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ds_flashfiction2003-12-07 05:47 pm
duesouthficrecs.livejournal.com) wrote in ds_flashfiction2003-12-07 05:47 pm
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The Sound
By the mistake I made, no one would have guessed I had lived my whole life in the far north.
Ice so thin a child would have been wise enough to avoid. But, like a rookie, I got caught up in the spirit of the chase. And through the ice into the icy abyss I sombred.
Fingers of agony clawed at me and any thought of up or down faltered as water cold enough to feel solid filled my lungs.
My last coherent thought was that I was going to die. Then, something was pulling at me, tugging, creating a pressure I knew would save my life from the collar of my coat.
I was no help to myself as my rescuer pulled me onto an ice flow. Gasping and wheezing, I expelled the water from my lungs, nearly choking on my vomit. It felt like an eternity before I could see who it was who had saved me from a watery grave.
Even in my condition I could feel surprise. It was the half wolf who had rescued me from a mine shaft north of Whitehorse a few weeks before.
He was a smart animal. When he saw me shaking as I curled in a foetal position in a vain attempt to warm myself, he threw himself upon me gently, allowing me to wrap myself around his warmth.
Finally, I shivered. I was so cold. Teeth chattering cold. And I was tired. All I wanted to do was sleep but he would not let me. Each time my eye lids drooped, he forced me awake with a nuzzle and a whine. My limbs were heavy and refused to obey me.
Some sensation returned in my fingers as I slowly began to thaw. Incredible the body heat a half wolf saviour can radiate. I curled around him, and prayed for either help or death to come claim me quickly.
I spoke to him. Mostly to keep myself awake, but also to pass the long hours. He was a good listener.
Finally a chance passerby on the shore came upon my plight. I could not answer his cry asking if I needed help. It became obvious that I did. He rowed out to me at a place where the current was weak, pulling me into his craft and wrapping me in warm blankets. I could only mumble incoherencies when he asked how long I'd been in this state. It felt like days, but it could have been considerably less.
The wolf refused to remain behind. Once settled in the boat, neither Heaven nor Earth could have made him leave my side.
In town, I was treated for exposure, near drowning, and hypothermia. I barely escaped pneumonia and spent two weeks in bed recuperating. Out of concern for the wolf, I had the doctor check him out too. A true tragedy--his eardrums burst from the cold water and he was now deaf. I had no idea how a deaf wolf would survive in the wild, but I needn't have worried.
Even after I had regained my health and strength, he continued to be by my side. I finally accepted the fact that he had come to stay with me. I must admit I was grateful for the companionship.
Sometime later, I named him. I don't know why I chose Diefenbaker, but it suited him. Perhaps for the reforms the Prime Minister I'd been born under had made. Perhaps just because that was the name which best suited him. Diefenbaker. When I called to him across the wide open tundra, he came running, true and loyal as always, and only selectively deaf. The best companion a man could ask for, a companion I could trust with my life.
A foolish mistake had lead me to him, but I would have fallen into a thousand icy sounds if it meant the reward I found that blustery day near Prince Rupert.
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Thanks for the fb!
New fic, yay!
Sombred?
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Permission to alert the old gang at NRF to come over and read this?
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The Moo
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