Lost Valley: The Escape

by J. T. Cross

  A quick search of the cavern yielded no other clues. As they walked back to the cabin, Luc began to think the worst had happened.

  “The people who blew up the cabin finally caught up to us,” he said in a grim tone.

  “Where do you think they took them?” Kate asked.

  Luc showed her the small piece of helicopter blade. “I found this on the floor, just inside the cabin. Stuart was going to keep it as a souvenir. He wouldn’t have left it behind, unless there was a reason.”

  “Maybe they were trying to tell us that they were being taken back to the helicopter,” Kate said.

  “I think I might know why,” Luc said as he tried hard to deny what he already knew. There needed to be some bodies in the helicopter to satisfy any future investigations.

  Chapter 23

  Luc stood in front of the cabin with Kate. He looked at his watch. “We have to get back to the helicopter. If we’re lucky, we’ll get there before the sun sets.”

  He pulled back the bolt on his rifle. The magazine was empty. He had used the last two rounds on the bear.

  “We’re out of ammo and I left my survival knife on the table.”

  “So, all we have is an empty rifle and one survival knife?” Kate asked.

  “Yeah, and your backpack with some protein bars. There’re a couple of things in our favor, though.”

  “What?”

  “They don’t know the rifle’s empty, and they probably think I’m dead.”

  He slung the rifle on his shoulder and attached the survival knife to his belt. He turned to Kate and gently reached out and held her shoulders. He looked into her eyes.

  “I know you must be exhausted because I’m pretty damn tired myself, but we have to start back to the helicopter right now.”

  “I know. Let’s go,” she said with a look of determination.

  * * *

  Luc stood on the riverbank just below where they had hidden their ATVs and gazed across the cloud-covered western sky. The sun must have just set, he thought, as the daylight was fading fast. He reached out his hand and helped Kate up the bank. Together, they hiked to the tree line.

  They had pushed themselves hard for the last few hours to try and get back before sunset and they had just made it. Several times along the way, Luc had found tracks and a cigarette butt. He had the feeling they were not that far behind the others.

  Luc led the way into the woods. They moved through them quickly and after several minutes, he reached out his hand and they stopped.

  He pulled Kate close. “We’re not far from the helicopter,” he whispered in her ear.

  Because the sun had just set, the woods were dark enough that it made seeing difficult. To make things worse, for the last few minutes, they had been hearing wolf calls in the distance.

  Luc had no doubt that sooner or later, the wolves would show up. His only hope was that before they did, he could free Christie, Chuck, and the kids. After that, he had no real plan, other than to try and take advantage of the helicopter to make it through the night.

  They continued a few more yards through the trees when Luc heard voices and stopped their movement again. They stood still, listening to a female voice raised in protest. It was Christie’s voice! Thank God she was still alive, he thought and inched forward until he could see into the clearing.

  There was a fluorescent lantern sitting on a rock that illuminated the entire area. He saw Christie standing in front of the tall, heavily muscled blond-haired man he knew to be Victor. He didn’t like the way he was looking at her. He could see by the look on Christie’s face that she was terrified.

  On the other side of the clearing next to the helicopter stood Chuck, his hands evidently tied behind his back. A smaller man standing next to him was pointing a semi-automatic pistol at his head. He didn’t see Stuart or Kelly.

  Victor glanced over at Chuck. “This is a very sexy lady you hang out with,” he said contemptuously, grabbing her shoulders.

  He pulled her close and kissed her directly on the mouth. Christie recoiled and slapped Victor. He backhanded her, causing her to fall.

  “Leave her alone,” Chuck said, rising to his feet to help Christie.

  Victor grabbed her arms and pulled her back up to her feet.

  Luc felt himself raging with a level of anger he had never felt before. How dare he? He felt his heart pounding in his chest. He would kill the man, with his bare hands if necessary.

  “He’s a dead man,” he whispered to Kate then pulled the empty rifle off his shoulder and walked into the clearing.

