“…I think that’s about as far as it goes.”

The rock music on the radio had devolved into a mess of incoherent static and distortion. A yawn escaped my mouth as I reached out and pressed a button on the dashboard, silencing the noise. The rumbling engine and crunching of ice under the tires filled the air.

“Tell me why I bothered coming out here with you again?”

“Because you can’t resist my charm.” Zach sneered. He shot a sideways glance at me, and I made a retching gesture.

Zach was a good friend of mine. My best friend, really. We grew up together, went to school together, etcetera. Ever since we learned to walk, we were close. He lived next door to me, and we spent the majority of our childhood making prank calls, watching bad TV shows and biking around. Our parents barely kept tabs on us, but at any given time we were usually together.

After high school, he did a gig at a mechanic shop, and then a landscaping company. Last year he got a job at a diamond mine in the Northwestern Territories - basically the middle of nowhere in northern Canada. After he moved, we hadn’t seen each other until he called me inviting me to come visit. I had jumped at the chance to rekindle our friendship. I owed it to him.

Zach was the type of guy who was… how do you put it… insufferable? He was overflowing with bad jokes, sarcastic remarks, and an unbelievably defiant attitude. But he was fun, and he had your back when it mattered most. Back in high school, he had a reputation for his stunts and antics. Nothing ever seemed to really phase him - which is why it didn’t surprise me that he had taken a job in one of the most inhospitable places in the world.

“That’s the bridge, right there!” The excitement in his voice betrayed his cool exterior as the car veered off the dark highway onto an off ramp. “Before they built this, you couldn’t even get to Yellowknife. You had to drive on the ice road or fly in.”

“Ice road…?”

“Yeah. You had to drive on the ice. There are like 10 roads in the entire territory. You knew that, right?”

I paused in thought, the endless rows of treetops whizzing by in the dark. We were approaching a large steel bridge, the frigid water of a black river rushing below. It had been hours since we had passed any sign of human life. It was almost like driving into a void, or a black hole. There was truly nothing here, besides an endless expanse of arctic swamps, lakes and forests.

“I always knew you were insane. Who even moves to a place like this?”

I laughed, but I wasn’t joking.

This was the kind of place where you don’t get lost. Or rather, you don’t live to tell. Zach had told me about a foreigner who was working on land surveys for the government. His car broke down on the highway, and they found them a week or so later, car under a metre of snow, guy completely frozen to death. The sheer size of the forest, the sparse population, and the sub-arctic weather make it the most remote and isolated area of the western hemisphere. A few small towns are the only refuge from the colossal mass of untouched wilderness.

“You’ll come around. Wait till you see the cabin. It’s like Algonquin, except extreme. The town isn’t bad either. Gas, beer, food. Have to go to Yellowknife for the rest though.”

“I always wanted to come up here you know. I just didn’t know if I could do it.”

Zach grinned. “You were always the delicate one, huh?”

“Hey! I’m up for adventures… Indoor ones.”

I was never a nature lover and I wasn’t ashamed to admit it. I had a job back in the city doing web design for a friend’s parents’ company. My front yard was a slab of concrete, and my back yard was another apartment building. But whenever I needed anything, I never had to go far. I was comfortable in the city. I knew what I was dealing with. In a place like this, I was totally out of my element - and to be honest, any other normal person would be too.

“You’ll like it. I actually think you will. Maybe you’ll even come up here yourself someday. The money is great, you know.” Zach tapped rhythmically at the steering wheel.

“Yeah, I don’t know about that.”

“Well if you want to live like a real man, this is the place to be. I don’t think they have dancing lessons here, though.”

“Oh shut up! You’ll never let that go, will you?” My eyes shot daggers. “We were in kindergarten!”

“Why should I? It’s hilarious!” He chucked. “Little you and your tap dancing. You should’ve kept going, you know. It fit you.”

I gave his arm a solid punch, and he let out a wheeze of laughter. The truck veered sideways as he slapped at his knees maniacally.

