Lies, Lies, Lies

by David A Max

  Emilio climbed out of the wreckage, he looked at the helicopter and it had crash-landed on its side and was mangled up. He looked around and saw mountains with snow everywhere, ‘How did we survive this?’ he thought to himself. The two men that helped save them came out of the wreckage, they looked round and walked in different directions to see if there were any buildings around. One of the men shouted, “I think I can see a small cabin not too far away.” Emilio ran to meet him and squinted in the direction of the cabin, “A little hope,” he sighed. “We all need to get to that cabin so we don’t freeze to death out here,” the man yelled.

  Emilio and the two men went back to the helicopter and helped everybody out, “We need to move now before the snow gets worse, it’s been snowing since we crashed here,” Elsa said. They all came out of the helicopter, the injured pilot was carried out, the two men saw their M16A4 rifles and both carried them along. Elsa carried the first aid kit, as they all struggled to walk in the snow towards the cabin. The pilot bled and his blood trickled on the snow, “he needs medical attention,” Elsa told Emilio, “I hope he survives,” Elsa shook her head.

  They got to the cabin and there was no one there. Carlito pointed to a sign for all of them to see, it read, ‘polar bear outpost’. The two men forced the door open, they all went in and shut the door behind them. “It’s way warmer in here,” Emilio said looking around, “it’s quite big for an outpost.” Carlito climbed the staircase upstairs and counted five bedrooms and a big lounge and dining area downstairs. “It must have been used by a family as a getaway spot,” Elsa suggested.

  They all gathered in the lounge area, “Let me start by introducing myself,” one of the two men that saved them said, “my name is Richard and my partner is called Jimmy, the rest of our team died in the other helicopter that was blown up, our team captain was one of them. We were sent on this mission to extract you and get you back to France, we don’t know who sent us on the mission or much detail, all we knew was that we should get you out of there,” Richard said, looking at each of them.

  “Nice meeting you,” Emilio said and introduced the rest of them. The helicopter pilot was struggling because of the pain on his side, “I’m George,” he managed to say, “I just flew the helicopter,” and he coughed.

  “We have to look round the house and see if there’s a radio, or find the backpack and radio we used to communicate during the extraction, or look for a way to fix the one in the helicopter that crashed,” Richard suggested, “we have to find a way to survive here for some time, we don’t know how long we are going to be here, and I don’t think there are any houses or people around here,” he concluded.

  “The first thing we need to do is get some wood outside and get the fire started, there is a big fireplace, looking at the design it will heat the whole house,” Elsa pointed out. “We also have to check the kitchen to see if there is any food, or how we are going to find food; water isn’t a problem, there is enough snow we can heat up and cool to make it drinkable,” Elsa said, looking around.

  “I’ll go and get the wood,” Emilio suggested.

  “I’ll check the kitchen and every other part of the house for food or weapons,” Carlito said.

  “And I’ll check the rooms and around the house for anything useful,” Déborah said.

  “We should also look outside and all around the surrounding area to see if there are any houses or a food source,” Richard added, asking Jimmy to go with him.

  Emilio picked up some wood and put it in the fireplace; he noticed some matches over the fireplace and started a fire. Carlito went round the house and found the electricity main switchboard in the basement, he turned it on and there was electricity in the house; there wasn’t much in the house that used electricity except the light switches, and a few other things. Carlito also saw a number really big batteries, and while he was checking what they were, Richard came down into the basement, “That’s what I came to check, the battery bank, there are about four wind turbines outside connected to batteries; this place generates its own electricity, that is good for us,” Richard said, checking out the battery bank. There were also a few large cooking gas canisters safely stored; Richard hit them to find out if they were empty or full, and they were all full. “We can also cook on the kitchen stove,” Richard said and nodded his head. “Look at this, Carlito,” called Richard; two rifles were stored in a glass case with some bullets, they opened the glass case and removed the guns and the bullets.

  Richard and Carlito went back to the lounge area with the guns. They left the guns in the dining area, with the bullets, “What’s this on the dining table?” Richard asked.