  Neither of the men were looking in Luc’s direction as he walked into the clearing.

  “Take your hands off her,” Luc shouted, as he stopped midway between the men, his rifle pointed at the man holding the gun at Chuck’s head.

  Startled, both men turned their heads in his direction.

  “Lay your pistol on the ground or I’ll shoot,” Luc said gruffly.

  The man slowly turned to look at Victor but he didn’t lower the pistol.

  “So, it’s the lucky Mr. Moon, the man with nine lives, or maybe it’s seven or eight now. Last I heard, you had gone over a waterfall and died,” Victor said, not seeming concerned in the least.

  Luc ignored his comment and stared at the man next to Chuck. “Do you know what kind of a hole a thirty-aught-six round makes in a man’s chest?”

  The expression on Turner’s face changed, and he began to look nervous. “What do you want me to do, Victor?” he asked.

  Luc didn’t like the way things were going. He had hoped the man would lay his pistol on the ground. He walked closer to Victor, who let go of Christie and took a step back.

  “I think you’ve got a problem, Mr. Moon,” Victor said, in a smug tone as he rested his hand on the pistol strapped in the holster at his side. “I don’t think you’re fast enough to shoot us both. Why don’t you just put the rifle down and we’ll talk things over?”

  “Maybe I should just put a bullet through your head and hope for the best,” Luc said, as he moved even closer to Victor.

  There was a moment of silence in the clearing as the men stared at each other. The silence was suddenly broken as the sound of yapping and barking in the distance became loud enough to notice.

  “The wolves are coming,” Christie said. “They’ll be here any minute. They’ll kill us all.”

  “Yeah, right, nice try,” Victor said smiling. “Turner, I want you to shoot Mr. Moon.”

  “Victor, please, it doesn’t have to be this way,” Christie begged. “Let us get in the helicopter. The wolves have picked up our scent. They’ll be here any second.”

  The yapping and barking was gradually getting louder. Turner moved his pistol away from Chuck’s head and pointed it at Luc.

  “What are you waiting for, Turner?” asked Victor. “I said shoot him!”

  Turner, distracted by the increased volume of the barking and yapping, looked off into the trees. “Maybe we should get in the copter, Victor,” he said. “Maybe she’s right.”

  Things were going south quick, thought Luc. He reached down and pulled his survival knife out of its sheath.

  “The wolves are going to tear you apart, Turner,” Luc said. “Get ready. They quiet down just before they attack.”

  “Shoot him!” Victor demanded.

  Luc heard the sound of movement through the trees just before a sudden commotion broke out in the woods behind Turner.

  Turner looked back at the trees and screamed as a massive wolf suddenly leapt from the shadows and grabbed his arm in its jaws. The wolf pulled him to the ground and another one grabbed his other arm. The two wolves began pulling him into the trees as he screamed for help.

  Luc saw Kate run from the woods toward Chuck and he threw his knife in their direction. “Get Chuck loose,” he yelled then raced at Victor, who was watching the wolves attacking Turner.

  At the last moment, Victor turned to face Luc as he brought the butt of his rifle down against the side of
his head.

  Victor went down and Luc was on him, throwing punches at his head as hard and fast as he could as Victor tried to block them. Without warning, Victor slammed his elbow into the side of Luc’s face, knocking him back. Luc could feel the man slipping out from under him.

  He scrambled to his feet and rushed at Victor, who was still on the ground, trying to pull his pistol out of its holster. Luc kicked the gun out of his hand, sending it flying into the trees as Victor grabbed his leg and wrestled him to the ground.

  They each fought to get the advantage as they rolled closer to the tree line. Finally, Luc found an opening and threw a punch, connecting with the side of his head.

  Victor retaliated by driving his knee into Luc’s stomach and climbing on top of him. He then began ramming his elbow again and again into the side of his head as Luc tried desperately to block the blows with his arms.

