Wolf sobbed into Remy's coat, wetting the thick fabric with her tears. The whole time, Remy rubbed his hand gently up and down her back, trying to soothe her. It may not have worked well, but Wolf felt safer with him close by.

After her sobbing eased, Wolf sniffled once, then pulled out of Remy's arms. She wiped her face clear of tears, avoiding LeBeau's gaze. She didn't want to talk. She needed to move. Get her mind focused on other things. "Come on," she said, clearing her throat. "We have to keep moving."

"Petite—"

"Come on, LeBeau. Not now." She stood up, clenching her teeth. She turned her back to LeBeau and starting marching up the path again.

"What, ya aren't upset no more? Jus' like dat?" LeBeau grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around. "Come on, chere. Don't play games like dis."

Wolf jerked away from LeBeau. "Stop. Now. Don't do this, LeBeau. You're the one who's been telling me to put my mission first. Well, I am. Mission first, emotions second. When this is all said and done, we can sit around a campfire and share our feelings, okay? Maybe you can lay your head on my shoulder and cry a little." She curled her lip and stalked off.

"Sarcasm ain't becomin', ya know. 'Specially for a young woman."

"Do I look like I care, LeBeau? Just keep marching and shut up."

"Don't bark at me like I'm your little solider. 'Cause I ain't."

"Then stop giving me reason to. Just leave me alone."

Silence fell between them. The tension was thick enough to cut with a chainsaw. Wolf ignored it; she had more important things to worry about. She didn't need LeBeau to comfort her. She didn't need comforting. She'd be fine. She just needed time.

Why did LeBeau care so much, anyway? Didn't sensitive girls scare guys? She didn't want to be seen as weak. She didn't want him to show sympathy for her. Sympathy made her fall into self-pity, and self-pity wouldn't help her now.

"Petite, slow down," LeBeau said, finally breaking the silence.

"Why?" she asked. "So you can try to keep talking to me?"

"I don't understand how ya can be weeping like a baby one minute, and den you're fine de next."

"You don't have to understand it. Just be glad we're moving."

He grunted, but otherwise kept his mouth shut.

Good. I don't need him mothering me like this.

-------------------------------------------

Several hours passed by in silence. Any time Wolf caught Remy giving her a concerned look, she held her chin high and kept walking. Eventually, Remy got the hint and stopped looking at her like that.

Wolf used the silence to work through the vision she'd seen. It felt so real. It had to have happened. What if it was a memory trying to force its way to the surface? What if more came? Would she be able to control herself? Or would they make her zone out, like the first one had? If that happened, she had to rely on LeBeau to snap her out of it, which she didn't like very much. She hoped these memories would hold back for now, at least.

As they neared a clearing in the trees, Wolf smelled a change in the air. It didn't smell like dead, decaying leaves, or rotting tree bark. It smelled like—

"Water," she whispered. "We're close."

"What?" LeBeau asked.

"Come on!" Wolf hopped once, then took off running towards the smell. Her backpack jostling with her every step didn't faze her. She ignored the branches that slapped her face and cut her cheeks. Once, she tripped, but she righted herself and kept on sprinting.

She was close now. All of this searching, and she was finally close.

She skidded to a stop when she burst free of the forest. In front of her spread a massive body of water. The gentle wind pushed waves over the surface, the water lapping at the shore.

"Petite!" LeBeau shouted behind her. "What is this?"

"Alkali Lake," she answered. "It's Alkali Lake. We made it."

"Great, den. Now what?"

"We need to find the old research base. It should be close to the dam."

The pair began hiking through knee-deep snow, keeping an eye out of anything that looked like an old research building.

"Hey, petite, I ain't no expert on dis sort o' thing, but is dat what you're lookin' for?" He nodded to something in the distance.

Wolf looked in the same direction. "Maybe. Let's check it out."

They double-timed it to the building. The closer they got, the more nervous Wolf got. Was this is? Would she, finally, have the answers she so desperately wanted?

"Hey, petite, calm down." Remy placed a hand on her shoulder, nearly making her jump away. "S'all gonna be fine."

She scoffed and shrugged his hand away. "Easy for you to say, Cajun. You're not the one who lost his memory."

"Fair enough."

By then, they were standing just in front of an old barbed wire fence. The wires curled and twisted, their rusty barbs still looking sharp. Beyond the fence, the front wall of the research complex rose above their heads. The dark concrete was full of cracks, showing its age.

Wolf sucked in a sharp breath. "Well, here goes nothing."

She stepped over the wires, heading for a pair of wooden doors. When she stood just in front of them, something on the wall caught her attention.

It was a sign that read, "Alkali Lake Military Complex."

Wolf shot Remy a glance, then pushed one of the doors open.

She'd expected to see a building full of scientific equipment and tons of filing cabinets full of secure files. She'd expected to be overwhelmed with information and new surroundings.

She didn't expect to find a rubble pile.

"What..." she breathed, staring at the giant pieces of broken concrete buried in the snow. Her gaze darted to and fro, looking for something else, anything else. This couldn't be it. It just couldn't.

"Oh, petite..."

She ignored Remy. Panting, overwhelmed with emotion, Wolf fell to her knees. "No, no, no! This can't be it, no!"

Enraged, Wolf shot to her feet and turned to the sky. "Why is this world so cruel?! What did I do to deserve this?! Why can't I remember?!" She took off running through the ruins, slashing and stabbing her claws into anything soft enough to stick. Concrete chips fell everywhere as Wolf made her way through them. She'd never been more angry in her life. Not when her father kicked her out of her home. Not when LeBeau insisted on coming along for this ride. Not when nightmares came and teased her with information just out of her reach. The anger turned her blood into fire, an inferno burning through her veins.

Off to her right, one piece of debris blew up, sending small pieces of shrapnel toward Wolf. She shielded her eyes from the debris.

"Kirsten, listen ta me!" Remy shouted. Wolf wheeled around, facing him. He stood only ten paces away, a playing card pinched between his fingers.

"What do you want?!" Wolf yelled back.

"Calm down, chere! Please! Listen ta me." He took a few steps toward her. "Look, I know you're upset—"

"What gave that away?"

"—but you need ta calm down and think through dis logically." He reached out and set his hand on her shoulder. This time, she didn't shy away.

"Chere, I'm really sorry. I am. I can't imagine what you're feelin' right now. But is dat an excuse ta go run off like dat? Anythin' within ten miles heard ya."

"None of this makes sense, Remy. I thought that I would finally get answers. I thought this would at least give me a clue. I thought..." She trailed off as she let her gaze fall.

"I'm sorry, petite. I'd change it if I could."

"Come on, let's just get out of here. Let's get back to town."

Remy didn't argue, but he did lay his coat over her shoulders as they left.