Advent of the Dragon - Book 1: Destiny's Call

Chapter 10: Arctic Assault

We had found ourselves in the one place on Earth that would make the top of a mountain seem like fun in the sun—a Polar Ice Cap.

"Aw, come the hell on!" said Kevin, still glaring at me, "You knew this would happen, didn't you!"

"Uhm, sorta…" I reached up to scratch the back of my head, when I suddenly realized there was something covering them—both my hands and my head, "What the…!?"

I took one look at my body and saw that I was suddenly wearing something entirely different!

What the heck!? I'm an Eskimo!

I looked back up at Kevin and Zoey, who were looking at themselves as well, and realized that they were wearing the same oversized coats, pants, and gloves that I was.

"Uhm, when did we turn into Eskimos!?" said Kevin.

"I'm guessing it's another one of Rallix's tricks," said Zoey.

"But aren't these outfits keeping us from freezing to death?" I asked her, "Why would Rallix give these to us?"

"Then, maybe it's whoever has been helping us so far…?" she guessed.

"Whaddaya mean?" said Kevin, puzzled, "Who's been helping us?"

"It's a long story," I explained, "While we were climbing the mountain, we found another one of those inscriptions informing us that the last place, as well as this place, would be freezing."

"I thought those inscriptions were from Rallix, just trying to intimidate us?" said Kevin.

"We thought so too," Zoey explained, "But this one seemed more like it was giving us advice. It said we would need endurance or something, and more importantly, it referred to Rallix as a third party—someone other than himself. And next to that inscription was the grappling hook we used to make it up the mountain and take out that bird. Whoever gave us these outfits is the same person who left us that grappling hook and those inscriptions, and it seems like that person is trying to help us."

"Right…" said Kevin, who still seemed completely lost. Apparently, catching him up on everything he had missed was a lost cause.

"Whatever," he said, "so where's the portal?"

"Up there," Zoey said casually, pointing upward with her thumb.

Kevin and I both spun around and looked straight up. There was the portal. No more than ten feet over our heads. And even more obvious was how we were going to get to it.

"It's above the North Pole…" I said, almost to myself, "Right at the top…"

In theory, all we had to do was climb up that pole to the top, and we could get through the portal.

Okay, something's definitely not right here, I thought, This seems WAY too easy.

"Is it just me, or is something a little suspicious here?" said Kevin, echoing my thoughts.

"I was about to say the same thing," said Zoey.

"Here," I said, "Lemme take a look."

I walked over to the pole and took a close look at its surface. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it; it was in perfect shape, completely stable. But just for good measure, I reached out to touch it. Suddenly, I felt my hand become ice-cold—even with that thick glove on—as though I was touching sheer ice. My hand still on it, I looked at the surface of the pole from a different angle. I then found that my hand wasn't touching it at all. It was touching some sort of clear mass encasing it—like a barrier. Then, I saw what was wrong with it. It was sheer ice!

"Guys," I said, walking back toward Kevin and Zoey, "I see the problem."

"What is it?" said Zoey.

"It's completely encased in ice," I said, "There's no way we're climbing that thing."

"So we gotta find a way to break that ice?" said Kevin, "How are we gonna do that?"

Zoey and I both turned toward Kevin.

"What?"

"Well, you are the brute force kinda guy in our group," said Zoey, "If anyone can figure out how to break a huge ice mass, it's you."

"Oh, so now I have to figure this out 'cause I'm the strong guy!? That's a lotta pressure!"

"Oh, get over it!" I said, "Besides, we got bigger problems."

"Like what?" said Zoey.

"Like this freezing cold," I said, "Even WITH these thick coats and gloves, we're not gonna last forever here. If we're gonna find a way outta here, we need to do it fast."

"Oohhh, okay," said Zoey, "I thought you were referring to THAT."

She pointed behind me. I spun around.

Suddenly, I saw exactly what she was looking at, and it was looking back at me, a low, raspy growl slipping through its two massive tusks.

"What is THAT!?" said Kevin.

