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CHAPTER 10

Eldora Resort, West of Denver, Colorado

1053 Hours, August 21** st ***, 2052*

Romulus galumphed to his small hiding-hole under the couch as he heard footsteps coming from down the hallway, barely squirming under the low piece of furniture. He crawled forwards on his stomach, his slightly chubby body wriggling as he moved. He peeked his head out from under the edge of the couch just enough so that he could look around. Romulus's small blue eyes scanned the room, looking for Sasha's tail, his own swishing in anticipation. He pulled his head back under as he caught sight of a pair of black-clawed feet thudding in his direction.

He waited for a few seconds as the feet stopped in front of the couch. The groan of couch springs and the sudden lowering of the surface above his head alerted him to the fact that she had sat down. Her feet disappeared a moment later and the protruding lump above him retracted and spread out more evenly. Apparently, she had sprawled out on the couch.

Romulus was slightly saddened at this; if she was laying down, her tail would most likely be on the couch with her. His ears perked up as he caught a familiar sound and his head turned to see if what he had heard could be confirmed. Indeed it could! At the other end of the couch, dangling down from above was his target, the tip twitched invitingly, and Romulus writhed about until he was facing it head-on. He waited a few tense seconds before making a clumsy charge at it.

It was surprisingly hard to do given the fact that he couldn't quite stand all the way up underneath the piece of furniture. As a result, it was little more than a tumbling crawl. Nevertheless, he was determined to catch his 'prey' and closed the distance rather quickly despite the restricting impediment.

He exploded out from underneath his safe haven and lunged at his fluffy white target. Then, at the last second, it was swished skywards and he was robbed of his opportunity. He was left skidding to a hurried halt out in the open, dazed and confused. Then, a pair of gentle hands took hold of his small midriff and hoisted him upwards.

"Huh," thought Sasha aloud, "I guess those fishing lessons are for more than just fish." She dropped him on her stomach where he padded around for a few disoriented moments before realizing he had been had and letting out a small snort of disappointment. "Hey, I can't let you get it every time." cooed Sasha, "then you wouldn't learn how to do things for yourself."

Romulus pawed about on her stomach, turning every which way and making a nuisance of himself, until he decided that there were worse places to be. He then proceeded to make a small ball on her chest, his breath slowing and nose slightly hissing as air passed through it. His eyes closed and for a moment he was the perfect picture of serenity. Just when Sasha thought that he was done moving around and about to take a small rest, he stretched out completely with his limbs pushed to their limits. Though he wasn't that large yet, his forelegs still came to a rest under her chin and she pulled her head back and gently pushed the wolf's legs downwards. "Hey," she chuckled, "paws off the merchandise." He opened his right eye and looked up at her as if hurt. Slowly the eye closed again as the small animal fell into a restful slumber.

Sasha watched him for a moment before she realized that she was trapped until Romulus woke up again. She didn't want to wake him up and have him chasing her tail around again. He had gotten a little overzealous last time and had bitten down on it about halfway along its length. Small though he was, it had still stung. She was just happy that his teeth hadn't fully grown in yet. Sasha couldn't help but think that he had somehow planned this.

Sasha soon found her own eyes beginning to flutter shut. It had been an odd night last night. She had been woken in the middle of the night by Owen, who had claimed he had needed some fresh air. Not thinking much of it, she had gone back to sleep. When she had woke in the morning, Sasha had noticed that he was still missing from the bed. Intrigued and a bit worried, she had set out to try and find him. When she had finally found where he had gone, it was outside to the front porch of the house. According to him it was a nightmare that had plagued him for the last few years, but she knew that it was far more than that. She had silently vowed that she would never ask him and planned to hold to the oath. Some things were better left where they lie. If he wanted her to know, he would tell her when he thought the time was right.

Just as she was about to join Romulus in slumber, the door flung wide open in a flurry of activity and a burst of cold air. The other three entered with a clamour, talking among themselves quickly and rather loudly for her current taste. "What's the big idea?" she groaned as Romulus stood bolt upright in an instant and more fell than leapt to the floor. He waddled slowly over to the others and began sniffing about their shoes pant legs, he himself wondering what was happening.

