Primeval

12

Charles Hindershot Ellenshaw III was hearing droning once more from deep in his mind. He tried to focus on the dream but it kept fluttering tantalizing close and then vanishing; it was constantly in and out of hearing range. The song was the same one he was singing before he had passed out: "Crystal Blue Persuasion" was being hummed with a deepness to it that made it seem it was coming from a deep and darkened well. The humming was not good, but continuous. Finally, the pain in his shoulder brought Charlie to the brink of wakefulness.

The smell of mildew and earth was the first thing to enter his waking mind as his eyes fluttered open. Or did they, he wondered. The blackness told him he was dreaming yet again as he tried to move his head. That was when he realized he was awake and that wherever he was, the sun never reached. Then it hit him like a comet: the cave and that old familiar smell from 1968—he was inside of Lattimer's cave.

Charlie tried to sit up, but the pain in his shoulder told him that was definitely not a good idea. He lay back down and that was when he realized the humming had stopped. With his shoulder screaming, Charlie moved his right hand to his front pants pocket and removed a small lighter. That was when his memory came back and he knew that the Russians had shot him — for what? Then it struck him: because he tried to be a hero, and he knew then for the first time in his life he had to admit that he just wasn't the hero type.

"Foolish old man," he said to himself, not realizing he had spoken out loud. That was when he heard movement to his right. Something large had scurried from where he lay to someplace farther down the cave's long and dark passage. Charlie swallowed, and still lying on his back, he used the lighter in his hand.

He kept his eyes closed for the longest time, afraid to open them for fear of what his vision would behold. Finally, gathering up his courage, he opened one eye and saw the cave's ceiling some thirty-five feet above his prone body. The ancient stalactites hung down like teeth in a nightmare mouth. He swallowed and opened his other eye, and then he turned his head. He saw that he was lying on a bed of leaves and moss. The smell of rotting vegetation was atrocious and he crinkled his nose. He smelled urine and feces, but the rotting bed mat was the worst.

As his eyes roamed the cave, he saw cave drawings, not unlike the ones he remembered from his first encounter back in 1968. As he tried to sit up, he was amazed at how deep the colors used on the paintings were. They looked powerful in their renderings of deer, elk, and other forest animals, and unlike the cave paintings of Paleolithic man in European paintings, these were depictions of hunts, or the killing of game; these were like a naturalist's view of the wild world. Charlie saw whole herds of beasts, running through the woods, grazing, and doing the everyday things that these animals would do.

Charlie managed to push the throbbing pain in his shoulder to the back of his mind, absentmindedly reaching for his left arm. With the lighter so close to his wound, Charlie was astounded to see that the bullet hole had been packed with what looked to be mud and small shavings of bark and grass. It smelled like someone had placed animal droppings in there for good measure. He shook his head and shied away from looking at the disgusting mess. He concentrated on standing up, one movement at a time, inches at most. Finally he managed to gain his feet, which he noticed were bare. Someone had removed his boots. When he looked around he could see them a few feet away. His eyes widened when he realized they looked as if they had been virtually stripped from his feet like a banana peel — the tongues were completely torn free and the laces were missing.

Ellenshaw shook his head, letting the lighter go out to give his thumb a rest. He stepped forward from the bed of leaves and grass until he felt dirt beneath his feet. Using his good right arm, he felt the coldness of the cave wall. His fingers felt the dampness and he rubbed them together. Overhead through the rock strata of the cave, Charlie heard the soft rumble of thunder and knew that the humidity he was feeling was caused by the deepness of the cave. He was far beneath the earth and that was when he realized that he was far away from the opening he had been in those many years ago. He almost became ill with the thought of being buried so far from the surface of the world.

He shook his head when he discovered that he was acting like a schoolgirl. He had a chance here to possibly see something that no man in history had ever been witness to: an actual living entity that hadn't changed in millions of years. With that thought Charlie struck the lighter once more. The flame illuminated the cave wall and Ellenshaw saw a large painting of what looked to be a bird — it almost resembled the phoenix of southern Maya and Inca origins. It looked like it was rising in flames from the earth, but no, Charlie thought to himself, it wasn't rising at all — it was falling. And never once had he seen any historical depiction of the phoenix with a man riding on the back of the giant bird.

"Amazing detail for a prehistoric rendering, I must say," Charlie said to himself.

Ellenshaw shook his head and stepped to his right. There were more depictions of animals and of the surrounding woods. He turned and looked behind him at the rear wall of the giant cave — there were more paintings there. As he stepped up, his eyes widened. There were straight horizontal lines drawn over a wavy surface, almost looking like a zigzag pattern against the stone wall. On these horizontal lines were what Charlie realized immediately were representations of men. They were stick men, but he could see that these men were on what had to be boats, the straight lines riding over a rippling surface. The Stikine River! he thought to himself.

Ellenshaw, placing the lighter as close to the painting as he could, reached out and with his finger touched the red (blood, he was thinking) and green pigment, then he brought the finger away and moaned deep in his chest. The water-based colors were still wet. Charlie's eyes widened as a sudden gust of breeze blew the lighter out. He cursed and struck the small wheel again, flicking the lighter and trying to get it to catch. Every time the flint was struck, the wall and interior of the cave illuminated around him, and that was when he failed to realize in those momentary flashes of light, that he wasn't alone.

He cursed one more time and struck the flint wheel of the lighter; this time the flame came up and stayed lit and as he turned, still in shock that the painting he had just touched was still wet to the touch, he came face to face with the artist.

Ellenshaw's mouth fell open as the vision of a million years penetrated his soul. Standing five feet over Charlie's head was Giganticus Pythicus, an ape that was supposedly extinct for the past ten thousand years. The eyes were that of no ape, and the face was not covered in fur or hair. The skin was clean and the lines of age were clearly seen. The nose was actually very similar to a man's, not flat like a modern ape, not large like a humans, either — it was somewhere in between. The mouth was large and as it opened its maw, Ellenshaw could see that the teeth were still that of an animal that could use its canines for very adequate defense.

Charlie's hand holding the lighter remained steady as he realized his life's dream was standing before him. An amazing discovery in the human experience was staring at him right in the face, justifying everything he had ever believed about the world. The animal's brown eyes bore into Ellenshaw's and he could see the brows rise up in a curious maneuver of facial muscles. The great beast tilted its head as it looked Charlie over in the flickering flame of the small lighter.

"He… hello," Ellenshaw mumbled.

The giant ape — Sasquatch, Bigfoot, a legend and myth of the new world — looked at Charlie with its expressive eyes, and then slowly leaned over the small man and gently blew out the lighter.

"Oh, crap."

Lynn crashed through the undergrowth as if the devil himself were chasing her. She knew that if she could take the threat of her own imminent death out of the equation, Jack just may have a fighting chance at thwarting whatever it was Punchy had in mind for him.

The lightning was striking the ground up and down the Stikine in a display of power Lynn had never seen south of the Canadian border. She knew that this had to be one of the largest electrical storms she had ever been witness to. The rain was so thick and the raindrops so large that she felt she was in danger of drowning as she tried for her escape.

Lynn tried in vain to look behind her as she ran, thinking the Russians had to be close behind, but seeing nothing. In that split second of turning her head back, she ran into a brick wall. She rebounded so hard that her breath was knocked from her lungs as she flew backward five feet. When she hit the noise she made as she tried to force air back into her throat sounded like a water pipe with air in its system. As she looked up through the falling rain, her eyes widened when she realized she could see clearly. She saw why almost immediately: She was only thirty feet away from what was left of the giant Sikorsky helicopter as it lay in pieces before her. The flames illuminated the area that, in her haste to escape, she hadn't even noticed.

When she finally rolled onto her stomach, she managed to draw a breath, still wondering what it was she had ran headlong into. She tried to stand. She went to her knees, knowing that if she didn't get moving soon she would have the mercenaries catching her and undoubtedly returning her for use against Jack. As she finally gained her feet, she turned toward the still-flaming helicopter. That was when she saw what she had slammed into at a full run. It towered over her small frame. Her eyes traveled upward and locked on the fierce eyes of an animal that could not possibly be standing there.

"What the…?"

Lynn saw the giant apelike creature as it opened its mouth, clearly visible in its outline in front of the fire; the beast let out a grunt and then showed its teeth. In its massive human-looking hands was a club, which seemed to be adorned with marks of some sort that she couldn't make out. The large weapon looked as if it had been through hell and back again, scared and chipped, as if the animal had forever used it as a tool, a killing weapon. Before she knew it, the giant was gone. It just vanished before her shocked eyes, blending into the trees that surrounded the downed helicopter.

