Soundless (17 page)

A MAN I DISTANTLY KNOW,
an older miner, is the first to act. He storms up onto the dais and tears down a section of my painting, hurling it to the ground. Tension has been building and swelling in the crowd as I speak, and it's as though that one defiant action spurs everyone to action. Chaos breaks out.

People storm the stage, attacking the rest of my record. Some simply want it down, others furiously work to destroy it, tearing it into unrecognizable pieces. And some people aren't interested in the painting at all—they come for me. Suddenly, getting my message across is no longer my primary goal. Staying alive is.

Angry faces loom in my vision as hands reach for me, clawing and groping. I never would have expected to fear attack from my own people, but the world as I've known it has drastically changed in a matter of days. Someone tears the sleeve of my shirt, and I feel nails gauge my cheek. Fearing worse, I hastily back up until there's no more surface on the stage left. My attackers move with me, and I only just escape them by hopping down, though
a few bold ones do the same. On the ground, I am plunged into the chaos of the mob and soon lose those who are pursuing me as the crowd in the village's center becomes even more frenzied.

Many, not realizing that most of my paintings are gone and that I've left the stage, are still trying to get to the dais. Others are turning on one another. Conversations are flying fast and furious, too difficult for me to follow all the signs. But I see certain things repeated over and over—
lies
,
death
, and
food
. It's clear the majority of the people around me don't believe what I've told them. They seem to think I concocted all this to save myself, and my heart sinks—not because they'd think so little of me but because they've become so enslaved by this system that they are terrified of breaking out of it.

There are a few, however, who seem to think there's some truth to what I've said—but their support is almost detrimental. Some are those who've spoken out against the township before and are already angry and looking for a fight. They begin arguing with those who think I'm lying, and I am aghast to see actual physical altercations break out. I try to tell myself it's all because my people are hungry and scared, that the uncertainty of the last day's events has left them panicked and unsettled. But it's still hard to see them degenerate into this madness, turning on one another when it's imperative we stand together against the township.

Through the chaos, I see Zhang Jing at the back of the crowd, mostly out of the way of any danger. She is standing there wide-eyed, rooted to the spot with fear. Her gaze meets mine, and I quickly tell her,
Wait, I'm coming.
I don't know if
she understands, as two people in a shoving match stumble into me, knocking me to the ground. My body, already sore, hurts more than it should from the impact, but I manage to scramble to my feet before I get trampled. I've lost sight of Zhang Jing, but I nonetheless doggedly head in the direction I last spotted her.

Stop, stop!
I sign frantically when I come across two apprentices I know from the school fighting with each other. They don't even notice me, and without thinking, I force myself in between them to break up the fight.
Don't do this! We must unite!

They stare, astonished to find me there in their midst. I have no idea what they were fighting over, but suddenly they are united—in their hatred for me. Snarls fill their faces, and they both lunge for me, forcing me to jump back. I run into a tall man I don't know who at first dismisses me and then does a double take when he recognizes who I am. Anger fills his face, and then he reaches for me too—

—just as a sound of unimaginable magnitude rips through our village.

Instinctively, I put my hands to my ears. Up until this point, the loudest sound I'd ever heard was the priest's gong. No longer. This new noise reminds me of that
boom
a bit, but it is much, much more intense. In fact, the sound is so big, so powerful, that the very ground beneath us shakes, causing many people—including my current assailants—to pause and look around curiously. A few even glance up, and I don't blame them. That kind of trembling is sometimes felt with thunder, but today the early morning sky is clear and full of sun.

A few shrug it off and immediately return to their squabbling. For others, it is a much-needed slap in the face, and I am relieved to see them step back from their conflict. But my relief is short-lived when I hear a new sound—an impossible sound, at least in our village. But there can be no question as the sound grows louder and louder: It is the noise made by horse hooves striking the earth, the very noise Li Wei and I were running from down below.

It can't be
, I think.
There can't be horses up here!

