AN: Hello. I have returned. Enjoy the painfully long chapter. Let me know what you think. All that.
"Well, this is bullshit," Ellie said.
They were in an upscale apartment, gathered around a window that overlooked the street, the dusty blinds parted enough for them to watch the Humvee roll heavily across the pavement. Flies buzzed around the corpse strapped to its hood, and hunters milled around it on sidewalks, talking and exchanging orders.
No one said anything for a moment. Tess drummed her nails against the wooden table in front of the window, leaving fingerprints in the film of dust. Joel looked up and down the road, arms crossed over his chest. Riley watched Ellie, who was toying with her switchblade.
"So, anyone have any ideas?" Ellie asked after a moment.
Joel shook his head. "We'll just try to stay up high. Stick to the ledges. Getting across the bridge is going to be the problem."
No more planning needed, they climbed onto the fire escape that stuck out far enough for them to get to the next building's ledge, and then slowly proceeded along the side, Tess grimacing at the distance between them and the ground below.
They made their way from building to building, cutting through apartments and offices, all unoccupied and stripped bare. Apparently others had been utilizing the pathway they had chosen, as planks had been laid on the gaps between ledges, making crossing easy, though still unnerving.
"You alright?" Riley asked, glancing up from her feet, where her toes just brushed the end of the ledge, to Tess.
Tess clutched at the wall with a white-knuckled hand, groaning quietly under her breath as she eyed the pavement below.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Just not a big fan of this."
"Well, at least it's not raining," Ellie said, watching as Joel sidled toward an open window at the end of the building.
He climbed inside, swinging his leg over the window's ledge and dropping down onto the floor. Tess was readying herself to release her grip on the gutter and follow him in when the noise of a scuffle came from inside the room, causing all of them to tense momentarily, before Tess jumped to action, vaulting in after him hastily.
When she landed inside she spotted Joel, a man having grabbed him from behind. The man's back was to her, and she wasted no time in swinging the butt of her gun into his head, causing him to release Joel and tumble forward, Joel going down after him, fists swinging.
As they jumped through the window after Tess, the girls eyes were drawn first to Joel slamming his fist into the side of a tall, dark-skinned man, and then, when Ellie heard the sound of a gun's hammer being pulled back, to a young boy pointing a handgun at Joel shakily.
"Joel, stop!" Ellie yelled. "Joel!"
Tess grabbed Joel's wrist just as he was preparing to swing again, jerking him toward her. He looked at her with dazed confusion for a moment before his gaze turned toward the boy, and then his hand fell to his side slowly.
"Easy, son—"
"Leave him alone," the boy snapped, waving the gun toward the other side of the room with his shaking hand.
Joel slowly stepped away, his hands hovering away from his belt. The man on the floor sat up, rubbing at his bloodied arm and staring at Ellie and Riley with open surprise.
"It's alright," he said to the boy. "They're not the bad guys. Lower the gun."
The boy did as he was told, hesitantly.
The man glanced at Joel. "Man, you hit hard."
"Well, I was tryin' to kill you," Joel said blankly.
The man chuckled, and then looked at each of them, a jaunty, young grin hanging on his face.
"I think I caught your name is Joel?" he asked, glancing back at Joel as he stood up.
Joel nodded, and Tess followed suit.
"Tess."
"Ellie," Ellie said with a wave.
"I'm Riley," Riley added, glancing between the boys.
The man nodded.
"I'm Henry. This is Sam," he said, patting the younger boy on the shoulder.
"You're hurt," Sam said, frowning at Henry's arm.
Henry shrugged, taking the gun from the boy's hands and tucking it into his belt before pulling a roll of gauze from his pocket. "It's no big deal."
He turned back to Joel and Tess, smiling ruefully.
"Sorry about that. Thought you were one of them," he said, jerking a thumb out toward the city. "Until I saw the girls. In case you haven't noticed, they don't keep kids around."
Riley stifled an annoyed sigh.
"You guys alone?" Tess asked, eyeing the doorway.
Henry continued wrapping up his arm. "Nah, we got a group."
"But they're all dead," Sam said, matter-of-factly.
Henry shook his head. "Hey, we don't know that."
Sam sighed.
"There were a bunch of us. But then someone had the brilliant idea of entering the city to look for supplies. The fuckers ambushed us, scattered us. Now it's all about getting out of this shithole," he said, tying off the gauze and the wiping the blood from his hands onto his pants.
"Well, maybe we could stick together?" Riley suggested.
Tess's brow furrowed, and she glanced at Joel, feeling the girls watching them expectantly. "I don't know if—"
"What could it hurt?" Ellie prompted, raising an eyebrow challengingly. "We could use the backup. Safety in numbers and all that."
"We're doing fine—" Tess began.
"But we could be doing better. C'mon," Riley insisted, Ellie nodding in agreement.
Tess sighed, scrutinizing Henry for a moment, ignoring the cautiously hopeful expression on his face. She looked at Joel, who looked wary, but didn't disagree.
"Fine. Let's just get the hell out of here."
Henry clapped his hands together and beamed. "Alright. We got a little hideout not far from here. It'll be safer if we chat there."
"That'll work," Tess said.
Henry nodded, and then waved them toward the door. He took the lead, Tess and Joel following after him, and the girls and Sam trailing on their heels.
"Sorry about the whole gun thing," Sam mumbled as they headed down a flight of stairs.
"It's fine," Riley said, shrugging. "Anybody would've done the same thing."
"So, uh, where you guys from?" Sam asked, looking at them curiously.
"Boston Quarantine Zone, originally," Riley replied, eyeing a Firefly symbol that had been graffitied on the wall in yellow spray paint. The word 'liars' had been painted over it in red.
Ellie turned her face away from the afternoon sunlight that glared through the window as they passed. "What about you guys?"
"Hartford."
"I heard some bad stuff was going on there," Ellie said.
He nodded. "Yeah, the military left. It probably looks like this place by now. Anyway, how'd you guys end up here?"
Riley chuckled. "It's a long story. What about you?"
"Well, like Henry said, we were looking for supplies," Sam said, pushing his hands into his pockets. "We've been trying to find the Fireflies. Henry wants to join up with 'em. Thinks they're our best bet."
"Really? That's sort of where we're heading, too," Ellie said.
"You guys looking to join them?"
Ellie hesitated. "Sorta."
They'd reached glass door of a brightly colored toyshop, and were just starting to walk in when Henry waved them down and away from the window. A moment later the Humvee rolled by heavily, the motor groaning.
Once it passed, they all stood and grimaced.
"That fucking truck," Henry said, waving in the direction the Humvee had gone. "It's been hounding us ever since we got in this damn city. At least it can't get back into the alleys or anything."
Joel nodded. "Where's this hideout of yours?"
"Not far. C'mon."
He paused as he was heading toward the door, his eyes on Sam, who held a toy robot and wore a guilty expression.
"Get rid of it."
Sam twisted the robot in his hands. "My backpack is practically empty—"
"What's the rule about taking stuff?"
"Henry—"
Henry took a step toward him, his arms crossed over his chest. "The rule – what is it?"
Sam sighed, the robot falling to the floor and clattering a few feet away. "Only take what we need."
"That's right."
Ellie and Riley watched the exchange, Ellie frowning, Riley only raising an eyebrow.
"That's not really fair," Ellie said, as Henry and Sam disappeared through the doorway, Joel and Tess following after them.
She leaned down and snatched the robot off the floor, tucking it away into her backpack as Riley watched her with amusement.
"He seems like he could use some cheering up," Ellie said, shrugging.
Riley smirked. "Sometimes I forget how nice you actually are."
"Shut up," Ellie said flatly, jabbing her with her elbow as they walked through the door.
Henry led them through an alleyway an into an office complex, passing desks and phones and old computer systems, finally unlocking a final door and leading them into a room with a desk and chairs, a couch, and supplies strewn about.
"Welcome to my office," he said with a grin, spreading his arms wide.
Tess chuckled, scanning the room. "It secure?"
"We've been here for a week without a problem, so I'd say so, yeah."
She nodded approvingly, settling herself in an office chair and spinning it so she could look out the window, her feet tapping against the floor impatiently.
"We found a bunch of blueberries the other day, if you want some," he told her and Joel as he settled himself in the chair behind the desk, smiling.
"I'm good, thanks."
Joel just shook his head.
Sam led Ellie and Riley to a moth-eaten couch, settling down at one end and pulling a bowl of blueberries off the coffee table, offering it to them.
"They're awesome," he said, a small smile playing on his lips.
Riley took one, and then sighed appreciatively. "Jeez, I haven't had fruit in forever."
