After Tony's workshop, Thomas guided Daniel down a shortcut that took them to his house in less than ten minutes. His neighborhood was the typical suburb with well-maintained and decorated houses and porches. Only his house differed from the others, not because it was ugly, it just didn't have half the flowers in the garden that the others had. His Uncle Brian was single and didn't care much for that sort of thing.

From time to time, a girlfriend decided to give "more life" to the garden, but after the end of the relationship, no one took care of the plants and this resulted in a true sad cemetery of flowers mixed with poorly trimmed grass.

" That's my uncle's car over there, can you park on the side? " Thomas asked, pointing to the silver Chevrolet Equinox that Brian drove.

The rocker maneuvered and stopped the van without turning off the engine. The three looked around the street in silence. Despite the blizzard that lashed the town, Thomas saw no sign of the snowmen, nor did he see any ferocious wolves.

" I think we're safe for now. " Said Daniel.

" I'm going with Thomas this time. " Mikaela opened the door and got out of the van, Daniel started to complain, but she interrupted him. " Unless you think you can outrun me."

"You got your super speed less than half an hour ago, and you've already let it go to your head?"

" I bet I'm faster than you, with or without powers. " The girl replied, crossed her arms and smiled confidently.

Daniel didn't argue and decided to keep his eyes wide open, looking for any sign of trouble on the street.

" Let's go. " Thomas took the lead and walked to the door of the house.

He shoved his hands into his coat and pants pockets, not finding his keys. He cursed himself for not noticing they had fallen somewhere during the fights. They're probably in the belly of that giant snowman who tried to eat me.

With no time to waste, he kicked the door open and knocked it out of its tracks. Mikaela smiled but didn't say anything. They found Brian sleeping on the sofa in the living room, with the television still on and some action movie playing on the screen.

Mikaela approached the stairs that led to the second floor and stared curiously at the small wheelchair lift adapted there. It was just a chair attached to a rail that led upstairs.

" Is your brother..." She started to ask.

"He lost the movement of his legs in the accident that killed our parents," Thomas explained, speaking in a rush.

He hated bringing it up, and he hated the memories the event brought back even more, but he needed Mikaela and also Daniel to know about it. Because it wasn't until they got the sheriff and Tony into the van that something very important occurred to him. There wasn't enough room in the van to fit Nathan's wheelchair.

He wondered how he would handle it if they had to abandon the van. Without the wheelchair, it would be very difficult to transport Nathan. Of course, in the current situation, everyone in the van would have to be carried by them if an emergency escape was necessary. However, if they managed to wake everyone up, Nathan would still need the chair.

"Keep an eye on my uncle, please. I'm going upstairs to look for my brother, he must be in his room."

Mikaela looked at him, worried.

" I don't like the idea of us splitting up. Let's get your uncle to the van, and then we'll come back for your brother"

"I'll be quick and..." Thomas stopped talking when his world decided it needed to spin as if he were riding a high-speed merry-go-round.

Something hit him, and it took Thomas a few seconds to understand that he had actually lost his balance and hit the wall. He felt Mikaela grab his arm, preventing him from falling to the ground.

" Thomas? What's wrong?"

Her voice sounded like she was very far away. On his right arm, the golden shield flashed and then disappeared. The last thing he saw was the girl's worried face, and then everything went very dark and cold.

Thomas jolted awake. He felt something pressing down on him to his right, and he pushed to get rid of the weight.

" You woke up! " Mikaela said, moving a little to the side.

The two were sitting in the backseat of the van, very close to each other. Thomas figured that was because they had five other people with them in the back of the vehicle. His uncle Brian, his brother Nathan, Sheriff Stokes, old Tony and Sarah, Mikaela's mother. The van normally carried seven teenagers, but the adults took up considerably more space due to the fact that they were sprawled out and fast asleep.

"Are you feeling all right?" Mikaela looked at him like she was waiting for him to pass out.

" What do you mean? I feel great. " He replied, a little confused.

On the driver's seat, Daniel laughed.

"Your definition of 'great' is to pass out like a fairy tale princess and leaving all the heavy work to others?"

" Pass out? What are you talking..."

Then it hit him. He remembered that he was at his house with Mikaela, thinking about how he was going to transport Nathan and his wheelchair in the van, when a sudden weakness came over him.

" How did you? What did you do when I..."

"Relax." Mikaela placed her hand over his. "Daniel and I managed to get your uncle and brother. We didn't have any encounters with those snow monsters or wolves. We got you in the van, and now we're on the interstate."

" We just don't know very well where we're going now. " Daniel said.

The sound of something behind the van caught Thomas's attention. He turned to find out what it was. An old trailer had been attached to the van and had something covered in a tarp on it.

" It was Mika's idea," Daniel explained. " She took a look in the garage at your house and found this cart. It came in handy, we put all the food we found in her kitchen in bags and put it there next to your brother's chair."

