by J. T. Cross
Luc climbed back on his quad and rode to the opposite side of the mountaintop. Kate and Chuck followed. They climbed off the machines and walked to the edge.
Luc was surprised at how steeply the mountain dropped off on that side. It was definitely not a place he would consider riding down on an ATV.
Kate walked up next to him, slipped her hand into his, and together they looked out into the distance to the east. The moonlight was bright and allowed them to see the tops of a second layer of thick clouds that extended out for miles from their vantage point. Aside from an occasional mountain peak, the thick clouds obscured the valley floor as far as they could see.
“It’s beautiful,” said Kate.
“It’s beautiful, but it’s also very dangerous down there,” Luc said.
“So, what do we do now?” she asked.
“In the vision I had at Ishki’s cabin, I saw all of this. You can’t see it from here, but at the base of this mountain I saw a lake.”
“You actually saw this mountain in your vision?” Kate asked with a hint of challenge in her voice.
“It was more like I passed over this area and then down the side to a lake. I know it sounds unbelievable.”
“I believe you,” she said.
“There’s a river that flows out of the lake. We need to follow it, but first we have to find a way down to the valley floor.”
Luc decided he needed to explore the other sides of the mountain. There had to be some way down that was navigable on the quads, he thought.
Luc began walking the perimeter of the eastern side of the plateau, stopping here and there to shine his flashlight down into the murky night and look for a way down. Kate and Chuck followed closely behind him.
“Maybe we should leave the quads here, and continue down on foot,“ Chuck offered after they had covered a good portion of the eastern side.
“In the vision, I followed the river for a long ways. It was so clear and real, I know it must’ve been more than just a dream. The edge of the river I saw was flat, and we could make good time on the quads. We just need to get them down.”
Luc pointed to the far edge of the plateau facing toward the northeast. “Let’s check it out over there.”
He led the way to the spot he had in mind. They gazed down over the edge. Directly below them was a region that consisted of a number of slopes that jagged back and forth across the side of the mountain. It was exactly what he had been looking for.
“I think we can get down that,” he said.
“You must be kidding,” Kate said.
Chuck pulled his binoculars out of his backpack and scanned the area below. “I think he’s right. It doesn’t look that bad. I think we can do it. I really do,” he said biting his lip and nodding to himself as he put his binoculars away.
With a look of incredulity on her face, she approached Luc. “Doesn’t look that bad? It looks like suicide to me.”
“I’ll go down first. If necessary, I’ll hike back up and ride your quad down for you. Remember, we’re not going to try to make it all the way down in one shot. One step at a time, that’s how we’re going to do it.”
“Just a little at a time?”
“That’s right. The trick is to keep the machine in first gear and only use the back brakes. That way the back wheels will slow you down and the front wheels will keep turning so you can steer.”
He put his helmet on and started the engine. “You guys watch the path I take going down and try to follow it.”
They went back to the quads, started the engines, and rode to the northeastern end of the mountaintop. Luc paused, turned and gave both Chuck and Kate a thumbs-up then drove over the edge.
Immediately, the quad began to accelerate and he had to quickly apply the rear brakes. Halfway down the slope, he realized it was rougher and steeper than he had first thought. He began to think he had made a terrible mistake, but then the terrain suddenly got smoother and gradually leveled off. As he reached the level area he turned to the left and came to a stop.
He looked back up to the top and was surprised to see Kate already riding over the edge. He watched as she followed his path down exactly and stopped next to him.
“You were fantastic,” he yelled out, knowing that what she had just done had taken a lot of courage.
“Well you know me, little Miss Daredevil. That’s probably why I got into flying,” she shouted back to him.
He looked back up to the top and saw that Chuck was already starting down. As he reached the level area he slowed to a stop, and putting his fist up in the air shouted, “I’m just eatin’ up this mountain.”
Luc then turned and headed down another section across the face of the mountain. Once again, Kate and Chuck followed his exact path down and had no problems. They repeated the descent across the face of the mountain two more times until the wide area that made the traversal possible narrowed.
Luc got off his quad and examined the area they found themselves in. He guessed they were over halfway to the valley floor where they stood, however, the easy paths down the mountain had come to an end.
Luc looked up the slope they had just come down and then down to the bottom of where they would end after the next run. The whole view of it was clear, with very little fog. That, coupled with the bright moonlight, were the conditions that made it possible to navigate down the mountain in the middle of the night. He knew it was a lucky combination.
He studied Kate and Chuck for a moment. They were both holding up well, doing even better than he had expected. If he hadn’t thought that time was of the utmost essence, he would never have tried to travel at night. All things considered, he decided it was okay to continue.
Luc got off his machine and scouted around the area. The only way down from their current position was a narrow and steep slope that ran in a straight line for what looked like at least one hundred feet. Though it was steep, it appeared to be rideable and ended in a large ledge that would allow them more than enough room to stop. Directly below that, he could see nothing, as a layer of fog obscured everything below it.
