Any energy the Deputy thought she had stored up left pretty fast. Almost scary fast. It was colder than the day before, with even harsher wind. She shuddered and pulled her jacket closer to her face, trying to block out some of the violent snow. She regretted not buying a pair of snowshoes she remembered seeing in the store at Fall's End. They would've been perfect for this kind of snow. But of course she hadn't thought she'd have any need for them so they're probably still sitting on the same shelf, just waiting for someone smarter to find them.

The snow was about two feet deep, which was a lot considering the Deputy was only 5'3. The snow was heavy as she tried to plow through, marching her way down the mountain. She passed the river where she fell in, the hole she'd made was already freezing back up. This time she just avoided the river all together and slid down the hill. Part of her wished she'd brought some sort of sled, not only would it help her get down to the bottom faster but it would probably be pretty fun.

When she slid down the hill, she wound up going sideways and rolling down quite a ways, picking up speed as she tumbled. She didn't stop until she hit was she could only assume was a rock or a hidden tree stump. It knocked the wind out of her chest, causing her to cough and suck in the cold winter air. When she could talk again she cursed herself out, trying to sit up in her bulky clothes. Now she was covered in snow, and her gun was pretty much caked in it.

Taking a moment to clear her head, the Deputy pulled her gun off her shoulder to wipe it off. She was sure that her scope was all off and she wasn't too excited about having to sight it again when she got back but she was glad that it didn't break. When she got the barrel as un-caked with snow as possible, she set out again, heaving herself off the stiff rock she'd rolled into.

It took so much effort just to stand, the Deputy began to have some concerns about making it down all the way. Although tiring quickly, she tried to keep going. Her breaths became pants, it took so much effort to move even an inch. Panic was beginning to creep up yet again as the Deputy kept trudging along. Though she tried to stay standing, sometimes her legs would give out due to her stepping on something wrong and she would just lay there, too tired to get up. She fell down for the third time, her lungs ached, her face was hot and her hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat inside her hat.

She knew that if she tried to take her hat off then she'd most likely die of exposure, and she didn't feel like tempting God, so she kept it on despite her whole body protesting the decision. She sat up, trying to get her bearings. The Deputy knew that she couldn't keep going like this, but she wanted to fight dammit. She didn't want to go out all peaceful, she wanted to scream at the world. She said her goodbyes under that tree, now she wanted to face her fate, whatever that fate may be.

Sitting in that snow, the Deputy could feel the ghost of the energy she was so proud of, just the slightest whisper of it remaining. She knew that her body was failing her and that it made her weak, she hated that feeling. So, shaky and exhausted as she was, the Deputy rose to her feet. She tripped and clung to a tree for support, mapping out her way down the hill. She went from tree to tree, using each one as a little checkpoint. When she turned to see where she'd come from, it was a dishearteningly short way. Goddamn it! She was fighting for her life, she was doing every thing she could and yet she'd barely walked 20 feet into the thicker trees below the rocky hill.

She turned away from the hill, looking down into the trees. They seemed so tranquil, like they couldn't care less that she was there fighting for her survival. They paid her no mind, just simply shaking in the wind while the snow was knocked off of their limbs. In contrast with the dark sky and bright snow, the trees looked like they were more ragged than before. Their limbs seemed to droop towards her, as if creating a path for her to follow. The Deputy tried to stop thinking, no more thinking about that lovely warm cabin she'd so selfishly ran away from. No more thinking about cold, slimy soup in a can.

The sandwiches she'd packed for herself (which she forgot about) got soggy when she fell in the river and the granola bar had already been eaten on the hike up. How? How was she so damn unlucky? What godly entity had she pissed the fuck off?

Just at that moment she heard it. The deep howl of a wolf. It was close. Then there was another, and another. All together she heard at least five wolves, they seemed to be everywhere, howling and calling their pack closer to her. Undoubtedly they had their eyes on her, probably since she left the cabin. She walked like a wounded animal, and she sounded like it too. Fear spread through her body as she struggled to stand, using a tree as her support.

The wolves were closing in, the Deputy had to make a decision, try to fight them off or try to run. Well in the shape she was in running didn't seem like much of an option, but fighting them was equally unappealing. Another howl lit off, way too close for the Deputy's comfort. She scrambled for her gun, leaning against the tree with her back to it. She cocked the gun and fired off a warning shot, hoping to scare the wolves away.

It did not.

If anything it revealed her position even more. But she was a little lucky, more than just the wolves heard her gun.

