Liam nurtured his hands by the small, withering fire on the floor of the bank. The tiles were glossed over with snow and ice, and a freezing blue pall hung over everything.

He turned his head as Natalie’s footsteps echoed into the desolate silence.

“Find anyone?” he croaked, words becoming solid as they materialized straight into puffs of crystallized water vapor.

Nat shook her head, hugging her fur coat tighter to her body. “Checked every floor with Fred, nothing except a few frozen bodies…” She shivered and scuttled closer to the fire.

“So where’s he now?” Liam asked, feeding more paper bills into the flame.

“Back looking in the vaults to see if there’s any more money to burn…probably not; everyone went crazy and took it when this scare hit.”

“Plenty of good it did them,” Liam said soberly.

Nat nodded, a blond hair draping over her face.

Suddenly, a dull thud came from far off in the building, followed by a repetitive ticking, like a heavy door being closed and locked.

“…Fred?” Liam called.