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Yeti

Page 26

by Richard Edde


  “Sergeant, not knowing anything is taking its toll on this older man. Dr. Olson and his assistant, Miss Zinn, are very close to my heart. I couldn’t go on if something happened to them.”

  “Now, Doctor, it hasn’t come to that and I doubt that it will. I will keep trying to find someone there who speaks English and, in the meantime, you keep the faith.”

  Kesler hung up the phone and stared out at the Pacific Ocean. Dark thunderclouds were building far out over the blue water, promising much needed rain. At least there was the beginning of some action. Keep the faith. Wasn’t that the way Walcott put it? The man didn’t know how many prayers and Shemas he had said already. He needed to be there, to help in some way.

  He took the phone book from a desk drawer and looked up the number to Air China, thinking he would fly to Ulaanbaatar and see if he could move things along or offer help. Realistically, however, what could he do? No much, really. But just being there might provide the motivation the police needed to continue their investigation.

  He placed the phone book back in the drawer and drank from the bottled water on his desk. It was premature to leave the States now. Harry could be out in the field as he was supposed to be and this could all be a stupid mistake and wild goose chase by the SWAT team. Kesler trusted Harry’s judgement, so he would wait a little while longer before getting on that plane. Harry would be upset if he showed up and there was no reason to do so. In the meantime he would do as Walcott instructed--keep praying.

  ***

  This time there were three hairy creatures. They ambled to near the water’s edge and stood snarling, their red eyes blazing, blocking the tunnel behind them.

  Jing screamed.

  Stepan loosed himself from the rope, aimed his Russian pistol, and fired at the beasts. The Yeti howled and moved back a few meters allowing the SWAT team to take up a position along the shoreline. They fired at the Yeti, who again retreated into the dark tunnel.

  Harry pulled Eastwood onto dry land where he stood with Doyle, Li, and Dixie. Harry could hear the snarling and growling ahead but could not make out the Yeti in the darkness.

  The Yeti had them trapped. Behind them was the stream and the seemingly endless cave system that was a confusing morass of rooms and tunnels. The only known way out to the surface was through the tunnel now blocked by the Yeti who were proving difficult to kill.

  More beasts kept coming, taking the place of their fallen comrades.

  Harry dropped to the ground and crawled next to Stepan. “Any ideas?”

  The captain shook his head. “Not at present, Doctor. As long as those beasts are in the tunnel, we are stuck right here. There seems to be an endless supply of them.”

  “When we run out of ammunition we’ll be done for,” Harry said.

  “Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.”

  “What if we could get them out of the tunnel?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Harry glanced around, noticing that the SWAT team still had their weapons ready.

  “If we could lure the Yeti in here somehow,” he said, “maybe we could manage to get into the tunnel. The route would take us to the surface.”

  “Force them into this cavern here?”

  “Exactly. Force or give them some sort of bait to lure them in.”

  Doyle had joined the pair and was listening to the conversation. “Captain,” he said, “get a few of your men at the far end of the cavern and see if the Yeti will go after them. If they do, we can scramble into the tunnel. Use them as bait.”

  “Once in the tunnel, the beasts will just follow after us,” Stepan said.

  “Not if we can block it behind us,” Harry said.

  “Not much around to do that,” Doyle said. “I don’t think we can outrun them, either.”

  “We have some C-4 plastic explosive with a few blasting caps,” Stepan said. “We could blow the tunnel and trap the bastards in this cavern.”

  Eastwood stepped next to Doyle. “Are you nuts?” he said. “You’ll kill us all.”

  “It seems to be our only chance, Eastwood,” Harry said. “I say we try it, Captain. If we don’t do something, we’re gonna die, anyway.”

  “You think it will work?” Doyle said to no one in particular.

  Eastwood threw up his bound hands in anger and frustration. “Wait a minute. What you’re thinking of doing is suicide. A blast like that will surely kill every last one of us.”

  “We don’t have many options,” Stepan said. “We could try to kill them all, right here but they have proven difficult enough to kill.”