Suddenly she heard the crashing of underbrush coming from behind her, and before she could react after being stunned by the beast she had stumbled into, Lynn saw the angry face of Gregory Deonovich as he ran headlong into the small clearing where she stood. Before she realized what happened, she was grabbed by the large Russian just as Alexander had grabbed him only minutes before. He raised a hand and hit Lynn across the face. Then he repeated the assault, this time from the opposite direction. He threw her down to the wet forest floor and stood over her.

"You have caused me embarrassment for the last time. You will never be found and that will be my excuse for not bringing you back."

Lynn, dazed from the two successive blows to her face, started to sit up, the rain washing the blood from her features. As she rose, she saw Deonovich reach for the shoulder holster at his chest and remove the Glock nine-millimeter he carried there. The look on his face was calm and collected. He knew he would face the wrath of the Canadian, but it would be worth it. He figured to shoot the American and then drag her body off and hide it, claiming he could not catch her.

Lynn watched as the gun was aimed at her face. She defiantly looked at the muzzle and then her eyes widened as something behind Deonovich separated itself from the large tree it was hiding against. The animal had blended perfectly with its surroundings. She couldn't tell where the tree began and the beast ended. Only in the firelight did she see the true nature of the animal as it grabbed Deonovich by the shoulders.

The Russian's eyes widened as he felt his large frame lifted free of the earth. The pistol swung up and around, and fired two shots, both missing the animal as it raised the man completely over its head. Before Lynn could even flinch or Deonovich could realize he was about to die, the great animal smashed the Russian against the tree, snapping his back and almost bending him in two. The branch Deonovich was pushed into caught him twenty feet off the ground and the large man grunted as the wood penetrated through his chest cavity. The animal roared and watched as Deonovich took his last breath. The beast admired what it had just done, tilting its large head first left, and then right. Then with a satisfied grunt, the beast leaned over and recovered something from the ground, and then turned on Lynn.

"Oh, shit," she said under her breath.

The giant ape took two long strides and it was suddenly standing over the small woman. It looked her in the eyes, and then it suddenly shook its entire body, releasing a torrent of water. For some reason, Lynn could see the animal far more clearly than she had before. Somehow, the beast had used not only its differing colors and thickness of its hair, but also the rain to hide itself. She was even more amazed to see some of the hair along the left side of its massive head had braids in it. Collected through those braids were what looked like colored stones, and to her amazement there were at least two of the gold American double eagles Sagli had shown her only the day before.

The animal looked down at her and grunted, raising the club, and then jabbing the blunt end into her ribs.

"Ow!" she cried out before she even realized she did it.

Another grunt, and then the beast looked up and seemed to see or sense something. It rose again to its full height of over ten feet, grunted once again, and then turned and ran for the deep woods off to the right, vanishing among the trees in mere seconds.

Lynn slowly collapsed until her head was resting on the soft carpet of wet pine needles. She shook her head for the reason she didn't fully understand her miraculous escape from the hands of the killer, Deonovich. She sat back up and looked at the still hanging body of the large Russian. The firelight caught the steady stream of blood as it flowed from his body. Lynn shook her head again and knew she was nearing the state of shock as cold chills overtook her system. She lay back down and closed her eyes.

"Jesus," was all she could say.

When she heard someone say something to her, she didn't move. She did, however, open her eyes and look into a set of green eyes. In the firelight she could see that it was a woman who was kneeling beside her and trying to get her attention.

"Who are you?" Lynn croaked through the taste of blood in her mouth.

"My name is Sarah, and I think we'd better get back to the cave before your knight in shining armor returns, don't you?"

"You bet," Lynn said as Sarah and the girl Lynn knew from the fishing camp helped her. She was grateful to the two women and was about to thank them, when a realization struck Lynn Simpson. "Hey, you're Jack's girlfriend!"

With that and before Sarah had a chance to respond, Lynn passed out and slumped against the two women.

"Yes, I'm Jack's girlfriend, and you must be his sister Lynn."

"It really is a small world, isn't it," Marla said as she took most of the American woman's weight on her own.

"Yeah, well, we'd better get back to Jason before we have company other than our animal friend."

Sarah, Marla, and their newest friend, Lynn, stepped through the fire and then walked fifteen feet to the cave opening.

All three suspected they were in the realm of something they didn't understand, and little did they realize they had entered the forest home of the fiercest creatures that had ever lived on the North American continent.

The ancient brother of man was no longer a myth.

Alexander and his tech team were just twenty feet behind the advance recon team. Altogether the Russians were heading into the bush with fifteen Spetsnaz, five mercenaries, and seven technicians. Alexander had five of the commandos watching Collins and the three additional captives with strict orders to keep Jack alive.

One of the technicians reached out and stopped Alexander, who was intent on following his point team as quickly as possible through the woods. With the rain lessening somewhat, Punchy turned and saw his main technicians hold up the visual metal detector. As he took in the small LED screen, he could see that they were in the middle of a dense minefield of metal. He quickly looked around his feet and spied one of the objects they were chasing. He bent over and picked it up and smiled. It was a two-foot-by-eleven-inch piece of aircraft aluminum. Punchy tossed it away and they continued through the trees, trying to get to their goal as quickly as possible.

As Jack, Carl, Will, and Farbeaux were pushed and pulled through the dense undergrowth beneath the thick canopy of trees, Everett quickly stepped up to Jack.

"Okay, boss, this little trip of ours has turned into something extraspecial, so it would be helpful if you said your baby sister was great in the field."

"She couldn't tell you a walnut from a rock, buddy," Collins said as he tried to keep Alexander in his sights through the falling rain.

"So, she won't be bringing any cavalry this time out."

Jack looked over at Everett and just raised his brows, and Carl took his meaning.

"You, get back in the line," a voice said and pulled Everett backward by his wire-tie. Carl eyed the mercenary and tried not to let on to the fact that he felt the plastic strap break. He followed orders after being released and fell into line just in front of Henri.

"You seem to have injured your wrist, Captain Everett. I hope you understand the severity of that cut," Farbeaux said as he saw the snapped plastic around Carl's bloody wrist.

"Yeah, Henri, it's not as severe as it looks. I'll hold off getting attention for it until the colonel says to."

"A wise decision," the Frenchman said believing that they might have a shot if Everett moved at just the right time.

Suddenly, they were stopped abruptly. Men were ahead of them and they were brightly silhouetted in the flash of a flare being lit. The red tinted glow made the scene eerie at best as Jack tried to see what was happening as many thoughts swirled through his mind; Deonovich and Lynn, the worst-case scenario was Lynn, of course. Was she lying up ahead where the large Russian had caught her? Or was it their prize that they were examining? As he thought this, they were pushed to the ground by the guards and made to sit still.

"Ow!" Mendenhall said as he sat. He wiggled free of something and then literally bent over backward to see what it was. His fingers curled around a small object and he twisted around to see it, bringing his arms up close to his left hip. As soon as saw it, he dropped it in disgust. "Jesus!" he said out loud.

Jack turned back to see what was wrong with Will when in the red glow of the flare up ahead he saw what it was as Mendenhall leaned away from it. It was a skeletal hand. As Collins squirmed over he saw that something was wrapped around the terminated wrist bone — it was silverfish in color and rusted almost through.

"Lieutenant, pick it up," Jack whispered.

Will got a sick look on his face, but knowing the colonel, he had a reason for the macabre request. So he once again went through the maneuvering involved to pick the human hand up once again. When he twisted back around, Jack had turned his back to him and then removed the still attached bones from his grasp. Collins twisted in his restraints to look at the hand and what was wrapped around it. He grasped the small object and saw the band momentarily expand and then the years of rust did its job — it snapped. Jack held the wristwatch in his palm and looked it over. It was a simple Timex watch and he could see the small hands through the fog-clouded crystal: they were frozen at 1:58 and ten seconds. He didn't know if it were A.M. or P.M.

"What have you got there, Jack?" Everett whispered.

"A watch; its hands are frozen at almost the exact same time as right now."

"That's interesting, Colonel, but does it have a particular significance to our current situation?" Farbeaux asked as he tried to huddle closer to the others without getting hit with the butt of a weapon or getting shot.

Collins turned the watch over and looked at the back. The inscription etched by a jeweler many years before was hard to make out, but Jack managed to turn the watch toward the bright light from the trail ahead. His eyes betrayed his surprise to the others. He looked up, and when they saw their curious faces, he examined the writing once more and then read the inscription.

" 'Commander John C. Phillips, USN, with admiration — your mates (CVN) 62, VF-13, 1960—Best of Luck!' "

Collins looked up at Carl who was deep in thought.

"Does that remind you of something, Captain?" Henri asked.

"CVN 62, I think that was the USS Independence. VF -13, I believe, was a fighter squadron."

"Are you thinking what I am, Colonel?" Farbeaux asked.

"It looks like our long-lost naval aviator there had volunteered for a particularly dangerous mission back in October of 1962."

