I'll go to the warehouse.

You’ll check the warehouse. You’ll avoid running into anyone by doing that anyway. You snoop around, hoping you’ll also slip away from the dog that was here somewhere too.

The warehouse was left unlocked; this was unsurprising since they probably didn’t suspect being robbed in the middle of the day; lead alone has company coming in at this point in the season— you got inside without trouble but made sure the door was closed behind you before looking around.

The dairy cow was inside, lying down. It regarded you for a few seconds before it looked away. “Good, girl. Bessie.” You whispered, going forward while searching for edibles.

Most of the food was wheat, grass, or salt licks. So far, this little adventure wasn’t paying off, but when you found a little lock box with the words “snacks,” you figured this wasn’t a complete loss.

You reached for it and started to play with the lock. But, of course, the farmer cared more for whatever was inside this toolbox than where it was actually kept. You look at the workbench, hoping to see the key somewhere, but your attention is brought elsewhere when you hear something behind you.

“You best have a good reason to be here, kid.”

The voice was the owner of the farm. You calmly placed the toolbox down and slowly turned around. You smiled slightly and offered a wave.

The man blinked. “We hired you last spring, and now you’ve got the idea to steal from me?”

“I don’t suppose you’d believe me if I told you I’m being contracted to take something simple from your barn, would you?”

The man shakes his head. “I think you’re **** for food and thought I’d be easy to pick at.” He raises his shotgun and cocks it.

“I could kill you right and wait for your client to come in and kill’em too.”

“You don’t want that. I can tell you,” you step slowly back and try to reason with him. “Besides, when all the snow goes away, you’ll want me to come back to help out, right?”

He shakes his head. “Stealing dismisses all future plans for you, Warren. This looks awfully problematic from my point of view.”

You eye the barrel and nod. “You should see it from my end.”

The rancher pulls the trigger, and the gun does click as the hammer fails to activate the primer. Acting like an absolute madman, you grab the toolbox and B-line for the door, running past the rancher as he curses throughout his reload.

There’s a dog outside that barks at you but also follows you when the rancher stumbles out of the barn. “Get him!”

The wall is close, but you don’t think you can make it by yourself, so you throw the box over it and take a sharp turn left, yelling out for Alex so she can pick it up.

The cracking of the shotgun whips into the air as a cloud of dust gets kicked out from the wall in front of you. You swerve, duck, and strife as another round is served in your direction. It’s close, but you’re still unharmed.

You run towards a wooden door, throwing your entire weight against it, hoping it breaks upon contact: it does.

On the other side, you sprawl out over the snow. You don’t allow yourself a moment of rest. You scramble to your feet and reach Alexandra, but she appears around the corner with the toolbox.

“Fucking run!” You shout, grabbing the toolbox and her hand while you yank her.

The air opens with another loud bang as the rancher fires another time behind you where you had just burst through; the dog is barking but has stopped chasing you now, which is a good thing because Alexandra wouldn’t have been any help in fighting off the mutt.

By the time you’re back in the treeline, your lungs are burning. Your lips are cracked, and your legs are throbbing. You collapse on the ground and pant; Alexandra falls on your back, letting out little laughs as she sobs from pain.

“What’s—so—funny?” You pant.

“You—should have— seen the look on your—face!” She cries out.

Heat washes over your cheeks as the blush spreads ear-to-ear. “Fuck right off, Alexandra.”

She laughs still, rolling off of you. “I can’t believe you did that! Oh, my God!!!”

You push her off and stand up, dusting the snow off of yourself. “You were no help. I had to grab and drag you the way here.”

Alexandra rubs her wrist where you grab her. Her skin is red, but she doesn’t seem hurt. “I’d do nothing again if it meant I could see your face again!” She says before throwing herself back into a fit of heavy laughter. “You’re such a dolt!”