The Long Dark: A Survivor's Tale

Safehouse

I'd never seen a more welcoming sight. After letting out an audible sigh of relief, I began walking as fast as my injured leg would allow me to.

As I got closer, I noticed prints in the snow. I examined them. Bear tracks. And a very large bear at that. Nervous, I looked around at the tree line, making sure the tracks' owner wasn't still in the area. The tracks led into the woods so I was, hopefully, safe. Wolves were one thing but a bear would just be a big old 'Screw you' from Mother Nature. My feet began to go numb as I approached the cabin, and my cheeks burned. I prayed that cabin would be warmer and that I had stashed enough wood and fuel to keep a fire going.

Sharp, needle like pains shot across my feet when I finally reached the wooden abode. I clumsily opened the door and entered. It was warm. Well, warm-er. I immediately went to the small, potbelly stove in the corner of the cabin, a decent sized pile of Cedar and Fir wood, along with some newspapers and kerosene stashed next to it. I opened the metal grate door and put a few logs of Fir in, followed by strips of newspaper and a few squirts of kerosene. I reached into my jacket and pulled out a pack of matches and struck it on the floor. I tossed the lit match into the stove, the wood and gas igniting into a stable fire.

With the temperature rising, I could safely tend to my leg and light Frostbite. I went to the first aid kit under my bed and opened it. I rolled up my pants leg and looked at the bite. The bleeding had stopped but they were still open. I took a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide and poured the antiseptic over the wound, the liquid almost immediately fizzing up as it killed any infection that was present. It stung like hell but at least it was clean. One the fizz had dried, I slowly began to wrap my calf with a bandage.

My feet were still numb so I took off my boots and socks and looked at them. They were pale, literally lacking any flesh color, just a sickly white/green. I could barely move them. I scooted closer to the fire and sat on a small wooden stool, so that my feet got most of the heat. They hadn't turned blue yet so the frostbite was still safely reversible and only flesh deep.

While my feet warmed up, I had time to think about recent events. The odd behavior of the deer and wolves, my watch, the weird Aurora display. They all had to be connected somehow. Had the solar radiation somehow messed with their heads and my watch? My feet started to have feeling and the ends of my toes were turning pink again. My eyes began to yet heavy and I yawned tiredly.

Once my feet had returned to normal, I added another log of wood to the fire and flopped onto my bed. It wasn't long until I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.