by Tracey West
He looked at his dad. “And remember when we had a Sky Snail to wake up? And you had the most important job in the village? Before I blew it?” He sighed. “I miss being ignorant.”
He tightened the strap on his helmet. “So, let’s go back to the way it was. But I’ll be Gong Ringer from now on. Hopefully, banging my head into that thing will make all these feelings go away.”
“Oh yeah, you’ll pretty much go numb,” Dorgle agreed. “You won’t feel a thing.”
“Good. ’Cause I feel like such an idiot,” Migo said.
Dorgle looked at the gong, and then at the palace. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s do it.”
He started to crank the launch wheel. “Now, you remember the advice I gave you, right? First you gotta check the wind. Pretty easy to be blown off course.”
“Wind. Check,” Migo said in a lifeless voice.
“And you’ve gotta true your aim,” Dorgle reminded him. “You’ll mess up big-time if your aim isn’t true.”
“Aim. Check.”
“And don’t forget, even though you know it’s gonna hurt, you gotta hit it head-on,” Dorgle finished.
He turned the crank, and Migo’s chair moved so that he faced the palace, not the gong. He looked back at his dad.
“You already woke the village, Son,” Dorgle said. “Now make sure they stay awake.” He put his hand on the release lever, and Migo smiled.
When Migo had thought that by lying about the Smallfoot he’d been doing what was best for everyone, he’d made that decision out of fear. There had to be another way—a way that didn’t mean everyone had to push down their questions. A way that didn’t mean the Smallfoot would have to die.
It wasn’t too late.
“I love you, Dad,” Migo said.
“I love you too,” Dorgle replied.
Thwang! He fired Migo off the launchpad.
Migo soared across the village, past the gong, and right through Meechee’s window! He slammed his head against the wall, fell back, and then jumped up. He touched his head gently.
“Yep, it does hurt,” he said. “Meechee, I’m so sorry.”
Blossom the mammoth stared blankly at him. Meechee was not there.
“Oh no, no, no,” Migo said. Then he spotted something on the wall—something that made his cold blood turn to ice. At that moment the Stonekeeper rushed in.
“Meechee?” he asked, and then he saw Migo. “What are you doing here? Where’s my daughter?”
He followed Migo’s gaze to the wall of Percy’s drawings of the human world. But one had been drawn by Meechee’s hand. It showed a Yeti holding a human, and it had an arrow pointing down below the clouds.
“Meechee!” the Stonekeeper cried.
“Where’s the Smallfoot?” Migo asked.
They rushed out of the room and into the great hall, where Thorp sat next to the block of ice that had held the Smallfoot.
“Yeah, so Meechee took the Smallfoot and convinced me I have a lot of anger issues because of something called a ‘father complex,’ ” Thorp explained. “I don’t know. I’m doing some serious processing right now, Dad.”
• • •
Migo knew exactly where Meechee was headed. He raced out of the palace to the edge of the ice cliffs, where he found Gwangi, Kolka, and Fleem gazing over the edge.
“Guys! Guys! You have to help me!” Migo pleaded. “Meechee’s taken the Smallfoot below the clouds!”
They ignored him.
“Look, I’m sorry,” Migo said. “I didn’t mean what I said. I can explain everything—after we find Meechee. She’s in danger. You have to believe me!”
“Why should we believe you?” Kolka asked. “You lied. Friends don’t do that.”
“Or stab you in the back and call you crazy in front of the whole village,” Gwangi added.
“You acted like me,” Fleem told Migo. “I expected more from you.”
“You’re right. I lied,” Migo admitted. “You know, you’ve always searched for the truth, no matter what anybody said. They laughed at you. They called you names.”
“Wait, what names?” Fleem asked.
“But you never let fear get in the way,” Migo said. “That’s what I should have done.”
He sighed as he looked out over the clouds. “And it’s what I’m going to do now.”
With a look of determination on his face, he ran toward the edge of the cliff and jumped off.