"That's…" Zoey couldn't seem to believe her eyes, "a saber tooth!"

"A what?" I looked back at her.

"A saber tooth. It's the species of tigers that went extinct long before the end of the Ice Age."

"Then how are we looking at one?" questioned Kevin.

"I guess our surroundings aren't the only thing Rallix can control," I said, "I think he sent us back in time as well…"

"Speaking of time," interrupted Kevin, "I think we're just about out of it."

"Whaddaya mean?" I asked him.

"Well," said Kevin, "With THAT thing about to attack us, how the hell are we supposed to find a way to break this ice!?"

"Don't worry," I said, "We'll take care of the tiger. You handle the ice."

"What!?" said Kevin and Zoey simultaneously, both gawking at me.

"Kevin, you're the only one here who can possibly break through that ice."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that!?" Kevin whined.

"Just figure it out," I said.

"David," Zoey interrupted, "I'm with Kevin on this one. Besides, there's no way we can handle a creature like that on our—OOF!"

"ZOEY!"

Unbeknownst to me or Kevin, that saber tooth had already pounced at us, and it had just tackled Zoey head on, catching her completely off-guard. She was pinned down.

Still, she didn't seem scared in the slightest. In fact, it looked like her killer instinct was finally taking over. She lifted her knees under the tiger's stomach, and without hesitation, she Charlie-horsed it right in the crotch, throwing it right off her and onto the ground. She stood up.

"That's it!" she looked at the tiger with rage, "You're dead meat!"

She turned toward me, as I just stood there gaping at her.

"David, help me out here, will you?"

I couldn't respond; I was too stunned to speak. All I could do was nod and rush in to help her out.

"Wait, guys!" said Kevin, "What about me?"

"Just concentrate on breaking that ice!" said Zoey, "We've got this!"

We rushed in to take care of the saber tooth while it was still down, but as soon as we had turned around to attack, it was already on its feet, ready to retaliate.

"Split up," said Zoey, "We can get on both sides and then close in on it."

"Gotcha."

Zoey took the left, and I took the right, while the tiger kept its focus on the same person—Zoey—as it snarled with a vengeance. Even when we were on opposite sides of it, that tiger still faced Zoey, and I could see her tense up.

"David," she said under her breath, "Do something…"

I didn't know what to do. Even though I'd managed to defeat our foes before, it was because of some plan I had already thought up. But I couldn't think of anything.

Well…

I was reluctant to try it, but it would at least buy some time. I scooped up a handful of snow and hastily rolled it into a patchy little ball. And as I saw the tiger creeping toward Zoey, ready to pounce, I chucked it straight at the tiger's back, and nailed him in the back of the head. He turned back toward me, still growling and snarling. Now he wanted me!

Suddenly, I saw Zoey rushing in to attack. Before that tiger had a chance to take a swipe at me, she had already leaped up over it and landed on its back, locking her arms tight around its neck.

"What are you doing!?" I said.

"I'm holding it," she said, barely looking up at me, "Whatever you're gonna do, do it now!"

Soon, the tiger started thrashing around, swinging its head and heaving its rear, while Zoey's body bounced around on its back as she tried desperately to hold on, like a loose piece of tape you'd try to shake off your hand. And the whole time, I just stood there, slowly realizing how helpless I was.

"Do something!!!"

Finally, my instinct broke loose again. Once I saw the saber tooth leaping up and landing on its hind legs, almost standing straight up, I seized my chance and went it for a head-on tackle, burying my head in its chest and digging my hands into its shoulders. The three of us all came crashing down on what I had failed to notice before that instinct hit me—a snow bank.

We rolled all the way down the frozen hill, fighting for the offensive as we tumbled down. Neither I nor Zoey knew what we were doing or even when we would stop. All we could do was keep the tiger off of us as it continued swiping at us and make sure we still had the offensive when we reached the bottom.

"OOF!"

