FROSTBITE novel version serialized on Neatorama
October 26th 2010
2
Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006
The black trees stood up in random directions, at angles to the earth. The ground rose in sharp hillocks and sudden crevasses that hid glinting ice. Chey’s feet kept catching on exposed roots and broken rocks. She could barely walk any farther, not after days of this with nothing to eat but energy bars, no real sleep, no shelter except the fleece lining of her torn parka.
Between two of the trees a pair of yellow eyes flickered into glowing life. They caught the fish belly-white moonlight and speared her with it. Froze her in place. Slowly, languorously, they closed again and were gone, like embers flickering out at the bottom of a dead campfire.
“Oh, shit,” she breathed, and scratched at her prickling armpits. Slowly she turned around in a circle. Were there more of them? Was there a pack nearby?
She heard them howl then. She’d heard dogs howl at the moon before but not like this. The howling went on and on and on with new voices jumping in and following, a sound almost mournful in tone. They were talking amongst themselves and she figured they were telling each other where to find her.
She lacked the energy to go another step. Her face contracted in a grimace of real terror. Then she dug deeper inside of herself, deeper than she’d ever been before, and she ran.
The trees flashed by her, leaning to the left, the right. The gnarled ground tore at her feet, made her ankles ache and burn. She kept her arms up in front of her—despite the half-full moon she could barely see anything, and could easily collide face-first with a tree trunk and snap her neck. She knew it was foolish, knew that running was the worst thing she could do. It was the only thing she could do.
To her left she saw flickering gold. The eyes again. Was it the same animal? She couldn’t tell. The eyes bounded along side her, easily keeping up with her pace. The eyes weren’t expending any effort at all. The feet that belonged to those eyes knew this rough land by instinct, could find the perfect footing without even looking. The Arctic belonged to those eyes, those feet. Not to human weakness.
To her right she heard a wolf panting. More than one of them over there, too. It was a pack, a whole pack and they were testing her. Seeing how fast she could run, how strong she was.
She couldn’t compete with them in their own environment. Nature, red in tooth and claw, was going to beat her. She was going to die here, as far from civilization as anyone could ever be. She was going to die.
No. Not quite yet.
Evolution had given her certain advantages. It had given her hands. Her distant ancestors had used those hands to climb, to escape from predators. She needed to unlearn two million years of civilization in a hurry. Ahead of her a tree stood up from the leaning forest, a big half-dead paper birch with thick limbs starting two meters off the ground. It rose five meters taller than anything around it. She steeled herself, clenched and unclenched her hands a few times, then dashed right at it, her aching feet catching on the loose bark that pulled away like sloughing skin. Her hands reached up and grabbed at thin branches that couldn’t possibly hold her weight, twigs really. She shoved herself up the tree, a wave of ripped bark and crystalline snow boiling across her face, her mouth. Suddenly she was holding on to a thick branch three meters above the earth. She pulled herself up onto it, grabbed it with her whole body.
Looked down.
At the bottom six adult wolves stood staring back up at her. Their golden eyes were placid and content. She could almost see laughter there. Their long sleek bodies gleamed in the half-light. They had their tails up and wagging.
“Go away,” she pleaded, but their leader, a big animal with a shaggy face, leaned backward, stretching out his forelimbs, and sank to lie down on the carpet of musty pine needles and old brown leaves. He wasn’t going anywhere.
One of the others, slightly smaller, raked at the birch tree with its claws. The wolf’s tongue hung out of its mouth as it reached higher and higher. It opened its mouth wide as if yawning and let out a devilish screech that elongated into a full-blown howl. The others added their voices until Chey vibrated on her perch, feeling as if they could shake her out of her refuge with nothing more than their yowling.
From deep in the forest another call came. Instantly the wolves were up and looking from side to side. Their tails went down and they glanced at each other as if to ask if they had all heard it. They all had.
The new call came again. It was unlike the sad moaning of the wolves. It was more wicked, more chilling. It was hateful.
The wolves beneath Chey’s branch scattered, disappearing into the darkness as if they’d been candles and they’d been snuffed out. The new cry came a third time, then, but from much, much closer by.
August 2nd, 2006 at 12:37 pm
first cliffhanger of the new story! *throws a shoe*
gahh, awesome tension. Very scary. My God, i don’t like wolves, they are the scariest thing ever. Nnnnghn.
two chapters in and the main character already looks doomed! Go Mr Author-Man, go!
August 2nd, 2006 at 1:13 pm
Goosebumps everywhere!!!!!! Crap I’m still out of breath from running and climbing that tree.
Awesome ending to this chapter. Scary stuff man!
I can’t wait until FRIDAY!!
August 2nd, 2006 at 1:19 pm
Holy sh*tballs! What a rush! Oooo im so excited! I LOVE WEREWOLVES!!!!! In the completely platonic sense you understand!
Welcome back Dave! You have been missed! ; )
Laura M
August 2nd, 2006 at 1:33 pm
“The new call came again.”
And what a great birthday present this call makes!
Hmh, Dave, maybe you remember our bc exchange earlier this year. I faintly seem to remember some were-lore that might come handy, only I’m far from the ‘Kasko archive at the moment… As soon as I can raise the reference, I’ll get back to you, if you like.
Cheers,
D. Vollkasko
Newton Librarian, http://www.stillnewt.org/library
Radio DJ, http://www.radiox.de
Whatever, http://whatever
August 2nd, 2006 at 1:38 pm
Wow, I didn’t think you’d introduce the werewolves juuuuust yet.
