When Joy found Rosé, she was laying in the snow. She was curled up, the black and pink colors of her clothes providing a stark contrast to the sea of pure white around her. Judging by the amount of snow that had accumulated on her body, she’d been there a long time. Joy walked over and shook the girl’s shoulder in an attempt to revive her. When that failed, she bent down to look for a pulse. While doing so, she noticed that Rosé had a small automatic pistol holstered on her belt. Joy procured this, reasoning that the girl wouldn’t have minded her borrowing it for a bit. She then sighed and scooped the violet-haired girl into her arms. Rosé was much lighter than the taller girl expected her to be, and in any case, it wasn’t a far walk back to the fire.

***

Irene had never been much of a cook. She found that her housewife gifts lied mainly in ironing clothes and cleaning. So when Joy asked her to remain behind and watch the two rabbits they had roasting over the fire, Irene did her best to confidently agree. Of course, she could always use the excuse that she’d never cooked meat on an open fire in the middle of a snowy wasteland before, but she still didn’t want to make Joy have to go hunting again. Not that these rabbits were difficult to find. This place seemed to be teeming with wildlife to the point where it was abnormal.

It was almost comical that Irene found herself thinking of Yerim as she tended to the two roasting rabbits. Would the younger girl have approved of killing the animals for food, knowing that they weren’t the last of their kind as she had previously believed? Probably not. If she ever saw Yerim again, Irene vowed not to mention this meal to her. It would break the poor girl’s heart. Irene shook her head as if to clear the negative thoughts from it. Of course she’d see Yerim again. Once they’d gotten to that big volcano in the distance, they’d either meet up with everyone there, or Irene would put the crystal wherever it needed to be and fix everything. What fixing everything would do to bring Yerim back to her was a mystery to Irene, but she found herself grasping at any hope she could.

Irene’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of shuffling behind her. She spun around, holding the branch she was using to cook the food at the ready. There was nothing but dead bushes and trees. She sat back down slowly, her heart racing as she wondered what kinds of monsters could be lurking in this type of environment. Despite her fear, she could feel the hunger pangs starting to plague her belly. The rabbit was nearly finished cooking, but she wanted to wait for Joy to return from scavenging before eating. It was only fair.

The doe-eyed girl was just removing the meat from the fire when she noticed a figure approaching in the distance. It was bipedal and vaguely humanoid, with a bulbous middle that was irregular in shape. Its middle section swung back and forth as it walked forward, and Irene tried her best not to scream as she stood up again, branch at the ready. She would just have to get the jump on the beast and start smacking it before it knew what was going on; that way, she could maybe disorient it and get away. Irene sidestepped out of its line of sight and crept forward as silently as possible. As the beast came within in beating distance of her, she readied the branch, winding it back like a baseball bat.

“What the are you doing?!” Joy shrieked. Irene froze, realizing that this wasn’t a monster at all; it was Joy, holding a familiar girl in her arms, “Put that down and help me out with her!”

Irene did as she was told, dropping the weapon and assisting Joy in carrying Rosé over to the fire. Joy then removed her jacket and used it as a bed for Rosé. The younger girl looked terrible. Her face was drained of all color and her lips were blue. Irene took off her jacket as well and laid it over Rosé.

“Is she… alive?” Irene asked, scooting herself closer to the flames. Even with the light jacket she hadn’t been comfortable; now the fire was the only thing keeping her from completely freezing.

“Yeah. She’s lucky,” Joy said, moving to cuddle up to Irene in order to share body heat, “We need to get to someplace warm if we want to save her.”

“Then we’ll eat really quick and then go. The mountain looks like it’s only a few miles away, and the closer we get to it, the warmer it gets.”

“Even between the two of us, I honestly don’t think that we’ll be able to carry her fast enough. And even if we got to that mountain, it’s mostly lava. That city behind the mountain looks promising, but that’s way too far… We’re in a bad spot here.” Joy said worriedly.

The two girls sat in solemn silence for awhile before remembering their rapidly cooling food. They scarfed down their meals while trying to think of a plan.

