#t2bs

He took a long drag off of his cigarette and threw it off the dock into the water. That was his last one. Looks like it's time to quit.

He could see his captain screaming at his fellow squad mates from here. If he listened he could almost hear it carried on the wind.

Poor bastards.

It wasn't their fault that the captain had wrung them up on the shore. No one was exactly at their best right now and the Captain was no better. Technically it wasn't even the Captain's fault. He'd done the best he could with no equipement and no radio to call for help.

A few yards away the Captain slammed his heavy boot into the ass of his scambling crewman.

"Get it TOGETHER! Move your ASS!" he emphasized with another well-placed boot to the backside.

Ever since the breakout the radio had been down so there was no way to call in their distress. They were on their own and needed to get as much of their stores as they could off of the boat and into the nearby town if they were going to have any chance of surviving this.

"Captain, sir." a young faced man saluted his superior officer quickly and stood at attention awaiting his assignment.

They stood at the back of the boat as 3 other men moved quickly taking boxes off of the ship and moving them across the frozen lake towards the village for safe keeping.

The boy looked as exhausted and ragged as the rest. It had been a long trip and they were all worn down to practically nothing.

"Scout ahead. I want you to check and see what's out there beyond that ridge." gesturing over his shouder behing him, "and tell me what you find. We might be here a while and we need to know what we're up against.".

"Sir!" he saluted and ran off along the barge towards the ridge as ordered. There was a small cave that looked almost perfectly cylindrical. He pushed on towards it until he was standing in it's open mouth. He lit a red flare to help himself find his way back should he get lost. He didn't trust his equipement anymore. Not after what just happened.

He pushed through the cave and came out a small opening that overlooked a Lumber company nestled along a creek. He took the first creek path and after walking a few feet decided it best to light another flare.

Can't be too safe he thought as he pressed on. He pushed forward to a small delicate frozen lake and what appeared to be a fishing cabin. There was even a snowmobile on the side which if it worked would make his job a lot easier. Crouching low he took a step onto the ice.

A crack of light lit to his left and he had no time to see the sniper waiting in the saw mill window. He was toast.

* * * * * * *

The shot echoed across the barren landscape and the Captain looked toward the sound of the distrubance.

He was toast.

His men looked at him blankly showing little concern and shuffled back to work.

He stared off at the distance and could see the oil rigs still lit in the water. A few months ago they were so important to the war-effort and now they were just statues. Monuments of a dead ideal that no longer mattered.

A loud creak and moan from the ship startled the Captain and sent him running from the wreckage with an unexpected sprint. The massive boat shifted and screamed under the pressure of the unforgiving ice and slammed to it's side looking as though it might finally fall through the dark water into oblivion and be gone forever. It was now securely pinned between boulders, ice and glaciers. It wasn't going anywhere. Ever.

Letting out a long whistle he motioned for his men to fall back to the village to warm up and rest. There was a building with an operating furnace and he wasn't going to sit around here any longer than he had to. Leading his defeated men into the "Icebox Storage" building Captain sat heavily on the crates they had hauled in all day. There was a roof, fresh water and heat. He was happy. Very happy, considering.

Hopefully his men would take advantage as he planned to.

Everyone found a little corner of the room and fell down hard. Some fell down right in front of the furnace, some slept on the crates along the walls as soon as they were horizontal. One even made a bed on a long dolly with some crates still on it. They were so exhausted they could have easily had a great nights sleep on a bed of cactus.

Captain leaned over to his second-in-command, Memory, and muttered a silent order that was returned with a chuckle just as he settled in to fall asleep.

They should send out a search party for the young boy Ferny's body. They should secure the building. They should make sure they have their supplies off of the boat.

None of that mattered now.

They had all lost family, wives and girlfriends to the plague. They had lost men trying to get out and survive. They had lost everything. The government had no containment. Now that the radio had gone dark and it was obvious what had happened.

It was all lost.

Needless to say, no one was coming to get them. Not for a long time.

He didn't know who would be out here since he'd recieved intel that the military had taken over this area about six months ago. Possibly a few straglers? Or a small base camp of soldiers?

Either way, it was getting dark and it was cold. They hadn't slept in weeks and this was their first moment of safety in months.

They were taking the break.

No debate.

* * * * * * * * *

"...Sir?", Evol whispered to his Captain, "...she's making a-- a-- a snowman. Do I take the shot?"

Captain could hardly believe his ears.

"Say what?"

