upnorth

Yeah, mysteries are satisfying in their own right for sure!

@Leeanda what do you think about the story so far, any favorite characters or moments? 🙂

Hopefully not a permanent end but it's been a very long project so I think a break will be good. The game updates can hopefully provide more inspiration as well 😋

Merry Christmas everyone! 🎄 After (a little) over 3 years of collaborative fan-fiction writing that started off with pure improvisation with writers freely contributing, which over time matured into an established story with new locations and characters and multiple story arcs, it is time to take a break. It's been a ton of fun, but it's also become harder and harder to keep track of everything that has happened in order to keep the story and characters of our own lore consistent. About half way through we started coordinating and discussing ideas in Discord, with new writers being invited as they contributed. That has worked very well, but still required some discussions for every new part of the story. So in order to try to simplify things and hopefully make it more fun and less work and get more people inspired to contribute to this project going forward, we have decided to wrap up the main story here at the base and invite everyone to write their own spin-offs that you can link to here as well as opening up to discussing things again! Do a solo piece or team up and collaborate with someone! As part of this, we thought we would share the loose threads and open questions we have been keeping track of ourselves as ideas for spin-offs: How long will the base be able to sustain the group, will they find the supplies and and possibly fuel for the truck they might need for long-term survival? Will they encounter the wounded and enraged bear again? What has happened on the main land and will the group be able to get more news about it? What will happen to Hank and his old 4-legged friend? Did Amy's boyfriend and the rest of the remaining crew survive at the oil field? Did the escaped convicts that followed the doc from Black Rock survive? What will Christine remember about the base since her visit there so many years ago? What kind of work was done at this base, is it connected to the communication arrays throughout Great Bear, "Wintermute" and Atwood? Thank you for "reading, enjoying and contributing" so far 🤩 Please share your feedback, your questions and thoughts or perhaps create art or use AI tools to illustrate your favorite parts of the story! Looking forward to see what you come up with 😁

- Ok. Lets fetch the last supplies from the gate and try to make some makeshift beds. It's at least warm in here so we can use some of our clothes to sleep on for now. It's been a long day. Christine suggested. Everyone agreed. Christine and the doc went back to fetch the last of the supplies. Erik found a fairly quiet spot away from most of the slightly eerie computer screens and electronic noises for them to sleep. Amy couldn't sleep now and a bit frustrated went back to look at the door. Erik was right, there was no obvious way to unlock it. - Hey, where did you put the stuff we found in the guard room? She asked Erik. - Uh, it's in a pile over there. He pointed. She went there and looked. No keys. But they had a lock that didn't appear to take a regular key. What else could it be. She picked up the id card. Looked like it had belonged to one of the guards. Did it have a hidden key somewhere? She looked closely and turned it around in her hands, nothing stood out to her. - Wait a minute... she thought out loud as she took the id badge with her. - Found something? Erik commented without looking up. - Maybe... she answered. She went up to the red glowing panel, she still couldn't see any instructions on it or around it. But she went with her hunch and put the id card up against it. Suddenly it changed, it glowed green! Erik turned around as he also heard what happened next. There was a slight buzzing sound as the door started to slide open. - You found the key!? What was it? Erik shouted in amazement. - The id card, apparently this door uses some kind of wireless technology. She said as she swung around triumphantly for the second time that day. - Damn, I would never have guessed! Erik commented. As he approached, the door started to slide back again, and the panel turned red. - Oh, we might have to find something to hold it open with. Especially if it's dependent on the aurora to work at all, or we will get locked inside. Erik thought out loud. - I guess we can try one of the chairs from the guard room? Amy suggested. - Good idea! Erik responded as he went to fetch it. They opened the door again, put the chair in place and waited. The door started to close and some engine somewhere was struggling as it started to push quite hard against the chair, but it seemed to eventually give up. - Ok, it's holding, barely. I guess we should find something a little sturdier but I think we're good for some initial exploration at least. Erik noted. - Yeah, I guess we could just have someone stay outside with the id card to be safe so that we can get it open again if needed. Amy suggested. - Good idea! You really are great with puzzles you know! He smirked gratefully. Amy smiled back, a little less awkward than usual. Suddenly they heard paws and looked over. It was Mocha, followed by Emma. They had woken up by the commotion. - Hey, sorry for waking ya, but we can probably sleep in real beds soon! Erik explained. - Where is mommy? Emma asked. - Oh, she is just fetching some supplies with the doctor. They will be here any minute. Erik continued. Emma looked cautiously at the door squeezing an office chair. - Ha, yeah, the door is electric and it closes by itself so we have to keep it open with a chair in case the electricity disappears again. - Wasn't there crates in the sewage tunnel? Amy thought out loud. - That's right! First thing I found! That should work much better, I'll go get one! Erik answered now wide awake with excitement. He met Christine and the doc in the hallway, just smirking at them as they asked where he was going. He found and took one of the crates, it was a little hard to carry through the stairs and doors but he managed. As he arrived back at the entrance they were all gathered and trying to see past the opened door. They quickly switched out the chair and put the crate in place up side down to be able to step on it easily. It seemed to be holding pretty well. With all major issues seemingly resolved, they finally all felt how exhausted they were and one by one started their venture further into the base. They found a relatively small area with a cantina and some barracks. To anyone else it it would have just looked like old and abandoned military facilities, but to them it was just what they had hoped for. They found food, standard medical cabinets and beds for everyone! - I have to say, it was a risky bet coming here, but it seems like it payed off! And we haven't even explored the entire facility yet! Erik noted with appreciation to Christine. - Do you remember any of it yet? He asked. - Yeah, it's slowly starting to come back to me, I think we shared a meal here at least. But it almost feels like it's been rebuilt since I visited. It was some time ago after all. I don't remember any electric doors. Christine answered, looking around them. - Well, I'm off to bed! Amy waved good night to the rest of them and took Mocha to find a bed for the two of them. - Yeah, we really should call it a day. Come on Emma, you get to pick your own bed! She motioned her daughter to follow Amy. - I'm gonna take a minute to do an inventory of our medical supplies in case of any emergencies. I need to take care of my hand from earlier too. The doc announced. - Oh, you got hurt? Let me help you. Erik offered. They all eventually went to bed and fell asleep under the slightly eerie aurora lights illuminating the barracks as well. All of them dreaming various odd things about the past weeks experiences now feeling a lot safer than in a long time. Having lost a companion to The Long Dark, they fell asleep grateful that the rest of them had all survived the risky and perilous journey to this their new home for the time being. Not really knowing what opportunities or secrets it held. To be continued...

