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“Winterfall: The Dark Mile” by Lauren Rivers (read by Solomon Harries, part 1 of 2)
En route to a salvage mission deep within the Alaskan wilderness, the train passes through a massive deadzone nicknamed ‘The Dark Mile’.
Tonight’s story is the first of two parts of “Winterfall: The Dark Mile” by Lauren Rivers, Author of Blue Moon by Iridescence Studios, and you can find more of her stories on Furaffinity.
Read by Solomon Harries, a Cuddly Badger Dad.
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https://thevoice.dog/episode/winterfall-the-dark-mile-by-lauren-rivers-part-1-of-2
Transcript
You’re listening to The Ghost of Dog on The Voice of Dog.
Speaker:This is Rob MacWolf, your fellow traveler,
Speaker:and Tonight’s story is the first of two parts of
Speaker:“Winterfall: The Dark Mile”
Speaker:by Lauren Rivers, Author of Blue Moon by Iridescence Studios,
Speaker:and you can find more of her stories on Furaffinity.
Speaker:Read by Solomon Harries,
Speaker:a Cuddly Badger Dad.
Speaker:It has been claimed that the shortest
Speaker:possible horror story reads as follows: the last person
Speaker:in the world sat
Speaker:in a room. There was a knock on the door. In assessment of that claim, an elaboration:
Speaker:for ‘a room’ substitute a locomotive and its train, for the ‘last person’,
Speaker:her crew, for the ‘world,’ a landscape
Speaker:cold and uninhabitable. In terms of a
Speaker:knock on the door we,
Speaker:like the crew, will have to see what can be scavenged.
Speaker:Please enjoy “Winterfall: The Dark
Speaker:Mile” by Lauren Rivers, Part 1 of 2
Speaker:Snow collected on the windows as the train pushed through the Arctic Circle.
Speaker:Her destination was a waypoint somewhere in the distant north
Speaker:which according to their information represented a possible stockpile of resources.
Speaker:Limited to data stored in the computer before the Freeze, the records were often incomplete and limited to what was known to the company that built it.
Speaker:Nevertheless, it was deemed a significant enough possibility to warrant an expedition into the frozen landscape of the former region known as Alaska.
Speaker:While cold was nothing new, it seemed to have tightened its grip on everything this far north,
Speaker:with no signs of life and even fewer signs of civilization.
Speaker:Even before the disaster there were few people who had chosen to live this far from the rest of the world.
Speaker:Yet perhaps that was why this location had been chosen for a surplus depot, someplace where the riches of the world before could be tucked away safely for when they were needed,
Speaker:although it was unlikely they ever anticipated what happened.
Speaker:Everyone knew about the disaster that had turned the world into a gigantic snow globe.
Speaker:While there were competing theories as to its origin what was not in dispute was the fact that the world was held in the vice grip of perpetual winter.
Speaker:Those that had survived this long had learned to adapt or had the good fortune to be in one of the few safe zones, such as they were.
Speaker:Ellie had been born in such a place, one of the few green spaces still known to exist.
Speaker:She had grown up on stories of what was out there and had the curiosity to want to see for herself.
Speaker:Adjusting her uniform in the windows’ reflection, she suddenly became aware of approaching footsteps.
Speaker:“Come to look at the snow angels?” he asked.
Speaker:The voice belonged to the train’s head of security,
Speaker:Lieutenant Hall. “Excuse me?”
Speaker:Her ears perked up in confusion.
Speaker:He chuckled at himself.
Speaker:“It’s a bit of an initiation of sorts around here.
Speaker:This is your first tour, isn’t it?”
Speaker:The zebra tilted his head towards the shorter hare.
Speaker:“It is,” she confirmed.
Speaker:“I thought so. You had that look about you.
Speaker:Lieutenant Hall.” He reached out his hand.
Speaker:Shaking it, she offered a slight smile. “Ensign
Speaker:Harper.” She glanced back out the window.
Speaker:“You were saying?”
Speaker:He nodded. “Ah yes.
Speaker:Any time we get this far north there tends to be a phenomenon we call snow angels.
Speaker:Really, it’s just snow blowing around out there but every so often you can see a wisp of something,
Speaker:but only for a second.”
Speaker:Ellie leaned close to the glass, watching the flurries dance around in the inhospitable cold.
Speaker:Just when she was about to stop looking, she saw what
Speaker:for a moment, looked like a humanoid figure in the nothingness.
Speaker:And just like that,
Speaker:it was gone. Turning sharply towards him, she glanced back at the window but where there was that barely perceptible shape, now there was nothing.