"I agree, coincidence in this very strange affair has to end sometime," Henri said as he spied one of the Spetsnaz coming over from the area where the flare was glowing.

"Jack, we have company," Everett said. "Just to let you know, I'm loose."

Collins just nodded his head as the large commando reached down and pulled him to his feet.

"I'll keep that in mind, Captain; for now, just take it easy and enjoy your surroundings."

Jack was pulled along until he was met by Alexander. As the colonel looked around in the light of the flare, he saw Sagli squatting by a large tree and he had a look of sadness on his face as he stared at his hands.

"I'm going to ask you something, Jack, and be straightforward with your answer, because I believe your life, as well as mine and my men, may be at stake."

Collins didn't say anything. He looked up through the thick branches of the trees as the rain had almost stopped. He then looked back down into the face of the Canadian.

"I know Lynn has no field prowess to speak of. Is there another of your men that you had along that has yet to be accounted for?"

Collins was almost amused. He gave Alexander a curious look but remained noncommittal.

"That's what I thought. No, if you had a man that wasn't accounted for, he would have made some sort of move by now." He raised his eyebrows at Jack. "You see, I know you train your people to be aggressive."

Alexander was out of patience with the silent Collins as he grabbed him by the collar and pulled him over into the bright light cast by the dying flare.

"Did one of your people do this?" he shouted as he thrust Jack forward, almost making him lose his balance.

As Collins caught himself, he finally looked around, and then up until his eyes saw the body of Gregory Deonovich impaled on the tree branch. The body was slammed into the tree in a prone position with the limb traveling through his rib cage until it poked out the opposite side. The eyes were wide and staring. Jack could also see that the body had been impaled with such brutal force that the man's back had been shattered to the point where the entire large frame of the Russian bent far enough to create a an upside-down U shape.

"Either Little Sis has been working out, or I would say you have a problem on your hands, and by the look of it, I would say, a rather large one."

Collins was suddenly attacked from the rear and tackled. Alexander moved fast, but was slow in pulling Dmitri Sagli off. The man had actually gotten as far as to pull his large knife from its sheath and raise it, ready to bring it down into Jack's chest before he was kicked off by Alexander.

"Is there something wrong with the English phrase, I need him alive, that you idiots don't understand?" Punchy yelled angrily. "You know how stupid Deonovich was; he undoubtedly deserved what he got. You yourself watched him be humiliated earlier by a small woman and you would have allowed her to kill him. It's a little late for sympathies about how you and he fought in Afghanistan together."

Sagli lay where he had fallen, then he slowly picked himself up out of the wet loam of the forest floor. He sheathed his knife and then looked at Alexander.

"It's the manner in which my old comrade was killed, not the justification of it."

"You cannot account for fools, my friend, just grieve for them," Alexander said, making Jack's stomach lurch at the falsity of the sentiment.

Sagli just dipped his head once. Yes, he knew his partner was a fool, but one he could always control and order about. He knew he may have regret that Deonovich is gone after dealing with their new partner. He may have had a use for him down the road that Alexander would not have understood.

Jack watched the exchange. As he did, he felt something under him that he had fallen on, just like Mendenhall had only minutes before. He knew what it was immediately as he had handled the same weapon a hundred times in his career: a Glock nine-millimeter automatic. The weapon must have fallen from the hand of Deonovich as he was being killed.

Punchy Alexander strode over and lifted Jack in one strong sweep of his arms. Then he roughly turned him over and removed the handgun from his grasp. He angrily turned and tossed the automatic toward Sagli, who flinched and let it fall to the wet ground.

"Don't get into the habit of disappointing me," he said to the Russian. "Now let's go."

Alexander pushed Jack back toward the commandos and started walking. Sagli went to his dead friend and reached up, calling for assistance from someone taller to help remove Deonovich from the tree.

"Leave him," Alexander said as he had stopped and turned around. "Let the men see the price of not being vigilant in this place." He turned back and headed for the plateau that was rising before them.

Sagli angrily motioned the men away as he reached up and touched the face of his oldest friend. He glared at Jack and then abruptly turned and followed Alexander—his new boss.

"What did we miss?" Everett asked as he and Will, and then finally Farbeaux, were led into the light of the flare.

"I take it we missed this," Farbeaux said as he nodded toward the tree with Deonovich hanging from it.

"What in the hell did that?" Will asked as he backed away from the gruesome sight.

"Jack, are you starting to consider that either your sister hasn't told you about her current strength-and-conditioning program, or that we may have more than these assholes to worry about in these woods?"

Collins just looked at Everett and was about to say something when all around them, close and far, the pounding of clubs on trees started, far louder and closer than they had ever heard before. Inside of the light of the flare, Collins saw the Russians as they turned every which way, in anticipation of something unexpected. Jack saw the look of fright on most of the battle-hardened faces and the sheer terror in the eyes of the regularly trained troops. All twenty-seven of the technicians and soldiers had the look that must have crossed the faces of Custer and his men when they realized the jig was up at the Little Bighorn.

"I have a feeling we're about to find out just who it is we pissed off by being here," Mendenhall said as he backed into Collins, all the while his eyes never leaving the woods around him.

"I believe I must concur with the lieutenant's assessment; these sounds are far angrier than before."

Farbeaux didn't have the words out of his mouth when the first flash of dark movement took the two men bringing up the rear of their small group. They were gone in an instant without as much as a shout.

Mendenhall just turned to face Collins with his eyes wide as the drumming continued.

"It… it… it was… was big!" he finally said.

The rain had stopped but the clubbing of the trees continued. Suddenly, a shot was fired, and that led to another, then another, and then someone opened up an AK-47 on full automatic.

Collins and the others cringed as bullets started ricocheting off of trees, and tracers lit up the night. He looked around as fast as he could and saw that no one was watching them. The lone guard was terrified and watching the woods to the rear where the two men had vanished.

"Mr. Everett, I think now would be a good time."

Carl didn't hesitate once given the order, he simply moved his hands from his back to his front and then as quick as the earlier lightning streaking across the night sky, he reached out and twisted the soldier's neck, snapping it, and then catching the AK-47 before it fell to the ground. He quickly aimed at one of the men as he turned at the sudden movement behind him. A single shot by Everett brought the man down. The single discharge wasn't even noticed in the din of gunfire.

"May I suggest egress from this area?" Farbeaux yelled as he ran past the others and then turned suddenly to his left and jumped into thick woods. Jack and the others quickly followed the man who had made a living out of surviving when he should have died.

All around the trail of men and equipment, clubs sang out and the dwellers of the forest primeval attacked in earnest.

As the rain slowed, Jason Ryan was trying with his wounded shoulder pounding in pain to get the ejection seat inside the cave opening. He slipped and fell several times while dragging the heavy piece of safety equipment and attached body to cover. He had decided to do something when Marla and Sarah had abandoned him when they went out after hearing noise in the brush.

After ten minutes of struggle, Ryan fell in backward through the cave's opening. The ejection seat was now secured inside with him. As he moved his hand to his right shoulder, he felt the stickiness of his own blood. Great, he thought, Sarah's going to be furious with me for opening my wound again. He lay back and tried to get his breathing under control. When he thought he had achieved a modicum of control after so much exertion, Ryan sat up and looked over the skeletal remains of the pilot as the ejection seat lay on its side. He couldn't see much in the dark, but he could make out the basic outline of the remains. The left hand was missing and the fibula was sticking out of the rotting flight suit. The crash helmet was still in place but Jason could see that it had done this poor bastard no good at all. From all the evidence he could see from the time outside in the illumination of the lightning storm, this man had died of a high-impact crash.

Ryan reached out, felt around the left shoulder of the decaying flight suit, and lifted a small flap and felt underneath. There should have been a patch indicating this pilot's flight group, or at least a flag of his country, but the space was empty. He felt around the sickening remains again in the dark. He came upon a rotting piece of leather and allowed his hand to travel down farther. It was a shoulder holster that all military combat pilots carry. As he unsnapped the strap that held the weapon in place, it came off in his hands and then the entire holster fell free. He lifted it to his face and saw that is was a snub-nosed Smith & Wesson .38 Special. He opened the cylinder and felt the rounds there — six.

"Sorry, buddy, but I may have need of this."

Suddenly, he heard noise from outside the cave and he pointed the .38 into the dark. He didn't even know if the gun would work as he pulled back the hammer. He swallowed as whatever it was had not one concern for the noise it was making. He hoped the damn weapon would fire and was about to find out when the voice came through the opening.

"Jason, is that you?"

Ryan rolled his eyes and released the hammer on the small handgun. He let out a deep breath and then laid the weapon in his lap.

"No, it's Mary Jane Rotten Crotch. Who else would it be? Do you guys think you can make any more noise?" he asked angrily.

"Sorry, we picked up a hitchhiker," Sarah said as three people came crashing into the cave.

