Alive and Alone (8 page)

A
S
THE
HUGE
BEAST
moved toward David, he aimed at the animal and quickly pulled the trigger.  While the grizzly had started his run straight toward the young man, at the sound of the loud rifle shot the bear abruptly veered to the right and ran into the trees.  David, acting from fear, attempted to move the bolt of his rifle up and back to load another round, but he only managed to drop the gun instead.  Quickly bending over and picking the rifle up, he raised it and glanced around anxiously for the bear.  The area around him was empty of any sign of the big animal.

The bear moved swiftly through the trees and up the side of the mountain.  He was unsure why his shoulder burned and ached, but his one thought was to escape the loud noise.  Each time he had heard that sound he’d been hurt by it, just as he had now.  He was not sure what the scent and the noise had to do with his pain, but long ago, he had associated the smell of man with suffering.

Since his eyes sight was so poor, the bear had not seen David until he’d suddenly reached for the rifle, and any quick movement he thought must be food.  Most animals when they saw him would attempt to run or move quickly to hide.  He’d had no idea the movement was anything other than a meal.  He’d smelled the scent of a human, just seconds before the quick movement, but due to the winds he was unsure where it was located.  

The bear found a spot near the crest of the mountain and laid down to rest.  His shoulder was throbbing now from pain, but he could not stop the hurting.  He’d suffered gunshot wounds before, though he had no idea what they were.  His temper was short and he felt a deep anger due to his throbbing, but there was nothing near for him to lash at in fury.  He curled up in a ball and rested.

David slowly regained his composure.  His legs were shaking and his hands trembling in an uncontrollable manner.  He had never been so scared in his whole life, not even when he’d known the airplane was about to crash.  The bear was so big and vicious looking as it charged him.

Taking his canteen cup, David filled it with water, placed it on the hot coals, and then pulled a tea bag from his Meals Ready to Eat.  He also added another log to the fire, just in case the bear came back.  He’d always heard animals were frightened of fire, but that bear had not acted like he’d even seen the flames.

I wonder if I shot that bear,
he wondered as he placed the tea bag in the metal cup,
I hope not.  I’m not sure if I wanted to kill it or just make him leave.

The young man glanced up at the clouds and could see another weather front moving in.  Desperately he hoped it would snow.  He’d heard bears and other large animals hibernated during cold weather and he didn’t ever want to see another grizzly bear in his life.  He knew if it snowed he’d be able to sleep that night, but if the weather stayed clear he’d be up all night too terrified to sleep.  Subconsciously he placed another log on the fire and looked out to the west where the sun was going down.  

About an hour later, he was placing small twigs on the fire in his tee-pee filled with moose meat when the first snowflake struck him on his face.  He smiled, closed the flap to the tee-pee, and walked back to his fire.  Looking around it was snowing and it was coming down slowly.  It was a typical snowfall for Alaska and while Dave knew it would reduce rescue attempts, he still prayed for a storm that night.  

For his dinner, he placed chunks of the moose heart and liver in the canteen cup and boiled it.  After eating all of the rich meat, he drank the broth from his scanty meal.  He then pulled out a pound cake, smeared some of the grape jelly on top of it and had dessert.  Though he felt content and relaxed, his rifle was never far from his side.

Snow was still falling, though there was very little on the ground.  David knew this type of snow was lazy and it might be morning before the ground was completely covered.  He also knew, or at least he had heard some place, that when snow started falling bears looked for a place to sleep.  
I hope that’s true.  The last thing I need right now is a mad bear in this camp,
he thought as he rearranged the logs in his fire to give off more light.

He wrapped the casualty blanket around his body, leaned back against the log and watched the snow falling.  At some point, he must have fallen asleep, because when he next opened his eyes the wind had picked up and the snow was falling with greater force.  Glancing around he noticed the snow was at least two inches deep in places and from the looks of the storm, he was sure to get a lot more.  Part of the blanket had fallen open as he had slept and he suddenly felt chilled.  Adding another log to his fire, he moved back under the protection of the lower limbs of his pine tree shelter.

