The sun was setting, and the snow was falling more heavily. Chloe couldn't help the constant tremble of her body as she tried to remain perched perfectly still on her branch.

Jesse was behind her, and though his body shook as well, he had always had an impeccable immune system. Chloe didn't and he knew that. She absolutely could not get sick. She had already just barely dodged it not long before. Her immune system had already been compromised. Now? It wouldn't take much for her to once again fall ill.

The hoard however, had seen them, as they fled up the tree and they stood at the bottom, clawing at the frozen bark, their snarls loud in the abandoned forest.

"I have twelve bullets." Chloe said, her voice soft and shaky.

"Ive counted twenty-three of them." Jesse said looking down at the creatures.

Chloe closed her eyes, her breath expelling in short shaky clouds of smoke.

"It's almost dark, they came from the direction of the cabin, but I didn't hear any shots. And they would have come looking for us by now if they had seen them." Jesse said. "Chloe, I think we are going to have to try and fight through them."

She looked back at him. "I agree. Maybe if we shoot as many as possible at once, the shots will alert them and they will come."

He nodded. "Do you have your knife?"

She looked down, lifting the bottom of her too-big jacket to show the knife attached at her hip.

"Good, tuck your jacket behind the hilt."

She did as she was told and looked back down at the hoard.

"How do we want to do this?"

"Jesse looked around and spotted a thick branch about fifteen feet off the ground, extending out just as far from the tree.

"There, that branch. You go..." he trailed off looking in the opposite direction. "Go over there to that branch, see it?" He pointed and she looked, nodding her head.

"Make as much noise as you can, draw them over there. I will go across that one, and jump down. From there I will take out as many as I can, with my knife. If any get close to me, shoot them."

She nodded quickly, and looked toward the branch she would be on. "You sure about this?" He asked. "You don't have to do this if you aren't comfortable."

She looked back at him. "I do have to do this. I have to get home to Beca." She said. And before Jesse could say anything she was slowly making her way over to the branch.

He smiled softly at her, seeing how far she had come from the scared, uncertain girl they had met not long ago.

When she was situated, she looked at him and gave him a thumbs up. He nodded once and she pulled out her knife and used the handle to hit against the tree.

"Hey! Over here," She called hitting it harder until they looked and began making their way over.

"Come on you nasty things," She called. "Come this way,"

Jesse smiled and when the majority of them were far enough away, he climbed down and moved over to his branch. Carefully climbing as fast across it as he could. Then looked back at Chloe who had her focus on the creatures.

He took a breath before dropping off the branch and landed with a soft thud in the snow below.

A loud snarl sounded as a few of them heard this and the started for him.

"Hey! No look at me! Come to me!" Chloe yelled stabbing her knife into the tree and started clapping her hands loudly. "Come on!" She yelled and started whistling, this being enough to get a few of them to turn back.

Jesse stood up, feeling pain radiate through his body at the long drop. He grabbed his knife with a grimace and instantly went for the first creature he could and stabbed it in the side of its head.

Chloe grabbed her knife and sheathed it before pulling the gun from around her back and aimed, she waited for the right moment before she pulled the trigger and the bang was deafening as she hit two of them in a row, with one shot.

She aimed again as Jesse got another one. This time only hitting one,but the shot was just as loud.

She killed at least six before Jesse was being out numbered and she shifted to climb back across the branch for a better aim. She heard a crack and froze. The branch was breaking.

"Fuck, Jesse!" She called and he looked up breathlessly to see the look of horror on her face as the branch cracked again, right above half a dozen creatures.

XXXXXX

Beca shot up from the couch and Stacie was already running from the back of the house as She yanked a jacket off the hook by the door.

"Did you hear that too?" Stacie asked and she nodded quickly as Aubrey hurried in from the bedroom with Cody.

"So many shots," She said, "You don't think..."

"It has to be." Beca said grabbing her gun, as well as a pistol.

"Stay with Cody," Stacie said grabbing her own gun and kissing her swiftly. "We will be back."

Cody grabbed onto Aubreys hand and Beca was out the door instantly.

"Boil some water!" She called over her shoulder as they took off as fast as they could through the nearly two feet of snow.

XXXXXX

Jesse shoved a creature away and stabbed another trying to get to Chloe as fast as he could. "Don't move!" He called and she nodded, staying still as she watched Jesse fight the hoard alone with nothing but a knife.

She reached back and slowly grabbed the gun, bringing it back around. She could still try to help.

