Note: Here you go Janet. Thanks for the challenge and I will get even. ;o)
A Call from the Wild
By: Caribou Kid
"Who's great idea was this, anyway? Whoever it was should be shot!" groused Chip Morton, Executive Officer on the NIMR submarine Seaview, as he trudged through several feet of fresh snow in subzero temperatures, breaking trail for the 5 men behind him. He and the other men from NIMR were taking part, in a now mandatory, arctic survival course. The field portion of the course was taking place outside Alaska's Denali National Park in early January so they could really test what they had learned. They had been dropped off by helicopter about 30 miles from the nearest road and would work their way back to catch a ride home.
"Hmm, let me think on that a minute," replied Lee Crane, captain of the Seaview and Chip's commanding officer and best friend. "As I recall it was you. I believe it went something like this; 'You know Admiral, since we're taking on so many missions up in the Arctic and off the Antarctic coast we should probably implement an arctic survival course to ensure any crewmembers that go off the boat could survive should they get temporarily stranded'."
Nelson had fully agreed with Chip's recommendation and established the requirement for everyone to receive the training. Having completed numerous cold weather survival courses needed for his ONI activities, Lee was the obvious choice for leading the program and took on the role of instructor. This group of men would eventually take over the training activities once Lee felt they were comfortable with all the techniques he had shown them, and demonstrated their overall competence in the frigid conditions.
"Yeah, but I meant that for you and the others that get off the boat, not me," Chip whined. "I never get the pleasure of tromping through the frigid wastes, I'm always relegated to keeping your gray lady safe while you're away. I really should have been exempt."
"If it means that much to you Chip, I can easily remedy that situation," Lee replied, trying hard not to laugh.
The men behind him chuckled and then ducked their heads back down as a wicked gust of subzero wind blasted them. They all groaned and continued forward. Another blast skittered through the trees unseating a heavy load of snow from a large branch that landed squarely on Chip making him momentarily appear like Frosty the Snowman.
"Arrgghh! Me and my big mouth!" he said as he pushed the snow off and wormed his way out of the makeshift drift. "May I ask you why I'm in front? You're our fearless leader," he added as he shook the snow out of his hood.
"Like any great leader, I give my subordinates the opportunity to develop and demonstrate their leadership skills so in hopes one day they too can be the second person in line," Lee answered as he knocked the snow off his friend's back.
"Oh man is it getting deep out here, and I don't mean the snow," Chip responded much to the amusement of the other men in their group. Lee laughed as well and continued brushing the snow off his XO. "Is it just me, or is it really getting cold out here?"
"It's not just you. According to my thermometer, the temp has dropped 6 degrees in the last hour, and it's still dropping. Once the sun gets below the horizon it chills down quick, it's already – 30, but the forecast didn't indicate it would get this cold this week. I think we need to start setting up camp now before it gets much colder," Lee answered. They all nodded and started scanning the landscape for an appropriate place to make camp for the night.
"Skipper, Mr. Morton, how about over there?" Bobby O'Brien quickly drew the group's attention to a number of trees that had been blown over with their root balls sticking up forming a natural barrier from the wind.
"That's perfect Bobby. All right everyone, let's move like we have a purpose," Lee replied. They all turned and made their way over to the trees.
(olooo
Once they got to the site they began tamping down the snow in the area with their snowshoes so they would have a firm base on which to erect their camp. That done they all dropped their packs and began pulling out their tents and shovels.
"Given how cold it's getting; I think a quinzhee will be our best choice so we can concentrate body heat. O'Brien, Riley, start collecting spruce boughs and sticks for the shelter. Chip, Ski, Patterson, grab your shovels and start piling up snow. Also remember to keep as cool as is comfortable so you don't soak your clothes with sweat. All right, let's get moving," Lee ordered and everyone immediately jumped on their assigned tasks.
"Wouldn't it be easier to build an igloo Skipper?" Patterson asked as he unpacked his shovel.
"The snow's not right for that Pat. This stuff is way too dry and loose, and would never standup to being cut into blocks and stacked. The best course of action is to pile the snow high, let it compact then hollow out the mound," Lee explained. "Bobby, when you gather up the sticks, make sure they're at least 2 feet long, we'll need a lot of insulation to keep us warm in these temps."
