by Alex Archer
He caught snippets of conversation.
A missile?
Tuk gulped. Now he was facing the very real threat of being shot out of the sky, all because he’d had the brilliant idea to stow away on this plane.
He saw the dreamy visions of his retirement life evaporating before his eyes. This will teach me to get myself into these situations, he thought.
That was when he happened to look out the right side of the plane just as the second missile struck and exploded. Tuk jerked back reflexively as the explosion sheared the right wing off just short of the engine. Smoke and fire erupted and he heard the barrage of alarms sound inside the plane.
Annja and Mike shouted at each other. The plane started to spin and, from the sinking sensation, Tuk knew they were going down.
He grabbed at the cell phone in his pocket. Secrecy be damned, he had to let the man on the phone know what was happening. With his fingers a quivering mess, he managed to press the two and hold it long enough for the speed dial to kick in.
After what seemed an eternity, during which time Tuk had to close his eyes to keep from passing out, someone answered the phone.
“What’s going on?”
“We’ve been shot down over the mountains! A missile!” Tuk whispered.
“Where are you?” The man’s voice betrayed no real sense of emotion and Tuk realized that, as a professional, he knew exactly what he was supposed to do in this situation.
Tuk steeled himself. “We are north of Jomsom. The closest mountain is Dhaulagiri. I think we are going to crash there.”
“Is anyone hurt at this moment?”
“Not that I can tell.”
“All right, listen to me very carefully. You will most likely go unconscious when you crash. As soon as you regain consciousness, try the cell phone and see if you can reach me.”
“I will.”
“Stay with the plane if it’s possible. I will find you. I promise.”
Tuk gulped. “I am scared.”
“You should be.” The man paused. “I am coming for you right now. Stay alive and I will find you.”
The line disconnected.
Tuk reached down to put the phone back in his pocket but then the plane impacted the side of the mountain. The cell phone skittered away from Tuk’s grasp, sliding out and away from him across the aisle toward the cockpit.
“No!”
The airplane filled with the roar of the crash. Tuk heard the screech of twisting and tearing metal as the snow and ice crashed in through the cockpit window.
They were sliding across the snowfield. Tuk hoped they weren’t going to careen all the way to the edge and topple over into some giant chasm. If they did, no one would ever find them again.
Certainly not the man on the phone.
But even as Tuk screamed, he had hope in his heart that what the man on the phone said was true. That he was coming for them now.
Tuk clutched at the bags around him. They would be the only things that cushioned him in case some giant bit of rock chose to bite into the plane as it skidded over it. Tuk had no wish to be ripped open and he tried to maneuver his body onto the top of the bags as the plane continued to skid across the snowfield.
In the front of the plane, both Annja and Mike had already been knocked out. Snow flooded the passenger compartment and Tuk saw in horror that a growing wave of snow was headed right for him at the back of the plane.
He realized too late that his position on top of the bags was vulnerable and even as he tried to scamper back down to shield himself, the wave of snow picked him up and crashed his small head up against the roof of the passenger compartment.
Tuk saw stars and then darkness.
SOMETHING DRIPPED DOWN from his forehead.
Cold.
Tuk awoke and felt for his head. Blood? His hand came away clean. The snow had melted and woken him up.
He exhaled in a rush, realizing that he was still alive.
He could have cried at the moment, but then he saw that Annja no longer sat in her seat at the front of the plane.
Where was she?
Had someone taken her? Or had she been thrown free of the aircraft when they had crashed? If that was the case, she was likely dead.
But Tuk didn’t think so. The snow and ice had wedged her in pretty well. The likelihood was that she had regained consciousness first, not looked in the back of the plane and seen Tuk, and only managed to free herself.
Tuk strained his ears and heard crunching sounds from outside of the plane. Someone was walking around. Unsteady, but they were alive.
Tuk knew that the time had come to make his presence known. They would all be reliant on one another now if they had any hope of surviving. And he felt certain the man on the phone wouldn’t mind.
Tuk frowned. But maybe not just yet. Maybe he would simply act the part of the stowaway. He could claim he’d gone out drinking and staggered inside the plane to sleep off his binge.
Yes. He would keep up appearances until told otherwise. Operational sanctity was his first priority. That and his personal survival.
But first, he had to get himself out of the plane—
Tuk jerked back as a massive sword blade suddenly sliced through the battered metal skin of the airplane, rending it apart. Tuk felt the bags beneath him suddenly start to spill out and with them went his body.
He toppled out of the airplane and landed at Annja’s feet.
A sword? Where had she gotten that?
But Annja took another step forward, even as the first bits of surprise registered on her face at seeing Tuk. Then she fell over into the snow.
And Tuk scrambled forward to help.
10
Annja came back around and opened her eyes. She immediately felt the cold snow around her body and wondered what had happened. But then the memories flashed through her mind and she sat up instantly.
“Wait.” A small hand held her down. “If you get up too quickly, you will vomit and dehydrate.”
The face of the small man swam into view. Annja frowned and then remembered that he had somehow spilled out of the back of the airplane. “Who are you?” she asked.
