by C.J. Pike
It had been a couple weeks since the carnival and I switched back to my car. I had only grabbed my bike in the first place because it was on the way and I knew California, the part I was going to anyway, wouldn’t have un-drivable conditions for my bike. I was glad I grabbed my car but I will get into that in a couple minutes. I guess it depends on how fast you read. You could always skip ahead and find out. No! Come on, don’t do that. Just have some patience.
I didn’t have anything to investigate at the time, and to be honest that concerned me. Things had been escalating lately thanks to whoever the guy—or whatever he was—that keeps popping up. I didn’t like that things were quiet.
I was somewhere in the middle of Illinois just heading across the country. Spring was here and the sun was shining. I kind of wished that I still had my bike but I can be more relaxed in my car so I could deal with it. As I said, there was no chatter or stories that drew my attention so I was on a mini vacation.
My stomach started to growl and it dawned on me that I hadn’t eaten since the last state. There was a little restaurant right off of the highway that looked sufficient enough. I pulled off the highway and parked my car in front of the building. The place was pretty empty save for a few truckers, a family of four and one weird looking dude. Serial killer came to mind. I quickly pushed that thought away, though. I didn’t need to remind myself of what had happened.
A quick update, Sanders was found innocent on grounds of self-defense. The bad news is that he is now in a mental institution. Sorry.
I walked up to the counter and took a seat. There was a lady behind the counter who looked like she smoked way too many cigarettes, and smelled like it too.
“What can I get ya, honey?” she asked with a raspy voice.
“Well,” I started as I looked at her nametag, “Janine. I’ll have the steak with mashed potatoes and broccoli.”
“How do you want that cooked?”
“Medium rare.”
“Comin’ right up.”
She wrote everything down on a piece of paper and stuck on one of those spinning things that the cooks could use to see the orders. I love steak. It is pretty much the best food in the entire world, besides pizza.
I leaned forward on the counter and listened to the conversations around me. The family seemed like a nice bunch but the little kid kept sticking his tongue out at me. The father turned and noticed.
“Timmy,” he scolded. “Don’t do that.” He looked over at me. “Sorry.”
I just pushed my lips together and shook my head, letting him know that it was OK. The kid still turned around and stuck his tongue out at me again. I stuck mine out at him. He giggled and turned back around. I couldn’t help but smile.
Janine brought my steak and I ate it like I hadn’t eaten in weeks. That’s just how I eat.
“Where you from?” Janine asked me.
“East coast,” I said.
“What brings you out here?”
“I’m on a little vacation.”
“Ah, road trip.”
“Sort of. You guys get busy here?”
“Usually mid-morning and then later at night. You came at a good time.”
“This steak was amazing.”
“Don’t lie, it tastes like dirt.”
“Hey,” the cook yelled. “I’m stadin’ right here.”
She smiled at me and I returned the gesture. Then something happened. Janine turned her focus outside and she looked very confused.
“You alright?” I asked her.
“How in the world?” she asked openly.
I turned around and could see why she was confused. It was springtime, and when I got to the restaurant it was maybe 50 degrees and the sun was so bright I needed sunglasses. When I looked outside I could see there was a full on blizzard going on. Now, I know it can snow in the spring sometimes but this was bizarre.
I walked up to the door.
“You shouldn’t go out there,” the mom in that family warned me. She was kind of right because it was crazy, but I did anyway.
The wind was blowing really hard and the snowflakes were huge. If it could start snowing randomly on a day like this it meant one thing: yetis.
Yetis are nasty, swift and good at what they do. Yes there is more than one yeti. It isn’t like there is one Abominable Snowman running around and is a fast traveler. Why do you think there are so many sightings?
I stepped back inside and quickly closed the doors behind me. If the snowstorm just hit it meant that they were less than five minutes away. Everyone in the diner looked worried but they had no idea just how worried they should be. I debated if I should tell them or not, if I should warn them. In the end I decided it would be the best thing to do.
“Looks like we’re going to be stuck here,” said the mother that was with that family. “I don’t want to drive out in that.”
“I didn’t even know it was supposed to snow,” Janine stated.
“It wasn’t supposed to,” I said.
“Those weather men don’t know their ass from their elbow.”
“There’s storms that come out of nowhere,” said the cook. “Even in spring like this. I’m sure it will pass by as quick as it came.”
“That will depend,” I said under my breath.
Everyone broke out into chatter and clearly no one planned on going anywhere. I wasn’t sure if it was better to try and get everyone out of there or if we should just stick it out.
