“Hey, Toli. I’m leaving, I will be doing overtime tonight, I might not come back before tomorrow afternoon.” Said my father.
I simply nodded, I was 23 now. Yet, he still treated me like a child. He often stayed up to 18 hours at his job. He never refused a shift for me since I was little. I know he cares for me, but he loves his job even more. A little too much. My mother left him for that exact reason. She moved somewhere in the south. He gives his job more attention than his family. Not that it bothers me that much honestly. He’s a good person, just not a good dad. I also enjoy my quiet time. I love having the apartment for myself. My mother was a little too crazy, so I chose to stay here instead. I also didn’t want to lose my friends.
As for me. What can I say? Some would consider me a loser, but on the other hand, most of us out here are like that. Especially the younger people, none of us choose to be born here. In the coldest of lands. The icing on the cake as they would say. The top of the top. Welcome to Norilsk! The most depressing city in the world according to YouTube. In case you don’t know about our lovely town. Which is almost certain. It is one of the northernmost cities in the world. It is basically an industrial city based around the enormous nickel mine. Oh! Did I forget to mention, also the most polluted city in the world, apparently. And I wouldn’t even talk about the winter out here. We are in the polar circle, so it gets quite cold and there is no sunlight for around 30 days.
I hate this damned place. I want to leave so badly. Me and around three quarters of the people around my age say this, but no one does it for some mystical reason. Apparently, life expectancy is shortened by around 10 to 20 years or something like that. In reality, I have no idea what to do with my life, so why bother look that far?
Most of the time, I am bored out of my mind like the rest of the people of my age. Sometimes our internet connection interrupts and we can’t even play online. There aren’t many people around my age either. So, we find ways to amuse ourselves with the little we have. Me and my childhood friends from the block spend most of our free time together. I am the only one who lives with a single parent who’s never home. Needless to say, my apartment is hosting the parties pretty often, even without my consent. I don’t know how they do it, but somehow my friends always figure out when my father won’t be here for the night. I think someone is guarding the entrance, but I’ve never figured out who. Or maybe they would just show up randomly hoping they’ll have my house for the evening. This time, I invited my girlfriend only, Iryna. I was feeling unusually lonely. Then, she invited the rest without asking me first, like usual.
Most of us either had none important jobs, or didn’t work at all. That meant we had a lot of free time on our hands. There wasn’t much of an education worthwhile around. Other than what the factory offers obviously. I often wonder if I should join the army just to get out of here, but I don’t do it, like the rest of the things I wish I would do. I complain a lot, but don’t do much about it. I take a deep breath and release a long sigh.
The phone buzzes. I don’t even need to open it to know the content. They will be here soon enough. The fiends. They are coming, I can feel it.
At first, there was the knocking at the door, then the imposing desire to stay on my couch and not say anything. However, it didn’t take long for my resistance to break. My friends were cheerfully knocking at my door and talking loudly in the hallway.
“We should celebrate before winter comes.” Said Borin from outside.
“We have a whole other month before sun fall.” I reply while standing up.
“Then we’ll party the whole month!” He counter replied.
They all cheered while I was opening the door. Usually we would go do some stupid stuff outside, but not today. It was already too cold for outdoor activities and I was feeling down for some reason. I just wanted to stay home. My friends on the other hand, were already wild and not a single drop of alcohol was in their vein yet. They all came from within the block and somehow managed to pour snow into my apartment.
“Hey, be careful!” I protested.
“So! Got something to drink?” My girlfriend asked me, ignoring my warning.
“No, he drank it all already.” I said, thinking of my father.
“Alright! So, who’s gonna sacrifice himself on a trip to the corner store? There is a huge storm already.” Asked Huan.
“Not me, I’m guarding my place, you jerks aren’t trustworthy.” I said half joking.
They all laughed as if it was nothing, but I actually didn’t trust them. Last time, they broke my table playing some stupid game. I stood on the sofa quietly waiting for them to sort their stuff. Eventually, Huan and Borin decided they would go outside to get the booze. As for my girlfriend she would go on a scavenging mission into her parents locker to find something to drink. I didn’t argue. I was happy, I would have peace for a moment and be with my friend Anna. She was a lot like me. We both were introverts. We didn’t exactly love to party, but did it anyway from peer pressure. I always felt better when she was there. As if I feel less bad for not fitting in like the rest.