“My name is Tuk.”
Annja struggled. “Mike—?”
“The man with you is still unconscious. And he is still secured to the seat. I was unable to free him without assistance. Perhaps when you feel better, we might—”
“We’ll do it now,” Annja said. She slowly got to her feet and headed for the plane, followed by Tuk.
“I really think you ought to rest before we do this,” he said.
Annja stopped and looked at him. He was tiny and looked more like a child than an adult. But she could see the creases and furrows in his face that come with the accumulation of life experience. She shook her head.
“If we leave him in there, he’ll get hypothermia. We need to find some form of shelter and start a fire.”
Tuk nodded. “Very well.” He followed Annja around to Mike’s side of the plane.
Annja looked inside. Mike’s face looked peaceful but she was alarmed. She’d already regained consciousness twice and Mike had yet to move. Was it possible that he had a severe head injury? If he did, then they would need a medevac as soon as possible. But Annja had no idea how to go about getting one. The only hope she had right then was that Jomsom air traffic control had launched a search-and-rescue party for them.
“Help me wedge the door open,” Annja said.
Tuk came alongside, and then as Annja held the door handle down he leaned and drove the door back with the force of his body. Annja looked at him and smiled. He might have been tiny but he had a lot of power in that body of his.
Together, they got the door open. Annja looked at Mike. As she twisted, she grunted as a sharp lancing pain shot through her ribs. They were tolerable, but would also need taping at some point.
First things first, she took Mike’s pulse and found it stronger now than when they’d first crashed. That was a
good sign. He was breathing well. But his cheeks were pale.
From the waist down he was covered with snow. Annja frowned. “We’ve got to get this away from his body. It’s leeching the warmth right out of him.”
Tuk nodded. “All right, let me help. You have an injury from the crash, it would appear.”
Annja nodded. “You’re no picture of perfection yourself, pal. You’ve got some blood on the top of your head.”
Tuk frowned and reached up. His hand came away sticky and dark. “I hit the top of the cabin when we crashed. I am all right, though.”
“Head injuries often look worse than they are,” Annja said. “I’ve had enough of them myself.”
Tuk stared at her and then looked back toward Mike. “Let me get him shoveled out of there.” He bent low and started scooping the snow out from around Mike’s body. Annja watched him work. He seemed to possess a store of energy.
But who was he?
“You want to tell me what you were doing in our plane?” she asked.
Tuk glanced at her. “I’m afraid my weakness for alcohol resulted in me stowing away there last night.”
“Last night?”
“I was out drinking. I staggered past the airfield and realized I’d never make it home. The planes looked comfortable. I only intended to sleep off my hangover and then head back home.” He shrugged. “However, that plan was soon cast to the wind when I awoke to find us all in the air.”
“You could have said something.”
Tuk shook his head. “I’ve never flown before. I decided it would be best to just let you get us wherever we were going. I took solace in the fact that we would eventually have to return to Katmandu. Once back, I would simply steal away with you and your friend, none the wiser.”
“So much for that plan, huh?”
Tuk smiled and resumed digging out Mike. Annja saw his brow crease with concern. Then he started digging faster.
“What’s wrong?”
Then she saw it. Bloody snow.
“No!”
Tuk nodded. “He must have an injury we cannot see.” Tuk’s hands came away bright red as the snow and ice melted and mixed with the blood. “It’s vital we stop the bleeding as soon as we can.”
Annja maneuvered her way around to the back of the plane where the bags and Tuk had spilled out. She rummaged through the bags and came up with a first aid kit. It wasn’t anything exhaustive, but she found sterile gauze and pressure dressing inside.
She hoped it would work.
She moved back to Mike’s side. Tuk had successfully gotten rid of most of the snow. Mike’s lower torso was now exposed. As Annja came around, she saw what Tuk was staring at and frowned.
“It’s his thigh,” Tuk said. “It appears that a piece of metal pierced it from the plane’s body. Probably when we crashed it came through and shredded part of his leg. He’s lost a fair amount of blood.”
Annja tore open the pressure dressing and handed it to him. “Get some on the wound.”
Tuk dutifully took the dressing and pressed it into the wound.
The effect on Mike was almost instantaneous. His eyes shot open and he screamed. Annja put a hand on him and tried to calm him down. “Hold still, Mike. It’s Annja. I’m here.”
He stared at her. “Are you okay?”
She smiled. “Think so. Took a shot to my head, but that’s nothing new there. I passed out twice, but I’m feeling pretty good now aside from some broken ribs.”
“You sure?”
“That they’re broken? Yeah. I’ve had them before.” Annja frowned. “They’re not fun, but they’re manageable.”
Mike nodded and then glanced at Tuk. “Who is this?”
Annja smiled. “Apparently, we had a stowaway on the plane.”
“He was with us?”
“Yep.”
Mike grimaced as Tuk pressed into the wound more. “I could have sworn I saw something at Jomsom.”
Tuk smiled. “I’m afraid that was me.” He leaned over Mike’s thigh and stared at the wound.