One thing was for sure: I needed my weapons. I had left them with my car because I didn’t think it would look good if I walked into the restaurant with a couple of axes and guns. It didn’t matter now, though, and there was a bag in the back of the car that I could hide them in.
I headed for the door again.
“You aren’t seriously going out again?” Janine asked me.
“I just need something out of my car,” I said.
“That can’t wait?”
“No.”
I headed out the door and went straight for my car. Even though it was only 10 feet from the building it was still almost impossible to see. I almost ran right by it.
The car, as well as the ground, already had a couple of inches of snow on it and it had only been snowing for two minutes. When I opened the trunk to get my stuff the snow fill up in the back quickly. As fast as I could, I put my weapons in the bag and went back inside.
Everyone looked at me like I was crazy.
“What is so important in that bag?” one of the truckers asked me. They seemed a little on edge.
“My computer,” I lied. “It wouldn’t be good for it out in the cold like that.”
“I’m sure a few minutes would have been fine.”
“I didn’t want to take that chance.”
“I can’t stay here,” said one of the other truckers. “I can’t be late.”
“But you can’t even see more than a foot out of the window,” said the mom.
“It doesn’t matter, lady. I’ll have to chance it.”
He stepped towards the door, but I stopped him.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” I said.
“That’s none of your business,” the trucker spat. “Now let go or I’ll break your arm.”
“You don’t know what’s out there.”
“What’s that?” someone asked. It was the little boy, who was sitting next to the window.
I looked outside and it was hard to see but there were six figures standing outside. I knew exactly what they were.
“What are they doing out there?” the mom asked.
“They’re yetis,” I said plainly.
Everyone looked at me like I was psychotic.
“Like the Abominable Snowman?” the father asked.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“If those guys are outside then I’m sure I can handle it,” said the trucker, not believing me.
I reached into my bag and fixed my guns on my belt and held my two axes. Everyone gasped and stepped back.
&
nbsp; “Those are yetis,” I repeated. “And they are here for someone.”
Everyone stared at me. Some of them were worried while others thought I was a lunatic.
“Those are yetis?” someone asked. It was the guy who looked like he was crazy and was sitting off by himself.
“Yeah,” I said.
“What do you mean they are here for someone?”
“Yetis are bounty hunters.”
“Bounty hunters? Who would they be looking for?”
“I don’t know.” I had my suspicions but I wasn’t really sure.
Yetis usually keep to themselves and live in remote areas but every once in a while they will come out of hiding because they were hired to do so. It isn’t very often, however, and that is a good thing. They are fast, strong and amazing fighters. They are one of the monsters that paladins have a hard time with. Usually they are hunting us but I know there have been instances where they hunt other monsters or even humans.
I kept my eyes on the monsters outside. None of them moved a muscle. They were waiting.
“What are they doing out there?” Janine asked.
“They’re waiting,” I replied.
“For what?”
“I don’t know.”
“This is insane,” one of the truckers said. “I don’t care who they are. I’m going out there.”
I turned around and stood in front of him. It was the same trucker from before.
“I strongly recommend that you stay inside,” I said.
“Last warning, get out of my way.”
“I can’t let you go.”
He went to grab me but I took his arms and flipped him onto his back. He hit the ground with a soft thud and all of the air flew out of his lungs. The man was trying really hard to catch his breath but was failing, miserably. I helped him get back up and put him in one of the booths toward the back.
“You guys should move away from the window,” I suggested to the family. They did, but slowly. “I’m not going to hurt you guys.”
“You just attacked that man,” the mom pointed out.
“That was self-defense. You saw he attacked me first.”
The woman couldn’t respond to that.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” I promised. “I’m going to help.”
I walked back to the window and looked out at the yetis. I couldn’t see them fully, still, but they were looking right at me. I could feel it. I wasn’t really sure what I should do. Fighting that many yetis wasn’t going to be easy.
“To all of those inside,” came a voice. It came from one of the yetis but it sounded like they were inside. Oh yeah, they can speak. “We have come for one of you and we ask that you turn yourself in. We’re not here to harm anyone else but we will do whatever we have to. If you comply this will be over rather quickly.”
No one said anything but everyone certainly believed me at that point. I knew this because they were all staring at me.
I had known it, the moment that they had arrived. They were there for me. I wasn’t going be a coward and hide in there but I was a little shocked. Not because they were there for me, but because I recognized the voice. It was from two years ago. Those yetis were the reason Drake, my mentor, was killed.
“Come on out, Wes Parker.”
Okay. I know I’ve said that ghouls are what killed Drake and that is true. I didn’t lie. But we were only forced into the ghouls because of the yetis.
Flashback. I’m going to flashback now so don’t be confused.
