Disclaimers : Everything belongs to Joss, except for one character of my creation.

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The snow was getting deep around the end of the uprooted tree, obscuring Alex’s view of the woods around her. It made her feel more secure, knowing her tracks were being covered over and she was sheltered from the eyes of those who might want to do her further harm. She relaxed the grip somewhat on her gun.

At first everything hurt. Everything. There was not one part of her that didn’t hurt in some way. Until now, she had never really been aware just how many different types of pain the human body could experience. There was the dull ache. The throbbing pain. The burning pain. The stabbing pain. Alex paid attention to the pain, and what part of her hurt in what way. It kept her mind busy.

At some point, seemingly an interminable amount of time later, the daylight began to fade, and she became aware that the pain was fading, too. It was a relief, in a way, but not so good in other ways. What was replacing it was numbing cold, moving stealthily up, starting at her feet and working its way through her entire body.

Alex remembered learning in nursing school that when the body starts to shut down and is no longer struggling to survive, the pain response is no longer necessary. She supposed that was happening to her now. Her mind felt remarkably clear, all things considered, but her body was no longer responding. Strangely, the fear was melting away, too. There was only some lingering regret about leaving her loved ones in this way.

Eventually, as night fell, even the cold started to fade.

From where she lay, if she looked straight up through the roots of the deadfall surrounding her, she could make out a little piece of the night sky. The snow had stopped, and she could see stars and the outlines of other moons and planets, far away from her part of the ‘verse. She thought of her family, on a very distan