In the Shadow of the Sun

by Anne Sibley O'Brien

  They reached another flight of stairs. On the first step, she paused to catch her breath, her heart pounding against the walls of her chest. Her legs, encased in waterlogged denim, felt as if they couldn’t take another step.

  “More jeeps! And the first soldiers are on top of the Wall!” Simon yelled from the top of the flight.

  The fear inside Mia roared, breathing fire. Somehow her legs found the strength to scramble up the stairs after Simon. Her feet flew over the gray stones. There were short sloped sections where she could run, then more stairs to climb. Parts of the staircase had walls on both sides with regularly spaced gaps, like the top of a castle. Other sections were solid brick with small holes cut out, for shooting weapons.

  Her heart lurched at the reminder: The soldiers chasing them probably had guns.

  She grasped the metal railing with her right hand, using the strength of her arm to pull herself up, up, up. She was on a vertical section now, more like a ladder than a stairway. It was scary to be moving so fast. If she slipped, she might tumble back down the steep path.

  The higher she climbed, the more the wind picked up. Inside, she was overheated, but on the outside she was freezing in her wet clothes. The wet ends of her hair dripped icy water down the back of her neck.

  Shouts behind her. It sounded as if the soldiers were gaining on them. Her breath came in loud gasps, scraping her throat. Every step felt like the last she could take.

  Mia came to the top of another flight of stairs. The Wall turned slightly, and there, at the top of the next long flight, was the summit of the mountain. Simon was halfway up. One more set of steps. She had to make it.

  Then she was there. Simon reached out a hand to pull her up. Mia stumbled between the walls into the landing on top of the cliff. She bent nearly double, hands on her knees, heart hammering, throat searing. She felt like she was going to throw up. She’d made it all this way only to die from exertion.

  “They’re still coming, maybe a dozen of them. I can’t tell if they’re Chinese or North Korean.” Simon was peering down the mountain. “But they’re taking their time, not running like we did.” He crossed to the other side of the platform now, looking north. Mia tried to get a breath out of her squeezed lungs.

  “The main entrance is down there. There’s a big gate and a town.” He had turned, pointing with one arm, but Mia couldn’t see over the wall from where she was, and she couldn’t move yet. “The whole thing looks like about a half or three-quarters of a mile.”

  She bobbed her head again, still gasping.

  “So we have maybe half a mile to the other end, but this is the highest point. It’s all downhill from here. If we can get to the main entrance, there might be some people there. Or maybe we can find a place to hide along the way until tourists come up here.”

  Mia slowly began to straighten. Her heart was still pounding, her face burning with heat. But she might, possibly, live. And taking their time or not, the soldiers were climbing after them. She waved a hand to indicate that she could move again.

  “Okay, let’s go,” Simon said.

  The view from the top of the Wall stretched for miles in every direction. North Korea to the south, China to the north, east, and west. Mia traced the bright line of the river to the west. Far in the distance, the early light reflected white on the sea.

  They started down the snaking walkway, following the backbone of the mountaintop, then dropping sharply as the Wall began its descent down the north cliffside. There was the town far below — there could be help there. Mia pushed to keep up with Simon. It was such a relief to be moving downhill, though her knees wobbled with the exertion. She still felt nauseated, but no longer as if she was going to vomit.

  Around the next curve, she was surprised to see Simon waiting. His expression was grim.

  “Might as well slow down,” he called out. “I just realized … they’re certain to have soldiers coming up from the other direction too. That’s why they weren’t hurrying. They know we’re trapped up here.”

  “But —”

  He shook his head. “They’ve got us. We can’t get away.”

  The knowledge hit her like a physical blow. Of course they’d sent troops to the other end, the minute they saw them climbing.

  “Simon, we can’t let them — have the pictures — It will get Dad in trouble.” She gasped out the words, her breath still coming hard. “Not after all this —” There had to be a way.

  Her mind worked furiously, refusing to acknowledge the terrible facts. She raked her eyes over the Wall, the surrounding hills, looking for a hiding place. The town down there in the distance. Where she could blend in.

