Fan Fiction: "Desolation"

[mattyboi]

The fog outside is a dark grey wall. And it's closing in.

The sea is out there somewhere. Past the ice. I hear it. Think I might be able to find a fish out there. I would give anything for a fish right now. It's been three days since I've had real food, and it has taken its toll. I feel weak. Not sure if I'll make it down that cliff. Not sure if I have the strength left. I could go across the bridge, of course. But I hear something else out there too.

The wolf.

I know he's out there. In that fog. Waiting. Has been the past three days. Every time I come out he's there somewhere. He knows I'm in here. He is as starved as I am, and he thinks I am his next meal. He's just waiting to finish the job. He is a killer. I've seen it before.

After I stumbled out of that damned cave, lamp oil gone, food gone, and that old church looked a lot like salvation. Looked out the window just in time to see the rabbits scatter, and then he was there. He grabbed the slowest one. Snap. Squeal. Crunch. Then he turned and looked straight at me, the thing still twitching in his jaws, as if to say, "This is me. This is who I am." Now he is waiting to run me down in the same way. And I'm not sure my two half-frozen hands are enough to keep me from ending any different.

But for now it's just me up here. And the hunger. And the fog. And the fog calls to me again.

"It would be so easy", it says. "Just let go. Why do you keep fighting?"

It has a point. I could just step out past this railing and it would all be over. For that split second I would be free. No more wolf. No more hunger. Just me and the fog. A gentle goodbye.

I look down at the cliff below. I look at the light behind me. It's out. All the lights are. That won't change. That's the way it is now.

The fog calls. "It would be so easy..."

I make the decision.

I reach down and grab my pack.

-First is the cliff.-

All I have in my pack are three matches.

-If I can just make it down this cliff, I can cross the ice.-

Three matches and some rocks. But they're not ordinary rocks.

-I've seen other shapes in the fog. Something is out there in the ice. Something big.-

I can't eat coal. But I can burn it. And If I can just find the right tools, I have a plan.

I pause a final moment to give my answer back to the fog. "I don't do easy. I don't let go. I keep fighting. Because this is me. This is who I am."

Looks like I've survived another night.

[romerabr]

Great start, will look for more. Thanks for sharing.

[Mel Guille]

Nice writing, @mattyboi. I like the tension in the tone and concrete descriptions that evoke the sound and shape of the world.

[mattyboi]

Thank you @romerabr and @Mel Guille, glad you both liked it.

[romerabr]

Hey @mattyboi, any update coming to us? It is a great story, don't let it die in the cold!

[MindFog2287]

Would love more of this!