by Guy Salvidge
No one had spoken for several minutes, but now Tuan broke their silence. “You can't imagine how many people lived here,” he said. “To say it was millions does not convey the sense of it. Imagine one apartment block, twenty storeys high. There might have been thirty or forty apartments on each floor. Each one of those, scarcely more than one cramped room, would have housed five or six people. What does that work out as?”
Liang thought about it. “Four thousand, maybe more.”
“Four thousand people,” Tuan said. “And there would have been dozens of those apartment blocks in this area alone. More people would have lived in this field than live in all of Four Rivers now.”
Ji Tao looked at the field, trying to imagine a hundred thousand rooms in which five or six people sat cramped together. She could not do it. She could imagine one room with her whole family in it, and that was bad enough.
“We won't find anything here,” Sovann said.
“Not here, no,” Liang said. “We need to get into the city centre. See, the damage isn't so bad there.” He indicated to the vast skyscrapers still standing beneath the undamaged section of the shield; they were the last remnants of the proud ancestral city.
“You think we will find these...treasure chambers beneath the towers?” Tuan asked.
“It has to be,” Liang said.
Unlike Luihang and Baitang, Shulao had not been built with an inner shield. While the smaller towns shielded rural hinterlands, the great shield covered only the vast urban area of the city. Thus the city centre had not been protected when the great shield had been breached. And while the eastern district had almost entirely reverted to its natural form, the city centre still appeared vaguely like a city. But the humblest of nature's minions—weeds, vines and creepers—had triumphed over the proudest of humankind structures.
It was hot amidst the ruins. Ji Tao tried to imagine the thousands of people who would have lived and worked on this street alone. Ji Tao had read books written in the old-times, but it did not come alive for her. The city was bustling again, but not with human life. There was no trace of the millions who had made this place their home.
“Don't be frightened, cousin,” Liang said to her. “Liang will protect you.” But even his words sounded hollow. It took them what seemed like an age to reach the skyscrapers in the centre of the city. Here the broken shield offered them relief from the fierce sun. The plants around them seemed parched, dried out. Ji Tao supposed that this area received little rainfall, except when wind drove the rain under the great shield. Trees were less common, although the streets were still buried beneath hardy plant life.
The city centre was dark and quiet. The decrepit superstructures were in terrible state of disrepair. Some had crumbled inward, and indeed a number had collapsed into the undergrowth below. There did not appear to be an intact window remaining anywhere. Glass, Ji Tao supposed, only lasts so long. Vines covered any remaining surfaces, having gradually inched their way up the frames of the towers.
“We will rest here for a while,” Tuan said. They ate silently in the shadow of a vast skyscraper that appeared to be less damaged than those nearby. Sovann and Kalliyan were sitting on a mossy beam, chewing slowly. They did not speak to one another. Liang was staring up at the skyscraper, his face blank. Yi Min was playing with a can so rusted that it came apart in his hands. Even Tuan cut a sombre figure, sitting alone on the seat of the caravan.
Suddenly Yi Min got to his feet. “I hear a voice,” he said.
Ji Tao strained to hear. She thought she could hear a faint voice, but perhaps she was imagining it. “Are you sure, Yi Min?” she asked.
“It's Papa,” Yi Min said.
“Maybe not,” Liang said. “It could be scavengers.”
“Be quiet and listen,” Tuan said. Now Ji Tao was sure that she wasn't imagining the voice or voices. The sound was coming closer, but in the quiet of the city, it was difficult to say how close it was.
“It's Papa!” Yi Min said, running off in the direction of the city centre.
“Yi Min, come back!” Ji Tao hissed. But the boy would not listen, insisting that his father was searching for him.
“He'll get us killed!” Sovann said.
In following Yi Min, Ji Tao came up alongside a massive, crumbling tower. Beyond was a vast, treeless field, ringed by still larger towers. Yi Min crouched in the shade on the edge of the steppe, pointing at something that was blocked from Ji Tao's view.
“What is it?” she asked, joining him in the shadows. Liang and Sovann were close behind.
“It's not Papa,” Yi Min said. Ji Tao looked. On the far side of the steppe was a caravan with a red canvas hood. A group of four or five men was milling around nearby.
“Scavengers,” Liang said.
The scavengers must have been alerted to their presence, for now they began to stride across the steppe toward them.
“Let's get out of here!” Sovann said, grabbing Yi Min by the shoulder.
They dashed back to the caravans, dodging mossy mounds that had once been petrol-fuelled cars.
“This is all your fault, Yi Min!” Ji Tao scolded. She turned to Liang, who was looking down the street for sign of the scavengers.
“We'd better move,” he said. “We need to hide.”
“Where?”
“What about the tower?” Sovann said.
Ji Tao looked up at the forbidding skyscraper. It looked hostile.
A loud gunshot rang out, confirming the intentions of the scavengers. Liang crouched behind a furry pillar. “They've got rifles!” he shouted. A bullet whizzed over their heads. The Chens started pulling supplies out from the back of the caravans.
Ji Tao filled a sack with whatever came to hand and lugged it onto her shoulder. She hurried over to Liang. “I'm going to get my head blown off!” he said.