Ellie dropped herself on the couch between them, kicking her feet up and draping them over Riley's on the table. She plucked a few blueberries from the bowl and tossed one up in the air, attempting to catch it in her mouth and only succeeding in bouncing it off her nose.
"Ow," she mumbled, giggling.
Sam chuckled. "A blueberry hurt you?"
When Riley snorted, Ellie threw a blueberry at her.
Henry watched the trio with a look of awe. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"It's been a month since that boy's even cracked a smile."
They stood watching them in silence for a moment, Ellie and Sam having engaged in a competition of catching blueberries, Riley moderating – "Ellie, you can't funnel them toward your mouth." – Ellie muttering about unsettled rules, and Sam laughing at both of them.
Henry sighed and then stood up, walking to the window and peering out through the blinds.
"Alright, lookit this."
Tess and Joel joined him, watching the entrance to the bridge, where men milled about, talking and patrolling.
"Look at these sons of bitches. Everyday they congregate down there, guarding that damn gate. But come nighttime it's a skeleton crew. After sunset – that's our window. With most of them gone we can sneak right past 'em."
Tess scanned the street, eyeing the spotlight at the top of the guard tower. "What exactly is a skeleton crew?"
"Ten guys, at the most." He paused, glancing back toward the kids. "Can your girls fight?"
Joel looked hesitant, but Tess nodded.
"Alright. We can handle this, then, don't you think?"
Joel shook his head. "We'll see."
"So where are you headin', once you get out of here?" Tess asked.
Henry dug a map out from one of the desk drawers and then laid it down in front of them, pointing at a mark that'd been scribbled on the paper.
"This is us. There's an abandoned military radio station just outside of town." He pointed to another mark on the map. "Any survivors from our group are supposed to meet us there tomorrow. If you guys want to join us, it goes down tonight."
"It's a plan, which is better than nothing," Tess said.
Not long after, Henry insisted they all get some sleep, so they would be alert that night. After the rather exhausting events of the morning, no one protested.
Joel crashed in a large plush chair, his feet kicked up on the table, while Tess took the floor, insisting she slept better on a hard surface.
Henry planted himself on the carpet next the couch, listening as Sam and girls continued to talk.
"Did I mention that Ellie stabbed a kid in the knee with a compass once?" Riley asked.
"You're more proud of that story than I am," Ellie said.
Sam laughed. "Are you serious?"
Riley nodded, placing a hand on her chest. "Swear to God. Watch yourself around her. She's dangerous."
They all laughed, and Henry joined in.
Eventually, Sam fell asleep, draped over one end of the couch, Ellie falling sleep soon afterward, her head rested in Riley's lap. Riley and Henry remained awake, Riley watching the sun slowly drop toward the horizon, Henry attempting and failing to sleep.
"So," Henry asked after enough time has passed that the silence had become awkward, "how'd your group end up together?"
Riley gave a quiet huff of laughter, her head rested back against the couch. "Well, Tess and Joel were supposed to escort us to this place and… that didn't work out. We're sorta just following a plan B now."
"Sam said you guys are lookin' for the Fireflies?"
"Pretty much."
Henry stretched, folding his arms behind his head. "I guess he told you we are, too."
"Mmhm."
"There's supposed to be a base out west."
Riley nodded. "That's what I've heard."
"You believe in 'em?"
Riley examined him for a moment, and then dug into her pocket, mindful of Ellie, and retrieved her pendant. She dangled it so Henry could see it.
"They're the only ones who don't treat people like shit," she said, allowing him to take the pendant when he reached for it.
Henry stared at her, wide eyed. "You're with them?"
Riley felt a smile creep across her face. "Yeah, I was."
"You left?"
She hesitated, her eyes dropping to Ellie. "Yes." She paused, frowning. "No. I—it's complicated."
He chuckled. "I get that. What happened?"
Riley shook her head and smiled. "Like I said: it's complicated."
"Alright, if you say so," he said, closing his eyes.
Riley was woken by a hand shaking her shoulder gently, and a voice above her saying something she couldn't quite catch.
She hummed, blinking awake in the darkness and glancing up at Joel, who stood over the couch, looking down at her and Ellie with a strangely soft expression.
"We gotta get going, c'mon," he coaxed, raising an eyebrow when Ellie growled something at him and covered her eyes with her arm.
Riley stared at her for a moment, and then pushed her off the couch, choking back a laugh when Ellie jerked fully awake, catching herself and then glaring up at her.
"I hate you, Riley," Ellie muttered, standing up and rubbing at her shoulder.
"No, you don't," Riley yawned.
Ellie just looked at her blankly.
Sam laughed at them discreetly as he loaded a few cans of food into his backpack. Henry was glancing out the door, his gun tucked into his belt.
"We're gonna have to get moving," he said, glancing back at Tess and Joel.
"That'll work," Tess said, chambering a round in her handgun. "Are we ready?"
Ellie slung her bow over her shoulder, arrows tucked into her backpack, and Riley loaded her gun's clip with what little ammunition she had stored in her backpack, both giving a nod of confirmation to Tess.
Henry snapped his clip into place. "Alright, let's get this done."
The group left the room and descended the stairs, their footsteps thudding hollowly on the metal steps. When they made their way out of the stairwell, and into what appeared to be some sort of reception room for an office complex, Henry dropped behind an upturned table, pointing toward two men standing in front of a barrel fire near the door, their backs facing them. He gestured from Joel to one and then from himself to the other, raising his eyebrows. Joel nodded and then moved forward, leaving the others to watch their backs as he and Henry moved toward the men. They grabbed the hunters and hauled them backward, hands clapped over their mouths to muffle their shouts, and then plunged knives into their throats.
Watching from between Ellie and Riley, Sam sighed, his fingers drumming against his knee. Ellie glanced at him opening and closing her switchblade impatiently.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. I just feel useless," Sam muttered.
"Trust me, if we need your help we'll let you help," Riley said quietly, flipping the safety off on her gun and glancing out the window. She drew in a sharp breath when she noticed a clicker lurching between the rows of cement barricades outside the building. A moment later, a bullet from somewhere down the road knocked it off balance as it caught its shoulder. Another shot brought it down, and somewhere in the distance she could hear whooping.
"Well, at least they're distracted," she noted, watching as Tess and Joel exchanged plans, both of them crouched below the window near door.
It didn't take them long to clear out the remainder of the hunters after that. Tess took out one who was operating a spotlight, while Joel shot another as he descended the stairs from the watchtower. They had four men rush in after them after that, armed with a variety of weapons. Henry managed to take out one of the first ones that attempted to rush toward them, Joel distracting him by shooting near him. Ellie shot the next man in the leg with an arrow as he attempted to find cover near the desk, Tess finishing him off. Riley shot another as he aimed at Tess, while Tess shot the final one as he dove behind the reception desk. The whole affair lasted no more than a minute, and only Tess sustained any injury, a bullet having nicked her arm as it went by.
They all waited in silence for a while, afraid the gunfire might bring more hunters, but none appeared.
"I think we're clear," Tess confirmed, reloading her gun. "Search 'em, and then let's get the fuck out of here."
Riley nodded to her, tucking her gun back into her belt as she jogged toward the front of the room, Ellie on her heels. She tried not to look at the faces of the men as she dug into pockets and backpacks, and emptied whatever useable ammo she could find from their guns.
"Shit, that was ridiculous. At least infected can't shoot at you," Ellie said, helping her turn one of the bulkier hunters over.
"Yeah, no kidding," Riley muttered, pocketing a few rounds and handing Ellie an arrow that had missed its target.
She hopped over the counter to check the last body, doubting she'd find much of anything. There had only been a few a few rounds on the last few men they'd checked – apparently, the night watch wasn't well armed.
What she found was a body, a bloodied hoodie clinging to a rapidly rising and falling chest. Her eyes trailed up to find a boy's ashen face, dark skin drenched with sweat. He was gripping at his stomach, gasping, and when he saw her he reached out a hand pleadingly.
"Don't, please. Please."
Riley stared at him, her hand reaching for her gun instinctively. One of his hands fumbled at his belt, and then he grabbed his gun, shoving it across the floor toward her.
"Take it, take my ammo, take everything," he gasped. "Just let me live, please!"
"Easy, it's alright," she muttered, pulling the gun away from him with her foot, pointing the end of her own toward the ground.
"My name's Jacob," he gasped. "I'm nineteen. I don't wanna die."
She leaned down and picked up the gun, eyes still on him. "Look," she started, only to be interrupted by a gunshot.
