There was a cold hand against his face. Kozmotis frowned and tried to keep his eyes shut. He'd been dreaming again, and it was already slipping from his memory. He though he could hear his wife's voice, but it was already faded and overlapped by someone else's voice. Reluctantly, Kozmotis cracked his eyes open. Everything felt sore and his throat felt raw.

"Hey. Kozmotis. Are you up?" It was Jack. "We're almost there, so you have to get up, okay." The boy drew his hand away as the general grudgingly sat up and touched his feet to the ground. He stared down at his left hand, where there was a stripe of paler skin on his ring finger where his wedding band used to be. Frowning, Kozmotis resisted the urge to tough that stripe. It sent a heavy pang through his chest, to think that his ring was lost and at the bottom of the channel. He was a little shaky standing up, but was quick to right himself. Jack still looked a little sick, but not nearly as sick as before. He reached out to put a hand between Jack's shoulder blades to walk with him up to the top deck. The stairs creaked under their combined weight.

The sun was just beginning to set, not quite touching the horizon when the ferry finally reached Shelter Island. Kozmotis blinked into the sun, pressing a hand more firmly against Jack's back to keep himself oriented. He was glad they had stepped away from the stairwell when the ferry lurched. It seemed they had reached the shoreline rather abruptly. While Sandy and North could captain a boat, neither of them were capable of actually docking it apparently. After that, it was a race to unload all of the supplies they'd amassed before anything else could happen to the boat. Kozmotis felt a little like a pack mule by the time they had all of their bags and sorted out who would carry what.

Though everyone managed to stumble off unscathed, the ferry wasn't quite so lucky. The poor boat listed to one side, very visibly starting to sink. North must have driven it into the rocks hard enough to put a hole in the hull. Whatever the case may be, the ferry won't be taking anymore passengers after that wild ride.

"Well…" North starts when everyone turns their eyes to him after watching the boat die a sad death. "Maybe this island will be wonderful, no?" To Kozmotis, Shelter Island was less than wonderful, but hey, everything was less than wonderful right now. The big man grinned and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Jack went over to give North a reassuring pat of the arm. "We can hope. Since, you know, we may be here for a while." He said that, looking back at the shabby little boats lining the shore next to the ferry. Only one of them looked like it might take them back to the mainland, but it looked just as ramshackle as the other, smaller boats. Bunnymund let out a heavy sigh that turned into more of a groan toward the end.

"We better find somewhere safe to stay," Tatiana said gently, keeping most of the children gathered around her. "We don't know what else could be out here." Sera and Sophie wander over to Kozmotis though, his daughter taking one of his hands while Sophie wrapped an arm around his leg. He hoped he wouldn't end up tripping over her.

They all trudge up the sloping sand hills for what felt like hours, until they finally came upon a fine-looking house that would hold all of them comfortably. It had to be at least three stories tall, with multiple wings, some of which looked newer than the rest of the house. It looked like the kind of house one might find in a décor magazine for the rich and famous, to be frank. But the windows were dark, so whoever owned the house was gone. With some grumbling, they marched the rest of the way to the front of the house. The children looked like they all wanted to drop by the time they got to the door, and Kozmotis couldn't blame them.

The house is practically theirs for the taking, but of course it can't be that easy. Not even Sandy's lockpicking skills can get the door to budge. Bunnymund cursed rather creatively after increasingly violent attempts to open the door, from throttling the doorknob to bodily throwing himself against the door, which looks to be made of solid oak. "That's not going to get the door open," Jack points out after another minute of watching Aster's theatrics. "And you're making a lot of noise."

Nobody noticed Sandy move around to one of the side windows until there was a great, uncomfortably loud crash. Sandy had taken one of the fancy flower pots on the porch and thrown it through the window. He was just picking up the shards to try to break through the shutters when everyone else came running.

"Oh, so I was loud, but breaking a fucking window is fine!?" Aster was turning purple again. Kozmotis rolled his eyes. "Look, the only thing for it is to get through that window before anything else finds us." He picked up a pot close to him to copy Sandy, and the two of them got to work on the locked shutters. Tatiana helped, too, after sending Aster a look equal parts stern and apologetic. Everyone else took up guard positions. The noise would probably scare any locals still here and attract any zombies in the area. They knew, at least, how the zombies would react. Frightened locals? Not so much.