"I said she's making a fucking snowman. A man of snow. She's making one. Do I kill her or not?" Evol repeated more slowly than necessary.

"Has she seen you?", Melvin chimed in impatiently.

Evol nodded his head no as we watched fixated on the girl placing the head on her masterpiece with glee. She looked so happy.

"What's up with this chick? She's gonna start making fucking snow angels in a second.". Her ability to take joy in her surroundings aggravated Evol to his core.

He wanted to make a snowman now.

"Son of a bitch" he muttered to himself.

He didn't know if he was more angry that she was playing in the snow or that they had been stuck here for weeks and it never occurred to him to do that, yet.

"Well if she hasn't seen you get away from the door and don't draw attention to yourself. She's scouting our shit so you know she's from the camp of whomever shot Ferny a few weeks ago." "Give her a reward" was all Evol muttered as he pushed himself away from the door and quietly rejoined the squad sitting around the small space. In the past few weeks Evol had not missed that little bastard one second.

Captain eyed his grumpy squadmate as he settled in next to them to quietly discuss what to do about this problem in their front yard.

"We need a plan", Captain offered.

Melvin added gruffly, "Sitting here will get us killed. It's not optimal. We need to see what they have and take it. I guarantee whatever they have is more accomodating than what we have here".

"I don't want to kill anyone we don't have to." Evol suggested as he fumbled with his gun aimlessly.

Captain countered, "Yeah, well, she's well armed and although a bit innocent looking seeing as how she painfully overlooked us right next to her and making snowmen and all but--"

"SnowMAN" Evol interrupted.

".....What?"

"Snow MAN. She's only making one. You said men. You were inaccurate." Evol added defiantly.

"....Whatever. ...Damn it, Evol!", Captain fumed, "Shut the fuck up. It doesn't matter! We have no idea what we're up against. She could have a platoon with her and we don't know."

"Yeah but she could be with a small regiment, too", Evol pushed.

Captain gave Evol a look that told him he'd had about enough of his bullshit which immediately put Evol into a darker than usual mood. He shut his mouth and peered around the corner to see if she was still there.

"She's fucking dancing around it" Evol muttered impatiently.

"Memory, what do you think?" Captain asked side-stepping Evol's fascination with the girl and the snowman.

There was an audible pause before Memory answered matter-of-factly.

"I say we take it. We've got nothing to lose. It's not like we can bake them cookies and ask if we can be bunkmates. It is what it is. Kill or be killed."

He made sense Captain thought to himself as he let Memory's voice sink in. Captain knew that he was right even if he didn't want him to be. He knew what he needed to do for his men but he was conflicted.

"I hate to agree with Evol but I don't want to go and kill a squad just because I need their shit. If this is a new world we need to be better than--"

Captain couldn't finish his thought because a chorus of arm flailing and sighs stopped him short.

"Alright alright whatever. So we take it. ...When?" Captain said deflated.

"Tonight." Melving offered quickly.

For the first time in weeks they had a mission.

The men looked good.

They needed this.

Maybe a little bloodshed woudln't be a bad idea.

Shake off the cobwebs a bit and give them a united mission.

Yeah, maybe this is just what they needed.

"She's heading back the way she came. Looks like she's done playing with her dollies for the time being." Evol reported with a voice full of frustration.

Captain stood up and grabbed his AK-12. He took a long look at his mob and looked out the door after the small girl walking back towards her base.

"Then we take it now. We follow at a distance. See where she ends up....."

There was a long pause while they waited for his final order.

PART SIX

Not so far away in a small fishing community a few clicks from the cabin Love sat comfortably on the base of a large totem statue that had a commanding view of the frozen bay as well as an impressive view of the barge that had crashed up on the rocky coast about 4 weeks earlier. It had only been a month and already the icy water had encased it's catch in an solid mass of ice that wouldn't melt until next season. It wasn't going anywhere.

Unfortunately, neither was the crew consisting of hostile Federation soldiers.

Looking over the area it seemed like the crew was keeping inside the enormous broken rig for shelter.

"Stupid bastards are sitting next to an abandoned village and they stay in the ship.", Love mumbled with disgust. She grabbed her sniper rifle off of the totem to her right and aimed expertly at the wounded rig to make sure her assertations were correct. Still one guard sitting sleepily in the cabin window looking like he was going to fall over at any moment. She wondered if they ever let that guy sleep.

She scanned the surrounding area and could see no changes indicating they were moving today.