“How is it?” Annja asked.
Tuk looked at her. “The bleeding is slowing, but I can’t tell how bad the tear is. I think it’s fairly certain that the femoral artery was not damaged, but he has lost a good amount of blood.”
Annja looked around. “How long before they send a rescue team?”
Mike grunted. “I don’t know. Depends if they got a fix on our location. There’s a lot of real estate to cover up in these parts. All they knew was we were north of Jomsom. We could have gone down anywhere.”
Annja sighed. Daylight was already starting to fade in the mountains and the chill that her adrenaline had kept at bay was finally working its way into her consciousness.
They needed shelter and fire. If they had to spend the night exposed to the elements like this, there would be no surviving it.
She looked at Tuk. “How well do you know the countryside around here?”
Tuk shook his head. “I don’t know it at all. I’m an orphan and found my way into Katmandu when I was young. All the memories of my childhood have deserted me unfortunately.”
Annja maneuvered around to where Tuk stood. She reached to take over the act of keeping pressure on Mike’s wound. “Well, here’s the reality check, Tuk. We need to find a place that is out of the wind. If we stay exposed like this on the mountain we’re dead before anyone gets a chance to find us.”
Tuk nodded. “I agree. What would you like me to do.”
“Seeing that you’re the most mobile out of all of us, you’re going to need to find shelter of some sort. I know there are a lot of caves around these parts. What are the odds you can locate one for us to take shelter in?”
“I won’t know until I get started,” Tuk said.
Annja nodded. “All right, then. You go and see what you can locate. The bags in the back have some winter coats in them. You should take one along. And don’t do anything silly. Mike’s going to need help getting to wherever we hole up. Try to make it close. Otherwise, we’ll risk worsening his wound.”
“I understand.”
Annja watched him get a coat out of one of the bags and zip it up. He brought them each a winter parka and then nodded to Annja. “I’ll be back as soon as I can find someplace for us.”
“Good luck,” Annja said.
Tuk took a final glance at Mike and smiled. “Fast as I can.”
He trudged off through the snow, but despite his small size, he seemed to make fast headway through the drifts. Mike’s coughing brought Annja back to the moment.
“Is he gone?” Mike asked.
“Yeah.”
Mike frowned. “Leg’s killing me. Got any of that water from the cooler?”
Annja nodded and placed Mike’s hand on the dressing. “Hold this here and press down on it. I’ll get the water.”
She scrambled back around to the cooler and winced as she did so. Her ribs were aching, but she fought off the desire to give in to the pain. Mike was the priority. He needed looking after and Annja’s ribs were a secondary concern.
She dug a bottle of water out of the cooler and came back to Mike’s side. “Here you go.”
He tilted his head back and took several swigs. Annja eased the bottle back down. “Don’t want you throwing up any of it. Just take it slow.”
“What’s the deal with our little friend there?”
Annja shrugged. “No idea. He was in the back of the plane. I passed out right after I found him. He could certainly have done me harm if he wished, but he was actually helping me when I regained consciousness.”
“You trust him?”
Annja smiled. “I’m not exactly in a position where trust can be withheld, am I? We all need one another if we’re going to survive this.”
Mike nodded and took another sip of the water. “What if he works for Tsing?”
“What if he does?”
“He could have overheard our conversations. He might tell Tsing what we intend to do.�
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Annja frowned. “Mike, all we said was that we could handle Tsing later after all of this was over and done with. We didn’t necessarily plan the guy’s assassination or anything.”
Mike grinned. “Good point.”
“More to the point, Tuk needs us just as much as we need him. We’re all in this together, and if one of us doesn’t help, we’ll all buy it. So you ask if I trust him? I trust him to do what’s right for everyone involved. Beyond that, well, we’ll take it as it comes. Once we get down off of this mountain.”
“Always the pragmatic Annja,” Mike said. “I’ve missed that over the years.”
“I was busy being pragmatic elsewhere,” Annja said.
“Apparently.”
A strong breeze blew in from the mountain and Annja shivered in spite of the winter parka. The sun was starting to dip beneath the horizon, streaking the sky with purples and oranges.
“Some sunset,” she said.
Mike stared out of the shattered windshield. “They’re amazing up here. I just hope that our new friend finds us a place to spend the night.”
“Me, too,” Annja said. “Otherwise, that sunset could be our last.”
11
Tuk forged through the waist-deep snow like an icebreaker and headed right for the side of the mountain, trying to get out of the open snowfield as quickly as possible. There could be a chasm hundreds of feet deep under any part of the snow. The closer he was to the actual mountain itself, the better he felt.
As soon as he was beyond range of being seen from the plane, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the cell phone he’d spent twenty minutes digging to find under all the snow in the plane. Luckily, it still worked. He opened it and prayed that he could actually get a signal.
He pressed the number two and waited. A series of clicks worried him at first but then miraculously he heard it ringing on the other end.
“Tuk?”
“Yes!”
Hearing the man’s voice on the other end of the line rein-vigorated him. Help would come for them!