Cricket breathes in the scent of boiling pine needles and sighs. Might not be too much longer before there isn't even any of this left. He thinks he's probably getting more out of it than most other people, since it makes him remember his younger days with Aunt Winnie, but he's never going to be ashamed of doing everything he could to help keep people alive.

"It's a'ight, though," he says softly, keeping his voice low so as not to disturb the other sleepers. "It's almost over. You can kinda feel these things sometimes. We're about to turn a corner one way or th'other."

That's terribly fatalistic, but he seems to mean it as reassurance. Pale and bright-eyed, he nods and smiles wider at Steve. "You remember the cartoons they used to show before movies? Black and white and all singing and dancing? There's a fella out there who looks like that, like he's a living cartoon. His name's Bendy. He seems nice."

"Built a snowman with him, too. Kind of a little one, 'cause I ran out of steam, but still."