Several weeks passed. Sheila, Linda, Jeremy, and Kevin made their way north. River, still grieving Rachel's death, had pointed the group in the direction of the nearest body of water near a human settlement before taking flight. The nights kept getting colder as they made their way north. Most of the work was done by Sheila; normally she would carry the humans on her back or in her hand when she wanted to talk privately. Winter was setting in and the the white plastic outfits the trio wore did nothing to protect against the cold nights. Linda, of course, had no problem sleeping in her mother's mouth at night. Jeremy and Kevin were not so eager and they would typically try to huddle up against Sheila's side after starting a small camp fire.
 
 The days passed with a general lack of exciting events. They would wake in the morning and travel, which was slow. Often Sheila would come across an area of dense brush that would force her to find a way around, slowing their progress. They would only stop to allow Jeremy to hunt. During this time, Linda and Kevin would try to find some type of wild berries that were edible this late in the year. Jeremy had fashioned himself a spear out of nothing more than a pointed stick, and a sling shot made from some of the elastic material from his own outfit. Unfortunately, Jeremy would only come back with a couple rabbits or some fish he managed to catch in a small creek. Sheila would, of course, get most of the catch due to her large size and food requirements. However, it was not nearly enough to truly satisfy her. Everyone seemed to accept the fact that they might go hungry for a time, but they would not starve.
 
 The nights soon brought a freezing rain that would put out the camp fire and chill everyone to the bone. Except Linda of course. Before long the rain turned to sleet. Sheila awoke in the dead of night shivering. She felt a more severe shaking at her side. After taking out the slumbering girl, she spoke. "Oh God. Jeremy? Kevin? Are you alright?" She reached back with her hands to where the duo were huddled at her side. They felt cold. Very cold. Hypothermia was setting in. Sheila quickly plucked the pair from her side with her free hand and held them to her chest in an effort to warm the pair. The orca knew that it would not be enough. She addressed Linda. "Linda, They're freezing. I think they may be in the early stages of hypothermia. I do not have room enough in my mouth to hold all three of you comfortably."
 
 "Then.. what can we do?" asked the girl.
 
 "I've avoided the only real option long enough. I'm going to have to store all three of you in my first stomach. Don't worry, it can't digest, but I�ll need you to go first to ensure they don't get hurt on the way down."
 
 Linda was shocked by this. Her last trips to Sheila's stomach had not been pleasant, but that was before her mother had been genetically altered and transformed into her current form: a hybrid of Human, Orca, and some unknown species. She knew from their time in the facility that her first stomach was perfectly safe when a man by the name of John Smith had forced Sheila to eat Jeremy and Kevin. She hesitantly agreed. "OK. I�ll go."
 
 With that, Sheila brought the girl up to her face and opened her mouth, resting her chin on the edge of her palm to allow the girl to climb in on her own. The sleet had already made the girl start to shiver so Linda was eager to get back to a warm place. Once in her mother's mouth, she laid back on the large muscle of her tongue. Once she felt prepared, Linda slapped the tongue three times to signal that she was ready. The orca-taur then tilted her head back and swallowed. As the muscle contractions pulled the girl down into her depths, Linda realized that the esophagus was not near as tight as her last trip to Sheila's stomach.
 
 Once deposited in the large sack-like organ, Linda realized that it was much larger than before. About the size of a small room or large walk-in closet. The walls and floor were coated in a thin layer of slime. As she moved to the side of the stomach the surface conformed to her steps. She slapped the wall three times. "OK! I'm ready!"
 
 "Kevin's going down first," said Sheila. The sound of her voice reverberated around the girl. Sheila used her now free hand to separate the duo from their embrace on her chest. They were shivering too much to try to object. Once she placed the cold human boy in her mouth, she used her tongue to try and straighten him out from his weak attempt to curl into a ball. Once the boy was restrained, she swallowed. Linda waited patiently as she got comfortable sitting against the soft stomach wall. The sphincter at the top of the chamber opened before Kevin came out and plopped down on the soft floor. The girl quickly moved to drag the boy back towards the wall she had been leaning against.
 
 "OK! Send down Jeremy!" yelled Linda. Sheila then repeated the process. Unable to sleep well in the cold and with all three humans now safe within her, she stood up and started north towards the mountains. Meanwhile, Linda cuddled up between her two fellow companions and drifted off to sleep.
 