Suddenly, I took a rear paw to the stomach and went bouncing off in the other direction. It didn't hurt—in fact, thanks to that strike, I managed to break away from the tussle—but now Zoey had to handle the fight herself for the rest of the way down. There was nothing I could do—except make it to the bottom of the hill in time to help her.

As I kept going, I tried to roll faster in order to beat Zoey and the tiger to the bottom so I could be ready. Then, I noticed I was picking up some speed—a LOT of speed! I couldn't stop! Even after I had reached the bottom I was still rolling; I was out of control! I did everything I could to reduce my momentum, but it would only help so much. All I could do was wait for the friction of the level ground to eventually bring me to a stop.

Finally, I stopped. I shook off the pain (as well as the snow on my face) and looked around to find Zoey, as well as figure out where I had ended up. I glanced to the right and found the massive snow bank we had just tumbled down almost 100 feet away. And then, there was Zoey at the bottom—pinned down under the saber tooth, about to be finished off.

"HEY!" I waved my arms up and down at the tiger, "OVER HERE!!! COME AND GET ME!!!"

It was no use; that tiger refused to even acknowledge me. It just kept its gaze on Zoey, about to take that one swipe that would finish her.

Without thinking, I scooped up another snowball and hurled it with all my strength.

SMACK!

The snowball hit the tiger square on the head, as it responded with a piercing gaze and a vicious snarl. Even from 100 feet away, I could see the devil I had let loose in it.

The tiger charged straight at me.

Once again, instinct took over; I stood my ground.

As the saber tooth continued dashing, that same snarling look on its face, my feet stayed planted exactly where I stood. I refused to back down. Already, the tiger was only 50 feet away. I didn't even know what I was supposed to do once it was upon me. Thirty feet. But I figured I'd know what to do once it was. Twenty feet.

Come on, weird voice inside me. Say something!

Ten feet!

Oh forget it!

With no plan, all I could do was avoid its attack. I dove to the left and fell straight to the ground, as the tiger leaped past me, and fell flat on my stomach. Suddenly, the tiger became the least of my worries, as the worst of them made itself known with a loud CRACK! The ice was thin here, and it was breaking!

They were forming everywhere—cracks all over the ice. I was laying down right in the middle of a frozen lake, and I had to get out of there!

As a massive crack formed a circle around me, I suddenly felt the ground beneath me wobbling. I stayed there, clutching the ice and staying on the ground like a statue. I had to think of something.

Just run!

I couldn't just run! The minute I got up, I'd fall into that water and freeze to death. I needed time to think of something…

Grrrrr!!!

There was no time! That tiger was behind me, and lake or no lake, cracks or no cracks, that thing would still chase me all the way back to the snow bank. As long as I stayed there, I was a sitting duck.

Just run!

RRROOOWWWR!!!

The saber tooth pounced, leaping high into the air and aiming to strike me down in one shot. I scrambled to my feet, just barely able to keep from toppling over. Then, once I was on my feet, I felt that patch of ice tilting forward. I was about to fall!

THUD!

The tiger landed just behind me, on the very rear of the patch of ice I stood on, tilting the ice back and throwing me up and onto the next patch of ice. The ice tilted and tipped in every direction, while I struggled just to stay on my feet, even though I knew that, as unstable as this ice was, and with that tiger on my back, that wasn't going to happen.

"DAVID RUN!!!" I heard Zoey shout.

She was right. There was no point in just staying here taking forever to keep my balance when that saber tooth was back there right behind me. I made a break for it.

I ignored the tilting ice under my feet while I struggled to speed up to an all-out sprint. Once I'd gained that momentum, balance was no longer an issue. All the ice tipping around under me was just stable enough to hold that light step before I went sprinting to the next. I was fast enough to not have to worry about falling.

Unfortunately, so was the saber tooth.

By the time I was halfway back across, that tiger was already gaining on me—fast! But I couldn't let it faze me. The minute I lost my focus, I would lose my balance. I just had to keep running.

Almost there…

"David, look out!"

RRRROOOOWWWWRRRR!!

Zoey was right there…!

THUD!

