Clive Cussler - Polar Shift

Austin gazed at the shimmering streets and buildings.

"What is this place, the land of Oz?" he said.

Karla laughed. "It's an underground city built of some sort of light-producing mineral," Karla said. "We don't know who built it, but these are only the suburbs. It's quite extensive."

Schroeder hushed Karla and said they could talk about it later, and then he led the way through the maze of streets until they were back at the plaza where they had first come upon the mammoths.

The dwarf mammoths had returned to the plaza and were huddled around the pyramid. They seemed restive, snorting frequently as they milled around the square.

Karla saw Austin reach for his gun. She put her hand on his arm. "It's all right. They won't hurt you. They must have been spooked by the noise."

Austin had seen many strange sights on missions that took him to remote places around the world and under the oceans. But nothing like the creatures moving around the plaza. He was looking at smaller versions, from the tips of their tails to their curved tusks, of the ancient behemoths he had seen pictured in textbooks.

Zavala was equally dumbfounded. "I thought these things were extinct."

"They are extinct," Karla said. "Rather, they were. These animals are the descendants of full-size mammoths that once lived on the island."

"Karla," Schroeder said. "We should be talking about how to get away from those murderers."

"He's right," Austin said. "Is there another way out of here?"

"Yes, but it's long and treacherous," Karla said.

"I can't make it, but that's no reason for you not to try," Schroeder said. "If I can borrow a gun, I'll pin them down here while you and our new friends escape through the cave."

Austin grinned. "Nice try, Uncle Karl. Martyrdom went out of style in the Middle Ages. We're sticking together."

"I'm just starting to like this place," Joe said. "Warm. Romantic lighting. A unique, uh, fragrance in the air."

Schroeder smiled. He didn't know who these men were, but he was glad for Karla's sake that he had them by his side. "If you are going to be foolish, we'd better get ready."

At Austin's suggestion, Zavala went to stand watch where the street entered the plaza.

Austin turned to Schroeder. "Any suggestions?"

"It's useless to run. We can take positions in the square and try to get them in a cross fire."

Austin was glad Schroeder wanted to go on the offensive. The city provided a protective maze that offered dozens of places to hide, but, like Schroeder, he knew that the constant movement would eventually take its toll.

"I don't know how much firing I'll be doing," Austin said. "We brought extra ammunition, but we didn't expect the Little Bighorn."

"They only have to wait until we run out of ammunition and they can pick us off one by one. Too bad I used my hand grenade."

Austin gave Schroeder an odd look. The old man didn't look like the type who walked around with a grenade in his pocket. Austin was reminded that looks were deceiving. Schroeder was old enough for Medicare, but he talked as if he were part of a SWAT team.

Zavala trotted over from his lookout post. "Showtime. Our pals are coming down the street."

Austin took a quick look around the plaza. "I've got a crazy idea," he said. He quickly outlined his scheme.

"It might work," Schroeder said with excitement in his voice. "Yes, it might work."

"It better work," Austin said.

"Isn't there another way?" Karla said. "They're such beautiful creatures."

"I'm afraid not. If we do this right, they won't be hurt."

Karla sighed, but she knew they had little choice. At Austin's direction, Karla and the others moved quietly around the perimeter of the plaza, leaving the side nearest the street open. Then they waited.

The mammoths had picked up their heads when they saw the humans on the move, and became more nervous at the harsh voices of Grisha and his men. The ivory hunters were making no effort to keep the noise down. They may have done it deliberately to frighten their prey, or were just plain stupid. But whatever the reason, their arrival was making the mammoths even more restless.

The herd moved away from the plaza and stopped when the mammoths saw the humans standing around the edge of the square. Those in the front ranks turned and collided with the others in the herd. The snorts and squeaks grew louder.

There was a flicker of movement at the entrance to the street. Grisha stuck his head around the corner. The sight and smell of another unpleasant, two-legged creature spooked the animals closest to him. In their eagerness to escape, they bumped against the other mammoths.

Emboldened at the lack of a challenge, Grisha stepped into the open, followed by the other thugs. They stood at the edge of the square, spellbound at the sight of the animals they had glimpsed only at a distance.

The herd had reached critical mass. Austin set off the chain reaction. He fired his gun in the air. Zavala began firing too. Schroeder and Karla yelled and clapped their hands. The herd was transformed in an instant from an uneasy group of placid animals to a full-blown stampede. Trumpeting in fear, the moving mass of heavy bodies and sharp tusks flowed toward the only avenue of escape, the narrow street that would lead them to safety outside the cave.

Unfortunately for Grisha, he and his men stood between the rampaging herd of mammoths and their goal of freedom.

The Russians raised their guns to fire at the crazed animals, but the herd was almost on top of them. They turned and ran. They got only a few steps before they were knocked to the ground and trampled underfoot by tons of mammoth flesh. Grisha had sprinted past the others, his eyes frantically darting from side to side as he looked for an escape route, but he slipped and fell under the furred onslaught.

Austin and the others took no chances that the herd would turn back. They continued to make as much racket as they could.

It was all over in a few seconds.

The plaza was empty. The rumble of the stampeding herd echoed in the distance. Austin and Zavala cautiously advanced along the street. Zavala looked down at the bloodied mounds of clothing that once had been men. They found a flashlight that had been undamaged by the stampede. Austin yelled at Schroeder and Karla that it was safe to come ahead.

"They don't look human," Karla said as they made their way around the mangled bodies.

Austin remembered the dead scientists lying in the ravine. "Who's to say they ever were."

Schroeder let forth with a deep laugh.

"I learned long ago that in the right hands anything can be used as a weapon," he said. "But there was nothing in the textbook about little furry elephants."

Austin wondered what book Schroeder was referring to and what school he had gone to. He put his thoughts aside. They weren't out of trouble yet. They made their way through the ruined city and the rubble. The sunlight slanting in through the gap in the rocks gave them renewed energy. They went to retrieve the paraglider, and discovered that Grisha and his men had smashed the power unit and slashed the canopy.

Using sections of aluminum tubing and pieces of the canopy, they fashioned a rough splint for Schroeder. They climbed the low bluff at the bottom of the slope and ascended the road to the rim of the caldera. The switchbacks cut the steepness of the climb but made it much longer. They stopped frequently for Schroeder's sake, but he only allowed the rest stops to last a few minutes before urging the party to push on.

Hours later, they stood on the rim and looked down on the other side of the volcano. Mist obscured most of the island. After a last, wondering glance back into the caldera, they started down the outside of the volcano. The descent was as difficult as the climb. The road was a glorified mountain trail, the uneven surface covered with rocks and boulders that would have made walking hard even under ideal circumstances.