The Mission

The Mission

              Just as I have caught my breath, I am screaming again. The wind is whistling past my ears and the icy snow is piercing my already pink cheeks. My crew is behind me, holding on for dear life and screaming with the same amount of zealousness. The smell of fear surrounds us as we head down into the unknown. My hands are wound tightly around the rope, my tired arms are working hard to steer us down the dark path left only moments ago by my predecessor, the falling snow already shielding it from view. A tree arises out of the darkness and I scream to my single crew to lean to the left, but it is too late. Before I know it everything becomes monotonous, a vision of white surrounds me. The vessel is no longer below me and my poor crew is missing somewhere out in the vast whiteness. My face and neck are tingling from the sudden impact of cold, wet snow. My hair is soaked and one of my gloves is missing. I look around me, searching for a beacon of hope, but unfortunately see none. Has our mission been a failure? But wait, did I just hear a voice, was that a… chuckle?
         “Hey Sis, over here! Let’s do it again!”
         I grab the buried sled and my once lost glove and our puffy snowsuited bodies run, laughing, back up the hill to start a new mission. This time, I think we’ll go to the North Pole.

Shelley Langan