After nine days it rained.

They'd spent most of the day walking through a landscape with trees and rocky hills when Mercedes first spotted the dark swirling clouds. "Sam, I think there's rain coming."

He followed her gaze back up the hill they had just passed. "I think you're right. Maybe we should find a tree and set up camp early so we can wait it out."

She said nothing. She'd stopped walking and was now staring at the rapidly approaching cloud intently. When she finally spoke there was an edge of nervousness to her voice. "It's not that kind or rain Sam. We need proper shelter."

The tension in her voice instantly made her take her seriously. "Are you sure?"

She frowned at him and her expression made him feel like he was a little stupid and she paused to point up at the sky. "Look at the way those clouds are formed and the speed they're moving. This isn't just a rain shower!"

He looked again and couldn't help but feel that she was right. In few the moments they'd spent talking it was already growing darker and thunder rumbled in the distance. "We need to head for the trees Sam, and we need to RUN!"

The raw fear in her tone was infectious and he followed without question as she sped towards the trees. The darkness seemed to follow them like a shadow and he felt his levels of anxiety rising. He was still looking for a big tree to shelter under but she seemed to be looking for something else.

It was getting darker by the second.

"Over there!"

"Where?" She was pointing but he couldn't make out what she was pointing at. Taking his hand she pulled him behind her and he allowed himself to be dragged through the thickening undergrowth.

"This would be perfect but I'm scared of what might already be inside." Somehow she'd managed to find a crack in the rocky side of the hill. The wind had suddenly and rapidly picked up and he now understood why just a tree wasn't going to be enough.

In truth he was feeling just as anxious as her but there was no way he was going to show it. He was here to protect her and he had a job to do. "Come on!"

Tightening his grip on her hand he led them closer. At the entrance he stopped, reaching for the flashlights in his bag. For all they knew, they weren't the only creatures looking for shelter from the oncoming storm. He had his gun but didn't want her to know that unless it was absolutely necessary. Holding two lights in front of him, he shone their light into the darkness and was relieved to see that the crack led into some sort of sheltered cave. It wasn't that big a space and there was nothing in it. At least nothing large. It was at around four times the size their tent and the walls were moss covered stone. A small outcropping sheltered the entrance and was the reason he hadn't seen it initially. Although the inside was wide he could just about stand up in it. In terms of a shelter though, it was pretty perfect. "I think it's okay but I just want to be sure." Rushing back out he grabbed a fallen branch and used it to sweep the ground of the small cave, making sure there were no snakes or other nasties underfoot. Once he was confident that there wasn't, he pitched their tent and put their bags inside it. "We'll sit and wait here until it stops."

She shook her head. "No. It could take a while. We should gather some firewood."

The sound of the wind had already reached a howl and he wasn't keen on venturing back outside. "If we get wet we won't be able to get warm."

"If we have no fire we won't be able to get warm! Plus it'll prevent anything else from coming in."

She stared at him hard and won the argument. Leaving the upright flashlight on, they headed out. It was horrible. The wind was already picking up towards a gale. "Just grab what you can!" She shouted to him.

They filled their arms and dumped the wood back into the cave. Without even pausing she headed back out. Sam fought to be heard over the wind as against his better judgement he followed her and gathered another two times. Still she didn't seem happy with the pile. "We need more than this! Plus dry leaves and grass for kindling!"

"I think we have enough! Mercedes. It's getting wild out there!"

"I'm going back!"

"No!" It wasn't safe anymore and they were having to go farther and farther away to find bits to collect.

But before he could stop her she was gone. How the hell was he supposed to keep her safe if she was going to act irresponsibly like this? "Mercedes COME BACK!" Forcing down the lump which had appeared in his throat he ran after her and tried to pull her back to safety as she gathered more.

She pulled her arm from his grip and glared at him with eyes of steel. "Just help me Sam!"

He didn't want to, but as he was already out here he might as well. Big drops of water were starting to land on him as were cold hard pieces that felt more like hail. "Run!"

They fled towards the cave, stumbling as they went and nearly driven sideways by the wind, managing to squeeze in just before the hail came down in earnest. Sam dumped his collection down next the rest before turning and glaring at her. "Don't you ever run off like that again!"

Her spine straightened and her eyes flashed with anger. "Don't yell at me like I'm a child!"

"Then don't behave like one!"

