Lost Valley: The Hunted

by J. T. Cross

  He felt a strong desire to look in the window and tried to walk toward the light. Though he felt his legs moving, he stayed exactly where he was. He felt helpless, and then an idea occurred to him. If he couldn’t physically walk, maybe he could will himself to move.

  He focused on the panes of glass, willing himself to move to them. He drifted effortlessly up to and just outside the small window. He gazed into the cabin and saw two people kneeling on the floor over someone. It was him. For some reason it didn’t seem odd. He simply accepted it.

  The thought occurred to him that he had to find Kelly and Stuart. He spun around and away from the window and pictured their faces again. He willed himself to go to them. He began moving away from the cabin, past the pickup, then out over the trees and into the depths of an incredibly lonely night.

  He moved toward the illumination of the village and observed how sharp and clear the pinpoints of the street and building lights were. He was seeing more clearly than he had ever before, no twinkling lights this night.

  He moved northward and passed the airport and continued moving out over the tundra, faster and faster. He looked up and saw the perfectly round sphere of the moon. He had never seen it so sharp, so empty, and so cold.

  He moved at the speed of thought along the dirt road that led from the village to the hunter’s campground and then into the rift between the western and eastern mountains. Something was pulling him, directing him. He simply let it happen.

  He recognized the long narrow trough area where he had found the boy and saw the ATV lying on its side. Moving past it, he flew up the steep side of the mountain that led to the V-shaped peaks. He moved across its top and then down the other side.

  At the bottom, he saw a waterfall crashing into a lake. He hovered over the water for a moment then began following a river that emptied the water from the lake and flowed into a valley.

  The river split and he was drawn to the left, farther and deeper into the valley. To each place he was drawn, an image seemed to be indelibly burned into his mind.

  He slowed and found himself hovering over the edge of a river and looking up a bank and into a forested area. He felt the irresistible urge to enter into the trees and began moving toward them.

  He felt himself drawn into the forest. As he moved through the trees, he pushed against, then passed through their branches, feeling only the slightest sensations of resistance.

  He broke out of the forest and entered into a clearing. Resting at the edge of the clearing was the helicopter.

  He moved to the hatch door. Pushing against it, he passed effortlessly through its metal skin and found himself inside the dark helicopter. There were tree branches intruding into the cockpit.

  He looked the other direction and moved to the back. He saw Christie with her head down on a table and her arms resting on Kelly and Stuart. Their heads lay in her lap. She was sleeping and so were the children.

  The whole of his existence took in the silent, stark, reality. He watched them as a cold and detached observer might. On some deep nonverbal level, he questioned why he felt emotionless, despite the fact he knew these were the people he loved, worried about, and needed. At that moment, they simply were.

  Something distracted him, causing him to turn and move back to the front of the cabin. The head of an impossibly large wolf was protruding through the branches and staring straight at him. It saw him and froze.

  Without thinking, he rushed at it. He saw its mouth open but heard nothing as it pulled its head back out of the cabin and struggled to back out of the thick branches.

  He followed it as it struggled to get away and saw it fall to the ground. He approached it again as it crouched low and bared its teeth.

  Once again, he rushed at it. It turned and ran from the clearing into the trees with its tail between its legs. Then all was still once again. He looked around the clearing and focused on the landmarks as a strong feeling of panic filled his existence. He knew he had to return to his body.

  He felt himself being pulled backward, as if some irresistible force had hooked him by the back of the neck and was reeling him back through the trees and out over the river. He felt himself being yanked like a puppet, faster and faster. He saw things whisk by and disappear into the distance behind him.

  Then, he was over the lake and rising up the mountainside, moving across its top, past the broken ATV, and then out into the rift. Finally he found himself being pulled backward across the tundra, as all existence seemed to blur.

  Everything stopped. Once again he was in front of Ishki’s place, slowly being pulled toward the cabin. Right before he passed through the exterior wall, he took one last look at the clearing and realized he hadn’t been alone. A man in a long flowing robe turned to look at him, as if surprised. Their eyes made contact for a brief moment and then everything ended.

  * * *

  He floated in the darkness and simply existed. He had no desire to think or try and figure out where he was or what he was doing. Gradually, he realized that something was disturbing him and that he was no longer floating, but was lying on his back.

  Panic filled him when he realized he was unable to move. He willed himself to move, to open his eyes, but nothing happened. He tried with all his strength to scream out. “Help me.”

  He heard the sound of a voice.

  “Luc, can you hear me? Can you wake up?”

  He knew that voice from somewhere. It sounded so familiar. He wanted to answer, but his body stubbornly refused. What had he done to himself? He was breathing fast as if he were running a marathon.

  The shock of cold water on his face broke the stranglehold of the paralysis and brought him fully awake. He opened his eyes and realized that Kate was kneeling on the floor at his side rubbing his arm and Ishki was standing over him with a pot in her hand. He felt cold water running down his neck and soaking into his shirt.

  He sat up on the bearskin. “What happened?” he asked.

  “Sorry about that, but you aren’t easy to bring back.”

