“Maybe not, but the bodies of Joe, Anubha, and Lana were clearly posed to recreate what happened in the past. So if it’s not the same creatures, that knowledge has been passed on.”
“Reports describe the ravine as being two hundred and fifty feet deeper into the woods past the cedar tree where we found Joe and Anubha,” Steven said. “We should be able to find it.”
“Or break our own legs in the process,” Nat said. “I don’t think we should hide. I think we should fight.”
Igor wrinkled his brow. “Fight? Fight how? You’ve seen how strong these things are. That one threw me over fifteen feet like I weighed nothing. What chance do we have against that kind of power?”
“They may be stronger, but I’m willing to bet we’re smarter.” Nat steeled herself for a battle. She’d suspected it wouldn’t be easy to convince them, but her instincts told her it was the right thing to do. When they’d minded their own business, the creatures had picked them off one by one. But when they’d fought back, they were left alone. All it took was the death of one snowman to force the creatures into a retreat.
Steven chuckled. “I wouldn’t take that bet. Humans are the dumbest species in existence.”
She decided to ignore him. Enough with his naysaying. He’d argue what color the sky was if it suited him. “There have to be things we can do, traps we can set, weapons we can make. Think about it—they could have returned and killed us last night, but they didn’t. They took their dead and left. They attack the weak, don’t you see that? If we’re not weak, they might leave us alone. And I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being weak. I want to kick some yeti ass.”
“They also took Vasily,” Andrew said.
“More reason for us to fight back. They’ve killed four of our friends. Do we really want to roll over and let them kill the rest of us?”
“I get what you’re saying, Nat. And if my leg weren’t buggered, I might agree with you. But I’ve felt the power of these creatures—you haven’t. And I honestly think the only shot we have is for you three to hide me and get the fuck out of here before they come back.”
For some reason, Igor’s resignation angered her more than Steven’s devil’s advocate routine. Was she the only one who wasn’t a coward? What was wrong with them? “You’re right. I haven’t felt their power, but I have felt their weakness. I stabbed one through the eye and killed it. If I can kill one, I can kill more.”
“Not trying to take anything away from you, but you did have the advantage of surprise,” Steven said. “You won’t have that next time. They’ll be ready for you. And we only have one knife.”
She rolled her eyes. “Obviously I’m not going to try the exact same strategy again. And there are other things we could use as weapons. We have climbing gear, cooking utensils, and tools. There has to be something. But I seem to be the sole person interested in standing up to these fuckers.”
Steven sighed, rubbing his forehead. “My interest has always been in doing what’s best for the group as a whole, trying to ensure that the greatest number of us survive.”
“And how’s that working for you?” she shot back.
“Nat, that isn’t fair. It’s not Steven’s fault four people are dead.” Andrew shook his head at the number. It seemed impossible that half of their group was gone, but that very fact galvanized her. Didn’t they get that?
“I never meant to imply that. I’m simply suggesting that what we’ve been doing so far clearly isn’t working. And since I’m the one who saved your life last night, I’d hoped you’d listen to me.”
“I am listening to you. I’m sorry, but it sounds kind of mad. What do you want us to do, charge these things armed with cooking pots and ski poles, assuming we still have some poles lying around somewhere? Maybe if there were twenty or thirty of us it would work, but with four? Our one hope would be to render them helpless with laughter.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, doing her best to ignore Steven’s smirk. “I wouldn’t suggest anything that insane. But I do think that with some planning we can beat these things, or at least scare them off so they leave us alone.”
“Do you have a plan, Nat? Are you thinking of anything in particular?” The fact Andrew was taking her seriously, or was willing to hear her out, was enough. He wouldn’t let her down. They’d worked together and been friends for too long. He knew, better than anyone, that she didn’t have stupid ideas.
“I do,” she said. “But the first step is to fix Igor’s leg. And then I’m going to see if I can charge our phones and get a signal.”
“Maybe he’ll cause an avalanche with all that screaming, and then we don’t have to worry about the yetis,” Andrew joked, but paled when the Russian lunged at him. Her producer doubled back so fast he tripped and almost fell on his ass.
Igor’s face darkened with rage as he spat foreign words at them around the belt Steven kept wedged between his teeth. “No such luck,” the mountaineer said. “I think we’re done.”
To Nat’s relief, the bone hadn’t broken through the skin, but Steven had diagnosed it as a “bad break” of the tibia. She’d always thought that was an odd expression. What on earth was a “good break”?
Splinting the leg began with her and Andrew trying to hold Igor down while the mountaineer gently tugged on the limb until it was straight. Her ears still rang from the Russian’s ear-blistering shrieks of pain.
Igor leaned to one side and threw up on the snow. So much for the beef tips.
“Almost done, big guy. Just a bit more gauze.”
She’d found Joe’s carved walking stick in the couple’s tent. The workmanship was stunning, and it hurt to chop it in two to make the splint. But she had a feeling the trappers would have understood.
No one had ever had a more elegant splint. If nothing else, they’d done Igor proud.
“Tape, please?” Steven asked, and Nat gave it to him, careful not to make contact with his skin. Once again, she struggled to reconcile her feelings about him. One minute, he was a sexual deviant; the next, the closest thing they had to a medic. He’d set Igor’s leg like a pro. If they could get the creatures to back off, the Russian’s tibia could possibly heal enough for them to get safely home. “There you go. How you feelin’, man?”
Igor glowered at him. “How the fuck do you think I’m feeling? You bloody torturer.”
“Hey, I get that it’s not fun, but we had no choice. You’ll thank me later, when you’re back teaching chicks how to ski with your nice, straight legs.”
“Maybe. But in the meantime, I’d get out of my sight for your own safety.”
Steven threw up his hands. “I can’t win with you people.” Glancing at the fire, his face fell. “And we’re almost out of wood again. Nat, will you help me, please?”
Startled, Nat looked to Andrew, hoping he could read her mind.
“It’s okay,” he said, failing her utterly. “You two go ahead. I’ll stay with Igor and keep him company.”
Clearly, they’d have to work on their telepathy if they ever got out of this mess.
She fell behind Steven on the trail, keeping her distance as they trudged to the edge of the woods. Her heart was beating uncomfortably fast. What if he tried to hurt her? Did he have the knife? Tucking her hands in her pockets, she felt around for anything she could use as a weapon if it came to it. Some tissue, a tube of lip balm, and a pen. Clenching the pen in her fist, she vowed to jab it into his eye if he so much as looked at her funny.
She was so focused on her plan that she almost ran right into his back. “What’s wrong? Why did you stop?”
“Listen, Nat. I didn’t really need your help to gather the wood. I wanted to talk to you.”