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Nadine stared in awe at the temple. When Chloe had come to her one night, saying that she’d gotten a new lead, she hadn’t believed her. How could Hua Mulan’s sword actually be real. It was a legend. And if she were a real woman, the sword surely would have been destroyed by now. But Chloe was so confident and spoke so fast that Nadine was barely able to keep up. In the end, Chloe was persuasive, like she usually was and Nadine gave in. They booked a flight and flew to Yibin City in China. And that’s where they found themselves now, deep in the Shunan Bamboo Forest and standing in front of a giant temple.
“Well shit. You’re right once again,” Nadine said, her words quiet.
“We still don’t know if the sword is actually in there. I really hope so.”
“Me too. We did fly all the way here,” Nadine teased.
Chloe playfully shoved Nadine’s shoulder before walking up the path that was overgrown with plants. Nadine followed closely behind her, still amazed that the temple was still standing. It obviously had pieces crumbling from it, but it didn’t seem like it was going to collapse.
Chloe ran her hand over the cracked column. The red that it had been painted, faded from all the years of being worn down by the sun and the natural elements. There were intricate patterns at the top and bottom of it, matching all the other columns holding up the structure.
The temple didn’t have any doors, so going inside was fine. But once they were inside, it didn’t look like there was anywhere to go.
“So what’s next?” Nadine asked as she took in the amazing artwork on the walls and ceiling.
“There was something about a hidden tunnel. Most of these temples were multi-floor, including this one,” Chloe explained and pointed to the dilapidated staircase. “They used that to their advantage, hiding the sword below ground rather than above ground.”
“So how do we find the tunnel then?”
Chloe walked along the wall, her hand tracing over the mural that had been permanently left through painting. “Mulan means Magnolia,” Chloe said quietly as her hand traced the outside of a painted magnolia on the wall. “I think this is the answer to our problems.”
Chloe pushed the center of the magnolia. It pushed into the wall and then there was a loud clanking noise. Chloe’s eyes flitted around the room as she backed away. Nadine swallowed hard as she stood behind Chloe, waiting for something to happen.
Suddenly the whole place started shaking and a deep rumbling noise filled the temple. As soon as it had started, it ended though.
“Um… I don’t see a tunnel,” Nadine pointed out.
“Just wait. I’ve got a good feeling about this.”
They waited a beat and then the wall that the magnolia was painted on started to lift. Eventually it slowed and Chloe gave Nadine a look.
“Okay, well into the dark unknown,” Nadine said sarcastically.
Chloe turned on her flashlight and led the way. The tunnel was narrow and with each step they slowly went farther and farther underground. It was nice and cool, unlike outside which was warm and humid.
“So, what are we doing if there actually is a sword?”
“Taking it,” Chloe chuckled.
“Well yeah. But are you going to donate it, sell it, keep it?”
“It would be kind of cool to have Mulan’s sword in our house.”
Nadine laughed. “Actually it would be really cool.”
“Wait, are you saying that you’d be fine if we kept a historical artifact?” Chloe asked in surprise.
“Well we could just put it in our wills to have it donated when we both die.”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
Nadine rolled her eyes. She kept walking until Chloe stopped abruptly. She looked over Chloe’s shoulder and let out a long whistle.
“This sure looks like a trap,” Chloe said. There were statues of soldiers lining the corridor, each one with a sword held above their heads.
“You think it’ll be like Indiana Jones? Once we step forward the swords will come down?” Nadine asked.
“I have no idea.”
Chloe stepped forward and stood beside one of the statues. She quickly waved her hand in front of it. It did nothing though. She then waved it furiously in front of it, still doing nothing.
“Seems okay…”
“Great. So let’s just sprint by them then?”
Chloe stuck her tongue out as she tried thinking of a plan, but nothing came to her. “Together?” she asked, holding out her hand for Nadine to take it.
“Together,” Nadine confirmed with a nod and she took her hand. “Go!”
They both took off down the corridor, sprinting by the line of soldiers. When they passed the last one, both of them let out a relieved breath.
“Well, not a trap,” Nadine laughed.
