The Avalanche Wendigo
| Buddy T. had been stuck in an avalanche before and he knew he would be okay because his head was above the snow and he had on a quality ski suit that could keep him toasty until his friends showed up to dig him out. He had far too much to live for to be taken out by some snow. He had a pretty girlfriend, a four-wheel drive pickup truck that was over half paid for and a job he actually liked doing, for a change. Clearing parking lots of snow accumulation was right up his alley. He liked the late night, early morning hours and the fact that nobody was looking over his shoulder on a constant basis. Sparking a doob while pushing snow to the blasting sounds of AC/DC was a career he would like to have forever but as fun as it was the job didn’t pay enough to keep his long term interest. Buddy had bigger fish to fry in the long run but for now he was happy to be able to afford a couple days skiing. It was a little after lunch time and currently Buddy and three friends were vacationing at Powder Mountain resort in northern Utah. He had finished eating and didn’t care to hang around for another drink so he told them he’d see them at the bottom of the mountain. Then he jumped on a lift and started up the mountain. Once off the lift Buddy didn’t take off down the marked trail. Instead he looked around a little bit. He saw some interesting terrain and went over to check it out even though it was considered out of bounds. Now he knew why. Lucky he hadn’t been carried too far before a tree prevented his further slide down the slope. The tree might also be responsible for saving his life because just below where he had caught in a line of trees was a stretch that looked like it was near straight up and down. Plus a lot more loose stuff had slid and if he had went with it he might not have survived the drop-off or have ended up so lucky. Though if he’d been extremely lucky he would have been able to wiggle free or not been caught in the slide at all. More embarrassed than frightened, Buddy couldn’t believe he couldn’t get free. It was the skis. They were still attached and all that snow sitting on top of them was keeping him planted like a corner fence post. He was working on getting one arm freed up. he was sitting at an almost vertical position. When the snow had gave it carried him down to a row of trees which allowed the majority of the snow to pass through but enough was caught to leave him sticking out the snow. His legs were possibly caught on a tree as well as buried in the snow. He wasn’t sure. His right hand and arm were closer to the surface and he thought he could wiggle them free of the snow in just a short while. It was slow going but he was gaining room to move them by using his weight to push down and then he would push upwards and then back and forth as much as possible. Then he used his hand to shuffle snow back down underneath his arm in the small space he was able to create by putting his weight towards that side. Once he was able to get a little bit of room to wiggle his hand he started working his arm and hand upwards. Progress was slow but it wasn’t like he had anything else to do. He searched the landscape for signs of another human being but saw nothing. Wait a minute. That wasn’t true. Something was climbing up the mountain from below his position. It was too far away for him to be able to see what it was but it couldn’t be a human being. Not climbing up the mountain side. There was too much snow and this area was too steep. But what else could it be? Bears were suppose to be hibernating in late December. Buddy estimated it must be very tall to be visible above the snow. He had nothing else to do so he watched the thing slowly work its way up the mountain side. He thought it might come by close to his location the way it was climbing. It was coming up just along the side of the slide. Whatever it was it seemed to have a way with the snow. The thing seemed to be able to swim upwards through the powder. That was the best word he could describe the way it moved through the snow and up the mountain side. Buddy figured he had been trapped there in the snow for going on two and a half, maybe three hours. That meant it was mid-afternoon. His friends should have just about finished their ride. They would arrive back at the room expecting to see him and when he wasn’t there they would begin the process which would eventually lead them to looking for him on the slopes. He had started out from where they would expect him to have started. That was something. The question was would they explore the out of bounds areas during the initial search or would he have to wait an additional few hours for them to get to the bottom and decide to widen the search area? The possibilities were not the stuff they throw parties for but considering his situation he should be grateful that it was more likely than not that they would find him before he had to spend the night out there in the dark. Helpless. Were there wolves in Utah? He couldn’t remember. He was pissed at himself for not bothering to find out that info before coming out here. If there weren’t wolves then there were sure to be coyotes. However he wasn’t entirely sure that coyotes were well-known for living so far up a mountain. Mountain lions didn’t hibernate. And he was pretty sure there were mountain lions in Utah because once when he was on the way to California he hit a traffic jam that slowed everything to a crawl. When he finally got up to where the carnage was; he saw that what had happened was a deer had came racing onto the highway and right behind it was the mountain lion. It was a big one. Both creatures were splayed out across the two lanes of his side of the highway. It appeared that they could have just died and fell over exactly where they were in the pursuit. The deer was about three strides ahead of the big cougar. There was no way of knowing what had hit them because everything was either towed away or over to the side by