A tank cutting through the blizzard, moving despite the obstacles. The road wasn't clear of ice and snow. Even still, the tank persevered, not stopping once until Veronika spotted something through her limited vision.

  It was a town. A small town that Veronika could stay in to stock up.

  It had already been a long time since Veronika took off. The teenage girl took several stops every time she felt that the area was clear of cannibals so she could rest, eat and drink. She kept going like this until she reached this town. Veronika was a little awkward with it, but she tried her best to ease the tank from full speed all the way to a stop.

  She stopped the tank. The engine was disengaged as Veronika took her backpack with her. She swiftly pushed the hatch up and jumped out of the tank. She had her pistachio jacket on. It was her favourite coat, so she wore it quite often. Veronika glanced around. She had hidden the tank behind a few trees.

  The T-80BV was an extremely fast tank, and coupled with being fast it also had decent off-road maneuverability. Veronika took in a deep sharp breath as the cold crisp air tickles her nostrils. She took her Makarov PM with the suppressor on it. She started walking, her spiked boots caking up snow beneath them as she walked.

  "Let's do this..." She made sure the safety on the Makarov PM was on as she didn't want to accidentally shoot again. After that incident she made sure to learn about guns from some random books she found in the administration building back at the military base. She learned that all guns have a safety as to not accidentally shoot when not meant to.

  She walked the rest of the way to the town. As soon as she was near, she spotted a horde of cannibals and made note of avoiding them. She walked around the main entrance, taking a slightly difficult but accessible path to enter through the backyard of a house that was on the periphery of the town.

  Veronika stepped through the thick snow. Thankfully, snow was a great dampener of sound as she made her way around towards a window. There was broken glass on the floor, outside the house. It was broken from the inside... She noticed a few empty cans on the floor and a few sheets there.

  Her Makarov PM was hidden in one of her coat's pockets. She wasn't going to announce herself as a dangerous individual as soon as a survivor sees her. She wasn't dumb, that's why she made sure it was hidden.

  Veronika peaked through the broken window on the inside. She wanted first to see if there was anything moving on the inside before she shined a light through. The beam of light went through the window and lit up a part of the interior. Veronika spotted several broken shards of glass and... stains of blood.

  She shook her head. She wasn't going to check every house. She only came to this house so she could find a good enough temporary hiding place. Veronika walked around the house towards the front entrance, making sure to duck under the fences so that the cannibals don't spot her.

  She pushed against the wooden door of the house and it creaked open. Veronika winced at the sound of the creaking. Too much noise! She frowned, but she walked in nonetheless. The cannibals didn't seem to notice anyways. But what was dangerous wasn't the cannibals... But the Snejnay Ten...

  The first thing she took note of when she walked in was a large coat on the coat hanger on the right. When she walked in deeper she noticed a few black spots on the floor boards. Veronika eyed them silently. Her blue eyes shining with a contemplative sheen.

  Veronika turned away from the black spots and walked over to the kitchen. She searched the kitchen, finding nothing, all the cabinets were empty. The blonde haired girl stood silently for a few seconds as she eyed the empty kitchen. Veronika walked over to the center of the house, turning her gaze around. She looked at the broken window from the inside of the house.

  Her eyes drifted down towards the underside of the window on the inside. It was clean. A small frown crossed her face. Then she turned away and walked up the stairs, the sound of the floor boards creaking resounded. Veronika winced slightly, but this much was fine so she continued. Once she was at the top she found several other rooms.

  Veronika walked towards one of the rooms' door and entered. There was a bed with some crumpled up sheets.

  Veronika could finally breathe as she finally settled herself into a room inside the house. It was simple enough with a bed and other bedside lamp that didn't work anymore. She sighed as she slumped down onto the bed. She placed her bag onto the bed and leaned back slightly. She had been sleeping in the tank, taking stops for rest the whole way here. It was approximately a kilometer and a half away from the military base.

  "I'm so tired..." Veronika spoke aloud before she clasped a hand to her lips. She was still not in the clear. Damn it. I got used to the military base... She exhaled slowly, as if afraid to let out another sound.

  Veronika repositioned her backpack and placed it on the ground next to the bed as she settled on the bed itself. She was tried from sleeping in the tank the whole time. She laid back on the bed for a few moments, just staring up at the ceiling before she stood back up. She looked around for a few moments before she reached into her backpack and produced a few thin strings.

  She walked out of the room with the bundle of strings in hand. She glanced around for a few moments before she spotted something on the ground. It was an empty tin can. She walked over to it and carefully picked it up. Veronika closed the front door before she used the coat hanger to tie the thin string on the base of it.

  She then tied the other end of the string to the tin can and placed the tin can atop elevated ground. "That should do it." Veronika murmured as she walked back to the room and laid back on the bed.

  It was a simple way to wake her up if there was anyone who was going to enter the house. That way she would be ready. It was also sort of a trap in and of itself as it would attract the cannibals' attention to the house placing whoever wanted to enter the house in a compromising position.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  And so, she drifted off into a light sleep, finally getting some sleep in a good position.

  After waking up. Veronika immediately checked her surroundings. She looked out the windows of the room to see nothing outside. She circled the house, looking out of all the windows that allowed vision of the outside world. Nothing.

  She furrowed her brows. She swiftly picked up her backpack and walked down the stairs. Veronika stepped over the trap she made, already knowing where it is. She made her swift escape, opening the door and running out, ducking under the fence, making her way to the other side before jumping the fence and hiding in the gap between the fence and the neighboring house's fence.

