In any event, he would hold onto the beacon for sentimental reasons. An old girlfriend had purchased it for him several years ago. She knew someone who had worked as a marine supplier, and had decided to get one for Bryce.
Since his girlfriend had died in a car accident, they never officially broke up, and he had a hard time letting go.
Alec was still smirking menacingly. At 6'1, 190lbs, he was only slightly bigger than Bryce, but his features were intimidating. Along with the rough scar that made its home on the left side of his face, there was just something in his eyes that was deeply disturbing. He seemed to be devoid of sanity, and that alone made him dangerous.
“The plane is on fire!” a passenger cried.
The plane continued to rumble, sending chunks of snow into the air. Then it finally slowed to a stop.
Several passengers were already scrambling for the exit, but most of the other passengers stayed in their seats, still filled with shock.
“We have to get off the plane now!” another passenger cried. “The plane is on fire!”
Now that the plane was stopped, the flames on the left wing seemed to be getting larger by the moment.
One of the flight attendants was struggling with the main cabin door, towards the front of the plane.
Alec rose from his seat. But instead of walking toward the main cabin door, he slowly moved toward Bryce.
Wasting no time, Bryce abruptly stood up from his aisle seat and headed toward the main cabin door.
“Do you need a hand?” Bryce asked. “Let me try.”
The flight attendant stepped aside and watched Bryce struggle with the door, just as she had struggled with it a moment earlier.
After a few more moments of struggling, Bryce managed to open the door, and was immediately greeted by the rush of sunlight that gleamed into the plane. He passed through the doorway, squinting in the bright sunlight.
Expectantly, he waited for a plane full of passengers to rush through the cabin door right behind him. But for some reason, most of them stayed put.
Then he realized that most of them were probably hesitant about jumping out. Since there was no staircase leading them down to a smooth descent, they would have to let themselves fall. It certainly wasn't a dangerous drop, but he understood how it could be intimidating for some.
Perhaps the even bigger issue was that most of the passengers were too panicked to think straight.
He stepped off of the edge, and after a very long moment, he landed on the snow-covered ground, emerging with only some minor pain in his ankles. The snow had helped cushion the fall.
He had made it no further than five meters away from the plane when he heard a loud explosion go off.
His initial reaction was to place his hands over his head and duck down. Then he bolted forward and moved further away from the plane, feeling the heat from the fire along the back of his neck.
After running for nearly fifty meters, he stopped and turned his head to look at the plane.
It was engulfed in flames.
Chapter Five
Tremendous heat continued to soar through the air in Bryce's direction, even from fifty meters away.
Through the thick clouds of smoke that enveloped the plane, Bryce could see movement. There appeared to be a few figures moving around.
It looked like most of the passengers and crew had died on the plane. Most of them had likely been too paralyzed with fear to even move out of their seats. Now it was too late for them.
Maybe Alec was dead, Bryce thought.
But emerging from the cloud of smoke was an all too familiar face. Alec was jogging to get away from the smoke. After he was far enough away, the smoke dissipated, and he slowed his pace. He was now walking slowly, moving his head in different directions, probably searching for Bryce.
Bryce looked at him in dismay. He was trying to decide what to do, when suddenly, Alec made eye contact with him. But he didn't move toward him right away. Instead, he stood and stared.
Bryce slowly turned around and began walking. He took about five steps forward, before looking over his shoulder.
Now that Alec had spotted Bryce walking away, he began moving forward, himself, walking briskly toward him.
Bryce didn't have to think twice. He sped up and ran.
* * * * *
Treading through the snow for fifteen minutes straight, Bryce had no choice but to stop and rest. He looked back to see if Alec was still following him. His breaths were short and shallow, but at least he didn't see Alec. Maybe he had lost him.
Then a horrid thought entered his mind.
Snow on the ground meant Bryce's footprints would lead Alec straight to him, regardless of how fast he ran. No matter how far in the lead Bryce was, Alec would still find him. He needed to get out of the snow.
But as far as he could see, the snow on the ground looked like it stretched on for miles.
While at a standstill, he leaned forward to alleviate some of the pressure from his back. As he hunched over, he felt the distress beacon pressing firmly against his right pocket.
He took the beacon out of his pocket and tried to send out a signal, even though he was nearly certain it wouldn't go through.
They usually said the first twenty-four hours were the most crucial, and if the person sending out the distress signal wasn't found alive during that time, their chances of survival worsened significantly.
Up ahead was a patch of trees. Maybe he would throw him off if he walked in a zigzag fashion as he moved through the forestry area.
He looked back and saw Alec, about a hundred meters away. Alec was looking down at the ground, following the footprints.
Still trying to catch his breath, Bryce began moving again, toward the forestry area.
* * * * *
Twigs snapped underneath Bryce's shoes as he maneuvered his way between the trees. He was deliberately moving from side to side in a zigzag fashion as he had planned, trying to leave his shoe prints in various areas to confuse Alec. But he didn't have enough time to walk in large circles. He would simply take ten or so steps to the left or right, backtrack a few steps, and then walk forward again.
