Winter was coming, fast and brutal. They couldn't stay at this latitude, it got too cold, there was little to no game up here and between the five of them one of them would starve.
Desmond knew if it came down to it the others would all give Desmond their own food before letting him starve. They'd come back anyway, even from starvation. That should have made him feel good. It didn't though, so he just kept the knowledge tucked away and didn't mention it. He didn't want to be this special messiah who people would sacrifice themselves for. It made it kind of hard to sleep at night.
At least one of them was paying attention though. Since he'd found Desmond out in the snow he'd been especially keyed in to Desmond, it was kinda weird, but kinda nice too. He didn't ask if Desmond ever needed anything or if he could do anything. Just some days when Desmond found it hard to move he'd just sit next to him on the couch and lean against him. Or, during the nights, would proclaim he was going to go crazy with Ezio's snoring and was stealing Desmond for himself. This almost always happened the nights Altair slept too, even if Desmond wasn't feeling particularly awful. Whenever he slept with Jake (and sometimes also Altair) he always ended up snuggled up against him (one of them) like he didn't when he slept in the same bed as Hawk.
The next morning he usually just… felt better honestly. Better and able to stand up and get out of bed and usually go make breakfast of some kind. He didn't know if the others noticed, Altair and Ezio didn't seem to. But he saw the knowledge in Hawk's eyes, and Hawk never said anything and he knew he wouldn't say anything. Desmond was just doing exactly what Hawk told him to do. Let them try and help, let them think he was okay, and not let the others know there was a giant, gaping hole in his chest so large he was surprised the others couldn't see it.
It was the end of September. Ezio took two weeks to recover from the shot gun blast that had destroyed most of his lower torso. They'd eaten most of the deer, killed another one of the goats. They'd be killing the rest of the animals soon, eating of much of it as they possibly could, and salting or drying the rest for when they left.
Desmond had never actually participated in a cow slaughter before.
Despite growing up on a farm, called the Farm (real original honestly), it hadn't really been a farm. There had been horses, and some gardens. But the adults usually drove to a grocery store at least once every two weeks or so to get supplies from the nearest town. Children weren't allowed out of the Farm though and Desmond had never left home or been in civilization until he was sixteen. But there were no animals on the Farm save the horses and a hunting eagle owned by a man who'd come from Asia before Desmond had been born. The eagle had been old though and had died when he was small.
So stuff like a cow slaughter was cool.
Mainly because he'd never done it before, or been to one. Altair and Ezio had a lot of practice however. Desmond and Jake just watched, though Hawk helped a little as they killed the cow outside the barn and let the blood run out. Ezio suggested blood sausage but Desmond, Jake, and Hawk all shot that down in an instant though. As the blood had drained out through the neck and armpits Altair started to skin the animal.
Desmond hadn't skinned his deer. Not really. He'd skinned part of it, but this was something else entirely to watch his ancestor expertly part the skin from the flesh and peel it down like a banana peel, exposing the dark red meat and fat under it.
Only once the blood had drained out entirely did they finish skinning it and then cutting it up. This was where Hawk helped, putting the large steaks into a bin to be cut into proper shapes later.
"I'm hungry," Desmond declared, "is that weird?"
Ezio chuckled, "Perhaps a little."
"I want a hamburger," and they all laughed. Desmond just grinned.
Everything was collected and the remains of the cow and the dirty ground were dragged out into the woods for the predators and carrion feeders to eat. The meat was cut and they ate a ridiculous amount of beef for a few days and prepared the meat so it wouldn't go bad quickly or ever and did the same to the last goat. They ate the remaining chickens as chicken didn't keep like red meat.
It was starting to snow more. Never a lot at once even in October though they said it might be a mild winter if it wasn't snowing yet. So that was good, they all said that was good, so Desmond believed them; it was good. Jake kept a sharp eye on him the nights it snowed hard, sometimes sleeping on the pull out bed in the front he was sure just so Desmond couldn't. Desmond didn't comment on it and he was sure Jake had never mentioned what he'd said to the others. He knew if Jake had the others would just treat him like glass.
When all the meat had been eaten, cured, dried, salted or in some way preserved it was time to go. They packed up the house. All the linens were washed and put away, the fireplace was stocked with wood on the side. They were leaving, before the heavier snows came. But they weren't really locking the house up, the front door was being left unlocked in case stupid people were still here in the winter, or got lost. It could be a haven. An empty haven, but a haven.
