Free As the Light Dies by M.D. Woodham Page A

to the canal and disappearing under the broken ice filled his mind fuelling his panic, then he caught on to something with his left hand, it was part of the branch, he grabbed hold as tight as he could but he was still moving. The branch was moving with him, sliding further in to the canal!
    Dean kicked his legs trying to dig the toes of his boots in to the snow but it was having no effect, he was sure he was speeding up. He was certain his feet were starting to get wet, he was sure of it! His mind raced showing him images of his feet disappearing below the icy water... . “ SHIT, SHIT, SHIT.” he cursed kicking his feet and scratching at the snow still holding on to the branch too scared to let go. The branch ground to a halt giving him hope.
    He latched on to it with both hands and pulled himself up as fast as he could struggling against the snow and the branch became unhitched again.
    “Fuck!” he cursed through gritted teeth as he pulled as hard and as fast as he could. Frantically trying to work faster than the sliding branch.
    It was working. He was making ground. He was sure he was. He was sure he could feel the ground starting to level out beneath him!
    He pulled and tugged and kicked and scraped his way back up the bank, then certain he was level enough he took his chance and let go of the branch and rolled away.
    He was n’ t sliding anymore, he was safe. Lying on his side gasping for breath with adrenalin rushing through him he looked back and at the thick branch and watched it slide down in to the frozen canal and lodge itself under the still solid ice around the break.
    He lay there for a minute getting his breathing back under control still recovering from hitting the ground before getting back up cursing himself for getting in to a panic. He knew that was the worst thing to do in any situation, but then again if he had n’ t worked fast he might be swimming right now he told himself. He brushed himself down and checked his feet. They were still dry.
    He carried on, and by the time he reached the narrow path between the fenced in Academy football and rugby playing fields it felt like h e’ d walked twice, or even three times the usual distance.
    The path took him up a long gradual incline passed the Academy and a small cluster of shops at the top that were still in darkness including the corner shop that opened at six.
    Someone’s late for wor k , he thought as ha carried on.
    He passed under the road through the short subway coming out on Kinmylies way which his house backed on to from the other side.
    Nearly there , he thought eager to get home and start thawing out.
    He walked along the houses to the small access lane he passed through noticing how many of the houses were in darkness.
    Normally at this hour they were all lit up as people went through their morning routines getting ready for work. He passed between them down the narrow access lane that lead on to a pathway that in turn lead on to the next cul-de-sac and his back gate.
    The gate in to the back garden was a bad idea. There was a mound of snow, probably nearly two feet deep drifted up against it and Dean knew the gate was too weak to try and force open.
    The perks of buying a cheap hous e , he thought.
    The fact that it had been cheap meant that Dean was constantly broke, fixing this and replacing that. But the views over Inverness were amazing and were the sole reason h e’ d taken a gamble with it.
    He left the gate well alone and trotted round to the front of the street.
    He saw neighbours trying to clear snow from their doorsteps and driveways and clearing snow from their buried cars and the thought of a warm bed felt more enticing than ever.
    Dean reached for the front door handle and the door swung open.
    Gavin stood there smiling through a mouthful of toast and before Dean could even get in he was eagerly met by Sam, his five year old German Shepherd who jumped up and tried to lick his face off like he had n’ t seen him for