The Curse of the Dragon God: A Gay Adventure by Knight Geoffrey

Author:Knight, Geoffrey [Knight, Geoffrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Cleis Press
Published: 2011-06-30T22:00:00+00:00

XI

The Zhang Diamond Express, Central Beijing, China

“MAX, WAKE UP! MAX! WAKE UP—NOW!”

The desperate voice in his ear was the first thing the Professor registered. The second thing was the immense pain. In his stomach, in his sides, in his pounding head. His eyelids fluttered open, although his blind eyes could see nothing. “Sen?” was all his parched, cracked lips could utter.

“I’m here, Max. Are you all right?”

The Professor nodded, although he wasn’t all right at all. The slightest move sent a wave of agony through his body. He realized quickly he was sitting up, in a chair—no, tied to a chair, his wrists fastened to its wooden arms. His torso was sticky and wet. He felt the constriction of bandages wrapped around his waist, adding severe discomfort to the pain. He was bound so tight he was certain the bandages had broken several ribs. Then he remembered.

“They cut me open, didn’t they.”

“Oh, Max, I tried to stop them. There was so much blood I was certain you would die. But they kept you alive. They were determined to keep you alive. And just as determined to find that thing inside you and get it out.”

“The tracking device. It’s gone?”

“Yes. The doctor pulled it out of you with his bare fingers and crushed it on the floor of that filthy apartment.” Sen paused a moment, then said defeatedly, “Nobody will ever be able to find us now, will they.”

The Professor didn’t answer. Instead he took a deep breath for courage, then winced at the pain. “Sen, are you blindfolded? Are we alone?”

“No, I’m not blindfolded, and yes, we’re alone. But not for long. That crazy doctor is supposed to be guarding us, but he left to get some alcohol. He’s already drunk everything in here.”

“Here? Where’s here?”

“We’re on board the Zhang Diamond Express.”

The Professor looked puzzled. “We’re on a train? We’re not moving though, are we?”

“No. At least not yet. Max, I think they’re planning something terrible.”

“Why?”

“There’s something else in here with us. Two open crates. There’s something round and silver inside each one.” Sen swallowed nervously and his dry throat clicked. “Max, I think they’re bombs.”

The Professor remained calm. He said nothing for a moment, thinking carefully about their situation, about what had happened. Eventually he said, “Sen, breathe deep. I need you to start describing where we are. Tell me everything you can see.”

Sen chuckled a moment, feeling a hint of comfort through his fear. “You were always so good at that, Max. Back at Oxford. I remember how good you were at calming friends down the night before an exam, how logical you were about making people feel relaxed when they were as nervous as hell. You’ve always had such clarity, such purity of mind. I loved that about you.”

“Sen, concentrate. Where are we?”

Sen blinked back his fear and nodded at the instruction. “Okay. We’re in the master carriage.”

“You know this place?”

“Very well. The Express has been in my family since 1947. This car is in the third position on the train, behind the engine and the coal car.

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