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“Winterfall: The Dark Mile” by Lauren Rivers (read by Solomon Harries, part 2 of 2)
Picking up a distress call in the middle of the dead zone, the train has no choice but to indulge their curiosity and investigate.
Tonight’s story is the second and final part 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-2-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
Speaker:is the second and final part of
Speaker:“Winterfall: the Dark Mile”
Speaker:by Lauren Rivers, Author
Speaker:of Blue Moon by Iridescence Studios,
Speaker:and you can find more of her stories
Speaker:on Furaffinity. Read by Solomon Harries,
Speaker:a Cuddly Badger Dad. Regarding our previous introduction, an addendum. While some
Speaker:read the world’s shortest horror as
Speaker:‘The last person in the world sat in a room,
Speaker:there was a knock on the door,’ others
Speaker:have maintained its true form should instead read:
Speaker:“There was a lock
Speaker:on the door.” A question, perhaps, of the difference
Speaker:between the absence of something which should be there, and the
Speaker:presence of something which should not. Last time,
Speaker:the train encountered a distress signal in the middle of a massive dead zone.
Speaker:Intrigued by the impossibility, they have gone to investigate.
Speaker:Whether what they have discovered constitutes a lock on the door,
Speaker:or a knock, we leave to your interpretation.
Speaker:Please enjoy “Winterfall:
Speaker:The Dark Mile” by Lauren Rivers, Part 2 of 2 Lisa pressed several controls, purring gently before she spoke.
Speaker:“We’ll be approaching the switching station in two minutes.
Speaker:Estimated arrival in two hours.”
Speaker:“Notify me when we get close,”
Speaker:Mallory said. “Understood.”
Speaker:The captain returned his attention to Ellie’s station.
Speaker:“Continue to transmit our signal every fifteen minutes.
Speaker:Maybe we’ll get lucky and someone there will notice.”
Speaker:He did not wait for a response,
Speaker:instead returning to his regular circuit of the engine.
Speaker:Ellie listened to the distress signal again,
Speaker:knowing full well that there was little more to be gained from the act.
Speaker:Yet somehow she found it comforting to listen to the call for help,
Speaker:as if by doing so she was aiding the desperate Mister Parry and his group.
Speaker:And perhaps she was.
Speaker:There was little hope out on the ice that anyone would answer such a call,
Speaker:and even if it was received that they would have the will and the means to do something about it.
Speaker:Most of those out there would be more likely to steal any supplies you had and kill you for your trouble,
Speaker:meaning it was a supreme act of faith to call for help
Speaker:when there were raiders and other groups roaming the ice fighting for their own survival
Speaker:with little concern for the plight of their fellow sentient creatures.
Speaker:The vast frozen expanse was a dangerous place,
Speaker:with the very environment itself set against you.
Speaker:Those that had survived the intervening years since the disaster had done so with whatever resources were at their disposal.
Speaker:With limited options and supplies constantly at a premium,
Speaker:it tended to mean that those who lasted this long intended to continue doing so by any means necessary.
Speaker:Those who lacked the strength to defend themselves from larger more predatory groups tended to find themselves in an icy grave.
Speaker:Most likely Ryan Parry and his family had been trying to reach a nearby settlement.
Speaker:At some point during their journey, one of their group must have fallen ill,
Speaker:necessitating the search for shelter in the hopes of keeping as many of them alive as possible.
Speaker:Out of options, they came across a research station with a functional radio.
Speaker:Likely he had passed out following his recording of the message.
Speaker:The odds of finding them were slim,
Speaker:and Ellie did not even want to contemplate the alternative.
Speaker:She continued the hail,
Speaker:hoping that someone would respond.
Speaker:Traveling through the dead zone,
Speaker:the determined snowshoe hare continued to run sensor sweeps in between her efforts to establish communications.
Speaker:Examining the readouts, she looked at the screen again.
Speaker:The signal was steady,
Speaker:but the nature of the dead zone meant it was difficult to get more specific than that.
Speaker:Attempts to filter the results through the various capabilities the train had at its disposal proved similarly useless,
Speaker:as every new method she tried to narrow down its location
Speaker:seemed to only provide more inconclusive results.
Speaker:A loud metal clack, muffled by the snow and wind and the hull of the train indicated they had switched tracks.
