The Chronicles of Shamballa

Chapter LVIII: The Escape Pt. 2

Carey felt like his brain was scattered into hundreds of pieces after receiving a powerful blow to the face from the Yeti. He was slowly regaining consciousness but his body had went numb from the pain and the suddenness of the attack. The creature on the other hand saw the Princess take the piece of the Orb and it ran after her. She stumbled and hurried through the narrow icy tunnels not sure whether she was going towards the right direction. It was matter of minutes before the Yeti would catch up with her. It was now obvious to both Carey and her that the Yeti was an ancient guardian of the piece and it saw them as trespassers and thieves. How would they ever explain to the monster that they were on mission to fulfil their destiny and protect Shamballa from falling into evil hands?

As the creature gnawed and crawled through the crevices of the narrow tunnel, Carey slowly came to his senses and wiped the blood from his nose. He realised that the Princess was in grave danger and the Yeti was after her. He gathered all his strength and raced towards the exit. Meanwhile, Ram Babu was totally oblivious of what was happening inside. He have had his meal and had dozed off with his back to the smelly Yak and his feet towards the fire. The screams and growls echoed through the tunnels and fell in his sleepy ears but he was too tired to wake up from his slumber. Thirty seconds later, the Princess could see the dying embers of the fire that Ram had so generously built in the exit. She called out his name but he barely moved. The Yeti however had almost caught up to her and with one swipe off of its giant paw, the Princess fell headfirst on to the ground. She turned around and looked in horror as the big monster approached her in fury and was about to strike her. But Carey yelled from behind and jumped on its back and held on to its neck.

“Run, Meena, Run!” he cried out.

The Princess gathered herself up and ran towards Ram who woke up in the sudden commotion. The Yeti growled, annoyed by Carey hanging on to its neck from behind. He clawed and scratched and finally slammed its back against the walls. Carey couldn’t hold on anymore and fell to the ground, he felt a sharp pain on his chest- some of his ribs were definitely broken. Seeing him collapse to the ground, the monster approached him and took a closer look at him. Carey saw its hideous and furry face, it had the kind of questioning look filled with raged as though it were deeply insulted and was about to end his life. Carey could see it written on its face- ‘how dare you come to my place and disrespect me?’ The Yeti raised its right paw and out came the sharpest claws that almost looked like knives. This was it- the end of Arthur Carey- he could see death in its eyes and could barely move a muscle. As the Yeti posed to strike him, he closed his eyes and prayed to the almighty- hoping that it would be a painless end. But before the monstrous claws could fall on Carey, a sudden burst of power emerged from Carey’s chest which disoriented the Yeti. Carey felt an enormous surge of power in his body and he cried out in excitement- he felt no pain anymore and as the power surge subsided, he stood up and checked himself. The Yeti shook his head in disbelief and watched Carey in awe who in return stared at the monster with nervous anticipation. His powers were back now and he wondered whether he should fight the monster or let it pass. The Yeti however grunted and let out a puff of white fog through its nostrils and walked up to him and stared at him for a second and walked pass him and into the dungeons. Carey was surprised at this and wondered why the Yeti chose to walk away instead of fighting him. Maybe it realized that he was destined to handle the last piece of Orb or maybe it was overwhelmed by the enormous show of power? Whatever it was, he was finally relieved that the trouble had passed and hurried to see if the Princess was okay.

He reached the exit and saw Ram and the Princess rushing towards him. She hugged him tightly while Ram thanked the Gods.

“You have the last piece?” asked Carey.

“Yes, here it is,” she said handing him the piece from her pocket.

“Sahib! What happened to the monster?” Ram Babu asked.

“Well, I guess he finally seemed to realize that he was fighting against the wrong people and we are not the bad guys- he walked away!” replied Carey.

“Walked away? Just like that?” asked the Princess.

“Where’s the Yak?” Carey asked ignoring her question.

“Oh! She ran away when she heard the monster growling!” Ram Babu explained naively.

“Ran away? What about our belongings?” said Carey.

“I managed to pull away your bags but the food and supplies were tied to her back and God knows where she’s gone in the dark!” replied Ram.

Carey raised his hands in disbelief and sat down by the embers of the dying fire and reached for his bag. The other two sat around him. He took out the other broken pieces of the Orb and scattered them on a piece of cloth.

“Finally,” he remarked, “Now all we have to do is put these back together and hope that it somehow shows the way to Shamballa!”

“What about Raza, Sahib?” asked Ram.

“I can’t say but I’m sure he’s got what he deserved but if he’s alive, we will eventually find him,” Carey said as he counted the pieces of the Orb.

“And Kali, he would have been alive if I hadn’t brought him along,” said the Princess taking a deep breath.

The three of them sat around the dying fire and Carey tried to arrange the pieces together. But it was too cold, the embers were barely able keep the heat up and with the Yak gone, the cold harsh winds were freely entering the cavern. They could try to go deeper into the dungeon but without any source of light, they would be lost within minutes. They tried to keep the fire burning by pouring upon it some dead leaves and twigs but it wouldn’t be enough for them to survive the night. Carey looked at his pocket watch- it was 2.30 in the morning, the sun would be up soon. He realized how ironic it was that finally he had all the pieces in his hands and now he couldn’t move a muscle or think straight enough to put them together. The three of them huddled around the fire and hoped that the night would soon pass and as the sun rose, Carey would put the pieces back together and find the way to Shamballa.