FADE IN. . SNOW COVERED FOREST BUT A DIFFERENT LOCATION THAN THE LAST crawls out of what looks like to be a hastily made tent, rubs the sleep out of her eyes, turns her head towards a still smoldering, blackened pile of sticks that had served as a fire, walks over to it, and kicked snow onto it until it the smoke stops rising. She sighs, runs her hands through her hair, but recoils with a disgusted expression, paired with and equally disgusted noise. ALEK then crawls out of the tent.

DERYN (turning to ALEK)

My hair is revolting.

ALEK

I didn't notice.

DERYN

I haven't washed it a week! And you didn't notice, because

yours is just the same.

ALEK (touching his hair)

Nothing near what it was like traveling for weeks on end in a

Stormwalker.

DERYN(walking back to the tent)

Well I'm going to wash mine.

ALEK (shocked)

In this cold? You've gone mad!

DERYN (bluntly)

I went mad ages ago, and besides, it's not as cold in the day time.

I'll do it when the sun's gotten higher. Do we have any towels?

ALEK swallows and slowly reaches for one of the packs. He pulls out a blanket and hands it to her

DERYN

This is a blanket

ALEK

I know. But towels are one of the supplies that we didn't think

to bring.

DERYN (taking the blanket)

Fine. I'll be down at the river, washing my hair.

She turns and walks away with the blanket swung over her shoulder. CUT TO by the river, DERYN is kneeling with her hair dripping wet and her head bowed over the water. She reaches for the blanket and begins to towel off her recently washed hair. She hears the sound of a stick breaking, and looks across the river. Two men in Austrian uniforms are standing there watching her. DERYN looks down at her own clothes: an Italian uniform, and springs to her feet in realization. One of the men reaches for a pistol and aims for her. DERYN turns and runs. DERYN runs into the camp out of breath. She stops, and leans over, her hands on her knees.

ALEK

What's gotten you so shaken up?

DERYN (now hurriedly stuffing supplies into the packs)

Two men, (pant) Austrian, by the (pant),by the river.

We've (pant)got to go.

Realization dawns on ALEK's face, and he grabs a pack as DERYN does the same. They run out of the clearing and into the pine trees that surround them, kicking up snow behind them as they hurriedly trudge through the snow.

ALEK

Do you know where we're going now?

DERYN

To the north, I think. We have to get away fast, then hide.

AELK

It's probably not helping that we're leaving a clear path for the

soldiers to follow.

DERYN

I don't think they'll follow us too diligently, they just thought that

I was a common soldier, near a camp full of other men. Just keep

running.

ALEK

Then what?

DERYN

Climb a tree or something? Use a tree branch to cover our tracks?

ALEK

I guess this means no fire tonight though.

DERYN gives a small nod and they both fall into silence and continue running. The going is slow, and they are getting snow down their boots. They eventually come across another clearing. It has a small pile of blackened twigs in a patch of melted snow.

ALEK (looking around)

We didn't circle back to our own camp, did we, Deryn?

DERYN (confused)

Not that I know of… (looks around some more) No. we didn't stay

here. Whoever did seem to be gone.

She is interrupted when a person, with a scarf wrapped around their face for warmth, hurtles out of the trees and tackles her. They wrestle on the ground for a few seconds until ALEK tries to step in and help. His feet are kicked out from underneath him in the struggle , and DERYN manages to put her attacker into a head-lock.

BOVRIL(peeking out of ALEK's pack)

Monkey-luddite friend

The attacker struggles around a bit more and his scarf comes undone. DERYN and ALEK recognize him.

DERYN (releasing him)

Barking spiders! Newkirk?

NEWKIRK (scrambling away, in disbelief)

Dylan? (Looking at ALEK) Alek? Oh blisters. Sorry I attacked you.

I thought you were those Austrian soldiers.

DERYN

So you thought that attacking two armed men was a good idea.

ALEK(getting to his feet and brushing the snow off of him)

And besides, we are wearing Italian uniforms. Not Austrian.

NEWKIRK takes a closer look at DERYN's uniform.

NEWKIRK(rather sheepishly)

Oops.

DERYN

What are you doing here anyway?

NEWKIRK

I was sent on a mission near the border, all by myself. Giving supplies

to a stranded group of soldiers in Tarvisio. Just enough until a real rescue

team arrived. The Leviathan would be too big of a ship to try to get in

there and help, you know, easily shot down. So I was dropped down

and sent on my merry way. So I delivered the supplies, and I was told to

be at Bolzano on December twenty-fifth. That's when I'm being picked up.

DERYN

We're supposed to be in that city on that date also! You can come with us!

ALEK (muttering)

Because we're hopelessly lost on our own.

DERYN(rounding on him)

What was that, your princeliness?

ALEK

Nothing. Dylan…

He is interrupted by the sound of rustling in the surrounding forest. There are distant voices talking in German.

SOLDEIR # 1

Die Spuren führen auf diese Weise, aber warum werden

wir durch solche Schmerzen für zwei Jungen Soldaten?

The tracks lead this way, but why are we going through such

pains for two boy soldiers?

SOLDEIR #2 (with menace)

Der Junge war mit dem Prinzen, der unser Volk aufgegeben.

That boy was with the prince who abandoned our people.

ALEK looks over at DERYN. She looks back in understanding, fear showing in her eyes.

DERYN(frantic )

I didn't know they saw you.

ALEK

We should run.

DERYN

Aye.

NEWKIRK

Wait, what's going on?

DERYN

We'll explain on the way, but right now, we have to get out of

here if we want to live

They start to run in the opposite direction of the soldiers.

NEWKIRK

Now can I know what's happening?

DERYN

The Austrian soldiers that we're running from evidentially saw Alek,

and know who he is.

ALEK

And they are upset that I gave up the throne.

NEWKIRK

Upset enough to hunt you down and kill you?

They reach a downward slope, and begin to descend in an almost falling forward fashion.

ALEK

It seems like it.

BOVRIL

Faster. Run faster.

DERYN (looking over her shoulder)

Blisters! They've seen us!

One of the men at the top of the hill pulls out a pistol and aims it for ALEK. Seeing this, DERYN hurtles herself at ALEK. The force of the collision pushes them both downhill. There is the sound of a gunshot, and DERYN gasps in pain. NEWKIRK pulls out a pistol from his jacket and fires it at the soldiers. He hits one, and they both doge out of sight. DERYN and ALEK are now skidding down the hillside, ALEK scrambling to grab onto tree roots or rocks. NEWKIRK quickly runs to catch up. They skid to a halt near the bottom of the hill. ALEK begins to untangle himself from DERYN. She tries to hoist herself up, but falls back down with a gasp.

ALEK (concerned whisper)

Are you hurt, Deryn?

DERYN (casting a glance to her shoulder)

Aye. They shot me.

ALEK (scrambling over to her)

Let me looks at it. Take off you jacket.

DERYN (shocked)

What?! No!

NEWKIRK jogs up to them.

NEWKIRK

What's happened? (Noticing blood on DERYN's shoulder)

Blisters, Dylan! Are you hurt?

ALEK (forcefully)

Let me look at it, Dylan.

DERYN (stubbornly)

No.

DERYN pulls herself up with her uninjured arm and begins to walk away from the two boys to show that she isn't hurt that bad, but stumbles a bit. ALEK reaches out to steady her.

ALEK

We should set up camp somewhere.

NEWKIRK

Agreed.

ALEK places a hand on DERYN's shoulder in case she lost her balance again. NEWKIRK treks on ahead, and they walk until they reach level ground. FADE OUT.