The snow had fallen thick and heavy that winter, covering the land in a thick white powder. In places, the water had frozen solid. Most of the wildlife had fled, moving further south. Trees lay bare as they awaited the spring for their leaves to return. For several days now, the temperature had dropped a fair way beneath freezing and a strong northerly wind blew chilling to the bone all of those who couldn't find shelter.

Darkness had fallen now, causing the temperature to plummet even further. A pair of blue eyes looked out through the window to see the white powder falling from the Heavens above. It was without a doubt beautiful, one of the slightly more common natural phenomena which brought a huge amount of joy to the children. Without a doubt, they would be playing in it again tomorrow. Yet, the young man knew that the ice had a much more sinister side to it. How many would die this year in the cold? How many would get desperate and end up falling into X.A.N.A's clutches?

His mind ended up coming back to the same old event, the same old faces, looks of pure desperation, his own helpless cry... They stung at his heart like daggers. The man placed a hand against the the window, it was freezing to the touch. He could make out his own reflection in the glass and found himself wondering if those who he had loved and lost would still recognize him if they saw him today.

"I'm getting ready for the speech. It's the same every year..." He spoke quietly, the room was empty but then he wasn't speaking to be heard by anyone actually present. "You'd probably find it funny, the idea of me giving annual speeches. Ten years ago, I would have been the last person to be addressing a crowd."

He paused for a moment, listening. All his ears picked up was the sound of the wind blowing through the trees outside. He let out a slight sigh before heading back over to his desk and sitting down in his chair. He stayed there for a few minutes simply starring up at the ceiling lost in thought. He checked his watch, he still had a fair few minutes before he was due to give his speech. Letting out a sigh, he pressed the play button on his CD player.

The sound of a violin and a piano playing slowly calmed him slightly and eased some of the pain which had been weighing down on him. The man ran a hand through his thick blonde hair and closed his eyes. If he was honest, he would have been much happier spending his night by himself listening to the music rather than addressing the others. Still, it had to be done and oddly enough he knew that at the end of it he would feel far better. He always did.

He remained in silence and darkness for a good few moments. Alone, with only his thoughts for company before there was a sudden knocking at the door. He spun his chair slightly to face, the entrance. He already knew who it would be, they didn't need his invitation to come in but they always waited for a it.

"Come in." He called out.

The door opened to reveal a group of two men and a woman. He smiled recognizing his old friends. The small gesture wasn't enough to fool them however and he knew it. They knew him far too well to not know how lonely he felt at this particular moment. Maybe that was because they all felt the same way, the two men perhaps slightly less but he knew that the young woman did. After all, she had been through exactly the same thing as he had; she too had lost almost everyone who was dear to her.

"You almost ready?" Asked the skinniest of the two men. "Everyone's gathered together."
"Yeah... I was just thinking."
"About the usual?" The dark haired woman asked.

He didn't respond instead getting up and looking out of the window once more. His eyes searched the darkness for a figure, he hadn't seen in many years and now felt he never would again. Sometimes, if he was especially tired or maybe just especially lonely, he would see her just for a second, standing out there and smiling wonderfully just as she had many years ago. His friends joined him a couple of moments later, the woman placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You can't change what happened." She told him softly. "They wouldn't want you to be unhappy."
"I know that..." He replied with a faint smile thinking back to their smiling faces. "Doesn't make it any easier though."
"Look, if you don't feel up to-" The taller of the two men began.
"No. No, it's fine." He cut his friend short. "I'll do it."

Without saying another word, he left his office. He spent most of his days in the refurbished town hall. He couldn't complain, it was clean, practical and served his needs well. The one thing he would say was that it left him somewhat isolated from the rest of the community. Still, his friends' visits always served to keep him from becoming totally isolated. Were it not for them, he would probably have locked himself up in his lab becoming the resident mad scientist, not unlike the people who had gotten them into this fine mess in the first place.

They left the town hall and cross the snow covered streets of the small village they called home. This place had never been particularly busy even before the apocalypse, it was a small village in southern Aquitaine that had up until a few years ago never seen much action. Now, they called it home. In the fields in the distance, he could make out some cows, sheep and goats sleeping. A rural place beyond a doubt but this was home now.

They headed over to the town church, the door was already open. A woman with dark skin was waiting for them, she offered the group and especially, the skinny blonde man a warm and loving smile. They entered the building, which was surprisingly brightly lit. Both rows were jammed full of people of all ages; ranging from the relatively newly born to two near centenarians. All had turned out for tonight's speech and were waiting patiently for him to give it to them.

He stepped up onto the alter and turned to face them. Behind him was a wall that they had created, decorating it were literally hundreds of pictures of those that they had lost. They had been put up there by what remained of their family, friends and loved ones. Each was a painful reminder of yet another casualty of the war. His eyes paused for a few moments, resting upon an all too familiar woman with her two young children, just next to her was a picture of a young man with a little boy on his shoulders... So many were gone now...

He turned back to face the crowd, they looked up at him with faces full of expectation. He held back a sigh, gathering his courage, the first few words were always the most difficult.

"Thank you all for coming." He declared speaking into a microphone to be sure that all would hear him. "First of all, I would like to welcome both Thomas and Lucy to the community."

In the crowd, two young couples smiled proudly. Both their children had been born since the last meeting, some three months ago. That made a grand total of 7 newborns this year. Their group was growing steadily, he hadn't checked the recent statistics but he knew they were nearing the 700 mark. Each new birth brought pure joy to their community, each child born here represented a new hope, they were proof that life could triumph even under X.A.N.A's reign. Children gave them enough courage to continue to believe that they could still win this fight.

"Secondly, thanks to everyone for working. I know it's not been easy but we're really getting somewhere. It's been tough and God knows... We've all lost something." He left a couple of seconds blank whilst everyone thought to those left behind. "But we're still here. Tomorrow, is Christmas day, let's not forget that. The good news is that we've got more than enough turkey to go around."

A light-hearted cheer erupted from the crowd causing him to smile. It had been a good year. The silos were full and they had constantly exceeded their food quotas. It had been rough for a few years, with rationing becoming necessary but thankfully those days seemed to be long gone. Preparations had been made for the traditional Christmas festivities and the town was even somewhat decorated. For the first time in many years, a festive feeling was beginning to settle in.

"As always though, I'd ask that we have a few moments' silence." A somber mood settled over the crowd. "For those that we have lost and those who we don't know where to find."

The group all closed their eyes. Thinking back to their dead or simply those who were still unaccounted for. The vast number of people here had stumbled across the safe heaven by pure chance. They had no idea how many other survivors roamed in the countryside attempting to avoid X.A.N.A's forces. They had seen the state that some who had been struggling to keep alive were in when they finally made it to the town.

Everyone had someone that they had lost. Hence all the pictures. Family or friends, they all thought back to them in silence in the church. Some had seen them die, some simply didn't know what had happened and others had been separated. It was his case, as he thought back, he prayed for the safety of that angelic pink haired woman and their two children...