• The snow fell softly from the sky, lightly coating the ground in all its majesty, the tree branches hung heavy from the night before. The morning sun peaked out, just barely looking over the Vermont Mountains. Nestled cozy in the side was a small little house, maybe a bed and breakfast, maybe a winter getaway for celebrities, none of it mattered now. The only thing, in this little valley, that mattered was that the fire didn’t go out. He needed the warmth that was radiating from it, keeping him alive.

    The wind was started to build, he could hear the old house creek and moan in protest. He chanced a peek out of the nearest window, ad the only thing visible was a cloud of snow, and it looked like a snow tornado. He knew that there was no way that he’ll be able to make it home within the night, and this terrified that his wife would be all alone. He knew that she could be just as he was right now, in a different house, hopefully not for off. She was pregnant, and shouldn’t even be here, not at his time of year. She should be with her parents, in Montana, the Safe Zone.

    He curled up into a ball, soft and warm, right next to the fire, he listened to the wind shake the house, but he knew he’d be safe. He thought about his wife, and the happy times they will have once the children are born and it is warm outside. He thought about moving to somewhere warm most of the year, like California. His eyes fluttered to a close, and his heartbeat slowed, he was finally asleep, his worries would have to wait until morning.

    THUD!

    He jumped up, violently awoken from his deep sleep, and moved to inspect where the thunderous noise had come from. He stepped outside; the wind had died down, and he noticed it was just a broken branch. He sighed; pleased it had not been anything more serious. He jogged over to the nearest tree, sniffing around, trying to see if anyone had been there recently. Unfortunately the fresh snow covered up all scents.

    He, burdened by sadness, padded back into the house, unaware of the red eyes watching him from the woods. He knew he needed to get to his wife, but the lack of knowledge of her whereabouts hindered that. He stopped just short of the door, deciding that instead of sulking in the house to try and find her. He stepped back onto the snow, slowly judging his whereabouts.

    He looked around, the tree branches omniously hanging over him. They were tall, huge, and obvious very Vermont. He decided to head north, the way he had come, hoping that maybe his wife had stayed in the general direction. He padded of into the trees, as those glowing red eyes assesed what he was doing.