Bart Belly's Arc

Chapter 5 of 21

Bart held the golden Speedo in his paws. Behind him the yeti filled the den mouth. Its orange eyes burned. Then it pulled its arm back and forced its whole body through the gap. Stone cracked. Snow fell from the roof. The giant was inside now. It lowered its head and charged. Bart had nowhere to run. The back wall pressed against his spine. The yeti crossed the den in two heavy strides. Bart's eyes darted through the dark. Old furs. Bones. Then he saw it against the side wall. A suit of armor stood upright in the shadows. Carved from pale stone. Gems studded its chest and shoulders, red and green and purple. It was tall as the yeti and heavy as a boulder. Bart threw himself at the base of the armor. He drove his shoulder into its legs. His padded body hit like a battering ram. The suit rocked. For one moment it hung between falling and standing. Then it tipped toward the charging yeti. The stone armor crashed down across the yeti's path. The giant could not stop. Its shins slammed into the heavy suit and it pitched forward. It fell hard on its face. The whole den shook. Gems scattered across the floor. The yeti's head struck the packed ice with a dull crack. Bart scrambled over the fallen giant. Its huge arm swiped up and caught his ankle. Claws dug in. Bart kicked and twisted. He clutched the golden Speedo to his chest with one paw and grabbed a loose chunk of stone with the other. He smashed it down on the yeti's wrist. The grip loosened. Bart tore free and ran for the mouth of the den. He burst out into the open snow. Cold air filled his lungs. His fur held the warmth in, the way it now always did. He kept running until the den was small behind him. Only then did he stop and look at what he carried. The golden Speedo shone in the daylight. It was real, and it was his. He had faced the guardian and lived. His paws trembled, but he grinned. This was the prize he had crossed the wilderness to find. Then he checked his other side and his grin dropped. His bag was gone. The strap had snapped when the yeti seized him. Somewhere in that dark den lay the crystal bloom he had gathered for the king. Without it, King Stormy would send the royal guards. They would take his gear and hunt him down. Bart looked back at the den. The yeti stirred in the dark. Bart had won the Speedo and lost his only way home free.