Birds chirp overhead as I lower my canteen down into the freezing stream. I wince in pain as the cold hits my bare fingers, but I know it would be stupid to get my gloves wet.

My hair fans across my face as I look down, feeling slightly greasy from days of not being washed. Still, I feel better than before. Unscrewing the cap from my pill bottle, I take one out and pop it into my mouth and wash it down with water so cold it burns all the way down. I ignore the pain and put the cap back on and then shove the bottle back into my backpack.

"Morning, Walker," Charlie greets. "I've got you on a private channel. Can you tell? I always feel like there's a bit of an echo on the broadcast channel to all of you."

"I'd say good morning, but it's a bit too cold for me to consider it good," I reply half-heartedly, screwing my canteen closed and putting it back into my backpack, then grabbing one of the canteens belonging to the others and dunking it in as well.

She simply chuckles. "We'll be out of the snowy mountains in two, three days tops?" She yawns, and I imagine her stretching in her little office. "Sorry. Sorry. Haven't been sleeping too well since the wolf attack, and the solar flares. Still, that was a couple of days ago and no sign of them coming back. Neither the wolves nor the solar flares."

I hum, glancing over my shoulder at the cabin that's about fifty feet away. I wouldn't have come out here if I had thought the wolves might still be lurking about. Well, no, maybe I would have, if just to get away from everyone's insistent questions about why I am taking antipsychotics.

As if it's any of their business.

Some of them acted almost betrayed when they saw my medicine, when Stanton said what they were. They acted as if they were entitled to know about why I take them! Not everyone, of course. Paul mostly seemed worried, as did Emma. Lawrence asked, a bit pushy, but kindly. Stanton however thought she could chew me out, saying it would have been a good idea to mention to them that I suffer from mental illness.

It turned into a bit of an argument when she brought up how this medicine was mostly prescribed to those with schizophrenia, and I replied saying that wasn't what I had, but refused to tell them more. Why should they know about the dreams, the memory loss, the accident? What gives them the right?

I haven't talked much at all these past few days, despite Lawrence and Emma trying to get through to me.

"You know, when Lawrence suggested you all have a break here a couple of nights in the same place, I was like, 'Oh, no. The Burn will get you. No, no.' But I think it's been good for you all. Recharge the batteries," Charlie continues, and I blink, wondering how long she's been talking, and I just haven't been listening. "I wish sometimes I could just teleport you all straight to Geneva. It seems so stupid that you're all in danger and I'm safe. But at least you've had rest now.

"You've almost got those water bottles filled. Emma and Lawrence are packing up the blankets from the hut. Paul's resting. Stanton's... I don't know. I think she might be making poison tipped arrows from deer feces or something."

I laugh, even though I try not to. Charlie hums seemingly in victory.

"Anyway, you should be ready to get on your way again. Nice, easy climb up the mountains to a skiing lodge that I know is empty. And then down the other side and you'll be in Edinburgh before you know it," She explains as I finish with the water bottles and put my gloves on. "You've been a pro about this, Walker."

"I have?" I repeat.

"You have. I don't..." She sighs. "I didn't have any control over who got given this assignment. I can't say I would have picked Lawrence and Emma if I had, although I think they're doing okay. But you are just... well, we all know we can rely on you."

I stay silent for a moment. "You're still staying that after learning what medication I take?"

"It is... a surprise. There's nothing on your file that says you had any history of mental illness, but there's not much information for you after your last mission a few years ago. And the things you must have seen then... well, I could understand why you might need medication."

"R-right."

Right. The files talking about a totally different person because I was never supposed to be on this assignment.

I tense at a booming sound in the distance. "What was that?"

"Sounds like a minor snowfall."

The sound comes again, louder this time.

"Oh no," Charlie says, and panic races through my veins. "They've found us. I don't know how, but they found us. They're trying to bury the hut into the snow."

I stand and start for the hut. "I have to get to the others-"

"No, you can't! They'll get you. You have to head up the hill now, Walker."

"But-"

"Right now!"

It takes an incredible amount of restraint, but I turn and do as she says. Another booming sound carries itself across the air, this one the loudest of all. My legs pump faster and faster despite how stiff they feel from being crouched down in the cold. Each step feels treacherously slow, and the slick snow underneath my shoes nearly cause me to slip and fall as I scramble up the hill.