“Let's go,” she said, pulling him away. The others were already rushing toward the tower. Sovann led the way through a flaking metal door-frame into the dank, mouldering interior. It was dark inside.
“Find somewhere to hide, quick!” Liang said.
Sovann and Kalliyan hid under a bench on the far side of the room. The passage of time had eaten away the carpet, exposing the concrete floor that was now congested with weeds and creeping vines. “Over here,” Kalliyan said. Soon they were all crouching beneath the rotten bench. Seconds ticked away. All Ji Tao could hear was the thundering of her racing pulse.
“They're not coming in,” Liang said.
“No, they must have seen the caravans,” Sovann said. “They must be satisfied with that.”
They waited. Slowly their eyes grew accustomed to the gloom.
“We should go further in,” Ji Tao said. “Find a better hiding place.”
The room they were in was all but empty, but there were corridors snaking off in every direction. Ji Tao and Liang explored the left passage, which led around a corner. Here there were two metal doors embedded in a wall, but the doors had no handles. There were, however, two buttons in the wall between the doors. The symbols on the buttons were of an upward facing arrow and a downward facing arrow. Pressing the buttons did not appear to do anything. Further exploration revealed a flight of stairs.
“I found the stairs!” Liang called out. The others joined them. “Up or down?” he asked.
“Down,” Ji Tao said. “That's where the treasure will be.”
Chapter Five
It was dark here, their candles barely piercing the blackness. Tuan held his candle up to a symbol on the wall, which read -1. The air was still and musty. It was hard to make out what purpose this chamber had served.
“This doesn't seem like an apartment building,” Ji Tao said.
“No, there's too much empty space,” Liang agreed.
There was a pair of metal doors set into the wall, as on the floor above, but the doors would not open. In this chamber, there was a long desk with the remnants of chairs pushed underneath. The fabric of the chairs had been eaten away, leaving
brittle plastic shells which crumbled when touched. The carpets were similarly threadbare. There were screens and ancient computer equipment on the desk. None of it worked. Everything was blanketed in dust. There was evidence that something lived down here; a large animal, judging by its droppings. And there were piles of bones and fur.
“Could it be a bear?” Ji Tao asked.
“Wolves, more likely,” Tuan said. “We must be careful. If we disturb them, they may attack.”
“Over here,” Kalliyan said. “I've found a corridor.”
Ji Tao waited with Tuan and Yi Min while the others spread out. One by one, the candles disappeared into the darkness. She strained to hear them opening and closing doors. Meanwhile, Tuan was searching the desk drawers. The brittle papers inside came apart in his hands.
“I'm thirsty,” Yi Min said.
Ji Tao rummaged through her bag and found a bottle of water. She took a swig and handed it to Yi Min. “There isn't much left,” she said. Ji Tao put the bag down and sat against the wall. Yi Min was fooling around with some switches.
“Yi Min, come away from there,” she said.
“It isn't working,” he said.
“That's because there's no electricity,” Tuan explained. “Those would have been the light switches. Now do as your aunt says.”
Yi Min sat down on the floor, sullenly tapping the empty water bottle against his leg. The corridor began to grow lighter. Liang appeared.
“Well?” Ji Tao asked.
“Just more rooms with old desks and chairs in them. I could have grabbed some stuff, but unless we can get the caravans back, what's the use?”
“We'll have to try the next floor down,” Ji Tao said.
Level -2 was much the same as -1, but -3 was different. The stairwell ended here. There was a metal plate at the bottom of the steps, perhaps indicating that the stairs did in fact go down further. There was no obvious method of removing the plate, however. The walls were made of dull metal and the floor of concrete. Along one wall was a pair of metal doors identical to those they had seen on the levels above. There was also a single metal door in an alcove on the opposite wall. None of the doors had handles, and there was no obvious way forward.
“We're going to have to work it out,” Liang said. “Otherwise we'll have to go back.”
“The arrows point down as well as up,” Kalliyan noted.
“Then there must be more levels below us,” Sovann said.
“It's a lift,” Tuan said. “I have read about them.”
“But it doesn't work,” Liang said.
“This door over here is different,” Ji Tao said. “There's no arrows.”
“Then it's not a lift,“ Tuan said. “It must lead to the rest of the level.”
“There doesn't seem to be any way of opening it,” Ji Tao said, “other than this little panel, and it doesn't do anything.”
“The power went out long ago,” Tuan said.
They had come to a dead end. The cracks around the edges of the metal door were too narrow to lever open, but it did not stop Liang from trying. Ji Tao sat on the concrete floor and ate some bread.
One by one, the others began dumping their hastily collected possessions on the floor. No one had much to say. The candles were starting to burn low, and everyone knew they had a finite amount of time before they would have to return to the surface.
Yi Min had found a nondescript metal box protruding from the wall.
“Come away from there, Yi Min,” Ji Tao said.
“I'm just having a look,” he replied. The boy's fiddling had achieved something, however. He had managed to get the latch on the box open, revealing a pair of switches.
“What did you do?” Tuan said. Everyone crowded around Yi Min.
