Winter's Palisade: Chapter One
This is a little story I began writing when I was thirteen. I went through a period where I would post it, then edit it, then repost it, then take it down out of annoyance for it not being "just right". It's been years since I originally had the idea, and I'm having a go at it again. Let's hope this time works out better. Comments and criticisms are always appreciated.
Lying in a disturbed patch of snow, curled up against a nearby tree as the twisted wreckage of a car sat smoldering nearby is a slim wolf, in his early twenties. He sat motionless, the heavy flakes of snow falling around him being the only source of motion, before a series of coughs disturbed the scene. He squirmed to rest on all fours, retching in the snow, whatever food he had in his stomach now mixed with the snow and ice on the ground. After the fit passed, he leaned back against the tree with a few light coughs, wiping his muzzle with the torn sleeve of his coat, a few flecks of vomit catching on the fabric.
The caustic taste of bile in his throat, the young wolf let a groan escape his lips, his body riddled with aches. Holding onto the tree for support, he rose on unsteady legs, swaying heavily. Taking a few small steps, he recovered his composure bit by bit, as he stumbled to the nearby wreckage of a car, it a twisted caricature of the original 2008 Ford Taurus that it was before the crash.
Walking closer, Nick, in his daze, mused that it looked pretty similar to his car. It even had a dent in the same place that his had gotten from that traffic acc-
That's my car.
"Ohmygod"
The realization slammed into Nick just as the memories of the crash flooded back and the wolf fell to his knees as his stomach threatened to again empty it's content into the snow. He paused for a few moments in a vague attempt to keep himself calm, but the shaking in his paws and his rapid heartbeat were clear indications of how fearful Nick was. Standing up, he made another discovery, as a stumble put all of his weight onto his right foot and the young wolf tumbled to the ground with a scream.
Broken. It has to be broken. It wouldn't be hurting that much as just a sprain.
Breathing heavily and with tears staining his cheeks, Nick let himself pant for a few more seconds before rising on his left leg, his right bent to not touch the ground. Standing only on one foot, Nick experimentally placed his injured one on the ground, applied a little weight, and howled again as his foot erupted in pain. Leaning back to stand on one foot, Nick hopped a few times closer to the car before another stumble placed his root foot on the ground and sent the young wolf to the icy floor as he cried out.
_Fuck me. Broken foot, missing friend, and I can't even walk. Real good vacation idea, Mom. _
As his bitter thoughts turned to the vacation and his parents, the tears in Nick's eyes turned from ones of pain to ones of sadness. They likely wouldn't be concerned until later tonight, or tomorrow. The sun in the sky marked the time as around 5:00-ish. He and Matt had told them they'd be going for a drive and that they'd be home pretty late.
Matt. Shit.
At the remembrance of his friend, Nick stumbled back up to one foot and hopped the remaining distance to the car with an awkward gait, reaching the car and resting against it as he looked through the broken windows for a sign of his friend. No dice. Through the jumbled, haphazard interior, Nick could see bits of plastic and various junk pieces that must have broken on impact. He noticed his phone partially covered by the seat and tried for the door handle, but it was hopelessly crushed into the door.
Making his way to the other side, the door was thankfully only dented, and he opened the door and crawled in, reaching to the passenger side and under the seat as he pulled his phone out. At the appearance of it's cracked screen and exposed electrical circuitry, Nick swore and dropped it, before searching through the car for anything else that'd be useful.
A few minutes passed and Nick stood outside the car, leaned against it for support. His paws and pockets were empty, the majority of the items inside the car useless junk and the valuable minority broken. He'd even tried turning the car on, but the ignition wouldn't even start. When the smell of gasoline reached his nose, the young wolf let go of the key and stepped out of the car.
Jesus fuck. Stranded in the Oregon wilderness with no car, no friend, and a broken foot. How did we get here?
