Polar Yeti And The Beasts Of Prehistory (14 page)

Chapter 19

As Gina raced through the tunnel system, she could hear the battle between Yukon and the giant spider taking place behind them. Much like the battle with the dire wolves, Gina was already well-aware of the outcome of the conflict. Yukon would crush the spider just as he had every other creature that had dared to challenge him. In addition to the fact that Yukon would soon be pursuing them again, Thu-Ca was still screaming and Gina knew that the baby’ cries would attract other predators. Gina knew that their chances of escaping the tunnels, let alone the valley, were slim. She took a brief look to her left at Henry running beside her. She considered telling Henry that she was pregnant. She thought if they were going to die, he should know that he was going to be a father or would that knowledge make the prospect of what they were facing even more difficult for him to bear?

She was about to tell him when she remembered how she felt when she learned that she was pregnant back in Yukon’s cave. She recalled how learning that joyous new was tainted by the fact that she was trapped in a tunnel with a monster instead of in their home. She wanted Henry to have a better memory than that. She wanted to tell Henry in a special place like their home back in New Jersey or on a tropical beach when they were on vacation. She decided that Henry deserved to learn about their child in a better setting than in a cave filled with death and monsters. She also knew that the thought of making it through this nightmare to give Henry that news would help give her extra motivation to escape the valley. She looked over at Henry and she smiled because she knew how happy he would be when she was finally able to give him the news. Gina then looked ahead of her and she started running faster.

They had run for another five minutes until the flare that Henry was holding fizzled out. He reached into his pocket and pulled out another flare. He was about it light it when Gina said, “Wait. Look ahead of us.” They could not see it with glow being given off by the last flare but just ahead of them was a small circle of light. Gina said, “That must be the other cave where the snowmobiles are at.” They heard a roar and footsteps falling behind them. Henry lit the flare, and as soon as it illuminated the tunnel, they saw Yukon roughly five hundred yards behind them. The Yeti roared as he continued running toward them. Henry screamed, “Run!” The trio started to sprint through the tunnels toward the cave opening with Yukon quickly closing in on them. As they were running, Henry shouted, “What if the millipedes are still swarming in the cave? There is no way that we will be able to fight through all of them!”

Gina’s mind was racing as she quickly reviewed everything that she had learned about the creatures in the tunnels so far. She handed the baby over to Jun-Tuk and took his crossbow from him. Gina noticed that as soon as she gave Thu-Ca to Jun-Tuk that the crying baby immediately calmed down. The old man bounced the baby slowly in his arms and Thu-Ca looked up at him and cooed. Gina somehow felt that Thu-Ca was meant to be with Jun-Tuk.

Gina pushed the thought aside and looked at Henry. “Quickly, give me the flare and the spare one in your bag.” Henry quickly did as his wife instructed. Once Gina had the flares, he asked, “What are you going to with those things if the millipedes are still inside of the cave?”

Gina took a look a quick look behind her to see that Yukon was roughly two hundred yards behind them. She then snapped her head forward and guessed that they were about fifty yards from the cave opening. She thought to herself that, given the speed of the Yeti, it was going to be close if they were able to reach the back of the cave before the monster managed to catch up to them. She took a quick look over at Henry. “Let’s hope that the millipedes are still in the cave because they are the only way that we are going to escape these tunnels.”

They came to a sharp right in the tunnels that led into the cave. When Gina looked into the cave, she immediately saw dozens of giant millipedes crawling around the back and the center of the cave. She whispered a small thank you. She ran with a few feet of the giant millipede horde and threw the lit flare into their midst. At the sight of the blinding the light, the millipedes backed away from the burning flare to the sides of the cave wall. Gina dashed out into the opening followed by Henry and Jun-Tuk. Gina swung her head from side to side, and when she looked to her left, she saw one of the millipedes coming toward her. She fired her crossbow at the giant insect, hitting in the face and causing it to retreat a few feet. She looked in front of herself to see a wall millipedes forming. To her right, she saw Henry firing his few remaining bullets at millipedes that were hanging from the ceiling. Gina quickly lit her second flare and threw it at the millipedes that were massed in front of her. The wretched creatures once again scattered from the blinding light of the flare. Gina saw a small pathway open up in front of her to the exit of the cave. She heard a roar behind her and the entire cave shook as Yukon thundered into the back of the cave.