Speaker:Moments later Ellie felt the massive vehicle shift directions and continue closer towards their destination.
Speaker:Thirty minutes passed taking them ever deeper into the dead zone.
Speaker:Though it always made Ellie nervous to be blind without even the sensors to warn them of danger
Speaker:she knew that sometimes one had little choice in the matter.
Speaker:While their technology was generally more than a match for most things they found out here,
Speaker:the train was not invulnerable.
Speaker:She ran another scan,
Speaker:pausing as she attempted to confirm her readings.
Speaker:“Captain, the signal’s getting weaker.”
Speaker:“Any response from Mister Parry?” he asked.
Speaker:“Negative, I’m still only getting the emergency signal.”
Speaker:Lieutenant Hall spun around in his chair.
Speaker:“Captain, I’m picking up something else out there.”
Speaker:“Another distress call?” he asked.
Speaker:“I don’t think so. This one is more like a heat signature moving out there,”
Speaker:the zebra declared. “Analysis?” he asked, although Ellie did not expect he would have much information with the interference.
Speaker:Her guess proved correct as Lieutenant Hall shrugged.
Speaker:“It keeps appearing and disappearing.
Speaker:I can’t tell what it is but it’s large enough to be a raider APC.”
Speaker:The zebra indicated the intermittent signal on his display.
Speaker:After the freeze, a number of groups had taken to surviving by commandeering armored personnel carriers and using them as mobile bases,
Speaker:attacking smaller convoys
Speaker:and those unfortunate enough to cross their paths.
Speaker:Though they tended to be around larger cities there were several that roamed the frozen wasteland in search of less well defended targets.
Speaker:Though rarely more than twenty people they were often well armed and brutal.
Speaker:Encountering them had resulted in more than a fair amount of dead travelers.
Speaker:Though they presented no danger to the train on their own,
Speaker:where there was one there were often more,
Speaker:and a single drop of blood tended to encourage them to gather.
Speaker:“Any idea as to its direction?”
Speaker:he asked. The zebra shook his head and snorted.
Speaker:“Negative, sir. The signal keeps bouncing from place to place.
Speaker:Now it could be the Dark Mile, or…” “Or there could be more than one of them,”
Speaker:the captain finished.
Speaker:“Ellie, any luck narrowing down that signal?”
Speaker:“I’m still having trouble locating its exact position.”
Speaker:She ran another scan.
Speaker:“The signal is barely readable at present. I don’t think I can narrow it down any further.”
Speaker:Captain Mallory frowned.
Speaker:If there were raiders hunting them it would make it that much more imperative they not remain in the area any longer than necessary.
Speaker:If it was just a ghost signal,
Speaker:they would be potentially running from nothing.
Speaker:Ellie knew if the danger was too significant, the captain might choose to abandon the mercy mission,
Speaker:but it was difficult to be certain of anything in the Dark Mile.
Speaker:The red panda considered their situation.
Speaker:“Lisa, what’s our best route if we need to get out of here?”
Speaker:Purring, she shook her head.
Speaker:“Captain, at this point it’s faster if we continue on our current course than trying to go back the way we came.
Speaker:If we attempt to reverse our direction it’ll take significantly longer.”
Speaker:He wrinkled his muzzle.
Speaker:“Ellie, narrow down the source of that signal.
Speaker:I don’t want to spend a second more in here than I have to.”
Speaker:You’re not the only one.
Speaker:Returning her attention to the readouts,
Speaker:she brought up the tactical overlay from Hall’s station.
Speaker:Whatever was out there, it was getting closer.
Speaker:She nervously watched the red indicator as it faded in and out,
Speaker:always being in a different location every time it disappeared.
Speaker:She looked down at her screen noticing she had an incoming message.
Speaker:Bringing it up, she paused.
Speaker:Help us, it said. Typing in a response, she sent her reply. ‘Where
Speaker:are you?’ The indicator reported she had a new message.
Speaker:Nearby. Not sure where.
Speaker:She looked up at the others.
Speaker:None of them had noticed the messages.
Speaker:She opened her mouth but then paused.
Speaker:Wherever they were coming from,
Speaker:it had to be from Ryan Parry’s group.