  “I can — get away — somehow — with the phone.”

  “What are you talking about? I told you, soldiers will be coming from both ends. There’s no way to outrun them. And when they catch us, they’ll search us. First me, then you. What are we going to do, throw the phone over the wall?”

  Over the wall.

  Mia straightened. “I can go over the side.”

  “What?!” His brow creased.

  “The rope — you can lower me. I can get to the town.”

  His eyes lit up as he understood, began to calculate. They ran to the west side of the Wall, peering over the edge.

  “No way, not here. It’s sheer cliffs, way too steep to climb,” Simon said.

  “But if we get down to the flatter section …” She pointed ahead. “Look, down there.” Far below them, the Wall straightened out on more level ground, then widened into a square like a small room, before snaking its way down to the base and the tower gate entrance.

  They ran again, moving down the nearly vertical staircase as quickly as they could without falling. At the square where the Wall widened, a gap cut in the stone was wide enough for her to slip through. She glanced up, scanning the tower on top of the mountain. No sign of the soldiers yet.

  “Come help me.” Quickly, before she lost her nerve.

  “You really think you can do this? Get down there by yourself?”

  “I can do this.” Her heart was hammering again. “I have to do this. It’s the only way.”

  She reached out a hand for him to boost her up. Her legs trembled as she clung to the sides of the opening.

  “Get down to the town and try to get a call out,” Simon said, “to the American embassy or something. But whatever you do, hide the phone, until this is all sorted out.”

  “Wait, Simon, I need money! My wallet fell in the river.”

  He huffed out a breath, took off his pack, grabbed his wallet, and jammed it into her hand. Shaking, she unzipped her jacket pocket and slipped the wallet in beside the phone.

  “Okay, here you go.”

  “Wait, aren’t we gonna use the rope?”

  “No time — it’s not that far, maybe fifteen feet — I’ll lower you partway. C’mon!”

  Before she had time to reconsider, she was through the gap, facing the wall, walking her feet down the side, holding tight to Simon’s hands.

  “Okay, just hang there, I’m gonna let you down.”

  She went limp, her body dangling in the air. The ground below seemed very far away, rocky and uneven. She clamped her lips shut to keep from screaming.

  Simon leaned over as far as he could and straightened his arms. “It’s only about a six- or seven-feet drop now. Okay?” Mia managed to nod. “Now let go.”

  Quickly, before the fear grabbed hold, she inhaled and released her grip on his hands. She felt herself falling, then hitting the hard ground, rolling over with the impact, bouncing a bit between sharp branches and brush before she caught herself.

  Simon was leaning through the gap, peering down. Mia jumped up, brushed off her damp jeans, and gave him a thumbs-up. She was scratched and bumped, but nothing hurt too much.

  “Run, Mia!” he called in a whisper. He pulled himself up and disappeared.

  Mia swallowed the panic that rose as she lost sight of him. She turned to examine the area w
here she had landed and saw a path running right along the base of the Wall. A few plastic wrappers, tissues, and an empty bottle littered the ground, evidence that many people had come this way. But today it felt like a gift, a magic path just for her.

  She began jogging downhill along the path. Trees and shrubs covered the slope to her left, the thick screen of leaves allowing only brief glimpses of the landscape below, but she knew if she followed the twisting Wall, it would lead her to the town. She kept glancing up, but the high sides of the Wall blocked her view of the top. At least if she couldn’t see anyone, they couldn’t see her either.

  Once, she thought she heard shouts in the distance. The soldiers might have caught Simon. Her anxiety pushed her to move faster. Through gaps in the trees, she saw a few village houses along a road, a pond, and beyond, the high gates of the main entrance, the crossroads at the town’s center, fields and mountains in the distance. She couldn’t see well enough to discover what — or who — might be waiting for her there at the base.

  The path rose up for a final time, then dropped to a set of stone steps leading down to a paved road. She’d made it to the bottom of the Wall. At the top of the stairway, she stopped for a moment to catch her breath. She peered through the leaves toward the entrance gate, but a line of cone-shaped fir trees planted along the road hid the parking lot from sight.

