“Amrit thought you could use it,” said Bruce as he pointed to the canister of oxygen lying beside Shaw. “You were coughing something awful in your sleep, so I got a fresh bottle and put the mask on you.”
“Thanks,” said Shaw. Frost covered everything in the tent. He checked his watch and saw that it was nearly four AM. “How bloody cold is it this morning?”
“I don’t know, but when I nipped outside a couple of hours ago to get you the oxygen, the thermometer on Miss York’s bag read thirty degrees below freezing.”
“Well, whatever temperature it is now, it’s bloody cold in here,” said Shaw.
“Get dressed and I’ll fire up the stove and make us some tea and breakfast.”
Quickly pulling on his heavy winter jacket, Shaw reached down for his boots. To his disgust, he found that they were frozen solid. He banged them together to shake off the ice and then jammed them deep inside his sleeping bag in the hope that they would warm up enough so he could put them on without hurting his already tender feet.
A minute later, Bruce dashed back inside the tent, shivering all over. “It’s damned cold out there this morning,” said Bruce, rubbing his frozen hands together. “By the looks of it, Adler and one of his men are already up and checking out the glacier.”
“I’m gonna wake up Amrit and the other woman,” said Bruce. “They’ll need to eat something before Adler comes around and tells us it’s time to get moving.”
“Good idea,” replied Shaw. “How long until breakfast?”
“It’s already in a pot on the stove, so another five minutes or so.”
Shaw’s stomach grumbled for the first time in days. Sleeping with an oxygen mask on had re-awoken his appetite.
Amrit sat up looking like she had not slept near enough. She ran a hand through her knotted hair and then, through sleepy eyes, she looked over at Shaw. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Better than you,” replied Shaw.
“Probably,” commented Amrit, shaking all over as she looked at the frost inside the tent. “How cold is it out there this morning?”
Bruce said, “Today is the coldest morning by far.”
“Wonderful, and I have a full bladder,” said Amrit as she hurried to get dressed.
Señorita Ortega woke up. Slowly, she sat up and looked around at the unfamiliar faces in the tent with her.
“Buenos dias, señorita,” said Shaw. “Habla usted inglés?”
“Yes, quite well,” replied Ortega.
“Good. How do you feel this morning? You were suffering from high altitude sickness when you were brought to us last night,” explained Shaw.
“Where are the rest of my teammates?” asked Ortega, looking around the small tent for a familiar face.
“They are outside. You came to us because you were sick and Miss Amrit York is a doctor,” said Shaw.
Ortega uncomfortably looked over at York and then said, “You’re an Indian?”
“Yes,” replied Amrit.
“I never would have imagined that an Indian woman would have had the education and upbringing to become a doctor,” remarked Ortega.
Bruce jumped in. “I wouldn’t go down that road if I were you. Take my word for it; she’s a real doctor and she helped look after you last night.”
“I meant no offence,” said Ortega. “I was under the impression that women in India are far less educated than their male counterparts.”
Shaw could see the fires begin to burn behind Amrit’s eyes.
“I know why I am here, Miss Ortega,” said Amrit her voice dripping with acid. “Why are you here? Certainly not to display your mountaineering prowess.”
“For your information, I am a member of the Reich’s Research Council,” replied Ortega testily. “I was personally selected by Heinrich Himmler to help bring an end to this war, on Germany’s terms, naturally.”
Amrit smiled. “I thought you were Cuban.”
“Let’s not play games anymore, Miss York. My name is Caroline Ortega, and I’m a loyal German, who would do anything for her country. I heard everything you, and your conspirators said last night. If you think that I am some helpless woman, think again. Herr Adler had me play the stereotypical weak female, first to see if the remainder of our team, the Spanish volunteers, especially, could be trusted. Last night, I was brought into your tent to listen and learn what you were planning.”
Ortega pulled a pistol out from underneath her sleeping bag and said, “Everyone outside now!”
“Bitch,” snarled Amrit.
“You should know,” retorted Ortega. “Now move!”