Jacob was angry. He was angry at the Deputy for being so goddamn stubborn and refusing to let him help. He was angry that he was stuck with the Deputy. He knew that he was going to be stuck with her in that tiny cabin for at least two or three more days while she regained her strength and the weather became less miserable. Jacob had a feeling those were going to be very long days.

He had gotten a load of wood, angrily chopping at trees for the past hour hoping it would help calm him down. It did little to help his mood but it did help to relieve stress. He carried the wood back to the cabin, dropping it on the dwindling wood stack outside the door. He paused at the door, giving himself a moment to breath before he went in to face the Deputy. Knowing her she was probably going to bug him about why he left and what made him so upset, and that conversation took some reserve to have and not want to kill her.

When he opened the door he brought with him a few pieces of wood, knocking the snow off before he brought them inside. The wind was howling so he was pretty quick to close the door again, sealing the unforgiving Montana winter outside. He didn't say anything, hoping that the Deputy wouldn't either, while he took off his hat. He set the wood down next to the door and turned to looked around the room.

The couch was facing towards the fire and away from his back, haloed in the light of the dimming fire. He couldn't see the Deputy and figured she was asleep. So he tried to move around as quietly as possible, until he found the note.

     Thanks for rescuing me, maybe we extend that temporary truce to until I get off this mountain?

"Shit. Deputy?" Jacob called, hoping to hear an answer. But when he looked over at the couch and fire he saw that the blanket was folded and her clothes and pack were gone. Jacob cursed again, grabbing his hat and gun of their rack. "Why is she so fucking stubborn?" He asked to no one in particular as he headed out the front door again.

He really should have noticed the windswept tracks leading away from the cabin, heading down the mountain when he walked up with the wood. From the looks of the tracks, the Deputy hadn't been gone for long, but the wind was cold and stung anything that was in contact with it. Quickly he followed the tracks, knowing that if she tries what he thought she was trying then she'd surely get herself killed. He didn't know why he cared, but he didn't have enough time to think about it.

The Deputy's tracks got closer together and were getting deeper, showing that she was slowing down. Then he came up on a steep hill seeing where the Deputy must have fallen down and rolled through the snow. He found a rock at the bottom of her slide marks and footprints leading away. He counted one, two, three spots where she must have fallen down, this time not rolling though which was good. Her footprints lead down into a thick forest of trees, and that's when he heard the wolves.

It was an utterly unsettling sound, deep and echoing as their howls bounced off the mountains getting carried by the winds. Jacob followed the Deputy's footprints into the forest, getting his gun ready.

The Deputy's hands shook, her finger hovered dangerously over the trigger, ready to fire whenever she saw one of them. She waited on a hitched breath. "I'm waiting, show yourselves, come on!" She shouted, hating the silence that was surrounding her. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, keeping her heart pounding in her chest. The howls were getting closer, it sounded like the wolves were all around her. She'd fought wolves before of course, but never like this, never this weak.

She tried to cock her gun again, but something felt wrong, it was like one of the bullets was jammed and prevented her from cocking it all the way. Hearing snarling and growling around her the Deputy began to sweat. She desperately tried to unjam the gun but she knew it would take too long to do it properly. She cursed and held the gun by both ends, hoping to use it as a defensive weapon if needed.   

Her head swiveled around, trying to see any of the wolves she could. She could hear snow just barely crunching under their feet, like a warning that they were closing in. She couldn't take the quiet, and hoped that she could manage to scare them away. So she screamed. It was a loud scream, the sort of scream you let out once in a lifetime. It was angry and it was scared, like she was trying to verbally make herself bigger.

She waited, the scream still echoing around her. Then she heard a snarl behind her and she whipped around, facing one of the biggest wolves she'd ever seen. It didn't look like any of Jacob's Judges with their obedient eyes, this one was pure feral rage and hunger. He didn't care who she was, all he cared about was getting to eat.

The Deputy tried to shout, her voice and nerve suddenly escaping her. She brandished her gun at the wolf, trying to scare it away. But it only responded by lowering its head, it's lips peeled back to reveal incredibly sharp teeth, a deep growl formed in the base of it's throat as it crept closer to her. The Deputy tried to slowly back away, keeping distance between her and the wolf but another growl caught her attention.

Behind her was another wolf, a bit smaller than the first one but just as intimidating. He mirrored his friends actions, creeping towards her with teeth bared. She looked between the two wolves, trying not to keep her eye off either of them for too long. She knew there had to be more, but she would cross that bridge when she got to it. "Get out of here, I ain't dead yet!" The Deputy exclaimed, her mouth and throat dry with fear.