Speaker:“See?” He pointed towards the horizon.
Speaker:“No one knows what causes it or how to explain it.
Speaker:The first few times we were up here people thought folks were imagining things,
Speaker:but at this point enough of us have seen them that we kind of consider them our good luck charms.”
Speaker:“Are they alive?” Ellie asked.
Speaker:“Damned if I know. I’m not even sure they’re anything more than bored military officers looking for something to occupy their imaginations.
Speaker:It gets awfully quiet out here in the white sometimes.”
Speaker:Lieutenant Hall shrugged.
Speaker:“Anyway, whatever they are,
Speaker:they don’t show up on any detection equipment and they’re never there for more than an instant.”
Speaker:Ellie looked back but no matter how hard she searched, they refused to appear.
Speaker:Giving up, she turned back to the zebra.
Speaker:“Has anyone ever gone looking?”
Speaker:“Sure, plenty of times.
Speaker:But no matter what we do there’s never anything out there when we check. It’s like they’re ghosts.”
Speaker:Hall leaned against the window.
Speaker:“Some say they’re people that didn’t make it out of the freeze.
Speaker:Others think they’re our punishment for whatever caused the disaster.
Speaker:Me personally, I think they’re just interested in us.”
Speaker:“For what?” the young snowshoe hare questioned.
Speaker:Lieutenant Hall tossed up his hands.
Speaker:“Maybe they just want someone to talk to.”
Speaker:He gestured towards the front of the train.
Speaker:“Captain Mallory wants us in the engine. We’re approaching the Dark Mile.”
Speaker:Again looking up at her superior, she tilted her head.
Speaker:“What’s the Dark Mile?”
Speaker:“Up ahead is a sort of dead zone we pass through every time we take the tracks in this direction.
Speaker:Covering an area over five hundred miles square, electrical signals are unable to penetrate the bubble through any known technology we have.
Speaker:have.” Ellie paused. “Then that means…”
Speaker:“Exactly, once we get in there, we’re on our own.”
Speaker:He urged her forward.
Speaker:“Now come on, the captain is waiting.”
Speaker:The two walked the rest of the way to the forward cars without comment.
Speaker:Ellie had heard there were a fair amount of legends that came from serving on the train,
Speaker:but now she was about to encounter two in as many hours.
Speaker:As they passed into the situation car
Speaker:she cast one more glance at the window looking to see if any snow angels traveled alongside the train.
Speaker:To her disappointment,
Speaker:there was nothing.
Speaker:The forward cars were all assigned to train and mission operations.
Speaker:Having only served on the train for a matter of weeks she had never been this far forward before.
Speaker:Following Lieutenant Hall, she kept her head down as she walked past the various officers going about their duties.
Speaker:Entering the engine, she held her breath as she stepped inside for the first time.
Speaker:Shrouded in subdued light,
Speaker:the bridge was dark save for the lights emanating from the control consoles
Speaker:and a few accent lights along the ceiling.
Speaker:Standing behind her zebra superior officer she waited for someone to give her an order.
Speaker:“Captain Mallory, Lieutenant Hall and Ensign Harper reporting as ordered,”
Speaker:he said without preamble.
Speaker:“Take your stations,”
Speaker:the red panda commanded.
Speaker:Seated on opposite sides of the engine, Ellie and Lieutenant Hall examined the readouts on their respective consoles.
Speaker:From what she could tell,
Speaker:the train was set to enter the dead zone in a matter of minutes.
Speaker:Uncertain what to expect, she ran a systems diagnostic to confirm everything was operating at maximum efficiency. Mallory observed from behind, placing a paw on her chair.
Speaker:“Prepare to send a status update back to the Garden.”
Speaker:He glanced towards the forward window.
Speaker:“The moment we pass into the Dark Mile we’ll be out of contact until we come out the other side.”
Speaker:“Yes, sir,” she replied.
Speaker:Preparing the information packet, she collected all of the status reports and relevant information, compressing and encrypting the data for transmission.
Speaker:Once she was finished, she held her finger over the button.
Speaker:“Transmission ready.”
Speaker:“Send,” he ordered. A moment later the button was pressed and the information was on its way.
Speaker:It was the last message the train would send for quite a while.
Speaker:All the crew members in the engine looked up as the lights flickered and the train shook slightly upon passing into the dead zone.
Speaker:Lieutenant Hall activated the timer.
Speaker:“Four point six hours until we emerge from the Dark Mile.”
