Runner up in the Holy Worlds Christmas Contest. Originally appeared on the HW blog: http://www.holyworlds.org/blog/?p=433
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White snow against the darkness. The taste of fear is in your mouth. The white cloud obscures the danger. It is the danger. Cold presses like knives into your skin. The wind speaks fearful things into the night. It howls and whines through the whiteness. It whispers of despair Your enemy. Ice waits to kill. Wind laughs at your attempts to escape. Snow falls; silent and deadly. White against the black. Stars are hidden, tracks obscured. Alone and panicking, surrounded by snow. Your shouts are muffled, your footsteps covered, your passing obscured by relentless snow. White snow, against the darkness.