All Jason could see was dark hair and a shapely butt; his anger immediately vanished.

"Jason Ryan, meet Lynn Simpson, Jack's sister."

Sarah could see Ryan as he cringed when he heard it was the colonel's sister. He soon got over it and then picked up the small .38.

"Nice to meet you," Ryan said sarcastically.

"I'm sure," Lynn said as she stepped around the skeleton and the ejection seat.

"Don't mind him; he's being a baby because he got speared by a tree branch. He's been in a bad mood ever since he crashed our helicopter," Sarah said as she kneeled over and checked Ryan's wound.

"I crashed! You mean, when we got shot down?"

"So, that was you?" Lynn asked as she looked around the darkened cave. "Your flying drew enough attention from the Russians to give me time to escape."

"So glad I could be of assistance."

"Damn it, you're bleeding again!" Sarah said as she once more applied pressure to his wounded shoulder. "You did it dragging that thing in here, didn't you? You stupid idiot."

"Yeah, does this look stupid?" he asked thrusting the pilot's handgun into her hand.

Sarah still kept one hand on the wound but felt the reassuring feel of a gun in her other.

Lynn looked around her. "Hey, where did the girl go?" she asked.

Sarah looked up and saw nothing. She couldn't tell if Marla was standing right next to her.

"Marla," Sarah called out. "Marla, get back here with us, right—"

The sound of wood striking wood filled the cave. Then the sound of automatic-weapons fire erupted not far from the caves opening. Ryan saw tracers flying everywhere and that was when he decided.

"I think we better find a back door to this place; that doesn't sound good at all."

"I think you're right," Sarah said as she lifted the pilot to his feet, her small frame far stronger than Ryan realized.

With Lynn and Sarah flanking Jason, they entered the cave.

"By the way Mr. Ryan, who is Mary Jane Rotten Crotch? An associate of yours?" Lynn asked, knowing full well the name was one of those many foul-sounding delicacies the military used for describing the not-so-virtuous women hounding servicemen. "Maybe an old girlfriend?"

"Yeah, most definitely an old flame of mine."

As they went farther into the cave it wasn't long before long-sought-for items became visible in the bleak darkness and as Ryan fell over one of these Lynn realized they had found what Alexander was looking for: the Hyper Glide.

Lynn knew it by its real name: It was the weapon of choice for a mission known to the military as Operation Solar Flare.

Punchy Alexander couldn't see anything other than the Spetsnaz taking aim at nothing and firing. He aimed his own Beretta nine-millimeter into the dark, but all he could see was the smoldering remains of one of his Sikorsky helicopters and smoke rising from the men doing the shooting. He tried to get them under control by shouting out orders, but through the explosive reports bouncing off of trees and rocks he didn't stand a chance at being heard.

He finally reached out and grabbed Sagli who was just as frightened as his men. He turned him toward the north and pushed him forward. They were soon joined by three of the Spetsnaz.

As Alexander turned to look behind him, he saw something that froze his blood. A dark shape jumped from the trees and clubbed one of the soldiers to the ground. The beast struck the man three times in quick succession and then vanished before the men next to him could react.

"Jesus, what are these things?" he yelled as the beating of the clubs continued in its deafening cadence.

The men he left behind started to fight in earnest, laying down a dense cover fire in all direction. Then, one of the Spetsnaz who had gone to ground in a prone position was struck by a huge rock that was thrown from the darkness of the trees. That was followed by a roar that chilled the blood of every man who heard it. As the prone man was quickly checked by one of the electronic technicians, another rock was thrown, this one even larger that the first. The tech didn't have a chance as the stone hit him square in the face. That was what broke the other techs' will to stay and fight. They all ran for the trail that Alexander had just disappeared down and that was when the animals hit with force. At least twenty of the great beasts broke free of their camouflage against the trees and started swinging their clubs. The sounds of wood striking flesh overpowered the screams of men as they were taken down one by one.

Giganticus Pythicus had evolved over the last twenty thousand years, enough to gain the knowledge that led them to the use of tools and they were using them now and winning against the advanced firepower of mankind. The camouflage and striking capability coupled with the knowledge of when to attack caught the Spetsnaz, the technicians and the regular soldiers off guard, and when the last one fell, he died never knowing what it was that attacked and killed them.

The battle for the Stikine River was over in three minutes.

Jack stopped long enough for Everett to snap the wire-ties with a sharp stone. It took them far too long as they heard the battle in the back of them. The shooting was getting lighter and the drumming louder. The screams of animals no one in their small group ever wanted to see in person tore through the trees and assaulted their hearing. The primal fear they all felt growing inside of them was surreal in the fact that they sensed this was something that their ancestors may have feared as they went about their daily lives, in that Jack remembered Mendenhall's brief description of what he was feeling on the river.

"Damn, Jack, whatever we're dealing with here is kicking the hell out of Alexander's men," Everett said as he finally freed Mendenhall and turned to work on Farbeaux.

"May I suggest now that we have a weapon that we continue north and see if we can't thwart that old friend of yours?" Henri said as Everett cut through the thick plastic of his restraint.

As they all looked up, Jack Collins made sure the Russian-made weapon had a full clip and then he turned and ran for the trail where he knew his old buddy, Punchy, was heading.

"I think the colonel's way ahead of you," Mendenhall said as he didn't wait for Everett or Farbeaux as he hurriedly dove into the brush and followed Jack.

When Henri and Everett started running after Will and Jack, they saw something pacing with them through the woods beside them, just on the other side of a line of trees. It dwarfed them as they ran. They would speed up and the shadow in the darkness would speed up. They would turn following Jack's lead, and then the shadow would mimic the maneuver.

"We have another one directly behind us, Captain," Henri said with as much grace as he could muster in the circumstance of that terrifying moment.

"Oh, shit, look," Everett called out as another of the giants was seen to their right, running just far enough away to be seen. "Jack!" Everett shouted as loud as he could. "We have some very large company!"

Everett saw that Collins was too far ahead to hear, but Mendenhall wasn't. The lieutenant half turned and saw the giant shadows as they raced along beside them and he yelled out an incoherency and doubled his efforts to catch up with the colonel, or more to the point, the only man with a weapon.

"May I suggest we give the colonel the time he needs?" Farbeaux shouted and then turned into the trees to his right.

Everett couldn't believe Henri was about to give himself up like that. His bosses in France really must have threatened him. In any case, the SEAL captain wasn't about to let the Frenchman show him up, he also peeled off, only to the left.

As Will chanced a glace backward, he was shocked to see an empty trail where Everett and Farbeaux had been. He shook his head knowing the captain and Henri must have met a fate that he was trying desperately to avoid.

Sarah, Ryan, and Lynn had only gone fifteen feet into the caves interior when they stumbled into the large, black object. Lynn let go of Ryan long enough to reach down and feel the thing they had stumbled into. She swallowed when she felt the condensation on the dark casing. She ran her hands along the surface and felt the heat just beneath. She moaned and that was when Ryan also touched it.

"Feels like a giant pocket warmer."

"Yeah," Lynn said straightening up. "You could call it that, about five hundred megatons worth."

Ryan straightened like a man shot from cannon. He swallowed and started wiping his hands on his pants.

"What?" Sarah asked, taking an involuntary step back.

"That's right, you've missed the discussions to date, this thing here, this massive nuclear device is what Mr. Alexander is looking for."

"Harrumph," Ryan said clearing his throat. "And his reason for that is… "

"Oh, I forgot, he's a traitor to Canada and wants to start his own country in Quebec," Lynn said as plainly and as simply as she could.

"Okay, that makes some sense — I guess," Ryan said.

"No, Mr. Ryan, it makes all the sense in the world."

Ryan looked around and saw that the cave had a wide-open shaft that was situated against the far wall. The opening was about ten feet in diameter and it looked deep, possibly hundreds of feet.

"Look, why don't we just push the weapon down this hole. Alexander would never find it down there."

"That wouldn't be very nice, Mr. Ryan."

A light suddenly clicked on, and standing only a few feet away was Punchy Alexander, bloodied and out of breath, and in the backlight they saw Dmitri Sagli and three of his commandos. Alexander had them covered with his automatic and Sagli looked to be enjoying the moment as he approached Lynn and slammed his fist into her stomach. Ryan reacted without thinking: he hurled himself into the smaller Russian, but after the death of his partner over the woman he had just slammed to the ground, Sagli saw Jason's move long before he tried it. He reached up and slammed the pistol he was holding into the head of Ryan and he went down hard onto the packed earth of the cave.

"Ms. McIntire, Jack will be so pleased to see you, almost as much as I. You and the colonel's sister will come in very handy when it comes time to complete our business here."

Sagli turned on Alexander and whispered something Sarah failed to catch.

