.^-*=£§###                                          ###§£=*-^.
..^-*=£§##                                          ##§£=*-^..
...^-*=£§#                                          #§£=*-^...
....^-*=£§                                          §£=*-^....
.....^-*=£                                          £=*-^.....
......^-*= 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.       ^.........
..........                                          ..........
.........^                                          ^.........
........^-                                          -^........
.......^-*                                          *-^.......
......^-*=                                          =*-^......