Hope and Despair on Great Bear

Lights in the Sky

A small black dot in a vast white wasteland. Moving slowly across the landscape. An ant in a desert of chalk.

The summit was a jackpot. Hacksaws, ammunition, flares. And food. Lots of food. His pack was heavy, and on the downward slopes he'd zip it tight and roll it down. Not the smartest idea, he was sure, but it worked. He'd snatch it up again after he shimmied down on his ass. He dislocated his ankle a few weeks ago, and luckily made it back to his shelter. He swore to never let that happen again.

He walked around the edge of Crystal Lake to the Mountaineer's Hut. Deep down, he didn't think the ice would break. Yet his backpack was cumbersome to say the least, and he didn't want to take a chance.

"I can't think of anything worse than dyin' on a Tuesday, Jesus". Frost lay on his top lip and his cheeks were rose red.

He pushed the wooden door of the hut open. A women was curled on the floor, frozen solid. So preserved, so flawless that he thought she'd blink at any second. She was young, early twenties, he thought. Brunette, blue eyes. Had he ever seen a frozen corpse with brown or green eyes? He pondered this for a moment.

There was a gentle, maternal smile on her face. He returned the gesture.

"They say you feel a sense of warmth before you freeze. Is that true?"

He looked at her smile again.

"Must be".

One of her fingers were outstretched, crooked. It pointed behind him. He followed it's direction. There was a note on a table, scrawly writing on a yellowing page. Picking it up, he unfolded it and read it aloud.

'To whoever finds this. Before you read on, I need you to do me a favour. Pack your bag, eat some food and head for the summit. Once you get there, you may read the rest. Heads up, there ain't no hidden treasure. Just a personal thing, you know. Oh, and take the teddy by the shelf in the corner...'

He looked up from the sheet and saw the teddy bear staring back. It was missing an eye, and wore a t-shirt that said 'Hug me'.

Standing at the door, he looked out at the sky. It was midday, cloudless. Birds circled in the distance and a deer walked along the opposite side of the lake. No sign of snow. He took the teddy in his hands and pointed to the woman's corpse on the floor.

"If I die for this, you'd better be waitin' at the pearly gates with a whiskey on the rocks. I'm serious".

He took a few essentials out of his backpack and buried the rest in a snowbank behind the hut. Lifting her body up slowly, he took off the woman's smaller backpack, apologising when he let her head down too hard on the floor. Ready to go.

The hike took most of the day. He had a bedroll clipped to the backpack. Using a pair of old, rusty crampons, he ascended a rope climb. His forearms were on fire. Hauling himself over the edge, he made for the cave. The sun was beginning to dip in the sky now, and the once vibrant-blue was replaced with softer oranges and pinks that cast long shadows over the region. Matchsticks lit the way through the narrow cave, and he emerged from the other side. The final rope climb was a long one, and he was confident in his strength, but he stopped for a rest.

"No rush", he panted.

The crampons pierced the ice wall as he pulled himself higher, seemingly further into the sky. Swinging his leg over the lip, he rolled his body over and onto the summit.

The stars were visible now.

"Oh, woman", he said as he lay on his back, gazing into the sky "I can see you laughing. Please don't remind me how unfit I've gotten. Thanks".

The tail section of a plane lay perched on the summit, leaning perilously towards the edge of a steep drop. A capsized tree lay across the roof and wing, snapped in two like a toothpick.

The man walked to the edge of the summit, lowering himself to a sitting position, his back against the plane. The view was almost unbelievable. A windless, clear night, even the ocean was visible in the distance. The final shades of pink in the sky diminished as the night took over. He unzipped his backpack and took out the woman's note. It read:

'OK, so, you've made it to the summit. OR, you're a dishonest cheat. Anyway, my name is Mona, and I'm aware I do resemble the painting a little. Please don't remind me, or I'll haunt you forever. ANYWAY, I'm stranded in this hut, on this mountain. The weather is furious outside, I'm expecting the roof to come off this place any second now. I was with a group of survivors by the Inlet, one of them lost their mind, I'll save you the details. There was five of us, then there was two. So I ran off into the winter wonderland like Cinderella? Snow White? I was more into horror books as a kid. My father passed away on this mountain when I little, some kind of expedition gone wrong. Mom told me he's buried on the summit. I was on my way to find him. I needed him, just to see his grave, ask for advice. When I was little, I'd always ask him to sit with me during the Aurora, and he'd bring us tea and play country songs on his radio until I fell asleep in his arms. 'What are those lights in the sky?' I'd ask him. Now it's my turn to sit with him.

I'm freezing. I'm starving. I'm thirsty. So I ask this of you. Look for a wooden cross on the summit, and place my little bear beside it. Oh, damn, I'm crying now. Maybe if I was smart I'd collect these tears in a cup and quench my thirst. But I've accepted it. I'm done. If you do this for me, I thank you with all my heart.'

He lowered the note from his face and looked at the sky, teary eyed. Pulling himself to his feet, he saw a old, splintered cross a few meters away, a red scarf wrapped around it's base.

He placed the bear against it and secured it tightly with the scarf.

"No lights in the sky tonight, I'm afraid. But stay patient, guys. They'll come eventually."

A nearby cave made a perfect spot to set up camp for the night. He unrolled his bed, lit up a fire and boiled some water. Before long, his eyes were heavy and he was sleeping.