Speaker:“All right, ladies and gentlemen, until then we’re on our own.
Speaker:Monitor all sensors and report anything unusual.”
Speaker:He paced the length of the engine,
Speaker:examining all of their consoles as he made his circuit around the command area.
Speaker:The sensors continued to record data,
Speaker:but it appeared that whichever side of the dead zone it was on, it did not seem to be able to penetrate to the other.
Speaker:Moreover, it was almost as if the readings she was getting were not coherent at all.
Speaker:Ellie ran additional diagnostics, but no matter how many times she attempted to correct the output,
Speaker:it seemed to return the same anomalous results.
Speaker:From the diagnostics the computer repeatedly insisted that all systems were operating normally.
Speaker:Perplexed, she attempted to conduct another scan.
Speaker:Once again, she could not explain what she was seeing.
Speaker:“Lieutenant Hall, my console appears to be malfunctioning,”
Speaker:she said, at a loss for any sort of explanation.
Speaker:Turning around, he tilted his head.
Speaker:“What’s wrong?” “The sensors keep returning some unusual inputs. I can’t explain it,” she replied.
Speaker:He nodded, understanding.
Speaker:“The sensors don’t seem to work right in here.
Speaker:It’s tough to rely on anything more than a few miles from the train.
Speaker:Don’t worry. It’s not your console.”
Speaker:Her question answered for the moment, she returned to her readings.
Speaker:Still perplexed, she continued to run regular sensor sweeps of the area around the train,
Speaker:but as he had suggested,
Speaker:the readings became more peculiar and unreliable the greater the distance from the train’s location.
Speaker:Attempts to improve the sensor resolution failed to make much more than a marginal improvement in the readings she was getting
Speaker:no matter what she did to increase their effectiveness. * * *
Speaker:The next hour or so passed slowly with very little worth reporting.
Speaker:Her sensors were practically useless as long as they were traveling within the Dark Mile,
Speaker:but even so she continued to remain alert for potential threats.
Speaker:Yet every scan continued to return the same readings,
Speaker:with unusual anomalies she could only describe as sensor ghosts.
Speaker:Things would appear from time to time for a moment,
Speaker:and the next would be in a completely different location.
Speaker:Every time she would attempt to confirm her readings, they would never return the same results.
Speaker:Ellie thought back to what Lieutenant Hall had told her earlier about the snow angels.
Speaker:Perhaps they were playing tricks on her.
Speaker:She imagined they were little more than sentient beings searching for patterns in the chaos,
Speaker:like how people found constellations in the stars,
Speaker:but nevertheless
Speaker:one could not deny the unusual phenomenon was captivating.
Speaker:When she had caught a glimpse of one, she had almost thought she could make out the shape of a muzzle,
Speaker:but it had come and gone so quickly she had dismissed
Speaker:it as little more than a random occurrence.
Speaker:From what she had found in the computer logs,
Speaker:some people believed they were actual spirits,
Speaker:while others dismissed the stories as superstition,
Speaker:but no matter what side you were on,
Speaker:the fact that they seemed to follow the train through areas such as this
Speaker:lent credence to some rather unusual theories.
Speaker:Whatever they were,
Speaker:it was the only excuse she could provide at the moment for the confusing readings she was seeing.
Speaker:She was about to run yet another pointless sensor sweep when her console lit up indicating an incoming transmission.
Speaker:In her boredom she almost glossed over it,
Speaker:but the realization of the lit indicator snapped her back into focus.
Speaker:Ellie double checked her readings but could find no indication that this was anything other than what it appeared.
Speaker:Looking up to find the red panda over her shoulder, she offered her report.
Speaker:“Captain, we’ve detected a transmission.”
Speaker:“Here? In the middle of the dead zone?” Lieutenant Hall asked, turning around in surprise.
Speaker:Captain Mallory folded his arms and gestured to Ellie.
Speaker:“Let’s hear it.” Reaching for the flashing button, she activated the speaker.
Speaker:It crackled to life as a voice called out from the darkness. “This is Ryan Parry reaching out on the emergency channel. My family and several others have taken refuge in a scientific research station somewhere in northern Alaska. Several of our group are ill and require medical attention. Our supplies are limited and we don’t have
Speaker:a lot of time.
Speaker:If you’re out there,
Speaker:we need your help. Please send your response on this same frequency,”
Speaker:a male voice stated before dissolving into static.
Speaker:Every eye was on her at the same time.
Speaker:Ellie silenced the volume as the message started over.
