Return to Dyatlov Pass

~ Chapter Sixteen ~

Panic didn’t make a two-person tent easier to negotiate. After colliding with Andrew three times, she seized him by the upper arms.

“You—over there,” Nat said, gesturing toward the back of the tent. “You stay in your corner, and I’ll stay in mine.”

“But some of my stuff is over there.”

She snorted. “Do you think it matters at this point whose stuff is whose? Grab anything that looks useful and we’ll sort it out later.”

He hesitated, which unfortunately meant he kept blocking her path. “What if you forget something important?”

“I won’t; I swear. You’ll have to trust me. Now get.”

True to her word, she scooped up Andrew’s vast array of supplements and ointments and crammed them into her bag, though she knew Steven would have her head if he found out. Fuck him. He was done being the boss of her. Never should have been in the first place.

Bandages, nasal spray, extra socks, granola bars. Everything went into the pack. Nat’s hands shook as she squashed it as flat as she could. They’d need all the room they could get.

“Hey, Nat?”

“Yeah?”

“Have room for this?”

It was Andrew’s special travel pillow. Real goose down, from elusive Swiss geese or something like that. She didn’t pause. Why not? It would probably be miserable enough where they were going. “Sure, fire it over.”

Squashing the pillow into the pack’s front pocket was more challenging than she’d expected. Nat was so consumed with the chore that it took her a moment to realize she no longer sensed movement from Andrew’s half of the tent. She looked up to see him scribbling on a piece of paper.

“Andy, what on earth are you doing?”

He grinned. “Leaving a note for our rescuers.”

What rescuers? Unlike Igor Dyatlov, she hadn’t promised anyone a telegram. Or an email, for that matter. Out of the entire group, the first person to be missed would likely be Vasily. He was the one with family at home.

Andrew handed her the note.

From now on we know that snowmen exist.

“Very funny. How can you treat this as a joke?” But she knew. There was a feeling of unreality to the whole thing that made it difficult to take seriously. She’d been fighting the giggles all day, even after seeing Lana’s poor battered body. Hysteria, that’s what it was. They were all on the verge of hysteria.

“I don’t know, Nat. Okay, obviously there’s some kind of animal out there. I can hear them. That, I believe. Wolves, sure. Maybe some as-yet-undiscovered arctic hyena. But yetis? Abominable snowmen? Are we really going there?”

“Yeah, I think we are. Look, I get how bizarre this sounds—”

That’s when they heard the screams.

Nat tore out of the tent, tripping over the threshold. Andrew was right behind her.

She froze on the spot, unable to move or cry out.

“What the fuck is that?” he breathed in her ear.

Some monstrous, hulking thing was dragging Vasily from his tent by the legs. The creature was massive, seven or eight feet tall. It wore a hooded coat of some kind of hide and had fur gloves on its hands. Nat couldn’t see its face.

The Mansi shrieked, pleading for his life in his own language. Some things needed no translation.

“Oh my God,” she whispered. This was happening. It was really happening. It wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t a nightmare. It was real.

From now on we know that snowmen exist.

With a howl of his own, Igor burst from his tent, shouting in Russian. Arm upraised, he rushed the creature, and before Nat could register what he was doing, he plunged Joe’s knife into the thing’s back. The creature screeched at a decibel level that threatened to puncture their eardrums. Nat and Andrew threw their hands over their ears while they watched the scene in horror.

The creature whipped around as though the six-inch knife were nothing but a nuisance, a mosquito bite. Flinging out its arm with an outraged squawk, it sent the Russian soaring at an impossible speed and height.

“Igor!” Nat cried.

She heard his screams as he vanished into the night, and the sickening thud as he hit the ground. Then nothing.

“You fucking piece of shit!”

Andrew seized a stick from the fire and charged the creature, using the makeshift torch like a spear, jabbing at its face.

“Andy, no!” Nat wanted to tackle him, to yank him away from that thing, but she couldn’t move. It was as if her boots were nailed to the ground.

“Andrew, get away from that thing before it kills you,” Steven said. Where had he come from?

Maybe a part of Andrew found the mountaineer attractive and wanted to impress him, even now. He gritted his teeth and launched his torch into the creature’s face. This time, the thing squealed in pain, raising its arms to protect itself.

For a few seconds, everything stopped. Nat held her breath. Had Andrew done it? Had he hurt the creature enough to incapacitate it?

And then everything went crazy.

With a yowl of rage, the creature yanked the knife from its back and threw it on the snow. Then it went after Andrew.