"We have a way out of here." declared Owen proudly. That made her wake up fast. Her eyes suddenly felt far lighter than they had been but a few seconds ago.

"What? Really?" she asked. She doubted that he would outwardly tease her in this fashion, but she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Yeah," said her sister as she started in the direction of the armour power packs, "we have a way of contacting our forces in Denver and calling for an evacuation."

"That's great news!" exclaimed Sasha, her hopes rising.

"Yeah," shrugged John dismissively, "if you count leaving a mountain paradise to go back to a war 'good news'."

"You could stay." said Owen from behind him.

"And try to live out here in the middle of nowhere with a Humanist army patrolling the area and the only food what I can hunt or scavenge?" he snorted, "No thanks, as much as I hate looking at your ugly mug, it's not nearly as bad as looking down the barrel of a rifle."

"Glad to hear it." said Owen as he unplugged his suit's battery and wound the cord into tight dense loop.

"We're going armoured?" asked Sasha, privately loathing the idea of having to climb into her own armour. Unlike her sister who had taken to it with the aptitude of a veteran, Sasha was far less comfortable in it. She could operate it well enough and Owen had insisted that she was a natural in it, but Sasha found that the plates and faux-muscle bundles were far too confining for her liking. Warren had suggested, on one of the rare occasions that they had talked, that maybe she was claustrophobic. Despite dismissing the coyote fur's idea with a mild laugh, she now thought that maybe he was right. It would certainly explain the dread she was feeling now.

"Well, unless you want to climb uphill for a few kilometres without assistance, yes. We have a lot of gear to carry." responded Owen as he grabbed his helmet from the table where he had been fooling around with its inner systems earlier that day.

"Wait, how far is our destination?" she asked, knowing that she wouldn't like the answer

"Three kilometres, give or take a few hundred metres. The radio station is at the top of the longest run near an outbuilding."

"That's not too bad. A vehicle would be nice though."

"Tell me about it." huffed John as he took off towards his room to get into his armour.

"We should probably take anything we want with us." said Owen. "I don't think we'll be coming back here."

"On it, boss." chirped Lily happily as she grabbed a rucksack from a closet and began going through the cupboards for food and miscellaneous supplies. Owen stopped her as she started chucking cans into the bag without ceremony.

"Rations will do." he said, "Why carry needless weight?"

"Because unlike rations," riposted Lily, "this is food."

Sasha watched as he seemed to consider that for a moment. "Fine," he said at last, "but only bring enough for three days. If it takes longer than that we'll come back for more supplies."

"Roger that." smiled Lily as she once more set about packing. Sasha found herself pleased with the prospect of having some decent food for later. In many ways the rations were better than what she used to eat when she had still been owned, but she had since developed somewhat of what Marcus jokingly referred to as 'a finer palette'. Owen sighed, throwing a wink in Sasha's direction. Sasha grinned knowingly at him in return and he left to get about getting his armour in order. She knew that he would be grateful for the good food as well, but he was playing the part of the judicious leader.

Sasha stood up and stretched languorously, relishing the several pops that her movement generated. Lily looked over her shoulder from where she crouched in font of the lower cupboards. "Have any idea for carrying the mutt?" Almost on cue, Romulus looked up from his inspection of John's discarded shoes and came trotting over to see what Sasha's sister was up to. He poked his nose into the slowly-filling bag before finding his way into the cupboard which he then decided to lie down inside of.

"No idea." answered Sasha truthfully as she unplugged the battery pack with her given serial number painted on it in small white block characters. It had a full charge and a green telltale shone dully from a series of indicators on the uppermost part of the cell. She hefted the deceptively heavy battery in one arm and grabbed the cord almost as an afterthought. She would get her backup later, she decided. "We could just carry him."