"AAGH!"

I was on the last chunk of ice before reaching the end of the frozen lake where Zoey was when the tiger took one last swipe at me. He had pounced high in the air and landed on the very back of the chunk of ice I was on, falling right into the freezing cold water—and taking me down with it!

With the front part of the ice flinging upward from the tiger's landing, I lost my balance and fell just short of the threshold and into the freezing lake.

The pain from the intense chill was unbearable. Even underwater, I could hear myself screaming in agony. It was like a swarm of ice-cold parasites penetrating my skin and going into my bloodstream. And just as it would take such beastly parasites only a second to cleave such a fragile being, so too did the pain last only that long—just for a second.

Already, I could feel myself going numb as my blood flow began to slow down. I started sinking. In a matter of seconds, it would freeze up entirely—unless I did something. I had to get out of there now!

With what little strength the parasitic ice-cold water didn't already sap from me, I scrambled to the surface. I could see it just over my head—like a barrier I was breaking through. 

"AAGH!"

It was the saber tooth again! Even underwater, that creature still refused to quit! It had nailed me with a vicious swipe across my arm, and it was gearing up for another one.

Without a moment's hesitation, I lifted my feet and sprung them downward, nailing the tiger with a kick in the head before it could even lift its paw. The tiger lost consciousness.

And with the propulsion from that massive strike forcing me upward, I found myself at the surface, right by the threshold, where Zoey was gaping at me in terror.

"Take my hand!" she ordered me.

While I still could, I reached up and grabbed her hand, and with all the strength she could muster, she yanked me right out. Once I was out, I simply laid there, flat on the snow, slowly recovering from the water's deadly chill.

Cold … So cold….

There was no telling how much longer the agony would last. I didn't even know if I would outlast it. All I could do was just lay there, helpless. Even though our foe had been defeated, the creature may very well have taken me down with it.

Must … stay … awake…

So … cold…

My vision faded.


We were all the way back up the snow bank and over to the pole where Kevin was by the time I regained consciousness. Once I realized where I was and what had just happened, I knew I was going to be okay. In fact, I had already recovered. I actually felt warm!

Ah, finally. That feels good. So warm…

Warm…

Very warm…

Hot … hot hot HOT!!!

Something was burning under me! I sprang to my feet and saw that my butt was on fire!

"AAH! AAH! OH GOD!! OH GOD!! PUT IT OUT!!! AAH!! PUT IT OUT!!! IT BURNS!!!"

I sat flat on the ground in the snow, dousing the fire.

"Aaaahhhhh…"

"PAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

I saw Kevin and Zoey standing right beside that pole, their hands on the knees and wiping the tears from their eyes as they howled with laughter. I stood up and stormed across the snow toward them.

"What the hell, guys!"

"Hey!" said Kevin still laughing, sounding both serious and amused, "Don't get short with us. If Zoey hadn't dragged you up that hill and kindled that fire under your frozen carcass, you'd be dead by now."

"Wait, what?"

"Don't you remember?" said Zoey, "You blacked out after you got out of that lake. That saber tooth nearly got you frozen to death."

She leaned to the side, looking at my arm.

"And it looks like he got in a few nasty swipes as well…"

I looked at the tear in my coat showing the gash across it that tiger had made.

That's right…

It was starting to come back to me.

After just barely getting away from that creature and nearly freezing in that lake, I passed out. And Zoey was with me.

"You—you saved me?"

"Yeah," she said humbly, "Kevin was shocked when he saw you like that. He asked what he could do to help, and I told him to go find some sticks."

"Which were hard as hell to find out here!" Kevin chimed in.

"And I used these two to start a fire and warm you right up." She held up the two sticks she used to start the fire and tossed them on the ground right beside Kevin.

"Well…" I was at a loss for words. I didn't know what to say other than, "Thanks."

"No problem," she said casually, "And now that that saber tooth is gone, we just have to figure out how to shatter the ice on this pole."

"Oh yeah!" I said, suddenly realizing what there was still left to do, "How's that coming?"

