Return to Dyatlov Pass

~ Chapter Five ~

That evening, Nat found it impossible to sleep. It wasn’t the cold. Andrew had done his research well, and even when the temperature plunged to -13°F, it was nice and cozy inside their two-person tent.

After Steven had told his story, a sense of dread had followed her around that couldn’t be shaken by exhaustion, exercise, or the two hot meals expertly prepared by Joe and Anubha.

“Nat?” She wasn’t surprised when Andrew whispered her name, but she still jumped.

“Yeah?”

“What did you think of that story?”

“I thought it was pretty fucking creepy. Especially that part about the shoes.”

Andrew was silent for so long she thought he’d fallen asleep, but then he spoke. “Yeah. The shoes. You’re thinking about Dyatlov, aren’t you?”

Obviously she was thinking of Dyatlov. By tomorrow afternoon, they would reach the man’s campsite. “One of the reasons no one believed the yeti theory—”

“In addition to the fact it’s ridiculous.”

“—is that there weren’t any tracks. But maybe there were tracks. They just weren’t recognizable.”

“You realize how crazy this is.”

But was it? They’d investigated far crazier. What about the bridge that drove animals to commit suicide? They’d never been able to find a rational explanation for that, either. Their entire podcast was based on the fact that sometimes there was no rational explanation.

“If there is something like that out here, it’s not even supernatural. It’s a creature that hasn’t been discovered yet. Aren’t scientists discovering new species every day?” Nat’s heart picked up speed. What if they returned with proof—actual proof—that yetis existed? She wouldn’t be as reticent as their mountaineering friend, that was for sure.

“Yeah, but that’s like bugs and stuff, not carnivores. Trust me, if something like that existed, someone would have seen it by now.”

“There have been lots of sightings.”

“And not one of them verified.”

“What about Steven’s?” Nat asked.

“What about Steven’s? We haven’t seen it. We only have his word for it.”

Her producer had a point. Still…

“I believe him.”

“I kind of do as well. Which is why I can’t sleep.”

“Andy?”

“Mmm-hmm?”

“Do you think we’re going to be okay? I mean, what happened to the Dyatlov group won’t happen to us, will it?”

“Definitely not. That was sixty years ago. Even if there were creatures living up here back then, I’m sure they’ve moved on by now. And the Cold War is over.” Andrew had always leaned toward the government-conspiracy side of things.

“That note has always freaked me out, though.”

“Me too. I wonder why he didn’t mention—”

“The photograph? Yeah, I wondered that as well. Maybe he doesn’t know about it?” Though that was unlikely. Steven appeared to be an expert on the subject.

One of the skiers’ cameras had been left behind in a tent. When the film was developed, a single photo of a large, humanoid figure, dark against the tree line, had been discovered.

It was enough to give one nightmares. Some believed it was one of the other skiers in a snowsuit—the figure was too shadowy to make out any details, even with enhancement—but there was something otherworldly, something not quite right about it.

“I’m going to fucking kill you!”

“What the hell—”

Getting out of her sleeping bag wasn’t easy. It encased her like a cocoon, and she realized for the first time how vulnerable it made her. There would be no such thing as a fast escape.

The sound of zippers and nylon rustling filled the night. Apparently, everyone had the same idea.

“Andy, help.”

Her producer took hold of her upper body around the shoulders and pulled until Nat could finally kick her legs free. Yanking on their boots, they burst outside in their thermals to find the rest of the group watching Joe. The formerly mild-mannered Canadian brandished a filleting knife with a wicked blade, his eyes black with hatred.

“What’s going on?” Andrew asked, and Nat realized everyone except the Mansi was standing in the snow, in freezing temperatures, in their thermals.

That was how easy it was to get everyone to leave their tents in their underwear, even when it was fifteen degrees below zero. Someone needed to create a diversion, and that was all it took. She shuddered at the thought. At least they hadn’t sliced open their tent, but that was a small comfort.

“I’m going to kill that fucker, that’s what’s going on,” Joe yelled, lunging toward Igor, who raised his hands in surrender. Igor? What had Igor done?

But then Lana lifted her lantern and Nat saw who was behind Igor. Steven. It figured.

“No one’s killing anyone. Let’s try to calm down. Can somebody tell me what happened, please?” Andrew’s voice was steady, which Nat found admirable, because Joe looked like he wasn’t too choosy about how he used his knife at the moment.

“I don’t know. We heard yelling and came outside to find Joe about to murder Steven.” Lana’s hand trembled, making the light dance. She was the only one wearing her coat.

“The fucker deserves it. No one messes with my wife.”

Anubha appeared from the darkness to lay a hand on Joe’s arm. “I’m sure it was a joke. It’s not worth it, Joe. Let’s go back to bed.”

“No, I’ve had it. We’ve put up with enough abuse as it is, and I didn’t sign up to be in this godforsaken place with a fucking psycho.” He shook her off and took a menacing step toward Steven. Igor stood his ground, but it was obvious to Nat how quickly this could go wrong. Joe was lithe and agile. If he wanted to dart around the big Russian to get at Steven, he would. The mountaineer would be gutted before the rest of them registered what had happened.

“Someone please tell me what happened. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong. Igor?” Nat appealed to the Russian as Steven’s tent mate, since Joe was clearly incapable of rational discussion.

Not taking his eyes from Joe, Igor shrugged. “I have no idea. One minute, we are sleeping; the next minute, Joe attacks our tent.”

Joe’s eyes narrowed. “That fucker wasn’t sleeping.”

