Whiteout II: 4 (Why I Hate Yaks)

4. Why I Hate Yaks.

     Footsteps outside. The crunch of many feet walking past our cave woke me from sleep. It was consistent and punctuated every so often by the braying of yaks into the clear air. A tiny shaft of light sprang into the cavern from the end of the metal tube. Embers still held their warmth in the pit that had been our fire. Next to me Lopsang sat wide awake, listening intently. James lay across the cave, sleeping far too soundly for someone who had been chased by a yeti.

     “What is that?” Lopsang raised his hands in confusion. Whatever it was continued to pass by. The crunching was endless. It felt as though an army was passing by our doorstep. More gently than usual I kicked James in the ribs, ensuring that he wouldn’t yelp and alert the outside force to our presence. We were camouflaged from the world, hidden in a tiny cave covered by fresh snow pack. James rustled to life and found his mouth immediately covered by Lopsang. Sarcasm and vitriol was briefly stayed as he realized the predicament we were in.

     “Who are they?” He whispered quietly.

     “I haven’t got a clue.” Suddenly the cave was filled with disgusting squishing sounds. I looked through the tube only to see the long tongue of a yak on the other side. Its breath was putrid, smelling like a mix of stale grain and slop. “Wonderful, it looks as though we made a new friend. Every minute or so it would take a break from licking the tube to bray loudly and fill the cave with its stench. “If that thing doesn’t move soon they’re bound to discover us.”

     The licking continued for what seemed like an eternity. Lick, bray, stench, and more licking, until finally one of the footsteps outside came to grab it and pull it back into line with the rest of them. The braying of the yak faded away and the crunching of footsteps shortly after. The lack of movement gave way to silence and the cave began to feel very stuffy. “Well I think we’ve waited long enough. Let’s get a move on, we can’t afford to burn any more daylight.”

     I pulled out a small shovel and handed it to James. “What’s this for?”

     God he can be thick first thing in the morning. “See that snow pile right there? It’s not going to dig itself out, and seeing as how you’re the apprentice…” James grimaced and began to dig a tunnel out of the cave. Luckily for him only about two feet of snow had accumulated and the digging was fairly quick. We squeezed through the small blue tunnel and out into the dazzling white light of the early morning. The mountains shone beautifully, and the visibility couldn’t have been better. All in all it was proving to be one of the better days to start a journey up the mountain.

     “Well hello Nick.” Said a voice from just above me. I whirled around to find the bright light of the sun obscured by a commanding shadow. Silhouetted with Tibetan prayer flags he looked almost like a god. Somewhere in the distance I heard the braying of a yak again.

     Son of a bitch. “Hello Harvey.” He was never a big fan of his first name and was in quite a rage when he found I had bribed one of his nannies for the information. I’ve never seen him that close to killing another man. “Fine day for an expedition is it not?” I said, gesturing to the beautiful day that surrounded us, hoping to both defuse tension, as well as convey my expert knowledge of mountaineering meteorology correlations. Neither of which worked very well.

     “I thought you had decided not to come. I must say I was quite surprised to see your little lights heading up the mountain last night and in the middle of a blizzard too. Very brave some might say.” I felt my chest swell a little at the compliment. “Stupid for those who understand the true nature of the mountain.” And immediately deflate as he took that compliment away. “But, stupidity aside, I do applaud your decision to step off of the wall of indifference and chase the unknown. Now get a move on, we have ground to cover while the trail is still fresh.”

     Did he just automatically assume I was here to join him. OH hell no! “I’m sorry, but I can’t say that we’ll be joining your tawdry expedition. I’ve got my own guide who promises to get me to the valley before you, and we’ve got a way to kill it.” Was that too much to reveal? I could never have survived as a super villain. All of my plans would have been revealed before I had even begun the preparation phases.

     “Oh, I see. Well good luck then. I hope I don’t see you following us up. I would hate for one of my men to have to dispatch you.”

     “We’re threatening now I see.”

     “Not threatening, just protecting my investment. I can’t have some charlatan come and claiming all the glory right out from under me can I?”

     “I trust you would show the same professional courtesy to me?” He laughed at that. Clearly he felt superior to me and my team, and honestly from his position I can’t blame him. We looked and were half trained, and somewhat unprepared, but we had the demi-god, so I wasn’t all that worried. When he saw that I was serious he stiffened and straightened his posture. I’ve seen animals do it on the nature channel when they’re trying to appear threatening.

     “Of course, but there’s no second path up the mountain. We both know that.”

     It’s a mountain. There has to be plenty of paths right? Short answer, no. No there were not plenty of paths for us to take. The mountain was very harsh and there was only one realistic path up. “We have our own way. Don’t you worry about that. Just figure out how you’re going to get this cumbersome team to find the creature before me.” Lopsang looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe it was the air, the sunlight, or the unrelenting jealousy that drove me to such idiocy, but the reasoning did not change the results.