A bullet hole had appeared in the boy's temple, his jaw slackening. Riley's gaze whipped around to find Tess standing beside the counter, tucking her gun into her belt.
They stared at each other for a moment tensely, Tess's expression challenging. Riley realized she hadn't breathed since the gunshot went off, and exhaled slowly before speaking.
"You didn't have to do that," she said, her voice meeker than she'd intended.
Tess just shook her head.
"He would have died anyway," she said curtly, turning on heel and leaving Riley standing alone, the man's blank eyes staring at her accusingly, leaving her feeling sick.
Joel called to them from outside the door, insisting they hurry. Riley fell into step with Ellie, both of them lingering behind Sam as they jogged toward the bridge.
"You okay?" Ellie asked, catching her eye. Riley nodded in response, muttering a quiet confirmation. Ellie looked unconvinced.
Henry and Joel began working on pushing open the gate that was blocking them from the bridge, managing to get it cracked open enough that the group could get through before slamming it closed behind them and flipping down the bar that locked it.
The gate opened into an enclosed space, buildings on both sides, and another large, closed gate, a tractor-trailer parked next to it. The bridge's arches were visible just above the truck, tauntingly.
"Alright, we just gotta get to the bridge and we're home clear," Henry assured them, starting up a rusted ladder on the side of a truck trailer, Sam following after him.
Once they were at the top, Joel started climbing up after them, pausing when a noise drew their attention back toward the road they had just crossed. Though the noise was diluted by distance, they could make out growl of an engine, the roll of tires, both growing slowly louder with each passing second.
"Ohshit," Tess hissed. "Go, go, go – it's that goddamn Humvee!"
Joel began climbing with renewed energy, all of them flinching as the truck's lights appeared, shining up into the air. A moment later it slammed into the gate with a metallic boom.
"Go on," Riley snapped, pushing Ellie toward the ladder and looking over her shoulder nervously as Ellie climbed. The gate was beginning to give, the crack between the doors widening.
Riley started up next, urged on by Tess, rusted metal flaking under her palms as she climbed, Ellie reaching for her hand from her perch at the top of the truck.
"C'mon, hurry," Ellie pleaded.
When Riley's foot landed on the one of the bottom rungs the metal gave, and her loss of balance jerked the ladder from its hinges, dropping her onto the pavement.
"Fuckfuckfuckfuck!" Ellie yelled from above her. "Joel, we've gotta get them up—"
There was another crash, and the Humvee's headlights could be seen through the crack in the gate.
"Henry," Joel snarled, " help me pull them up!"
Henry, who had been watching nervously from where he stood, further up on the truck with Sam, finally spoke. "Look, I'm sorry, but they're almost through – we gotta go. Sam, c'mon."
"What!?" Sam demanded.
Henry ignored him, tugging Sam into motion, Sam arguing with him as he was dragged.
"What the fuck—" Ellie snapped. "Henry!"
The truck had rammed the gate again, and the headlights landed on Tess and Riley, like the glaring eyes of a large beast.
"There's no time!" Tess yelled. "Joel, get Ellie out of here – she's what matters."
Joel stared at her with wide-eyed panic, shaking his head desperately. "No, we can—"
"Fucking go!" Tess barked, halting him in the middle of his protestations. "Get her out of here, we can take care of ourselves. Go!"
Ellie, crouching at the edge of the truck, stretched her hand toward Riley.
"Riley!"
Riley reached out for her briefly, their fingers just brushing. "Ellie, I'll find you again," she said, her voice urgent and barely audible above the roar of the truck. "No matter what, I will find you. I promise!"
Their eyes locked for a moment, Ellie shaking her head desperately, her hand still reaching for Riley's.
Before either could get another word in, Tess was grabbing Riley's arm roughly, towing her toward a shop across the alley, kicking open a back door and then dragging her into a darkened room.
As Riley disappeared from sight, Ellie felt tears sting her eyes, her throat closing up.
"Riley…" she breathed as Joel pulled her up and encouraged her onward, murmuring comforts – "They'll be alright." – that he didn't believe, both hopping off the front of the truck and onto the pavement, chasing after Henry and Sam.
Inside what turned out be a beauty parlor, Riley could feel a sinking sense of numbness settle over her. She felt Tess squeeze her arm once, drawing her attention to her.
"Riley, stay with me. Focus," Tess said harshly, capturing her gaze with hard eyes.
Riley nodded, feeling vaguely puppet-like, as if there were strings yanking at her limbs, now making her pull her gun from her belt and flip off the safety, now dragging her after Tess, leading her into a room with glass windows and multiple swiveling chairs and tables laden with bottles and combs and tubes.
Focus. Fucking get it together, she thought, blankly.
They could hear footsteps approaching from the backroom as they ducked behind the counter, and she lifted her gun, shooting automatically at the first man she saw, feeling robotic. Shoot, duck, shoot, duck. Bullets flew over her head, shattering the glass windows of the parlor.
They were running as soon as the men that had followed them into the store were lying on the ground, pushing out of the cracked glass doors, and bolting out across the pavement, the truck's headlights landing on them.
"They can't follow us on the bridge," Tess muttered as the two of them dodged between fallen road signs and barricades, neither daring to cast a glance over their shoulders as the engine's roar grew closer.
"You sure about that?" Riley asked, dragging in short, panting breaths.
"Nope."
They hopped across another barricade, both sliding to a halt as they came to a section of the bridge that had broken, the two jutting sides like jaws, complete with jutting metal beams for teeth, the water below like a gaping mouth.
"Oh, no," Riley breathed, her voice barely audible beneath the roar of the approaching truck and the rushing water's gurgling growl below them.
Tess's gaze flickered between the water and the path they'd come from and the other side of the bridge, her lips parted around words she hadn't yet decided on.
"Goddammit, God damn it!" she hissed, pulling out her magazine and counting her bullets and then shaking her head.
"What now?" Riley asked, suddenly feeling painfully aware of how terrible their current odds were.
"Um—" Tess said, "can you swim?"
Riley looked at the water and snorted. "I don't think anyone can swim in that, but—"
"Well, there's no other option," Tess snapped, tucking her gun into her belt. "Hold your breath, and just swim whichever direction the bubbles go – got it?"
"Uh, sure, right—" She stepped toward the edge of the bridge and then startled when the Humvee rammed a car beside them, pushing it closer toward the edge of the bridge.
"Now!" Tess yelled, pushing her forward and off the edge.
The fall seemed surprisingly short, considering the distance they covered. The first thing Riley registered was the shock of the cold, then the utter, disorienting darkness, and the pressure on her chest. Then she was surfacing, blinking water from her eyes, the smell of salt and earth overwhelming her. She drew in a sharp breath.
"Tess—"
She felt something hit her, and then a hand seizing her shirt, a leg bumping into hers as she attempted to keep herself afloat.
"We're fine," Tess gasped as they were pushed downstream by the water, faster and faster as they went, near blinded by the dark currents.
Riley saw the rock, just a brief flicker of dark gray, silver moonlight reflecting on the slick surface, and tried to warn Tess, the water tugging her under before she could. A moment later she felt the impact, and then nothing.
Riley woke to a raw throat, an aching chest and sore back, and a soft and a desperately relieved voice above her.
"Hey, there you are, thank God."
Once the blurriness had faded from her vision, a pair of green eyes came into focus, a wild mess of red hair, a sea of freckles.
Before she could find her voice there were lips pressed against hers, soft and damp and warm, and her breath caught in her throat. She propped herself up on one elbow, the other hand reaching up to cup Ellie's face, moving to rest on the back of her neck as she kissed her back, almost desperately.
"Ellie," she breathed against her mouth, the word half-laughed and half-sighed, and they both pulled away a moment later, heads rested against each other as they caught their breath.
"Shit, Riley, I thought I'd lost you," Ellie mumbled weakly, pulling back and brushing a damp curl away from Riley's forehead, searching her face for what she wasn't sure.
"Told you I wasn't gonna leave you," Riley replied, slowly sitting up, groaning at the surge of pain in her back. She wiped away the sand that clung to her skin, glancing around and eyeing the long, dry grass and rushing water in front of them, the cliff face at their backs, and the small boat beached somewhere in the distance.
"Where are we? Where's Tess?"
"Right here," Tess said. She was leaning on Joel, her bangs clumped together against her forehead, clothing clinging to her skin. She looked tired, but a shadow of a smile rested on her face. "You alright?"
"All things considered," Riley said, wincing as she stood. "I'm okay. Still breathing."
"See, it all worked out okay," a voice said from behind her, and she turned around to find Henry and Sam approaching them, Henry's slanted grin in place.
