Tupilaq

Tupilaq Chapter 1

Background info:

Names and pronunciation-

Ulloriaq (oo-lor-ee-ek)

Ujarak ( oo-ya-rock)

Nanook (pronounced phonetically)

Valentina (pronounced phonetically)

Freja (fray-ya)

Cain (cane)

Atkin (pronounced phonetically)

Cowessess (koh-weh-ses)

All other names in the chapter are pronounced phonetically

________

The cold wind blistered the faces of all the residents of the icy Alaskan towns and tribes. It was the sled race of the summer, and Ulloriaq was taking part of it. She was lacking her sled, so she took an unused sled with pointed foot boards and, as she did not notice, no break. It was exhilarating to see everyone she knew at the race. Her father Ujarak was in the audience with family friends. Nanook was tending to his half breed Siberian muts, and Valentina was adjusting the straps on her sleds. Cain was bragging about how he was going to win the race on the first try. The snow was burning the legs of the audience. The silence was only disturbed by the pin drop sound of flying owls. BANG! A gun shot hot ash into the freezing air, bringing life back to the numbed face of the firearm's carrier. The huskies and wolf dogs dashed away, yanking their sleds with them.

Ulluriaq was fourth last year but was determined to place with her technique, don't tire the dogs. It got her from tenth to fourth. Others would use heavy sleds for stability that would slow and tire the dogs or light sleds that are fast but would tip over, tiring the dogs. Ulluriaq instead used a light sled that was weighted to the point where it would not tip unless you pushed it. She also wouldn't stop until the dogs were tired. That way, she would sleep in the day two area instead of the day one area of the three day race.

She past up ten people and saw Cain gawking at her with his father Atkin right behind him. "Eat my cold dust!" Cain whined as Ulluriaq past up the boy. She must have forgotten a weight since the sled was wobbling a little. She was gliding through the day one area very smoothly. She might even set the record of a two day run. The second area different this year. It was denser and bumpier from dead wood and jagged rocks. She knew the area was wooded but it was usually the snowiest area of the track. Golden and brown blobs ran next to her sled and dashed away. Then a rock or a stick vaporized on the ground right as the vehicle came over, so the sled leaped in pain about five feet and tumbled.

The sled alligator-rolled down the sharp, rugged side of the mountain and tugged the dogs like an aquatic predator would do to its mammal prey. The sled started to unwind its bondings as it was jumping around. Ulloriaq's hands started to slip from the tightly bound handles. Right after she was able to put her hands back on the rail, the sled divided into two splintered strips that stabbed into her hands. The dogs unhooked from the death trap, slowing the dogs and accelerating the braking sled.

Two weights tied themselves around a stake of wood as the ride broke into a million peices. The stakes broke from the sled, landed on the ground, and dug deeper into her hands

She flung as if she were a ragdoll ten feet in the air and plummeted to the ice. The sharp stick rudely caught her fall through her abdomen. Her force slid the bar down her back, covering it in cold crimson. She stopped almost on top of the weights and saw the sharp rod protruding from her stomach and upwards three feet. The blood oozed from her body and dripped like a spilled can of maroon soda. The dogs looked starving and appetized at the blood stained girl. She wondered if she would bleed out, be consumed, or freeze first. She saw her life flash before her eyes. Her first sled race, school, home variety shows, medicinal studies, friends, Nanook, her father. She thought she would never see her family again and that there they would have a hole in their lives because of it. All because of a sledding mistake. She started to cry burning tears and wailed, but she was choked by the blood spilling from her mouth, almost drowning her. She slumped back and very slowly went silent.