“Look, look at the road! St-“

SMASH

Before either of us could react, we were thrown forward in our seats and the rear of the truck lifted up in the air. The sound of crunching metal and shattering glass was like thunder. I wondered if I was dreaming, the snowy ground rotating 180 degrees and back again, spinning as if we were on an amusement park ride. It was a short lived dream, and I was thrust back into reality by a jolt of pain as my head slammed against a hard airbag.

For a moment, everything was silent except for the sound of rapid breathing. My ears rang.

“…Holy shit… Are you okay? Eric? Oh my god.” Zach’s wavering voice finally broke the silence.

“…Y… Yeah… I’m okay… Are you okay?” I stammered.

“Jesus Christ… I didn’t… I didn’t see…” his voice trailed off as he looked around in disbelief.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and sat up straight against the seat, pieces of glass crunching underneath me and dropping to the floor. The truck was completely wrecked, but at least it had returned to an upright position after flipping across the road. My face was met with a knife-like breeze of icy wind from the open windows which stung my skin. The headlights flickered, illuminating the dense wall of trees we had crashed into. My gaze turned to Zach, whose eyes were wide as brushed the glass off of his lap and shirt.

“Did you get cut?” He stammered.

“…No… I’m fine… What… What are we going to do?”

“Shit… Shit… It’ll be okay… Let me get my phone…”

His hand shook as he pulled the phone from the pocket. The screen was cracked, but it lit up with a touch. The piercing, bitter cold of the air blowing through the truck was like nothing I had ever felt before. My cheeks felt as if they were growing numb already.

“No signal…” The expression on his face was grave.

He reached for the key and turned it back and forth. There was no sound, not even the sputtering of a failing engine. His arms dropped to his side, and he spoke softly.

“We passed the bridge… …Fort Providence is somewhere in that direction… There has to be somebody on the road there… We need to get going.”

“Get going? What are you talking about? We need to st-“

“If we stay here, we are going to die.” The air felt still for a minute as his words sunk in. “Nobody else is coming this way at night. If we can make it closer to town, at least we have a chance.”

“So what… We just walk…?“ I stammered in disbelief.

He nodded solemnly. “It’s the only way… I told you about that guy, right? The surveyor…? We won’t last overnight out here…”

“I can’t believe this… I can’t believe it… I can’t believe it…” I muttered to myself as I gripped the zipper of my coat and pulled it up to my neck, flipping the hood over my head. The crumpled door groaned and held on by a single hinge as I pushed it open, before it fell to the ground completely. Billows of smoke rose from the mangled hood, and glass tattered to the icy ground as Zach emerged from his side of the truck. The flickering headlights finally stopped their flickering, and we were in utter darkness.

Zach pointed his flashlight down the narrow stretch of road. It barely made a dent in the sea of darkness ahead of of us. The road simply faded into nothing, surrounded only by the uninterrupted wall of trees on either side. Besides the faint whistling of the arctic wind, it was utterly silent and black. Before us was nothing but space, and yet I felt utterly trapped and claustrophobic. The hairs on my body stood completely upright as I stared into the void beyond us.

“Come on… We can’t waste any time…”

___________________________________

“Uuuuugh…”

I let out a long groan as my eyes opened, slowly pulling myself from the ground into a sitting position. Powdery snow fell from my head and shoulders, and my eyelids struggled to separate, as if they were frozen shut. My legs were throbbing, and my arms felt numb. I had fallen asleep on the side of the road… But how? The last thing I remember we had been walking for an hour, and we sat down to rest… I didn’t think I would fall asleep… and Zach was supposed to…

…Zach…

My head darted to the my left, and then my right. My brain kicked into gear as a fresh feeling of terror took over me. He wasn’t with me… And I didn’t see him anywhere… This couldn’t be happening… This couldn’t be real. I was alone in the middle of the vast arctic bush. No car. No food, no water. No signs of civilization anywhere. My heart beat out of my chest, and I reached for my phone, flicking on my flashlight. I pointed it in front of me, and shined the light while spinning in a circle. I yelled out.

“Zach!”

“Zach!”

“Zach… where are you?!”

“Zach! Please!!!”