"Will do Skipper," O'Brien replied. "Come on Riley let's get to it." Both men moved off and using their hatchets began hewing the lower branches of the surrounding spruce trees and cutting alder saplings into the requested lengths.
As they did that the others continued to shovel snow onto their selected shelter site creating a huge mound. After nearly two hours of shoveling Lee indicated the pile was big enough. "Okay now start looking for dead branches, bark, and moss we can use to build a fire once we get inside. We can start hollowing this out in about 2 hours. Ski see about getting a fire started so we can warm up while we wait."
Within minutes Kowalski had successfully started a fire and was quickly adding wood to get a roaring blaze. As he worked with that, Lee had Patterson melting snow filling up everyone's water bottles and brewing up some spruce needle tea to drive off the chill.
By the time the 2 hours had passed the short winter day had ended and the sky was now like black velvet littered with a nearly infinite array of sparkling tiny diamonds. As the light had dwindled so had the temperatures plummeting to nearly -40. Lee had kept a watchful eye on his charges to make sure they didn't become hypothermic as they waited for their snow mound to settle and sinter making it safe to turn it into their shelter. He at one time or another ordered each man over by the fire when he seemed to have difficulty as the cold sapped their coordination and mental acuity.
Indicating it was safe to start, Lee had the men embed the sticks in the side and top of the snow pile and Kowalski started excavating a door. They each took turns hollowing out the pile evenly so as not to cause it to collapse on them. As they ran into the sticks, they quit removing snow so that there would be a uniform thickness of the structure.
While work on the quinzhee continued, Lee moved off to a small clearing and pulled out his satellite phone to contact the admiral and let him know their location and situation. He flipped on the phone, dialed the number and hit transmit. After a minute the phone provided an error message that it was unable to lock onto a satellite and complete the connection. Lee frowned, not thrilled with this development should they run into difficulties and need immediate extraction.
Chip had watched Lee move off to make the call and became instantly concerned by the frown that crossed his friend's face. He walked over to him to find out the reason for the look. "Something wrong, Lee?" Chip inquired.
"Yeah, I can't get a signal on the satellite phone to update the admiral on our status," Lee replied, as he cycled the phone on and off again and tried to reinitiate the call.
"Battery still charged? Antenna connected?" Chip asked.
"Everything seems to be working on this end," Lee answered. Just then the sky came alive with a dazzling display of northern lights. Both men stared up at the sky in awe at the colors and activity of the aurora. The area above them was filled with red, blue, green, purple and white bands that undulated and danced across the black canvas.
"Think that could be the cause? Maybe there are solar flares or something screwing with the satellites," Chip offered.
"That's a possibility, but there was nothing like that forecast. It would seem if a flare that large, capable of impacting telecommunications were about to occur, NASA would have issued an advisory notice," Lee replied as he turned the phone off. "Come on, they should be just about done with the shelter and we can start moving in and get warm."
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As they arrived back at the shelter, Stu Riley was backing out with the last shovelful of snow. He climbed to his feet and smiled. "I think she's all done other than that one area you wanted left alone Skipper," Riley reported.
"Great; fantastic effort by all of you. I'm going to go in and make a fireplace so we can have some heat and a hot meal. While I'm doing that strip down the boughs so we can place them on the floor and on the raised sleeping area for insulation. I should have the fireplace done and a fire going in about 20 minutes," Lee said as he wormed his way into their shelter.
True to his word, Lee had dug out a small fireplace in the far wall of their snow cave and managed to get a fire started in less than 20 minutes. He gradually fed the growing blaze all the while tracking the smoke ensuring it moved up and out of the small chimney he had created. Once satisfied they wouldn't succumb to carbon monoxide poisoning he backed out of the shelter and invited his men to enter.
The fresh spruce boughs were quickly laid out as the captain had instructed then they all entered with their gear. The temperature inside the quinzhee rose quickly with the addition of body heat and the now good-sized fire crackling at the far end of the cave. They immediately pulled out their sleeping bags and unfurled them on the raised sleeping area then Lee sealed the door with his pack. As the men stretched out on their section of snow berm a collective sigh of relief was released to the amusement of all.
"God, I didn't think I'd ever be warm again," Riley replied as he pulled down the zipper of his parka as he warmed up and relaxed. Just being out of the constant wind was enough to make them all feel warmer. He was greeted by a sea of nods from the others in the quinzhee, fully agreeing with his observation.