  “No other viable options,” Harry said. “Let’s get to it.”

  Li and Jing nodded.

  “Do it,” Li agreed.

  “We all are going to die in here,” Eastwood complained, whining now.

  “Sir,” Doyle said, “we don’t have any other options. We have to try it.”

  Stepan called to three of his men and explained the plan. They ran to the far side of the cavern and began throwing small stones into the tunnel. More snarling and growling emanated from its depths. Stepan moved everyone next to the cavern wall where the darkness obscured them.

  They waited.

  More rocks were thrown into the tunnel.

  A Yeti appeared, barely visible, in the tunnel entrance.

  When Stepan flashed his light illuminating the creature, it ducked back into the darkness. He turned his light off.

  More rocks thrown.

  This time, three Yeti trudged into the cavern and lumbered in the direction of the SWAT team. When they were a good distance from the tunnel, Stepan signaled now and scrambled toward its entrance. Harry pushed Jing and Dixie ahead of him. Once in the tunnel, Harry took Dixie by the waist and held her close.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m fine, Harry. Just weak and shaken up. Get us out of here, please.”

  Harry frowned. “I plan on doing just that.”

  He helped her as she collapsed onto the ground beside Jing. The three SWAT team members rushed into the tunnel behind Doyle and Eastwood and their other comrades.

  “Put the C-4 around the entrance,” Stepan told one of his men who dug into a pack and produced the plastic explosive and blasting caps.

  Two men worked quickly, stuffing the explosive into cracks around the tunnel entrance. In the cavern the Yeti were heard shuffling about, growling, and snorting. Finished with the explosives, the men connected the caps to a small electronic detonator and set the timer. They gathered their equipment and started for the world outside. It was still dark inside the cave system but Harry felt a surge of hope that they might get out alive.

  A tremendous explosion rocked the mountain when the C-4 blew. The ground shook and the tunnel walls rattled, sending smoke smelling of burnt oil billowing down the tunnel and to engulf the group. Harry’s nose and lungs burned. Dixie gagged and wheezed.

  Harry grabbed his assistant’s arm and pushed her ahead of him down the tunnel. The dense smoke made seeing impossible even with his flashlight. He groped along, not knowing where Stepan was ahead of him. Panic shot through him and caused his head to throb. He stopped and peered into the dark ahead.

  Nothing but smoke and dust.

  Then he saw a headlight flickering in the smoky haze.

  Another rumble in the darkness.

  A boulder crashed into the tunnel from above.

  More deep rumbles.

  The ground shook as if in an earthquake.

  All at once, the tunnel walls gave way and collapsed on them, rocks and boulders landing everywhere. Harry pushed Dixie to the ground and lay over her, hoping to protect her from the falling rock and debris. In the confusion, he heard Jing scream but could not locate her. Beams from several headlights pierced the dark and danced wildly amongst the rubble.

  Then, quiet.

  Total darkness.

  One by one, members of the group started to move. Harry stumbled to his knees then stood, trembling. He groped about, found Dixi
e, and helped her to her feet while he searched for Stepan. Finding his flashlight half-buried in the rocks, he switched it on and noticed a crushed, blood-stained body protruding from beneath a large boulder. It was a SWAT team member. Jing also noticed it and began crying.

  Stepan knelt beside the man and shook his head. “He was a good soldier. Always followed orders. I loved the man.”

  Eastwood sat in the dim light, silent. Dense dust hung in the small space, filling lungs with unbreathable air. What had been a tunnel had been reduced to barely a crawl space.

  “We’re all dying, one by one,” Jing sobbed. “We’re not going to make it.”

  Stepan ignored her and attempted to rally the group. “We need to find a way through all this rubble, the sooner the better. We don’t have much water left, but if we work as a team, I believe we’ll make it.”

  Two of the SWAT team pulled the soldier’s corpse behind a pile of rocks while Stepan began searching for a way out of the impasse in which they found themselves.

