The Avalanche

I sat there, out in the open. Snow encapsulated my entire surroundings. Smooth, soft, undisturbed snow. Not a single footprint was left behind after my treacherous journey. Any advances I made, no evidence was left behind. My footprints were non-existent. Even my warm breath left no vapour in the bitterly cold air. I huddled my legs close into my chest, breathing heavily, fingers and toes frozen to the core. Where was I? How did I get there? And why was there no evidence of my being?

My memories were in tatters like someone had attacked my mind with claws from a beast, ripping my world apart. I wanted to cry, but my tears couldn't brave the cold. I had to figure out what was happening.

In the distance were mountains that sat amongst the clouds, the sky a pale blue, no water in sight. My clothes were drenched, hanging off me and weighing me down, leaving the cold air to bite at my flesh. I couldn't recognise my surroundings. Everything was completely new to me, and yet I vaguely remembered my journey there. I was running. Scared. Alone. Running from what? I could just about make out a silhouette in my mind. Something dark, hiding from my memory. The pain, the sharp stabbing pain, every time I tried to recall what I was running from. What was it? Why was it chasing me? I began hitting my palms against the sides of my head.

Think. Think! THINK!

Yelling at myself, grasping at whatever memory I could find...

Growling. The thing that chased me could growl. What does that mean? I had no idea.

Why did nothing make sense?

Okay, time to ground me. Snow, mountains, deserted, middle of nowhere. Probably a location in a Documentary by David Attenborough? What animals would be found out here? Polar Bears? Not menacing or dark enough. Big cats? Wrong shape. Penguins? I wished! My mind just wouldn't work. All those hours binge-watching Our Planet and my brain left me high and dry.

Dry.

My clothes were suddenly dry. I began to work my way back onto my feet, legs wobbling, heart pounding. I turned slowly on the spot. Still alone. Every direction looked the same. I decided to walk towards the unknown. North? South? I'll probably never know.

I walked for about ten minutes with a slight limp due to my frozen toes. I stopped for a breather to take a look behind me. My surrounds hadn't changed, and the snow was blanketed perfectly across the ground. No footprints. Where the hell were my footprints? What the hell was going on? I looked directly down at the patch of snow I was currently standing on. There was nothing. No indent in the snow beneath me. It was as though I was hovering, or that I simply didn't weight enough to leave a mark. But that's impossible, right?

Wait! What was that?

I spun on the spot. The growl from my memories was echoing around me, surrounding me. What direction was it coming from? I couldn't tell. It was coming from everywhere, but also from nowhere.

There! Again! Another growl.

Shit!

My heart began pounding more than it had ever done before. My vision was starting to blur, tears trying to force their way out but ultimately failing. The monstrous growl was coming closer, and closer; still I could not see a thing.

Thinking back. What was I doing? How did I get here? If I could just remember then maybe, just maybe, I could figure out what was hunting me and how I could escape and get back home, safe and sound. But nothing ringed true to reality. No footprints are impossible. A beast with a growl that sounded beyond Earth-like. Surroundings remaining the same no matter how far I travelled. Nothing rang true. It was all mad, impossibly mad. I was scared for my life.

There!

Shit!

I could see it now. Black, matted fur. Huge, clawed feet. At least 8ft tall. Chest bulky, muscly, fur covering him from top to bottom. Talons folded over his bottom lip, fangs filled his drooling red mouth. Long arms with yet more claws. His growl was deep, throaty, sinister...hungry. He was hungry. And I was his next meal. Possibly his only meal. His eyes were fixated on me. There were only a few feet between us. I knew the end was coming. There was no way I was going to find a way out of this. A hungry beast in the middle of nowhere. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. No tracks to prove I was even there. I would be torn to shreds and there would be no evidence left of my existence, no evidence of my death, or my dying place.

My last thoughts in this world, lonely. I was alone. I was to die alone and confused, with memories missing, and questions unanswered. I had possibly minutes left until the beast would finally pounce on its prey. I had to come to terms with never knowing why or how I got here. Maybe, maybe I was already dead? Maybe this is the space between. I could be on a hospital bed, holding on to dear life, being kept alive by a machine. Maybe, when people are about to die, they visit other worlds, and that I just got unlucky and landed on a world like no other, with man-eating beasts and otherworldly logic. Maybe, maybe I will never know.

Another growl echoed out, and the beast started towards me, slow, mocking. I could just about sense a grin curl onto the beast's lips. He was happy to have finally found a meal. He wouldn't be dying in this place any time soon. The only death to take place here would be my own. And I would die without knowing what had even happened to me. Maybe that's a blessing? Maybe that is the way it was meant to be.

Maybe. So many maybe's. So this was it.

UGHH!!!

He pounced upon me, his body dragging mine down. The heaviest thing I had ever felt.

AGHH!!!

His teeth pierced through my neck. I felt my body grow wet. Wet with blood. This was it. This was the end.

No maybe.

Just definitely.

Definitely dead.