(I step out of the passenger seat into the wind. It smacks against my body as if it wants to knock me to the ground. My hair blows partially in my face as I stand in the cold and stare at the place Angel has chosen for us to hide at. It's an archaic farm in the middle of nowhere. With every gust of wind the abandoned place groans in protest with thick, heavy creaks. Hopefully it doesn't collapse on us. Still Liz isn't in the best shape and I'm not even sure this place will have running water. What it does have though is important. It has walls to keep us out of the wind and it has protection from being found. I hear him get out of the car before answering my quesiton. Guess he left Liz in the car.)

I don't fucken know....it was the only place I could think of. We're gonna have to make due with what we got, unless, of course, you or your psychotic friend here have a better idea.

(Ruen ignores his words. I don't think she cares about how any of us feels right now. I turn back towards Angel.)

I don't have a better idea right now. I've barely been out of Alaska. It'll give us time to think anyway.

(Ruen opens her door back up. She turns towards us from the other side of the car. Her face doesn't show much of any emotion. Though I think she's probably as tired as the rest of us are.)

You guys are gonna have to get Liz out of the car and get yourselves inside. I've gotta go check on some leads and ditch this car. There's bounds to be witnesses describing it's every detail at this point.

(Good thing it's stolen I guess. Angel responds as quick as I figured he would, but he surprises me in his reaction to her words.)

You're probably right. I'm gonna go scope out this barn here...haven't been inside since I was 17. Eclipse, stay here and watch Liz for me, I'll be right out.

(Up till now he's not been happy with anything involving Ruen. Guess the initial shock of everything is over and he's accepting things for what they are. We're all stuck in this together. There's a faint smile on his tired face. Then without waiting for any response he walks off to check out the barn while we're back at the car. I turn and look in the car at Liz. She's still out. The events leading up to us being out here were hardest on her. She's the most normal out of our little foursome. I look back over to Ruen. With a slight laugh I ask her a question.)

So do you think we're gonna make it?

(She shrugs with a slightly grim expression.)

It's too early to tell.

(I have a good idea of what she's thinking that she didn't say. Well at least I think I do. With my situation of someone wanting me dead mixing with Angel's situation of the newly dead guy that wanted to kill him it's about impossible to know if we're all gonna make it through this. None of us really knows what this is about, how they're connected, or who the true enemy is. It's a logistical nightmare. Ruen somehow manages to light one of her crappily rolled cigars up in the wind. Not sure how she accomplished that feat. It's cold as hell at out here, but it's not the cold outside that's bothering me. It's the cold within.

I mean I watched Ruen gut someone and yeah it was disturbing, but part of me liked it. Not to mention if I look at the difference between how I handled the situation and how Liz did I can see the huge gap between me and normal people. I was hardened by growing up in that hellhole dimension, but obviously I'm twisting further as I go. My thoughts are interrupted by Angel yelling out to us.)

Hey guyysssssss....we gotta problemmmmm.....

(I mutter to myself outloud though I know Ruen can hear me.)

Christ, what now?

(I start towards the barn and yell back to Ruen.)

Watch Liz. I'm gonna check it out. If anything goes wrong, get her out of here.

(At least if she makes it I'll have done something right in my life. Still this is pretty dumb on my part. I should probably be watching Liz and the professional killer should probably be running into danger. I'm just not the type to rely on someone else like that though. I rush over to the barn and stop in my tracks at the door. Angel is standing over what looks to be a homeless person. Fuck. My expression immediately shifts from worried about what danger Angel was in to surprise at the latest wrench in our plans.)

Great, your hiding spot came with an occupant. How did he get out here in the middle of nowhere? Now what?

(He looks over at me with an odd expression while still standing next to the essentially passed out hobo.)

How the hell do I know how he get out here? Looks to me like some homeless guy just hoping for some shelter. And as to the now what part of your question...well I suppose we could ask your friend to turn him into a bloody pulp...but from what I gather she wouldn't do it. I don't know what's wrong with him...he's passed out or something...we're gonna have to move him cause he sure as hell ain't moving on his own.

(Our luck is going to have to get a lot better if we're gonna make it out of whatever it is we're in. I walk over to the other side of the bum.)

Question....where are we moving him to?

(His eyes search the interior of the decaying barn. Eventually he finds something. There is another room in this place.)

See that room over there...

(He points towards the door to a room I hadn't noticed. With a shrug he makes his point.)

Good enough for me.

(He's got a point. We btoh bend now and force ourselves back to a standing position with the homeless guy in our arms. It's a struggle as we awkwardly carry the poor smelling man towards the room. We both grunt here and there as we make our way to the room. We're both rather strong people, but this is ridiculous. This guy is bloated as hell. Which is actually probably from his lack of eating enough. There's strain in Angel's voice.)

God damn, I never would've thought I had to move two bodies in one day.

(We get up to the door and start jockeying for position in an attempt to get him through it. I grunt while replying.)

Let's...urn..hope...this is..argh...the last one.

(Angel decides to take the lead on getting this big bastard into the room. Instead he just manages to smack the guy's head against the door frame.)

Whoopsy Daisy...