"Until you've really experienced it, you have no idea how quickly the cold can overwhelm you, leaving you incapacitated and ultimately dead," Crane replied. "I hope you all noticed how each of you at various times was starting to lose it to the cold. That's why I kept calling you back to the fire to warm up." The men nodded as they recalled the difficulties each had with manual dexterity and mental clarity.
"Good. Let's all kick back and relax for a few minutes, drink some water, and then we can set to fixing some dinner and turning in for the night," Lee added.
"I won't argue with you there Lee," Chip replied as he grabbed his water bottle and wearily laid down on his sleeping bag.
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"Damn! Where the hell are they?" fumed Harriman Nelson, founder of the Nelson Institute for Marine Research and designer of Seaview, as he hit the button terminating the attempt to contact his captain using his satellite phone.
"Something wrong, Admiral?" Sharkey inquired as he entered the living room of the large hunting lodge Nelson had rented as base camp for the survival training.
"Yes there most definitely is," Nelson replied. "Captain Crane should have reported in nearly 4 hours ago with their location and a report on their condition. I've tried calling him but have been unable to connect to his phone."
"I'm sure they're all right sir, after all with the Skipper and Mr. Morton both there, things can't go too wrong," Sharkey offered.
Nelson stared at him one eyebrow raised in mild disbelief. "You sure about that?" Sharkey shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "Well based on reports from weather stations in their vicinity, there has been a dramatic drop in temperature which was not forecasted to occur," Nelson clarified. "If the temperature readings are correct, the area they're in is now well below -40. Even the best survivalist would be challenged at those temperatures."
"How cold did you say it was?" Will Jamieson, Chief Medical Officer for NIMR, inquired as he entered the room having just caught the tail end of the conversation.
"Minus 40 and dropping, plus winds have kicked up significantly knocking the wind chill factor to nearly -80," Nelson replied. "What's even more disconcerting is that I can't raise them on the Sat phone. I'm quite honestly concerned. If they've run into problems, there's almost no way to get to them quickly since helicopters can't fly at those temperatures and even if a we could spot them with an airplane and FLIR sensors it would still take time to get to them on the ground."
Will frowned at the news, being all too familiar with the effects of such temperatures on the human body. "So what do we do?"
"Right now, just wait. I'll alert the State Troopers as to the situation and ask them to keep an eye out for them, should they be near the highway. I'm also going to call the office and have FS-1 sent up so we have our own aircraft to carry out a search if we need it," Nelson replied as he began dialing NIMR.
"Having been with Lee in similar conditions, they couldn't be with a better guide," Jamieson remarked, as he recalled their crash landing in FS-1 up in the Beaufort Sea a few years ago. Harri nodded in agreement, very much appreciating Will's attempt to ease his sense of dread.
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After nearly an hour of recouping their strength and letting the quinzhee warm up, Lee got up and began melting snow in a small pot so they could begin making their evening meal. The other men quickly pulled out their pots and dehydrated food from their packs and followed suit. As each pot of water boiled Lee doled it out to the men and soon they were ravenously devouring their dinner.
The hot meal was a welcome relief and their energy levels surged with the additional fuel in their bellies and the extra heat from the fire. With dinner complete, Lee pulled out his GPS and flipped it on to get an exact fix on their position. He cycled the unit on a couple of times but couldn't get a lock on a satellite to save his soul. He sighed in frustration and stuffed the device back into his pack.
He then pulled out his Sat phone and attempted to contact the admiral to update him on their situation. Like before, the phone couldn't conjure up a satellite signal and repeatedly ran the message it was searching for a signal. Lee frowned and turned the device off.
"Any luck yet?" Chip asked as he noticed the frown reappear on Lee's face.
"Nope," Lee answered and shoved it back in his pack. Becoming more frustrated by the moment, he pulled out his compass in hopes of at least getting a lock on north. As he stared at the device the needle spun wildly, reversing directions numerous times as it too tried to lock onto its guiding source. "Damn, even this isn't working. There's something out there blocking or interfering with any electronic or magnetic source. Chip, check out your GPS and your compass."
While Chip rustled through his pack to pull out his GPS, Lee began bundling up to go outside and check the surrounding area. As he pulled on his gloves, Chip sat there just shaking his head as he found his devices weren't working either.
