[MS]A red light blinks far off in the deep night P1,2,3,4 out of 5

A red light blinks far off in the deep night. 

Only a gentle wind, and the rustling of nature can be heard. Pine and fir trees are black against the star-beaded sky. They gently sway in the wind. A trail of embers rises into the sky as a Traveler sets a log onto a small fire. They sit down next to the fire, and tuck their legs into a sleeping bag. They slowly exhale in relief while staring blankly into the flames. The night is about 65° F. They sit in a clearing. About 20 ft Behind them is a cliff and about 20 ft before them are black trees. The Traveler picks a thermos up to their mouth. The letters АрктикA are printed near the bottom of the thermos. The Traveler takes a sip, then carefully sets the thermos on the ground. All is still and calm in the night. 

Behind the Traveler blinks a small red light in the far dark distance. It is located on one of the taller hills. The light blinks again. It shines red for about two seconds, and then fades away for two seconds. Over and over it blinks, unknown to The traveler.

The Traveler looks up from the flame to the night sky. Most stars sit while others drip to the horizon. The Traveler looks up for some time at the blinking white stars. Then they slowly tilt their head back further and further until they can see the hills behind them, although entirely upside down. The red light blinks again, this time in the sight of the Traveler. The Traveler becomes still, and crinkles their brow. The far off light blinks again. The Traveler unravels themselves so that the hills are right side up. Again, the red light blinks.

The Traveler gently rises and unzips a hiking backpack which sits on the other side of the fire. They pull out a pair of binoculars, and then face the far away hill. The Traveler waits for the red light to re-appear in the night, and then looks through the binoculars in its direction. Even with the added zoom, the source still appears too small to decipher. The Traveler stares for about 5 seconds with a puzzled look on their face. They lower the binoculars but still stare off puzzled. 

The Traveler again stares at the long distant hill and its pulsing red light. 

Then they dig into their backpack again and pull out a pile of folded papers. They slowly sit down and take another sip from their thermos as they unfold the top paper. They angle it towards the fire light so that its contents can be seen. It is a contour map. Towards the top left is the only marked city, Якутск. From Якутск a jagged array of 23 numbered penciled squares go south east down the map. 14 of the squares are marked with an “X”. 

The last marked square, number 14, is over 600 km; 350 miles away from Якутск. They set the map down and flip through the rest of the pile. About half way through they stop and pull out another contour map. They look at the map with a tilt of their head, and realize it is upside down. They make the map upright. This map has only a single penciled square toward its right-center, marked 14. They look up at the hill and then back down at the map. They drag their finger about 20 inches west from the square—30 km; 20 miles. 

The Traveler looks at their wrist watch. It's 20:33. They look at the hill again. They stand up, refold the contour maps, tuck the second contour map into their jacket pocket, and put the rest of the papers, and the binoculars away into the backpack. They zip up the backpack. Their hand goes to grab the handle strap, but stops a few inches shy. They pause and look at their watch again. Then they grab the handle strap. They pick up their thermos, and dump it on the fire. Everything turns pitch black.

There is a quick exhale from a nose, then the sound of a zipper, then the sound of rustling, and then a click. A cone of bright yellow light illuminates the forest. The Traveler holds a flashlight. The glint of metal shines from about 10 feet into the forest. It is a car. 

The Traveler walks up to the car. It is a 1980 UAZ-469. It is painted orange, although its paint is scratched and chipped all around. Rather than four tires, it has two long tracks. Attached on its swingout trunk are three jerry cans. Strapped to its cargo roof are labeled duffle bags, two jugs of water, and a wooden Balaika.

The Traveler walks around the car and opens the driver door. The walls and seats are all black metal and plastic. Behind the driver and passenger seat are stacks of jerry cans. 

The Traveler throws the backpack onto the passenger seat. They put the thermos in the backpack, get into the driver seat, and shine the flashlight onto the dashboard. There are three layers on the dash: an upper line of three circular lights and a switch, a middle line of five circular dials, and a lower line of knobs and switches. They flick the switch on the right of the upper dash. A bright circular light built into the dashboard of the passenger seat turns on. 