He looked at his watch. It was 1:00 in the morning. So far, nothing had stopped them and they had made excellent progress, but the foggy conditions below the ledge did concern him. He feared it might cause such poor visibility that it would be impossible to travel any farther down the mountain that night.
The feeling of concern intensified as he prepared himself for the next descent. There was nothing he could do about the feeling at that point, he thought, except continue on. He rode to the edge then stopped momentarily. Something wasn’t right. He could feel it. Despite his misgivings, he put the feeling out of his mind and started down.
Immediately, the quad began to pick up speed, so he stood, leaned back, and locked up the back wheels. Loose rocks along the path made it especially challenging to maintain control of the machine. He found himself having to constantly correct his steering to counteract the quad’s tendency to want to slide sideways.
As he finally reached the flat area, he turned slightly to the left, eased up on the back brakes, and came to a gentle stop in the middle of the ledge.
He took a deep breath and relaxed for a moment then examined the area around him. There was still substantial room to his left so he rode farther out of the way. The last thing he wanted was for Chuck or Kate to lose control and slam into him. He flashed a light up at Kate and she started down.
He watched her execute the descent almost perfectly. When she was almost to the ledge, movement at the opposite edge caught his attention. He snapped his head to the left just in time to see his worst fear manifested as a massive shape crawled up over the side and onto the edge of the ledge. Its huge curved incisors left no doubt in his mind that he was looking at a saber-tooth cat.
His heart froze as he felt a surge of adrenaline course through his body. The giant cat began to move in a stalking fashion. He watched it for a moment, and then all at once realized it was timing its movement perfec
tly, in order to intercept Kate when she reached the bottom.
He yelled at the animal. “Get out of here. Get out!” The giant cat ignored him as if he wasn’t there and kept its focus on Kate.
Instinctively he pulled his rifle out of its boot, pulled the bolt back, and slammed a shell into the chamber. By the time he had raised the rifle, the saber-tooth cat was on the move up the slope.
Luc’s mind cleared as he tried to get the giant cat in his sights, despite the fact that he didn’t have enough light to see clearly. He tracked its slow and deliberate movement as he zeroed in on its head. Without warning it accelerated out of his sights and up the slope, straight at Kate.
Shocked by its speed, Luc struggled to catch up with it. He swung the rifle up the slope matching its speed, and in desperation, fired at its flank. The shot caused it to stop and spin around.
Kate steered sharply to the left, avoiding the distracted animal and bounded down the mountainside out of control.
The cat began to move again, turning and following Kate back down the mountainside.
Luc lined up for a second shot and began to squeeze the trigger just as Kate crossed between him and the cat. In a split second, he decided he couldn’t fire without the risk of hitting her. He took his finger off the trigger and quickly raised the rifle.
Slow down, Kate, he thought, but then realized she couldn’t or the cat would be on her. She hit the ledge going twice as fast as she should have and slammed on her brakes. She went skidding toward the edge.
With his heart in his throat, Luc watched as the quad stopped several feet from the edge. Relieved that she hadn’t gone over, he turned and tried to line up a second shot at the cat. Before he had time to fire, it leapt.
Luc’s mind went silent as he struggled to get the big cat back in his sights as its elongated body followed an arc that ended on Kate. He followed it halfway then squeezed the trigger. Its head dipped down just as the rifle fired and the shot rang out.
The saber-tooth emitted a screech and changed its orientation in mid-flight. It landed and roared at him. It was not the kill shot he had intended, he realized, as the cat took off running straight at Kate.
He heard her scream and saw her accelerate off the side of the ledge. “Kate, no!” he yelled in desperation and disbelief.
He heard her scream as she went off the edge of the ledge and disappeared down into the fog. The screams didn’t stop but gradually faded in the distance.
The giant cat stopped its charge where Kate had been just seconds before. It looked down the slope and then at Luc. He quickly drew the bolt back and slammed another shell into the action and took aim. The cat balanced on the edge of the ledge as if trying to make up its mind whether it should attack Luc or go after Kate.
In the cat’s brief moment of indecision, Luc fired a bullet at its chest. It flinched then roared as it dove over the edge and disappeared into the thick fog.
Luc ran to the edge and looked down into the fog. Putting his hands on either side of his mouth he yelled, “Kate, can you hear me? Kate!”
There was only silence.
“Kate, are you okay?” he yelled out again.
Nothing.
The thick darkness of the fog seemed to have taken her away and silenced his calls to her.
He got down on his knees, looked over the edge, and listened intently. From deep below somewhere in the fog he heard another sound that chilled him to the bone, yaps and snarls, a totally different sound than the cat made.
Farther in the distance he heard the lonely howls of what could only be wolves. Soon the howls were interwoven with the incessant yapping from below that signaled a pack was on the hunt and closing in on its prey.
It was impossible to tell which direction the sounds were coming from as they echoed off the mountainsides. Sometimes, they seemed to be coming from everywhere at once.
