at his helpless victim.

  “Ah, well, hello there Chao. And what’s this? Ah, I see you have had a little friend keeping you company. Nín hao máoróngrong de niPchi dbngwj (Hello furry rodent).”

  Chao mumbled something, but Shin could not make out what he said. So he took out the rag in his mouth.

  “Come again Chao?”

  “Get the rat off me, please!”

  “Is that the only thing you want off you?”

  “Get the rat off, get the water off, get it all off!”

  Shin chuckles loudly.

  “I will do just that Chao, but that is up to you now, isn’t it?”

  “You stop talking in questions, and free me!”

  “So, Mr. Chao, I assume this means that you have thought long and hard about what I said the other day and you’ve come to a realization? Because if you haven’t, then I shall not only leave you here, but I’ll make your little friend here feast on your flesh.”

  “Yes! Chao has changed his mind. You can have the back room, the building, all of it! Now get me out of this.”

  Shin looked over to his two men and nodded as a sign for them to let Chao off the device. Just before they undid the straps, Shin picked the rat off Chao’s lap, and they slowly helped Chao off the device. Chao let out a deep sigh of relief as both men held each one of his arms and helped him to his feet. Chao let out another sigh, and he looked over to one of the men and spit on his face.

  Rezel, the man whose face he spit on, wiped the saliva off his face and then clocked Chao in the jaw with a vicious right hook, sending the old man to the floor. Shin looked over with a bewildered expression on his face.

  “What? The old man spit on my face, so I punched him.”

  “I’m surprised he had any spit built up in him given the time he’s been here. Help him up, and Kazar, get him some water.”

  Rezel helped Chao up as Kazar got him some water. Shin slapped Chao across the face to wake him up.

  “Oh...ugh...”

  “Mr. Chao, that was quite foolish of you, but I understand you’ve been in a bad state for the last two days.”

  “I...ugh...you can have my deli. I don’t want any more trouble.”

  “Ah, a very wise decision Chao, a very wise decision indeed.”

  “Yes, I don’t want any more trouble...you let Chao go now?” Chao asked, clearly still out of it.

  “I hate to sound like I’m not keeping my word, but I just remembered that if I let you go, I risk the chance of you telling someone what I did to you here.”

  “No, I won’t say a word!”

  “I wish I could believe you Chao but I...I just don’t know. Besides, I’m rather curious as to what I said earlier about this little guy here eating at your flesh.”

  Shin then nodded to his men as they each grabbed his arms and held him tightly.

  “No!! No, please!”

  The two men put Chao down back onto the device, and Shin returned from the kitchen area with a metal bucket in one hand while still holding the rat in the other.

  Chao at the corner of his eye saw what Shin was holding in his hands and began to yell.

  Shin stood there for a moment looking down at Chao and contemplated his next move.

  “You know what, I’ve changed my mind; I won’t do this to you Chao. I trust you won’t tell anyone.”

  Shin told his men to help him back up, but still kept holding onto his arms.

  “Oh, thank you Mr. Shaojin, I promise Chao won’t tell a soul. You can have this place, I take the money and go to another place, I won’t tell a soul.”

  Shin Shaojin then reached into his inside coat pocket and pulled out a medium sized pistol sword that looked similar to a Smoothbore Elgin Caliber, only this one had more of a straight handle, which was the color of burgundy and was equipped with a 12.5 inch blade, whereas the Elgin had an 11.5. The gun was made of metal for the most part, with two small wooden patches on top and below the base. The barrel of the gun was a few inches before the blade, but was aligned perfectly with it. He then pointed it at Chao and fired it, shooting him point blank in the head. He then went over to Chao and stabbed him with the 12.5 inch knife blade of the gun. Shaojin looked into Chao’s eyes, smiling wildly before his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Shaojin made a quick twisting motion with the blade still inside Chao’s stomach. Chao’s body went limp as Shaojin removed the blade, and Chao’s body fell to the ground.

  He looked at his gun before speaking to his two men.

  “Do you know this gun was made special just for me? I had them model it after a gun that the American Navy hated. It’s got a few similarities, but for the most part, the gun is one of a kind. Pick him up and dispose of his body at a remote location, I could’ve just drugged him, but I went with a more direct approach.” Shin said to his two men as he was admiring his customized pistol. As he admired the pistol, he said one last thing to Chao’s now lifeless body.

  “You were right about one thing Chao, you won’t tell a soul; I’ve made sure of that.”

