"It's orange," Ellen says, forgetting for the moment that she's never actually shown the other two women what she sees through the goggles. "Woola, if you can, push some more of the snow aside- we have to get through..."

Purely out of reflex she reaches over her shoulder for the Gauss rifle she often carries. The men might be safely indoors, but this is a bad situation and there may be predators she hasn't seen smell-trails for trying to take advantage of it.