As he continued to move swiftly, he darted his eyes around, searching for a place where he could keep himself hidden.
But there was nowhere to hide.
The sun was going down, though. Perhaps he could hide in the darkness. Assuming Alec did not have a flashlight that was shielded from the EMP, that would certainly make it difficult to find someone.
At the same time, it would also make it harder for Bryce to get away. He would have to be much more cautious in the dark in order to see where he was going. With no lighting except the stars and moon, he would be in heavy darkness.
If the clouds covered the moon and stars, he would be in pitch black darkness, and could easily find himself walking off the edge of a cliff if he wasn't careful.
He wasn't sure what the temperature was, but it felt like it was close to the freezing mark. At least there was no windchill. He was wearing a leather jacket. He had no hat, but at least there was a pair of gloves in his jacket pockets.
Bryce didn't slow down. He wanted to keep as much space as he could between himself and the persistent stalker.
But he could hear twigs snapping in the distance. Although Bryce already knew he wasn't the only one in the forestry area, he didn't think Alec would catch up to him so fast.
He had wasted too much time by walking in a zigzag fashion. He decided to abandon that idea. He now moved in a straight line, no longer caring whether or not Alec followed the footprints. He just wanted to get as far away from him as he could.
Even with the low-hanging tree branches that kept getting in his way, he was able to move much quicker now, and all he heard was the rapid crunching of snow under his shoes.
After pushing away the final series of low-hanging tree branches, he found himself standing in an open clearing.
He stopped, and stared into the distance.<
br />
In the background was a snow-capped mountain. To his right was another forestry area. To his left was an open field.
Further to the left was a frozen river. Since the ice would leave no footprints to track, maybe he could lose Alec.
It was worth a try.
The sun was low in the sky. He estimated he had approximately another fifteen minutes before it got entirely dark.
Desperation was sinking deep into his mind. He not only had to find a way out of the Alaskan wilderness soon; he also needed to stay hidden from his psychotic enemy.
He removed some pine boughs from one of the trees, and brought them with him.
A twig snapped from somewhere behind Bryce, letting him know that Alec was near. Bryce bolted forward, heading for the frozen river.
Chapter Six
The frozen river was approximately three meters wide, and its length ran for as far as Bryce could see.
He hoped his icy path would continue for a long time. The larger the frozen river was, the more he would be able to hide his tracks.
A slight breeze sent a rush of cold air through his bones.
He looked back and saw Alec emerging from the forestry area, walking calmly and looking around. He was well over a hundred meters away, just a tiny speck to Bryce from such a distance. He wondered If Alec could even see him.
Taking no chances, he started jogging on the ice, doing his best not to slip and fall.
Another swift breeze rushed past him, sending a new chill into his bones. Since he hadn't eaten a meal on the plane, this would mark his seventh consecutive hour of being without food. Lack of calories always made him feel colder.
To his left, in the evening shadows, a small animal stopped in its tracks and crouched to look at Bryce. It kept still for a few moments, then scampered away.
It made Bryce wonder what other kinds of animals were out there. Would there be large, dangerous animals that would attack him? How long would he be out there in the wilderness? Would he be able to hunt down an animal for food if necessary?
He grew up in the city, and didn't have any hunting skills in particular. He was an excellent marksman, though, and he knew how to shoot a gun really well. But since he didn't have any guns with him, it wouldn't do him any good at the moment.
Up ahead was a rocky wall, but it looked far too short to belong to a mountain. It was likely a cavern of some kind.
He looked back to assess how far away he was from Alec.
He didn't see him.
* * * * *
Both patches of forestry areas were behind him now, and the sun was gone. The frozen river had finally come to an end, forcing Bryce back into the snow again.
The wind was picking up.
He now remembered that he had a small flashlight attached to his key chain, which was protected with a small Faraday handbag.
But would it work?
He reached into his pocket and hit the switch. To his relief, a beam of light jutted outward. Considering the flashlight's small size, it provided a generous amount of illumination.
In the midst of the rocky surface, he found a gap in the lower end of the wall. He crouched down and shined his flashlight into the gap.
There was a rocky path that led downward. Ordinarily, Bryce found places like this creepy. But under such dire circumstances, he had little choice.
He stepped inside and cautiously followed the rocky path downward, wondering what he had done to get himself into this situation.
It had all started by sending someone to jail for all the right reasons. Alec had tried to kill his wife. Alec and his wife had got into a big argument on a hot summer day. He had stormed out of the house and went to the bar to calm down.
By the time he got back, his TV, swimming pool, and leather couch were destroyed. In a rage, he stormed over to his gun collection, ready to murder her. He always kept his guns loaded.
After grabbing one of the pistols, he approached his wife and pulled the trigger . . .
But it didn't fire.
