Jill had been trudging along for hours in near silence. There was no scenery other than trees, snow, and blue sky. Sometimes she heard something small moving in the woods. She wondered what animals lived here and what they looked like. With a smirk she thought that it would be her luck that she would encounter a man-eating chipmunk.

She eventually came to a fork in the road. Actually it wasn't much of a fork. More like the main road went to the left and another smaller trail went to the right. Squinting, she thought she saw a sign on a tree near the fork. She made her way up to it and found it to be written in English. "Huh, imagine that."

The sign read,

No Hunting, Fishing, or Trespassing.

Trespassers will be charged to the fullest extent of the law.

Owners

It was signed at the bottom in very neat handwriting "Wyatt Cain" with "Jeb Cain" underneath it.

Well Jill, what are you going to do? Daylight was fading fast, her knee was throbbing with pain, and she was exhausted. Worse than her knee was that she was having trouble feeling her feet or her fingers. I don't have much choice do I? She grabbed a handful of snow to eat, wiped the extra off of her glove, and started to go down the trail to the right. If this Wyatt and Jeb Cain were home, she hoped that it wouldn't turn into a scene from Deliverance. If they weren't, then hopefully they'd forgive her later for breaking and entering.

Daylight finally fell and a full moon rose. With a bit of relief Jill saw only one moon rise not two. She stopped and breathed deeply in to the night air. By this time she could only hobble along and it was taking its toll. In the worst way she wanted to lay down, cover up, and go to sleep. She worked her glove off and took another deep breath.

SLAP!

Her eyes teared up but at least momentarily her head cleared. Her cheek stung badly. If she didn't find shelter soon she was going to be in a lot of trouble. She continued to have nagging thoughts that she made the wrong decision and should have followed the main road.

After walking for another half-hour or so she came around a bend and saw the faint lights from a cabin. With a renewed sense of both hope and fear she headed towards the lights.

Jill reached the cabin and stumbled up the porch steps. She heard no movement from within. Well, at least she didn't think that she did.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. She still had no clue what she was going to say if anyone came to the door.

Curtains covered the windows and she thought that she saw a flicker of movement followed by the faint screech of a chair. Then there was silence. She was starting to wonder if her mind was playing tricks on her. She went to knock again and it was at that moment the door opened.

Her breath stopped for a moment. She was looking up into the bluest eyes she ever saw. They reflected the moonlight and just blazed in the night. Then it dawned on her that Ol' Blue Eyes was also holding the twin barrels of a gun straight at her head.

She swallowed hard and went to speak but no sound came out. She was sure that the gun was loaded.

It was at that inopportune moment that her glasses fogged over. The warm air from the cabin caused it. She let her blue blanket and workbag fall to the ground. She then took both hands and carefully took her glasses off. It was then that her brain finally got into gear and she blurted out, "I'm sorry for disturbing you." Blue Eyes continued to stare at her. She regained her voice and most of her confidence. "I'm lost and I'm in need of shelter. I don't have any money but I'm sure I have something to barter with." She briefly paused and then added, "If you have a barn or a shed I'll sleep there. And I promise I'll leave first thing in the morning."

Cain continued to stare at the woman standing just outside his doorway. Her outdoor gear was definitely something from the outside world; like what DG would wear. She stood there and continued to look him in the eye. He couldn't tell if she wasn't moving out of fear or courage. He had spent nearly a year in the outer territories chasing down the rest of the witch's Longcoats. Having people show up on your doorstep in the middle of the night usually meant trouble. But then he thought back to when he first met DG and how he helped her.

Cain slowly dropped the barrel of the gun. "Here, let me help you in."

"Thank you, " but as Jill took a step, she stumbled in the doorway. Her free hand caught the door sill but it was Cain's arm that quickly reached around her waist and caught her. It surprised her how fast he was but she didn't fight it either. He helped her over to a chair in front of the fireplace. He then went back to the doorway to get her blanket and workbag. He carefully set the gun down near the door.

In the meantime, Jill pushed her hood down, took off her wool cap and put her glasses back on. It only took another moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light in the cabin. From what she could tell it wasn't a large cabin and it was set up like a great room. The kitchen area with a table was at one end, to the right of the door where she came in. She was at the other end, sitting in the chair with a couch behind her. Two doors slightly cracked open were along the other wall. She took off her gloves and looked down at her hands.

Cain put her blanket and workbag on the table. He stood there for a moment, watching her look down at her hands. With a scowl, he pulled up one of the kitchen chairs, brought it over in front of her and sat down.

He shifted forward and took her hands in his. She didn't flinch when he took them. He saw that her hands were red and they felt ice cold. He carefully turned them from one side to another. "Can you feel me touching them?" Cain looked up at her with concern. She looked back at him. "For the most part. They've got that annoying tingly feeling." She held them up and forced them to move in front of him. "See, they're wiggling too."

Cain only nodded. "What about your feet?"

