I woke up to find Viktoria in the bed with me.

I lifted my head off the pillow and squinted at her, my eyes still sleep blurred. Vik was burrowed down in the covers, the blankets over her nose, and she watched me a little apprehensively.

"Are you okay?" I asked, worry suddenly flooding me. Vik and I had shared the same bed before when it was necessary and it wasn't like I minded or anything, it was just strange.

And I was suddenly very glad it had gotten cold in the middle of the night, forcing me to get dressed again.

I share a lot with Vik. Doesn't mean I want to share everything.

Viktoria nodded and I frowned, sitting up. She copied me, chewing on her lower lip and I stifled a yawn, waiting for her to say what was on her mind.

Softly, she said, "Melanie doesn't like Shane."

I rubbed at the back of my neck, a headache starting to brew. By now I was just a little tired of hearing about how these people didn't like the man I loved.

Which, incidentally, happens to be a problem I have with some of your people.

I just nodded and Viktoria frowned. "I don't think she likes Kyle either. But she didn't say that to me."

Her frown deepened, obviously upset by this. I just sighed and said, "I almost want to ask what she said about me."

"She didn't. She didn't say anything about you. Well," Vik paused. By this point, her frown was so deep I almost wanted to point out that her face might get stuck that way. She continued, "She said she was worried about Sacha. Because he fell down the stairs? I told her that you said he was fine. It was like she didn't believe me."

I snorted and leaned back against the headboard. Vik curled up next to me and I wrapped an arm around her, resting my head on hers. Muttering, she asked, "Why did Shane let them come with us?"

My stomach dropped as soon as she said that and I said, "Vik, I need you to keep that thought to yourself."

She pulled away from me, looking a little startled. I grimaced when I realized that had come out more harshly than I had intended. I tucked a piece of escaped hair behind her ear and said, "Sorry. It's just..." I hesitated.

I got the distinct feeling that Shane wouldn't want me to share what he had told me last night, but I also couldn't have Viktoria saying something like that to him. I sighed, trying to find some sort of happy medium. "It's just hard enough trying to figure out how to live with a bunch of new people. I don't think it'll help any to be saying things like that."

Viktoria sighed, but nodded. I hugged her to me again and, laughing, said, "You and Sam seem to get along all right though, huh?"

I had noticed them talking after dinner, when everyone had been trying to figure out where they were going to sleep.

She pulled away, blushing furiously and I stifled another laugh, trying to spare her of my amusement. Putting on an air of indifference, she shrugged and said, "I guess he's okay."

I got out of bed and looked at her again. She rolled her eyes and said, "Promise Raleigh. I won't say anything. But I still don't like it."

I rubbed at my forehead. "I'm not sure anyone does, sweetie."

Viktoria fixed her ponytail while I put my boots on. Which is kind of a struggle when you're wearing three pairs of socks. The temperature really had taken a spectacular dive.

When I got downstairs, I gasped in dismay. I knew why it was so damn cold in the house.

It was all but buried in snow.

Kyle was the first one I caught sight of and he looked at me grimly. Walking over toward me, he said, "It got bad around my watch."

"Kyle we've only got food for two or three more days tops," I half-whispered.

Kyle rubbed a hand over his mouth and said, "I know. And Shane knows. He's taking a look around outside."

"How did he even get out of the house?" I asked. From what I could see, the snow was at least four feet deep, and that wasn't even counting the really big drifts.

I turned around to go back upstairs to find some blankets. Shane would be freezing when he got back inside. Kyle and Vik followed me, and he answered, "Windows in this house seem to double as doors."

I groaned. "Please tell me it was a first floor window."

"Sure," Kyle said, "if that'll make you feel better."

"He's going to break his idiot neck," I grumbled, then immediately knocked on the wooden railing.

"Nah. I don't think so," Kyle said thoughtfully. "The drift had to at least been six feet."

I shivered. Then frowned. "He's just going to be a peach getting back inside, isn't he?"

