There was only concrete beyond her feet, and snowy sidewalks. She walked with faltering strength, the sole of the shoes hitting hard on the ground. The end of the world was a breath of a dream; words whispered by the fearful who would refuse to believe in order amidst all the confusion, but Alice had found it. Thunder Mountain, she had heard the man call it and she was so close to seeing it, she knew it would be magnificent.

Snow started to gather on her sleeves. The sky was getting darker with the weight of clouds and the sunlight was completely missing but there were still a few hours left of daylight. Alice leaned to massage her legs hoping to get some feeling to her toes, but it was as she prodded them through the thick leather of the boots that she heard the honk. A deafening noisy, running through the quiet the woods along the desert road. She jerked up and turned, gaping, to the sight of an approaching jeep.

As it stopped, sliding on the icy road, she saw two men inside it. One of them grabbed the frame o the windshield and rose from his seat, looking at her fiercely.

'Hey, what the hell are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?'

Alice jolted towards them and felt suddenly very numb; it had been weeks since she saw one of their jeeps. She gripped the side door.

'You have to take me with you.'

'Take you with us?' the man asked. He still stood inside the car, gazing curiously at her.

'To Thunder Mountain. I know that's where you are going.'

He looked cautiously as his friend behind the wheel. The other man was more taciturn and turned towards the road starting up the car.

'Look, I don't know what you are talking about. There is no place called "Thunder Mountain" so go back to wherever you came from.'

'We can't just leave her out here, she will freeze to her death.'

'Kurdy, sit down. We're not taking her with us and we don't have enough fuel to go back.'

Kurdy sat down also turning his eyes from her. She gripped the door hard.

'Please. You need to take me with you to Thunder Mountain. I think I know someone there.'

The man on the wheel was the one who spoke irritated. 'Like I said, we can't take you so just go back, alright? Go home or something.'

'But I know someone, please.'

Kurdy looked at the other man exasperatedly but he just turned back to the road and started to move the jeep away slowly. The instant her hands left their clasp, some small part of her was prepared to collapse upon itself.

'Hey, stop a minute. What if she does know someone, Jeremiah?'

'She doesn't.'

'Just stop the car, Jeremiah, stop the car.'

She could almost hear the two men fight inside the car, it had only moved a few feet away from her but her legs were stiff, she just sat on the ground, waiting for a veredict.

'What if she really knows someone? What if it's her family, Jeremiah? We can't leave her out here alone.'

'I told you, she doesn't know anybody, she's just lying to get a ride.'

She looked around her thinking where could be the best place to spend the night. She possibly had to go deeper into the woods and find some spot drier where to light a fire. A door opened next to her and Kurdy, clad in a long, dark coat, reached for her a hand. He yanked her from the ground.

'Throw your things in the back.'

After fifteen years of struggle, it took this brief moment of kindness to almost make her feel like tears would well up in her eyes. She let her bag drop in the back of the jeep and stopped for a little moment, expectantly.

'There's space in the front, and you'll be warmer.'

'Thank you.'

He gave her a half smile, 'Don't mention it, if it's even a small chance you'll find someone you know in Thunder Mountain, it's worth the trouble.'

She entered the jeep and the other man, Jeremiah, gave an annoyed sigh as he started up the car again. She moved towards him to give Kurdy room to sit.

'You better not make me regret this, Kurdy.'

'Relax, even if she doesn't know anyone, how bad can it be?'

'I do know someone, I swear I do. At least, I think I do. I heard one of you; some guys in a jeep like this saying his name. It might not even be him, but if he is in Thunder Mountain it might be him. It sounds like him to be there.'

'So you heard a name, and it happens to be the name of a person you knew so you just assume he is in Thunder Mountain. That's just perfect. '

Kurdy came in her defence again. 'Maybe he has a weird name.'

'Or maybe his name is John, or Dick, or whatever.'

'Just relax, alright?'

'I don't relax when we're picking up random people because you think they have an honest face.'

'I never said that.'

'You probably thought it.'

'So, what is your name?'

She felt a knot in her belly when she realized she was being talked to again. 'I'm Alice.'

'Well, hello, Alice, it's nice to meet you. I am Kurdy and the brooding guy is Jeremiah.'