Speaker:“There’s nothing else. The message keeps looping.”
Speaker:“Can you localize the source of the signal?”
Speaker:Mallory asked. “I’m trying, but in this soup it’s hard to tell much of anything,”
Speaker:Ellie replied. “Can you even get me a direction?”
Speaker:The red panda leaned forward.
Speaker:Her ears perking up she gave a hesitant confirmation.
Speaker:“I can narrow it down to a general area but it’s scattering every time I try to determine its point of origin.”
Speaker:Captain Mallory nodded. “Open a channel.”
Speaker:He paused a moment and then spoke.
Speaker:“This is Captain Owen Mallory responding to your distress call.
Speaker:We are attempting to locate you but are unable to identify your precise location.
Speaker:Please respond with your current status. Over.”
Speaker:Another moment of silence.
Speaker:Ellie looked down to confirm her readings.
Speaker:“They are receiving, but I’m still not getting anything other than the same message over and over again.”
Speaker:The red panda rubbed his chin,
Speaker:his ears flattening in hesitation.
Speaker:“What’s our current position?”
Speaker:Calling up the train’s coordinates, the map displayed on the largest of Lieutenant Hall’s screens.
Speaker:“Right smack in the middle of the dead zone.”
Speaker:“Ensign Harper, what’s your best guess as to their current coordinates?” he asked.
Speaker:“Based on records we have from before the disaster I do pick up a scientific research station somewhere north of our current position
Speaker:but we can’t reach it with the train.
Speaker:We’d have to get close and go the rest of the way on the snowmobiles.”
Speaker:She pointed at the indicated coordinates.
Speaker:The station was deep in the upper regions of Alaska.
Speaker:While there was nothing in the records indicating its purpose it was large enough to support a small contingent of researchers for a prolonged period of time,
Speaker:likely just in case there was a delay in getting supplies up there.
Speaker:Most likely the station was equipped with several emergency power generators
Speaker:and other supplementary systems designed to last.
Speaker:While it was never intended to be any sort of lifeboat, if you were stranded out in Alaska and needed someplace to stay,
Speaker:a place like that would pretty much be heaven.
Speaker:Captain Mallory lowered his muzzle in contemplation.
Speaker:“Opinions?” Lieutenant Hall folded his arms.
Speaker:“I don’t know. The fact that we’re not getting a response could indicate there’s no one there to answer.”
Speaker:“There could be any number of reasons why they didn’t reply to our hail,”
Speaker:Ellie said. Seated at the front of the bridge was the only member of the group who hadn’t spoken yet.
Speaker:A blonde feline dressed in the train’s standard duty uniform
Speaker:she had been the primary pilot of the train for the last several years.
Speaker:Turning away from her controls, she looked at each member of the group.
Speaker:“Based on Ensign Harper’s coordinates I can probably get us close enough that we can pinpoint the exact location of the signal from the train,
Speaker:but we have no way of notifying the Garden of our delay.”
Speaker:“If we go to investigate the signal, Captain, it’ll put us behind by at least twelve hours.”
Speaker:He shrugged. “It’s your call.”
Speaker:Although their primary directive was for salvage operations it was always up to the Captain’s discretion for any other situations that were to arise.
Speaker:Given the distance and the time it often took to receive a response from the Garden
Speaker:it was deemed impractical to run every decision through command.
Speaker:While there would be some trepidation if the train was late emerging from the dead zone,
Speaker:distress calls were fairly rare events and more often than not
Speaker:a potential source for supplies, personnel, or information.
Speaker:Indeed, most of the intelligence the train collected was from its own observations.
Speaker:On the rare occasions when they picked up refugees
Speaker:they sometimes had information on settlements, caches of supplies,
Speaker:or other things that the train logged in its journeys across the ice.
Speaker:Finally, Captain Mallory nodded.
Speaker:“All right, I think it’s worth looking into.
Speaker:Lisa, change course.
Speaker:Harper, keep monitoring for any changes in the signal.
Speaker:Lieutenant Hall, I want you to lead the recovery team.” “Aye,
Speaker:sir,” he replied. This was the first of two parts of
Speaker:“Winterfall: The Dark Mile”
Speaker:by Lauren Rivers,
Speaker:read for you by Solomon Harries,
Speaker:cuddly badger dad. Tune in next time
Speaker:to find out what awaits at the end
Speaker:of the Dark Mile.
Speaker:As always, you can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,
Speaker:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker:Thank you for listening
Speaker:to The Ghost of Dog.
