Short Story- The Lucky Survivor

We didn’t have a choice, there was no actual choice anymore. If they picked you, then that was it. No arguments. It was a test of intelligence, behavior and action. It was a test of knowledge and strength. A test to see if you could succeed. If you could survive. If you didn’t survive, then you were not worthy. Simple as that.

It was required now, everyone, or everyone that’s eligible or healthy, under the age of twenty-one had to participate in these events. It was an experiment of the new age. The world was divided. If you made it through this adaptation experiment, and if you conquered the obstacles, you’d be put in the strong category. You’d be with the survivors. If you died in the events, then you’re gone. If you made it out, but with a low health, or barely made it out, you’d be considered weak, and put into a different part of the nation. Out-casted from civilization and strong thinkers. The new people in charge despised weaklings. They wanted the world to be a strong place, a place with no cowards or losers. Ever since the war and disastrous tragedies, everything has been different. There was no free will or care-free days, it was to survive or become weak and die. It was to win or give up.

After the bomb and shockwaves, the ground had cracked and moved. It had re-shaped and vanished. Some continents were destroyed or underwater, some were larger, some new grounds had grown. They use one particular continent for the events. Everyone is tagged, they picked randomly from the people and citizens. No matter how weak or strong you are, you’d get picked.

I was one of the unfortunate ones, as well as the lucky ones. In this experiment, the subject, meaning me and others, is placed in a large space with obstacles, predators, landscape and such. Each individual is placed in a separate space with usually a different landscape. They want you to be independent and strong-willed. But really, they fear conspiracy, they fear people coming together in the tests and figuring things out, solving unsolved mysteries.

I had been going about the daily routine of this changed world, when I was called. I had been picked. My breathing had stopped, my body had trembled, the stress and anxiety had begun. There was no saying goodbye to friends or family, nor were you allowed to pack things up and take whatever. You weren’t allowed to be prepared in this experiment, you had to learn, adapt and survive.

They had picked me up from where I live and had taken me to an another land. To a different and unknown environment. One which I wasn’t used to. They gave me specific instructions on what to do inside of the land, they told me I was not to cheat, try and escape or do anything that would be considered bad in their definition. I was simply to adapt and learn. I was to be in isolation in a dangerous place, without any kind of help. They expected me to follow these rules, they expected all of us to go along with these tests and experiments. We followed those expectations out of fear, pressure and the want to prove ourselves.

Nobody wanted to be labeled as a weak outcast, then thrown out.

I was given a twenty-four hours. A day to prove myself, a day to survive, a day to show my potential. I was given a chance to show my worth.

By the end of that time, I’ll either be a winner or a loser. A weakling or a strong survivor.

They led me to a well-built environment. It a wasn’t natural landscape, it was all man-made and structured. To human beings now, natural is dangerous. Natural things cause death and harm.

I didn’t know how they did it, but the environment I was looking at now looked completely real. It was real, I knew that. But, it was fake at the same time. I peered into the room, it was a large space, I could see for miles. Everything looked natural, yet it wasn’t.

Although, nobody could tell what was real or not nowadays. Either a trick or man-made. Fake and doubtful. We lived in a disastrous, confused and periled world.

All I could see was white. There was a fluffy yet solid looking ground. I’d never seen it before. A person came up to me and handed me a large looking bag. I didn’t open it. They told me the contents that lay inside.

Knives, matches, cloths and fabric, and a couple other things to start me off with. But, it wasn’t enough to last, I’d have to make and find my own things along the way. There was no big speech, no ‘it’ll be okay’, nothing major or emotional. They gave me my things, then I stepped into my possible doom, without looking back.

The ground beneath my feet crunched. It was odd. The white substance seemed okay to walk on. I bent down and touched the stuff. It was cold and wet. It wasn’t slippery enough for me to slide and fall on, but it was solid enough. There was patches of a fluffier substance of it. Then it was solid again. I didn’t know what it was called, but a sudden word popped into my head.

Snow.