"I don't think he'd like that very much." said Lily as she pulled Romulus out of the cupboard by the scruff of his neck. His legs pawed the air for a second before she let him down on the tile floor of the kitchen. Romulus shook himself out and loped about the bag once more, his nose working furiously and his ears raised attentively for any sign of trickery. He jumped as Lily threw a package of granola bars into the rucksack. He then sprung in after the package, causing the entire bag to spill over and discharge the vast majority of its contents, including the wolf pup who rolled away clumsily, the package clenched neatly in his small jaws.

"Hey!" cried Lily as she heard the ruckus and turned to see her progress dismantled, "Bad dog!" Romulus just looked at her over the the now open box two feet away from where she sat. He crouched down low on his haunches with his rear end up in the air and tail wagging furiously behind him. He let out a small teasing bark, knowing full well that he was pushing almost all of Lily's 'piss off' buttons. Lily flinched at the sound and gathered up some of the rock-solid bars from where they had fallen and stuffed them into a pocket on the front of the bag. She huffed angrily and avoided looking in the wolf's direction. In a fashion almost remorseful, Romulus snatched up one of the spilled granola bars and sauntered over to the fur, eventually dumping the bar into her lap. Lily huffed again and sent him on his way with a small nudge in Sasha's direction. He moved off with his tail tucked between his legs and head hanging low.

"Aww..." sighed Sasha as she witnessed the small spectacle, "He just wanted to play." She flicked her tail slightly to catch the small pup's attention. "Come here little guy." The animal's mood changed drastically as he was given attention, Sasha bending down to lather him with it. He started panting slightly as she ruffled the area behind his ears, a spot that she knew from experience was perfect for brightening a day.

"Well," snorted Lily as she re-packed the items that had been spilled, "his idea of playing is nothing like mine."

Sasha laughed at that. Her head filled with the many occasions in which Lily had inadvertently screwed something up without realizing it. The image of her striding proudly into the home and showing off her new flower accessories, courtesy of the neighbour's pond, came to mind. It was the same incident that had led to her being called Lily, both unofficially then and more concretely now. "Are you so sure about that?"

"Well..." she frowned, "at least not any more." Romulus smiled stupidly over at Lily, Sasha still petting him slowly, almost to show off. He let out a low shallow breath of delight and sneezed lightly. He lay down, rolling over onto his back for a belly rub. Sasha obliged and one of Romulus's legs twitched involuntarily. Lily shook her head and threw a flashlight into a side pocket of the bag.

"You know..." said Sasha, her mouth spreading into a thoughtful grin, "I think I may have an idea..."

**

Eldora Resort, West of Denver, Colorado

1153 Hours, August 21** st ***, 2052*

Romulus grinned lazily out at the world stretched out on the canvas of the surrounding mountains, his every sense being stimulated. The trees blew in the wind, the breeze ruffling his fur and carrying a multitude of scents the likes of which he had never before smelled. A bird fluttered by calling its sweet song, and his head snapped around to track it like an anti aircraft battery tracking a hostile fighter jet. The bird disappeared into a small cluster of trees off to the right of the partially grown-in trail. He could almost taste the sweetness of the mountain flowers as several dandelion seeds drifted through the air, stirred up by the movement of the rest of the entourage as they slowly climbed up the ski hill.

"Lucky little bastard..." said John dryly as Romulus turned to look at him. Romulus gave a yip of contentedness as a way of reply and disappeared into the backpack he was being carried around in, only to reemerge a second later and give another happy yelp.

The group had been climbing and trudging forward for almost two hours, breaks included, making it to the crest of one of the two trail-crowded ridges before having to cross to the other, more distant, one. They were spread out in a scattered, single-file, line that wound its way around the occasional rock or bunch of saplings under Owen's leadership. Not that they really needed it; the way up the slope was marked out quite well with signs denoting the current route facing up the hill, a way of navigation for the crowds of slope-lovers that would fill the place up in the ski season as they made their way down. They were all in their armour and lugging a backpack, weapons slung across shoulders, and it was on Owen's back that the little wolf cub found himself on.

"There it is!" said Owen merrily as they came up to a level partition of the incline around a wall of pine trees that turned out to be the top of the second hill. "Right where the diagram said it would be." He had his helmet clipped to his belt and wore a smile that could be seen from orbit. The others gathered around him, Romulus struggling to twirl about in the backpack to see what the hold-up was. He couldn't quite turn around enough to see the building, or rather, buildings that were huddled together on the slope in a fashion similar to cattle bunching together for warmth.

