"What do you mean I didn't complete the mission?" I asked angrily, beating a fist down on the greedy goblin's desk who didn't flinch an inch. He simply licked a little green finger and turned a page on his Gadgetzan Times. "I did everything you told me to, where's my reward?" Rage fumed within me. I had spent all day out in the winter snow killing every abomination that I laid my eyes upon, and even took out some scourge filth that got in my way.

"Well let's see here, hunter," the goblin said, lying his paper on his cherry wood desk and starting at me through his handcrafted goggles. "There's still a scourge invasion in the very spot you left. You killed the abominations, woop-de-doo, but you still let the scientists get away, probably to make more. Also, the little ones need to be all cleared out, they spread like plagues." He stood from his desk and tried to compare to my 6'2" stature, which didn't work. "Come back when you finish the job."

Anger rushed through my veins. I'll finish the job alright. I grabbed my cloak that hung at the door and walked out into the snowy wind. It was an alright day in the bustling town of K3, but I had other business to attend to. "Sonny," I said as a black war wolf rushed to my side. He yelped happily to see me. I hated flying in the snow, but it was a pretty day out so I decided to enjoy the scenery. I mounted my wolf and we set off back to the laboratories to clean out the rest of the infestation.

They looked like roaches, coming from every nook and cranny of the mountains. They invaded the white snow, tainting it with their disease, leaving green gusts of clouds in their wake. It was disgusting to watch them, and I loathed them with every bone in my body. I was about out of money, and my stomach was growling. This was the last job I'd do for a while before I would settle down and find a place to stay for a while.

I rode Sonny as far as I could and tied him to a tree. The scourge hadn't noticed my presence, as I stealthily made my way to my perch from before. I observed the situation. My chances of killing them all with a volley of arrows would be slim; I'd have to constantly rain down the arrows, to kill them all. This would consume entirely too much energy. I sighed and took off my helm to rub a hand through my tattered hair. Gah, when was the last time I showered? Caked blood from blows to the head and knotted hair was all that the top of my head was. Who was I to look good for besides my employers? They didn't care how I smelled… as long as I got the job done.

There wasn't that many of them… I could take them out. I peeked through my rifle's scope to see if the scientists were still there, but they weren't found. They must have packed up and moved out by the looks of their absent equipment. I just wish they had cleaned up their mess with these ghouls.

I heard the motion of footprints in the snow. The prints were light, and almost invisible. Artemis was nearby, awaiting my call. I wasn't sure where he had been all day, but he was here now and it was time to get the job done. I aimed my gun into the air and fired a rain of ammunition down upon the screaming scourge. I wasn't as lucky this time as they scurried to my post to tear it down. It toppled down of the weight of the monsters and they began to crawl towards me. I continued to fire my volley of arrows and gave Artemis my command to enrage. He grew in size and began to rip apart anything in his way. He mowed through 10s of 100s of monsters as my arrows poured from the sky.

I felt the sudden jerk from behind and another laid their hand on my gun. I withdrew a sword from my hilt and lopped off the arm of the scourge that asked for it. One began to gnaw at my feet and I crushed his skull in with my trespasser's boots. It screamed in horror as his jaw became dislocated and his head caved in. I finished it off with another blow from my foot and began to make work of what was around me. Artemis was drug off into another section of zombies as they continued to rise from the ground. How many were there? I was beginning to run out of energy. I let loose another round of ammunition from my gun before it was seized and I was pushed to the ground. I heard Artemis let loose a howl before falling to the ground as well.

I scurried to find my gun, but the numerous zombies kicked it away from my reach. My hands were pinned in front of me by three scourge as the others disarmed me of my swords. I grimaced in pain as they kicked my side, already feeling the bruises form on my ribs. I could hear them laughing from the pits of their stomachs as they began to strip me of my armor to get better blows to my body. I fought with as much strength as I could muster, but my helmet and gloves began to peel from my flesh. The boots came next followed by the feeling of teeth gnawing at my heel. I screamed in agony and kicked away the hungry attacker hearing some whimper of pain. I began to squirm, hoping to not let any others get a taste of me and I began to hear more screams of terror. Was it working?

I tried to fight myself free and scourge began to fall before my eyes. The snow had began to fall heavily and even hailed. I had never seen a storm like this before in my life. Surely it had been conjured by the gods, the weather was so beautiful a moment ago. It was soft, and welcoming to my exposed skin. Surely I looked like a mess, and the snow was meant to be cold, but I didn't care. This frosty grave was a lot better than a ghoulish one. I huddled in the snow, trying to catch my breath but it didn't come. I was thankful that this storm was the solace that I had before I died.

Was I to die here? I didn't want to. That was the farthest thing from my mind before coming here. Sonny was still tied up to a post three peaks down from here. Artemis would be okay… hopefully. He would continue his patrols as a sentry worg again, probably forgetting ever being my pet. He was loyal, and I was sorry for having put him through this. Bolts of snow still rained from the sky and I heard faint cries of scourge screaming in the distance. Or maybe they were closer. I began to tune out everything, worrying about the safety of my pets before actually realizing that I was about to die. Hypothermia quickly set in to anyone who wasn't properly clothed. My exposed heel burned with the poison from the previous monster who sunk his teeth into it. The blazing pain had really blocked my pain receptors so I was almost at a peace.

And what of that druid. The druid that had caused me all of this misery in the first place. I had heard he was out in Northrend, but he was with that Night Elf. He wouldn't care if I were dead, no one would care. Howlett, my only living relative wouldn't even know I was dead. No one would notice my absence in existence. No one. I hated that druid, and that made me want to fight to stay alive even more. I needed to prove him wrong, that it needed a lot more than him and a group of scourge to take me down. My fingers aren't moving… all they grasp is more snow. I think they're frozen. I can't see a thing, and my breathing is coming in such short breaths. Only one thing, however puzzled me.

When death was at your door, isn't the coldest sensation supposed to run through you? In all the people I have seen die, they have spoken of this cold. This creeping chill that went down your spine, only to be the last feeling you were to feel before slipping off into eternal rest. Why didn't I feel this? It bothered me that I couldn't even die properly. The only thing close I had to it was a deep, burning sensation on my ribs and toes. My fingers began to tingle as well. I wondered if I was simply imagining this. I was finally free of the snows of Northrend, and welcoming the eternal bliss that this newfound warmth had brought me. It sparked like electricity through my veins and I craved more, knowing that the deeper I sought; my breathing began to slow. Darkness consumed me entirely and I lost the feeling of consciousness.

I still clung to that warmth, never wanting to lose it.