They all packed a bag with warm clothes and their few personal items. Except Desmond, he had no personal items, they were all gone now. It occurred to him he hadn't had 'personal items' even when he'd been with them the last time. He lived by his wits and the clothes on his back. But then he'd never been overly sentimental about things, because things were replaceable. The food was all packed as well in separate bags so if something happened they wouldn't lose all of it. The same with the rest of the gear.
It was threatening to snow when they left. Desmond was standing outside with Jake, waiting. The other three had left an hour ago with some of their gear. The sky was a uniform color gray like the color of wet wool. Desmond blew smoke rings out of his mouth with just his breath, sort of. They weren't real smoke rings, but the way you blew in the still air could make something sort of like them.
They both looked left at the sound of noise. It sounded like a weedwacker, but bigger. Much bigger, and getting closer. Desmond's eyes widened when a four-by-four skidded around the edge of the house. Ezio was sitting in the driver's seat wearing mirrored ski goggles and a shit eating grin as Desmond and Jake stared at him open mouthed.
"Holy crap!" Desmond cried at seeing Ezio and his ancestor pushed on the throttle over to them. The ATV rolled to a stop in front of them.
"Where the others?" Jake asked, they could still hear the sound of the four-by-four engines to Ezio's idling one.
"Comin'" was all Ezio said and got off the four-by-four. He picked up his set of bags and strapped them to the back of the automobile with bungee cords. As he was finishing two more four-by-fours rounded the house, Altair and Hawk both riding on them, and towing another. Well that explained why they were so far behind.
"Wow I get my own, how exciting," Jake said, like an asshole, and Desmond rolled his eyes.
"Figured you've ridden bitch enough to deserve your own," Altair said, his face utterly expressionless with heavily tinted, black, ski goggles over his eyes.
"Uhg," was all Hawk said.
"This one's yours," Altair told Desmond, nodding to the one behind him and unhooked the two four-by-fours.
"Sweet," he said and grabbed the two and a half bags he was carrying around and mimicked Ezio. Altair and Hawk finished loading up their cargo and Jake strapped his on and it was ready to go. "I've never driven one of these things," Desmond added as Altair handed him ski goggles, no doubt to keep the snow and dirt and everything out of his face. They had mirrored lenses like Ezio's.
"Me neither," Jake said, they were all siting astride their vehicles.
"It's idiot proof," Hawk said, also sporting the blacked-out goggles, Jake had mirrored though like him, though Desmond had his on his forehead right now and Jake was holding onto his as he leaned on the four-by-four's handlebars. "Turn it on, and it's… like riding a motorcycle actually."
"Really? Well shit I can do that," Desmond said obviously, though he hadn't ridden a motorcycle in nearly six years now. He grinned at Jake and pulled his mirrored goggles down over his eyes. "So where we going?"
"South west," Altair said.
"South west where?"
Altair looked at Ezio and Hawk and Desmond if he could see anything out of those goggles. Apparently he could because he turned back to him and Jake. "Final destination is Greece, to wait out the winter."
"How long'll that take?"
"Few weeks, four-by-fours are solar powered, and run on a fuel cell," more eco friendly, renewable energy thanks to Hawk, "they can go pretty fast too."
"What if it snows?" Jake asked.
"Because I, once again, am a total fucking genius," Hawk proclaimed and drew their attention to him. "Observe," and he turned a knob on his handle bars Desmond only now noticed he had too. A few seconds passed and then fucking spikes came out of the wheels. Like… traction spikes.
"Oh that is so cool!" Desmond cried.
Hawk chuckled, "I thought so," and Hawk turned the knob back and a few seconds later the spikes retracted again. "You have to be stopped for them to work though," he added.
"Fair deal," Jake said. Then he looked up at the sky, "We might need them today."
"Lets hope not," Ezio said. "Ready?" he asked him and Jake.
"Totally," Desmond replied with a slightly mad grin and tried the throttle, the four-by-four throbbed and it took him exactly ten seconds to figure out how to shift gears and did a half lap around his ancestors and Jake.
Altair led, shooting off first, once it was clear they could both at least make the thing go. Hawk followed after him. Desmond pulled up the hood of his coat, tucking his chin into tall neck and Ezio motioned for him to go after Jake. He did and Ezio went last. At least they hadn't put him in the middle like some sort of sacred relic, though he had a feeling that was what Ezio had put him second to last for anyway.
