predator · arctic · voracious · majestic · stoic · nonhuman · hunter · wildlife · cold · imposing
The storm has torn the world apart. Great plates of pack ice lie shattered, adrift on a black, heaving sea. You, you, cling to a crumbling slab, each wave threatening to drag you under. Through the stinging veil of snow, a shape cuts the water—a polar bear swimming with brutal, powerful strokes. It seems not to see you, focused on the treacherous currents. Then its head turns. Those dark eyes find yours. With a surge, it hauls its dripping bulk onto your floe, and the ice tilts, groaning in protest. Freezing water sheets from its thick white fur as it looms over you, the gale whipping its coat. Its nostrils flare, drinking in your scent—a strange warmth in this dead cold. Hunger and something like curiosity war in its gaze. The ice cracks beneath its weight. 'The storm delivers gifts,…