Still,an old woman who looked as tough as rawhide (and probably was to be living out here) agreed to take Alex and Elena in for the night;she usually opened her small,Victorian style home as a bed and breakfast in the summer anyways,so she had the room.But from the way she continued to glare icy death at Logan,he figured he wasn't wanted-maybe she thought he was 'shifty'-and her rather prudish nature sealed the deal,as she said she had rooms for Alex and Elena upstairs (she emphasized "single rooms",making him wonder how couples stayed at her bed and breakfast-in separate rooms?Well,that could probably help a lot of relationships),but for some reason,the only room she had for him was in the basement.He said thanks but no thanks-he had always intended to stay with his truck.He was not banging Elena (a shame),no matter what the old woman thought,and finding rooms was for them only.He didn't mind the cold (well,to a certain degree),and he preferred to have the peace of his trailer all by himself.He missed that;he missed being responsible for only himself,and doing what the fuck he wanted whenever he wanted.As he had been doing for the past couple of years.

Could you actually be in a rut if you were technically homeless and jobless?What a weird paradox.

He kept the propane heater on low,mainly so the engine wouldn't freeze over,and slid into his sleeping bag in the back of his camper,listening to the hiss of the wind outside,accompanied by the soft noise of snowflakes sliding along the metal skin of the trailer and the truck.He wondered if normal people could hear that,or if only he could.How would he ever know?And was it good or bad?

He had just pulled one of the spare blankets over him and closed his eyes when he realized he could hear footsteps crunching in the snow.Faint,but growing louder-and coming this way.

He was parked around the way from the old lady's house,so the truck wouldn't be immediately visible from what passed for the main street,but even so that was just his natural paranoia at work.He didn't expect any trouble at all tonight:he'd taken out the 'advance' team,and the weather was fucking up everyone's plans.He'd even stripped down to his shorts,figuring his goddamn nightmares would wake him up long before dawn.Fucking hell-it was always something.

He got out of his bedroll and leaned over the front seat of the cab,craning his neck to look out the window and see his opponent.The windows were nearly opaque with snow already,but he was able to see through an incomplete frost on the
right hand side:a single figure,slender,wrapped in dark clothing.Could be anyone,packing any kind of weapon,but he thought the walk of the person struggling against the wind and ankle deep snow was familiar.

He pulled the blanket around him,and opened the trailer door just as she reached it.He huddled in the blanket against the sudden gust of arctic air and icy snow that threatened to blow the door off its hinges."What?"

Elena reached up,and he helped her up into the trailer,glad to finally slam the door against the hostile weather."That's a happy greeting,considering I didn't wake you up,"she said,lowering the hood of her parka.Even in the dim light cast off by the rear porch light,bleeding through the snow dusted windshield,he could see dark crescents beneath her eyes-she was literally sick and tired."Is something wrong?"He sighed.When he was reminded Elena was sick,he felt like a bully for getting ticked off at her.

"Yes,"she replied."You sleeping out here like a dog in his house.Come inside.Screw the old lady."

"I'd rather not,"he replied,sitting back down on his sleeping bag.He was genuinely tired,and didn't care if she knew it."I'm good here,okay?I wanted to sleep in here.I planned to.So you can go now with a clear conscience."

She crouched down,sitting up against the wall.Almost in the exact same spot where he had sewed her gunshot wound shut. "Why,Logan?The house is warmer.You may actually get to sleep on a bed for a change."

"Hey,I sleep in a lot of beds,and not alone either.What are you implyin',exactly?"He had a feeling she had some sort of point; he just didn't know what.

For a moment she just stared at him,and he found it impossible to interpret her expression.Tired and...what?It was bugging him that he couldn't figure it out."Is it your first name or your last?"

Okay,did he fall asleep and miss a conversational s-curve?"What?"

"Logan."

She'd changed the subject with a whiplash rapidity.She must have decided that what she was going to say would piss him off. But what she didn't know was this topic was no better."Both."At her raised eyebrow,he said simply,"Look,I don't know.Pick one."

After a long moment,filled by the hiss and howl of the snow and wind outside,she finally said,"If you run from something and you're never sure what,how do you ever know when to stop?"

If she kept pissing him off,he'd never get any sleep."I ain't runnin'-look,would you just get the fuck out of here?I'm doin' you a favor,lady;I don't have to explain anything to you."

"No,you don't,"she agreed,much to his surprise."I guess I just think it's a shame you stick to the fringes."