The Traveler turns off the flashlight, and digs through their backpack. They pull out a pencil, and they pull the map out of their jacket. They draw a circle on a hill 30 km west; 20 inches. They stare at the map for a while, tracing their finger along its various lines. 

After a minute, they pick up their pencil and begin drawing on the map. The pencil travels along a river, passes over rivers, goes through a valley, across a plane, and finally up the tall circled hill. They retrace the drawn line with their finger. They nod, put the pencil away into the back pack, fold the map up, and put it into their jacket pocket.

The Traveler flicks down the switch on the right of the upper dash, and the passenger light turns off. All is dark. The Traveler takes a second to breathe. They look right, out of the passenger window. Tall tree trunks silhouette against the night sky. Black hills fill the horizon. And a red light blinks far off in the deep night.

The Traveler twists a knob-switch on the center of the lower dash. All numbers, needles, and edges of every dial glow green. The Traveler pulls a key out of their pocket. They press down the clutch pedal with their foot, and put the key into the ignition. A red circular light on the center of the upper dash glows red. They twist the key further. The rumble of the engine is heard, and the car vibrates. The red light fades. They flick the knob-switch on the center of the lower dash all the way up. A blue light pops up on the otherwise green Speedometer, and the trees, rocks, and dirt beyond the windshield are illuminated with a pale white-blue light. 

Between the passenger and driver seat are three levers: the parking break, the gearshift, and the transfer-case-control lever. They shift the transfer lever down into low gear. They shift the gearshift upward into first gear. The Traveler places their hands on two levers directly in front of them where a steering wheel would normally be. They pull the left lever all the way back, and push the right lever all the way forward. The Traveler grabs the parking break lever, presses a button on the top of the lever and jerks it forward. They gently step onto the gas with their right foot, as their left foot carefully comes off the clutch. The trees outside gently rotate right, until the far away red light is on their left shoulder. They push both levers fully forward, and the trees outside approach. 

The far away hill and its mysterious pulsing red light fade from view as the Traveler descends into the deep night forest. 

The Traveler looks at their glowing green watch. It is 20:57. 

The Traveler keeps a steady foot on the gas, and holds both steering levers forward, only slightly adjusting to weave through trees and away from small cliffs. The speedometer dial hovers at 10 km/h. Outside the windshield, approaching trees, dirt, and mud are illuminated white-blue by the headlights. The side view mirrors show the departing world lit dimly red from the tail lights. Beyond both the passenger and driver windows is only pure black. Everything outside appears to bounce up and down, as the tracked UAZ-469 crunches over rocks, ditches, and small fallen logs. 

Time passes. The Traveler looks at their glowing green watch. It is 21:04. 

The headlights glint off of flowing water 20 feet outside the window. It is a 30 foot wide river. The Traveler brings the left steering lever down a few inches and the world outside rotates right. The river now flows parallel to the Traveler. They continue parallel with the river around 10 km/h, dodging trees along the way.  

Time passes. The Traveler looks at their glowing green watch. It is 22:19.

There is a break in the trees outside. The Traveler crinkles their eyebrow and slows the car to 3 km/h. Outside the driver window a 20 ft wide straight is carved out of the lightless black trees. It extends into the unknown distance. Likewise outside the passenger window, the straight goes over a shallow part of the river, and trails off into the deep dark. Towards the middle of the straight, two parallel shallow trenches go off in either direction. Brake, clutch, neutral, handbrake. The Traveler stops before going over the trenches, and they step out of the car into the night. Only the nearby river can be heard. The Traveler bends down to inspect the trenches. Patterned grooves reveal them to be old tire tracks. Staring at the tracks, the Traveler rubs their head. After a second they look up. In the far distance, the pulsing red light. 

They walk to the passenger side of the car and pull out the binoculars from their pack. They look at the red light. Zagged patterns. Although still no bigger than a paperclip, there is some sort of radio tower, and the red light emits from the top.

