Footsteps

“Shit!”

Addy watched as her phone blinked off. Her flashlight, which was emanating from her now dead phone, made everything go dark. It didn’t help that it was 1 in the morning.

The cold nipped at Addy’s nose, and touched her cheeks; freezed her fingers in place and made her whole body shake. It didn’t help that it was 1 in the morning in the middle of January in northern Alaska.

With a groan, Addy slid down onto the snowy ground, and then jumped up. She moved to a slick rock instead, but the damage was still done. Now, her butt was freezing.

There was no movement in the bare forest. It was not even truly a forest, since the trees were small and unbearing of leaves. No animals moved, since most were hibernating in the snow. Any that did move seemed to freeze in an instant before burrowing again.

Addy breathed out, a cloud of air moving from her lips. In a moment of childlike wonder, she spat on the ground. The water froze on the bed of snow, and then blended in.

Now, as Addy looked around at her surroundings, she knew she was lost. Hours ago, she had abandoned her tour guide through glaciers to find something more interesting than the tour guide's voice, which was monotonous and bland.

With a small understanding of the way through the Alaskan wilderness, Addy had set off, following animal tracks and broken branches. At one point, she got distracted by a particularly glittery piece of wood, which had ended up being a log with frosted ice covering its being.

In the hours that followed, Addy found herself exploring and wandering the barren forest. Sure, it was cold, but she had her jacket and her gloves and surely she wasn’t far from the nearest town. But, she had taken off her gloves at some point to check her phone, which wasn’t working. Addy had proceeded to stuff the gloves under her arm, which hadn’t held the gloves. They had slid away at some point, and were now possibly covered by the snow that was still falling.

Any footprints she had made were gone and any attempt at leaving a trail was ruined by wind or snow or just her simply forgetting. So, with a sad sigh, Addy sat on the cold rock and watched the snow fall in front of her eyes. The sun was not quite coming up, but she saw the faintest light leaking out from below the horizon.

As her fingers grew colder and numb and her butt began to ache from sitting for so long, Addy’s stomach started hurting. She had not eaten since lunch the day before, since she had expected to eat after the tour. Subsequent to that thought, Addy had begun daydreaming of what she could find outside of the tour, and all thoughts of a nice dinner were banished from her mind.

As you might guess, Addy was quite regretting that now. The snow still fell and the stars shimmered, but Addy didn’t really notice. All she could think about was keeping herself from crying, mostly so she wouldn’t get any colder than she already was, which was cold.

Suddenly, a branch snapped. Addy turned around, looking behind her. Nothing was there. In the sheer light that lit up the snow, Addy saw a small twig. It was split in two. A fresh footprint marked the ground and another was behind it. They continued, and despite her vast knowledge of Horror Movies, Addy followed them.

First, the mysterious prints went straight. But, soon, they started veering right and left, and around trees and stones, as if to try and lose Addy. The efforts did not work, however, because Addy kept following the prints.

Addy walked for what felt like hours. It must have been, because soon the sun was rising and lighting up everything in its path. The snow shimmered, and Addy wished for a second she had brought snow goggles of some sort.

The snow stopped falling for a little while, making it easier for Addy to follow the footprints. They seemed to go on for miles, and Addy’s legs were beginning to tire. She sat down on a log, ignoring the ice that kept making her slide onto the blanket of snow.

After sitting for a few minutes, Addy began to stand up again. But, as she sat up, she heard a rustle coming from behind her. Or maybe it was a hushed foot step in the snow? Addy did not know what caused the wispy sound. There was no bush behind her, and no footsteps. Just snow.

FInally, Addy began to worry. What was so strange in these woods that she heard noises from nothing? Footsteps leading to nowhere? Snow falling nonstop? If she couldn’t find her way out, Addy could freeze to death. Or maybe die of hunger. Or dehydration. Or frostbite. There were many things that could surely put an end to Addy.

There was nothing else to do.

So, Addy sat down again. Then she yelped, and stood up. As soon as she had sat down, a blood-curdling scream rang through the woods. And, worse, it was coming from behind her.

Slowly, Addy turned. Again, a broken branch, split in half. Footsteps on top and leading away. But, the footsteps were bloody.

This time, Addy was not sure if she should follow. But, the scream came again. Louder. And so, Addy followed.

The path was clear. No rounding stones. No weaving between trees. It was just a long, long, long trail that seemed to go on forever. It probably went on for miles. But, Addy followed. She had to help whoever was making that noise, even if it was not a person.

As Addy continued walking, she felt a new type of chill wash over her. It was prickly and heart dropping. It made your insides twist and flip back and forth. It was eerie, and suddenly a new silence set over the forest. The screaming stopped. The birds stopped chirping. No sound was made, except for Addy’s breathing.

Then, Addy looked down.

The footsteps stopped