I’m fucking excited!
August 2nd, 2006 at 1:51 pm
And so it begins. Can’t wait for bannerman to show up and start kicking ass, with his trusted sidekick Arkeley!!! (Who needs fingers anyway)
August 2nd, 2006 at 1:56 pm
Curse you Chachi! You stole my bannerman reference. But you see, Bannerman isn’t going to show up and beat up the think that made the hateful howl….the thing that made the hateful howl WAS bannerman! He was tricking the wolves. This story is called “Frostbite”, from the words Frost, meaning frost, and bite, meaning Bannerman-Ite. Bannerman-Ite is the chemical equation of Bannermanarium and two Oxygens. Since Frost is frozen water, which is composed of two hydrogens and an oxygen, we might as well eliminte the Oxygens, leaving only Hydrogen and Bannerman-arium. Then the two hydrogen fuse together to make helium, which gives Bannerman a high voice.
Obviously, this story is about Bannerman having a high voice. Its only a matter of time till he shows up, on horse back.
August 2nd, 2006 at 1:56 pm
Very good beginning. I always did admire your writing style, ever since reading the Monster Island trilogy and Thirteen Bullets. I’m already hooked on what’s happening. I feel almost reminiscient of John Carpenter’s The Thing, if by the atmosphere if anything. And the chase by wolves is pretty terrifying in itself. Kudos to you!
August 2nd, 2006 at 1:58 pm
Aw, hell! Chey’s gonna bite it…
August 2nd, 2006 at 3:46 pm
I used to have nightmares as a kid of being chased by wolves. They’d usually end in something reminiscent to this chapter. Well, before the werewolf came ahowlin’ anyway. Luckily, I’d wake up before anything like that would happen. Now I guess I get to find out what happens when you don’t wake up… As it’s not my skinny neck up in that tree, I can’t wait to find out!
August 2nd, 2006 at 3:55 pm
You aren’t wasting any time getting into the action, Dave. I’m aching for some exposition here, but I can wait. Loving it so far.
Jemmy
August 2nd, 2006 at 4:43 pm
‘The new call came again. It was unlike the sad moaning of the wolves. It was more wicked, more chilling. It was hateful.’
Sweeeet.
I hope Chey lasts – I already like her…and I can think of several real-life people I’d much rather see eaten by a monster.
August 2nd, 2006 at 5:03 pm
Well, it’s just like the holidays in this thread…walk in and see all kinds of faces that you haven’t seen for a while!!! Good to see evryone again and I have to say that I was suprised to open my e-mail today and find 2 chapters waiting for me! Good to see Dave (the Author) is still writing and keeping busy, and good to hear from all the regulars in the comments page! Hope to talk to all of you soon, and have a good day!
August 2nd, 2006 at 5:34 pm
Great to see you back and off to a fabulous start. Hope to see you give the werewolf the same great boost you did the vampire and zombie.
August 2nd, 2006 at 5:49 pm
Wouldn’t it be cool if the wolves and the werewolves ran together like a big extended pack?
August 2nd, 2006 at 5:56 pm
Zombies, vampires, werewolves — next will be aliens. Yes! Aliens!
August 2nd, 2006 at 7:15 pm
nice dave
good stuff
nice pace
gripping
want lots more
thanks man
August 2nd, 2006 at 7:50 pm
Chachiboy – I was going to make a Bannerman reference as well, but you beet us all to it.
Anyone want to vote on Chey making it out alive? I vote she will, just to be different.
August 2nd, 2006 at 11:10 pm
Hey Dave–
I’m so excited to see you back with the new story. Your writing, especially in serial form, keeps getting better. I have to read each chapter twice since the first time I’m too excited to find out what happens to read carefully.
Keep it coming!
August 2nd, 2006 at 11:48 pm
Man dude, that was scary!!
August 3rd, 2006 at 2:02 am
dave…writing from canada…keboards are dodgy…locals speak french..story rocks…pls put link on 13b site..au revoir..
a
August 3rd, 2006 at 3:41 pm
You know, I’ve just never thought wolves were all that scary. I know lot of people are scared of them and I’m supposed to be scared of them too. I guess the same goes for werewolves.
Zombies of course, are always scary. But vampires weren’t all that bad until I read thirteen bullets. I’m hoping you can do the same thing for werewolves. Of course, how scary can things be in a world with Bannerman Clark, and we all know that BANNERMAN’S NOT DEAD!
August 3rd, 2006 at 4:33 pm
Thanks everybody! Don’t miss friday’s chapter. It’s when things start getting really intense!
August 3rd, 2006 at 6:15 pm
Dave,
You don’t waste any time at all. We hardly get to know the girl and she is almost washed away by an icey flood, left to freeze and almost eaten by wolves. Talk about your 0-60 in less than 5 seconds.
Great story. Can’t wait for Friday. Dam that Bannerman. He just won’t stay dead. Must still be looking for that steak.
August 3rd, 2006 at 7:12 pm
I have been meaning to comment on some of your novels for quite some time but just never got around to it but I am liking the werewolves…I still don’t see why bannerman is so amazing…
August 3rd, 2006 at 11:45 pm
My eyes are killing me from trying to read Monster Nation, Monster Planet and 13 Bullets all in one sitting. Please stop writing so I can rest without nightmares.
August 8th, 2006 at 11:07 pm
Great job http://phentermine-online.cq.bz/