Curiosity had got the better of Erik and a little more energized he did a second sweep of everything they currently had access to, starting outside the control room to not disturb Emma and Mocha for now. He was mostly interested in the guard room trying to find a key to the locked door, but they seemed to have found everything in their first check. Well, except for that locked cabinet, but he still couldn't find a key for it and he didn't have anything to break it open with. Amy woke up from a pretty restless slumber by the sound of steps from the corridor. Christine and the doc had returned. - Everything alright in here? Christine asked rhetorically. - I guess, the power just came on and we have a door to a room with beds we can't open. Amy answered sarcastically. - The power just turned on? The doc asked. - Must be the aurora, we were just loading up when it started and the wolves went crazy, almost didn't get inside in time. Christine noted. - The aurora? What do you mean? The doc asked. - Well, me and Emma were out on a walk when it happened the first time but Amy told us that all the electronics went crazy in her home, so it seems to affect electrical circuits. It's essentially solar flares penetrating down to the surface of the Earth instead of getting blocked by the atmosphere, so it does make some sense. Christine explained. - Oh, I guess that explains why the security systems acted up at Black Rock then. Man, this is a lot to comprehend. Did you report it to the authorities? The doc replied. - Yeah, it's a known issue that they are trying to find workarounds for but their resources are limited to say the least. I don't think we can count on their help, although it would be nice to get some news I suppose. It's been some time. Christine filled him in. - Man, it can't be healthy to be exposed to the radiation. I guess we are lucky to be inside. The doc concluded. - So, did you manage to get anything from the truck? Amy asked. - Yeah, not much but some essentials. The wolf pack we managed to fight off followed us here and managed to break through the gate to the base when the aurora started. We only managed two trips to the truck but we have some medicine and some food at least. Christine explained. - The wolves broke through the gate!? Erik had noticed their arrival and came back to the control room. - Yeah, your scrap metal lock seemed sturdy enough but they apparently ripped it open anyway. Christine noted. - So now we have a wolf pack between us and the truck? Erik sighed. - Yeah. Luckily we brought all the guns when we left it, but we're gonna have to fight if we want to bring any more supplies inside the base. Christine noted. Amy vaguely listened to the reporting of the supply run but all she could think about was getting a good night sleep. What was the key to that damn door? It didn't have any obvious slots or a key-pad for a code like the pad-lock.

Amy had nearly fallen asleep when Erik shook her gently. - Hey, wake up! Something's going on! He told her as she looked at him tired and confused. Outside the windows he could see colors dancing in the sky and now he heard winding sounds from inside the base. Soon lights started to flicker and computers were making their boot-up sounds. - The aurora seem to be activating the electric systems! That must have been backup generators! Erik now standing up trying to better assess the new situation. - Ok... so does the door to the beds open now? Amy asked while yawning and wiping her eyes. - Let me see. There seem to be some kind of an electronic lock but it's just a panel glowing red, so I guess that means locked? Erik noted after he had turned around to inspect the door again. Amy got up and away from the door to let Erik try getting it open again, no luck. - I wonder what kind of keys they use, I can't find any holes or slots for a key. Erik thought out loud. Amy being frustrated with the whole situation decided to leave Erik at the door to go check on Mocha. As she walked over she thought she could hear faint sounds from outside the base, but was too tired to think much of it. She found Mocha and Emma still sleeping despite the computers in the control room having turned on now. She sat down to pet Mocha and try to get some sleep herself.

The fact that they stood in a bit of a clearing in the courtyard made it easier to see with fewer of the otherwise tall trees around. Colors were dancing across the sky above the base. A new aurora had started. The new effects of an aurora, otherwise just a really pretty sight in arctic countries, was still a mystery to both of them. But they had also seen with their own eyes that weird things could happen including wildlife becoming more aggressive, so they didn't waste any time. They ran for the sewage gate as fast as they could as they heard the wolves already attacking the gate behind them. They never noticed the faint flickering lights through the windows of the base. As they arrived at the icy path, they were even more stressed out as it was still hard to traverse the section between the courtyard and the sewage gate in the snow. Although a bit trampled down at this point. Not knowing the durability of the material Erik had used to lock the base gate increased the stress to near panic. They had weapons but only Christine was an experienced shooter and they didn't want to find out how much harder a wolf pack was to scare off like this. - Careful! We still need to take it slow over the doors! The doc anxiously instructed Christine as she frantically started the traverse. - I know! Shut up and get ready to defend us. I'll cover you once I'm on the other side! She snapped back at him. The doc begrudgingly readied his weapon as he waited for Christine to finish crossing. The base gate did seem to hold for now but the attacks was not a comforting sound to listen too. Seemed like it would just be a matter of time, and if it happened it would be that much harder to fetch the remaining supplies! At least they had taken all the weapons out if the truck when they began finding an entrance so they did have a chance to reach it if they needed. - Ok! I'm over! Get going while I cover you. Careful on the second door, it's slippery. Christine disrupted his thoughts. His normally calm nerves during surgery seemed to have abandoned him in this instance. Although to his defense it was hardly a situation that even trauma doctors were trained for. Stuff of nightmares, this! - Ok, I'm coming! He said starting his traverse with shaky legs. Having rather heavy cans of food on him this time didn't help. Suddenly there was a big crashing sound, they couldn't really see much through the trees but soon they heard the growls. - Hurry! They got through the gate! Christine shouted. The added urgency finally caused the doc to lose his cool completely. His already shaky legs now scrambled for something to push against and quickly kicked away the first door, hitting the ice with his knee hard and broke through. Panicked he managed to drag himself out of it. Luckily, being down on both his hands and legs now did seem to help distribute his weight enough to get some purchase. He hadn't noticed but Christine had started moving towards him and he suddenly felt a tug on his jacket as she helped pull him the rest of the way. They could now hear paws running through the snow closing in. They didn't have to communicate. The doc got up on his feet as fast as he could, helped by Christine pulling, and they both ran in through the gate. The doc collapsed on the floor while Christine spent a few precious seconds putting the lock back and scrambling the code with shaking hands. She had barely stepped back before the jaws of multiple glowing wolves were throwing themselves against the gate, trying to bite her in between the bars. - Holy hell! What is that!? The doc shouted with wide open eyes, not believing what he was witnessing. - I don't know, some strange effect of the aurora it seems like. Are you ok? Christine replied trying to catch her breath. - Yeah yeah, just wet and cold from breaking through the ice back there, thanks for the pull by the way. But I suppose we are actually safe this time. Might need a drink, or 7, after this though. The doc reassured her, while getting to his feet. - Yeah, me too. I think Erik might be able to help us out there. Christine commented as they started to walk back into the base with the some of the supplies, laughing a little at the insanity of what they had just been through. - Damn, I think I cut my hand when I fell. The doc noted as they came back to the control room as the adrenaline subsided.