“Wish us luck comrade” Said Borin while getting his winter coat on again, just a minute after he removed it.
And they left, as fast as they came in. They were as sudden as the storm outside. I loved my girlfriend and my friends, but I wish they would leave me alone tonight. I don’t know why. I had a bad feeling. I wish they would go party somewhere else, but I was the only one who had the home for himself. My father was often gone for the night and it always ended up like that. For some odd reason, even if I felt lonely, I always long for solitude. I often looked outside the window by night, wishing to disappear into the dark.
“Hey, are you ok?” Anna asked me. Pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah sure, why?” I replied nonchalantly.
She shrugged and went texting something on her phone. I acted cold, but in reality I felt warm inside that she cared about me. I wanted to tell her that I hated when people would just crash at my house like that. I wanted to tell her how much I hated this place and that, deep inside, I resented my father. I didn’t say anything. She already knew all of it anyway.
Out of no wear, an imminent urge to look through my window came to me. I had to see the two adventurers on their way to the corner store. To my surprise, the snowstorm was even worse now. I could barely see outside. In fact, I didn’t see them at all, I couldn’t even see down the street. Not only was the snowstorm rapidly intensifying, but it was also getting unusually darker.
“Hey, we are a month before the long night? I’m not crazy right?” I asked worriedly.
Anna stood up and came next to me. She looked at the time on her phone and then looked at me with a worried look.
“It’s weird.” She said silently.
We didn’t say anything until the two others came back around 20 minutes later. The corner store was literally in front of the street. Why did it take them so long? The door opened violently and the two guys rushed inside shaking and throwing even more snow all over my place.
“Watch out! It’s going to get wet” I said angrily.
“What the hell? Did you see that?” Said excited Huan, ignoring me again.
“See what?” I asked, not sharing their excitement.
“Well! We survived the earliest snowstorm!” They Exclaimed together.
I hated them so much…
“We got ‘em! No store is off limits. Vodka no limit!” Yelled Borin while raising the bottle in the air.
I hated them so, so, much…
The party began right away. It took them exactly five minutes to undress and start drinking. My girlfriend came inside right after. No one noticed the pond they just left at my doorstep, neither did they listen to me. With a deep sight. I almost told myself I hated her too. I think I need a drink, I thought. And so. I drank with them…
When you are sad you drink, when you are happy you drink. Your birthday? You drink! Your pet dies, you drink. It’s unhealthy, you’re about to die, you still drink. That’s what my stupid friends told me. Today, I was sad for some unknown reason and strangely worried, so that is a double reason to drink. Screw me. I’m as bad as them.
* * *
We played some old American pop and rap music, there was always that time when Huan had to show off his English skills by singing over some Eminem songs. He was actually good, he could do something with this one day. Only, no one would ever listen to him outside of this place. I sighted again, this time in desperation. Every time I think of my birthplace, I wish I could leave it so badly. Go somewhere like Europe or Canada. One day I thought, one day. I turned my head toward the window daydreaming. The curtains were closed. I stood up from the sofa and walked toward the window. I opened the curtains. As expected, there was a layer of ice and snow over the glass, blocking the view. There wasn’t much to see anyway. However, there was something odd. It was even darker than last time I checked. We were only at the beginning of November. There remained at least three more weeks before the long night. I thought I would open the window to see outside, but it was stuck frozen. How cold was it? I forced the frame and it finally moved after a loud crack.
A cold breeze abruptly interrupted the party with a loud howl and snow infiltrated my home once again. Anna and Iryna shriek almost simultaneously.
“Close that window right away!” My girlfriend ordered me. But, I didn’t.
Something was off. The two other guys came next to me and looked as stupefied as me.
“Isn’t it weird? The weather. I’ve never seen something like that.” Borin said after a couple of minutes of baffled gaze.
It was indeed weird, it was as if the snow was gray, as if it was ashes and not snow. No one has ever seen something like that. Obviously, we lived in the most polluted place on earth, but that was no reason for the snow to be gray. Not only did it cover everything in a dark shade, but it also absorbed all light. It was as if the light was getting eaten by the snow. As if darkness were swallowing everything. It wasn’t the same feeling as when the long night came. No. If you would take a flashlight and shine into the snow, there would be no reflection. No one has ever seen anything like that. We were all terrified.