After a second, they look through their back pack again, and pull out two rectangular devices. They put the binoculars back inside of the pack. They face the direction of the red light. One device is a flip phone which they turn on. It powers up and sings a tune. It's loud against the quiet night. On the lock screen, it shows no signal. They hold the phone up towards the small red light. Still no signal. The other device is a handheld AM FM radio. They extend its antenna, and turn the radio on. A static emits from the radio. The Traveler slowly shifts between every frequency but only uninterrupted static can be heard. They put the phone and radio away into the backpack, and stare at the distant pulsing tower. 

A wind starts to blow, pushing waves through the nearby silhouetted treetops. It rustles and lifts the Traveler’s clothes. The Traveler stuffs everything back inside the pack, walks to the driver door, gets inside, and shuts the door. Their clothes no longer rustle, but the dull drone of the wind continues, and small twigs and dirt can be heard hitting the side of the car outside. 

Time passes. The Traveler looks at their glowing green watch. It is 22:24.

The river curves south, and two other rivers flow into it. The merged river widens to about 50 ft. Brake, clutch, neutral, handbrake. They put a long stick into the river. 4ft deep, and 10 inches of mud. They get back into the car. Clutch, release handbrake, first gear, gas, release clutch, and the Traveler goes south, now parallel to the merged river. 

A minute passes. The Traveler angles the car facing the river and parks the vehicle. The river is illuminated. This time a small island is in the center of the river. Where the Traveler probes the river is about 70 ft wide, although only 2 ft deep with 5 inches of mud, although a rocky rapid sits 250 feet upstream. They start the car and go into the river. The current pushes hard against the passenger door, but it does not move the vehicle. Drips of water shoot up onto the glass. The vehicle slows in the mud, yet continues at 5 km/h. They reach the center island, and track over it into the next half of the river. 

The car sinks about 3 feet into the water and mud. The rushing river rises over half way up the door. The Traveler continues at 3 km/h. Then the vehicle stops. The Traveler revs the engine. The vehicle does not move. Clutch, shift into reverse, gas, release clutch. The vehicle still does not move. Clutch, shift into 1st. The Traveler brings the left steering lever half way down, lightly presses the gas, releases the clutch, and then puts full pressure onto the gas. The vehicle starts to move with the current. The Traveler pushes the left steering lever fully forward. 

The vehicle starts to move past 5 km/h, no longer heading towards the shore. The rapid sits 200 ft upstream. As the river thins in width, the tide’s force builds. The Traveler presses the brake, but the car has near little reaction. Their eyes widen, and their actions become a little quicker. They wiggle the steering levers as an attempt to grab the river bed. Nothing. The car begins to drift. They press the brake on and off. Nothing. In panic, they press the brake too hard and the car stalls. Their foot goes for the clutch but they miss. Water starts to flood the floor. They correct their foot, turn the ignition, the car jumps forward, and the engine rumbles and starts. The tide is getting stronger. As the car continues to drift, the world outside tilts sideways. The Traveler looks outside the driver window. The water is rising up the door. The passenger side of the vehicle is lifting in the current. The traveler begins to hyperventilate. 

The Traveler pulls the left steering lever down, and presses the gas hard. The vehicle whips back down onto the river bed, as it now moves straight with the increasing tidal force. The speed dial goes up to 7 km/h, they ease off the gas, double push the clutch, shift to second gear, increase pressure on the gas, release the clutch, and the speed dial increases to 10 km/h. As the river deepens.the water rises 4 ft up the car, touching the window base, and covering the headlights. The rapid is 100 ft upstream. Smoke spews out the front of the car, and gurgling can be heard from the exhaust. The car reaches 12 km/h 50 ft before the rapid. They pull the right steering lever down, and the car turns 45 degrees right of the tide direction. 

They hit land hard. Mud and dirt spew everywhere. A tree quickly approaches from outside. They slam the brakes. The car stalls, stopping five feet shy of any tree. 