"Have the men cover the cave's opening. If the animals try to gain access, shoot them all. They can do that, can't they?" he said sarcastically. "I mean, they are capable of covering a bottleneck?"

"You are missing the point here," Sagli said angrily. "We have to leave here at some point, you fool, and those things will be waiting."

Alexander smiled. "No, I think they'll go for whoever runs interference for us," he said as he stared at Sarah.

In three minutes in the light of four flashlights taken from the packs of the commandos, Alexander had the access port to the Hyper Glide device illuminated and opened. The warmth he felt from the outer casing told Punchy that the weapon was still viable and it had been contained since its violent end in 1962. He closed his eyes, feeling the power at his very fingertips. Soon this lone device, split into twenty smaller weapons would give him the power to make his own country, and with the radical element of the French-speaking population, it would be a simple transition.

"I can't believe that you actually think you can do this. This isn't a movie, Alexander; this is the real world, a coup in a civilized Western country?" "

Alexander looked up at Lynn, swiped some of the moisture from his face and smiled.

"A coup in a province that is awaiting a chance of a lifetime. They'll willingly threaten any nation for the chance to be their own country."

"Quebec? Do you think even the most ardent supporters of separation of state from country will follow you, or allow you to stay in power using threats to the security of their friends as persuasion?"

"Yes, I do. I know them and I know the element that they seek: power, my girl, it's always power. And in the right hands, it's such a liberating feeling. Yes, I will have almost total support. Even the United States will find it preferable to the rebellious nature of Canadian policy." Alexander had had just about enough of Lynn so he nodded toward Sagli who immediately reached out and slammed his fist into the side of her head. She fell and struck Ryan as he lay on the cave's floor.

"You bastard," Sarah said as she leaned over and checked both Lynn and Ryan.

Alexander waved Sagli over and then stood.

"My friend, knowing Colonel Collins as I do, and his tendency to be the hero, he should be very close to the opening of this cave. Please step forward with one of your commandos and ask him to join us. It's time he does his part."

Sagli gave Alexander a strange look, but shrugged his shoulders and pulled one of the Spetsnaz toward the mouth of the cave.

"There's no need, Punchy, I'm here."

Alexander quickly grabbed Sarah and brought her to his front, placing the nine-millimeter to her head.

"No need to do that, I have no weapon," Collins said from the darkness of the cave.

Sagli had stopped dead in his tracks as the man beside him went to one knee. The Russian mobster held a flashlight and he pointed it in the direction of the voice. In the light, Jack stood erect and his hands were held out in front of him, palms outward.

"I knew you would get away, Jack. One can always depend on you giving it your all," Alexander said as he forced the muzzle of the gun into Sarah's temple.

"Don't do that, Punchy" Collins said with cold intensity.

"Don't be so melodramatic, Jack, my boy. Now come on, let's finish up here. The access panel has been removed and we're ready for your expertise."

As Alexander finished speaking, there was a loud noise from behind as Mendenhall, Henri, and Everett burst through the opening, yelling and happily slapping each other on the back.

"They're big, but we're faster!" Carl shouted as he helped hold Farbeaux up from the exhausting run they had just endured.

Jack never turned around. He stepped back a foot as Sagli adjusted his light on the others.

"Oh," was all Mendenhall said, getting the attention of the Captain and Frenchman.

"I knew there would be a catch to this cave," Everett said looking over at Farbeaux.

He just shrugged and bent over and rested his hands on his knees. "Any port in a storm, Captain" — he managed to look back up at Carl—"it's not always a friendly port, however.

"Alright, we're all here. It's time, Jack."

Outside, Collins heard the drumming of clubs against the trees come to a sudden stop, it was if the animals knew that this thing would be over soon, for better or worse. Before he spoke he felt the hand of Everett slap him on the back, and then Carl saw the strap wrapped around Jack's shoulder and then he straightened quickly.

"You sneaky bastard — what makes you think they don't see what you have dangling from your back?" he hissed through his teeth.

"Because, I told you all along when you're dealing with these people, they're not soldiers, they're just stupid," Collins mumbled back at Everett.

"If you don't get over here and enter that damn code, Jack, whatever you just whispered will be the last thing this little lady ever hears from you. And, if you could, please hurry. The wildlife around here is beginning to make me a bit nervous."

"Punchy, I think it's time we talked," Jack said, keeping his backside as far from the light as possible.

"The time for talking is over," he said as he roughly shook Sarah and actually slammed the muzzle of the gun harder into her cheek.

"Sarah, look at me," Collins said as he was now flanked by Mendenhall on the right and Everett and Farbeaux on his left. They were all four covered by the three Spetsnaz to their front and Sagli, who looked anxious to shoot, someone, anyone. "Do you believe that everything is going to be alright?"

Sarah nodded her head, not doubting, just hoping Jack had a plan.

Collins looked down at the prone bodies of Ryan and Lynn.

"They needed persuading that I was in charge. Don't worry, Jack, they're alive, and they'll stay that way, just as long as you do what is asked."

"As I said, Punchy, we need to talk."

Letting out a deep breath, Alexander cocked the automatic, letting Jack know that any pressure whatsoever on the trigger would send a bullet into Sarah's head.

"Okay, let's get this over with. Talk."

"October 1962, the United States was in the process of trying to convince the Soviets that President Kennedy was dead serious about getting those missiles out of Cuba. The threat of a blockade didn't seem to be scaring the high command, or the leadership at the Kremlin that Kennedy meant business on this issue. So, Operation Solar Flare was devised, a top-secret scenario that would take the head of the chicken off at the neck, with a weapon so powerful that the war would be over before it ever started — what's known as a doomsday device."

"You are wasting time, Jack. I am growing bored with a story I know as well as you."

"Well, here's something you didn't know, Punchy, you stupid son of a bitch. It was a bluff. The Soviets were allowed to learn of Operation Solar Flare before it was launched in October of that year. They were allowed to see not one, but two aircraft take off that night. One from McCord Air Force Base in Washington State, the other from the carrier USS Oriskany in the Sea of Japan. The Soviet high command knew they had no defense against anything like the Hyper Glide device. A highly precise standoff weapon with such a huge punch was game over for them. They folded their hand, bluffed out of the game by a bold and well-planned lie. So you see, Punchy, what you have there is a small amount of active plutonium, placed there so their detectors, stationed in vans and trucks around all of our bases, knew they must be live weapons, when all it was is a case with enough plutonium in it to light up your bedside clock."

"You're lying!" Alexander shouted. "Why would the U.S. spend millions of dollars in a recovery effort?"

"No, Punchy, I'm not lying. The bluff continued for years after; we had to make the Soviets believe we weren't the kind of country to run a poker game on them. They had to know the threat was serious and would continue to be just in case their memories failed them at some point. Colonel Farbeaux?"

"Yes, Jack?" Henri said eyeing Punchy and then turning his eyes toward Collins.

"Explain the situation to the director of Internal Security for the province of Montreal, please."

"Sorry, Mr. Alexander, the colonel's story is a fact — or more to the point, the truth about a lie, which the Americans have become pretty adept at, of late." Henri looked at Jack and nodded; Jack remained still, focusing solely on Alexander.

"Kill the Frenchman!" Alexander shouted. As the three Spetsnaz and Sagli flinched at the order, Jack saw his opening.

As Mendenhall, Everett, and Farbeaux dove for cover, Jack used his hip to swing the AK-47 up and into his hands. The weapon had been hanging upside down across his shoulder waiting for Jack's chance to use it. The first of the weapon's bright flashes caught the three Spetsnaz totally unaware. By the time one of them turned in Jack's direction, rounds had stitched across the chests of all three. As they fell, Collins trained the weapon on Sagli, who immediately dropped his gun. Jack tilted his head and pursed his lips.

"Sorry," he said as he fired a single round into the Russian's head.

Alexander wasn't taking any chances. He backed away from Collins, screaming, "I'll kill her, Jack! You know that I will."

Collins held his hand up when Mendenhall and Everett stood and made to move forward. Farbeaux reached for one of the fallen flashlights and shone it on Alexander.

"You just don't know when to quit, Jack. Well, this time it's going to cost you."

To the surprise of Collins and everyone else, he didn't shoot Sarah, but quickly aimed the pistol at the prone, unconscious body of Lynn, lying next to Ryan. As he depressed the trigger, the light in Farbeaux's hand caught a sight that none of them would have ever believed. A giant hand reached out and caught the weapon in Punchy's hand just as the gun fired. His wrist was bent up and snapped in two. Alexander screamed just as Sarah was torn from his grasp. She fell to the ground and Jack rushed forward. The light still played on Alexander as the giant beast that had came up behind him grabbed the large Canadian by the neck and lifted him free of the cave floor.