As the noise grows louder, I search around, trying to discern its source. I still have some difficulties gauging the location and distance of certain sounds. But as I get my bearings, I'm almost certain the horses are coming from the same direction as the initial
boom.
It's a part of the mountain we rarely go, a place that was once used because of the narrow pass that led to a fertile valley and a path down the back of the mountain. Avalanches buried that narrow gap, creating an impenetrable, high wall that none have been able to get through . . .

. . . until now.

A feeling of dread builds within me, growing as the sound of the hooves gets closer and closer. Through the tumultuous crowd, I catch another glimpse of Zhang Jing, still waiting for me. But there is no time, not anymore.
Go
, I sign to her.
Go and hide! Something terrible is about to happen!

To my relief, she turns and runs just as a new burst of noise surges behind me. I spin around in time to see a veritable army of soldiers on horseback galloping into the village's center. With
weapons raised, they ride in, uncaring of what or who is in their way. What I thought was chaotic earlier is nothing compared to what now ensues. It's not just the soldiers and their weapons that cause the panic: The horses are equally terrifying. Like me, my people have never seen them outside of pictures. Equally rare and frightening is the sight of outsiders in our village. We've all seen the same faces our entire lives. New ones are a shock—especially when it's clear these aren't friendly.

On top of all this, I have new sounds to cope with: the sounds of war. The soldiers scream harsh battle cries as they descend upon us, the noise ugly and hateful to my ears. Around me, cries and moans from my people also rise, born instinctually from high emotion. They don't even realize they're making these eerie sounds, which raise the hair on the back of my neck. For a moment, as those cries fill the air, I have a strange flashback to that first dream when my hearing began. In it, my people all cried out at the same time—almost like this but less chaotic. Still, I feel something tug inside me, that same stirring I've felt in other dreams, like I'm being called to. It's the first time I've truly felt it while awake, but I have no time to ponder it, not with what's happening.

The people around me stampede in different directions, everyone trying to find a way to save themselves and their loved ones. There is no strategy, no unity. I try to see what the soldiers are doing, to get a sense if they're capturing or killing, but it's all I can do not to get trampled by my own people.

I manage to climb back up on the stage, giving me a limited
view of the scene as well as a brief respite from the stampede. No one wants to be here; everyone is trying to get away. The soldiers are riding around the center, trying to trap my people within it. If some flee, the soldiers herd them back in. One man—the tall, intimidating one I encountered earlier—stands up to a soldier, but his brawn is no match for the sword that runs him through. I've never seen anyone killed that way, and the horror of it leaves me frozen for a moment. Another villager doesn't challenge the army, but he also doesn't get out of the way when a soldier comes thundering down on him on a large black horse. The man wavers, too petrified to move, and the soldier simply runs him down, trampling the man under those powerful hooves. That thoughtless killing is almost more gruesome than if he'd used his sword. It spurs me back to action.

Even those who are simply captured are subject to brutality, struck and herded with dispassionate force. I don't know what it all means, but I know I can't be caught here. I hop down, relying on my smaller size to weave through the panicked crowd. I head in the opposite direction the soldiers have come, hoping I can escape from the village's heart there. As I glance back, gauging the soldiers' position, I am shocked to see a group of people entering behind them: a group of thin, ragged people in chains. Even more shocking is when I recognize one of them: Li Wei.

He can't be here. He can't. It's impossible.

We're pretty good at the impossible.

Incredibly, despite the pandemonium filling the gulf between us, he spots me as well. Our eyes meet, and in a moment
I have changed direction and am heading back into the heart of the village. I don't care that it's the most dangerous place to be right now, not if Li Wei is there. He's standing on the fringe of the chained prisoners, where there are fewer guards. There also aren't many villagers there, as most of them are running in the opposite direction. I have to do a fair amount of dodging as I make my way across the center. A number of times I am shoved and kicked in the frenzy of capture-and-flee going on. A soldier on horseback eyes me as I run past him but then decides a larger, muscled miner is a better prize to go after.