  “They are the ten cans of soup Déborah found in the kitchen, that’s all the food Déborah could find in the house,” Elsa answered, “we need to look for a way to get some food,” she advised.

  “We also found a borehole behind the house,” Jimmy said, “so there should be water running from the taps but I don’t think it is drinkable,” he explained, “we have to boil the water that we will drink.”

  The time was now about 12 noon, the cabin was now warm and the lights were on. George had stopped bleeding but was really weak and was lying on a couch in the lounge, covered with a blanket that had been found in the basement. The rest of them went upstairs to rest, none of them had slept all night, they were exhausted.

  Three hours later, when they were all fast asleep, George started screaming really loud, he kept screaming, so they all got up from their beds and ran downstairs. Richard told Jimmy, “Get our guns.” Jimmy quickly picked up their guns and threw Richard’s gun to him, they all ran downstairs, and were shocked at the sight they saw, George had been bitten on the head by a large polar bear and was being dragged out of the house. Richard and Jimmy shot at the polar bear when it got to the door, but it kept dragging George. Richard ran to the front of the polar bear and shot it several times in the head, the bear finally dropped George’s head from its mouth and fell to ground. The bear was still breathing heavily, Richard got closer to it and shot it several times in the chest, and the polar bear died.

  Elsa rushed to George, he had passed out, his skull had been badly pierced by the teeth of the polar bear and he was losing a lot of blood. Elsa tried to raise his head up to reduce the blood flow, but George started convulsing and went into shock. Elsa checked his pulse, “He is dead,” Elsa wept, they all wept. “Poor George,” Andreiá said.

  About twenty minutes later, Richard checked the door to find out how the polar bear had got into the house, “The door wasn’t properly locked,” Richard said, looking at the rest of them in anger. “It must have picked up the scent of George’s blood, and simply pushed the door open,” Déborah added. “I guess the dead polar bear will be the source of our food for a long time,” Richard said, staring at the polar bear, “this animal is really huge,” Richard nodded his head.

  “Help me lift George’s body,” Emilio said looking at Jimmy, “we need to bury him outside.”

  “I saw a shovel earlier in the basement,” Carlito said as he hurriedly went to get it. They all followed Emilio and Jimmy as they carried George’s body outside and choose a spot behind the house. Carlito started digging, there was a lot of snow as it kept snowing while Carlito was digging. Jimmy took over from Carlito after he had been digging for about twenty minutes.” The hole is deep enough,” Jimmy said panting. Emilio and Richard put George’s body in the ground and buried him. Elsa led some prayers and they all stood silent for some time before they went back into the cabin.

  “Let’s carry the dead polar bear outside,” Richard said, staring at Jimmy, Carlito and Emilio. The four of them dragged it outside, it was so heavy.

  “Please get us knives from the kitchen,” Carlito asked Andreiá.

  “I found three knives,” Andreiá said, and gave the knives to Carlito, Richard and Emilio, and the three of them cut the bear and removed the bearskin coat. Jimmy spread the bear coat on the patio; Carlito, Emilio and Richard cut the re
mains of the bear into different pieces, there was a lot and was going to last them for a very long time. “We can store the meat in the freezer so it can last us for a long time,” Richard suggested.

  “Why don’t we leave the meat outside, it can’t get rotten, it will freeze outside,” Carlito also suggested.

  “It would attract wildlife to us and we don’t want that,” Richard replied. That afternoon they stored the meat in the freezer and cooked enough for all of them to eat, they were already starving.

  “We needed that meal,” Emilio said as he sat down in the lounge. They all sat down and relaxed, Déborah sat next to Emilio and lay her head on his shoulder, “Poor George, the wound he sustained from the helicopter crash needed urgent treatment, the polar bear just finished him up. Although we didn’t know much about him, I know we will all still miss him”, Elsa said, looking gloom and sad. “Yes we will all miss him,” they all agreed. Richard got up and locked the door properly using all the locks available, “I hope it was the only one, as we are really low on ammunition, we have guns but very few bullets,” Richard said and giggled.