The doc was waiting by the gate just looking out into the night as Christine came back. He gave her a brief look as she approached and quickly unlocked the gate. They picked up the locker doors and carefully went out. - Should we try to figure out where the ice is weaker? Christine asked, not sure what to do. - No, it's too dark. It's probably been weakened all the way anyway. Lets just try to lay them down in a path and hope it relieves some of the pressure. Hopefully they won't slide around too much. The doc responded. The ice still creaked but it didn't seem to break, and they both managed to traverse it safely one more time. They followed their footsteps back towards the courtyard, they couldn't see much else anyway. - I figure we should grab medicine and water purification tablets first. MRE's would be good too. We can probably hold on warm clothing for now, the base seem to be warm even in the middle of the night. Christine suggested as they started to approach the truck. - Agreed. Medicine first, food second, and then anything else we can carry. We will hopefully find plenty of supplies in the base, but for now we only know that it's warm inside. The doc replied. The truck stood where they left it. The gate seemed to be closed and "locked" still as well. The doc wondered for a second what Erik had improvised for a lock, he couldn't see it from the truck. They had to dig through things a but eventually found their most essential supplies. They briefly discussed taking a backpack and big jacket each to be able to carry as much as possible, but remembered the ice issue and decided on multiple light weight trips instead. As they prepared to go back to the base, something caught Christine's eye. She readied her gun and walked towards the gate. - Heard something? The doc asked. - No... saw. She replied after a few seconds. They both approached the gate and tried to see further down the road. It was very dark but they could faintly see the tire tracks still. Then they saw it. Eyes. First just two, then more slowly appeared. - Yeah, we have company. They followed us. The doc commented. - Ok. Let's focus. Looks like Erik did a solid job locking the gate with some scrap metal, that will probably hold them out. We need to get moving. I want to do at least two trips. Lets just dump the supplies inside the gate and go back to save time. The others can help carry it in from there. The doc agreed and they both left the gate. They jogged a bit over the courtyard to save time but also to get warm, they had been out in the cold for a while. They found their path over the ice and managed to get across, but they heard the creaking again. The mood picked up as they unloaded the first load of supplies inside the gates. They had to walk carefully as the doors moved around easily on the ice but they made it back yet again. When they arrived at the truck, they could see the wolf pack circling outside the gate, but they didn't seem to want to attack it. Perhaps they were waiting for the humans to jump into their machine and come back out again. Something about the situation didn't feel right to Christine, but she couldn't identify it. Perhaps just the overall amount of risks they were suddenly dealing with, but she felt the need to get back into safety as soon as possible. - Lets hurry up, I don't want to stay out here all night. Christine noted as she quickly packed her pockets. The doc didn't quite agree, they should be safe and have time, but Christine's tone of voice was enough to convince him now was not the time to argue about it. They were soon done and started to head back hearing snarls behind them when they suddenly both noticed something else. Not from the gate this time, but above them.

Erik and Amy had carefully explored the entrance area. There were windows but it was still pretty dark and hard to see anything in the middle of the night. They were of course mainly focused on finding beds for the group, but kept an eye open for anything useful or interesting. They found some cardboard boxes in what looked like a trash bin that could be used to make a fire, useful for cooking even if the base didn't need heating, looked like it was from deliveries of MREs or other food. They soon found themselves in the guard room which proved much more interesting. - I'll start from the other end and we can work towards the middle. Erik suggested as they noticed various cabinets as well as notes and maps on the walls and on a desk. - Sure. Amy replied, being too tired to feel enthusiasm over anything other than a pillow at this point. Before they had managed to search much they heard steps and looked out of the room, it was Christine. She explained the situation, they laughed a bit about it as Amy gave her the note with the code. Amy felt a bit silly about locking the door behind them but didn't say anything. Better safe than sorry. At least they didn't seem to be annoyed about it. They went back to looking through the room and aside from a locked cabinet they couldn't find the key for they had soon summed up their findings; some spare ammunition, a worn revolver, some snacks, old patrol orders, lists of planned visitors to the base including id numbers for verification, a plastic card with unclear purpose, but perhaps most importantly - a faded map over the facilities! Erik took the map and left the room, Amy didn't quite understand why but followed him. He walked to the part of the entrance area that was most lit up by the night sky through one of the windows and held up the map. - This is just what we need! Erik commented with excitement. - Can you see anywhere for us to crash? Amy asked with a skeptical smirk. - Let me check, it's kind of hard to read. Erik answered. He looked closely at the map for a couple of minutes with Amy waiting impatiently, considering checking on Mocha although they seemed to be just fine. - Yes, I think this says "barracks"! It seems to be fairly close, past some sort of gate near the guard post? Erik finally reported. - Ok, lets check it out! Amy replied suddenly a little more enthusiastic. They walked to what looked like a door close to where it should be on the map that they hadn't seen before simply because it melted into the wall in the dark. They couldn't find a way to open it though. - Damn, so close. Amy sighed. - Yeah, that's annoying. At least we are safe here but beds would have been really nice... Erik said as he turned around and sat down with the back against the gate. - I think we should just wait and rest for a bit until they have finished unloading the truck. We might get lucky tomorrow in the daylight, perhaps we can find some ventilation shaft or something. At least we managed to access the base tonight, I guess reading random notes is very important! Erik said with a smirk. Amy didn't say anything but sat down with him, feeling very tired.