But I don't stop, not until I'm completely breathless and feel warm blood on my lips as they split open again due to the cold several minutes later.

"Okay. It's okay," Charlie says as I push on, my run turning into a brisk walk because I can't continue at such a pace in this weather. "I'm not panicking... Alright, I am panicking a little bit, but... it's just-I'm directing the others by different routes, but I-I can't raise Lawrence!"

I freeze mid-step. "What?"

"I think they've got him."

The blood drains from my face, and I shake my head. "N-No."

Not him. Anyone but him.

"You have to keep moving," She tells me, and my feet start moving without my consent. One step in front of the other, even though every fiber of my being is screaming at me to turn around and go find Lawrence. He's my friend! I care about him! I can't just leave him behind!

They'd capture me as soon as I tried to get to him, The logical part of my mind says, and I want to scream because logic is correct, but that doesn't mean I want to listen to it.

But I do. Tearfully, I keep walking.

"I don't know how they keep finding you all. I've done every clever maneuver I can. It shouldn't be possible for them to get to you that quickly, and I-" Her voice breaks, and a sob escapes her lips. "I never wanted to do this job, Walker. I-I'm not-I don't know. I'm-I'm not a natural spy type, not military. I mean, I-I can do my job. I trained as a lawyer, and I've got a degree in maths. I'm-I'm-I'm good at what I do. I'm good at problem solving, quickly thinking, you know?

"I got invited to very nice tea at the house over in Oxford Don and... when she asked me if I loved my country, if I'd do everything I could to protect it, I said yes." She scoffs. "It's so stupid, isn't it? Everyone in the world wants to be some kind of ninja super-secret agent spy. Or they think they want to. They imagine they want to, but they don't know that it can be like this, sitting behind a desk seeing if you can keep people from dying."

My bottom lip trembles as tears leak from my eyes, but I don't let a single sound escape.

"Shall I tell you a secret?" She asks, but she doesn't give me time to answer. "This walk, this journey you're doing... You've met Lawrence and Emma. They're all carrying devices just like you are, and there are-well, you're not the only ones. But I already lost someone. I can't-I thought we could keep you all safe, but we really cannot!" She pauses, as if taking a moment to regain her composure. "There is a blizzard moving in, Walker. Keep going."

I keep moving, the cold seeming to have a much stronger bite than before. I wrap my arms around myself, my head down as thoughts beat against my brain like a drum. I try not to think about Lawrence too much, but it's hard.

He was one of the first few people I found I could trust out here, being another carrier. And he was kind and silly and I liked him... Probably a bit more than I should have for someone who's already admitted to having romantic feelings for another.

More hot tears manage to slip past my lashes and run down my face, but I don't let a single sound leave my lips, not even when it starts to snow and large white snowflakes land in my hair. I keep silent, walking for what feels like hours even though I'm sure it's no more than twenty minutes.

"So, I guess..." Charlie starts awkwardly. "mission literature tells me I should keep you company on this walk, because the others have each other. Stanton, Paul and Emma are walking together. They'll be okay. They're on a different path to you. Couldn't direct you together. And Lawrence... I don't know."

"Are you sure he's..." I start.

"I hope that maybe his coms have just failed for the moment. Maybe he'll be back online very soon."

"And you'll let me know if he comes back?" I ask hopefully.

"I will."

I let out a gentle breath. "Thank you."

"You are welcome. But you are by yourself right now, so I'm all yours, Walker. It's up to me to entertain you." She clicks her tongue. "The thing is I'm not really that entertaining. If Marianne, my sister, were here, it'd be a different story. She's just... well, we're sort of opposites. She always entertaining. Shall I tell her about her?"

"If you'd like."

She hums. "As you're walking along, the manual here tells me I have to keep talking to you, to keep your hope of surviving up." She stops abruptly, wincing. "Sorry. I don't know why I said that. I um, listen. I'm going to tell you about myself and about the project, and that'll lead into Marianna. You'll see why.