"Well," explained Kevin, "At first, I was at a loss what to do. I hit that ice with everything I had, and nothing!"

"And then…?"

"Well, I found this." He drew a chisel and a small hammer out of his coat pocket.

"A chisel?" said Zoey, who was apparently just as puzzled as I was, "Where did you find that?"

"It was in my pocket this whole time," he said, "I dunno how it got there. I just felt it there. Call me crazy, but I think there's someone actually trying to help us here."

"Ugh…" Zoey and I both buried our heads in our hands.

"Anyway, I chiseled out a piece of the ice right here."

He pointed out a tiny weak spot in the ice casing. It was no bigger than a golf ball, with only a few cracks around it.

"Well, back to work."

He began chiseling again.

"Kevin!" Zoey intervened.

"What?"

"We don't have that kind of time!" I said, echoing exactly what Zoey was about to say.

"Well, what do we do?"

"I dunno," I said, "I just need to think for a sec."

Hell, I was happy just to have time for thinking. With that tiger gone and me back on my feet, I could use a breather.

RRRROOOOWWWWRRRR!!!

Oh, don't tell me…!

There it was. The saber tooth! That creature was somehow still alive!

"How the…!?" Zoey just stood there by Kevin, her mouth hanging open.

"I'll handle this." I stepped forward, but then felt Zoey grab my shoulder.

"David, no! You're still hurt! From the water, the fire, and that scratch!"

I glanced at my arm, where that tiger had scratched me. I could see the mark through the tears in my clothes. The scratches were still seeping some blood, which continued to trickle down my arm. It was then that I realized that if I went out there, my entire body would look like that.

"Then what am I supposed to do? You can't take on that beast by yourself!"

"We've got no choice," she insisted, "Stay here with Kevin and figure out a way out of this. The sooner you break that ice, the sooner we'll be free of that tiger."

"But—"

"Hurry!" she urged me.

At that point, I knew arguing with her was a lost cause. All I could do was figure something out with Kevin.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Kevin demanded.

"What? You're asking me?"

"Well, yeah! You are the plan guy of our group here!"

I hesitated.

"I've got nothing…"

"What are you talking about!?"

"Every plan I've thought of since we got here has turned out disastrous," I told him, "You know that instinct I told you about? The one that's given me just about every last-minute plan I came up with that worked? Well, it's not here right now. Can't you think of something?"

"The only thing I've been able to do is this!" He pointed to the small spot in the ice he chiseled out. "That little weak spot right there!"

He paused, as if he was thinking of something.

"Wait a minute…"

He was thinking of something!

"Maybe that's all we need! A weak spot!"

"Whaddaya mean?" I asked him.

"Stand back," said Kevin, "Just give me a sec."

He ran off.

"Wait, Kevin! Where are you going!?"

"Trust me!" he said over his shoulder.

He stopped at the top of a hill about 10 feet high and 80 feet to my left. He leaned forward and planted his feet in the snow, like a racer at the starting line.

He's not gonna…

"Get out of the way!" he shouted.

Yes, he is!

I took several steps back until that pole was well out of my reach. Suddenly, I saw Kevin break into an all-out sprint straight down the hill and toward the pole. He was less than 10 feet away from it when he leaped up into the air. He lifted his foot, and on his collision with the pole, he drove it straight into the weak spot of that pole right before falling flat on his back. I rushed over to see if he was alright.

"You okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he said, hardly sounding hurt at all, "Look." He pointed up toward the pole.

I looked back at that weak spot he had chiseled out. Suddenly, it was twice the size as I had last seen it, and the small cracks around it had spread a whole lot farther than they were before. And they were still spreading! The ice continued to crack and crumble. Tiny chips of it came falling off the pole as the cracks began to span the entire pole. And then…

Nothing.

"Shoot!" said Kevin, banging his fist on the ground, "So close!"

"Well, now what?"

"I dunno," said Kevin, "I put everything I had into that blow. I don't know if there's even anything in this entire place that packs a harder punch than that!"

