Look at the red, red changes in the sky

Look at the separation in the borderline

But don't look at everything here inside

And be afraid, afraid to speak your mind

***

Sand, endless sand.

Tao cannot make out much beyond the sand. The sun on the horizon, the heat. Mostly, just the sand. The sky has a pale yellow glow, and Tao can barely make out where the sand becomes sky. He sweats as he looks around him.

Water.

He needs water or he’s going to die out here, wherever here is.

Tao cannot remember how he found himself in this place, but here he is. It looks like a desert, he thinks, with sweeping plains and yellowed sand that seems to stretch on forever.

Tao plants one foot in front of the other, walking up a tall sand dune. He can see no signs of civilisation in his immediate surroundings, but off in the distance he sees what could be a building. He doesn’t believe it is one, but he nevertheless makes his way towards it.

Surprisingly, long poles jut out of the ground. Each is metallic and too hot to touch. The tops are rounded, and there seem to be little holes by the tips of them, perhaps big enough to slip a finger through.

It looks like a graveyard, everything worn and chipping from the churning sand...

Tao makes it to the place he saw before; surprised it actually is a building of sorts. But it’s completely run down, and the walls seem to be cracked, weathered with the sands that pick up in the wind.

Tao shrugs, walking up and over next sand dunes. Soon, Tao discovers a small dip, where sand dunes subside and what looks like buildings rise from the ground.

They, like the other building, are worn; chipped, paint flecked off and fragmented. It must be the remnants of a civilisation, he thinks. One that was destroyed when the waters dried up and the animals died, leaving behind endless sand.

Tao decides to climb to the top of the remnants of a building in the centre of the ancient civilisation to gain better vantage. He is thankful he can use his skills of wushu to climb up the rocky face with little troubles. He slips a few times, but his feet are quick to find footholds in the broken wall.

Once he’s made it to the top, Tao lets out a sigh of relief and flops himself on the ground. The sun has just about set over the horizon by now, and there’s little more he can do. He thinks it may be for the best that he trudges on, however, because deserts are supposed to be a lot cooler at night.

Tao sighs. He’s used too much of his energy up already just getting here. Perhaps an hour or two of sleep? Tao rests his head on the heavily tiled ground. If he sleeps fast enough, he’ll be able to wake early and leave before sunlight. Although he doesn’t really know where he’s going… Tao closes his eyes, drifting into unconsciousness.

 

~
 

Tao becomes acutely aware of the colour white. It surrounds and swamps him, but then everything fades to black. A light, a brown shaded light. A hill? No, a mountain. A tall mountain in the distance. The source of the light.

He sees a rocky mountain in the distance, it emits a line of glowing, pure light into the heavens above. This light seems to illuminate the rest of the stars around him, and Tao realises that none of the star formations are those he is familiar with; he’s no longer on earth.

He tries to memorise these as best he can. Maybe he can use them to navigate?

The next thing Tao sees is a boy, perhaps not too much older than himself. He’s a little bit taller than Tao, with dark eyes and a tuft of unruly, long blonde hair. His features are quite angular, though extremely handsome in Tao’s eyes.

Tao looks on in horror as some sort of beast surrounds the boy, how the boy’s eyes widen in fear. Tao feels this indescribable urge to help the boy, but he’s just a dream, right?
 

~
 

Tao awakens with a start, eyes wide, breath quick and raspy. He whirls around, but the danger the blonde faced is nowhere in sight. The moon shines above, and Tao has the sudden urge to move. He thinks that dream was real. But it was a dream, he reminds himself. Dreams are imagination. Dreams are unreality.

Tao wrinkles his nose, pressing his palms against the tiled floor and pushing himself upwards. He finds a pole of rusted metal and he picks it up, tearing a hole in his belt to store it. If that boy was real, and he was in this desert, Tao has the chance of getting attacked by wild animals too.

He treads as steadily as he can through the shifting sands. There’s little to keep him steady in the now cold sand, and Tao stumbles several times as he takes the pole out, using it to steady himself.

Tao looks up at the sky, staring at the stars above. They look the same as they did in his dream. He walks on, in the direction he thinks must be the way to the mountain. Something about the light of the mountain reminds him of home; how the sun would shine down on the roof of his family home.

He thinks it’s the same light.

Tao sees a figure in the distance, and he runs towards it. He can barely make it out in the dim light of the moon, but it’s a tall, humanoid figure, he’s sure of it.

But the figure is not alone.

The person’s injured, Tao thinks to himself as he breaks into a run. He uses the metal pole as an extension of his arm, ing it forward before him. He hears a bark, and whatever creatures are attacking the figure turn their attention to him, ears pricking up and greyed hair standing on end.

Tao recognizes them as wolves.

He s the pole forward, impaling one with the fine end of his weapon, until hot red spurts out into the sand. The beast lets out a whine in protest, and those closest to it howl at Tao, stepping forward with unsure paws, claws elongated.

Tao holds the pole up threateningly and jabs it towards them. This seems to ward them off, and Tao heaves a sigh of relief as they recede into the distance, blending in with the sand. He turns around, seeing the figure is still there.

But it’s the same figure as his dreams; the boy with the blonde hair! Tao wants to ask who the boy is and how he came to be in this place, but he cannot form words. He tries as best he can, but his voice is gone.

Tao claws at his neck, and the boy takes his hand, giving him a nod. He takes Tao’s pole from his hand and limps across the sand, pointing to it with the pole as Tao looks on in confusion.

Do you speak English?

Tao cannot make out what it says on the ground, so he shakes his head at the boy, and the boy seems to understand. He digs the pole into the sand and etches out something else, something Tao can understand.

中国人吗？

Are you Chinese?

Tao nods excitedly, snatching the pole from the blonde. He traces his own name in the ground excitedly, pointing to the name with his index finger and back to himself repeatedly.

黄子韬

Kris nods, taking the pole back to write his own name. He begins with a simple word in English, and Tao can read it, but then he continues with a different name, one in Chinese.

Kris

吴亦凡

Tao gives a nod of recognition, taking his pole back. He stows it in his belt, and Kris rests a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. He gestures down, and Tao sees that he is injured badly. He’s been scratched on his right leg, and red is oozing out.

Tao takes the end of his shirt and scrunches it in his hands, using his teeth to rip into it. He kneels next to Kris, tying the small piece of fabric tightly around the cut to try and stop the bleeding. Kris gives a hiss, biting his tongue. Tao retrieves the pole from his belt and writes in the sand.

I’m sorry.

Kris shakes his head, holding a hand out. Tao understands this gesture, and gives the blonde a small smile.

We should travel together, but we cannot stop.

I have no water, and we could die without it.

We need to get to the mountain.

Kris nods, taking the pole.

I had the same dream. That is our only way back, right?

Tao shrugs, letting Kris balance himself with the pole. He kneels to the ground once again, this time running his finger through the sand by Kris’ ankles.

Can you walk?

Kris nods, shaking the pole a little. Tao straightens himself out, pointing up to the stars above, returning his gaze to Kris. Kris seems to understand, and he turns in the direction Tao pointed, using the pole as a walking stick.

Kris begins walking, though Tao can see pain is clearly written on the blonde’s face. He touches Kris’ shoulder and loops his arm underneath the boy’s shoulder so that Kris can lean on him. Tao tries to pick up the pace, but they move agonizingly slowly through the sifting sands. Tao sighs, letting his head rest against Kris’ shoulder.

It may take a while to reach the mountain, and he might die out here, but at least he’s not alone anymore.

***