Polar Yeti And The Beasts Of Prehistory

by Dennion, Matthew

  Gina’s heart began to race at the thought of Yukon killing Henry and Jun-Tuk and then carrying her back to his cave. Gina pulled Henry’s arm. “Come on, we have to keep moving.” The group ran through the tunnel and as they did so, one by one their torches started to burn out. Jun-Tuk had suggested that they keep the torches when they burned out because holding a club constructed of bone was better than having no weapon at all. Henry was holding the last torch as it slowly burned out. When the flame finally extinguished itself, Henry reached into his bag and pulled out one of the flares that Dana had grabbed during the millipede attack. He snapped the flare open and lit it. The flare cast a fluorescent orange glow throughout the large tunnel.

  Gina looked at Henry. “How many more of those things do we have?”

  Henry took a quick look in his supply bag, “Looks like we have two more after this. They each burn for about fifteen minutes. It took us about forty-five minutes to get from the area where the other snowmobiles are to here. We have been moving for a little over a half an hour on foot. If we don’t take too many turns and we pick up the pace, we might just have enough flares to get us through this underground hell and back out into the light.”

  There was another roar behind them that sounded much closer than the last set of roars they had heard. Gina turned and broke into a full sprint away from the roar. Henry and Jun-Tuk found themselves behind Gina and they took off after her as quickly as they could. Henry could feel his legs burning as he did his best to stay close enough to his wife to give her enough light to avoid running face first into a wall.

  Gina was running as fast as she could with the bright red glow of the burning flare illuminating the tunnel a few feet in front of her. She saw a flash of white in front of her and she skidded to a stop. Henry and Jun-Tuk also came to a stop behind her and Henry lifted his flare in front of him to see a huge interwoven lattice of some form of thick white rope. Gina looked around the tunnel to see that the white rope covered the entire tunnel. At a quick glance, she estimated that the tunnel was at least thirty feet wide and fifty feet high. Henry moved his light around and then Gina saw the dead form of a giant rat stuck in the top of the interwoven rope. The rat’s body was nothing more than a dried out husk. The rat’s corpse looked as if all of its bodily fluids had been drained out of it. Gina looked at the face of the dead giant rat and she immediately winced from the look of complete terror on the creature’s face.

  Gina gasped when it dawned on her exactly what they were looking at. She whispered to Henry. “Move the flare around so that it lights up the tunnel ceiling. Keep a close eye on the dark corners of this stuff.” Henry slowly waved his flare above his head and all three people gasped when the light reflected off two sets of multi-faceted eyes. A massive hair-covered body with long legs jointed in the shape an arch came into view. A huge tarantula-like spider was watching the three humans from the upper most corner of its web. Henry shifted his flare to get a better look at the monster. When the light hit it the colossal arachnid that was curled up in a corner of the ceiling condensed its body even more at the sight of the bright light of the flare. Gina whispered, “The crawling demon that has legs like poles and lives in a net. A giant spider.” A loud roar echoed behind the group and Gina could tell that Yukon was quickly closing on them. She took a look around the web and up at the spider. “That thing has to be, what, thirty to thirty five feet long?”

  Henry stammered. “Yes. As soon as that thing makes a move, we are dead.”

  Gina shook her head and spoke quickly. “No, don’t you see? That thing is exactly what we need!” She pointed up at the giant spider. “Look at that spider. It’s terrified of the light from the flare. Also, most spiders will only attack things that disturb their webs.” She pointed to the foot thick web that connected to the tunnel wall in front of them. “Use the flare to burn through these three strands of web here. We will be able to slip through and keep going. We will leave Yukon to run face first into the web and then to deal with the spider while we continue to push ahead.” There was another roar and all three people knew that Yukon would be upon them any second. Henry took his flare and he started burning through the web in front of them. The giant spider took a few steps out onto its web but it stopped when it saw the bright light of the flare. Jun-Tuk pointed his crossbow at the spider and Gina instructed him in his own language, “If it takes another step, shoot it in the eye.” Jun-Tuk nodded and kept his weapon aimed at the spider.

  Henry had burned through two of the pieces of web and he was working on the third strand when Yukon stormed around the corner. The Yeti roared and Wen-Ku screamed, “Stop! You are the bride of the Yeti god! You and the children must return to the cave with us!”

  The flare finally burnt through the last strand of web and Henry screamed, “We are through. Let’s move!” Henry moved through the opening first followed by Gina and Jun-Tuk. The three people sprinted farther down the tunnel and Yukon ran after them only to be stopped when he became caught in the giant web. The Yeti dropped Wen-Ku and when she hit the cave floor, her torch rolled away from her, leaving only a few strands of light illuminating the tunnel. Yukon roared then he started to pull the web off himself. The web had slowed down Yukon but the Yeti’s strength was more than enough to tear the trap to pieces. Yukon ripped a large section of webbing off himself just as the giant spider crawled down what remained of the web and jumped on to Yukon. The Yeti was caught off balance and the weight of the spider forced him to the floor.

  Yukon was laying on his back with the spider standing over him. The Yeti looked up to see the spider’s fangs above him. Yukon’s arm shot out and he grabbed the spider where its head connected to its body. The spider tried to force its head down but the strength of the Yeti was far greater than that of the spider. Yukon tossed the spider to his left. The arachnid stumbled to the side of the cave and Yukon used the opportunity to stand. Before the Yeti could renew his pursuit of Gina, the spider darted across the cave and attacked Yukon once more.

  Yukon saw the spider charging him and he grabbed the spider’s front legs immediately stopping its forward motion. The Yeti roared at the spider then he pulled it to him and stepped to the side so that the arachnid slammed into the wall. The spider quickly crawled up the side of the wall and over the top of Yukon. Yukon looked up just in time to see the spider dropping on top of him once more. The spider’s weight slammed into Yukon and forced him to the ground again. Yukon was lying on his back with the spider over him again, preparing to inject him with its venom. Yukon moved in flash of white fur, and before the spider could strike him, the Yeti used his sharp claws to slice open the giant spider’s underbelly. A thick yellow ichor poured out of the spider’s mid-section as the monster backed away from the Yeti. The spider crawled to the cave wall and it was starting to scale it when Yukon threw his shoulder into the spider’s back. The strength and weight of Yukon crushed the spider against the unforgiving cave wall and the arachnid burst like a child’s water balloon. Yellow ichor sprayed across the tunnel and Yukon as the force from the Yeti’s attack sent the bodily fluids of the giant spider flying in all directions.

  Yukon shook himself once then he turned to see Wen-Ku holding her slowly dying torch. She was bloodied and bruised from her tumble onto the cave floor. Despite her injures, she smiled at her god/husband and said, “Well done. Now let us continue the pursuit of our children.” Yukon reached down and picked up Wen-Ku then he started running farther through the massive tunnel system after what he perceived as his family.

  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 predato
rs. 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!”