safe.

The river was wide and treacherous. It didn't make for good winter fishing, not up this way, and due to its depth, the quality of the icy layer encasing its' rushing waters could not be trusted. He didn't venture out here, none of his people did, without a very specific and worthy reason, not this time of year. Besides- they didn't like to spend a lot of time where the Soviets had been. The scars those people had left on the Remnant and their valley were still too fresh for that. Even so, now he stood on a bridge, staring down a helicopter. It hadn't been that long ago that he'd never seen such a creation, but in the last many years, he'd seen far more than he'd like to have. They always seemed to mean trouble for his people, and for their way of life.

The helicopter hovered, the chopping of its' blades a threat that made its' own echo. The voice boomed from the loudspeaker, and the boots of the enemy, the clicks of the safeties going off of their guns, sounded behind them.

Jacob glanced to his new companion, seeing her gaze dart to the freezing water below. He knew what he was thinking, because he thought the same. She gave him a tiny nod, one that he returned, and with no hesitation, she leaped from the failing wooden bridge into the depths of the river.

He was only a step or two behind. He wasn't eager for this, but it was the only way. He wasn't concerned for himself really; for obvious reasons. He was unaffected by extreme temperatures, and he had little to no worries of drowning. He had good lungs, and he was a good swimmer. Even if he did drown- well. He knew it would not be permanent. Judging by past experiences, though, drowning was a terrible way to go, one he'd like to avoid if at all possible, and besides that, he couldn't afford to wait until the dawn for things to reset. Lara might need him.

She'd proven herself more than capable already, and he was glad he wasn't fighting her. She would be a formidable obstacle. But she was so small, her lungs just weren't able to hold a lot of air. He didn't think she would panic, but it might be a ways before she found a break in the ice, and the cold would sap her strength quickly. He would stick close by, but stay out of her way unless she got stuck.

This was easier said than done. Once the water closed over his head, it was murky and littered with ruins and silt. The darkness made in the shade of the ice overhead didn't help matters. There were several moments where he simply hovered, uncertain as to which way she had gone, unable to see. Finally, he saw the break in the.... It wasn't ice. He wasn't sure what it was, but it had some sort of top on it and they needed to get out. He couldn't tell if she had or not, but surely by now...

He slid carefully through the gap, going through at an angle so his shoulders with clear the opening, and his eyes roved the open space in the water. Ah! There she was, nearing the hole in the ice itself, nearing air. Her movements were quick and desperate; she was hurting but she'd make it. He wouldn't rush in and become overbearing. He was a stranger, after all, and not supposed to care very much what happened to her. Unfortunately, not caring had never been his strong suit.

He watched her drag herself from the frozen water, and turned his efforts double time, hurrying towards the air. He'd just regroup with her up top, and then they could-

The sound of gunfire split the echoey depths of the river, and balls of fire plunged through the ice, igniting for mere seconds in the water before they extinguished into blue-tinted plumes of smoke. There was no way he could go up that way now. He wasn't afraid of being shot, but he couldn't allow Lara to see him die. His return thereafter would be very suspicious.

He turned towards a fork in the river that most did not know was there, a small canal that led off into the woods. He knew it, because a small pond resided at the end, where deer gathered. It was an excellent place to hunt, but it would also be an excellent place to get away. He could circle around and surprise anyone in pursuit of Lara from there. They probably assumed he'd drowned or been shot, and wouldn't be expecting him.