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Orion sped through the snow. My only consolation was that he left a wide swath of trail for me to follow. The stillness of the dark morning made me glance over my shoulder more than once as I stumbled through the snow after him.
“You sure she went this way?” I called to him.
“Yes.”
We reached the trees where the snow was less dense. I actually saw bare ground beneath some thick-branched pine trees. Orion paused and sniffed the ground. I took the time to search with my eyes.
Something glistened beneath a rotten log. I walked over and knelt in front of the fallen wood. A crack in the bark allowed me to see into the hollow log. I reached inside and grasped something hard and slick.
“Orion!” I called out as I pulled out my hand.
He trotted over to me as I opened my fist in fr
