The Unforgiving Tundra

A white haze swallows the earth. A blanket of blistering cold snow stretches farther than any man could ever see; a howling wind screeches, picking up the top layers of snow and swirling it through the sky like a barren snow globe. The smell of winter swept through the sky – a cold, smoky grey, like flavored ash from charcoal. From a distance, an arctic fox blends in perfectly with the white tundra. The pure white pelt camouflages in the snowy wind; only its beady black eyes give away its presence. With trained instincts and careful stalking, the arctic fox identifies the tall ears of a snowshoe hare. The fox gently places its paw on the icy ground, barely impacting the snow and tracing the outline of its paw print. The fox moves stealthily, traveling one paw at a time, undetected.

A loud crunch startles the hare. It looks up, twitches its nose, and then dashes away. The fox waits perfectly still, with one paw lifted in the air. It looks through the frozen haze in search of the rabbit. Suddenly, a terrifying whizzing sound cuts through the snowfall. An arrow shoots across and passes through the fox. The fox takes one final step before it falls into the snow and dies.

A thick, grey mitten grabs the arrow and yanks it out of the fox. A second mitten takes a ruined cloth and wipes the arrow of blood. The mittens place the arrow in a small quiver and removes a serrated knife, pressing it against the joint of the fox’s front paw. The knife breaks into the skin and twists around the joint, severing the paw entirely. The mitten tosses the paw to the side and continues severing the other paws.

Barely visible in the dense snowy wind, Jasper flips the dead fox on its back and pierces through the hind legs with his knife. He cuts along the ankle down to the thigh and parts the fur. He traces around the ankle and releases the skin from the leg bone; Jasper cuts around the furry tail and pulls the tail out from the skin and dislodges it. He then pulls from the hind side all the way to the front, skinning the fox, where he cuts around the head to completely remove the fur.

Jasper uses the ruined cloth to wipe his mitten of dark blood, brushing them in the snow, before he picks up the fox by the hind legs and carries the fox and pelt. He stands up, placing his right boot – which is torn at the front – in the snow, exposing his frostbitten toes. Jasper turns around – half his face is mutilated from claw marks.

Jasper sits in a niche hollowed under a mountain side, sheltering him from the roaring wind. He sits beside a fire, cooking the skewered fox. Jasper has placed his left boot on his right foot and extends it by the fire; his left foot is swaddled in a blanket and tucked into himself. Jasper finishes carving the flesh off the pelt of the arctic fox and takes the ruined cloth once more to wipe down the underside of the pelt. Jasper takes his torn boot and stuffs the fox pelt inside. He swaps the boot on his right foot back on his left, and then slides his right foot in the newly fashioned fur boot. It fits, and it’s comfortable.

Jasper looks out of the niche and into the blinding snowstorm. Somewhere out there he knows is a bear he and his brother were tracking. Jasper and Cliff entered in the frozen wasteland about a week ago, daring to brave the lethal temperatures in masculine pride. They were both competitive and always in search to one up the other; and they loved the outdoors. Cliff was particularly fond of hunting. He was a firm believer that life was not meant to be confided to four walls but experienced outdoors, and his connection to the world was never better than when he hunted. Jasper did admire how much respect Cliff had for nature, even more than his own, but his eagerness to chase and stalk animals often worried him.

Cliff saw a grizzly bear two nights ago trudging through the snowy forest, and the thought of hunting and mounting the bear excited him. Cliff decided he’d surprise Jasper by killing this bear and showing off to his brother his latest trophy. A snowstorm began rising as Cliff entered the forest and began tracking the bear. Within a minute he was spun around, having lost the trail so soon from the snowfall. A loud roar boomed from behind him – Cliff turned around and saw the bear on its hind legs with its massive paws swiping down at him.

Jasper heard the roar and then a scream that followed it. He knew his brother’s voice and grabbed his bow and darted into the blinding white haze. He called out in the forest for Cliff; the sounds of the fight were hard to hear over the growing wind. Jasper heard Cliff yell once more and ran ahead. He saw a grizzly bear standing over Cliff biting into shoulder and neck. Jasper pulled back the bow and shot the bear in the eye with an arrow. The bear growled and jolted back, and then charged towards Jasper. The bear lunged and swiped its massive paw at Jasper, slicing the side of his face. Jasper fell to the ground and groaned in pain. The bear clamped down with its ferocious jaw and pulled Jasper by his right boot. Jasper spun over as the bear’s teeth sunk into his foot and unsheathed his serrated knife. He pulled himself closer to the bear and struck him in the same eye the arrow had pierced. The bear sprung away and cried out. Jasper shot up off the snow and grabbed another arrow from his quiver, pulling back and trying to aim with one eye as blood dripped off his brow. The bear turned around and roared, speeding towards him. Jasper pulled the second arrow and shot the bear in the neck. The arrow pierced through the thick skin; the bear continued to charge and rammed through Jasper. Jasper was knocked back, tumbling into the snow as the bear ran away deep in the forest.

