The long Dark, a fanmade story

BearNom

Recommended Posts

BearNom Wolfbait

BearNom

Posted
Posted

The Long Dark

Chapter 1

----5 hours ago----

Will Mackenzie, a bush pilot, was in the pilot seat doing the last checks before take-off. All was clear and the plane was ready to go. He called out on the plane speaker “The final checks are done and we are about to take off. Please fasten your seatbelts.” The passengers listened and fastened their seatbelts. The plane didn’t have too many passengers. Only 4 bush trainees and their coach had boarded the plane. They were going on a training trip to test their skills in the Canadian wilderness.

----The present----

Will looked at the plane’s weather detector and noticed the wind strength is rising. He notified the passengers with the plane speaker “We are detecting increased wind strength so be prepared for a possibly uncomfortable flight. Please be sure your seatbelts are fastened.” Several minutes passed before they hit any turbulence. Will’s co-pilot, Joe Carpenter, was the first to notice snow falling. “That’s odd” He noted to Will “It doesn’t normally snow at this time of the year.” “I guess this will just make it harder for the trainees to prove themselves to the coach” Will added. Joe chuckled, knowing that they probably wouldn’t be able to handle snow. As far as he knew they all came from warm countries where there was no snow.

Will started to slowly wake up from the pain in his left leg. All he saw was shattered glass and scattered metal. He suddenly rose to the realisation they had crashed in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. Will looked down to unstrap the seatbelt and groaned when he felt the stabbing pain in his leg. He looked at his leg only to see a short, thick metal beam embedded in his flesh. In all his years as a bush-pilot and bush-survivor rescuer he was never prepared for a wound this serious. He was prepared for broken bones and wolf bites, including minor cases of metal piercing flesh, but this metal bar had gone straight to the bone.

Will realised in all this time he hadn’t thought of his co-pilot and the passengers. He looked over to the co-pilot’s seat only to see Joe was not there. Had he wondered off? Was he stuck in the forest or is he…. Will shook his head as if to shake the idea out of his mind. He fiddled with the seatbelt for a moment but finally unstrapped it. He walked into the passenger’s area to see if the passengers were still there. The trainees are gone but the coach lay on the floor. His face was blue and his hands were frozen solid. It looks like the part of the plane he was sitting on had been hit by a tree but the coach was laying further down in the plane. He must have been alive after the crash and managed to get the seatbelt undone. Judging by the marks on the floor, he must have pulled himself to the door but couldn’t go any further because the door is frozen closed. Knowing unexperienced trainees, the first aid-kit was probably still in the emergency compartment. Will hobbled over to the compartment to see if the first-aid kit was still there. Of course it was still lying there. He opened it to find a bandage and some medical supplies for his leg.

----half an hour later----

When Will was satisfied enough with his medical work he closed the first-aid kit and stuffed it in his bag, which he found in the compartment with the rest of the luggage. “Trainees and forgetting to take the emergency supplies” Will thinks to himself. He looks at his leg knowing it isn’t good to remove the metal but it was nearly impossible to move with it in his leg. Will, sure that he has everything he could possibly need from the plane, limps over to the door of the plane. It is only now that he notices the wind outside. “Well there’s nothing I can do about the weather and I can’t stay in the plane all day” Will thought to himself, forcing the door open with a prybar from the emergency compartment.

Chapter 2

---30 minutes later---

The wind is howling. The snow is making it impossible to see anything. Will estimates the temperature is -14oC. About 20 minutes after he left the plane, the wind started picking up and the temperature decreased. Will didn’t have enough time to get to the plane or find shelter before the snowstorm started. He can hear wolves howling from caves. His hands are going numb and he can’t feel his face. Suddenly Will walks into something. Stumbling over it he realises he tripped over some steps. While scrambling up them trying to find the door, he hears a wolf howling nearby. He rushes to find the doorknob, knowing that the wolf is tracking him. It can probably smell the blood from his wound and thinks he’s lunch. There it is…the doorknob. He smashes the door open and slams it shut, wasting no time in locking it. Will collapses from exhaustion onto the floor.

