Science Fantasy

By Andrew Hetes

Garvin is hiking in Snowdonia with his wife and daughter. Everything is great until they get separated from the group and a snowstorm forces them to take refuge in a cave. As Garvin leaves his family in hopes of rescue, he nearly freezes to death. He is rescued and brought to a strange place where he is now a beloved captive and quite content, except for the fact that he has no idea who he is. His backpack would surely give him clues, but it's the one thing his captors forbid him. Slowly, old memories of his former life and family start to resurface. When he confronts his captors, they are forced to share who and what they really are, but now that he knows, he may never leave . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrew Hetes
• Release date: Oct 2, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465827555

Andrew Hetes

I am currently living in western Pennsylvania with my wife, daughter, two stepchildren, a big brown dog, a striped yellow cat, two turtles and sometimes a crab or two, some goldfish and on rare occasions, a gerbil, hamster or some other rodent. Andy

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Science Fantasy

by Andrew Hetes

Smashwords Edition

Copyright: October, 2nd 2011

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The top layer of snow had frozen over, forming a crust that crunched beneath his black-booted feet. As he made his way along the base of the mountain, blinding white bedlam circled and swirled, making it nearly impossible to see, and limiting his vision to less than five meters. Between squalls, serried ranks of snow-covered spruces revealed themselves, disappearing before their images could become ingrained into his reality.

His wife and daughter, whom he’d left behind in a protective cave, were depending on him now for their survival. He had to find a rescue party. Certainly some of the local rangers would know the area well enough to locate the cave they were in, he thought, if I’m unable to find my way back to it.

Shivering . . .

It seemed like hours now since he’d left them behind, and still he hadn’t come across any roads or running water. He could only hope that he’d made the right decision by leaving them behind. Their safety was foremost on his mind, but his concern was being tested by the harsh conditions. The painful cold, which settled into his fingers and toes, had all but subsided, giving way to a numbing sensation. He was certain he would suffer from frostbite if he didn’t get in from the cold soon.

Disorientation . . .

The further his body temperature dropped, the more his mind seemed to be deluding him. He eventually found himself wandering about aimlessly, with no idea where he was going. Delirious. Minutes slipped by; his mind settled even deeper into the frozen abyss. He had no idea where he was now, how he’d gotten there, nor even who he was.

Memories of the cave had frozen over, shattered into thousands of ice shards, and drifted away in the glacial winds. Memories of his family, his life, his identity had all frozen over and drifted away. Nothing that made him who he was remained.

The only thing that did remain with him was his instinct for self-preservation. If he didn’t find solace from the raging blizzard, he knew would die. With his head down, he plodded forward.

His apparel was made up of rugged boots, insulated gloves and a very thick animal skin of some fashion. The fur not only smelled bad, it was almost too bulky for his frame. Nonetheless, it was rather appropriate for the scathing conditions. On his back was some sort of pack, which he was only mildly aware of. Soon enough, he’d hoped, he would discover what the contents were and try to fill in some of the missing pieces of his evasive memory. For now, he continued to push onward as his bones seemed to be freezing at the joints, nearly denying his every attempt to take the next step forward.

Death was not an option.

Though he had no idea whether he had anything or anyone to live for, he was not going to succumb - at least not until he uncovered some of the circumstances of his current situation. His mind raced with surreal visions, flitting on the edges of his imagination. Strained and distressed, he was still able to cogitate some of the more fascinating ideas of why he was there. The visions played fanciful, but they were too light to maintain cohesion, drifting from him with the next icy blade of wind.

His main concern now was staying alive. If he could find a cave or some thick