The Long Dark: A Survivor's Tale

Carter Hyrdo Dam

As predicted, I reached the dam by noon. The place had been abandoned for years. Old, rusted machinery littered the yard before the entrance. The dam itself was dilapidated and ruined, the old metal groaning as the wind blew through its steel carcass. The Carter Hyrdoelectric Dam had been on Great Bear since the early 1900's. Thing is, the place failed once before to the financial crisis of the 30's. This time, it's downfall and assumed final end came from the increased seismic activity on the Island. Same sort quakes that tore apart the the sections of railway line that ran through the marsh and...lets just call the other area Broken Railroad. Out in Broken Railroad, the tracks were blocked, broken and twisted by rockslides along with the quakes. Aside from this little stretch of the tracks that cut through Mystery Lake and Pleasant Valley, most of it was torn up and twisted.

As I approached the dam, the soft rumble of a waterfall from further upstream began to echo through the canyon the dam was situated in. The main doors were locked with a chain and padlock which a nearby pair of bolt cutters made quick work of.

The interior of the facility was incredibly dark, almost unnaturally so. My eyes never seemed to fully adjust. I'd made the mistake of leaving the lantern back in the camp office so a flare would have to do. The flare roared to life, its flame illuminating the room with a red/orange glow causing shadows to duck behind various objects for safety from the light. My footsteps echoed through the metal building. Steel shelves and old, long dead control boxes littered the floor. Save for the occasional creak and groan, the dam was eerily quiet. The silence was unsettling, causing the hair in the back of my neck to rise. I had a small sense of dread and paranoia, expecting something to leap from the shadows.

The door to the control room was an absolute mess. Feet of broken and exposed cables hung from the ceiling and littered the floor like copper snakes, along with fallen shelves and broken electronics. Glass crunched beneath my feet as I approached the actual control center itself. The observation window was shattered, a cold and chilling stream of air billowing in from the rest of the derelict facility that caused goosebumps to flare across my skin. I was able to have a look around through some lockers thanks to my crowbar. A box of rifle ammo and a few items of food were the only substantial things I could find. I continued to rummage through the debris, looking for...whatever sort of supplies I could scrounge up when the hairs suddenly stood erect upon the back of my neck. Behind me, I could hear the faint patter of tiny feet on the metal floor before stopping.

Then it started growling.

The hairs on the back of my neck began to stand on end as I came to the realization that I was trapped in an incredibly dark and incredibly damaged room with an obviously angry wolf.