Man,did she ever make a single bit of sense?"What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means you shouldn't avoid people.I'd be the last to say they're all good-I don't have to tell you they're not-but..."she grimaced slightly,embarrassed,and ran a hand through her driftwood hued hair."It seems weird for me to say this,but you are. A good man."

He snorted derisively."I kill people."

That made her flinch slightly."So far,it's been self-defense,as far as I can tell.Or defense of us.And unlike those soldiers after us,I have yet to see you hurt someone not in the fight."

"So what's your fucking point?"He snapped irritably.

"You don't have to allow yourself to be treated like this,and you certainly don't have to treat yourself this way."

"Treat myself what way?"He asked,chuckling slightly in frustrated anger.He hated being psychoanalyzed."Hey,I like bein' alone.I don't like people.They'll stab you in the back and sell you out for a fuckin' nickel.Why would I want a single fucking thing to do with those assholes?"

"So why help us?"

He shook his head,sighing at her pigheaded stubbornness."You were my means for getting at the soldiers.Can't you get that through your fucking head?!You're nothing to me."

Her expression didn't change."You got hurt bad,didn't you?"

His eyes narrowed to deadly slits,and he could hear the roar of blood in his ears overtaking the outside howling of the wind. She had no idea what thin ice she was treading here."Get the fuck outta here,before I do somethin' you'll regret."

Elena wasn't in the least bit scared,which proved he had been too easy on her."Not without you.Come back with me,Logan."

He glared at her,almost shaking with rage.He didn't know why what she had said had pissed him off so much;maybe it was the meanings between the words,the things she didn't say."Why?Maybe you just want me to go back with you,huh?"

He'd been hoping to scare her out that way if no way else,but to his (welcome) shock,she said,"Maybe I do."

His growing anger was muted by confusion.He could usually tell when women were attracted to him-he never got that vibe from her.He leaned in close to her,so she would feel cornered-if she was bullshitting,the fear would come through now. "Really?What are you waitin' for,darlin'?An invitation?"

But she met his eyes without even blinking,and he didn't get a single sense of fear."Maybe I am."

He kissed her,and braced for the slap that was sure to follow.But that didn't happen.She responded with a kiss of her own, passionate and hungry,and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

It was then,sliding his own arms around her,underneath her heavy jacket,that he realized how feverish she was.She was radiating heat like an oven,and he could feel moisture-some melted snow,mostly sweat-making her clothes stick to her like cellophane.He could almost taste the virus,and wondered if she was delirious.

Her hands moved down his spine,the skin so hot it seemed to sear,and he pulled back from her to ask,"Are you okay?El,you're burning up."

She didn't quite look at him before she buried her face against the side of his neck,clinging to him so tightly it was like she was trying to drain all the warmth from his body.Maybe she was;in spite of the heat she was giving off,he could feel her shivering."I'm so tired,Logan,"she said,a catch in her voice like a muffled sob.

He thought she was going to start crying,but while he felt warm beads of water trailing down his chest,he was pretty sure that was just sweat.She was too tired to even cry.

It wasn't just physical exhaustion,although that must have factored into it.She was tired of fighting what had to be a losing battle,tired of being afraid and alone and not able to trust a single living soul.And didn't he know how that was?

(No,he did not,damn it!)

He stroked her damp hair,and told her,"It's almost over."That was the most comforting thing he could think to say.

After a long moment where her body leaned so heavily against him he wondered if she had passed out,she finally raised her head."I'm not sure it will ever be over.I mean,I'll be dead,sure,but what happens to Alex then?"

She was going to make him say it,wasn't she?He did,if only to get it over with."I'll get her to Alaska,Elena.No matter what."

She nodded,water welling in her eyes.He wasn't sure if they were unshed tears or a part of her illness."I know you will."She moved her hand up to his face,hot skin scraping against the stubble on his right cheek."I wish we'd met before now."

"We'd never have given each other a second glance,"he told her.The truth was usually brutal.

She nodded in agreement,which didn't surprise him anymore.The fever may have unhinged her slightly,but she was still a pragmatist at heart."Our loss,"she said,and kissed him again,softly this time.Well,for a few seconds.

He knew she probably wasn't in her right mind,and he also knew she probably wasn't all that attracted to him,but she wanted to have sex at least once before she died.Still,who was he not to be obliging?