Jasper rolled over and stood up. He looked back and saw his brother lying in a slush of bloody snow. He hurried over and saw his brother struggling to breathe as warm blood gushed out of his neck. Cliff reached up and held Jasper’s hand; Jasper used his other hand to caress Cliff’s head. Within a few seconds, Cliff exhaled his final breath. Jasper wailed from the depths of his soul.

Jasper looks out of the niche and into the blinding snowstorm. Somewhere out there he knows is the bear that killed his brother and scarred his face. He’ll know which bear it is after he shot the bear’s right eye. Jasper takes the cooked fox meat off the skewer and eats quickly, preparing himself to avenge his brother in the tundra.

Jasper returns to the edge of the forest where he sees under a pile of snow ashen logs from Cliff’s fire they built two nights ago. Jasper sees his brother’s grave, where he had used a bundle of sticks to mark the burial like a tombstone.

Jasper knew there would be no trail to follow; the snowfall was covering up his own tracks already. Jasper removes an arrow from the quiver and held it in the bow, as he enters the forest.

The harsh scent of pine fills his nostrils as the cold air cut against his skin. The winds muffle the sounds of his steps, making it more difficult to listen for the bear. He finds the scene of the crime, where the snow had been shifted and shoveled by bodies colliding in the fight. Jasper looks around, re-gripping his bow and arrow.

He hears a faint yapping in the distance. His vision is shortened from the veil of haze and heavy snowfall, but he sees brown fur huddling beside a tree trunk. Jasper draws the bow and aims; he holds his breath. Jasper tilts the bow a few degrees left to accommodate for the strong winds. He releases the arrow with his two fingers and his thumb. The arrow rockets through the winter sky and punctures the backside of the brown animal. It yelps, groaning in a higher pitch than expected.

The animal scurries out from beside the tree and hobbles away. Jasper had shot a cub. The bear cub winces in pain and topples over in agony. The cub cries out in the snowstorm for help. Through the constant noise of the winds, a deafening roar echoes through the forest. The mama bear emerges, fiercely guarding her cub and quickly identifying the attacker. Jasper looks back at the bear and sees her right eye is gone, and a gnarly gash had swelled up around the socket. It was the same bear that killed Cliff.

The bear growls, dripping saliva off its flapping gums, daring Jasper to live another day. He withdraws a second arrow and aims at the bear, which begins sprinting at him. He releases the arrow and watches it pierce her shoulder; she cries for a moment but is too enraged to be bothered by the pain. She lungs and thrusts her paws at Jasper. Her paws dig into his shoulder as the bear tackles him into the snow. Jasper grunts as he makes impact, and then he swings his fist into the gouged eye socket of the bear. The bear groans and chomps at Jasper’s face; he thrusts his forearm into her snout, fending her away from his already mutilated face. The bear jolts back only for a moment before biting down on his forearm, slowly crushing the bone. Jasper yells, the bear begins tugging his arm and shifting Jasper back and forth in the snow. Jasper clenches his teeth uncontrollably, unable to withstand the pain. He grabs his knife beside his waist and unsheathes it. Jasper stabs the bear in the neck on the left side, stabbing her repeatedly. The bear lets go of Jasper’s arm and retreats to create distance.

Jasper stumbles to his feet, brandishing his serrated knife in the winter as the bloodied bear begins circling him. Jasper pants heavily, already exhausted and seriously wounded. The bear stands on its hind legs and roars greatly. Jasper re-grips the knife, holding it with a vise grip. The bear lands on her front paws and then gallops towards him; she raises her right paw and swipes viciously at Jasper, but he’s too quick and ducks. Jasper runs behind the bear, which tries to spin around to face him, but Jasper jumps on the bear’s back. The bear leans towards its side, trying to shake him off, and begins snapping back at him. Jasper lifts the knife in the air and drives it into the bear’s neck, just under the skull. The bear roars in horrendous pain as Jasper stakes the knife in her neck once more. The bear winces, moaning before dropping to the white earth.

Jasper jumps off and rolls in the snow. He looks up and watches the large brown coat move up and down as the bear breathes her dying breaths. Jasper plods over to the fallen beast and looks at it. He kneels down beside the bear’s head and watches her try and snag any part of his body with her teeth one last time. Jasper thrust the knife under her jaw. The bear lifts its head up, holding a terrified look of otherworldly pain, and dies.

Jasper falls back in the snow on his bottom and sits beside the slain bear. He puts his hands on his head and looks down. He thought after avenging his brother he could find peace. Instead he’s met with anger. The finality of his brother’s death was sinking in. Jasper begins to contemplate the mortality of life; not only from his brother but in this bear.

Jasper suddenly feels a row of teeth bite his back. He jumps up from the snow and sees the cub seeking to avenge its mother, fighting Jasper. Jasper steps back as the cub stands beside its dead mother and roars weakly in a small effort to intimidate him. The cub roars weakly three times before it turns and sees the lifeless eyes of its mother. It wails; Jasper knew why. He pities the cub, wishing it could fulfill its vengeance, but he walks away, leaving the cub in the unforgiving tundra.