 
 The next morning Jeremy awoke first. Laying beside him was Linda. "That's weird," said the man. Then he sat up and instantly recognized were he was. "Wake up, Linda!" he said, shaking the girl. She yawned and rubbed her eyes.
 
 "I'm up."
 
 "Care to explain why Sheila ate us?"
 
 "You and Kevin were freezing. She thought you might get hypothermia."
 
 Jeremy looked over at his younger brother, who was still sleeping, for a moment. He did remember being deathly cold and wet, but nothing else. He may not like it, but it made sense.
 
 "What about getting out of here? With just me and Kevin it was a tight fit the way back up. Sheila is not exactly subtle enough for hunting, and she has to eat real food at some point."
 
 "I.. I don't know," she said. "Shiela! Sheila!"
 
 "Yes?" said Sheila. Her voice coming from all around them.
 
 "Jeremy just brought up a point. How are you going to get us out safely?"
 
 "I've been thinking about that too. I found a young sapling that I've striped of limbs. I think its long enough to reach."
 
 "Well can you try and see?" asked Jeremy.
 
 "Yes I can, but you don't want to come out now."
 
 "Why not?"
 
 "A blizzard moved in overnight. Looks like you all will be stuck in there for a while. But don't worry, I'm nearly to the mountains. Hopefully we can get above the storm."
 
 "What? How did you cover that much ground?"
 
 "I've been walking since I swallowed you."
 
 "Oh. Ok then." Jeremy sat silent for a few minutes until Kevin started to stir.
 
 "Where.. where are we?" asked the boy, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
 
 "Take a guess," responded Linda with a laugh. Kevin blinked a few times as he took in his surroundings.
 
 "Oh. We're in Aunt Sheila's belly," he said with a laugh.
 
 Jeremy was astonished that his younger brother could take the situation so lightly. It must have been the child�s ability that all children have to simply accept the unthinkable. Both the kids started laughing at Jeremy's expression of disbelief. Linda nudged Kevin with her elbow and before long, Jeremy was trying not to trip over the scuffle as the kids rolled around the confined space. "Hey now! Settle down, you two!" cried Jeremy, but they ignored him.
 
 As the wind whipped her body, Sheila felt the movements caused by the two little brawlers within her. It made her feel good, like a mother should. She patted her abdomen and pressed on through the storm as she reached the foot of the mountains.
 
 When the next day came around, Sheila had finally gotten above the storm and the entire group was hungry. She tapped her belly a few times. "Everybody out! Unless you really want to be my food." Sheila then relaxed her throat and tried to stick the sapling down her throat. However, her first attempts nearly caused her to heave. After the fifth try, she was getting desperate. There was no way she could simply regurgitate the trio without hurting them. Two maybe, but not three. "Guys, looks like we have a problem." she announced.
 
 "We noticed!" responded Jeremy. "We've been knocked around a few times."
 
 "What am I going to do?"
 
 "Try finding a rope."
 
 "We're up in the mountains! Where am I going to find rope?"
 
 "Perhaps I can help with that," said a familiar seductive voice.
 
 "River?" asked the orca in shock.
 
 "Hello, Sheila," said the blue dragon as she appeared around from behind a boulder. "What this about rope? And where�s our little snacks?"
 
 "I ate them and I need rope to get them back out."
 
 "Oh, hungry, were we?"
 
 "It wasn't like that. I had to get them out from the cold."
 
 "I see."
 
 "Who's there?" asked Jeremy from Sheila's depths. "River?"
 
 "Well, hello there, little one," said River kneeling in front of Sheila. "Seems like you're in a pickle. Are Linda and Kevin in there too?"
 
 "Yes!" responded the kids.
 
 "Well you all just hang tight. Sheila and I will have you out in a jiffy." With that the dragon stood up and addressed the whale. "I have some supplies in my cave. Follow me."
 
 Once the pair of giants reached River's cave, the dragon went to the back and started rummaging through a pile of seemingly useless junk. After a few moments, she came back with a long piece of rope. Sheila didn't ask questions. "OK! Coming down!" she announced as she stuck one end of the rope in her mouth and started swallowing until her throat started pulling the cord.
 
 The trio of humans watched in anticipation as the rope descended to the floor.
 
