6 Yak, Nak, and Ibex

6 YAK, NAK, AND IBEX Tenzin was hiking quickly up the slope of the high hill. In his bare feet, he sprang from rock to rock. He leapt over dark crevices between boulders. "He's so fast!" said Annie. "I know!" said Jack. "We have to catch up!" But catching up to Tenzin wasn't easy. Jack slipped on some loose rocks and nearly hit his head on a boulder. "Jack! You okay?" said Annie. "Sure, no problem," Jack said, jumping to his feet. "Keep going." "Oh, wait!" said Annie. "Look!" She pointed to a strange-looking animal walking along a ledge. It had enormous curved horns. "What's that?" said Jack. "An ibex! It's a wild mountain goat!" said Annie. "Cool," said Jack.

More ibexes trailed out from behind large boulders. Jack and Annie watched the mountain goats clomp down over the rocks and disappear around a lower ledge. "Oh, look at that! It's a yak!" said Annie. "A yak?" said Jack. "Yes!" said Annie. She pointed to a creature standing near the base of the slope. It had horns, too, and long, dark, shaggy hair. "I've always wanted to see a yak! Did you know a female yak is called a nak?"

"No," said Jack, shaking his head. "You really know a lot about animals, Annie." "Not really. I just know a little about a lot of them," she said. She turned back around. "Look at Tenzin now! He's nearly out of sight!" "TENZIN, WAIT!" Jack shouted. But Tenzin didn't seem to hear him. "We have to catch up!" said Jack. Jack and Annie kept climbing over pebbles and rocks. The hike soon became harder as the slope grew steeper. Snow covered the higher part of the mountain. And the wind blew against them. "Jack, stop! Look!" said Annie. She pointed to another creature. It was small and round with bushy gray fur. "Squirrel?" said Jack. "Marmot!" said Annie. "Marmots are the heaviest members of the squirrel family." "Cool," said Jack. "But we can't keep stopping, okay? We can't lose sight of Tenzin!" "Right!" said Annie. "We have to go faster," said Jack. He shot ahead of Annie and climbed faster. Too fast. Jack slipped on a snow-covered rock and fell to the ground. The rock tumbled down the slope,

causing a rockslide. More rocks rolled down, heading toward Annie. Annie jumped out of the way. But she slipped and fell, too. She scrambled on her hands and knees over the snow and hid behind a boulder. More rocks crashed down the slope. "Annie!" cried Jack. "I'm okay!" Annie shouted. "Are you okay?" "Yes!" said Jack. After a moment, the rocks stopped sliding. Annie peeked out from behind the boulder. "All clear?" she called to Jack. "All clear!" he called back. Annie hurried to catch up with Jack. "Tenzin must not realize that we fell," said Annie. "I can't see him at all anymore." "Me neither," said Jack. "Oh, man, he can't keep this up. He's got to rest soon. Maybe he's up on that ridge." Jack pointed to a narrow ledge farther up the mountainside. "I wonder how high is higher ground," said Annie. "I have no idea," said Jack. "Let's go. Watch your step." They both started hiking again. As they drew close to the ridge, Jack shouted, "TENZIN!" This time, he heard a call. "I'm here!"

"Whew," said Jack. He and Annie hauled themselves over the ridge and saw Tenzin. He was sitting on a rock, waiting for them. He didn't look tired at all. He wasn't even breathing hard. "Are… you… okay?" said Annie, panting. "It is going well!" said Tenzin. "And how are you?" "We're great," said Annie. Not really, thought Jack. "I'm thinking maybe we should hike back down now," Jack said to Tenzin. "We could go to Ama's Tea House. And you could tell us about the Gray Ghost." "Forgive me," said Tenzin. "I fear I have put you and Annie at risk. Please, do return to the village." "Without you?" said Annie. "Yes. Without me. Now that I have begun, I must keep to my journey. We are so close," said Tenzin. Close to what? Jack wondered. He started to protest. But Tenzin raised his hand. "Listen!" he said. Jack listened. He didn't hear anything. In fact, the air had become oddly still. There was no sound of wind.

"She is watching us," Tenzin whispered. "I can feel it." Jack felt a chill run down his spine. "Who's watching?" said Annie. Suddenly a piercing scream came from higher up the mountain.