Bright, blinding heat sears its way into my eyes, and despite the smoke and ash filling the air around us, I can't look away.

One of our companions, Dakota I think his name is, shouts, "The others are still in there, Thomas!" as he tries to approach the inferno quickly devouring the warehouse we had been taking shelter in, but Uncle Tommy blocks his path.

"I'll get the others," Uncle Tommy asserts. "You keep an eye out for whoever set the fire, alright?"

Dakota nods reluctantly, hefting his rifle and ushering my siblings and me behind him, his head on a swivel.

Uncle Tommy, however, grips my shoulder and pulls out a small silver keepsake. "Cassy," he addresses. His face is a blur of smoke and haze and it's impossible to make out his expression, but his voice is taught and his grip is firm. "I need you to hang on to this until I get back, alright?"

"What?" My voice, barely more than a crack, squeaks from my burned throat. "What is this?"

"If I don't make it back out, I need you to finish the delivery," he ignores my question, forcing the cold trinket into my palm and wrapping my fingers around it. "Keep your siblings safe above all else, but make sure this gets to your mother, do you understand?"

"But-"

"Tell me you understand, Cassandra."

"Y-yes, sir, I understand."

His shoulders relax at the affirmation, but the intensity of his words continues to echo in my head as he sprints off into the building, the wooden structure cracking and whining and swaying in the blaze. It isn't long after that when a hoard of massive black spiders surround us, thick venom oozing from their malformed jaws, hideous mocking laughter erupting from their maws.

They hold down Dakota as he shouts profanities at them, cursing them for murdering his son, and swearing that his vengeance will come. The inferno, however, blazing ever hungrily with indiscriminate teeth that gnash on the supple wood, has other ideas, opting instead to feed on his flesh that the spiders offer it so readily.

Uncle Tommy isn't back yet, and Dakota's screams of agony and rage rise to a deafening cacophony that threatens to rupture my eardrums as I use his demise as a distraction to grab my siblings and flee into the ever-dark trees around us.

My breathing ragged, I jerk awake, my lungs feeling smothered in smoke once more, and once more my body gives a violent shiver at the sudden cold. I don't remember lying down, but I sit up, slowly pulling the blankets around me as I shiver again. Though feeling much better than before passing out, my hands and feet still prickle with cold.

Finding myself still stripped to my undergarments does little to change just how cold I am until I realize that I must have fallen asleep on Dani half-naked.

Feeling cold quickly becomes less of a problem.

Blinking wearily and taking in my surroundings, it becomes apparent that I'm the only current occupant in the cabin, and my heart falls.

Did Dani leave me here?

No, she wouldn't do that. Not without telling me.

She must be tired of picking up my slack though, this isn't the only time she's saved my skin. She must have left to find the boys on her own. I've been burdening her enough with my inability to keep myself safe, it would only make sense for her to leave.

The thought tightens in my chest as I pull my knees in and tuck them under my chin, hugging my shins as I shiver on the couch alone. Have I really become so dependent on her presence to bring me peace of mind? When did that happen? We were strangers mere months ago, fighting in the woods over a misunderstanding, how did she manage to sneak past my walls so quickly?

Swearing to myself, I sniffle. "Can't believe... do I really..?"

The thought remains unfinished as the door to the cabin flings open and a tall broad-shouldered figure steps in, clothed head to toe and absolutely caked in snow. My head nearly hits the ceiling as the figure quickly closes the door and stomps the snow off of their boots and pants as I furiously dig through the couch cushions for my knife, throwing myself onto the couch and trying my best to hide under the blankets.

The intruder continues to stomp vigorously, muttering under their breath something I can't hear through the scarf around their head. The sound of something heavy and solid, likely a firearm, clacks against the countertop, and a softer thud soon after. Attempting to raise my head to see the intruder's face, I catch a glimpse of them turning to the couch, and I quickly duck down, my breath hitching in my throat. The intruder steps over to the fire and stokes it a bit before finally turning to face me.

The moment their hand lands on my shoulder, I bolt upright, yanking them down into the couch as they yelp in surprise, and pressing the knife to their throat.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on!" The intruder sputters, waving their hands in surrender as I press a knee into their gut. "It's okay, it's just me!" They quickly remove the scarf from their face and guilt punches me in the gut as I recognize the rosy-cheeked face of Dani, looking somewhere between amused and terrified.

Immediately, my grip on her slackens and I quickly remove the knife from its threatening position, relaxing as my hands drop to my sides. "I..." I choke. "I thought..."

Dani's face also relaxes as she offers a small smile, a hint of hurt in her eyes. "What, that I left you?" I know she's teasing, but the pain in her voice stabs me in the chest, and I can't look her in the face as I remove myself from on top of her and allow her to sit up properly and dust the snow off her clothes. "Sorry, Cass, but you'll have to try a little harder than that to get rid of me."

Glancing finally at her face with a small smile of my own, I notice not only the hint of pain on her face but guilt as well.

"Sorry," I mutter, huddling back into the couch again and hoping that this time it opens up and eats me. "You startled me."

Dani pauses, a small smile on her lips as she stands, removing her snow-covered jacket and outer layer of snow pants to hang in front of the fire as she wanders back to the kitchen area. "I'm sorry," she says. "I didn't mean to. That Circe lady had a point before she left though, about needing hot food to warm up properly, so I went out and snagged a rabbit."