No one said anything for a long moment. We had no clue what was going on. Usually, I would have kicked them out of my house right after the party, but not today. I was scared and I didn’t want to be alone. For once, I wanted them to stay with me. I think they thought the same because no one wanted to move from here. We felt safe as long as we were together.
“Hey, my father is in the mine, yours too right?” Anna asked me.
“My father is working overtime, what about yours?” I said.
“He is too”. She confirmed.
We all looked at each other even more worried.
“Let’s call them.” I said.
I went to pick up my cell phone and called my father. After five rings, I hung up and texted him instead. The others did the same thing.
“My messages are getting sent, but my parents don’t receive them.” Anna said quietly.
For the next few hours we stayed in my apartment, discussing all the various possibilities.
“Maybe they are burning something different in the factory?” or “Maybe a volcano erupted somewhere?”. There was no way to know. What we knew for sure is that it was way darker for that time of the year, the snow was gray and the storm wasn’t settling anytime soon. In addition, there was no public announcement anywhere. Even the internet connection was struggling.
The party broke pretty fast and inevitably my friends returned home except for Iryna. We stayed home together. We’ve spent an anxious night, waiting for something to happen. We called multiple times and looked online unsuccessfully. The next day was exactly the same. We woke up as if he hadn’t slept in the first place. The workers still weren’t home. We tried to call our parents again. However, this time, there was no signal at all.
“What the hell?” I said while a long shiver ran across my back.
“I don’t think they will come back in a weather like this. They have dormitories near the factory for emergency situations. They will probably wait for the storm to calm down. Don’t worry. Let’s instead enjoy our time alone.” Iryna said comfortingly.
I nodded in agreement, yet unable to believe I would enjoy my time. Since there wasn’t much to do, I preferred waiting with her. We sat on the couch with a blanket over us and cuddled. The air was getting oddly cold. And just like that. Without warning or reason, the longest night of my life began…
* * *
A week later.
“Toli! Open the door!” A familiar voice called me from outside my apartment.
I stumbled on my way there and opened it halfway. It was Viktor, the old neighbor from above.
“Listen, I know your father is not here. If you need something you can always come.” The old man said gently. “It’s in times like these we have to work together, alright?” He added.
I thanked him and began closing the door, but he suddenly put his hand on the cold wood, preventing me from closing it and stared at me with intense eyes.
“Listen, I’ve heard some strange stories. Something is not normal, we all know it. We can’t even get outside the building, the snow already covers the entrance and there is still no communications, you know, we don’t exactly need rescuing for now, but, what if things stay like that for a month or more? What are we going to eat?” He finished with a quiet voice.
“It won’t last that long, it never happened. It won’t” I replied in denial.
“How would you know?” He challenged me.
“I don’t know. What is it that you want, really, tell me?” I was getting angry.
“When the time comes, we should work together. Understand?” He said whispering and with a grim look on his face.
I began to understand what he meant and I didn’t like it at all. I hated thinking about it, but the picture was already getting painted in my head.
“Sure, now leave me alone.” I said coldly and I closed the door.
I was shaking, the air in the corridor was colder than usual, but that was not why. I was getting utterly terrified now. What if something happens to my father? What if something went wrong in the factory? My heart was racing at these thoughts.
I turned around to look at Iryna. We’ve spent the whole week together, we couldn’t stand to be next to each other anymore, but it was still better than being alone. I sat next to her on the couch and gently caressed her. There was nothing to say, and so we quietly fell asleep on the couch again.
Chaos outside our apartment woke us up in the middle of the night… or day. It didn’t make any difference now. It was dark at any time. People were shouting and yelling in the staircase.
“What now?” I spat between my teeth.
I removed the heavy blanket from over us and I immediately felt my skin freezing.
“My god!” Iryna said with a pitched voice. “What the hell?” She added.
Ignoring the cold, I paid attention to the people talking outside and I could hear someone say something about the central heat system being broken.
“The pipes! They’re frozen, and the electrical system is out of reach.” Someone yelled from downstairs.
“Can’t we use the gasoline generator?” A voice from upstairs replied with another yell.
“I tried it, I think it’s broken. Come and help me!”