"Everyone, pull out your navigation gear and check it out. If anyone can lock onto a signal, let me know at once," Lee ordered as he crawled to the door. "I'm going out to scout around a bit and see if I can at least lock in onto magnetic north."
"Aye, sir," they all responded as they braced themselves for the shot of cold air as their skipper removed the pack blocking the door and crawled out.
Once outside, Lee was slammed by a frigid glacial blast of wind that threatened to knock him back onto their shelter. Regaining the breath that had been ruthlessly snatched away by the onslaught of the gale, he lowered his head and trudged away from the snow cave. With the wind blasting away, he estimated the wind chill to be nearing -100, at least it felt that way.
Turning his back to the wind he looked up at the night sky and was shocked at the view above. The aurora was now moving in a cyclonic fashion, spiraling around a black hole in the center looking much like a hurricane or tornado as opposed to the normal undulating bands of color. The imposing display managed to block the stars and Lee was unable to get a fix on the North Star. He looked down at his compass and it seemed to spin in time with the rotating swirl of lights above. "What the hell? Chip! Chip come on out and take a look at this," Lee called back to the shelter. As he looked above he was blindsided by a powerful gust that swept him off his feet and sent him skittering into the side of their snow cave.
Having heard Lee's voice followed by a startled yell, Chip quickly zipped up his coat, tugged on his mittens and bolted out the door. He too was pummeled by the gale force winds and found himself on hands and knees trying to make headway as it buffeted him from all angles. After several attempts he finally made enough ground to pull himself outside to find his friend plastered against the side of the quinzhee.
"Lee! Lee, are you okay?" he yelled out against the jet engine roar of the wind.
"Yeah, just need a hand in getting up," Lee hollered back.
Still on hands and knees, Chip worked his way over to Lee, wrapped his arm around his waist and reared backwards. They both rolled free of the structure and lay panting on the ground staring up at the kaleidoscopic sky. "Are you seeing this?" Chip inquired, awestruck by the display.
"Yes, that's why I called you out. I needed to make sure I wasn't imagining things."
"Nope, you're not imagining that," Chip replied and then shivered violently. "Jeez it's cold out here,"
"Come on, let's get some more wood stashed inside then hole up until this blows through," Lee ordered. Chip nodded his acknowledgement as it was nearly impossible to speak.
They both fought their way to their feet and gathered up an armful of wood from the pile collected earlier. They staggered back to the shelter and worked their way in then jammed the backpack back into place, sealing out the biting wind. The other men in the shelter shivered at the sudden blast of frigid air and were visibly startled by the harried appearance of their skipper and XO.
"What's going on out there, Skipper?" O'Brien asked, as Crane and Morton sat down on their sleeping bags, pulled off their hoods and tried to catch their breath.
"There's one hell of a wind storm, along with a magnetic storm the likes of which I've never seen," Lee replied, dropping a log on the fire. "Has anyone been able to lock onto a satellite or get a telephone signal? How about your compasses?" Everyone indicated they had encountered the same problems in making contact.
Each man then pulled out his compass to check those out, as well. The confused looks and the 'What the f...' uttered by a couple, gave Lee all the answer he needed. "I take it your compass needles are spinning like tops and your GPS is looking out towards the next galaxy for a satellite." Four heads bobbed in unanimous agreement.
"I have no idea what's causing it, but the northern lights look like a multicolored spiral, as though stirred up by the gale force winds ripping through the trees. The wind chill has to be below -100," Lee continued. "We're damn lucky we managed to get this quinzhee completed before this storm hit."
"So what now, sir?" Riley asked as he involuntarily shivered at his CO's description.
"We sit tight and wait for this to pass, or at the very least settle down closer to something normal. We have everything we need to survive for the near term. We have shelter, food, water, and heat, so there's no need to think about moving right now," Lee replied. "Let's burrow down for the night and get some rest."
Everyone nodded in agreement and climbed back into their sleeping bags. They laid there quietly watching the small fire dance and weave and listening to the howl of the wind outside their cave.
(olooo
As they slowly began to drift off, there was a sudden horrific howl that rolled over the shriek of wind as it echoed across the countryside. It started much like the high-pitched howl of a fox, then transitioned to that of an elk's bugle, finishing off with a bass roar of a bear. The six men sat bolt upright at the ungodly howl as it was followed by what sounded like someone, or something rhythmically beating the trunk of a tree with a large branch. Then only the sound of the unrelenting wind.
