Isolation

The man jerked his head back from the satellite phone. He couldn’t tell if what he heard was static, or screaming. The other two men in the room turned and met his gaze. The man holding the sat phone pressed the transmit button,

               “Kimberly, are you there?”

               Static responded.

               “Kimberly!”

               “I’m here. You guys got to come and get me. I tap out. Please just get here quick.” She said.

               She sounded hysterical.

               “Kimberly, we are on our way, keep the sat phone with you and we will trace it to your location. If you can try to get to the coast.”

               “Ok,” She now was clearly crying. “Please hurry, I can see it…”

               “What? What is it? A bear? A mountain lion?”

               The thing made the men’s blood run cold. Kimberly whispered back, “Its in my camp…”

               The phone disconnected.

               Jeff Thomlin turned to the other two men who were bending over to retrieve the cases under the cots. One of them grabbed a long case, zipped it open and pulled out a Winchester hunting rifle. The other grabbed a first aid case, and another that read camera.

               “Lets move”.

               The three of them ran out of the cabin and moved toward the speed boat tied off at the dock. Jeff was sweating. Not because of moving his 40 year old body this quickly, but because of that last transmission. He climbed aboard, opened his laptop and logged in. A map of the Canadian Northern Region lit up the screen. A series of dots appeared with names attached. He searched and found Kimberly’s name. She was inland, where she thought the best chance of capturing game and building a kick ass shelter that would take her to the end of the competition. Or at least that’s what she assumed. This was the third season of one of the rip off survival shows where people try to see who can be the last one standing. The first two season Jeff noticed a unique toll the competition had on the contestants. A lot of time they had to have therapy and other treatment to allow them to come back to society. He even heard about one person needing to be committed for a month.

               “Hey Jeff, got her location?”

               Jeff looked up at the two men. On the left was a kid in his 20s, Mac. He was the camera guy and on the right was a salt and pepper haired native American man named Jacques, pronounced ‘Jake’. He was the boats captain and all around wilderness expert.

               “yeah I got it, as long as the waves aren’t too rough we should be there in 20 minutes.”

               Jacques went to the engine and gunned it. Water splashed on the doc as the boat sped off into the night.

               After they landed the boat on the shore line, Jacques handed them flashlights and chambered a round into the rifle. He climbed out of the boat then helped the other two onto the shore. Jacques pulled out a handheld device which showed a smaller map in comparison to Jeff’s monitor. They began their trek into the woods. Behind Jacques walked Jeff then Mac followed with the camera.

               The sounds of the night enveloped them, the periodic hoot of an owl, the crickets chirping, the occasional rustle in the brush. Jacques’ GPS joined in the course with an occasional beep signaling they were headed in the right direction. It was like playing a very serious game of Hot and Cold; but they feared what they might find when they reached ‘boiling hot’. They came to a patch in the woods that glowed orange. They could see a shelter constructed out of branches, moss, and mudd. There was a neatly made fire circle with rocks and a fire that looked to show the start of dying down. Next to the fire was a drying rack of some kind. A backpack leaned up against a tree with the satellite phone on the bag.

               “What the hell?” Mac said, “Where is she?”

               “Kimberly!” The three began to yell. The silence answered back. The forest seemed to absorb their cry. They looked around the campsite for any other articles of clothing or evidence.

               “Jeff, I found something.” Jacques walked up with a camcorder. It bore the resemblance of the other camera’s each contestant was given to catalog their journey. Jeff turned it over and saw the name, Aaron in masking tape on the side.

               “Why is Aaron’s camcorder here?” Mac said.

               Jeff looked at his hand held and widened the map with two of his fingers. The beacon that said Aaron was 10 miles west of their location.

               Mac chimed in, “But if he is over there, how is his camera over here?”.

               “Let’s find out. Mac, cut the camera feed.” Jeff said.

               The three crowded around the flip out screen as they rewound the for 5 minutes. When they hit play and ghastly white face was starring back at them.

               “It chased me away from my camp…” He paused as he inhaled deeply, “…I couldn’t get my sat phone before it...” A loud crash was heard in the background. Aaron looked back then into the camera, through his choked sobs he got out, “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!” Then they heard a moan that grew into a shriek. “I love you mom and Dad. I…” A loud sound muffled the audio. It was like a high pitch trumpet that kept increasing until the audio became scrambled.

               The camera view became unrecognizable as the view flipped end over end until it landed on the forest floor. At the same time Aaron’s feet was lifted into the air off screen. His screams intensified for a few moments then he came crashing down to the ground in view of the camera. Half his face was a bloody tangle of mess. Aaron’s last action was to grab the camera and shoved it into his jacket. The screen when dark.

               The three stood in silence. The fire’s glow seemed to grow dimmer from when they first arrived. A soft hooting broke the silence and made Mac flinch. The three turned and shined the light in the direction of the sound. Two red eyes appeared back, then he brown shape of an owl came into view. The three sighed. Mac turned to Jeff.

               “What was that? A bear or a mountain lion that got him?” he asked.

               “I don’t know. I’ve never heard anything like that before. What do you think Jacques?”

               Jacques placed his hand over his mouth and walked around the fire. Jeff moved over to Kimberly’s pack, and rummaged through her belongings. At the bottom he found her camcorder. He flipped open the screen and press rewind. It only went back 30 minutes.