The conversation continued like that for a moment. Eventually, I took my courage at hand and went to open the door. It was even colder than last time. I looked up and down. A lot of my neighbors were chatting through half open doors.
“The heating. It stopped.” Said crying the old lady next door.
“Can’t we fix it?” Asked loudly the person on the floor above, without venturing into the staircase.
“Alright, alright, I’ll come down. Let me dress up a little”. He yelled once more.
Now, I was definitely panicking. What are we going to do? I put all my hopes into my fellow block mates, hoping they would arrange the system. But, what my upstairs neighbor told me the other day came back to mind. What if things didn’t improve? The storm was still raging and it was getting colder by the day.
“We can’t even open the main door”. Yelled someone from below.
If this keeps up, we might eventually run out of food. There was a food storage in the basement. I went there yesterday and it was already completely distributed among the dwellers. I already began rationing, just in case. Iryna and her family too did it. At least, there’s an advantage of not having parents around. I smiled sadly. More food for me.
I wanted to help the situation somehow, but I was utterly useless, I had no particular skill and I didn’t even have tools at home. Me and Iryna simply waited for something to happen. The wait was getting unbearable. We had literally nothing to do, but wait. We were bored out of our minds above all.
“I think I’ll go see what’s going on.” I said to Iryna. “You stay here, I’ll go check on the others.”
I dressed with my winter coat, hat and gloves and ventured into the staircase. I knocked around, asking for news. Most people were in a similar situation. No one dared to go outside, but sooner or later we would need to resupply. Right then, I realized something. I had a whole apartment to myself. My father wasn’t really taking care of me that much, but at least he always did his groceries. I had a whole appartement of food for a single person. The others had whole families to feed. If someone would be asked to share, it would certainly be me. “Damn that bastard was right.” I whispered, thinking of the neighbor upstairs. I won’t go see him. Hoping he might forget about me. Which I doubt.
I decided I wanted to see Huan next. He lived on the floor above mine. On my way there I met the crazy Ivan. He was carrying something strange. The bastard was always up to something. He was all geared up as if he intended to conquer Siberia all by itself. He was carrying a large tube with a black cable wrapped around it.
“What’s that?” I asked curious.
“I’m building something” He replied with his usual angry face.
“What are you building?” I continued.
“Something useful, you’ll thank me later”.
“Can’t you just say it already?” I was getting annoyed.
“I’m communicating with the block in front of us. With light. We had to learn morse code in the navy. Unlike you, I know useful skills.” He grimaced at me.
“Communicating? And you didn’t tell anyone about that?” I felt the blood heat my face. Anger was comforting in this situation. It warmed me.
“Boy, things are dire. Worse than you might think.” He said quietly while approaching his face. “If you really wanna know what’s going on. Come with me”.
I nodded and he backed on his tracks, getting back to his home. My curiosity won over my anger and I followed him inside his apartment. I’ve always wondered what the inside of the lonely, angry and crazy Ivan living space was. And, it was exactly what I expected. It was a total mess. However, it was warmer here. He had all sorts of strange devices and constructions half finished around. He had makeshift isolation on his windows. It looked like he cut a mattress and stuck it against the windows. It was a brilliant idea actually. As I got inside, he closed the door and I realized he had tapped blankets on the door. I noticed he had a whole crate of candles. Where and when did he even get all that?
“Come here.” He spoke even more quietly, as if we were being listened to, even inside of his home. “Listen boy, I don’t care what you think or do, this is bigger than all of us. There is something wrong going on outside. I’ve been speaking with the block in front, and they saw something outside in the dark. Their heating stopped working yesterday just like us. Is it a coincidence you think?” He paused for a long moment.
I didn’t believe him. I looked at his apparatus on the window, he had made a hole and strapped a spotlight of some sort. I assumed that’s how he was talking with the people in front.
“I don’t think that’s a coincidence, someone wants us dead”. He continued with a grim tone. “We need to establish a direct line of communication with the other blocks. This cable, let’s go outside before we can’t and my friend there could make up a functioning radio”.
“Wait a second, you of all people don’t you have a working radio already? Doesn’t walkie talkies work? It’s right next door. I should work right?”
He grimaced with an even uglier face. He put his thumb between his teeth and walked in circles for a moment.
