Nothing. That’s what I was going to do. I was going to keep on bloody marching until I reached JD and the others. Once he was with us, nothing could happen. I just had to hold out until then. A day or so. I could do that, right?

I wasn’t sure. God, what’s wrong with me? I was guiltily aware that some women had fallen for me, however much I’d tried to stop that happening, but I’d never come close to falling for someone. Not until Erin.

My steps were getting slower. I was getting tired, which meant that poor Erin, with her shorter legs, was probably exhausted. I glanced over my shoulder. Maybe we should—

She wasn’t there.

I froze, staring into the blank whiteness. No. No, it’s okay. She just fell behind a little. Any second, she’d step out of the snow and everything would be fine.

But she didn’t.

Oh God. I’d never felt fear like it. I’ve lost her!

I’d been pushing my feelings down deep, trying to keep up that tough, cocky, exterior. Now it was like I’d been split open with an ax. “Erin!” I shouted, terrified. “Erin!”

I listened. Was that a voice? I stripped the bandages from my ears because fuck frostbite, I had to find her. But between the howling wind and the echoes from the hills around us, I couldn’t be sure I was hearing anything, and there was no hope of figuring out a direction. I tried to retrace my steps but my footprints were gone. I’ll never find her!

This was all my fault. How long had I marched on, not talking to her or even looking at her, because I was trying to hide how I felt? I thought of her lost and alone, gradually succumbing to cold and exhaustion. She’d collapse and the falling snow would cover her in minutes as her heart slowed and finally stopped.

No! I staggered through the snow, frantic. “Erin! ERIN!” But there was nothing, just the howling blizzard in every direction. My heart was hammering, my breath coming in big, panicked gulps. “ERIN!”

Then something swept across my vision, a green glow. It took me a moment to figure out what I was looking at: her laser pointer. It didn’t look much like a beam of light, in the blizzard: the snow made it fade and spread until it was a thick wedge. But I could see where it was coming from and that was all that mattered. I started forward—

The light disappeared and I stumbled to a stop. I realized she must be rotating on the spot like a lighthouse. I could only see it when she was facing me. It came round again and I ran, not stopping, this time, sprinting headlong into the snow—