Soundless (19 page)

There
, says Elder Lian.
At a glance, the soldiers will not think you are the girl they're looking for. Most of our own people probably won't notice you either. I imagine they have bigger concerns now anyway.

We discuss a few more points of strategy, and I am startled when several among the apprentices and servants want to come with us.
We want to add our voices
, explains the boy whose clothes I wear.
Besides, you won't be spotted so quickly if you're in a group.

The elders agree but want to hold some people back just in case. While they make their choices, I try to remain patient, but the need to act burns within me, making me restless. I have one last hope about where Zhang Jing is, and I want to investigate it.

Li Wei catches me swiping at the dirt on my face. I can feel it and have to stop myself from wiping it off.

I look ridiculous
, I remark to him.

He turns to me, touching my chin softly, the ghost of a smile on his lips.
You're as beautiful as ever. When this is over, we'll find a reason for you to wear the red dress again.

I shake my head, feeling a tangle of emotions in my chest.
I still can't believe you're here. You were captured because of me. . . .

Fei, I was captured because you were brave enough to
return here. To save our village. You think it's your artistic skill that's your greatest strength? It's not. It's your courage.
There is something in his eyes as he says this, something powerful and heated that reaches to my heart.

The elders give their blessings for our journey, and with that, we are finally on our way. Li Wei and I, along with our small cohort, traipse back out through the darkened tunnel, down to where Jin Luan still stands guard. She looks understandably startled to see all of us, more so when she finds out we're leaving.

You're going back out there?
she exclaims.
You're crazy!

Possibly
, I agree.

But her job is to stop people from getting in, not prevent them from leaving. She steps aside so that we can pass, and she surprises me with the first genuine smile I've ever received from her.
Good luck, Fei.

Li Wei goes first, climbing up the ladder that leads into the woods and peering around to ascertain no guards are present. When he deems it safe, he beckons for the rest of us to follow. There are seven of us in total, and as we all gather there in the woods behind the school, I notice it is quieter. Earlier, when Li Wei and I had made our frantic trip here, I'd still been able to hear screams and destruction. I wonder if that means the soldiers have rounded up most of the village.

Now
, begins Li Wei,
I think our best plan is—

Not yet
, I interrupt.

He looks at me in astonishment.
What? We have to join the other prisoners.

We will
, I say.
But first we're making a detour.

I know Li Wei well enough to recognize his frustration, but he stays composed in front of these onlookers.
What detour is that, exactly?

We're not doing anything until we find my sister
, I say.

LI WEI CONSIDERS THIS
and shakes his head, his expression compassionate despite his obvious impatience.
I would like to find her too, but we don't have time to search the village. We need to enact this plan.

I know where she is
, I tell him. I'm only half lying.
It won't take us that far out of our way.

After a little more coaxing, he agrees, and our small group sets out. We move covertly, keeping off the main roads of the village and concealing ourselves in the trees. Around us, we see signs of the army's destruction, and smoke fills the air from the fires they've set. Most of the villagers seem to have been rounded up, but we still occasionally spot roaming bands of soldiers, and my hearing is able to alert us each time before we're spotted.

Soon we make it to the opposite side of the village, to the path that runs near the cliffside. We approach the lone cypress tree where my parents' ashes were scattered, and at first I think I am wrong. Then a slight form shifts, and I see Zhang Jing sitting
against the tree, dangerously close to the cliff. The path shows the signs of many booted feet having gone by recently, but they apparently didn't notice her concealed by the tree. I breathe a sigh of relief, glad to know my hunch was correct. That in a time of great danger, this is the place she would seek out for solace.

I touch her arm gently, and she flinches, at first not recognizing me with my strange clothes and dirty face. Then joy fills her tear-stained features. She leaps to her feet and throws her arms around me.
Fei!
she says when we have broken apart.
I didn't know what happened to you. Everything got so confusing. What is going on? Who are those people?

They are the king's soldiers
, I say.
Now that we know the truth, they have come to try to enslave us. We have a plan to save ourselves, but first I wanted to make sure you're safe.
I glance back at the assembled apprentices and servants who have come with Li Wei and me.
Someone will take you back to the Peacock Court's underground storage rooms, where you can wait safely.

Zhang Jing shakes her head adamantly.
No. Wherever you're going, I'm coming with you.

I hesitate. While I'm quick to run into danger on my own, I'm less willing to get her involved. She is still my sister, still the one I protect, and I'd rather see her safely hidden away with the elders. But there is a fire in her eyes, and something tells me she is not going to go so easily.

I mean it, Fei
, she says.
Let me come with you. Whatever it is, I'm not afraid.