“This isn’t snow. It blocks communications and radio waves, and I won’t even talk about how it absorbs light”. He spat at me.
He was nervously walking in circles, talking to himself. I had nothing else to add, so I waited. It was simply unreal.
“They finally made it, I knew it would happen”. He suddenly spoke loudly.
“They did what?” I asked.
“The third world war, they unleashed some sort of new weapon, or maybe it’s just nuclear fallout. The bastards, no one cares about us, we are just a forgotten city in the grand scheme of things”.
He was always saying crazy stuff like that. Usually, no one ever listened to him. But this time, for once maybe, he might be right. I looked around, and I noticed he had weapons laying around his apartment. He also had a handgun hanging around his waist. I didn’t like him. Even less than before, there was a scary and negative energy coming out of him. I slowly walked outside his apartment and left him to his crazy fantasies.
Without saying a word, I left and he ran past me with his apparatus and cables wrapped around.
“We can’t get out! The main entrance is blocked! There’s so much snow, what the hell?” The person downstairs yelled.
For some reason, I felt defeated, I abandoned everything and went back to my appartement. Not even saying hi to my friend on the way there.
* * *
Two days later. The storm finally stopped. Despite that, it was still dark as if the sun had simply disappeared out of existence. The heating was still off and we were still disconnected from the outside world. It was an odd situation. Everyone was scared, but things were so calm and so boring. It was only natural for people to start spreading strange rumors. Someone from the first floor was talking about hearing voices and seeing something outside his window. Walking slowly, as if it was trying to get in, yet keeping enough distance to be hidden in the shadows. Ivan managed to reach the other block and connect his communication device after all, so maybe someone was actually trying to get in. Also, almost everyone barricaded their windows from the cold, it was hard to even look outside. Who knows what’s going on?
“Since it stopped snowing, we might try to dig a way out from the main entrance” Someone said.
A couple of people reluctantly volunteered, but no one actually wanted to do it. I, myself, didn’t want to go outside. The snow was repulsing, just by its unusual color. It was just snow in the end, but we still didn’t want to touch it. Something was terribly wrong and we all knew it. No one wanted to take the risk. Who and why would someone wanna go outside? If the other blocks don’t have heating too then why even bother? As for the food, the market was a couple of streets from here, I wouldn’t dare to go outside by myself. I’m not that desperate for now. Though, if we wait for too long, the people living closer might loot it before us. But wait, what am I even talking about? It was not even the long night yet. It’s just a storm, nothing more. I tried to reassure myself. We can’t just go steal food?
Days later, the storm began raging anew. The longest night of the year officially began. It was even colder, no one managed to turn on the heating since it broke. The communication cable Ivan put outside was severed. Rumors about something lurking outside spread even more. Even me and Iryna thought we saw something the other day. There seemed to be something roaming outside, but the view wasn’t clear enough. Digging a hole at the main entrance was pointless. We tried it and the snow filled the hole again in no time. So we were shut from the outside world. There shouldn’t be anyone or anything outside. There were no animals around here either.
“What now”? My girlfriend asked me out of the blue.
“What do you mean?” I frowned at her.
“Aren’t we going to do something?” She asked me for the 100th time.
“And what are we supposed to do? Light a campfire in the middle of the appartement, go steal food from outside? Do YOU wanna do it?” I exploded angrily.
She was getting desperate and so was I too. I wanted to kick her out so badly, but everytime she went to her parents I began freaking out. The loneliness and the silence was maddening. I began hearing odd noises and seeing shadows moving in the dark. I saw a bright red light the other day, right after she left. I couldn’t see what it was, but it came from the other block’s direction. No one else saw it. It’s hard to know if I imagined it or not. The tension and the wait, I hated it so much, I was going out of my mind. I had to do something, go somewhere, be useful, anything! And so, I made up my mind. The constant pressure was getting more unbearable than my fear of the unknown. I was feeling trapped, crushed, between these four walls.
“Alright, you know what? Let’s go outside, let’s make a trip to the market!” I said loudly.
Iryna’s face turned from surprise to anger. Infuriated she stood up yelling at me about how much I’ve lost my mind and all. The truth is, that deep inside, I’ve always wanted to do something worthwhile, even before this. I’ve always felt lost and useless. It’s maybe my time to make up for it. I didn’t listen to her, got dressed up and went to talk to the people around the block.
