Chapter I: The First Signs of Winter

Elsa stepped out of her jeep and onto the dried, cracked mud of what used to be the Mississippi River. It had dried long ago and she only knew what it was because of the overgrown signs on the sides of the ridge surrounding the small valley the river had created through centuries of erosion. The feeling was back again. Something was different - wrong, almost but she couldn't put words to it.

Her dog, Bullet, a pure white Siberian Husky, hopped out alongside her as she scanned the horizon for what she was looking for. From the passenger seat, she heard Anna getting out to join her.

"Everything alright?" She asked.

"Yeah... I just wanted to stop for a minute." Elsa said, glancing back over her shoulder at the sudden voice.

Anna reached her arms around Elsa's waist and pecked her on the cheek. "Okay. I just wanted to check on you a minute. You've been kinda quiet today." Anna rested her chin on her shoulder causing Elsa to lean into her touch and close her eyes at the newfound comfort.

"Sorry about that." The blonde finally apologized after a minute of enjoying the embrace. "Don't be sorry! I can always tell when something is wrong so don't go hiding your feelings again. I worked too hard on you now to let you slip back into your headspace." The younger of the two gave a soft smile to the other. "Little stinker." Elsa had to crack a small, brief grin at the childish name. *Only Anna…* She lowered her head and shook it side to side with a sigh. "What would I do without you?" She spoke low, earning a huff from behind. "Probably dead. Or starving. Or a slave. Oh or a queen! Or maybe a-" Elsa rolled her eyes and looked to the side, kissing the redheads cheek to shut her up. It worked just as well as it did last time, causing Anna to stutter. "Oh, th-thanks? I think? I'm gonna go - I should go." She let go and got back in the jeep with Bullet with red cheeks and a smile that was mirrored by the older woman. Elsa followed behind the redhead and got her binoculars out of the back to scan the horizon for anything interesting. Finding nothing worth looking into, she put the binoculars back and got back in, started it and pressed on the gas. They had driven this way before and knew most of what to expect. The few groups of raiders on the way to their destination left them alone, thankfully, and shouldn't pose much of a threat.

Their reputation throughout the region had spread like wildfire some time ago and had a profound effect on the girl's ease of living. One story that the two frequently heard was of Elsa freeing captured settlers turned to slaves from a raider camp close to Saint Louis and leading them all a hundred miles south to a large settlement called Old Orleans during a snowstorm that had come out of nowhere. After getting the dozen or so clothed and fed, she disappeared only to reappear in the Illinois Territory.

Anna was a product of Elsa's heroism as far as anyone knew. She was saved from a brutal warlord who had captured her near the Great Lakes who had held her as his own personal servant. Elsa had seen her getting beaten by his soldiers and saved her by killing them and the warlord when he stated that he would find and kill both of them after his arms were blasted off by Elsa's shotgun.

As they sped up the Mississippi, the feeling returned to Elsa but she ignored it, thinking of just earlier when nothing had come to pass of much concern. They kept going until a large crashed cargo plane came into view. Cautious, Elsa brought the jeep to a stop a distance away. "Stay here, I'll be back." she told Anna. But as she was stepping out, Anna grabbed her hand and jerked her back in and kissed her. It only lasted a few seconds, but Elsa pulled away smiling and said, "I'll be okay." With that she pulled away and got her M4 off the roof rack and slung it over her shoulder. The adrenaline started to kick in and she pulled her gas mask up over her mouth and nose and her cloak's hood over her mane of long, platinum blonde hair.

Walking up to the huge, wrecked aircraft, she raised her rifle to the windows watching for movement with a slow pace. She felt someone watching her and she smiled at who she knew it was - a familiar, safe feeling in the back of her head kicking in. Shuffling came from behind one of the crushed landing gears and as soon as the thing reared its ugly head, it was on its way to the ground, head exploded by one of Anna's explosive rounds. Elsa knew she was watching. It was just how they worked. She'd have to thank her later for that.

The rear cargo ramp was opened and inside it was virtually empty, save for a few bloody piles of gore and military uniforms, a couple tents, and a firepit, and a few long green lockboxes near the cockpit ladder plus several glow sticks that were probably long since used. This plane, she thought, looks like one of the relief planes the Army had sent before the infection hit. But it looked like it had been picked clean ages ago. The dead soldiers still had their weapons, and some gear making this little stop not a total bust so she piled them at the end of the loading ramp along with the vests, gas masks, pistols, and even a few hand grenades she found that were basically the only remnants of the devoured soldiers besides bone and spent round casings.

She dragged the long green boxes from the cockpit door to the end of the ramp and moved out into the open sun to signal for Anna to bring up the jeep and then went to check the cockpit. The pilots were long gone; probably ran off or pulled out somewhere and eaten like the others. All that was left in one seat was the helmet with the name 'Jackson' on it and a couple of bottles of water in a case near the ladder.

Elsa strutted down the ramp, gas mask and hood now down, to greet Anna with a hug, pulling her in tight to show some appreciation for the eagle eye. No words were spoken, just the embrace and a contented sigh from one of the girls. "Come on, it looks like we got work to do." Anna spoke, looking behind the blonde to the green boxes she had pulled from the wreckage. Elsa nodded and turned to get to work.

Anna's shorter, but still long, fiery red hair complimented her teal-green eyes in a way that made Elsa practically melt. Elsa's eyes were a deep icy-blue, but she always thought Anna's teal-greens were the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Little did she know that her own had a similar effect on Anna. They loaded up the jeep with the weapons and gear that Elsa had cached on the ramp and looked around the plane to see if there was anything else they could use.