"Listen. It must be obvious to you that you're only hearing from me, right? Here we are, vast intelligence network, thousands of personnel and all you ever here is Charlie over and over again."

I step over a tree root that's been covered in snow. "Isn't that because you're my handler?"

"Well, yes, but that's not all of it. I don't know what you've been imagining. Maybe high-tech office with dozens of people around me, but no. The truth is-this attack, the Burn, it's paralyzed us. We don't work in the same building anymore, any of us. Haven't for years. Distributed network, harder to take down. Only if someone takes down the network, the way we talk to each other... suddenly you don't know what anyone's doing anymore. You just have your own job and you're doing it. Don't even know the real names of the people I work with and there's no way to contact them now.

"I'm in my flat in Geneva with a bank of screens in my spare room and a ton of takeout containers around me, trying to coordinate resistance against global terror." She sighs. "This could only be more ridiculous if I were in my footie pajamas. Well, sometimes I am in my footie pajamas.

"That blizzard is about to hit, Walker. It's going to be worse than I thought. Head for the tree line and try to get some shelter as you walk. And keep walking, please."

•

The snow is falling harder now, and the wind is blowing. It's biting, painfully hitting the skin of my face and whipping my hair around. But it's not loud enough that I can't hear Charlie.

"The truth is I'm lonely. It is lonely sitting for hours in front of screens even though you know you're doing you duty for the world and you're saving livings. The real truth is I've been lonely a lot longer than that. Not like Marianne." Charlie laughs, but it's empty. "I am going to tell you about her, because why shouldn't you know? Just make sure you keep walking.

"So um, me and Marianne-sister. My mum's Danish, my dad's from the UK. We went between the two when we were kids, hence the accent. And uh, it meant Marianne and I were thrown together more than normally, you know? Moving between worlds meant we only understood each other. I'm older, but only by a year. Our parents used to say that once they had one, they couldn't wait to have another. I think they got luckier the second time than the first.

"Marianne's always been sunny, you know what I mean? I was the boring one; the hardworking, play-by-the-rules one. She could always just cruise by with her charm, ever since she was little. I remember this one time, when I was about eight and she was seven. We both decided to steal a penny sweet from Woolworth. You remember Woolworth? Are they even around anymore?"

Fingers tapping on a keyboard fill my ears.

"Huh. The internet tells me they're online only. Hmm. Anyway, yes, Marianne and I both stole a toffee penny from Pick-and-Mix, and our mom saw, and I got punished, obviously. No sweets for a month and no pocket money. And Marianne-I mean, I get that she was younger, I do. But she would just do this look: eyelashes, little smile, big eyes when she said, 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean it.' And out parents did nothing to her. Nothing. That's always how it was.

"When we were teenagers, it was still the same. She was always the one who could get the boys by just smiling and saying a few words and you know... It's not like I haven't had any success. I have. But she's a different kind of success. I sometimes feel like she could make anyone do anything if she just asked them nicely enough." She laughs. "Now I sound like a bitter witch. But I really didn't... I didn't resent her. It was just how it was, and we were close. Really close. Best friends."

Something beeps in my earpiece, but I don't get to ask Charlie what the sound is before she's speaking again.

"Walker, um, I'm sorry about this. I think the Burn have set up a roadblock further down the track you're on. You're going to have to go off the path. I know you've been walking for a while now, and with the blizzard starting to hit it's getting darker quicker than it should, but I'm monitoring you. I've got your signals loud and clear. Please, just trust me. I'll bring you in."

I nod, venturing off. To be fair, with all the snow I didn't even know she had me on a path to begin with. I just thought I was lucky to only have one or two dips when walking and only have a few tree roots to worry about tripping over.

And I keep walking, my breath coming in short bursts as the cold gets colder and the winds get stronger. I don't want to breathe in too deeply because of the stabbing pains it sends to my lungs. I try not to focus on the cold, but it's hard as the minutes start to tick by and the only warmth I feel is my own blood running from my split lips and down my chin.

It's painful, but not near as painful as the cold gnawing at my bones and biting harshly at my nose and ears. I glance around every so often, watching to make sure there are no figures in the snow coming after me. Even if there were, I doubt I'd be able to make a run for it.