The boys agreed right away, I think they must have been feeling the same thing as me. A feeling of urgency, as if something had to be done. Vicktor and the crazy Ivan both agreed to join. The others looked at us like deers in front of truck lights. As for the girls, Anna and Iryna, they would wait for us at the entrance.
We over equipped ourselves, as if we were about to go climb a mountain, we might look ridiculous, going two streets from here. Nonetheless, the situation was unexpectedly weird. Speaking of which, we chose to jump through a window from the second floor instead of digging a hole through the iced off entrance. It is easier that way. Otherwise, we would need something heavy, like a pickaxe and we didn’t have the energy or patience to do it.
“Are you ready?” I said to my courageous friend Borin
He nodded and forced the window open. Right away an intensely cold wind hit us right in the face. He bent over the window and examined the surroundings and looked at me with terrified eyes. “Wish me luck”. He said and proceeded to get outside. He didn’t rush to climb down the window. He dropped down very slowly and carefully. It was oddly dark outside, there was literally no light. We couldn’t even see the block right in front of us. Me and Huan tied a rope around the staircase and threw it at him. He tried to see if he could climb up again, with our help he managed awkwardly but safely. We judged it would be better for old folks to remain in the room with the girls and lift us back inside if something happens. I would have prefered it to be a five men expedition instead of three, but I also didn’t feel confident enough that I would be able to climb back up, let alone count on the girls to lift us rapidly.
Borin took the lead, jumped back down more confidently this time and lit up his flashlight.
“We should be fine!” He shouted at us from down there.
I took a deep breath and followed him through the window. There we are, the three of us, already struggling against the elements. The first thing I noticed was how hard it was to breathe, to see and hear. The snow under our feet was soft at first, but right under there was a thick layer of ice already. I was scared at the thought that the whole floor was a frozen sheet of ice. Sure the city is already over a layer of permafrost land, but that was a whole other level. I looked behind me. I couldn’t see the roof of our building and it felt like vertigo. As if it was infinitely taller. My friends were talking right next to me and I could barely hear them. It made me feel as if we were alone in the universe. They were saying something about following the building since we can’t see the roads of the sights. We might get lost right away. Even if I knew the city like the back of my hand, I still preferred to be cautious.
“We are counting on you!” Borin yelled to the girls and our neighbors.
We waved a farewell and began our walk. In that temperature, it would be better not to stay too long, I was already feeling numb on my face. We went along the building for a couple of minutes, but something strange happened. The storm calmed down a little. In exchange the air got increasingly colder. The change was so sudden that the three of us stopped in terror. I was feeling overwhelmed with a strange feeling of anxiety. I wanted to run away back inside and my two friends seemed to share the feeling.
The storm dissipated almost instantly. There were few snowflakes falling slowly now. I raised my head and looked at the sky. I couldn’t see the stars. I thought it would have been the ideal time to look at the sky, since there was no light pollution. Instead, dark omnipresent clouds were suffocating us.
I turned my head left and right, we could distinguish a bit more clearly our surroundings now. The city was usually lively, even during the night. At least the street lamps would have been working. Now one quarter is under the snow. Even cars were almost completely buried. I stopped for a moment and stared at the building in front of ours. I shivered, I was feeling watched. However we couldn’t see inside. They too have barricaded their windows. The whole first floor was completely dark. As for the second one there was light coming from some of the windows. I felt a strange unease, as if something was looking at me. I searched but I couldn’t see anyone on the windows. I shivered even harder.
“There is something!” Suddenly yelled Huan in terror with his high pitched voice.
I turned back immediately, but there was nothing. I couldn’t see nor hear anything.
“What’s there?” Borin replied in an agitated voice.
“I don’t know! I saw something moving. I swear!” He reaffirmed and pointed somewhere in the dark.
I looked at the pointed direction and around rapidly. There was nothing but I was feeling increasingly paranoid. I was also looking at the barricaded windows next to us. I hoped to see a familiar face, but there was nothing to see but snow.
“Let’s go home, forget about this, I wanna go home!” I almost cried.
I ignored what my friends said and began walking back home as rapidly as I could. I looked in front of my feet, trying to keep my balance on the ice.
