I awoke in the snow, a drained whiskey bottle laying next to my head, I couldn't feel my left leg but I think its still there. Crying did nothing but turn the snow into mud, I had no energy, how long had I been on the run?


The last thing I remember was a bar full of hairy bastards and one of the bigger ones offering his "wife" up as a poker bet. He was slapping her around to show how submissive she was. I had had enough, my switchblade grew warm against my leg. So I slit his throat from ear to ear when he drunkenly stumbled out the door.


From no where the "wife" shoots through the crowd screaming toward me. She takes me by surprise landing us both in the mud, my switchblade drops from my hand. I swear every fool gets a lucky chance or two and this must have been hers. We wrestled in the mud, her pulling my hair and ripping at my clothes. Me just struggling to be free of her and out of what I knew was mainly horse shit and piss. I could hear the taunts of the men enjoying the girl on girl fight  seeming to distract them from  their fallen comrade. A sudden flash of pain on my right side and a warmth spilling from me told me she had found my switchblade. 


Now I am here, laying in the snow about to die I'm sure of it, I can hear dogs in the distance. They must have organized a search party to find me, fuck. But I couldn't get up, my legs had gone numb in the snow. I reach for my right side to feel if I soaked through my bandage, pressing my hand to it I pass out.


I wake to the sensation that I'm flying, I'm warm except for my face which is burning cold, I try to move my arms but find that I'm strapped down. There is a heavy wind at my face which makes opening my eyes seem impossible. Struggling I can see a team of dogs in front of me, looking up I see a man wrapped in fur, his short beard and eyebrows covered in snow. He looks down at me and smiles, I pass out.


Waking again this time to the feeling of drowning. Two strong hands pull me up from the water, I'm struggling and spitting water. I see the same man from before he is laughing at me, I find my hands are bound together as I try to stop him from pushing me under the water a second time. This time I come up crying, begging for him to stop. He laughs again and tells me "You smelled worse than anything I've ever smelt, and your wound needs to be cleaned and tended to. I tied your hands because you looked like you had fight in you, I promise I'm not gonna hurt you". With that he takes a cloth and begins to wash me, I relax and seem to be ok with being naked and bound. He is wrong though, I don't feel like I have any fight left, the water is warm and cleansing to more than just my skin.


After he finishes bathing me he puts my arms over his head and pulls me to my feet lifting me out of the tub. I find it hard to stand and brace against him. He tells me "I was able to stop the bleeding from the knife wound, but I couldn't save all your toes from the frostbite." Looking down I see that my pinky toe on my left foot is missing and begin to cry. I look up at him crying and he just smiles back, takes my arms up over his head and wraps me in the softest of animal furs. He helps me to a chair by a fire place and undoes my wrists and hands me a glass of whiskey. I continue to weep over the loss of my toe. 


I wake up to the pop of the fire, I must have dozed off because its dark in his cabin now. I feel better and look around to see a beautiful cabin, animal heads decorate the walls and wooden carvings make the wood sing. Pulling the fur tight around me as I walk over to his bed I notice my feet don't make the same noises as I walk, my left foot lands heavier, I sigh. He shifts to make room as I climb into his bed and takes me into his arms. The animal fur feels fantastic against my skin but it's his body next to mine that makes me feel safe.


He whispers "You can tell me your story in the morning"