Three weeks had passed since Shawn and Olivia moved in together. Winter was in full swing now. The Walkers were frozen solid, the snow was piling up, the days grew colder, and the nights grew longer. Their life together was simple but pleasant. Days were spent working to build up a store of gear and food. Olivia had found a food dehydrator and she started making jerky of whatever she and Shawn could catch. Fish, deer, wild pigs, rabbits. Earlier on they had visited some libraries in order to find maps of Canada and the US to help them on their journey. They also took a few books on survival tips and other subjects that would help them, as well as some novels to enjoy. When not working they would relax and enjoy each others company. They talked about their plans for the future, about their pasts, about the now. They'd sit and read together, had meals together, even played in the snow sometimes. Olivia recalled a snowball fight when she had managed to peg Shawn square in the face. He had chased after her, shouting that he would get his revenge, and when he caught her he shoved a handful of snow into her face. It was cold and fun, and afterwards they went home, curled up with a blanket, and had some hot tea. Olivia had fallen asleep with her head on Shawn's shoulder that night, worn out as she was by their winter fun. Shawn had become an irreplaceable part of Olivia's life. She could no longer imagine what it would be like without him around. Every day their trust grew deeper and her love for him grew stronger.

"I'm going out," Olivia called to Shawn as she pulled her knit hat onto her head and over her ears. "I'll be back as soon as I can, and before I get out of radio range I'll key in. I love you." So saying Olivia wrapped her arms around Shawn's shoulders and gave him a kiss. Then she gathered up her gear and head out. She was headed off to Central Park to do some more hunting.

The city was quiet except for the sounds of Olivia's feet crunching on the new snow that had fallen last night. Already more of the delicate ice crystals were beginning to pile up as she sky let loose its burden. Her breath formed a cloud in front of her face as she breathed out, and the icy wind turned her cheeks red. Olivia tugged on her scarf with one gloved hand to pull it farther up her face. It was cold, and yet it didn't seep into Olivia's bones as the cold back home in Mississippi had always done. Probably because it wasn't so humid. When Olivia neared the point where her radio would no longer be able to reach Shawn's, she stopped to call in. "Alright, love," she said cheerfully over the radio. "I'm about to go out of range. I love you and I'll check in when I get back in range. See you when I get home." She listened for his response, and once they had said their goodbyes she switched off the handset. Olivia pushed farther into the city.

Central Park had become a graveyard of trees. No greenery remained, with the exception of a few perennial pines. The pond was frozen over and buried beneath a layer of snow. Benches and lamp posts served as markers, drawing an invisible line that Olivia did not dare to cross unless she should wander onto the pond only to fall through if the ice was too thin to hold her. Instead she stayed toward the tree line. That was where she needed to be anyway to get the animals. She had laid out several traps in the previous week and she was going about checking them now. If her traps had failed then she would see if she could catch something the old fashioned way--by tracking it down herself. The first three traps were empty with no tracks left in the snow. The fourth one, however... The noose was empty, but the trap [i]had[/i] been snapped and there were rabbit tracks in the snow. What really worried Olivia was the fact that there were [i]human[/i] footprints there too. At least three pairs at that. It was clear that it was human as it couldn't be Walkers for numerous reasons.

Someone had found one of her traps and they had taken her kill. Who was to say that there weren't more of her traps where she had caught animals, only to have them stolen. It was a dog-eat-dog world now, but Olivia was still pissed off that someone was taking her and Shawn's food. At the same time she realized that she and Shawn were no longer alone in New York. They hadn't seen anyone else these past three weeks, but now here were some signs of human life. They were going to have to be extra careful from now on. In fact, Olivia thought it would be wise to leave now and get back home to tell Shawn about what she had discovered. There could be people nearby at this very moment. She made to stand up from where she had been kneeling in the snow to inspect her trap. That was when Olivia heard the click of a gun's hammer being pulled back. The sound was close in her ear. She could feel the barrel of the gun poking into the back of her head through the padding of her jacket hood.

"Lay your weapons down," a voice commanded. Adult male. At least in his thirties. She looked out of the corner of her eyes. There were two more on either side within her peripheral vision. One had an ax, the other a knife. That was all they seemed to have.

"[i]Now[/i]," the man barked when Olivia failed to comply immediately. Slowly she set down her bow and arrows, gun, and bowie knife. "Put your hands behind your head and stand up slowly." Her heart was beating fast, but not in fear. She knew what she had to do.

Quickly Olivia dodged backwards, slipping past the gun to grab hold of the man's arm and yank him forward and off balance. As soon as he began to fall she pulled a knife from her boot--one that she kept hidden and never kept sheathed. She leaped up, swinging the knife as she went, using her momentum to drive it into her attacker's skull. He was dead before he hit the snow. The other two leaped after Olivia, but even as she had killed the gunman she had taken his pistol. Once, twice she shot, sending a bullet boring into each man's head. Then they too fell dead into the snow. They would never arise as Walkers, their brains destroyed either by bullet or blade. Olivia felt no remorse for killing these men. She had seen the look in their eyes. They had known she was a woman and had had plans for her. Well, their plans would do them no good now.

Olivia pat down the bodies of the three men she had just killed and took anything of use they had. The gun, ax, and knife all went into her belt. She took the extra ammo the gunman had, grabbed the lighters and matches they had with them, and took back her rabbit that hat yet to be torn into. Olivia left them there, not caring to dispose of their bodies. She needed to get home and fast. However, she took the time to remain hidden and forced herself to take longer, winding routes on her trek back to the docks. If anyone else had seen her in the park she didn't want to give them an easy time to track her down. As soon as she was in range, Olivia radioed in to Shawn. "There were some complications. I'm coming home now," she muttered into the radio. "Going dark for the moment." Then she shut the handset off again. Soon, however, she was home.

"I'm back," she called out as she pushed her way through the door. Olivia closed it behind her, set her bow against the wall, shrugged off all her gear, and started to take off her jacket that now had fresh blood spatters all over it. Her expression was blank, but there was a bit of a hard look in her eyes. She had been like that the entire way home. However, when Olivia saw Shawn her entire disposition changed. She finally allowed herself to feel the fear that had tried to creep into her mind when she had been cornered by those men and thought her worst nightmares might be repeated. Wasting no time at all, Olivia let her jacket fall to the floor and she ran to Shawn. She threw her arms around his shoulders and pressed her face into his chest as her body trembled against his. Olivia wasn't crying. Not yet. But she was close.