“Come on!” the strained words escaped my mouth as I gasped mouth wide.

The air was sharp with the chilling bite of winter. It carried with it the scent of damp earth and fresh snow. The sky above was a pale slate, the sun a cold, distant thing barely peeking through the canopy of frost-bitten trees.

And I was on my ass. Again.

I sucked in a sharp breath hoping to relieve the impact of my back hitting the frozen ground as it was still vibrating through my bones. A plume of white mist left ...