Good morning and merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you all have a wondeful day and are able to spend it with your loved ones.

Creativity: A little sappy, don't you think boss?

Author: It's kinda hard not to be a little sappy around this time of year. We can't let the trees have all the fun.

Creativity: Seriously? Sappy? Trees? That's the best you've got?

Author: I'm out of material until the new year. So, let us impart unto our lovely readership, the gift of Part 2 of our Christmas special!

The next morning, Ana got up and stretched as far as she could. She had slept very well that night. She could see through her still sleep bleared eyes that everyone else was just waking up. She got up and walked over to the pile of wood they had started on yesterday but noticed something strange. It was higher than yesterday and had evenly cut logs as opposed to the branches and dead bark that was sitting on the bottom. She looked over at the rest of the group, who were just standing up, and called out to them.

"Was anyone chopping wood last night?"

Everyone shook their head and walked over to investigate. Indeed, the wood pile was higher than it was yesterday. The group seemed a little unsettled, but they decided to just go about their day. Ethan and Ana started working on breakfast while Marie and Will went out scavenging. By the time Marie and Will returned, they had prepared more rehydrated meat and roasted some local greens to break the monotonous meal. They all ate and talked about how the wood pile had been built up.

"The logs look like they were all cut clean through with a blade, and they're to thick to have been from any of the nearby trees, unless we count the branches. Even still, they don't have the same bark. Seriously, where did that wood come from?!"

Will seemed the most perturbed by this. The others had, over the course of the conversation, come to realize that they shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Sure they were still curious, but they weren't in a frenzy about it like Will was. It was kind of funny, watching him trying to figure out what happened.

"There weren't any footprints on the ground so they would have had to be floating off the ground to leave the logs here..."

Finally, everyone had enough.

"DROP IT!" They collectively shouted.

Will looked around a little embarassedly and went back to his meal. Once he was done, they all went on another scavenging run. The run was about four hours long and turned out very, very well as they happened across a large deer, which Ana killed with a spike. Will carried it back to the shelter, where Ethan and Marie took care of cleaning it out. They buried the offal several blocks away and got straight to cooking the fresh meat when Ana suggested they indulge themselves that night, for a little celebration. The idea went over rather well and they prepared the meat in a few ways.

Some of it they stewed using a pot from the stockpile, some of it they fried on flat stones that were heated against the fire, and the rest they attempted to slow roast on a spit. It turned out not too bad.

Once they were done, they gathered around and enjoyed the rather large meal. The three runners in particular enjoyed being able to eat as much as they wanted for a change.

Ana got up and went outside and looked up at the night sky. There were no clouds, giving her an unobstructed view of the sunset. The orange and pink that lit up the sky was something wonderful to behold, especially from her vantage point. She sat there for a while, humming her favourite Christmas songs to herself when she heard snow crunching behind her. She looked to see Marie sit down next to her, followed by Ethan, then Will. She smiled under her mask and kept looking out at the sunset, enjoying this quiet moment with her friends, semi-old and new.

Eventually, they decided to go back inside and restoke the fire and talk about how best to procede. Ethan grabbed a few logs and tossed them on the fire before laying on his back, arms folded behind his head. Will mirrored him.

They sat and talked for a while, sharing stories and information, generally avoiding the topic they all knew they should talk about, but didn't want to. What was their next move? As it was, they needed to get moving soon and they needed to figure out where. It had been established already that they were going to stick together, so they needed a consistant supply of food and water. They had enough food to last them for a while, but it wouldn't last forever.

Ana was trying to listen to Ethan talk about various places his parents had told him about that had been previous safe havens for Runners, before they were driven out by symbiotes or Rippers, but smoke kept blowing in her face. She finally had enough and got up to move, circling around the fire. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something glinting in the dark recesses of the shelter. She moved to investigate and discovered that there was something shiny hidden under the rubble of a collapsed section of the wall that they had webbed over.

The others noticed her and walked over to see what was going on. Ana had started to carefully move the rubble aside. They all joined her as they slowly moved the rubble away. What was underneath shocked them all, especially Ana.