She stared at him for a moment, feeling her hands curl into fists, and before any of them could react she was marching toward him, ignoring the sharp pangs of soreness that shot through her, and slamming her fist into his jaw, sending him to the ground.
"Who the fuck do you think you are—" she demanded, advancing on him, both Henry and Sam staring at her in surprise. "You fucking ran. You could've helped us—"
"Now hold on," he began, shaking his head. "Going back would've meant putting Sam in danger, and I can't do that. You gotta understand that. Besides, I knew you guys had a chance of surviving, and I was right. You made it."
Riley just glared at him.
"Hey, easy," Ellie said, grabbing Riley's wrist. "Riley, he helped me and Joel get you guys out of the water. He's the one who spotted you guys."
Riley glanced at her, and then back at Henry, who had his hands raised in a placating gesture.
"See? You're alright, aren't you? Your girl's alright? Everything's fine."
Riley nodded slowly, her hand falling, and Ellie's grip on her loosening. "Fine."
He smiled at her once more, picking himself up. "You pack a helluva punch. Jesus."
Riley snorted. "Well, you kind of pissed me off. But thanks… I guess."
He chuckled. "Don't mention it. Now, you guys ready to get moving?"
Tess and Joel, who had been watching the whole affair with amusement, nodded in confirmation.
"Might as well," Joel said.
As the group began walking, Joel glanced at Riley. "I woulda hit him, too, if he hadn't been the first in the water to help."
Riley just smirked.
"The first person to discover static electricity must've been shocked."
"Alright, I'll admit that one was cute," Riley said, laughing. Beside her, Sam shook his head in wonder, an arm pressed to his sore stomach as he caught his breath.
"Are you serious?" he asked.
Ellie glanced at him, a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Oh, don't pretend you don't think these are hilarious."
"I'm laughing at how bad they are!"
"Sure, sure," Ellie said, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly and tossing the pun book to Riley, the pages fluttering like a bird's wings.
"Okay, okay," Riley giggled, flipping through the book and scrutinizing it before clearing her throat. "The old man didn't like his beard at first." She paused, looking back at Joel and grinning. "But then it grew on him."
Joel stared at her blankly, and Ellie and Sam erupted into giggles. Henry joined them, shortly after stepping a safe distance away from Joel.
Tess smirked, side eyeing Joel.
"You do have a bit of a wilderness growing up there," she observed.
"Yeah, before you know it you'll look like Dumbledore," Ellie added, scuffing her toes in the sand.
Sam looked at her curiously. "Who?"
"Dumbledore," Ellie said. "He was a wizard with a long white beard in this book I read a while back."
"She was obsessed with that book," Riley said flatly, ignoring the annoyed look Ellie shot her. "It was kind of nerdy."
"You're kind of nerdy," Ellie muttered.
"Pfft. I'm cool. You're the dork."
"Bullshit. You're just as much of a nerd, you just strut around pretending you're not."
"I caught you trying to turn a stick into a wand," Riley deadpanned.
Ellie looked flustered. "I was going to use it as a shiv. You just saw what you wanted to. And, besides, are we not going to talk about your Angel Knives obsession?"
Riley huffed, offended. "I—"
"I think we can safely say you're both nerds," Sam said, suppressing a laugh.
"But Riley is the bigger nerd," Ellie muttered.
Watching as Sam and the girls clambered up a small ledge leading up into the rocks, Henry shook his head in amusement.
"I'm glad we met you guys," he said to Tess, a grin tugging at his mouth. "Those girls are good for Sam."
Tess nodded. "They're good at keeping things light, I'll give 'em that."
"They're lucky to have each other. Most kids don't get that, you know?" He sighed. "They together when you found 'em?"
Tess shrugged. "Yeah. I imagine they've been for some time. Probably will be until something happens – it'd take a goddamn crowbar to pull them apart."
"Yeah, that's what I figured. And, uh, you guys – you been together a while?"
Tess glanced at Joel, who gave a small, amused huff.
"Something like that," he said.
Henry nodded. "Where are you coming from? The quarantine zone?"
"More or less," Tess said.
He looked at her carefully. "What'd you guys do there? I can't see you as a soldier."
Tess just shrugged, putting an end to the questions.
"Hey, Henry, I think we found something!" Sam called, standing on the ledge at the edge of the path. He waved them over, nodding his head toward something obscured by the rocks.
Henry waved to him. "Alright, we'll be right up!"
They found the girls standing in front of a large pipe jutting out of the side of the mountain, the entrance covered by a rusted metal grate. Brush stuck up around the entrance like a lion's mane, and water poured out of the opening, soaking their shoes and disappearing over the ledge.
"Must be part of some sewer system," Joel observed.
"Looks like it could lead right through," Henry said, peering into the darkness.
"Worth a shot," Tess noted, eyeing the hinges. "Joel, wanna help me get this lifted?"
Together with Henry, they flipped open the grate, shooing Sam and the girls in first and then following them in. Once inside, they stood in the shadows, their flashlights illuminating the moss and algae that covered the ridged sides of the piping. The water gurgled cheerfully as it passed them on its way out, and droplets fell from the ceiling with a consistency almost like rain.
"Well, this is pleasant," Ellie said.
"Better than walking all the way around the mountain," Tess said flatly. "Let's get moving so we can get out of here. I'm getting really tired of water."
"Amen to that," Riley muttered.
"Sam, stay—" Henry began, only to be cut off by a frustrated sigh.
"Stay close. I got it. You know, they don't baby them," Sam said, gesturing from Joel and Tess to the girls.
Henry shook his head. "Sam, I'm just looking out for you."
Sam said nothing in response.
They slogged through the water in near silence after that, listening to the echo of the water as it splashed against the walls, the ripples catching the flashlights' gleams and reflecting them onto the lichen-covered ceiling.
"This is gross," Ellie said, glancing back the way they'd come as the light from the entrance dwindled.
Sam made a noise of agreement, watching a chunk of mud and gunk float by.
They exited the tubing, the room widening and leading to paths that forked in two directions.
"Which way do you think looks best?" Henry asked, glancing at Tess, who only shrugged.
"Hell if I know. Let's just split up. Each group'll check a little ways in and see what it looks like."
Henry began heading down the path that went to the left. "Sam, you stay with me."
"Alright," Sam said, rolling up his soaked pant legs.
"That'll work," Joel agreed, taking the right fork. "Girls can come with me."
Ellie followed after him, a reluctant Riley on her heels.
"It really would be better if Henry would let Sam have a weapon," Riley said quietly, once she was sure they were out of earshot of the others. "It's not fair to leave him defenseless."
"He's a kid," Joel said from ahead of them. "He's not ready for one."
"He's young," Ellie said, hopping over a pipe and onto the relatively dry floor on the other side, "but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be allowed to be able to take care of himself."
"Exactly. I started using a gun when I was thirteen," Riley added.
"You shouldn'tve had to," Joel said. "What the hell were you even doing with a gun then?"
Riley's shoulders stiffened, and she just exhaled tiredly.
When Joel glanced back at them, Ellie shook her head discreetly. He turned away, brow furrowed, muttering, "Alright, then."
They came to a room sectioned off by chainlink, the door blocked on the other side by some sort of large cart.
"Someone used to live here, prob'ly a while back," Joel noted, looking at what appeared to be medicine bottles stacked on the shelves within.
Riley jiggled the door. "So, how do we get in?"
They heard a scraping noise to the left, and turned to see Ellie pulling at a small grate near the floor, opening up a small path just large enough for her to crawl through.
"I can get through here and undo it from the other side," she suggested, eyeing the dark passage warily.
"That should work," Joel said, scrutinizing the room through the wire. "Looks safe enough."
"Alright," Ellie said, taking a deep breath before crawling in. She came out unharmed on the other side, though smudged with grime, cobwebs sticking to her hair.
With a grin, she pulled the bin away from the door and then undid the latch, swinging the door open. "Ta da!"
"Good job," Joel said, giving her an approving nod.
Joel searched one side of the room while the girls searched the other, between them collecting bottles of pills – Joel had actually smiled when he found some ibuprofen – a pair of slightly rusted scissors, a reasonably sharp knife, and a few packs of batteries, only a few of which were damaged.
Just as they were preparing to go track down the others, Tess leaned in through the door, nodding back toward the way she'd come. "Found a way through. Find anything good?"
"Bit of this and that," Joel told her. He took up the rear as the girls followed Tess to where Sam and Henry were waiting for them, standing in front of a pair of metal double doors. Children's drawings bordered the doorway, the paint having faded to sickly, grim looking colors.