the time his car reached the spot where the two dead animals lay in the road. Buddy found it interesting if not annoying that they had left the animals laying there in the same spot for so long. They could have dragged them off the road and had both lanes open much sooner. Trapped and unable to move, he had a shudder run up his spine thinking about just how big that cat was; and what it might do to him if it were to find him in such a vulnerable position. The big cat could literally wonder over and eat his eyeballs right out of his head while he was still alive. Geez that was a horrible thought. He would flail his head in a futile attempt to stop it but the big cat would eventually get one of those big paws on his head and hold him still while it plucked his eyes out of their sockets like apples off a low hanging branch. Buddy struggled to put a title to the shape that was making its way upwards. Towards him. He had freaked himself out allowing his mind to wonder and now he was more than a little anxious about what was coming his way. He thought it might have a tan color to it. Could it be a deer? Or a darker than normal cougar? They weren’t always the cliche’ beige , yellow and white. Their coats could be lighter or darker than the norm. It wasn’t traversing the snow the way Buddy thought a cat would handle deeper snow where the cat would be likely to leap from spot to spot. Especially when going up. No this thing seemed to be swimming up through the snow. It was almost as if there were no snow. Just the tough incline. Yeah that was it. It was like the snow was parting long enough to allow it to get past and then it fell right back into place behind it. Buddy had never seen anything like it in his life. And the closer it got the more he was sure that he was seeing correctly. There was another thing that was becoming more clear. He was beginning to be able to make out more than just a shape. But what he was seeing didn’t make sense. It appeared what was making its way up the steep mountain side through the deep snow was a deer. He wasn’t sure that was what he was seeing but he was pretty sure he saw antlers. Then he was given reason to feel more anxious than before. The thing seemed to know he was looking at it because it turned its head upwards and was looking back at him. Or so he thought. Buddy was getting sleepy. He remembered being told that if you felt like you were going to pass out not to fight it but he suspected that was for avalanche victims which were trapped under the snow. Allowing to pass out probably ensures the victim will use less oxygen than if they are awake. He had his head free to breath however so he wasn’t sure that he should pass out but he was very tired. Buddy woke up and the world had changed. Shadows urged the remaining daylight to find the nearest exits and to the east the sky was dark. He was also in the shadows and it was looking like he might be there through the night after all. Definitely not an attractive thought. Then Buddy remembered the thing that had been climbing towards him and he peered down the mountain slope into the late afternoon shadows which could have been hiding a platoon of soldiers and he wouldn’t have seen them. It wouldn’t be until it got completely dark that he would have knowledge of where that thing was and probably another hour after that before he was able to judge how long it would be before the thing reached his elevation. That was because once it got really dark out all he could see was the eyes of that thing which was climbing towards him. Only now he wasn’t just anxious. He was terrified. The eyes seemed to have a glow about them. The darker it got the more he was able to see them. Coming for him. He didn’t know how many hours had passed. It was dark as sitting in your closet with the lights off and your eyes closed. The only thing he could discern were those eyes. They never seemed to be taken off him. Buddy watched them because he had nothing else to do and he wasn’t going to sleep after seeing those eyes coming for him. So he kept working his right arm trying to get it free from the snow pack while watching those eyes glowing a dim yellow. If he didn’t know better he would have said they looked like they were backlit. Not like the eyes themselves glowed but like there was a glow coming from behind them. Gradually Buddy began to notice the world was becoming visible again. At least to an extent. He wasn’t in a position to be able to see to know for sure but he greatly suspected the moon was making an appearance. If that were the case and he survived long enough he would be able to see it once it crossed into the part of the sky which was visible to him. Still those eyes continued up the mountain slope toward him. They never waivered or blinked. They just stared upwards at him. For the first time since becoming trapped in the snow Buddy felt cold. He wasn’t freezing and didn’t think he was in any sort of threat of dying, at least not from the cold. But he was feeling it for the first time. Buddy could hear what he imagined were more slides happening. The sound would break the silence of the night sounding like a herd of buffalo were charging over in the next valley. It was most likely due to the snow melt re-freezing as the night grew colder. It was probably collecting in places on the way down and then it froze which caused more to be caught and then froze and before long there was too much weight in one spot. Of course there were other possible contributors such as living beings such as himself getting too far out on a ridge shelf, or an animal doing the same. He glanced back down the slope and could see the eyes were still coming. There were fewer and fewer trees blocking his view of the eyes as they made their way toward him. When it first turned dark and there was no moon to aid in seeing, he would see the faint glowing set of eyes come in and out of view. They were always looking straight at him though. Even when they went out of view