There were presents. Actual, wrapped presents were hidden in the rubble. There were a total of seven, each wrapped in red and green striped paper. Ana's jaw practically hit the floor. How were there gifts hidden there?! They removed them carefully and spent a good while staring at them. Will had started obsessively trying to decipher how they got here like he had earlier in the day with the wood pile. It took a lot longer this time before the rest of them shouted at him to let it go. Ana collected her wits and looked at the others.

"Well, I guess we should open them."

They started with a cylinder shaped gift first, which was revealed to be a tube with a wood plug in the top. Marie carefully pried the plug off and reached inside to reveal a rolled up piece of paper, which was immediately followed by a compass. Upon unrolling it, they discovered it was a map. There were two circles on the map, connected by a line with an arrow at one end. there was a message written on the paper that read "Use these to take the next step into the future."

The next one was a inside a box. They tore the box open to find more paper inside. Ana recognized it immediately.

"It's a calender!"

She checked and saw that whoever had left it hald also left a note attached to the first page that said it was a week before New Year as well as another message. It read "One takes for granted the knowledge of the passage of one day to the next."

The third gift was another box. When they opened it, Ana almost squealed with joy. It was two boxes, one containing tea and the other containing hot chocolate. There was another note attached that read "There has to be something Christmas-y to celebrate with."

The others noticed her reaction and looked at her questioningly. She grinned under her mask.

"You will have to try this tonight. It's fantastic!"

The fourth gift had Ana's name written in very neat cursive in the top left corner. She opened it and felt her heart skip a beat. Inside was her old journal! She had lost it a few years ago and had missed it for a while. She never bought another one because she kept clinging to the hope that someone would find it.

The fifth had Marie's name written on it in the same handwriting. It was the largest one of the seven. She unwrapped it and looked inside and felt a couple of tears fall from her eyes. Inside was blanket made from animal furs.

"This was the blanket my family gave me when I turned ten. I had been using my grandmother's up till then. It gets really cold back home, so this is really important to me, for more than just warmth."

The sixth present had Will's name written on it. He ripped it open to reveal a metal hatchet with a chip near the bottom of the blade. He looked at it, seemingly not believing his eyes. There was a note inside that read "To die for others can be a great sacrifice. To live can be a greater one."

"This belonged to my dad. That chip, he told me it got there when he fought a mountain lion to protect me and my mother when I was a baby. Heh, mom says the story is half true and that the chip actually came from when he missed the lion and hit a rock."

The final gift had Ethan's name written on top. The box was smallest of them. He opened it to reveal a stark white stone that seemed to swirl under it's surface. The stone was attached to a black cord. Underneath the stone was a note that was a longer than the others. Ethan read it over carefully.

"I wish I could have given this to you in person, but sadly we cannot meet. Not yet. This stone holds a power that you and you alone can harness, but you must learn that power for yourself. You have a great trial ahead of you, but it is nothing compared to what comes after. You will be pushed to the brink and you will suffer a pain unimaginable, but you can endure it. You must, or we all shall fall. I leave you one last gift. Remember these words. When comes the time, trust the wolf to guide you."

Ethan looked at the pendant curiously. He slipped it around his neck and the symbiote sucked it under the suit. He looked back at Ana, who was busy brewing hot chocolate for everyone. He strolled back over and looked at the drink. Wisps of steam curled off the top. She smiled and offered everyone a mug from the stockpile. They all took one and toasted before taking a sip. The runners were all immediately hooked by the taste of the hot chocolate. Ana smiled as she saw her friend's faces light up from the drink. They talked around the fire and finished their drinks before cleaning them out with the snow outside.

By the end, they had come to the decision to follow the map and compass to reach the spot the map indicated. Finally, they became too tired to continue and said their good nights. Marie wrapped herself up in the blanket and dozed off in moments. The others quickly followed suit, sans Ana, who stayed up a little longer to take one last look at the stars before whispering to her new family, "Merry Christmas." And falling asleep.

Well, It may be short, but I thought it was sweet!

Creativity: I think you were reaching on this one boss.

Author: Then why are your eyes all red and puffy and why do you have tear tracks on your cheeks.

Creativity: Ummm... Er... Onion eating contest? Also, are you going to tell the audience what I got you for Christmas?

Author: I want to but... It's... So... Glorious... I can't muster... the strength...

Creativity: If you say so boss. Boss?

Author is on his knees, eyes watering

Creativity: Well... Ok. I'll sign off again.

We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!