The boy's face was frozen in terror. “I just opened it.”
Inside the box there was a metal plate with tiny writing on it. “What does it say?” Liang asked. He held up the candle while Ji Tao tried to read the writing.
“I don't recognise those words,” Ji Tao said.
“But perhaps I will,” Tuan said. Ji Tao moved out of the way. The old man peered at the panel for what seemed like a long time. “Ah,” he eventually said. “It seems we are in luck.”
“What does it say?” Liang asked.
“Emergency Access,” Tuan replied. He flicked up the left switch. Above them, dim lights flickered on. One of them continued to turn on and off repeatedly, before finally staying on. It was still gloomy, but they could do without the candles for now.
“I suppose we won't need these anymore, then,” Sovann said, extinguishing her candle.
“We don't know how long the power will last,” Tuan warned. “It could go out at any moment.”
“What about the other switch?” Liang asked.
“If I understand correctly, then this will be of great help to us,” Tuan said by way of reply. He flicked up the other switch.
Suddenly, there was a faint whistling sound coming from a vent in the ceiling.
“What's that sound?” Ji Tao asked.
“It must circulate the air,” Liang said.
“Look!” Kalliyan said. “The panels on the lift!” The up and down arrows had lit up.
“Father, you're a genius!” Liang said. “The lift must be working now.” He went over to the right lift and pressed the down arrow. The arrow turned green, and they heard a rumbling from above. “It's working!” he said. The sound grew louder, then abruptly stopped. For a moment nothing happened. Then the doors opened to reveal the interior of the lift, its walls covered in mirrors.
Liang started coughing; he stumbled away from the doors. Ji Tao could taste the bad air emanating from the lift.
“Get away!” Tuan said. “Upstairs, all of you.”
They retreated upstairs, Liang red in the face from coughing.
“What happened?” Sovann asked.
“It's the air in the lift,” Tuan explained. “It must have turned poisonous after so long a time. Are you ill, my son?”
“No,” Liang said, his coughing subsiding. He bent over double and dry retched. Ji Tao slapped him on the back. Her own throat was tingling.
“The air filters will clear the bad air out,” Tuan said. “It may be safe now. Give him some water.”
After waiting for Liang to recover, they cautiously made their way downstairs again. The air still smelled rank, but the filters had done their job. Liang, ever confident, wanted to be the first inside the lift.
“Perhaps someone else should go first,” Ji Tao said.
“It's all right,” Liang said. “I just want a look.”
“Cover your mouth with your shirt,” Tuan said. Liang did as instructed, opening the door and stepping inside. “Ah, there are many levels to choose from!” he said. Ji Tao followed Liang inside, covering her own mouth. The air was now no worse here than in the chamber outside the lift.
“These numbers must indicate the various levels,” Liang explained. “Look, it goes right up to 52!”
“And down to -8,” Ji Tao said. “But why are all the levels below us written in red?”
“It says something,” Liang said. “I can't read it.”
“It says 'Restricted,'” Ji Tao said.
By this time, the others were in the doorway of the lift, preventing the doors from closing. “That would explain why the stairs don't go down any further,” Sovann said.
“What's that key for?” Ji Tao said, pointing to a small key sticking out of the panel.
“Don't mess with that,” Sovann said. “We don't know what it does.”
“Come out of there,” Tuan said.
“I bet the treasure is down at the bottom!” Liang protested.
“Have patience, my son,” Tuan said, ushering Liang and Ji Tao out of the lift. “We haven't looked around this level yet.”
“I had completely forgotten!” Liang said. They shuffled out and considered the other metal door.
“What do I do?” Sovann said. “Just t
ouch the panel?”
“Try it.”
Sovann pressed it and the door slid open.
A row of lights flickered on, illuminating a long, dusty room. Here were the ubiquitous desks, chairs and computer screens. There was a trolley at the far end, piled high with sheets. The air filter started up, but the air that circulated into the room was thick with dust. They started coughing. “How do you turn that thing off?” Liang said.
“Maybe there's a switch,” Ji Tao said.
“What does that say on the wall?” Sovann asked, peering through the grime.
“Medical,” Ji Tao replied.
“People would have come here to be treated for injury and illness,” Tuan said.
Thick glass windows gave them a view of the rooms beyond, the closest of which appeared to be full of beds.
“I'm surprised we haven't seen any corpses yet,” Liang said.
“Could we catch something from them?” Sovann asked. “After all this time?”
“I hadn't thought of that,” Liang said.
“Let's get out of here,” Sovann said, stepping back through the door. When everyone was through, Ji Tao pressed the panel and the door slid shut. The smell of the bad air lingered.
“Well, are we going up or down?” Liang said to Tuan. “No point staying here.”
“Not everyone should go in the lift,” Sovann said. “Just in case the lift stops working.”
“We could walk to the top,” Kalliyan pointed out.
“Walk!” Liang said. “I'm not going up fifty flights of stairs when there's a machine here to do it for me! You're too cautious. The ancients built things to last the test of time, didn't they? Ji Tao, you'll come up to the top with me, won't you? Don't you want to see what the city looks like from above?”