and then came back in: all within seconds. An occurrence he credited to the fact there were trees standing between the glowing eyes and himself. Now that the moon was supplying some illumination he could see that he had been correct. Whenever the eyes disappeared it was because his line of sight was blocked by trees standing between him and whatever it was that was coming for him. Buddy ate some snow to wet his mouth. He was getting thirsty but it wasn’t a dire matter at the moment. Just an uncomfortable one. Speaking of uncomfortable, he could tell it wouldn’t be long before he started getting leg cramps or possibly he would feel them in his toes first. When they started it was unbelievably painful especially when you couldn’t try to exercise the cramp. He tried not to think about it. In an attempt to keep his mind off what was making its way to him, he started thinking of the things he still wanted to accomplish before leaving this world. He definitely wanted kids. Which he thought was funny because he wasn’t even married yet. At least he had a girlfriend so who knows? Maybe she was the one. First he had to survive the night. He finally had his right hand and arm free of the snow. I’m gonna get myself out of this mess. Buddy exclaimed to himself in his head. While he finally was free to wave his arm and hand he never took his eyes off the glowing set that were still coming for him. Now however he had a fighting chance. More slides echoed across the barely illuminated mountain slopes. There hadn’t been any more in the direct area where he was trapped and he wondered if there wasn’t another slide waiting to happen somewhere close. Now he was pushing snow off him in chunks. He had little reason to wonder why he was so trapped once he started pushing some of the bigger chunks of frozen, compacted snow away from his body. He finally had enough snow pushed away from his body that he could reach his phone but it was then he realized his fingers and hand were too cold for him to be able to get the phone out of his coat pocket to be able to use it. Most of his body was still stuck in the compacted snow slide. he had his right arm and shoulder free and was pushing snow away from himself as best he could. It would have been nice if he could have reached into his coat and grabbed the phone out of his inside pocket but that just wasn’t going to happen until he had a chance to get his hands next to his body in hopes he could warm them up using his body heat. He glanced back down to see what the glowing eyes were doing and was left perhaps more uneasy because he couldn’t see them. He waited the three or four seconds it usually took for the eyes to become visible again because the creature had passed a tree or trees which were standing between them. This time they did not re-appear. Buddy tried desperately to remember where the eyes were the last time he had seen them? He had sort of forgotten about them for a while when he freed his arm. Now he not only was trying to visualize where they were the last time viewed but also was wondering if he should spend his time getting his glove off and hand inside his coat where it hopefully would warm up enough to allow him to use his phone, plus if the phone was going to get service or not? Or if he should keep the glove on and keep digging himself out? You know if he’d just been caught in a normal situation where the avalanche had him pinned … he would be inconvenienced for certain, but he would still have the luxury of trying both approaches to saving his sorry ass but no! … He had to get caught in an avalanche that featured a glowing eyed creature capable of climbing a steep mountain side deep in the snow. So he most likely had only time to choose one of the escape plans and put it into action before whatever it was that was coming for him … made an appearance. Buddy decided to keep digging. At least this way if that thing did get to him before he could free himself, by that point his other arm should be free so at least he could use his arms to defend himself. To a guy that has only one arm to fight with the thought of having both arms free was a game-changer. Calling for help sounded like a heavenly option. On paper. In real life things seldom went as smoothly as they did on paper. Suppose he had been lucky enough that the cell phone was getting coverage where he was located. And suppose he had been able to thaw out his hands enough to dial for help. It was the middle of the night. They would have to get a team together. Using his description, which might not be as accurate as he thought it was, locate him on a map and then send the team. The way Buddy figured things it would be early to mid-morning before the team got out there and found him. He would likely lose two hours before getting his hand in a condition where he could use the phone. Then it would take them another couple hours to find him. No, the wise choice was to rely on his own ability rather than on the unknown. Buddy began pushing the snow away from his body again and while doing so was shocked to see the glowing eyes again. They were much closer now. Much closer than they should have been. Buddy wondered how the thing had climbed so far so fast? It was at the steepest part of the climb which he thought ought to slow it down even if nothing else had been successful. Unless you have a jet pack you aren’t climbing that section of the mountain and make time. He felt confident in that statement. Still the distance between them was now only about a hundred yards. Buddy dug with his right hand a little faster. Then he stopped suddenly. The reason was the creature had come into the moonlight and he could see it completely now. It was standing on two feet, or paws, or hooves, whatever it had to use for feet. He had been right about the antlers but that was about the extent of any relationship to a deer that this thing could boast. It looked like it was starving to death. The ribs showed, even visible in the low light. It