Margarita remembered how Erika acted with her, how nice the younger woman was. I can't picture her being mad at me... She was so nice even when she was hurt...

  Margarita took in a deep breath as she walked forward. "All I can do now is go back to them and tell them that the supplies were stolen..." She resolved herself as she walked. The journey back to the store was extremely tense. It was the longest walk that Margarita ever took.

  The snow was especially loud, the sound of it getting crushed under her boots resounding, ringing as loudly in her ears as her heartbeat. She stood at the door of the store that she left them in. She slowly breathed in before she walked inside.

  "Erika... Dimitri..." She lowered her gaze to the ground as the two figures inside turned their attention towards her. "I... I have bad news." She rubbed her right shoulder uncomfortably.

  "... Rita? Is everything okay?" Erika forced herself up and limped over towards the ginger head despite Dimitri's protests. "Erika, you shouldn't stand up, you're injured..." He reached out towards her, but Erika was adamant.

  Dimitri also had a concerned look cross his face as he faced Margarita. "What's going on?" He asked as he took a few steps behind Erika.

  Margarita's shoulders trembled slightly. "The supplies we gathered... They're... They're gone..." She finally broke the news to them. Erika's eyes widened as she gasped, her hand flying to her lips.

  The usually calm and cold spoken Dimitri couldn't help but show shock. "What do you mean they're gone...?" He asked as he took a step forward. "Rita! What do you mean they're gone?" Erika called out as she placed her hands on Margarita's shoulders.

  "S-someone stole them!" Margarita, having been shaken from her silent trance finally spoke up. "W-when I went to get you bandages I left the supply bag at home... A-and when I came back now they were gone..." She said as she avoided both their gazes.

  "Th-that was... That was three days worth of supplies... We had to go through so much for that much..." Erika's hands fell to her sides as her lips trembled. She felt like she could break down crying then and there. "I even got injured..."

  Dimitri seemed to be calmer than his partner as he took in a deep breath before exhaling. "No use crying... The supplies are gone because we were careless and left the supplies at the house with no one to watch over it..." He turned his gaze over to Margarita for a moment. The ginger head squirmed under his gaze.

  "We can't do anything about it. We should go find more supplies. Is anyone hungry right now?" He asked as he flicked his gaze between the two. Margarita shook her head slowly and Erika did the same. Dimitri sighed. "Good. Let's go get more supplies... We're going to head to the center of the town to find better supplies..."

  Erika's surprise was evident on her face and she looked like she was about to retort. But it was Margarita who responded. "H-hey, isn't that a bit much-" Though, her response was short lived.

  "It's the only solution. We have nothing to our names right now and we need food soon because we'll start getting hungry. We can't scavenge at the edges of the town." Dimitri cut her off, speaking over her. "We can do nothing but take the risk..."

  The center of the town was by far the most loaded place in terms of supplies. It had the shopping district, the pharmacies, the food stores, the general stores... It was the most sought after place in the whole town. Of course, there were other survivors in the town. But each kept to themselves as they stayed in their own little corner of the town.

  However, none of those survivors would dare go to the center without preparations. Because the center was not only full of supplies, but it was full of infected cannibals as well. There were a few sightings of some Snejnay Ten hunting infected there as well. But right about now, the Snejnay Ten should be out of that area so it was fine.

  Erika furrowed her brows. "Dimitri... What about me? I'll be a liability there..." She said, her gaze drifting down. Dimitri, with his hand on his chin, responded with a nod. "Yes, you'll be a liability. That's why you're staying here." Erika couldn't refute Dimitri's words. She simply nodded and went along with the plan. She limped back to her chair and sunk down onto it.

  "I'll wait for you guys here..." Erika sighed. "Be careful though." Erika's lips curled up slightly. "Don't die on me Dimitri before you wrap a ring around this." She grinned mischievously as she held up her hand pointing at her ring finger with the index of her other hand.

  A slight blush appeared on Dimitri's cheeks before he cleared his throat into his fist. "... yeah. Let's go Margarita..." Dimitri walked past the slightly stumped ginger who followed after him after a few seconds. Erika's joke seemed to alleviate the mood slightly.

  "C-coming..." Margarita said, throwing one last glance back at Erika. The black haired girl offered her a smile. "Will you really be fine here alone?" Margarita asked, pausing for a moment.

  Erika seemed to pause, deliberating over an answer. "My injury is already wrapped up. So it's fine." She waved a hand off with a sweet smile on her face. "Just go now. Dimitri already went out."

  Margarita nodded before she walked out of the door, following Dimitri's steps.

  The two walked together, Margarita falling a few steps behind Dimitri. It was an intentional distance between them. After a few minutes of silence Margarita decided to speak up. "Dimitri..." She spoke up over her breath, her voice barely audible.

