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 t
hat 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.
Chapter 7
Rodgers finally had the team ready to embark on the rescue mission. There were a dozen snowmobiles heading into the valley. Each snow mobile would carry two riders, meaning that more than half of the people who comprised the initial expedition would be part of the rescue team. Most of team consisted of graduate students who had taken basic first responder classes. Aside from Rodgers and Gordon, there were a few amateur hunters on the team. Rodgers had the amateur hunters take rifles or shotguns with them but he kept most of the team unarmed because he did want inexperienced people handling a weapon under a potentially stressful situation. Those who were unarmed carried other vital equipment such as tents, flares, medical supplies, and communications equipment.
Gordon was giving out the final orders to the team members as they were mounting their snowmobiles. “I only want certified people to carry weapons. We are going to move in two groups. Those of us who can use the rifles will move in a circle around the first responders. If you are not cleared to use a rifle then do not exit the inner circle unless if I give you the express permission to do so. I don’t care if you see Professor Murella bleeding to death. Do not leave the inner circle unless I give you permission. Is that clear?” The hunter stared at the gathered team members with a look of superiority on his face. “Furthermore, we are likely to encounter strange and dangerous animals like the Yeti that took Professor Murella. This monster and the other beasts that we are likely to encounter in the valley are not typical animals. They are monsters. They will kill us without a second thought. Professor Murella does not want more lives to be lost in this rescue mission and neither do I. If we see any of these beasts, our policy will be to shoot first and ask questions later. I am going into that valley with over twenty men and women and I plan on leaving with that many. If there is anyone who has problem with the way I am running things then get the hell off of my team because you are putting the lives of everyone else at risk.”
Rodgers was standing next to one of the snowmobiles like he was an Old West sheriff standing next to a horse and addressing a posse who were about to pursue a bunch of thieves. Henry could see that the man was on a power trip and thinking mainly of only bagging some rare trophies for himself. Everyone else saw this journey into the valley as a rescue mission but Rodgers saw it as a hunting trip. Henry was good at realizing how group dynamics worked. Rodgers was blowhard but he was also a charismatic speaker. If he did not do something to change the groups’ perception of Rodgers, they would follow
him into the valley and blindly carry out any order that he gave.
Henry didn’t give Rodgers the chance to continue to spread his rhetoric to the gathered graduate students. He walked up next to Rodgers, and as subtly as possible, took the hunter’s power over the group away from him. “Mr. Rodgers is right. It will be dangerous when we enter that valley. We will run into all kinds of strange and dangerous creatures that we are not familiar with and we do not know how they will react.” Henry took a deep breath of cold air as he prepared to put his faith in a man he had only met a few days ago to save the love of his life. “Luckily, we have a man here who is accustomed to seeing these animals. He is Jun-Tuk, a native of these lands and a lifelong hunter himself. Mr. Rodgers has put together an excellent plan for entering and traversing the valley. When we are in the valley, we will follow the lead of Mr. Rodgers and he shall operate under the guidance of Jun-Tuk.” Henry pointed to the old man. “With the skills of the greatest hunter in the world, under the guidance of a hunter who has unprecedented knowledge of this area and the animals that inhabit it, we will not only find and rescue my wife but we will learn a great deal about the greatest scientific discovery of the last two hundred years! Now quickly to your snowmobiles! We need to get into that valley before nightfall!” The graduate students were motivated by Henry’s speech. They cheered and ran to the snowmobiles.
Rodgers grabbed Henry by the arm. “What in the hell is this, Henry? There is no way that I am going to follow the lead of that savage. We agreed that I would lead this team!”
Henry pulled his arm away from the hunter. “We agreed that you would coordinate the efforts to get the team prepared to head out. I am still in charge of the expedition and Jun-Tuk knows more about what’s in that valley than you do. I am going to trust in him to get us and Gina out of there alive.”
Polar Yeti And The Beasts Of Prehistory Page 5
