Word Count: 108,115
Summary of Events:
Ben apologised to Yukon for his behaviour and the group continued walking in much better spirits, although Ulloriaq started behaving unreasonably, to Yukon's stress; it was only when Alex got attacked by a bird of prey that they realised she'd been trying to warn them of the bird. Yukon spent much of the day thinking about his girlfriend and how much he missed her. The next morning their traps had failed to catch any rabbits, so Ulloriaq hunted a couple down before they set out for what they all hoped was their last full day of walking; although Yukon began to feel like they were headed in the wrong direction because he'd not sighted Frobisher Bay yet and started stressing . . .
Excerpt of the Day:
"Ulloriaq nosed his leg and Yukon looked down at her. She gazed at him with concern; she'd sensed his distress with that uncanny ability of hers again. He stroked her head and wished that his stress over whether they were headed the right way could be alleviated.
A thought suddenly occurred to him and he looked down at Ulloriaq. She was a dog. Dogs had better noses than people. She should be able to smell the ocean if they were close to it, or otherwise be able to tell him if they were off track.
"Where's the ocean Ulloriaq?" he asked. "Go find me the ocean."
Ulloriaq jogged ahead, her head high, scanning. Yukon was pretty sure she'd understood what he'd said, and he had to admit that sometimes it impressed him that she could understand him so well. He wondered if it was because of how much he talked to her like she was another person.
Regardless, he hoped that she had, indeed, understood what he wanted, and was going to seek out the nearest saltwater to their position.
She picked up to a lope for a bit, but then slowed to a walk, favouring her bandaged leg. Yukon felt bad for her. He hoped they were on the right track for her sake as much as anyone else's. They were all in pain, and they probably all should've seen a doctor a long time ago.
Ulloriaq stopped and barked.
Yukon hurried over to her and looked. He couldn't see anything at first, but then he noticed a glitter just to the right of dead ahead. A relief and elation swelled within him like he'd never felt before in his life. Frobisher Bay — it had to be.
"We aren't stopping here for the night, are we?" Ben asked, startling Yukon.
"Just over there," Yukon replied, pointing. "Do you see that glitter?"
"Yeah," Ben replied after a moment's scanning.
"Frobisher Bay," Yukon said.
"We're almost there," Ben sighed, his voice drenched in the relief that filled Yukon.
"What is it?" JT asked.
"That distant glitter, that's Frobisher Bay," Yukon replied
Alex whooped with glee and everyone else hurried up to look, Ryan even lifting his touque to see, while Kyle quickly fired up his camera and focused in on the distant glittering of the bay.
"There it is," Kyle said, almost reverently. "The distant shore of Frobisher Bay. I'd like to know how in the world we're going to get there in only a day and a bit, but there it is."
"You know how we're going to get there," Josh said. "We're going to keep walking."
"Do we power walk now?" Ryan asked.
"If you want," Yukon replied.
"We're almost there, pack," Alex said, before launching into his generally pathetic howl.
Everyone joined him, even Ulloriaq, as if she, too, sensed the immense relief that finally sighting Frobisher Bay gave the rest of them."
No comments:
Post a Comment