She gave a tentative look at Jeremiah, but he only shook his head irately and kept his eyes on the road ahead.

She could see nothing else but the dark road and pine trees covered in snow along the way for a long time. Sometimes, she would spot the tip of a mountain covered in trees and where those trees stopped growing, she could swear she saw great concrete walls down to the base of the mountain and near to the end of a road.

Kurdy and Jeremiah kept silent. After a while, the motion of the car and the unchanging scenery, moving away and towards her, left her drowsy. She jumped when Jeremiah spoke again.

'So, you haven't told us yet what is the name of the guy you think you know.'

'Come one Jeremiah, this again? We will get to it when we get to Thunder Mountain.'

'I'm only asking because maybe we know the guy, you know, if he has a weird name it would be hard to miss.'

'Fine, whatever, if you think you know all the weird names going around the mountain.'

'I'm just trying to help, Kurdy, I'm bring helpful.' After a brief moment of silence, Jeremiah turned towards Alice. 'So?'

'His name is Markus.'

Alice noticed Jeremiah throwing a meaningful look at Kurdy, and then looked back at her a slight bemused.

'You know Markus?'

Alice turned violently in her seat and clutched the sleeve of his coat. The movement startled him briefly that he almost let the jeep go out of the road. Jeremiah looked at her intensely between glances at the road ahead, and saw her wrestling to fence in the emotions his question had started within.

When she next spoke, it had a strange cadence to her words.

'You know a man called Markus Alexander?'

'Yeah, tall, quiet guy, weight of the world on his shoulders.'

'Markus is the leader of the people at the mountain.' said Kurdy.

'With us, though, it's more of a cooperation given similar concerns.'

'That can't be. You are sure his name is Markus?'

'You said you knew a guy called Markus and that he might be at Thunder Mountain. Well, that's the only Markus we know in there.' said Jeremiah.

Alice looked at him confusedly and scoffed.

'What?'

'That can't be. It's ridiculous.' She scoffed again but there was no note of amusement in her voice.

'Circumstances change and kids had to adapt. Maybe the kid you knew changed more than you would have expected.' said Kurdy.

'I expected him to be dead. I really thought that kid, after the Big D, would be one of the very first casualties. For years, I thought he was dead but then I heard those guys saying his name, I mean, how many 'Markus' do you know? When I find out they're from Thunder Mountain, I started looking for it. I knew his father had been deployed there right before it all happened, that was when we lost contact. He's the only person I know from before so I have to try.'

Jeremiah was the first to break the silence.

'We will be there soon and you can be sure if it's him or not.'

'Yeah, thank you.'

It didn't take long for them to reach the concrete walls on the side of the mountain. A metal door separated them from Thunder Mountain which, after some seconds of Jeremiah shouting at a receiver, opened slowly allowing them to peer into the darkness within.

'Wait there, I'll talk to Lee.' said Jeremiah as stopped the jeep within well lit hangar. There were several people moving about, moving crates, loading and unloading other jeeps. Some had military outfits but all looked fit and clean. She felt hungry immediately.

'Who is Lee?' Alice asked turning towards Kurdy.

'Pain in the ass, you won't like him.' said Kurdy.

He held the door, waiting for her to climb down. Ahead, Jeremiah was already speaking to another guy in a dark blue jacket. By the irritated looks he was throwing at Jeremiah and Kurdy, Alice guessed he was Lee.

'Well, I explained to him you might know Markus but Lee firmly insists you are kept in a ward until things are cleared up.'

'Ass.' said Kurdy.

Lee had signalled two guys standing behind him than now approached them cautiously.

'Take her to ward three.' said Lee to the guards who grabbed each of her arms and half dragged her out of the hangar.

'Hey, go easy.' said Jeremiah.

'We will review her situation and then we will decide if we will go easy or not. If she proves to be something else than what you say she is, you are in deep shit, Jeremiah. Both of you.'

Alice was thrown into a blank room with a big mirror on one side of the room. A small table and chair were in the middle and soon she started pacing behind it. If it was Markus, if it was the kid she used to know she knew exactly what to say. At the thought of coming all this way and not finding him or finding something else, her hands started shaking.