As she was finishing up, Irene once again heard the rustling sound as before. It came from the same direction, but closer now. Joy noticed as well, standing up and stepping in front of Rosé. Irene joined her.

“Do you see anything?” Irene whispered, looking into the darkness beyond the glow of the fire. Although the light from the mountain helped to provide some background illumination, the constant veil of snow prevented it from being too useful.

Joy shooked her head and took two gradual steps forward, drawing her pistol and taking aim. The rustling ceased then. Whatever was there was watching very closely.

It was at that moment that Irene saw a pair of vibrant, blue eyes about level with her own. They stared unwaveringly at her, the small black pupils tracking even the slightest of her movements. She nearly screamed but managed to compose herself long enough to tap Joy on the shoulder and point. Joy shifted her aim to the pair of eyes, which narrowed in response. To Irene’s surprise, Joy began to speak.

“Whatever you are, we don’t mean you harm. We’re just passing through.”

“What the are you doing, Joy?” Irene whined.

“If it’s an animal, the loud noise will scare it. If it’s something else, hopefully it can be reasoned with. I only have one clip of ammo.”

The eyes in the distance had not disappeared however. They’d grown larger, as the unknown creature was approaching them again. Irene did the only thing she knew how to in that situation. She hid behind Joy, who immediately cursed her for her cowardice.

It wasn’t the first time since they’d ended up in this frozen tundra that Irene thought about the crystal on her belt. Just one swift motion of tossing it over her neck and it would all be over. That’s all she had to do. She could reach out and grab both Joy and Rosé, and they would be saved. But then she remembered Yerim. And Seulgi. And Wendy. And Lisa. And Jisoo. And Jennie. And their father. She couldn’t just abandon her friends like that. Not after all that had happened. Not to mention that Joy would probably break her neck. Irene stood her ground.

When the invader came into view, Irene couldn’t help but marvel at its beauty. It was a pure white wolf. Its eye color was not the only unique factor about it, however. The hulking quadruped was easily Irene’s height.

“BACK UP! RIGHT NOW!” Joy yelled, her voice booming across the entire area, “ONE MORE STEP AND I’M ING SHOOTING.”

To Irene’s surprise, the wolf obeyed. It remained in place, only moving again to sit back on its haunches.

“Tell me this thing understands me…” Joy muttered, sounding more fed up than afraid.

At this closer proximity, Irene could swear that there was some level of intelligence in the creature’s eyes. As if it was contemplating something while it sat there, it’s pupils moving back and forth between all three of the girls. The standoff continued until Irene heard a low moan beneath her. She looked down to see Rosé stirring slightly.

The wolf reacted to Rosé’s movement by standing up, its tail beginning to wag and it’s tongue lolling out from its massive jaw as if it were some kind of common housepet. It took another few steps forward before Joy screamed at it to stop again.

“What’s going on guys? What happened? Where’s my Dad?” Rosé asked groggily, trying to sit up. Irene bent over and placed her hands on the girl.

“We can explain later. Stay down, Rosie.”

The violet-haired girl did not obey. With some difficulty, she sat up fully. Irene relented and moved her hands into a supporting position behind the girl’s back. When Rosé noticed the massive creature sitting feet away from them, her eyes widened and her jaw slackened. She mustered all her strength and was almost able to produce her normal speaking voice.

“Oh… oh my god. Dalgom, is that you?!”

“What?!” the other two girls exclaimed simultaneously.

Joy spun around, her face a mixture of confusion and confliction. The wolf barked happily and leapt up and down in place, its tail now nothing more than a white blur. Thankfully, it seemed to understand that staying in place was still for the best.

“He’s a wolf that we used to take care of at home. Me and Jisoo found him in the mountains when we were little. He grew too big for us to feed him enough, so Dad said that we had to let him go. So we did. I never thought I’d see him again.” the small speech seemed to take a lot out of Rosé, as she began to shiver violently and sank back down onto Joy’s jacket.

Joy looked from the sick girl to the wolf, biting her lip nervously. Irene tried holding Rosé close to share their body heat, but the girl’s tremors refused to let up. Dalgom began to whine and pace back and forth.