Gina didn’t bother to look back. Instead, she just ran for the cave opening. Jun-Tuk ran closely behind her and Henry continued to fire his remaining bullets at any of the millipedes above or around them as they made their way to the cave exit. When they had ran out into the mid-afternoon sunlight, Gina quickly turned around to see Wen-Ku and Yukon standing near the first flare as it burned out. Wen-Ku yelled at Gina, “You must return to the Yeti god! You must raise his children…” The native women’s sentence was cut off as the horde of millipedes enveloped both her and Yukon. Gina felt a wave of pity for the misguided woman who had just suffered a painful and horrible death.

Yukon howled, and from the sound of the howl, Gina knew that Yukon was not crying in pain from the millipedes that were attacking him. He was screaming out in anguish at the loss of Wen-Ku. Personally, Gina was glad to be away from the beast. Despite her personal feelings, the anthropologist in Gina was watching Yukon’s reactions to experiences such as loss. Yukon’s reactions to those experiences forced Gina to admit to herself that the Yeti’s reactions to loss where more akin to a human than they were to an animal. She was still staring into the cave as a giant millipede climbed onto of the face of Yukon and bit into the top of his head. Even with the giant insect tearing into his head, Yukon continued to stare at Gina. Gina realized that as far as Yukon was concerned, his only remaining family consisted of herself, the baby inside of her, and Thu-Ca. With Wen-Ku dead, Yukon was watching as what remained of his family slipped away from him. Gina was mesmerized by the Yeti’s gaze until Henry grabbed her arm. “Come on! We have to make for the snowmobiles and get out of here!”

Gina grabbed onto her husband’s hand and they ran down the slope at the base of the mountain to the snowmobiles. Gina jumped onto one snowmobile and Jun-Tuk climbed on behind her with Thu-Ca in his arms. Henry climbed onto the other vehicle and they headed for the valley pass.

At the sight of Gina escaping with his family, Yukon went into a rage. The Yeti roared and he grabbed the millipede that was attacking his head. Yukon ripped the millipede off his head then he used it like a club to attack the other insects that were around him. Yukon threw the millipede carcass aside then he continued to tear into the millipedes that surrounded him. He picked a millipede that was in front of him and tossed into a group of other millipedes. The impact of the throw sent a half dozen of the insects tumbling to the cave wall. Several other millipedes wrapped themselves around Yukon’s legs and midsection as two more of the giant insects fell onto top him from above. Yukon pulled the millipedes off his head then he tossed them into the cave wall with such force that the insects splatted against the rock when they hit it. The Yeti then grabbed the millipede on the right side of his body by its head. Yukon twisted the insect’s head like a faucet handle until it tore free from the rest of its body. He then used his claw to slice open the back of the insect that was attached to his left side. Three more millipedes reared up in front of Yukon, and with one swipe of his claw, the Yeti cut them to pieces. Yukon began moving toward the cave entrance as the millipedes continued to attack him. The insects were large and their bites stung the mighty Yeti, but the millipedes were unable to do anything to Yukon expect to slow him down.

Like a juggernaut, Yukon hit, kicked, and clawed his way through the millipede horde as he made his way toward the cave entrance. The Yeti’s snow-white fur took on a yellow tinge as it was drenched in the thick mucus-like fluid that ran through the insects’ bodies. The cave was nearly a hundred yards long and even with the millipedes’ relentless attack, it only took the powerful Yeti thirty seconds to make his way to the cave entrance. Just before he exited the cave, three of the giant millipedes fell on top of him from above. In a show of intelligence, Yukon ignored the insects and simply walked out into the subzero temperatures outside of the cave. When they were exposed to the cold, the millipedes let go of Yukon and fell writhing into the snow. Yukon could have crushed the insects beneath his huge feet, but instead the Yeti walked away from the horrible creatures. He was content to let them slowly freeze to death in the valley. The Yeti looked to the north to see Gina and the men who had helped her escape riding toward the valley pass on their snowmobiles. The Yeti snarled then he started running after what remained of his adopted family.