"Stupid fucks", she chuckled as she turned on her heal confidently and headed home to what she was hoping was a hot meal an even hotter shower and a couple Porter's next to the fire. It was poker night and she was determined to beat Irish this time.

As she was walking toward her patrol along the large Sherman Fisheries store she saw a small yard to her left covered in fresh white snow. The fence was broken where it looked like a gate had been plowed through but if you looked at it just right you could almost imagine the beautiful green grass and full trees if not for this destructive infernal frigid snow. She didn't really mind the snow on principle, in fact she was used to it, but it was so damn cold here. There was never a break. Just all winter, all the time.

Truth be told it wasn't even really a yard she was looking at. It was a small lot of land behind a snowmobile and boat repair shop and it was littered in fish booies and metal barrels. There were pallets strewn about hidden in the blanket of snow giving it an innocent and lived-in feel that hid it's messy truth. She was so homesick that for just a moment she could almost pretend that she was home in Canada and she was in the back yard chasing her small kitten around the yard. There were three trees in the little makeshift "yard" she was standing in. All bare and looking dead in the winter's grasp.

A soft crackle in her earpiece brought her instantly our of her daze and she pushed her earpiece in gently to compensate for the moaning wind on her back. She turned her head to the side to sheild the assault and listen close for any updates on Pwny. It had been a rough few weeks but she was pulling through and they hoped she could be walking soon.

More static.

Love leaned casually against the wooden fence post and stared into the yard before her as she waited. I'm gonna build a snowman was all she had time to think before Irish came in over the speaker in her usual commanding tone.

"Come in Love."

She squinted into the exact spot where the snowman was going to go before she answered.

"Read you. What's up?"

"What's your position?"

"A-Dom side on the road just past Hum-V's"

There was a brief silence while Love turned on her heel and surveyed the friggot behind her at a distance. Nothing had changed. Nothing ever changes. It was like something out of the Twilight Zone.

"Same ol' same 'ol here. Kinda bored, actually."

"[static]...news? [static] ....Pwny had to-- [static] got *static*--stuck in her"

"Irish! Irish I can't understand you? You put what in Pwny? I can't hear you the FUCKING LAG" but Irish didn't hear her. She tried to listen closer but the damn static was impossible.

"—edule a visit" was all she heard in response as Love pushed on her earpiece willing it to work.

"Say it again, Irish. I swear to God this FUCKING LAG!!", Love bellowed irritated at their equipements constant malfunction. It never worked when you needed it.

"I said Pwny is up and walked to the bathroom on her own. She's gonna be mission ready in a week. She's got it stuck in her head she's going on this fucking mission with us so we need to schedule a meeting and plan our little visit. I'm not going to lose her on this mission because she's stubborn.", Irish said impatiently.

"...Oh.", was all Love could muster. That wasn't what she'd heard at all.

"Got it. I'll be back to spawn soon."

The mic clicked as the air frequency clicked off and Love was once again alone in her little makeshift Canadian yard.

Bending over and grabbing two large fists of snow she got to work on her snowman. She needed to move fast to get back to base in time to not raise suspicion but there was no way in hell she wasn't going to make it.

"I think I'll call him...... Chaaaad." she mused aloud to herself with a long mischevious smile.

* * * * * * * *

Irish stood in the comfortable cabin's kitchen behind the island and watched Country down her shot of whiskey as she watched Twiddle with a linebacker's intensity waiting for her to make a move.

Twiddle smiled innocently as she met Country's bet to the cent in poker chips.

Neither one flinched.

Even though they didn't actually have any silver backing them the chips were nonetheless critical to  them. Whomever won had uncontestable ownership over the small radio they had found tucked away in one of the cabins many cabinets. It still worked too which was amazing considering they had never changed the batteries. About a month and a half ago all radio contact had gone silent from command and since then they only had their small range wireless communicators and this little radio. God only knew how long they would still be able to reach civilization. It determined the music for the entire week for everyone but it also set the tone. Which was a pickle because everyone loved and hated something different. No one would agree on one type of music so it had to be settled this way to avoid any confrontations... and it usually worked. But Irish was really good at poker which meant no one had been given a turn but her for weeks and it was wearing on the team. 

The sound of Twiddle slamming a hard fist on the sturdy wood table snapped Irish out of her thoughts.

She had missed something.