"Don't know where this leads," Henry said, "but it looks like people were using it, so it's gotta go somewhere."
He turned the knob and swung the door open. There was a creak somewhere above his head, and Henry stumbled backward as something crashed to the floor, shattering and sending glass shards shooting like bullets across the dirty cement.
"Shit!" Ellie and Riley said in unison. Everyone stared at the wreckage in surprise, no one moving.
"What was that?" Henry asked.
"Sound trap. Someone must've wanted to keep this place protected," Joel mused, looking down at the scattered glass.
"So, uh, where are they?" Sam asked, walking to stand behind Ellie and Riley, who were eyeing the room with curiosity. It looked, to say the least, lived in. A sign on the opposite wall held a set of rules written in casual handwriting. Toppled shelves lined the other wall. A few articles of clothing were strewn on the floor, the fabric muddied and dull.
Tess walked toward one of the tilted shelves and ran her finger over the dusty rim of a bucket. "Gone, I'm assuming."
"You think they left?" Ellie asked. "I mean it doesn't seem like the nicest place to live."
"Doubt it," Joel said. "You don't just build up a place like this and then leave it. Whoever was here was intending to stay for a while."
"I wonder what happened," Ellie murmured as they walked on, eyeing a shirt hanging over the back of a folding chair, the fabric faded and stiff.
"Coulda been anything," Riley said, shaking her head. "People think they've got somewhere stable set up and then… woosh." She made a downward sweeping motion with her hand. "It all goes to hell."
"That's kinda what happened back where we were before," Henry agreed, falling into step with Ellie and Riley as they continued to trek onward, past a table holding a small stereo, which Riley eyed wistfully.
"Were you in a quarantine zone?" Riley asked, glancing over at him as Ellie peeked into a basket, retrieving a shoe that looked far too small for an adult, or even a teenager. All three of them grimaced.
"Yeah, over in Hartford. Mostly survivor-run. The military tried to say they were in control, but…" He shook his head. "They could barely offer enough rations to keep people alive, and most weren't putting up with it. A lot of soldiers got killed. It wasn't a good place."
"What'd you do there?" Ellie enquired, brushing her hair back from her eyes.
"Worked in the city, mostly. Basic labor stuff. Didn't want to be part of the military – it'd end up getting you killed. And I had to look out for Sam."
"Yeah," Ellie said, uncertain of what to say. Riley nodded distractedly, stepping off into one of the rooms they passed and examining a tarp that hung from the ceiling, the bottom swollen with rainwater.
"I wonder how long they lived here," she murmured to herself, glancing around the rest of the room. On a table near the wall a half-full box of ammo was lying alone, coated in dust. She pocketed it after examining the contents, eyeing a manual lying on the other side of the table, turned upside down and left open on a certain page. Someone had never gotten the chance to finish reading it.
Feeling strangely uncomfortable standing alone in the room, she jogged out and caught up with others. She found Ellie and Sam standing in front of a miniature makeshift soccer goal, Henry watching them.
"You ever play?" Ellie asked, bumping the soccer ball with her foot.
"A little," Henry said. "With some friends in the zone. It's pretty fun."
"I have, too," Sam said, rolling the ball up onto his foot and then kicking it into the air. "It's cool."
"Let's get going," Tess called from ahead of them, her arms crossed impatiently. Joel was beside her, eyeing a hole in the roof.
"Alright," Henry said, motioning for Sam to follow as he started toward Tess.
"So, what about you guys?" he asked suddenly, glancing at Ellie.
"What about us?" Ellie asked.
"I mean you and Riley. You come from a quarantine zone?"
"Oh, yeah. We were at one of the military preparatory schools, or whatever they call them. It's just a fancy name for orphanage," Ellie said, shrugging.
"Huh. What was it like?"
"In a word," Riley said, "shitty."
"Pretty much," Ellie agreed. "People were assholes, and when they weren't assholes it was really boring."
"How long were you there?"
"I was only there for a year. Riley was there for… how long was it?"
Riley snorted. "Four years. Lucky me."
"I always thought the schools would be…" Sam trailed off, shrugging, "better. I mean, at least you're around people your own age, y'know?"
Riley laughed. "Dude, people our age are just as asshole-ish as anyone else. Hell, the first day Ellie got there she almost got her ass kicked."
"I had it handled!"
"Riiiight."
"She'sa show off," Ellie muttered. Sam laughed.
"And it's not like you always had to rescue me," Ellie added pointedly. "I saved your ass more than once. I have a whole list."
"That's a little obsessive," Riley teased.
"Okay, y'know what? Fine. First was that time we first snuck out—"
"You blackmailed me."
"Whatever. Anyway, remember when we ran into that infected—"
"Which I killed!"
"Yeah, but you couldn't have done it without me."
"Fair enough."
"And then what happened with Marlene…"
Riley cringed.
"And loads of other stuff besides that," Ellie finished.
Riley only rolled her eyes. "If you say so."
Having reached Joel and Tess, the girls looked up at the hole in the roof, daylight pouring into the dank room and bathing them in white. The brightness made them cringe.
"Any way we can reach that?" Riley asked.
Joel shook his head. "Too high. We'll just have to find another way."
"There's this," Sam said, pointing to a chainlink wall similar to the first one they had encountered, the door held closed by a rusted bolt latch.
Ellie nodded. "Well, that could work. It has to lead somewhere."
"Let me see if I can get it open," Riley said, tugging at the latch, and then taking the handle of her gun and slamming it against it in an attempt to break it loose.
"Nobody's been here for a while," she muttered, grinning when the latch finally gave. "Ha!"
She registered the noise somewhere ahead of them a moment after she had pushed the door open, and then the noise behind them a moment after. First was the crash of falling glass and metal, and then the boom of something large and heavy slamming against the floor behind them. Ellie and Riley both stumbled backward, almost bumping into the chainlink as they gawked at the wall that had fallen between the room they were in and the dead end path they had left. Joel and Tess were at the small window in the middle of the wall immediately, Joel gripping the bars.
"Shit! Girls, you okay?" Tess demanded.
"Yeah, yeah, we're fine," Riley breathed, glancing back toward the fallen crate that she realized must have been a counterweight. "I think I triggered something."
"Looks like some sort of security thing or something," Tess muttered.
"Well, just hold on," Joel said, grabbing the bottom of the gate. "We'll get this up in just a—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Tess was grabbing his arm and yanking him up, her other hand going for her gun.
"Joel, infected!"
Somewhere nearby the cries of clickers could be heard. Ellie and Riley both flinched, glancing past the chainlink and toward the sounds of other infected somewhere further away.
"Will you be alright?" Joel asked, tugging his shotgun from his shoulder.
"Of course," Ellie said, Riley only nodding as she pulled out her own gun.
"We'll meet up as soon as we can," Tess said. "Just watch out for yourselves."
"You too," Ellie breathed, watching as Tess and Joel bolted after Henry and Sam, the first clicker hot on their heels.
"Goddammit!" Ellie said, Riley shushing her.
"Stalkers," Riley hissed, gesturing off into the gloom. Distant cries could be heard, mutilated clicks that were too high-pitched and too close to human to be coming from one of the later stages of the infected.
"Fuck those things," Ellie said, twisting her switchblade in her fingers. "How do you think should we handle it?"
Riley shrugged. "I have no idea how many there are. I've got maybe a dozen rounds left. We could close the door again and bring them to us and then shoot them, but if there's too many we're stuck in here with no way to get around them. We could try to sneak past them, but… I have no fucking idea where we're supposed to go. If we end up lost and trapped in a pack of them we're fucked."
"So…?"
"So let's just take it as we go. How many arrows do you have?"
Ellie reached behind her and counted them, brushing her fingers over the feathers on each arrow. "Uh, five."
"Okay, that'll work."
Riley took a deep breath, chambering a round in her gun. "You ready?"
Ellie looked into the darkness for a moment before nodding. Just as Riley was preparing to walk out Ellie suddenly grabbed her arm, standing up on her tiptoes and pressing small, dry kiss to her lips. Riley jumped, startled, and stifled a small laugh when Ellie pulled away.
"What was that for?" she asked, breathlessly.
Ellie shrugged. "Luck… or whatever."
Riley smiled.
"Okay," she whispered.
Weapons in hand, the girls moved forward in silence, the sounds of their nervous breaths mingling with the distant noises of the stalkers. They kept close to the wall as they walked through a little hallway into what looked like a dining room. Shuffling footsteps ahead of them caught their attention, and Ellie dropped behind the table, pulling Riley with her as a stalker lumbered past, calling into the darkness. They quickly turned off their flashlights, holding their breaths as it headed down the hallway, its movements jerky and unnatural.
