Daisy | Simon Riley

|14|

The chopper landed on an empty residential road of the old village; the ground covered in a foot of snow. Peaked drifts had formed along the front ends of the houses, and as they chose one to make their lodging for the next few nights, they begrudgingly shovelled a path to its door.

A house—even with the task of shovelling—was a much better option than tenting considering the frigid winter weather was in full swing in the region. But having shelter still wasn't enough to counter the cold, so while Drew and Price moved their equipment and supplies from where the helo had dropped them off, Ghost was setting up a generator so they could heat at least the living room. They'd be staying there together, avoiding the waste of fuel it would take to heat all of the rooms, as well as keeping in mind that they'd stay warmer if they barricaded themselves into one room.

Drew was on her fourth trip from the street to the house when she unzipped her jacket, too warm to wear the parka any longer considering she had a thermal shirt beneath it. She dropped it onto a bin, catching the attention of Ghost a few feet away.

His eyes flashed to her, then to her jacket before huffing and looking back to the exhaust he was setting up in the window.

It made her stomach sink. It reminded her of what Fox had said, about her wanting people to look at her.

Is that why Ghost was always so annoyed by her? Did he feel the same way?

Her fingers twitched to grab her jacket again.

"Starin' ain't going to make me go faster," he grumbled. "But you don't seem to care for the heat anyways."

"Thing's too hot," she mumbled.

She was torn between putting the jacket back on or keeping it off.

"Takin' a break already?" Priced called from behind her.

"Think she's judging my work," Ghost countered.

"I'm sure he won't blow us up, come on," Price called.

She immediately followed the order, walking the path back to the road and grabbing another bin. There were only a few left, so when she dropped the one she was carrying and returned for another, it was the last. As she came back in, she knocked the door shut with her foot before she wandered back into the living room.

Price nodded before unzipping his coat. "Let's have supper then organize ourselves. We've got time before we have to move out."

It took a few minutes, but that cold feeling from her memories of Fox subsided and she was able to relax. Price's chatter and jokes worked to calm her thoughts before they transitioned the conversation to their plan as they set up the living room to act as a workspace, then suited up.

Slowly, the anticipation of getting the mission started was raising her adrenaline—a feeling she sought after; how her senses would become sharper as her mind slowed. That energy had built as they loaded their belts and small rucksacks with equipment before they were pulling on their jackets and prepping to leave.

"I'm going to scout ahead to make sure we're clear before we head out, I'll be back in five."

"Stay frosty," Ghost teased lowly.

Price huffed but slipped out the door, leaving Drew and Ghost in silence.

When she finished zipping her jacket, she reached for the balaclava that was sitting beside her gloves. But then she caught sight of another one on a bin behind Ghost. He was facing away, checking over his bag, so she wandered behind him quietly and grabbed it.

He ignored her presence—surprisingly—and she slipped away, pulling on the balaclava and then her gloves.

"Really, Daisy?"