“WAIT!” My friend yelled.
I stopped at the sound of his voice and raised my eyes… My heart stopped. There was something…
It was there a second ago, not anymore. “There really is something!” I yelled in sheer terror and stepped back. I collided into my friend that was right behind me.
“Did you see that?!” I struggled to ask.
“See what?” They asked.
Panicked and in confusion the three of us ran straight to the nearest window by reflex. I kept looking while searching with my shaking flashlight. I pointed at the direction I thought I saw something. It was useless, the light died off on the darkened snow. I then pointed at the window that was almost half buried under the snow.
“Break it!” I yelled.
“But, there’s people inside.” Borin protested.
“Break it, do it!” I ordered him to.
He kicked it with his boot, but it didn’t break. He kicked it a couple more times unsuccessfully. Meanwhile, me and Huan looked in the direction we saw the thing. I was desperately hoping to see something and not see it at once.
“It’s not breaking!” Borin was out of breath.
“We’re not that far, it’s just right there, let’s light a flare! They might see and come for us.” Huan proposed.
Without thinking, I took my bag out and quickly grabbed the red emergency flare and rushed to ignite it. It took a couple of panicked tries, ultimately the flame ignited. Even in this situation, the fire prevailed. It lit the surroundings with an alarming red light. And it was right then and there that we saw the thing. The three of us saw it clearly, yet it was indescribable. It had a misshapen form. Almost unreal while being somehow familiar. After a couple of seconds that felt like eternity. The thing backed off slowly into the dark, disappearing. Frozen in fear, the three of us remained immobile staring at the thing. It was right at the edge between the light and darkness. It was barely visible now.
After only a couple of seconds a powerful gust of wind made me loose footing. The storm was already raging anew. It came back as suddenly as it disappeared. It was already impossible to see around us. The winds were so powerful that the snow was cutting our skin on our face.
“We have to get back immediately!” Borin yelled with a muffled voice. “We barely walked any distance, the girls are right there!” He pointed somewhere up.
We ran the fastest we could. I waved the flare in the air signaling that we were in an emergency. The girls and the elders opened the window and threw down the rope. The three of us began fighting for the rope. In sheer terror and panic someone hit me in the face and I felt on the ground. I tried to get up as quickly as I could, but I slipped and fell on my back. I looked at the direction of the thing and it was still there. Right next to me, in the edge between the storm vail and my vision. It was looking at me calmly. I turned toward the rope. Borin was already halfway there and Huan was right behind him.
Iryna screamed so loudly that I heard it clearly even from down here. I didn’t waste a second and jumped at the rope.
“PULL! PULL!” We yelled in unison and suddenly, I felt my feet lift from the ground. The combined force of our neighbors managed to pull us back up. I held the rope so tightly that my hands hurt. I was repeating “Faster! Faster!” until I was back to safety. With a final pull, I fell head down first into the apartment.
“Close the window.” One of us ordered.
Everyone but me gathered at the window, trying to see the thing outside, but none managed. Whatever was out there, had already left. I remained on the floor rejoicing the safety inside. I saw it, it was directly in my line of sight. I didn’t need to confirm it. On the contrary, I wish I would doubt and eventually dismiss it. But, that would not be possible.
“Anyone seen anything?” Someone asked, confused.
“I saw something, I don’t know what it was” Iryna said terrified. “It looked… Like, I don’t know. A polar bear maybe?”
Someone laughed. “There’s no polar bears here”.
“No no, it wasn’t like a polar bear, more like a…” Iryna tried to describe it, but couldn’t.
“If it’s a polar bear, we can kill it and eat it, no?” Someone else proposed.
“No! I saw it, it was staring at us from afar, but when I ignited the flare I managed to get a good glimpse of it.” I said still on the floor. “Right when I looked at it it backed off a little and hid in the snow. It was like. An ape maybe? I don’t know how to describe it, it was disgusting. It was terrifying! A monster! I tell you!” I almost yelled while standing up painfully.
I was looking at the people’s faces, they ranged from confusion to terror and disbelief, but all were worried. Anna crouched near me and helped me to remove my coat and said quietly to me. “I believe you. I know you wouldn’t make something like that.”
“You won’t ever go outside again, you understand me!” Iryna scolded me in front of everyone.