  The memories started to come back. He had been in the cabin of the helicopter. If what he had experienced was real, then he knew how to find them. He looked up at Kate.

  “I had the strangest experience. I was outside of the cabin then flying over the tundra and into the mountains. It was like a dream but more real. I saw the helicopter, Kate. Christie, Stuart, and Kelly were in it. It looked like they were sleeping in the back. I know how to find them!”

  With the memories of the journey burned vividly into his mind, Luc felt a surge of energy. He now had landmarks with which to navigate the eastern mountains. The fact that he had seen Christie huddled in the back with Stuart and Kelly filled him with fresh hope and pushed him forward with renewed confidence.

  He had no explanation for what he had experienced. He was still somewhat stunned by the memory of flying over the tundra. It was a mystery he would probably never understand, though at this moment he chose to believe it as the truth. Whatever had drawn him to Stuart and Kelly, he was sure that love had something to do with it.

  After he had recovered enough to stand, Luc thanked Ishki, and they went back out and found Yudi waiting in his truck. He drove them back to Luc’s grandfather’s place.

  Yudi told them they could probably reach the campground at the base of the mountain range between ten and eleven that night if they left soon. Since a full moon was expected that night, Luc decided that they would leave that night.

  With the decision made, Luc and Yudi loaded up his ATV into the back of his pickup. He then went into his grandfather’s house and got his Sportsman 700 and his grandfather’s shotgun. He laid them next to the ATV.

  With everything loaded, Luc, Chuck, and Kate followed Yudi back to his house in her pickup. Yudi’s wife prepared food and gathered extra supplies for them while they waited for Miki to arrive with his trailer. She carried them out to the truck and handed them to Luc.

  “I told Yudi he shouldn’t go hunting,” she said
. “The medicine lady warned us it would end in disaster. Now you good folks have to pay the price.”

  Luc listened to her then shook his head. “If it’s anybody’s fault, it’s mine. I ignored her warnings, too.” He put the bag in the back of Yudi’s truck with the other supplies.

  Yudi’s wife moved close to Kate and handed her a necklace. “My mother gave me this when I was a young girl. She said it would bring me luck. If anyone needs luck, it’s you folks.”

  Luc watched Kate take the necklace and loop it over her head, tucking it under her sweater. She hugged Yudi’s wife. “Thanks, I’ll bring it back when we return.”

  His wife smiled at them, “I’ll keep you in my prayers.”

  Luc watched her turn and walk back into the house. She was a nice lady, he thought, and wondered how she put up with Yudi.

  He heard a cell phone ring and looked around.

  “It’s mine,” Kate said reaching into her pocket and pulling her phone out. She pressed the answer button on the screen.

  “Hello.”

  She smiled and covered the mouthpiece. “It’s my friend, Gina West. She called to see how things are going.”

  He listened to Kate telling her about his experience at the cabin and how he thought he could find the helicopter. Hearing her tell the story, it sounded a little ridiculous to him. He almost wished she hadn’t said anything.

  “Thanks for calling,” Kate said and hung up.

  “How did she know about the situation?” he asked.

  “We talked last night. She’s such a nice person. She told me she hasn’t been able to sleep since she found out about the accident.”

  “Don’t you find that a little odd?” Luc asked. His skin prickled with alarm.

  “No, and you wouldn’t either if you knew her. She’s really nice.”

  A large pickup with a trailer pulled up next to Yudi’s truck interrupting their conversation. Luc recognized Miki.

  “I didn’t think I’d be driving back out to the village campground so soon,” Miki said as he got out of his pickup.

  He helped Luc load the two loaner quads onto his flatbed trailer.

  Yudi came out of the house and inspected the quads strapped down to the trailer and nodded approval. “Are you guys ready to leave?” he asked.

  “As ready as we’ll ever be,” Luc said.

  He opened the passenger door of Yudi’s truck and Kate climbed in. He got in next to her and closed the door. Yudi climbed in and started the engine. He pulled out into the street and Miki followed after him. Yudi led them out of the neighborhood.

  The trucks caravanned to the edge of the village and then turned onto the dirt road that led north. Yudi wasted no time in bringing the pickup up to speed.

  Kate bounced between Yudi and Luc as the truck bounded over the rough dirt road. Luc could tell that Yudi was pushing the limits of how fast a truck could pull a trailer over the road. He hoped Miki could keep up.

  In a little under three hours, they reached the village campground.

  Chapter 13

  In her dream, Christie was standing alone in a dark place she didn’t recognize. Just beyond her were trees and bushes with deep impenetrable shadows between them. Her heart was racing because she knew there were things within the shadows, things that were moving, churning, just beyond her sight.

  A growling came from deep within the trees, then another, and another. She tried to run but couldn’t move. Her legs were like two heavy unfeeling pieces of rubber that refused to obey her will.

  She poured all her strength into lifting just one leg but it moved only an inch. The harder she tried, the more a paralysis consumed her. She tried to scream for help, but nothing came from her mouth accept a feeble whimper. Her anxiety rose to a peak.

  She burst out of sleep, awakened by a loud howl that slowly trailed away into the night. After that, silence. She was out of breath, her heart racing. She lifted her head slightly, and her eyes darted around the inside of the dark helicopter cabin as she tried to make sense of things.