“Migo!” Gwangi and Kolka yelled.
“Wait! What names?” Fleem yelled after Migo.
Migo fell . . . and fell . . . and fell . . . and landed in the same spot where he’d landed the first time, right next to the goat. The creature leaped out of the way just in time as Migo hit the ground, kicking up an explosion of snow.
“Meechee, where are you?” he asked as he crawled out of the snowdrift.
Then he heard a cry from up above.
“Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!”
Whomp! Kolka landed on top of him.
“Kolka!” Migo cried, shaking off more snow.
“Hi,” Kolka said.
“Hi!” Migo replied, happy to see her. Then he realized something. “Wait, if you’re here, then that means . . .”
“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”
WHAM! Gwangi landed on top of both of them, creating a huge crater in the snowscape.
“Man, that was a long way down,” Gwangi remarked.
They all stood up.
“Guys! You came!” Migo said.
“Of course we came,” Kolka said, “for Meechee.”
“Ah, yeah, I knew that,” Migo said sheepishly.
“And a little bit for you,” Kolka added. “But mostly Meechee.”
“Thank you,” Migo said. “Even you, Fleem. Wait, where’s Fleem?”
• • •
The short Yeti was still on top of the cliff’s edge, peering down.
“Okay, pros and cons,” he coached himself. “Pros—Migo needs you. Cons—you’re useless to him if you’re dead. Cons, one. Pros, zero. Okay . . .”
• • •
“Yeah, he has serious character issues,” Gwangi explained, nodding his head.
“We can’t wait,” Migo said. “We have to find Meechee right now before someone else does.”
They crawled up and out of the crater. Kolka and Gwangi marveled at the world below the clouds.
“Wow, it’s so big,” Kolka said, her eyes wide.
“How do we even know she landed here?” Gwangi asked.
His question was answered by a Meechee-shaped hole in the snow right in front of them.
“Let’s follow her trail,” Migo said, and the three Yetis set off to find their friend.
Chapter Fifteen
Meechee in the City
Meechee, meanwhile, had stuffed Percy into a sack and had tied him to her with a rope, the way she’d seen Migo do. She traveled down the mountain carefully, checking on Percy every few minutes to make sure he was okay.
When she reached the bottom of the mountain, she followed sounds and lights until she reached the human city. She saw a human building with steam coming out of a vent on the side. She put some cardboard boxes together to make a crude bed for the Smallfoot and laid him down on them.
Very quickly he began to breathe more easily, and the pink color returned to his cheeks.
“Okay, little guy. You can breathe easy now. See? You’re home now,” Meechee said. “You can relax.”
She stared at Percy for a few moments, making sure he was okay.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The rhythmic beat of electronic music floated through the air. Curious, Meechee walked away, heading toward the sound of the music.
Percy’s eyes fluttered open. “Ahhh, I can breathe,” he said gratefully. A red neon sign blinking the word “Coffee” made him squint. “Where am I?”
He leaped up and saw that he was back in the human village.
“Wait. If I’m here, then where . . . ?”
He suddenly saw
Meechee. She was strolling down the street, past the shops, curiously looking into windows.
“She saved my life,” Percy realized.
People started to poke their heads out of their doors, astonished by the site of the furry creature strolling through their village.
“Oh no, no, no!” Percy cried.
Meechee had reached the center of town, where a pretty tree grew next to a pagoda. She felt the leaves on the tree and knelt down to look inside the pagoda. A group of human legs came into her line of vision.
“Oh! Another Smallfoot . . . and another, and another!” she said happily. She stood up and looked around. The humans stared back at her, openmouthed.
“Hi,” Meechee said.
But the humans all heard: Groowwwwwl.
The crowd took a step back from her—everyone except a little girl. She ran gleefully toward Meechee, away from her terrified mother. She reached up to Meechee with a tiny hand.
“Awwwww,” Meechee said.
And the humans heard: Grrrrrrrr . . .