Before she could get around the island Country had already swung on Twiddle with a tremendous right hook. Instinctively, Twiddle dropped down beneath the blow and escaped the mighty blast. Slamming her right shoulder into her stomach Twiddle tackled Country to the floor knocking over the table and chairs. They fell tumbling into a pile of broken beer bottles, chips and cards.

Erupting laughter bellowed into the kitchen as Irish looked incredilously to her left to see Pwny holding herself up on the wall preparing to ease herself into the kitchen. It was impossible to tell if she was holding the wall because of the pain of her injury or the powerful laughs that coursed through her body visibly shaking her violently as wave after wave of laughter exploded out of her.

Country and Twiddle stopped immediatly and looked up in shock to see the unexpected guest joining them just as Love entered through the arcadia door for a very "out of context" view of the situation.

Everyone looked around at eachother awkwardly unsure of where to start explaining.

"Well, damn it Twiddle be a gentleman and take her upstairs if you're gonna bed her. She's a lady not an animal." was Love's proud response.

A volcanic eruption of laughter filled the cabin and for a moment gave them the sense of comfort and safety they desperately needed.

Irish sauntered over to help Pwny onto the one chair that wasn't knocked over as Country and Twiddle helped eachother up awkwardly from their impromptu rumble.

They all pitched in to lift the table and chairs and left the cards and shattered glass on the floor at their feet. They all sat down in a mixture of chortles, chuckles and giggles that spilled over until they were fact to face.

Now that they were all sitting at the table facing eachother the euphoric mood of the room shifted to an ominous and serious black. As though someone had come along and turned down the volume with a knob.

They could wait no longer.

It was time to take out the Federation before they got the same idea first. They had supplies, ammunition and guns they desperately needed and not to mention they were good old fashioned assholes who just needed to be put down.

Check, check, check.

Washing what seemed like pints of sticky blood off of her hands Love grabbed for the bar of soap on the bathroom counter once more time.

Country bumped in behind her and pushed her to the left making room for herself in the small bathroom vanity to wash her dark crimson hands and arms. Making eye contact in the bathroom mirror Love and Country exchanged a knowing look that said what they thought of the girl in the room next door.

"She got lucky, Country. You wanna tell me what the hell that was all about?", Love said with a patient smile.

Leaving their locked gaze in the mirror to work on cleaning herself up Country chose her words carefully.

"I couldn't see it was Irish. I just thought saw two idiots out for a walk in one of the most heavily concentrated Federation zones in the war. Jackasses. They were lucky. I only had my honey badger and couldn't see shit. It's why I only grazed her leg.", Country boasted impatiently.

Making no effort to hide her amusement Love let out a loud bellow that filled the small bathroom.

"I wouldn't mark that experience off as 'lucky' just yet. She almost bled out in a matter of minutes. You knicked her fucking artery for God's sake!".

"Ya well..." was all Country would reply as she reached for the second time for the now blood caked soap bar.

Drying her hands on the towel leaving no remnants of Pwny behind Love leaned casually against the wall to study Country carefully. She seemed more relaxed, at ease. Which made no sense considering she was never comfortable in her own skin around strangers. She could only assume having her friend here made her feel more comfortable. More safe. That sat well with Love. It said more than a simple, 'she's cool and you can trust her'.

"So... What's the plan?", Love asked gently.

Rinsing the last of the stains off of her wrist Country looked at Love's reflection in the mirror again and blankly answered with a shrug.

"So... same ol, same ol. Got it.", Love murmured with a grin.

With a twinkle in her eye Country gave her friend a slap on the ass as she walked out of the bathroom behind her. A water stain the shape of her hand brought a full smile to her face.

"Just another day in paradise at Casa de Country!" she exclaimed with mirth.

Turning on her heel Love was nose to nose with her commanding officer in the small hallway above the stairs.

"Ah fuck you man. You got lucky! Next time I'm going to take the whole pot AND the title." she said seriously.

Pushing closer than necessary Country puffed her chest out and put a single finger on Love's shoulder and pushed hard.

"Oh yeah? Because I am pretty sure four Kings and an Ace isn't luck-- it's a motherfucking landslide WIN. Casa de Country it is. Deal with it." she pushed once more for emphasis.

"Yeah well we'll see about that... Next time." Love returned with a shove of her own. "I'm not listening to any more of that twangy bullshit than I have to".

"Well, coincidentally... you HAVE to... for an entire week. Casa de COUNTRY. So suck it up, buttercup. I recommend you pack your big girl panties nice and fresh because you're gonna have to wear them for a whooooooole week" she antagonized unapologetically.