“Call him over,” Rosé whispered to Irene, “He can keep us warm.”

“But-”

“Irene, it’s the only way. He’s a sweetheart, I promise.”

Irene looked to Joy, who was no longer looking at them but facing the wolf once more. Her gun was lowered but still clenched in her hands.

“D-Dalgom!” Irene called. The wolf stopped pacing at the sound of his name, and gave Irene a quizzical look, “Dalgom, come here and keep Rosie warm. I mean, come here. I mean-”

The wolf bounded forward past Joy, nearly knocking the startled girl over in the process. Irene dove out of the way and into the cold snow. The wolf stood over it’s owner, her face merrily.

“Hey, buddy…” Rosé managed to say. At her words, the wolf paused and looked down at the girl, as if he was thinking about something. Then, he moved to her side and laid down, engulfing her in a shroud of fur.

“How is he so smart?” Joy asked, but Rosé had already slipped back into unconsciousness. Dalgom’s worried eyes darted between Joy and Irene, and he began to whine again.

Irene returned to the fire, standing across from Rosé and the wolf, still in moderate shock from the events that had just occurred. Joy joined her.

“So this changes things a little.” Irene said.

“Yeah, we have a giant wolf as an ally,” Joy said, holstering her weapon, “A wolf that can carry Rosé, keep her warm, and help protect her. Things just got a whole lot better.”

Dalgom barked as if in recognition of Joy’s words. The taller girl smiled brightly, and Irene found that she couldn’t help but smile back.

“We should get moving.”

At Joy’s words, Dalgom’s head shot up. He turned to look at a point directly behind the two girls, and began to howl. The sudden noise caused Irene to jump in astonishment.

“Whoa, what’s up? Is there something over there?” Joy asked, turning and drawing her weapon.

There was. In the distance, six more pairs of blue eyes, all at varying heights (but none as high as Dalgom’s had been), twinkled with the reflection of the snow. The group of wolves lumbered forward slowly. They were all of slightly different shades of white, each just as beautiful as Dalgom. The smallest was roughly the size of a regular-sized wolf, and Irene assumed this one was a cub. Although she was still apprehensive about the animals, she felt a measure of relief that such awesome, deadly creatures were on their side.

“So he’s the leader of the pack…” Irene said thoughtfully.

“Let’s get going.” Joy said, looking around at their new comrades, “Rosie needs to get out of this cold as soon as possible.”

Dalgom remained in his spot next to his owner. He then looked from Irene to Joy, and nudged Rosé’s arm with his nose. He did this several times until Irene was able to get the hint.

“He wants us to do something with her.”

Joy stepped forward and crouched down next to Dalgom.

“Do you want us to put her on your back?” she asked, reaching out and carefully grabbing Rosé’s arm.

The eyes of the entire pack were on the tall girl now, and each of them looked ready to jump at her at a moment’s notice. Dalgom, however, stood up and turned so that his back was facing Joy. He then gave short bark at which the other wolves visibly relaxed.

Irene rushed to Rosé’s side and placed both of her hands under the girl’s shoulders. Irene couldn’t help but notice how fragile Rosé’s slender body felt, and felt her thoughts moving to the younger girl’s significant other. How had such a kind, gentle person such as Rosé fallen for such a brash, rude person such as Jennie?

“Are you gonna help me or are you just gonna keep feeling her up?” Joy asked, cocking her eyebrow at Irene. The older girl blushed and repositioned herself so that she was prepared.

“Alright on three… one, two, three.”

Together, she and Joy grabbed their unconscious friend and placed her as tenderly as possible on to Dalgom’s back. The sudden movement caused Rosé to stir. She looked up at Irene.

“Thank you for helping me. My Dad was right about you guys.”

“It was Joy who found you,” Irene said humbly, “I just kinda hung around here and cooked food that you didn’t get to eat.”

Rosé chuckled weakly.

“Not just that. I mean you didn’t use the crystal. You didn’t leave us. Thank you.”

A wave of shame came over Irene as she remembered the cowardly thoughts she had conjured prior.

