Word Count: 6,006
We had several days of unrelenting heavy snow here in the northern region of the mountains during the past few weeks. Today, even though the temperature was still extremely frigid, it was beautiful and sunny. I was cooped up in the house alone for more than a week, and I felt like I was about to go absolutely stir crazy.
The only road leading from my house to town was closed, as were many of the roads beyond that. I was unable to go to work, the grocery store or anywhere. Fortunately, I stocked up on food and supplies when I initially heard some bad weather may be pushing its way into the region.
The only times I went outside during this extended storm were to shovel off my back porch and around the garage door. If I did not shovel regularly, I would not be able to get out of the house once the snow finally ended. Even the phone lines were down so I could not call anyone. I was up here all by myself.
I felt blessed being given a nice day like it was today, so I decided I would get out my snowmobile and check out the surrounding countryside. I wondered if the whole region got hit with as much snow as what fell on my house. After getting dressed in the appropriate attire for this type of outing, I headed to the garage. First checking to make sure the gas tank was good and full; I opened the garage door before turning on the engine.
As I allowed it about ten minutes to warm up, I checked all of my supplies to make sure they were all there. I had my tent, emergency mylar sleeping bags, hand warmers, a flare gun and three flares, a heated thermos, a first aid kit and various other supplies. Confident I had everything I might need, I climbed aboard and rode up a snow ramp I made from my driveway surface to the top of the heavily fallen snow. There must have been at least three to four feet of new snow in most places.
I knew all the land to the south-east, but I never took the time yet to explore the wilderness to the north. I decided since today was my first day out of the house in almost a week, I would go check out the partially forested areas I had yet to see. The southern area was mostly just farms not worthy of the time it would take to explore.
With work, and the long commute to and from, I did not have a lot of time to do much exploring since I inherited the house from an uncle last spring. It is presumed he went out on his ATV and some sort of accident befell him during this outing. His ATV and some climbing gear seemed to be the only things missing from the house after his disappearance. Search and rescue found some of his belongings, but never did find him. The final conclusion was wild animals got to his body before the recovery team could.
I never knew my uncle personally. I grew up in the south, and probably only saw him twice in my life. That was when I was very little. I could scarcely remember what he looked like, and I was sure most of those vague memories of his face were from photographs my grandmother used to show me.
He and my father became rather wealthy together prospecting in precious metals. My father relocated with my pregnant mother to the city where I was born and raised. My uncle, who had no family of his own, moved way out here where he lived the rest of his life all by himself. He left me an amazing two-story log house and a lot of land, but it was extremely lonely up here.
Becoming aware I was standing there staring off into the distance, I shook my head and tried to clear my thoughts. I did not want to dwell on those emotional issues today. Today I planned to enjoy this day of sunshine and no strong winds.
Turning the throttle, I was quickly on my way. The wind was extremely cold on my face, but the parka I was wearing was amazingly efficient. I could not imagine what the wind, both from the harsh weather and from the wind created by the moving vehicle, would do to exposed skin in this extreme cold.
As I approached a clearing in between two large, pine forest patches I turned back to look at my new rustically luxurious home. It really was a beautiful house, and the location was great for someone who wants solitude. I had no real friends when I was a little kid, and I would not say anyone I knew today was a friend. I guess by nature I am a lonely creature like my uncle.
I could not cruise at the fast pace I would like to since I was not yet sufficiently familiar with the terrain. If I was moving along too hastily, my reaction time would be reduced. If my reaction time was reduced, I may very well run into a rock buried in the snow or a fallen tree trunk that would halt my vehicle underneath me instantly.
This was the top of a mountain, but one would not know that from seeing a small section. The mountain top was very wide and relatively flat. Coming from the southeast, the climb up the mountain was so gradual, one would hardly notice the incline. This way was obviously hillier and steeper, and this side of the mountain ended with a sheer cliff face. I never saw the cliff from the top, but I do remember seeing the massive stone precipice once from down in the valley when I was very little.