It was also a good way to forget how sorry he felt for her and himself,if only for a little while.

Canada-Now

Logan could hear the electrical hum of the fence within fifty feet,and glanced down at the snowmobile.Fiberglass body,right? Didn't conduct electricity.Of course,he did,but he'd had worse than a few thousand volts put through him and come out in one piece.

He had the machine at full throttle,which worked out to a piddling sixty five miles an hour,but for a snowmobile that was absolutely flying.

He had a feeling he had been made within twenty five feet of the fence,which was pretty sad-they should have had him long before then.

He saw the gate,eight feet high and chained together,and he chuckled to himself.Was that the best they could do?He should have told Alex to sit this one out-this was going to be too fucking easy.

As soon as the snowmobile hit the gate at full speed,it burst apart like it was made of glass,and Logan felt the tingle of electricity as it crawled along his skin,saw it spark blue in the air,tasted it in his mouth,but even as the engine briefly sputtered it didn't slow him down in the least.

Even though the body of the snowmobile was fiberglass,the electricity arcing through him,no matter how briefly,had shorted something out in the engine;it was struggling,and he could smell smoke.So he slewed the snowmobile around in the center of Eden's open courtyard,grabbing tightly to the handlebars as his legs clung with a vise like intensity to the sides of the vehicle as inertia threatened to throw him off,but he was stronger than even that inevitable force,and remained where he was until he killed the engine.

He was off it like a shot,stalking across the snow towards the main building,and was not surprised when bullets peppered the ground around his feet,pockmarking the snow.If any hit him,he didn't notice.

"Freeze!"Someone shouted,trying to sound as brave and manly as possible.

Soon the courtyard was full of men in familiar grey outfits,shivering against the cold as their breath came out in white clouds and they leveled long and formidable looking guns at him,fanning out around him in a semi-circle.There were twelve around him,and two soldiers on the flat roof,aiming sniper rifles down at him.

He grinned,growling in a sort of amused anger."Is this the best you got?"

When he popped his claws,several of them jumped in shock,and they all opened fired as he charged them,roaring in triumphant rage.

***

Canada-1990

It took Logan a moment to figure out what had woken him up,and he threw back the covers,aware he was far too hot.
And that's when he realized why.

The air in the back of the trailer was dry and cool,the propane heater barely functioning,but under the blankets it was as hot as a furnace,because he was sharing them with Elena.She smelled hot and dry,like desert sand,her pale skin touched with a blush of roses that had absolutely nothing to do with a healthy complexion,and everything to do with her body fighting a losing battle against foreign invaders.She was sleeping so peacefully she looked dead;simply the heat of her body had woken him up.

"El,"he said quietly,laying the back of his hand against her forehead.She was now like an ember,and he wondered how high a fever could get before it became lethal.He didn't know.As far as he knew,he'd never even had a fever."Elena,"he said,louder this time,but there was no acknowledgment at all,not even a flicker behind her eyelids.She was breathing,and she had to be alive to be putting out heat like that,but couldn't high fevers result in brain damage?Or was that just for kids?

"Shit shit shit,"he cursed,hastily getting dressed.It was bad enough being stuck with a kid-was El now little more than a vegetable?

As soon as he felt dressed enough to stand the weather,he found a shred of the shirt he tore up earlier,and opened the door, stepping out into the icy morning.It was no longer snowing,and the sky had that muted,curious white glow typical before and after snowstorms,where the sun tried and failed to break through a thick cloud layer that smothered the sky like a heavy blanket.

The snow was a couple inches past ankle deep,and the single digit temperatures had made it as hard as rock,at least on the surface,but Logan had no trouble breaking through.He laid the strip of cloth down on the snow,and scooped some clean snow into it before carefully picking it up and bringing it back into the trailer.There was no one around this early in the morning to observe his strange behavior.

He laid the snow laden cloth on Elena's forehead,and was not  surprised to see most of it start to melt instantly,the water dribbling down her face and into her hair.She awoke with a slight jolt,eyes snapping open,hand immediately going up.He thought she was going to touch her forehead,but she instantly grabbed his bicep,squeezing so hard it felt like she had grasped him to keep from falling off a cliff.

"Logan,"she gasped,eyes searching the trailer like she was trying to figure out where she was."I feel so strange."