Sandy took the final swing that sent the shutters splintering on their frame. He looked very pleased with himself as the children scrambled to start shoving bags through the window. Between one second and the next, Sandy was wiggling through the window to get in. He unlocked the door from the inside, so everyone could drag themselves and their bags inside.

It's quick work to patch up the window Sandy broke. One or two of them would have to come back later to give it a more permanent repair, but it was better than just leaving a gaping hole on the first floor where anything could get in. It was dark by the time the house is scouted out and cleaned up a bit. The children delighted in being able to run around and stomp up and down the stairs. The safety of the house and the fact that said house had stairs did wonders for the childrens' energy levels. There was something about stairs that just entertained young ones to no end.

For the first time since the mall, they were all able to have a sit-down dinner rather than just cramming down whatever was fast and convenient in the car. Jack was quick to take the chair next to Kozmotis. It wasn't anything extravagant—just emergency rations and non-perishables washed down with bottled water, but it was the best damn mean Kozmotis had eaten in a while. He was overjoyed when he found the box containing the coffee canisters while helping Sandy and Tatiana unpack their supplies after dinner. After that, he just wandered the house, not quite tired enough yet to just go to bed like most of the children and some of the other adults.

The house creaked as Kozmotis drifted through the halls and up the stairs. They had made it to safety at last, and he could already feel some of the tension leaving his shoulders. They would be okay now. No more running, no more hiding. Tomorrow they would be able to better assess their situation for food and water, but their lives were no longer in immediate danger. It was a nice feeling. Maybe, when Kozmotis did finally go to bed, he would be able to sleep more soundly.

Kozmotis paused by a second story window to look up at the full moon. It felt like an eternity since the last time he'd had time to look out at the night; not since he stopped at Tatiana and Aster's cottage with Jack and Seraphina. The moon had been absent that night.

"Find everything okay?" North asked, stepping up beside the window next to the general. "Hm? Oh, yes." The house was big enough to get lost in, but it was safe enough here to call for someone else if anyone did get lost. North was silent, and the mood, which had been relaxed and easy at first, quickly shifted with that silence. The air was charged, and North seemed to get a little more menacing. With some dread, Kozmotis turned his head to meet North's intense stare.

"I am noticing something over these last weeks." North drew up to his full height to loom over Kozmotis. He wasn't quite used to that. It was sometimes easy to forget he wasn't the tallest person in the group. "Jack has been following very close to you, ever since the mall. I think he is very fond of you." Kozmotis blinked a few times, at a loss for what to say. He knew North was, at the very least, a friend of the family to Jack, but he didn't know North had been keeping such a keep eye on who Jack was interacting with. Though, he supposed he was the same with Seraphina and her friends.

"You are good man, family man, I know. Very loving to your daughter and other little ones here." North spoke with a light tone, but the hand he dropped onto Kozmotis' shoulder belied his seriousness. North gave Kozmotis' shoulder a hard, near painful squeeze. "But you are also dangerous, stupid man. You keep grudges, you provoke people, you act too smart sometimes. But for some reason, Jack gives you his love. I know Jack is adult and he will do as he likes," Here, North leaned forward so that their noses were almost touching. "But if he is ever hurt because of you, I will make zombies look like helpless little babies by comparison." North would follow through on that, Kozmotis had no doubt. He had seen North fight, and he had no desire to be on the wrong side of North's fists.

Was this… some kind of shovel speech? He thought a little desperately that, yes, it was. He was getting a shovel speech. From North. About Jack. Kozmotis gaped up at North, eyes wide as he fumbled for something to say. What could he say to that? He suddenly had confirmation about why Jack kept sticking so close and now he was being threatened for it. He didn't even really know how he felt about Jack.

He was saved from saying anything stupid when movement caught both their attentions. The window had a perfect view of the sandy slope and the moonlight is shining on the dark sea waves. It was also shining on the several hundred figures assembled along the beach. Some of them looked like they were already climbing the slope.

The way they're moving, Kozmotis knew exactly what they are. So does North.

They were all trapped on Shelter Island with all of its locals—locals who happen to be zombies. "How can this be!? The Island was supposed to be free if zombies!" North pressed himself against the window to get a better look at the massive horde.

Kozmotis had to wonder as well. But then he thought about the ramshackle boat big enough to go between the islands and the mainland. Someone must have used the boat and come back infected and spread it throughout the island. While Kozmotis thought, more zombies began to traverse the slope. He had no idea if all of the islanders are there on the beach, but there may as well be.

The zombie horde was already making good time, and they were coming right for the house.