Railing Codex

七天了。
 
为了回到家里，我正徒步穿过这座城市。
风景一路变幻，我已经忘了家里的样子。
 
现在，大路上没有任何人，每栋楼前都站着一个身穿军大衣的同志。饥饿席卷着我，街上灯火通明，但没有一处地方大门敞开，连店铺也是。
 
我偷偷绕过那些穿军大衣的同志，敲敲窗户——饿的时候我都这样做，运气好的话会有人开个小缝，递一些馒头，偶尔也会收到白酒或剩下的炒菜。
我明白：到家之前，我需要生存下去。
 
前几天，警报突然响起，喇叭里播着“它们来了，请不要出门，已经在外面的同志请尽快回家。”
那天我在工厂睡着了。
后来知道，值班的同志没有确认我的工房还有没剩下人。
这都是后话。
 
从工厂出来的时候天已经快亮了，三只中南海的时间，公交没和往常一样到站，也没人来厂里上班。
六点半，身后传来广播的声音：“它们来了，请不要出门，已经在外面的同志请尽快回家。”
我回头拿上最后一块压缩饼干，一头扎进这座城市……
 
现在，街上零星开始有人了，他们看我时，像看着一个外乡人。
 
他们说，现在是1999年12月31日了，它们好像走了，已经能坐车了，我说，但我已经没钱搭车了，只能接着走。
他们说，这么多天，你没遇到它们吗？我说，没有，我什么都没看到。
他们沉默不语，提着猪肉和青菜，匆匆离去。
 
晚上，街道又变得空无一人，长期徒步使我身心疲倦。
我在一个穿军大衣的同志身旁坐下，昏昏欲睡。
 
耳朵里不断传来他摆弄电视和天线的声音。
恍惚间，倒计时和沙沙的电流声把我从梦境里拉回现实。
 
我猛地站了起来，惊恐地望着夜空。
 
夜空中，有什么东西正发着光升起，在半空中爆裂开来，越来越多。
“新……一年……各位家庭，两千年春节……会到……就结束了，我是周……”从电视里传来。
 
我睁大眼睛，盯着屏幕。
时间闪烁着 2000 / 01 / 01。
 
他看着电视，脱下军大衣丢在地上，“ 美好的时代到来了。 ”

Seven days had passed.
To return home, I was trekking across the city. 
The scenery kept changing, and I had already forgotten what home looked like. 
The streets were deserted. Comrades in greatcoats guarded the entrance to every building. I was gripped by hunger. The city was brightly lit, but there was not a single door I could walk into, not even a store.
I cautiously skirted around the comrades in greatcoats and tapped on the windows—this was my trick when I was hungry. If I were lucky, someone might open their window just a crack to pass my some steamed buns. Occasionally, I might also receive some baiju or leftover stir-fry. 
I knew—I had to survive before I reached home. 
The alarm suddenly sounded a few days ago. The loudspeakers boomed, “They are coming—please do not go out. Comrades who are outside, return home immediately.”
That day, I fell asleep at the factory.
I found out later that the comrade on duty didn’t check if there was anyone left in my workshop.
But that is a story for another time. 
Dawn was breaking by the time I left the factory. I finished smoking the third zhongnanhai cigarette, and, as usual, the bus still hadn’t arrived at the station. No one came to work at the factory, either.
It was half past six. The voice from the loudspeaker sounded behind me: “They are coming—please do not go out. Comrades who are outside, return home immediately.”
I turned back and grabbed the last piece of hardtack, throwing myself into the city …
Now, people started to trickle in on the streets. They looked at me as if I was a foreigner. 
They said, Today is the 31st of December, 1999. They seem to have left, and we can take the bus now. I said, But I don’t have any money for the bus. I have to keep walking. 
They asked, In all these days, haven’t you run into them? I answered, No, I didn’t see anything. 
Quiet, they hurried away with bags of pork and vegetables in their hands.
Night fell over the city, and the streets were once more emptied. Long days of walking have left me physically and mentally exhausted.
I sat down next to my comrade in a military greatcoat. I felt drowsy. 
The noise of his fiddling with the TV and its antenna kept buzzing in my ears.
Still in a daze, the sound of a countdown and the crackling of electricity pulled me back from my dreams into reality. 
“New … Year … Every family, the Lunar New Year of 2000 … Will arrive … Is coming to an end, I am Zhou …” The announcement came out of the TV. 
I widened my eyes and stared at the screen. 
The date flickered: 2000/01/01.
He looked at the TV, took off his greatcoat, threw it on the ground, and said: “A beautiful era has arrived.”