Yukon took long bounding steps. He was running faster than he had run after any previous prey. All that Yukon had that gave him comfort, that gave him a sense of belonging, and that made his solitary existence tolerable was quickly leaving him forever. The Yeti growled then he pushed his legs even harder to catch up to his bride and children.

Chapter 20

Gina and Henry were pushing their snowmobiles to the limit as they headed for the valley pass. Gina yelled over to Henry, “How much longer until we are out of here?”

Henry yelled back, “At this speed, we should be out of the valley in about twenty minutes!” He took a deep breath. “The only thing that we should have to worry about at this point is a teratorn attack! Jun-Tuk and I know from personal experience that they can fly faster than the snowmobiles can move!”

A roar echoed through the mountains behind them. Gina shook her head. “Teratorns are not the only thing that we have to worry about. That’s Yukon. He will follow us all the way out of the valley and back to base camp.” She gave a concerned look. “We can’t lead that monster back to camp. If we do, more people will die when Yukon goes on a rampage through the camp as he looks for me and Thu-Ca.”

Henry smiled. “There is no way that I am letting that monster get a hold of you or hurt anyone else.” He gestured toward Gina’s coat pocket. “Do you still have your radio?”

Gina quickly checked her pocket. “Yes, do you want me to tell them to make double-time evacuating the campsite back to the ship?”

Henry shook his head. “No. If we were to take off like that, Yukon might take his rampage to Jun-Tuk’s village. When I sent back Dana and Gordon, in addition to starting the evacuation, I also told them to have the demolition experts rig the side of the mountain to cause an avalanche that will trap the Yeti in the valley forever. Get on your radio and tell them to hurry up. They have about a half an hour to blow the sides of the mountain before Yukon comes storming through the valley pass and heads to camp.”

Gina grabbed her radio and switched it on. She knew that the demolition guys would be carrying radios because safety protocols demanded that they do so. She could never remember the two men’s actual names. She had one time jokingly called them Axe and Smash after the old WWE tag team Demolition. The two guys got a good laugh out of it and had only referred to themselves as Axe and Smash whenever they were talking to Gina. She picked up her radio, “Axe, Smash, this is Professor Murella come in. Over.”

There was static for a moment and then the gruff voice of Axe came back over the radio, “Professor Murella, you are alive! How are you? What happened? Is your husband with you?”

Gina spoke quickly, “Henry is with me. We are heading to the valley pass now. We should be there in roughly fifteen minutes. The Yeti is only a few minutes behind us. Do you have the charges set on the mountainside to seal off this valley?”

Axe spoke slowly, “We only have the charges set on the one side of the mountain. We thought that we were going to have more time.”

Gina sighed. “Do you think that only blowing one side of the mountains will cause enough of an avalanche to completely block the valley pass?”

The radio was silent for a moment. “I can’t say that it will completely block it, but it will sure make a mess of things.”

Gina nodded to herself. “Okay, we will just have to go with that. We will be out of the valley in just over ten minutes. Can you get the minimum safe distance to blow the charges in that time?”

Axe was taking deep and labored breaths as he answered, “We are making our way down the mountain now. It’s going to be cutting it close but I think that we can make it.”

Gina answered with a deadly tone to her voice, “Make sure you are clear in that time frame because if you are not, that Yeti is going to be running out of the valley just as you two are reaching the base the of the mountain.”

Axe breathed hard into the radio, “Copy that!”

Gina put her radio back into her pocket and relayed her conversation with Axe to Henry. Henry nodded and said, “Alright, let’s push it and get the hell out of here.”

The two snowmobiles continued to rocket through the prehistoric valley. Far to their left, they saw another herd of mammoths walking by. Gina briefly hoped that Yukon would take the opportunity to prey on the mammoths, but in her heart she knew that nothing would distract the Yeti from pursuing her and Thu-Ca. As she thought about Thu-Ca, she looked over to see the baby quietly sleeping in Jun-Tuk’s arms. She could see that the old man was a natural with infants. She then looked over at Henry and smiled as she thought of what an excellent father her husband would be. Gina’s happy thoughts faded away when she heard Yukon roar again, reminding her that the monster was not far behind them.