She stayed inside that dreary room for what seemed like hours, alternating between sitting and walking back and forth. She wondering how many people had come and gone from the adjacent room behind the mirror. How many were watching her, at that moment, and if Markus was among them. If he was, he would have done something by now, except if he didn't remember her.

Jeremiah sat in the mess patiently and in silence. Kurdy was in the back, sitting against the stairs and pretending to read. A whole hour passed before they shared a look and Kurdy pocketed his book.

'Look, I know Lee likes to be thorough and all, but Markus would be the best judge, right?'

'Right.' said Kurdy.

'I mean, if he might have known her from before, then he should know that she came here looking for him, right?'

'Right.' said Kurdy.

'So we totally should barge in their meeting, right?'

'Absolutely.' said Kurdy and banged on the door.

After a moment of silence, Lee opened the door with a grimace.

'I explicitly told you I would be in a meeting with Markus and we shouldn't be disturbed.'

'We were just wondering if you'd told Markus about his friend yet.' said Kurdy.

'Yes, I was about to expose your lack of deliberation when it comes to the security of Thunder Mountain and how you have become a liability.'

'Wait, Lee. Kurdy, what friend?'

Markus pushed the door open to look at them. He had deep circles under his eyes that didn't exist the last time they had seen him and which made them guess things at the mountain weren't going according to plans.

'We brought someone to the mountain who thinks she knew you as a kid. Her name's Alice. Ring any bells?' said Jeremiah.

Markus looked very attentively at Jeremiah and Kurdy. 'Where is she?'

'I put her in ward three.' said Lee

Markus looked angrily at him but didn't speak instead walking through the corridor and turning towards the stairs. Lee closed the door of the office and ran to keep up with him with Jeremiah and Kurdy keeping pace close behind them.

'You made me chief of security and I was trying to make sure she is who she says she is.'

'Don't you think, Lee, that Markus would be the better person to say if she is who she says she is?' said Kurdy.

Lee sent him a biting look as a retort but Markus kept silent speeding down the stairs to the ward level. Markus stopped in front of the door marked as number three, his hand was white as it slowly reached for the knob. Lee jerked forward and got between Markus and the door.

'Markus, check if it her first. As far as we know she could have been sent to find this place by one of the towns and these two invited her in.'

Markus looked at him intensely and spoke calmly.

'Lee, get out of my way.'

Lee moved away without arguing and went into the other room as Markus closed the door behind.

Alice was in another one of the pacing phases during her stay in the room when she heard voices outside. They stopped talking as rapidly as they started and she didn't have the chance to make anything of it. Then, the door opened and she jumped to the other side of the room as Markus walked in.

The damn kid was alive, she could be sure of that now, except this man looked nothing like him. The eyes were the same, with great black circles around them though; he was a bit taller and had a few expression lines. On the whole, he looked healthy and she felt a sudden urge to slap him.

He closed the door behind and leaned against it. He looked at her, searchingly, and she saw the immediate recognition in his eyes. They stared at each other in silence, and let the anxiety of the moment set down. When he spoke, his voice cracked a bit.

'I heard you were looking for me.'

Alice suddenly felt very defensive, like an old habit starting to stir in the back of her mind and she folded her arms looking cross.

'I was just in the neighbourhood, you know...'

Her voice trailed off, and she shrugged. The tension left his face at the sound of her voice and was replaced by joy mingled with ache and a tinge of an ancient grief.

'I looked for you, for a while. It took me a year to organize this place, to get teams outside scavenging, getting information. I sent one team to our town but your place was empty by then.'

'Well, you shouldn't have assumed I would wait around for a year, not in the state the world was.' said Alice and she leaned against the wall facing him.

'No, I didn't but there was nowhere else to look, and I would have looked everywhere.'

She turned towards the mirror covering half the wall.

'You know, I would give you a hug but I'm afraid your friend Lee will barge in accusing me of attempted murder.'

Markus laughed.

'He realizes who you are now, I am sure.' said Markus with a meaningful nod at the mirror.

They moved to each other slowly and fiercely hugged in the middle of the room. Alice had taken care to turn her face away from the mirror.

'There's something I need to tell you.' said Alice in a whisper.

Markus clutched her more eagerly and Alice felt him bury his face in her hair. 'I know, we can talk later.'