It's taking everything in me to keep walking at this pace. I'm unsure where this sudden exhaustion came from, but it's coming fast.

"You're doing well, Walker," Charlie says, and I blink. When was the last time she talked? Has it only been a few minutes, or has it been longer? "I know it's cold and you're slowing down, but please keep moving. Please, please keep moving. I'm going to tell you the rest of my story. You've got to think on something, right? And what could be jollier than this story of me and my sister having a massive row?" She forces a laugh. "Which is basically what happened.

"I suppose it had been brewing for a long time. She thought I was judging her for like, not going to university, which I'd never judge her for! But I did think she was taking too much from our parents, that it was time for the two of us to look after ourselves. But she still kept asking them for stuff. And then I thought she was judging me for... like she always said, not having any fun. And maybe she wasn't, and maybe I was trying to control her for a bit..."

I keep my eyes on my feet, trying to focus on my steps and keep my eyes from closing.

I'm so tired.

"Anyway, it was one of those blow-up rows that people have when they're too close. I said some stuff I shouldn't have said. I think I said I never wanted to see her again, but I didn't mean it! I didn't! She stormed off. She said I'd see what she can do, that she didn't need to be stuck up like me to do amazing stuff, and you don't! I know you don't.

"Maybe it would have helped if I could have said something about my job other than, 'I'm a boring civil servant.' She would have thought spy master would have been quite cool. She would have been impressed if I'd told her about all the lives we saved, people who didn't even know they were in danger. Just going about their daily lives one day, then limbs and blood everywhere the next. Except that never happened because we stopped it.

"I don't know. Maybe it wouldn't have helped. I think she'd been looking for that argument for years. Like she knew she could make it happen when she needed it to. They never leave you alone, brothers and sisters. You grew up with them. It's like they're part of you and you're part of them. Even if you hate them, you can't forget them."

I cough on the taste of more blood on my tongue as my eyes water and my nose runs. Charlie doesn't notice.

"Anyway, it started out as an argument about borrowing money from my dad and ended up about all the things we thought the other disapproved of, and then none of us heard from her in a while." She gasps when I have a hard time taking another step. "Walker, don't stop. Please don't stop. I'm-I'm monitoring your vital signs. You're dipping closer to hypothermia. You have to keep moving. Please! I can't lose another of you."

I try to, but each step is beginning to feel like agony. The wind keeps picking up, the snow falling heavier and heavier. My fingers are getting stiff even with my gloves, and the cold seems to go straight into my bones. My tears have started to freeze onto my face, pulling and sticking to my skin in a horridly painful way.

"O-One step at a time," I whisper to myself, even though my mind is saying something else completely.

It hurts.

"One f-foot in f-front of the other."

I want to stop.

"Keep moving."

I'm so tired.

"Just keep going."

I want to rest.

There's blood in the snow. Lots of blood.

If I had the strength, I would screamed. Instead, I just stand there, bloody mouth open in horror.

"Walker, what are you doing?" Charlie asks urgently. "You have to keep moving."

"T-there's blood. It's everywhere."

On the trees, in the snow, on my hands, the buildings.

I see who they belong to. Dead bodies litter the ground, all of them wide eyed, their weapons laying at the sides.

"Walker, there's nothing there!" Charlie shouts, but her voice sounds so far away. "Snap out of it! I think you're hallucinating."

I stumble back, away from the bodies, and I trip, falling into the dirt. Gunshots sound off in my ears, and I sob.

"Oh, it is you."

My eyes snap open, and I look up at the annoyed woman looking down at me. Her blonde hair contrasts the bleak gray sky, her calm voice contrasting the sound of gunshots that echo everywhere.

"Fiona?"

She scoffs. "I knew it was. Thick of the action, life or death situation. That's where you always are, isn't it? Some of the others used to call you a trouble magnet and yeah, I guess you are. Budapest, remember that? Lots of ammo expended, lots of cooling corpses." She gestures to the dead bodies all around. "And not much to show for it. Surprised your carrier survived, to be honest."

"Walker, listen to me. You have to get up and keep moving or you're going to freeze to death!" Charlie shouts, but I just keep looking up at Fiona.

