Chapter Thirty-Three

His body ached from head to toe and he was cold; so very, very cold.  Edwin tried to sit up, but the effort was overwhelming.  Something heavy was on his chest, holding him down.

It was dark, so very dark.  Too dark to see even though his eyes were opened wide.  He could hear breathing close by.  He felt a tickling sensation as a moist nose rapidly sniffed up and down his body.  A sudden jolt took him by surprise.  His arms frantically flailed around him as he tried to find an inanimate object to secure him in place as whatever had sniffed him tried to drag him by the pant leg through the snow.

With every waking moment, he grew more and more aware of his body and surroundings.  It was as if he’d left it and was now making a slow reconnection.

A low snarl alerted him to the fact that the animal that was dragging him had met up with another animal that coveted him. As fascinating as it would have been to watch the batt