Instead, it made a clicking sound. He picked up another pistol, aimed it, and pulled the trigger. Again, all he heard was a clicking sound.
She had unloaded his guns.
Out of frustration, Alec struck her over the head multiple times with the unloaded weapon, leaving plenty of physical evidence for a court case.
Bryce was in the backyard at the house next door while all of this was taking place, and he heard everything that had happened. He served as a witness when Alec's wife brought the case to trial, and had him convicted of attempted murder.
It was not exactly the first time Alec had gotten into trouble with the law, but it was his first time in prison, and he took it bad. He was scared out of his mind, especially at first, and as he sat in that cell day after day, he would think about how it all happened because of his wife and Bryce.
By the time Alec had gotten out of jail, his wife had moved out of state, and might have even gone as far as to change her name. Surely if she kept the same name, she would have been dead by now, and for all Bryce knew, maybe she was.
As the memory ran through Bryce's mind, it served as a reminder that doing the right thing wasn't always easy.
He ventured further into the cavern, moving his flashlight back and forth between the rocky walls. Although the cavern was still cold, being underground had the advantage of keeping him out of the drafty cold wind.
When he reached the bottom, he sat down and leaned his back against the rocky wall. His pulse was still racing.
The entrance was about twenty meters above him.
He reached into his pocket and unwrapped the granola bar. Sleep would certainly not come easy, especially when he was hungry.
He finished the granola bar in less than a minute, well aware of the fact that he had already gone through his entire food supply after being stranded for only a few hours.
When a wave of wind howled through the gap in the rocky wall above him, he spun around so quick that he almost damaged his beacon by slamming it into a rock.
For a moment, he thought Alec was rushing through the entrance. He even thought he saw the shadow of a person on the wall, moving toward him.
Then he realized it was just his mind playing tricks on him.
He turned off his flashlight to save the batteries. Hopefully, they wouldn't freeze. Then he laid out the pine boughs on the cold cavernous ground.
The howling wind was incessant now, and it sounded like a blizzard was sweeping through the area. He wondered where Alec was taking refuge.
As anxious as he was, he was also tired. He slouched, closing his eyes. Eventually, he grew accustomed to the sound of the howling wind, and coaxed himself into a slumber on top of the pine boughs.
Chapter Seven
After a long night of tossing and turning on the rough cavern floor, daylight began to peer into the gap in the wall above Bryce.
He had used his gloves to cushion his head against the ground.
He got up and walked up to the entrance. Peering through the gap in the wall, he could see that it had certainly snowed overnight.
Close to ten inches had been added to the already snow-covered ground. He felt the cold, airborne snow blowing into his face.
He thought about waiting in the shelter of the cavern until the wind eased up. Then he heard his stomach growling, and realized he couldn't afford to lose any more time.
It might be days, or even weeks, before the windchill lowered to a comfortable level.
He put on his gloves, and ventured into the cold, bringing with him an icicle from the outside of the cavern.
But before walking away, he noticed a fresh track of footprints in the snow, right outside the cavern's entrance.
Alec had been there.
* * * * *
Treading through the knee-high snow, he bit into the icicle and chewed on it. It was his best water supply for the time being.
Alec's tracks had gone to the left, so naturally, Bryce went in the
opposite direction.
He figured he had only gotten about an hour of sleep the night before, and it showed. Easy tasks had now become daunting obstacles, and walking through the snow was exceedingly challenging in his tiresome state.
He lost his balance and stumbled, his face mashing into the cold snow. He staggered back up and tried to regain his balance, only to fall again.
He got up again and stood still for a moment to regain his composure.
Disoriented, he looked around, trying to gain a sense of where he was. He had momentarily lost his memory, and he felt lightheaded. It was probably due to mild dehydration, hunger, stress, and lack of sleep.
He scolded himself for not staying by the plane. There were at least a few other survivors who had made it out of there before it went up in flames. It probably would have been best if they all stuck together.
But he had panicked. He had figured Alec would have killed all of the survivors, anyway, especially if they interfered with his business.
He forced himself to take deep breaths. He needed to calm down and remain level-headed. Irrationality was not going to help him, especially when he was stranded in the wintry wilderness and trying to find a way out.
He convinced himself that he would probably see a bungalow soon, if he could just hang on until then.
Maybe he would even stumble upon a vacation resort. It wasn't unheard of to have getaway retreats out in the wilderness, or at least within the vicinity.
Motivating himself through positive thinking, he gathered the energy he needed to move forward again.
* * * * *
Bryce was descending a slope when he heard a loud shriek.
Behind a row of trees, he could see rapid movement, along with chunks of snow flying up into the air.
Another loud shriek soared through the air.
Bryce froze momentarily, then continued descending the slope.
As he got closer, he could see a full-sized bear shuffling its claws back and forth through the snow. It looked like it was attacking another animal, but it was difficult to be sure.
CME Apocalypse Fiction Page 2