It was staring at her.
A wolf.
She was on the ground, as if she had just fallen, her body couldn´t move.
It´s fur was as black as coal, the amber eyes burned as coal in a furnace.
The place was almost pitch black, but she could fell the snow underneath hear, draining all the heat from her body.
The wolf came closer, her breath hitched as it curled up with her, the heat was comforting. Them the wolf showed his fangs, biting into her exposed limbs softly.
The wolf kept biting her, it did not really hurt and she wasn´t scared anymore. Then it got to her neck.
A horrible stench got to her nose. The wolf disappeared and she felt cold, then she fell.
…
"Okay. But why, me?" Jory said holding the small flask in his hand.
"Because. You are the one complaining the most" Alice shoot back, the other two by her side, watching him with a hint of a smile on their faces.
He mumbled something and crouched, crawling to the sleeping girl, when he was close enough, he sticks his arm out poking her. Nothing.
He stirred the flask. At this moment, a loud noise banged by the building and he fell on his butt, breathing hard, eyes wide staring the girl. She hadn´t moved.
He looked back seeing Blake and others laughing, his hand on a pistol on the table that he probably shoved against it to make the sound
"Whops!" He said, earning him a punch in the arm from their boss.
Jory groaned and got to his feet again, approaching the flask from the girl's nose.
She wrinkled her nose turning quickly around, wincing in pain from her head "Scheisse…what the hell..."
"Good morning princess" Alice said.
Emily froze for a second before slowly turning to see the group. She sat up in a rush crawling back and wincing from the pain on her head.
"Ten minutes" Jory whispered.
"Shut it" Alice shoot back "So how are you felling?"
"With a massive headache, thank you very much…where is my stuff?" She frowned at them.
Alice gestured with her head to Blake, he grabbed the bag throwing it to the girl and lost his balance upon seeing how heavy it was "Boss?"
"Yeah?"
"You really didn't check her bag?"
"No, why?"
"It was very heav-"
There was a metallic click. Emily was pointing a gun at Jory, a strange one with a rifle stock and something like a shotgun barrel laid vertically but very much shorter and of a lower caliber.
"What. Did. I. Say?" Jory said slowly looking to the gun "WHAT. DID. I. SAID?! OH I KNOW WHAT NOW, EMILY PLEASE NO!"
"Shut it!" Alice shouted back "Now, why don´t you lower that gun, so we can talk?" She said calmly to the girl.
Emily was a little scared of their shouting and arguing even with a gun pointed to one of their heads "I-I…how do I know you won´t try something?"
"Are you kidding me? You tried to kill me-" At that the other three frowned at the girl, even Jory glared at her angry "I dragged you all the way here, if I wanted you dead don´t you think you would be already?"
She didn´t have an answer, instead just started slowly lowering her gun "Where am I?"
"Winterhome" Mina said taking a step forward.
"What? Then why are we at a…" She looked around for a while "A gathering outpost…is the city overcrowded?"
Mina studied the girl for a second before turning back to Alice "She really doesn´t know"
Alice let out a sigh as Emily got confused "What I don´t know?"
"Winterhome is dead, it collapsed six years ago" Alice said simply.
Emily face turned in confusion for a second "Shite…" she looked back to them "You said you was from New London right? I need to get there"
"Sure, want more guns? Maybe a massage?" Jory said on a mocking tone.
"Jory" Blake crossed his arms and said on a serious tone, to which Jory frowned and went quiet.
Alice stayed quite as they all looked back to her, she pinched the bridge of her nose "Fine, we'll take you there once we finish here, Andras will want to talk to you"
There was collective groan as the other three looked at each other "Actually…" Blake started.
Alice head shoot up immediately as she arched an eyebrow "Actually…what?"
They traded a look before Mina sighed and started to talk "Remember how the beacon was down for maintenance when we left?"
"Yes...?"
"So, they got it back up and sent a message…"
"Yeah, that was expected"
"There is a minor storm with a drop of temperature coming…we need to be back by tomorrow or we won´t make it…" She said wrinkling her face.
Alice face went to a blank, she then smiled and walked around the building calmly, kicking down a set of boxes as soon as she got close enough "Gods dang it!"
Emily jumped back a little, the other three sighed in relief, as if that was a normal reaction.
"Fine…we make turns to watch the missy here" She pointed at Emily "Feel free to eat your food or do whatever, just don't try anything that end up with me having to break your legs" She rubbed her forehead going to her bag and putting her food near the generators.
Emily didn't say a word, she got all her stuff and carried it to the other end of the building, which was not very far, taking her rations and putting them close to the personal generator on her chest, the gun by her side, she shivered a little in the cold, her breath forming small white clouds around her.
"She´s going to freeze like that" Blake said popping open the ration.
"Just make sure she is alive; we need her to tell all about what happened" Alice said eating "Who is getting first turn? We leave with the first light"
There was a collective silence around them as they all looked to Jory, he got the message and pulled out some metal nails from a pouch on his belt, holding them all on his hand so their length was hidden. They each took one examining them, the air around them heavy.
"For Gods!...Fuck!" Mina shouted throwing the biggest nail on the ground "You three are cheaters and I know it"
The other three started to chuckle trying to hold their laughs inside, they all started to eat and get things set for the morning.
Emily on the other hand was just watching from the corner questioning how they survived so long "What a bunch of lunatics"
…
Emily was freezing, she was actually amazed how quickly whether had turned and how their tech could provide that much heat, she kept glancing to her side seeing Mina reading a book.