Two minutes later, Adler strolled over to the group standing around Amrit’s tent. His toque and face scarf were already encrusted with ice and frost.
“You were right, Herr Adler; they cannot be trusted. Shaw plans to kill you and then force everyone else to climb back down the mountain,” reported Ortega.
Shaw silently cursed Ortega. Looking over at Adler, he said, “If you were in my shoes, you’d do the same thing.”
“Yes, I would,” replied Adler. “But I am not in your shoes. I’m the one holding the gun. I’ll deal with you soon enough, Captain Shaw. However, I want to get a move on if we are going to make it back here by nightfall.”
Shaw said, “Do you honestly think we can climb up that glacier, find a cavern from a centuries-old legend and then return here safely in under twelve hours?”
“Yes, I do,” replied Adler firmly. “You have ten minutes to eat. I want the tents left standing for our return. We will only take equipment essential to the mission with us; everything else will be left behind. Meet me by the glacier when you are packed.” With that, Adler left with Ortega to eat a quick meal and to pack his backpack for the day ahead.
“What do you want to do?” Bruce asked Shaw.
“First off, we’re going to eat. We’re going to need the energy. After that, I want you to make sure that you pack a blanket for each of us in our packs. Also, bring along food that doesn’t need to be heated like nuts, candy, and biscuits. I’ll fill our thermoses with hot tea and strap our ice axes to the outside of our packs. They can’t begrudge us carrying them with us. Let’s hope to hell that we don’t get trapped out in the open, or we’ll all die of exposure before the sun comes up tomorrow.”
“And me?” asked Amrit.
“Pack some medical supplies and see if you can jam Duncan’s small propane stove in the bottom of your pack. Just make sure it’s full before we leave.”
Amrit nodded her head and got to work.
Shaw looked up at the blue ice of the glacier and wondered if today was going to be his last. If it was, he intended to take Adler and as many of his people as he could with him.
With a cool wind whipping the recently fallen snow up into a swirling white cloud, Shaw, Amrit, and Bruce made their way over to Adler. Standing beside him were Ortega, Zaro and Silvas. Each one of them carried a rifle or submachine gun slung over an arm. Waiting quietly behind them were the two surviving Afghans along with Choling and Sangdrol. At their feet were four heavy-looking packs.
“So what’s your plan?” asked Shaw. “Is there a handy elevator we can take up to the top of the glacier?”
“Hardly, but there is the next best thing,” replied Adler, indicating to the imposing wall of ice with an outstretched hand.
Shaw tried to see what Adler was pointing at. He stepped forward a couple of paces and lifted a hand to block the blowing snow. It was then that he saw hand and footholds that led up to the top of the glacier cut into the ice.
Adler said, “I must admit that I had my doubts that we were even on the right mountain. That was until I found these handholds carved into the ice. They must be from the team that vanished in February.”
“So what are you proposing?”
“It is quite simple,” replied Adler. “Silvas is the best climber I have. He will free climb up to the top of the glacier. When he arrives, he will secure and then lower down a rope to us.
It will be used to secure the next climber going up and so on.”
Silvas removed the crampons from his boots, bent down and grabbed a coil of rope, which he threw over his shoulder. Without saying a word, he walked over to the ice wall and placed his right hand into one of the nooks cut into the ice. He quickly got a feel for the ice with his hand. A second later, he reached up for the next cut in the glacier and began to slowly make his way up the icy wall.
Shaw watched in amazement. He doubted that he could move as smoothly up the ice as Silvas did. It was as if the man had no fear.
Never faltering or slowing his pace, Silvas made it to the top of the glacier in under ten minutes. Vanishing from the sight of those still waiting below, he dug out an ice screw from a pocket in his woolen jacket. He looked around for a minute until he found a spot he liked. Slowly, he screwed the long metal peg into the ice. Quickly tying the rope to a solid metal loop on the end of the ice screw, Silvas pulled hard on the rope. It and the screw held firm. With the rope in his hands, he walked over to the side of glacier, called out a warning and then tossed the rope over the side.
