Snow and winter in Minnesota…Yup! I know all about it….
LEADING UP TO THE AMBUSH in THE FINAL DECEPTION:
The night rolled in silently. The sky was clear now. A luminous white, full moon lit up the frozen lake ahead of them. Tight, thick stands of pine, oak, and maple trees lined each side of the path leading to the lake. A trail had been cleared through the woods, not by nature, but by man. Several trees had fallen in chaotic angles off to the sides of the trail. Weeds and bushy branches spiked up in shining silver slivers that reflected the moonlight. They flourished in bushy spheres over and around the path.
Quay led the way from the house with Samantha following in silence behind him. The subzero night air etched their faces with brisk pinpricks. In typical Minnesota form, they had each ducked their heads into the collars of their coats, chins down into the neckline. Quay wore a dark blue parka that blended into the night. He’d pulled the hood up and forward over his stocking cap and pulled up the inside collar to shield his face from the cold. Sam pulled up the collar of her wool pea coat, and wound the fringed green plaid wool scarf around the collar pulling it tightly up over her nose and mouth. A dark knit cap covered her loose auburn curls allowing only her eyebrows and eyes to be exposed to the air. Their breathing pushed puffs of white air ahead of them.
“Damn, it’s cold!” muttered Quay. He looked up. Ice crystals circled in a blue arc around the moon. Not a good sign. Common lore was that ice crystals around the moon meant a storm was brewing.
“That’s not good,” Quay noted.
“What’s not good?” Sam looked up to follow Quay’s gaze. “Oh,” she said in understanding. “The moon, huh? Haven’t heard a weather report. Maybe a storm coming. What are we doing out here, Quay?” Sam’s voice trembled now as she shivered not from fear, but from the cold.