To both of their surprises, that was the end of the tunnel. It opened up into a large room. Chloe and Nadine flashed their flashlights over the walls and into the dark corners, looking at all of the incredible artwork. There were more statues too, and when Chloe centered her flashlight, she let out a quiet gasp. In the middle of the room was a huge statue of Mulan and in front of her, her sword. It rested on a podium, shimmering from the light of the flashlight.
“Well I’ll be damned,” Nadine said, breaking the silence.
“I don’t like this. It’s too easy.”
Nadine shrugged. She then started walking towards the center of the room.
“Stop, Nadine,” Chloe blurted. “We don’t know if there are traps.”
“Well we won’t know if we just stand there.”
“It’s not safe.”
Nadine ignored Chloe’s words and kept walking. She froze when she reached the sword though. It was stunning. The hilt golden and carved so beautifully.
“When I pick this up, we make for the exit, okay?” Nadine asked over her shoulder.
“I don’t like this plan.”
“Do you have another plan in mind?”
“No, but if you get hurt-”
Before Chloe could say anything more, Nadine grabbed the sword and started barreling toward her.
“Let’s get out of here!” Nadine shouted as the ground started to shake and crashing noises started to surround them. “Oh, shit!”
The soldiers that had been lining the corridor started to drop their swords as they ran past them. They ran as fast as they possibly could, just barely outrunning the falling swords. But that wasn’t the issue. The corridor was also beginning to collapse behind them.
They kept sprinting, their feet stumbling as the ground continued to tremble beneath them. They could just barely make out the light at the opening, but the collapsing tunnel was closing in on them.
Chloe grit her teeth as it dawned on her that they might not make it. She powered on though, pumping her arms hard as Nadine did the same. The crumbling noises closed in on them and Chloe knew what she needed to do. She slowed just enough to be behind Nadine and shoved her hard. Nadine’s body surged from the tunnel and she rolled into the temple. When she looked back, her heart stopped.
“Okay… not a good plan,” Chloe groaned.
Chloe had made it out of the tunnel, but not completely. Both of her legs were pinned by the rubble.
“Not a good plan at all,” Nadine said as she stood up, leaving the sword on the ground. She took in the rubble that had fallen. Luckily it wasn’t rocks, considering they weren’t underground anymore. It just happened to be a lot of splintered wood, but still heavy enough to pin Chloe down and put her in considerable pain.
“Think you can get me out?”
“Yeah. It’s not going to be easy or painless though.”
“Well, we don’t really have many options.”
“No, we don’t.”
Nadine started to remove the rubble. Slowly and gradually the pile of rubble to the side of her grew and grew.
“Almost there,” Nadine said as she wiped the sweat from her brow. “You doing okay?”
“Well my legs went numb an hour ago… So it could be worse.”
“That’s not good, Chloe.”
“It’s true though.”
“And you could be paralyzed because I decided to be reckless.”
“We both were. It comes with the job. Remember all the times I almost got you killed? Remember all the times you’ve saved my ass?”
“Yes,” Nadine grunted as she picked up a particularly heavy beam of wood.
“I’m just returning the favor.”
“I’d rather you repay me in a different way than almost being crushed to death.” Nadine moved one last piece and then stood back. “Give me your hands.”
Chloe did so. She grimaced as Nadine pulled her free from the rest of the rubble. Her legs definitely weren’t numb anymore as pain shot through them. She curled up on herself, groping at her legs.
“Chloe, stop that. It’ll just make it worse.”
Chloe gritted her teeth and glared at Nadine. “Then get me out of here.”
“Right. Stay here,” Nadine grimaced once the words left her mouth. “That came out wrong. I’m going to go get something flat so that I can drag you out of here. I don’t think carrying you is an option with your legs that badly hurt.”
“Just go do what you need to do.”
“Yep!”
It didn’t take long for Nadine to make a makeshift gurney-type thing. She used her rope to keep it together and then used Chloe’s rope to make a handle so that she could pull it. It was a long, slow hike through the forest, but she eventually reached their jeep.
Chloe was in evident pain as Nadine got her into the jeep.
“So… what am I going to tell the people at the hospital?” Nadine asked Chloe as she started driving.
“I fell.”
“They’ll totally believe that,” Nadine returned sarcastically.
“Well we’ve got this whole drive to think of an excuse.”
“That is true. I’m just glad we made it out of this alive,” Nadine confessed as she reached over and took Chloe’s hand into her own.
“Me too.”