An Alaskan Midnight

Chapter 3

Brett sighed. "Yes, I saw your violin, so I put it with mine, under a blanket near a warm spot. But you gotta pay more attention. If you keep missing little things, it will turn into big problems!" Brett snapped.

"Alright bro, chill. It's not that big of a deal," Eddy responded.

Brett glared at him. "It might be fine to miss things down where you live. But here, it's a life and death matter. Any mistake you make could cost your life. Think about it -- we live out in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of miles from the nearest town. We have a cold climate. It's hard to even stand find food a lot of the year. Everything you do counts."

Eddy sighed, looking down. Would not getting as much firewood as he should have count?

Suddenly, Brett stopped the dogs. "Moose tracks," he whispered. Eddy was amazed. How was he able to just see tracks like that, going that fast on a sled -- especially since he wore glasses with fog constantly on them?

Then Brett threw those glasses down. "Augh, they're so foggy! Hard to even see with those, I swear I'd stop wearing them if I didn't have to strain my eyes so much! Well, I'll have to take them off if I'm walking around out here, don't want them to get ruined."
Eddy looked at Brett's face. The removal of the glasses revealed Brett's eyes. They were large and expressive, almost like cat eyes. His eyelashes looked like faint eyeliner, especially at the corners.

"What?" Brett jumped into Eddy's thoughts.

Eddy shrugged, turning red. "Oh nothing."
Brett threw Eddy a pair of snowshoes so they could walk more quietly. Then he gave him a sack. "Just in case we find anything." Then he himself took a camera to record anything of significance.

For the longest time they just quietly walked along the snowy hills. Then they entered a dense woods.

"I'd bet this is their resting ground," Brett whispered excitedly.

"Yeah," Eddy agreed. Brett glared at him. Then Eddy realized Brett had been talking to himself, not him.

"Alright, we need to stay still behind this bush," Brett urged.

The two of them sat, Brett ensuring he was a few feet away from Eddy. Brett was totally comfortable, looking around for his desired find. Eddy, on the other hand, was shivering from head to toe, almost trembling from the cold.

"Bro, stop!" Brett whispered.

"I can't help it, it's so cold."
Brett sighed. "Are you serious?" He motioned. "Come here, you can sit next to me."
Eagerly Eddy took the invitation, huddling near and savoring Brett's warmth.

Then they heard branches snap and hooves thump along the thick snow. Excitedly Brett looked up. He got out his camera.

The moose walked out in front of them, unaware of their presence. Peacefully it ate. Brett recorded as much footage as he possibly could. Suddenly the moose looked up. It snorted.

Instantly Brett froze, shrinking into the bush.

Angrily the beast bellowed, charging at them.

"Run!" Brett cried.

Eddy had started before Brett had even said a word. Desperately he strode as long and quickly as he could, trying to avoid slipping in the snow. The beast continued chasing them.

Brett dashed ahead of Eddy, hopping nimbly like a snow rabbit. Eddy clumsily tried to keep his long legs in sync like an awkward giraffe.

Brett was far ahead of Eddy. Eddy could feel the beast's hot breath on his neck. He wouldn't be able to make it to the sled. So he came up with another plan.

Quickly he hopped up into a tree, clumsily pulling himself up into the branches. He heard one of them crack. Nervously he shifted the weight away from the spot, but he knew he had to continue climbing. The moose rammed its horns into the tree, bellowing. The entire tree shook, causing Eddy to nearly dangle and fall off. Soon though, he was able to find a solid branch far away enough from the beast.

Safe from its wrath for the moment, Eddy admired the beast. Its sheer height and size was a thing to admire alone. It was taller than him, taller even than a horse. Even through the thick, coarse hair, muscles bulged from its neck. 

After several attempts to ram the tree down, the beast gave up. It trudged away, searching for something of greater interest.

Then Eddy realized, he was chilled to the bone. He had completely lost feeling in his fingers and toes way earlier, not anything to be concerned about. But now, a tingling, burning sensation coursed through them. He began to feel the same way in his ears.

He tried to huddle deeper in the tree to hide from the wind blowing at him, but thin branches don't provide much protection. Then he realized, if he wanted to get out of here, he had to get down the tree and find Brett.

Slowly he climbed down, something made even more difficult from his weak hands and feet. He shuffled through the snow, walking blindly in the direction he knew Brett was.

After that, he remembered nothing.