The stalker safely out of range, they flipped their flashlights back on and glanced around, the beams alighting on cups and plates and shards of such lying broken on the floor. A monopoly set lay scattered on the cement, the paper so faded it was almost unrecognizable.
Glancing around warily, they kept moving forward, staying low to the ground and in the shadows, both flinching when they heard a stalker scream somewhere behind them.
They approached the next doorway, both pressing flat against the wall when they heard movement from the shadows ahead of them.
Ellie drew her bow and, ignoring Riley's reluctant expression, took the lead, arrow notched and ready.
Riley shined her flashlight ahead of them, illuminating the hunched form of a resting stalker. She pulled her knife from her belt and stepped ahead of Ellie, waving Ellie back as she moved toward the infected. Drawing in a deep breath, she jumped forward and drove the blade into the stalker's neck, wrapping an arm around its head and jerking it backward as it attempted to flail away.
A moment later its movements ceased, and she lowered the body to the floor, wrinkling her nose at the smell. She heard a screech to her right and jumped, whirling around to see a clicker barreling at her, arms thrashing.
Before she could even pull her gun, Ellie was calling her name.
"Get down!"
There was a twang of string and then the thud of an arrow, and Riley's breath caught in her throat as the clicker fell to the floor twitching, an arrow buried in its chest.
"Jesus," Riley breathed. "Thanks."
Ellie only nodded. "C'mon. Let's get the fuck out of here."
They walked into what appeared to be a children's playroom, both standing and staring solemnly at the multi-hued foam puzzle carpet – drops of brown dried blood splattering it – the chalkboard with elementary lessons still visible, the blocks and toys scattered on the grimy floor, all coated in dust.
Neither said anything as Riley boosted Ellie up to reach the ladder that led to the next room. They left the anachronism that was the playroom behind them, the sounds of infected following them as they ran onward.
"Where do you think we should look for the others?" Ellie asked.
Riley shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."
They leaned against the wall once they'd crossed a few rooms and felt they were a safe distance away from the infected. Eventually they dropped down and sat together, catching their breath and listening to the sound of water somewhere far away, the noise echoing off the walls.
Riley toed the dirty tile, moving some moss around. "I hate this place. I can't imagine living somewhere like this."
"Better than being dead I guess," Ellie muttered.
Riley snorted. "If you say so."
Ellie just sighed, resting her folded arms on her knees.
They sat in tired silence for a moment, watching a frog hop across the floor and then disappear into the shadows.
Ellie was considering suggesting that they start moving when a bang from somewhere out of sight caught their attention.
"That must be them—"
Before Ellie could finish her sentence Henry burst into view from around a corner, Sam on his heels and Joel and Tess behind them. The girls were on their feet before the others could even reach them, pulling their weapons
"Hey, there you are!" Henry yelled, bolting up to them. "We gotta get the hell outta here – we've got infected coming, a bunch of them!"
They took off after him, none of them daring to look back as the sounds of the infected grew ever louder.
They ran through room after room, taking sharp turns and bolting through whatever doors appeared, eventually running up some old, rusted stairs, having to hop over broken sections in the steps as they headed toward the top.
Eventually they pushed through a final door and into the sunlight, slamming it behind them just as the first infected was starting to close in on them.
"Fuck," Ellie gasped, doubling over. "That was close."
"No kidding," Sam mumbled. He glanced up at the wall next to the door, and then frowned.
"Seriously?" he asked.
"What's wron—oh, come on!" Riley groaned.
The others turned to look at the graffitied message on the wall that'd drawn their attention:
Don't enter! Infected inside!
"A little warning on the other side would've been nice," Ellie said, shaking her head.
"Yeah, really," Tess muttered.
She and Joel both turned to the girls then, Joel's expression worried.
"Are you two alright?" Joel asked, looking them over uncertainly.
"Yeah, of course," Riley said dismissively. "Told you we could take care of ourselves."
Joel just shook his head. "Alright."
"Well, everyone ready to get moving?" Henry asked, looking down the road. A neighborhood lay before them, the rooftops of the houses visible from their position on the hill.
"Might as well," Tess said, heading down the path that led down into the neighborhood.
The town was almost pretty, as far as towns went. Flowers bloomed from the cracks in the pavement, their scent lingering gently in the air like mist. A pair of dogs played near the end of the street, wrestling amongst the tall grass. Birds nested in the gutters of houses. Vines covered roofs and chimneys like tapestries. It was, in a word, peaceful.
A feeling of almost like relaxation settled over the group as they searched a few of the houses for supplies, turning up some extra ammo, a few cans of food and bottles of water, and some fresh bandages. In one house they found a dartboard, Ellie, Riley, and Sam playing a quick game of darts – Sam won, Ellie and Riley arguing over who was second for a good five minutes (it was actually Riley, but eventually she conceded that it was a tie when Ellie swore otherwise). At one point there was an extensive and passionate argument about ice cream trucks and their existence, Joel claiming things about them that the girls and Sam decidedly dubbed as insane.
It'd been the most peaceful leg of the journey so far, up until a bullet quite literally shattered it, nicking Riley's side before busting through a window behind them.
"Fuck!" Riley hissed, a hand going to her side and coming back splotched with blood.
"Shit, you were hit?" Ellie asked, poorly hidden panic lacing her voice. Riley waved her away when she reached for her side, shaking her head.
"I'm fine, El. It just scuffed me. I'll live," she said confidently, though her voice shook slightly from the pain.
"Where'd it come from?" Ellie asked. She glanced at Joel, who was peering over the car they were crouched behind, gripping his pistol with a white-knuckled hand.
"Somewhere up ahead. Hunters, it looks like."
"God fucking dammit," Tess growled, loading her rifle. "Riley, you going to be okay?"
Riley nodded, gritting her teeth. "It's not that bad."
"Okay, good. Look, Joel and Henry and I are going to go handle these assholes. You guys just stick back here, keep an eye out."
"We can help—" Riley started, but Tess cut her off with a look.
"No. Just put pressure on that and stay out of the way."
"Riley, she's right. Let's just hang back," Ellie insisted, pulling a bandage from her backpack.
Riley nodded, unhappily, watching the adults move out, Henry warning Sam to stay put as he took off. Ellie tied the gauze around her as carefully as she was able, apologizing when Riley winced.
"Well, that was a first," Riley breathed. "At least I can check that off the list."
"What?" Sam asked.
"Getting shot," Riley replied.
"Jesus fucking Christ, Riley," Ellie muttered.
Riley only shrugged in reply.
Gunshots sounded from ahead of them, and they all peeked over the hood of the car they were crouched behind to see Tess darting into a house, Joel crouching behind another car, and Henry darting down an alley.
"We should be helping them," Riley said, looking around agitatedly. "Maybe we could make some sort of distraction or—"
They all ducked down, flinching, as a bullet flew over their heads.
"Maybe we should just do what they said for once, just to try it," Ellie snapped. "It only looked like a few guys up there. They can handle that."
Riley didn't respond, her fingers squeezing on her gun's handle impatiently, the blood on her palms smearing on the wood.
"Please," Ellie said softly.
Riley looked at her, and then, after a moment's hesitation, nodded. "Alright."
More gunshots erupted like thunder further down the road, and muffled voices could be heard, their words indistinguishable.
Silence fell, and then Joel's voice broke through it, sounding slightly breathless after all the commotion. "Alright, kids, it's clear."
"See?" Ellie asked as they stood up.
Riley just shot her a tired look.
The trio started down the road, Ellie and Riley taking up the lead and Sam trailing behind them, eyeing the houses they passed curiously.
"You know, I'm getting kinda hungry," Ellie said, stepping around the broken glass from a car's window.
"I'm fucking starving," Riley agreed, watching as Henry as Joel discussed something ahead of them, Tess wiping off her knife with a rag.
"Let's hope the radio tower isn't too far, because—"
Riley interrupted her, resting a hand on her arm. "Hey, wait a second. What was that?"
Ellie followed Riley's gaze toward the cluster of houses to their right, seeing only a flicker of motion as something ran behind a fence.
"Oh, fuck—"
They heard the sounds of commotion behind them, both spinning on heel to see Sam knocked to the ground by a runner. Another runner and a clicker were coming up after it, targeting them as they barreled forward.
The girls staggered backward, Ellie drawing her switchblade and Riley fumbling her gun from her belt, the infected bearing down on them at full pelt.
