On A Cold Winters Night.. A Christmas Tale. Pt3

[elysiumfields]

ON A COLD WINTERS NIGHT : A CHRISTMAS TALE

Pt3



Jacob awoke groggily to find himself hanging upside down. For a moment he was too dazed to know what had happened. Then, as his faculties cleared, he was sharply brought back to reality.. He had been in a car accident. The car had landed on its roof and Jacob was upside down in the car and still buckled into his seatbelt,which had almost certainly had saved him from being catapulted out of the the car through the shattered and now missing windscreen. He turned to look at the driver, the guy who had given in to giving him a lift. Daniel was also still hung in his seatbelt upside down, but he seemed unconscious.. Blood trickled from a deep cut on his head closest to his door and the roof on his side had caved in considerably,squashing the door,blocking access.

Jacobs first instinct was to unlock his seatbelt to try to attend to Daniels potentially life-threatening wounds. When he managed to free himself he slumped with a thud onto his upper neck and shoulders and suddenly cried out in agony as a sharp pain ran through his right shoulder. Jacob tentatively propped himself up the right way,wincing as he felt more sharp pain through what could have been a dislocated shoulder or even a fracture to his collar bone. This was'nt the place to diagnose injuries just yet. The ice cold wind was blowing the snow stingingly through the broken windows as Jacob focused himself into extracating Daniel from his seat and getting help..

He fumbled to release Daniels seatbelt and eased the older guy from the drivers seat as best as he could.
Daniel groaned and stirred slightly as it seemed evident he was drifting in and out of consciousness.
Jacob gritted his teeth,trying to use a quick burst of strength to cut out his own pain as he hauled Dan from his seat and through the smashed passenger window.
''Don't worry buddy.. Gonna get you some help. You''ll be good in no time''.

Now outside of the vehicle for the first time Jacob tried to get his bearings in his winter cloaked surroundings.
The car had come to rest on its roof down a sharp slope against a tree, having turned over several times down the steep incline. Jacob could hardly see too far,such was the aggressiveness of the wind blowing the falling snow into a near horizontal sheets of icicles that stung at Jacobs face. This weather was beginning to turn into a blizzard. Jacob swung his hood over his face and then hauled out his bag and used it as a pillow to prop up Daniels head,and covering his face with his own scarf,trying to use the car as much as possible as shelter from the howling white-out.
With a bit more digging,Jacob had found in the trunk,Daniels packed bags and pulled out another coat and another scarf. He covered Daniel and used the scarf as best as he could to tend to the nasty cut on Daniels temple. It seemed as if Daniels head had hit the side of his drivers door as it caved in during the cars roll down the slope and Jacob could'nt tell just how bad Dans head injury was.. He needed medical help immediately.

Jacob tried his phone but there was no signal. Cursing,he nearly threw it in anger into the nearby snow but thought better of it and shoved it back into his coat pocket.
Looking up through the near blinding snow, he thought about clambering up onto the road to call for help from a passing motorist..

''Hey buddy..be right back.. You just hang in there..''

Jacob snapped off a thick bare branch from part of the tree that had fallen of in the impact of the car against it, and using it as a prop,he tried to scramble up through the deepening snow to the edge of the road.
Tired and aching from the pain in his shoulder,he reached the top and stumbled into the road.
For as much minutes as he dared spare leaving Dan, he stamped up and down the road calling for help and waiting anxiously for a car to come by.
Finally frustrated, he slid back down to the car and to Daniel and lightly tapped him on his cheek.
''Hey buddy.. You still with me..?''
Daniel groaned and moved his head slightly,and muttered. ''Jeff..?''
In Dans semi-conscious state,he could see Jeff looking down and smiling at him..

Jacob was at least this bit relieved that Dan was still holding on,but he still needed help.. He shouted at the top of his lungs for help..
And for a few minutes all he could hear was the howling of the wind and the crwaking of the trees. He gritted his teeth in anger.
''Not like this.. Not fucking like this..''
He did'nt want to end up frozen to death in the wilderness,..like Jack Nicholson freezing in the Maze at the end of The Shining..!

Suddenly,the wind seemed to die down just that slightly for Jacob to hear what sounded faitnly like bells jingling.
This first sign that someone,..anyone, could be out in this white-out could potentially mean survival.
Spurred on,he jumped to his feet and tried to focus his ears and eyes on the sound..
Then,..through the snowfall he could see a misty image that gradually became clearer as it drew nearer.
''Hey..over here...Help..Help.!''

A shape of a sleigh drawing through the snow greeted Jacob.. It was drawn by a single reindeer,harnessed in leather that was adorned with the bells Jacob thought he had heard.
On the back and guiding the sleigh was a figure wrapped in a thick tawny brown fur or fur-like coat..a hood lined with grey-white fur or wool drawn over his head and hiding his face, and his trousers of similar tawn colour and fur. Even his boots seemed thick and woolen..Like this fella was used to the outdoors life in harsh wilderness.

The sleigh pulled up close to the crashed car. ''Whoah there Blitzen..Good boy'' the stranger said apparently to his reindeer as if it was a pet.

Jacob for a moment was rightfully overjoyed that help had arrived.
''Hey mister, my friend needs help.. We crashed and now i think hes badly hurt.. We need to get him to a hospital fast..!''

The hooded stranger stepped off the sleigh,..itself covered in furs and a deep red woolen cover, and trudged through the snow over to where Daniel lay prone. He bent down and slipped his hand out of the thick brown gloves he wore and gently touched at Daniels wounds.
The,turning to look up at Jacob, he slipped off the hood he was wearing to reveal the face of an old man who looked wizened with age.He had a thick white beard and wispy white eyebrows and a weathered and slightly reddened face that overall, to Jacob he seemed to look so calming and warm.
''My boy,I'm afraid that this snowstorm has downed communications and getting him any help up here might take some time. The weather will close in as soon it will be nightfall...''

''But you gotta do something..He could die for Christs sake..!'' Jacobs moment of glee faded somewhat.

''My cabin is nearby.. It has a welcoming fireplace,some needed warmth..and i have a gift at helping those in need.. Don't worry my boy.
I will take care of him..Of both of you till the morning breaks..''

Why was it for some reason that Jacob felt at ease with this guy..?

''Come boy, lets help your friend onto my sleigh..''

Jacob helped the stranger load Daniel onto the sleigh and wrapped him in the furs and the red cover.

''On Blitzen..'' And with that command the sleigh set off through the snow.




End of Part 3