Shaking her head in disgust Love made her way down the steps toward Irish's exhausted form passed out comfortably in front of the warm fire. She looked so peaceful in the plush chair. She must have been deployed for a while. You don't sleep like that unless you just got back from a hard mission. Love knew the look well from experience.

"I'm going back to the saw mill to scout for hostiles. I'll be back for dinner, baby" she winked over her shoulder as she saluted the air mockingly.

"Stop by the store and pick up a gallon of milk, will ye?" Country returned.

"Of course. Keep my dinner warm." Love offered as she closed the door softly behind her so as not to startle their new roommate. Doors opening and closing was never something a soldier can sleep through no matter how exhausted they were. Experienced soldiers who live to fight another day, anyway.

Making her way across the room Country stopped and stood over her friend and smiled at LC curled up comfortably at her feet.

"Just like old times" she mused softly as she grabbed a blanket off the ground and covered Irish like a small child.

Tucking the sides of the blanket in Country grabbed the now near empty bottle of whiskey Irish had helped herself to. She took a long eager drink as she looked around the cabin now devoid of any order. Everything and anything was now on the floor thanks to their scuffle.

Finally having a moment to reminisce Country recalled the way Irish had thrown herself into the cabin with such force that it had knocked them both to the ground and sent their weapons sailing. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had such a good fist fight. Rubbing her head she remembered the ringing sound that threatened to deafen her when Irish had cold cocked her mercilessly.

She must really care about her she pondered as she sat down on the staircase to think.

She had never known Irish to be reckless. She was always so careful. One thing hadn't changed: she was still the mother bear. You could fuck with her, you could even try to kill her-- but if you hurt someone under her watch you were gonna get the shit kicked out of you with a force you knew not existed. She'd always been like that since they were kids. She was always the one to fight for a reason. Not unlike Country. Which made them a force to be reckoned with in a pair.

The sound of the feet on broken glass from the kitchen snapped Country out of her reverie.

Irish's eyes flew open and had they the time Country would have made a smartass comment to acknowledge her instinctive awareness of sounds.

Looking around the room Country saw nothing to protect herself with. There was only a moment before she was tossed a small pistol from Irish who was now standing at the ready with her knife moving toward the kitchen with a stealth that was impressive considering the debris around them.

Clicking the bullet into the chamber Country aimed the PDW expertly toward the sound of the offending noise. Placing her finger over the trigger in the ready she listened for movement to triangulate where to fire.

Signaling to Irish that she would move forward Country slipped past and readied herself for the ambush.

A gentle voice echoed through the house, "Country you wanna tell me what the hell happened in here? I really don't want you to tell me this is because of you winning the poker game last night."

Immediately Country lowered her weapon in visual relief. Handing her gun back to Irish with a gracious smile Country gave a look that let her know they were safe as she pushed past the entryway and into the kitchen.

"Well, she's definitely not happy about the game last night... But this ain't from that. We got company." Country tilted her head toward the livingroom.

"Hostages?"

"No. Patient and a guest."

"Some guest... Friend of yours?"

"Nah.... Sister."

"I see... Explains a lot." she added thoughtfully showing no surprise to the revelation.

Walking into the livingroom to survey the rest of the damage she let out a long low whistle.

"Looks like the family reunion was a colorful one, to say the least.".

"Always is..." Country added with a laugh. "We'll get it cleaned up. Had to stich one up. She is resting upstairs. Long story. She'll be okay but it'll be a rough couple days if we don't get her some pain medicine."

Standing awkwardly in a pile of debris Irish outstretched her hand to the stranger critically surveying the cabin with a look that showed her displeasure of the mess.

Making eye contact after she had surveyed the room she closed in the small distance between them and shook hands.

"Twiddledeedee. Nice to meet you: sister of Country, thrasher of base." she offered with humor in her eyes. Her melodic laugh filled the small cabin and put Irish immediately to ease.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Irish Starbuck. Nice to meet you, Twiddle." was all she could think to say.

She was exhausted and being witty escaped her at this point.

Sensing her need to rest Twiddle gestured toward the comfortable chair nearby.

Needing no second offer Irish made her way back unceremonially and slammed into the chair before she wrapped herself quickly in the small blanket provided and immediately drifted back to sleep.