Speaker:She knew that in the event the signal degraded,
Speaker:text messages took less than most other forms of transmission.
Speaker:She looked up as the hostile indicator moved again.
Speaker:“Captain, the raider signal. We’re picking up more of them from the west,”
Speaker:Lieutenant Hall stated.
Speaker:“Distance,” he called out.
Speaker:The zebra returned his attention to his display.
Speaker:“Estimated thirty minutes to intercept.”
Speaker:“I need a better estimate than that, Mister Hall.”
Speaker:“Best I can do in the dead zone, sir,”
Speaker:he replied. Lisa hissed and bared her claws against the smooth surface of her console.
Speaker:“We can’t even be sure that’s what they are.”
Speaker:“No, but I’m not taking the chance. Options?”
Speaker:the red panda asked.
Speaker:The Siamese cat shook her head.
Speaker:“We can change course at the next switching station.”
Speaker:“Do it,” he ordered.
Speaker:Ellie looked down at the display and saw yet another message.
Speaker:Are you on your way?
Speaker:“Captain, while I am still having trouble narrowing down the signal I may have a lead on Mister Parry.
Speaker:I think I’m picking up a transmission from somewhere, text only.
Speaker:It’s stronger than the audio message and increasing.”
Speaker:In other words, they were getting closer.
Speaker:The red panda nodded.
Speaker:“Give all your data to Miss Turner and Lieutenant Hall.
Speaker:At least it’ll guide us in the right direction.
Speaker:direction.” Lieutenant Hall frowned. “Sir, I’m picking up more raider signals. They’re trying to flank us.”
Speaker:“Any in our current path?” he asked.
Speaker:“Not so far.” He pressed a control on his console and changed the scan mode.
Speaker:“Hold on, I’m picking up something approaching from thirty degrees port.
Speaker:port.” Lisa pressed the intercom switch.
Speaker:“All personnel, prepare for course correction.”
Speaker:With that, she switched the train onto another track, and once again that same metal clank.
Speaker:She twitched her whiskers.
Speaker:“Course correction complete.”
Speaker:Ellie paused, sending another message in response. ‘We
Speaker:can’t find you.’
Speaker:Another moment. Follow the angels.
Speaker:A moment of hesitation.
Speaker:Ellie activated the external cameras and paused as three snow angels appeared at once,
Speaker:dancing in a circle before dissipating.
Speaker:Another moment and a fourth formed just long enough to appear to gesture.
Speaker:Logic told her they were just tricks of the imagination, like a mirage or other illusion. Yet one could not deny that they seemed too close to alive to be just a simple natural phenomenon.
Speaker:Or maybe it was just the dead zone, playing tricks with her mind.
Speaker:After all, anything could happen in the Dark Mile.
Speaker:She turned around to look at the others.
Speaker:No one else seemed to be interested in the wisps of snow that moved around them.
Speaker:Ellie looked again at the screen before her.
Speaker:As if calling to her,
Speaker:they pulled away from the train and darted off towards the northeast.
Speaker:“Lieutenant Hall. Scan northeast of our position.”
Speaker:His tactical sensors were more likely to cut through the interference than her own.
Speaker:A moment later, he nodded.
Speaker:“I’ve got something. It looks like a structure, small, but with an active power signature.”
Speaker:He brought it up on the other screens.
Speaker:“That’s got to be our research station. Can you get us any closer?”
Speaker:he asked. Lisa nodded.
Speaker:“I can get you within two miles of it.”
Speaker:Captain Mallory looked to Lieutenant Hall.
Speaker:“Get going, and don’t waste any time.
Speaker:There and back, you hear me?” “Yes,
Speaker:sir.” “We have less than fifteen minutes before those raiders catch up to us,” Captain Mallory said.
Speaker:With that, Lieutenant Hall tapped Ellie on the shoulder as they made their way to the snowmobiles.
Speaker:If she had thought it was hard to find their way in the Dark Mile it was even worse when you were outside the train.
Speaker:Pulling away it was not less than a minute before she lost sight of the massive vehicle.
Speaker:It was only due to her orientation in relation to the zebra she could stay on course.
Speaker:Through the flurries she could almost swear she saw more of the snow angels dancing beside them.