“Rest, Rosie. Don’t waste your energy talking to me.” the older girl said, softly Rosé’s hair.

Rosé smiled and shut her eyes again.

When Irene straightened up, she noticed that Joy was giving her a look that reflected a mixture of pity and frustration. The look disappeared within seconds, however, and the tall girl returned to her naturally stoic expression.

“We should get going, Dalgom. You see that mountain up there?” Joy asked, bending over to meet the dog’s eyes, “That’s where we need to go. To get Rosie out of the cold.”

He offered a thoughtful look in response, then turned to the other wolves and barked. They fanned out around the three girls in a circle, with the second-largest wolf taking the very back and the smallest at the front. Irene didn’t pretend to understand the dynamics of wolf families but instead enjoyed the fact that these animals could keep them safe.

“Oh, Joy! Don’t forget your jacket.” Irene grabbed the younger girl’s jacket and dusted the snow from it before offering it to her.

“Thanks.” Joy said shortly. She took the jacket and turned away from Irene, leaving the older girl feeling dejected and confused.

The pack began to move as one, keeping the three girls and their leader within their ranks at all times. Soon, the fire they had created shrunk to a small speck in the distance before fully disappearing from view, blocked by the thickening bushes around them.

“Next time Rosie wakes up, I’ll go hunt something down for her and we’ll stop to cook it up,” Joy said after a while, “If she doesn’t wake up soon then we’ll have to manually wake her up.”

“I feel so bad. You think she’ll be okay?” Irene asked, speeding up her steps to meet Joy’s, “She was in the cold for a long time.”

“I don’t know.” After answering, Joy strode forward and distanced herself from Irene once again.

Irene sped up and caught up to the girl.

“Do you have a problem with me?” she asked.

“I do, actually,” Joy said offhandedly, “I see the way you look at Rosie. You’re into her.”

Irene’s temper flared.

“How is that any of your business?!” she said. Dalgom turned and gave her a nervous look, but continued walking.

“It’s not. But it’s just kinda ed up that Rosie’s taken. And so are you from what Wendy’s told me,” Joy finally turned to face Irene, and her gaze was venomous, “Also, you’ve clearly been leading Seulgi on. Plus you were the last person to decide whether we were gonna literally save a world or go home like selfish s. So let’s just say you’re not really that high up on my list.”

As she concluded her furious tirade, Joy pulled ahead of Irene yet again.

Irene didn’t realize that she’d stopped until the wolf in the point position was nudging her to keep moving. She jumped in surprise as the creatures cold eyes gave her an annoyed look. She began moving again, allowing the enraged thoughts filling her mind to occupy her as she went.

How dare Joy make assumptions like that? Of course Irene would be attracted to Rosé, given the young girl’s stunning looks. That didn’t mean she wanted to steal her away from Jennie or anything of the sort. Besides, if she did, it would break Yerim’s heart, and clearly Irene had done enough of that so far in their relationship. Not to mention that her and Seulgi were strictly close friends and nothing more. As for her having to think about the decision to sacrifice all she ever knew and loved for a world that she’d only been in for a few weeks… there was nothing wrong with that. She was only human.

She was unable to ruminate on her anger any longer, however, for she noticed that the entire pack had stopped. Each of the wolves around them was significantly closer than they had been before, their hackles raised and their fangs bared as they backed into a tight circle around Dalgom and the three girls. Joy drew her gun, and Irene shifted into a position where she could defend Rosé.

There wasn’t much time to think before it happened. One second, they were standing in a motionless formation, bodies tensed, and the next, everything had become a blur of white and grey. The monsters that were attacking them were wolves as well; but they were much different. From the small glimpses that Irene could get of them during the battle, they were much slimmer than Dalgom’s pack. They stood on their hind legs instead of all fours, and their front legs seemed more like modified hands than legs at all. Irene could see three of them in all.