RRRROOOOWWWWRRRR!!!

"Guys!" I heard Zoey shout, "Any time now!"

"That's it!" Kevin scrambled to his feet.

"What's it?" I asked him.

"Here."

He grabbed me by the arms and positioned me right in front of the weak spot in the ice.

"Stay right there."

He ran around the pole and crouched down. I turned my head.

"What are you doing?"

"Just trust me," he insisted, "and face out."

I took his order and faced straight out, where I saw Zoey still holding off that tiger.

"Aha!" I heard Kevin whisper, "Found 'em."

"Found what?"

"Those two sticks Zoey had. Now shush."

What stealthy plan is gonna break that ice that uses two sticks and requires me to stand here!?

"HEY TIGER!!!" shouted Kevin.

"Kevin!" I whispered, "What are you—Aagh!"

Before I could finish, he had shoved those two sticks straight up into my mouth. And there, they just hung straight down.

Uhm…

"LOOK AT ME!" he kept shouting, "I'M A SABER TOOTH!!! MY TEETH ARE SO BIG, WHEN I LOSE ONE, I TAKE IT TO BED AT NIGHT AND WAIT FOR THE TUSK FAIRY!!!"

I spat out the sticks and turned back toward Kevin.

"What the hell are you doing!?" I finally asked him.

"I'm provoking him," he said.

"Well it's not like some insult like THAT is gonna get his attention!"

GRRRRRRR!!!

I turned back out and saw the tiger creeping toward me, growling savagely.

Oh that's bullshit!

I suddenly felt Kevin grab my ankles, holding me firmly in place.

"Kevin," I yelled, "what are you doing!? Let me go!"

"Not yet," he said.

The tiger continued to creep toward me, that snarling vengeful look still on its face. That thing was going to kill me!

"Kevin," I pleaded, "I am begging you! Let me go!"

"Just give it another second."

Finally, the tiger pounced, breaking out into a mad sprint straight toward me, ready to rip my head off. It was almost upon me when…

"Now!"

Kevin pushed me aside, knocking me down to the ground, and the tiger instead struck head-on the thing that was right behind me—the pole.

That saber tooth's head drove straight into the weak spot in that ice. The minute it hit, all the cracks in the ice continued to widen until it completely shattered, leaving nothing but small chunks still stuck to it, while the tiger simply fell the ground, unconscious. Kevin's plan worked!

"You alright?" Kevin asked me.

"Yeah," I got up and shook off the slight shock from what I thought would be certain death, "But how about warning me next time you get a plan like that."

"Sure," he said, almost laughing for a second, "Hey, check out that tiger real quick. See if it's dead."

I leaned down toward the saber tooth and put my hand on its chest. There was still a heartbeat.

"I don't think so," I told him, "Just knocked out."

"Alright then. I suppose we oughta get outta here now while we still got the chance." He took a single step in the other direction and called out to Zoey, "Come on! We're gettin' outta here!"

"Coming!" she said as she came rushing back toward us, "You got the ice off?"

"Yep," I confirmed, "Everything but a few chunks here and there."

"Well, good," she said, "Those ought to make it easier to climb this thing."

"Yeah, for you guys," said Kevin, who I just now saw had already started climbing the pole. Unfortunately, he was having trouble yet again. "Can one of you guys give me a boost?"

"I got it," I told Zoey.

I reached up and grabbed Kevin's rear.

"Hey! Don't touch me there!"

"Oh settle down," I said, "Now here we go…"

I pushed him upward as much as I could.

"Almost got it…?" I moaned, almost straining myself.

"Yeah, almost there…"

I saw him reach up with his hand as high as he could. Finally, his hand touched it, and suddenly, SHOOP! The rest of him got sucked right in.

"Well, that's convenient," said Zoey, "Come on."

She proceeded to climb the pole and got through the portal without a problem. Finally, I started climbing as well. Once I was near the top, I reached out, touched the portal, and SHOOP!

We were out of the freezer and into the frying pan.