The little girl touched Meechee’s hand, bringing tears to the Yeti’s eyes. She had dreamed of discovering a Smallfoot, and here she was, surrounded by them! And they were so cute!
Migo, Gwangi, and Kolka reached the village in time to see the crowd surrounding Meechee.
“Oh no!” Migo cried. “We’ve got to get to her before she attracts too much attention.”
At his words, sirens began to sound, and swirling lights began to flash.
“Too late,” Kolka said.
The crowd, who had been enchanted by Meechee, burst into excited chatter. Percy pushed through them.
“Move! Please! For the love of Yeti!” he cried.
A voice came over a loudspeaker. “Everybody, do not panic. Remain calm and run for your lives.”
Police officers slammed barricades around Meechee, just as Percy made his way to the front of the crowd.
“No! Wait!” Percy yelled. “I know her!”
The officers ignored Percy. They aimed a bright spotlight at Meechee. Animal control officers opened cases containing tranquilizer guns, nets, and animal traps.
“Oh no, NO!” Percy wailed.
Thwoosh! One of the officers shot a net at Meechee. The hook that was attached to the net landed on her foot.
Meechee reacted with surprise. Grooowwwwwwlllll!
Her roar caused chaos, sending the crowd running in all directions. They bumped into the officers and their equipment.
“No! Come back! Please!” Meechee begged. She had no idea what kind of danger she was in.
The animal control officers reloaded their nets. The crowd ignored the orders to run and stayed behind the barricades, eager to see what was going to happen.
Meechee spotted Percy.
“Hi. What’s happening?” she asked. “I don’t understand!”
The humans heard: ROOOOOOOAAAAAAR!
“You have to get out of here!” Percy yelled, waving his arms. But the crowd, frightened by Meechee’s roar, finally began to run away, sweeping Percy along with them.
Animal control officers shot another net at Meechee. She roared and stumbled back to avoid it. A furry hand grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into an alleyway.
“Meechee, quickly, this way!” Kolka urged, and Gwangi spun Meechee around.
“Wait. You came for me?” Meechee asked.
“Of course!” Gwangi replied. “We couldn’t leave you in the hands of these brutes!”
“Why’d they turn all mean like that?” Meechee asked.
Migo stepped out of the darkness. “Because they’re terrible, violent creatures.”
“You!” Meechee cried. “Why are you here?”
“I’m rescuing you!” Migo replied.
“Me? Rescuing me? From what?” Meechee shot back. “You said there’s no such thing as a Smallfoot. Well, look around, liar!”
Gwangi and Kolka each grabbed her by an arm.
“Not the time!” Gwangi said.
“Or the place!” Kolka added.
• • •
Percy tried to make his way back to Meechee, but he nearly got trampled by the crowd. He ended up flat on his back in the middle of the street.
A man from the village leaned over him, his face gleaming with excitement. “Percy Patterson?” The man reached down to help Percy up. “It is! It’s Percy Patterson!”
“Wait, you know who I am?” Percy asked.
Another man ran up and quickly took Percy’s photo, and then the two ran off.
“Percy Patterson?”
He whipped around.
“Selfie?” asked a teenage girl holding up her phone.
“What?” Percy asked.
She leaned in, pursed her lips, snapped the picture, and walked away.
“What the blazes is going on?” Percy wondered.
All around him people were saying his name and pointing. He’d imagined this kind of fame before but had never experienced it.
“Percy?!”
Brenda zoomed up to him on a snowmobile. Unable to stop quickly enough, she plowed into him. Blam! He flew up into the air. She stopped the machine and hopped off to help him.
“Percy, you’re alive! You’re alive!” she cried, but at the moment he wasn’t moving. “Oh my gosh, you are alive, aren’t you? Please tell me that I didn’t just kill you.”
“Ow,” he said. “Brenda?”
Past her, a video played on a screen in an internet café. Percy whispering into the camera in a cave, with Migo behind him.
“My video,” he realized. “What’s going on?”