  The black haired man didn't pause his walking but he regarded her with a glance. "What is it?" He asked as he turned his gaze back forward. They weren't in a hurry. None of them were in need, so they could take time to look for supplies more thoroughly. Plus, they shouldn't waste stamina on running when they could fall into a chase with the infected...

  "I..." She hesitated for a moment before she gathered her resolve, taking in a deep breath. "Are you not angry?" She asked as she quickened her steps slightly, catching up with Dimitri's pace.

  Dimitri walked silently for a few seconds before he responded. "No. The world changed. And even before that. Mistakes can happen and we may fall into bad scenarios whenever and wherever. We can't possibly predict this happening." He shrugged. "It's just that now... A single mistake can really spell death..." He exhaled slowly.

  Margarita felt a shudder run through her body. "I'm... I'm sorry..." She spoke out, her tone resounding despite the strong winds of the permanent blizzard. "No need to apologize. Don't waste your breath on that." He shook his head. "Just do better next time."

  Margarita couldn't help but sigh in relief. She really thought the guilt of letting their supplies get taken would have eaten her from the inside. Now that guilt just seemed to... dissipate.

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  "..." The two walked for a few minutes in complete silence. Though, it wasn't uncomfortable. Dimitri suddenly froze in his tracks, prompting Margarita to stop and give him a concerned glance. "What is it?" She asked in a lower tone, close to a whisper.

  Dimitri held a finger up to his lips, signifying silence. He then pointed at a certain store building. They could tell it was different because it had a large window that should be used to display merchandise. "Isn't that a toy store?" Margarita's eyes narrowed as she read the faraway and barely readable sign. "What about..." She paused as she leaned over, narrowing her eyes even more.

  "What is that?" She glanced over at Dimitri who was just as perplexed as her. "It's... It's an infected... Let's get closer. It seems to be trying to get inside..." He said as he motioned for her to follow. Dimitri proceeded to crouch and walk slowly, tiptoeing as to produce as little sound as possible.

  Margarita gulped, slightly hesitant to follow when she heard the word cannibal, but she followed anyways.

  The two slowly approached the store. The incomprehensible groans and grunts of the infected became audible at this distance. It seemed to be banging at the door of the locked store, trying to get inside. Its frost bitten body banging at the wood without a hint of worry about its own well being. Its flesh and blood seemed to stain the glass door before freezing on its surface.

  "It's trying to get inside. That means there is probably someone inside..." Dimitri said as took out a large axe that was slunk around his shoulder. Margarita wasn't fazed by the sight, as she had survived for 5 months with this man.

  "Are you going to save them?" Margarita asked as she looked up at him. Dimitri shook his head. "No, I just want to be armed and ready just in case the cannibal turns its attention at us... We're going to sneak around it. This store probably has supplies in it if it was targetted by someone else, and it's probably got a back entrance." He explained as he prepared peaked over to glance at the cannibal which was banging its head onto the glass door.

  Margarita couldn't keep the fear out of her heart, but she nodded anyways. "Okay..." I can't be a coward. That's not how you survive. I need to take risks...

  "Let's go... On the count of three." Dimitri spoke. "Three..." He gripped the axe's handle tightly. Margarita took out her own weapon, a wrench. It was an odd choice of weapons but it was Margarita's. "Two..." Not only was the tool familiar in her hand, but it brought her comfort. It was an old hobby of hers to collect wrenches at home...

  "One." He said before he started moving quickly but sneekily. Margarita stumbled a little but she managed to catch herself and match his pace. They quickly made it to the left side of the store. The cannibal continued banging on the glass door. Margarita's eyes widened as she saw something through the glass window of the store.

  The two glanced at each other and nodded slowly. "The back door should ber around the corner..." He said as he took slow cautious steps all the while sticking to the wall. He peaked around the corner before glancing back at Margarita and nodding.

  The two proceeded to jog over to the back door. It was made out of wood, unlike the front door which was made with glass for the asthetic. Dimitri held a hand up which prompted Margarita to take a few steps back, bringing her wrench up just in case something pops out from beyond the door.

  Dimitri's hand was on the door knob as he pepared to twist it. Before he did, he glanced back at Margarita. He held up three fingers, indicating a count down just like before, but without words now. Margarita nodded.

  Dimitri subtracted one finger as he turned his gaze back to the door. Then a second finger. Before he subtracted the third, he took in a deep breath before he finally subtracted the last finger and prepared to twist the knob. But before he could. The knob started moving on its own.