Stopping for a moment while I decided on which way to proceed, I turned off the motor so as not to waste fuel. Choosing a point off in the distance, I got a bearing on my direction with my compass. I wanted to make sure I got a good measurement on my direction so in the unlikelihood I got lost, I could find my way back with minimal difficulty.
I was startled at first but was in something of a state of awe when I saw a large herd of white-tailed deer crossing from one forest patch to the other. I never saw that many deer so up close like this; it was really quite a majestic thing to see. By my best estimate, I would say there were probably two dozen of them.
Several had antlers, but most of them did not. The largest of the males and no doubt the leader of the herd had twelve points at least. I was really glad I chose this route. Perhaps nature would reveal some more of herself to me on this outing.
My camera was packed on the back of my snowmobile, so I was unable to get a photo of the beautiful sight. I could reach it without getting off my vehicle, but I knew any motion would probably send the herd running. I waited until most of them passed before trying to retrieve my camera from behind me. Sure enough, that movement was enough to startle them, and they ran off in an instant. Sticking the camera in one of my pockets, I wanted to make sure I did not miss another photo opportunity like that again.
Soon after that, the ground started to become much rockier and tree filled than the terrain closer to home. Even with the snow as deep as it was, rocks and boulders still stood high above the snowline. I probably should have turned back at that point, but I wanted to do a little more exploring.
Moving even slower than before, I did my best to watch for any obscured obstacles in front of me. My goal was to get to that cliff face today. How far away it was exactly I did not know, but I did not think it could be too incredibly far.
The endless white snow played an optical trick on me. I thought I was simply rounding the top of a hill in between two rock formations, but instead I found myself careening over the edge of a thirty-foot-high cliff. Everything suddenly seemed to go in slow motion for the next few seconds. The snowmobile was falling straight down in a nosedive. I was in a temporary state of shock as I watched the ground approaching. My instincts obviously kicked in because I pushed myself away from the snowmobile as hard as I could, so we did not end up landing in the same place.
That quick reaction saved my life. The snowmobile hit the ground and shattered into a million pieces. I landed hard, but the deep snow did a lot to help break my fall. When I stood up, I was standing in a two feet deep impression shaped like me. My body was going to hurt, but I did not think I had any serious injuries. I wished I could say the same thing about my transportation. It was never again going to move under its own power.
It looked like my pack of supplies remained intact. I felt a sense of relief when I checked the back of the wreckage and found the stuff in my pack seemed to be just fine. If I got stuck out here in the wilderness tonight, I would have a warm tent and warm water to drink. Digging out my compass, I got a bearing on the direction to my house.
I was going to have to find a way to go around this cliff. I was not a skilled climber at all, and my thick clothing was not conducive for scaling stone. Without any climbing gear I was not even going to chance it. I would rather face the weather than try to climb the face of that cliff, even if it was much shorter than the one I originally sought.
Keeping the three-story cliff on my left side, I began to walk. Hopefully I could find a short enough section that would allow me to climb back up to the hilly surface above. I did have a nylon rope in my pack, but I had no idea how to use it for climbing. It seemed finding a location easy enough that I could ascend was really my only option.
I had a few hours until the sun began to set, and I traveled a fair distance on the snowmobile to end up here. Now I really wished I stayed inside today. I was getting cabin fever, so I wanted to get out for a bit. Now making it back home before dark was going to be difficult if not impossible.
The temperature was well below freezing, but my clothing was very warm and insulating. I had heavy thermals on, my snow suit and parka on over that. Between those and my own natural body heat from the physical exertion of hiking through this snow my body stayed warm. When evening came, followed by darkness the temperature was going to drop drastically. I was going to have to wait to see how well my clothes helped me at night.
I began to wonder if I should set up my tent and shelter down until morning. Before I did that, I tried walking a bit further looking for a way back up the cliff. Before it started getting dark, I erected my tent and filled my heated thermos with snow. I did not want to wait until I could not see before preparing to stay put for the night.
I never used a mylar sleeping bag before. I saw them on the shelf at the store and thought they would be good to have in my emergency pack. It was supposed to reflect eighty percent of the body heat back in toward the occupant. Hopefully it really worked as advertised. If not, I may freeze to death before the night was at an end.
