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fruzicleIn the blink of an eye he was gone. And here I was, stranded.
Alex and I left his home in Australia just this morning, a brilliant, sunny summer day. Making use of the mysterious travelling powers of the enchanted blue-black rooster feather, we were headed to Guinea. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out quite the way we had intended. The feather only got us half of the way there. Which, if you study a globe, you will find is anything but equatorial. Halfway to Guinea from Australia is…wait for it… Antarctica.
So here I was, shivering my buns off. Wind driven ice pellets were hammering my exposed face. Frigid wind slammed right through my sweatshirt. Having prepared for the steamy climate of equatorial Africa, I had no hat, no scarf, not even gloves. With only my jeans, top, and sneakers I felt virtually naked against the frigid gale.
What went wrong? Our working theory was that the feather wasn’t up to the task of transporting TWO bodies around the world. Consequently, we sent Alex on to complete the mission. Based on past experience with the magical feather, we expected that he would return back to me almost immediately, no matter how much time he spent in Guinea. Well, it had only been a moment since he transported out of here. But I was already wondering anxiously just how long it would take.
My feet felt as though they were already turning to ice. I stamped them. I put on the backpack containing our meager supply of food. At least it would break some of the gale trying to blast right through me. I began to pace vigorously to keep my blood moving. I began to count off my steps. 1…2…3…4…5. Turn.
Then it hit me. Everywhere I looked, I saw the same thing. Expansive stretches of white. No landmarks. What if when I turn around I actually walk five paces IN THE WRONG DIRECTION?
I couldn’t afford to wander away from the place Alex took off from. I pictured having a severe blizzard roll in that made visibility shrink to zero, making it impossible to spot Alex even if he were inches away from me!
Peering very closely at the ground, I attempted to see some small indication of where I had placed my feet. That’s when I realized that the ground here was more solid, wind-swept ice than soft billows of snow. Try as I might, I could see no clue as to where I had been standing moments ago. Thank goodness it was summer in Antarctica. I couldn't even imagine trying to deal with this without any sunlight.
What time is it? Surely at least a full minute has passed. If it takes him longer than just a few minutes, I’ll officially turn into a human popsicle.
Perhaps if I hunched up into a ball, I would conserve some heat. Less surface area and all that. (Thanks Science!) I scrunched up on the ice. I wasn’t sure which part of my body I should sacrifice to making direct contact with the surface of Antarctica.
Does thinking warm you up? I began to reflect upon this strange journey I had followed ever since Alex disappeared. Maybe if it were a neighbor, I wouldn’t have cared. But Alex was my brother! I’m probably his greatest fan. (Well, my parents, too, I suppose.) But I would follow him anywhere. And what a ridiculously fantastic adventure we had had.
I desperately tried to remember the warm places I had followed Alex to. I remembered the heat beating down on me when I spotted him on the beach in Africa. The balmy days in Australia just in the last few days. But, mind over matter only goes so far. In spite of my best efforts, the icy wind was reaching straight through my meager clothes, through my goosebumpy skin, and, I swear, trying to turn my muscles into something you might find in an ice-cold meat locker. I thought about the woolly mammoths that were flash frozen in ancient glaciers. Would some scientist find my permafrost body in the distant future?
Maybe I had only been shivering violently for two minutes. Or was it five? Longer? I’ve heard cold can play strange tricks on your brain. It felt like a frozen eternity.
My ears felt like frozen flaps of useless skin. However, the sound of pattering ice pellets sounded loud and clear, though muffled somewhat by the general howl of the wind.
Having heard somewhere that food provides calories that our bodies burn to create heat, I decided to try to eat some of my food stores. But I just could bear to take off the backpack or to stick my arms out to reach inside. I comforted myself by thinking about the nice fatty crispy bacon I had eaten for breakfast. Is virtual food a thing?
Somehow, I began to feel sleepy. How is that even possible? I’m shivering so hard! You’d think the violent shaking would prevent any kind of drifting off to sleep.
I decide to stay awake by counting by threes. Backwards from one hundred. Let’s see:
100
97
94
92
Wait! That’s not right!
97
94
91 (Oh, that’s better.)
93
83
Oh, I’m just too cold.
Alex….
This episode is part of the Janie and Alex series. To refresh your memory on what has gone before, you may refer to previous chapters:
Episode 1 Janie begins the serch for Alex.........https://furzicle.livejournal.com/458629.html
Episode 2 Alex gets the enchanted feather........https://furzicle.livejournal.com/459027.html
Episode 3 The Mysterious Russian....................https://furzicle.livejournal.com/459502.html
Episode 4 Wild Goose Chase............................https://furzicle.livejournal.com/462960.html
Episode 5 The creek may rise...........................https://furzicle.livejournal.com/463491.html
Alex and I left his home in Australia just this morning, a brilliant, sunny summer day. Making use of the mysterious travelling powers of the enchanted blue-black rooster feather, we were headed to Guinea. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out quite the way we had intended. The feather only got us half of the way there. Which, if you study a globe, you will find is anything but equatorial. Halfway to Guinea from Australia is…wait for it… Antarctica.