  By the next day they were all adjusting to their new environment. “We still need to get to the helicopter and look for the backpack or check the radio and see if we can salvage it,” Jimmy said, looking at Richard.

  “We can go when it stops snowing, I hope the wreckage won’t be covered by snow,” Richard replied.

  “In the meantime whose turn is it to cook today?” Elsa asked, they all kept quiet.

  “Okay, I will do it,” Emilio shrugged, getting up and walking to the kitchen. Emilio got everything he needed to cook, when Déborah walked into the kitchen. She walked close to Emilio and put her hands on his back, rubbing his back, “Do you need any help?” she asked. Emilio’s throat had dried up, he was lost in thought, ‘does Déborah like me, why is she rubbing my back? She is the most beautiful woman in this house and one of the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, she is definitely out of my league.’

  “I just asked you a question,” Déborah said, pushing Emilio a bit.

  “No I’m okay, thank you,” Emilio answered quite nervously and could not even look at Déborah. Déborah smiled and went back to the lounge area.

  Two days later, Emilio sat down in the lounge alone, “There you are,” Déborah said, as she walked down the staircase, “what are you doing all alone? she asked.

  “I was just lost in thought,” Emilio answered. Déborah lay down on the couch and put her head on Emilio’s lap, Emilio’s heart started beating really fast, he lost composure.

  “Emilio, I like you a lot,” Déborah said as she lay on his lap, “haven’t you noticed?”

  Emilio couldn’t talk, he was so nervous, she pulled his head closer and they kissed, ‘Is this what it feels like kissing such a beauty?’ Emilio thought to himself. Someone cleared their throat behind them as they kissed, so they quickly left each other. Carlito had walked into the room, “I saw both of you, so don’t pretend,” Carlito said as he walked past them and walked into the kitchen. “Guys you need to come and see this!” Carlito shouted. Déborah and Emilio ran to the kitchen; Carlito was looking out through the window and they joined him, “What’s going on?” Emilio covered his mouth as he looked outside, two polar bears were trying to dig George’s corpse out. “They must have picked up the scent of George’s corpse and are trying to feed on it.”

  Déborah ran towards the staircase and shouted, “Richard, Jimmy, come downstairs you have to see this, please bring your guns,” she shouted. Richard and Jimmy ran downstairs with their guns, and the rest of the house ran downstairs too; they were all shocked at the sight they saw, the polar bears were still digging to get to George’s corpse. Richard and Jimmy ran outside towards the polar bears and shot into the air, the gunshot noise startled the bears and they both ran away. Richard and Jimmy went to the corpse and poured back the earth that had been dug out by the polar bears. They both walked into the cabin, looking around just in case the polar bears returned. Richard shut the door behind them and bolted all the locks, “At least we know there are more polar bears,” Jimmy said, we have to be on guard from now on, because they know we are here and might come back,” he explained.

  That night they shut all the windows and doors properly, and also cleaned up the cabin again, just to remove any specks of blood stain. They were all exhausted after the clean up and went to bed. Déborah knocked on Emilio’s door because he was the only one that slept alone, she was wearing a transparent nightgown when she walked into Emilio’s room and Emilio almost passed out because of her curves and beauty. She walked towards Emilio and removed her nightgown, Emilio’s heart was racing as she gently touched his cheek and kissed him. Emilio carried her and put her on the bed, they kissed passionately and she spent the night in Emilio’s room.

  The next morning when Déborah woke up, Emilio had prepared her a hot cup of tea, and he stared into her eyes as she woke up. Déborah smiled, “Where did you get the tea from?” she asked. “I ransacked the kitchen cabinet and saw a pack, but sorry there’s no sugar, just a little milk. “It’s okay,” Déborah said as she sipped on the tea.

