The days stretch on in the cold and barren winter. Very little life exists, and it makes for difficult hunting. The occasional buck, or moose, provides only a few days worth.

Cameron bounces the purple gym ball twice, and glances left to right at his opponents. They are playing in a parking lot, behind a large brick building that's one story tall, except for on the hill it spans onto where it grows into two stories. He picks out where he'd like to place it, so he bounces a third time. At the top of its bounce Cameron smacks it down into the opposite square with full force—

Gabrielle raised her silky arm above the water and back down, lifting the other above. Her swim was an elegant dance; a ballet performed in the early morning when the mist still crept off the silvery surface of the pond. She was bare in the cool water just as nature intended all mammals of the forest. She could see the silhouettes of the antelope grazing on the hill not far from the pond. The sun slowly crept up from behind that hill. Ducks and geese played in the water opposite Gabrielle, and she dove under when they dove. When she reemerged her curly black hair was as straight as a horses tail, and it hung off her perfect neckline down to her shoulders to float in the water with her. She swam to the pond's edge.

Even in this light I could see that my thumb was swelling purple. I glanced at Margaret, who held a broken piece of wood in one hand. It hung there, swaying back and forth. It's splinters frosting by the second. She dropped it to the ground, and took a seat on a chilled piece of meat. Although the room was getting colder with each tick of the clock, her blood must have been boiling like a thousand degree volcano in that moment.

No one believed her. And why should they have? They called her mad after the incident. Or, at least, they called it an incident despite no one bearing witness. Maybe it's best to start before then.

I always figured that the plan was flawed. It was clear from the beginning that someone would want a bigger piece of the pie than they could eat. When you assemble a team of criminals, you are dealing with… well criminals. By nature they are untrustworthy. I should have seen this coming. Why had I not? Perhaps it was because of the broad.