Chapter 17

Now only Wei Yuan and Jiang Shan were left in the tent. He wheeled slowly closer. The pill bottle on the ground came into view again.
The glass was empty; you couldn’t tell what she had been taking. Only a corner of the yellowed label showed—“Kefan Biotech”—and half a letter beneath it, like an “a.”
Jiang Shan had already slipped one arm into the sleeve. Wei Yuan looked at her with a complicated expression. “How do you have Kefan Biotech’s trial medication?”
She was focused on dressing and didn’t catch what he said.
Behind her Wei Yuan was silent. He didn’t seem to be going to ask again. He bent and picked up the bottle.
When he helped her with the security clasp, his thumb brushed the bottle briefly. As if nothing had happened, he smiled and handed it to her. “Is this yours?”
He was wondering if she had picked it up from someone else.
Jiang Shan turned and saw her bottle. She paused, then said naturally: “Yes.”
She took it and put it back in her backpack’s inner pocket.
Wei Yuan was at a loss for words.
—
About twenty minutes later Wei Yuan led Jiang Shan, fully suited, out of the tent. Everyone was waiting outside. The moment she stepped out and saw the world beyond, she was hit by a shock.
The whole mountain was nothing like her “memory.”
The outside looked nothing like what she had seen “last night.” The vegetation on the ground had turned yellow and withered. Where there had been tall trees, now it was bare and desolate. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would have wondered if she had been teleported—to a completely different place.
Wei Yuan’s companions were gathered around an old-looking truck. Two men were lifting a fuel drum, apparently refuelling by hand.
Jiang Shan looked back at the tent. A small red triangular flag was still fixed to one corner, wire wrapped around a thick trunk—the kind experienced campers used to mark and secure. She was sure it was the same tent, the same spot.
Her heart thumped hard in her chest. She could barely breathe. Her breath fogged the transparent visor.
Wei Yuan was the first to notice something wrong. A flicker crossed his eyes. “What’s the matter?”
She bent over and gasped for breath. In her mind, like a film reel, she saw impossible images.
She saw herself standing under a tree. The leaves were yellow and withered, but a few wild fruits still hung on the branches.
She grabbed one, yanked it off, then shoved it into her mouth with the dirt and ate like an animal…
She was stunned by what she saw in her mind. To the others she looked like she had frozen in place.
“Wh-what’s she doing?”
The others: Is she turning?
Wei Yuan wheeled to her side. Before he could speak, her colour was already returning and her breathing steadying.
“I’m fine,” Jiang Shan said.
The others exchanged glances. They couldn’t let their guard down around her. But after a moment Wei Yuan turned to his companions and said: “All right. Let’s get ready to head back.”
The others had been waiting for that. They had wanted to leave the moment they entered the mountain. Now they had their wish—but with Jiang Shan among them, no one looked happy.
Zhang Zheng opened the door and climbed into the driver’s seat. A tall, burly man took the passenger seat. Zhao Ying quickly got into the back. As if sharing the same air as Jiang Shan for too long scared her.