Polar Yeti And The Beasts Of Prehistory (4 page)

Chapter 5

Gina and Dana were sitting down having a warm cup of coffee. They had returned to the base camp and had informed everyone about what they had found inside of the valley. The obvious questions came up during their meeting with the staff:
If there are wooly mammoths in the valley, could there be other prehistoric animals? How should we proceed with documenting these creatures and studying them?
Both of those questions were valid. The mammoths and any other unusual creatures in the valley needed to be studied and documented. Therein was part of the problem. Gina’s team was primarily composed of anthropologists. A situation like this required zoologists and paleontologists to properly study these animals. Those issues aside, the main question that came from the team members was:
If there are wooly mammoths in the valley, does that also mean that there is a Yeti in there as well?

The meeting as a whole had to be cut short so the team members could properly prepare themselves and their equipment for the coming storm. As such, Gina put most of the questions on hold until she had time to consider the options in front of her regarding their next step. Gina and Dana were enjoying this last coffee before retiring to their quarters themselves. Dana was looking at Gina and she knew exactly what she was thinking. Dana also knew that she was the one person who could ask Gina difficult questions without aggravating her.

Dana put her coffee down. “So what are we going to do? Do we stay and study the animals in the valley or do we head back home and report our findings to Princeton so that they can send a more qualified team to study those animals.”

Gina shook her head. “We know at least that the tribe Jun-Tuk is from is real and that it is here. We also know that they won’t let us study them unless if we can prove that the Yeti is not a god.” She took a deep breath. “We probably should head back to Princeton and report our findings. Going back to Princeton would be the safer and easier route to go. The problem with that is when the board weighs the find of woolly mammoths versus a lost tribe, they will put all of their resources into the valley. Our expedition will be dead in the water just as we had our first breakthrough in finding the lost tribe.” Gina bit her lower lip in thought for a moment and then she looked at her friend. “We are going to study and document the mammoths and anything else that we find in the valley. We may not be specialized in animals or extinct species, but the basic concepts or studying them are the same as studying a lost tribe. We will document them the same way that we would Jun-Tuk’s tribe. After we have enough information on the valley, and we can prove to Jun-Tuk’s tribe that the Yeti is not a god, we will complete our study of them as well. When all is said and done, we can return to Princeton with our study fully complete as well as an initial study of the valley. That way we finish what we came here for, become famous for finding a lost tribe and this valley, and Princeton can send a more qualified team to follow up on the valley after us.” Gina grinned. “If you have any interest, I am sure that the follow-up team will also need a team a doctor and an experienced young and handsome hunter.”

Dana was about to say something when a horrible wailing sound came from outside. Dana gave Gina a concerned look. “What in the hell was that? It sure didn’t sound like the mammoths did and it didn’t sound like it came from within the valley. That sounded a hell of a lot closer.”

The two women ran to the window of the barracks and they looked out into the dark blizzard that was taking place outside. At first, they couldn’t see anything and then Gina gasped when she saw to bright red orbs floating in the air and moving toward the camp. Gina thought the eyes had a blood red hue to them. As the red orbs continued to move toward the camp, something else started to come into view as well. It was difficult to see because it was white just like the snow that was falling onto it, but as it took a few more steps forward, the gargantuan form of the Yeti came into view. Dana screamed when she saw the creature but Gina kept her eyes fixed on it taking mental notes on everything that she was seeing.

The creature was bipedal and covered in a thick white fur. The beast’s ghastly face was accentuated by burning red eyes. The creature was very large. Gina guessed that it was between twenty and twenty-five feet tall, making it roughly as large as the mammoths that she had seen earlier. It had broad shoulders and slightly disproportionately long arms. The monster had primate like hands with a clearly opposable thumb. Its legs were thick and ended in feet that were also disproportionately large. Just by looking at it, Gina could see that the Yeti was extremely physically powerful. She could see its huge muscles shifting under its skin even with its thick white fur. The monster had a face that appeared almost human. It was dark and similar to a gorilla but with the visage of more intelligence than the great apes of Africa. The monster had long sharp fangs that protruded over both his upper and lower lips, and when he opened his mouth, Gina saw nothing but sharp teeth. She had no doubt that this beast was a carnivore and a predator. The last noteworthy feature was that the top of its head ended in a sharp dome.