  She brushed off her damp jeans and jacket, combed the stringy ends of her hair. She probably looked a mess, but maybe from a distance it wouldn’t be that noticeable. At least the Chinese couldn’t immediately tell that she was American. And no one was expecting her down here at the entrance to the Wall.

  Her heart pounding, she descended the steps, trying to walk normally. To her right, an archway led beneath the Wall. She turned left. Two billboards with images of cloud-wrapped mountains marked the lower edge of the parking lot. Broad steps led up to the massive gray stone tower with a red-pillared pavilion on top, the entrance to the Great Wall.

  Mia tensed. There at the top of the parking lot, right next to the steps, were two military jeeps. To get to the town — and maybe, somehow, a phone — she’d have to cross the parking lot. There was no way to avoid going past the jeeps.

  She forced herself to slow down, breathe. Look like an ordinary Chinese villager on an early morning errand. The soldiers would be keeping watch on the Wall, not looking away from it.

  She kept to the edge of the wide parking lot, close to the billboards. Her heart pounded so violently in her chest that she thought the soldiers at the gate must be able to hear it. She faced forward, walking as casually as she could force herself to, when all she wanted to do was run screaming for help. No movement around the military vehicles. From this distance, she couldn’t tell if any soldiers were even sitting in the jeeps.

  Then she was past the parking lot, walking along the entrance road toward a small gatehouse. Her back felt exposed. Fields to her left, garden plots and a few houses to her right. She searched desperately for someone who might help, someone who wasn’t a soldier. But this was China — her few Korean words wouldn’t do any good. She needed a phone.

  She was carrying the North Korean smartphone, but it probably only worked on the DPRK network. Even if the battery was still good, she didn’t want to chance sending out a signal that could be traced.

  Ahead, the access road joined the main highway at a crossroads with a cluster of houses and shops. At the junction on the right was a building with a broad, flat concrete roof, painted red with white Chinese characters, held up by pillars. A gas station.

  She ran then.

  She scanned the gas station lot for a phone booth. She pushed her way into the station.

  “I need a telephone!” she burst out to the smiling young woman behind the counter. “Teh-leh-fone.” She held up her hand to her ear, thumb and pinky extended, cocking her head.

  “Teh-leh-fone.” The clerk pointed down the aisle. There, mounted on the wall, was a public phone. Mia sprinted to it.

  Then she ran back to the clerk.

  “Card? Phone card?” She sketched a small rectangle in the air with her fingers, then pointed back at the phone. It took several tries. Finally, the young woman nodded and gestured at the wall behind her to a display of phone cards. Mia grabbed one with a picture of the planet, held up euros from Simon’s wallet with a questioning face. The clerk nodded again and took some bills.

  Mia ran back to the phone and picked up the receiver. Her hand trembling, she peered at the back of the phone card and frantically punched in the code numbers. Halfway through, she hit a wrong digit. She bit her lip to keep from letting out a whimper. She closed her eyes and took a breath. If she didn’t stop panicking, she’d never be able to make a call.

  She forced herself to move deliberately, checking each number as she punched it in. A recorded voice said something in Chinese. The prompt for the pin number? She peered at the card, entered each digit. The Chinese voice again. Was this where she put in the number she was calling? Who should she call?

  Holding her breath, she punched in Mom’s cell phone number. Her finger moved with ease through the familiar digits. Nothing happened. Then the Chinese voice came on again. Mia thought she would explode. She probably needed some overseas area code.

  The recording played again, sounding like musical tones. She slammed the receiver down and checked her watch. Nearly thirty minutes had passed since she left Simon on top of the Wall. The panic in her chest threatened to burst out in a scream.

  She had to figure this out.

  She had no idea how to find the number of the American Embassy. There must be another number she could call. She made fists, chewed on her knuckles, then, when she realized what she was doing, jammed her hands into her jeans pockets.

  At the bottom of her pocket, her fingers found a piece of paper. She pulled it out. It was the business card Daniel had given her.