"Which is why I suspect you're going to get some blankets all warmed up for him." Kyle grinned at me as I went back into the room we'd slept in. I yanked the comforter off and threw it at him and Vik.

"Nope." I smiled. "You are. Just wrap up in that until he gets back in then give it to him. Where's Danielle?"

Kyle stuck his tongue out at me, then threw the blanket over the top of both himself and Vik, making her laugh. I shook my head and, his voice muffled by the blankets, Kyle said, "She's in the living room."

I went back downstairs and found not only Danielle, but Brayden, Melanie and Sam. Looking up at me, Brayden asked, "What does he think he's going to find out there?"

All I could do was stare at him. Eventually he dropped his eyes, but I wasn't letting these snide little remarks slide. If I did, inevitably, he'd make one too many, at the wrong time and to the wrong person.

"Why aren't you out there looking with him?" I asked, my voice just a little combative.

Brayden looked up at me again, startled, and he started to splutter something. His mistake was thinking I really wanted him to answer. I put a hand on my hip and said, "Why didn't you go instead of him? Because I'm sure the last thing Shane wanted to do this morning was trudge through four feet of snow."

Brayden opened his mouth again, but I wasn't anywhere near done. "Do you know how much food we have, Brayden? How's our water situation?"

Now I did wait for an answer and still trying to be somewhat defiant, he said, "A couple days."

"Wanna be a little more specific?" I asked.

He didn't have an answer.

Now my voice was caustic. "That's what I thought. I'd bet on the fact that Shane knows how much we have, how much each person can eat and drink, and he probably knows a couple different variations of that equation depending on how long he thinks we'll be stuck here. If he doesn't happen to find a way out, while he's looking out there."

I inhaled deeply and he again tried to say something, but I cut him off. "Maybe there's a huge group of zombies trying to get through the snow. Maybe there are other people around. Maybe they aren't friendly. Maybe they have a freaking snow plow. Maybe he's going through some of the other houses to make sure we don't go a couple days with empty stomachs. Either way, the point is, Brayden, is that Shane's out there, doing something, while you're in here, warmer than him and you're going to bitch about that?"

Hilariously, he still seemed to think I was going to give him an opportunity to fire back. Doing an about face, I turned to Danielle who was fighting an amused expression. I nodded toward the kitchen. "Come with me."

I glowered when Melanie made a small worried sound, watching Danielle and, just because I would enjoy it, I said, "I'm not gonna eat her."

Sam ducked his head and made a sort of choking sound, covering his mouth, and I grinned at him. Melanie looked at him reproachfully, and he made a valiant attempt to hold a straight face.

I felt a little bad leaving him after that, but I was going to kill Brayden if he opened his big mouth one more time. I went into the kitchen, Danielle following me and said, "Since Shane's not here, you're probably my best bet. How long do you think what we have will hold us?"

Danielle looked a little shocked that I was asking her, but my gaze never wavered. I was going to ask Shane too, but it never hurt to get more than one opinion.

Which kinda goes with Rule #24: More is better.

Now this particular rule has some exceptions.

For example: More zombies is bad. More food is good.

Then we could get back into the argument of more people versus less people but I'm tired and don't want to.

The point is that more information is better than less. More water is better than less. More stupidity is worse.

Less isn't always more, but it depends on the items or things in question.

I wanted all the information I could get, and Danielle had pretty much been designated the food specialist by me. 'Cause, I mean, come on. You've had her food.

She finally answered me. "If we go down to one meal a day, we would at least have something to eat for somewhere around six days. Maybe. But it would be slim."

I nodded. By now I pretty much knew this was just going to suck no matter how we sliced it.

Viktoria came running down the stairs then, still wrapped in the comforter and said, "Shane's back."

Just as she said it, there was a thumping on the door and I rushed over, unlocking it and throwing it open.