had a wide set of shoulders that tapered to a thin waist. He couldn’t yet make out its face but the antlers were clearly visible. It looked like it was as tall as seven or eight feet. Boney, unmuscular long arms looked like they may have a set of claws on the ends. It held them above the snow as it moved up the mountain side. The really steep part just below his location didn’t seem to be much of a task for the creature. Its pace was definitely slowed but make no mistake, the thing was still coming. Buddy finally was able to wiggle his left arm free of the snow. Once he got some wiggle room he was able to pull his arm out of the snow pack. Now he took a few seconds to slide his hands out of the gloves and stick them into his coat next to his skin. He almost was able to be freed because of the instant jump his body wanted to do, in response to the cold hand inside his coat. He stuck his other hand, now also free of its glove, into his coat to get it warmed. He didn’t want to even try to get his hands warmed to the point the needles would set in. He knew that time would come but for now he just wanted to get them unfrozen enough to be able to push snow off his body. As he was doing that his phone rang. It had been doing so all night but this was the first time he had a snowball’s chance of actually answering it. He fumbled inside his coat and produced the phone. He hit the answer and of course it was one of his snow buddies. He gave the information necessary for the rescue team to be able to find him. They wanted him to stay on the phone with them but Buddy felt that if for some reason the rescue team failed that he wouldn’t have any juice left in the phone for a second call so he hung the phone up after making contact and put the phone back into his coat. Next he began trying to get his gloves back on those frozen hands. He had enough feeling back in his hands to allow him to get the gloves back on. He kept his eyes on the glowing set as much as possible so not to have them suddenly be much closer than they should have been. The thing was only about half a football field away now. It would be another ten or fifteen minutes before it reached him. Meantime he freed The erie glowing eyes were nearly to him. He was to the point he was afraid to take his eyes off them because every time he did they seemed to gain huge amounts of ground on his location. What did it want from him? Why had it climbed all that way? Clearly it was headed straight for him. Now he could see the face clearly. It looked like a cross between a deer skull with deep sunken eyes and a predator’s mouth with sharp teeth protruding from its withered and torn lips. The odor that began to become apparent was quick to reach overpowering strength that literally gagged Buddy. Frantically he dug at the snow trying to get down far enough to release the snow boots from the skis. Still the thing grew closer. He could hear it hissing like it was some weird antlered-snake creature. At any second he expected it to stick out a forked tongue and taste the air. Instead it continued to hiss and bare crimson-stained teeth while keeping its stare directly on Buddy. It was close enough now that even in the diminished moonlight he could see it was not a living creature. At least not in a traditional sense. That explained the awful stench that arrived well before the creature itself. Long, spindly arms ended at somewhat human-like hands but on their digits were long, claws blackened by the dirt and possibly blood that stained their underside. Long, lean legs draped down to what were undeniably hooves. It had a black wet nose that dripped snot. The creature seemed in no particular hurry. It continued to climb the ever-shortening distance between the two without haste. Then Buddy noticed the strangest thing about this strange circumstance and terrifying creature. Its antlers were dancing in a manner to suggest the creature could control what they did. Again the odor was just so over-whelming that even amidst the near-blinding fear he had overcome his mind and body: it was as deserving of attention as the immanent threat which was upon him. Buddy screamed at it and then told it if it came closer he was going to have to kill it and he didn’t want to have to shoot one of God’s creatures. He had no idea if the thing understood his bluff but it was certainly worth a try. The creature hissed and bared its teeth again but hesitated at coming closer. “Don’t make me kill you broh.” Buddy said through clenched teeth. The creature again hissed and stepped forward. A light appeared through the darkness announcing the rescue team would be upon them in a matter of seconds. The creature immediately cowered at the first sign of the light beam shining across the landscape. It hissed one more time at Buddy and then slid down the way it had come and was gone so fast Buddy was left wondering if it had ever really been there at all? The adrenaline pumping through his trapped body knew the answer to that question. In fact it was the answer to that question. The rescue team helped dig him out of the snow-packed avalanche that had held him so tightly for the past half a day. After they retrieved his skis all of them returned to the lodge. The rescue team claimed to have not seen anything there with him when they arrived. Buddy found that to be questionable because they arrived at the same time the creature left but in the end what could he do? The rescue team did admit there was a very foul odor in the air surrounding Buddy. He of course claimed that it was proof the creature had been there but they either didn’t believe him or didn’t want to believe him. Clearly there was some sort or level of denial going on but in the end all he could do was to feel lucky things didn’t end badly. and go home. This is his effort to warn the ignorant. He felt like his warning would reach more ears this way than if he just made a report to the local law. They didn’t seem concerned about this matter at all. | |