  Chapter 6 - Transcendence

  He rode a giant Chinese version of a Phoenix, the Fenghuang, high above a battle between the Ninja and Samurai warriors. The bird hovered in place as Shin looked down, admiring the view of the epic battle before him. In reality, he was lying down on a mat in one of his opium dens around town, dreaming away with the help of the dose of the opium he had taken. Shin had always admired the Samurai culture, so he decided to side with them. He made the bird make a U-turn in the sky as it soared in, flying lower and lower until it hit a large group of ninja straight ahead. The ninja exploded into confetti of red and gold. The samurai rejoiced (and quite unrealistically) by taking off their battle helmets and throwing them onto the air like graduating caps. While up in the air, the helmets turned into dragons and like Shin did with his bird, they flew down and into groups of the enemy ninja. Red, gold, and now even silver confetti fl
ew out everywhere around them. Shin and the samurai screamed and laughed loudly at the top of their lungs, dancing in celebration. Their celebration, however, was cut short when more ninja came swarming toward them. The ninja began slicing their way through the dragons, which when struck, disappeared into puffs of smoke. The samurai, who now suddenly had their hats back without any explanation, began charging at the ninja, and they clashed together. Shin took a step back and watched the battle from afar until a ninja came toward him.

  He opened his mouth and fire came blazing out, hitting the ninja mid flight as he fell to the ground burning. Shin put his foot on the burning man, putting him out like burnt cigarette on the ground. Shin then whistled to call for his bird as it flew by his side. He then stepped in front of it and made a signal to which the bird responded by letting out a loud cry. It then doubled in size and its wings and entire body began to ignite in fire. Shin yelled for it to attack as it flew up in the sky and began throwing fireballs, which emerged from the tip of its wings. The bird seemed to almost throw them, because of the flowing motion its wings made back and forth, sending the fireballs forward. Ninja after ninja exploded into confetti as the balls of fire hit them one by one. The samurai did not stop either as they continued to attack their enemies. What once seemed never ending had finally come to a close as all that was left on the battle field were Shin, the samurai, and the phoenix on the battlefield of confetti.

  Shin snapped his fingers and some of the confetti turned into a small pond of blood from which his bird began to drink. The samurai then dropped to their knees and picked up some of the confetti, which turned into a mix of taffy and popcorn, and they began eating them. Shin smiled wickedly and began to dance and some of the samurai joined him as well. Shin told the men that the only true way to celebrate their victory is to indulge in female companionship. The men yelled loudly in agreement, and Shin did his best magic maneuver as he made a large group of women appear out of absolutely nowhere. One of the women approached him by dancing in a seductive manner. She said hello and that’s she’s happy to see him again. His eyes widened; he was taken aback by the comment of her knowing him.

  “Who are you? Do I know you my dear?” he asked.

  “I am your love, your obsession, your life,” she kisses him.

  He closed his eyes to savor the kiss. When he opened them, he realized he was now kissing a yellow dragon. He panicked a bit, wanting to stop, but found himself unable to break free from the kiss.

  The dragon asked, “What are you afraid of? Do you not love me more than anything?”

  He was finally able to break free from the kiss, and he took a step back. He closed his eyes tightly. When he opened them again, the dragon turned into Mia Morgan. She wore a silky and lacy bronze outfit, which was something one could assume Mia did not own nor was it her style, but then again, this wasn’t her dream or fantasy. He lifted a finger and pointed for her to come over and she did. She had a mischievous smile on her face as she crawled over to him on her knees. He smiled and embraced her lips, only when he stopped to look at her, her face was disfigured and appeared to be melting and drooping down. He shrieked out loud and closed his eyes again. As he opened them this time, he saw a giant fish head before him.

  He closed and opened his eyes for the last time, and he saw that he was kissing himself. Feeling extremely awkward, he broke from the kiss and stepped away as far back from himself as possible. Suddenly, he saw his now other self as a drug addicted version of himself. He saw that he’s an addict who's been on drugs for years and looks like he’s about to die. His other self had bloodshot eyes, which began pouring actual blood out of each socket, withered yellowed skin, and his body a frail skeletal frame.

  He panicked again and his eyes grew wide like saucers as his addict dead looking self said, “What are you afraid of? You love me more than you love yourself...”

  As he began to speak, he realized that the voice he was hearing was not his own, but in fact, his secretary’s, Dahlia. Briskly, he awoke to see her standing before him.

  “Mr.Shaojin, Mr.Shaojin, sir.”

  “Dalhia! What are you doing here?”

  “I’m sorry sir, I asked Rezel where you were and he told me. I know you said not to bother you in this den, but I thought you may want to hear this bit of information I received from one of your investors.”

  “Oh...it’s alright Dahlia...come sit by me and tell me what it is you have to say,” he responded, still shaken from what had just happened to him.

  Shin smiled widely taking in the aroma of exotic flowers from Dahlia’s perfume. It was a surprise to him that he was able to smell anything other than opium smoke.

  “Well sir, the man said he would have your latest investment ready and that he would be in contact with you very soon. I tried to ask him for more information, but he said it wasn’t important to disclose and that you’d know exactly who he was and to what he was referring.”

  “Ah, yes, very good. Thank you Dahlia.”