Emma was told to lay down with Mocha in a corner to try to sleep. Christine took off her middle layer to make her a makeshift bed, although Mocha already provided plenty of comfort. Amy decided to help explore the base with Erik as she wanted to be close to Mocha anyway. Christine agreed and teamed up with the doc to start unloading the truck. - Good thinking with the improved support over the ice, but it's hard to tell where the ground is solid under it. Christine noted. - True, but we might get an advantage simply by stepping on them as is too, as it will hopefully spread the pressure of our feet over the entire surface. The doc explained. - Good point. I suppose the remaining risk is that it might still slide around with the low friction of metal on ice. Christine continued, now slightly amused by the intellectual sparring. - Haha, touché! Yes, we might have to put some cloth in between to lower that risk, although it might not help much. Slow and steady wins the race as usual I suppose. The doc conceded. The merry pair soon went through the door and down the stairs towards the gate. As they approached they sighed. - Oh, Amy must have locked the padlock behind us! Christine commented. - You didn't by chance get the combination, did you? The doc asked. - Haha, no. I think she has the note with her as well. I'll go back and get it. Christine said with a smirk. Christine found Erik and Amy outside the control room. They had searched a small entrance area, a lobby of sorts, and had found a small guard room nearby. They were looking through it as she walked up. They exchanged a couple of jokes regarding the lock and she was soon on her way again. Walking through the control room she happily noted that both Emma and Mocha had fallen asleep.

Despite carefully traversing the iced-over entrance one by one getting to the now open sewage gate, they could all hear the creaks. It was too dark to see much, but if they had they would have noticed very visible cracks forming. They soon found Erik a bit further inside the tunnel. He was inspecting a crate. - Found anything interesting? Christine asked. - No, they seem to be empty. My best guess is that they contained some kind of maintenance equipment considering where we are. Lets continue, hopefully this leads all the way inside the base. Erik noted. - Lets form a human chain, we could easily get lost in the dark otherwise. I suppose the dog can navigate well enough though. The doc suggested. - Good idea! Christine agreed. After stumbling around a bit in the dark they were soon holding hands and slowly exploring further step by step. Erik being in the lead soon found some stairs that thankfully lead to an open door out of the cold and smelly tunnel. He was not very familiar with military bases but figured that they were in a low security area. Thankful to get out of the cold and wet, but also a little nervous about how far into the base they would be able to get access. - Keep an eye out for anything we could use to create a bridge, that ice at the gate wont hold for much longer. If we want to unload the truck we need something sturdier to walk on. The doc noted as they were walking through a corridor. - Good point! Some boards or perhaps locker doors might work. Erik agreed. Before long they found themselves in what resembled a control room of some sort. It seemed to be near the entrance. They found and searched some lockers and cabins and shared some sodas and snacks. - I think this is a pretty good place to hunker down for the night. Perhaps we should split up, some of us could start unloading the truck of the most important supplies while the rest continue exploring? It would be great if we could find some crew quarters with beds. The doc suggested. They all agreed that it was a great idea. Emma was told to stay put with Mocha as it was still dark and Christine didn't want her running around a military base. Besides it was long overdue to get some sleep for everyone, but especially Emma. They managed to get the doors off a couple of the open lockers. They weren't super sturdy but it was better than nothing.

Was this really happening? Had she managed to figure out how to access a military base through a sewage entrance with the help of a cryptic note from a safe? Amy had trouble wrapping her head around recent events, but it felt great to have been so useful in an otherwise much more capable group of people. The (cute) wilderness expert Erik, survivalist and natural leader Christine, and of course the doc. Talk about being in good company for the situation. Christine, Emma and the doc had started walking around a little where they were waiting trying to keep warm when Amy made it back to the group. She didn't say anything but smiled and held up the unlocked padlock. - You figured it out!? Christine shouted in astonishment. - Yeah! The code from the safe we couldn't figure out at your house was the combination. Your husband must have been working on security or something but at least we can get inside now! Amy commented trying to hide her sense of pride. - Where is Erik? The doc asked. - He stayed back at the entrance, it's icy and slippery getting to the gate and he didn't want to risk breaking the ice. I guess he has started exploring the base now. He asked me to get you. Amy replied. - Oh, I guess we should get going then. But perhaps just one at a time across the ice? Christine suggested. - Yeah, that's probably for the best. I heard the ice creaking a bit on my way back actually. Amy replied. - We really should be unloading the truck and get the supplies inside as well. The doc thought out loud. - Good point. But lets head inside first and hopefully find some place warmer than this to plan our next steps. We should be alone here for a while at least. Christine suggested. Amy took the lead as they all headed inside. The ice holding for now, although they could all hear it creaking now. Amy decided to lock the gate behind them and scrambled the code, just in case. They soon found Erik a bit further inside, inspecting some crates for supplies as best he could in the dark.