The cart, Thomas nearly punched himself in the face. In the midst of all the chaos and fear, he had forgotten that his uncle kept it in the garage. He used to travel a lot to fish, but he didn't anymore because he had become responsible for him and Nathan. The old cart sat in the garage collecting dust and Thomas almost never remembered its existence. Except when it was his turn to clean the garage. Brian insisted that he clean it as if it were part of the jewels of the English royal family.

" Thanks Mika. " He said, looking at the girl. Then, realizing what he'd called her, he corrected himself. " I mean, Mikaela. Thank you..."

" You can call me Mika. " She replied, shrugging. "I don't care, really."

Daniel pretended to choke on something just to get their attention.

" So, can we discuss the almost irrelevant subject of our destiny?"

Thomas looked down the road, looking for some sign that would tell him which part of it they were on. The snow that was falling now began to compromise visibility a little and also began to obstruct the track in some points. Daniel drove very slowly, swerving around the patches of snow and pressing the steering wheel so hard that Thomas feared the rocker would injure himself.

The exit from town near his house led to I-81, but that was all he knew. Where could they go from there? Maybe we can head north to Canada. What would snow monsters want to do in Canada?

Then an idea occurred to him. He obviously wasn't going to suggest they drive to another country, but they could drive to the Highway Patrol base, which was just six miles north of Cleston. It was a plan, maybe not the best one, but it sure was better than nothing. Thomas opened his mouth to speak when Daniel slammed on the brakes, bringing the van to a stop.

" Why did we stop?" Mikaela looked at Daniel. She already had the baseball bat in her hands, ready to fight anything that jumped in front of her.

" Unless this van has some secret button that creates wings in it, I don't see how we're going to get over that. " Daniel pointed ahead.

Thomas and Mikaela pressed side by side to see what their friend wanted to show them. Ahead of them, a barrier of snow obstructed the road.

" I can do something about that. " Thomas clenched his fists, wanting to summon his magic shield.

He remembered seeing the shield disappear just before passing out, and wondered if he could bring it back with just the power of his mind. He had no way of knowing if it would work, but what did he have to lose?

Nothing happened.

" Did you also run out of mana? " Daniel asked. When Thomas and Mikaela stared at him, he explained. " Mana, you know? Mystic energy, power points, spiritual energy or whatever else it's called in video games. I also tried summoning my flames to melt this thing, but I'm not feeling anything..."

Thomas laughed. He couldn't stop it. How can this guy make a joke in a situation like this?

But despite the rocker's playful tone, he could see the fear he hid in his eyes. Daniel was just trying not to show it, but he was just as scared as he and Mikaela. And he had every reason in the world to feel that way. They were three teenagers trying to figure out how to get out of a situation that was beyond what anyone could or should handle.

" I'm still feeling a little weak. " Thomas said and then punched the roof of the van just to test a theory. He had to hold back a cry of pain as he realized that his supernatural strength had disappeared. "Yeah, I really don't feel the strength I had when fighting the giant snowman anymore."

"Well, I feel great." Mikaela announced and opened the van door. " Let's see if I can do something to clear the way.

" Well, we don't have a shovel, but I put some cutlery with the food. Who knows with your super speed, you're not able to scoop the snow with a spoon? " Daniel suggested.

Mikaela gave the rocker a hard look and Thomas thought she was going to hit him with her bat, but the howl of several wolves around them, coming out of the forest that ran beside the track, made her jump and she went back inside. She closed the van door and looked at them with an expression that seemed to say, "Any ideas what to do?"

Several wolves left the cover of the forest and surrounded the van. The direwolf that had attacked them in the mechanic shop joined the pack and stopped right in front of them. Thomas felt his blood run cold as the monster's eyes met his. To make matters even worse, snowmen started to form from the snow on the track and joined the wolves. Monstrous howls and roars cut through the night, and they approached the van, slowly. It was as if they were savoring the moment.

"Maybe I can distract them." Mikaela said with a shaky voice.

" You're not leaving here!" Thomas grabbed her by the arm. "Are you crazy? Even with your powers, they have the advantage of numbers!"

"You think I can't count?" She pulled her arm away from him. " If you have any other ideas, I'm all ears!"

"Will the van make it over the wolf and the wall of snow?" Daniel asked, but his shaky voice made it obvious that even he didn't believe that hypothesis.

Thomas squeezed his eyes shut and tried to summon his magic shield once more. He begged for a little power or anything that could help them.

Nothing happened.

" If you leave and surrender of your own free will, I can promise you a quick death. " The direwolf said in his dark and frightening voice. " It won't be painless, but you can't have everything in this life. Can you?"