It was like the word was a lost memory of ancient days, the ground and environment was something of the old world. A remnant of a better time. It was strange and odd to me, but I knew deep down that it wasn’t a completely new thing. I was stepping on and seeing something of what once was. A forgotten thing in this re-done world.

It was like the word came to me subconsciously.

It looked safe, but I knew that wasn’t the case. This experiment was supposed to be dangerous, so where was the danger? It was a gut feeling. I knew the danger was there, I felt as if there was something lurking beyond me. There were things I had no idea of. Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming sense of fear. I didn’t know what to expect, nor did I have any intelligence on this landscape. It was all just based on observing and learning along the way.

I was completely alone and unknowledgeable in this place.

It seemed too calm right now. How could this be a hazardous place? There were dangers ahead that I was not aware of, that I was not prepped for.

With much hesitance, I took another step forward, then another, until I was walking at a quick pace along the icy, plain tundra.

The large backpack was heavy on my back, I had to stop a couple times, set it down, then walk again. My toes had become numb, my feet ached. The cold wind stung at my face, bringing tears to my eyes. It was all too much, but I had to keep going. I had to adapt.

The first couple of hours consisted of walking, trudging, mapping. I evaluated the landscape, I watched for anything that seemed dangerous. Watching looking and hearing, I could tell what could be potentially harmful. Instinct was all I had. I had to guess and survive on mere instinct.

I had fallen and scraped my hand a couple of times, I had had encountered a flying bird, larger than any bird I’ve seen. Stay away. Don’t provoke. Those warnings signaled throughout my head.

Food. I needed food. Strength was something I needed. I walked further until I came upon a gap in the ice. A water hole. I touched the liquid, it made a ripple. I couldn’t see into the water, it seemed dark and empty.

I had to think like a wild animal. What would a predator do? Wait. Watch. Listen. Taking out my knife, I sat by the water. Minutes passed, then hours, I still hadn’t moved. I detected movement in the water, it created an effect. Bending ever so slightly, so I wouldn’t disturb the thing, I quickly reached into the water and grabbed. I was surprised to find that I had gotten a small fish. Enough to eat. Taking my knife, I carved into the animal. I had matches, but no logs. There was nothing to cook it with, raw meat would have to do.

The flesh was slimy. I chewed hastily then swallowed. I repeated in my head a phrase that kept me going. It’s for your strength, it’s for your worth. I ate it all.

After the meal, I walked on. I didn’t come across anything as I ventured on. But, that ended soon. I heard a low growl come from behind me. I turned. Standing about three feet away from me was a very large white beast. It was white and furry all over. Its teeth were sharp. Its claws were long and pointed. Its tail was a stub. Its eyes were black and beady. Teeth and claws. That meant danger. It meant death.

I didn’t know what to do. The beast was slowly coming towards me. Running seemed like a good option, but something told me not to make a quick move. I had to be slow and smart.

Holding my knife in a tight grip, I slowly backed up, it came closer. My instinct told me not to turn my back on it. Darting my eyes around, I looked for something, anything to seek shelter in.

Turning my head slightly, I peered into the distance. I could see something. A hole in the ground. Bingo. It was something.

I willed my feet to move faster as I backed up, I needed to get far enough away to quickly get away from the killer.

We were in an intense stare off. My heart was beating rapidly; I could feel myself sweating in the coldness of the air. Suddenly, it roared angrily. I took that as my cue to run.

Turning, I quickly propelled my feet forward, feeling the backpack move with my sprint. I ran as fast as I could. Not listening to logic anymore. The vibrations of the beast running after me was clear. Its growls and grunts mixed in with my erratic breathing.

Suddenly, the beast got a hold of me. It lashed its large paw out and slashed me across the arm. Stinging sensations coursed throughout me. Then, came the pain. The stench of blood was clear. Trying to crawl away on the ground, I took my knife and slashed, managing to slice it through the animal’s fur. It roared angrily and halted its chase for a moment. It was enough time for me to get up and start running again.

