The Tundra
The native villagers around these parts say that there’s a stretch of tundra just north of here that is occupied by benevolent spirits. These spirits grant insight and warning to whoever visits them at night, once the sun has disappeared entirely and left the world in jet darkness. I drove out to the middle of the frozen expanse of ice and waited, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever commanded these people’s reverence. They send their children out, bundled in furs to keep from freezing, on the eve of their 15th birthday to seek an audience with these spirits. Once they have achieved this, the children run home to their parents to share the news. From then on these children are considered adults in the village. Engaged couples visit this tundra on the night before their wedding. The entire village stays up all night awaiting their return, as it is upon their return that the couple either decides to proceed with their marriage, or to abandon it. The elderly visit the tundra whenever they are sick or ailing, and often make their condition worse by staying all night in the cold. When they return, however, it is most often with an air of sheer serenity.
So I waited, curious to see what phenomenon might inspire people so powerfully. I waited for hours, bundled in my parka and sitting on the hood of my pickup. I waited until I felt that I was going to freeze to death, even in my thick clothing.
I heard the spirit before I saw it. A crunching of snow in the silence made me jump off my truck and spin around. A hunched, gray-skinned man stood a few meters away. Sad, yellowed eyes stared back at me, set inside a skull from which sprouted only a few greasy hairs. He breathed heavily, with a rattle that shook his fragile ribcage, and one of his arms looked as if it had been messily broken and then neglected, allowing it to knit back together imperfectly. Badly scarred flesh marred his splayed legs. The man stared at me for perhaps ten seconds, breathing in the frigid air and exhaling a sickly dribble of steam, before disappearing when I blinked my eyes.
I spun around, looking for the man, but he was truly gone. Approaching where he had stood, I found a pair of bloody footprints in the snow. Frantic with fear, I got into my pickup and headed for the village as fast as the ice would allow. A few villagers were waiting for me when I arrived, knowing that I had gone out and curious as to what might happen. I hastily got out of my truck and, approaching the nearest villager, I demanded, “What is so benevolent about these spirits? What is so insightful? How do these spirits help you?”
“What did you see?” he asked, the look on his face now mirroring the fear in mine.
“I saw a man, horribly disfigured and desperately sick!” I screamed into his face, and the rest of the villagers around us backed away a step. “Why? What does that mean?” I begged him.
“The spirits show only one thing,” the man explained. “They show their visitors, a year in the future.”
–
Credited to David Feuling.
That was pretty good. Creepy ending. Poor guy for whatever happened to him.
Fist post!
Also, ending seemed a bit too obvious once it started describing in detail the injuries of the old man/future guy.
Aww, poor kid.
Really good story, though.
I really liked this one
I sure liked this!
Vedy, vedy interesting.
I liked it much.
Good one. Ending was not so impressive.
I gotta say this…
It’s a must…
Who was phone?
XD
Nice pasta… XD
Creepy. I feel so sorry for that dude.
So that vision is of the guy with the truck?
man that was a good one.
didn’t like this that much
I kinda liked this one, it’s the first pasta in a while that genuinely sent a chill through me at the end
Hrm….I sort of liked this pasta…..almost like a ritual pasta told from the perspective of someone who performed it, and yet…..it doesn’t lack a storyline. It even has a twist at the end, albeit a bit predictable. All in all, I say this is a good pasta.
Tasty!
i really liked this one!
well I guess someone’s gonna become a shut-in.
Poor guy
SO WHO WAS FUTURE SELF???
BUT THEN WHO WAS I?
varying degrees of like were attributed to this pasta
OH SHI-
That was awesome.
Wow. That was good.
I found it enjoyable if not a little predictable. I really liked the description of the man in the future, though.
mmmm… i just wasnt ‘feeling’ this one.
BUT WHO WAS FUTURECRIPPLE
But then WHO WAS OLD GU-oh right….
This was a good pasta, I liked the ending.
Yess, I like.
It was really good up until the end. The ending was too generic, and felt like some boring horror story.
It feels like the beginning to a Stephen King book or something. I want moar!
Pretty good…though somewhat cliche. It was a bit predictable, but its descriptions and historical backup were great.
cant take this one seriously.
i keep getting that mighty boosh song in my head.
@Guy – newfags never learn. Just because there are no comments there, doesn’t mean noone has commented.
@author – very good story. Not that creepy, but still good. Feaster of Fear has it right, there’s a pretty damn good storyline, and a good twist. While this story wasn’t creepy, it was very descript, but the details were not too daunting, or repetitive. Good job.
No John, you ARE the spirits.
And then John was crippled.
Pretty good, I for one didn’t see it coming. Not all that scary, but entertaining nonetheless. I wish it was a little longer, though.
Predictable pasta is predictable.
Did not saw that coming.
Very well written.
Good pasta is good. I like.
that was interesting…
but not THAT creepy
I sort of saw what was coming. But I like this one.