I glance over my shoulder to watch her as she holds up a small rabbit triumphantly, already gutted, albeit a little messily.

"I would have stayed," she continues, setting it down to skin it, "but I figured you'd be hungry when you woke up.

"How thoughtful," I weakly tease, bundling tighter as I sit, watching her cheeks glow at the taunt, and giving occasional direction to help her skin and quarter the rabbit. Eventually, she places the meat on a small makeshift grill and puts it on the fire to cook, sitting on the ground in front of me as we watch the flames dance around the meat.

Our comfortable silence is broken when Dani flips the meat. "By the way," she says. "The boys radioed back a few hours after you fell asleep. They managed to make it to the house before the snow started to fall, and neither of them got hurt. Come to find out, that Feral pack we encountered really were wandering around the area, and they didn't want to get caught up by them."

I sigh with relief, glad to know that at least the boys were safe, but the feeling of guilt continues to gnaw at me. "Wait, why didn't you wake me, then?" I ask. "We could have set off to the cabin and met them there."

"Cass, you were literally turning blue," Dani argues. "You're lucky you don't have frostbite anywhere. Besides, you fell asleep on-" she pauses, her cheeks red, and she clears her throat, starting again. "You were getting some much-needed rest, and I didn't want to wake you."

"Well, I'm awake now," I huff, not wanting to waste any more time as I attempt to stand. "Let's head back to the cabin, I'm plenty warm enough."

"Whoa, slow down!" Dani stands, forcing me back onto the couch and wrapping the blanket around my shoulders again. "It's pitch black outside right now, and the snow is coming down pretty hard. We'll both end up with frostbite and hypothermia if we try leaving now. Trust me, the boys are safe, everyone is."

Grumbling, I huddle once more into the warmth as Dani stands and removes the meats from the fire, adds another log to the blaze, and sets the meats on a questionably clean plate before handing it to me. Confused, I glanced up at her. "What about you?"

"I'm not the one who took a nose dive into a frozen pond," Dani replies, sitting on the couch beside me, notably on the other side. "Eat up, you need it more than I do."

"There's plenty here to share, Dani," I argue. "At least have a leg, I won't be able to eat all of this by myself, and you'll need the energy in the morning, too."

She stares stubbornly at me as I offer a rabbit leg to her, and I glare defiantly back, daring her to try to find an excuse not to eat. She caves with a heavy sigh, gingerly taking the offered leg, but waiting until I eat before she takes a bite. 

It's rather bland, seasoned only with salt and flaky pepper found in the cabin's cabinets, but even so, my hunger surprises me and I eat nearly half the rabbit myself. Having to stop myself before I end up eating the whole thing, I feign being full, giving the rest of it to Dani, who makes a weak attempt to argue before relenting and finishing off the food.

Though guilt refuses to stop chewing on my chest, and though it's hard to admit, it feels nice to have someone to rely on after so long. Taking care of Felix and Octavia these past few years has been the hardest of my life, especially in recent years when we've been head-hunted by Widows and have risked our lives nearly every hour of every day. I don't typically have time to make sure I eat or patch up my own wounds, especially if my siblings are hungry or hurt. Having done everything in my power to ensure that my family stays safe, I unfortunately have been neglecting my own health for quite a while.

With Dani, however, it's been... easier. Sure, the boys have been helping out a lot with dressing the game I bring in, patrols, and making sure morale is kept up, but Dani has always made sure that I was taken care of while I took care of my siblings. She's proved herself to be reliable, dependable. However much I hate to admit it, I really have grown to rely on her presence, and the thought warms my core.

"Hey," Dani says, nudging me with her foot. "Did you hear me?"

"Huh?" I shake my head, grinning sheepishly. "No, sorry. What did you say?"

"I asked if you were still cold."

I pause, watching the fire from the bundle of heat that surrounds me, not quite content yet. "Yeah," I lie, snuggling my red face in the blankets. "I am..."

The sound of shuffling can be heard over the thundering of my heart threatening to burst from my chest, and a moment later, Dani nudges me again. I cautiously glance up at her, noticing that her snow-covered clothes are now hanging by the fire next to mine and she's dressed down to her button-up and jeans, her cheeks rosy as she leans against the arm of the couch, gesturing for me to come to her. "Come here," she says, unable to look me in the eye, and I chuckle.

"Are you uncomfortable with sharing?" I ask, only partly teasing.

"Do you want to be warm tonight, or do you wanna freeze to death?"

In an attempt to hide my selfish desire to simply be held again, I smother my grin, crawling over to her and draping the blanket over the both of us as I settle on her chest, my head tucked under her chin, face buried in her neck, and arms around her middle as she pulls me close and adjusts me in a way where we're both finally comfortable. Her heart beats frantically in her chest, and her arms are stiff around me, but after several minutes of idle chatter, she relaxes, and her heartbeat steadies.

"Hey, Dani?" I murmur, my eyes closed as sleep comes for me once again.

"Hm?"

"How many times have you had a half-naked girl pass out on you?"

Her heartbeat spikes again and her arms tense as she struggles to find words for an answer. She pinches my side and I squeak, laughing at her as we struggle again to find a comfortable position to rest in.

After a long moment of silence, she finally sighs. "Just you..."

Somehow, her answer makes me both elated and saddened.

"Now," she says, clearing her throat. "If you're satisfied, then go to sleep, you goober. The sun should be up in a few hours."