She let out an exasperated sound before forcing her voice to sound calm. "Sam... We're going to need to keep a fire going here. Once the rain falls and everything gets wet we'll have nothing to feed the fire with. Wet tinder won't light and even if we managed to get some to shoulder, we'd suffocate from the smoke it produces in this confined space. For all we know we could be stuck in here for days. It was worth the risk. What it wasn't worth it was you shouting and grabbing me like that!"

"I was scared! You were like a little kid running out into the middle of the road towards oncoming traffic!"

The illustration went down badly and hurt spread through her features as well as the anger as she rubbed her arm where he'd grabbed her and he hoped he hadn't hurt her in his panic. "As far as you're concerned, I'm just a little kid, and that's all I ever will be!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It doesn't matter!" She turned her back to him which made him even madder.

"Clearly it does to you!"

"Look, just forget it. Okay? There are more important things at stake right now, like the fact that we need to get a fire going right now and dry off!"

He'd never heard her raise her voice and lose it like that before. She didn't speak to him for the next few hours and quite frankly he was glad. He hadn't been lying when he said that he got scared when she ran back out.

He just hated the fact that he'd had to admit it.

The rain lasted for two solid days and it was hard on the both of them. Lack of light was an issue, as was the cold. Sam had apologized for his outburst and by the end of the second day could have kissed her for her last minute suggestion of going out for more firewood. Even with the extra they were going through it at an alarming rate. They needed to keep the fire going day and night for their warmth and protection and safety, and the solid rain outside meant that just as Mercedes had said, there was no way they'd be able to find any more dry kindling.

The days were boring and long. The perpetual gray sky and howling outside causing their moods to be low. And with no idea how long the bad weather was going to last, the feeling of claustrophobia in their confined space grew worse and worse with each waking hour. Clearly nervous, Mercedes was in full chatter mood and much as he loved the sound of her voice, her incessant talking in the background was taking its toll and it took every ounce of his willpower to hold himself back from snapping at her again. Yes it would stop her from talking, but then he'd feel bad, she'd be upset, and being in such a confined place with such a bad atmosphere was the recipe for a complete disaster of epic proportions. Especially as he still had the gun.

The key to them staying warm was to stay dry. The unfortunate problem was that calls of nature due to the constant hot drinks they needed to stay warm, were continually taking them outside in the wet. The umbrellas they had offered little protection if the wind was driving the rain in all directions and it was far harder for Mercedes to keep a hand free to hold it up while doing her business than it was for him. The only thing they didn't have an issue with was water. Leaving out their mugs and bowls they quickly replenished their stock and ran it through the filter. Even their light had to be rationed, using one flashlight at a time with the knowledge they wouldn't be able to do a solar recharge for a while and not wanting to be completely plunged into darkness which is what would happen if they allowed the batteries to drain completely. Their only external entertainment was a small set of playing cards and they'd resorted to actually making up games to entertain themselves. Sam only knew games that involved gambling and she refused to play them so they'd had to reach a compromise. In the end they managed to have some laughs over it. The acoustics of the cave was also excellent for singing and the making up of new songs also passed some of the time when they weren't being mad at each other.

Still, by day the end of the second day, things were understandably strained. Thankfully they woke up on the third morning to sunlight and birdsong. Sam heard the sound first, but tempting as it was to investigate the second he woke up, being pinned down by a sleeping Mercedes was something he wasn't prepared to cut short. How she slept so comfortably against him when he was sure he smelled even worse than the moss on the walls was a mystery to him but if she didn't mind he wasn't going to complain. The last of the firewood had burned out during the night and the temperature had dropped. It had woken him but she slept on. Conscious of the fact that they were no longer protected by the fire from any animals potentially seeking shelter Sam stayed awake with his ears on full alert. But sentry duty wasn't so hard when he had plenty of time to enjoy the girl in his arms, even if it was too dark in the cave to look at her properly.

The ground outside was extremely wet and waterlogged in some places, but it was a relief just to get out. The intensity of the sunshine after the rain was drying the area rapidly, despite the cover from the trees, and much as they were both ready to move on, they came to the decision to wait one more day for the ground to dry a little before attempting to continue. They each only had one spare set of shoes and it made no sense to get them unnecessarily wet and muddy. But just the knowledge that they were going to move on made the mood lighter. They giggled and laughed as they played a card game which required speed and dexterity, and by speed and dexterity it meant attempting to slap away the other person's hand when a card was put down that they wanted. The constant brushing together of their fingers made him feel warm, just like the night-time sleeping arrangements, until he remembered who it was and how young she was and the guilt started to set in again.

There was something not right about the way he was starting to feel about her, even after three days of her incessant chatter driving him to distraction.