China Crisis

“I didn’t expect it to turn out like this, Dar. This wasn’t the plan.”

“I’m not blaming you. We all knew what we were letting ourselves get into when we joined the group. I don’t regret it. I just hope we have the chance to make something out of this. It would be a shame if we lost everything after getting this far.”

They reached the village a short time later, making their way past the razed buildings until they reached the one remaining that would still provide some shelter. This semiderelict house still had a couple of rooms and a door they could close against the bite of the wind. Pushing open the door they got the semiconscious Cho inside. Hung secured the door, then crossed to the single window slot that allowed him to look back the way they had come.

Tan had Cho propped up in a corner. He found some discarded, dusty blankets and covered the man as best he could. Then he joined Hung at the window.

“It’s the best we can do. Pity we can’t risk a fire to get a little heat in here.”

Hung squatted with his back to the wall, hugging the backpack that contained the circuit board to his body.

“The only thing we can do now is wait.”