Freezing

My name is Alex. I am a pilot working for the Royal Canadian Air Force and have been for the past 4 years. I'm one of the more experienced pilots on the force and I am known as one of the most skilled as well. It was the winter of 1998 and we were all discharged and sent home for the holidays. My girlfriend Kate was waiting for me at home. We were so happy to see each other in person for once, instead of over a tablet, or laptop screen. She gave me my Christmas present. It was two plane tickets to America! The Big Apple! All of my more well liked friends were all in NYC and I was so excited to finally see them again. The flight was for the next morning. It was kind of unexpected and I really didn't have enough time to pack up. So I packed up right before bed. Only a few changes of clothes and lots of money.

The next morning had to have been the coldest morning in Canada. At least -20 C outside. I packed my warm leather jacket because I knew how cold it was going to be. Kate and I drove to Toronto Pearson International Airport and got on our flight to JFK. Once we got there, our friends were waiting for us. All of them. Evan, Kevin, Kim, and John. We were all so happy to finally see each other, after 7 years. We decided to take a trip down memory lane. We were driving home. The middle of New York. The countryside. We went to our friends penthouse and packed up and left NYC. It took us about 6 hours to drive to the middle of NY. When we got there, the weather was horrible. It was snowing furiously and there was black ice all over the road. So we decided to drive slow. On a lonely and dark road we were pulled over. Of course... "Any idea how slow you were going?" said the police officer. "Well its such a bad storm I didn't want to cause an acid-" "I know what you were doing" I was confused why he cut me off so suddenly. "Then why did you even question me?" "Don't talk back to me son. I pulled you over to tell you something. You never should have come back Alex." What? How did he know my name? I didn't know how to react. I didn't wanna ask him how he knew. I wasn't sure if he was a stalker or something. "um.... okay. why shouldn't I have?" "You'll find out soon enough. I know you won't take heed to my words but, a certain set events must not be set into motion." I agreed and told him it was getting cold and he should get back in his car. He agreed. He was walking in an odd fashion. He got back in his car and shut off his lights and didn't move. We moved along. Creeped out and cold we drove faster to get out of there. About halfway down the road we heard a muffled bang and a saw a slight glimpse of light. We sped all the way home. We made it to my parents house. We surprised them and made their Christmas! We had a little party and stayed the night.

We had an idea the next night. Ghost hunting. This possibly couldn't have been the beginning of the chain of events right? There was an abandoned manufacturing factory about a mile and a half away. We drove there after packing flashlights, blades and food. We got our coats and went to the factory. We had to break in as it was all locked up. I broke a window and crawled in. I unlocked the side door. Everyone walked in and we were hearing lots of noises and what seemed to be whispers. It was awesome. We sat down and told scary stories. We were starting to get a little scared so instead of telling ghost stories, we decided to remember and tell of the stories of when we were kids. Ah nostalgia. 3 cop cars drove up to the factory and got out and saw the broken window and pulled out their flashlights and walked in. Fuck! We were in trouble! We had to find a way down 3 stories and outside. We all got split up. I was the first to get out. Then Kim and Kate. The boys came out at least 2 minutes later. We got in the car and sped out of there. What a rush! This gave us an idea. "Alex you have your pilots license right?" said Kim. "Yeah, why do you ask?" "I know a place that's supposed to be an airplane graveyard. And I also know that some of them still work. Get what I'm saying?" She was suggesting I fly us a plane. I agreed. We went home and told my parents. They didn't agree but we went anyways. Of course knowing its an old plane we packed survival kits. Including my old Winchester and some bullets. We drove to the airplane graveyard and found an old plane. It almost looked like a stunt plane but with more seats and compartments. I got in the cockpit and tried to get the engines working. To my surprise it worked! We got inside and flew around. The plane started having turbulence issues. I had to put it down somewhere. I landed it in the snow and the ice shredded the engine. We were stuck in a field late at night. At least we had our survival kits. The field we landed in seemed to go on forever. It was like all I could see was black and white. The storm from the other night was still roaring. This was not good. Kate, Kim, and John started to cry or tear up. We were lost and there was no civilization for miles. We had nothing to try and repair the plane. The plane was beyond repair anyways. We had no choice but to grab our supplies and move out. It was so cold. Below freezing. We had to have walked for an hour in a straight line and there was nothing in front of us. "WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE ALEX!" said Evan. "What was I supposed to do Evan? Let us crash and die in the plane?" "I would have liked to have died in a plane crash then rather of being frozen to death!" "Fuck. You. Evan!" Kevin stepped in "ENOUGH! The point is, is that Alex was a good enough pilot to save us. We are alive. Okay?! No changing that!" "Fine. Alex I'm sorry. I'm on edge right now" I accepted his apology and we moved on.

The crack of dawn only showed up for about a half an hour before it was night again. "Boys? Was it not just morning?!" said Kate. "Yeah it was. Something weird is going on" "You don't say, John" said Kevin. We had to stop walking. We huddled. Warmth was our number one priority. We never should have went to the factory. We should have listened to that cop. The ice on the snow was thick and we were slipping. I took out my emergency axe and slammed it into the ice. it broke and we dug in the snow. We found the ground. It was black. It was as if it was a road, but it was grass. Almost like it was painted black. We laid down on the black grass and started to die. I looked in the distance and saw a little light. A silhouette emerged in the light. I got the group up and showed them. A ray of hope! We ran up to it. It seemed to be moving away. We trudged through the snow and we finally made it to the silhouette. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It was one, singular, pine tree. We could have a fire! We could get warm! I needed to cut it down. I reached for my axe to cut it down to feel nothing. There was nothing there. SHIT! I forgot the axe back on the grass! I whipped out my machete and whipped it at the tree. It was dull. It did nothing. Our ray of hope was lost. Something snapped in me. I was so pissed at myself. I wanted to die. I couldn't save my friends. I let them down. I started to cry. They tried to calm me down and comfort me but I couldn't. I saw something out of the corner of my eye. "What's that?" I looked over and saw the shadow of the tree limbs forming into something. It looked like a human nervous system. A heart in the middle. Five of them formed. I whipped out my Winchester and Blade and started at them. Shooting at them and slicing and stabbing at them to no avail. I threw the broken machete at them and it hit one of their hearts. It diminished. It died. "HIT THEM IN THE HEARTS" I went crazy on them. Shooting and stabbing them multiple times.

It was a long battle. We won. My vision was blurry. I looked to my left and saw my friends. They were dead. Kate's head was bashed in. Her face was nothing but red and black. Her tongue laying on the ground next to her. Kim's jaw was missing. Hands and feet were cut off. Her feet were where her hands should have been and her hands were where her feet should have been. A nervous system carved into her back. A large chunk of her thigh was missing. Her nipples gone. Evan and John were cut in half and sewed together. Kevin had his head cut off. Shoved into his stomach cavity which was empty. His spine was popping out of his neck, almost fully. One of his arms was stuck on the tree. I looked at my hands and they were covered in blood. I realized that I have done this. Next to me was the missing thigh piece, half eaten. I killed my best friends and ate parts of them. I cant believe I've done this. I've went insane. I buried them into the snow and ground and had a funeral. I had no food. No water. No shelter and no ammo to protect my self. I felt my pocket. I had one single bullet left. I knew what I must do. I loaded it in my Winchester and cocked it. I shot myself in my neck. I woke up in my bed, the gunshot still ringing in my ears. Kate told me "Ready to go to Toronto Pearson" "Yeah baby". She left to make us breakfast. I lay there in my bed. Freezing.