As the Yeti entered the camp, it wailed again and started walking toward one of the barracks. As soon as Gina saw the Yeti making for the barracks, she sprang into action. She still had most of her outdoor gear on. All that she needed to do was to put on her coat, goggles, and boots. She flung the door open as she was getting dressed so that she could see what the Yeti was doing. When the door had opened fully, she could see the Yeti towering over one of the nearby barracks. The monster plunged his claw into the roof of the building and tore it off as it were made of cardboard. He tossed the roof aside and roared at the terrified people inside of it. Gina watched in horror as the Yeti reached into the opened barracks and lifted out a young man. The man was one of the interns. Gina recognized him as Eric Williams. The Yeti sniffed the man and then tossed him away. The young man screamed as he flew through the air then crashed into the snow.

Gina was fully dressed and about to run out at the Yeti when she saw Henry come sprinting out of one of the other barracks. He moved as quickly as he could through the thick snow to the nearest Sno-Cat. He climbed into the vehicle, turned its lights on, and spun it toward the Yeti. He then revved the machine up to full speed and aimed it at the beast. The Sno-Cat slammed into the Yeti as the monster was reaching into the opened barracks again. Gina was astounded that the Sno-Cat had collided with the Yeti and the two-ton vehicle did not move the creature an inch. She then watched in horror and disbelief as the Yeti lifted the several ton Sno-Cat, with Henry still in it, over its head. The Yeti roared and then threw the Sno-Cat nearly fifty feet from itself. The Sno-Cat landed upside down and Gina could see Henry squirming to get free from inside of the vehicle as the Yeti started walking toward it.

Gina moved faster than she ever would have thought possible. She grabbed two satellite radios, a transmitter, and a receiver from the supply closet. She tossed the receiver and one of the radios to Dana and then she sprinted out into the snow. As she was running, she turned on her radio and said, “Keep track of me but do not come for me unless I call for help. We can’t lose any more lives!” Gina then turned off the radio and stuffed both it and the transmitter into her pockets.

Dana heard what her friend said over the radio but she didn’t understand what she was talking about until she walked to the door and saw Gina running toward the Sno-Cat. The Yeti had almost reached the Sno-Cat, and her trapped husband, when Gina knelt down before the Yeti as had the young girl in Jun-Tuk’s story. The Yeti stared at Gina for a moment and then he reached down and picked her up. The Yeti sniffed Gina, and when he did so, the beast seemed to calm down somewhat. The monster turned and began walking out of the camp with Gina held firmly in his claw.

From with the monster’s grip, Gina could see Henry screaming in terror as the Yeti walked away with her. Gina held her gloved hands out in front of her and made the sign of a heart indicating to Henry that she loved him. She then looked up at the Yeti’s beast-like face. Part of her wanted to scream in terror at the horrible fate that awaited her. Panic was setting in when she reminded herself of two things. First, that Jun-Tuk had said that the women who placated the Yeti were returned to their people unharmed. The second thing that she remembered was that she was a scientist. This thought more than anything else helped to calm her down and focus her. As a scientist, she owed it to the world to act in accordance with the standards of her profession. She was the first non-native to be taken by the Yeti and she needed to learn everything that she could about the creature and report back on her findings at the appropriate time. She was still terrified, but these thoughts helped her to focus on staying calm because she knew that staying calm would increase her chances of staying alive. She also knew that Henry was alive and that thought gave her comfort. Had Henry died, she would just have preferred that Yeti had devoured her as well. Henry was alive though and that thought gave Gina a reason to find a way to get back to him.

This thought had no sooner crossed her mind than she noticed that the Yeti was walking through the mountain pass and back into the valley. The blizzard was reaching its full intensity as they entered the valley. All that Gina could see around her was the blinding snow. She wondered to herself that if the valley held both mammoths and the Yeti what other “demons” as Jun-Tuk had called them also lived in the unexplored region?

