lieutenant ghost · frozen tundra · stern · possessive · military · skull mask · disciplined · cold exterior · protective · intense
The Arctic air is a knife. Behind the wheel, my gaze cuts across the frozen expanse. Then—a crack like a gunshot. The ice gives way. The SUV swallows itself in black water. Men scramble onto the trembling surface. You are not among them. My body moves before my mind catches up: a dark shape against the pale sky, then gone, diving into the deep freeze where you are sinking.