Speaker:From the flakes of white,
Speaker:a shape of a person would appear just long enough to be recognizable by her brain before dissipating like a mote of dust.
Speaker:Ellie shook her head but every time one appeared it was gone a second or two later,
Speaker:but no matter how many she saw they never abandoned them all the way to the research station.
Speaker:The team slowed as the four snowmobiles came to a stop just outside a small metal structure half buried in the snow.
Speaker:The door was clear having been on the opposite side of the wind.
Speaker:It was a few small modular compartments likely deposited here by helicopter some time before the freeze.
Speaker:Whatever their original purpose,
Speaker:it now served as a sanctuary for wayward travelers.
Speaker:Ellie climbed off her snowmobile and drew her weapon.
Speaker:Cautiously she approached the door and waited for a nod from Lieutenant Hall before pulling it open to enter.
Speaker:The hatch resisted, being partially frozen shut.
Speaker:With all of her strength she pulled the door open and took a step inside.
Speaker:The air was cold and still,
Speaker:with a thin layer of frost covering everything.
Speaker:Placing her booted foot paw inside the
Speaker:thin layer of cold crunched beneath her steps.
Speaker:Her ears perked up listening for sounds of life.
Speaker:Breathing, heartbeats,
Speaker:anything. Lieutenant Hall’s hooves clacked gently on the frozen floor.
Speaker:Behind her he entered the room,
Speaker:which appeared to be little more than an airlock of sorts.
Speaker:Hooks and lockers for heavy winter gear lined the walls with a pair of benches inside.
Speaker:Moving beyond the room,
Speaker:he followed Ellie into the main habitation chamber.
Speaker:The central node to the small research station, this section housed what appeared to be the living area.
Speaker:Couches, a few chairs, and assorted personal items on low tables
Speaker:made up the center of the space.
Speaker:The walls were lined with a pair of restrooms,
Speaker:a kitchen area, and doors leading off to the other compartments.
Speaker:Identified by a small sign opposite from where they had just entered,
Speaker:the radio room stood just beyond the kitchen. “Mister
Speaker:Parry?” Ellie called out.
Speaker:“Is anyone here?” Hall asked,
Speaker:while the other two members of their team kept watch by the entrance.
Speaker:Her ears raised, she could hear the faintest sound of a voice coming from up ahead.
Speaker:Her heart raced as she approached the door,
Speaker:pulling it open with the crack of shattering ice,
Speaker:with bits of snow falling onto the ground. Ellie stood in the doorway, motionless, as she beheld the sight in front of her.
Speaker:Her breath caught in her throat.
Speaker:With the door open, she could now hear what the voice was saying. “This is
Speaker:Ryan Parry reaching out on the emergency channel.
Speaker:My family and several others have taken refuge in a scientific research station somewhere in northern Alaska.
Speaker:Several of our group are ill and require medical attention.
Speaker:Our supplies are limited and we don’t have a lot of time.
Speaker:If you’re out there,
Speaker:we need your help.
Speaker:Please send your response on this same frequency,”
Speaker:a male voice stated before dissolving into static.
Speaker:The message began again.
Speaker:Lieutenant Hall walked up to where she stood and whinnied curiously.
Speaker:“Any survivors?” Ellie shook her head.
Speaker:“No. All that’s here are ghosts.”
Speaker:She stepped forward and flipped the switch,
Speaker:shutting the radio transmission off and ending the decades old call for help that would never come.
Speaker:“They never survived the Freeze.”
Speaker:Dressed in a heavy blue coat, his left arm wrapped around his son,
Speaker:the wolf lay frozen in his final position.
Speaker:Ice frosted his exposed fur making him seem so brittle
Speaker:she feared he might shatter if she touched him.
Speaker:His other arm lay inches away from the switch that had since the days of their arrival
Speaker:sent his pleading voice into the frozen wasteland.
Speaker:Strapped around his wrist was a wristwatch,
Speaker:frozen forever with the date it had stopped.
Speaker:“Your long night has ended.”
Speaker:A small collection of bodies huddled nearby,
Speaker:their clothes indicating they had been here for decades.
Speaker:Frightened and desperate,
Speaker:they had fled a world gone mad in the hopes that someone would come to save them in their darkest hour.
Speaker:It was a call that would never be answered.