Pulling Country aside Twiddle whispered intently, "There's about six of them a mile away but they look well trained. I heard them calling out and they seemed to know what they were doing. I don't think they know we are here but it's inevitable-- we're going to bump into them eventually. I think we should do it on our own terms and assault the barge. We can't risk them surrounding us."

"Alright. Do you think it could wait? I don't know what she's been through but she's out of it. Off her game. We can't risk them dying if that's the whole reason we are going offensive in the first place. ...and the one upstairs" Country gestured above her, "isn't doing shit for a few weeks. We need supplies and more food or we won't have the strength to do anything to anybody."

Nodding in agreement Twiddle took a moment to consider their situation.

"Alright. We wait. First things first we gotta get this cabin secure."

"Agreed. Lets seal the entrances and then we'll do a full sweep of the area." Country added, "Love is at the sawmill scouting. Let's leave her be and get a jump on this until she gets back."

"Looks like it's time for housework" Twiddle suggested with a laugh.

"I'll grab the Windex" Country laughed in return.

Looking around at the debris that appeared to be a tornado's amount of damage Twiddle's face let her know that Windex wasn't going to do it.

The snow crunched beneath their feet as they discussed the moments before they were brought here to this frigid realm that looked like it a few stands of Christmas lights short of the North Pole. The snow glistened like glitter around them and made their already exhausting hike to the cabin that much more effort.

"...and then I held my gun up as I slid in. I only wish I could have seen their face as I did it. I couldn't believe I got through. You'd think they were storm troopers with their aim. I should have been dead feet before I reached the Blitz!", Pwny mused to Irish with a hint of wonder in her voice.

"I mean, one bullet! He had an assault rifle at nearly point blank range and he still managed to miss me. I'm  not that easy to hit, I'll admit, but I was out of ammo and cornered there's no excuse for--"

The single shot rang out with a defening wail that echoed in the small town behind them.

Pwny crumpled to the ground with a forceful shout.

Blood began to fill the snow near her thigh at an alarming pace.

Irish screamed in rage as she threw herself on top of her comrade. Unsure where the shot came from she pushed her body low to the ground covering Pwny protectively as she scanned the nearby structures.

A brief glint flickered brighter than the surrounding snow on the cabin window ahead.

"Son of a bitch", Irish fumed.

"Get me out of here!" was all Pwny could manage to verbalize before she gritted her teeth and held her leg close in writhing pain.

Irish leaped into action and fired off a few rounds toward the window giving her little satisfaction as the sound of breaking glass was heard echoing off the snowbank between them.

Irish locked her arms under Pwny's armpits and pulled her at a sled dogs pace behind a tall mound of snow. A long crimson trial outlined their movement leaving little wonder where they had hidden themselves amongst the snowbank.

Irish cut above the ruby red stain on Pwny's pant leg to reveal a very sinsiter looking wound that if left untreated could be potentially life threatening. Irish removed her standard issue military jacket and using her combat knife quickly sliced her sleeve off from the rest of the garment. Pwny had lost a lot of blood but luckily Irish could already see the bullet had gone straight through the calf and out the other side. Bad news was that Pwny wasn't going anywhere for a while.

They needed that cabin now more then ever.

"It hurts... It hurts...", Pwny kept chanting as she reached once again for her gushing wound.

Irish kept swatted her away again as she fumbled with frozen fingers to tie the tournequet. "Stop it. Let me do it.", she argued uselessly as she tried unsucessfully to calm the frantic patient.

Another shot rang out over them as snowflakes from the impact fluttered down onto them as Irish continued to control the situation.

"I need you", she said grabbing Pwny's face and holding it still to force her to make eye contact, "to be still and let me this. I am helping you.".

Sanity glimmered in the back of Pwny's eyes and Irish knew she needed to move fast.

Pulling the garment tight forcing Pwny to scream in agony Irish tied off the tournequet. It would have to do.

"Don't fucking move", was all Irish said before disappearing over the snowbank with a leap.

Pwny wasn't sure but she thought she heard multiple gunshots and the sounds of a struggle as everything around her started to go black.

As she drifted off in the snow bed she now found herself in thoughts of the frigid surroundings left her mind as she felt warm and sleepy thoughts fill her mind. She couldn't feel her leg anymore and all she could feel was the intoxicating desire to sleep.

How could she resist?

* * * * * * * * *

She was pretty sure she just heard a gun shot.

Sliding a silky strand of honey blonde hair behind her ear she listened closely as she spit a piece of her lunch that got stuck in her teeth onto the icy ground. Leaning against the wheel of the sawmill with one foot propped up casually behind her Love took a relaxed look around her for the source of the distrubance.

