.....^:££§                                          §££:^.....
..^^^~~†£#                                          #£†~~^^^..
.^~:††££§#                                          #§££††:~^.
.^~:†£§###                                          ###§£†:~^.
....^^^:†§                                          §†:^^^....
.^~:†£§### in  the   endless  winter  day,  on  the ###§£†:~^.
..^^~:::†§ crystal white  plains... we trudge along §†:::~^^..
.......~†§   the train tracks... themselves slowly  §†~.......
.^~:†£§### snowed  over,  in the still  hours since ###§£†:~^.
.^~:†£§###          the last supply train.          ###§£†:~^.
.^~:†£§###                                          ###§£†:~^.
.^~:†£####     bell-like sounds of the blinding     ####£†:~^.
...^~::†§# ground.  rifles  attached to our  wrist, #§†::~^...
.^~:†£§### sharing in  our bloodstream.  my  husky, ###§£†:~^.
.^~:†£§###      my warm-coffee-in-cold-snow...      ###§£†:~^.
.^~:†£§###                                          ###§£†:~^.
.^~~~:::£# the  first  five  shots  you  can  spend #£:::~~~^.
.^~:†£§### indiscriminately, they hurt but deal  no ###§£†:~^.
......~†£§ long  time damage  to  the  shooter. the §£†~......
...^^:££§# next five  you  must  spend wisely, they #§££:^^...
.....^~:£# will take  days to heal.  the final five #£:~^.....
.^~:†£§### you   must    not    spend    at    all. ###§£†:~^.
.^~:†£§###                                          ###§£†:~^.
.^~:†£§### weeks earlier, in the weak autumn  dawn, ###§£†:~^.
.^~:†£§### in  the  blue-gray fog...  something  is ###§£†:~^.
.^~~::££§# burning  with   a  deep  crimson  flame, #§££::~~^.
.^~:†£####       untameable by water or wind.       ####£†:~^.
..^~:††§§§                                          §§§††:~^..
.^~:†£§###                                          ###§£†:~^.
.^~:†£££##                                          ##£££†:~^.
.^~:†£££##                                          ##£££†:~^.
...^^~††§#                                          #§††~^^...