 "OK, Sheila. That's enough!" called Jeremy and the rope stopped. "OK, Kevin, you go first. Be sure to hang on tight, just like repelling." he said to his brother. They watched as Kevin walked up to the rope and took a hold, wrapping the rope around his hands and cross his legs around it. "OK! One going up." said Jeremy as he slapped the stomach wall. Linda and Jeremy watch as the rope went taught and lifted the boy into Sheila's esophagus.
 
 Outside, River watched with jealous eyes as Sheila had her head tilted back and pulled the rope out of her throat with the little human child at the end. "Oh my... I wish I could do that. Unfortunately for me, it would be a one-way trip," said the dragon as she cupped her hands to accept the small boy.
 
 "Hello River!" said Kevin with a smile.
 
 "Hello Kevin," responded the dragon. "Did you enjoy your time inside Sheila?"
 
 "Oh yes. Aunt Sheila's tummy is very warm."
 
 River chuckled. "I'm glad. Now let's wait for your brother and Linda."
 
 In the course of the conversation, Sheila had already started to swallow the rope again as she repeated the process. Once all three humans were out and everyone had greeted River, Sheila asked the question that had been on the entire group's mind. "River.. I don't suppose you have any food? We got stuck in that blizzard, and we haven�t eaten in nearly two days."
 
 "I don't have any with me, but it just so happens I was going out hunting when I ran into you," said the dragon. "Tell you what, I'll go out and bring back enough food for all of us. Linda and Kevin, start gathering wood from my wood pile in the back, but don't bother lighting it. Jeremy, feel free to look through my pile of stuff over there and see if you can find anything you can use. I'll be back." With that, the dragon flew off and the three humans set to work at their tasks. Shiela simply sat down for the first time in two days.
 
 Before long River returned with her catch: five deer. By the time she had gotten back, the two kids had finished gathering wood for a fire and looked in amazement at the dragoness's catch. River promptly divided the meal. two for her and Sheila, and one for the three humans. "So Sheila, would you like you meal cooked or raw?"
 
 The whale thought for a moment. "I haven�t had anything but raw fish in years."
 
 "Oh. Then allow me," River said as she lifted one of the dead deer by its hind legs. Fire lept from her lips and across the carcass leaving the skin darkened. The dragoness then handed the cooked deer to Sheila. "Try it." The orca-taur accepted the carcass and placed it on her tongue.
 
 "Wow. This is good." said Sheila as she chewed the deer meat and swallowed.
 
 "Thank you for the complement."
 
 By then, Jeremy had finally finished going through River's stash. He had found several knives, a couple bows, what appeared to be an iron cooking pot, and iron pan, and several items of clothing. Most importantly, what appeared to be cold weather jackets and boots. Most of the clothes were too big for Linda and Kevin, but they would have to do. "Ah. Jeremy, I'm glad you found some stuff to use in my junk. Go ahead and use one of those knives to cut what you three will want off that deer. I think Sheila's going to want what's left." Sheila had just eaten her second deer. After several minutes Jeremy managed to remove one of the deer's hindquarters and set to cutting it into more manageable pieces. With that done, he skewered one of the larger pieces on the largest knife he had found.
 
 "River, if you don't mind would you light our fire?"
 
 "Of course little one." The dragon then bent down and snatched up what was left of the deer as she kindled the fire. After everyone had finished the feast, the group sat around in a circle.
 
 "So.. where did you get all this stuff, River?" asked Jeremy.
 
 "Mostly from unlucky humans over the years. I'm glad you've found some of it useful. My other visitors thought I was crazy for keeping it," River responded casually.
 
 The quartet looked at the dragon with expressions of mixed horror and disgust. "What? I'm a dragon. Did you honestly expect anything different?"
 
 "What makes us different from your 'unlucky' humans?" asked Sheila.
 
 "Well, Sheila, You're not exactly human anymore, and the rest of you are all lucky of course. So don't worry your little heads. You're safe with me."
 
 "Alright then. Can you tell us how far we have to go?" asked the orca-taur.
 
 "Certainly. Once you pass the mountains you'll enter another forest. This one consists of mostly pine. If you keep traveling north, you will come to a human village called Stonebridge. From there, you should head west about fifteen miles and you will come to a lake that is about two miles across. All in all, it's about another one, maybe two days travel, based upon your current progress. of course."
 
 "That's good to hear," said Jeremy. "But I think we should avoid any human contact given Sheila's... stature."
 
 Sheila let out a sigh. "I hate to say it, but he's right. I don't need hunters and adventurers looking to make a trophy of a one-of-a-kind monster."
 
