Third-person POV

Terrance shivered, though it wasn't from the bite of the mountain wind. It was the unnatural stillness of the border, the vast, snow-dusted clearing that stretched before the heavily fortified main gate, that set his teeth on edge. He adjusted the thermal scope on his rifle, his gaze sweeping over the silent, moonlit landscape. Hours could pass without a whisper, without even a stray animal daring to cross the invisible line of the perimeter. But tonight… Tonight ...