Back From Living Under The Ice

My name is Jake Tallaght, myself and a few others are in a very difficult and precarious situation at the moment. It’s April 1916 and I can still not get over the fact that I have been a late addition to The Endurance expedition. I am sure the historians will look over my name, but it does not matter I am with Cream and Shackleton. Now the adventure has turned into a rescue mission rather than a discovery outing, Shackleton our leader knows and thinks that there is a high possibility partly because of the lack of news that most back home think we are lost to the civilized world. It does imply de facto that we can only rely on ourselves to salvage a desperate situation.

For that he intends to use a 22 foot boat called the James Caird, I have volunteered to complete the crew of 6 that will undertake the journey on one of the roughest sea in the world. I am apprehensive, excited and proud at the same time, I don’t know it yet at the time but I am about to embark on 800-mile journey.

We have been at sea for the last 8 days and Shackleton has decided that we need to stop ashore to make some necessary repairs. While the rest of the crew is busy working on mending what is requiring attention, Shackleton takes me on the side for a quiet word. Jake, he says, I think you are one of the strongest among us now, I have spotted a peninsula on the way over and according to my calculation I think there is an Inuit camp which is probably less than a day walk from here.

In the spirit of divide and conquer I want you to take the skates and two days’ worth of ration and head north towards that camp. I am a bit surprised but chuffed all the same by the vote of confidence of one my life time heroes. I am getting equipped and after a quick and short emotional farewell I leave the group in direction of the north. After a few hours, I finally discover a frozen lake and thinking it is about time I add some velocity to my journey I put my skates on.

It takes me less than a few seconds to get accustomed to the motion. I realize I have never skated before but the sensation of cold is almost gone at this stage. I am going fast, very fast indeed, I notice there is a black bird flying over me, gosh if I was not right in my mind I would swear he was speaking to me. I must not get distracted because I have a mission of the utmost importance. I am flying on the ice, my eyes can detect a black mass maybe hundred metres away from me more or less, I am not sure but it looks like the mass is in fact a human.

But it cannot be, Shackleton told me to be weary of ice hallucination, I remember he told me that a good trick is to focus the mind on something tangible something practical. I think about my four wheels Mercedes Benz that’s practical alright I ponder to myself. In the meantime, I am getting closer to the form, I can see it clearly now it’s a human but it’s not an Inuit, it looks like Katya my wife what is she doing here? why is she smiling….???

Wake up Jake, I am Sandra your protocol nurse and this is Ross our program supervisor, how are you? Have you enjoyed your treatment? Dr Sinclair said the Adrenalin and Self Esteem Boost Package was the most appropriate for you at this stage. I am not sure I understand what she says, but it seems I have answered that I have enjoyed the experience very much adding that I wanted it to never end.

At that point Ross, the silent guy in a white gown, mentions that the New Life Souvenir Package is only available to the clients who have subscribed to the Hospice Policy Option E. He adds that this can easily be fixed for me within the next two weeks and that he would be glad to facilitate payment terms for this very prestigious program.

I have stopped listening to Ross, do you know where is my wife Sandra, her name is Katya? She was here a minute ago, Sandra says I am getting agitated and she is not sure I am making a whole pile of sense here. I look at her: please Sandra I need to go back to Cream and Shackleton, I promised them. Would you know where is the nearest Inuit camp?

Jake is a little confused, he does not seem to compute the information very well, he looks at the wall clock

It reads 20th July 2078

Sources

People & Stuff

Photo Credit

Artic man

Produced for beBee only

Written Content Copyright 2017- Pascal Derrien-