The wind blew hard all night long, but my short tent held firmly in place. The canvass flapped and rattled the entire time, making it virtually impossible to get any sleep. I was happily surprised the mylar sleeping bag really did do a spectacular job of keeping me nice and warm.
I did not notice the snow that covered my tent halfway to the top until I woke up the next morning. What time it was exactly I did not know, but I did know it was very early in the morning. The sun could not be more than an hour above the horizon. I tried to stuff my mylar sleeping bag back into its original carrier but found that to be an impossible task. I rolled it up as best I could before stuffing it into my pack. Unzipping the tent, I began to dig my way out to the surface.
It did not take long to get out of my tent and get it stashed away as well. The canvass shelter was small and compacted well making it easy to store. I drank the water I had in my heated thermos and refilled it with some of the freshly fallen snow. That would be my water for drinking later. I returned that to my pack, threw it over my shoulder and resumed walking along the low cliff face.
Following the cliff for several miles, I eventually found what I needed. An old rockslide created a climbable ramp I could use to get back to the level above me. I was really beginning to worry that I would not find a way back up there, and without getting back to the top of the cliff, I was not going to find a way home.
Climbing the rockslide was not as easy as I initially anticipated. The blowing snow last night coated the rigid stones with a slick layer of white ice. Several times my feet slipped out from under me, but I was able to catch my balance before I was sent plummeting down the heap of rocks. With the top only a few feet away, I grabbed onto an exposed root to help pull myself up the rest of the way. I should have been more cautious because the root I gripped was not attached to anything but loose dirt. The dead root came free from the snowy ground, and I lost my balance, falling to my right.
Agony sent sparks through my eyes as my right foot caught in a space between two large rocks. My curses echoed through the snowy terrain as I tried to twist my body enough to free my overstretched ankle. It did not take much effort to free my foot once I adequately turned myself over, but the damage was already done. I did not think I broke anything, but I held no doubts that I severely sprained it.
How was I going to make it back all that way with one bad foot? Was I going to die out here now?
I managed to get myself rolled over to my left side and tossed my pack up to the level ground only feet away from me. Using my arms and my one good leg, I slowly pulled myself the rest of the way up the rockslide. My painfully injured ankle bumped and scraped against the cold stones, and the jagged edges dug into my ribs and hip. It was extremely painful, but eventually I got my entire body off the rockslide and onto the level above.
Rolling over onto my back, I removed one of my gloves and felt around my snow suit. I was sure I tore it on the rocks, but the padded clothing held up much better than I expected. That was a great relief. I figured my chances of survival would drop dramatically if I ripped holes in my protective clothing. Things were bad enough already with my demolished snowmobile and a sprained ankle. I did not need any more misfortune to pile up onto my current problems.
I did not even bother with trying to stand. As intensely as my ankle throbbed, I knew there was no way my weight was going to be able to remain supported on it. I scanned around and thought for a few minutes considering what possibilities I had. There was a tree line perhaps fifty yards or so away from me, and the ground sloped downward in that direction. There I hoped I could find a broken limb big enough to utilize as a make-shift crutch.
Rummaging through my pack, I removed the used mylar sleeping bag and spread it out on the ground. It took me a few minutes, but I finally managed to get my whole body on it while keeping it spread smooth on the snow. I put my pack on the sleeping bag with me, and using two tent spikes I slowly pulled my way over the snowy ground. With the downward slope, and the slipperiness of the mylar on top of the snow, it only took me about thirty minutes to reach the tree line.
I rolled off the mylar bag and positioned myself on my hands and knees. Being very careful to keep my injured foot off the ground, I crawled into the cluster of leafless trees in search of a crutch. I found several branches that seemed about the right size, but their crooked shapes would make balancing difficult.
I was getting really worried about the true direness of my predicament. Several hours already passed since sunrise, and I made it less than a hundred yards from the cliff’s edge. Unless I could find a way to speed up my progress, I would probably freeze to death out here if I did not starve first. Personally, I would have rather died in the snowmobile crash than to freeze to death.
