Ivan stooped down to examine the set of footprints that belonged to his companion. They stopped in the middle of a small clearing and the Russian concluded that there was no way that Alfred could jump from where the tracks ended to any nearby trees. In fact, just after the footprints stopped, there was a large indentation in the snow. It was body shaped in nature but the falling snow seemed to have filled it in a few centimeters.

Ivan felt as if his heart was going to leap from his chest, it was beating so fast. The large man clutched his chest and grimaced for a moment. He needed to calm down. He needed this feeling to go away. He need Alfred to be alright. He exhaled as he stood up and strained to look around. The falling snow seemed to silence the forest.

What happened?

Ivan bit his lower lip and fiddled with his scarf as he tried to come up with possible explanations for the blond's disappearance but nothing came to mind. The Russian bit his lower lip and practically felt his lips dry from the cold wind.

Suddenly, he could feel everything around him. The wind blew through his coat and the warm breath from his nose warmed his lips as the snow fell around him. The world seemed to slow down around him but he could feel his hearts as it strained against his chest. His hand was still clutched to his chest and a grimace still plastered on his pale face. Ivan's violet eyes scanned the area several times in disbelief.

What worried the man the most was the lack of evidence of a struggle. The snow only held the indentation that vaguely man-shaped and that was it. Clean, white snow and the quickly filling indentation of a man.

Ivan stumbled forward a few steps before he too fell into the snow. Alfred had given him their supply backpack earlier which left the American with nothing. The Russian had flung the small backpack onto the snow beside him. Every look at the object sent the man into an anxiety attack. His breath came fast and hard as he grasped at the snow.

"I'm so sorry, Alfred," he mumbled once again, his accent thicker in his distress. He turned his face to the clouded sky and let the cold flakes fall onto his skin. They were a nice contrast to the warmth that spread over his chest. He was bleeding again but this time, he could see red spots on the front of his coat. The man winced as he laid down, chest to the cold snow.

The snow would have reminded him of home but he felt empty and alone. All he could do was close his eyes as he lay in Alfred's snow indentation.

Upon opening his eyes, he saw a small indentation where the snow was ever so slightly packed in. His eyes opened wider and he sat up. The snow underneath the Russian was red but he didn't focus on that. He looked closer at the circular impression. The only conclusion he could come up with was snow shoes.

"Why didn't I see that before?" Ivan asked himself. He reached a gloved hand to touch the track. It was almost impossible to see from the angle he had searched the area at but now that he was level with the snow, he could see them.

Ivan took his time to stand up and winced in pain when it came time to move his torso. He snatched the backpack from the ground and flung it over his shoulders but fumbled a little when he tried to slip his other arm into the strap.

With his eyes focused on the faint outlines of the snowshoe tracks, the man let out a large breath and started walking. Ivan was determined to find Alfred and possibly get some medical help.

The sun was falling and cast orange light onto the snow but Ivan kept his pace. He was focused on nothing but the tracks even if he didn't get anywhere. However, when the sun had finally set, the man looked up from the tracks.

The snow had stopped falling and the forest was silent. Now that the sound of snow crunching under his boots had stopped, he could finally hear the beautiful silence. At least, he would have thought the silence to be beautiful if he hadn't gotten used to Alfred's mindless chatter. He would have preferred such mindless chatter over the almost deafening silence. Ivan allowed himself to look around. He didn't know where he was and he felt like every part of the forest looked like every other part of the forest.

Ivan sighed. The snowshoe tracks seemed like they went on forever and he felt fatigue overtake his body. A pine tree with its branches weighed down with snow looked inviting to the man so he went towards it. He positioned the backpack to be used as a pillow but he felt like something was missing. He missed the warmth of Alfred's body next to his. The Russian rolled over onto his back and let out a shaky sigh. Surely in the morning he would be able to find his missing counterpart.

"I'm sorry, Alfred," he mumbled as he once again laid on his side. "I promise I'll make it up to you." He closed his eyes and drifted to a fitful, dreamless sleep.

Light shining against his eyelids woke the Russian and in his grogginess, he couldn't make out the speech that filled his ears. The loud voices seems to echo off the trees and the light made the man shield his eyes from the bright white light. He felt a pressure on his upper body and eventually he felt himself being dragged from under the pine tree.

"Get off me!" He screamed as he thrashed. He muttered some sharp words in his native tongue but he was too groggy to really care about he let escape his lips. The hands on his body held fast despite the large man's attempt to escape. In the distance, he heard the rumble of a truck engine and Ivan felt a new wave of adrenaline rush through his body.

"You cannot take me anywhere!" He felt wide awake now, his violet eyes large. There were a pair of thick, red snow gloves and pair of leather gloves holding onto either side of his body. The red gloves lead to a red nylon coat and long blond tresses. On the other side, the dark brown leather gloves lead to a brown coat and to bright blue eyes looking into his own violet ones.

"We're here to save you, buddy."