He suddenly remembered the last fishing trip he’d gone on with his father.  They’d driven from Anchorage to Ninilchik, Alaska, and done some halibut fishing.  The water had been rough, but the fish were feeding and they'd had a great time.

“I got a fish on, dad!”  David yelled with excitement as he felt his line suddenly go taunt and watched the tip of his rod start to dance.

“Keep the tip up son and reel him in slowly.”  He dad spoke in his usual calm voice, but David knew his father was excited too.

“Do you need help son? Some of these halibut can go three hundred pounds or more.”  The boat captain asked as he walked over to where David was struggling with the fish.

“No . . . I want to . . . land this on my own,” David replied almost out of breath as he fought the heavy weight at the end of his line.

It took David about twenty minutes to bring the fish to the surface and he was surprised when the boat captain reached down and struck the fish on the head with a club.  After pulling the fish in with a gaff, the captain proudly said, “You have a fine catch son, well over sixty pounds.”

“David, I’m proud of you.  Just think, you did it all on your own too without any help at all!”  His father had said as he placed his arm around David’s shoulder and gave him a big hug.

Suddenly, David felt tears running down his cheeks and he glanced toward the wreckage of the airplane as he thought,
Why did you have to die dad?  I love you and I miss you. Dad, living like this is so hard for me.  I’m trying not to let you down, but I don’t know if I can take much more loneliness and fear.

Knowing he was falling apart emotionally, David got up off the log and sliced some more of the moose meat and checked the meat he had smoking in the tee-pee.  Then, he returned to his campsite and placed some of his wood under the large pine he used for a shelter to keep it dry.  The young man knew from experience wet wood burned poorly and smoked like all get out.  Smoke seemed to always find a path into a person’s eyes and made them water.  

It was very late before David finally wrapped up in the casualty blanket on the pine boughs under his tree and drifted off to sleep.  He'd had a very rough day and it had taken hours for the fear of the bear’s charge to dissipate enough to allow him to sleep.  He had just gone to sleep when he heard a plane flying over and usually he would have rushed to the wreckage, only he knew he would see nothing in the poor light. This time David didn’t even get out of bed and run to the wreckage, he knew he was too late.

Morning dawned cold, but the snow had quit.  David saw less than three inches on the ground as he warmed up some pine needle tea in his cup.  
Today I need to try to get out of here,
he thought as the flames from the fire brought his water to a boil.  
I’ll head toward the smoke I saw and hope it's a native village or maybe a trapper.  I can’t stay here, not when I know there are other people around.  But, before I go, I need to make sure the smoke I saw is still there.  It could have been someone moving through the area and all my walking would then be for nothing.
 
If the smoke is still there later this morning, I’ll head that way before noon.

After a quick breakfast of more moose meat and his tea, David made his way up the side of the mountain.  He was very cautious as he glanced around; hoping the big bear had left the area.  David also made a lot of noise, hoping to scare the bear if it was nearby.  The trail upward was a little more difficult, due to the new snow, but in less than two hours after leaving his camp, David stood on the side of the mountain and could see the thin finger of smoke off to the west.  
I need to get back to camp, pack up my gear, and get on the trail.  I may have to spend a night or two on the trail before I reach where that smoke is located,
he thought as he shifted the rifle from his right hand to his left.

Less than an hour later, David had returned to camp, packed up his gear and started moving down the side of the mountain.  He had made a rough looking sled from the sheet metal he had used for his fire, along with some rope from the survival kit, so he could pulled some of his moose meat over the snow.  Once he reached the flat land, he knew the going would become easier.  He quickly located an animal trail that led down the side of the mountain, but it meandered in all directions, which meant it would take him a lot longer to reach the base.  The going was slow and he had to be cautious not to slip on the steep trail.  The last thing he needed was a broken leg or other injuries.

His right leg, where he’d been cut during the crash of the airplane, was healing nicely and David was concerned about opening it up again if he fell.  He thought of his father, still trapped in the wreckage of the plane, but forced himself to concentrate on what he was doing, so he wouldn’t get depressed again.  His father wanted him to live, so David decided he’d give it his best shot.  