Riley fired at the clicker, the shot catching it in the shoulder, causing it to stumble, and then shot at the runner and missed. It reached them in a second later, and the girls stepped apart, the runner stumbling drunkenly toward Riley. She shot it in the head, and the body collapsed into her, knocking her back against a crashed pickup truck, pain shooting like lighting from the injury on her side.
"Shit," she hissed, pushing the corpse aside just in time to see the clicker lunge at Ellie, who only narrowly managed to dodge, stumbling away from it.
Riley lifted her gun to shoot, catching the clicker in the arm. It whirled around, screaming, and ran for her. She pressed the trigger again, only receiving a dull click in response from her gun.
"Fuck—"
The clicker slammed into her full force, one arm hanging limply at its side, the other clawing at her chest and shoulder. She brought the butt of her gun down on its head, dizzying it for a moment, the Cordyceps busting like china, and then Ellie was behind it, driving her knife into its neck and wrenching it sideways, releasing a spray of blood.
The body fell on the ground next to the runner. The girls looked at each other wordlessly, a quick confirmation: Are you okay?
They heard Sam give a yell behind them and then they were running toward him. The runner that had attacked him was attempting to climb to its feet, a piece of metal buried in its shoulder. Riley kicked out its knee swiftly, and Ellie stabbed it in the neck with her switchblade, finishing it off.
They both turned to Sam, drawing in short, ragged breaths.
"Hey, you alright?" Riley asked, leaning down to help him up.
"Y-yeah," he gasped, though he didn't take her hand, still staring at the dead runner on the ground. He sat awkwardly, one leg tucked up underneath him, and the other splayed in front of him, his hands digging into the grass like he was afraid of floating off.
"Sam," Ellie encouraged, "c'mon."
He finally lifted his gaze to them, eyes still distant. "You guys, uh, okay?"
"'Course. Just another day at work," Riley muttered, glancing up as Henry came running toward them, his eyes wide with panic.
"Sam?!"
"He's okay," Riley said, reloading her gun.
"He actually got out of it on his own," Ellie added as Sam stood up and gave Henry a meek wave.
Joel and Tess approached on Henry's heels, blood and sweat smeared on both their faces.
"Everyone still in one piece?" Tess asked, looking each of them over.
"Yeah, this time," Ellie said. She glanced down at the runner on the ground, nudging it with her foot. "The sound of the gunfire must've brought them. Fucking things."
She looked up at Riley, eyeing her bandaged side. "Are you okay?"
Riley shrugged. "It hurts like fuckall, but I'll be okay."
"Once we get to the radio tower we'll patch you up a little better," Tess said, handing her a few painkillers from a bottle with a label that'd long since been indecipherable.
Henry clapped Sam on the back. "Let's get there, introduce you guys to the rest of the group. They're nice people. You'll like 'em."
Sam said nothing, only staring at the dead runner on the ground.
"I'd give anything just to ride one around the block!"
Joel chuckled at the vehemence in Henry's expression. "They're nice machines, I'll give 'em that."
Henry just sighed, shaking his head. "They're so much more than that."
Tess, who was sorting through their medical supplies, snorted. "You can have your motorcycle when I can have a goddamn cup of coffee every morning. The good stuff, brewed in a fancy shop. With a bunch of cream and sugar. Not that bullshit imitation you mix into water."
"Was your whole generation obsessed with coffee or something? I keep hearing people talk about it." Ellie asked, twirling a lock of Riley's hair between her fingers.
She was sitting on a blanket, Riley's head in her lap. Both of them had found new clothes to change into on their way to the tower (two T-shirts that fit decently well, along with cargo pants for Riley and jeans for Ellie), and upon arrival both had decided they were too exhausted to do anything other than listen to Henry and Joel talk.
"You don't understand it until you have a good cup of it," Tess insisted. "I used to drink so much of it I think my blood was at least half coffee."
Riley chuckled, her hand absentmindedly toying with the edge of the bandage that was peeking out from under her shirt. "I heard it was wonderful with chocolate."
Tess moaned. "Don't remind me. It was better than sex."
Joel choked on the water he had been drinking. Henry burst into boisterous laughter.
"A little too much information," Riley said, looking up and giggling when she saw Ellie gawking at Tess.
"One day we'll get you guys some coffee, and then you'll understand," Tess said, piling the last of the pill bottles into her backpack and then resting her head on it, her arms folded loosely across her chest. "Now I'm gonna get some shut eye. G'night."
"Night, Tess," Ellie called quietly. She glanced down at Riley, who was watching her with hooded eyes. She smiled when Ellie met her gaze.
"I don't know what it was that Tess gave me, but it's nice," she said, watching a strand of Ellie's hair fall as it dangled in front of her face. She reached up and tucked it back gently. "I'm so tired I literally don't feel like moving."
Ellie smiled at her, her eyes lingering on the freckles on her cheeks. "Well, if you can bother to lift your head, I'm gonna go check on Sam. He seemed a little freaked out by everything today, you know?"
"Okay," Riley yawned. "I'm going to sleep."
"Have fun with that," Ellie said. She stood up once Riley had finally gathered the energy to sit up, and cast one last amused glance at her as Riley flopped down on the blanket, tossing an arm over her eyes.
Riley listened to Ellie's footsteps fade, and Sam's door open and close. After a moment of lingering silence, she heard Henry sigh.
"I don't think the others are going to show up."
She didn't hear Joel respond, just the rustling as someone readjusted their position.
"The hardest part is going to be telling Sam," Henry added softly.
After a while, Joel spoke. "Well, we're still lookin' for the Fireflies. You wanna stay with us, you can. Make it easier on 'em."
Henry sighed again, chuckling tiredly. "Might just do that."
That was the last thing Riley heard before she drifted off to sleep, deciding that things might just be alright.
In the other room, Ellie gave Sam a gentle smile as he stacked the cans of food they'd collected, resisting the urge to ask him the obvious question.
"Well, it looks like the guys in there have officially bonded," she said, gesturing to the room she'd left.
"Did Henry send you?" he demanded coldly, slamming a can down on top of the others with a thud.
"No… Why would Henry send me?"
"To make sure I'm not fucking up again somehow," Sam muttered.
Ellie glanced around awkwardly. "Hey, I'd say we all did pretty good out there today. Especially you."
Sam said nothing, pushing back the chair he'd been sitting in and pacing over to the window.
"Is everything alright?" Ellie asked hesitantly.
Sam sighed. "Everything's fine."
"Okay," Ellie said after a moment, shrugging. "Well… goodnight."
"How is it you're never afraid?" he asked suddenly, turning to glance at her over his shoulder.
Ellie's brow wrinkled. "Who says that I'm not?"
He shook his head, scoffing quietly. "What are you afraid of?"
Ellie considered it for a moment, scuffing her toe along the floor. "I don't know. Scorpions are pretty creepy, I guess."
Sam shook his head, irritated, and Ellie sighed.
"I mean, I guess what I'm most afraid of is just… losing people. I mean, this is the first time in my life that I've… had people that actually stuck around. I don't want to let that go, you know?"
He watched her silently, waiting.
"I guess… I guess I'm just afraid of being the last one standing," she said, finally. "Like today, when Riley and Tess were in the river – I just kept thinking about what would happen if I wasn't able to find Riley, or to get to her in time. And I was fucking terrified."
He nodded, after a while. "Yeah."
"What about you?" she asked. "What are you afraid of?"
Sam turned back toward the window. "Those things out there. What if the people are still inside? What if they're trapped in there, without any control of their body? I'm afraid of that happening to me."
"Okay, first of all, we're a team. We're going to help each other out. And second, they might still look like people, but that person is not in there anymore."
"Henry says that they've moved on. That they're with their families. Like, in Heaven. Do you think that's true?"
She considered it for a moment. "Yeah, I'd like to. I don't know if I really do, but I'd like to, you know?"
Sam stared down at the floor. "I wish I could believe it."
Neither of them said anything for a moment.
"Oh, with all this serious talk I almost forgot."
She dug into her backpack for a moment, retrieving the toy robot Sam had been admiring in the store.
"If Henry doesn't know about it he can't take it away."
She yawned, watching him turn the robot over in his hand silently.
"Well, I'm pooped. Goodnight."
As she turned to leave, she cast him a small smile.
When she woke up the next morning, her nose was rested in Riley's hair, her arm draped lazily over her waist. Riley was still asleep, her face tucked against Ellie's shoulder, having turned herself over at some point in the night.
Ellie drew in a deep breath, smelling spices and vegetables and a variety of other mouthwatering things. She hummed, lifting her head carefully, mindful of Riley, and glancing toward where Henry was tending to a pot, stirring whatever was responsible for the smell.