“I uploaded it, like you told me to,” Brenda replied. “It totally went viral.”
For the first time she looked at him with admiration. “It was real, right? I mean—I have the suit.” She pointed to the suitcase, strapped to her snowmobile.
“So, you found one,” Brenda continued, grinning. “You actually found one! My phone has been ringing like crazy. Everyone wants you!”
Percy stared at the video.
“Haven’t you checked your messages?” Brenda asked. “It’s everything you wanted.”
Percy’s phone screen showed forty-two voice mails. He clicked play.
“Percy, baby, it’s your agent. I want you back!”
“Percy, it’s your dad. I’m no longer ashamed of you!”
“Percy Patterson, this is Mark Burton from the National Geographic Society. Call me!”
The video in the internet café played on a loop. The likes kept coming. Thousands . . . then hundreds of thousands . . . then millions!
“Percy, it’s Gail at the network. I want you. And if you can actually get that Yeti live? In person? I want you bad. And I’ll pay.”
His wildest dreams were coming true, and it was all because of the Yetis. He was famous. Adored. Admired. Respected.
Roooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!
He knew that sound. Percy whipped around to see Migo far down the street, running after the Yeti who had helped him, and two others.
He took off after them.
Chapter Sixteen
On the Run
The four Yetis ran through the streets of the village. Sirens wailed in the distance. When the Yetis were sure the humans were no longer behind them, they ducked into a dark alley and stopped, panting.
“Look, I know you’re mad at me, but I needed to protect you,” Migo explained to Meechee in a loud whisper.
Both Gwangi and Kolka had had enough of their friends’ bickering. “SHUSH!”
They continued to move through the alleys, out of sight, but the sound of the sirens was getting closer.
“You lied, and you sold us out,” Meechee said to Migo.
“To protect you from this!” Migo insisted loudly.
“If we’re gonna make it out of here, we need to remain quiet and inconspicuous,” Kolka said.
Meechee frowned, but she nodded in agreement. Migo did the same. The four Yetis began to move again, but—
“Tiny Smallfoot creatures!”
They stopped and turned around. Fleem stood on top of a building, yelling at the humans below.
“Fear me! I am your god!” Fleem cried.
Panicked, the humans fled, clearing the street. Migo, Meechee, Gwangi, and Kolka ran up to him.
“Fleem, what are you doing?” Gwangi asked.
“Oh hey, guys! I jumped!” Fleem replied proudly. “Shows real growth, right?”
“I am Fleem the brave and selfless!” he cheered.
Police cars zoomed around the corner, and the five Yetis broke into a run. They turned a corner—and hit a dead end.
They turned around as the headlights of a police car shone right on them. Defeated, they held up their arms.
The police car backed up and drove away! Migo turned to see that they were standing in front of a huge billboard for the Yeti Museum. They had blended right in!
Crunch! Gwangi backed up too far and punched a hole in the billboard, then fell backward into the building behind it. Curious, the other Yetis climbed through.
It was dark inside the museum as the five Yetis slowly walked through it, studying the displays. Horrifying statues of Yetis with snarling faces stared back at them.
Fleem bumped into a statue and cried out in fear. “Ahhhhh!”
He turned and faced a mural that showed a monstrous Yeti breathing fire.
He jumped back, frightened. “Ahhhhh! Scary!”
Fleem bumped into another statue. “Ahhh! Hideous!”
Gwangi stepped out of a shadow. “It’s not a statue. It’s me, Fleem.”
“I know,” Fleem replied. “Aaaaaahhhh!”
Meechee stared at a painting on the wall showing humans with weapons conquering the Yetis. Migo came up beside her.
“This is what your dad showed me,” he explained. “This is why I lied.”
“I . . . I don’t understand,” she said. “Why would humans want to conquer Yetis?”
She moved to a display of a 3-D model of a human village. She pressed a button, and mechanical Yetis popped up. Gnashing their teeth, they chased the humans.
