Dawn of the Yeti Read Free

operational.” Angelo prods at one of the lights with
his fingers. “Thought the government shut ‘em down a long time ago.”
    Charles knocks
Angelo’s hand away. “Don’t touch that. Who knows what the fuck it might start.”
    “Alright,
alright.”
    Meredith stands in
front of a wall of blinking lights. It reminds me of Christmas morning, my wife
standing at the tree and smiling, the greens and blues and reds shifting one
after the other. I can see my daughter, sitting at our feet, tearing into her
presents and giggling. I almost think I can hear the rustle of the wrapping
paper. I take a step forward, ready to wrap my arms around Meredith as if she
is my wife, but I stop just in time. She turns to me, frowning, her brows
dipping into her aqua eyes, then steps away. I glance around to see if either
of the others noticed, but they are too wrapped up in their surroundings. A
loud creak breaks into the air; a metal on metal shriek that sounds like the
whole Spire is shifting.
    “What the fuck is
that?” Angelo stands, knees bent, holding out his hands to balance on the solid
ground.
    “I don’t know,” I
stride over to the door we still haven’t shut. I pass through and stare into
the small porthole of a window on the front door. It’s a sphere of darkness,
the moon either blocked by some clouds or something blocking the window itself.
    “What is it?”
Angelo’s voice is a hiss.
    I just wave my
hand behind me, edging towards the black circle. My breath quickens; my heart races.
With every step I take, I wish more and more that I was heading in the opposite
direction. I’m only a few feet from the door, the darkness hasn’t changed. The
other three fill the door behind me, watching me with wide-eyed terror. Angelo
shakes his head, begging me to come back. I take a deep breath, steady my
nerves, shift another step.
    I could reach out
and touch the thing if I wanted. But I don’t want to. And I don’t reach out. I
just edge closer. There is an indistinct ticking noise, almost like a clock,
but there isn’t one in sight. Tick, tick, tick. The others hear it, too,
cocking their heads, searching for the source.
    The overhead light
starts to fizz and flicker, acting as a strobe, making the world feel slower,
stuttered.
    Tick, tick, tick.
    I inch forward,
pushing my face with every ounce of strength left inside, every muscle and
nerve and instinct telling me to back up and get out of there. With the
flickering light, its hard to make out any of the details, but it looks like
hair, though I can’t tell if it’s a Jo-Bran or human, it’s too close to tell.
    Tick, tick, tick.
    Slowly, I reach
for the door’s handle.
    “What the fuck are
you doing?” Angelo’s voice cracks.
    “I know what I’m
doing.” But I don’t. My body seems to be making decisions on its own, doing its
own thing, even though my brain screams at me to stop. It’s as if I’m
possessed.
    Tick. My hand
grasps the door. Tick. I start to pull. Tick.
    BOOM!
    The door explodes
backwards, carrying me with it, and sandwiches me between it and the wall. My
sight blurs, and I can’t focus. Angelo is screaming. And I make out the colored
blob of Charles running through the, now gaping, door. The last thing I see is
Meredith bending over me, her shadow covering me like a warm blanket, an
inviting wave, lulling me to the ever-increasing darkness.
    Then it goes
black.

Chapter Five

 
    Shuffling boots,
the crunching of snow. My skull feels like someone has embedded an ax into my
forehead. And I almost wish someone would, make this pain end and the world
fade for good.
    I roll my eyes and
can see Meredith, her hands tied, ropes wrapped around her legs, shuffling
behind me. On either side of her are men I don’t know by name, but I know by
reputation. The Banjankri. Their coats are covered in long white fur, made from
the coats of the Jo-Bran. The one on the right of her notices that I’m awake
and points to the other. He points at me and