The grey wolves were striking in a messy formation that was aggressive and haphazard. Dalgom’s pack, on the other hand, moved like a well-oiled machine. They took turns striking at the newcomers, jumping forward and tearing off pieces of flesh with their fangs. The grey wolves would then attempt to retaliate while they were within range, but a different white wolf would immediately jump forward and stop the strike with an attack of their own. It continued like this, a relentless wearing down of the strange, bipedal wolves until the snow was soaked with blood and fur. When all was said and done, the three bodies laid ruined, and the white wolves at their own minimal, superficial wounds.

Dalgom, who hadn’t moved at all, let out a hearty howl that was returned by his comrades. It echoed throughout the surrounding area, sending chills down Irene’s already cold spine. The other wolves then began to devour the remains of their assailants, and Irene was forced to look up at the sky, lest a bout of nausea get the best of her. She allowed her eyes to rest on the volcano in the distance, watching the progress of its lava flows as they spilling from the grotesque formation’s eyes and mouth.

“That was insane… I didn’t even have time to move.” Joy said, awestruck, “They’re like perfect killing machines.”

“What were those things anyway?” Irene asked, still refusing to look away from the the glowing sphere in the distance that they were supposed to be heading toward.

To the two girls’ surprise, the answer came from Rosé, who was trying to sit up on Dalgom’s back. Joy immediately ran over to steady her.

“Werewolves, it looks like.” Rosé said. Despite her condition, it looked as though the girl had improved. Her lips had regained some of their previous scarlet color and her complexion was returning to normal. Dalgom’s warmth was saving her life.

“Zombies and werewolves both exist in this world?” Joy said incredulously, “It’s like we’re in some kind of ty horror story.”

“Nah, someone would have to be pretty ed in the head to come up with this.” Rosé said, gesturing at the wolves as they stripped their fallen enemies down to the bone.

“While we’re stopped, I’m gonna try to find you some food, Rosie.” Joy said, “You and Irene stay here and maybe start a fire. I’m sure Dalgom will appreciate having you off his back for awhile.”

The wolf remained silent and still as Irene and Joy carefully removed their friend from his shoulders. As soon as Rosé was safely on a bed of Irene and Joy’s jackets again, he curled up to her side to keep her warm again.

“Dalgom, go eat, boy. You’re probably starving.” Rosé said, the wolf’s fur.

He ignored her and merely cuddled up closer, causing Rosé to giggle.

“Wow, he really loves you, Rosie.” Irene remarked.

“Wait until he sees Jisoo! She was by far his favorite… Where is she, anyway?”

An awkward silence overcame Joy and Irene as they searched for the answer to a question that they had no way of knowing.

“Umm… well, you see,” Joy said, looking away, “We don’t know where anyone is besides us. We just woke up here after everything happened in the desert. We found you a little while after.”

“Oh no,” Rosé said, her eyes widening, “What about my Dad? And Jennie? And Seulgi? And-”

“We don’t know where they are, Rosie.” Irene said softly, crouching down beside the violet-haired girl and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, “But we’re headed to what we think is the Living Mountain, and if anyone else can see it from their location, they’ll probably head that way too.”

Rosé collapsed into Irene and broke into a series of sobs.

“I don’t know what happened, guys. One second I was running in to get Dad, the next second the darkness was flooding in and I couldn’t breathe… then there was this light that made all the darkness go away… I-I think he might have sacrificed himself. I don’t know what he did, but I think he did it to save us.”

Irene rocked Rosé back and forth in her arms, gently shushing the crying girl. Joy looked on, her normally fiery eyes filled with sorrow.

“It’s okay, Rosie. It’s okay...” Irene whispered, planting a gentle kiss on the top of the crying girl’s head.

Irene tried her best to ignore the death stare that Joy gave her.

“I’m going hunting. I’ll be back soon.” the tall girl said coldly. Irene didn’t look up and instead listened to the sound of Joy’s footsteps retreating in the snow.

--------------------------------

A bit shorter of an update here. Got some Joy action in, a new character, bit of plot progression. You can kinda see how the next couple chapters are gonna play out... Like all my chapters, unsure about how I feel about this one right now. Loved the concepts in my head, not sure about my execution. I didn't have much time to proofread this one so please point out any mistakes to me. Enjoy<3