Chapter 8

Refik got nothing but static from the team that had descended into the crack that had opened in the mountain. He had just about lost all faith in their safety. Snowman tried to comfort the monkian but he too worried.

The transport arrived and quickly contacted the Castle. The crack had seemingly completely filled in with snow and debris. The three climbers had now been missing for almost an hour and if their oxygen supply was limited, it would be too late.

"We're sending down the Kittens. Their lighter weight and ability to move faster than the rest of us, gives us the best chance to not cause any more avalanches," Tygra radioed.

"Very good. Still no word on my end," Refik explained. The orange tiger inwardly cursed knowing that the longer their friends were buried, the worse it would be.

"We'll keep you posted," Tygra let him know before turning his attention to Hamza and Slythe. The two were carefully winching the smaller Thunderians down to the crack. Should they find the team, the two in the transport would send down a basket for the climbing team to be pulled up, one at a time.

"What have you guys got?" Slythe asked into the separate radio system that was strictly internal to the transport.

"Nothing but snow. Drop us down a little more. We need to reach the surface," WilyKat told them. The two siblings were dangling on separate high tensile wires outside the transport about five feet above the snow. Slythe looked at Hamza and the jackal shrugged before cautiously lowering the Kittens a little further. Everyone was keenly aware at how dangerous this could be.

WilyKit pulled out a small shovel and pushed it down into the snow, trying to ascertain where the edge of the crack was supposed to be. Slowly, carefully, she moved the shovel until it struck something very hard. Moving it a little closer to herself, the tip of the shovel sank in very far.

"I think I have the crack. Lower me down a little more. I can't get the shovel in very deep," Kit told them. Again, Hamza lowered her as requested, against his better judgement. They watched as Kit dug a little more and suddenly found fur lining and the top of a red hood. Poking it carefully with her hand, she felt a helmet underneath the hood. Still the person underneath the helmet didn't respond.

"Help me WilyKat!" She shouted. Her brother moved from his spot, where he'd been checking for the team and came to her aid. He was thankful that his light footsteps had not disturbed very much of the surface.

Upon reaching his sister, the two carefully dug down until they found their first victim, Ayşegül. Her helmet had been cracked but they saw no blood. WilyKit checked to see if the jackal was breathing and she was but just barely.

"We need the basket and we need help to get Ayşegül out of here," WilyKat barked on the radio.

"Keep digging and we'll get the basket sent down," Slythe told them. The Kittens could lift the jackal, but they couldn't with her still buried. As far Ben-Gali and Panthro, well after they were found, Slythe would have to swap with them for lifting purposes.

"She's really cold," WilyKit radioed up. Slythe said nothing as Hamza used the last winch to lower the basket to the siblings. The Kittens had managed to clear the jackal's chest and tried to lift her, but they had to go a little more before they could do it. A few more minutes and they had her knees clear. Pulling her out of the snow and into the basket, Hamza quickly recalled the wires holding the basket and it headed for the transport.

"Ben and Panthro must be the in same line. Let's move this way," Kat said, suggesting to heading back to where he'd been exploring. His sister nodded and they moved over. Not far from Ayşegül, they managed to find another helmet; this one belonged to Ben-Gali.

"Pull us up! Heavy lifting is required!" Kit radioed to the transport. Slythe was already half in the harness required when they all heard a loud noise. Hamza yanked the levers on the winches and hauled the Kittens to the ship as they watched another avalanche on the other side of the mountain slide down. Luckily, it was away from their working area.

"We better move fast. The next one we might not be so lucky," Slythe said.

To Be Continued…