---4 hours later---

Will slowly opens his eyes. The wind is gone now and the temperature has risen. He hears his stomach grumbling and realises it must be getting dark. He looks around for a kitchen. Finding it easily he searches it for food only to find it bare, except for one can of pork and beans. Will puts the can in his backpack for later, not wanting to eat it cold. After searching the cupboards hoping he missed something when searching previously. Nothing but empty cans on the table and counters. Whoever lived here must have stayed for a little while, then they took all the cans before leaving but missed the pork and beans. After searching the kitchen Will wanders around the house to see what else he can find. After fruitlessly searching the rooms he finds a pair of wool mittens in one of the bedrooms. These will be handy to help keep the feeling in his fingers. Going into the last room of the house, Will finds a fireplace along with some wood ,but in the corner of the room something catches his eye. He finds a dead body clutching a box of matches, glaring at the fireplace as if he could light it with his eyes. He must have died in the freezing cold of the storm. Taking the box of matches Will looks inside. “typical… its empty” he says to himself. Frustrated he throws the box at the fireplace. Its only then that he notices a few stray matches on the coffee table by the fireplace. Rushing to them, he picks them up and chucks some logs into the fireplace. Struggling to light the match because of his half-frozen fingers, he finally gets it alight. He carefully lights a piece of newspaper he found earlier, and places it on the logs. It felt like a lifetime before the log finally started burning.

---10 minutes later---

Will starts to feel the starvation in his stomach and decides to cook the pork and beans on the fire. Realising he has nothing to open the can, he smashes the can on one of the bricks hoping he can break it open. The can buckles spilling some of its contents on the floor. Will pours what remains in the can into a pot from the kitchen, nearly drooling from the sight of food. While waiting for the pork and beans to cook, he decides to try melt snow to at least get a small amount of water. After melting about half a cup of water, Will hears the food start to boil. He carefully removes the pot from the fire so as to not spill any.

---15 minutes later---

The food tasted weird but Will still enjoyed it and was satisfied after eating it, but after about half an hour he started to feel sick. He looked at the can and notices the expiry date. It expired four months ago.

 

Chapter 3

---an hour after the previous events---

Will’s stomach is aching. His head feels like it is going to explode. He is having second thoughts about leaving the house is search of medical supplies. Half an hour ago he decided to leave the cabin to find some medicine, just in case he needed some. The sun is starting to rise, shining a few stray rays of light on the mountains. Since he threw up earlier, Will starts to feel hungry again, but still sees no sign of a house or building. Will is mumbling in frustration to himself as he trips over a protruding root from a nearby tree. Will feels adrenalin start to pump as he tumbles down a hill. He hears wolves howling and growling……..

---some time after the previous events---

The wolves are growling and lashing at Will. He pulls a flare out hoping to scare them away. But he can’t light it. Suddenly he notices his co-pilot, Joe Carpenter, standing there watching him. One of the wolves jumps at will, biting his arm. Soon the other wolves join the first wolf, which seems to be the alpha. Will is screaming for help, but Joe just stands there watching. He hears his voice calling his name. “Will….Will…WILL!!” Joe starts shouting, waking Will. Will slowly starts to stir from his sleep. Suddenly the panic sets in remembering the past moments. Realising it was just a dream he calms down, only to notice Joe standing there.

“Joe?” Will mumbles, thinking it’s a hallucination or another dream. “You were shouting in your sleep. I decided to wake you instead of waiting any longer.” Joe explains to Will. Will realises he’s real and not a hallucination. He tries to get up and greet Joe, since he thought Joe was dead, but can’t seem to move his leg. Joe, noticing Will trying to get up, he quickly says “Don’t move your leg. I looked at it and after your fall you must have broken a bone.” Explaining to Will the situation, he says “I noticed you looked really sick, so I gave you an antibiotic and managed to make a splint for your leg. Your leg still needs to heal a bit before you can walk.”

“It’s good to see you again buddy” Will says, moving into a sitting position. Looking around, he notices his surroundings. It looks like Joe is really well stocked with food and supplies. He even has a rifle hanging on the wall. Looks like a .303 calibre hunting rifle, could probably take down a deer and maybe even a wolf. “You’re really well stocked here Joe.” Will notes, as he looks back to Joe who is fumbling around in a container. “After the crash I found a store that was filled with food and medical supplies. I decided to take some and then found this place. This is also where I found the rifle.” Joe explains to will. “After the crash, when I saw your empty chair I thought you were dead.” Will says to Joe. “I thought the same about you after I saw the metal that pierced your leg. I’m honestly surprised you managed to survive that.” Joe notes to will. “It must have been the freezing temperature that slowed the blood flow. Without that I doubt I would have made it.” Will says thinking back to the crash. The two continue chatting, going back to their usual selves. Suddenly the door opens. A dark figure walks in with a hood covering the face.

Chapter 2 and 3 out now. I hope you enjoy it :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 6 months later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing