A/N: New chapter, not my best work. As I've mentioned before, updates are really slowing down now. I have no school this week though, so I might be able to update again this week :D

On their hunt for survivors, five days ago, Broyles had asked people searching to bring back as much useful things as they could find. That task, however, had proven to be more than slightly difficult in a destroyed city, and they were running out of food and more importantly, water. Their travels to the surface had become more frequent, and with it the need to give at least a few of the dead a proper burial.

Thus, all the remaining survivors had gone out into the city again, carrying back the bodies of their loved ones.

This morning, they'd dug a great hole, and one by one lowered the bodies into it, Peter and Charlie covering them with sand. Everyone was crying, including even Broyles -she'd discovered he'd lost his children and ex-wife. Ella, who was recovering speedily, held on to Olivia tightly the whole time.

When Olivia'd told the child her mother was gone, Ella didn't cry. At first, Olivia thought she hadn't understood what she said, and repeated it. Once, twice, three times, and still no reaction. Olivia's own eyes were filled with tears, but Ella's were perfectly dry, staring ahead without really seeing.

It'd taken her two more days to finally cry, and Olivia almost wished she hadn't. It was just so heartbreaking to hear the little child's muffled cries all night long, continuing even in her dreams, as she slept in her aunt's arms. She knew what Ella was going through, knew how much it hurt to lose a parent when you were just a child. She'd hoped her niece would be spared that pain, that feeling of your heart ripping in two, and the emptiness that became less over the years but never really went away.

So now, when Rachel's body dissapeared into the ground, every moment seemed to last for hours. Olivia thought of all the people that'd died, all the lives lost and wondered what for. Who was it, so evil and impossibly cruel that'd done this? How could they live with himself? How they just go on, knowing they had destroyed so much?

Finally the service was over, Ella having sobbed into her aunt's chest until her breathing evened out. Olivia lay the girl down on the 'bed', brushing a strand of hair from her face.

Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her, and turned to see Peter standing there, his sleeves rolled up and sweat beading on his forehead. Even in the basement, buried in the ground and without windows it was hot, not to mention the temperature outside. That was one of the strangest things, it was as if the entire climate had changed, leaving Boston a rocky desert. For that same reason, water was scarce and Olivia suspected they'd soon have to move elsewhere to find enough food and water.

"Is she okay?" Peter asked, pulling her out of her thoughts and focussing them on Ella.

"She's doing pretty good, considering she just lost her mother."

"And what about her father?"

"Greg?" Olivia said. "This is going to sound really harsh, but I'm not that sad he might be dead. He was a jerk, and a horrible father to Ella. I know he doesn't deserve to die, but Ella's better off without him. It's why they were even here, Rachel took her to Boston because she was getting a divorce. They were going to have a better life-" Then the memories of her sister became too much, and she said nothing more, afraid it would come out as a sob instead. She'd cried enough already, more in the past few days than she'd had in her entire life. She needed to pull herself together.

"Now she's gone." She said finally through gritted teeth.

"But Ella's still here, " Peter urged. "and if I've learned anything about you in the pas few days, I know you're going to give her a good life. As good as possible in this mess." His tone was a far cry from his normal, sarcasm-laced voice; it was soft, and caring, and showed a side of him that surprised Olivia.

Then it went back to all buisness, as he asked her if Ella had told her how she'd survived.

"Actually, she said something about a man with a hat and no eyebrows getting her out from under the ruins, but I think she was delirious. I mean, don't you think if there was still someone alive here we'd come across them? And why rescuing Ella and then leaving?" Olivia said.

"I don't know, Boston's a big city. Even a destroyed Boston." He smiled grimly.

"Yeah." Olivia paused, seemingly contemplating something. "Do you think there's still people alive, others on this world?"

"I do. I mean, there must've been others who hid in a basement, or bunker or something." Peter said, his words lined with such a slight trace of desperation Olivia almost didn't even catch it. It made her uneasy.

"Yeah. So do I."

A/N: Reviews make me update faster :D