Coyote in the Groundhog’s Den — Part One

Short Fiction — A reality-warping event inspires Dan to seek out a second chance with a figure from his distant past, but everyone he encounters seems to be 1,000 steps ahead.

Photo by Vincent Guth on Unsplash

A gust of icy, howling wind greeted Dan at the summit. He pulled his knit beanie further down over his ears, and lowered himself onto a flat rock to take in the sunrise.

The blowing snow looked like dancing fire on the western peaks, still bathed in Alpenglow. To the east, a golden line traced the horizon.

He dug into his shoulder strap pocket and pulled out a wrinkled photo, and a chunky satellite phone.

“Still got plenty of juice, looks like.” Dan stowed the phone and studied the picture, as if studying the image in his hand somehow made his goal less insane.