While Elsa was on the other side checking out a Humvee that looked like it was getting worked on up on cinder blocks, she heard Bullet start barking and snarling. He was usually their alarm so something had to be wrong. Elsa drew her pistol and sprinted around the side of the plane, her heart pounding out of her chest and fear racking her brain at the possibilities of what she would see on the other side. One of the pilots, dead as she thought, had returned and was on top of Anna struggling to get a bite at her pale. exposed throat.

Bullet had bitten the things arm and was shaking it to get him off to little effect. Elsa started running again, this time she holstered her gun and pulled out her spiked knuckles she got off a highwayman who tried to jump them a while back. After drop kicking the undead pilot off Anna she got up and started punching madly at its partially exposed skull. Blood covered her hands by the time the thing stopped twitching underneath her. She stopped and looked back to see Anna curled up against the jeep, weeping her eyes out. Dropping the knuckles, Elsa ran over and got down to eye level with Anna, her heart stricken with anxiety - anxiety that Anna, her dearest thing in the world, could've been bitten or scratched or infected somehow. And Anna crying only made her feel powerless so she did the only thing she knew would help. The taller girl sat down beside the opposite and wrapped her arms tightly around her companion. "Shh, you don't have to be afraid anymore, It's gone now, I promise lovely." Anna looked over her shoulder at the body and back into Elsa's soothing gaze. She nodded her head weakly, panting to catch her breath. "You're okay, you're safe now. I'm here." Elsa smiled reassuringly at her and leaned her head forward against Anna's. Reaching under Anna's shaking knees and just under her shoulder blades, Elsa picked her up and moved for their transport. Anna was surprisingly light for her curvy figure and the older of the two easily moved Anna into the passenger seat. Before going to load the rest of the salvage, she leaned in for one more embrace. "I love you and I'll be right here, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

Anna shook her head. "I-I love you too" she gave a small smile and shook her head, telling Elsa she would be okay.

Elsa shut the door and loaded up the remaining salvage from the plane. The humvee, however, was another story. She'd spend an hour of working on the bolts and other fastenings; the .50 caliber was off it and strapped onto the top of their jeep along with some ammo cans, a case of MREs, another rifle, a full jerry can of gas, a couple spare wheels and parts and armor plating that Elsa was using to build her own little project back home. The highlight, though, was an AT-4 rocket launcher that was in the back of the humvee. Returning to her vehicle, it was clear that Anna had fallen asleep lying sideways with her knees to her chest in the passenger seat.

The blonde sighed and took off her long black cloak and spread it across her love, making sure it covered Anna enough to keep her warm. It was freezing outside by the time everything was said and done, but her black Old Navy hoodie she had on would do its job. She needs all the sleep she can get, Elsa thought and took her place in the driver's seat. The reliable jeep sped along the Mississippi heading North to one of their havens that they had been welcomed into and made a home for themselves in. Seeing as the two had multiple safe houses and havens that they could move to between traveling and scavenging runs or for emergencies, they had options. This one, however, was Anna's Favorite. Night soon came after an hour of driving and they came across it... a faded green sign that read 'Memphis'.

Elsa pulled the jeep up the small ramp from the dry river bed to a highway into the heart of Memphis, Tennessee. A few blocks later they were at their destination- the Pyramid Arena. The huge pyramid structure stood out in a neighborhood of tall rectangular buildings, making it easy to find. A blessing at times, a curse at others.

The vehicle rumbled through the streets and into an alley back behind the towering landmark and down into a loading dock zone. There were six loading dock gates that were all open except for the two farthest from the center which were raised half way, but the two center gates were the only ones they could go into, which had been joined into one gateway with the concrete pillar that had once separated them demolished. The ones to the right and to the left each had a small sandbag wall with a mounted .50 caliber machine gun behind it for defense. The men manning the guns and the ones standing beside them with their rifles slung over heavy coats were part of a small but busy settlement Elsa and Anna had become a part of years ago when she was still just getting out into the world. A place they called home.

Pulling up, the blonde stopped as a guard came up to clear them to move through. All residents of the Pyramid Colony had a simple red cloth attached to their shoulders by pins to tell if they had been there previously. If she didn't have her pass, they would have to go through a long process to get reinstated, but lucky for her, she never took it off. The guard waved her in and she drove inside and turned down a hallway that was the traders market. She slowed down to a steady eight miles an hour to avoid a collision and then finally turned down into a section of the stadium that used to be the luxury box that was sectioned off as housing. She, and with the help of some of the off duty guards and others who were willing to help, had built a small house and garage out of a section of luxury booths overlooking the stadium.

After pulling into her small garage and shutting the sliding door behind her, she got out and whistled for Bullet to climb out behind her. She went to the other side and opened the door only to catch a deep sleeping Anna in her arms. Silently chuckling to herself, Elsa reached under Anna's legs and picked her up carrying her through the doorway to their home and then back into their bedroom and deposited her onto their bed. She quietly slid Anna's boots off and threw them into their closet along with her socks, pants and coat and then did the same with herself. She slid into bed next to the love of her life and fell into a deep slumber with the last thing she saw being Anna's peaceful sleeping face.

A/N Hey guys! How's it going? Was it any good? haha This is my very first Fic. Ever. Anywhere. So it could be good, or it could be terrible haha. Either way, thanks for reading. You guys are awesome. Update sooner than you know it!