Locked in Permafrost

October

The light flickering ahead could mean salvation or death. But the present snow and the darkness were a more certain death so Eric pressed on, chasing that little flicker in the darkness with his last bit of strength.

A helicopter touching down in the wilderness was a rare enough occurrence that, even though it was long gone, Paul had marked its location and set out to investigate. He found the circle in the snow left by its landing, a large deeper dent in the snow where it appeared something or someone had been dumped, and tracks looking like they were dragged off after the chopper left.

No extra prints marred the snow, so whatever was dumped moved under its own power. A someone then. But they must be hurt to be dragging themselves in such a way. It was getting dark and the Arctic wilderness wasn't friendly at night, but they couldn't have gone far in that condition so Paul gave the command to his dogs to follow the tracks.

Meanwhile, Eric had heard that dying of hypothermia felt like falling asleep. That the victim even felt warm at the end. The bastard that tossed him out of the helicopter had told him as much. This was supposedly his merciful death. Ambitious campers got lost and died of hypothermia in the arctic wilderness every year. He'd be one more nameless idiot found in the spring if they ever found him. There would be no one to look for him on purpose and the wilderness was vast for stumbling upon.

He'd thought he'd finally found a man to love him and a family. They even went on a trip to Alaska to celebrate their engagement. But it was all a sham. It hurt too much to even think about. He supposed death by hypothermia was merciful. No more emotional devastation to work through. He remembered the cold and the darkness, a light flickering in the distance, and then nothing as he'd fallen asleep. He even felt warm and cozy now. But...why did it feel like he was waking up? That wasn't part of dying.

Paul had to make a decision when he returned to the cabin with the half-dead carcass of a boy in his sled. Normally he'd radio the rangers and they'd fetch the boy ASAP, but the helicopter that dropped him clearly left him to die and Paul hadn't got a near enough view of it to be sure it wasn't the ranger's chopper.

Not that he had reason to suspect the rangers, but he was deeply suspicious of everyone in every way. He knew it was unreasonable. But it seemed he couldn't get over the trauma caused by his step-mother and her family. As the oldest son by the president's first wife, and an alpha, he was a target from the moment he was born and laid in his dying mother's arms. By the time his father's second wife was done "raising" him he had no desire left to follow his father's footsteps or inherit anything. That's why he moved to the middle of nowhere. It was easier to isolate than to worry all the time.

But what to do with the half-frozen boy. He was breathing but cold to the core. Slowly raising his temperature was the first step. He stripped the boy to his underwear and tucked him into his own bed, then beefed up the fire, fed the dogs, and sent them up to cuddle around the boy in his bed.

There wasn't much to keep him up late most nights, especially in early October when the nights were getting longer and even humans tended to shift into semi-hibernation. Sometimes he felt too rested, which was beautiful after an upbringing where he was deliberately kept on edge at all times, so it was nothing to keep watch through one long night.

He used more fuel than normal heating and lighting the house, but he was well supplied. His last scheduled contact with the outside world for the year was past and there was only a peaceful winter in his view when the distant sound of a helicopter marred the silence of the previous day.

The boy stirred in the early hours of the morning and Paul breathed a little easier after that. He'd been afraid that he was comatose and not just sleeping. Paul refreshed his memory on treating hypothermia and frostbite and started preparing for the next steps and a new day. He had to go out and check his trap line at some point and there was work to do in the barn.