Gordon and several of the other grad students ran over to the tossed Sno-Cat to try and help Henry. Henry was still screaming for his wife and trying desperately to free himself from the destroyed vehicle. Gordon kicked in the already-cracked windshield of the Sno-Cat and then he used his knife to cut Henry loose from his seatbelt.

Henry tumbled out through the open windshield and then he began running in the direction that the Yeti had taken Gina. Rodgers grabbed him and held him in place as he yelled into the panicked man’s ear, “Henry, we will never catch that beast in this storm! Think! Several of the women have come back alive after being with the Yeti for over two weeks! There is every reason to believe that we will get her back alive, but if we head out into this storm unprepared to enter a valley that holds mammoths, a Yeti, and god knows what else, we will all die!”

Dana came running out into the snow with the radio and receiver. “She threw these too me before she gave herself to the Yeti in order to save Henry. We can track her and communicate with her.” She was silent for a moment. “She specifically said though not to try and take her back from the Yeti unless she called for help. She said that we can’t afford to lose any more lives.”

Henry took a look around at the gathered people. “Tomorrow, I am going after my wife. Anyone who wants to accompany me is welcome to do so. Anyone who wants to stay back here at camp, you need to start packing up! As soon as I come back with Gina, we are going home!”

He turned to Rodgers. “Can you help me get the things together that we need to go into the valley with?”

Rodgers nodded. “Yes! Gordon and I will get started right away!” Most people returned to their barracks as Henry, Gordon, Rodgers, Dana and a handful of grad students started preparing for a journey into the unknown at first light.

Chapter 6

Between the storm, the darkness around her, and the speed at which the Yeti was moving, Gina had no idea how long she had been gone for or how far she had traveled. From the angle at which the Yeti was walking, Gina was fairly sure that the monster was walking on the side of one of the many mountains which comprised the mountain range which circled the valley. Gina’s suspicion that they were walking on the side of the mountain was confirmed when the Yeti turned into a large cave and finally released her from his grip. The Yeti lumbered to the back of the cave where he laid down and quickly fell asleep. When she saw that the Yeti was asleep, Gina immediately thought about trying to escape from the monster but then the reality of her situation set in on her. There was a storm raging outside and she had no idea which direction she should travel in. She also did not have any of the gear required for a solo hike across an uncharted polar valley. She resolved herself to the fact that, for now, her best course of action was to stay with the Yeti. She checked her radio and her transmitter. She was relieved that both of communication devices were fully operational. Gina also reminded herself that the Yeti had returned most of the women that he had taken to their people after a two week period. Since the Yeti had left the valley to come to the camp, she was pretty sure that if she tried to escape, the Yeti would most likely find her. Gina remembered that Jun-Tuk believed that it was the women who placated the Yeti that returned alive. Gina spoke aloud to herself, “So if I am a perfect houseguest for the next two weeks, you will return me to my team and that will be then end of it. In that time, I can be the first person in history to study and document the life of a Yeti.”

Gina resolve was solid but her body was freezing. It took her a moment to realize that the only source of heat in the cave was the Yeti himself. Gina had not really noticed it when they were walking through the snowstorm outside, but inside the confines of the cave, she quickly became aware of how horrible the Yeti smelled. Gina swallowed hard as she told herself that smelling bad was better than freezing to death. She pulled her scarf over her nose and mouth, walked over to the Yeti, and laid down beside him. Gina was exhausted and despite the circumstances that she was faced with, she quickly fell asleep.

Back in camp, Henry was trying to get the rescue party together as quickly as he could. He was yelling out random orders to people. Rodgers was cleaning guns and checking ammunition when Henry shouted at him, “Get the shotguns ready and onto the Sno-Cats! I want us tracking that beast within the hour!”

Rodgers stopped what he was doing and walked up to Henry. “Look, you need to sit down and shut up. You are not thinking clearly. Your wife has been taken by a monster and you want to save her. I can appreciate your desire to save her, but I will be dammed if I am going to let you put together a rushed expedition that gets us all killed. First of all, the shotguns will be useless. From what I have seen from the mammoths and the Yeti, anything less than a high-powered rifle is going to do us more harm than good. Did you even think about how rocky the pass to the valley is? There is no way in hell that the Sno-Cats will be able to make it over that terrain. The only way that we are going to get past those boulders is with the snowmobiles.” Rodgers pointed to one of the remaining barracks. “Go sit down and get yourself ready to go into the valley. I will coordinate setting up the rescue team.”