So here I was, shivering my buns off. Wind driven ice pellets were hammering my exposed face. Frigid wind slammed right through my sweatshirt. Having prepared for the steamy climate of equatorial Africa, I had no hat, no scarf, not even gloves. With only my jeans, top, and sneakers I felt virtually naked against the frigid gale.
What went wrong? Our working theory was that the feather wasn’t up to the task of transporting TWO bodies around the world. Consequently, we sent Alex on to complete the mission. Based on past experience with the magical feather, we expected that he would return back to me almost immediately, no matter how much time he spent in Guinea. Well, it had only been a moment since he transported out of here. But I was already wondering anxiously just how long it would take.
My feet felt as though they were already turning to ice. I stamped them. I put on the backpack containing our meager supply of food. At least it would break some of the gale trying to blast right through me. I began to pace vigorously to keep my blood moving. I began to count off my steps. 1…2…3…4…5. Turn.
Then it hit me. Everywhere I looked, I saw the same thing. Expansive stretches of white. No landmarks. What if when I turn around I actually walk five paces IN THE WRONG DIRECTION?
I couldn’t afford to wander away from the place Alex took off from. I pictured having a severe blizzard roll in that made visibility shrink to zero, making it impossible to spot Alex even if he were inches away from me!
Peering very closely at the ground, I attempted to see some small indication of where I had placed my feet. That’s when I realized that the ground here was more solid, wind-swept ice than soft billows of snow. Try as I might, I could see no clue as to where I had been standing moments ago. Thank goodness it was summer in Antarctica. I couldn't even imagine trying to deal with this without any sunlight.
What time is it? Surely at least a full minute has passed. If it takes him longer than just a few minutes, I’ll officially turn into a human popsicle.
Perhaps if I hunched up into a ball, I would conserve some heat. Less surface area and all that. (Thanks Science!) I scrunched up on the ice. I wasn’t sure which part of my body I should sacrifice to making direct contact with the surface of Antarctica.
Does thinking warm you up? I began to reflect upon this strange journey I had followed ever since Alex disappeared. Maybe if it were a neighbor, I wouldn’t have cared. But Alex was my brother! I’m probably his greatest fan. (Well, my parents, too, I suppose.) But I would follow him anywhere. And what a ridiculously fantastic adventure we had had.
I desperately tried to remember the warm places I had followed Alex to. I remembered the heat beating down on me when I spotted him on the beach in Africa. The balmy days in Australia just in the last few days. But, mind over matter only goes so far. In spite of my best efforts, the icy wind was reaching straight through my meager clothes, through my goosebumpy skin, and, I swear, trying to turn my muscles into something you might find in an ice-cold meat locker. I thought about the woolly mammoths that were flash frozen in ancient glaciers. Would some scientist find my permafrost body in the distant future?
Maybe I had only been shivering violently for two minutes. Or was it five? Longer? I’ve heard cold can play strange tricks on your brain. It felt like a frozen eternity.
My ears felt like frozen flaps of useless skin. However, the sound of pattering ice pellets sounded loud and clear, though muffled somewhat by the general howl of the wind.
Having heard somewhere that food provides calories that our bodies burn to create heat, I decided to try to eat some of my food stores. But I just could bear to take off the backpack or to stick my arms out to reach inside. I comforted myself by thinking about the nice fatty crispy bacon I had eaten for breakfast. Is virtual food a thing?
Somehow, I began to feel sleepy. How is that even possible? I’m shivering so hard! You’d think the violent shaking would prevent any kind of drifting off to sleep.
I decide to stay awake by counting by threes. Backwards from one hundred. Let’s see:
100
97
94
92
Wait! That’s not right!
97
94
91 (Oh, that’s better.)
93
83
Oh, I’m just too cold.
Alex….
This episode is part of the Janie and Alex series. To refresh your memory on what has gone before, you may refer to previous chapters:
Episode 1 Janie begins the serch for Alex.........https://furzicle.livejournal.com/458629.html
Episode 2 Alex gets the enchanted feather........https://furzicle.livejournal.com/459027.html
Episode 3 The Mysterious Russian....................https://furzicle.livejournal.com/459502.html
Episode 4 Wild Goose Chase............................https://furzicle.livejournal.com/462960.html
Episode 5 The creek may rise...........................https://furzicle.livejournal.com/463491.html
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no subject
Date: 2020-02-11 04:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-16 09:49 am (UTC)Thanks for reading. :)
no subject
Date: 2020-02-12 05:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-16 09:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-12 07:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-16 09:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-15 02:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-16 09:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-15 06:41 am (UTC)And now you've cliff-hangered us. :O
no subject
Date: 2020-02-16 09:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-15 07:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-16 09:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-16 02:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-16 09:54 am (UTC)