Several minutes later, the valley pass came into view. Gina picked up her radio and called the demolition experts, “Axe, are you two clear of the danger zone?”

Axe could barely talk because he was breathing so hard, “We… need about… five more minutes… You guys have to clear a mile out of the pass as well before we can cause the avalanche.”

Gina spoke into her radio, “Copy that. See you guys soon.” She yelled over to Henry, “We need to be a mile out of the valley before they can cause the avalanche!”

Henry nodded as he aimed his snowmobile directly at the quickly approaching valley pass. The few minutes that it took to reach the valley pass seemed to drag on for an eternity, but the snowmobiles finally cleared the opening between the mountains. They maneuvered around the rocks at the valley pass and then they continued to move in a straight line away from the pass and toward the campsite. It took them several more minutes to clear the mile marker. When they reached a safe distance, they stopped their snowmobiles and turned around so that they could see the pass. As Gina was looking back toward the pass, she could see the colossal form of Yukon sprinting toward it. She yelled into her radio, “Now! Blow the charges now!”

There was a deafening explosion and Gina watched as tons of snow, ice, and rock were thrown into the air. Yukon was entering the valley pass just as the explosion went off. The Yeti ignored the devastation occurring around him and he continued to run toward Gina. The anthropologist held her breath as the avalanche made its way down the mountain. Yukon was still running at full speed and Gina thought for a moment that the incredible beast would actually outrun the avalanche. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer to a higher power that her baby would be saved from the monster. She opened her eyes to see the avalanche come crashing down at the base of the mountain behind Yukon. The Yeti was moving at an unbelievable speed but the wall of snow and ice behind him was moving even faster. Gina watched as Yukon was overtaken by the rush of snow like a child trying to exit the ocean only to have a wave come crashing down on top of him.

Yukon’s body was tossed and turned as the avalanche used up the last of its strength. Yukon vanished under the snow as the avalanche came to a halt less than a half mile from Gina, Henry, Jun-Tuk, and the baby. When the snow finally stopped moving, Henry climbed off his snowmobile, ran over to Gina, and hugged her. He whispered into her ear, “It’s over. It’s finally over.”

Gina kissed her husband and said, “Henry, I have something to tell you.” Gina smiled and then there was a loud roar behind them. Gina turned around to see Yukon climbing out of the snow that had buried him. The Yeti walked through the deep snow of the avalanche then he started running toward to Gina and Thu-Ca.

No one wasted time talking; instead they all jumped onto their snowmobiles. Henry climbed onto one snowmobile and Gina and Jun-Tuk climbed onto the second vehicle. Once they were moving, Gina called out over her radio, “Base camp, this is Gina Murella, come in! Do you copy?”

The familiar voice of Dana Summers came back over the radio, “Gina, you are alive! Is the valley sealed off? We heard the explosion and the avalanche.”

“Yes, but the Yeti managed to make it out of the valley. He is still in chasing us. How is the evacuation going?”

Dana voice came back filled with fear, “We are not able to evacuate! There is a large pod of orcas off the coast. They have herded hundreds of seals to shore. The seals are occupying the only stretch of beach for miles that does not have jagged underwater rocks leading up to the shoreline. The transport boats can’t come ashore with all of those seals blocking the way. Those seals are keeping us trapped here and the orcas aren’t letting them leave.”

Gina’s worst nightmare was coming true. She was leading Yukon back to camp where he would massacre everyone in sight and there was nowhere for them to escape to. She looked behind her to see that they had gained a little ground on Yukon. Gina pulled her snowmobile to a stop. She turned around to Jun-Tuk. “Jun-Tuk, you have been watching us use these machines. Do you think that you could operate this machine and hold the baby?”

The old man nodded. “When I was young I could row a canoe on the great ocean and hold my daughter on my lap. I think that I can operate this dog-less sled and still hold the child.”

Gina was instructing Jun-Tuk on how to operate the snowmobile when Henry pulled up beside her. “What are you doing? That monster is right behind us!”

