The path Jimmy, Jerry and Jessie had taken was easy to follow. The ground stayed flat and partially dry, and it was easy to keep a straight line. Jerry still felt like it was all about to go to hell in a handbasket. They were being followed and the wolves had the home turf advantage.

Then there was Jessie. She was a white trembling mess, so unlike the strong girl Jerry knew. Her running was clumsy and uncoordinated, she almost fell over a couple of times, and her lips kept moving, whispering something no one could hear.

This got Jimmy increasingly worried, though Jerry wasn't entirely sure how he knew that. His brother had a determined expression plastered on his face and ran with ease, even as he gripped Jessie's arm to make sure she wouldn't stumble again.

Once Sam and Tom disappeared from their path, the growling behind them subsided. Jerry even slowed down, trying to see where they'd gone, but Jimmy called out to him and they increased speed again. Halfheartedly, Jerry followed.

Kyle and Kay had disappeared first. Then Angie, Tina and Billy. Now, with Sam and Tom also gone, they were alone and all Jerry wanted was to stop this nonsense, delete the wolves and go find everyone through the forest.

Jimmy finally slowed down and glanced over his shoulder. Jerry did so as well and noticed they were no longer being followed. Jimmy didn't stop, but reduced the pace. After about five more minutes of running and no sound to indicate they were being followed, they finally slowed to a stop.

Jerry propped his hands on his knees and took in deep, controlled breaths. The cold air burned his lungs with each breath, but he continued the process and finally managed to bring his heart rate in normal range.

"Do you think they're gone?" he asked.

"I'd be surprised," Jimmy said carefully.

"Maybe they split up to follow the others and there were none left for us," Jerry suggested, though he surely hoped not. It was a horrible thought.

"Nope, don't think so," Jimmy mumbled, messing with his watch. "We should move out, just in case." He frowned, pushing more buttons. "Shit, I think something happened to Kyle."

Before Jerry could even process the distressing news, something rustled through the bushes and Jessie bolted. She made her way off the path, between two trees and into the darkness. Jimmy let out a swear and ran after her, Jerry close on his heels. The ground was still manageable between the trees, but a hill loomed to their left, covering everything in additional shadow, as if they needed more darkness in their lives.

"Shit," Jimmy said, finally catching up with Jessie and pulling her back. "What are you doing?"

"I can't... I just can't..." she whimpered. "I tried..."

Jerry approached them warily, the look of terror on Jessie's face worrying. Then there was the fact that they shouldn't stop, because there was certainly something out there stalking them through the trees and bushes. They needed to go back on the path.

"We should--" He froze.

All color in Jessie's face drained and her eyes widened, fixed on the top of the hill before them. Jerry raised his gaze and his stomach twisted, crashed and burned. There was a lone wolf there, big and shaggy, watching them, its tail moving the slightest bit.

Jessie whimpered and trembled. And when the wolf knocked its head back and howled into the night, she let out the most unearthly scream Jerry had ever heard. It made every hair on his body stand on end. Before he could open his mouth to ask, Jessie's eyes rolled and she crumpled to the ground.

"Fuck," Jimmy mumbled with appropriate urgency. "Move."

Jerry did. He turned around and headed back into the open, followed by his brother who had picked Jessie off the ground. Once they were back on the path, it was obvious the wolf had just signaled their position. Distant shadows moved towards them.

So they ran. For once, Jerry had the lead, the weight of Jessie plus rucksacks seriously slowing Jimmy down. There was a sense of panic slowly building inside Jerry on top of the fear and despair he already felt. The feeling gave him pause and he felt the need to stop an analyze why he was suddenly afraid he'd drop Jessie. But there was no time. They had to keep going.

A thud behind him had Jerry screeching to a halt. Jimmy had tripped over something and plummeted to the ground, rolling over Jessie. The wolves were also much closer than they'd anticipated and now pounced towards her fallen body. Easy prey.

It was enough. In the time it took Jimmy to roll into a position that allowed him to face the wolves, Jerry swung the rucksack off his back and sunk his hand inside. Then it happened.

Full grown panic exploded inside his chest, paralyzing him, making his head throb and his vision hazy. He tried to blink it away, but it only made it hurt more. He'd never felt something more powerful in his life, and yet he was very aware the feelings were not his own.

"Jimmy," he whispered.

His brother most likely didn't hear him as he sprinted towards Jessie to get to her before the wolves. He had no chance. But as resourceful as Jimmy always was, he slid the last bit of distance and caught the pouncing wolf in the air with a kick.

The animal yelped as it hit the ground, but both Jessie and Jimmy were down. Jerry forced his hands to continue fumbling inside his rucksack, searching for their only salvation, but the plethora of emotions fading in and out almost fried his senses.

The moment he'd kicked the wolf, Jimmy's panic had disappeared, replaced by an adrenaline rush mixed with a focus Jerry had never felt before. He watched Jimmy in fascination as he twisted to his knees, his eyes on the wolf he'd just knocked over. That's when Jerry realized it was the biggest one, most likely the leader of the pack and the only reason the others weren't attacking. It had turned into an alpha versus alpha showdown.