I scurried away again and came across the hole. It seemed to be a series of caves in the ground, I was able to squeeze into a thin hole into an ice cave. The beast came up to it then got up on its hind legs and heaved its front paws on the ice. It rumbled but didn’t break. After a few more tries, the animal got on all fours and growled threateningly. It attempted to put its paw into the hole, but was too large to crawl into.

That continued for a few minutes. Me backed up against the ice wall, then the unfamiliar beast banging and clawing at the ice.

Suddenly, the animal stopped its actions. I grew curious. Looking through the hole, I saw it running of in a scared manner. At first I was joyful, but then I wondered what scared it off. Perhaps a larger predator?

Before I could think more of it, the pain in my arm came back. Looking through my backpack, I found some cloths. Wrapping the fabric securely around my wound, I tied it so that it would stop the bleeding. Zipping the pack back up, I rested against the wall of the cave, then decided to keep on going.

Crawling out of the cave, I came back out into the fading light. Night was coming. I started walking, then stopped as I felt a vibration. Feeling fear seep back into me, I looked around for the beast. It was nowhere to be found.

Shrugging, I started walking again but halted when the vibration came again. I turned around and widened my eyes in shock when I saw a wave of fluff and white substance heading towards me. It was much larger and more intimidating than the animal. It seemed to swallow the ground it coursed over.

My instincts told me to run, I listened. Taking off, I ran across the landscape, attempting to outrun the flowing snow. It was no use. The wave caught up to me, enveloping me in dark coldness. I felt the breath taken out of me as I was swallowed by whiteness.

My vision faded as I let unconsciousness overtake me. Letting the snow overpower and control me.

When I woke up, I assumed I was dead. But, I could still feel. How was I to know if I was gone or not? I felt myself become panicked as I was trapped under a layer of fluffy snow. I moved around helplessly. The lack of air caused me to slightly feel suffocated.

Deep breaths. I told myself. I needed to think, I needed to use my instinct. Calming down, I started to dig upwards. Moving layers out of my way, I made it to the top, then finally breathed air. It seemed to be dawn as I came out into the dim light.

My whole body was sore, my injured arm hurt. I ached. Crawling out, I attempted to stand, then fell. I groaned. I realized that my backpack was nowhere to be found. Looking around for the knife, I couldn’t find it either.

I ran my hands over my body, checking for broken bones. There was none. It was a miracle I was even alive. A mere joyful event. There was no special purpose for me, no destined thing awaiting me, I simply held on and got myself out. I survived myself. I made it happen. Fate was never something I believed in, or destiny.

After crawling some, I made it onto my legs, then started at a quick pace again. The worst was over, I survived an avalanche, I escaped a beast, I fixed myself up. I survived. I was strong, I was not weak. I would not lose.

The motivation for proving myself kept me going. I dodged a couple of tiny canine like animals, I fell and got back up, I didn’t let anything stop me. I made it through the dangers of this unknown land.

Hours later, I came across the ending point. My time was up. When I got back to the base, people were around me. Poking, asking questions, testing me. Evaluating me. They ran me through scans, they looked at the footage that they had gotten from when I was tagged. It had a camera that was installed.

They were pleased. I was deemed with the potential of strength; I was deemed worthy of being better than others. I was a survivor of the wild, of the horrid experiments that dictated who we are, how we act.

It wasn’t until after I had made it through that I realized the true meaning of life. I didn’t understand why I needed to even prove myself. I was lost and confused. There was nothing I could do about my doubtful thoughts. It was done. I had to live with the pride of making it through, then the guilt of knowing that some didn’t pass. Some are outcasts in the world, doomed to know that they didn’t make it, that they couldn’t prove themselves.

I was one of the lucky one's that made it through. The guilt of that would gnaw at me for nights. 

I adapted to the cold, I adapted to the ache, I tolerated the dangers. I gained potential in the new world. So, then why wasn’t I happy or satisfied? Simple, I realized the truth. I thought and I finally understood. None of this matters. It's only a sick game in this new world. A game of tricks and deception. I didn't have to go though some wild adventure to know I was worth something. I shouldn't have to gain approval from higher people. 

My potential was already there. Everyone's potential was already there, the leaders' just didn't realize it.