The instant the rope touched the bottom of the glacier; Adler turned to face Shaw. “You’re next,” he said, pointing his rifle at Shaw. “Take the rope and tie it around your waist. Once you are ready to climb, call up to Silvas and he will take up the slack and help you climb up the side of the glacier.”
Shaw reluctantly grabbed the rope. He wrapped it around his chest and then tied it off. To make sure it was going to work, he pulled hard on the knot to make sure it wouldn’t unravel on him while he climbed. Shaw waved over at his companions, stepped up the wall of ice, and then looked up. He recalled what Silvas had done to make it up the icy wall. He reached up for a handhold and then called up to Silvas.
Silvas took up the slack on the rope.
“See you up top, boss,” said Bruce, giving Shaw a thumbs-up for encouragement.
Shaw pulled himself up and then reached up for the next hole cut into the ice. He used his feet to propel himself up rather than rely on his upper body to pull his weight up. Shaw soon found himself moving quite quickly up the side of the glacier. Stopping once to catch his breath in the thin air, Shaw looked down and saw Amrit and Bruce staring up at him. With a quick wave down to them, he continued his climb.
When he was less than a couple of yards from the top, he grew careless. His right foot slipped out of the hold it was supposed to be resting in. In an instant, Shaw felt his whole body begin to slip on the icy surface. His heart jumped when he felt his hands began to slide out of their holds in the ice. Adrenaline instantly shot through his veins as he tried to stop himself from falling. With a desperate cry on his lips, he slipped from the ice. He fell less than five yards before he felt the rope instantly go tight around his body, stopping his fall. The sudden, jarring halt felt like a defensive lineman had smashed into him. His head swung forward. A second later, his face smashed into the ice. Shaw moved his tongue around inside his mouth. He could taste his own blood. At least, he was still alive. He spat out his blood and was relieved to find that he hadn’t broken his jaw or lost any teeth when his face had hit the ice.
“Are you ok?” called out Silvas from above.
“Yes, I am, gracias,” called out Shaw as he reached over to the nearest handholds and began to carefully climb up the glacier. A couple of minutes later, Shaw poked his head up over the top of the lip of the glacier. Silvas was standing there with the rope wrapped around his waist.
With a loud grunt, Shaw pulled himself up onto the ice. He took a deep breath to control his still rapidly beating heart. Slowly, he stood up, walked over, and thanked Silvas, who rudely brushed off Shaw’s thanks.
Down below, Adler looked over at the two Afghans. “You next,” he ordered.
Bruce turned to look at Amrit and then in a hushed tone said, “That doesn’t look the slightest bit fun.”
“It probably won’t be,” replied Amrit. “I suggest when your time comes that you inhale a couple of lungfuls of bottled oxygen before commencing your climb. The added oxygen in your bloodstream will help you.”
“A pint of lager would also go down quite nice right now,” said Bruce.
Over the course of the next two hours, all of the people and their equipment were hauled up to the top of the glacier. The more men that arrived at the top, the faster they pulled the people waiting below up the icy face. The Afghans were the least steady climbers as they were both still suffering from altitude sickness. Several bottles of oxygen had to be sent up, just to keep them on their feet. Bruce and Amrit practically flew up the glacier. Their feet and hands only used to keep their bodies from smashing into the ice as they were quickly hauled up.
Once Adler was satisfied that they had everything that they needed for the final push to find the cavern, he took the lead, followed by Ortega. Behind them was Silvas with the Afghans and Tibetans hauling Adler’s supplies through the knee-deep snow. Shaw, Bruce and Amrit were next in line. They weren’t hauling heavy packs; instead, they carried ropes and a few more bottles of oxygen between them. Zaro pulled up the rear of the column. In his hands, he cradled a rifle to discourage anyone from trying anything foolish.