As they came close enough to the fence to see it and a couple of signs on it clearly, the truck finally made it clear to everyone that this was its last few meters of service this time around. The road went through a big gate, which oddly enough was open, and Erik carefully tried to keep the truck at speed through the gate so that they might close it behind them for some temporary safety. - What's that sound, is the truck broken? Emma asked. - No, we are just out of gas. We were very lucky to find as much as we did before we left town. Erik noted. - What does out of gas mean? Emma asked as she turned around to look at her mom. - Gas is the fuel for the truck, it makes the engine run so that it can move. Christine explained calmly, suddenly feeling a lot safer again. The truck finally came to an abrupt stop, luckily Erik had got them past the fence and about half way through the small courtyard first. - I'll head back and close the gate. We don't have any locks but I'll improvise something to at least keep animals out. You can start looking for a way inside. Erik told the others as he quickly left the drivers seat and started walking back to the gate. - Well, the gate was open so I suppose we could check if the main entrance is open as well. Christine pondered. The group went up to the only door they could see. It also had a few warning signs. Unfortunately it did not open. It looked reinforced as well so they would not likely be able to pry it open. They did notice some windows but they looked reinforced too and would probably not break from either tools or bullets. They were discussing building an emergency shelter when Erik joined them again. - Any luck? He asked. - Unfortunately no, manually locked or automatically locked without power it seems. We were thinking that we might build some kind of shelter instead? Christine informed him. - I think that's a good emergency plan, but lets have a look around first. Erik suggested. They agreed and after fetching all the guns they had from the truck, they started exploring the area outside the base along the main wall. They started with what looked like the shorter walk and not surprisingly it ended quite soon where the fence met the wall. They couldn't see anything of interest in the dark so they simply turned around and walked the other way. The other direction was more promising, but the base wall continued outside the courtyard and into the woods which unfortunately had deep snow in places making the trek harder. It was also getting very dark and hard to see anything. But determined to not give up having got this far they pushed on. Soon they could hear running water and not long after noticed the source of the mist from their arrival. A small creek with fast running water. - Stay here, I'll take a closer look. Erik said as he signed with his hand to the others. The base wall went all the way out against the water, surrounded with ice at the edges. He walked a bit further to be able to look around. It was too dark to see well but the ice provided some illumination and he noticed a gate! Very carefully he managed to hug the wall and get around the corner before standing at what seemed to be a sewage entrance. The ice seemed solid enough but did creak a little under his weight, they would have to be careful. Up close he could see water running out from a tunnel. He was also slightly dismayed to see a padlock. He pulled on it but it was locked. And they didn't have bolt cutters... he decided to report back. - So basically we're screwed then? Amy asked. - Well, we did arrive very late in the dark. We might see something new tomorrow. Christine suggested, suddenly feeling a bit ashamed about her convincing everyone to find their way here only to not be able to get in. - What kind of lock is it anyway? Amy continued. - Uh, a combination lock. But it's 4 numbers, gonna take a long time to test every combination and we can't even be sure it will unlock given how damp it is at the gate. Might have rusted shut by now. Erik answered, feeling the weight of the situation as well. - Wait. 4 numbers? That reminds me of something. Where have we seen 4 numbers? Amy thought aloud suddenly more enthusiastic without anyone understanding why. - Was there numbers on the maps? She asked Christine. - Not that I recall, perhaps some coordinates and the scales. Christine suggested. - Oh wait! I think I got it! Amy suddenly started running towards the gate. - Be careful on the ice! Eric managed to shout after her. They had studied the documents of Christine's late husband in quite some detail in her kitchen before they left but the rest of them had mostly focused on the maps to locate the base. Only Amy had bothered to check the other notes properly as well. She now pulled out the small piece of paper with what seemed like some code on it that they hadn't been able to understand at the time. Finally at the gate she grabbed the lock and immediately started turning the dials. It was quite cold to the touch but they did turn thankfully! When she had turned 2 of the 4 dials Erik finally caught up to her. - What did you remember? He asked slightly winded from trying to catch up in case of any ice related emergencies. - The code! The code from the notes in the safe! It was 4 numbers too! Amy quickly noted as she continued with the 3rd. He couldn't really recall what she was talking about but let her work, and before he had time to think about it much they both heard it. Click! Yes! Amy shouted. She had pulled the padlock open, and opened the door. They had found a way into the base! A smelly way, but not too bad in the cold and no one was complaining anyway. She triumphantly turned around to face him. - Great job! You might have just saved us! Erik said feeling a tonne of weight fall off his mind. She just smiled and looked away slightly embarrassed. - Why don't you go tell the others the good news! I'm a lot heavier than you and we don't want to risk the ice breaking, it's creaking under my steps. Erik suggested. Amy nodded and carefully started to navigate her way back to the rest of the group.

The truck kept going on a pretty good road in the middle of the old, tall, trees. Erik didn't say anything but he had noticed that the fuel gauge was indicating dangerously low, nearly empty levels of fuel. But the engine wasn't sputtering just yet, so at least it wasn't obvious. They all sat silently and stared into the evening, trying to identify any useful features in front of them. Road signs, buildings, fences. Anything that might surround a military base. No one could see anything for about 20 minutes. But then Erik noticed something straight ahead. - I think I see a fence! Straight ahead. Can't be a fallen tree or a rock. Erik mentioned and pointed. Everyone looked but no one saw anything. What they didn't know was that there was mist coming from a nearby creek that hadn't yet frozen over. The faint feature disappeared briefly for Erik as well, making him doubt his vision. - I see it too now! Christine suddenly shouted! - You visited this place before right, do you recognize it? Amy asked her. - Not yet, it's been many years and it's so dark, but the road feels familiar. As the truck came closer, still without revealing its dire resources, they all saw the fence and the contours of some buildings behind it and the mood in the truck improved drastically.