It was a quiet, pitch-black night. The only light was provided by the occasional streetlamp in the small town we were staying in. Drake and I were in a cheap motel somewhere in Oklahoma. It was so hot and humid I could almost see the moisture in the air.
We were in the town hunting a vampire. We had killed it and were ready to leave the next morning.
“You did good,” said Drake in his usual unexcited tone. He was encouraging to me but he never showed much emotion. When he did it was mostly anger, but he was preparing me for a life of pain and horror. Something I know a lot about.
“Thanks,” I replied.
“We leave right at day break.” He started looking around curiously and I knew why. We could feel it. Another monster.
“I thought we killed it.”
“We did.” He walked to the door and opened it. Snow flew in with a huge gust of wind. There was already snow on the ground.
“How is that possible?”
“Yetis.”
“Let’s get them.”
“No. We have to run.” I think he was worried about me. For good reason, I wasn’t all that great yet.
“Okay,” I said. I trusted him enough to listen, even though I wanted to attack the monsters head on.
“Why are they here?” Drake was asking himself more than me. “They’re hunting one of us, I’m sure of it. Go out the back door.”
We did just that but it didn’t do any good. One of the yetis was standing right in front of us.
“You two are hard to find,” it said. Despite all of the wind I could hear him as if he were speaking right into my ear. It was the same voice I heard in the diner.
Drake didn’t waste time on speech and just attacked. The yeti was super fast and wielded a sword with a frosty, blue blade. They both fought vigorously. It was almost overwhelming. I joined the fight and we started to overcome the yeti, but then three more of them showed up and we were the ones who were overcome.
I knocked one of them to the side while another swung their sword at my neck. Drake deflected the attack and knocked all of the yetis away.
“Run!” he yelled. So I did. And he was right behind me.
We rounded the front of the building and ran into something else we didn’t expect: ghouls. There must have been a witch that hired the yetis to find us—she had to be close by—and I wasn’t really sure why. I had told you ghouls aren’t hard to fight but they are hard to kill, and that is true. So when you are surrounded by more than 30 of them, it’s safe to say that is a problem.
Drake threw himself at the ghouls.
“Run!” he shouted.
“I’m not leaving you!” I yelled back.
“Wes, you need to run. You have to live. We are the last ones and you need to survive. Run, Wes. Now.”
I stood there for a few seconds but eventually I ran. Like I said, I trusted him completely to do what he said. I ran to the car and took off. I wasn’t sure how I got away but I did. I never saw Drake again.
We’re done with the flashback now, so we’re back in the present day.
“That’s you,” said Janine. She was referring to the fact that the yetis were calling for Wes Parker. “It has to be.”
“It is,” I said.
“Then go out there,” said the father.
“I am. Way to be brave.” He didn’t deserve that but he was willing to throw me to the wolves.
“I have kids.”
“I know. I’m not going to let them hurt you. I’m going.”
I had gathered up my bag and was standing in front of the door. I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then I stepped outside, into the snow.
The wind was blowing so hard I had to exude a little bit of effort with each step. The snow was so thick it was still hard to see the yetis. They were there, though. I walked toward them but stayed 10 feet away.
“You are hard to find,” the yeti said. I shuttered as I flashed back.
“Or you just aren’t very good at looking,” I mocked.
“You should really watch your mouth.”
“That’s hard to do without a mirror.”
The yeti chuckled. “That’s good.”
“So you came to finish the job?”
“Finish? No. We finished that job two years ago.”
“Why did you come after us? Who hired you?”
“Our job requires some discretion. I can’t disclose that information with you.”
“I know it was a witch.”
>
The yeti was holding the same sword as last time. He was twirling it around in his hand, twisting it in the snow. He was still a little far away but I could tell that his hair was white and covered his entire body, as you would expect. They didn’t wear any shirts but they had brown pants and straps that formed an X on their chests.
“That’s all you will know,” he said.
“Why are you after me again if you were looking for Drake last time?” I asked him.
“Let’s just say we have a mutual friend.”
I could take three guesses who that would be but I only needed one. That was kind of cliché.
“The man in the trench coat,” I said.
The yeti shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe.”
“So why does he want me dead?”
“Dead?”
“Yeah. You’re here to kill me.”
“We are bounty hunters, not assassins.”
“You’ve killed things before.”
“So we have.”
The yeti took a step closer to me. I thought about backing up but I wasn’t going to act like a wimp, especially in front of them. So instead I took one step closer to him, showing my pride. Inside I was shaking like crazy. Give me a break, these monsters killed my mentor, sort of.
“Are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?” the yeti asked me.
