Lost Valley: The Escape Read online

  As he listened to their steady breathing, he thought about the last few hours. Luck had been on their side. There was no doubt about that, especially when it came to Kate’s accident. He didn’t know what he would’ve done if she had been seriously injured, or even worse, killed. The thought of that was so disconcerting that he pushed it out of his mind.

  He sat in the darkness and listened to the wolves’ occasional yaps and howls. They had definitely calmed down over the last hour. It was fortunate they were full; otherwise they would have probably been up sniffing around the ledge by now. He wondered how much was left of the Smilodon.

  He felt like there was something more he should be doing right then, something more than just sitting there in the dark, thinking, but he had no idea what it would be. No, there was nothing more he could do at that moment, other than try and get some rest. He suddenly realized how tired he felt and scooted down until his head rested on his backpack.

  He closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep, but sleep didn’t come easily as he continued to think about Stuart and Kelly. He prayed silently several times that they would be okay.

  He began thinking about the next steps he would take when the sun came up. Without realizing it, he fell into a fitful sleep, waking several times, worried sick about Christie and the kids, only to fall back to sleep again.

  * * *

  Victor Solanich stood on the eastern edge of the cold and foggy plateau-like mountaintop. He gazed up at the two peaks that extended from its top and formed an almost perfect V. It was a strange geological formation that made him feel uneasy for some reason he didn’t quite understand. How he felt at that moment though didn’t really matter, he thought, as long as he took care of Luc Moon and his search party.

  He turned around and stared far down the mountainside where he had last seen activity. Earlier, there had been numerous gunshots from below. From the sound of it, he had guessed Luc and his party was attempting to fight off a pack of wolves, a very large pack of wolves.

  When the gunshots had ceased, he had observed them climbing back up to the large flat area where they had left their ATVs some time before he had arrived. He didn’t know what they had been up to, but was mildly glad to see they had survived the encounter. It wouldn’t do for them to die before they led him to the copter crash site, though he had doubts that Luc really knew where the copter was. Serena had said that he did, but she was gullible, and despite her training, still too trusting.

  For a while after they had returned to the flat ledge area, he had observed them moving around with their flashlights. However, they had suddenly disappeared near several large boulders and he had not seen them since. He looked over at his two men who were standing by the quads. He realized he didn’t even know their names. He walked over to them.

  He looked at the smaller man. “What did you say your name was?”

  “I go by Turner,” he said.

  He stared at the other man without saying anything.

  “Jeff Russell,” the larger man said.

  Victor studied the men’s faces for a moment. He didn’t know much about either of them, other than that they came recommended. He would have to give them a chance to prove themselves, he thought.

  “I think Moon’s search party found a place to hole up for the night,” Victor said.

  He picked up his night-vision binoculars and went back over to the edge with the two men following close behind. He brought up the binoculars and peered down the mountainside again.

  “I don’t trust Moon. For all we know, he might have figured out he’s being followed. I want to make sure they haven’t given us the slip before we try and get some sleep.”

  One more time, he scanned the ledge far below them and then found what he was looking for. One of their ATVs looked like it was partially jammed in between some boulders.

  “Yes...”

  He had found what he was looking for. They were holed up in a little cave and using one of their quads to block the entrance. It was a clever idea, he thought.

  He scanned farther down the slope to where all the wolf activity had occurred earlier. He listened carefully for a few moments. He no longer heard the yaps and growls but still didn’t trust that they had left the area. The last thing he needed was to have to confront a pack of wolves and fire on them, which would alert Luc and his search party to his presence.

  He turned back to the men. “We need to find a safer place to sleep tonight.” He put the binoculars away and flipped down his night-vision goggles and turned them on.

  The top of the plateau lit up in shades of faded green and he was able to see the details of the rocky sides of the two V-shaped peaks. He scanned up and down the rocky structures that he estimated were several hundred feet high. On the nearest one, he saw an outcropping of rock about fifteen feet up.

  “Didn’t you say you were a rock climber?” he asked Turner.

  “Yeah, I’ve done some competition climbing.”

  He pointed to the ledge. “See if there’s any room up there behind those rocks for us to sleep.”

  Turner turned on his night goggles and flipped them down. He walked over to the rocky spire, looked it over carefully, and then began ascending its rocky face. Victor watched him climb up and was surprised at the way he found handholds and footholds that he hadn’t noticed.

  Victor saw Turner disappear behind the outcropping and then quickly retraced the path the man had climbed, trying to remember where each foothold and handhold was located.

  He looked back up and waited. The man’s head popped up and he looked back down at Victor, giving him the thumbs up.

  “How’s it look?” Victor asked softly.

  “There’s plenty of room up here. I doubt that any wild animals could get to us.”

  Victor smiled. “Good. Let’s get our sleeping bags up there.”

  He walked quickly over to the ATVs and pulled the sleeping bags off the utility racks. The two men brought them over to the base of the peak. One after the other, they threw the bags up to Turner, who stood on the ledge.