  Another wolf entered the clearing and began approaching Luc and Victor, growling as it moved. Victor glanced quickly at the wolf as Luc drove his fist into Victor’s jaw, knocking him back. Before Victor could recover, Luc slipped out from under him and was back on his feet.

  As Victor was getting to his feet, Luc raced toward him and drove his boot into his chest with every ounce of strength he had, driving him backward into the trees.

  Luc heard a snarl from behind. He turned and saw a wolf not more than five feet away. He looked for anything on the ground to use as a weapon. Seeing nothing, he turned to run but stopped as Chuck ran past him with an ax held high. The wolf launched itself at Chuck as he drove the ax head into its side.

  The ax cut deep and the wolf fell to the ground, losing all interest in attacking Chuck. It ran off into the trees yelping and bleeding.

  Luc knew he had to finish off Victor before he found one of the pistols and ran back into the woods where he had last seen him. Victor was gone and in his place were two wolves.

  Luc began to back up toward the clearing. He stopped and turned when he heard more growling behind him. That was when he realized he was surrounded by wolves on all sides.

  Chuck’s sudden yell distracted the wolves and they began to back away from Luc as he came running at them, waving the ax in the air. The wolves all turned to face Chuck.

  “Run, Luc. Get in the helicopter while I hold them off,” Chuck yelled.

  He didn’t want to leave Chuck, but without a weapon, he had no choice. He ran flat out across the clearing toward the helicopter hatch and dove through the hatchway, rolling on the floor and hitting the far side of the cabin. He got to his feet and went back to the hatch.

  Outside, Chuck was swinging the ax and spinning like a whirling dervish. The wolves yelped and howled whenever they got to close to him. He backed toward the helicopter door as he continued battling the wolves. At the last moment, he turned and ran for the hatch.

  “Jump in, I’ll close the hatch behind you,” Luc yelled as he reached his hand out toward Chuck.

  As Chuck got to the door, he grabbed Luc’s hand and jumped in as Luc slammed the door shut, pulling the latch down.

  Luc looked out the hatch window and saw a wolf launch itself straight at him. He jumped back as it crashed into the glass, trying to get to him. It disappeared from view and he moved forward and watched the wolves as they paced around the clearing.

  Suddenly panic filled him. Where were Stuart and Kelly?

  He turned and faced the back of the helicopter and saw Christie with her arms around both of them.

  “Thank God, you guys are okay,” Luc said as he rushed to the back of the helicopter. He knelt down next to Stuart and Kelly and wrapped his arms around them.

  After a few moments, he went back up to the front of the helicopter where Kate was standing. He hugged her. “You did good, hon,” he said as he held her.

  Luc looked down at Chuck who was sitting on the seat catching his breath. “Thanks, Chuck, I owe you.”

  “You don’t owe me anything. If it hadn’t been for you, that Turner fella would have blown my brains out.” Chuck shook his head back and forth.

  Luc noticed his backpack at the side of the cabin. He opened it and quickly went through the items inside. Everything but the satellite phone was there.

  “Did you bring the satellite phone?” Luc asked.

  “They took it,” Chuck said.

  “Do you have any idea where they put it?”

  “We don’t know.”

  “We’re going to have to take turns keeping watch tonight,” he said to everyone. “If Victor’s still alive, he might try to get in here and kill us while we sleep.”

  “I’ll take the first watch,” Christie said. “I can’t imagine falling asleep with an animal like Victor out there.”

  * * *

  Victor adjusted his position in the branches of the tall white spruce. It had been hell climbing up through its dense branches, but now that he was up in it, he felt somewhat sheltered.

  He was getting tired and yawned. The sharp stab of pain in his jaw stopped him from opening his mouth any wider. That damn Moon had a punch like the kick of a mule, he thought. If it hadn’t been for the wolves, he was quite sure he would have eventually gotten the better of Moon and had the pleasure of killing him.

