The truck was missing one of its back windows, and the cold wind whipped across her face. Everything to the right of her nose was a mix of burning pain and tingly numbness. Molly turned up the collar of her long gray coat, and shoved her hands deep into her pockets, but warm wasn't happening.

She had stepped outside the tavern to check the Gadget, as she called it. It indicated she would be heading north. Molly had asked around, and gotten lucky. She found two men going that way. No threats or theft required. They hadn't been planning to leave until morning, but it wasn't too difficult for a pretty female to convince them that now would be better.

The men were father and son. Father was maybe fifty, Son about half that. They had introduced themselves as Michael and Anton, but Molly could't remember which was which. Father had offered to let her sit in front, but she'd declined. Molly didn't like sitting with her back to anyone. Besides, if things went sideways, she could go right out the missing window.

Of course, that had been before she realized there was a dog back here. Molly didn't have strong feelings on dogs one way or another, they didn't really have them at the Abbey, but she didn't particularly want its thick white hairs all over her coat. The dog opened its mouth, let out a high pitched yawn, and snuggled closer to Molly, shoving its head onto her lap.

I know it's cold. I'm cold too. That doesn't give you the right to drool on me.

Molly reluctantly took her hand out of her pocket to check the Gadget again. At the same time she tried to nudge the animal back over to its own side, but Dog wasn't having any of it, and resolutely forced its head deeper into her lap.

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The Gadget was a small, thick disc, with handles on either side, like a steering wheel. Blinking lights danced across the face of it. Only when a Hunter grabbed the handles did they really come into focus. It had taken Molly a month to learn to read them properly. When they'd given this thing to her, they had described it as the single most intricate piece of Engineering that existed. Translation: Don't break it or lose it, because we can't replace it. And she hadn't.

Not even during the incident with the bees.

They were traveling more or less in the right direction, although her ride was going to come up a little short of her destination. The light in the upper right quadrant was glowing brightly now, indicating there wasn't much time.

A lot of Hunters died during their bit. That was no secret. More than half, though, got to retire. There were no set rules about it. You were expected to serve at least five years after you got your Jack, but most girls stayed longer than that.

A few stayed on in a different capacity, like Lady Cyclone. The rest headed out into the world, with whatever hopes and dreams they might have left.

Some of those lived to old age. Many didn't. The Blue had a way of using you up.

Of course, that's something no one mentions until after The Oven.

There were Hunters that came back before the end. Molly could imagine Lucy, an old hall mate, checking in at the Abbey every time she had so much as a cold.

Oh, Lucy. Always so prepared, yet so often so surprised.

Lucy was now a pale green light near the middle of the Gadget, happily blinking somewhere in the vicinity of Anthem. Molly heard she had a man now, heard they grew beets and potatoes.

Others had families that knew the score, and had arrangements in place to be disposed of properly.

Many didn't fit into either category. Those were Molly's responsibility.

The truck stopped. Father and Son had to turn to the west now, which meant that Molly was on her own for the last dozen miles. She tucked the Gadget back into her bag, and got out of the truck. She thanked Father and Son, and said goodbye to Dog, who seem to disapprove of the idea of losing the the other warm body from the back seat.

Molly trudged toward her destination. The ground was cold and hard, only dusted with snow at first, but it got deeper as she walked north. She jumped a few times, but the boots never worked as well in the snow. There was something about touching the actual ground out here that they liked. It was one of those things that the Engineers denied, but that every Hunter knew.

She got to the cabin just as the late winter sun was rising. There was a stream, and a forest, and no one around for miles and miles.

Molly thought it was a good choice. A nice place.

She checked the light one more time, and sighed.

Let's get this over with.