Flash Fiction Friday

Parts of the US are currently experiencing some extremely cold temperatures that certain weather people refer to as a “Polar Abyss.” I think they name it after the trough in the system that’s allowing cold air from Canada to drop south.

Anyway, taking the phrase “Polar Abyss” as my inspiration, I came up with the following 319-word scene:

I thought I was prepared, but nothing could have prepared me for this. The snow crunched under my boots leaving deep footprints. My nose felt raw and the layers of clothing under my polar parka didn’t stop me shivering in the minus 40 degree temperature.

As I crested the hill, I made out the shape of a man in the distance, his dark clothes a vivid contrast against the empty sky and stark white landscape. While he was still a little way off, I heard his voice, muffled slightly by my hood.

“Stop there, Jackson!” he said, his arm raised. Though I couldn’t see clearly, I was under no illusion what was in his hand.

“What now?” I called back.

“A new mission.”

“But the last—?”

“Peterson finished where you left off.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just take ten paces forward.”

I hesitated, then obeyed. The man counted each step, then shouted “stop.” I’m glad he did. Just ahead was a gash in the snow that stretched both ways as far as I could see, and yawned about ten feet wide.

“I don’t understand,” I said to the man. He laughed.

“I call it ‘The Polar Abyss’,” the man said. “On the count of five, you will jump it.”

I started to object, but his gun was still aimed at my chest. On a good day, without all this heavy clothing, I could probably make it. But with my muscles seizing up and carrying this extra load, I had serious doubts.

“Abyss?”

“Yes,” he said. “No-one knows how far down it goes, or what’s at the bottom.”

“But—why?”

“To prove yourself worthy again. On the count of five…”

My heart pounded in my ears.

“One!”

Concentrate. Focus.

“Two!”

I backed up a few steps.

“Three!”

I visualized reaching the other side.

“Four!”

Don’t think about the abyss. Don’t think about the abyss.

“Five!”

I ran. I jumped…