     “Splendid. We wish you a safe journey.” Manchester tipped his hat and walked towards base camp. “Move out!” The crunching sounded like an engine starting. The crew had to be at least fifty people. Most were Sherpas, carrying large bags and guiding yaks further up the mountain.

     “Well that was pleasant.”

     “You’re an idiot. That was our only way up the mountain. How do you expect us to find the valley if we can’t even get past ten-thousand feet?”

     “Are we sure that the valley is that high up on the mountain?”

     “The valley is said to be in the most inhospitable environment on earth. Well hidden from the prying eyes of man. So yes, I would imagine it to be very high.”

     “Where exactly is the valley?”

     “How should I know?!”

     “I mean, you are the demi-god among us. It would only make sense.”

     “My supernatural powers surprisingly do not transfer into a map leading us wherever you want to go!”

     “Alright alright. Calm down. We can figure this out.” I looked up at the mountain. Stones that had been barren only a week ago were now covered in snow, giving them a rounded appearance. The glaciers further up remained ever jagged, sticking out at odd angles and blocking the sky. Hidden deep within the snowy crags somewhere was the hiding place of one of the world’s most reclusive creatures.

     Suddenly it all felt like a sham. I didn’t have the slightest idea where to start. It had all been confusion and pride that led me to that point. None of my decisions had been thought through and our plan was weak. It was time to change that. I looked at Manchester’s team, moving sluggishly through the valley ahead, burdened by their mules and the size of their team.

“Manchester doesn’t know where the valley is either.” It all made sense.

     “What makes you so sure?”

     “They’re moving slow. He’s gathered all of his resources into one place, but he still hasn’t found it. We forced his hand last night by moving up the mountain. They got here so fast, and now look at them. Barely crawling up a lazy valley. At that pace they won’t be much higher by nightfall. No, he’s waiting for us to make our move. He bought our bluff!” Excitement pulsed through me once more. Not only were we no longer behind him, he thought that we had the advantage.

     “That’s great, but we have no idea where to start. Weren’t we just talking about this?”

     “Glad to see your sarcasm is back James. I have a plan. Lopsang, can we take these prayer flags with us?” he looked at me disgusted. It wouldn’t have been the first sacred artifact I had disturbed to save my own skin. There are still some very angry Italians that think I stole the sword that killed Christ… It was a fake, but it did well in a pinch, and they were never the wiser. Come to think of it, I should have told them about it. Oh well. 

     “No, we can’t just move them. It doesn’t work that way. Not only is it disrespectful to those who put them there, moving them would take away the protection from this spot and from the items themselves. They have to be placed by a shaman, most of whom are dead, or live too far down the mountain in fear.”

     Worth a try. “Ok, so there’s no more safe-houses further up the mountain.”

     “That’s not entirely true. They have been placed all along the mountain, but there’s a problem.”

     “What’s that?”

     “The shamans were excellent climbers. The flags will be up high in places that only they could have reached. Safe from the creature, but very dangerous to reach.” I looked up again at Manchester’s party. They valley they moved up was flanked on both sides by rocky spines.

     “What about up there?” I said pointing to the top of the valey, just east of where Manchester headed.

     “The path is very dangerous; it has not been traversed in years. There are fissures and chasms everywhere. We would be slow to get there.”

     “Do we have the proper gear?”

     “Yes, but not the proper skill. It would be very dangerous for you two.”

     “Don’t worry, we’re quick learners.” James just shook his head and shouldered his pack.

     “We might as well get going while it’s still light, there’s no talking him out of it now.”

     “We don’t even know if there’s a marker up there! We could be sitting ducks.”

     “Looks pretty high and rocky to me.”

     “Looks like a gamble.”

     “Come on Lopsang, live a little. Let’s get moving.” I could hear him cursing me from behind, but I moved anyway. The rocks would provide good cover once we were on top, and it was meant to confuse Manchester. If he thought he had taken the wrong route, it could slow him down for days. The day was still clear and if we were to make a dangerous climb it was the best time for it.

     Lopsang hurried in front of me. “If we’re going to do this I take the lead. For the next few hours you ask no questions and do what I say. I will not have your death on my head.”

     “Glad to see you’re with the program! Absolutely, lead away!” I’m not one for taking orders, but I knew nothing about the mountain and had no intention of ending up dead in a crevasse. I wouldn’t do well with freezing to death, much too slow for me. Not exactly the blaze of glory that I had envisioned for myself.

     “Alright, up we go.” Lopsang began to sing what sounded like a battle hymn. It could have been a drinking song or happy birthday for all I knew, but it inspired me to move. Together, the three of us began to climb…