Nick thought back to the earliest memories he had of the crash. He and Nick had wanted to take a drive by themselves and Nick's parents only asked that they be back before it got too late. Matt and Nick had quarreled a little over where exactly they wanted to go, but a picnic destination by a lake became their agreed mediation point. It was fairly far, but they agreed the beauty of it was worth the longer trip.The map they consulted showed that they had to drive through the more desolate part of Oregon's wilderness, and on an absolutely barren stretch of road carved through a small mountain range, the only car they'd seen in the span of half an hour hit them.
It was a bad hit. Nick knew that immediately on impact. The other driver was too far in their lane and they were paying attention as Nick had just a told a joke that elicited a punch to the shoulder from Matt, and, it just happened. The angle they crashed at pushed Nick's car towards the safety barrier that overlooked the gully that Nick was currently in, and when the barrier didn't hold, gravity did it's work and pulled the Taurus to the ground.
Nick had little clue as to how the other driver had fared. Looking up the 30 or so feet to the road carved through through the mountainous terrain, Nick couldn't make out anything except the cliff face due to the angle he was at, and he didn't see any other smoking cars besides his, so the driver must still be on the road; he may have already gone for help and Nick would be beset upon by a rescue crew and be in a hospital with Matt, sipping hot coco and turning the whole occurrence into a joke before the day ended.
Or, the driver died on impact and there'd be no indication of the crash to anyone outside of it unless someone drove by and called the police. I'm left here in the meantime.
Somehow, they'd survived the fall, but now Matt was gone, Nick was hobbling, the other driver or their car was no where to be found, and the sun in the sky dipped lower and lower behind the horizon.
When his mother had chosen the vacation, she'd barraged he and Matt with pamphlets about the wonders of the winter wilderness and it's raw, natural beauty. Of course, on the back of every pamphlet was a small disclaimer that one should not venture out into the untouched wilderness after dark with no gear lest one wishes for a prompt demise. In his situation, Nick openly laughed at how absurdly terrible the scenario was for him. No food, no water, an injury, a missing friend, no communications, stranded far away from either of the lodges where they were staying, and no one would be looking for them for until tomorrow, at the least. Nick was warm, at least. If he was to die in the wilderness by himself, he'd at least die toasty.
Hopping around the car, Nick looked for a sign of where Matthew could have escaped, but there were no prints except for his own. Dumbfounded, Nick had no idea how Matthew had gotten out of the car, and then his vision rested itself on the large hole in the front windshield on the passenger side. His stomach seized itself in a vice and he had to squeeze his paws to keep them from shaking as the realization that his friend had gone through the front windshield at some point in the crash make the young wolf's insides feel like ice. Glancing around, he came to a vague conclusion that he'd need to settle on a direction to walk towards in search of his friend, as loitering near the car wouldn't do them much good with no one looking for them yet.
Deciding on a direction towards where they were heading in their car, Nick began to hobble alongside the cliff the road was built into, wiping his tears away with the cuff of his coat, as his hopping and his worried thoughts of Matt brought back a memory from a long time ago..
"Happy Birthday, Nick!"
_The group is Nick's backyard chorused as the nine-year old celebrated his first day of being nine by blowing out the candles on his cake and making a wish. Receiving a kiss from his mother, the young canine blushed and wiped it off with the back of his hand before reaching for a plate to have some cake. _
His backyard was filled with Nick's various friends and the children of neighbors and adult friends of his parents, and it was decorated appropriately, with streamers galore and various bits and bobbles that parents bought for their kids birthday parties. The children running around had birthday hats adorned on their heads and party poppers and other silly birthday items in their paws, as the backyard had a general air of glee as children squealed with happiness and parents nearby laughed and clinked their glasses of wine together.
