<strong>Outskirts of Briar Rose</strong><br/><br/>It took time to clear the ruin, but Nick didn't rush.  He walked as silently as the grave through the house.  It wasn't as intact inside as it had looked outside.  It's roof had collapsed.  That was quite common.  Storms were much worse since WWIII.  The seasons were different variations of hell.  Winter cold as hell.  Summer hot as hell.  Spring and Fall stormy as hell.  The collapsed roof blocked his progress through the home in several places.  The furnishings had been exposed to the elements and were in various degress of rot and decay.  All in all it looked much better from the outside than from the inside.  Nevertheless, he was thorough about checking it out with a knife in one hand and his pole in the other.  He hated doing this.  He was better at killing from a distance.  One spider hiding in the dark could shoot him in the back from a hidey hole.  He felt like he grew extra nerves as he explored the ruin.<br/><br/><br/>Finally he was satisfied the ruin of a house was empty.  He walked out the front door and straight toward Marie.  It  was full dark now and the wind had turned cold, but he walked slow so she would get a good view of his face and know that it was him and not some stranger.  Finally he reached her hiding place.<br/><br/>"It's safe.  We'll camp inside for the night.  Gather the blankets and your pack."  He scooped up his own backpack and slid it on.