Chapter 6
The snowfall hadn't been too bad when she started. Now it was starting to fall a little thickly and Angela wondered if it was a sign of things. Or it could be related to the thing that she was hunting. That tidbit was rather a bit farfetched and part of a legend that she had uncovered. She looked around as her breath came out in puffs of smoke.
The woods were full of life. She saw a few bighorn sheep on the way up along with the other typical creatures. So far nothing out of the ordinary and she wondered if she had heard the old man correctly about which trail to take. Then again if it was a beast, it acted like others and came on its own time… sort of like a game of chance.
Angela checked her watch and smiled. Even though it was a few months old, it never failed to make her happy when she looked at it. She found herself looking at it mostly to be reminded of Dean when he got exasperated at her methods of telling time. She also found it handy when the weather didn't allow for an accurate reading of the sun like it was doing now. Seeing that it was past noon, she decided it was time to take a short break and since they were at one of the places that one of the hikers went missing.
Angela dismounted and made sure that she had her shotgun and a handgun tucked into her pants. She also had some knives stashed on her and was probably overkill but considering what she might be up against, it wouldn't hurt. Her boots crunched on the snow as she tied off the reigns of Starkhaven and gave him a pat on the neck.
Taking a systematic approach, she went to where the abandoned backpack was found and started looking around. Since time had passed, she wasn't expecting to find much but keeping in mind what she had read of the reports, she could visualize where everything was. It was a pretty small area for a large creature but then she surmised that it snuck up on its victim. That could explain quite a bit on a few things.
Any tracks were long gone but that didn't matter. There was a faint scent and it assaulted her olfactory senses like being hit by a two by four. It was rather a strange or brave new world since before she didn't have as powerful a sniffer. It was like being put back through puberty triggered it. Like any new talent though, it had its ups and downs so sometimes the strength faded and then came back and it was hard to tell if she had been sniffing something that was recent or was as old as two days ago. She didn't mention it since for one she didn't want to go through the jokes and second she wanted to avoid the concerned looks that got thrown her way every time she made a blunder when putting her telekinetic abilities to use.
All Angela managed to find was some broken brush and upon sniffing it, she found that it was the thing and it was like she suspected. It had come upon the victim unsuspecting from the looks of things. Deciding to move on, Angela tramped back to the horse and remounted. This was only the first along this trail. What she was more anxious to get to was where Mr. Scout had been ambushed and find out what was so different that he survived and others didn't.
The snow continued to fall steadily and created a sort of lonely atmosphere. The last time Angela had been in snow covered woods was back in the days of the old west. The Donner party expedition she was a part of and that was something else. She tried to help the fledgling party but of course it was easy for them to resort to cannibalism and a few turned into wendigos after disappearing for a time. Later she had to hunt them down.
Snowfall and snow covered woods were also beautiful. Even though that time had been hard with the Donner party, Angela found beauty and motivation to encourage survival. Plus it helped that she could hunt and she did teach a few of them how to track down animals. Out of habit, she reached up and touched the necklace Sam gave her, deriving some sort of comfort and at ease from just touching it. She recalled that she had been fingering it when she was studying the sigils on her room the night before.
Riding to the next spot had her think about her conversation with Sam and the things he said. They were hurtful and at the time she was being guided by the first reaction which was walking away but from force of habit she had been scrutinizing his behavior. It was a deep seated issue that had Sam behaving like he did and she had seen it before somewhat with Dean and some other she had met years previously. The whole thing started when she received that phone call from Nick and it vaguely occurred to her that Sam was being like a protective brother or something like that.
It was no secret that he took offense to anyone who decided that pinching her ass was fun. He didn't even like it when she joined in on the hustling and took their heckling and that was expected given the nature of the game. He didn't go all fists and feet since they were hustling for funds but that didn't make him all nice about it. Dean was the same but more subdued, like he knew when it wasn't to be taken serious. When they tagged up together though, they could be overbearing and overprotective big brothers. It was a surprise to her since she was the one usually doing the protecting and Dean did his thing in watching out for Sam.
It was something to think about as she took out a packet of mixed nuts and popped a small handful into her mouth. She had only had breakfast and that usually wasn't good for a Halfling since their appetites were like large horses. She did though train her body to function on less and was just one more thing into blending in with humans.
Starkhaven gave a slight snort as he continued up the trail. Angela chewed on the nuts and smiled. She gave the horse a pat on the neck. Swallowing she said, "You are just an attention seeker aren't you?"
The horse gave a low rumble as she came up to another spot. It was not the second line of victims but one of the more recent ones. From the report, a Karl and Mick were on their way up to Lake Como and they disappeared. They were expected back but when they didn't show up for work, the alarm was sounded.