               “She hasn’t been recording?” Mac asked with an irritated tone. “60 days out here and she’s only got 30 damn minutes of footage?!”

               “Not now!” Jeff snapped. He hit play.

               A blonde haired woman of about mid 40s sat across from the camera. Her face had shrunken tight to her skull which made her eyes pop out more. She scratched her head viciously.

               “Day 35, might as well be an eternity out here. I haven’t eaten in 30 days. I’ve tried trapping and getting nothing.” She paused, and buried her head in her hands. “I know they said it would be lonely, and I like being alone, but being out here in your own thoughts…its just too much.” She looked at the camera, a long dead gaze like a fish on the bank. “I need to see someone, anyone. I’ve thought about tapping, but I have to stay out here. I could use that money, and I can’t go back without it.”

               Jeff’s earlier thoughts came back to him; Was this worth? The isolation from community, the starvation, all for what? Bragging rights that you can suffer the most? Some people did it for the soul searching experience and personal growth, but they knew when to tap. It wasn’t a size comparison contest. He always wondered, what happened if someone, isolated from other’s input, looked inside and saw something, they didn’t like. He thought, this is finally one of those times.

               On the screen Kimberly stood up, walked over, and turned the camera off. The next scene showed her walking through the brush. “I hope I can find another trapping spot, but we’ll see. I’ve been walking for a couple hours, I think I’m hearing voices but maybe its my stomach wanting a steak right.” She chuckled but it was a combination of a halfhearted attempted mixed with the beginnings of crying.

               She froze, “wait did you hear that?” She said to the camera. She moved another few paces then came to a halt again. “I… I think I found Mike.” The camera turned to face downward from a ridge. A small tent with a tarp laid over top, stood at the edge of a campsite. A black man walked about and threw a couple logs on the fire, then took a stick and held it out over the fire. It looked to have a small fish on the end of it. Jeff and Mac heard the sound of sniffling and saw the camera turn back to Kimberly. She didn’t blink, but her eyes widened even more. She set the camera down in a quick motion, not caring it landed on its side or that it was facing the camp. The camera watched as she lowered herself down the ridge.

               Jeff and Mac watched as Mike sat on a stump and ate his fish. Shortly after he finished the last bite of flesh, he threw the bones into the fire. A scream was heard off camera as Kimberly ran into frame and began pawing at the fire. Mike scrambled to his feet and gawked at Kimberly. Though the audio was muffled, Jeff and Mac could hear what they were saying.

               “Kim, what are you doing?!” Mike said, attempting to pull her away from the burning coals. She only kept moaning. “Kimberly! Snap out of it” He took her in his arms and gave her a gentle shake. She calmed down.

               “I…” She sobbed, “…I haven’t seen anything in 30 days. No squirrels. No mice. No grouse. No fish. Nothing. I went on a hike hoping to find something and I found you.” She broke down at this point in uncontrollable sobs.

               Mike pulled her in close and hugged her. He said, “Kim, I think you need to tap.” She pulled her head away enough to shake it, then buried her face again in his chest. “Kim, do you think this is ok? You need help. I can call with my sat phone.”

               She clung to him tightly. He continued to hug her. She was saying something to him softly that neither Mac or Jeff couldn’t hear. They only guessed she said something by Mike’s reaction. He jerked back in an abrupt manner.

               “You did what!?” Mike released Kimberly and started backing away, his hands held up in front of him to keep Kimberly at a distance. She continued to blubber and held out her hands in imploration. Mike said louder, “Voices?!” Kimberly’s hands dropped as her head hunched and she advanced forward. A low moan echoed in her that was other worldly. It grew louder until it was as loud as a megaphone. Mike turned to run. She stooped over and seized one of the rocks from his fire ring. Mike looked to be running toward his shelter where his ax was propped up. He looked as if he would make it.

               Kimberly squatted on the ground and like a frog leapt out toward Mike. She cleared the distance he ran in a single bound. She had the hand with the rock raised high. The world seemed to slow as she landed on Mike’s back, then came the rock. With a hollow crack Mike’s head snapped forward and he fell half way into his shelter. She raised the rock another time and struck off camera. She stepped back. Her face and chest were sprayed red. She paused and looked over at Mike’s body for a moment. She squatted next to him and rolled him onto his back. The next thing made Mac turn away. Her eyes fixed on the body, licked her lips, and walked into the shelter. After a few moments, they could see Mike’s lifeless legs moving back and forth as if something was tugging at his body. Jeff gawked in horror at the screen as Mac turned and coughed at the implication. Jeff saw the shelter began to quake and press upward, like something too large had entered the shelter and was trying to make room. Through the moss covered shelter, they saw a large rack of ten horns burst from the roof. The screen went black.

               Jeff dropped the camera and looked at the other two. Mac looked pale. He was looking over at Jacques. Jacques was holding various articles of clothing; a Boston Red Sox hat that belonged to Jack Clemmens, a contestant on the far side of the peninsula. There was the singular pink hiking boot of Stephanie Gibbs, who according to the map was 7 miles south of here. There was a pack with the name stitched, ’Donna the Explorer’. And a coat that belonged to Rich, the oldest contestant on the show.

               The three of them stood barely breathing. The forest grew quiet. All manner of life ceased. Then a noise broke the silence.

               “Am I the last one standing?” Kimberly said.

                                                                                               The End