The White Abyss (Prologue)

The White Abyss:

By : Jake James Morris Smith Jr.

<BREAKING NEWS>

“After several of our international meteorologists and geologist observing the Arctic Circle for several months. They have confirmed that the Glacier movements and catatonic chain reactions of pressure in the atmosphere have caused a massive cold front to cast across the northern half of the Globe. Now it’s predicted the ice cap to expand at a rapid rate. We urge you all to stay within the city limits or areas that you are currently living within and gather as much needed resources and material. They have predicted a long outcome of this ice affect to take place. This isn’t your typical snowy blizzard. This...this a cataclysmic ‘Ice Age’ that put most of the dinosaurs to death. The predicted time of the events to start are within a few weeks. The Canada sectors are already showing signs of the ‘Ice Age’ like effects taking its role. I repeat; gather as much material and resources as needed....We are beginning to be evacuated from this building now. This concludes the emergency broadcasting system....Stay safe and stay warm out there everyone.....God help us all..

((Prologue))

Day 1: As the events began

“Come on man!” yelled Jacob as he hurried his little brother who had a hand full of boxes full of supplies and food “We need to get everything in order before ‘it’ hits.

“I know I know!” replied his brother anxious of trying to place the hefty box on the coffee table within their cabin.

Jacob was a younger adult in his early twenties with his little brother Jerry who was in his early teens. Both shared common traits but still thumped heads every now and then. But soon, all is about to change. The long winter days. The temperature plummeting to extreme subzero levels. It seemed at this point every time you stepped outside that your skin was beginning to burn it got so cold. Felt like hot iron picks being poked against your cheek bones.

“Dad's coming back right?”

“Of course he is, little bro,” answered Jacob as he was shuffling with the remedy’s in the box “He had to go grab the buck he killed this morning... remember?”

“Right,” Jerry sarcastically said in a laughable tone. Still in some childish manner. But all is to change within hours away.

Jacob went over to the door he came from to retrieve another box and a small tub full of medical supplies (Bandages, Needle and Thread, Some minor antibiotics, Aspirin, and other smaller medic material) with the box underneath of more food. He placed it on the counter and quickly went to peek out of the window. ‘I wonder if Dad made it back yet...?’

“Hey Jacob!” asked Jerry as he was trying to place some smaller boxes on top of the kitchen counter “How long has it been since Dad was gone?” Sounding a little concerned as he produced his question.

“I’m not sure. I was asleep on the couch this morning by the fire,” he answered as he was trying to give Jerry a reassuring answer, “for the most part. I’ll go check on him in a little bit.”

“Ok thank you.” Jerry answered as he began to prep and lock some of the windows around the living room now.

Jacob proceeded through the outside door. The snow began to become more and more intense. He looked back to the window seal with a mercury thermometer mounted against the seal.

“0”

Seemed odd at first, but he realized the cold began to rapidly decrease. So his other option was his smart phone in his pocket. “Hopefully it’s still got battery life in it...”

Jacob went and reached into his pocket and pulled out his small smart phone.

“-45 local temperature”

“-80 Windchill”

‘Jesus Christ. Those people on the news weren’t kidding.’ Jacob began to grab the bigger cooler outside with some of his slaughter game that he had yesterday processed from his doe he killed. Carving wasn’t so hard as soon as his dad should him the proper techniques of how to sharpen and steer the knife in the proper direction. ‘Where the Hell is dad at?’ Jacob began to slowly lower the cooler down in front of the door. Something inside of him didn’t feel right. Something that felt like suspicion and dread. Jacob began to feel like something wasn’t right at all...this isn’t like his dad to being this slow with getting back. And so his worry began to ignite within his mind.

“Dad... where the fuck are you at...?” Jacob said to himself as he began to take out his phone once more.

“-95 local temperature”

“-125 windchill”

Jacob knew his breathing began to become more and more difficult to produce air due to the intensified freezing temperatures. It’s almost like he was almost to the top of Mount Everest—‘not like he’s ever had’ he thought. But he most certainly felt like it.

The Jeep Compass that his dad drove was still parked and was now frozen to the ground where it was parked. With some heavy strides, Jacob began to quickly make his way over to one side of the car.

“Dad!” Jacob called, his lungs began to hurt as he forced words into the air “Come on! Me and Jerry are waiting!” He began to struggle—his hands were somewhat ‘sticky’ to the car’s hood, he slightly peeled himself from the car’s hood. ‘The temperature is getting as far over as what the vacuum of space would feel like now,’ he thought before he began to cough slightly. His lungs were trying to rage on with heat before it could crystallize.

Bought the time, Jacob reached the other side of the car. His terror soon overcame his mind and soul as he was struck with a sheer shock and sorrow for what he was seeing. He found him. He found his dad. His dad was frozen solid against one side of the Jeep permanently attached to the all side of the back driver door. His eyes glazed over solid by ice and looking straight up against the wind and skies. His mouth partly ajar with blue lips and his tongue a pale white grey colors fixed in one spot as he was attempting to cough. One of his hands was reached out as he held in his hand a cell phone. What brought a bigger terror to his being even more was then seeing his brother's face appear over the working smart phone that was in his dead father’s hands. It rung within the ice. Slightly audible ringtone was heard.

