by Xu, Lei
I remembered a long ago conversation with one of my old teachers. He'd told me about a strange story he'd heard while prospecting for oil in the Taklamaklan Desert. A local had told him that somewhere in the desert was a mysterious region from which people would often vanish, only to reappear the next night, sometimes over a hundred miles away. The strangest part was that those who survived never had any idea of what had occurred. Each could say only that they'd lost their way in the endless desert and had walked several days and nights before they were found, but none were gone more than 24 hours. The doctors all said it was an illusion caused by dehydration. My teacher disagreed. While he was prospecting in the area, a member of his own team disappeared. Only later did they find his corpse over a hundred miles from camp. There was no way he could have wandered so far, unless he'd intended to kill himself.
I couldn't help but wonder: Had we experienced something similar while flying through the abyss?
CHAPTER
51
Small Talk
Cold sweat trickled down my back as I thought this through. Something still seemed amiss, as if I was lacking a piece of the puzzle. I looked at the faces of the men sitting before me. None of them revealed a thing.
If I was right, then Yuan Xile's team had been dispatched not long after we arrived at this place. The main camp had to be somewhere relatively nearby. But I couldn't just ask them about it, for strange as it was for us to see them, it must have been equally unsettling for them to run into us out here, asleep in this cabin in the middle of nowhere. And it wasn't like I could tell them we'd traveled back in time. So we found ourselves in a very awkward situation. They were on a top-secret assignment and we had appeared, unannounced and without explanation, smack in the middle of the very place they were supposed to be exploring. If we messed this one up, we might soon be in a whole heap of trouble. I had no idea what to say or do, nor did I know whether Wang Sichuan had thought of anything himself. The best we could hope for was to keep them in the dark long enough to think of a plan.
Wang Sichuan was decidedly unflustered. As he met my eyes, I could tell he had a plan. I sighed with relief. Now all I had to worry about was making sure Old Tian didn't say anything too strange. Old Tian appeared more than willing to keep our secret. His previous semi-consciousness had given way to a state of full confusion. He was seated at the very edge of the circle, his knees to his chest, his glazed eyes staring out at our guests. His head bobbed incessantly.
The special emissary's unanswered question hung in the air. Seeing I was unable to reply, a brief, curious look flashed across his face. Then he turned to Wang Sichuan and asked again, "What are you three doing here?"
Wang Sichuan was as cool as a cucumber. "We were part of a large brigade on temporary assignment, but we got lost. Because the assignment itself was classified, I naturally cannot reveal what we were doing."
The special emissary gave all three of us a strange look, as if deliberating something. He was much more uptight than the others. For her part, Yuan Xile hardly seemed concerned. After washing the mud from her face and rinsing her hair, she turned. "When we first came upon your cabin and saw the firelight inside, I thought for a second there was some demon of the forest. Who would believe we'd run into fellow prospectors this far from civilization?"
"We've been following your smoke for the past few days," said a young soldier. "That's how we found you."
Wang Sichuan said we'd already been stranded for some time and that all of our equipment was gone. "But now that you've arrived," he continued, "we have nothing to worry about. Just how far is it to the nearest town from here?"
Yuan Xile's face took an awkward expression. No one replied.
"I don't believe it," I said, feigning ignorance. "You're all lost, too?"
"I'm afraid not," said Yuan Xile, her expression serious. "The issue is that the location of this area is highly classified. Having arrived here accidentally, you three are not in any trouble; however, we cannot give you any specifics." As she spoke, Yuan Xile kept one eye on the special emissary. The strictness of this secrecy obviously came from him.
"At the very least, don't we need to think of some kind of plan?" asked Old Tian, speaking up at last. "The three of us need help. We've all gone crazy."
Everyone laughed. "With all this goddamn rain, who wouldn't go crazy?" said one of the young soldiers. "I've just about lost it myself."
I looked over at the special emissary, trying to gauge his reaction. "Unfortunately, I have no say in the matter," he said. "Once the weather clears up, we'll send a cable to headquarters so they can decide what's best. Don't worry; we'll probably just end up having Little Einstein here lead you guys out." He motioned toward a kid with a boyish face and a fire in his eyes.
You could tell he was different than the others. Seeing that I was looking at the telegraph transmitter sticking out of his pack, he smiled at me.
"Exactly how long have you been stuck here?" asked the special emissary.
"From the time we realized we were lost up until now," said Wang Sichuan, "it has to have been about a month."
"In that case," continued the special emissary, handing Wang Sichuan a cigarette, "have you had a chance to explore much of the surrounding area?" His voice and expression were perfectly relaxed as he said this, as if he were merely making conversation.
Yuan Xile and her team had been trekking through the rain for days on end. Now they'd finally found a place that was warm and dry, where there was food to eat and comfort to be had. It was an easy-going, cordial atmosphere. Old Tian was once more treated with respect and our hope of getting out of here was rekindled. There was nothing strange at all about the special emissary offering us cigarettes. But as for his question, even a fool could see what he was after.