(I restrain from laughing, mostly because I'm still holding this guy and am ready to put him down anytime. We're both getting frustrated as we continue to try to maneuver the three of us into this stupid room. Angel's the first to voice his frustration.)

Okay, fuck this shit. On three we chuck him into the damn room. One...Two...Three...

(At this point I don't care what we do with the man as long as I don't have to carry him anymore. We swing back and throw him forward. He hits the ground with a lifeless thud. He's really out. Sadly we didn't even get him all the way in the room. Half of him is sticking out. We both look at each other for second and shrug. Fuck it. I follow him as he goes to exit the barn, but he stops in front of me with anger in his voice.)

Are you fucken kidding me!?

(I'm so tired. Do we really need anymore fun surprises? Let this be the last one. Still, I rush forward next to him to see what excitement will greet me now. Ruen's bailed on us with the car. Just like she said she was going to do. On top of that she's left Liz on the ground under a pile of blankets. Well I guess at least she left us blankets. The blankets that were supposed to be used to cover Jasper's body when Ruen killed him. He was at Angel's earlier than expected. She had to improvise. I guess in a way it's fortuitous that we now have the blankets without a corpse in them. I can tell Angel is upset and worried.)

My god...let's get her inside...we have to hurry...

(I nod and we rush over in silence and scoop her and the blankets up. Carrying her and a pile of fabric is heaven in comparison to our experience with the bum. We get into the barn and set her down. He shuts the door while I take a blanket and lay it out on the ground. I lift her and put her on it before putting two more over her. Angel watches me as I make sure Liz will be warm. Without looking back at him I speak.)

I think she's alright. This should keep her warm through the night.

(I leave out my thoughts of how I hope she snaps out of this soon. He doesn't need to be burdened further. I know he probably feels some sort of guilt over what's happened to her. He didn't have any control over what happened, but I guarentee he'll feel like it was his fault for bringing her into his life. Do I know any of this from personal experience? Not really. I've seen a lot from afar though and I would feel the same way if I actually had a friend or boyfriend or even an aquaintence that I brought into my life and it caused them pain and grief. Oh wait, I just entered their lives and have already helped contribute to that. His voice is soft. I feel his eyes on me.)

You're very gentle with her.

(I'm not sure how I should respond to that. I mean what can I tell him? Should I tell him that this is part of my way of trying to prove to myself I'm not a monster? That I feel if I help her I've at least done something right in my life? That I don't even fully know why I'm doing it? I mean this is the most human contact I've ever had. Sure I spent some time with my parents, but to call them human is beyond laughable. I shake my head and then stop as I realize I'm doing it. I end up speaking quietly. Blurting out the first thing that comes to mind.)

We could be here awhile.

(He laughs for what is probably the first time since this whole mess started for him.)

This is very true. But thinking about what awaits us on the other side of this barn...I don't think I mind. Someone wants me dead...someone wants you dead...life is just peachy ain't it?

(I take a deep breath and exhale slowly while he slides down against the wall till he is sitting. With a sigh he lets his head fall sideways. We're exhausted. My eyes hurt from being open for too long. I haven't slept in a few days. His arm extends before he pats at the ground with his hand. His voice reveals how tired he is. Okay well everything in his posture reveals that.)

Come take a seat...

(There's two blankets left and by now I'm freezing. I grab one and hand him the other. I wrap myself in it and sit down on the floor indian-style next to him. I rub my arms inside the blanket.)

You sure know how to show a girl a good time. Bodies, nice places, homeless people. What do you have planned next?

(Yeah, obviously I'm so tired I might almost be kinda funny. Not that it shows in my voice. I probably am talking like a zombie...if they talked. Laughing he lists some possible future plans.)

Honey, you have no idea. The roadkill scavenger hunt was always a fan favorite...but seeing what we've already been through...I'm thinking I might pull out all the stops...dinner at the morgue maybe?

(I can't help but laugh a little, though my chin won't stop quivering from the cold. I'm not really used to just sitting and talking to someone like this....or at all. Is this what it's kinda like for most people? Minus the murder and dodging authorities and such. I kinda like it, though I'm not real comfortable with it. I think I'm just too tired to hold my defenses up against the world I'm not part of. I can't seem to get warm enough though. Being tired isn't helping. It drops your temperature. Sleeping is going to be hellacious.)

You cold?

(Could he ask a dumber question? I look at him strangely for a second before my expression shifts back to the exhausted it was displaying before.)

Freezing.

(He scoots over closer to me. What the hell is he doing? Why is he invading my space like that. I don't know how to react. I can't help but slightly move away. Then his arm goes around me. Why is he doing this? No one has ever put their arm around me. It's weird. I've seen it, but...I don't know. I'm too tired and confused to try to figure it out. But it feels nice. Plus he is warm. I try to just relax.)

We're going to make it out of this fine. Trust me.

(Too exhausted to even nod in acknowledgement of his words I lean my head against his chest since I don't know what else to do. It's warm and comfortable even if I don't know how to handle being anywhere close to people. I just accept it for the moment. I can freak out about it in my head in the morning. My eyes close.)