“Holy shit!” Andy flew past her, diving into the tent. She heard the zipper close, and if Steven hadn’t yanked her out of the way, the creature would have crashed right into her. Because of its hood, the thing’s face was cloaked in shadow. Nat saw a glint of gold in the darkness as it rushed past.

Yellow eyes.

Before she could react, the creature raised its arm and clawed the tent, slicing it open. She heard Andrew yell for help.

The next moments were like a dream.

“Nat, no!”

Steven’s warning didn’t register. At that second, he didn’t exist. Nothing did, except Andrew. And Andrew was in trouble.

Retrieving the knife from the ground, she ran at the creature, driving the blade deep into the thing’s leg. It turned from the tent, growling and snarling, but she didn’t wait to see what would happen next. Forcing the weapon from its flesh, she thrust it into the darkness beyond the hood, into where she’d seen that glint of gold. Hot liquid spurted from the wound as the creature shrieked.

Steven’s arms were around her, pulling her back out of harm’s way. The creature toppled face first onto the snow, its horrible cries dying with it.

Nat shoved the mountaineer away, breaking free from his grip. “Andrew, Andrew, are you okay?” Her hands shook so badly she almost couldn’t unzip the tent. But then she was inside and her friend was in her arms and he was crying and he was alive—oh my God, he was alive.

“Nat.” Andrew took her face in his hands, the nylon from his gloves scratching her cheek. “You saved my life, you crazy bitch.”

“Don’t you ever, ever do that again, you hear me?”

He laughed through his tears. “I don’t think you have to worry about that. My heroic days are over.”

“Thank fuck for that.”

“Hey.” Steven burst into their tent, pale and distraught. It spooked them so much they started laughing again. “He’s okay?”

Andrew winked. “I’m fine. Probably took a few years off my life, but I do that pretty well on my own anyway.”

“Well, good. I’m glad. Because Igor is not okay. I need your help. Both of you.”

Fuck. Igor. In all the turmoil, she’d temporarily forgotten about him. “Let’s go.”

Steven led the way past the fire. Igor lay near the trail, covered with a blanket. He raised his head when he heard them coming, and Nat wanted to weep with relief. She hadn’t expected him to have survived.

“I’m sorry, Nat.”

She fell to her knees in the snow beside him. “What are you sorry for? You’re a hero. You saved Vasily’s life. Wait a minute—where is Vasily? Has anyone seen him?”

Steven shook his head. “I’ve been preoccupied with Igor. I assume he’s in his tent, probably afraid to come out.”

Igor’s breathing was ragged, and his forehead shone with sweat, but otherwise he looked all right. “Are you in pain, Igor? Can you move?”

“I think I broke my leg, Nat. Hurts like hell.”

Shit. There went their plan of walking down the mountain tomorrow. And of Igor helping Andrew. Now she understood why he’d apologized, though it wasn’t his fault. “Can you wiggle your toes?”

He moved one foot but yelped when he attempted the other.

“Okay, let’s move him by the fire. At least I’ll have a bit more light,” she said.

“Do you have a first aid kit?” Steven asked, the hope in his voice palpable.

“Only the basics. I have gauze and we can make splints from some sticks. It should be enough to make do until we can get him some real medical help.” Steven’s eyes met hers and she could guess what he was thinking: what medical help? And what if it weren’t only Igor’s leg that was hurt? What if he had internal bleeding or worse? Thankfully, the mountaineer kept his mouth shut for a change. “Let’s see if we can move him, and then we’ll go check on Vasily. Steven, do you have another blanket? I’m thinking we can gently slide him along the snow.”

“I’ll go get one.” He sprinted for his tent, snow flying from his boots.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to move people,” Andrew whispered. “What if his back is broken?”

“Well, I don’t see any paramedics here, do you? We have no choice.” She bent over Igor again, brushing his sweat-soaked hair off his forehead. “How are you feeling? Up to moving by the fire?”

“The fire would be nice. I-I’m freezing.”

His teeth chattered, although his skin was hot to the touch. Great. Did that mean he was in shock? What were you supposed to do for people in shock? She wished she’d taken more courses, or at least paid better attention to the ones she had.

“Hang on. Steven’s gone to get a blanket we can use as a kind of sled. We’ll try our best not to hurt you, but it’s probably going to hurt a bit, okay?”

“Okay.” He gripped her hand with surprising strength. No spinal injury, then. He could wiggle his toes and control his upper body. It was a relief, though a broken leg would make traversing the mountain all but impossible. Still, it could have been so much worse.