"My God," Farbeaux said as the full view of the beast was illuminated in the bright light. Jack and Sarah looked at the giant towering over them and saw not only brawn, but intelligence.

The giant ape, the reason behind twenty thousand years of myth and legends, from the Arctic Circle to the Rocky Mountains, stood erect, and the intelligence in its eyes would forever be undeniable to all who looked into them. He held Punchy, gazing calmly at the humans before him for a moment, and then it roared. And every man in the cave knew he'd been challenged, been dared to try to take what was now his. When none of them moved — though Mendenhall began visibly shaking — it turned and stepped into the darkness beyond the power of the flashlight to see it.

Mendenhall stood and walked over and sat down upon the first thing he came across. It was the casing for the Hyper Glide bomb. He sat and was actually grateful for the warmth he felt penetrating through to his wet butt. He placed his head in his hands and tried to calm his heart. It was Jack who slowly stood and touched Will on the shoulder, and even Farbeaux gingerly reached out and touched him on the opposite side.

"Will, you may want to get off of the five hundred megaton nuclear weapon."

Mendenhall looked up, a sad look came across his face as he took in the colonel.

"Not a bluff?" was the simple question.

"No, not a bluff," Jack answered as he let go of Will's shoulder, and winked at his young lieutenant.

"Perhaps you could help me stand up, Colonel Farbeaux?"

"Yes, Lieutenant, I think that would be best."

Everett had gone over to Ryan and Lynn and found both just coming around. Jack kissed Sarah on the top of her head, but that didn't stop her from plopping to the ground as the last few moments caught up with her. Collins went to his sister and lifted her off the ground and Farbeaux shone the light on them both as Lynn's eyes fluttered open.

"When you were a kid, you always managed to fall asleep at the end of the good movies," Jack said, smiling, "or throw your hands across your face at the scary parts."

Lynn didn't say anything. She just placed her arms around her big brother and hugged him.

"Okay, I missed something again, didn't I?" Ryan said as he tried to gain his feet. Grimacing, he sat down again, leaning against the wall well away from the bomb.

As Sarah stood, watching Jack and his little sister, she heard someone behind her. She slowly turned fully expecting to see another animal, but instead she saw an older, slightly built man leaning against the cave wall. His hair was wild looking and his glasses were bent so badly that it was difficult to figure out how he was able to see. The cave wall was clearly all that was holding him up.

"Charlie!" Sarah said as she reached out to help him.

"I'll be damned," Everett said as he raced forward to help Sarah. "What in the hell have you been up to?" Carl asked when he smelled the odors coming off of Ellenshaw.

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer." Charlie looked around. "I see my savior saved you nonbelievers as well."

Jack walked over after propping Lynn up next to Ryan. The lieutenant, who was really seeing her for the first time, suddenly leaned over and kissed her on the swollen lips. It happened so fast that she couldn't even get angry, but she could give him a shocked grin as she took stock of the wiry little navy aviator.

"Sorry," Ryan said. "Just thrilled to be alive."

Ellenshaw wearily sat down in the glorious light. His eyes had adjusted to the dark well enough to see what he was dealing with.

"I would say Giganticus Pythicus is a fact — to be taken out of the realm of myth and legend forever? Does anyone disagree with my theory?" Charlie looked at the faces turning toward him in the shadowy cave with a smug look on his face. When no one said anything, he was satisfied. "Good," he smiled through his obvious pain as Sarah patted him on the back. "Colonel Farbeaux?"

"No, you have no argument from me, Professor. What I saw here tonight—"

"No, Colonel, I was about to say you may want to look in the cave just a little farther back — you may find two wagons and the ornate box that this used to lay in." Charlie Ellenshaw tossed a small object toward Farbeaux and he caught it in midair. He shone the light on it and then smiled.

"So, are you going to accept such a large payment for doing your duty, Colonel?" Jack asked, already knowing the answer.

As Farbeaux looked at the second half of the Twins of Peter the Great, he returned Jack's smile.

"Bad guy, remember?"

Collins nodded his head, satisfied that Henri was still Henri.

"Hey, where is the girl?" Ryan said looking around with another flashlight he had picked up.

"I believe young Marla ran in that direction," Charlie said as he pointed toward the rear of the cave.

Before any of them could follow the trail back into the dark interior of the cave, they were shocked when one of the Sasquatch appeared from the front. It roared and then stepped into the light. Jack and the others watched as it angrily kicked at the bodies of Sagli and his commandos. The bodies were tossed as if they were nothing more that beanbags. The beast roared again. They all saw the small bones that were entwined in its long hair. The club it carried struck out at the rock wall, knocking free stone and dirt with the powerful blow.

"I thought they were on our side," Mendenhall said as he took in the giant, Bigfoot.

"Look at its side, it's been shot, and it looks to be a mortal wound," Charlie said, actually stepping forward until Jack halted him.

"Doc, I don't think it cares who shot it; it only sees us at the moment."

The beast roared for a third time. With its mouth wide they could see the blood as it coursed through the throat from another wound they couldn't see. The great animal kicked out once more, its large foot striking the Hyper Glide, sending it into the stone wall of the cave.

"Whoa!" Ryan said as he grabbed Lynn and retreated a few steps. The beast saw the movement and screamed once more, making all of them cringe.

"Don't move, the weapon can't be armed without the code," Collins said, gesturing for Ryan and Lynn to stop moving.

The beast saw the two stop and stare at it, and it obviously thought that was a threatening gesture. This time it swung the massive club and again it struck the large bomb on its outer casing. When it did, the outer primer popped free and that was when they saw the electronic display on the Hyper Glide come to life. The numbers were the old-fashioned kind seen at NASA in the early days before LED lights. The bright numbers started counting down from five minutes."

"Oh, shit," Farbeaux said. For the first time his cool was evaporating. "Colonel, you seem to be taking this current situation rather calmly."

Collins watched the device as it counted down, but at the moment he was more concerned with the enraged animal before him.

"The Hyper Glide can count down all it wants, it may be armed but it would be impossible for it to detonate."

The beast roared again when Jack spoke, silencing him. Then the animal wavered and leaned against the rock wall, finally getting weaker from its wounds.

"Now, why would it be impossible for this rather large weapon to explode?" Everett asked as he, too, watched the Sasquatch.

"Because it was designed to detonate at minus three hundred feet; it was a giant bunker-Buster. For safety of the local surface population the bomb had to bury itself in three hundred feet of earth before it went off."

The beast was breathing its last. The animal let out a cry, not unlike a human would when death was close. Then the beast laid its head to the side and rolled over to the floor.

The men and women in the cave visibly relaxed as Jack moved toward the bomb.

"I don't mean to be a stickler, Colonel, but you were wrong about the weapon not being able to be armed without the codes; so what if you're wrong about this?" Henri asked, joining him as Jack looked the bomb over.

"I'm not wrong. The device must have rotted through its wiring and disabled the sequencing of the installed code. Now look here," he said, pointing to a set of smaller numbers below that of the larger countdown digits ticking off. "That is plus or minus altitude, the numbers from the countdown have to match in sequence with the minus numbers in altitude, in this case, three hundred feet minus zero altitude, in other words, three hundred feet below ground."

Farbeaux breathed easier as he saw that Collins was right, at least he hoped so.

"Well, I guess we'll find out in four minutes, but may I suggest we use that time to—"

They were all caught off guard when the beast half rose and roared once more. In its death throes it lashed out with its large club and barely missed the Frenchman and Jack as they dove away from the strike. Instead of hitting them, the club struck the Hyper Glide one last time. The powerful blow sent the weapon sailing against the wall one more time. Only this created the bounce that would kill them all. It struck the floor and then the giant weapon teetered on the edge of the large shaft that Ryan had found earlier. As Jack jumped for the weapon to steady it, it tilted and went down. They all were stunned. They heard the Hyper Glide collide with the bottom of the shaft far below them just as the animal lay its head down and died.

Collins rolled over onto his side and stared at the ceiling of the cave in frustration. "Mr. Ryan, how deep would you say that shaft is?"

Jason swallowed and leaned over the hole in the cave's floor. He grimaced and then looked at the people around him.

"Uh, real deep, Colonel, maybe even three hundred feet."

"Oh this is a fun time, thanks, Jack," Lynn said as she sat in frustration.

They all heard the grunt before they turned and saw the giant animal that had absconded with Alexander. It was sanding erect and watching them. It grunted once more and then its eyes fell on the fallen Sasquatch. Its angry eyes went from its fallen family member to those humans standing and sitting in the cave.

It was Ellenshaw that moved first when he recognized that the beast was the artist that had saved his life after he was shot. He quickly reached out and after closing his eyes, grabbed the animal by its massive arm. The beast grunted and then shook Charlie's arm loose as it continued to stare at the fallen Bigfoot before it. Charlie tried again, this time the animal looked down at him and its mouth opened, showing its massive incisors it leaned over and breathed heavily into Ellenshaw's face.