  ***

  Eastwood sat on a rock ledge with his back against what was left of the tunnel wall watching the flurry of activity around him. His body ached and his stomach rumbled as he stared at his hands bound at his waist. But he humored himself by scrutinizing the work being done by the others. He was covered with a fine layer of dust and was in desperate need of a hot shower, a martini, and a good cigar. Those items, however, seemed far off at the moment.

  He leaned back and took in a deep breath. He had learned one thing. The trip had not been in vain, for he had discovered something of greater value than anything he could have hoped for back in New York. It would take some doing to pull it off but maybe he and Doyle could do it. And he didn’t believe the captain could keep him and Doyle secured all the way back to Ulaanbaatar.

  As he contemplated the possibilities, Doyle, as if beckoned by his thoughts, came to sit next to him. “Doing okay, sir?” he asked in a low voice.

  “Yeah, just great, Ben. You couldn’t loosen these bindings could you? My hands are growing numb.”

  “Sorry, boss. They watch me all the time. You need some water?”

  “No, I’m not thirsty. But listen, I have idea once we get out of here.”

  Doyle’s scowl faded.

  “You realize we have discovered something immensely more valuable in these caves than anything thought of before.”

  Doyle’s eyes widened, his face brightened. “Yeah? Like what?”

  “These creatures, stupid. The Yeti. Just think what a specimen would mean if we could produce one. What do you think something like that would be worth?”

  “I dunno. Lots, I guess.”

  “It’s incalculable, that’s what it is. Probably millions.”

  “Yes, I’m sure you’re right.”

  “And, Ben, they are right here under our noses, just waiting for us to drag one out and show the world. The Chinese would pay anything for an actual Yeti specimen.”

  “Better still, boss, why not tranquilize one and take it back as living proof of their existence.”

  Eastwood could hardly contain himself. “Ben, you’re a genius. Like King Kong or Mighty Joe Young, eh? God, I can see it now. We would not only be rich but famous to boot. I love the idea.”

  Doyle frowned and placed a hand on Eastwood’s arm.

  “It would be difficult to pull off,” Eastwood continued. “These bastards aren’t going to just let us up and walk out of here, are they?”

  “Maybe we can make that happen, boss. At some point, while they are busy figuring a way out of here, they’re going to take their eyes off us. If only for a moment or two.”

  “If we can escape, we can always come back later and get ourselves a specimen, huh Ben?”

  “But everyone here knows where these beasts live just as we do. What if one of them comes up with the same idea?”

  “Yes, Ben. You’re right. But it’s a problem that’s not without a solution, I am sure. We just need to begin thinking in the right direction, that’s all.”

  Chapter 28

  Eastwood had new life. A brilliant idea was taking shape in his mind, an idea that would make him the envy of every scientist and propel him to the forefront of the world’s richest men. First, he needed to get free of his bindings. That done, he and Doyle would overpower the SWAT team and take their weapons. Killing no longer held a moral impediment when wealth beyond belief was within reach. Too bad, for Dr. Olson seemed a likable fellow. Maybe he could be persuaded to join BioGen. But the rest would have to go, that much was clear.

  A Yeti specimen, dead or alive, would seal Eastwood’s reputation. A living Yeti, touring the world, would assure his place for posterity, his name forever written in history books. The how of capturing a Yeti alive would have to wait, however. His immediate problem was freeing himself and overpowering the captain and his SWAT team. Eastwood would have to bide his time until Doyle could free him.

  ***

  Harry struggled to pull rocks and boulders aside while Stepan directed the SWAT team in assisting. Being underground without the sun’s daily ritual of rising and setting had completely upset Harry’s bodily rhythms, making it difficult to focus on the task at hand.

  The explosion had not only blocked the creatures from getting at them but also caused a general cave-in from which he feared there might not be an escape. Enormous rocks, boulders, and rubble blocked the tunnel leading to the mountain surface, and it dawned on Harry that his plan might have sealed their fate underground. While he worked, he thought back on Eastwood’s words. I want the relics you have uncovered. What did he mean by that remark? Did he know of the bones and teeth discovered in the Russian plane? They had since been involved in fighting off the Yeti attacks, leaving the statement’s meaning shrouded in mystery.