  After the bags were up, Victor looped his rifle over his shoulder and walked up to the base of the peak. He looked up and spotted the first handhold then looked down and found the first foothold several feet above the ground. He tried to remember the exact spots the man had used. After a few seconds, he felt reasonably confident and began the climb.

  He easily reached the outcropping and pulled himself up and over its rocky edge. He examined the area. Turner had been right—there was plenty of room for them to lay out the sleeping bags. He moved to the center of the area just as the last man pulled himself over the edge.

  “Let’s get our bags rolled out,” Victor said impatiently.

  They quickly situated the sleeping bags, each man finding a place that suited him. Within thirty minutes, all three were zipped up in their bags and settled in for the night.

  Victor lay enjoying a cool breeze that blew over his face then realized he was a little uncomfortable. He moved his bag slightly to the side to avoid a rock that was pressing into the small of his back.

  He lifted his head up. “Get some sleep. I’m going to wake us up early. We don’t want to lose track of them.”

  He set his watch to ring at 5:00 a.m. then zipped up his bag the rest of the way. It wasn’t the first time he had spent the night on a ledge, and he was asleep within minutes.

  Chapter 3

  Luc lay quietly against his backpack and observed the beams of sunlight filtering into the crevice where they had taken shelter the previous night. He had been awake for a while and was trying to collect his thoughts before Kate and Chuck awoke. Hopefully, the light of day meant more safety. If not, at least in the daylight, he could see what was coming after them.

  He felt aches and pains from muscles he didn’t know he had and guessed that was what he deserved for sleeping on the hard cold stone. Not that there were any other options. It did serve to remind him that he was no longer in his twenties.<
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  He looked down and watched Kate sleeping peacefully with her head on his lap. Even with her hair messed up, her face dirty and scratched, he thought she looked beautiful.

  It occurred to him, if he were to die in the valley, she would probably not survive without him. Why had he allowed her to come, he wondered, with a completely different perspective than the one he had held the night before.

  He realized he had done exactly what he had always hated his father for. He had allowed someone, for whom he cared deeply, to put herself in danger for his own benefit. But then, Kate didn’t have any children. No, that didn’t really matter; he was still just as selfish and shortsighted as his father had been. How one choice had devolved into so many problems was astounding. He decided he would somehow make it up to all of them, especially to Kate.

  Kate began to stir. She stretched her arms over her head and then rubbed her face. He could tell she was still in a light sleep though. He glanced over at Chuck. He was still sleeping soundly.

  From outside the opening he heard the sound of a bird calling. He listened for other sounds but heard none. He took a deep breath, cleared his mind, and decided it was time for them to get moving.

  “Kate,” he said softly and rubbed her shoulder. “Kate, wake up.”

  She stirred again, stretched one more time, then opened her eyes and smiled. “Not exactly the Hilton,” she said.

  “But a close second. How are you feeling?”

  “I feel like I ran off a cliff and an ATV fell on top of me.”

  “That bad?”

  “I’ll tell you more when we check out of the Hilton,” she said, sitting up stiffly. She scratched a bug bite. “I’m not tipping the maid.”

  Luc smiled at her and crawled over to the opening. “I think it’s time to see what’s going on outside.”

  He reached through the ATV frame, grabbed the shifter, and put the machine back into neutral. He pushed it away from the entrance and crawled out into the morning light. He stood up and looked around the area to make sure there was nothing waiting for them.

  He was glad to see there was no sign that the wolves had been there during the night. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned. His whole body felt tight and sore.

  He walked to the edge where Kate had gone over on the ATV and looked down. My God, that was a long way down, he thought. Most of the fog had lifted and he could now see the thick stand of brush that had broken her fall and kept her from careening out of control down the entire mountainside.

  He looked back toward the crevice and watched Kate crawl out and slowly stand.

  “Ouch. I’m going to ask for my money back on that bed,” she said grinning. She walked over and joined Luc then bent forward and touched her toes a few times. “I don’t think my back will ever be the same.”

  “Hey, where did everybody go?” Chuck called out.

  “We’re out here. Come on out and join us for some hot coffee and pancakes,” Luc said winking at Kate.

  “You guys are fast. I’m on my way,” he said.

  “That was mean,” she whispered to Luc.

  They watched Chuck crawl out of the opening and walk over to them. He looked around with a confused look on his face. “Hey, where’s that hot breakfast?”

  “Protein bars are in the backpacks,” Luc said, smiling.

  Chuck looked at Kate and shook his head. “I should’ve known better.”

  Kate looked down the slope to the thick brush where she knew her quad lay stuck. “Think we can get it out?”

  “Oh, yeah. But whether it will run or not, that’s another question. We should eat something to get our energy up before we go down there.”

  Luc and Chuck pulled their backpacks out of the crevice. They walked back to Kate and gave her a bar and sat down next to her. While they ate, Luc explained his plan to use the winch on the front of his quad to help pull Kate’s ATV out of the thick brush.