Across the way she could see the cabin her and Country were staying in and she could hear LC barking and growling like crazy.

Drama Love thought to herself amusingly as she clicked her extended magazine into her L-115. Raising the thermal scope she scanned the cabin through the enormous window looking for any sign that Country was in a scuffle she couldn't handle.

Chairs were toppled over and a desk was spilled on its side in the livingroom.

Not a good sign for Country. Or whomever thought they could get a drop on Country, for that matter.

Kicking herself off the wheel she put her sniper rifle on her back and equipped her combat knife. She was going to need to go in soft for this one. Hopefully they were distracted enough destroying the cabin to notice her slinking in the front door.

"Stealthy" the snickered to herself sarcastically as she made her way across the frozen ice lake in front of the cabin.

As she approached the front door she held her knife chest high at the ready and tip toed into the cabin carefully opening the door so as to not make a creak. The room was a mess with items strewn about everywhere. There was overturned furnature, broken dishes and general disaray everywhere. The only thing missing was Country and whomever had a death wish.

As she made her way through the room she listened close for sounds of feet above her. Nothing.

Slowly, intentionally, she pushed through to the kitchen clearing every room on the way. The kitchen was in worse shape than the rest of the cabin. Broken dishes littered the floor accompanied by broken glass and used gun shells.

Then she saw them, carrying something back towards the cabin that looked cumbersome and awkward between the two of them. They each had a black eye and a swollen mouth but they were...

were they laughing? LC's tail was wagging and it seemed that they were in some heavy discussion as they made their way closer and closer with every step.

Pushing through the broken window and making her way toward them Love let out a piercing whistle. Instantly Country called out, "Friendlies! Don't fire" and waved to Love for help with the load of cargo they were bringing back.

At a joggers pace Love closed the small distance between them and realized on approach it wasn't cargo but a woman who was badly hurt that they were bringing back to base.

"Lets get her inside as fast as we can. I have a bed upstairs we can put her in and get that wound cleaned up. We have everything we'll need inside." Country was telling the stranger who looked like she was impossibly terrified and euphoric at the same time.

"Who d'is?", Love said as she grabbed ahold of her portion of the passed out soldier and started toward the cabin.

"I... I don't know.", Country said as she gestured toward the stranger carrying the woman with them.

"This" nodding her head toward her "is Irish. We go way back. You can trust her as you would trust me." Country said confidently.

"Well shit, that doesn't count for much then, does it?", Love said with no humor lost.

"This is Beautiful Love" Country said to Irish, "she's been with me since about a month after you were reassigned. Good soldier. Hell of a shot."

Irish nodded curtly in Love's direction, "Nice to meet you. Forgive me if we don't shake on it just yet.".

Pwny stirred in their arms and screamed in pain and then immediately went limp in their arms.

"She's passing out from the pain we need to hurry.", Irish said with some panic lining her tone.

"She'll be alright, Starbuck. We'll take it from here. You go get washed up. House is yours." Country said as they crossed the threshold and headed for the wooden staircase in the livingroom.

"Yeah what's left of it" Love chuckled, "What the fuck man did you guys have to trash everything?"

"Long story" was all Country replied as she headed up the wooden steps leading them to the bedroom where the makeshift operating room awaited them.

Standing in the kitchen looking down at LC panting excitedly up at her she looked at the pools of wet water dripping off of her and collecting at her feet. Instantly she flashed to under the bridge when the creek water rose and theatened to freeze them out. Petting LC gently behind the ears Irish shook off the remaining deposits of snow that had gathered behind the loyal animal's ears.

Irish could hear them upstairs cleaning up her friend's wound and knew they would take expert care of her injury. Pwny was safe and tended to. Now she needed to take care of herself.

On the counter was a bottle of Jameson whiskey. Skipping the glass she lifted the bottle eagerly to her mouth and slammed gulp after gulp of warm-hot liquid into her belly. Holding the bottle over the counter to put it back she hesitated.

Taking another luxiourious drink Irish decided to take the bottle with her. Picking up an apple off the ground and taking a loud crunch from it slammed into a comfortable reading chair beside the fire and allowed the booze to fill her blood with liquid courage. She took one more bite from the juicy red apple before slamming down a few more mouthfuls of the Irish water in her hand.

"Long day" she mumbled as she drifted peacefully into deep sleep.