Erik couldn't watch much of it while keeping the truck on a road with wolves knocking it around with their failed attempts to attack the humans and dog in it. The plan went better than expected though and they were lucky enough to escape unscathed. He understood what had happened from the shooting and the yelps and simply being experienced in these things. Knowing that the wolves would leave them alone, he didn't ramp up the speed again so that they might save some fuel on what would hopefully be the final stretch to the base. - Nice shooting! How do you feel? Christine remarked at Amy. Amy didn't say anything but sat back and looked at the gun in her hand. - I understand. Taking a life is a serious act even if it's in self defense. Christine tried, guessing at what was going through Amy's mind at the moment. - It is. But, if we hadn't been able to scare them off they might have followed us until we ran out of fuel and been able to surround us. It was a life or death situation and you should be proud. Erik added as he turned towards them. Amy briefly looked up at Erik and they shared a faint smile. Mocha had stopped growling and Emma was just holding her tight for comfort. The doc was just happy that his skills wasn't needed again. Soon they all sat quietly, staring into the forest ahead of them trying to spot signs of the military base they desperately needed to find. According to the maps they should be close.

Erik decided to increase the speed to be safe as Mocha's growl continued. The ground was getting firmer due to less snow reaching it at the bottom of the big trees surrounding them. Luna and her pack who had been in pursuit suddenly found themselves getting out-paced in the deep snow. We might lose track of them if they go any faster, change of plans - prepare to attack! Luna commanded. In the truck they started looking further behind them and finally saw fast moving shapes in the trees! The wolves were back. This time the group had an advantage of all being fairly safely in the truck with guns, but the wolves were catching up to them. "Shoot a warning shot! Might scare them off..." Erik suggested. Christine being the best shot after Erik took aim with a revolver to save on rifle ammunition and shot in front of one of the furthest shapes on her side. It made it stop for a second but resumed the chase right after. Don't fret, they have deadly machines, but they don't seem to be very accurate! Luna noted. "Doesn't seem to help, I think we need to kill a couple?" Christine concluded with a tense voice. Erik swore silently. He could try to speed up to outrun them, but the truck wasn't that fast even if the ground was getting firmer. He could also slow down to allow the wolves to come closer for better aim, but risk serious injuries or worse. "Alright... I will try to slow down a little so that they can get closer for easier aim. Try to shoot them as they start to approach the truck in a straight line, it will make it easier to get a fatal shot." Erik instructed. "We don't have time to switch driver, so you have to do the shooting. Remember, deep breaths, steady aim and don't hesitate." Erik looked quickly at Christine and Amy. What followed would probably not have impressed any shooting range instructors, but given the desperate situation they did do pretty well. Amy missed 5/6 shots but managed a kill on her 5th. Christine took her time aiming and killed a couple of wolves with less bullets. After a lot of shots and a few yelps, they seemed to have won. Luna finally realized that they were at a strategic disadvantage and called off the attack. It was dangerous for a leader to push the pack too hard. Humans was a tricky prey after all and it seems she had not learned enough from their previous encounter to secure revenge...

The road trip, if you could call it that, continued through the day with a stop for lunch in the early afternoon in an open area near a cliff with a great view. Not just great in general but great for Great Bear, with interesting features both nearby and far away. Emma had never really seen anything like it and for Erik it was a welcome sight after having been locked down for far longer than he usually was. The only one not thinking too much of it was Amy, but she enjoyed being able to play catch with Mocha with a stick for a while. For the first time since the power outages, people abandoning the town, dangerous looters becoming commonplace and animals suddenly being unafraid and aggressive towards humans, they had a normal couple of hours in the winter sun to relax, catch their breath, and have a sturdy albeit routine lunch. Christine was the one who realized that they needed to pack up and be on their way and all of them begrudgingly agreed. It didn't ruin the mood completely though and for the remaining trip they talked a lot more in the truck and got to know each other better. Erik had some great stories about modifying the truck and its past adventures. They had all been positively surprised by how capable the truck was. This lasted until the sky started to shift color and the trees started growing tall around them. It did give a bit of a wind break and slightly less colder temperatures, but they mostly felt the need of the road trip to be over soon. The mood was somber as the day grew darker and it started getting hard to see far ahead of the truck. They guessed that it must be around 4 or 5 pm at this point.

The mood continued to improve as the sun reached its peak in the sky and combined with the heat in the cab, snow had started to melt and run down from the roof. They had to hold Mocha back from trying to lick it off the windscreen from the inside. It was a pretty nice day actually. It didn't hurt that they were essentially off-roading through a beautiful landscape with a very capable truck. Erik had been worried about the amounts of new snow but it turned out to be very light and easy for the truck to plow through where needed. All he had to worry about was to stay in the middle of the roads as the edges weren't that easy to determine. Sliding into the softer snow beside the road when meeting another vehicle was every drivers nightmare. Luckily they had the roads to themselves now so Erik could utilize the full width. The only real worry was perhaps the amount of fuel left. Based on their estimates of how far away the base was, they were making good progress but still had a few hours left on their journey, especially in deep snow. Looked like it would be a close call.

The truck managed to navigate back down the hill and as they consulted their maps, they realized that they had some uphill ahead of them. Not an issue otherwise, but it occurred to Erik that the frozen body in the back was a lot of extra weight they didn't want to waste fuel on. They needed to get rid of it. After discussing the issue and agreeing that a traditional burial would not be possible in the current conditions with a frozen ground and no proper tools to dig with, Christine suggested a pyre to burn the body. It wasn't exactly a traditional practice, but actually pretty common in multiple ancient cultures. Considering that the Darkwalker had apparently been stirring up some old memories it didn't seem completely out of place in terms of honoring their late companion with a native ritual, in addition to probably being the only practical solution they could come up with. They realized that they needed a big fire for the body to burn and not be left for wildlife, but it wasn't hard to locate a dead tree that had fallen over after the recent storms. They put the body on the tree trunk, looking up at the clear sky, and lit a couple of fires under it. Getting the initial fires started wasn't a big issue, but they soon realized that the trunk would not start to burn properly very fast, so they decided to use a little fuel to help it along. They finished the burial, it was quite a sight as the flames reached their peak. Amy said a few words based on some anecdotes from the few times she had met him along with her boyfriend. They managed to find a few rocks to build a small cairn and wrote a note as an improvised grave stone. Considering what they had to work with, it did turn out pretty nice in the end. They all felt a little more at ease when they got back into the truck and started moving again. It was nice to leave the events in the cabin behind them behind them properly. It suddenly got easier to enjoy the beautiful day and the nature around them.