  It was a small space, big enough for her to fit and hide for a while. The reason she had made such a quick escape after waking up was for one reason... The house is occupied. There was someone living in the house. Veronika had noticed the signs. The black stains on the ground suggested usage of fire. Probably to melt snow and boil water.

  The missing kitchen utensils, plates and all that suggested that the person took a weapon for themselves simultaneously getting rid of potential noise producers.

  The clean underside of the broken window suggested cleaning. Not just because there were missing shards that should have fallen inwardly, but also because there was little to no snow there. When in this constant blizzard there should be piles of snow there, especially because of the broken window.

  That means someone was cleaning it up... And that someone had probably left on a scavenging trip. They probably didn't leave any supplies at the house in fear of someone going in and thieving everything. And they were right. Because Veronika broke in, though not to steal but to get a good sleep. She had to admit that if she had found something there she would have taken it. So that person was smart.

  The reason Veronika had slept carelessly is because the already clean underside of the window also hinted at something else. That the person that occupied that house was recently there, that means that if they left for a scavenging trip. It'll take them a long time before they get back. Scavenging and gathering supplies wasn't easy, and it required a long time.

  That was why Veronika was comfortable enough to sleep there. She just couldn't delay sleeping as she was really tired and exhausted. Nevertheless, now that she was well rested and invigorated. She was going to stay here until that person gets back to their base.

  This is an opportunity. She grinned as she eyed the neighboring house.

  Mr. Stuffy Scrubs lay gently in her lap as she wrapped her arms around it, hugging it to her chest while she plotted her thieving plan.

  "They probably think this house is empty." She whispered under her breath. "I'll hide here until they get back. And when I find a chance I'll swipe the good stuff right under their noses." She jumped over the fence of the neighboring house and swiftly ran inside. She closed the door, setting up a similar easy trap. She ran up the stairs of the second house and made her way to the bedrooms.

  She didn't bother checking if this house was occupied because no sane survivor who had survived for 5 months in this white hell would make such a stupid mistake as to occupy a house right next to another occupied one. Survivors we're not to be trusted.

  Veronika settled down in a bedroom that had a window which allowed direct sight of the target house. It also had a bed and sheets. Which was good enough for Veronika to stay a few days there.

  Veronika stared out the window. The sky, still that dark grey dusk that's reigned over the world since the meteor struck. Snow didn't help with the visibility. But, now the weather was actually pretty clear as Veronika could see a good distance in front of her, which was how she managed to spot this town from where she parked the tank.

  She sighed. I'm really sitting here, plotting how to steal someone's hard earned supplies... A dark look crossed her face as her eyes shadowed over. Veronika left supplies at the tank, she didn't bother bringing them as they would be a weight on her shoulders. She was planning on staying in this town for a little while to gather supplies and replenish her stock.

  Veronika leaned her head against the window's edges, looking out at the house. They'll probably be really devastated to lose so many supplies won't they. A bitter smile crossed her face. Sorry stranger... I'm still going to take your supplies. My survival is more important. She clenched her fists.

  She had done it so many times before. So many people had lost their supplies to her. Few knew they had been robbed and even fewer saw her taking their supplies. Some died because of her, some perished because they couldn't get medicine that Veronika stole for herself.

  She frowned as she reminisced. Nothing much changed from before... She used to be a thieving pickpocket.

  Veronika, even before the apocalypse was a thing. She broke into houses, stole money from strangers. Strangers who probably had a really important use for that money. It could've been treatment money for a sick person, it could've been the life savings of someone. Veronika... just did not care... Life gave her the shorter end of the stick. All she could do was pull on the shorter end, take from the longer end of the stick. It's only fair after all...

  Veronika didn't care who she stole from, unlike some of the other orphans in that little circle of pickpockets. Veronika stole from everyone indiscriminately.

  Rich, poor, short, tall. She didn't care, as long as they had that coin on them, she was going to take it. She had gotten a little admonishment from the circle of orphans which made her dislike them even more. How can they judge me when they themselves steal. She gritted her teeth.

  They didn't have the right to judge her did they? They stole from people as well. It doesn't matter who you steal from. Stealing is stealing. She tightened her embrace around Mr. Stuffy Scrubs, hugging it to her chest.

  Veronika had always stolen for herself. To feed herself, to find shelter for herself, to amuse herself. She never stole for someone else... Well, there was one person that she did do it for. And she did it quite often for that person. Back when she was 14 years old. That meant it was a year before the apocalypse happened.

  I wonder if he's still alive... Veronika pursed her lips together. Probably not... A grim look crossed her face, it almost resembled melancholy.

  She shook her head, cutting off that trail of thought abruptly as she focused back on watching the house. This could take days. She exhaled slowly as she leaned her head on the palm of her hand, resting it there. "Maybe I should just go to sleep. They won't be back anytime soon-"

  Just as she finished her sentence she spotted a running figure. The figure carried with it a few sacks that looked to be full of supplies. It was a person. She couldn't tell if it was a man or woman, but they ran, quite awkwardly at that, running through the snow, kicking it up in the process. "What the hell? Are they not afraid of alerting the cannibals?" She leaned forward as the person ran towards the house.

  The person walked into the house and closed the door shut. Veronika decided to observe for now. She sat back and continued watching intently. The person seemed to throw some stuff out of the broken window of the house. Probably trash. She thought inwardly as she turned her gaze back towards the house. She could see through a few windows that the person was moving around the house, hurriedly, almost running. Are they looking for something?

  Veronika continued observing silently as she waited. Then the person seemed to just open the door of the house and leave the house once more. "Huh... Is it just me? Or did a golden opportunity just get handed to me on a silver platter." She placed a hand on her chin.