“I just don’t like the idea of you being so far away,” Mark sighed.

Sophie took a deep breath, not wanting to rehash this. She rubbed her hands together before quickly putting them back on the wheel. It was a cold winter and even with the heat on high in her shitty rental car the Alaskan cold was still sleeping into her bones.

“It’s only a few months, then I’ll be back,” she replied.

“I don’t see why I can’t come with you,” Mark sighed again.

“Because you’re not gonna find a job out here, it’s the middle of nowhere and I know you’re not a fan of the cold,” Sophie replied, a little more harshly than normal.

Mark clenched his jaw. She knew him being “let go” was a sore spot. But he definitely wasn’t going to find a new job in remote Alaska while she was running around tracking polar bears.

“I can find work anywhere, I just worry about you being out here all alone.”

“I won’t be alone, I’ll be with the leading team of experts in polar bears and this region. I couldn’t be safer,” she replied, her nails digging into the wheel.

“But we don’t know those people, how can you trust them?”

“Oh look, we’re almost there,” Sophie replied rather than continue this discussion. She tapped on the paper map in her lap and pointed to a sign only half obscured by ice.

Some would say it was crazy to fly to Nulato Alaska and drive into the wilderness to go hiking in the dead of winter but she had a wanderlust for the outdoors. When Mark had suggested it she had leapt at the opportunity, not only to dip her toes into the proverbial ice but to hopefully win Mark over. The latter was not going so well. At least not yet.

They weren’t in fact almost there, they still had a few hours of driving through icy twisting roads, most of which lacked any sort of marking. But Sophie was pretty good with a map, even without GPS the old paper variety worked just fine.

It was only an overnight trip, certainly not the longest adventure she had gone on. She had dragged Mark on a few overnight trips before. But never this far north and not during the winter. It was a new experience she was really looking forward to.

She wasn’t particularly concerned, she had followed all the safety rules. Checked and double-checked the weather, shared their plans with her family, brought plenty of water and the essentials, and brought warm enough clothes and a first aid kit. Still as always with these sorts of adventures, there was a buzz of nervous excited energy.

It was after lunch when they finally pulled to a stop. They had left early enough that they would make it to their camping spot before it got dark.

Snowy mountains stretched on into the distance with valleys of evergreen trees. People often biked these hills in the summer, something that sounded exhausting. It was truly an amazing sight and Sophie took a deep breath of fresh air as she stepped from the car.

Mark opened the trunk and pulled out their bags. Sophie’s was a large camping backpack that was well worn with use, Mark’s far smaller and far less worn. Despite the fact she was rarely ever able to get him to come on these trips she always appreciated having the company when he did. Hiking alone was a bad idea and Mark always got irritated when she went with other people.

“You ready?” Sophie asked with an excited smile, her breath sending fog through the air.

“Totally,” Mark replied, with an equally enthusiastic smile that on second glance was somewhat strained.

She slipped into her large parka which she had for gone wearing in the car and pulled on her backpack. Taking a second to adjust to the extra weight she grabbed her tuque and stuffed her hands into large gloves. With the snow and the sun, it was the wind that would make them cold so wind protection was the most important part.

Mark looked equally goofy in his puffy clothes but that was a sign of successful preparation in Sophie’s book. She adjusted her tuque which sported a NASA logo, her father’s lucky hat he had given her years ago. “Let’s get going then!”

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Their boots crunched in the snow as they walked. They were moving slower than she would have liked, Mark was lagging behind. He seemed lost in thought and wasn’t particularly chatty. Sophie didn’t mind too much, she was more than content to just exist in nature.

“Do you need a break?” She asked him.

“I-I’m fine,” he replied with a smile, his heavy breathing gave him away. Sophie raised a skeptical eyebrow but if he wasn’t going to admit it then they could trek on.

She was nervous and the exercise was helping. She knew Mark didn’t want her to take the job and even her family was a little skeptical. It would be a few months, much of which without an internet connection. Northern Alaska was a world away from Seattle, except maybe geographically.

But she loved the outdoors and bears were fascinating creatures. Not to mention all the useful information that could be gleaned from their habitat and behaviour. Sure there weren’t gonna be any world-changing discoveries but it was important work and she was looking forward to it.

Mark did have some good points but being cooped up in Seattle was starting to drive her crazy. This was the perfect opportunity. Still, she felt bad for him, they had been together almost two years and disappearing for several months would not be easy.

He was a worrier, always concerned about her safety and well-being. But Sophie couldn’t stay in the nest forever, she needed to fly.

The four hours of daylight went by incredibly fast. It was far darker than Sophie would have liked by the time they got to the spot they were planning to set up for the night. Despite it being a relatively easy and short hike, Mark had slowed them down and she wasn’t in the best of moods.