  Chapter 9

  Emilio looked at Déborah, “Please, where exactly are we?” Emilio asked. “We are in a remote part of Russia, this place is only accessible by plane or helicopter,” Déborah answered. “So how are we going to leave here?” Emilio asked, confused. “Well, if we can fix the radio from the helicopter we can contact Kevin and he can get us help,” Déborah answered. “What do you do with the keys we go on dangerous missions to collect?” Emilio asked. Déborah laughed, “That is part of what Kevin uses to expand his business, I can’t go into details now, it’s confidential,” she whispered. “So Kevin uses voodoo to get what he wants,” Emilio shook his head. Déborah smiled and kissed him, “You are so cute and innocent,” she mumbled as she kissed him.

  Déborah and Emilio heard Elsa shouting that everybody should please come downstairs. Déborah quickly put on one of Emilio’s shirts and ran downstairs with Emilio where they saw everybody in the kitchen looking out through the window.

  “What is it?” Déborah asked.

  “Look outside,” Elsa answered. George’s body had been dragged out from where it was buried and had been torn to pieces and eaten.

  “This is bad,” Jimmy exclaimed, “the polar bears came back and did this, no one should go outside on their own, we need to watch each other’s back,” he added.

  They all sat down in the lounge, Déborah cuddled up with Emilio, Emilio had a grin on his face. Carlito stared at them, he was a bit jealous because from the first day he laid eyes on Déborah he was mesmerized by her beauty and physique, ‘how did Emilio get her?’ he thought, forgetting about the polar bear problem. He admired them and wished he was the one. Andreiá gave him a peck on the cheek and he remembered he also had a beautiful girlfriend, and although not as beautiful as Déborah, she loved him with all his faults, ‘that will do for now.’ he thought.

  Elsa also stared at Emilio and Déborah, the way she cuddled up with him and she was also wearing his shirt, ‘these two must be an item now,’ she thought to herself. She also felt jealous, ‘how did Emilio get Déborah? Even the other women in the house admired Déborah. Elsa starting looking at Emilio differently, ‘he is actually cute,’ she thought to herself, ‘I should have given him a chance.’

  Emilio noticed Elsa and Carlito staring at him and Déborah, he smiled and gave Déborah a kiss on the lips, “Do you need anything?” Emilio asked Déborah. “No thank you,” Déborah smiled. Elsa shook her head and turned her face away, Carlito kissed Andreiá, just to remind Emilio that he had his own girlfriend. Emilio simply smiled, feeling good with himself.

  None of them left the cabin for two days they only peeped through the windows to see if there were any signs of the polar bears.

  That afternoon there was a big argument between Richard and Jimmy. Emilio and Carlito ran up to their room to help resolve whatever disp
ute they were having, and immediately Emilio opened their door, Richard punched Jimmy in the face. Jimmy punched Richard back and a violent struggle started between both of them, they both punched and threw each other on the floor. Emilio and Carlito tried to stop them but they were no match for two huge ex-US marine soldiers, they fought for about ten minutes without a break; after they injured themselves, Jimmy and Richard got tired and stopped fighting.

  Elsa came into the room, “Why are you two trained professionals fighting?” Elsa asked.

  “I saw my daughter’s picture in his wallet,” Richard said, trying to catch his breath, “I asked him what he was doing with the picture, and this thirty-year-old man is telling me he loves my nineteen-year-old daughter,” Richard said panting, and becoming furious again.

  “I only started seeing her less than a year ago and I love her,” Jimmy replied.

  “We have been on a lot of missions together, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan,” Richard said, “I just didn’t expect he would be seeing my young daughter. I was a staff sergeant; he was my junior, a corporal,” Richard said, frowning.

  “Please let’s not fight over this issue, I think we need to get out of here alive first before we discuss your daughter,” Jimmy suggested.

  “I think Jimmy is right,” Elsa and the others agreed. Richard nodded in agreement and hugged Jimmy, “Thank you,” Jimmy said.

  “We need to get to that helicopter, and we need to get help as soon as possible,” Elsa suggested.

  “I will go with Jimmy and Emilio; there are four rifles in this house and three knives,” Richard said, “we will go with three rifles and leave one for Elsa. Once all the doors are shut I don’t think the polar bears will attack, but we will be more exposed out there,” Richard continued, “we cannot waste any bullets, aim for their head and get a clear shot before you shoot, that is if they attack us.”