The two poachers laughed, high-fiving each other. One lifted his radio, calling their cohorts back from wherever the bear had chased them. Nolan twisted his wrists, pain lancing through him, but the ropes refused to give way. Despair engulfed him, cold as the Arctic wind.
Nolan’s frustration soared as he tested the ropes biting into his wrists. His boots offered no traction on the slick ice, preventing him from bracing enough to tug free. He scanned for a dropped blade or any shard of metal, but everything remained maddeningly out of reach.