Whiteout II-8 (Aftermath) [2 of 2]

This is part 2 of 2. Link to Part 1

They only ended up hiking until a little after midday before they found the next marker. An hour after leaving the edge of the spine, they had come across a narrow canyon at the edge of a large snow field. Lopsang had gone ahead to scout and returned with the first good news of the day. Nestled into the canyon wall was a small crag, crisscrossed with prayer flags, and covered in paintings in the shaman style. Not wanting to risk being caught out in the open, they opted to stay there for the night.

     As they stepped out of the sun, and into the much cooler air of the canyon, Nick saw the paintings on the canyon walls. They were of death, and massive beasts that he did not recognize. “Why do they never paint sunrises?” he said, wondering if they would ever find a non-cursed camping spot again.

     “I suppose there are worse places to die,” said James, morosely.

     “Oh don’t be like that. You’re not going to die. I have a plan, remember?” Nick’s plan was still only half-formed, but it was getting there. It consisted of luring the yeti into the canyon using James as bait, and then shooting it close range with a tracker. The part he hadn’t worked out was how exactly he was going to get the yeti to leave once it had appeared. The canyon was only twenty feet at its widest, which made it ideal for close quarters combat, but also impossible to escape.

     After they had dropped their gear in the alcove, Nick walked around the entrance to the canyon, trying to find a way out. Above them, only a thin sliver of light could be seen from the top of the canyon. The walls were so high that at the top they almost appeared to touch. Icicles hung on the walls, thick, and white. Taking it all in, Nick had a flash of inspiration. “Ok, I’ve got a plan.”

     “Fantastic, what is it?” asked James with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

     “Stay with me on this one, it’s going to get a little complicated. First, we remove all the elastic from our bungee cords. Then, you and Lopsang will sew our backpacks together into a sort of seat.” Nick was talking with great rapidity, inventing on the fly. “Meanwhile, I will scale the canyon and tie elastic to the top on both sides. You,” he pointed to James, “will sit in the makeshift seat right in the middle of the canyon, held in place by a series of sharpened sticks I will obtain from the local fauna.”

     “Local fauna?” asked James, continuing to turn ever paler.

     Nick continued, incredibly pleased. “We wait until nightfall, the yeti comes in to eat you, I,” Nick mimed holding a large rifle, “shoot him right in the backside, planting the tracker. Then you release the switch which we’ve made from a recycled radio antenna, and catapult out of the canyon to safety.” Nick stopped out of breath, and tried to strike a pose that looked proud.

     “Really?” James’s voice quivered with both rage and fear.

     “No, not really,” said Nick, resuming his sarcastic air.

     “Oh god, I’m going to die,” repeated James for what felt like the hundredth time on their short trip.

     People who say that often do. “Come now, I was just having a bit of fun.” Their impossible situation had most definitely called for it. “Now, for the real plan.” Nick set down the bag and pulled out a moleskin notebook he carried to document his adventures in. To date it was mostly filled with foreign recipes for strong drinks and crude doodles of monsters he had never seen, but he hoped that one day he would find the inspiration to contribute something.

     He found an empty page and began to draw. “We’ll erect a small tent here, right in the middle of the canyon.” He marked the center of two squiggly lines with an X. “James, you’ll sit in the tent, poised to strike in case you get the chance, just like with the wargs. Meanwhile, Lopsang and I will wait in the protected area here. I will run out, dart the beast, and once the tracker is in, will signal to you.”

     “Lopsang will then run out behind the yeti with one of our sorely depleted flare stock,” he paused to glare at James, “and will distract it while you scramble to safety. Once you are within the hollow, I will run out behind the yeti and distract it with another road flare, while Lopsang-“

     “Let me stop you there. How long does this continue for?” asked James, having no sense of humor about the matter.

     “Until we run out of road flares. Odd man out needs to run fast,” Nick said, smiling slyly.

     Neither James nor Lopsang looked in a joking mood.

     “Alright fine, we tie the remaining road flares to a bag of holy powder, throw that out and blind the beast while you scuttle back to safety.”

     “Holy powder?” asked Lopsang.

     “It’s my own recipe, made from the bones of Christ himself. When mixed with fire, it creates a powerful flash that blinds all enemies, mortal or otherwise.”

     “It’s what he calls flash powder mixed with holy water,” said James.

     “You’re just no fun today,” said Nick. “Yes, and in this case, it’s likely just flash powder. I doubt the yeti puts stock in any laws of Catholic mysticism, so we’re just going to have to hope that flash powder blinds it like anything else.”

     “Well that’s comforting.”

     Nick grabbed James by the shoulders in a rare moment of sincerity. “It’s going to be fine James.” For the most part he believed it too. The biggest area for failure would be the tracking dart not seating correctly. “This is not where you die. I’m a good shot, remember?” Nick stared straight into James’s eyes and saw a great deal of fear. “And hey, if I miss, we’re all going to die together.”

     “Well that’s comforting.” They stared at each other in silence for a minute. “Alright, fine, but if I die here, I’m coming back to haunt you. That’s a promise.”

     Not if the chalk line on my doorframe has anything to say about it. “If it comes to that, I’ll rescue you from the Land of the Dead myself.” Nick for one didn’t think there was such a place, but it sounded like a nice sentiment.

     A chill set over their camp, indicating that the sun had begun to pass behind the mountain. In the eternal twilight of the canyon it was difficult to tell what time it was. Snow began to fall through the top of the canyon and stuck to the walls. “We may not have much time. We need to set everything up now.” Nick paused, and then added: “Ready your dinners, and eat hearty!”

     “Just don’t,” said James flatly. “If the last thing I hear is a quote from a Zac Snyder movie, I just might kill myself before the yeti gets here.”