Trying to keep myself from going into a panic, I continued searching for something to help me walk. Thirty minutes further into my search I finally found a long sturdy limb with a V-shaped branch at one end. Although not as good as store bought crutches, the makeshift implement served its purpose well.
I now found myself faced with another problem. If the snow was deep at all, the butt end of my crutch and my left leg could easily puncture right through the surface. I had to stay in some of the rockier areas where the snow was shallow, and the rough ground the rocks provided was difficult to navigate with one foot out of commission.
As I rounded a large outcropping, I almost fell to my back. I very abruptly found myself walking right up on somebody standing inside a rock fissure. After the initial shock of seeing someone out here wore off, I called out to the person. I was so glad I found someone out here, even if they were trespassing on my land. He probably hid in the rocks when he saw me coming.
My brief sense of relief quickly faded when I noticed the person was not moving. Something did not look right about this at all. A feeling of dread made my stomach churn as I looked upon the figure in front of me. I took a few steps toward it so I could get a better look at it.
Briefly I thought it might be a statue of some sort, but the bits and pieces of wind torn clothing on it made me think otherwise. The flesh was black and dry from the exposure to the freezing air with a papery texture that reminded me of a wasp nest. The face of the ice mummy was contorted and its mouth wide open as if to scream. The arms appeared to be trying to swat something away, something that terrified this man immensely.
I would expect to find a body in this deteriorated condition out in this frozen region, but I would expect to find it on the ground. It made my body run cold with nearly crippling fear to think of how someone could die and remain standing long enough to dry into a frozen desiccated mummy like this. Not even the negative temperatures and high winds could cause a man to freeze while standing.
As quickly as I possibly could, I put some distance between me and that hideous standing corpse. Suddenly I began to feel an unshakable sense of paranoia, like the very rocks and trees were watching me, stalking me. I nearly fell several times as I repeatedly turned back to make sure that dried up horrific thing was not following me.
Absolute fear and adrenalin helped numb the pain in my foot allowing me to pick up the pace a bit. I was still hampered by my injury, but the only thought on my mind was getting away from that abhorrent corpse statue. I truly hoped getting away would mean I was back at home by dark. Since I varied my speed so much and fooled around on my snowmobile coming out here, I really had only a vague idea of how far away I was from my nice warm house.
I began to tremble, not from the cold but from the terror filling my heart and mind as I watched the sun drop slowly to the horizon. I was not back to anything I recognized yet, and I was going to end up caught out here at least one more night. The idea of being out here in the wilderness with that dried up mummy, and even worse whatever did that to him, welled up terror in me like I never knew.
I continued on until the sun began dipping below the horizon line. I quickly looked for a place to set up my tent. I did not know where would be the safest and where would be the most perilous to sleep. I eventually chose a small cluster of trees next to a large boulder for the concealment it provided.
Setting up my tent did not take very long, but I could not use the sleeping bag I used last night. Since I was using it as a sled of sorts, it was wet with snow melted by the friction. That wet would become ice in the cold night air, so I had to get out my back up bag.
Using sticks and snow, I tried to conceal my tent as best as I could. I was no survivalist, and by the time I was done with my camouflage attempt, I think my tent was more obvious than before I tried hiding it. I hoped it would look natural enough to fool anything looking for me, and I propped some sticks along the tent. Maybe that was just me being paranoid, but I was sure there was something out there watching me.
Climbing into my little tent and into the mylar sleeping bag, I zipped up the front flaps and pulled my knees as far as I could to my chest. My ankle throbbed intensely, and I was terrified beyond imagination. I did not think there was any possible way I was going to sleep tonight. I was wrong about that. Between the horror I experienced, the feeling of lurking doom, the physical exertion and lack of food for more than a day, I actually fell asleep very quickly.
I awoke and it was still dark outside. I stayed hidden in my tent until I saw the light of the morning sun hit the side of this flimsy shelter. I could not hear anything, but I was sure there was something moving around in the darkness outside my tent. I remained as quiet as possible, but in my crippling dread of what was out there stalking me my breaths sounded to me like the roar of a lion.