We can use her help
, Li Wei notes. I can tell he is anxious about the delay.
Plus, we won't diminish our numbers this way.

I am part of this village
, Zhang Jing adds fiercely.
This is my fight too.

I can't stand against both of them, and reluctantly, I agree. There's at least a small comfort in having her within my sight.

We backtrack toward the village, still moving covertly. Li Wei scouts ahead, searching for roaming bands of soldiers. We want them to catch us, but walking right up to them is out of the question. Our capture has to look as “natural” as possible, raising little suspicion.

Li Wei comes hurrying back, his face a mix of nerves and excitement.
Up ahead
, he says.
There are three soldiers patrolling.

We move in on the soldiers' position, walking clumsily through the trees so as to make a lot of noise. The ruse works, and moments later we find ourselves surrounded by the three soldiers, who unwittingly think they've captured a group of hapless villagers trying to flee. We act appropriately frightened as they raise their swords—really, there's not much acting required for that—and Li Wei makes it look as though he is about to run. This earns him a blow to the head that makes me wince, but it convinces the soldiers there is nothing special about our particular group. With swords still drawn, they surround us and march us back in the direction of the mines. I exchange a glance with Li Wei as we walk, and although he is careful to keep his expression appropriately cowed, I see a fierceness in his eyes as our plan begins to unfold.

Back at the mine, the number of captured villagers has swelled, and the chained prisoners who came up the mountain have joined the group. It looks as though there are still some people hiding within the mines, but the soldiers are busy keeping the gathered prisoners in line and seem to be engaged in some type of sorting. One of the soldiers in our group shouts something, attracting the attention of a man who seems to be in charge. He glances over at us, looking surprised. My guess is that they probably thought they'd captured everyone by now. A party our size is unexpected.

He strolls over and assesses us, making some quick decisions. With a few gestures, he splits us into two groups. One is me, Zhang Jing, the boy whose clothes I took, and another young girl. Li Wei is with the others in the second group. I realize immediately that we've been sorted by size and strength, and the soldier indicates that Li Wei's group should join another similarly sized group. Zhang Jing and I are sent to a cluster of prisoners consisting mostly of smaller-sized women and young children. I catch Li Wei's eye as we move in different directions, and the message is clear:
The plan must proceed.

Beyond him, I see the soldier in charge speaking with one of the prisoners from the plateau. The soldier makes those unintelligible sounds, and the prisoner follows his face avidly. I realize this must be the man who can read lips. Moments later, he turns and speaks to Li Wei's group, using the same sign language Nuan did:
They are going to send you into the mines to work. They say if you are diligent and do as you're
told, your lives will be spared.
Although his signs say one thing, his expression conveys something entirely different. The other prisoners notice this.

Is that really true?
Li Wei asks.

The man hesitates only a moment before answering:
Probably not. But what choice do we have?

I turn to look at the group clustered near me. There are soldiers surrounding us, but we are not under as heavy a guard as Li Wei's group. We are not chained. Because we are smaller, they probably see us as less of a threat. Knowing that this is the moment we've been waiting for, I signal to a group of women on the other side of Zhang Jing. I keep my motions small, so as not to attract much attention from the guards. I think few of them can understand us, but I don't want to take the chance.

Pay attention
, I say.
There is a way to save us all, but it requires everyone participating. When I give the signal, you must all cry out.

One woman looks at me as if I am crazy.
Cry out?
she questions.

I can't blame her. Although we make involuntary cries and screams all the time—in fact, there is a great deal of sorrowful sound around me even now—it is not something my people deliberately do. After all, none of us can hear the sounds when others make them. Instead, it is a residual instinct, something we acknowledge we do in times of great emotion. There is nothing more to it—until now.

Yes
, I say.
Cry out. Scream. Give voice to your pain.
You must all do it at the same time, and you must do it . . .
I pause, remembering to put it in terms they'll understand.
You must do it with great intensity.
You know the vibrations you feel in your throat? You must make sure they are very intense. Make your throat . . . shake as much as you can. Do you understand?

They stare at me in confusion, but one little girl bravely steps forward.
I understand.

Her mother draws her back and asks,
To what end? What can this possibly do? We are lost.

No
, I say adamantly.
We are not. I can't explain what this will do, but you must trust me that it will work. It is our best shot at salvation—but it is imperative we all work together.

I work my way through the group, passing on the message. Looking across the clearing, I see Li Wei doing the same thing, discreetly signing so as not to attract the guards' attention. It looks like he's met with the same reaction. Most of the people are scared and skeptical that this bizarre request can accomplish anything. Yet, at the same time, they are desperate and see no hope around them and so are willing to take any chance offered to them, no matter how farfetched.