‘Father...’ Jacob wanted to cry right there but was afraid to die, to the possible fear of his tears freezing solid around his eye lids. So he covered his mouth and began for the cabin door when he suddenly heard a low pitch growl. Jacob's eyes widened. ‘What the fuck was that?’

Jacob slowly turned to see where that mysterious growl came from. His eyes stayed widened, if not widened out more and nearly got him to scream, a large canine creature. On all fours. His head was almost the size of a small car’s tire. Jagged and point about. Its eyes were cloaked in almost a white glazed coat like it was protecting its eyes from the windchill. Wedges and razor sharp teeth where visible within the mouth and around the snarling looking beast. Wooly but yet soft looking coat of white fur smothered the creature in a deep snowy coat. And large dinner plate sized paws smothered the snow below its pads. Large thick and also razor sharp claws protruded from them. The beast started fixed to Jacob. Thick mist steamed from its snout, smelling its next meal. This boy was its next...

Jacob began to turn slowly back towards the door. His mind told him to turn, but his feet said otherwise. His feet fell from his shoes that were now frozen solid to the concrete ground and he turned to open the door. The creature's eyes then went from a grey white glazed to a deep black ebony and empty looking eye color. Almost like what a shark's pupils and eyes look like. It roared and then charged for the boy. Jacob began to slam the door from behind him as the beast smashed its head in the side of the wooden door. Its large jaws were snapping and clamping down over and over again. Jerry was watching the whole scene. He was mesmerized by how large the beast was and seeing Jacob fight back with it trying to close the door had also transfixed the young boy in complete terror.

“JERRY HELP ME!”

Jerry then snapped out of it as he then ran over and helped Jacob shut the door too. The beast began to give in to the struggle and they finally had the door sealed shut. Jacob quickly deadbolt locked the door and key locked it.

“What the fuck was that?”

“I don’t know Jerry...” answered Jacob

“And where’s Dad? I tried to call-” Jerry’s heart began to sink “IS HE OUT THERE?!”

“Jerry, he’s dead. I found him frozen solid to the side of our car...”

Jacob's news soon brought sadness and sorrow to Jerry’s eyes after hearing Jacob's intel on their father. He dropped to his knees in front of the sealed door and being to whimper softly at his knees. Jerry was still younger than Jacob. Jacob wasn’t as emotional as Jerry was. But he still was deprived of his father’s presence as well as Jerry was.

Jacob knelt down beside Jerry as he continued to cry, trying too hard now to give some security to him. But Jacob felt like that it wasn’t working so good for Jerry now. He knew now they would be trapped in his cabin for a good while. It was all about survival now. Not only against this extreme and deadly cold element. But now foreign beasts that have adapted to this unnatural cold Ice Age. Jacob knew that they needed to find a way. But at the moment, everything was a blur.

Jacob then reached back down into his pocket to pick up his smart phone. He received one new message just then. It was from his dad. The message had a delay coming through but it finally did. Before he opened the text message, he went in to check the temperature now.

“-135 local temperature”

“-200 Windchill”

‘Good fucking God.’ Jacob looked around and then proceeded over to the gas powered heaters and began to hook the existing propane nearby to get them going to warm the cabin up on ground level. Jerry followed in behind him along the other side of the room and began to heat everything up as well. As soon as Jacob was done turning the gas heaters on, it was time to build a fire in this cabin. He began for a few pieces of wood and then some newspaper and stuffed the mixture in the fireplace within the middle of the living room. He struck a match and threw it into the burning materials and the fire immediately ignited and began to slowly grow. Jacob and Jerry began to sit near its peacefully looking flames dancing around.

Jerry sat silently still having the weight of knowing his father was still dead and that ‘thing’ was out there just waiting for the two of them at any moment to come busting into this cabin and eating them both alive.

“Brother...” Jerry looked over at Jacob as he was poking the fire trying to stir the coal around to get the heat distributed underneath the bare logs. Jacob then turned towards Jerry with a blank expression. “Will we die in here?”

“That depends on only you, man,” replied Jacob in a thickened tone, almost as if the frost had stressed out his vocal chords. “Do you wanna live this through?”

“Yes I would-”

“Ok then. Then we must work together to survive not only in this cabin for a little while, but if it comes down to it, we have to figure out a way to survive ‘outside’ of this cabin as well. Just follow my lead and I will teach you some survival techniques. I’ve learned a few tricks of the trade from many areas growing up and until now, brother.” He purged a smile from cheek to cheek. Patting his little brother on the back, it began to give Jerry a small and reassuring smile.

“Ok man. I’ll follow your lead.”

“Good deal. We shall start in the morning on some tips around this cabin. Not with that ‘thing’ running around out there and those temps keep dropping like they are. We need bare focus right at the moment. First things first is that damn cold.”

Jacob began to explain his plans about how he was gonna teach Jerry about some lessons that he was gonna provide tomorrow morning to him. But they first had to make it through the night. A long and savage night was ahead of them and many more months to follow with this long and petrifying winter apocalypse.