"For God's sake, Charlie, what are you doing? We have another situation here that requires attention," Everett called out.

"I think I know what I'm doing," he answered. He then pulled on the hairy arm until the beast allowed itself to be pulled along. The animal barely cleared the twelve-foot ceiling as Charlie led it toward the hole. The others quickly scrambled out of the way. Once in front of the hole Ellenshaw pointed down. The beast grunted and then it growled once again, this time it was far more menacing than the grunt before it.

"We don't have the time, Charlie," Jack said as he came to his feet. He approached the hole, all the while watching the animal in case it attacked, which would matter very much if the Hyper Glide went off. Jack eyed the creature and then stepped around it. The dark brown eyes of the beast followed Jack's every move, its lips curling over sharp teeth as it did so. Collins bent at the waist and then looked down into the shaft. He saw nothing but darkness.

"Jack, what are you thinking? You won't have the time," Sarah said as she gingerly joined him at the hole, all the while also watching the giant animal before them.

Jack looked up at Sarah and then Bigfoot; he shook his head and smiled. "What the hell, I've got to try."

Collins started to place his feet into the hole and was about to turn and start his way down the shaft. Then the dawning of understanding came to the giant's eyes. It reached down and picked Jack up by the scruff of the collar and roughly hoisted him to its back, Then without warning the great beast turned and jumped into the hole, its strong arms grabbing handholds to arrest its descent. They were all shocked at the suddenness of Jack's capture and disappearance.

Farbeaux ran to the hole and tossed down a flashlight; he heard the distinct sound of it hitting something.

"That didn't help the situation," Jack called back up through the blackness.

Henri looked up at the others who were staring at him.

"I thought the colonel may need that — if we're lucky."

As they waited, there was no sound coming from the shaft. Henri looked at his watch and frowned. He didn't need to announce that they were only three minutes away from a quick but horrible death. Interested in his fate, Farbeaux looked down the dark shaft one last time.

"How long has it been now? Sarah asked as she held Ryan upright with Lynn on the other side of him.

"We only have two minutes now," Everett said as he placed a hand on Mendenhall's back.

Suddenly, there was a roar from far below in the shaft.

"That didn't sound good," Ryan said as he relieved Lynn and Sarah of their burden as he slowly sat down and waited for the melting heat that would signal their death.

They all heard it at the same time, a rumbling coming from below. Farbeaux looked into the shaft and barely had the time to jump out of the way as the beast sprang from the hole. They all yelled at the sudden appearance of the animal as it landed with bent knees; then it shook its back, shaking Jack free from where he was holding on. The beast immediately went to its fallen brethren as the men and women stared on in shock as Collins picked himself up from the floor and came to his knees.

There was silence as they looked Jack over. He had his hands on his knees and he was bloody from head to ripped pants. He was breathing heavy, as heavy as Will, Ryan, and Mendenhall had ever seen him.

"Now that was one express elevator to hell," he said finally.

"I don't mean to be the pushy one in the group, Colonel, but can you tell us what happened. I mean, is our death immanent or not?" Henri said as his eyes never left the beast kneeling beside him. Finally, he chanced a look at Collins when he realized the giant animal was mourning and wasn't hostile.

Jack took a deep breath and then finally looked up at the others. He found Lynn and Sarah and then a smile slowly crept across his bloody face. Then he cleared his throat and then held out his right hand, in it, cupped solidly against his palm was what looked like a circuit breaker that had wires dangling off of it.

"It wasn't even close, it only reached one minute and three seconds."

Most wanted to fall to the cave floor at Jack's remark.

"That animal is amazing; it took me right to the Hyper Glide. It was if the damn thing knew what we wanted. Charlie, if anyone ever gives you crap about what it is you do, you send them to see me."

Jack finally stood with the help of Sarah and Lynn, making a very sore and tired Ryan jealous that he had lost his two nurses. They all stopped when the great beast stood erect with the fallen Bigfoot in its arms. It grunted and then quickly moved down the far end of the cave.

"Let's follow," Jack said placing his arms around his sister and Sarah. "Marla is back there, let's get her and go home.

"There could be a hundred of those… those animals back there, Jack," Lynn said.

"Giganticus Pythicus, my dear," Charlie corrected, thinking he was helping out.

"Whatever… there could be—"

"There are. Not just hundreds, but thousands. They live here, in each and every single plateau in this area. There is a cave system that must stretch from the Stikine to the Alaskan border." Charlie smiled wide. "Oh, yes, there is indeed something back there young lady."

Jack looked at Everett and he shrugged. Then he took a flashlight and Everett another. They had to see if they could find the girl.

"Should we take this?" Carl asked, holding up the AK-47.

"No," was the fast and simple answer from Jack.

"Okay, but I'm going with you," Sarah said. "You owe me Jack, for that trust you asked for."

"And how do you figure that, Short Stuff?"

"Because, what made you think Alexander wouldn't pull that trigger if he thought all was lost."

Jack smiled. "Because Punchy is the kind that always thinks he can luck his way out of trouble. I knew different."

"Yeah, well, I'm still coming."

Collins nodded, not really wanting to leave Sarah behind anyway. "The rest of you stay put," He gestured at Sarah with her arm around his battered body she started forward.

Charlie Ellenshaw smiled and nodded his head. If the people around him could learn to live without guns and take a chance on nature, and live with it for what it is, or very possibly could be, there was hope indeed.

They saw a bend in the wall of the cave as they slowly advanced. Jack was in the lead with Sarah in the middle and Everett taking up their rear. As Collins neared the wall and the bend, he saw something that looked vaguely familiar. Then he recognized it: It was a steering bar for a horse-drawn wagon. As Jack drew nearer, he could see something on the ground. He shone the light on it and then turned to Sarah and Everett.

"Well, someone lost their lunch money," he said, smiling and showing both Sarah and Carl the lost treasure of L. T. Lattimer as it glimmered even through the hundred years of dust.

On the ground were spilled bags, and even some stacked gold double eagles. Lattimer must have done the stacking before he vanished into Ellenshaw's past.

"Now that's impressive," Carl said as he stared at the millions just sitting, spilled on the ground.

Jack shook his head and moved on, shining the light left and then right. He was looking for any trail the girl may have left in the soft earth of the cave's floor, but as it was they only had the giant prints of the beast as it had went this way with its sorrowful load. As he approached the second wagon, he flashed his light on its tarp-covered bed and squeezed by. Close behind him, Sarah stumbled into the wagon's wooden side. It was Carl who heard the sound of cracking wood and ran to push Sarah out of the way. As they cleared the side of the wagon, Jack pulled them out the rest of the way just as bags upon bags of gold double eagles fell free. It was Sarah who saw it first.

"Wow," Everett said and that was followed by a whistle.

Lying among the bags of gold was the skeletal remains of a man dressed in a plaid shirt with suspenders. The skull looked as if it had been crushed as its blank eyes stared out at nothing. Jack saw that the skeletons arms seemed to wrap around two of the large bags of coins and to him it looked as if the skull were grinning.

"The late Mr. Lattimer I presume," Sarah said, staring at the remains.

"Well, he got what he came for," Jack said as he pulled on Sarah's arm. They left the two wagons behind and allowed L. T. Lattimer to have his gold.

As they advanced, the cave became more humid. They saw where several tunnels branched off the main cave. Jack was starting to think it would be an impossible task to find Marla. That was when he heard a sound that sent chills down his back. It was the cry of a baby, or more precisely, several babies.

Everett pointed toward one of the shafts of the cave that bent to the right. Collins shone the light in that direction and then he looked back at Carl and Sarah. He shook his head.

"I wouldn't want anyone barging in on my children, and Charlie's beasts seem to take things the way humans would."

"I am in total agreement," Everett said.

"Look," Sarah whispered.

As Carl and Jack followed Sarah's eyes, they saw the small footprints that led up a small incline and into another shaft fifty feet above their heads.

"At least the tracks don't lead through the nursery," Jack said as he started up in that direction.

As they moved upward from the cave floor, the paintings on the cave walls became more numerous. There were scenes of family life, not of humans or even ancient man, but of the animals that they had encountered that night. The gathering of vegetables and berries, even the killing of small animals were shown in stark detail in a rainbow of colors. Jack was amazed at the differing views that the artist had, a very steady and talented hand was at work here and they all knew by looking at the paintings they were dealing with an advancement of a mammal that went far beyond that of mere evolution. It was like they were looking at themselves a millions years before.

"Jack, look at this," Sarah said as she examined a larger than normal drawing. Collins shone the light and was amazed to see an articulate and colorful painting of a large bird: an eagle.

"Why does it have two heads?" Sarah asked.

