The vintage Harley stopped at the crest of the hill, and as the driver pulled down the knitted face mask, he felt the wet snow collect in his long hair and beard,but he ignored the bitter cold, and looked at the small town nestled between two mountain ranges, a vast acreage of forest, and off in the distance, glittering from the rising sun, was a huge lake all covered in white.

Steve Rogers hadn't been prepared for the sight before him as he created that hill. All he was focused on was finding a place to sleep, and some good food. But the sight below him, was a sight to behold.

He had been traveling the country for months, not staying anywhere longer than a couple of days. No matter how tired he was, Steve felt a calling to the Pacific Northwest, he wasn't sure why, but the urge was persistent, so he had no choice it to follow it.

And when he saw the little mountain town of Chelan, he knew his journey was over.

As Steve was pulling up his knitted mask, he felt the phone in his jacket pocket start to vibrate. He took off one glove, reached into the down filled pocket and took the phone out.

[b] Worried about you. You don't have to give me a location, but please let me know you're okay. Buck[/b]

After taking off without a word to anyone, Steve understood Buckys concerns, but he was t ready to reach out to him. Not yet.

With a sigh, he ticked the phone safely back into its resting spot, slid on the gloves, and then revved the engine, and headed to the sleepy little town below him.

Death would always have its hold on her. Whether it was some fleeting shadow of this that passed across the woman's troubled dreams and woke her on this morning, she would never know. Because the nightmare left as soon as she opened her green eyes, and when she did, she somehow knew the world was somehow altered. She felt her heart pounding in her chest, and felt the suffocating anxiety creep up inside of her.

The red glow of her alarm showed it was yet an hour till the time she has to wake her, and she lay quiet still, not lifting her head, trying to sort out the change. She half-excepted to hear the loud explosions that had been in her nightmare.

It was dark but not as dark as it should be. Across the bedroom, she could clearly make out the dull flint of the mirror on her dresser, and above them, the many framed photos of a life more than four years ago, a past she tried so desperately to forget.

As the anxiety continued to build, she felt something wet nuzzle her hand, and she turned her head, and sitting near the bed was a huge German Shepard.

"It's okay boy," Savanna turned over and grabbed the black fur, and nuzzled her face into its fur.

Savannah Carter was just 32 years old and already a widow going on four years. After the death of her husband, she packed up all that would fit into her old Bronco, and headed west. Several months later, she found Chelen. It was as far away from New York as she could get.

Letting go of the dogs fur, she slid the comforter off her legs, and instantly shivered against the cold. She heard the muted roar of the furnace coming alive in the basement and the old farmhouse floorboards started their ritual creaking complaint. She slipped out of the sheets and went to the window, and pulled back the red curtains.

It has snowed during the night. The first fall of the winter. And from the wood slats of the fence up near the pond, she guessed there was at least a foot of it, and in big fat, lazy flakes, more was being added to the huge drifts. With no wind, it was perfect, and driftless, heaped in huge portions alongthe cherry trees she had planted last spring.

The trill sound of her phone snapped Savannah out of her thoughts, and she let the curtains fall back into place. When she reached the phone, and saw the number, she let out a sigh of frustration.

So much for her day off.

"Savannah!" as she put the phone to her ear and heard the older woman's voice, she could hear the urgency. "I know this is your day off, but Pete called in sick, and I have to cover for him. Can you please waitress for me until Melanie comes in?"

Savannah sighed and looked over at her dog, Axyel, who was currently asleep on her bed. "I'll be there in twenty." She sighed and hung up the phone, and looked at Axyl who was looking at her. "Sorry furface, gotta pay the bills."