I woke up alone, splayed out across the bed, covers balled up at my feet, and a certain lightheadedness that took me a while to identify; the airy high of being genuinely well-rested.

Well, that, or I’d inhaled more smoke than I thought.

After taking a few moments to collect myself and sit up, I began to wonder where the girls had gotten to.

Then I remembered what had happened to the house.

Shifting from park to fifth gear in the space of a second, I scrambled for the ladder and shot up, my feet skipping every second rung on my way to the hatch, which I burst out of with enough force to just about shatter the weak wood.

“Look who’s awake,” Millie remarked amusedly from where she sat in the back of Monster Mash, “was wondering when you were going to crawl out.”

It took me a moment to realize that the sun was well and truly gone, then another few to collect myself as I felt the repercussions for launching out of bed the way I did, slumping against the top of the ladder as I did.

“All good?” Liz asked, appearing above me and offering me a hand.

“Yeah,” I huffed weakly, taking her hand and letting her help me up the final few rungs, “yeah, I’m good. How long was I sleep?”

“All day,” Millie replied, “Nolan woke us up at about three to toss some food down.”

“We tried to get you up before we came out,” Liz said as I looked around at what was starting to look like a solid foundation, “but you were really out of it.”

“Guess I was a bit,” I yawned with a stretch, “haven’t been up here bored for too long, have you?”

“Nah,” Millie said, shuffling out of the van, “snuck in a quick shower and managed to catch a rabbit. Maybe half hour?”

“I thought we were having fun,” Liz replied with a shrug as Connie rolled up behind me and detached the hatch, “only had to come back from the hunt because Gwen said she’d be here soon.”

“How long ago was that?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Liz said unsurely, “ten minutes ago?”

“So, any time between now and tomorrow,” I lightheartedly joked, stepping over the wooden foundation and turning to watch Connie work, “where’s Nolan?”

“Getting some sleep,” Millie explained before joining Liz and I in following Connie with our eyes, “he reckons Connie might need some help around two.”

“Two?” I scoffed in disbelief, “I could’ve gotten up with her. Man deserves to sleep.”

“I offered, too,” Millie said, “but apparently he’d prefer it if he handled all the Connie stuff, at least ‘til the house is done.”

“Guess that’s fair enough…” I trailed off uncertainly as the steady thrum of a sportbike started bouncing off the trees, “Did Gwen say anything about having a bike?”

“Not to us,” Liz replied after sharing a look with Millie, “didn’t you see her?”

“Didn’t see her leave,” I said, turning to see light climbing up the trees along the driveway, “or I did and I was too zoned out to realize.”

“My bet’s on option two,” Millie joked, “you know what we’re going into, right?”

“I do,” I replied, only then properly remembering what it was we had planned, “you?”

“Yep,” Millie said with a confident nod as my leather-clad sister finally appeared, pulling her bike up next to Monster Mash and shutting it down, “truth be told, I was a little worried we couldn’t handle it at first. But if you think we’ve got this…”

“Of course we can,” Liz scoffed before I could say anything, “we’re born fighters, not to mention those rounds we got, and the axe, and your Wolf sister.”

“My ears are burning,” Gwen proclaimed as she took her helmet off and stuck it on the handlebars, “nice house.”

“Open plan living,” I said with a smirk, meeting Gwen halfway and giving her a hug, “nice bike.”

“Right?” Gwen agreed proudly, leading the way back over to it, “And check this out.”

“Hidden sawn-off,” I remarked interestedly once Gwen had lifted the seat to reveal the old-looking but undoubtedly effective weapon, “that cost extra?”

“Came with the leather upholstery upgrade,” Gwen said amusedly before pulling a silver machete from under the seat and closing it, “so, ready to go?”

“Could use some food and a shower, actually.” I replied tiredly with a smile.

“Food, yes, shower, no.” Gwen said assertively, “Not only are you probably going to need one when we get back, but I know how long you take to get all prettied up.”

“My shower is literally a hose.” I pointed out before letting out a sigh of agreeance and nodding, “But I see your point. Let me at least splash my face and feet.”

“You should probably put on some boots as well,” Liz suggested, “much longer out here and you’ll be going into the fight at least one toe down.”

“And a jacket,” Millie called out after I’d nodded and moseyed towards the ‘shower’, “it’s cold out.”

Honestly wish she hadn’t told me that, I probably could’ve gone at least another ten minutes without realizing I was on the verge of freezing my nipples off, but I suppose then I’d be sans nipples, and with my lacking chest hair, I kind of needed them.