"What the hell was that?!" Chip asked, looking intensely at Lee.
"I have no idea," Lee answered. "Anyone else ever hear anything like that?"
O'Brien, Patterson and Riley shook their heads no. As Ski was about to respond, the entire sequence started again, sounding much closer than the first time they heard it. They scanned the roof of their cave as they followed the track of the sound.
Lee then turned his attention back to Ski having noticed he seemed to recognize the sound and looked considerably more ill at ease than the other men. "Ski, have you heard this sound before?"
Ski locked eyes with Lee and nodded slowly. He swallowed hard as he prepared to answer. "Yes sir," he replied quietly. He immediately had the rapt attention of everyone in the cave.
"Where? What is it?" Lee asked earnestly.
"You're gonna think I'm crazy, and you're gonna laugh at me when I tell ya," Ski said.
"After some of the things I've seen in the last few years, I think that highly unlikely, Ski," Lee assured him.
"Okay, here goes. It was when I was a teenager and me and my dad went hunting up in the Cascades one summer. We had set up camp and were settled down by the fire for the night when we heard something just like that," Ski started. "We heard the sound a couple of times, then the pounding on the trees, and all of a sudden there was this hideous stench that just saturated the air. We got up, grabbed our rifles and started to have a look around. We went maybe a 50 yards from our camp when we saw it."
"Saw what?" asked Chip.
Ski looked around the snow cave taking in each of the faces of the men focused on him, all leaning forward waiting for his answer. "It was huge, covered all in fur from head to foot and was walking upright. I swear on my mother's grave it was a sasquatch, you know bigfoot," Ski finally said and then braced himself for the disbelief and laughter he'd found every other time he related his story.
The men in the cave sat there somewhat stunned, not expecting that answer in the least. Lee sat up straight and looked at him. He didn't so much as smirk at Ski's report, knowing well how grounded and in control the man was. He couldn't imagine him being anything less as a younger man.
"Did it know you were there?" Lee asked. "What did it do then?"
Ski stared at his CO for a moment, unable to hide the surprise at being taken seriously by all the men around him. "Uh… I don't know if it saw us or not. It was walking away from us fast, just like in that one video that always pops up. It had a long almost loping stride, kind of like an orangutan walking upright. We beat feet out of there as fast as we could, so I have no idea if it was watching us or was coming back," Ski answered. "We didn't hear anything else all the way back to the truck. It was like the entire forest went silent waiting for that thing to leave the area."
As Ski finished relating his earlier experience with the bigfoot, another roar washed over them. This time it sounded as though it came from right outside their shelter, and as the roar progressed to the bass tones, it reverberated in their chests and seemed to shake the ground around them as bits of snow were shaken from the roof over their heads. All eyes grew wide as they scanned the ceiling of their shelter and then became completely still listening for any indication of where the sound had come from.
Chip looked about to ask a question, when Lee held his index finger to his lips quieting his friend. They could all hear what sounded like something moving through the snow and brush around their shelter. Lee motioned to his men indicating they should quietly remove their weapons from their packs as he moved silently to his and cautiously unzipped the pocket containing his .45. Removing it from his pack he flicked off the safety and carefully chambered a round. The other men quietly followed his lead and sat ready to react should anything happen.
(olooo
"Any luck yet, Harri?" Will asked as he returned from the kitchen with two cups of coffee.
"No, whatever is going on is jamming all electronic signals. I talked to the Troopers and they indicated that they closed the Parks Highway because conditions had deteriorated so much. The officer I spoke with said due to high winds visibility was zero and there was significant drifting on the road to warrant the closure. Once morning rolls around and when conditions settle, they'll be running the road behind a plow looking for anyone that got caught in the storm," Nelson replied as he accepted the cup.
"When is FS-1 due to arrive?" he asked.
"LT James should be arriving in Fairbanks within the hour; he's bringing Frank along with him in case our team had problems. Apparently everything is calm and clear there. This storm seems to be centered around a 30-mile section and our men just happen to be in the epicenter.
Jamieson and Sharkey rolled their eyes. "Of course they are," Jamie replied. "Where else would they be?" he commented rhetorically.
"Where else indeed," Harri answered as he nodded. "Anyway, once they arrive they'll let us know. I'm having them stay there until we figure out if we need them."
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