Steven returned with a wool blanket. Taking off his belt, he held it up to the Russian’s mouth. Igor stared at him in confusion. “Bite this so you don’t scream. We don’t know how many more creatures are out there, and we certainly don’t want to call any of them.”

As Igor took the belt between his teeth, Nat had the overwhelming sensation she was in a movie. How many times had she seen some Western or action flick where a man bit down on a belt to keep from crying out? She’d never expected to experience it in real life.

When the second blanket was spread flat on the snow, the three paused for a moment, examining their patient. How would they move him without killing him? Igor had to weigh at least two hundred and twenty pounds, maybe more. He was a huge man, a mountain of muscle. Andrew hadn’t yet regained his strength, so it would be up to her and Steven. She saw her own doubts reflected in the mountaineer’s eyes.

“Can you roll onto the blanket, buddy?” Steven knelt at Igor’s feet, holding the blanket straight.

“I can try.”

Grunting, Igor half rolled, half scooted onto the blanket. His jaw clenched as he clamped down on the belt, and the sweat poured off him. Once he’d made it, he flopped straight back, panting.

“You’re amazing, man. You’re a machine.” Andrew clapped.

Nat had broken her wrist before, and she well remembered the sickening pain, the waves of nausea. She couldn’t imagine how much worse a broken leg would be.

“Are you all right, Igor?”

He spit the leather from his teeth. “Yah, I’ll be fine. Just give me a minute.”

“Once we get some momentum going, pulling him should be fairly easy,” Steven said. “But I’m worried about Vasily.”

“Do you want to check on him now? Andrew can go with you while I stay with Igor.”

“No, let’s not split up again. We’ll deal with this first, and then look for Vasily.”

Nat shuddered, picturing the creature dragging the Mansi from his tent. Vasily had been terrified, but he hadn’t appeared to be hurt. She hoped she was right about that.

“Okay, let’s get this party started.” Igor propped himself up on his elbows while Andrew rearranged a blanket over his body. Steven and Nat each picked up a corner of the cloth near the Russian’s feet, while Andrew stood behind his back, ready to help when and however necessary. At Steven’s nod, he held the belt so Igor could take it between his teeth again.

“Let’s do this slow and gentle. If we go too fast, we could end up pulling this thing right out from under him.”

For once she didn’t feel an urge to hit Steven for stating the obvious. His voice was soothing and she needed to be soothed. “Right.”

“On the count of three. One… two… three.”

At first, nothing happened. Nat leaned into it until her back strained and her vertebrae popped, and then slowly, slowly, the blanket began to move. Her feet slipped in the snow as she struggled to get traction.

“You all right?” Steven asked, but she had no excess energy left to speak. She managed a grunt while Igor moaned.

“You’re doing great, buddy. Doing great. Almost there.” Andrew was at his most encouraging. “Guys, he’s not looking so good. Can we move a little faster?”

Steven had been right. Now that they’d gotten started, it was much easier to pull, but they needn’t have worried about yanking the blanket out from under the Russian. The man was too heavy. They steadily picked up speed, closing the distance between the trailhead and the fire. Within a minute or two, Nat could feel the welcoming heat on her skin. She helped the mountaineer pull Igor alongside.

The Russian had looked better in the dark. In the flickering light of the fire, his skin was gray. She hoped it was an illusion. Sweat poured down his face as he gasped for air. Lowering herself to the snow, she stroked his head. “Andrew, can you get me a towel, please?”

He nodded and ran off while the Russian continued to moan. “Don’t worry, Igor. We’re going to splint your leg. Hopefully that will help with the pain.”

“No…” he managed, wincing. “No, please. Not yet.”

“Okay, we’ll wait for a bit. Try to relax. Are you comfortable? Well, as much as you can be?” Andrew was back with the towel, and Nat used it to wipe off Igor’s face. She was struck by how young he was. In pain and helpless, he looked closer to his actual age of twenty-four than usual. She’d forgotten he wasn’t much more than a kid. Although she wasn’t a religious person, she said a quick prayer in her mind that she would be able to return Igor to his family, whole and healthy.

“Nat?”

“Mmm-hmm?” Steven had been so quiet she’d forgotten he was there.

“We have a problem.”

“What is it?” she asked, though she’d have given anything not to know. Ignorance was most definitely bliss, but it was also a luxury she couldn’t afford.

“I went ahead and checked on Vasily. He’s gone. Along with his gun. The creature you killed is gone too.”

And then there were four.