Jimmy had most likely felt it, too, because he stared the animal down with crazy confidence, the beginning of a snarl on his face.

Then, the wolf pounce. Almost at the same time, Jimmy pushed himself into a standing position, but the movement put him into the animal's path. The wolf's head butted into his forehead. The animal yelped at the impact and fell over while Jimmy stayed on his feet, but barely. As the animal scrambled back on all fours, Jerry knew the wolf had won. Jimmy swayed back and forth and the mix of feelings inside Jerry faded. The following second, Jimmy crumpled to the ground.

The wolves charged at him, fangs bared, ready to do what they'd come for. Jerry intercepted the alpha and knocked him away with his rucksack before it could sink its fangs into Jimmy's neck. The wolf growled and some of the others headed for him. He stepped back, his hand back inside his rucksack, more focused on Jimmy and Jessie who were even more defenseless than him. The large wolf sank its fangs into Jimmy's shoulder, cuing the rest of the pack to bite at his arms, while two of them kept Jerry away.

He was not going to be bullied by overgrown dogs! His fingers finally closed around the hilt of his gun and he didn't even care if it was the real one or the rubber bullet one. The anger inside him was like a tidal wave, pushing out any thought of consequences and propriety. He took aim over the wolves closing in at him, towards the pack leader, and fired. The noise rang through the forest, causing a flock of birds to fly out of the nearest tree in panic.

Everything seemed to stop. The large wolf let out a short yelp and fell lifeless on top of his twin. The other wolves stepped back, watching him as they should, like he was something dangerous. They were brave, not running for it yet, but another shot would fix that. He took aim to the closes wolf and fired again. It was enough for the remaining ones to scatter through the trees and disappear.

For a moment, he just waited, holding his breath, expecting to hear the pitter patter of more careful paws, animals moving in to surround him. All stood silent. With a deep breath, Jerry finally loosened his grip on the gun and lowered the barrel. Wind whistled through the trees, but the sound seemed harmless now.

Finally convinced he wouldn't be attacked, he locked the safety on the pistol and shoved it under his belt. In normal circumstances, he would have scoured the rucksack for the proper holster, but Jessie was still unconscious and his twin had been bitten by wolves.

Jerry rushed to Jimmy's side and kneeled. The wolf's body was in the way, so Jerry shoved it off and opened up Jimmy's jacket to search for wounds. The thick material had stopped most of the damage, so except for bleeding puncture marks in his shoulder, Jimmy seemed fine. Of course, unless the wolf had rabies or any other disease, but it wasn't like there was anything Jerry could do about it.

Jimmy technically needed a rabies shot, but Jerry seriously doubted they'd make it to a hospital in the next twenty four hours. At least the animals didn't seem rabid. Otherwise, there was no point even bandaging the wound, not with his brother's extreme clotting time. That was a little suspicious. The fast healing reminded Jerry very much of Kyle and his special condition, but Jimmy couldn't... He froze before his thoughts could go any further and decided to focus on more urgent matters.

Like Jessie crumpled on the ground. He moved to her and pulled the upper part of her body in his lap, sustaining her head. At first glance, she looked fine, just sleeping, so if he completely ignored that she fainted he could...

Could what, Jerry? Pretend everything's just peachy?

"Oh please wake up? I'm terrible company," he muttered, checking her pulse.

The words seemed to do the trick. She let out a low moan and her eyelids fluttered open. There was strangely vacant look in her eyes, as if she were looking past him.

"Jessie?" he asked warily. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm so scared, hotstuff," she whispered.

Ah crap, she thought he was Jimmy.

She shut her eyes again and tightened her fingers around his jacket. "I know it's silly, that I shouldn't be this scared, but it's like I can no longer breathe." Her hands moved around his neck as she pressed her forehead against his chest. "It's just a stupid animal, but I can't help it, I can't--"

"Everything is going to be just fine." He was lying so poorly, but she didn't call him out. Unexpectedly, she didn't call him out on not actually being Jimmy, but the fear was most likely to blame.

Her entire body twitched, and she searched his face, looking more aware than before. "Is Jerry okay? Are you?"

So like her to care, to ask, even if last he knew she was annoyed at him. And with the power of hindsight, he couldn't blame her. Not after everything that happened with Tina.

"Yeah, we're both fine." He hesitated, suddenly feeling like a fraud rather than a friend comforting her.

"Please promise me we'll never do this again."

"If only avoiding trouble would be that easy."

Her entire body tensed against him. "If I look, how bad is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean if you didn't contradict me that you're not Jimmy, exactly how bad off is Jimmy?"

"Oh." He bit his lip wondering why she wasn't pushing away from him, having a look for herself. But he was glad she actually came to enough to recognize him.

"You do a very poor Jimmy impersonation," she said, her voice as tense as her body.

"He's fine, mostly."