“That is entirely up to you,” I said. “You could just walk away and be done with this.”
“You do have quite the mouth.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“The hard way then?”
“You know it.”
The yeti charged me with its sword held high. I brought my axes up and prepared myself for the attack.
The yeti slashed downward at an angle, aiming for my right shoulder. I brought up both of my axes and deflected the sword to the right. He then spun around and tried to kick me in the head. I was ready for it, though, and ducked just in time. I then brought my axe up and tried to slash his chest but he blocked it and elbowed me in the face.
We went back and forth for while. It was a pretty even fight; he got a few hits in, I got a couple. The fight was going nowhere. That was until of course the rest of the yetis joined the fight.
One of them slashed at my head but I deflected it. Another one used that opportunity to get a nice cut on my right side. I stifled the yelp that tried to escape my mouth and did a back-flip kick. The yetis broke apart, putting some distance between us. I quickly looked at my cut and saw it wasn’t that bad. It still stung a little bit, though.
“Let’s just skip this charade and you can come with us,” the yeti suggested. “We are going to take you whether you like it or not.”
“I don’t go quietly,” I promised.
“Yes, I figured that.”
“Just shut up and let’s fight.”
I attacked them again and we continued to fight. I would like to say that it was pretty even or that I was winning but to be honest, they were kicking the crap out of me. If it were just one of them I could have handled it. But three of them were a handful.
One of the yetis came from the right and swung hard. I blocked it but another hit me in the side of the head, almost knocking me unconscious. I fell to the ground and didn’t move. I couldn’t. I barely knew what was going on around me.
“Pick him up,” the head yeti ordered.
“We shall take his car,” another said.
“Yes. We can’t leave behind any evidence.”
One of them grabbed me by the legs and started dragging me through the soft snow.
“This one was even easier than his master,” one of them pointed out.
“Paladins are all weak,” the head yeti spat.
“I really wish we could eat this one. They taste so good and they are so hard to find.”
I felt like throwing up at the thought that they might have eaten Drake.
“This might be our last chance,” the other one said.
“No,” the head yeti almost shouted. “If we want to get paid then we will bring him back in one piece.”
“He can still live without a leg.”
“I said no.”
Eventually we reached the car and they started rifling through my pockets, trying to find my keys.
“Hey,” I spoke in a weak voice. “I don’t go that far on the first date.”
“Shut up,” the yeti ordered as he punched me in the face.
“I barely felt that.” The blow to the head had really taken its toll on me.
The yeti punched me again before he opened up the trunk and threw me in. I could hear three of the doors open and close. Then the car was in motion and we were back on the highway.
I couldn’t believe I let myself get caught. I really wasn’t sure how I was going to get out of this one.
There was a sudden popping sound that nearly shocked me out of my stupor.
“What the hell was that?” I asked.
I looked up and was a little surprised.
“Mygle?”
Mygle was right there in the trunk with me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him.
“To save you,” he replied.
“Why? I mean how did you know?”
“I found there was hit for you. So, I found these yetis and followed.”
“You’re telling me that you’ve been following them this whole time and you waited until now to help me?”
“What do you mean?”
“I got the crap kicked out of me.”
“Oh. Right.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“I could leave.”
“No. No. It’s fine.”
I looked around the trunk trying to find something to get out of the back of the car. I then remembered that it was my trunk and I knew there was nothing in there. That was something I should consider in the future.
“Any ideas on how we’re going to get out of here?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he said bluntly.
I stared at him.
“Do you maybe want to share?” I hoped he could see how aggravated I was.
“No,” he said. Then he was gone.
I was a little less than happy but I trusted Mygle. I wasn’t really sure how he was going to take on three yetis, though. He was a good fighter but he wasn’t better than me and I couldn’t take them.
A few minutes passed by and nothing had happened. I was starting to think that he had ditched me. Suddenly, the yetis started yelling.
“Watch out!” one of them shouted.
The car started swerving back and forth until it was spinning out of control. It spun around a couple times before the car started flipping through the air. I was like a pinball in the trunk, bouncing back and forth. It hurt. I’m not going to lie to you. And the fact that I was still a little drowsy from the hit to the head didn’t help.
With a loud thud and a sudden jerk we stopped. I was sure that we hit something.
I could hear some feet shuffling outside the car and it sounded like there was more than one set. Whatever Mygle had done didn’t really help, at all.
My heart started beating fast as the footsteps were nearing the back of the car where I was trapped. There was nothing that I could do.
The yeti reached the back of the car and was struggling with the trunk door. It must have jammed in the accident. Eventually he managed to get it open and the snow and wind poured in.