There was no snow last night, so at least I did not have to dig myself out this time. I got my things gathered up and packed, then I was back on my way as quickly as I could. The skin-chilling sensation of having an unseen observer lurking about remained with me.
Glancing all around me for anything out of the normal as I continued to limp my way back home, I scanned the area for any signs of movement. Not knowing what I was looking for, I could not shake the feeling something was watching me. There was something stalking me; I just knew it. There was some sinister creature, some malevolent force that wanted to turn me into one of those frozen statues. I sensed its horrible presence like I sensed the cold air.
I tried to remain near the tree line when I could. I did not care for being out in the wide open. Whether the trees provided me with any coverage, with any protection, I did not know. I did know being in a clearing provided me with no coverage at all as well as making it difficult for me to utilize my makeshift crutch in the deeper snow. This was best to try to keep myself as hidden as possible. If I pushed myself hard, I could be back home by the end of the day.
I momentarily felt better about my situation when I saw a small herd of deer grazing among the trees in a small patch of forest. If something was skulking around, the deer would certainly be spooked. That feeling quickly passed once I realized the deer were not moving. They were standing as still as, well as still as statues. I could not see if they were in the same condition as the man I encountered yesterday, and there was no way in hell I was going to get any closer than I already was in an attempt to find out.
I could not fathom what in this world could possibly do something like this. There could not be any sort of natural creature that could kill in such a manner. If it was not something natural, then it had to be something supernatural. If it truly was something supernatural, I did not think I had any chance of survival.
I knew I was not too incredibly far from my house, and I pushed myself even harder to get back to its safety and comfort. Feeling no sense of security near the trees anymore, I veered out into an open clearing. At least in the open I might be able to see whatever left that man and those deer nothing but freeze-dried mummies before it got to me. If those deer in the trees were not able to sense this thing though, I probably did not have much hope. Those deer looked like they were still grazing when they died.
It was getting hard to stick to rockier ground. The snow here was deeper and spread more evenly than the ground I traveled thus far. This made walking with a crutch and injured ankle even more difficult than before. I had to make it over this next hill, then I was quite sure I had a gentle downward slope the rest of the way to my house. If I had to, I could slide on my mylar sleeping bag as I did before.
Getting up this hill was going to be the most difficult part of my journey. It was much steeper than any incline I encountered so far, and it was deeply packed with snow. As I forced my way through the snow, I found it was as deep as my waist. There was no way I was going to be able to push my way through that much snow. Using my crutch, I began to pack the icy flakes down in order to create a makeshift trail for me to use.
It seemed to be working. My progress was very slow, but I was making it up the hill. Suddenly I cried out in pain as I lost my balance. My good foot slipped and instinctively I tried to stabilize myself with my injured foot. When I did, both of my legs buckled underneath me, and I was sent rolling back down the hill. I did not think about what I was doing. I threw my arms out in an attempt to halt my fall, which turned out to be a critical mistake.
By the time I reached the bottom of the hill and the initial onset of confusion subsided, my right shoulder was dislocated, and I was positive I broke one of the bones in my right forearm. The pain was so incredibly intense, I thought for a moment I was going to pass out. What was supposed to be a short outing on my snowmobile turned out to be the worst experience of my life.
I was laying there in the snow with half of my body disabled. When I fell, my pack came loose and landed approximately thirty feet away from me. I was on the last leg of my journey home, no pun intended, and I was not going to give up on living quite yet. I forgot about my pack. I was almost there, so I did not really need it anymore. Instead, I began crawling on my left side back to the trail I created for myself.
Tears involuntarily rolled down my cheeks as I thought about the direness of my situation. The salty drops froze almost immediately to my wind burned face. I was so close. I was almost home, and then I was sure I would be safe. I still needed medical attention, but I would still be safe.