_Onto his fifth bite of cake, Nick looked around the party just as a creamy-coloured boy found himself in the seat next to him. His fur was a soft, warm colour, like that of coffee with plenty of milk, and his eyes were an amiable green, like that of a bright patch of grass. Overall, his cute adolescent features were clear indications that the young timber wolf would grow up to be a very handsome man. _
_"Happy Birthday". _
He said with a smile, Nick finishing off his cake with a wipe of his muzzle, smiling in return to wolf next to him. Behind the smile, he didn't recognize the boy, but he seemed friendly enough and Nick's grasp of beauty at his age was sufficient to know that he was nice to look at.
Nick's lack of familiarity with the timber wolf must have been evident, as the boy laughed softly, a warm noise that brought a smile to Nick's muzzle for reasons that he couldn't ascertain, and he introduced himself a bit shyly.
"Hi, I'm Matt. I think my parents are friends of your parents, or something".
Nick smiled in return, vaguely affirming Matt's suspicion. Nick knew little of the web of relations his parents upheld.
"Probably. They're friends with a lot of people".
A few moments of silence passed the two boys as each wasn't quite sure of what to say next, and they both attempted to continue the conversation just as a nearby shout silenced them.
"So, your party is ni-".
"Thanks for comin-".
"NICK! It's time for the races!"
_Both boys looked to to the source of the noise, Nick's mother being the cause. She sat next to a stretch of grass that was marked by a line of chalk, another line positioned at the opposite end of the backyard. The children in the backyard flocked to the starting line, a group of parents tying partner's left and right legs together, and Nick and Matt joined the group, looking to each other. _
"Want to be partners?"
Matt asked, bringing a nod from Nick, and the two walked over to a nearby parent and had one of each other's legs tied together. Joining the other children at the starting line, the boys looked to each other, each looking a little nervous. They got into as comfortable as a stance as they could, balanced with three legs divided between two people, and as the remaining kids took their place alongside them, Nick's father stood nearby.
"Okay, everyone ready? On your mark. Get set. GO!"
About half of the children immediately fell, most of them falling with giggles and laughter alongside their partner, and a few beginning to have tears glaze their eyes, nearby parents ready to come pick them up and brush them off. The remaining half, including Nick's group, seemingly had the genetic trait to walk on a single leg and another coordinated with a partner, and the group hobbled towards the finish line.
_At the halfway point, a third of the remaining kiddos had fallen, all of them laughing and smiling except a single badger who burst into a tearful fit, and all the remained was Nick and Matthew, a couple of foxes, a beaver, a lanky crow, and a sibling pair of coyotes. The beaver and crow fell behind at the height difference, and the sibling pair of coyotes began to quarrel over one of them stepping on the other's paw _
That left the foxes and Nick and Matt, and they each had gotten the symmetry of the race down, both couples neck-and-neck, and at the final few moments of the race, Nick and Matthew stumbled over something in the grass and the foxes advanced to victory.
_Still, the two laughed on the way down, rolling over each other as the twine around their legs gave way, Nick ending up splayed across Matt's torso, both of them giggling. Disengaging himself from the timber wolf and sitting up, Nick smiled broadly, despite losing the race, having enjoyed it. _
_Matt sat up, brushing himself off, allowing a final huff of childish laughter to roll from his throat, as he looked to Nick, the young wolf mirroring his smile. _
"Well, that was fun. Even thought we lost".
Nick smiled and shrugged, standing up as his parents began to walk over to congratulate the pair on second place, and as he helped his new friend up from the grass, he had a vague, but persistent feeling in his chest that he'd become great friends with the wolf. He was still too young to consider what more could become, but in that happy, childish moment of joy, he knew that in that cream-coloured, spring-eyed wolf, he'd found a good friend.
Nick's current hobbling was a little less fun than the hobbling he'd done that day, and the memory elicited another weak stream of tears that chilled rapidly down his cheeks, and as he hobbled alongside the cliff, he had a strong feeling that continuing along his path, he'd either reuunite with his friend or he'd perish. As he continued stumbling on, the wolf wasn't sure of which he'd find.