Six months passed in the blink of an eye. Just like that.The cabin sat at the edge of a frozen lake in northern British Columbia, so far from anything that the nearest town was a three-hour snowmobile ride through trees that all looked the same. We'd found it through resistance contacts, a place so remote that even satellites had trouble spotting it through the canopy.Winter had settled in deep by the time we arrived. Snow up to the windows. Temperatures that made your breath freeze before it left your mouth. The kind of cold that got into your bones and stayed there.We'd spent the first month just surviving. Chopping wood. Melting snow for water. Learning how to live without stores or roads or any of the things normal people took for granted.The kids adapted faster than any of us.Maja took to the cold like she'd been born in it. She'd go outside in weather that would kill a normal person, build snow forts, make snow angels, come back in with cheeks red and eyes bright."She's par

We moved through the woods for three days before we found a place to stop.It was an old hunting cabin more beat down than the last one. The roof was half caved in and the windows were busted out. But it had walls and it had cover and right now that was enough for us.Caiman went in first. His big frame filled the doorway as he checked every corner. When he came back out he just nodded once and we moved the kids inside.Leo was asleep on Kenji's back. The kid had stopped asking where we were going. He just held on and closed his eyes and trusted that Kenji would keep him safe. Maja walked beside Elena with her small hand wrapped tight around Elena's fingers. Lars stayed close to me not touching but near enough that I could feel him there like a shadow.We got them settled in the back room. It was the one with the least broken windows. Elena spread out blankets she'd carried for two days. Maja lay down first and Lars curled up next to her. Leo didn't want to let go of Kenji's neck.Ken