Henry was silent for a moment as he considered what Rodgers had said. Henry knew that Gina would loathe to give control of everything over to Rodgers, but he had to admit that Rodgers was right. Henry knew that he was not thinking straight because he was in such emotional distress over Gina’s abduction. While he wanted to keep control over the expedition, more than anything else he wanted to get Gina back safely and Rodgers was his best bet at accomplishing that goal. He nodded. “Okay Rodgers, set things up and then come and get me when we are ready to head out into the valley.”

Rodgers didn’t reply. He simply nodded at Henry and then he started shouting out orders to the rescue team. Henry climbed down off the Sno-Cat and walked slowly back to the barracks with his mind thinking only of once again holding Gina safely in his arms again. He had no sooner closed the door to the barracks then Jun-Tuk walked in behind him. The old man approached Henry and spoke in a very direct manner, “I have lost my daughter and I will not let you lose your wife. If you let the man who hunts for sport lead this rescue mission, your wife will be lost to you and many others will die. His concern is not for your wife. He is only concerned with his own glory. I know this area better than anyone else here. Please let me take you and your people into the valley. Let me help you save your wife and at the same time help to gather the proof to bring to my people that the Yeti is an animal and not a god.”

Henry was silent for a moment. He knew that Rodgers would not take the news well that he was going to appoint Jun-Tuk the leader of the rescue mission, but he also didn’t care. If Jun-Tuk was his best option at bringing his wife back alive then he would take that option. He stood up. “Let Rodgers finish directing the team on the preparations for the rescue mission and then I will tell him that you will be leading us once we enter the valley.”

Jun-Tuk nodded then he turned and walked out of the barracks. The old man watched as the arrogant hunter continued to shout orders at the expedition members. Jun-Tuk shook his head in disgust. He knew that he was looking at the hunter who would either find his own death in the valley or bring death to all of those around him.

When Gina woke up, she found that the Yeti was still sleeping next to her. She took the time to study the Yeti in a somewhat more controlled setting than when she was first taken by the monster. As she looked at the Yeti, she realized that monster was even more terrifying than she had originally thought. The monster was clearly and apex predator and a killing machine. An up-close look at the monster’s teeth and claws, quickly confirmed for her that the Yeti could kill a large steer with a single swipe of its hand. Gina was taking mental notes on the Yeti when she realized that she should give the creature a name as opposed to just referring to it by its species designation. After all, the Yeti had to be a member of a larger population. It was extremely unlikely that the monster was a King Kong-like last remaining member of species. Even if the Yetis were a solitary species, she figured that there was a decent chance that she would encounter other members of the species at some point. Gina had never really thought much about Yeti’s. In fact, the only thing that Gina could even remember about Yeti’s was the Bumble from the old Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer claymation Christmas special that they show on television every year. She vaguely remembered there being a character named Yukon in the movie. As she looked at the Yeti, she nodded her head. “Yes, Yukon the Yeti, I even like the alliteration in the name.”

A loud trumpeting sound that Gina immediately recognized as the sound of the mammoth herd echoed through the cave. As soon as the sound reached the cave, the Yeti’s eyes snapped open and Yukon stood up. The cave that they were in was huge but when the Yeti stood up, his pointed head nearly touched the cave ceiling. The Yeti looked briefly at Gina then he approached the cave entrance and roared. After he had roared, Yukon went running down the slope of the mountain with at a speed that Gina could not believe the massive creature was capable of attaining. Gina may not have been a zoologist but she knew hunting behavior when she saw it. She sprinted to the entrance of the cave to observe how Yukon was going to prey on the mammoths.

