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I do not wake when the bright sunlight of morning shines in my eyes through my snow cocoon, I do not wake to the feeling of ice water dripping on my face. I wake up when I hear the sound of someone cursing so foul that I had to cover my ears. Just as I was about to emerge from my shelter I hear a new batch of voices, the voices of children. "The footprints go this way! Come on guys!" a boy says. "Slow down, Jamie! This place gives me the heebie jeebies" another boys says, though this one is more whiny and grating on the ears.
I scratch a hole in my cocoon, looking out through it to the blinding morning light outside. A horde of children are tromping through the forest, making a loud ruckus and disturbing the once peaceful day. They are coming closer, following a trail in the snow. 'My footprints!' I think worriedly, what happens when they find me?
I nestle deeper into the snow, as if staying still will protect me from them. It occurs to me how preposterous it is to hide from kids, but the urge to remain unseen wins over any common sense I have. I make out the group to be mostly boys, the girls with them stick together at the back, observing with calm and amused expressions. The boys however are dead serious, running to get to the end of the footprint trail, their expressions narrowed and curious.
Through the hole I also see a man. Though he doesn't look like any of the men in town, they had a warm feeling coming from them and had rosy faces. This man is tall, lean and dark, with a deadly expression on his face, as if he wants to strangle something with his long bony fingers. I feel dread when I see him, like he is something dangerous that needs to be locked away from humanity. As the kids draw closer they also come nearer to the dark man, whose face I can never entirely see, even when he stands in a patch of sunlight. Just as I am about to scream at them to stop, they pass right through the man, as if he is a wall of vapour, his body reassembling as they continue on their way.
*Jamie P.O.V.*
When they follow the footprints through the dark forest it feels like they are protected somehow, as if the path is keeping them safe from the other creatures lurking in the snowy underbrush. Though Monty doesn't miss any chance to complain about anything, whining the entire way about something creeping him out or some part of his body aching.
"Monty! If you don't shut up I'm going to tie you to your sled and throw you into a lake!" Cupcake eventually yells, her face starting to twitch with annoyance. Monty is silent for about two minutes before he complains about his feet beginning to hurt. Cupcake then proceeds to throw him in a snowbank and cover him from head to toe in the frozen water particles.
Everyone else laughs at Monty's expense, but Jamie plows forward, keeping his eyes trained on the footprints. As they walk deeper and deeper into the forest the trees grow closer together, making everyone walk funny to avoid coming face-to-bark with a wooden giant.
Finally, the footprints come to an end, meeting below a huge mound of snow made into an almost perfect circle. Caleb steps forward hesitantly, poking a stick at the snow mountain. "Uh, what is it?" Claude asks, joining his twin with an identical stick.
"Looks like snow, ever seen that before Claude?" Cupcake asks, holding a stick more like a baseball bat in her hands. "Aw man, we came all the way out here for a bunch of snow? Bust!" Monty whines, already turning on his heel to leave.
"Hold it" Jamie snaps, kneeling down to examine the snow hill better. "If the footprints are leading to it, that must mean that someone, or something, is under it." Jamie concludes, turning to the rest of the group. For a moment there is no movement, everyone stands still as if contemplating their options. "Let's dig it up!" Pippa says, rushing forward to sink her hands elbow deep into the snow and then pull it away, leaving a gaping hole. Then everyone follows, ripping the snow apart to get what is underneath.