Exchanging apprehensive glances, neither of them dared open their mouths to answer. Thomas looked around the van, looking for some solution. All he found was a bunch of sleeping adults, his brother who was also napping as if nothing was wrong in the world and some of his teammates' clothes that were forgotten there. The sheriff was armed, his pistol was securely holstered on his belt, but he didn't know how to shoot and even if he did, he couldn't see how a pistol would help against so many enemies.

" I'm losing my patience. " The wolf spoke again and approached the van.

Now Thomas could see even the snow packed into the animal's black fur, and it took all of his willpower not to stare into the pair of golden eyes that studied him.

"Be quick, children." The wolf spoke again. "Last time you got very lucky, but now it's the end of the line. No divine intervention will fall from the sky to save your miserable lives.

" Are you sure about this? " Someone shouted from outside.

A woman with long blond hair, tied in two long braid, fell on top of the direwolf, trying to hit his head with a huge axe. He managed to dodge the blow on the last second, but not all of it, the axe still cut off part of his right ear. The giant wolf retreated with a yelp of pain mixed with a furious growl.

The blonde woman didn't give up and advanced, she landed a punch right in the middle of his nose and Thomas flinched, feeling a sudden pity for the animal. The force of the blow knocked the direwolf backwards, as if he were a toy and not a sixteen-foot-tall monster. He was knocked back at least twenty feet, broke through the snow barrier and rolled across the ground before coming to a stop.

The newcomer stood in front of the van, her body language shouting a challenge to all the other enemies, inviting them to fight, and none of them accepted the call. Thomas couldn't believe what he was seeing. She was almost six feet tall, wearing some kind of leather armor over her brown fabric blouse. Her pants also seemed to be made of the same material as her blouse, metal plates protecting her thighs and forearms. Hanging from her back was a round wooden shield, like the ones he saw in Viking movies.

"How about you deal with someone who can fight back? Or has the famous spirit of the hunt lost his courage? "The woman said to the wolf and his allies, raising her right arm, with which she held her axe. The weapon's blade reflected the light of the moon and stars.

" Who the hell is she?" Daniel asked.

"Wonder woman, obviously." Mikaela said, and Thomas couldn't think of a better description.

"That would be Noelle, but I wouldn't call her 'hell' if I were you." Someone else spoke from behind them. Someone with a really high-pitched voice and a weird, really strong accent.

Thomas looked at the owner of the strange voice. Unlike the woman outside, It was a guy no more than half feet tall. He was dressed in a green shirt and pants, very tight and that perfectly outlined his lean body. The little man had a red cape slung over his back and held a red and white striped cane in his hands. An old face, with wrinkled copper skin and a golden beard and eyes, completed the ridiculous look. The skinny dwarf looked at him and smiled, showing very white teeth.

" While Noelle takes care of our enemies, how about we get in here?" He said, and tapped his cane on the floor of the van.

" I think you meant 'get out of here', right?" Mikaela corrected him.

" Precisely! That's right! " The dwarf agreed. " I always change the worms of your weird language."

" Words. " The girl corrected again.

"Really, Mika?" Daniel poked her in the shoulder. " Do you really want to spend the rest of the night correcting this guy, or are we going to hear what he has to say?"

Outside, Thomas saw wolves and snowmen attacking Noelle. She drew an arc with her weapon, wounding two wolves in the process. Afterward, she pulled her shield with her free hand and blocked the claws of one of the snowmen. The spirit of the hunt stayed where he was, studying the opponent, waiting for a good moment to attack. Thomas blinked his eyes and then, realizing he wasn't hallucinating, decided to just accept what he was seeing. That was his new normal.

"Can you get us out of here?" he asked, turning to the dwarf and gesturing to everyone in the van. "Get everyone out of here?

"If you can give me a sock, who knows?" The little man answered.

"A sock?"

Mikaela wasted no time picking up one of the socks that one of the boys from the basketball team had left and gave it to the dwarf.

"Does this one work?"

" Great! This one will poo! Hang it in the window and repeat my words, this sock is for Santa Claus and his faithful helpers!".

With no questions asked, despite Thomas sensing that Mikaela almost wanted to point out that "poo" probably wasn't the word he should have said, she opened one of the van's windows and hung up the sock.

"This sock is for Santa Claus and his faithful helpers!" She recited the words and then turned to the little man. "And now?"

Smiling and tapping the ground three times with his cane, he replied.

"Now we travel through the sock express!"

Without warning, a golden explosion blinded Thomas, and he felt a strong wind pull him away and then pull him back in a matter of seconds. His head hit something and, for the second time in the same day, he lost consciousness. His world turned into complete darkness.

Sorry for this long chapter, but I had to tell! Now Thomas, Daniel and Mikaela are out of normality for good!

What did you think about Noelle and the strange dwarf? Were you expecting them to show up? Talk to me on the comments!

Next chapter our heroes will wake up in a very special place and some answers will finally pop out!

See you next weekend :)