  She wondered how long she had been sleeping. Her fear rose to a crescendo when she heard another howl that sounded like it came from just outside the helicopter. The sounds must have been invading her dreams.

  The dream had been terrifying, and she was thankful to be awake and out of it, but reality was just as frightening, even more so, because from it there was no escape. She had no idea what to do.

  She sat upright and looked down at Kelly and Stuart. They were still asleep on her lap but beginning to stir.

  Oh my God, Marcus wasn’t back yet, she realized. She was filled with an instant feeling of dread. Then a small glimmer of hope rose in her, and she entertained the thought that maybe he had come back while she was sleeping. Maybe he was there curled up in a corner, asleep.

  She looked around the dark cabin, focusing on every dark nook and cranny, looking for any sign of him. Her heart sank. He wasn’t there. Marcus had never returned from his scouting. It was just she and the kids.

  Something must have happened to him, she thought. A tingling feeling raced up and down her spine, and she began to have trouble getting a breath.

  She sat in the darkness, listening to the children breathing and began to hear the sounds of the night. Lone birdcalls and the sounds from other animals she couldn’t identify. There were occasional deep howls in the distance that sounded vaguely like wolf calls but were somehow different, deeper.

  Once again, she heard a howl call just outside the helicopter cabin. There was no doubt in her mind, at least one adult wolf stood just outside the helicopter and was calling the pack.

  She gently shook the kids. “Stuart, it’s time to wake up. Kelly, honey, wake up.” They were groggy, but they quickly remembered where they were.

  “Can we go home now, Mommy? I’m tired,” Kelly whined, then yawned.

  “We can’t go home until somebody rescues us,” Stuart said.

  In the last of the light, she saw the silver flashlight sitting on the seat in front of them.

  “Stuart, could you get the flashlight for Mommy?”

  He slid off the seat, grabbed it, and handed it to her. She pushed the switch forward and the light beam illuminated the cabin. She directed it at the storage cabinets on the side of the cabin wall. One of the doors was open and she could see that there were handles on both the outside and inside of the doors. She knew what she had to tell the children.

  “I want you two to listen carefully,” she said. “There might be some animals outside in the forest that could try to get inside the helicopter. If any of them try to do that, I want you both to hide in the lockers and hold the doors closed from the inside. Do you understand me?”

  “What kind of animals?” Stuart asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  Kelly began to cry. “I don’t like animals. I want to go home.”

  Christie regretted alarming the children, but she had no choice. They needed to know what to do, just in case.

  “So, do you think you can do that? Can you grab the handles on the inside and hold the doors closed, no matter what?”

  “Yes,” Stuart said.

  She located the pistol Marcus had left with her and put it on the table in front of them. Then turned off the flashlight.

  “Turn it back on. I’m scared,” Kelly said.

  “Not right now, honey. We need to save the battery. If we really need the light, I’ll turn it back on.”

  She laid the flashlight in her lap and Stuart crawled back on the seat and leaned up against her. Where was Marcus? She couldn’t imagine being there much longer without him.

  She thought she heard something from the front of the helicopter, a light scratching sound. She heard it for only a second, then it was gone, and the silence returned except for the calling of a night bird. She heard it again. Yes, it was a scratching sound.

  Without warning, the sound turned into a steady stream of persistent scratches directed to some part of the outside of the hel
icopter near the hatch. It reminded her of the sound her dog made when it was trying to get in the back door of her house. My God, she thought, the wolf was trying to get into the helicopter. It smelled her and the children and they were now prey.

  Thoughts began to race through her mind as she sat in the darkness. She could picture the wolf furiously scratching at the outside of the hatch, trying to get in, trying to get to its meal.

  She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Gradually logic took over and she realized there was no way it could get through a metal door. The scratching stopped.

  Maybe it had given up, she hoped. For minutes she waited, feeling on edge, listening to the far off sounds of the valley. She slowly began to relax as things seemed to be returning to normal.

  She jumped as something heavy landed in the branches at the front of the cockpit, sending vibrations through the hull and into the table she was leaning on.

  She jerked back in her seat and grabbed the flashlight from her lap. She pointed it at the front of the cabin, keeping her thumb on the switch, but didn’t turn it on.

  A guttural, low-pitched, growl broke the silence as something began moving inside the densely compressed tree branches just outside the cockpit. Her mind began to run wild with thoughts of a wolf tearing its way through the branches and getting into the cabin with them.

  As a paleontologist, she had studied the hunting behaviors of wolves and knew that where there was one wolf there were likely many nearby. They were pack animals and only outcasts traveled alone. If it was an outcast, it would be desperate for food and take chances that a normal wolf wouldn’t. It could be many times more dangerous.

  She moved the flashlight to her left hand and picked up the pistol with her right. She felt her hands shaking. She wondered if she would even be able to hit anything using just one hand. She had always used two hands, the few times she had fired a gun with Luc.

  She sat in the darkness like a statue, afraid to move a muscle, and began to pray silently that Marcus was safe and would return soon.