Sam didn't know what he'd been expecting, but it was definitely not all the flowers, the rose petals still filling the freshly made bed. They somehow made it real.

"Huh, so there really is no halfassing it with you, is there?" Jessie said taking a step inside, followed by Angie.

Sam stayed in the threshold, feeling like he was intruding even if he'd asked permission.

"Nope," Kyle answered, joining them in.

"It's all about the setup," Kay supplied. "Aslo the geography."

"Geography is no longer an issue," Kyle rectified and Sam was really grateful that he didn't really get what they were saying.

"Where did you find...?" Jimmy started.

"Such a bitch," Kyle replied wisely. He then turned to Kay and quirked an eyebrow. "I think you missed some petals."

"I think you're missing opportunities," she retorted. "What if the storm hadn't stopped?"

"Then I'd be braving it for gas stations."

"Ew, shut up," Tom said raising his hand to block their word flow.

Sam didn't really get why gas stations were yucky, but from Tom's reaction and the way Jimmy rolled his eyes, he gathered there was some innuendo there he'd missed.

"You're just jealous," Kyle said with a grin.

"Jealous?" Jimmy asked, feigning offense. "I'd use a stronger word. Like envious. Or what's even more spiteful than that?"

Jessie giggled, but elbowed him in the ribs. "Shush, you."

"Don't take it as pressure, Jessie. Take it as me giving him the middle finger for showing off."

Jessie laughed harder, but Sam didn't find it funny. He was getting a sick feeling in his stomach like the one he was sure Jerry felt because he wasn't there. He was left behind somewhere in grade school while his brothers were way ahead of him acting... Age appropriate now that he stopped to think about it. He and Jerry were the weirdos.

"What's up?" Tom asked, using his twin superpowers that Sam so desperately seemed to lack.

He shook his head. "Nothing. It's just that... I totally get Jerry."

"I understand Jerry perfectly," Jimmy said, probably using his twin powers as well. "What I don't get is why he's so afraid of normal relationship evolution."

Sam sighed and leaned his elbows on the windowsill, looking out into the snowy grounds.

"There's something else troubling you as well," Tom deadpanned.

"None of you get this fear because none of you are scared," Sam said carefully. " Jerry and I are not...We don't have the self confidence you three have. We have our things that we're good at. Bookish things. But when it comes to fighting, to relationships..." Jerry not so much, but he was a failure. As much as he tried to improve, it never felt like it was enough.

"Thinking you will fail is half-losing," Tom said, grasping his shoulder. "You don't see yourself, but you're doing great. You've improved so much. And trust me, I have doubts. A lot of them. I just ignore them as much I can."

"Tom's right." Angie came to them and cuddled under Tom's arm. "We all look up to you."

"You have no idea how much," Kyle interjected. "I couldn't wait for you to get here and get this leadership mess off me. Even if you're not the best fighter, you fill the spot you're meant to fill."

Sam huffed. He wished he could just accept that and embrace his role. But sometimes, when he couldn't have his team, hero skills were essential.

"You don't get it, do you? Christine's not here. I blew the rescue mission, and now here I am, acting as if she's just in the other room or something--"

"Sam." Jessie fixed him with an intense gaze. "You have some growing up to do. This isn't your fault. It's a great achievement that you're still alive after what happened to you."

"Yes," Kay added. "And it's not your fault Christine's still a damsel. That's her choice."

Sam felt like a total asshole for agreeing with Kay. If Christine had paid more attention in training, she could've maybe escaped with Angie. Or not been taken in the first place. But he shook away the what if. It didn't mean he failed less.

"Don't beat yourself up, Sam," Jimmy said with a shrug. "We all fuck up monumentally at one point. And we must all find the strength to admit it, shrug off the guilt and fix it."

"We need to get out of here," Tom mumbled.

A dull ache settled in Sam's chest and he had a feeling it came from Tom's guilt. He couldn't be sure, but he was convinced his twin hadn't mentioned what happened with Mizrelle to Angie. Maybe he'd chosen to take it to the grave, and Sam couldn't blame him. It seemed so irrelevant now that it was over. Angie could do without that particular bit of pain in her life.

"You're right, we need to step on it."

"That's something we can all agree on," Kyle said, though he threw the room one melancholic look that plunged Sam into the initial embarrassed state.

He almost laughed at how his mind chose to focus on every possible negative emotion. But he'd work his way out it. Tom was right. Sometimes, he just needed to shrug it off and keep going.

So that's exactly what he did as he focused on filling his stomach accordingly and shoveling snow. He'd underestimated how much work that would be as well as how early the sun set. It was barely five in the evening and it was already so dark, they could poke their eyes out. Sweat dripped down his back making him feel clammy and uncomfortable. The wind was cruel and yet he was hot.

"Come on, Kyle, are you serious?" Jerry dropped his shovel and leaned against it, panting. "I'm done."

"No, you're not," Kyle retorted, continuing the shoveling as if her were tossing around cotton balls. "This is a great work out. Next we can try some light target practice."

"No!" Jerry stomped his foot. "It's enough that you made us all plow snow with the rucksacks on our bags, the girls included, with all the guns inside them. Those things weigh a ton! I'm not going to start searching for them!"

"That's a minor inconvenience--"

"No, Kyle," Sam said. For once, he agreed with Jerry. Enough was enough. "First yesterday and now this. If we get muscle cramps, it won't help us during fights. The guns are staying tucked it and I don't want to see one out until we're in front of Chenonceau."

"Come on, kid," Kyle said, with a laugh.