Jill untied her boots and Cain helped to get them off. He took off her wool socks and gently touched her feet. Her toes were red too and as ice cold as her hands. Before he could say anything Jill told him, "I can feel you touching them. And look I can wiggle them."

Cain looked up at her again, "Anything else?"

It was then he took notice of her features. She was definitely older than DG by at least ten, probably closer to fifteen years. And she had dark brown eyes. He didn't think that they missed too much. Her hair was dark brown and was very short. Even though it was really messed up he could still tell that it was meant to be short. His eyes drifted from her hair to her forehead. He saw the dried blood.

"Those cuts on your forehead need to be cleaned up." Cain got up and walked over to kitchen counter. He picked up the kettle and took it over to the sink. He pumped some water in to it and placed it back on the cookstove. "It won't take long for the water to heat." He then went into one of the rooms and brought out some white cloth. Meanwhile Jill took her jacket off and dropped it on the floor but all the while continued to watch what Cain was doing..

As he sat back down in the chair, Jill spoke up softly. "I haven't been minding my manners too well. My name's Jill. Jill Wilkins." She extended her right hand. Cain took it and was taken off guard by her grip. Her hand was still ice-cold but it was a firm grip. Most women, if and when they shook your hand, gripped it like a wet noodle. "Wyatt Cain, " he replied. As he did so, a faint smile crossed her lips. He quickly changed the subject.

"So, how did you get lost?"

Jill sighed. She knew sooner or later she was going to have to tell her story. She started to speak, but was interrupted by the whistle of the kettle. Cain got up and went over to the cookstove. He took the kettle off the stove and opened up one of the cupboards. For the first time since she'd been there she didn't pay any attention to what Cain was doing. She allowed herself to be absorbed in her own thoughts and stared at the fire.

"Here."

Jill snapped to attention. Cain held out a mug with a piece of bread on top of it. "It's some tea with a little bit of sugar in it. It'll help to warm you up."

Cain sat down and proceeded to clean up her forehead. Like before his touch was gentle and it didn't take long. "It looks worse than what it really is."

"That's good. Oh, and thanks for tea and bread."

Cain nodded and put away the water and cloths. He came back and settled back into his chair.

Jill recounted her tale. She left out the part where she visited Craig's grave though. Sometimes Cain shifted in his chair, but he never took his eyes off of her. She tried to read his face as she spoke but couldn't.

It seemed like it took an eternity but she was finally done. She did her best to stifle a yawn. She had no idea what time it truly was but the adrenaline rush was over. Cain was silent for a moment. He looked into Jill's eyes and saw that they were looking for answers. I'm sorry kid but I don't know what's going on with you yet.

"It sounds like someone wanted you here. Or it was an accident."

"What do you mean by that?" Jill asked. Someone here? Wanting me? What the hell for? And how would a tornado be an accident?

"That tornado you described was a travel storm. They're created as a way to cross over from our world to yours. Most times they're created, but sometimes they happen by accident."

"I've heard thunder and seen lightning during snowstorms but not even Mother Nature can create tornados in the middle of January in Pennsylvania." Jill replied rather matter-of-factly.

Cain sighed and looked at her. He didn't know where Pennsylvania was but guessed that it was her home. "I'll agree that it probably wasn't an accident. But I don't know who would want you here in the O.Z. Unless it was meant for someone else and you got caught up in the ride."

He could tell that she wasn't satisfied with his answers and the gears were turning in her head.

"Look.", he almost called her kid but stopped himself. She's not a kid like DG.

"The day after tomorrow I'll take you into Central City. I know some people that may be able to help you. I'm due back there in a few days anyway."

Jill looked from him and back to the fire. You don't have much choice again do you?

Just then the clock started to strike. "It's getting late. You can sleep in the spare bedroom instead of the barn."

She looked back up at him and realized that was probably about as close as to a joke she was going to get, "Alright, it's a deal." She went to get up from her chair and stumbled again.

Cain quickly stood up, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's my stupid knee. I must've bruised it when the truck rolled over." She saw that look of concern on his face again, "I think that I just need to stay off of it."

Cain put his arm around her waist and helped her to one of the doors.

Jill sat down on the bed. Cain brought in her socks and blue blanket. "The bed is clean. When my son comes along this is where he sleeps. He hasn't been here for awhile so it should be okay." He started to go out the door, and Jill called out after him. "Is your son's name Jeb?"

He paused in the doorway. "How do you know that my son's name is Jeb?"

"Just a guess. I saw the no trespassing sign and it had two names on it. Yours, and another, Jeb. When you said about your son sleeping here I thought that it might have been him."

Cain grunted. "That's him." and he turned to grab the door knob.

"Thank you again Cain." Jill's gut told her that he didn't go by Wyatt.

He paused in the doorway. "Good night Jill," and he softly pulled the door shut.

He went in to his bedroom and pulled out a glass and a flask of whiskey. He went back out and sat down in the chair next to the fire and poured some of the whiskey into the glass. He stared for a long time into the fire. His gut told him that trouble was brewing again.