For once, the mountaineer looked nervous, keeping the Russian between him and the Canadian. “I have no idea what he’s talking about. I swear to God, Nat. I was sound asleep before he pulled me out here.”

“Joe, please tell us what’s wrong. Why are you so upset with Steven?” The Canadian was still breathing hard, plumes of smoke swathing his face in a silvery fog, but the arm that brandished the knife had lowered. Clinging to her belief that the trapper was a reasonable man, Nat focused her energy on him. “I promise you, if he upset you or Anubha, he’ll be on the next plane home tomorrow. But I need you to tell me what happened.”

The cold bit into her skin through the light silk of her thermals. Nat stomped her feet to keep the blood running. Soon she would have to go back to her tent, at least to get properly dressed.

Joe continued to glare in the mountaineer’s direction, his body coiled to strike. Time was running out to save the man’s life. There was only so long Igor could shield him.

“Joe, he isn’t worth it. Do you really want to go to prison for the rest of your life over this? What about Anubha? What about your children? Do you want them to see you in jail? Let’s talk about this.”

Anubha tugged on her husband’s arm again and Nat winced, fearing the man might lash out at her. He certainly looked furious enough. “Come on, Joe. Let’s go back to bed. It was just a prank. Nat is right; he isn’t worth it.”

This time, the trapper lowered his arm all the way. He spat on the snow. “If you come after us again, I’ll kill you, I swear to God. If it were just the two of us here tonight, you’d already be dead.”

“I don’t know what happened to upset you, but it couldn’t have been anything I did. I was asleep. Igor can vouch for me.” Now that the worst of the crisis had passed, Steven stepped around the big Russian. “I may be a prick, but I give you my word I’d never do anything to you or your wife.”

Nat appealed to Anubha, who seemed a lot calmer than her husband. “What happened?”

The woman moved into the lantern light to lay a blanket around her husband’s shoulders, and Nat noticed her eyes were glittering with tears.

“Something woke me up. This horrible, heavy breathing, something snuffling around my head. It sounded so close, like it was right on the other side of our tent, so I sat up, and that’s when it growled.” Her voice broke. “It scared me to death.”

“Sounds like an animal,” Andrew said.

“It was no fucking animal. When I turned on the lantern, I saw its silhouette. It stood tall like a man.” Joe’s hands clenched into fists, his blade catching the light and winking ominously. “And there’s only one man here sick enough to play a joke like that.”

“Joe, I can understand why you’re upset. If someone frightened my partner like that, I’d be angry too. But Steven doesn’t strike me as a prank-playing kind of guy,” Andrew said.

“That’s because I’m not. I’ve never played a prank in my life, especially something like that. It’s so important we get our rest for the climb tomorrow. I would never mess with that.” Steven wrapped his arms around his upper body and stamped his feet, and that’s when Nat saw he wasn’t even wearing his boots. He was in his wool socks. Since Joe had dragged him from his tent, she guessed that made sense. “If I’ve given you folks the impression I want to sabotage this expedition, I apologize. Because nothing could be further from the truth.”

“You were the only one talking about fucking yetis. No one else believes in that shit.” Joe spat on the snow again.

“That doesn’t mean I’d pretend to be one. Jesus Christ. I’m not insane.”

“Did you hear it growl, Joe?” Lana asked.

The trapper shook his head. “No, I slept through it. Anubha woke me up.”

“I was scared to death. I’ve never heard anything like it in my life.” The trapper sobbed, and Nat felt intensely sorry for her. Whether it had been a hoax or not, it would have been an awful way to wake up. She’d once gone on an African safari and heard a leopard growl outside her tent. While the creature had actually been some distance away, it had sounded close enough to touch. She’d never forget how terrifying that had been.

“Did anyone check for tracks?” she asked.

“Didn’t even think of it,” Joe said. “I knew who it was.”

Steven opened his mouth, but Nat held up her hand to cut him off before the argument got heated again. “Let’s say Steven’s telling the truth. It’s worth a look, isn’t it?”

“I think we should all get some gear on first. Otherwise, we’re going to freeze,” the mountaineer said. “The last thing we want is for history to repeat itself.”

Weak with relief, Nat headed to her tent as fast as her frozen feet could carry her. Andrew followed, and they knocked into each other in their rush to pull on snow pants, parkas, and caps.

“This is so bizarre,” her producer muttered, keeping his voice low. “Not to get melodramatic, but this expedition seems fucking cursed.”

“No more so than anything else involving people. People always complicate things.”

“True, but Joe was ready to murder Steven. Like, seriously slit his throat. I really think that guy would be dead if Igor hadn’t intervened.”

“Something has to be done to release the tension in this group before it explodes. Whenever I think we’re okay, something else happens to put us at each other’s throats again. If this continues, I think we should call it a day.”

“Are you serious?” Andrew raised an eyebrow. “But Nat, all that money. All that time. And the listeners…”

“I know. They won’t be happy. But it is what it is. I’m not going to risk people’s lives for a story.”

“We better get back out there before they give up on us. We’ll talk about this later.”

The rest of their group was already clustered around the back of Joe and Anubha’s tent. There was almost a reverential feel to the gathering; everyone circled around a single light with their heads lowered as if in prayer.

Nat gently pushed her way into the circle. “What is it? Did you find anything?”

“See for yourself,” Steven said. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but the mountaineer’s tan skin appeared ashen.

She studied the snow outside the tent. It was smooth and unblemished.

There wasn’t a single track.