Claire lifted Kmart into her arms and began to shuffle slowly through the snow. Her attackers were still on pursuit, but they were having more trouble in this snow than she was.

Yesterday:

Beep Beep Beep. The helicopter's monitor chimed rapidly. Claire stared wide-eyed at the screen as a red icon flashed brightly.

"Claire? What's going on?"

"I-I don't-" A sudden jerk shook the helicopter and its passengers roughly. Claire turned around to see the frightened faces of her comrades. She turned back to the screen and began to toggle with the random controls below the monitor. 'Just a bit longer' Claire thought to herself…

The helicopter refused to comply with her wish and it began to quickly descend.

"DAMN IT. FUCK!" Claire cursed as she fumbled with the controls. They seemed to be falling for hours but it was only a matter of minutes. Claire gritted her teeth as she attempted to land the diving machine. The beeping was getting louder and louder. The descent towards the ground was intensifying and then-

"Claire! Wake up!"

Claire opened her eyes and squinted to see through the bright light. Kmart knelt down and peered inside the small rock shelter. "Hey, Claiirrre, wake up." The teen smiled. Claire rubbed her eyes sleepily and crawled out of the cave. She jolted upwards as her hands pressed against cold wet ice; a thin layer of snow covered the forest floor and Claire couldn't help but laugh a little inside. She stood upwards and rolled her shoulders a bit. The morning sun shone brightly through the thick snow sprinkled trees and the air was crisp and refreshing. Kmart was seated next to a large metal pan set on some glowing coals. Claire raised her eyebrows curiously as she shuffled tiredly to the pan. "Smells good, K." Claire yawned and her breath clouded the air as she exhaled.

It had originally been Claire's decision to make the trek up to this "abandoned" town alone, but Kmart had once again persuaded Claire to reconsider. A large growl was emitted from Claire's stomach. Kmart looked up at the older woman. "It'll be done in a minute." Kmart said in reply to Claire's stomach. A rare smile appeared on Claire's face as she nodded sleepily. Claire looked curiously into the pan. "What is that?" she asked puzzled. "It's a fish…" Kmart retorted.

"What did you do to it?"

"It's filleted!"

Claire just laughed. "Alright, it smells good so it must taste good," Claire walked off to the stream. "I'm going to wash up a bit, scream if anything happens." Claire called out behind her. "Mmkay." Kmart replied engrossed in her cooking. The young teen watched her older friend head off to the stream which was in clear view from where she sat.

She pretended to fiddle with the meal on the pan, but stopped to watch Claire disrobe.

A thin blush tinted her cheeks and she suddenly felt embarrassed.

Quickly, she returned to cooking.

The meal treated both girls well and prepped them for the task at head.

"So, what do you think we'll find down there?" Kmart was lying down on her stomach peering through a pair of binoculars.

"A whole lot of nothing," Claire replied while taking a swig of her rum-filled canteen.

"Hey! Can I have a sip?" Kmart asked sweetly as she squinted up at Claire.

"Yeah, sure… in a couple of years," Claire took another gulp out of her canteen and grinned back at the blonde. The two girls then sat in silence as they watched the small town below them. It was blanketed with snow and surrounded by some pine trees. The buildings appeared to be much worn, but they still stood.

"I see one," Claire stated dryly. Kmart stayed quiet as she looked through the binoculars once more. Sure enough, a shambling figure was roaming around through out the empty town.

"Maybe we should rethink this one, Claire." Kmart took her eyes away from the binoculars to face her partner.

"I can take you back to the-"

"No." Kmart interrupted.

"Okay then. Let's get moving, K" Claire picked up her rucksack and began walking through the dense forest.

Kmart took one last look back at the snow covered village before heading after her ambitious leader.