Gina ignored Henry and finished showing Jun-Tuk how to operate the machine. She then pointed to the west. “Go that way and you will find the other people that we came here with.”

Yukon was less than a hundred feet behind them as Jun-Tuk took off to the west and Gina climbed onto Henry’s snowmobile. She screamed, “Go straight ahead toward the ocean!”

Henry did as she said then he yelled, “We are almost out of gas! Why aren’t we heading for the transport boats?”

Gina took a deep breath. “The transport boats can’t come ashore. A large pod of orcas have forced a massive amount of seals onto the beach. There are taking up the only landing area where it is not too rocky for the transport boats to land.”

Henry nodded. “We’re trapped and you don’t want anyone else to die.” He spoke with as much courage as he could muster. “Don’t worry. I won’t let that monster take you alive.”

Gina hugged her husband. “I love you, Henry. You are everything that I could have asked for in a husband. Don’t worry, our journey together doesn’t end here. In fact, it’s only beginning.” The line of seals and the ocean came into view. The sun was just starting to set to the west and it cast an orange glow over the gathered seals and the ocean behind them. The scene was one of the most beautiful things that Gina had ever beheld. Then she looked at the thick black fins circling in the waters just off the coast. She whispered into Henry’s ear, “Let me off just in front of the seals and then head down the beach a little way. Yukon will follow me.”

They had reached the seals and Henry pulled the snowmobile to a stop. Gina climbed off and quickly kissed her husband through their ski masks. She turned to see Yukon less than fifty feet behind them. She handed Henry the radio and yelled, “Go!”

Tears welled up in Henry’s eyes. There was so much that he wanted to say to his beloved wife but she had said that their journey together didn’t end here. Henry loved his wife and he trusted her. As he drove down the beach, he knew that he would have the chance to tell her everything that he felt.

Gina took one look at Henry and the she started wading into the massed seals. The animals were making all kinds of sounds and climbing over each other in a panic as Yukon ran toward them from the beach and the orcas circled in the water. The panicked seals finally decided to take their chances in the ocean rather than have Yukon slaughter them, and as one, they rushed into the frigid waters of the ocean. As the seals dashed into the freezing water, Gina followed them.

Her body felt like a thousand knives had pierced her skin as the cold ocean water attacked her body. The pain only lasted for a few seconds before her entire body went numb. She could feel herself starting to blackout, but when she saw the enraged Yukon step into the surf, she forced herself to stay awake and go deeper into the water.

When Henry saw Gina go into the water, he grabbed his radio. “Dana, this is Henry, we are going to need a Sno-Cat with a hyperthermia kit one mile north of base camp ASAP!”

Dana voice came back rushed, “Roger that. We are climbing aboard and will be heading out in less than one minute.”

Henry replied, “Please hurry! Push that thing as fast as it will go!”

Gina was nearly in shoulder deep water when Yukon had caught up to her. He was reaching down to grab her, but once they saw the orcas, the seals panicked again and swam back to shore. A fleeing seal bumped into Gina and knocked her away from Yukon’s claw. Gina tumbled through the icy water and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a thick black and white form collide with Yukon’s leg. The collision caused the Yeti to lose his footing and fall into the water. The Yeti rolled over to see the jaws of an orca wide open and coming for him. Yukon howled in pain as the Orca closed its jaws on his arm and shoulder. Blood poured out of the Yeti and it turned the ocean around him red. Yukon dug his free claw into the whale’s side. Then, in another show of his immense strength the Yeti stood up, lifted the orca out of the water, and slammed it down into the surf. The orca crashed into the water then it rolled over a few times and headed back out to sea. Yukon roared at the fleeing orca and Gina watched as a second orca crashed into Yukon’s leg and knocked him into the water again. This time the orca had grabbed Yukon’s leg and the powerful oceanic predator was fighting to pull Yukon out into the ocean. Gina had been trying to swim back to shore but her freezing body had stopped responding. She saw a seal swim past her and she was content to let herself slip beneath the waves when she felt strong arms wrap around her. Henry pulled her out of the water and said, “Like you said, our journey together isn’t over yet. “ He pulled her head out of the water and she watched as Yukon continually struck the orca in the face until it let him go.