.....~††@£                                          £@††~.....
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.:~*†@@£££                                          £££@@†*~:.
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.:~*†@@£##                                          ##£@@†*~:.
.:~*†@@### 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.       ###£@@†*:.
.:~*†@@£##                                          ##£@@†*~:.
....~*†@£#                                          #£@†*~....
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