  Dimitri's eyes widened as he almost stumbled back. Margarita tensed as she held the wrench up. Dimitri held the axe up as well, catching himself. The knob started twisting gently for a few moments, almost like someone was trying to unlock it from the other side. A soft sound of the lock of the door rattling resounded and after a few seconds a soft click resounded.

  The two tensed even more, heightening their guard before the door knob twisted and the door slowly swung open. A careful petite figure walked out of the door, her eyes darting back every now and then as she stepped out of the door. It was short teenage girl. She was even shorter than Margarita. She had short dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.

  The moment her foot landed outside she paused as she met the two's gaze with her own. She froze and the items she held in her embrace fell to the ground.

  Dimitri and Margarita's eyes widened as they saw the items that fell to the ground. What the... Margarita couldn't believe her eyes. Instead of cans of food, bottles of water or medicine. What fell to the ground was a bunch of stuffed animal toys. The girl raised her hands up immediately, tensing as she took a step back.

  "I swear devushka I was only in there to get toys to use them as bonfire fuel... I definitely didn't give them name like Mister Long Neck or Mister Snappy Jaws.........." The blonde haired girl, her hands still raised stood, her back to the wall. It was perceivable even in the constant blizzard, but the teenage girl's face was flushing hard.

  Margarita had a blank look on her face. She definitely wanted to play with the toys. It was so obvious that it was physically taxing of Margarita to not call her out... By the way, did she just call me 'Young lady'? Margarita furrowed her brows.

  "I... I believe you." She sighed as she rolled her eyes. What's a kid doing here alone anyways? Margarita glanced at the blonde haired girl who was avoiding her gaze now.

  "Dimitri went inside to check for supplies. He told me to watch you closely." Margarita said as she leaned on a rock. "What's your name?" She asked looking up at the blone haired girl. Her pistachio coloured jacket ruffled with her movements, causing the snow piling up on it to slide off to the ground.

  "I-it's Veronika, devushka..." Veronika spoke up, embarrassment causing her voice to tremble. "Veronika? How old are you Veronika. And what are you doing all alone here?" Margarita raised an eyebrow at her, curiosity evident in her voice.

  "I'm... I'm 15 years old." She said, her gaze darkening as a contemplative look crossed her face. It seemed like she was deliberating on how to answer Margarita's second question. "I... My group... My group is-"

  Seeing the dark look on Veronika's face, Margarita stopped her abruptly. "Y-you don't have to tell me... I already got the jist of it..." Margarita pursed her lips as she turned her gaze to the ground. It was all too common for whole entire groups of people to get wiped out if a single mistake was made, so she could guess what happened to Veronika's group.

  Veronika's face lit up slightly, a hint of surprise crossing her face before she nodded quickly with a small sound of confirmation. "Mhm! Yes... I... Don't want to talk about it." She turned her gaze to the right, staring at nothing.

  I'll assume this happened recently as it would be hard, almost impossible for a little girl like her to survive on her own... Margarita shook her head, a sympathetic look crossing her face.

  Walking out of the back door was Dimitri, who came back with small sack of things. "I found a few cans of food..." Dimitri glanced between the two. "So, Where did you find so much food?" Dimitri raised an eyebrow at the younger girl.

  Veronika almost hissed at him. "Don't take my foo-" She froze as she caught a glint of the reflective surface of the axe. She gulped before she sat back. "I-in a store somewhere..." Veronika turned her gaze to the snow, a bead of sweat would have rolled down her chin if it wasn't for the cold weather.

  "That's not really an answer." Dimitri huffed.

  Margarita frowned slightly, she was a little hesitant to interfere but she had to. Dimitri was practically bullying the little girl! "D-Dimitri. Erika isn't gonna like it if she finds out you're intimidating a teenager to make her give us her supplies..." She said, drawing Dimitri's attention to herself.

  A hesitant look seemed to cross his face before he nodded. "Okay... Fine. I'll let you keep half of the food. The rest is ours." He said, his gaze shining with greed.

  Veronika's eyes widened, she almost accepted if it wasn't for Margarita's second intervention. "Uhm... Erika isn't going to like it if we left her here..." She had a slight firmness to her words, coupled with the usual tremble but it was there. She wasn't usually this forward with her speech, but when it came to kids...

  Dimitri was slightly taken aback seeing Margarita's intense look, he hesitated for a few moments, deliberating over his words before he nodded. "Fine... We're taking her with us..." He sighed, relenting as he rolled his eyes.

  Veronika who was just watching the two interact from the side slowly nodded. "Yes, yes. Whoever this Erika is. She won't like- Wait what?! You're taking me with you?" Veronika's eyes widened as her head snapped between the two of them.

  Margarita nodded with a smile and Dimitri just turned his gaze away. "I guess..."

  "Yes. We can't just leave you here to fend for yourself." Margarita's smile widened.