Before the four Expeditors was a large chalet similar in both form and function to the one below. It was composed of logs and stone, the majority of the walls taken up by large insulated windows that looked out to the ski runs and hugged by a deck that was a good few feet above he ground at its highest point. Directly in front of it were several rows of ski racks that were beginning to lose their colour, the paint beginning to chip and fall off, forming a hedgerow of wooden hurdles. A few maintenance sheds budded up out of the waist-high grasses to crowd the area on the far side of the building, none no larger than a single room and more than likely used for storage. Not many had any windows, probably to keep would-be thieves from breaking in easily. A ski patrol station was closest to the group, a large and faded red cross sign painted onto the wooden planking that made up its walls. Locks were present on all the doors, but they had anticipated as much and had packed equipment to deal with it.

Their destination could be seen up the hill a little bit more, closer to the peak of the incline. A large radio antennae festooned with reception dishes sprouted from its shingled roof. A single mesh lined window dominated the siding-shod wall nearest them and a wooden deck ran around the back to what could only be the door. Owen started towards it immediately. "Now let's see if we came all the way up here for nothing..."

"I'll get the door to the chalet open." suggested Lily, who was also helmet-less, as she gestured for John to follow. He sighed and headed off towards the main doors of the building with her, unlimbering the hefty bolt cutters from his pack and brandishing them halfheartedly, leaving Sasha alone on in the open.

She ran a thumb under a strap of her pack and shuffled the weight a bit before heading off to follow Owen. Her armour whirred slightly as she walked and she could feel the barest hint of her 'claustrophobia' huddling in the back of her mind. Sasha suppressed it, forcing it down into the less-noticed parts of her mind, by running a gloved hand through the grass. She found herself soon looking out at the mountains around her from her heightened vantage point and realizing just how beautiful it was. A far cry from those desolate buildings and bombed-out streets of Denver.

She could make out the buildings of the resort below, the now obviously man-made lake sparkling in the afternoon sunlight that had finally managed to fight off the clouds that had mobbed it before. She could also see the distant line of a highway snaking around the hills, though not a single vehicle travelled its length. It made her feel very lonely. Letting out a sigh, Sasha soon found herself at the base of the stairs that led up to the radio station's open door. A scraped and bent lock showed that Owen had needed to resort to his packed crowbar to smash it asunder.

The man himself was inside, pouring over several inactive machines that dominated the far wall. He was muttering to himself and his helmet was placed on its side with the rear panel removed and several wires showing. Owen was fiddling around with a different bunch of wires that protruded from an input jack near one of the display readouts. Romulus sat, quietly for once, to one side near to Owen's requisitioned hunting rifle and watched him work with a stare that said he was not as enraptured with Owen's work as he was. Owen looked up from his task as he heard a floorboard squeal and saw Sasha framed in the doorway.

"Is it going to work?" she asked, hoping that she would like the answer. To her great relief, her 'mate' nodded.

"Yeah," he said. The look he gave her said there was more to it than that, though.

"Why do I have a feeling that the next word out of your mouth will be 'but'?" she asked, cursing her earlier relief. He shrugged.

"But, I don't have the right material to rig this thing to friendly channels. I thought that I would be able to use my helmet as an encoder, but that has proven impossible; there is no way for its type of input. Ergo, this console can't encrypt anything, so we are going to have to broadcast on a wide band instead." Sasha took from his look of worry that crinkled his brow that 'wide band' was far from ideal.

"So what?" asked Sasha even as it dawned on her.

"It means, " he sighed as he slipped the panel back into place, "that when we do broadcast our signal, it won't just be our friends who hear it."

**

John clamped the lock cutters together and the padlock that hung from a chain on the double doors snapped and fell to the ground, followed swiftly by the chain itself.

