Winter came hard to Spokane. The first snow hit in October, not long after the Koreans invaded. First it came in light drizzles, dusting the tops of cars and homes. Then came the heavy droughts, piling and piling the ground. The temperature plummeted at night, freezing any form of liquid solid by morning. It slowed down the Koreans, and it certainly slowed down the Wolverines. The woods were covered in the heavy blankets of snow. Thankfully the mine stayed relatively warm during the nights.

Out on the frozen, snow-covered lake was Toni. She had on a tarp by an open hole in the ice. A line was wrapped around her wrist as she waited. Ice fishing for all intensive purposes. They were low on food back in the mines and it was too much effort to get into town. Toni turned her head to look around at the woods. Putting aside the war and the limited food supply, the woods looked every bit peaceful. It reminded her so much of her winter hunting trips with her dad. Granted they had a tent, better clothes, and a few more blankets, but those nights were just like the ones they spent in the mines.

A tug at her wrist caught her attention. Toni looked back down at the hole in the ice. Another tug of the line brought a smile. Toni bit her lip and grabbed her line. She pulled hard, catching a glimpse of the fish before it dropped back into the water. She pulled again, rising from her tarp. The fish rose out of the water, thrashing around, hanging from the line. Toni laughed triumphantly as she laid the fish on the ice. It was a large steelhead trout. Her second one. Toni pulled the hook out of the mouth and laid it beside the other fish. She sat down on her tarp and dropped her line in once more. One more and the group would have plenty to eat.

Toni brought up her knees and wrapped her arms around them. She slowly rocked back and forth, humming to an almost forgotten camp song. One that Jed and Matt's mom had taught her while camping over six years ago. A small smile crept up on her and Toni began to sing. "Honey you can't love one. Honey you can't love one. You can't love one and still have fun, so I'm leaving on the midnight train."

"Is that one of the dumb camp songs my mom taught us?"

Toni spun around in her seat. Jed was standing just a few feet away. His hands were tucked in his coat pockets as he stared at her with a strange smile on his face. Toni immediately felt her cheeks warm. She turned her head laughing. "Oh god, I cant believe you heard that."

"Yep. You're busted now." Jed chuckled and sat down beside her. "Singing camp songs while fishing. What are the others going to think?"

Toni smiled.

"Just came to see how you were doing out here." Jed explained. He peeked over Toni's shoulder. "Not that you really need it. You were the one who always caught the fish on the lake."

Toni snickered. "Remember that year our dad's took us out there before dawn?"

Jed nodded slowly. "Yeah I do. And I remember being absolutely miserable out on the lake, because you were the one who caught every fish."

Toni laughed harder.

"You out fished me, my dad, and your dad and none of us could figure out how." Jed chuckled.

Toni bit her lip thinking back at the memory. "Worms."

Jed frowned. "What?"

"I'd um...I'd go out the night before and dig up these butter worms. I would use those instead of the bait you guys used." Toni explained. She held up a small tin cup. Jed looked inside at the small, but thick worms crawling inside.

Jed smiled and shook his head. "That um...that song you were singing...what was it called?"

"Honey." Toni answered.

"It had, what? Ten verses?" Jed asked.

Toni nodded slowly.

"Can't love two and...so we're through?" Jed said.

Toni burst into hysterical laughter beside him. "Not even close."

Jed smirked. "Alright then, you tell me."

Toni took a deep breath. "Can't love two and still be true."

"Three?"

"Can't love three and still love me."

"Four."

"Can't love four and still love more."

"Five."

"Can't love five and stay alive."

"Threatening. Six?"

"Can't love six and get your kicks."

"Seven."

"Can't love seven and go to heaven."

Jed smiled. "Eight."

"Can't love eight and keep our date."

"Nine."

"Can't love nine and still me mine."

"Ten?"

Toni's cheeks blushed brightly. She turned her head from Jed and stared at the hole. "I don't remember ten."

Jed shook his head." Yes you do."

Toni shook her head. "No, not that one."

Jed smiled. "You know. I know you do."

"Nope." Toni smiled, her blush deepened.

"You're blushing! You know it." Jed replied.

Toni shook her head.

"Chicken." Jed said.

Toni's head shot back toward Jed. "Am not."

"You are!"

"Not."

"Prove it." Jed said. "What's ten?"

Toni sighed heavily and stared at the fishing hole. "You can't love ten, so kiss me again and we'll forget about the midnight train."

Jed chuckled. He leaned back and started whistling the tune.

Toni looked at Jed, her eyes wide. "You knew!"

"What?"

"You knew the line the entire time!"

Jed smiled. "Maybe."