The sound of Chuck’s quad making its way down the slope caught his attention, and he looked up just in time to see him slide onto the ledge and ride over to join him.
Chuck looked back and forth across the ledge and his eyes went wide. The look on his face said it all. “Where’s Kate?” It was the first time Luc had ever heard panic in his voice.
“A saber-tooth cat attacked us and she drove over the edge, trying to get away from it,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.
“What are we going to do?” Chuck asked.
“We’re going down to help her.”
* * *
Victor and his two men stood on the northeastern side of the windswept mountaintop. So far, it had not been hard to follow Luc and his party. In fact, with the night vision equipment, it had been easy. The most challenging part had been staying far enough behind to remain unnoticed.
For the past half hour he had watched Luc and the other two slowly make their way down the side of the mountain. It had been quite humdrum, as far as he was concerned, until one of them had gone over the edge.
He still wasn’t sure what type of an animal had attacked the small party. Whatever it had been, it had stopped them dead in their tracks and that was just fine with him. He had not been wild about riding through the mountains in the middle of the night anyway.
“So, how long do we have to stay up here?” one of his men asked. “It’s too damn cold.”
“We might stay up here all night if that’s what we have to do,” Victor said.
“What do you think attacked them down there?” the other man asked.
“I don’t know, but it was damn big,” Victor said.
“This place gives me the creeps,” the first man said.
“I want you two to stand guard.” He pointed to the first man. “I want you to keep watch for anything trying to sneak up on us from the south.”
He looked at the other man. “You keep watch for anything coming from the west. I’ll keep my eyes open for anything coming up from below.”
The men stood staring at him for a moment.
“Now!” Victor barked.
He walked back over to the place where Luc and the others had descended and sat back down on the edge. He flipped his night vision goggles back down over his eyes and continued watching the scene unfold below.
Chapter 18
Raw-edged fear filled Luc’s gut as his imagination began to run wild. She could have broken bones, a concussion, or could be bleeding. Then there was the chance the fall could have killed her. With that last realization his eyes began to fill with tears and his heart with regret. He pushed that terrible thought out of his mind.
“We’ve got to get down there now. There’s no telling how badly she’s hurt,” Luc said.
Chuck looked down off the edge of the cliff and listened to the sounds of yaps, snarls, and howls in the distance.
“What about those animals? It’s so dark we probably won’t be able to see them until they’re on us.”
“Get your shotgun and flashlight out. We’ll have to do the best with what we have.”
Chuck pulled his shotgun out of the boot and brought it to Luc. Luc took the shotgun and, using a bungee cord, fastened his flashlight to the barrel. He adjusted it until it pointed in whatever direction the shotgun was aimed.
“Now, wherever you point the light, you’ll be ready to shoot,” he said.
He did the same for his own shotgun.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Luc moved along the edge until he found the spot that dropped off gradually. He stepped off and then immediately sat down and began sliding down on his butt. He had no idea how far down it went or how it ended. Chuck followed closely behind.
The fog became thicker as they progressed farther down the slope. He slid quickly for a few seconds and then dug his heels in to the mountainside and slowed himself until he came to a stop. He couldn’t afford to start tumbling out of control. He didn’t hear Chuck behind him. He waited for a moment and Chuck slid into him.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you,” Chuck said.
“Let
’s stay close together and keep the shotguns pointed away from ourselves,” Luc said. “In this kind of fog we could easily shoot each other if we get separated.”
They continued sliding down side-by-side, pointing their shotguns down the slope and moving them back and forth to illuminate the area below them.
Luc heard something growl below them. He put his arm out to stop Chuck. “There’s something down there to my right.”
He flashed the light in that direction. Reflected back was a pair of red eyes. The growling continued. “It’s a wolf, I think. Listen to the depth of it. It’s got to be big. I’d fire at it, but Kate’s out there somewhere. I can’t take the chance.”
He called out, “Kate, can you hear me?”
“Kate,” Chuck yelled, cupping his hands at either side of his mouth.
From down in the fog they heard a faint voice. “Help.”
Luc’s heart leapt in his chest when he heard Kate’s voice.
“She’s down there,” Chuck said, pointing down and to the left.
Please, please, let her be okay, prayed Luc. He flashed the light in the direction of her voice but only saw the white reflection of the fog. He moved the light beam back to the right and once again he saw the eyes. This time they appeared to be moving. He took aim and fired. He heard a yelping sound and the eyes disappeared.
“Let’s get down there,” Luc said.
They continued sliding downward in the direction of her voice and dropped another hundred feet until the ground leveled off and a solid wall of tall thick brush blocked them from going any farther.
“Kate,” he called out again.
“Help. The quad’s on top of me. I can’t move.”
“She’s in the brush,” Luc said. He realized it could actually be a good thing. As thick as the brush looked, it could have helped cushion her during the crash. They continued a short distance and came to an area where the brush appeared to be crushed down and broken inward.