  Eastwood was obviously a big-shot back home as the man called Doyle addressed him with some deference. But what or who he was had not been forthcoming. When Stepan confiscated their weapons, Harry was surprised at the firepower belonging to them.

  He paused, wiped the sweat and dust from his eyes, then continued laboring over a large rock sitting on an even larger pile of debris. The dust, combined with his sweat, made a thick mud pack that caked his face, forcing him to stop and peel it off.

  They worked at a fever’s pace but did not make much headway. The tunnel, blocked off from any circulating air, became a miserable sauna, reeking of week-old sweat, body odor, and grime. They were confined to an area no larger than a small room and the atmosphere was stifling. So far, not much progress had been made in clearing a hole through the rubble and Harry was losing his resolve.

  A shout rang out.

  Harry scrambled on his hands and knees over to Stepan. The man peered into a narrow shaft that opened up when a boulder was rolled away. The captain aimed his flashlight into the dark recess that led into a passageway different from the tunnel. It was more like a low crawlspace, just big enough for a person to negotiate on their belly.

  “It’s not the main tunnel,” Stepan said, removing his head from the hole. “Can’t tell where it leads. Maybe nowhere.”

  Harry watched the captain’s light flash beams of illumination down the small crawlspace, dust heavy in the dank air.

  “Should we try it?” Harry asked. “Looks big enough to crawl through.”

  “We have no idea where it leads,” Stepan said, shaking his head. “I don’t know. Could be a false passage.”

  “Well, our retreat is blocked. We don’t have much of a choice.”

  “Yeah, that seems to be the size of it. Okay, I’ll lead, then we’ll push Eastwood and his man through, followed by the women, then you and your man. My SWAT guys can bring up the rear.”

  “If the way gets blocked, we’ll just have to back up and rethink.”

  “It won’t matter. We’re running out of water. We either get out of this miserable place today or we die here.” Stepan wiped his perspiring face on a sleeve. “All right, let’s move.”

  Stepa
n freed Eastwood’s hands then crawled on his abdomen into the shaft and disappeared. Harry grabbed first Eastwood then Doyle by an arm and shoved them toward the crawlspace opening.

  Eastwood protested. “You expect to get us out of here through that hole?”

  “Look,” Harry said, “I don’t really care if you die in here or not. But if want to try and save yourself, you’ll get to crawling. Understand?”

  Eastwood shook his head in disgust and squirmed his way into the passageway. Doyle followed him. Jing, Dixie, and Li followed them. After they had inched their way down the shaft, Harry followed. The light from his flashlight cast a beam on the rocks as they slinked forward on their hands and knees. The SWAT team brought up the rear.

  The cramped space was thick with dust and it quickly became inhospitable. Ahead, Harry heard Dixie cough and realized his lungs were feeling heavy, making it difficult to breath. The walls of the crawlspace pushed in on Harry from all sides, oppressive, overwhelming. Using one hand to steady himself, he reached out with the other and found a bandana in his shirt pocket. With difficulty, he tied it around his nose and mouth and continued to worm his way along. Soon everyone was coughing. Harry’s lips were parched and his mouth felt like bitter sandpaper. What he wouldn’t give for a nice cold beer.

  Forward, his vision was blocked by Li’s small frame but he could make out the dancing lights of Stepan’s headlight. Still making progress.

  As a child, Harry was claustrophobic and had been terrified when his brother had locked him in a closet. In a panic, he screamed for someone to find him and when, finally, his father heard his cries and let him out, he spent the remaining afternoon in his room shivering and whimpering. The terror of that time never left and now, as an adult, he detested tight spaces. He fought to keep his mind focused and his emotions under control. Any moment, he feared he would break down into a screaming, whimpering mass like on that dreadful afternoon. The sooner they got out of this mess, the better.

 

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