Toni's jaw dropped. She was absolutely mortified. If it wasn't enough to have Jed catch her singing the song in the first place, he'd tricked her into saying the whole thing. Had her cheeks not already turn red from the cold and her constant blushing, Toni would have instantly turn red from embarrassment. "I can't believe I fell for that."

"Neither can I." Jed laughed.

Toni elbowed Jed in the shoulder. "Take the fish and go away."

Jed chuckled. "Alright, alright. I'll leave you to your fishing and camp songs." He stood up and picked up the two fish. "But if you're looking for a duet partner I know-"

"Jed!" Toni yelled. She spun around trying to hit him in the leg.

Jed laughed and jumped out of Toni's reach.

A harsh tug of the line caught Toni's attention. She turned back around to the hole and stood up. The line tugged again. Toni pulled at the line as the fish began wrestling with her. Her grip on one end of the line and the steelheads strength tightened the line around her wrist. Toni winced, but kept fighting the fish.

"Jed!" Toni called.

Jed turned around. He quickly noticed Toni's struggle with the line around her wrist. "Hang on Toni!" He dropped the fish and ran up beside Toni.

"Grab the line." Toni urged.

Jed took hold of the line just in front of Toni's wrist, lessening the strain of the line. Together they pulled up the large, twenty pound steelhead. It thrashed on the line about on the line as Jed lowered it to the ice.

"Hot damn." Jed called.

Toni smiled. "I think I'll name him, dinner."

Jed laughed. "I think it fits."

Toni pried the hook from the steelheads mouth and unwound the line from her wrist. She hissed painfully as the tightly wound line revealed the raw flesh beneath its hold. The cold air blew over it, cooling down the tender tissue.

"You alright?" Jed asked.

Toni nodded. "Yeah. Sucker nearly took my hand."

Jed gently took Toni's hand and inspected the wound. "Better have Julie take a look at that when we get back."

Toni nodded and picked up the salmon. "Lets fry us up some dinner."

Jed smiled. "What i wouldn't give for a few cubes of butter."

"No, no, no, no, no." Toni said shaking her head. "Crack a couple of cedar planks over the fire, lay this bad boy down, some soy sauce, green onions, ginger root, garlic-"

"Are you kidding? Soy sauce on salmon?" Jed asked.

"Hey, it is delicious. And it adds to the flavor with the cedar planks." Toni replied.

"Right cause everyone wants-"

Crack!

Jed stopped walking. He stood perfectly still on top of the ice, listening. Toni stopped beside him. She looked down at the ice under her feet. A jagged line ripped its way beneath her feet and moved in front of her. Her heart picked up. The ice was cracking beneath them. Numerous smaller cracks appeared around their feet. The ice groaned from the weight it held.

"Jed." Toni warned.

"I see it." he answered. He took a deep breath. "We need to spread out our weight. Toss the fish as close to the shore as you can, but don't move too much." Jed tossed the fish ahead of them a few feet. They hit the ice, earning a few more cracks to weaken the already threatening ice. Jed moved slowly off the cracking ice. He moved to thicker ice, gaining a stronger hold.

Toni tossed her salmon to the side, but the ice didn't crack. She moved slowly toward the fish, trying to onto the thicker ice patch. The ice continued to groan and crack as she moved. Toni took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"Reminds me of that ice hockey game when we were kids." Jed said.

Toni frowned. "What?"

"You probably don't remember. It was before Matty was born. But uh...our dads got together with some friends up here for an ice hockey game. We stayed back, but you wanted to go out and play. So you started walking on the ice toward them." Jed chuckled. "Being the babysitter, I followed you out. God, I thought your mom was gonna have a heart attack when she caught us. You just looked back at her and said 'we're big kids mommy, we' can make it'."

Toni smiled. "I don't remember any of that."

"Seriously?" Jed asked. He smirked and started walking around the ice toward Toni. "Here you are, five years old, tiny little thing, wearing this bright purple overalls and matching coat, looking like a purple marshmallow, trying to walk across the ice to the hockey game, slipping all over the place, and you just kept walking."

Toni gave a little laugh.

"Even made it out there." Jed continued. He moved another few feet closer to Toni. "Your dad stopped the game and started dragging along the ice with his stick."

Toni laughed harder. "I can't believe I don't remember."

Jed reached his hand out toward Toni. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Toni said. She out toward Jed, but her reach was just a few inches short. She slid her right foot forward along the ice.

With an unmistakable crunch, the ice gave way to Toni's weight, sending her crashing through the ice. Jed reached for Toni, barely touching her hand. Toni screamed as she slipped through the chunks of ice, into the freezing water beneath the surface. Jed watched in shock and horror as the ice merged back over the hole, swallowing Toni completely.

"Toni!" he screamed.

dun dun dunnnn. first Red Dawn fic. always a dramatic beginning.