Fall.

I. Crash.

Falling

Impact

Cold

So cold...

Camping out in the Northwest Territories with my friend on a week long hunting trip, sleeping in not much more than an insulated sleeping bag, with a tent that kept the snow and wind off me -- and not much else -- wasn't much fun as you would expect. At night it would get as cold as -20 C, and it didn't warm up during the day as much, the best we ever got was -10 C. That was on a good day. From the tent we would walk through the snow for close to 45 minuets through foot and a half deep snow to the site that we had our blind set up. Give 10 hours of waiting with every now and then lining up a shot on a deer that walked through the wrong field only to have the wind blow a branch or something from a tree scaring the deer away. It happened so many fucking times I swear something was protecting those damn animals.

After 6 days of going through the same routine.

Sleep.
Walk.
Wait.
Walk Back.
Sleep.

Its enough to drive a man crazy.
Or a boy I guess.

On the last day we finaly caught a break. As I lie in the snow, binoculars looking off into the distant field, I see a huge buck wander into the open. Like this thing was almost as big as a bear. I whisper to my friend "You see the size of that bitch?" My friend pulls his head back from his own binoculars and gives me a nod, as I pull the stock of the gun into my shoulder, resting my cheek up againt the padding. "I figure he's about 600m out" my friend whispers as I dial in my scope before resting the cold metal just up to my eye. I slow my breathing.

Deep breaths.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Shoot.

My ears ring as the bullet rips through the air, leaving a sound barrier breaking "boom" in its path. The buck drops like a stone as both my friend and I look in awe that I just hit a shot on one of the biggest animals ever seen in these parts. We go and retrive it, take it back to camp were I clean it out, and get it ready for the butcher. After we pack up camp, my friend takes off as he is catching a flight earlier than mine to make it back home for a family event, leaving me to take the game to the shop which commisioned it. I leave the shop a 400 lbs. pound animal (after cleaning), and a $4.5k check for me and my friend to split.

I walk through the highly crouded town center where the airport is located, my pack on my back and gun-case in hand. Having all my paper work and licences, I dont worry a bit as I walk into the airport, grab my ticket and head to security. No suprise, I get sent to secondary where I show them my licences, get cleared, and then head off to wait, avoiding as many people as I can. Being a smaller airport, I carry all my luggage on (as does everyone else), set it above my seat, put in my earbuds and play my music. If it seemed like I didn't want to be here, well I didn't. I never really liked flying all that much, and without my friend here to pass the time, I didnt have much to do but sit back, and tune out the noise. I feel the plane start to move underneath me as it taxis down the runway, and lifts off.

The flight atendant asks me if I would like anything. I pull out my earbuds, and tell her that I would like a can of coke. She nods and walks off, stopping down the isle to serve the other passengers. 5 minuets later, she returns with my drink, I crack it open, take a sip and sit back to my music once again. Most people around me are enjoying the movie being played, but I would rather sit back and keep to myself. Its always been a tendancy of mine. If the world wants to burn, let it burn itself. And when the time comes and everyone is panicing, I'll just chill out and let it happen. I think that my 'everyone for themselves' mentality helps me keep my calm. While everyone worries how people think about them, I just dont care. I would rather keep myself happy then be miserable trying to make others happy. A shitty way to live life? Maybe. I dont think its half bad.

Now I know that regular turbulance is excpected through out the flight, so when the plane began to shake I was no more that mildly concerned. I found my self in a state of sub-concience were I was aware of being awake and the shaking of the plane, but not of much more than that. Its amazing how quickly your state of mind can change when something alarming is introduced. As I sat im my state of sleep, my music turned down to a quieter volume, I began to feel a weird sensation. You know that feeling you have when you go to sleep and it feels like you are falling? You jolt up from your sleep to find that you are completely fine, laying in bed? I wish thats what I felt.

The floor started to give out from underneath me. Or do thats how it felt. I shot awake from my sleep only to find that we were plummeting down into whatever awaited us below. Fearing for my life, I grabed on to the arm rests with my life thinking that it would make some difference as to my survivability. As we rapidly aproached the ground, started seeing my life flashing before my eyes. Its over I thought to myself, now only meters from the ground.

I cant remember from there.