The Long Dark: A Survivor's Tale

Thin Ice

My heart began to race, pumping hard and fast against my ribs. The bear hadn't seemed to notice me yet and continued to feast on the deer carcass, the sickening sound of crunching cartilage and idle, content grunts filling the air. I stood frozen, scared to move or breathe while the beast devoured the deer. The echo of howls behind me made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The bear was situated such that the only way past, was around. The Camp office wasn't an option. I would have to try and slip past the bear and onto Mystery Lake.

My heart still pumping, I forced myself to move, keeping my eyes locked on the bear before me. Keeping low, I slowly crept forward. The bear never looked up. The frozen lake got closer and closer, soon enough ice began to crunch under my boots. That's when the wind changed directions. My heart nearly stopped. The bear grunted and looked up, sniffing the air. I froze, praying that it would go back to it's meal. But that was wishful thinking. Those black, empty eyes turned to me and peered into my soul. It was now I felt a warm wetness on my right hand. He could smell my blood. The bear grunted and stepped over the deer corpse, slowly lumbering towards me.

Panic rising in my chest, I began to slowly walk across the ice. The bear kept coming, picking up the pace. My legs suddenly broke into a full blown sprint. The beast roared and did the same, chasing after its potential prey. I continued to run, forcing my self to move faster, adrenaline pumping through my veins. I didn't think I could survive a bear attack. The bear's grunts and growls got closer and closer. Suddenly, my ankle slipped, the slick ice carrying my legs from under me. I crashed into the ice, followed by a loud, ear piercing bang cutting through the silence of the wilderness. The bear cried in terror, it's thundering footsteps now getting further rather than closer.

My relief was short lived however. A sharp cracking sound came from beneath me, causing panic to rise in my chest once again. I laid as still as I possibly could, too scared to move as cracks began to dart and snake across the ice. Standing would be suicide. Further out on the lake were a few small ice fishing huts and past that were a few small cabins. I could try to head there or  turn around and go back to the Camp Office. The Camp Office would likely be better suited for living. I took a deep breath and spun my self around, the ice cracking again. I waited until it had stopped and began to slowly push myself back toward the snowy lake shore.

Each move made the ice crack, the sound chilling my spine. I'd read about what happened when you fall through ice. The frigid water knocks the wind out of you and shocks the body. All you can think about is the cold and the pain. The pain was described as a thousand knives and needles stabbing you all over your body, sapping your energy. Usually, you died from drowning. Your head goes under, the shock from the sudden, intense cold causing you to gasp. Water floods your lungs and you die a slow, painful death. I shook these thoughts from my head and continued to inch across the ice.

I was close enough to the shore that I deemed it safe to stand. A bad move. As soon as I was fully to my feet, the ice under my right leg gave way, my leg plunging into the water below. The cold was horrific, sharp needle like pains rocketing up my leg. I felt it in my bones. I immediately pulled my leg up, and put all my weight on the other. The ice gave out again, both legs re-submerging but I was quick enough to keep my body out of the ice. My lower half was soaked in horrifically freezing water, thousands of needle like pains nearly overwhelming my senses. True to the stories, I couldn't think. I didn't care about the loudly cracking ice beneath while blindly sprinting the rest of the way across the lake and making a bee line to Camp Office. The relative warmth inside was definitely welcome.