They found the backpacks of the two hikers a good twenty feet away from the trail. Her suspicion was that it was one of those nature's call moments. When people were forced to go in places like the great outdoors, they tended to walk away from the areas with high foot traffic. Angela didn't believe that they just upped and disappeared since people said that they were experienced hikers and the usual.
Like before she dismounted but tugged on the leading rein. Somehow she got the feeling that she would find something that would be more fruitful than the last few places she had taken a look at. She did manage to find a clearing that was a fair distance away but also offered privacy for nature's call. She left Starkhaven at the edge of the clearing and stepped in to take a look. If anything was going to happen, it was going to be in there.
If Dean could see her now, he would be making comments about her playing like she was in those procedural cop shows that he hated with a vengeance. She gave a dry chuckle as she began a systematic search. One of the reasons why she was so good at the hunting game was because she paid attention to detail. There were tendencies and then there were exceptions to the rule so the difference came in the details. It was one of the reasons she was often labeled in the geek category like Sam whenever she gave information and facts about something mostly to annoy Dean.
She found that the thing had been there. Against all odds since it was still snowing and the snow was everywhere, she managed to find some more of those hairs. They were just like the hairs she had found on Ranger Jennings. This proved that this was a territory thing as well as hunting grounds. The thing was from the look of her map, it had grown larger over the past year. That meant that this wasn't a free ranger. It meant that there was more than one.
Angela found it kind of odd that they would be in packs but then again few people were actually able to get up close and personal with one of these things. What was also strange was the location of the thing. By all accounts it shouldn't even be here unless they were always there and no one has seen them before. Stranger things have happened in that sense.
Looking around, Angela gave a tentative sniff. The scent was strong; a bit stronger than the others indicating that it was fresher. She could make out the strong scents of adrenaline and it made her want to sink into that battle high she liked when she got going. Looking around she could make out broken branches that led deeper into the forest. One of the hikers got really scared and ran which was a big no-no when it came to large predators.
Standing up from her kneeling position Angela gave a slight shake. The snow was still coming down and it felt a lot colder than when she first started out. She would look to go find out about the hiker that took that direction and then gallop home. She would relay her info to the boys and they could pick it up again together. She walked over and guided Starkhaven who gave a nervous snort and she rubbed his neck. "Easy boy. I know you don't like it here but I don't sense anything. Come on."
The horse followed as she guided him around the clearing to where the broken brush was. She then mounted and followed the direction of the broken brush. It was taking her away from the trail so she was going to be extra cautious since she might stumble upon one or the other of the thing they were hunting. She had her handgun in her pants and the rifle was within easy reach so it was some measure of security but not a guarantee; not on this job.
It was maybe about twenty minutes in and near where Scout had been attacked when Angela noticed something on the ground. Starkhaven was a little nervous about approaching it but she brought him alongside it and peered down. It turned out to be the remains of maybe a sheep, possible a moose. It was a leg with a hoof and badly mangled. It wasn't a fresh kill since there was no blood but it was fairly recent given that it wasn't as desiccated and she had taken into account the environmental conditions. It had been ripped to shreds like Jennings so maybe there was more than one but a different eating habit?
Angela shivered as snow fell down the collar of her jacket. It reminded her that the snow was falling a bit thicker now. Glancing up at the sky she wondered if there was going to be a snowstorm. That may help in that it would restrict hikers and the like from going up here. It would also keep the thing from eating people unless it developed a taste and moved down towards civilization. That wouldn't be good. She looked down and at the snowy landscape.
Witch snow covering everything and the warm feeling of the animal she was riding; she couldn't help but give a wry grin. Echo Three to Echo Seven. She couldn't help but smile. Dean liked Star Wars since he used it for one of his phone accounts and she would tease him about it by using call signs. It was certainly a Hoth moment with all the snow and the chill as she looked around. She should be getting back. A glance at her watch confirmed that it was late in the afternoon. She had been gone that long? That was saying something about time flying.
Just as Angela was about to turn Starkhaven around, the animal started fighting her. Something was spooking him and he didn't like it. Angela sniffed around and found that there was too much wet in the air. She struggled to keep Starkhaven from rearing up too much and try to get him to move. "Easy boy. Come on. Come on."
She patted the neck of Starkhaven as he put his front hooves down and was willing to be led away. She glanced around when she was met with a sharp pain to her right and she was knocked from the saddle and fell to the ground hard. Angela could hear Starkhaven scream in fright and the pounding of hooves as he bolted.
Angela shook off the pain and found that she was on the ground. She felt blood from a cut on her forehead and her right shoulder burned and it was sore. She got to her feet and felt the hot breath blowing on the back of her head. She turned slowly to face the creature that she had hoped to avoid at this point. "Sonofabitch, it's the damned yeti," she muttered.
