The Ice Tunnel Closes

by Dan Peacock

The ice tunnel is getting narrower. I’m on my hands and knees, trying not to think about how many of them are behind me. Their beaks are nipping at my boots, but so far, I’ve been able to kick them back. My feet are so cold that I can’t feel my toes.

As I worm my top half through the gap, they catch up to me. I look down between my legs, at the mass of eyes and beaks wet with blood, at what’s left below my ankles, and realise I must have lost my boots a long time ago.

Dan Peacock

Dan Peacock is a First Reader at Orion’s Belt and The Dread Machine, and his work has appeared, or is forthcoming in F&SF, Kaleidotrope and Etherea, among others.

Website: danpeacockwriter.com.