She aimed and shot again, hitting another one, giving Jesse time to pull his knife from the skull of one of them just to thrust it back into another.

The creatures that were below her were making their way toward Jesse, their snarls loud and angry.

"Jesse watch out!" She cried seeing one hit him from the side and send him sprawling into the snow.

"No!" She screamed and shifted again just as multiple shots rang out.

Jesse felt the weight fall on him and the sound of feet crunching in the snow.

"Chloe don't move!"

He felt the relief flood his system at the sound of Becas voice, thankful, this tree wasn't too far from the cabin. And knowing the hoard hadn't infiltrated their perimeters.

Chloe let out a breath as Beca and Stacie appeared out of the trees, firing their guns rapidly. She watched as the creatures fell one after another.

There were maybe six left when the branch cracked again and Chloe felt her body drop an inch or so.

"It's breaking!"

Jesse was running over, and Beca had just shot another creature when Stacie was knocked back into the snow, two creatures dropping on her at the same time. The branch finally snapped and Beca could do nothing but watch as Chloe fell at least twenty feet landing with a thud into the snow below.

Jesse was still running toward her when Stacie screamed for help.

Beca felt the fear flood her system as she flipped around and fired her gun multiple times at the creatures on Stacie.

They fell on her and Stacie wasn't moving below them.

"Beca, she's hurt!" Jesse called and Beca looked over. She couldn't even see Chloe, as she was practically buried in the snow.

She started toward Chloe, her eyes hard and tear filled when she heard a grunt and looked behind her.

"Please, help me."

She let out a breath and ran over, grabbing a creature and yanking it off of Stacie.

"Were you bit?" She demanded. Stacie was bloody and breathless but shook her head.

"I just got stuck, I can get it from here, go, hurry." she said and Beca nodded, turning and running as fast as she could toward the motionless figure in the snow, the branch she was in, still underneath her back.

There were still two creatures left and Stacie shot one that had just reached them, before getting up and running for the other one.

Beca dropped into the snow beside Chloe, were was awake, but wasn't moving.

"Chloe, Baby, are you okay, what hurts?"

"M-my back." She gasped, and Beca noticed she hadn't moved her head at all. She seemed unnaturally stiff.

"You'll be okay, I promise. We have to get you home and warm. You cant get sick." She said and could hear the thickness in her own voice.

"I-I cant move, Beca it hurts." Chloe said and a tear rolled down into her hair.

"I know, I know it does. It'll be okay, we will carry you."She said and She and Jesse began lifting her as Stacie ran over.

She cried out in pain and Stacie stopped them. "Stop! You could hurt her more."

"We cant just leave her in the snow she will freeze." Beca said and Stacie nodded.

"I know, but if her back is broken...you cant move her. You could make it worse."

They slowly lowered her back into the snow and Beca stood up, pushing her hands back through her hair before furiously wiping her tears.

She turned and lifted Chloes jacket, yanking the knife from her hip and ran over to a small pine tree. She dropped down and began angrily hacking at the trunk.

Jesse unzipped his jacket and hurried over to help her. It wasn't long before he was laying his jacket over the pine needles and they very carefully laid Chloe onto the tree. Beca took her jacket off and wrapped it around her before all three of them Grabbed branches and began dragging the tree across the snow, around the dead creatures and toward the cabin.

Chloe lay on it, silently crying, trying not to move as the tree acted like a gurney of sorts.

Beca kept her determined look as she pulled the tree. She had to get her home. She had to get her warm. She couldn't have a broken back. She just couldn't.

None of this would have happened if she wouldn't have slept so late. Chloe wouldn't have been out there. She wouldn't have been up in that tree.

She couldn't even be bothered to wake up that morning. She didn't tell Chloe she loved her. She didn't tell her to be safe.

This was all her fault.

The thoughts bounced around in her head, making her anger at herself grow. If it weren't for her, Chloe wouldn't be hurt. If she had gotten up, like she was supposed to, Chloe would be okay.

They were close to the cabin, and Jesse and Stacie had no idea that Beca was tearing herself apart as she pulled the tree.

Chloe let out a whimper every so often and every time she did, Beca gave herself another mental punch. She could see the smoke from the chimney in the night sky and let out a sharp breath.

It was then, the snarls began to echo around them.

A/N: the response to last chapter was truly amazing and honestly helped me get this one out s quickly. So thank you very much. Please review?