The yeti was huge and it was easy to see why it would be mistaken for Bigfoot even though no such thing existed. Yetis were like Arctic weasels. During summer months, their fur was a rich brown, and easy to mistake for grizzlies and in the winter their fur turned white. They also were native to the Himalayas and sightings were noted in Nepal. They had slightly longer arms which gave that loping movement apes did when they ran through the wilderness. There were no really good images of the yeti since they moved so fast. They were carnivorous but for the most part nothing threatening human populaces. Maybe some mutilated livestock like a chupracaba.
To Angela, this thing was huge and if there was more than one then she was in trouble. She had to get back down and warn the boys. It was never a good idea to look a beast in the eye because that said that you challenged it. Angela kept her head lowered but her eye on the yeti as she circled it and headed towards the path she had taken. She was almost there when she was tackled by a smaller yeti but the body block hurt all the same even though the snow cushioned the fall.
It was first reaction though as Angela grabbed a hold of the yeti's fur and with her feet, she gave it a good kick in the midsection and let go. She put all her strength into it and was actually able to send the thing flying. She watched as it hit a tree and yelped in pain. That caused the adult to roar and Angela turned her head in that direction. "Uh oh. Mommy's very angry."
When the yeti started moving, Angela put her focus into channeling her powers. She wouldn't totally vamp out but she needed to buy herself some time to get away. The yeti charged at her and she leapt to the side and went into a roll. She reached out with her senses and prepared for the next attack. She managed to find a tree branch which wouldn't do much but would slow it down. She didn't want to waste her ammunition since she still had the handgun.
She had been surprised that it hadn't fallen out when the yeti struck her from behind. Now it was like an insurance policy if she couldn't get away. Griping her branch, she got to her feet and began running. She couldn't run away since the thing could overtake her easily even with her vamp speed. She would work on dodging for now and giving a few warning clouts. She doubted that it would work since 'Mommy' was angry that she hurt her cub.
She was right when Mommy charged at her. It was ridiculous to try and fight this thing but Angela had little choice. At least the adrenaline was up and she hardly felt the pain on her body as she moved. She did a weird diving motion as the yeti swept at her feet while at the same time she threw her branch at the yeti.
It hit it on the head and it seemed to stun it for a moment. That allowed for Angela to make it to some rocks that could carry some clout. She began throwing them at the yeti, making it roar in pain and anger since she was targeting what she was sure were sensitive areas; mainly the head and especially the ears. She was interrupted when she was tackled once again by the adolescent and she used her fists to get free from its grasp. It felt like when she gave in that one time to play a bit of tackle football with Christian's recruits when they paid a visit after Nick left Bobby's. She felt that tackle down into her muscles.
At one point it pinned her to the ground with its hands on her neck, effectively trying to choke her to death. Being a scrapper and giving into the urge to fight to live, Angela struck with her fists on occasion to the head of the yeti. They hurt and she knew that because it roared every time she hit it on the head.
Realizing that she wasn't going to get anywhere with just using her fists, Angela decided to resort to the one thing that seemed to have grown exponentially. Even with the air slowly depleting from her lungs and the yeti roaring in her face, Angela was able to focus and channel her energy. She vaguely could recall how she did it against the Venator and she hoped that she would be able to try again.
Focusing, Angela moved her arms as best as she could like she would be doing when she practiced kata. When she was ready, she made an open palm strike to the yeti's chest and with the force of her telekinetic ability, the yeti flew off and hit the ground and slid on the snow. That allowed Angela to get to her feet and she brought her hands up in that meditative pose she did when the boys tried to sneak up on her. She knew that the yetis were looking at a sort of human with glowing orbs and they were probably confused but Mommy would more likely be pissed.
Angela was right since the mother watched her offspring sail through the air and land hard on the ground. It looked back at her and gave an angry roar. Angela was ready though. When the yeti charged, she moved her arms like she was performing her hand to hand combat and by focusing her energy she was able to send powerful blows. The first stunned the mother and the second was actually able to send it flying. It didn't sail like the adolescent but it made a point.
That didn't stop the adolescent which seemed hell bent on drawing blood. Angela knew that she could only do so much. Maintaining her focus, she leapt away and grabbed a hold of another branch. This time it was longer and sharpened at one end. Using similar movements, she was able to use the branch like a staff and with her abilities, they were much more painful. That didn't stop the adolescent however and it swiped at her.
Angela backed up to avoid the claws. She was already cut and she didn't need any more otherwise she would be in serious trouble. She countered the swipes until she used the staff to vault her into the air. She landed on the adolescent and naturally followed through by stabbing it with the sharp end. She used all her strength to drive it into the heart of the beast and for good measure brought out her handgun and shot a round into the skull.