"No, they're right," Kay said, and it silenced him immediately. "We're all exhausted, honestly. I know this is a good thing in the long run, but not now. Let's call it a night."

Kyle rolled his eyes and huffed. "Fine. Lady babies." He muttered the last bit under his breath.

Jessie picked up a handful of snow, rolled it and threw it into his face. "You're the baby!"

"Baaad idea." Kyle made a snowball of his own and threw it at her butt.

"Ouch! Stop it!" Jessie dodged the second one. "Those are unfairly hard."

"You'd be less motivated to dodge them if they weren't," Kyle pointed out, throwing his next snowball at Kay.

She dodged too and Sam just stared, trying to understand just what the hell was happening because Kyle was suddenly trying to kill them via snowball. He dodged the killer projectile aimed at his head.

"That was a nice move, Sam," Tom said, throwing his own snowball at Kyle.

"We should be going," Jerry said right before receiving a death ball in the chest. He wheezed, bending double.

"Jerry's right," Sam pointed out. He ducked in time.

"In a minute. I just want to make sure you have your reflexes on full alert." Kyle threw a snowball at Tina. She actually threw herself out of the way successfully. "What if these were bullets?"

"Don't say that," Jerry said. "Don't ever say that."

"That's a little inevitable in our line of work, Jerry," Jimmy said. Then he froze, a frown on his face.

Sam brushed the latest snow off his butt, all the while straining to hear anything that might have caught Jimmy's attention. Everyone seemed to feel something was off, even if they couldn't see each other very well. The wind blew eerily between the branches of the nearby forest making it sound like a giant was whistling in the distance.

"Pull back," Kyle said quietly, placing himself in front of Kay.

Sam shook his head. The forest was behind them. They needed to go forward, towards the parking lot and the cars that would get them out of there. Except he had the feeling the danger was coming from the parking lot.

"We're freezing!" a low voice argued. "Forget the ambush."

Ambush... Kyle's silly snowball game had stopped them from walking into a trap. The distant exit out of the grounds filled with dark shadows, moving hastily towards them on the path they'd cleared of snow. They regrouped in a defensive formation with Kyle and Jimmy in the front. Sam counted the seconds in his head as his mind tried to reboot and figure out a strategy.

They were unarmed, there was no time to dig through the luggage. The ground beneath them was still covered in snow that would make running very difficult. Yet the forest was close enough for them to get cover.

"We need to move," he whispered as Eye Patch became recognizable in the lead of the goon patrol. "If they throw a grenade, we're dead."

Jimmy straightened under his stance and crouched. "Good point." He made a snowball and weighed it in his hand. "Fire in the hole!" he yelled as he tossed it in the middle of the goons.

It worked like a charm. The men threw themselves to the ground, covering their heads for protection from the supposed explosion.

"Guess they're colorblind," Jimmy said amused, making another snowball.

Kyle kneeled too and started morphing stone-hard snowballs. Sam shook off the stupidity of the idea and had to agree that given their situation, it was the best they could do. And it was effective. The moment Kyle threw one of his killer snowballs, a cry of pain followed.

"What the hell are they doing?" one of Snitch Gravel's men yelled.

There was a quick erratic and confused movement coming from the mass of goons as snowballs continued raining on them.

"They're throwing snowballs at us!"

Sam noticed Eye Patch tensing at the obvious piece of news. He muttered something that got lost in the wind then raised his hand to get his companions' attention.

"You know the boss' new orders! Go for it!" he yelled and picked up a handful of snow himself.

Sam watched the snowball heading for him with wide eyes and dodged at the last second. This couldn't be happening.

"Are they throwing snowballs back at us?" Jerry asked crouching next to Sam and throwing another snowball towards one of the men closest to them.

The projectile hit its target and the man threw himself to the ground, cursing furiously.

"I have no idea what they're doing," Sam said, dodging a new snowball and aiming one of his own. "Eye Patch said something about new orders, but throwing snowballs?" It made absolutely no sense.

"It's not fair! They're not throwing snowballs, they're throwing rocks!" some of the men yelled.

"This is the most humiliating thing I've ever lived through," Eye Patch raged. "Just shoot them in the legs or something!"

"Well fuck, there goes our leverage," Kyle said, glancing over his shoulder towards the forest.

And as much as Sam had initially hated the idea, the place was really starting to look inviting. The first shots rang through the air, fortunately missing, unfortunately not as obvious as snowballs.

"Maybe we should head towards the forest and try dodging them around the castle. It would be a lot harder for them to follow us then," Tom said as if to help him decide.

A shot from too near had Sam flinching. "Yeah, let's get cover."

"Release the dogs on them!" Eye Patch yelled.

That was not how hunting dogs worked. At least Sam hoped so. But it strengthened his resolve to get the hell out of here. So he motioned to the others and ran as fast as the snow allowed him towards the safety of the trees.

More shots rang behind them, but he chose not to focus on that, but on the nearest tree coming closer and closer. They were almost there. He could smell the pines and the safety. Mad barks and howls sounded from behind them and the hairs on his neck stood. They should stop running to discourage the dogs, but he'd rather face animals than bullets, so he pressed on, the rest of the group right behind him.

Better a hunted animal than a dead one.

❄❄❄

Shit is soooo hitting the fan starting now. I promised action and I'll give it to you for 2 whole chapters before a short, trippy break. Then more action!

Aren't you just out of your mind excited?
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this shorter part. What did you think about how the confrontation with the goons went? What will happen now?

Stay tuned and find out.

I'll be on vacation for the following week so updating will probably stop until I get back and get the chance to write more. Anyway, hope the rapid fire updates make up for it 😁