Bitch: Transformation

An hour later, I stopped again. My body shaking. The hitch in my side so bad that I felt like I was running sideways. I had more snow, but it didn’t seem to help. I was getting worse, and was starting to get cold. The adrenaline had faded. The snow in my mouth didn’t want to melt. It sat like an ice cube stinging my tongue. I was cold. Cold like I wouldn’t warm up again cold. Running wouldn’t make me warm any more.

My breath making ragged puffs of steam, I realized that I was crying. How long had I been crying, I wondered? Parts of my face felt numb. An owl in flight hooted somewhere overhead, but I couldn’t turn my head. My neck was stiff.

My breath caught.

Something.

A smell? A sound?

Something stopped me dead in my tracks.

I glanced around for what? Not daring to breathe.

And then I heard it... the sound of snow crunching, of it being trampled.