At the sound of Yukon’s roar, panic spread throughout the mammoth herd. The alpha male trumpeted loudly and Gina watched as the adult mammoths moved the infants to the inside of the herd. The alpha male then began running away from the mountain and the rest of the herd followed his lead quickly creating a stampede. There was a large bull mammoth toward the back of the herd that was not able to run as fast as the young mammoths, and when Yukon saw the beast fall behind, he changed direction and began running toward it. The mammoth was still trying to catch up with the rest of his herd when Yukon ran up alongside the animal and dug his claws into the mammoth’s side. Bright red blood sprayed across the white snow as Yukon raked his claws across the mammoth’s back. The mammoth bucked wildly and he was finally able to shake himself loose from Yukon’s grip. The mammoth quickly spun around and faced Yukon. The mammoth pawed at the ground and trumpeted at the Yeti. The injured bull then lowered his head and charged at Yukon. The mammoth moved faster than Yukon was prepared for and its huge curved tusks slammed into Yukon’s chest and knocked the Yeti to the ground. Yukon was lying flat on his back as the mammoth quickly moved forward, bent his head down, and attempted to gore the Yeti. Gina watched as Yukon’s hands shot up and caught the mammoth’s tusks before they were able to reach his body.

Gina then watched in awe as, despite the weight and strength of the mammoth, Yukon was slowly forcing the mammoth to back up. Once he had gained some leverage, Yukon pushed the mammoth’s tusks to the side, causing the beast’s head to follow. Yukon sprang to his feet and moved in on the mammoth. When Yukon had reached the mammoth, the bull lowered its head then he used his long curved horns to hook under and around Yukon’s shoulders while simultaneously wrapping its powerful trunk around Yukon’s waist. Yukon responded by plunging his claws into the mammoth’s neck. The two monsters wrestled as each creature tried to the throw the other to the ground. Once more in this test of strength it was Yukon who proved the stronger of the two beasts. Gina watched as Yukon was able to force the left side of the mammoth’s legs to lift off the ground. The mammoth struggled to keep its balance, and as Gina watched the process of the mammoth slowly being forced to the ground, she was reminded of two huge sumo wrestlers she had seen compete in Japan. Just as the one sumo slowly tossed the other wrestler out of the ring, so did Yukon slowly force the mammoth to the ground. Yukon tipped the mammoth slightly more to its right and the beast finally lost its balance and fell down. Yukon immediately pounced on the beast. His fangs tore into the mammoth’s neck and his fist crashed repeatedly into its skull. The mammoth swung his head toward Yukon and his tusks struck Yukon and knocked the Yeti onto his side. The mammoth stumbled to his feet as blood gushed from his neck.

Yukon had just stood when the mammoth charged him again. Yukon was now prepared for the mammoth’s speed and the Yeti stepped to the left just before the mammoth’s tusks reached him. As the mammoth was passing by Yukon, the Yeti dug his claws into the side of the beast’s head and neck. Yukon held on for a few seconds as the mammoth pulled him across the snow-covered terrain. After several seconds, the mammoth’s pace began to slow down and finally the beast fell to its knees beneath the fury of Yukon’s assault. Yukon pushed the mammoth onto its side and then he used his fangs to tear out what remained of the mammoth’s neck. Blood sprayed across Yukon’s face and chest giving his white coat a red hue. Gina watched as Yukon then began to devour the dead mammoth.

The young anthropologist shook her head in awe at the battle that she had just witnessed. The mammoth weighed several tons, and not only was Yukon able to overpower it, he was able to maneuver around the creature with ease. The Yeti was amazing and deadly at the same time. Seeing the monster in action had only reaffirmed Gina’s decision not to call for help. She was sure that any attempt to rescue her would only result in more members of her team dying.

Yukon fed off the dead mammoth for roughly a half an hour before tearing off a large chuck of meat and then heading back to the cave where he had left Gina. Yukon entered the cave and tossed the chunk of bloody mammoth meat at Gina’s feet. Gina understood that Yukon wanted her to eat. She was not nearly hungry enough to eat the raw mammoth but as Yukon growled and gestured in the direction of the meat Gina remembered how Jun-Tuk had told her that the women who appeased the Yeti were those who came back alive. Gina scooped up a piece of raw mammoth, closed her eyes and then tossed it into her mouth. She nearly gagged but she finally managed to force herself to swallow a piece of the mammoth. She then nodded to Yukon in appreciation of his efforts. The Yeti snarled back at her then he picked her up and walked back out into the valley.