Trust me
, I say for what feels like the hundredth time.
This will work if we do it together. Put all your emotion into it—all your hope and fear, all your doubt and faith.

That particular word choice seems to resonate with the woman I'm currently speaking to. She nods, blinking back tears. Probably all she has left at this point are her emotions; giving voice to them, even if she can't hear it, is all she can do. As I turn
from her to see if there's anyone I missed in this group, a flurry of hands draws attention in my periphery. An older woman wearing the clothes of a supplier is signing furiously.

It's her! Fei! The one who started all this
, she says. A few people near her do double takes, looking me over and starting with recognition.

Did she?
asks another woman flatly.
It seems to me it's the township that started all this long ago.

Only if you believe her lies!
exclaims the first woman.
Someone call the guards over here! No doubt they are looking for her. If we turn her over, they will let the rest of us go!

Have you lost your wits along with everything else?
I demand.
They aren't letting any of us go! They are going to work us all to death in order to deplete the mines. They're starting with the strongest over there. When they're wiped out, they'll make us labor in their place. This plan—crying out as one—is our only hope.

But the woman who first recognized me is no longer paying attention. Unable to rally an immediate supporter, she has gone seeking a soldier herself. She finds one and tugs his sleeve, making signs he doesn't understand. Irritated, he pushes her away, but she is insistent and resorts to simplified gestures, pointing at me through the crowd. The soldier regards me with a puzzled look. He doesn't understand why she's singling me out, but I am no longer beneath the soldiers' notice. I wanted to stay incognito, but that moment has passed. The soldier enters the throng of women and begins working his way toward me.

Looking across the grounds outside the mines, I search for Li Wei over in his group. They are being herded toward the mine's entrance, and I see Li Wei looking for me as well.
It must be now
, he signs to me, holding his hands high.

I nod in agreement and turn to Zhang Jing. The soldier has almost reached us.
Now
, I say, making my signs big and high.
Now! Everyone cry out!

At first, the only voice I hear is my own. I put all my emotion into it, everything I've been carrying around for so long. I include my love for Zhang Jing and Li Wei in it, my grief for my parents, my fear for my village. The sound vibrates not just in my throat but through my whole body, sending waves of emotion radiating through me. I feel it on every level, with all my senses, and then I hear another cry echoing my own. It is Zhang Jing, raising a voice she cannot hear and filling it with the same emotional intensity that is burning within me. Beside her, another woman joins in. Then another. And another.

The soldier comes to a halt, looking around in bewilderment. He loses his interest in me and instead tries to figure out what is happening. The other soldiers on the grounds are equally perplexed. The sound has spread from person to person, in both my group and Li Wei's. For those of us with hearing, it is both spectacular and heart-wrenching. My people have no idea how much grief they are conveying.

In my chest, I feel that faint fluttering of connection, and my excitement grows. It is working! We are being heard! I lift my hands and signal to those around me:
More! More! Make
it more intense—more vibrations! Tell others!
They spread the message, and it ripples through the crowd. Looking over the heads of those near me, I can make out Li Wei urging on those around him as well. The voices grow louder, and I raise mine, calling out to the pixiu who has chosen me to help us. I feel another hard tug in my chest—but see no other immediate signs that this is working.

The guards, however, are starting to react. They don't understand what's happening, but they don't like it. They begin saying things to us, the same command repeated, and my guess is they are demanding silence. The prisoners defy them—at least at first—and continue the cry. This angers some of the soldiers, and they start to resort to violence. The soldier near me cuffs a woman so hard, she falls to her knees. That startles a few others nearby into silence.

I raise my voice louder to compensate, urging others to do so, and the connection within me burns more brightly. The intensity is so great that it almost seems impossible for me to contain. It grows and grows—and then, abruptly, it seems to vanish. It's almost like the sensation of a bubble growing bigger and bigger before bursting. I'm unsure what has happened, but I only let my voice falter a moment before continuing on more loudly than before.

Around me, others are losing faith, both because of a lack of any results and also because of the brutality of the soldiers. They are silencing prisoners by any means necessary, striking and felling indiscriminately. Not far from me, an old man cries out as a soldier knocks him to the ground and follows up with a sharp kick. It's
enough to scare a few others into silence, but I ignore it all, refusing to be cowed. I have no fear for what they might do to me.

Zhang Jing stands beside me proudly, voice uplifted, but when a soldier comes and knocks her down, she momentarily falls silent. I drop to the ground beside her and stop my own cry, too concerned about her.
Are you okay?
I ask.