...^««=§§£                                          £§§=««^...
.^«\====§#                                          #§====\«^.
.^«\=§§££#                                          #££§§=\«^.
.....«««=§                                          §=«««.....
.....^^«=§                                          §=«^^.....
.^«\=§§§§£ 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.       ##£§§=\«^.
.....«\=§#                                          #§=\«.....
.^«\=§§£##                                          ##£§§=\«^.
.^«\=§§£##                                          ##£§§=\«^.
.^^^^«=§£#                                          #£§=«^^^^.
......«=§§                                          §§=«......