Brielle and Dawn turn their coats inside out so that the bright colors are muted somewhat against the fresh snow. It’s probably pointless; the rest of the world is white and gray, and Dawn’s coat is yellow and Brielle’s is bright blue, but they do it anyway, and they try to stay low as they hurry across the top of the ridge.

The Raven’s Claw is behind them now, north. Headquarters is south. Warden and the others are no doubt south already. They hope.

Dawn isn’t sure what Brielle plans to do if they see Warden and the others. Hide, probably; Brielle doesn’t seem like a fighter. Dawn supposes they’ll cross that proverbial bridge when they come to it.

(But you already know they’re going to come to that bridge.)

In the meantime, she tries to focus on the hike: one foot in front of the other, watch that tender ankle, that slippery snow. Follow Brielle and try to keep quiet, stop every now and then to scan the ridge up ahead and behind for signs of life.

It’s weird, but Dawn doesn’t feel as desperate, not with Brielle here. The Black Bear seems to know what she’s doing, and she doesn’t seem afraid. She shoulders her hiking pack and picks out the trail for them to follow, and Dawn looks out at the ridge ahead of them and can see where in the distance it drops down from the alpine, where the trail will begin again in earnest, back to headquarters.

There is still no sign of Warden and the others, not even fresh tracks in the snow. The mountain is quiet; even the wind has died down some. It’s almost peaceful, if you don’t think about the murderous psychos on the loose.

After a while, they stop for a rest and a quick snack of hydration candies before they keep going. The sun’s obscured by clouds, and Dawn’s from the city and couldn’t figure out the time anyway, but it still feels like early morning, even though they’ve been hiking awhile.

“Why are you here?” Dawn asks Brielle.

Brielle hands Dawn her canteen. “What do you mean?” she replies. “I told you, I’m going to headquarters. Someone has to save Amber.”

“No, I know that part,” Dawn replies. “I mean, why are you here? The program? What are you in for?”

Brielle sucks on her candy and doesn’t reply for a moment. She looks out across the ridge and down toward the snowy forest below.

“Let’s just say my parents and I have fundamentally different opinions about certain aspects of who I am,” she says, finally.

Dawn stares at her, not really getting it.

“They’re pretty religious,” Brielle explains. “I’m…not. They thought that sending me here would convert me.”

“To a religious person?” Dawn asks.

“No,” Brielle says. “To a straight one.”