429: Beyond the Error Line

The sun was setting early in the middle of winter. The wind that crept into the cabin was bitter and cold, cooling his sweat for a moment before blowing it away. He thought about the fire, and how he had only enough wood to last him another day.

He cursed himself for being so careless. He remembered seeing something about the cabin's layout earlier when he had been scouting and hadn't noted it.

Now it was too late, he didn't want to leave the safety of the cabin, he took a deep breath and opened the door. The wind hit him like a wall, knocking him back into the cabin where he fell on his back. After catching his breath he got up and tried again pressing against the door with all his weight until he felt a crack in the ice. The wind wasn't as strong and he made a run for it towards a tree standing four feet from the side of the cabin, leaned over with his back against it as he caught his breath again.

Then there was an explosion.

His eyes widened, but still he kept looking at the tree in front of him. Another explosion followed by a third, then there were voices shouting and screaming in English above the explosions. He stayed frozen in place and listened intently as they got closer to him, then there were footsteps behind him. He turned around slowly to see four men dressed in black carrying some sort of guns with glowing red ends pointed at him. They shouted at him but he didn't understand them as they approached menacingly while pointing their guns at him. One covered his mouth while two others bound his hands behind his back while the other pulled out something from their bags and pressed it against his neck, sending shooting pain down through his body as he collapsed onto the ground unable to move or speak anymore.

The men picked up their gear and left him there for dead as they started moving away from him towards the cabin, leaving no trace of themselves behind except for some scorched grass on one spot where they had stood to cover their escape route.