"We've traveled a fair bit to the east and west," said Wang Sichuan, watching his words carefully. "Elsewhere there are only cliffs. What direction are you coming from?"
"I've got no idea," replied the special emissary. "All I know is we've been walking all over the place, and it's been a long time since I had any clue what direction we were headed." He paused to smile at us. "But back to my original question. You three have explored the area around here, at least to some extent. Have you encountered anything that was at all, well, strange?"
Wang Sichuan laughed. "What could be strange about a place like this? The only things you'll find around here are trees and more trees. We were damn lucky to happen upon this cabin. Believe it or not, the Japs built several more nearby. There are even a few warehouses off to the right. The devils must have been planning something big, though who knows what."
Seeing the natural way Wang Sichuan responded—evasive, but not overly so, neither saying too much nor too little—I relaxed. This guy is truly talented, I said to myself. It would be a real shame if he doesn't make officer one day. With all the people present, conversation flowed freely. Knowing I had none of Wang Sichuan's talent for deception, I rose and began preparing our guests' sleeping arrangements. From the look of things, Wang Sichuan was going to be able to handle this first challenge all by himself. Besides our reason for being here, everything he'd said was true, making it easy for us to stick to the same script. I wasn't at all worried Old Tian would give away our secret. I knew he'd rather die than break a rule. Given all the oaths of confidentiality we'd sworn, his silence was assured. I was now our biggest problem. I was certain my earlier actions had been very suspicious. The special emissary kept glancing over at me, wanting to see my reaction while he talked with Wang Sichuan. For now at least, I needed to avoid his eyes and think of an explanation for my unusual behavior.
What I didn't realize at the time was that my actions weren't the problem. The real issue was that this place was almost definitely within some hotly contested border region—outside of China, in other words—so it was impossible that there could be other prospecting teams there. How could Su Zhenhua not be suspicious? As for the rest of the team, they were probably like us,
left totally in the dark about the place's true coordinates and thus blithely unconcerned about finding us there. Still, the events that were to happen soon made the cause of Su Zhenhua's suspicion irrelevant.
Yuan Xile and her men were exhausted. As the chatter subsided, they each took to their beds for a much-deserved rest. Usually I slept well in our cabin, but with all the excitement tonight I found myself staring at the ceiling for hours. Not until dawn light filtered in through the windows did I finally fall asleep. There was something specific about our guests that I failed to notice. What I did see, however, was Yuan Xile's sleeping face, past Wang Sichuan's smelly feet, illuminated by the firelight. Her hair was not yet as long as when I found her in the cave. My mind was filled with a thousand thoughts, but as I watched her peaceful expression, I was gradually overcome by a sense of calm. No matter what happened, no matter what was going on, so long as she was here it couldn't be that bad.
And yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was all just a dream.
CHAPTER
52
The Best Possible Past
I woke to find the rain had finally stopped. The beds around me were filled with people. Last night had been real after all. Some of the others had already gotten up, including Wang Sichuan and Yuan Xile. I walked outside. The sun greeted me like a long-lost friend. I stretched in its warmth, then went looking for Wang Sichuan. He didn't usually wake this early. I assumed he was looking for an opportunity to talk with me alone.
The ground was still muddy, but I found a relatively clean pool amid the muck and washed my face. Someone was in the woods nearby, shaking leaves from a tree. These would be much easier to dry and use as kindling than the sodden specimens littering the ground. I hoped it was Yuan Xile. I found myself nervous at the thought of it, but I still very much wanted to speak with her alone. As I drew closer, I saw it was only Little Einstein. Although he appeared to be no more than 15-years-old, he was skillfully carrying a huge stack of firewood on his back. It was obvious this kid knew what he was doing. More voices sounded from deeper in the woods—Old Cat's and someone else's—but the trees blocked my view.
"You a Northeasterner?" I asked the kid. No way could a Southerner handle a tree like that; Southerners burn rice straw for warmth. Little Einstein just smiled and kept going. I motioned that I would help him carry some of the firewood, but he shook his head and continued toward the cabins, the huge stack on his back dwarfing his small frame.
"Don't worry about him," said a voice from behind me. "He may look young, but he's stubborn as a mule."
I turned around to see Yuan Xile emerging from a patch of trees. She was brushing her hair. Drops of water covered her face. Her hair was still wet. While a female prospector cannot be choosy about the godforsaken places to which she is sent, she won't just stick her head in a mud puddle when it's time to get clean.
Seeing my face up close, she began to laugh. "There's a fairly large pool of water in the woods back there," she said. "Why don't you go and give yourself a good wash? From the looks of things, you haven't scrubbed your face since I last saw you."
I laughed. "We both know I don't have a chance of finding a wife in this lifetime, so why take the trouble?"
"It takes effort to find a wife," she said. "They’re not going to just come to you. But why lose heart so easily? There are more than a few female prospectors around. Come on, time to wash up. I'll show you where the pool is."
I followed her into the woods. We soon arrived at a clear pool of water. Kneeling at its edge, I gave my face a thorough scrubbing. Once I was finished, she looked me over and nodded. "Doesn't that feel a lot better? I've always thought men should have a look of vigor about them."