The Darkwalker grabbed Frank’s leg with it’s clawed hand, and began digging in it’s talons, cutting through to the bone. Frank cried out and tried to loose the Darkwalker’s grip, but his hands passed right through it’s shadowy form. He clawed at what passed for it’s face with his hands, trying to get at the other eye. He dug his thumb into the Darkwalker’s eye socket and pushed. The eye wasn’t solid, but burned, it was hot and cold, setting his nerves alight with excruciating pain, but he kept pushing, this was life or death. Frank’s finger brushed against something yielding, and he clawed at it. There was an explosion of green light, a muffled grunt, a human grunt, and the Darkwalker and it’s shadowy realm were gone. Frank was back in the familiar surroundings of the cabin. He had sunk his fingers into Erik’s arm as he was trying to hold him down… while the blood-spattered doc was sawing at his leg with a hacksaw. Frank laughed maniacally. He had won. Then all was darkness. By conanjaguar From the perspective of the rest of the cabin it had been as a confusing as frightening sight, especially for Emma who sat with Mocha by the fire just to keep away from the adults frantically working. The patient was turning violently in his bed with Christine and Erik trying to hold him down while the doc worked and Amy assisted as best she could. - He seems to be having a bad dream about this Darkwalker. she noted. - Yes, there was some stories about it in one of the books, it used to be a fairly common tale for children. He probably heard or read them as a child which brought back memories. Christine agreed. - Well, we need to cool him down and quickly before his body gives out! But we're almost out of the first batch of water and the medicine doesn't seem to be helping. The doc reported while desperately trying to cut the leg off without ideal equipment to say the least. It was perhaps his most challenging situation of his career so far, despite his specialty in trauma care. But to be fair, he usually had a fully equipped hospital and trained staff to assist. Suddenly Frank woke up and stared at Erik who didn't see it as he was focused on bending the fingers back. He then noticed Amy and gave her a scared and confused look, before finally feeling and seeing the doc at work on his leg. This proved too much for his mind to take and he just started laughing before finally going silent and limp. Escaping the Darkwalker was the only comforting thought his mind could find and hold on to in the end. This caused the doctor to pause his work and go up to the pillow where he confirmed what a few suspected at this point. With a big sigh and wiping the sweat from his own forehead, he finally said it. - Yes, he's gone. Terrible way to die, but perhaps a small comfort to be out of pain after all. No one said anything. They just sat down and caught their breath. Emma didn't know what to do so she went to look out the window again. A welcome distraction from the now very somber mood among the adults. Night turned to dusk in the small cabin as the storm subsided and continued on through the great Canadian wilds. The gang were stressed out after the events of the night but also very tired and got some well needed sleep. They had quickly agreed to clear out and get in the truck in the morning, before going back to bed. It would be difficult to wait longer as the roads might get too deep with snow. Mocha woke up first as usual, but Erik wasn't too far behind. He routinely gathered some snow to melt and started on a quick breakfast for everyone. The body had been put outside in the snow as having a corpse in the cabin made a couple of them uneasy. It felt equally bad that it might get attacked by wolves, but since there was a storm raging they figured it would be safe. It had been. They planned to bury the body eventually and give him a decent funeral, but it would have to wait. Everyone eventually got up and ate. Feeling a little uneasy but ok. The doc was feeling a lot better thankfully, his nasty wounds had healed up as well as anyone could have expected considering the circumstances. Erik managed to start the truck, he figured it would be worth burning a little fuel to get the engine as well as the cab warm for the trip since it had been sitting cold for some time now. They cleaned out the cabin making sure to grab all their food and medical supplies. They didn't want to strip it of everything in case someone else in need might come by, so they left a couple of logs and some tinder at the fireplace and tidied up the beds. Christine left a note on the table about what had happened, they weren't completely sure if something contagious was at play or not. They could only hope that they hadn't been affected. Finally they all managed to get crammed into the truck. Emma and Mocha had to sit in laps now, as the truck slowly backed out on the road.

Another day settled into dawn at the cabin. During gun practice Amy had struggled with the recoil, being a fairly slender person, and had to focus a lot on her stance instead. Ironically that might have been a good problem to have because as Erik noted her shooting got decent pretty fast once she felt more steady and could focus more on aiming. Erik also took the time to repair the wind screen since they didn't know how long they could stay at the cabin, best be ready. He also packed up the hide and the guts from the doe in the back, now slightly more roomy with somewhat less food around. In the cabin, the doctor was feeling a little better, although very sore. But he gave himself a good prognosis all things considered, and had been very impressed with Erik's ability to dress wounds which had all started to heal up. Still had to be careful moving around though. His patient didn't seem to be recovering as well unfortunately. He could eat and drink, but the wounds seemed to need more advanced medical treatment, just as he had initially judged. All they could do for now was wait and hope for the best. Christine did suggest that the base they were headed to might have medical facilities. Emma was mostly bored. The initial sense of being on a camping trip had faded a bit and although being allowed outside to play with Mocha along with Amy a bit after the gun practice was over had helped, she was starting to run around Christine a lot as impatient children often do. Christine had found some old books in the cabin that she hoped could bring some much needed entertainment.