Shane looked exceptionally pissed. I gave him a sympathetic look and pulled him inside, helping him take off his snow crusted jacket and pants. Danielle did her best to sweep the snow back outside so it wouldn't melt and get people's socks wet, if anyone was incline to walk around in just their socks.

Because wet socks are the worst, period.

Shane sat at the kitchen table, shivering hard enough that his teeth chattered a little and I took the blanket from Viktoria, wrapping it around him. He nodded at me in thanks, probably afraid he'd bite off his tongue if he tried to speak yet.

"Danny, heat up a little of the water," I instructed, but almost didn't need to. She was doing it as I finished asking. I knelt down in front of Shane and took his hands, chafing them between mine, blowing on them, trying to unfreeze his fingers. Looking up, I said, "We don't have anything to flavor it, but it'll help warm you up."

Shane nodded wearily, still shaking hard enough that I could see it. Another blanket was thrown over him and I looked up to find a very sleepy looking Sacha, his hair standing up around his head. I smiled and said, "Morning, Sleeping Beauty."

Sacha wrinkled his nose at me, but just cast one more worried look at Shane before he shuffled over to his sister. I cupped my hands over Shane's ears to warm them and he laughed. Teeth still chattering he said, "It's cold."

"Really?" I managed a little sarcasm before Danielle came back over with a cup of steaming water. Shane drank some and swore, and I managed a little more sarcasm. "It's hot."

Shane rolled his eyes, but proceeded with more caution as he took another drink. When he had stopped shivering quite so hard, I took off his socks and said, "Just checking for frostbite."

"I wasn't out there that long," Shane said dryly, hands still clutched around the warm cup.

I ran my finger lightly from his heel to the ball of his foot and he jumped, swearing again. "What the hell?"

I grinned. "Just checking reaction."

"Uh-huh. Sure, Doc." Shane rolled his eyes again, not buying it, so of course I couldn't resist doing it to his other foot.

He jumped again, and I laughed before putting his socks back on. "No frostbite."

Shane muttered something under his breath, looking up when Kyle came in followed by Sam, then Brayden and Melanie came in a little after them.

I bit my tongue when Brayden asked, "How's it look out there?"

"White," Shane deadpanned. Looking at his brother he said, "Road's a no-go. We're stuck here for a while. We can move around on foot though. Drifting's not as deep between the houses so we can scavenge through 'em. It's still pretty cloudy."

"Do you want to split into teams and try and go through the houses now?" Kyle asked. "In case it gets worse, or do you want to wait and see if the weather gets better?"

"Always gets worse before it gets better," Shane mused, watching as I inspected his fingers. He sighed and said, "Better do it now. But I don't want anyone getting too far. We want to stay away from the south too. It's quiet enough, sound carries pretty good."

"What did you hear?" Melanie asked tentatively, and Shane looked at her a little blankly.

Shane had no qualms about snapping at Brayden, but he was unfailingly polite when it came to women. His voice completely neutral, he said, "Growls, I guess is the best word. You know, that little sound they make in the back of their throats?"

Melanie nodded and Shane turned to look at Kyle again. "Hundred meters?"

"Might want to make it two," Kyle said, looking out the window. "Let's hit as many as we can. I think it's going to start up again in a while."

Which left us with just deciding how to split up. Shane's eyes scanned around, settling minutely on each face. He started to say something just to be interrupted by Brayden. "Mel, Sam and I can be one group."

Shane blinked once, but all he said was, "Head north."

I saw Sam cast a wistful look at Viktoria and Sacha before he went to get ready to go outside. Shane rubbed at his temple and said, "Kyle. You, Sach and Vik. Leaves you two with me." He gestured at Danielle and I as he spoke.

"It would be better to go two to a house. Cover more ground," Kyle pointed out but Shane just shook his head. He honestly looked like he would rather be shot in the foot than go back outside again.

"Come on," Vik said, grabbing Kyle and Sacha both by a sleeve.

Danielle also left to put on a few more layers, and I looked at Shane.

"I fucking hate snow," Shane sighed before leaning over to pull his boots back on.