  Once they finished their small breakfast, Luc climbed on his ATV and started the engine. After it warmed up, he drove to the area where Kate had gone over the edge. He purposely headed for a small outcropping of rock that rose up from the edge of the drop off. He ran the front end of the quad up against it until he could go no farther. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kate and Chuck walk over and begin to watch.

  Leaving the engine running, Luc got off the machine and inspected the rock. It appeared to be the tip of a much larger piece that extended into the ground. Just what he had been looking for, he thought. He kicked at it with his boot and discovered it was as solid as it looked.

  He glanced up at Kate and Chuck. “This should keep the quad from going over the edge,” he said.

  He moved to the front of the ATV and removed a small remote control from a compartment on the top of a small electric winch that was mounted just below the utility rack.

  “This lets me control it from as far away as the cable will stretch,” he said as he pushed a red button on the side of the winch, turning it on. He then pressed the Neutral button on the remote. They heard a small click come from inside the unit.

  Luc looked up at Kate and Chuck. “It’s freewheeling now so it won’t slow me down while I descend the slope.”

  He grabbed a hook that dangled from a thin metal cable that was coiled around the winch spool. He pulled a length of the cable off the winch, and then swinging his feet over the ledge, began sliding down the steep mountainside. As he slid down he pulled the winch cable behind him.

  When he reached the bottom, he looked back up the slope. He put his hands to his mouth and yelled, “Chuck, sit on the quad and make sure it doesn’t move.”

  Chuck waved down at him and climbed onto the quad’s seat.

  Luc moved into the brush, pulling the cable behind him, and headed over the beaten-down brush that ended at Kate’s ATV. He reached the spot where he had expected to see the wolf’s carcass and was surprised to find it gone. Evidently, the wolves must have eaten it and carried the bones away. Or perhaps something else had.

  He continued moving deeper into the brush until he got to the ATV. He hooked the winch cable onto its front utility rack and then pressed the In button on the remote control. He could just barely hear the whine of the winch from up above as it switched on and began to retract the cable, which slowly became taut. He straightened out the front wheels of the quad as it began to move.

  Luc followed behind the machine as it was slowly pulled out of the brush and into the middle of the flat area. He pushed the Off button and the quad came to a stop. He removed the hook from the front of the utility rack and tossed it on the ground.

  Her tent, extra jacket, and rifle were still strapped to the back rack but some things were missing. He went back to search for them.

  Hung up in the tangled brush, just a little bit farther than her quad had been, Luc found her backpack and the five-gallon gas can.

  He brought the things back out and set them next to her ATV. He walked around it and looked it over quickly. He wondered if it had been damaged in the crash.

  He knelt down next to the machine and inspected it for any damage but didn’t see anything obvious, other than some scratches and a bent utility rack. He felt fairly confident there was no serious damage but still wondered if it would start.

  He opened the gas tank and saw that it was about half full. At least the gas hadn’t leaked out when it had been upside down, he thought. Turning the key to the run position, he pressed the Start button. The engine cranked over but didn’t start.

  He closed his eyes. “Come on, start, baby,” he whispered to himself. He pressed the Start button again and let it crank a little longer then noticed the smell of gasoline.

  That wasn’t good. The last thing they needed was for one of the quads to fail so soon into the search.

  He looked up and realized Chuck was standing next to him.

  “Let me take a look at that,” he said. He had a spark plug wrench in his hand, which he went to work with immediately. He soon h
ad the spark plug out and was examining it. He held it out for Luc to see.

  “Just what I thought, fouled with gas and oil,” Chuck said.

  He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the end of the plug. He then blew into it hard and wiped it a second time. He quickly threaded the plug back in the engine and re-tightened it.

  “Try it again and keep throttle halfway open while you crank,” Chuck said.

  Luc sat back down on the quad, pushed the throttle control halfway in with his thumb, and pushed the Start button.

  After several seconds of cranking, the engine sprang to life and a cloud of black smoke blew out of the tailpipe. He revved the engine until it began to run smoothly and he felt sure it wouldn’t die.

  He looked over at Chuck and gave him a thumbs up. It was good to have an ex-Navy mechanic who knew what to do when engines wouldn’t start, he thought. Kate had certainly asked the right person to come with them. He had even brought tools.

  Luc put the quad into gear and drove it around for a few minutes before returning to Chuck. “It’s running great,” he said.

  “Just needed the plug cleaned,” Chuck said as he wiped his hands on his handkerchief and shoved it back into his pocket.

  Luc looked back up the slope to where Kate stood on the edge with her hands resting on her hips. He stood up on the pegs of the quad and put his hands on both sides of his mouth. “It’s fine,” he yelled up to her.

  She clapped her hands together and then eased herself over the edge of the ledge and began sliding down the slope toward him. He watched her slide down to the flat area and then rode over to meet her.

  “It was just flooded,” he said.

  “Thank God.” Her voice was filled with relief.

  Chuck walked over to join them. “So, what’s the plan?”

  “We need to find a way down to the valley. I’m going to scout around a bit,” Luc said and gunned the quad, pulling away from them.