I spend an hour searching for wood, and manage to find a few dry logs. A light snow is falling now and the daylight is fading. I eat a can of peaches for an energy boost and step back out into the cold. My next priority is finding fuel to start a fire. If I go to sleep which is very tempting I wonвЂ™t wake up again. But as cosy as the inside of the cabin looks, itвЂ™s still freezing. I knew that tin opener would come in handy. I rifle through the cupboards and drawers and end up with a decent haul of medical supplies, warm clothes and canned food. ItвЂ™s not much thereвЂ™s little else besides a single bed and a log burner but itвЂ™s a vast improvement over my cave. I burn my last few remaining calories sprinting towards it. I watch one kill a deer and realise that humans are no longer at the top of the food chain out here.ДЄfter a long, seemingly endless walk through the snow and along a frozen river, I see a shape in the distance that looks encouragingly man-made. I can see wolves on the prowl, but I keep my distance and they donвЂ™t bother me. If I found a rifle I could eat one, but the only thing in my pack that even vaguely resembles a weapon is a tin opener.

I wonвЂ™t last another night in that cave, and the only supplies I have are a bottle of water and a box of crackers.ДЄs I trudge through the forest, deer skip around me. The sun is bright and the air crisp, but itвЂ™s still deathly cold. I limp out of my hole into the whiteness of the Canadian wilderness. I can feel my life slipping away with every passing hour.Д«ut as the morning light creeps over the horizon, IвЂ™m still alive.

I drink a can of soda and eat a chocolate bar to keep my energy up, but IвЂ™m going to need some real food soon. Occasionally I hear the howl of a wolf and pray one doesnвЂ™t come in for shelter. A blizzard is raging and the temperature plummeting. It doesnвЂ™t feel like it will.ДЄt the cave mouth I see a sheet of white. All I can do is cower in the corner where itвЂ™s slightly warmer and wait for morning, if it ever comes. My fire burned out hours ago, and scavenging for wood in the forest outside will surely kill me. ItвЂ™s the dead of night and IвЂ™m freezing to death in a cave. Now I know why they call it The Long Dark.

The long dark cheats v.302