There was no way she could take these wolves on, hell she couldn't even take one on. This sort of situation is what anybody would refer to as 'fucked up as a screen door in a submarine' because in both of those occurrences, everybody would wind up dead. Well, the Deputy did say she was going to go out fighting, she just hoped it wouldn't be too terrible. Which was an odd thing to wish for, seeing as she was going up against at least two wolves with no gun.

As she backed away from the two wolves she heard yet another growl behind her. Spinning around she was met with yet another wolf. At this point she couldn't think of a worse situation. That seemed to be happening a lot recently, but God always found a way to stick it to her. She gave her gun a pathetic swing, trying to scare the wolves away.

Despite all of the adrenaline in her system, the Deputy was still exhausted. Every shuffle of her feet drained more and more energy from her body. She gripped her gun as tightly as her hands would allow her too, her arms shaking in place. She backed into a tree, planting herself in front of it as if it would help protect her back. The wolves snuck closer, eventually getting so close the Deputy could smell their dank breath as they huffed and puffed.

The first wolf she saw got the closest to her, he was just out of reach for her to kick him in the snout, not that it would do anything except make him angrier. In her head, the Deputy said a quick prayer, it went like this: "Please God, help me."

She stared right into the eyes of the wolf, not knowing whether or not that was what made them even more angry, and she set her jaw. The wolf let out a growl and the Deputy prepared herself, her whole body tensed up with fear and anticipation. Then, she blinked.

    BANG! 

The Deputy's whole body jumped, her eyes snapped open and realized what happened. Jacob Seed was standing in front of her, his shotgun held ready at the wolves, standing over a large bleeding one. The wolves weren't sure what had just happened but they realized that two people were better than one.

The Deputy barely had time to ask Jacob what he was doing there when another wolf launched towards him, flying through the air at incredible speeds. The shotgun went off again, causing the wolf to jump away from them. Quickly, Jacob grabbed two more bullets from his pocket, shoving them into the gun. Another wolf ran towards him and he fired the shotgun, grazing the wolf's back. The Deputy shouted as another wolf jumped on Jacob's back, sinking his teeth into his shoulder. The Deputy used her gun to hit the wolf off, hitting him in the head with the base of her rifle.

Another shot fired and the wolves stopped attacking. They looked at their prey, who was putting up too much of a fight for their liking and turned on their heels to run away. Both the Deputy and Jacob stood in their places, breathing heavy, unable to say a word. The left shoulder of Jacob's jacket was shredded, revealing the dark blood oozing from his new wound. The Deputy stood wide eyed, jaw slack, her mind trying desperately to figure out what the fuck just happened?

Jacob bent down to the dead wolf, laying his ungloved hand on the wolf's fur. Then he rose to his feet at turned to the Deputy. "Why didn't you shoot?" He demanded, clearly upset.

"It's...uh, it's jammed." The Deputy admitted sheepishly and Jacob tilted his head to the sky.

"That's tough fucking luck right there." Jacob said, almost with a hint of entertainment.

"How did you find me?" The Deputy stepped closer to him, her rifle in her hand.

"I found your little note, and your trail. Next time you try to sneak away, don't make it so obvious." He said and tilted his head towards her. She felt a rush of embarrassment in her cheeks and cleared her throat.

"I wasn't trying to sneak away, I thought I could make it." She said, already her adrenaline was leaving her tired body. 

"Let's go, the snows about to start again." Jacob said, picking up his empty shotgun shells out of the snow. He winced at his shoulder but hefted his shotgun onto his right one.

"I can't." The Deputy said and Jacob turned to face her.

"Why not?"

"I have to get off this mountain."

"Not like that you're not." Jacob said and motioned to her body posture. Already her arms were hanging lower and her shoulders seemed to be slouching down. "If you keep going like this you're going to fall off a cliff and die, or you'll get cornered by more wolves and die, or-"

"Yeah yeah I get it, if I don't listen to you I die." The Deputy cut him off with a wave of her hand. She tried to avoid making eye contact with him and looked up the mountain. "...I thought I'd gotten so far." She admitted with a heavy sigh.

Jacob gave his head a quick shake and started walking back up the mountain. "Hey I never said I was going with you!" The Deputy said and Jacob shrugged.

"Keep going down, my Judges will pull your body out before spring thaw." He said, not even turning to look at her. The Deputy was taken aback by his statement, in her head she muttered about Jacob's nerve, his audacity, but she felt how tired she was and his cabin was warm...

She bit her lip and heaved her rifle onto her shoulder, taking one last look at the dead wolf before she started walking after Jacob.