"Hey, Washington, how much further?" Jim Shannon called out over the sound of the rover's engine as it plowed through the snow covered terrain.

He bounced in the back seat as the vehicle tore over the mounds and boulders in the way.

"It should be a few more clicks." Lieutenant Alicia Washington called back as she slid in her seat, trying to stay closer to the Commander in the passenger seat than the opening where a door usually sat.

"Do we really need to get there that quickly?" He questioned, his hands gripping the poles behind each of the front seats.

"Do you want me to slow down and wait for the carnitorus to catch up?" She asked with a smug grin.

"Floor it Lieutenant!" Nathaniel Taylor said, keeping an eye on the vast snowy wilderness before them, happy for the banter between his people, especially after a close call with the wildlife.

Alicia laughed as they went over a series of mounds, the rover flying through the air, crashing to the ground with each turn.

"You don't have to enjoy it so much Wash" Taylor said, noticing the sheriff in the back seat had his eyes shut tight.

The lieutenant didn't respond, at the last minute noticing a particularly large drop in the ground in front of them. She turned the wheel, braking, hoping in vain to avoid it.

"Hang on." She yelled at the last minute.

All three of them gripped anything they could as the car hit the incline, flipping over as it rolled sideways down the drop.

Alicia felt herself lurch forwards, hitting the steering wheel, before her body was thrown from the rover, hurling her into the snow covered rocks as the vehicle rolled twice more, ending up on its roof. Snow and mud flew from its tires as they spun in mid air.

She laid still, the world spinning in her eyes, the hard ground under her shaking. Her breaths came in short gasps as her lungs ached, her heart pounding a mile a minute.

She listened for sounds of her companions but the ringing in her ears drowned everything else out. Closing here eyes she took a deep pained breath, trying to calm her body down, including the images of what could have happened to the Commander and the Sheriff.

A hand on her arm drew the woman to open her eyes, looking up to see both men hovering over her, each staring down at her from either side. Taylor had a few scratches and his clothes were a mess, but he gave a relieved sigh when she looked at him. Jim was sporting the beginning of one hell of a bruise on his left cheek, but smiled at her as she raised her hand to grip his.

"Wash, you okay? Anything broken?" Taylor asked as he began to run his hands over her skin, feeling for anything broken.

"I'm fine." She said, trying to sit up, only to be pushed back down by Jim who was trying to wipe away blood that was running from a gash across her forehead.

"Lay still, lieutenant. Wait till you're a little less in shock." The commander demanded.

"I'm not in shock." She replied, "I'm alright."

"Well when I know you're not banged up too badly and you stop shaking so hard I might let you up." The older man said. "Wash, can you feel my hands?"

"Yes sir, your touching my legs." She replied with her eyes closed, hoping to slow the spinning a bit further. She raised each of her legs slightly, pressing against the hands that held her ankles.

"Alicia, your heads got a big cut. I'm gonna have to stitch it up." Jim mentioned looking at the gash, wishing for once his ex-wife had come along.

"Okay, go for it." She swore under her breath as Jim headed back to the truck to hunt for the medical supplies in amongst the wreck of the rover.
"That's not the type of language I'm used to hearing from you, Wash." Taylor said as he looked around to scout out the nearby area.

"I'm sorry Sir." She said. "I should never have gone that fast."

"Forget it Wash, its not your fault. We were in a bit of a hurry."

"That's no excuse sir, now were in even more trouble if the carnitorus catches up."

"Wash, let it go, it was an accident, we'll be fine. We can radio in and get Reynolds to bring out a second rover and get us." Taylor said firmly.

"Might have a problem with that, Commander, the radios busted." Jim said, returning to them with a supply pack in hand. He slowly started to stitch up the wound, looking down at the closed eyes of the woman trying to remain still.

"Okay, it's about two hours till dark and we're in the middle of the freezing, snow covered forest. We need to find shelter for the night and wait until someone comes for us." Taylor decided. "How long till you think you'll be on your feet Wash?"

"I'm up now, Sir." She said, trying to raise, only to be pushed back down by Jim until he was done stitching her up.

"There, all done." Jim said, hooking his arms under the lieutenants and slowly pulled her to her feet. His arm around her waist was the only thing that held her upright as the world spun around her.

"Jim, see what you can salvage from the rover and we'll head up the mountain, see if we can find somewhere to wait out the storm I have a feeling is coming." He said looking in the direction of the ever darkening sky.

Alicia pulled her arms tight against her body, shuddering at the cold that was seeping through her jacket as she followed the men to the rover.

After five minutes they had everything they could salvage for and headed off through the bush. Taylor took the lead, his pulse rifle ready, with Jim bringing up the rear.

The sounds of the wilderness, roars in the trees, were the only noises made as they hurried away.