ncrete　ring；　Danny　heard　the　stealthy　crackle　of　dead

leaves　as　something　came　for　him　on　its　hands　and　knees。　At　any　moment　he　would

feel　its　cold　hand　close　over　his　ankle　—

That　thought　broke　his　paralysis。　He　was　digging　at　the　loose　fall　of　snow

that　choked　the　end　of　the　concrete　ring；　throwing　it　back　between　his　legs　in

powdery　bursts　like　a　dog　digging　for　a　bone。　Blue　light　filtered　down　from

above　and　Danny　thrust　himself　up　at　it　like　a　diver　ing　out　of　deep　water。

He　scraped　his　back　on　the　lip　of　the　concrete　ring。　One　of　his　snowshoes

twisted　behind　the　other。　Snow　spilled　down　inside　his　ski　mask　and　into　the

collar　of　his　parka。　He　dug　at　the　snow；　clawed　at　it。　It　seemed　to　be　trying　to

hold　him；　to　suck　him　back　down；　back　into　the　concrete　ring　where　that　unseen；

leaf…crackling　thing　was；　and　keep　him　there。　Forever。

Then　he　was　out；　his　face　was　turned　up　to　the　sun；　and　he　was　crawling

through　the　snow；　crawling　away　from　the　half…buried　cement　ring；　gasping

harshly；　his　face　almost　ically　white　with　powdered　snow　—　a　living　fright…

mask。　He　hobbled　over　to　the　jungle　gym　and　sat　down　to　readjust　his　snowshoes

and　get　his　breath。　As　he　set　them　to　rights　and　tightened　the　straps　again；　he

never　took　his　eyes　from　the　hole　at　the　end　of　the　concrete　ring。　He　waited　to

see　if　something　would　e　out。　Nothing　did；　and　after　three　or　four　minutes；

Danny's　breathing　began　to　slow　down。　Whatever　it　was；　it　couldn't　stand　the

sunlight。　It　was　cooped　up　down　there；　maybe　only　able　to　e　out　when　it　was

dark。。。　or　when　both　ends　of　its　circular　prison　were　plugged　with　snow。

（but　i'm　safe　now　i'm　safe　i'll　ju