It was a relief but it wasn't. Mommy was pissed. She had seen Angela kill her offspring and now it was out for blood. As much as Angela didn't want to kill and adolescent, it had tasted human blood. Like man eating bears, it had to be put down and in this case the mother needed to be put down as well. However it looked like she wasn't going to have that chance since Mommy was charging ferociously at her. Angela did the thing that was often considered unwise: she turned and ran.
It was stupid to run blind but Angela knew she had to divert the yeti away and she needed to find a point where she would have the advantage. She remembered the way to the trail and she remembered the topography of the area. There were some cliffs from the hills. If she could lure the yeti there and get her to fall over, then she had a chance. The fall alone should be able to kill it but if not, it would provide the means of Angela getting back to the trail and back down towards Darby.
Angela studied the brush as she shifted directions. She knew the mother was pissed at her since she heard the thrashing behind her. If this had been a movie, the film would have been put in slow motion as she ran through the trees with the yeti behind her roaring and smashing several over. It would be entertaining for an action film but Angela was not amused. She turned a couple of times after grabbing a few rocks to throw them at the yeti.
Some of the missiles missed since she was running. Some of them hit but it only seemed to make the yeti much more. It did manage to slow the beast down since she had to swap at them while she was running and she had to swerve to avoid colliding into trees and boulders. Still Angela pressed on until she was cuffed on the side.
She flew through the air and hit one of the trees. She could hear the crack of her ribs upon impact and she fell to the ground. She muttered, "Mommy is really very angry."
Slowly she staggered to her feet and looked to see where the thrashing was coming from. Rubbing her ribs she turned in the direction she was heading and started jogging. She would get her wind back. At least the yeti's strength had put some distance between her and the beast. She sucked in some air and added a burst but made sure she could hear Mommy and bring her in close.
The ravine was a steep drop and there was a lot of snow. An avalanche could easily be started under the right conditions and Angela didn't want to do that. She was still well ahead as she stopped at the edge, knowing that there was nowhere else to go. She heard the snapping of branches and turned to see Mommy emerge. She was pissed and ready to kill.
Angela had to time this just right and prepared to move. She looked at the beast and said, "Come on. Come and get me."
Mommy yeti roared as it paced in front of Angela. It seemed to be contemplating what to do with her. It eyed her warily.
"Come and get me. You know you want to," Angela goaded. She was hoping that the beast would get the hint and charge.
Mommy roared some more as it inched its way closer. It had its prey. It would charge and kill this thing that killed her baby.
Angela reached for her gun. She would take aim carefully and aim for the head. She held at her side. It felt like the old quick draw duels she had been goaded into. This time though she had to be the fastest.
The yeti gave a final roar and charged. Angela jerked up her gun and held it steady. She had to wait for the right moment. Too soon and it wouldn't be effective. Too late and she was food for the buzzards. She took aim at the target she intended.
At the last possible moment, Angela fired, emptying the clip. The beast roared as each bullet struck true. It was still charging towards her and to the edge. Angela made a jump but was caught by a last swipe. She was sent skidding along the snow until she hit a tree… well a broken tree. She watched as the yeti slide over the edge with a final roar and it grew faint.
Angela took a couple of deep breaths as she slowly turned her body over to get to her feet. She had barely gotten to her knees when something cracked. The broken tree was collapsing and it would land right on top of her. Angela scrambled to get away but misplaced her hand and slipped down a slope. She rolled down until she reached the bottom with a painful thud. The last thing she saw was a piece of the broken tree falling down towards her.
"Well Sam. I guess we better wait for her until she gets back. Old man Scout said that she was heading up the trail." Dean joined his brother and gave him a slap on the shoulder in an effort to reassure his brother that everything was okay.
Sam heard his brother but his attention was towards the trail that led up into the wilderness. He had a chill down his spine except that he was bundled up in his usual jacket. Ever since Nick explained things, he had been more than anxious to talk to Angela about it and apologize. They had tracked down the survivor and had been given the same story she had been given. The old man had been generous with compliments about her.
Sam couldn't put a finger on it but that feeling he was feeling now was just like back in Cold Oak. He replied, "I don't know Dean." He would have said more when that prickly feeling became sharp in his mind like a bad migraine. He rubbed the back of his head hard trying not to let it bother him.
Dean noticed though and rushed to check his brother over. "Sam?"
"I think Angie's in trouble."
A/N: Uh oh. Mommy's very angry. Now who knew that the creature was a yeti? What happened to Angie? Find out next time on Bitterroot Resolutions...