They release their extraordinarily tight grip from the steering levers, staring far past any tangible objects. They engage the parking brake lever and sit for a while.  

Time passes. The Traveler looks at their glowing green watch. It is 00:14.

The ground is exceptionally smooth. The headlights reveal no trees. Only grass, dirt, bushes, and a small stream which the Traveler follows. In the side view mirrors are the once traveled black hills. Outside the driver window the terrain slopes steeply up. 

The Traveler puts their face close to the window. They peer up the slope. At the ridge there are three spikes each about the height of a tree. They are black against the night sky. The Traveler squints, following the spikes as they drift by. They shift their view back to the front windshield. At the cusp of the headlights’ reach, the ground becomes absent of grass. 

The Traveler rolls on into the dirt. More black spikes emerge from the dark. Hundreds. Some tall and some short. Some laid on the ground. Some cracked in half. They are the burned husks of a pine forest. The Traveler continues following the stream.

Time passes. The Traveler looks at their glowing green watch. It is 01:07.

A thick fog fills the outside. Approaching burnt trees reveal themselves only 20 feet ahead. The Traveler continues to follow the stream. A blackened tree approaches directly ahead. It is much thicker than the other trees. The Traveler rotates around the tree, so that the tree is on their left shoulder. They look at it as it passes by. Wrapped around the trunk are strings with many small colorful fabrics tied to each string. The strings wrap around the tree a number of times, from the roots up to eye level. They all converge on one point. The hanging skull of a stag, whose spindly antlers extend 1 foot in either direction. On the forehead of the skull are carved two figures with misshapen limbs. Between the two figures, a perfect circle is punctured all the way through the skull. 

Time passes. The Traveler looks at their glowing green watch. It is 01:55.

The fog persists. The stream is headed directly west. It shrinks, until it disappears. The area is muddy and filled with puddles. The Traveler takes a compass hung around their neck and they continue directly west. Every burnt tree now has its own colored flag. The larger trees all have various skulls of animals hung on them. The base of a hill approaches. The Traveler stops the car and they pull out their map. They look outside, and then at their map. They place the map down and drive up the hill.

Trees and dirt disappear, replaced by rocks. The fog dissipates. And a pulsing red light sits less than a mile uphill. 

Time passes. The Traveler looks at their glowing green watch. It is 02:05.

The Traveler stops the car, and steps out onto the gravel. They pull out their flashlight and point it up the tower. It is about 30 feet high. It is rectangular all the way up with rusted diagonal bars going back and forth. There are scratched and broken dishes and frayed wires attached towards the top. And at the very top, a red pulsing light. They continue to look up. Then they point the flashlight down at the base. A small scratched up red star is painted on one of the corner bars. A yellow hammer, sickle, and small yellow star are painted within the red star. 

 They look at it for a while, and then begin to point the flashlight around the area. There is a heli pad platform raised 4 feet off the ground to the right. A set of metal steps go up to it. They step onto the heli pad. It is completely silent except for a soft wind. They point the light around the heli pad, but there is only pebbles and dust. They sit down on the edge of the platform with their feet dangling, looking out into the distance. They turn off the flashlight. The hills they traveled are entirely black, and the stars twinkle. They sit for a while. Their jacket gently crinkles in the affectionate wind.

The Traveler exhales in disappointment and makes their way back to the car. Along the way they putt around rocks with their feet, when a metal clang is heard. 

The Traveler turns on their flashlight and walks to the source. The metal tower and its red pulsing light loom behind them. It is a rusted hatch. There is a handle. They try to lift the hatch but can’t. They try a little harder and the hatch opens a crack. The air around is sucked inside, towards whatever lies beneath. The hatch is sucked close. The Traveler gets behind the hatch so they can use their body weight and they pull. The hatch opens a crack again, and air is sucked inside. They pull harder. The crack widens to a few inches and more air is sucked inside. Finally they beat the pressure, and can freely open the hatch the rest of the way. 

They shine the flashlight down into the hole. A ladder goes down to a cement floor.