Jessie threw him one skeptical look before she finally dared take his face out of his jacket and look around. Her eyes widened once again as they fell on the dead wolf next to them. With a terrified scream, her eyes rolled into her head again, her pulse drumming away madly.

"No, Jessie, it's dead," Jerry blurted out a second too late.

With a sigh, he lay her down next to Jimmy, sunk his fingers into the wolf's fur and tugged it behind the nearest tree. Once it was safely hidden under snow and bushes, Jerry returned to Jimmy and Jessie, his forehead dripping sweat and his hands shaky with effort and fear. Because now, after the chase was over and his part of the work done, he was free to panic over what happened next.

Rustling vegetation had him twisting around, pulling the gun out as he went.

"Please don't shoot me," Kyle said.

Jerry lowered the weapon, an ecstatic laugh bubbling from his throat. That until he realized how wrong Kyle's affirmation had sounded, how empty and defeated his tone. Kay in his arms, hanging limp and lifeless.

"What happened to Kay?" he asked.

"I think she's sleeping." His tone was hallow, exhausted. "I'd be very grateful if you checked."

Jerry immediately headed for them and sunk his fingers under her jaw. Her skin was cold and clammy, but he could definitely feel a weak pulse there.

"What happened to them?" Kyle asked, nodding towards Jimmy and Jessie.

"Jimmy got knocked out by a wolf and Jessie's just terrified of them. What happened to you and Kay?" Because Kyle's skin also had an unhealthy blue tinge to it.

"I think we might be suffering from mild hypothermia," Kyle answered, his eyes still on Jimmy and Jessie. "Any medicine for that?"

"Hypothermia is treated by rewarming the body, not medicine. What--?"

"We took a swim under a frozen lake. Fun stuff."

"You what?"

Kyle sat down next to Jimmy and Jessie and took off his rucksacks, but didn't put Kay down. As Jerry continued checking her vitals, Kyle launched into a fabulous story of chases, drowning and mighty rescues. He didn't even leave out the nasty bits, like him trying to warm her up using his body heat. And for once, Jerry was glad he didn't, because he could now properly assess the situation.

"You've done all of that on instinct," he muttered, shaking his head. "You have no idea how easily she could have died. People developing hypothermia from cold-water immersion are usually at high risk of fibrillation. In these cases it's advisable to minimize motion. Also, it's imperative to change the wet clothes and replace them with blankets or something else which is dry and warm." A sense of pride mixed with the sense of uselessness he was feeling. This could come off as encouragement, but it was already too late and it actually worked. "By holding her against you, you've helped her warm up faster. And that breathing thing... You have no idea how much that helped. And you have absolutely no medical training."

All color drained from Kyle's face.

Jerry frowned. "What? It was a compliment. You should be very pleased with yourself."

"Pleased? It was dumb luck!"

Jerry couldn't agree more, but that didn't make Kyle's instincts less impressive. It did make his recovery more amazing though. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"No one warmed you up. Your risk of hypothermia is as big as hers."

Kyle huffed. "You're forgetting I'm a special snowflake." He shuddered once the words were out. "I do admit to being cold and tired, but I bet that so are you."

Jerry didn't even know where to begin. He had three knocked out people, one with a severe risk of entering fibrillation and five unaccounted for.

The vegetation started rustling and Jerry pulled out his gun. Before he could point it, Kyle raised his hand.

"Human," he said.

And in a few seconds, Tom made his way between the bushes, dragging Sam after him.

"A little help, please?" he said, his voice strained.

Jerry immediately rushed to them asking what happened on the way and pulled Sam off Tom. He was a lot heavier than expected so they both almost toppled over.

"Took a rock to the head. He should be fine, bump's not that big." Tom rubbed his arms, looking tired and weary. "What happened with the rest of you?"

Jerry launched into a short recalling of both stories as he checked Sam for any other wounds, but Tom seemed to be right. Tom listened, but didn't have much of a reaction to anything.

"It's just the three of us?" he asked, his voice even.

"I'm sure Angie, Billy and Tina are fine, too," Jerry said quickly. "We would've hear something if they weren't." Or so he hoped.

"We need to find them," Tom mumbled.

"As soon as some of the sleeping beauties get up," Kyle answered.

And right on cue, Kay opened her eyes. "I'm not sleeping. Just resting my eyes. I've heard everything."

"Oh," Kyle said, looking a bit embarrassed.

Jerry faltered too, aware that Kay had felt all his poking and listened to them talking about her like she wasn't there.

"Tom, why don't you tell us what happened in detail?" he asked, trying to distract everybody. "This way I can assess if Sam is likely to get up soon."

But as it turned out, he was. And Jessie and Jimmy were stirring as well. Which only left the problem of three missing people. If only they would all be alright.

❄❄❄

We're finally getting an update! Sorry about that. Life's just been in the dumps lately.

We're done with our little forest adventure. Or maybe not? What do you think happened to the others? Where are they? Are they still alive? And where exactly am I going from here? Come on, take a wild guess.

I'm hoping to settle into a schedule that will allow me to write more. So fingers crossed.

Vote and comment for support!