As Collins examined the painting, a sense a familiarity came into his mind. The eagle was displayed with wings spread and the heads were facing opposite of one another. The colors were red and yellow. What plants were used to make this he didn't know, the colors were so bright.

"I don't know why it has two heads, but why would that seem strange in a place like this?"

"Point taken," Sarah said as she moved along behind Jack.

As they climbed, they all could smell a change in the air. It was cooler and there was more of a freshness to it after the oppressiveness of the lower cave system. Suddenly, Collins stopped and shut off the flashlight.

Sarah saw it, too. There was light up ahead.

"It must be dawn outside," Everett said standing next to Sarah.

"Listen," Jack said, tilting his head toward the dull light coming through the passage ahead.

"It sounds like crying, or moaning," Sarah said in wonder. She reached for Jack as he started forward, suddenly realizing there were limits to her natural curiosity.

Jack climbed toward the diffused light ahead. Sarah and Everett followed, while Carl was wishing he would have brought the AK-47 along — just for comfort. Jack saw the opening up ahead. The noise coming from outside was sorrowful and again he got the cold chills. It reminded him of a time in Mogadishu and the funeral rites for forty-seven children murdered by a warlord. The sound was that of mothers mourning their young — or a lost husband.

As they came to the large opening that led out onto the top of the plateau, Jack held Sarah close by. When they looked out of the opening, they froze. It was if they were looking at a scene that would have been described by some ancient architect of primordial recordings. Collins had seen pictures and read books about the American Indian tribes and how they respected their dead. The scene spread out before them was one of the most fantastic sights they had ever seen. The trees were the first thing they saw. Among the branches of these trees were placed the bodies of the giant apes that had been killed that night by the Russian mercenaries. Jack counted three of the large animals that were raised to the highest branches of the trees.

"Look," Sarah said pointing from their high vantage point.

The animals, from what Jack could quickly count, numbered in the hundreds as they stood around and watched as some of the larger beasts lifted the bodies of the dead upward into the thick trees. Jack quickly saw their savior as it lifted the body of the beast from the cave. It was as though he was witnessing a father morning his son.

"Is this where the Indians got their burial traditions?" Sarah asked no one in particular.

The moaning and crying was being done by most of the animals on the ground. Some sat on the ground, other stood, but all had the look of bereavement that everyone in the world has felt at one time or another.

When the three bodies were situated in the top branches, Jack could see the large animals remove long straps of what looked like leather, or rawhide. They wrapped these around the dead to secure them to the branches. It was amazing that these giant beasts were smart enough to have a ceremony for the dead and actually grieve, which placed them at the head of the entire animal kingdom and just below the intelligence level of man. They actually knew and understood the concept of death.

"Oh my God," came a voice behind them.

They all turned and saw Charlie Ellenshaw as he took in the scene before him.

"I would give my right arm to have a camera," he said, swiping at a tear that coursed its way down his old cheek.

"Jack, you won't believe this," Carl said as he started shaking his head.

Off in the distance, covering at least ten miles of trees at the uppermost portion of the plateau, were the raised remains of thousands of creatures. Some were old, others ancient, and some looked as if they had died recently. They covered the tops of trees for miles around.

"How long have they been here?" Sarah asked.

Collins could only shake his head.

The ceremony was finished. They saw the larger of the animals drop from the lower branches of the trees after securing the dead. Then the Sasquatch moved off in small groups, in what looked like family units. Then they vanished before their eyes, blending in with the trees and shrubs of the mountain. Jack, Sarah, Charlie, and Carl were silent. To be a witness to what modern man brought with them to the nature of their own world was quite unsettling.

When Jack looked back down onto the plateau, he saw a sight that froze his heart.

"I'll be damned," Jack mumbled.

Sarah, Charlie, and Everett looked down and saw what Jack was seeing. There, huddled where a hundred giant beasts had been a moment earlier, was Marla. She was on her knees and she was praying over a body.

"Oh my God," Sarah said. "It's Helena, her grandmother."

Twenty minutes later, Jack, Sarah, Ellenshaw, and Everett reached Marla from the ledge, and joined her on the top of the plateau. The girl had stopped praying and was just looking straight ahead. When Sarah touched her on the shoulder, Marla didn't do anything other than place her own hand on top of Sarah's.

"Honey, how did your grandmother get here?" Sarah asked.

Marla patted Sarah's hand and then half turned. "They Who Follow brought her from home."

"They Who Follow?" Carl asked.

Marla finally stood. She had been crying heavily, just as the giant apes had been. She wiped at her dirty face and looked at Everett.

"That's what the old ones called them. They Who Follow. They say they got their name by coming across from Asia thousands of years ago — the last time when man was forced to this continent by drought and ice. Legend has it that they followed the clans of men. They have been here ever since."

"Marla, why would they bring your grandmother here?" Jack asked.

The young girl looked curiously at Jack for a long moment, and then she turned to face the rising sun.

"I'm happy you escaped alive from those men — those Russians."

Jack didn't ask why she didn't answer his question, he just looked at Carl and Sarah and waited while the girl figured something out. It had been the way she had looked at them a moment ago that told Jack to be patient.

"The others—" She looked at Jack for a split second. "Your sister, is she alright?"

Collins dipped his head in answer, silent because of the unvoiced sympathy the girl had been prepared to deliver if Lynn hadn't been safe. He could now see that this young woman had been around death all of her life, and she understood it more than being afraid of it.

Marla reached out and took Jack by the hand. Then she started walking. Sarah looked at Carl and Charlie, and they slowly followed along. They walked for about a quarter mile when Marla took them into a copse of young trees encircled by far more ancient pines. She led them into a clearing where Jack stopped and allowed Marla to go on alone. She stopped and then turned. Jack waited for Sarah, the Doc, and Carl; they all slowly approached. Marla was standing in front of five objects that were half buried in the ground and covered by small bushes that had sprung up in front of them.

"My grandmother didn't allow me to come out here by myself. She was always wary of They Who Follow. She said that no matter how smart we thought they were, they were still animals in their own right." Marla turned and smiled at the three people who stood silently, waiting for her to say what it was she brought them here to tell them. "My grandmother will be buried here along with my mother, my father, and the rest of our family."

"Marla," Sarah said, removing Jack's hand that tried to stay her from talking. "Why are they buried all the way out here, and not close to your home?"

"They need to be safe — safe from people like those men that came here. There will always be men like that; men that seek to take what is not theirs to have."

As they watched, Marla uncover the first of the headstones that had been carved by a Tlingit Indian, year after year, every time there was one of her family to be buried. The secret had been kept close to the hearts of the inhabitants inside the Stikine Valley, and known only to a few.

Jack stepped forward and saw the first two names on the first two stones. It was the names of Marla's parents. She ran a loving hand over the cool stone, and then stood and moved to the far right of her parents' burial spot.

"Sarah had said you and yours have run into things that would amaze and astound the rest of the world, so maybe you can keep a secret. That is the least I can do for stopping you men; share what has only been known to my family for almost a hundred years."

She started pulling the small bushes standing guard in front of the last three headstones. Marla looked as if this was something she had wanted to do since she had been born, maybe as a way of explaining herself — her very existence.

As the first carved name was uncovered, Jack stepped forward and his mouth fell open as he read the headstone.

"Colonel Iosovich Petrov, beloved husband and servant to Tsar Nicholas, died 25 September 1955," Jack said aloud. He looked back at Everett; Ellenshaw, and Sarah, all of whom stood dumbfounded.

When Marla had removed the bushes from the last two stones, the entire story behind the fishing camp, the gold and the Twins of Peter the Great came into sharp focus and understanding dawned in Jack's eyes. The words were clear and they were literally earth-shaking.

Marla finally turned and faced Jack, the professor, Sarah, and Everett. She smiled, almost embarrassed at what she had shown them.

"They didn't deserve to be separated from their mother, father, and sisters, no matter what the outcome. My great-great-grandfather Nicholas should have understood that, without family, there is nothing."

Jack swallowed; he was speechless as to what he was witness to. Sarah swiped at a tear as she looked at the words on the tombstone. Charlie was amazed to the point of grieving for the girl and her long-lost ancestors. Everett, for his part, placed his arm around the girl.

"My family, since being here, has taken on the responsibility of something just as great, or even greater: the protection of the wildlife that live here. You see, they used to roam the open spaces from Canada to Mexico — now they have only this place," Marla said as she gestured around her. "We lost our home once, for reasons that were brought on by arrogance and class, something we will never attain again."

"The Crown Prince Alexei and Anastasia, your great-uncle and your great-grandmother," Sarah said as she couldn't take her eyes from the stones in front of her.

"You once said your people were good at keeping secrets — I hope this is true," Marla said as she smiled sadly, and moved off to bury her grandmother alongside a family lost to history.

Jack swore that this was one secret that would be kept.