My Asian Dragon

Longwei stayed quiet for a moment, then sat up behind her. “You must quiet your mind to allow the body to speak,” he said. “Here, join me.”

Getting off the bed, he sat down on the floor in a half-lotus position, his hands on his knees. Joy joined him tentatively, trying to copy his posture. “The posture itself is not important tonight,” he soothed, taking her hands. “Instead, just focus on my hands holding yours, and the feeling of the breath coming in and out of your lungs. Try to imagine that breath as fog. With each intake, that fog brings in peace, filling your body with quiet stillness. With every breath out, you send the fears and the bad images out, to evaporate into the surrounding air.”

Joy tried to follow Longwei’s advice, listening as he continued with his soothing, calming mantra. She could feel the words have effect, and she relaxed. Within minutes she slipped into sleep, and Longwei gently maneuvered her until her head lay in his lap, her body stretched out on the floor. Stroking her hair lovingly, he resumed his meditation, preparing himself for the upcoming attack.

*****

Longwei had been sure that nobody would attack during the night time. The Triads knew that there were literally dragons in the village, and would be afraid to attack when a dragon would have not just the speed and strength advantage, but the cloak of darkness as well. Still, he kept lookouts posted in all four directions, working in pairs to allow for reports back to the village. Each team also was equipped with signal mirrors to flash back to the village if necessary.

The morning of the attack, the villagers tried to go about their normal business. The schoolchildren had classes, cooks prepared soups and rice, and other daily activities went on. What made it strange however was that every activity took place within two hundred meters of the walls of the temple. When the alarm came, there had to be almost instantaneous response. Joy was stationed on the top of the temple, checking the horizon, when the first flash came in from the western lookout. There hadn’t been time to create any complicated codes, so the simple triple flash was all she needed to know. The attack was coming.

Scrambling down from the roof, she called to Longwei. The villagers quickly mobilized, and before the first lookout could even make it back to the village, the defenses were ready. The car trap had been covered over with a mesh of dirt, bamboo, and leaves, to look almost like it had before. Joy slid into her bunker, picking up the automatic rifle and checking the action once again. Thankfully, the first attackers had favored a variant of the AK-47, and a few of the older villagers had familiarity with the weapon. Simple and reliable, she quickly chambered a round, and waited. Longwei kept himself next to her bunker, ready for the first scout to arrive.

When the scout arrived, he quickly exchanged words with Longwei, who talked urgently with the man. Nodding, he sent him back into the forest, to blend in and try and ambush anyone who came in through the woods. Longwei stuck his head in the back of the small bunker. “Four trucks, maybe twenty to twenty five men. All armed with machine guns from what they saw. He figures we have five minutes.”

Joy nodded, and socked her rifle to her shoulder. “I’ll be ready.”

As the minutes worked by, Joy kept her calm by repeating the important facts to herself. She had fifty rounds for her rifle, in two clips. The bunker was exactly seventy five meters away from the car trap. At that distance, aiming for the belt was important to avoid shooting high. Breathe, relax, and squeeze, don’t jerk the trigger. Fifty rounds. Make them count.

It actually took six minutes for the first truck to round the curve of the road. It was going about thirty miles an hour, not slow, but not speeding either. Joy could see it was a pickup truck, with a driver and one passenger in front while four gunmen were in the back, two of them standing and already aiming down the road. Joy switched off her safety, and got ready.

When the truck hit the car trap, the results were better and more dramatic than anyone had expected. When they had dug the trap, the design was for a car or SUV. The truck was front heavy, and the impact of its nose into the end of the trap not only crumpled the front, sending the engine block crashing through the cab, crushing both occupants. The men in the bed of the truck were catapulted forward, crashing to the earth hard. One of them didn’t get up.

Seeing the other men start to get to their feet, Joy squeezed off rounds, hitting one of the men in the chest, while the other bunker took care of the others. Turning her attention to the other trucks, Joy fired again, trying to pick out men as they jumped from the beds of the other pickups. Thankfully, the second part of their plan worked, and the heat from the engine of the other truck set the fuel in the ditch on fire, cutting off the rest of the road from direct assault. Men scattered under the rifle fire, a few of them dropping to the dirt to return what they could. Thankfully, Joy felt very secure in the bunker, dropping down every few shots to prevent return fire. She heard some more screams, and the sound of men crashing into the woods. Those heading south soon ran into a line of man traps, their screams adding to the sounds. Those heading north found an easier path at first, but Joy knew what was waiting for them. In the northern field, Longwei waited.

*****

Longwei lowered himself as much as possible, knowing that he had to strike quickly and invisibly. He was in between the first staggered line of man traps and the villagers waiting to attack, hoping not to need their sacrifice. Regardless of the villagers’ bravery, they were using farm implements against automatic rifles.

Longwei heard the snap and crash as another of the attackers fell into a man trap, and then the twanging sound as another trap, a snare trap that was normally used to capture wild boar, sprung. These Triads may have automatic weapons, but Longwei was sure none of them had grown up in a countryside village. Sliding forward, he edged closer, seeing his prey. There were still eight men left, one of them seemingly leading the others. He was shouting orders, pointing up the ridge as the others ducked for cover behind trees as Joy and the other bunker continued to fire. Two brave souls charged deeper into the forest, ducking behind trees and treading carefully. Longwei knew it was time to act.