 "Well, you could always eat anyone you came across..." said River with a chuckle.
 
 "No! That�s out of the question."
 
 "Of course it is. Oh well, looks like I�ll have to join you all in your little trek. Otherwise, you might just get lost in the forest if you try to cut across the woods and skip Stonebridge. But that can wait till tomorrow. You should all rest today, or at least stay inside."
 
 "I've got one more question."
 
 "Go on, ask it."
 
 "Well, I don't suppose you have any larger garments?" asked Sheila gesturing to her now ample chest. "It gets pretty cold."
 
 "I might just have something. I haven't worn clothes in a number of years, but I still have some of my old garments." With that the dragon stood up and walked to the back of the cave. A short time later, River returned holding out a large leather jerkin. "You're in luck, I think it's just your size."
 
 Sheila accepted the jerkin and put it on. She tied it together in the front. "Thank you."
 
 "Your welcome dear." responded River with a smile. "Now who wants to play a game?" She said addressing the children.
 
 
 
 The next day, the group prepared to depart. Sheila and Jeremy had modified her jerkin with pockets in which they had stored most of the supplies Jeremy had found. Jeremy and Kevin were perched on her back as they gripped the rope that Jeremy had looped around her lower body and Linda sat in the palm of her hand. They all wore there 'new' oversized winter clothes. "OK," said River. "Is everyone ready to go?"
 
 "I believe so," responded Sheila.
 
 "OK, then everyone be sure to hang on. It's still pretty windy out there."
 
 "Just don't go too fast," said Jeremy.
 
 "Don't worry, we will have to go slow. The cliffs around here can be dangerous if you're not to careful."
 
 "If you don't feel safe on my back, I could always use a little snack," said Sheila with a wink as she turned her upper body to address Jeremy.
 
 "Um, I don't think that will be necessary..." responded the human with a blush.
 
 "Well, if you don't want to go, I will!" said Kevin eagerly.
 
 "Alright." said Sheila, plucking the small boy from her back. "But you had better shed that coat first. I don't think you will need it." Kevin energeticly removed his jacket and handed it to Linda who was still sitting in the orca-taur's other hand.
 
 "I'll go with you," piped up Linda.
 
 Sheila chuckled as she moved both children to one hand and took both the jackets. "Alright, one at a time," she said, bringing her hand up to her mouth. Kevin went first at a run into her maw and he jumped into a dive as if her was on a water slide. His momentum swiftly carried him down her throat so that she barely had to swallow. "Whoa, he's an eager little guy," said Sheila with surprise. "OK, your turn."
 
 Linda calmly climbed into he mother's mouth and laid face-first towards the throat. "OK, ready!" she called. Sheila slowly tilted her head back and swallowed.
 
 River stood watching the display with a smile. "You have no idea how envious I am of you. Most humans I meet run in fear that I will swallow them. Every now and then I run into a few weirdos who overly enjoy it. Too bad it's a one-way trip."
 
 The whale laughed at the statement before patting her belly. "Is everyone ready in there?"
 
 "Ready!" came a pair of young voices in response.
 
 "OK, You all set back there, Jeremy?"
 
 "Ya, I'm ready," said the man, still amazed at the childeren's actions.
 
 "OK, let's go," said River as she led the way through the treacherous mountains.
 
 The next two days passed in relative bordem. By the end of the first day, the group had made their way out of the mountains and into the forest, where River turned to the north west. Every now and then, she would take flight in order to ensure the party was still on the right path. They only stopped to eat and sleep. Fortunately, they did not run into any groups of humans. What humans had been nearby fled when a dragon's shadow passed over their camp. By noon of the second day, the group finally arrived at the lake. Just as River had said it was about two miles wide. Sheila quickly retrieved Kevin and Linda so that she could run for the water and immerse herself for the first time in weeks.
 
 "Well, here you guys are. I don't know what humans call this lake, but you will probably want to go to the town on occasion for supplies," said River. "I'll be sure to drop by and check in on you guys." With that, the dragon took to the air and headed back to her cave.
 
 "Now what do we do?" asked Kevin
 
 "I guess we build a home. But that can wait 'till tomorrow." said Jeremy.
 
 "Do you want to race to the water?" asked Linda.
 
 Kevin didn't respond but simply took off towards the icy water. Linda wasn't far behind.