“Zach!!!“

My voice was hoarse, and I could feel tears streaming down my face as I dropped to my hands and knees, crying. The wind whistled high in the sky.

It had finally hit me. This was it… This is how I die. All my hopes, all my dreams… All the people that I loved, the people who loved me back. This is where it all ended - in the middle of nowhere, alone. The same deserted snowy road, the same wall of trees that stretched on forever. The same…

Wait… Are those…

Footprints?

I squinted and aimed my flashlight towards the ground. Some snow had fallen over top of them, but it was visible enough even still… Zach’s footprints continued down the road. I could see them follow a clear path in front of me. He must’ve kept going… Maybe he thought he could reach town… Maybe he saw something… I wasn’t sure, but I knew I needed to follow them… What else could I do?

I gripped my coat and pulled it tight against my body, shielding my face from the frigid air. I wished I could wake up from this nightmare, but I knew I had to keep going. I took a deep breath and wiped the tears from my face before heading onwards, my flashlight illuminating the path of Zach’s footprints on the ground. The utter silence was interrupted only by the repeated crunching of snow under my feet as I journeyed down the black road.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Snap.

The loud sound of a snapping branch cut through the blackness, and I spun around frantically. I pointed my flashlight, but before could make anything out I was pulled to the ground. I screamed as a hand wrapped around my face and covered my mouth. I writhed and thrashed with all my might, trying to pull myself from the grips of the attacker.

“Shhhh…”

It was Zach. He held a finger up to his mouth, and on his face was an expression of pure terror.

“Be… Quiet…” His voice was guttural and quiet.

“Zach! Wha-“

His hand covered my mouth again as he looked into my eyes with the same petrified expression. Tears stained his face just like mine.

“There is something out here… It… It saw me…” His words barely managed to leave his throat, but I could feel the dread in them.

My blood ran cold, as if it had turned to ice.

“It’s not… normal… It’s… not…” He choked on the words, separated by gasps for air and quiet sobbing.

“What…” I asked, horrified, my eyes locked with his. “What followed you?”

But there was no response.

“Zach…”

He was completely frozen in place. He stared wide-eyed in the direction behind me, not a single muscle moving. His jaw was open as if he was emitting a scream, but nothing came out. An unimaginably horrible feeling ran through me. I already knew it was there. I could feel it’s awful presence in my bones. With every nerve in my body on fire, I turned my head towards the direction of his gaze, and there it was.

It stood on the other side of the road. It must’ve been seven feet tall, maybe more. Matted, tangled silver fur flowed over its towering body. Its face looked something like a monkey, except it’s beady eyes were sunken deep into it’s head, and they glowed white like the snow. Gnarled hands hung by its sides. Horrid rows of razor-like teeth glimmered in the moonlight as it stared at us, unmoving. It threw back its head and an ungodly shriek emitted from its gaping mouth, with a ferocity that echoed through the arctic forest.

I grabbed Zach, and pulled him to his feet. We ran as fast as we possibly could. I could hear the thudding of the thing - whatever it was - behind us the entire way. We didn’t stop for anything. Not to breathe, or to rest or look back. We were powered by pure adrenaline and survival instinct. I can’t even remember how far or for how long we ran, but eventually we collapsed in the snow. The last thing I remember before passing out is a twinkling light in the distance.

A driver found us laying in the middle of the road, and we were taken to a hospital in Yellowknife. We were both suffering from frostbite and hypothermia, as well as as some sprains and bruises. Zach had a broken arm. We told the police that we had crashed and collapsed while looking for help, and didn’t say a word to anybody about what we saw. Nobody would believe us even if we told them. We even have trouble believing ourselves to be honest. It sounded insane.

After that, we went our separate ways for a while. Zach quit his job at the mine and moved back in with his parents. I went back to the city. We never really spoke about it again. If I ever mentioned the thing we saw, he would deny everything or explode into a fit of rage. I guess it was his way of coping. Years have passed since then by now, but I will never forget that moment when I made eye contact with whatever it was. I wish I could erase it from my brain, but I can still see it when I close my eyes.

One thing that I know for sure is that I am never, ever going back there.