My eyes had trouble adjusting to all of the light, snow and wind, but the yeti didn’t grab me right away. No, I wasn’t cowering like a little girl. I couldn’t see. What was I suppose to do, start kicking and punching, hoping for the best?
“Are you going to stay in there all day?” Mygle asked.
“Mygle?” I was surprised.
“What were you expecting?”
“A yeti.”
“No faith.”
He stuck his hand out to help me up and I accepted. I climbed out of the trunk and stumble on a piece
of the car. My eyes eventually adjusted but I was still pretty beat up from the crash. It took me a moment to realize that my shoulder was dislocated. I looked at it, trying to decide how I was going to put it back in place. Right then Mygle punched me in the shoulder, resetting it.
I groaned.
“Stop whining,” said Mygle.
“A little warning next time, maybe,” I replied.
“What, so you can cringe and hide?”
I punched him in the face. He took it and didn’t fight back.
I walked around the car and saw the yetis all gathered in the car. They were all unconscious.
“Did you do that or the crash?” I asked him.
“I caused crash,” he pointed out. “So, both.”
“We have to kill them.”
“I know.”
“I don’t think so,” said a voice behind me. I knew who it was before I turned around to look.
I turned just in time to see the man in the trench coat and hat knock Mygle across the road. I tried to kick him in the chest but he just grabbed my leg and pulled it so I fell on my back. He went to stomp on my chest but I kicked him with my other leg and rolled away. Before I could stand up he ran and kicked me in the stomach.
“You’re pathetic,” he spat as I tried to get all the breath back in my lungs. “I can’t believe you.”
“I was just in a car crash,” I pointed out. That earned me another kick.
“Paladin,” he muttered.
“What do you want?” I asked him.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Why did you hire the yetis to find me?”
“Because they are very good at what they do.”
“Yeah, but you’ve found me a number of times. Why did you need them to find me this time?”
He reached down and punched me in the face. Let me tell you something: I have faced a lot of different monsters and have been punched in the face by almost all of them. None of them hurt anything like that did. This guy packed a lot of force behind each hit.
“It was a test,” he said. “And you failed.”
“I never was very good in school,” I choked.
The man looked over at the yetis. “Looks like I didn’t really get what I paid for.” He then looked at Mygle. “I wasn’t expecting that, though.”
“We go way back,” I said.
“I’m not interested.”
He walked up to me with his sword he had hiding under his jacket. I didn’t get a good look at it because my head was swimming.
“I’m going to kill you now,” he said bluntly.
I looked up at him and couldn’t move. I was screwed.
He took his sword and held it over me. All I could do was sit there while he stabbed me. He didn’t, though. The man stood there and stared at me with his sword now at his side. As before I still couldn’t see his face but I could just barely make out his mouth. He was smiling.
“I’m very disappointed in you,” he said.
“I don’t need your approval,” I told him.
“One day, you will.”
I backed up a bit. I wasn’t really sure what he meant by that and I didn’t want to either.
“I’ll be back for you,” he promised.
“I’m looking forward to it,” I lied.
Then he was gone. At the same time Mygle was flying right at me with his little sword aimed at my chest. Once he realized that the man had disappeared he pulled his sword back. It was too late to stop himself, though, so he crashed right into me. We both tumbled on the ground and crashed into the side of the car. I shoved him off of me.
“Sorry,” he said.
“If you had been just a few seconds earlier then you would have had him,” I said. “Thanks for the perfect timing.”
“At least I pulled sword back in time.”
“I guess I should thank you then.”
Mygle just shrugged his shoulders.
“Did you know that he was the one who sent out the bounty?” I asked him.
“I wasn’t completely sure but I guessed,” he said.
“Really, who is this guy?”
“I told you wasn’t sure. But he’s bad.”
I knew he was bad. It was bad enough when he had killed all of the elves back in Colorado. He just kicked the crap out of me. I’m going to blame some of it on the crash and the initial blow to the head but even if I had been at my best it wouldn’t have been good enough.
“Thanks for saving me,” I said. “I don’t think it would have mattered anyway, though.”
“Your welcome,” he replied. “I guess.”
I looked around and they yetis were gone, too, and the snow stopped. Mygle and I said our goodbyes. I had my car towed because it was totaled. I had to buy a brand new car, which I wasn’t too happy about. But I picked something with the most muscle that I could find. Needless to say I was stuck in that town for a few extra days.
Oh, by the way, I went back to the diner and erased everyone’s memories.
The man said he would be back for me. I was going to make sure that next time I was ready for him. Sorry for the cliché ending.