Things were still calm as Erik approached the cabin. A little eerie but calm. Perhaps his decoys had been enough to satisfy the wildlife for now? No one seemed to be out and about to collect snow for water, but perhaps they had already done that. He stashed the meat, hide and guts outside for now. Ideally he would have wanted to start curing but it would smell a lot with so many people inside and the infection risk for 2 people with open wounds wasn't worth it he judged. - Morning, everyone alright? I went out early to hunt, got us some meat from a pretty nice doe. Erik said as he closed the door behind him with everyone looking up. Mocha reacted the fastest smelling the blood off his hands and clothes despite having tried to clean it off with snow after. - Hey, sorry you couldn't come, I hope you enjoyed your snack! Erik commented. - Nice to hear we have more food, but I would have preferred that you told someone in case of an emergency. Christine noted with a cheeky smile, not wanting to judge him too harshly. She figured he probably needed to be alone as much as they needed the food. - We're doing ok, just had breakfast. Still some left if you're hungry? Amy suggested, with a look at the fireplace and some open cans. - Thanks, that would be good. How are our patients doing? Erik asked with a look at the bunk bed. He got 2 separate thumbs up as a reply. - We seem to be pulling through, I hope to be able to assess both myself and my patient a bit better today, but it's been a rough night. Happy to be alive though. The doctor replied. Erik sat down to eat his breakfast, realizing how bad he needed that morning hunting trip alone. But easy enough to get more of those now that things had settled down a bit. He might even take Amy along once he had taught her some basic shooting skills. - Hey Amy, I was thinking that we might want to start teaching you how to use a gun. You got a pretty intense introduction to what can go wrong with a gun yesterday, but I hope you still want to learn how to use one yourself? Erik asked. Everyone in the room looked at Amy to see her reaction. - ... yeah, I guess that could be useful. Speaking of which, someone should probably take a look at my shoulder. Doesn't hurt any more but I've never been shot before. Amy responded looking down into her lap. - Sorry honey, of course we will! Christine almost ran over feeling guilty of not having through of it herself. Ok then. See to that wound and I will prepare a shooting range of sorts outside. We will start simple with a handgun. You can watch if you want Emma, just remember to cover your ears as it can be loud which can be harmful. Erik suggested. Emma looked at Christine for approval, but she didn't say anything, just started back at Erik. The day progressed more or less as expected from there. The wounded men rested but got a bit better assessed and medicated. Amy got her wound cleaned and dressed and a bit overdue also familiar with weapons. Emma mostly played with Mocha inside to keep Christine happy. But everyone got to enjoy some fresh meat. Almost too fresh, Erik noted, since they didn't have time to let it hang and mature. But a lot better than just running out of conserved food as fast as they had been so far.

Erik pondered as he approached his kill. - Still got it. But I need to remember to clean the pipe, it's been a while. As he got close he started to inspect the doe. A fine specimen, not too old, should give them pretty great meat to cook. He didn't want them to burn through their conserved food too quickly, especially with 2 people on the mend with their bodies trying to heal up, and a kid growing. Mocha seem to mainly eat dog food, but that would run out eventually as well. - I should make a fire to deter wolves, it's good to finally be on my own for a bit again, but I told no one where I was going and with aggressive wolves around it would be hard to get help if needed. He proceeded to light a fire and broke down a couple of branches for good measure, trying to assess how long it would take to butcher the animal. Being experienced was no guarantee, especially in the winter, as wood always had a certain amount of moisture from the snow that made burning a bit unpredictable compared to nice and dry fuel. Things seemed quiet as he started breaking down the doe. He did notice an increased interest from birds as the smell started to spread. Ravens and wolves were known to cooperate, so he could just hope that they wouldn't attract their 4-legged companions any time soon. But perhaps he should put out some baits in a circle around him just to be safe. He decided to cut up some of the less clean pieces of meat and put out 4 of them in a circle around him, at a distance that would be more than enough to switch from butchering to his rifle if needed. It had been a while since he butchered an animal now, but muscle memory kicked in eventually and he navigated around bone, through sinew and on with ease, despite using a regular and slightly worn hunting knife. He found the bullet hole and extracted the bullet. The butchering going on routine at this point, his mind started to wander a bit. - I need to fix the truck windscreen as well, I wonder how best to do it... it was a pretty clean shot with not too many cracks, but with very limited tools and supplies it might be tricky. - And since we are stuck here with a couple of people in recovery, I should use the time to teach Amy to handle a gun. It's long overdue. He continued. Dusk turned to late morning as he finished up the butchering. No one seemed to be out looking for him yet, no shouting of his name in the wind. But they had a child, a dog and two wounded men to deal with in the cabin, worrying about the most experienced woodsman was probably not a priority. Perhaps Christine had even figured out that he needed some alone time. Everything was still calm as he gathered up his work and started heading back to the cabin. A few birds had started to pick apart one of his decoys.

As evening became night, two severely wounded men tried to rest and heal in their respective beds. The rest of the cabin started settling into bedrolls and makeshift beds. All things considered it was almost like a camping trip, quite cozy. At least Emma thought so, being on an adventure of her lifetime at a mere 7 years of age, trying to fall asleep next to her slowly breathing four-legged friend, watching the fireplace. She hadn't managed to spot any falling stars, but she wasn't too disappointed, next time! Amy took a deep breath. - Was he with you when you crashed? Amy almost whispered to Frank. - No... he was supposed to be, but he got called away for an emergency last minute. There was a helicopter scheduled for the next day but something odd happened to the electronics before we crashed so I'm not sure they ever made it off the ground, it's the same model that we flew so they might have to fix that first. He... they are probably stuck out there, but they should be alive at least. Frank answered. - That's a relief. Yeah, electronics have been acting up around here as well, it seems to have something to do with the aurora's actually. Amy continued. - Oh, I didn't know that. I wonder what it could be. Perhaps a solar flare, the ones they talked about could be strong enough to knock out all electricity on Earth? Nah, that can't be right, must have been a temporary power surge or something. Frank replied, a little more concerned. - I don't know, but things have been different since then. Good night, thanks for letting me know. Amy replied and went to her bed. - Sleep tight. Frank finished and closed his eyes. But he couldn't let go of the thought that Amy didn't seem very excited about the news. Amy lay in her bed for a few minutes trying not to think, feeling her wound with a finger. She should probably get that checked tomorrow. So many strange things happening, so many injuries, she thought as she finally fell asleep.