Patrick Woodhead - The Cloud Maker (2010)

Chen felt a tug at his waist as the climbing rope was yanked tight. A few metres behind, Xie scrambled over a slab of rock and stopped just behind him.

‘ That way. ’

Chen swivelled round in surprise. Up until now, he had never heard the private speak. It had been only his eyes that moved, silently taking it all in. He looked closer at Xie. His square head was pulled back and his shoulders hunched in on themselves, making his body curl forward like a toad’s. A fresh scar ran down the side of his face from where he’d been pistol-whipped by Zhu.

‘ We should go more that way, ’ Xie continued, his voice breathless and deep.

Chen stood impassively on the rock, considering what to do. He held his rifle loosely in his left hand and the rope was coiled diagonally across his massive shoulders, making him look more like a professional mountaineer than a soldier. Xie’s eyes narrowed as he took in every detail then he shifted his own position, widening his feet a little and trying to strike a similar pose.

‘ No. We keep to this line, ’ Chen said, gesturing confidently ahead. He wasn’t about to lose face to such a mindless thug.

Xie gritted his teeth but didn’t answer, eyes darting forward to where Chen was pointing. There was nothing to be seen, only the same broken rocks, the endless looming pillars. They were going the wrong way, he was sure of it. He shivered slightly, the sweat collecting across his lower back and pasting his shirt to his skin.

After a moment’s pause they continued forward, Chen leading and Xie trailing behind.

High above them the sky slowly lost the last of its colour. As each minute passed the wind seemed to increase. It funnelled through the gaps in the rocks with a hollow whistling sound, picking up the loose snow and flurrying it all around them. Spindrift frosted every part of their clothing, lacing the hoods of their jackets and sticking to their exposed cheeks. Xie dragged his sleeve across his face irritably, trying to wipe the snow from his eyes and see the way forward.

They came to another fallen slab. For a moment Chen paused, craning his head to one side to check the route. Xie hovered just behind him, hands clenching into fists in frustration. His tongue darted across his lips as started to speak, but he held himself in check. He slowly raised his hand, pointing to the left but Chen ignored him, moving forward again in line with the direction of the rocks – to the right.

For another hour they continued in this way before Chen finally stopped. He rested his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath, and slowly shook his head. It was hopeless. He couldn’t make head nor tail of this damn’ labyrinth. Xie was just behind, impatiently rocking from one foot to the next.

‘The terrain looks like it is worsening,’ Chen said, without making eye contact. ‘The best climber should be at the back.’

He gestured for them to switch positions and, as Xie stepped forward over the coils of climbing rope, a crooked smile spread across his face. He immediately set off, turning sharp left.

He moved fast, hurrying from one rock to the next, picking his way through the fallen slabs. His eyes scanned the dark shadows on the ground, his confidence growing with each new bound. Letting the rope trail out between them, he forced his way on to one of the higher outcrops of rock and twisted his thick neck from side to side, trying to see the way ahead. Then he was off again, worming his way over the next obstacle without looking back to check if Chen was still following.

After a while, they came up to a large, tabular boulder and Xie swiftly levered himself on top. Straightening up he started walking across to the other side. Chen was a few metres behind when he suddenly stopped. To the left of his hand he noticed a small triangular mark that had been etched into the rock. It looked to be man-made. He peered closer, wondering what it could be.

As his finger traced the lines of the mark, he slowly became aware of the sound of rushing water. He hadn’t heard it before over the noise of his own breathing but it was definitely there, bubbling away in the distance. Chen was looking about him, wondering where it was coming from, when the rope impatiently tugged at his waist. Xie, standing on the far edge of the boulder, was ready to drop down the other side.

Chen stopped dead in his tracks. Water! They must be standing on top of an underground river.

‘ Wait, ’ he shouted, advancing quickly across the top of the rock, but Xie turned away, ignoring him. He had followed the lieutenant for hour after hour in the wrong direction. This was the way ahead, he was sure of it.

‘ I said, wait! ’ Chen bellowed, moving faster, but Xie simply slithered down the far side of the boulder. He took another pace forward when the rock beneath his feet suddenly shifted, breaking off and falling into the darkness below with a dull hiss. Xie’s whole body jerked downwards, his chest smashing into the boulder in front and almost winding him.

Xie screamed, his hands clawing over the smooth rock facing him while his legs kicked out helplessly into thin air. The climbing rope was tight at his waist – the only thing preventing him from slipping into the blackness below.

A few metres away, Chen was yanked off his feet, landing heavily on his elbows. He groaned in pain, but his hands instinctively tightened around the rope in front, trying to resist its pull. Swivelling round, he managed to dig his heels in, but as the rope jarred, he felt himself slide forward again, the drop on the far side looming closer with each inch.

Xie screamed again, a high-pitched note stretched by terror as he frantically jerked his body up and down, trying to pull himself free from the hole. The sound of gushing water was all around him now. He could feel the sudden chill of the river drawing up from the gaps between the rocks. It was somewhere in the darkness just below his feet, rushing over the stone in an underground torrent.

Xie reached forward, grabbing on to the rope and pulling down on it with all his strength, trying to lever his body upwards. He kicked again and again, desperately trying to worm his way out while his shoulders spasmed from the strain. As he slumped back and the rope burned through his hands, his scream faded into a frantic, breathless whimper.

‘ Stop pulling the rope! ’ Chen screamed, his feet now only a couple of inches from the edge. His whole body was rigid, trying to resist its immense pull, but each time Xie jerked downwards, the rope would bounce from the strain, yanking him closer.

‘ Please . . . please, ’ Xie whimpered, his cries muffled by his camouflage jacket which had bunched up past his neck and was now covering his mouth. Only his eyes were visible above the collar, pupils wide as they stared pleadingly at the top of the boulder. He jerked forward again, trying to break free.

‘ Don’t pull the rope! ’ Chen roared again, but there was no response.

Xie felt the tip of his right boot connect with the rushing water below. As it dipped only an inch below the streaming surface, the river grabbed hold of it, wrenching it along with the fast-moving current. Xie’s whole body twisted from the force, pulling him a few more precious inches further down the hole and into the blackness of the river. He could feel the icy water surging up his leg as if reaching up to claim him.

Chen teetered on the very edge of the boulder, every muscle in his back and thighs fighting. He could now see the top half of Xie’s head poking out from between the line of rocks below. Turning his own head a few inches to the side, he stared down at the instep of his own boot. It was wedged into a crack no more than a couple of milli metres deep. It was all that was stopping him from being flung into the same chasm as Xie.