I shake my head at her. "No, you've-you've got the wrong person. I'm not-"

"It would have been the death for any amateur agent, but you were too valuable to the service to chunk off for a scrap heap. Of course, not everyone was so lucky, were they? David Johnson never walked again. Did you know that? But how could you? He said you never visited him afterwards, not once."

I hear screaming.

"Oh, God," Charlie mutters, and Fiona grabs my chin.

"Even though what happened was all your fault."

"It's all my fault. I can't get you to keep walking. Walker, can you hear me? Your heartrate is slowing."

"You've never been slow to resort to violence, have you? Not too concerned about collateral damage. You're a 'means justifying the ends' kind of person, and I guess that's what makes you so useful."

There's more screaming, and I shake my head, telling myself this isn't real. Fiona simply laughs.

"Oh, but it is, Evangeline. This isn't one of your dreams where you're a different person with a different name and different life. This was who you were-who you are. You just can't remember it."

I shake my head. "No. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to happen! I'm sorry!"

She tips her head to the side. "Still, those of us who didn't make it, all of us ghosts, we hope you remember the wages of sin is death."

"You're going to freeze to death if you don't listen to me, Walker!" Charlie screams, and suddenly Fiona is gone, as are the bodies, and the blood and the buildings. I push myself up. "Are you... are you back with me?"

"Y-yes," I murmur, pushing myself to take a step forward, and then another.

"Oh, thank God! I thought I lost you there. I don't know what you were seeing, but you kept saying 'I'm sorry.' Funny really. I'm the one who got you lost. Not sure what you've got apologize for."

I blink as I keep moving. I'm not entirely sure either.

•

"Okay, that's good," She sighs in relief. "Your body temperature's not dropping any further right now. And you're almost to safety..."

She waits for me to say something, but I don't. I'm shivering harshly and using every bit of my energy to keep moving. I can't waste energy talking, so she continues on.

"You've probably guessed how my story ends, right? Marianne-well, we didn't hear from her for a while, and when we did... she sent us these weird messages about her new friends, her new ideas... She joined New Tomorrow. Started sending me stuff about how computers were going to end up controlling us all. Crazy stuff! Insane. I'd actually thought she'd gone mad.

"For a while I thought she was doing it to deliberately undermine me because of what I do, and maybe she found that out somehow and was striving to get my security clearance revoked. But I don't think that's it. New Tomorrow is one thing, but... we think she's joined the Burn now. They are... no one knows what they want, except that they're very, very well-organized. Tightly controlled. They've used the terrorists as a cover, but they're not terrorists. When New Tomorrow goes in and destroys data, the Burn are there to steal the most valuable stuff before the rest goes up in smoke. They're compiling dossiers, getting powerful people on their side, and they're well-funded.

"We thought we'd identified some key players and had data on them, but then they fried all our coms systems. Those devices you're carrying, they do quite a few things, but most importantly all the intel we have left on the Burn is on there. With luck, it'll be enough to destroy them. That's why I'm on this job, because my sister's with the Burn. She might even be kind of important there, in that way she has of getting to the top with charm. And someone here thinks this gives us an advantage because maybe I can think like her... I've seen her picture in some of the briefing files about the Burn. She's... she's not just a foot soldier, and I'm afraid she's gone crazy."

I don't say anything, instead forcing myself to keep walking as the wind dies down the slightest bit. The bite of it is less sharp, but it still hurts, and I pray the dark shape ahead is a cabin and not an illusion or hallucination.

"I'm afraid that one day, one of you will come against her and you'll have to kill her. I'm just so afraid, Walker. But you're doing so well. Just one foot, other foot. One for, other foot. You're nearly there. Can you see the cabin?"

I almost cry when she asks, affirming that it is real.

My hand reaches out and grabs the handle of the door, and I yank it open. I practically collapse inside, using my arm to close the door before I crawl towards the tiny fireplace. I can hear Charlie muttering "Thank you" over and over again.

"There should also be cans of food in here too," She tells me as I toss a few pieces of wood into the fireplace and then light a match. "And this feels weird, but thank you for staying alive. And thank you for listening to all that."

A/N: Here you go, guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please be sure to vote and comment! Thank you and have a blessed day!