The snow fell thick and quiet outside the old ski lodge, blanketing the surrounding forest in muffled silence. It was supposed to be just a shelter from the storm. A place to regroup and rest. But for Abby Anderson, this lodge was something else.

It was the end of a hunt.

She stood by the frosted window, watching the blood in her breath coil against the glass. Behind her, her friends were spread across the room—alert, armed, tense. Jordan checked his rifle. Leah paced near the door. Manny leaned against a support beam, chewing on his glove, while Mel, always the medic, kept her distance from the confrontation that was coming. Nick and Nora flanked the rear exit. Owen stood by the fireplace, trying not to look as conflicted as he felt.

Then the door opened, and everything changed.

Joel and Tommy stepped in like they had done it a thousand times—shoulders squared, confidence etched into every step. They were soaked and cold, and they had no idea what they’d just walked into.

Abby stiffened.

“You guys live nearby?” Tommy asked, scanning the room, but his smile faltered when he noticed the loaded weapons, the hard eyes, the silence.

“We do,” Abby said, stepping forward. Her voice was steady, but her heart thundered. “You two picked a bad day to come up the mountain.”

Joel caught it then. The tension. The calculation in Abby’s expression. He stepped in front of his brother.

“Something wrong?” he asked, voice low.

Manny moved beside Abby, shotgun lowered but ready. “Depends. You Joel?”

The air cracked with silence. Owen closed his eyes.

Joel’s jaw twitched. “Yeah. That’s me.”

Everything moved fast after that.

Jordan slammed the door shut behind them. Tommy reached for his gun but Nick was already on him. A brief struggle, a crash, a yell. Leah screamed for Tommy to get down. Mel flinched. Nora raised her pistol but didn’t fire. Owen didn't move he glared at joel angrily.

Abby stepped forward, rifle trained on Joel. “Do you remember Firefly Hospital? Salt Lake City?”

Joel’s eyes narrowed. “I remember enough.”

“Then you know why we’re here.”

Joel didn’t resist when they grabbed him. He knew. Maybe he’d known since the moment he saw her face. Abby couldn’t breathe. All the rage and grief—her father’s dead eyes, the sterile operating room, the lives lost in a single selfish act—it boiled up in her throat like acid.

Tommy shouted. “What the hell is this???"

Nora restrained him. “Justice.”

“Revenge,” Joel muttered. “That what this is?”