Speaker:Lieutenant Hall’s radio sprung to life. “Hall, we need
Speaker:you back on the train. Those signals are closing in on us,”
Speaker:Captain Mallory’s voice stated.
Speaker:“We need to go.” The zebra touched her arm.
Speaker:Ellie nodded. She turned to leave,
Speaker:pausing as she felt a paw on her arm.
Speaker:Turning back she saw no signs of life,
Speaker:but an object on the floor caught her eye.
Speaker:Reaching down, she picked up a small journal, brown and beautifully bound,
Speaker:one of the few items carried by its once loving owner.
Speaker:“Harper, move your tail!”
Speaker:Hall shouted, shattering her reverie.
Speaker:With a nod, she tucked it into her pocket and followed. * * *
Speaker:With the team on board, the train surged forward carrying them towards the edge of the dead zone and out of the Dark Mile.
Speaker:Seated in the mess hall,
Speaker:Ellie flipped through the journal looking at the handwritten words once recorded during days long past.
Speaker:They told the story of a wolf once living happily with his friends and neighbors and the dreams he had for his children.
Speaker:He wrote of the day the snow started, and his journey to seek salvation.
Speaker:His last entry told of his hope that one day the snow would end,
Speaker:and that someone would bring back the world as it used to be.
Speaker:Her paw on the cover, she was so engrossed in her reflection upon its contents,
Speaker:she did not notice when Lieutenant Hall approached from behind.
Speaker:“Cocoa for your thoughts,” he said,
Speaker:offering her a saucer
Speaker:with a steaming cup of hot brown liquid. Ellie shook her head.
Speaker:“I don’t know what to think.”
Speaker:She accepted the drink, setting it on the table between them.
Speaker:“I talked to him. I did.”
Speaker:“The chief engineer checked the system inside and out.
Speaker:There was absolutely no record of any messages other than that initial transmission,” he said.
Speaker:“I’m not imagining things. I saw those messages.”
Speaker:She flattened her ears.
Speaker:Hall held up a hand.
Speaker:“I believe you. But the computer has no evidence that we ever received them.
Speaker:Diagnostics showed nothing wrong with any of the equipment so whatever it was…”
Speaker:“What? Are you telling me that those were ghosts back there talking to us?” she asked.
Speaker:The zebra shook his head.
Speaker:“I have no idea. All I know is somehow we picked up a forty year old distress call
Speaker:in the middle of the dead zone and it led us to that,”
Speaker:he said, pointing at the journal.
Speaker:“What’s in it?” “Stories. Hopes.
Speaker:Dreams.” She shrugged.
Speaker:“It’s everything he wanted to take with him from the world before…
Speaker:this.” Ellie gestured at the frozen landscape outside the window.
Speaker:“He didn’t deserve to be forgotten.”
Speaker:Hall shook his head.
Speaker:“He wasn’t. Not anymore.
Speaker:Thanks to you.” He shrugged.
Speaker:“I don’t know if this was ghosts or the snow angels or anything else,
Speaker:but whatever it was, it was more than just coincidence.”
Speaker:Ellie took a sip of the hot cocoa.
Speaker:“What about those raider signals that were chasing us?”
Speaker:Offering a shrug, he threw up his hands in surrender.
Speaker:“Gone, just like the messages.
Speaker:The moment we left the Dark Mile behind, it was as if they’d never been out there in the first place. Funny thing is, we probably never would have found the station without them guiding us in the right direction.”
Speaker:He shrugged again.
Speaker:“Get some sleep. We’ve got a long way to go before our job’s done.”
Speaker:Patting her on the shoulder, he nodded and walked away.
Speaker:Looking down at Ryan Parry’s last thoughts, she ran her hand across the journal
Speaker:and imagined him standing before her.
Speaker:With a nod, he disappeared through the wall of the train.
Speaker:Keep searching. As long as you keep looking,
Speaker:you never know what you will find.
Speaker:This was the second and final part of “Winterfall:
Speaker:The Dark Mile” by Lauren Rivers,
Speaker:read for you by Solomon Harries,
Speaker:cuddly badger dad.
Speaker:As always, you can find more stories on the web
Speaker:at thevoice.dog,
Speaker:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker:Thank you for listening
Speaker:to The Ghost of Dog.
