More running?  Nikolai couldn’t mask the dismay he felt at the prospect of more running.  But he also couldn’t deny that it seemed like the thing most likely to save their lives.  Sucking in a deep breath, he took off after the ungainly British man, assuming that the others would follow.<br/><br/>As they ran, the snow began falling even faster, making it difficult to see more than a foot or two ahead of them.  Then Nikolai noticed flakes in other colors appearing.  Blue, red, yellow, green -- every color in the rainbow, all swirling around them like a blizzard of icy confetti.  For a moment, Nikolai paused, transfixed by the beauty of the scene.  He even stuck out his tongue, allowing a pink flake to land on it.  Strawberries!  It tasted like strawberries.  This was definitely no dream.  His mind could never invent something like this.<br/><br/>One of his companions bumped into Nikolai, jolting him from his reverie.  At the same time, a rumble from the volcano reminded him of the very real threats that still face them.  This place, wherever it might be, was very dangerous -- and its occasional bursts of unearthly beauty only made it more so.  Shaking his head, Nikolai scattered the snowflakes that had gathered in his unruly brown curls, rather like a dog shaking itself dry.  Then he started running again.