Little Fish. Chapter 4.

Lying on the sad single bed, Wei Zangchen gasped like a fish thrown ashore.

With the previous town in lockdown, they’d found a ring road, only to face the same dilemma on the other side. Here too, residents had closed their private properties up. A few smaller stores were still open, as were the two hotels on the main road through. It was a rather sleepy town, tired and bursting thanks to the military presence. Who would have thought the arrival of a gate could have led to convenient excuses?

The first hotel Wei Zangchen insisted on skipping. Military personnel were back and forth like a train of black ants on the march. The second place was sadder, paint faded and weathered. However, as long as they could get a bed and close their eyes, it was as good as they were going to get.

Greeted by the grandmother behind the desk, she immediately sensed the three of them were out of place. All Wei Zangchen’s energy was on suppressing his mental cloud as much as possible as they were truly in the ants’ nest. With false cheer, Gun Wen explained they were a couple passing through. The esper couldn’t blame the old woman for her doubts. Tiredly, he interjected that their friends had dumped them off thanks to their worries about the gate possibly exploding after they’d fought at their campsite.

Smoothly both explaining why they were disheveled and arriving carrying backpacks. He was ill, and part of his physical recovery was to take in plenty of fresh air. Having faith in the military, they’d bickered with their friends and now were temporarily stuck, waiting in case their friends had a change of heart and wanted to apologize, but intending to leave in the morning if they hadn’t heard from them by then.

Stroking Xiao Li’s head, he then added that he understood if the hotel was fully booked, they merely were hoping for somewhere their son could rest safely. Charmed by Xiao Li, the old woman apologized for there only being a single room left. Wei Zangchen didn’t care. He needed to sit down before he fell down. Gun Wen handled the paperwork for them both, paying in cash. Taking the old-fashioned key, there was a two-staircase walk up now to face.

Tucked into a corner, with no heating or cooling, the room offered a single bed, a small refrigerator, and an older-style television. On legs ready to give out, Wei Zangchen went straight for the bed. His whole body shook from the strain, and as small as Xiao Li was, he seemed to have put on 500 kilograms walking up those stairs. Sucking down oxygen, he didn’t have the strength to do anything.

“I’ll get you something for the pain. You’re going to cramp soon.”

Unable to argue back, the esper lay there, Gun Wen once again handling things as he caught his breath. Several long moments of his friend’s hovering passed before his neck was tilted and injected.

“We need to keep your mental cloud clear. I’ll take Xiao Li to clean up.”

“Thank you.”

---

Having been drugged by Gun Wen, Wei Zangchen slept heavily for a few hours until his metabolism had filtered through the drugs in his system. The drugs left him trapped in his dreams, dreams of sweet whispers and hidden promises of his youth. With his body drenched in sweat, he shot up, fingers going to his lips.

“Chen-Chen… You’re so sweet…”

He could almost still hear the sweet whispers of naive love. Taking a few calming breaths, he dropped his hand. Glancing around, he found himself the sole occupant of the rented room. His heart started to race. Gun Wen and Xiao Li were gone. That wasn’t part of their plan. The pair weren’t there, and they were in a town filled with espers and guides. Hastily, he pushed back the covers, swinging his legs over the side of the bed as he did. Gun Wen… Gun Wen had said he didn’t want to go back.

If Gun Wen had said he didn’t wish to return, then he couldn’t have left willingly. Taking another calming breath, the esper held it, then released it slowly. Behind the door were both their backpacks. If their backpacks were there, then he hadn’t been left. Xiao Li was a child. Gun Wen had mentioned food. The logical explanation was that Gun Wen had taken their “son” to get food.

Taking another breath, he calmed himself down completely. Getting further worked up meant risking being found. He had to be logical until they were safe again. Climbing off the bed, he shuffled over to their bags, grabbing Gun Wen’s and dragging it back to the bed. Information was what he needed, not dreams of a long-lost past love. Until Gun Wen returned, he intended to ferret out every piece of information in those files.

The expression on Wei Zangchen’s face was black as Gun Wen returned with the food. They needed to leave as soon as possible. In their absence, a massive reshuffle of staff had occurred. Familiar names appearing within the documents, and not just the staff members of the institution.

Oblivious, Xiao Li let go of Gun Wen’s hand, running right over to the bed and climbing up, his little mouth all sticky as Wei Zangchen was granted a small kiss.

“You took him without asking.”

Gun Wen swallowed nervously, internally cursing that Wei Zangchen had woken.

“I thought it would be suspicious if I didn’t take my son to eat. There’s a team in the gate. They predict it’ll be cleared by tomorrow morning.”

“We need to leave.”

Carrying the takeout bags to the bed, Gun Wen set them down.

“Immediately?”

Raising his gaze from Xiao Li, Wei Zangchen set the documents away from the toddler, then fixed his gaze on his friend.

“Yes. Your old friends are in here. Too many people that know us.”

Gun Wen’s eyes widened, Wei Zangchen seeing a flicker of pain there. He truly wished he could set the man free of his burden of him, yet he knew it’d never be so easy.

“Ah…”

“Gun Wen. I won’t hold back if they come for us. Are you sure you want to stay? If you want to go, we’ll make it on our own.”

His friend lowered his gaze.

“No. Seeing everyone running around…”

The man paused, then shook his head.

“… It’s not what I do anymore. My parents never really liked the danger anyway. We need to eat. You need to eat. Xiao Li picked everything he liked on the menu for us.”

“And how much did you let him eat before you came back?”

Bouncing back, Gun Wen pushed his chest out.

“Every child should try ice cream. He wants to see the ocean.”

Just what had he been filling Xiao Li’s head with?! Wei Zangchen looked down at Xiao Li’s innocent face.

“The ocean? Did Uncle promise to take you to see the water?”

Xiao Li nodded happily. Wei Zangchen hadn’t planned a coastal escape. He hadn’t considered it at all. His plan was to get to the nearest big city, find a room, and then once there, evaluate their options.

“If Uncle promised our Xiao Li, then we have to take our Xiao Li. How far’s the coast?”

“Six hours by bus.”

That was a huge risk, and though it stood out, Wei Zangchen was hesitant to abandon their car… A bus out was a horrible idea. First, the bus service needed to be running. Secondly, there were cameras. Thirdly, they were in a town filled with enemies just up from another town filled with even more.

“We’ll keep the car… Is there anywhere to get clothes here? We need to destroy these files too…”

---

Sneaking down into the lobby and out into the night, the hotel down the street was still a flurry of activity. Keeping his head low, Wei Zangchen walked half a step to the side and back from Gun Wen.

Gun Wen unlocked the car, settled Xiao Li first, and put their backpacks in the back to avoid extra noise. Taking the keys, Wei Zangchen swapped them for his crutches, then slid behind the driver’s wheel.

“Sir, are you sure?”

Wei Zangchen was most definitely not sure.

“I promise to save you and Xiao Li if we crash. Make sure you’ve both got your seatbelts on and no complaining… and maybe offer a prayer for both of yourselves… Alright. Let’s get out of this trap.”