The Chronicles of Shamballa

Chapter XLVIII: The Gateway to Heaven

Everyone was immediately thrown away at the enormous sound of the door blasting into pieces after the thing took Raza. Carey looked at the Princess and then he looked at Ram Babu, all of them were stupefied at the sight and froze for a moment. They could hardly believe their own eyes. The cold icy wind gusted at their faces and produced a stinging sensation that made their spines shiver.

“Yeti!” whispered Carey in astonishment.

“The mountain man!” cried out Ram.

“Wh-What? Where is Raza?” cried out the Princess.

“It took him away, your highness, I told you, they were real, they are going to kill us all!” said Ram and backed himself to a corner.

Carey moved to the broken door and peered into the dark. There was nothing but the snow and the icy wind. It was hopeless to go looking for the man. He picked up the broken door and tried to put it back together to prevent the wind from getting in.

“Pour all the coal that we have, we need to keep ourselves warm, if we want to survive the night,” said Carey looking at his pocket watch.

“What? Yeti? No- it can’t be real!” said the Princess who apparently was still in shock.

“You saw the huge furry arm, didn’t you?” said Carey, blocking the broken entrance with their luggage and supplies, while Ram poured in the coal and fanned the fire.

They spent the rest of the night in horror, trying to keep themselves warm. Every little noise seemed suspicious. The loud howling of the wind seemed monstrous and they felt like the Yetis were still out there, right outside, deciding whom to pick next. Carey kept thinking why these monsters attacked them? They were yet to reach the glacier and recover the last piece. It made no sense to attack them just when they entered Tibet. Do they know about their mission? What became of the filthy pirate Raza and why abduct him? His mind went numb from all the thinking. What was he supposed to do now? None of them could sleep that night…

Hours later, the sun rose and its first rays fell through the window pane upon Carey’s face. He rubbed his eyes and saw that it was already daybreak. He looked to his right, the Princess was leaning upon his shoulder and was fast asleep. Ram was lying down next to the embers of the fire. He moved his arm and place the Princess’s head gently on the floor, trying not to wake her up. Next he moved the blockade of luggage on the entrance and threw the door open. A fresh cool breeze touched his nostrils. His eyes took time to adjust to the bright outdoor light. He saw that the Engine was half buried in the snow and it had almost reached the door. There was a thick blanket of ice everywhere and the sun was rising slowly in the east. Far away, he could see the snow clad mountains and some greenery. It was hard to believe that such a beautiful place could be home to such horrors as they witnessed last night.

The Princess walked out and rubbed her eyes, she looked at Carey and he looked at her. They said nothing to each other but the feeling was mutual. Raza was gone, their only source of transportation was half buried in snow and they still had to find their way to the last piece. The Yeti knew about their presence and might show up again to disrupt their plans…or maybe it wants something else?

Carey stared at the distance and tiny red flags tied up in lines at the top of a mountain, which he assumed must have been a holy site of worship. He hoped that he could find some answers there. Ram Babu came out struggling through the thick snow.

“What now Sahib? Raza’s gone,” he said.

“Yes, and if he’s alive somehow then we need to get out of here, get ready,” replied Carey.

Within the hour, they packed their luggage and supplies and got ready to explore the icy valley.

Far away in the distance, the Dutchman was speeding through the valley and was about to enter the borders of Tibet in his cozy car. He had no worries in his mind for he knew, he could find Carey, after all wherever he goes, trouble followed. Almost fifteen kilometers behind, was Ashanti and the enchanted Hard Chief. She was riding on a fearsome black steed that had glowing red eyes and puffs of smoke coming out of its nostrils. Clearly, it was not an ordinary horse but a supernatural one. The Hard Chief had an equally menacing horse. Together they stormed through the rocky mountain roads of the valley. She had fire in her heart and all she cared for was to have Carey’s head on a platter. It wouldn’t be long that she would reach the icy valleys of Tibet and face Carey for the final time.



Carey was leading the two through the thick snow. He intended to reach the much greener side of the valley within a few minutes. They left the train right on the tracks and took whatever supplies they could carry. Carey thought that maybe he could use it for later to get out of the valley. His eyes lit up with joy when he saw an entire village up ahead and a rocky road leading towards it. A high structure stood deep inside the village which he had noticed earlier. It was definitely a shrine or a monastery of some kind. And so the three of them went stumbling through the snow with their heavy luggage strapped to their backs. They reached the rocky road and walked closer to the village. Suddenly a wave of sublime energy hit Carey right in the chest. He was taken aback but held his ground. Seconds later, it hit him again. He felt that the energy was neither good nor evil. But it almost felt like someone or something was deliberately trying to send a signal.