When the black mist evaporated, I was blindsided by bright, white light. The air around was cold, and I blink a few times, trying to get my vision to adjust faster. Once it does, I'm able to see Susie shivering and curled up in a tightly ball in front of me; she still had her eyes closed.

I scramble over to her, the snow on the ground chilling my hands and knees, but my own comfort was the last thing on my mind. I grab her shoulder and she flinches, her eyes snapping open and fear flashing in them— until she saw it was only me there.

"{Y/N}."

Susie says softly, then she looks past me. Her gaze darts around momentarily before eventually settling on something. She stiffly sits up, the blood draining from her face as a dreadful look replaces the relieved one.

"No."

She said softly, and my confusion grows.

"No, no, no, no!"

She starts shaking her head, her voice trembling as she nearly screams the last word.

"Susie, what's wrong?"

I ask, not understanding what was happening right now. That is, until the surroundings became familiar with me, and I turn the to see what she had been looking at. I could see the large shape of a familiar looking building looming in the distance.

Fuck. I guess it didn't work.

Disappointment washes over me, and I let out a long, heavy sigh.

"We're back here. This is wrong. This is all so wrong."

She tries standing up, and I stand with her, catching her as she nearly falls over. She stares at her feet, pursing her lips.

"I feel... weak. {Y/N}, I feel so weak. My body feels weird. I actually feel cold."

She only became more and more distressed by the second, and I didn't have the slightest idea what to do. Instead of speaking, I wrap my arms around her shivering body, hugging her tightly in an attempt to comfort her. After a few moments, her breathing seems to even out and she calms herself.

I step back, taking another look around. I hear the faint hum of machinery and look to the sound of it, seeing the lights of a generator bright and fully powered up shining through the thick fog.

I frown.

That's odd.

"Susie... Look."

I motion in the direction of the lights, and she turns her head to look up at them, briefly squinting. She sucks in a breath through her teeth before grabbing my hand, and we're suddenly walking at a very swift pace, we were almost jogging. I nearly stumble, but adjust myself quickly so that we can keep moving fast. Wherever she was taking me, was probably important and I didn't want to stall.

I see the exit gate in the distance and almost gasp when I see the light shining out from within it, meaning that the door was wide open.

"Susie, we just got here—! How is this possible?"

I struggle to speak while we're walking, the fast pace and cold air making my lungs burn. We hear voices as we approach the gate, and some of them are immediately recognizable. I let go of her hand and rush ahead of Susie to stand in the large, gaping entry way of the gate, and a huge smile makes its way onto my face.

"Hey!"

I call out, my excited voice immediately catching their attention and heads whip towards me, a look of what seemed to be disbelief on their faces.

"Holy fuck— {Y/N}! Is that really you?"

Nea shouts, happiness lighting up in her teal eyes.

"I'd say it's her, looks just like her, doesn't it?"

Claudette's voice held a teasing tone to it, and they both ran up to me, smothering me in a bone-crushing hug. I laugh and feel tears prick the corners of my eyes as I reciprocate their hug, wrapping my arms around both of them and squeezing.

"What if it's a trap?"

A bitter voice spits out, and I blink away my happy tears to see none other then a very rough looking Jake, his right eye swollen and bruised a deep purple color. Nea lets go of me and whips around, shooting him a venomous glare.

"Shut the hell up, dickwad. Don't make me get David over here again."

She snaps, and Jake shuts his mouth, silently seething to himself as he turns on his heel and stomps away.

Directly into the Survivor camp.

Through the exit gate, I could see the camp in the distance, the sight of the large fire sending a spread of warmth through my body.

"{Y/N}... is that?..."

Claudette slowly asks, her anxious voice snapping me out of my reminiscing. Claudette's question caught Nea's attention as well, and she turned to look at Susie, but stayed silent. I turn my head and see Susie standing a few feet behind me, her eyes locked on Claudette's arms that were still locked around my neck. I see her clenched fists tremble slightly at her sides as she looks from me, to Nea, and to Claudette.

"Is she... Jealous?"

I feel a surge of affection at the thought, but it also made my cheeks flush at how possessive she seemed to get at times. I let go of Claudette and go to Susie, grabbing her hands gently and pulling her forward. She begrudgingly complies, slowly walking with me.

"This is Susie."

I say to them, giving her hands a reassuring squeeze. I look at Nea, who nods in acknowledgment, and then to Claudette.

A sad smile was on her lips as she averts her gaze from mine, and pushes up her glasses a bit, not looking at me or Susie.

"So... what's the deal?"

Nea slowly asks, keeping her cautious gaze on Susie, as if she were expecting her to suddenly go on a rampage. I inhale deeply, and look at Susie, who was fidgeting slightly as she stares at her feet.

"Can we... please sit down first then talk? We've had a rough couple of days."