By mid morning, he had still not reached the base of the mountain, as large snowflakes began to fall and the wind picked up.  Dark gray clouds were close enough overhead, that David thought he could actually reach up and touch them, but what concerned him the most was the simple fact he knew no rescue aircraft would be flying in such cloud cover.  
Well,
he thought as he stepped over a log on the trail,
I’ll just have to move a little faster and get to where I saw that smoke.  I’ll need to keep from sweating though, or I’ll be in serious trouble.  No, I don’t think Dad or the other guys would be out in this weather.  It looks like a storm might be coming, so I’d better find shelter.

David located some protection from the wind back in a thick group of trees and soon had a shelter constructed of pine boughs.  Using his flint and steel, he started a fire, sliced off small pieces of moose meat and set it to boil in his canteen cup.  The snow was coming down faster now and the young boy knew the temperature had dropped at least twenty degrees since he’d moved into the trees.  As he sipped the broth from his meat, he thought,
big storm coming.  I’m not so sure I made the right decision to move when I did.  It might have been smarter to stay near the airplane, but it’s too late to change my mind now.  I’ll wait this storm out, and then move toward the smoke again
.

The sky grew almost black as the sun was blocked out by the storm, but David had seen it happen many times in the past, though he’d always had a safe place to watch storms before.  He was concerned by the storm, but not actually scared of it.  He remembered his father telling him in a snowstorm the key was to keep warm, stay dry, and to have a shelter.  David had those things, except he was inpatient to be moving toward the smoke he'd spotted.  
I need to use some common sense here,
he thought as he added a small piece of wood to his fire,
or I’ll end up dying before I ever see where that smoke came from.  I need to keep my head screwed on right and take this slowly.

Four hours later the snow was knee deep, the wind was howling in the darkness, and David Wade was huddle up in his shelter shivering with the cold.  While the space blanket kept him warm, he was still cold, but on the inside.  It was then he remembered a warning he’d heard over a campfire one night a few years before, “Never sleep in really cold weather with the same clothes on you’ve been traveling in, because they’ll be damp from your sweat. And if you feel super cold inside you need a hot drink.”
I don’t have any choice on the clothes matter,
David thought as he added some water to his canteen cup and dropped some pine needs in,
but
I might as well drink something hot. That might help warm me up a little.  

Sucking on a single piece of hard candy as he sipped on his hot pine needle tea he stopped shivering and David realized his body was cold because he was running out of energy
.
 He remembered when his class had gone on cross-country ski meets the teacher always made them take candy along, because the sugar gave each skier an extra boost of energy in the deep cold.  He couldn’t remember why the sugar helped, he’d not paid much attention when the teacher explained it, but it worked and for that he was very thankful.

By midnight, the snow had died down, but the temperature was well below zero with the wind-chill.  The top of Dave’s shelter was covered with snow and while the inside was not warm by any means, it was much warmer than outside.   There was no wind at all inside, so all he needed to do was keep covered up with his casualty blanket.  His fire had died hours before and was now covered with freshly fallen snow.  The young man had camped in the snow before and he’d made lots of fires in snow, so he knew as soon as it got daylight he needed a small platform of logs to keep his new fire from sinking into the snow once lit.  He’d beat the snow down, lay his platform, and then start his fire, but he’d need to keep some other logs around to replace the ones on the platform that burned as his fire burned.  

David sat in his shelter listened to the wind howling, and suddenly started to cry.  He felt a deep pain when he remembered his father’s warm smile and how he had always understanding with him when he had problems or got into trouble.  The young boy shuddered, gave a loud moan, and whispered, “Dad, oh, dad. . . I never thought something like this would ever happen to us.  I miss you and I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life without you.”  Then, suddenly he felt an inner sense of pure determination hit him, as if someone had flipped a switch on in his mind, and knew he would survive!  He had to survive!  David knew at that exact moment his self pity and mourning for his father had to stop until rescue, because he felt close to breaking down.