BUT WHO WAS I
I liked this pasta muchly.
Good twist at the end.
I went to that tundra place. I saw myself going down on you’re dad
MOAR!!! I liked this one. It is what pastas are supposed to be. Short little dishes that creep you out.
Then who was idiot that thinks he was “fist”?
it was good but it was predictable.
A year in the future seems a bit short. People typically are happy their first year of marriage, and a 15 year old seeing their 16 year old future self isn’t exactly going to be an astronomical change.
Something like five years into the future would make a bit more sense to me, but I liked the setup.
BUT WHO WAS 15 YEAR OLD?
I assumed the ending would be something of the such, but it was better than I expected!
Wonderful pasta. I will let it linger on my pallet.
I don’t recall posting on this one when I first read it. I’m re-reading old pastas and posting on the ones I really enjoyed. This one definitely makes it on my favorites list. Very well done!
Nicely written and perfectly excecuted.
My bad. I misspelled executed…
Thoroughly enjoyable pasta.
Thanks for the great read!
Never take the Tundra lightly, it can drive a man insane…
Its the nothing-ness…
The whiteness…
The endless-ness…
Stretching on beyond the human imagination
Desolation of the soul…
OH MY GOD!!
Ice flow – nowhere to go
Ice flow – nowhere to go
Lost in the blinding whiteness of the Tundraaaaaaaaa!
Check him out!
They call him the shrew
Arms in short then with the claw
I’m little Johnny Frostbite
Moving around
Freezin’ you up freezing you down
Like an icicle
Coming in your tent in the pink light scissor bite
Arctic death
Infinite night
They call me Tundra boy
Because I move like an Arctic – lizard
When the Blizzard strikes I disappear like a pipedream
All that’s left is the gleam – on a tent peg
Boosh Boosh – stronger than a moose
Don’t lock your door or we’ll come through your roof – top
Stop look around take your mind off the floor
Because the Boosh is loose and we’re a little bit raw
Ice, flow, nowhere to go
Ice, flow, nowhere to go
Lost in the blinding whiteness of the Tundra. Ooooowwwww!
At first I was like, “This is going to be boring isn’t it?” And then is started reading, and then I was like, “Aww, that poor guy, why would you be scared of him…? He just needs a hug!” And then a few seconds before it said I was like, “Oh no, that guy is going to be that guy! Aw, poor guy…”
Anyway, it was good, IMO. A nice twist, and it made me feel for the ghost even before I knew who it was. Although I would like more creepy in this pasta. Like the ones from last night…I slept with the light on, and with the dog. :-X
@ncfangirl i always sleep with my dog and why would you feel sad for that guy i would have run him over
There are three or four Pasta’s that appear in every category, this is one of them.
That’s an “oh shite” moment.
BUT WHO WAS MAN?
i thought the ending would be like: the man saw no spirit, he saw an actual human being which needed help but he ignored him and left it to its death
neat ending, good pasta.
This reminds me of the Anthony Horowitz story called the yellow man or something.
Seriously, what is up with Locations. This is the third story I read that’s just really sad/melancholy. Loved the concept, simple but very clever.
That wasn’t very good
BUT WHO WAS GUY SAYING WHO WAS PHONE?!
Nice twist. 9/10. I wonder what I’ll look like in a years time?
Fear the Darkness
-Nex
Wow, reaper. First time I’ve commented on here. Know why? Cause you keep insisting that if somebody posts ‘first’ when they think they’re first, they’re a moron.
They’re not the ‘newfag’, you are.
whoa…cool pasta!
THIS WAS STOLEN FROM STEPHEN KING. Just too let y’all know
THIS WAS STOLEN FROM STEPHEN KING. Just too let y’all know
Heh.
This story was posted a year ago.
Hey! Yeah i didnt really get this one.. Its not really Cool? C’mon Pasta thats not creepy unless your fat!. So yeah guys stop writing depressing stories, lighten up! and Get laid!!
That was gay.
BEST PASTA WHERE YOU GO TO AN AREA AND GET SCREWED EVER.
I love twisty pasta, when it’s not like “Oh, hey, look, remember that nice, sweet old lady you all loved so much through the story? Yeah, she’s Satan. Remember the protagonist? He’s working for her. The antagonist? He’s a T-rex that can shoot laser beams. This was all a dream.” Cause that sucks. This was finely cooked, with lovely grammar, good descriptions, and just the right amount of maggots. Not something you’d look in your closet for, but creepy nonetheless.
10/10.
suprise ending: its u
So guy goes into frozen tundra and most likely when he’s on the verge of succumbing to frost bite, he starts hallucinating. Also WHO WAS BLOODY FOOTPRINT
So guy goes into frozen tundra and most likely when he\’s on the verge of succumbing to frost bite, he starts hallucinating. Also WHO WAS BLOODY FOOTPRINT