  “You’re welcome sir, but if you don’t mind me asking, what investment and who is he? He doesn’t sound like one of your usual men you work with.”

  “Well, you see Dahlia, he is no investor, he’s an associate of mine. And I don’t know his name, I only know him by his code name, The Charon.”

  “The Charon?”

  “Yes, let’s just say he helps people cross over to the other side.”

  Dahlia swallowed hard at his response, bowed respectfully to him, and exited the den. Shin simply smiled and reverted back to his drug induced utopia. He imagined himself back on the battlefield where he was previously, only this time instead of a battleground, there was a table and sitting at the table were the legendary Mongolian leader, Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, and the Carthaginian commander, Hannibal. The table was draped with a golden cloth with tassels hanging from each corner. On the table were many different types of tea including Shin’s new favorite tea liquor, Chajiu. Shin sat among them and they nodded to greet him. Each man drank a different type of tea. For Genghis Khan it was Oolong, for Attila the Hun, it was white tea, and for Hannibal, it was green tea. They drank their tea and talked about the many battles they won. They all got a chuckle out of one of Genghis Khan’s stories when he said he once cut a man’s head off, hollowed it out, and drank soup from it. Shin’s eyes grew wide when he heard the story. Seeing that he was the most inferior out of them all, he told them about his only finest moment.

  “Well, you see gentlemen, I am the leader of the infamous Green Gang. I come from a long line of its members and, in fact, one of my ancestors was one of the original men who founded the gang. It is why I take much pride in what I do, especially processing opium.”

  The men cheered him loudly raising their tea cups with their pinkies in the air. After they finished their tea, the men got up from their seats and sprinted to a large field of daffodils where a giant dragon hovered. Each man touched the dragon and every time they did that, the dragon changed colors. The dragon began swerving, and the men joined hands and began to sing a song. They started skipping hand in hand and singing while the dragon swerved and danced around them. Suddenly, they stopped and came across a strange looking plant. It stood around eight feet tall and had a turquoise coating with a metallic glow radiating from it. It had a mossy and sticky feel to it as one of the men touched it. The plant had two other branches coming out from each side and making up the top were many violet leaves and pomegranates. On the other side of the plant was a very small door, which opened up and a tiny man walked out of it. He was dressed in a luxurious green robe, and on top of his head sat an orange salamander the size of his cranium, which moved around like a live halo. He said his name is Elchin the Jade.

  The men sat Indian style by Elchin and the plant as he began telling them stories. The men listened intently as they ate pomegranates they retrieved from the plant. After he told them a few tales, the men clapped in unison, and the sound of their claps created a vortex and five unicorn like creatures ju
mped out. Each man got onto a unicorn and they began to ride around the field of daffodils.

  Then they decided to race to see who can reach the end of the field first. Genghis Khan won the first couple of races at which point Attila claimed he cheated. The two got off their unicorns and a heated exchange began between them. Elchin the Jade got in between them and assures them that this was nor the time or place to be angry at each other. He calmed them down, and they get back on their unicorns and engaged in a few more races. Each man won a race after the heated argument, and Elchin assured the men that here everyone is a winner. He then snapped his fingers and the field grew bigger creating a giant track along. Shin did the same and another dragon appeared. Hannibal joined in, snapping his fingers and a couple chariots materialized. Elchin then declared for them to take part in the Utopia 500 and that the winner will get a very illustrious and unique prize.

  They all line up and Elchin told them when to go. Shin turned his unicorn into a dragoncorn before the start of the race. Soon the tournament began for that mysterious prize, and Shin, Genghis Khan, Attila, and Hannibal all raced along with their dragons and chariots with ghost riders. One of the chariots was in the lead before Attila took him out with a hip check from his unicorn. Shin was mostly in the 8th during the race. Seeing that there were only a few laps left, Shin decides to put his plan in motion. He tapped the side of his dragoncorn and it began flying double the speed of everyone else. Soon he found himself all alone in the lead. The others behind him tried to regain their headway, but soon enough, Shin and his dragoncorn have outdistanced them. As the final laps came to a close, Shin smiles widely and raises his hands. He crosses the finish line and was declared a winner by Elchin the Jade.

  Everyone began lining up to congratulate Shin. Elchin the Jade stood before Shin and presented him his prize. He awarded him with a purple and green scepter and dubbed him “The Salamander King.” Shin then transformed into a larger version of the orange salamander on top of Elchin’s head. He began swerving around doing a victory lap. After he was done, he changed back into his human form. Elchin told him that he has quite a gift now and he can reign supreme any time he comes back here. Elchin bid them all goodbye and went back into his small house within the plant. He opened its tiny door and stepped inside. He left it open and the unicorns, Shin’s dragoncorn, and the chariots also walked through the tiny door. It closed itself and disappeared out of the plant as if it was never there at all.