He just bet."Listen,I have a plan.There's a hospital in Whitehorse.I can drop you off there,and take Alex to Nome.Afterwards I'll come back for you."They both knew there was little chance she would be there-or be alive-when he got back,but there was a good chance they'd be more interested in getting Alex as opposed to their rogue Doctor.

She shook her head,but carefully,so the cloth didn't slide off."They can't do anything for me.Thank you,Logan,but I can make it."

"No you can't,"he told her,not unkindly."You're too sick."

"I've been sick for a long time,"she pointed out.Her lips were so dry he could see them starting to crack."Morning's are the worst.If you can get me something to drink,I'll be okay."

"It's gonna take more than a drink."

Her eyes were bloodshot and glassy with fever,but she was cognizant enough for anger to flash through them at lightning speed."Fine.Not okay,but functional."

He frowned down at her,but found it difficult to be truly angry.She was dying,and they both knew it.But he didn't feel like dragging her along if she was dead weight."If you can't keep up,you shouldn't come with,"he said finally,feeling like a heel. But hell,he was being realistic."At this rate,we can't afford any further slow downs."

Her hand on his arm became gentle,still radiating heat like a flame."I know.And the moment I'm dead weight,I'll excuse myself from all of this.But I want to keep going as long as I can.You can understand the need to go out fighting."

But usually you need to be able to stand up to fight,he thought,but didn't say.And he could understand her need to go out swinging,even if it was mostly self-delusion at this point.Shit.How in the hell could he be a sucker for a sob story?He thought he was better than that."El-"he began,but she didn't let him finish.

"I have one more good day left in me,Logan.I've trusted you,and now it's your turn to trust me."

Did she know what she was asking him?Trust wasn't something he was good at,or wanted to get accustomed to again.But,to be fair,it wasn't normal for her either.She had risked herself and her 'child' trusting him.Could he not extend half as much faith to her?

He had no faith in people;he was not sure he ever had.But he was not about to kick her out now.He wondered if this made him soft.

With a weary sigh,he sat back on his heels,Elena's hand sliding off his arm."I'll go in and get Alex.I'll convince the old bat you came out to see me this morning and took a turn for the worse.Alex'll probably have to convince her I'm not some crazed serial killer holding the both of you hostage,but that'll take a while.Think you can get dressed by then?"

She nodded carefully."Maybe I can even be on my feet by then.I'll be ok-"She stopped and corrected herself."I'll be coping."

He wasn't sure he believed that,but he wasn't about to argue with her.

Sometimes belief-no matter how insane-was all you had.

**

Okay,not exactly well;death warned over was more like it.Her roses and cream complexion was simply too off,betraying some patina of un-wellness that was hard to pin down.

She was wearing her police parka open,and underneath it she was just wearing one of his flannel shirts-no other layers.She should be freezing (and she was-she was shivering violently),but she refused to come in from the cold.Logan understood she was trying to use the deep chill to keep her own body temperature down.

The old lady was worried about her,unaware that Elena had been quite that ill.She told them of a medical clinic down the road, in a place with the comical name of Fork (that wasn't what he thought she said at first,thanks to her slight lisp),and Logan happily lied and told her they were headed there now.

The woman was sympathetic enough to give them some breakfast for the road-oatmeal biscuits,hot coffee in one thermos and beef stew in another (as she admitted not a traditional breakfast,but hot and hearty,which was what you needed in this weather) -and was adamant that Elena eat some before they reached the clinic:"Starve a cold,feed a fever."

Logan thought he'd heard that phrase the other way around,but either way it was probably bullshit,so what did it matter?

As they left,Elena grabbed his arm and leaned her head against him,like they were a couple or something.He figured she was doing it to keep the old woman from thinking he was some sort of crazed maniac holding them against their will,but he soon realized she may have been doing it simply to stay on her feet.He had to help her up into the truck,and he could feel the sweat soaking through his (well,hers now) shirt.

Alex must have known her mother was dying.She was a complete chatterbox for the first part of the drive,only pausing when eating the breakfast the three of them shared (except the coffee-he and El shared that,and he had very little),telling them the stories the old woman must have told her while putting the breakfast together.But Logan could smell the fear coming off the girl,hear it in her hesitations,and Elena must have picked up on it eventually,because she started trying to comfort the girl in oblique ways.He wondered-not for the first time-how he ended up in the middle of this soap opera.

The only thing they stopped for in Fork was gas,and Elena went into the back to sleep a bit more.Alex sat up front with him, but didn't talk much,just tried to find something on the radio and remained cloistered in her own dark thoughts.He didn't bother to try and comfort her,because words couldn't mean much to her now.And he didn't know what to say.

