The blizzard blew with wild ferocity, piling up snow on the ground. Alan trudged slowly, blocking his face from the wind. There has to be shelter somewhere, he thought. Walking began to become very difficult. The snow was getting deeper. So, Alan looked around, trying to see where the storm ended. But he saw nothing but a deep blanket of white. He struggled to continue on. The storm raged on for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Alan managed to get out of the deep snow and move closer to the mountains. They were covered in deep ice. Almost too much ice. That shouldn’t be possible, Alan thought. Unless.. He remembered using the time machine, wanting to study periods of Earth. But he only planned to go back as far as the 19th century. At least, that’s what he thought it was. Where am I, anyway?
Further up the mountain, Alan saw a huge grove of trees. He followed it eagerly. Alan felt the cold starting to seep into his bones, and he couldn’t grasp anything with his fingers. I have to make a shelter and warm up. Fast. And see what the hell temperature it is. It’s so damn cold. A cave slowly came into view. Alan ran over to it quickly. The entrance was coated in icicles. They were so close he almost reached them. He began trying to start a fire. His hands were black from frostbite, so it proved to be difficult. After a few starts, Alan finally managed to get it started. The warmth from the fire distracted him momentarily. Well, until he heard something off in the distance. It sounded like a long howl. It echoed into the blizzard before fading off. Alan stood to attention and added more to the fire. After a while, he decided to check the temperature with his outdoor thermometer. His hands were red and blistered, but he managed to get a reading.
As he took the reading, the same howl from before sounded. It was closer this time. Alan wrapped his hands in gauze, holding the thermometer stick carefully. He took one look and dropped it in horror. The stick’s maximum temperature was -45. The reading went way beyond that; it couldn’t read the temperature. Alan warmed his body in the fire as he shivered with fear. Where the hell am I? Something else sounded outside. It was a low growl. And it was getting closer. Alan looked around with cold fear. There was nowhere to hide. Nowhere to shelter except behind his fire. The growling got closer until it was right outside the cave itself. It was dark now, and the only light visible was the campfire. The growling continued as Alan heard footsteps walking.
He built up his fire even more. The light of the campfire revealed something walking back and forth. Alan looked. It was a wolf, barely visible in the light. It looked at him with curiosity and something else. The thing was bigger than any wolf Alan had ever seen. Saliva dripped from its jaws as it panted. It stood for a few moments before raising its head to the sky.
The howl echoed off the walls of the cave. Alan felt it vibrate the ground and linger for longer than it should. The creature looked at him once more before disappearing off into the night. Alan breathed a huge sigh of relief and stayed awake. All night, he fed the fire with all the wood he had in his bag. In the middle of the night, he was so tired. But the fire was almost out. He had to go out to collect more. As Alan stood up to leave the cave, he heard something outside. Disregarding it, he left the cave to cut down branches. When he was done, Alan turned around to leave.
A pack of wolves stood, watching him. Some of them sat, licking themselves. Alan carefully moved backward towards the cave. They cocked their heads. Just as Alan was back at the cave, a twig snapped behind him. He turned around and ran inside. A pair of footsteps came running towards him. Alan turned around, and a wolf was almost on him. Then, a blanket of snow fell, covering the cave entrance. Alan staggered back, sitting. He looked around his pack. Alan collected very few branches, and his food supplies were only enough to last a week. Far worse, he had no idea where his starting point was to launch himself back into his own time.
The wolves howled outside, and the wind blew as a new blizzard swept over the area. Alan lay down on his makeshift bed, holding his raw hands to himself. There was no way out. He was trapped.
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