  After getting thrown into the trees by Moon’s powerful front kick, and realizing that massive numbers of wolves were closing in on them, Victor had decided to run. Using only his small keychain light, he had tried to make it to his ATV and rifle. He hadn’t gone far before the wolves had caught up with him. Fortunately, he had been close to a large tree and had been able to climb into its branches to escape them.

  He decided he was going to try and get some sleep. He would need some if he was going to be any good the next day.

  He unbuckled his belt and moved it around a small but stout branch that cut right in front of him. He then re-buckled it, cinching himself tightly to the branch.

  He bent several other smaller branches in front of him and laid his upper body over them. As he relaxed, he felt the branches compress under him. With the belt holding him in place, he didn’t think he would fall.

  He glanced down at the forest floor and saw movement. He sat back up and pulled the small LED light, attached to his keychain, out of his pocket. He turned it on and flashed it onto the forest floor. Below him, pacing back and forth on the forest floor, were three of the largest wolves he had ever seen.

  He wondered how long it would be before they lost interest in him and left. He guessed he would find out soon enough.

  He turned off the small light and stuffed his keys back in his pocket. Lying back down across the branches, he relaxed and soon drifted off into a light sleep that lasted only for a few minutes until he woke.

  He looked around the branches of the tree but saw nothing so he lay back down. Soon, he was once again asleep.

  Chapter 24

  In his dream, he was on an ATV racing after Luc Moon and his pretty ex-wife. He had a pistol in his hand and every so often, he would take aim and fire at them. He was sure he had hit them, but they kept riding ahead of him. No matter what he did, he couldn’t catch them.

  Victor woke with a jerk. The sun was coming up. He looked down and saw that the wolves were gone. Unhooking his belt from the branch, he re-fastened it, then began to climb down from the tree.

  He felt disoriented. Trying to remember which way he had been headed the night before, he looked for his own tracks around the tree. When he found them, he followed them back for a little way and then turned and retraced his steps. Retracing the steps jogged his memory. He now had his bearings.

  He was thirsty and hungry, but that would have to wait, he thought. He needed to get back to his ATV and get his rifle. He struck a course toward the river. Within a short period, he broke out of the woods and hiked down to the riverbank.

  He began jogging to the west. For some reason, he had not believed that Moon had actually died going over the falls. The man was just too damn hard to kill. For that reason, he had decid
ed to hide the ATVs, but he hadn’t taken them far. Just far enough so that they wouldn’t be easy for Moon to find if he somehow he had managed to get the upper hand. He was not about to let Moon disable his ATVs.

  He spotted the two rocks he had placed together to mark the spot where he had ridden his quad away from the river. He hiked up the riverbank and walked into the trees. Within ten steps, he was at his ATV. Everything was just as he had left it.

  He opened the backpack on the ATV’s utility rack and pulled out a bottle of water and two breakfast bars. He hungrily ate them then drank the bottle of water as he thought about killing Moon and the others.

  When he had finished eating, he tossed the wrappers and empty water bottle on the ground and sat on the quad to think through his options. Once again, Moon had seemingly gotten the better of him. But that was about to end.

  Time for a new plan, he decided. He would head back to the helicopter and pick off Moon and the other man when they left the copter. With them dead, it would be no problem killing the others. Problem solved.

  He put on the backpack, grabbed the rifle, and then headed back down to the riverbank. Within thirty minutes, his problems would be over, he thought, smiling.

  * * *

  Luc woke with a racing heart that gradually slowed. He wasn’t supposed to have fallen asleep. He relaxed a little when he looked around the cabin and saw that everyone was okay and still sleeping.

  The previous night, the sounds of the wolf yaps and barks had ended an hour after they had entered the helicopter. After that, they had heard only an occasional howl in the distance.

  He had volunteered to take the last watch starting at four in the morning and had sat alone in the darkness listening for any sounds that might signal an attack by Victor.

  During the first hour of his watch, he had come up with a new plan for their escape from the valley. He remembered deciding to go through the plan one more time in his mind. The next thing he knew, he was waking up.