Inch by inch I worked my way back up the hill using the trail I already made. There was no way I was going to give up on living; I enjoyed life way too much to simply throw in the towel. I did the only thing I could and kept driving, kept pushing myself to make it over the ridge. The agony from my injuries was beyond description. I had a broken arm, a dislocated shoulder and a sprained ankle, all of which were on the right side of my body.
I almost made it back to the point on the hill where I fell and crippled my arm, and I then saw it. God help me, I saw it. My heart pounded in my chest as I stared up at the nameless horror. Not even in the darkest of legends had I ever heard of such a thing as this described. All this time I felt like I was being stalked, being watched, but I never saw anything. Now I understood why.
The creature, I guess it could be called a creature, had an oblong body about six feet in length and three feet wide. Dozens of one-foot-long multi-jointed legs ending in needle sharp points ran the full length of its body. The monster was almost completely transparent, and it appeared to be crystalline in nature. A pattern of hexagonal scales or facets, I could not say for certain which one, covered its insect-like body.
Although it was flying, it had no wings that I could see. It appeared to hover in place, seeming to disappear from one place and reappear only feet away every few seconds. I screamed as I desperately tried to pull myself the rest of the way up this snow-covered hill. I pleaded to God for help, but none came. The thing seemed almost amused with my anguished struggle to get up this snow-packed hill, as it darted back and forth for several minutes while I tried to pull my broken body through the three-feet deep snow.
Suddenly it began to make a noise. It began with a low hum, but it quickly became a deafening strum that caused the surface snow to dance. It almost sounded like thousands of crystal chandeliers crashing to a cement floor simultaneously. Bawling as I tried in vain to climb the hill with half of my body broken, I rolled over onto my back to look at the thing.
I really believed the horror was enjoying itself playing with me like a cat with a mouse. I did not even know if the unnatural thing understood the concept of pain as I did. What its true intentions were was anyone’s guess, but I believed with everything in me that it was playing with me. It was taunting me, mocking my agony and having fun in the process.
I begged and pleaded for it to please go away and leave me alone, but I do not think it understood me. As far as I knew, it had no sense of hearing. This thing, this horrific crystalline beast was so alien, I doubt very seriously it had the same five senses I had. I cried and hoped it would understand my fear and leave me alone. Whether or not it reacted to the terror it was putting me through, I could not say.
The icy demon curled its legs to its side, sank down to hover only a few feet above me, and opened an aperture in its body. I could see the dark purple flesh leading to the monster’s gullet. It was not truly transparent because I was able to see its disgusting insides. Instead, it somehow seemed to move light around itself to keep itself hidden.
I felt a strange tingling for a fraction of a second, then a burning pain coursed through my entire body. This unnatural monster began drawing the warm fluids out of my body, which tore through my clothing as it was extracted from my flesh. My individual cells ruptured as the unholy terror pulled my bodily fluids out of me like a mist into what might be called a mouth. I thought I was in pain before with my broken and bruised limbs, but that was very minor to the agony I now suffered. It only lasted for a minute, but it might as well be eternity.
My once living pink skin was now papery and gray. My whole form was now the same as that of the ice mummy I encountered nestled in the crevasse yesterday. My body was deceased and rigid, yet inside it somehow my mind remained alive. I could still see and hear, although I could no longer move my eyes. It did not even have the decency to kill me. The unholy thing fed off the fluid in my body but left me frozen like this forever.
Any question regarding its intent or motivation was made clear. This horrific thing was going to leave me stuck in my own dead body. I did not think there could be anything more torturous than spending eternity trapped in your own petrified corpse. The flying monster was truly a wicked and evil thing from another time or another place.
The virtually invisible demon picked my mummified corpse up and carried me far into the wilderness. I could see the snow covered, rocky landscape passing underneath me as well as the wind roaring through my ears. I even felt the creature’s legs gripping onto my body as it carried me away.
If someone were to come looking for me, they would not go far if they found my body where I was close to my home, so the thing moved me to make me harder to find. Like it did with the ice mummy I found yesterday, the malicious creature set me down in a clearing in the center of a cluster of large rocks where I would spend all the time until the world ends as another statue.
Copyright © 2023
Leave a Reply