For prompt 6: Hypothermia


Endless ranks of pines rose on either side of him, like giants reaching to plunder the night sky of its sparkling lights. Between their wooden legs, Alex could catch glimpses of the road to civilisation – more of a rut really – tempting him to step closer unto a path deprived of the knee-deep snow he was trudging through. He couldn't risk leaving visible tracks. No cars had driven past for more than an hour, but he didn't dare assume this meant they had given up. He flexed his tingling fingers and marched on, building a path of his own.

Time held no meaning in the frozen world. Every step lasted aeons, every mile a mere blink of his eyes.

This landscape should have reminded him of Point Blank, yet the soft hills and sound of cricking snow under his boots felt nothing like the harsh, barren peaks of the Alps. It helped that this time no one was chasing him through the trees with machine guns either.

Alex kept alert though, and not only for signs of his pursuers. His exposed nose and cheeks were already numb from the biting cold, and he knew that while the snow glittered innocently at him, it might hide treacherous holes the perfect size to trap and break his ankles. Only his constant movement kept him from shivering, and he was well aware he was walking on borrowed time.

If he stayed too long outside in this weather, and it wouldn't matter if they caught him; they would find him frozen solid in a snowdrift – if they found him at all. It was fatal to underestimate nature.

Alex trudged on. The sky, the tree, and the snow all stayed the same. The only thing that changed was his own dwindling energy. His steps grew heavier, his breathing harsh and loud in the silent forest.

He was beginning to doubt the road even led in the right direction. Was he doomed to wander until he collapsed, hopelessly lost in a foreign land? Of all the ways he could have died, he hadn't expected the cold to be the thing to do him in. From what he had heard, this might be a more pleasant death than most he had faced in the last year. To become numb, thoughts sluggish and confused, until you tripped for the last time and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Alex hadn't noticed when he had stopped, but he blinked and suddenly found himself leaning against a tall pine. And he was no longer alone.

Something large moved between the trees, silent and pale as a ghost against the dark trunks.

Alex stilled, even held his breath so no tell-tale puff of condensation could escape his lips. He was upwind from the beast, and he hoped he didn't smell like prey. To a nocturnal predator, he would be a conspicuous splash of red in an otherwise colourless world. He regretted not picking up a branch on the way – at least that way he could have a small defence against any claws or teeth getting too close.

The beast glided closer, stopping only a few feet away, seemingly as surprised to have her lonely walk interrupted as Alex.

Alex gave a soundless sigh of relief. While the antlers were certainly sharp, a reindeer was much better than a starving wolverine.

The reindeer stared at him with large dark eyes, her grey-speckled white fur shimmering silver in the starlight. As if Mother Earth decided to accentuate the moment of connection, a burst of pulsing green light appeared above them.

Under the winding streams of the aurora borealis, Alex could fully believe this was the homeland of elves and Tallemaja.

The reindeer snorted and flicked her ears, then turned and trotted away, as graceful and silent as she had appeared.

Alex stayed frozen long after she was gone. Until the lights above him faded and disappeared, and he was convinced he had imagined it all.

Yet, when he turned to trudge on his steps felt lighter, his heart warm despite the cold clawing at his skin, and he had no doubt he would reach home after all.


Themes: Mild hypothermia, hopelessness (with a hopeful ending)