"That smells good," Ellie said, carefully untangling herself from Riley and sitting up, a yawn crawling out of her throat as she glanced around.
Tess was lounging on the couch, her feet kicked up over the arm of it. Joel was standing near Henry, opening a can with his knife.
"'Morning," he called. "Hungry?"
Ellie nodded, giving Riley's shoulder a gentle shake. "Hey, Ri. Riiilley."
Riley groaned in response.
"Suit yourself. If you miss breakfast it's your fault."
"Fine, fine," Riley mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "What're we having?"
"Soup," Henry said. "Damn good stuff, too."
She made a small content noise, stretching lazily.
Ellie glanced around. "Where's Sam?"
"Still asleep. I thought I'd let him sleep in for once." He paused, and then added, "You can go wake his ass up if you want."
"Alright," Ellie said, pushing herself to her feet.
She walked to Sam's room, pushing open the door and glancing around. Sam was standing with his back to her, his posture stiff. His shoulder twitched.
"Sam?" she tried.
He turned to her, and she felt her stomach drop.
"Sam!"
Riley jerked up from where she'd been lying at the tone of Ellie's voice, wide-eyed. "What's wrong—"
Before she could finish the sentence, Ellie stumbled backward into the room, a figure lunging at her and landing on top of her, snarling and crying out, hands raking at her face and neck.
Riley couldn't bring herself to register what she was seeing for a brief moment. She saw Joel stumble toward his bag.
"Shit, he's turning!" he gasped.
Riley jumped to her feet, starting to run toward Ellie, a gunshot crashing into the plaster beside her.
"That's my fucking brother!" Henry cried.
"Henry, he's fucking infected!" she yelled back at him, eyes darting between Henry, his shaking hand clenching his gun, and Ellie, who was attempting to struggle free.
"Henry," Tess began carefully, slowly moving toward him. "Your brother isn't here anymore—"
Henry stared at her, pointing the gun toward her chest, his eyes going back to Ellie and the infected.
"Henry!" Riley pleaded.
"Screw it," Joel muttered, starting toward his gun again.
Just as he reached it a gunshot went off, and the thing that was once Sam slumped onto Ellie. She pushed it away, and then scrambled backward beside Riley, who grabbed her arm urgently.
"Are you alright?" Riley asked, looking her over frantically.
Ellie only made a small noise of confirmation, gulping in breaths.
"Sam…" Henry said, his fingers gripping the gun tightly, though his figure slumped as if a beam had broken somewhere within him. "Sam…"
"Henry," Joel said slowly, starting to move toward him. "Easy, now—"
Henry stared at the ground, shaking his head. Tears spilled over onto his cheeks, and he made a small, choked noise. "Henry, what have you done…"
"Henry, set the gun down," Joel said, still approaching him.
Henry turned the gun on Joel. "This is your fault!"
"It ain't nobody's fault—"
"This is your fault!" Henry repeated, though he was only looking at the corpse on the ground.
"Henry…"
"I'm sorry," Henry sobbed. He turned the gun to his head. There was a bang, and then the thud of a body hitting the floor.
"Oh my God," Ellie gasped.
Riley only sat tensely beside her, her eyes locked on Henry.
No one spoke for a moment, as the smoke from Henry's gunshot disappeared, and blood began to pool on the floor around the two corpses.
Riley tucked her knees up to her chest and rested her head forehead against them, her eyes closed and breaths ragged. Ellie cried, though it was silently, the tears rolling lazily down her face.
Joel was the first one to speak. "Ellie, are you okay?"
Ellie nodded, unable to find her voice. Riley finally glanced up at her, eyes reddened, and pulled Ellie against her shoulder, tucking her face into Ellie's neck rubbing a hand over her back, murmuring comforts.
"I got you," she said softly, "I've got you. It's –" Her voice cut off, and she shook her head, and just mumbled "I've got you" again.
The funeral was quiet. No one said anything, because no one could think of anything to say. They left Sam's robot on his grave, and a picture from a magazine of a motorcycle on Henry's.
They moved on to a house a few miles away for the next day. None of them wanted to stay at the radio tower.
Joel found a bottle of whiskey in one of the cabinets at the house, and he and Tess poured themselves drinks. They didn't argue when Riley poured one each for herself and Ellie.
Riley didn't cry during the day that followed, though Ellie didn't expect her to. She stayed tense, however, her gaze distant, movements almost clumsy. Ellie considered trying to talk to her about it, but she could never find the words, couldn't bring up the subject without her throat tightening and eyes burning again.
That night, the girls took one bedroom while Tess and Joel took another. The girl's room was painted in pastel colors and the wallpaper was peeling, with greenery sprouting in multiple places. A few ripped, fading posters hung on the wall. The quilt they slept under smelled of mildew, but it was better than nothing.
Riley started having a nightmare some time in the middle of the night, when the crescent moon barely illuminated the room enough for them to see each other. Ellie jerked awake, startled, hearing Riley gasp, saying something that Ellie couldn't quite make out, though it sounded like "sorry."
"Riley," she murmured, reaching out for her, shaking her trembling shoulder. "Riley, wake up."
Riley made a small, pained noise, sitting up right suddenly. In the low light Ellie could see tears glistening on her cheeks as she glanced around frantically, her fingers fisted in the sheets. Her breaths were fast and shallow.
"Shit," she mumbled, wiping a hand over her cheek.
Ellie sat up and looked at her, reaching out hesitantly to touch her shoulder, before pulling her against her, wrapping one arm around her waist.
"Shh," she whispered in her ear. "You're okay, Riley."
"I'm sorry," Riley murmured against her neck, though Ellie wasn't sure whom she was apologizing to.
"I—Riley, don't apologize. Shh, it's okay."
After a while Riley's breathing slowed down, and the tears ceased. They lay down together, Ellie curling up as close to her as possible, her fingers tracing gentle circles on Riley's back, traveling up to run through her hair. "Are you alright?"
Riley was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, I'm alright now."
"You wanna talk about it?"
Riley shook her head against her neck. "No."
Ellie just sighed, pressing a kiss to her hair. "Okay. That's alright."
Ellie woke first the next morning, and carefully got out of bed, walking into the kitchen, where she found Tess and Joel, each with new glasses of whiskey.
"Is she okay?" Joel asked, nodding toward Ellie and Riley's room.
Ellie shrugged. "Sort of. She had a nightmare."
"That happen a lot?" Tess asked.
Ellie shook her head. "No more than usual for anyone. Everybody has bad dreams. But…" she shook her head as she grabbed a bottle of water from the counter and screwed the cap off. "I think this… what happened – it hit her. Hard."
Joel said nothing, examining the way the whiskey sloshed around in the smudged glass.
"It hit everyone hard," Tess said.
"Yeah, but," Ellie sat down across from them. "I think it got to her a little more than she's been letting on. When she was a kid…" Ellie trailed off.
Tess and Joel watched her expectantly.
"Back before she came to the military school, her parents… her dad. He got infected. He killed her mother. She had to put him down."
Joel shook his head. "Jesus."
"Damn," Tess muttered. "How old was she?"
"Thirteen."
No one spoke for a minute.
"She mentioned it once, but she only really told me about it when she was drunk one night, and it upset her so much that I haven't asked her anything more about it. She just… she just bottles this stuff up. Sometimes I don't even know what she's feeling, because she's so fucking good at hiding it."
Tess sighed. "That's what most people do, these days. You don't get the luxury of hurting. You just move on."
"It's fucking stupid," Ellie muttered. "This whole thing is. They… they didn't deserve that."
Joel stood up. "I'm going to go pack up."
Ellie and Tess watched him go, Ellie's brow furrowed.
"What the hell is his problem?"
Tess just shook her head. "Let's just say he and Riley aren't so different. We've got our hands full."
Ellie chuckled, humorlessly. "Well, at least we're all here to look out for each other."
Tess picked up her glass and raised it tiredly. "At least."
"And, uh," Ellie hesitated for a moment, "I just wanted to say thank you. You guys – we couldn't have made it this far without you. You didn't have to do all this."
Tess shrugged. "We don't have much better to do. At least it's been eventful."
Ellie snorted. "Yeah, it has."
"With any luck, we can get it over with soon. Get to the Fireflies, make that cure, put all this bullshit to rest."
Ellie nodded. "Yeah, being able to make that happen – it'll make it all worth it."
Tess looked out the window, the street outside bathed in early morning light, looking fresh and vibrant and hopeful.
"I sure as hell hope so."
Ellie nodded firmly. "It will. I just know it."