  Daniel! He might be able to get help. At least he could tell Mia what to do. How to get in touch with the US Embassy. How to call Mom. The card hadn’t been under water long; it was hardly damp. Mia’s hand shook as she peered at it.

  Simon had said that Daniel couldn’t be their friend. That he was working with the North Koreans. Mia had to figure out what she believed. She closed her eyes and took another breath.

  She believed that Daniel could be trusted. Nothing Simon said could change that. She would trust herself. Until she was proven wrong.

  Daniel had four phone numbers listed — home, work, cell, and next to the fourth, “in China.” The tour was supposed to be five days. Anything could have happened after Dad had been arrested. Daniel could be anywhere. In Beijing. Back in the US. Or possibly still in North Korea.

  But one of the numbers was in China. Could it still reach Daniel? She didn’t know if she had to dial anything first. Were there area codes? Mia ran back to the young woman, showed her the card and pointed to the number she wanted to call, then gestured back to the phone. “Can you help me?”

  The clerk smiled and followed Mia down the aisle. She picked up the receiver and punched in the phone card codes. Looking at Daniel’s card, she pressed each digit of the Chinese phone number, then handed the receiver to Mia with a smile and nod.

  Mia pressed it to her ear. It was ringing! Every bit of her being concentrated in a prayer. Daniel. Please pick up, please pick up.

  A voice answered in Chinese.

  Mia’s eyes swam with tears. It was a moment before she could speak.

  “Hello? Is Mr. Moon there?” she said.

  “Who is this?”

  “Daniel? It’s Mia. Mia Andrews.”

  “Holy God in heaven.” Then, “Mia?! Mia, where the hell are you?”

  “I’m in China. At Tiger Mountain. At the Great Wall.” A sharp exhalation. “Daniel, they caught him! They caught Simon! Soldiers chased us up the Wall. I got away, but I’m sure they caught Simon. I don’t know what to do.” She was crying now.

  “Okay, Mia, it’s okay. I’m going to help
you. But first you’ve got to tell me where you are.”

  “At the Tiger Mountain Great Wall.”

  “Yes, I know. But where exactly?”

  “There’s a gas station, in the town, at the crossroads by the entrance to the Wall. It has a red roof.”

  “Okay, stay there. Stay inside. Don’t move. I’ll come get you.”

  “But how — where are you?”

  “I’m in Dandong. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

  Twenty minutes wasn’t long enough for Mia’s stunned and exhausted mind to calculate how in the world Daniel Moon could be in Dandong, China. Yet with Simon in the hands of the North Koreans, or their Chinese allies, twenty minutes was far too long to wait. She paced the aisle of the gas station and peered out the windows, her eyes glued to the highway. She had no idea which direction Daniel would be coming from. Or if the soldiers trying to catch them would get there first.

  A bell jangled as the front door opened. Mia tensed. Then there was Daniel, coming down the aisle toward her. Mia ran to him, threw her arms around him, and buried her head in his chest.

  She could feel Daniel shaking his head as his arms went around her. “I never — how in God’s name did you — you amazing girl …” he kept exclaiming, without ever finishing a sentence.

  Mia just wanted to rest there, with someone to lean on. But Simon needed her.

  “Daniel, we have to hurry, we have to help Simon!”

  They rushed outside, and Mia’s heart jolted at the sight of two black cars with soldiers standing on alert. Then her frayed mind processed the uniforms. Not North Korean. Chinese. Daniel had brought backup. The soldiers, including one who looked like an officer, acted as if Daniel was in charge. And Daniel seemed to be speaking Chinese. Mia felt more confused than ever, but there was no time to ask questions. The only thing that mattered was rescuing Simon. Daniel opened the back door of one of the vehicles, motioned for Mia to get in, and climbed in after her.

  “Okay, tell me where you were, where you left Simon, what happened,” he said.

  As quickly as she could, Mia told him about climbing the Wall, the soldiers chasing them, her escape over the side. After that, Daniel and the Chinese officer talked a lot in urgent tones on cell phones.