Peter was laying to their right on a bright purple yoga mat which contrasted the green grass it was sprawled out on. The top left corner was missing, leaving a ring of jagged teeth marks instead. It wasn’t clear whether it was from a dog, zom, or a mystery third option, but it had been disinfected thoroughly nonetheless.

He showed no sign of having actually said anything, still holding the pigeon pose with his head facing the ground, hair falling over his face.

Even though they weren’t in his sight, Five tilted their head to the side in curiosity as a form of reply as they sat with their legs straight in front, reaching for the tips of their trainers.

“The days have been getting shorter,” Peter said after a while, looking up towards Five and therefore Janine a few paces behind them as she sat on a navy camping chair, cataloguing the supplies the two had found on their run into her notebook, scrawling with a short pencil.

Five considered this for a second, then nodded.

“So soon it’ll be the longest night-” he continued.

They couldn’t see Tom, but soon his quiet muttering could be heard by them all.

“Winter solstice. Symbolic death and rebirth of the Sun. Time to prepare for the year ahead.” He said in a rush, each word blending into the next.

Peter didn’t even falter, pointing in the direction of the voice, “Yep, that.”

Five began to stretch again, wincing as they felt the pull in their calf muscle. The two stayed in silence for a while, hearing the distant sounds of birds chirping high in the trees and a few of the other ex-Abel residents chatting around the bonfire that someone was roasting coffee beans on.

“Man,” Peter spoke again, voice softer and reminiscing, “I used to love Christmas.”

He was not a person that mentioned a lot about his past, even more so after coming to Noah Base, so Five stopped their movements and instead sat still, looking at Peter to show that they were listening intently.

“Not something you expected me to like, eh?” He said, mild amusement in his tone, “Especially with the whole…” He flapped his hands around in a circle, “You know.”

Five could think of a few things that he could’ve meant but wasn’t sure which one he was alluding to. They nodded anyway.

“People just seemed happier. Like, overall. With the lights going up and stupid adverts on the telly and everyone wishing each other a merry Christmas at the shops.” 

They nodded again, fiddling with the cool grass underneath their hands.

He sighed, eyes downcast, “Wish I’d made the most of it while I could’ve.”

“I miss the food.” 

The two looked to their far left to see Sam walking up to them, holding a mumbling baby Sara in one hand and a red thermos mug of coffee in the other, handing it to Janine. 

She took it graciously, nodding once in thanks then returned to the task at hand, checking how many tampons were in the dented cardboard box that Five had swiped from the pharmacy.

Sam walked towards the other two, bouncing Sara in a manner that looked like second nature to him.

“We used to have two Christmas dinners round my grandparent’s house: a traditional Chinese one on Christmas Eve and then a British one on Christmas Day,” his eyes brightened at the memory, “We’d be eating leftovers ‘til New Years, but it was worth it.”

Peter grinned up at him, “That sounds amazing. God, I’d kill for some pigs in blankets right now. Or stuffing. Or even just parsnips. Not brussel sprouts though. Wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole even now.”

“Aw, no way, I loved brussel sprouts! My mum would make them with bits of bacon and tiny cubes of cheese-”

A new voice piped up.

“We should have a Christmas celebration.”

They all turned sharply to look at Janine. Even Sara’s big eyes were focused on the woman, mouth slightly agape.

No one refuted her, so she added, “How about in five day’s time?”

“You think it’s the 20th today?” Peter asked.

“Not for certain since my diary is still in Abel,” she replied matter of factly, “but five days seems like an ample amount of time to get everyone on board and procure supplies.”

He smiled, giving a mock salute with two fingers, “Yes, ma’am, Mrs Claus.”

Janine gave the first semblance of a smile in a while, then quickly smoothed it out, “Back to your stretches, Mr Lynne. You too, Runner Five. We can’t afford for anyone to get injured, especially now.”

They didn’t need to be told twice.

~~~~~

And so, on a morning they were almost certain was in December, the criminals from Abel township had their own makeshift Christmas. 

There was an excited buzz in the air as soon as people began to leave their sleeping bags, even if they knew there weren’t going to be mountains of presents and tables full of food. There was enough for them.

Every single person had a knitted gift from Jody, only in two different colours since that’s all the yarn she could scavenge. 

Only one of the three bottles of red wine they had found under a shelf in a tesco express was corked, which they considered an absolute win.

The crackers all had no working card strips left in them (Peter noted that they should’ve been modified by The Builder to get a real bang), but the crappy gifts inside were just as good. Janine and Tom had been playing with a miniature noughts and crosses board for the better part of an hour, their sibling rivalry reignited. 

Everyone spoke about their favourite family traditions, the best gifts they’d ever received, memorable moments from Christmasses past.