Breathless, I reach the chained prisoners and find Li Wei, my heart lifting at the sight of his beloved face. I throw my arms around him, unable to believe he's real and in front of me, particularly after all the terrible outcomes I'd been imagining for him. He looks worn and tired, and there are new bruises on him, but the fire in his eyes glitters as fiercely as ever when we finally break away to regard each other. He can't speak easily to me, not with his hands chained, but suddenly a cry escapes his lips as his eyes focus on something behind me. I don't need to understand any spoken language to get his message, and I spin around in time to see a foot soldier waving a sword at me. Li Wei hurls himself forward, swinging his manacled hands up to intercept the blade coming toward my head. The soldier isn't prepared for Li Wei's considerable strength, and as chain and blade hit, the soldier is thrown backward, stumbling. His sword slips from his hands in a flash, and I pick it up, aiming it for the soldier's neck.

I've never held a sword before. Until our trip to the
township, I'd never seen a real one. And I've certainly never killed someone before. But as I keep the blade at the soldier's neck, there must be something convincing in my face. Even though he is a trained fighter, even though he is bigger than me, he looks uneasy about this new situation he finds himself in. He should. Maybe I've never used a sword or killed anyone, but I won't hesitate to use one now. I will do whatever it takes to save Li Wei.

I jerk my head toward Li Wei, and the soldier stares in confusion. Frustrated, I wish not for the first time that I had vocal powers of communication. Quick as lightning, I swing the sword tip to Li Wei's manacles and then back to the soldier's neck. I give him a meaningful look, and he finally understands. I put on a fierce expression, hoping I appear as though I'm seconds from puncturing his neck with the blade.

Tentatively, he reaches forward to unlock Li Wei's manacles. It's a trick, though, and he suddenly makes a play for me, diving for the sword. I hold my ground, catching the man on the cheek with a deep cut that immediately begins bleeding. In his moment of surprise, Li Wei swings his bound arms together, making the chains smack the man's head. The soldier stumbles and falls, one more blow from Li Wei keeping him down. With trembling hands, I unlock Li Wei's manacles and then look uncertainly at the other bound prisoners standing nearby. I can't help them all, but perhaps some will be able to help each other. I toss the key to the ground in front of them, and Li Wei and I take off, running out of the village's center toward a cluster of trees.

It is quiet here, giving us a brief respite, and I run into his
arms again. He holds me tightly, burying his face in my neck as the safety of his strength engulfs me.

Looks like you rescued me this time
, he says, once we are able to speak.

How are you here? I was so worried about you
, I say.
I didn't know what they'd done to you. I didn't know if you'd be able to escape.

Actually, I did escape
, he says.
And then I found out they were marching back here . . . so I surrendered.

I try not to gape.
But why?

I couldn't leave our people to this fate, especially once I experienced the cruelty of the soldiers for myself. And . . .
He gently traces the line of my cheek before continuing.
I couldn't leave you, Fei. I don't care how dangerous it is here or what wonders Beiguo could hold for me. My place is with you, wherever that is.

I'm glad you came back.
It's an understatement. Shouts nearby force me to turn from him.
We must go
, I say, thinking frantically.
We must get back to the Peacock Court.

It isn't safe
, he counters.
They will most certainly attack an important building like that.

There are underground storage rooms beneath it
, I tell him.
I know a way that won't be obvious to the soldiers.

His expression shows surprise at this news, but he gives a quick nod.
Okay, show me.

We take off again, and I secretly hope Zhang Jing has also remembered the existence of the underground facility. Although
the way to the school is fairly direct from here, we find many obstacles blocking our way. The soldiers have reorganized and are moving in small groups, trying to intercept those who made it out of the town square. Li Wei and I find ourselves taking a roundabout way, and at one point we cut very close to the mine itself. There, from the cover of the trees, we see a group of soldiers standing outside the entrance, having a heated conversation in those words I can't understand. From their gestures—and the shocked look of a miner who runs up and halts when he sees them there—the mine has been used as a place of refuge by some of the villagers. Now the soldiers are squabbling over whether to go in or simply wait out those trapped inside. I wonder if the soldiers know about the poisonous metals and fear them.