I smiled. "I could wash my face three times a day and still have nowhere near the vigor of a certain Soviet aviator. It's not fair to compare me to your fiancé. I can't measure up." I would never have been comfortable speaking to her like this before, but she no longer seemed unapproachable.
Wiping her face with a handkerchief, she stared at me in amazement. "How did you know about that? I've barely told anyone. Who told you?"
I laughed. "There's not a wall on earth that doesn't let some wind through."
She smiled. Her cheeks were bright red. "That was all in the past. He'll never be able to leave the Soviet Union. Our relationship ended when I returned home."
"How can you be so sure he's not coming for you? Perhaps he's just been held up along the way."
"Even if he did come, we could never be together. Our countries might both be communist, but they're entirely different. No matter what, I would have to refuse him."
"But isn't that a shame? Refusing a man that exceptional?"
She looked at me as if I were being ridiculous. "How do you know he's so exceptional?"
Believe me, I know, I said to myself. If he wasn't, then my charred corpse would be lying at the bottom of a black abyss.
"Perhaps at the time he truly did seem special to me," said Yuan Xile with a look of resignation, "but the hotter the relationship, the more likely it will end when the passion cools." She sighed. "Sometimes even I don't know what really went wrong, but so what? It's over, and I don't want to talk about it anymore." She turned and sped off towards the cabins, leaving me behind.
I wanted to follow her, but I hesitated. Before she'd gone too far, she spun on her heels and marched back. Staring straight at me, she said, "Don't tell anyone what we talked about today. I don't care who you heard that stuff from." I nodded. Then, after glancing back at the distant cabins, she continued. "Our assignment here is very unusual, and trust me, you don't want any part of it. Mind your own business and I'll do my best to convince Su Zhenhua to allow you three to return home."
"What if he says no?" I asked.
"Then you'll probably be forced to join our team. But I don't see why you three should have to take the risk." She put a finger to her lips. "Be careful what you say. I might know you, but no one else here does. Some of them are bound to be suspicious." She gave me a final glance, then turned and left for good.
I knew she was right. Having seen how all this would end, I could say with absolute certainty it was going to be one hell of a dangerous mission indeed.
I watched her figure recede all the way until she entered our cabin. Then I went to find Wang Sichuan. He was in the rear courtyard, stacking firewood. When he saw me, he waved for me to come help. While the two of us kept up the appearance of being hard at work, I told him my theory. He told me he'd originally been thinking the same thing, but he'd decided it was too fantastic. It was much more realistic that all these people were actually mountain spirits, come down here just to toy with us, he said. Spirits? Now that was even more ridiculous. Eventually Wang Sichuan agreed. Unfortunately, neither of us could think of another explanation. In the end we had no choice but to believe that we'd really traveled half a year back in time.
Yuan Xile's team was obviously searching for the entrance to the cave. At this point I would have rather died than be forced to join their ranks and go back in that cave. We needed to think of a way out, a way to convince Su Zhenhua to allow us to return home. No matter what, the most important thing was to survive. Yuan Xile and Su Zhenhua were certain to be discussing this today. Since Little Einstein was the telegraph operator, we assumed he'd be privy to their conclusion. Wang Sichuan decided to get on good terms with the kid, hoping he might pick up some information. If they weren't going to let us leave, then we needed to think of a way to escape as soon as possible.
This sort of subterfuge was hardly my specialty, so I let Wang Sichuan have at it. He went off to invite Little Einstein hunting. I returned to the cabin. There I did my utmost to act normally, hoping the special emissary would forget my behavior from last night.
Wang Sichuan and Little Einstein returned to camp around midday, dragging an impressively large buck. Even after everyone had eaten their fill, a lot of meat remained. I helped Wang Sichuan smoke the leftovers and hang them to dry
. Yuan Xile and her crew were too hungry to keep subsisting on their own dwindling supplies. We had no choice but to help them. Wang Sichuan's hunting had served two purposes—he'd curried favor with Little Einstein and helped preserve our provisions for the long walk home. My admiration for the big man was growing by the day. He was quick-witted, able-bodied, and full of energy. Other than a slight tendency towards impulsiveness, he didn't have any major shortcomings. One couldn't help but respect the Mongolian people—excellence was in their blood.
That afternoon the prospecting team began exploring the area, leaving behind only those few not yet recovered from the journey. Wang Sichuan and I sat outside our cabin, chatting as he stripped meat from the deer carcass. Seeing no one was around, he turned to me and said that, from what he'd heard, Little Einstein was going to be asked to lead us back to civilization, a journey that would take several months. According to Wang Sichuan, however, no way had Yuan Xile and her team traveled that long to get here. He was certain there was a large military outpost somewhere nearby. We weren't supposed to know about it, so Little Einstein was going to take us the long way back to avoid the troops. We were supposed to believe Yuan Xile's unit was merely another prospecting team exploring the area, not the vanguard of a much larger undertaking.