By the time dusk settled in,turning the sky the color of concrete,Elena was back up front with him.Alex was in back,but she seemed to have exhausted her topics of conversation.Or she was too depressed.

Logan had taken shortcuts and side roads towards Whitehorse,so even if the assholes had managed to forge through the weather,they'd have no idea where to cut them off at the pass.

Or so was the theory.

They were in a pretty part of the Yukon now-well,truth be told,a lot of it was pretty,as long as you liked bleak,snowy vistas.In the summer,it was fields full of multicolored wildflowers and tiny waterfalls cascading down rocky hillsides,a real picture postcard sort of place.But for great chunks of the year it was just this,endless expanses of white,filled with skeletal trees or evergreens that looked like they were huddling against themselves in a vain effort to escape the cold.

Elena seemed a little more energetic,but that wasn't really saying much.Still,there was enough quiet that Logan felt the vibration in the windows and heard the hum,familiar and unbelievable.

"No fucking way,"he exclaimed,pressing the gas pedal down as far as he dared on this icy,winding road.

"What is it?"Elena asked,concerned.

"There's a chopper on our ass.They've found us,"

"What?"She sounded disbelieving,and glanced out the windows in an attempt to corroborate."That's impossible.How-"

"You said it yourself-they always find you."He had to slow down on the turn ahead-no choice;it was an extremely deep curve,and to hit it at eighty miles an hour was just asking to go off the road and tip over-and he asked,"Did you ever check Alex for any tracking devices?"

She gave him another one of those annoyed,angry looks,like she was his wife or something."Of course I did.She's clean."

"Are you sure?It could be anything.It could look like a tooth filling or something metallic...maybe even implanted in bone."

"What did you just say?"Her voice had dropped an octave,like she'd just had some horrible insight.

"A tooth filling,something-"Only then did he understand what he had said,and what Elena must have just realized.He looked at her,his stricken gaze a weak mimic of her own."-metallic."

The virus had a strange organic metal component.And,if he was right,it was only since Elena had gotten sick that they'd been on their trail.

The virus wasn't just to weaken and kill her.It was also a way to keep track of her.And the sicker she got,the more the virus reproduced,the easier she was to find.

Son of a bitch.He didn't know if that was pure genius or just fucking evil.

There was a small,snow covered rise blocking the view of anything ahead of the curve of the road,but he could see black smoke pouring up into the slate sky,and knew they had set up some sort of burning barricade ahead,maybe a faked car accident.Rather than brake,which would cause an out of control skid,he simply turned the steering wheel hard to the left, making an illegal u-turn.The tires slid a bit on ice,but he expected it and never lost control.

"What are you doing?"Elena asked,as she slid hard down the seat and nearly fell into his lap.She managed to stop her slide by grabbing the dashboard.

"They got us cut off,so I'm takin' us off road."

"There's nowhere to go off road,"she argued."We're surrounded by hillsides and forests and cliffs."

"Yeah,"he agreed,nodding."We make a run for it,into the forest.Lead them there."

"And then what?"

"And then I take them out.They don't know how to fight in that terrain,but I do."

"You know how to fight everywhere,"Alex contributed from the back.

He shrugged:it was true enough."It's a gift."

He pulled the truck off to the side,half way up a rather shallow incline.From the way the back of the truck slid and fishtailed, he knew it could go no farther."Right,let's go.We'll break up to start and meet in the forest;three separate trails will confuse them."

"If I stay here,you'll have a better shot,"Elena said somberly.

He shook his head."Ain't leavin' you behind.We all go."

"Yeah,"Alex agreed,sounding slightly shaken.Perhaps she was shocked to hear she was the tracking device,or freaked out that her mother actually offered to stay behind and get killed.

"But I'm the beacon they're following."

"If we're right,"he pointed out.

She gave him a look that said "you know we are",but otherwise she said nothing,just shook her head.

"And I want you to lead them to me,"he continued."Stay on a parallel course close to me.Alex,head out farther,go deeper into the woods,okay?"

"Okay."The girl hastily agreed.Anything so she didn't have to leave her mother behind.

He killed the engine,ripped out the keys and put them in his pocket as the unseen helicopter made another pass."Ready?"He asked,glancing between Elena and Alex.

"Ready,"Alex responded.