The sniper on the ridge slumped, a hole freshly cracked in his goggles, and if someone had been watching they would have seen the plastic turn dark and thick streams of red start to pour over its edge.

It didn't matter, though, because he'd shot first. Natalya pushed herself through the snow as fast as she could toward where she could make out one standing form and one- not.

"Nyet," she hissed, breath coming harsh and ragged, "nyet nyet." She slid to a halt, pulling Yorick down so if another sniper was watching for them he wouldn't be the most immediate target, and then she grabbed Sam's shoulders to pull his head up where she could see.

The blood was mostly around the back of his head and his neck. The bullet had gone through at an angle that must have shattered his occipital bone. Her eyes filled with tears that she fiercely ignored.

"No. No, Sam- Nyet, please, no, don't do this. Oh, God." That had successfully undermined the entire point of them running away. She bowed her head, gritting her molars together as hard as she could.

She swallowed, looking up, and leaned over Sam's body. She put her hand across his eyes so they were closed when she removed it.

"Damn it. God damn it.."