“Well,” he muttered to himself, “guess I’m taking you home.” Grabbing the sled’s rope, he began pulling it through the snow. The extra weight made the journey arduous, the sled dragging deep grooves in the white expanse behind him.
The trees around him creaked and groaned in the cold, and he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Every few steps, he glanced back at the block of ice, half-expecting the shadowy figure within to stir.