"After you." gestured Lily from beside him. She had her SCAR out and ready, Owen's tale of the wolves in the first chalet having made her decide to get be ready for everything despite the fact that they had seen nothing through the window. John plucked a pistol, kindly donated by Lily when they had decided to spread the armaments, from its holster at his hip and clicking off the safety.

"Ladies first." he said, his grin hidden from Lily by his helmet's visor.

"Pussy," she huffed as she pressed open one of the doors with one hand and headed inside. He followed her a split second later, pistol up and ready. It really didn't need to be, he realized as they entered into a vast, high, vaulted room filled with an abundance of tables and chairs, all of which layered with the faintest layer of dust. Large, lacquered wooden pillars rose at set intervals to join a network of trusses and beams that helped to hold the roof up above them. Off to their left was what appeared to be a set of swinging doors that invariably led to a kitchen tucked into the wall behind a large and rustic dining counter devoid of any patrons; human or otherwise. Sunlight found its way through the many windows that lined the front of the building and filled the space with more than enough light. When it went down, John saw that light would be provided by a series of chandeliers composed almost entirely out of antlers. All in all, it was pretty impressive.

"Nice place." he nodded as they took a few steps inside and the door closed behind them. "Now I wish that I knew how to ski."

"You?" asked Lily with a chuff of amusement, "Having fun? Somehow, I just can't picture that."

"Oh, and you're any better?" John asked mockingly. The way up the hill for him had been mostly either being jealous of Romulus or spent in a battle of wits with Lily. It had gotten to the point where Owen and Sasha had to turn around and shout at them to shut up before they had to kick them back down the hill. Now that they were away from them temporarily, it was inevitable that it would start up again.

"Yeah." she laughed, "Unlike you, I don't have a stick worming its way up my ass."

"Be careful," he warned in his most intimidating voice that had, admittedly, sounded better in his head, "Or I'll pull it out and use it to beat you to death."

The duo put a little more space between them and searched further into the building, working their way back towards the bar. Thanks to their helmet mics, the verbal sparring match continued.

"I'd like to see you try, Ferris." she retorted as she swept around a low privacy wall. "I could take you with one arm cut off and the other tied behind my back."

"Oooh," said John as he reached the bar and checked behind it to find that there was nothing there, "Why am I not scared?"

"Because dead men feel nothing." she hissed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Not even pity. Bar is clear." he laughed coyly.

"Nothing here," she said. "Not a single sign of intelligent life in the place other than me."

"Hey!" he smirked, "I represent that remark." He heard her laugh a bit over the comm channel as she sidled up next to him in front of the door.

"Atrocity before beauty." she sniggered as she readied the assault rifle, her armour whirring as she clenched her fingers around it. John didn't move, leading to a few awkward moments standing in front of the swinging door.

"Well," he said, "aren't you going to go in?"

"Hardy har har..." she laughed sarcastically as she cuffed him on he back of the helmet. She pressed against the door and once more took the lead. "You ever going to be taking the lead here?"

"Not if I can help it." he shrugged. "People near the rear tend to live longer."

"He who leads from the rear, takes it in the rear." she chuckled.

"You are far too dumb to have made that up." he commented jokingly as they once again split up to search the kitchen, John heading left around to the open walk-in freezer and Lily looping around to another storage room. "What's it from?"

"An old movie that Owen showed me once. Not very realistic, but it was still entertaining to watch."

"Is that the same one with 'Guns don't kill people. But they sure help.'?" he asked, thinking that he may have seen it due to an old friend's interest in classic, or at least old, movies.

"Hmm..." she thought. "I think so. Clear." They both met up in front of a large grill and removed their helmets. John set his down on the metal grill while Lily held hers in her previously empty left hand.

"Well." he said.

"Well what?" she asked as she flicked an errant strand of white hair away from her eyes with a flip of her head.

"Well," he stated, "Now we have something in common. We both watched the same movie."

"Somehow," she sighed, "I don't think that means that we are friends yet."

"Good. The day I'm considered your friend," he laughed, "is the day that hell freezes over. And we don't want you to be cold when you get there, do we?"

"John?" she ventured.

"Mm?"

"Shut up."