The pace of the climb was slow and measured. Although Adler burned with a desire to push on as fast as he could to the cavern, he was afraid of needlessly exhausting himself or the remainder of the people with him. He stopped for a moment and glanced back over his shoulder at the men behind him grunting and swearing as they carried their heavy loads through the snow. Adler didn’t want to but decided to slow his pace even more.
After all of the bad weather they had been experiencing over the past few days, it was a cold, but sunny day. A biting wind whipped across the snow, stirring up the freshly fallen snow, chilling everyone down to the bone. What made it worse was that under the glaring rays of the sun, they all began to dehydrate.
After about fifteen minutes trudging up the slope, Adler raised a hand and indicated a rest stop.
Bruce dropped to his knees and began to cough loudly. He struggled to replace the air lost from his lungs.
“Here, help me,” said Amrit to Shaw as she helped remove the load from Bruce’s back.
Shaw pulled off his pack, reached inside and pulled out a bottle of oxygen, which he handed to Amrit. A few seconds later, Bruce was sitting up with his hand holding a mask to his face. It didn’t take him long to breathe normal again.
Shaw unscrewed the lid from his thermos and poured himself a cup of tea. He took a sip and then handed it to Amrit, who smiled and took a sip too. “Make sure Bruce gets some,” said Shaw.
He was about to check on Choling and Sangdrol when out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move. He turned his head and looked out across the long white plain of snow. A couple of seconds passed before he found what he was looking for. In the distance, perhaps no more than sixty feet away, something was fluttering in the wind. Quickly digging out his binoculars, Shaw focused them in on whatever it was he had spotted. For a few seconds, he studied the object. As he lowered his binoculars, Shaw realized that he was looking at a piece of a tent flapping back and forth in the wind. He told Bruce and Amrit to stay where they were. Shaw got Zaro’s attention, pointed over to the tent and began to make his way through the snow towards the torn shelter.
The closer he got, the more Shaw realized that it wasn’t one tent, but several, all looking as if they had been ripped open. Although partially buried in the snow, Shaw could tell that four tents had once stood there. He stopped at the closest one, bent down and looked inside a gaping hole torn through the fabric of the tent. Inside, he could see three frozen corpses. The people had been killed while still trapped inside their sleeping bags; their throats had been torn from their bodies. Pools of frozen blood covered the floor of the tent.
Zaro took one look over Shaw’s shoulder and started to holler for Adler.
Adler and Ortega left Silvas to guard the prisoners while they made their way ov
er to the tents.
Before they arrived, Shaw moved from tent to tent. The result was always the same: dead bodies, all killed before they could escape their sleeping bags. Shaw looked for some form of identification as he moved through each tent. At the last one, he dug through the snow until he found a rucksack. He opened it and began to rummage through the sack until he found a silver thermos. Shaw lifted it up so he could read some writing engraved on the bottom of it. The thermos had once belonged to Gefreiter Hans Rutger. He respectfully placed the dead corporal’s thermos back inside his pack. Shaw was about to turn away when he saw a German army Luger at the bottom of the rucksack. He glanced over and saw that Adler, Ortega and Zaro were busy examining another tent. He couldn’t believe his luck. With his heart racing, he quickly jammed the pistol into a jacket pocket. Shaw closed up the sack and calmly walked over to Adler.
“By the looks of it, they all died the same way,” said Shaw. “Since they were all sleeping when the beasts attacked their camp, I have to assume that they hadn’t had any run-ins with the monsters prior to the night of their deaths or they would have been better prepared than this.”
Adler nodded his head.
“I found a thermos belonging to a German army corporal. I take it that this is the missing party of climbers who disappeared without a trace earlier this year.”
Adler somberly shook his head and said, “A horrible tragedy. Twelve good men slaughtered in their sleep. When I return home, I will make sure that Germany never forgets them or their sacrifices.”
“You’re being a bit premature, aren’t you?” observed Shaw. “We still have to get off this mountain alive.”
Adler shot Shaw a poisonous look. “Rejoin your comrades, Mister Shaw; we’re going to get a move on shortly.”
The Mountain Page 22
