Tyger stopped her truck about a mile from the cabin. There was no road leading to the cabin. That's why it was perfect. Probably no body but her knew about it. It was a hunter's cabin long since abandoned. The winter snows had already started. The little mountain dirt road would soon be impassable. She would be snowed in for at least three months. And if by some chance someone would be able to trace her to Lonepines they would have no way to get to her with the roads impassible for the winter. Besides no one knew about the cabin. She had driven up here last week for three days in a row stocking the cabin with food and supplies that would last here for the winter. Hiking back and forth from the truck to the cabin having to carry all the supplies had been no fun but she didn't have a choice. The cabin had a generator for electricity. She had got new parts for it and made sure it was in good working order. She had parked her truck in a grove of tress and was putting a tarp over it. She took the ax she carried on her belt and started hacking limbs off the trees. When she had enough she covered the truck so no one would see it. She put on her headphones and took off through the woods.
Mark had once again caught a lucky break. He had just arrived in town today. There had been no sign of her. He had talked to several of the merchants and found out she had been here a week. He sat on the small street and waited. She had shown up walking out of a small rooming house. From what he knew she had been buying large amounts of food and supply like she was planning on camping or something. He wondered what she was up to. He watched her get in a small truck and take off up the road. He gave her a couple of minutes and followed. He stayed a good ways behind her just out of sight. They must have been on the road for a hour now. Where the hell was she going? He pulled back again he didn't want to spook her and have her take off again. He watched her turn onto a small dirt road leading up a mountain. The roads were getting bad. He was having a hard time in this stupid rental car. She was the smart one she had a truck with chains on the tires. Suddenly his car went sliding off the road into a ditch. "Damn!" he yelled hitting the steering wheel. He got out of the car and knew there was no way he was getting it out of the ditch. Well he would just have too walk. He shivered and pulled his leather jacket tighter around him. He started walking toward the road she had turned into to. Hopefully she hadn't gone far.
Tyger arrived at the cabin and got the key out and opened the door. Damn it was as cold in here as it was outside. The house had no heat but plenty of fireplaces. She would be chopping plenty of wood this winter. She headed back out and started carrying fire wood in. She put the wood in the fire place and got some old newspaper and soon had a roaring fire going. She went into the kitchen and took some stew meat and vegetables out and got a stew simmering. Damn she thought, I forgot to get the batteries and flashlights out of the truck. She didn't want to make the long walk back but knew the weather wasn't going to improve so she had better do it now. She put more wood on the fire and put the screen around it. She turned the stew down to simmer. She threw her coat back on and headed back to her truck.
Mark knew he was going to freeze to death it was unbearably cold. He had come to a dead end. The road just ended at the edge of the wood. No sign of her truck or her. There was no telling which way she went and what the hell did she do with her truck. The snow was now almost up to his knees and every step was a chore. He knew if he didn't get out of the storm soon he was going to die out here. Hell the little bitch had won she had outsmarted him. He couldn't even feel his feet no more and his hands were numb. He walked a few feet into the woods before he fell and passed out in the snow.
Tyger uncovered the back of her truck and grabbed the bag with the supply of batteries and flashlights. She might need them you never knew. He eye was caught by a huge lump in the snow a few feet away. She walked over after she had covered the truck back up. She knocked some of the snow off and gasped. It was the man who had been following her. Well he's as good as dead. He won't be following me anymore. She started back into the woods and stopped. She couldn't just leave him there to die. She wasn't a murderer in spite of what other people thought. Tyger you're going to regret this her little voice told her. "I know, I know." She muttered to herself. She bent over the large man. "Wake up!" she yelled at him. He moaned and stirred a little bit. She got down and slapped his face a couple of times. Mark opened his eyes to see Tyger bent over him. "Come on I can't carry your sorry ass." She said. He tried to sit up but he was dizzy. Tyger grabbed his shoulders before he could fall back. "Damn your heavy." She said. Mark tried to shake the cobwebs from his brain, why the hell was she helping him? "I know you're a bounty hunter, lucky for me your not the sharpest crayon in the box are you? Really dumb coming out in this weather with no winter clothes. I'll just bet you ran your car in a ditch too, no chains right?" she said with derision in her voice. Mark was angry she was mocking him. She saw the anger in his eyes good she thought. Maybe he's angry enough to get his ass up and walk. Mark tried to stand up and couldn't his feet were numb. "Come on you son of a bitch your going to have to walk I can't carry you!" she yelled at him. Mark grabbed onto the hand she held out and pulled himself up. He teetered for a moment but stayed up. Tyger put her arm around his waist, she cringed she couldn't stand to touch men but she didn't have a choice right now. He put his arm around her shoulder and used her to walk. "You know I,m taking you in." he said in a raw voice. His throat was so dry he could hardly talk. Tyger laughed. "You couldn't even take yourself to the bathroom right now. Anything you've got planned is going to have to wait about three months. If you haven't noticed it's a blizzard out here that road won't thaw till spring. You wont be taking me anywhere for now." She said. They made slow time. He could barely walk. "Why are you helping me?" he asked. "Because I'm a stupid idiot. I should have left your sorry ass in that snow drift." She said. Mark didn't say anything else. He just concentrated on each step hoping they would get where they were going soon.