“Make dinner, I’ll set up the tent,” she sighed, slipping her backpack off.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Mark grumbled but acquiesced.

Sophie took a deep breath and stretched. It was a full moon and without the light pollution, the sky was beautiful.

Camping on the top of a hill was far colder and windier but the view was worth it. She approached the edge of the small cliff, careful not to get dangerously close. Still, a big enough drop to be dangerous.

It was a perfect spot and a perfect night. A clear crisp winter night. The smell of wind and forest.

After a few moments, her cheeks began to sting and she pulled her scarf up. The temperature was quickly dropping and she needed to make them shelter.

By the time the tent was set up, Mark had finally gotten the camping stove put together.

MREs were never as good as an actual cooked meal but they had enough salt and fat for them to be tasty enough and provide plenty of energy. Plus warm chilli was nice in the cold even if factory-made.

“I really don’t want you to go y'know,” Mark finally said while they ate. “I just feel like you’re leaving me behind to go do this super dangerous thing.”

“I’ll be back in one piece I promise. It’s not like I’ll be totally cut off the entire time. I mean… how can you not love it out here?” Sophie smiled, waving towards the wilderness around them.

Mark shrugged, “it’s cold, dark and full of dangerous animals. I’m pretty sure I twisted my ankle on the way here and I can’t feel my ears.”

Sophie bit her cheek both in annoyance and to not laugh in his face, “Why did you even suggest this trip if you didn’t want to go?”

Mark shrugged.

“Look at the stars, Mark, how can you not just find it all magical?”

That got a hint of a smile from Mark. The view was far too amazing even for the grouch.

“You know—“ Sophie began but was cut off by a howl. Carried by the wind, a low hoarse screeching made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

“W-what was that?” Mark practically whimpered, looking around to try and gleam where the sound had come from.

“There are wolves out here,” Sophie shrugged, though her pounding heart disagreed with her explanation. Adrenaline coursed through her, making her feel both alive and terrified. A strange thrill that made no sense for such a sound.

“We’ll put the garbage away from camp just in case,” Sophie offered, to appease the unease that hung in the air. Beyond breakfast for the morning and a few snack bars they didn’t have much food but if there were wolves out there the last thing they needed was them getting close.

“Sure,” Mark replied, glancing behind the tree line before shaking his head.

Sophie stood and sealed the MRE bag with numb fingers. Eagerly putting her mittens back on, she glanced around. The lizard part of her brain was on high alert after the strange sound. She knew there was nothing out there but she didn’t 100% know that for sure.

“So you’re still just gonna leave?”

“Mark, why do we have to keep rehashing this?” Sophie sighed, staring up at the stars.

“Because I don’t want you to go,” he replied, the frustration clear.

“I want to go, Mark. You still need to finish your last semester and find a new job, once I’m back we can figure shit out. It’s only a few months. I’m not gonna change my mind about this,” she sighed.

“Why do you never listen to me!”

“I do listen to you Mark, I just don’t have to do everything you want,” Sophie replied, her voice rising as she turned around to face him. “Just because you’re insecure about your own life doesn’t mean you can control mine.”

The push came so suddenly that Sophie had no idea what was happening until she was already falling. Her hands grabbed at the air as she stumbled, the snow not granting her purchase as she fell backwards over the cliff.

The wind swept her up, deafening her as she dropped. Time seemed to slow as her mind raced with panic. Falling with nothing to stop her. She didn’t even have the thought to scream, too stunned to truly react as she fell. Crashing through the branches and leaves of the trees below.

The drop hadn't seemed so far from above yet somehow she was still falling. Was this it? Was her life going to flash before her eyes? Mark had pushed her. That finally clicked. Mark had shoved her over the cliff to her death. She was going to die.

Her body slammed into the ground below. Pain radiated through her as her body ejected the air in her lungs painfully and something cracked. By some miracle she was still conscious, the snow had cushioned her fall. Still, everything hurt, she couldn’t bring herself to move let alone focus her eyes.

Sophie waited for something to happen, anything. But nothing did. She just lay there, her brain spinning.

Mark had tried to kill her. She was lying at the base of a cliff in remote Alaska. The only other person in the area was Mark. Mark had tried to kill her.

She blinked, looking up at the cliff above. Movement of a head disappearing over the edge. Mark had tried to kill her. Maybe he hadn't, maybe he hadn't meant for her to fall. Maybe he would come running to help apologizing and freaking out.

But he didn’t. Maybe he thought she was already dead. Maybe he didn’t care. It was so dark down here, the light of the stars drowned up by the leaves. She still couldn’t bring herself to move.

A screeching howl cut through the wind, a stormy call of something out there. Tears slid down her cheek, she was going to die.