The Wild Robot | The Boy, the Fox, and the Wild

Chapter 1

...

Storms way out here was common…well, more than common anyway, which is why this shipping lane was typically avoided. They just had to pick this specific route to get to MC-7 faster, didn't they? And it had to be us for something to go terribly wrong…

The inside of the airship rocked uncontrollably as red flashing lights appeared in the dark cabin. Panic and fear set in…clamoring from the crew down the hall. The wind blew in from an opening into the hull…the door into the cockpit had swung open…

MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY!

DESCENDING 10000, WE'RE LOSING PRESSURISATION! BAD WEATHER!

NEGATIVE, MASKS DID NOT DEPLOY!

030 INITIAL, HEADING 130!

5 SOULS ON BOARD

I quickly looked out my tiny window to see the fast-moving layer of clouds passing by…and the bullets of snow along with them. I snapped my head toward the corridor again…somebody was fast approaching…wobbling towards me.

"Mark!" I exclaimed with a high-pitched shrill. He could barely hear me from all the noise coming from the cabin…

"Brace yourself, squirt…it's a water landing" he helped put a life vest on me, and as he did, I could see the despair on his face…the sheer panic too.

He doesn't think we'll make it, does he?

Mark then gave me what seemed to be a bag with something in it, "break the seal, pull the string to inflate…" he then passed my small brown bag from the overhead compartment.

"What's going to happen!?" I shouted back to him as he looked at me in the eye, "listen…you"

He didn't finish his sentence: the cabin darkened and then a violent jolt sent everything forward! Unbeknownst to me, the airship began to fill with water rapidly. I am suddenly ejected…ending outside of the ship in the air as my chair's parachute deployed.

The wind was howling, pushing me around violently. I managed to look below me to see the raging waves coming closer and closer…along with the sinking wreck of the airship that was being consumed by fire.

I yelled in panic…thrashing in my seat: I'm not a very good swimmer.

The raft! I'm about to hit the water!

With some struggle I open the life raft and deploy it just below me. I got out of my chair and that's when I slammed into the freezing water! Once I breached the surface, gasping in shock, I pulled the raft closer to me and quickly got in.

Once I know I'm out of the water I searched everywhere for Mark and the others…but not a sound came from the wreckage…not a cry for help…nothing. It's not like I could get to them either…the current is taking me away from them!

"Mark!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, but my voice is drowned by something that was coming…

I look to my side and find myself in a more precarious situation: there's a wall rapidly approaching…a gigantic wall of water!

I braced myself, but nothing could prepare myself for it. I felt the seawater wash over me…almost capsizing my small circular vessel. The sheer impact thrashed me around violently without end. I hoped that the worst was over; however, soon more and more waves struck me as I held on for dear life and cried out.

…

The next thing I knew I felt my face against something cold and coarse…as if it was all a bad nightmare. Unfortunately, it was not a dream…but wait, it looked like sand…wait…dry land!?

I lifted my head to meet with a small beach with numerous rocky pillars in the distance. Trees were all around…boreal no doubt. I weakly lifted myself up and surveyed the area more: finding the raft (or what's left of it) not too far away. Once I have the strength, I make my way to the deflated raft but find nothing inside.

As luck would have it, my brown messenger bag managed to stay on me! I looked in it and I soon realized that Mark had cunningly placed some items inside during all the chaos. Inside there were some protein rations, canned drinks, and a knife…among other things. It's an emergency kit, did he anticipate this?

Mark…where are you?

I looked around but no one else was around. I'm…on my own…

Shipwrecked, alone…there's a first for everything, I guess.

I wanted to lie down and cry, just close my eyes and try to wake up from this hell, but it was real…too real.

Come on, snap out of it…you're twelve! You gotta find the others! I thought to myself.

I sighed, standing up from my crouched position to try and get off this beach and see where I had ended up. I'll have to get to higher ground before high tide comes in.

And so, I started ascending the moss and snow-covered slope and eventually made it to the top after some time.

"I-I just need to find the nearest town and get help…let them know what happened. Maybe the others have already called for help! I really need to find a house to shelter from this cold…" I said to myself…trying to keep myself motivated.

Once I catch my breath I am met with a dreadful sight: it's a large expanse of wilderness, all covered in deep snow. No trace of civilization as I had hoped…I seem to be on some kind of uncharted island by the looks of things.

"You've gotta be joking…"

This complicates things, doesn't it!? M-maybe there's a transmitter somewhere, a radio!? Who even uses those anymore!? Ugh!

I kick the snow in frustration, "stupid airship, stupid ocean, stupid island! Why, why did this have to happen to me!?"

I'm not dumb, even as a kid I know that I have to find shelter soon or else I'll freeze! This black raincoat is only suited for the temperate rainforest after all!

Okay, focus...we were just on a trip in the mainland interior, this should be a breeze…should be!

I started making my way into the center of the island…trying to find any kind of shelter to stay in until it's warmer. It took longer than expected. I never actually been in snow this deep…plus the wind is hitting at me from all directions…I think I have a good chance of a squall coming in tonight. Yeah, that's right…to make matters worse it's getting dark. The cloudy wintry sky had prevented much light from coming through…and I won't stand a chance at night.

I cupped my hands together and called out, "hello!? Is anybody there, hello!?" My voice echoed throughout the small wooden area, but I received no response.

I pulled out my personal device to scan the area for lifeforms: none…absolutely nothing…is this place barren? Am I truly alone in this place? No…I can't be…

Just because you don't hear a predator does not mean it's not there. Mark had once said that. I wish I had him with me during all this, he would know exactly what to do in this situation…

Again, I called out…not realizing that I was literally standing on an edge and one wrong step sent me tumbling down the snowy hill! I land face first into a blanket of snow!

It took me a few moments to realize what had happened and I quickly pulled myself up…shaking myself.

"Darn it…"

I can't go back the way I came…it's too steep.

And so, I pressed on…directionless as my situation soon turned grim. It got to the point where I was too cold now and too weak to move much further ahead. With one last cry for help I collapsed onto the ground.

The howling winds deafened the sound around my ears…and they were ringing from the trauma I just went through with the hill. It felt like a thousand knives were digging into my hands and fingers…so much so that I couldn't move them much right now.

I'm going to die, aren't I?

Fate had other plans.

A mysterious four-legged figure dressed in red and cream fur soon came into view unbeknownst to me…

They had caught my scent and heard my calls earlier from within the forest. Now I had ended up in an opening and they easily found me lying down barely conscious. The creature reels back, never having smelled something like me before. Their eyes slightly widened before it poked my side with their black triangular nose.

It's name was Fink.