The outcome of the skirmish in the quarantine zone resulted in Mikey and Caleb having to suffer the most out of the four. Mikey had faced incredible trauma, and hadn't really spoke much despite being reunited with Olivia and being in what he called home. At night he would whimper in his sleep from nightmares and he had a hard time sleeping alone. Besides, sleeping in the cellar was something thing that became very uncomfortable for him. Olivia understood that he needed time to recover and cope with all the bloodshed and violence he had been exposed to. It was just that this was something completely new to her and she didn't expect it although she should have; you had to expect everything in this damned world.

Caleb, on the other hand, suffered from a minor concussion and dislocated shoulder. After James helped put his shoulder back into place, Caleb did nothing but lay in bed for about four days. James watched over Caleb, slightly envious that he couldn't sleep that much against his own will. However, to James' own surprise, he was pretty savvy when first aid counted most. He was most thankful for all the magazines he read and the training that the military had given him to deal with in situations like these.

For about two whole weeks, James made sure that he and Caleb was more than prepared to resume their travels. Caleb got back his belongings and James had stolen enough ammo for himself, but only because the camp had enough to take out an entire militia. The serial numbers also implied that it all belonged to the military, but James never understood why it was left in the possession of those monsters. He was taught that the military always took their critical belongings during an emergency evacuation, including ammo—especially ammo. Olivia went out on a whim and incriminated the military. She traced back to her story and began to make sense of things,

"...they abandoned us and gave up the district to those fuckers because they were getting tired of doing their fucking job! That explains why the soldiers were nowhere to be found when the invasion happened. We needed them and they knew it was coming!" he remembered her arguing to the point where she turned red.

He had never seen Olivia so furious before. Of course, James was offended and defended his brave brothers and sisters...even if it he did believe it. Hell, the captain of Boston wants him dead because god-knows-what. There was no doubt that he was in denial, but he knew he could believe the military was heaven sent if he tried hard enough. It was all a stirring mix of emotions. Since James identified as a soldier, he didn't want to agree that he was a thug with a military badge. He did agree that the soldiers in Boston weren't the ideal defenders, but that's why he had his bets on Harrisburg.

They were back in the apartments they initially camped in. James was in the bathroom, sitting on the edge of an old porcelain toilet with an absent lid. Carefully avoiding himself from slipping into the waterless bowl, he extended his leg out until it rested up on the ledge of the bathtub. He winced as he rolled up the the hem of his pants all the way to his knee and examined his unforgettable wound he received back in Boston. He partially unwrapped the bandage around it and observed its state—it took longer than he expected for a gunshot wound to fully heal. He felt it was healing progressively well until he arrived in Albany. Now, it was beginning to become irritated again. Up until now, he had never felt more convinced that he should go home and get proper rest. He got himself together and exited the bathroom to search for Caleb. He walked to a separate door that was down the hallway. The door was left ajar and James naturally opened it after hearing shuffling coming from the inside. His eye met Caleb in the middle of the bedroom, in nothing but gray boxer briefs. His back, chest, and stomach had small blue and purple bruises and scrapes. Completely unaware, Caleb turned around with his recently cleaned shirt in hand and jumped once he looked up and took notice of James. Jerking up his arm that was still recovering from dislocation, he winced.

"Fffffuck!" He enunciated violently. He looked over at his shoulder and rotated it slowly, "Why do you like to do that?" Caleb questioned. James desperately searched for the words that wanted to come out of his mouth but failed to speak. Caleb furrowed his eyebrows and shot a bothered look while putting on his shirt and rolling it down his chest and stomach. He stood still and watched James for a couple of seconds before speaking again, "The hell's the matter with you?"

"Nothing," James said, shaking his head back to reality.

"Okay, well, do you mind? I'm getting dressed," he turned around reaching for his pants resting on the sill of a cracked window, "We know you like being a nudist and all but..."

James looked at Caleb from behind and took notice of his model-like legs. James was cautious of his thoughts and thought nothing unusual about it, but he realized Caleb had an attractive body underneath all that clothes he usually wore—especially that annoying sweater. At first he felt a little ashamed to think like that, but it was nothing but a compliment.

"Um, how's your arm?" He cleared his throat right after. He glanced away, hoping that would be enough 'privacy' for the young man, "A-and your headache?"

"Better…" Caleb plainly said with his back still turned.

"Okay, well we're hitting the road tomorrow, so be ready."

"Oh…" Caleb said while putting each leg through his joggers, "I actually forgot about that."

"Yeah," James nodded, getting a gist of disappointment from Caleb's tone.

James looked back up. Without exchanging any more words, an awkward silence came over them both. He followed up by closing the door behind him and rested on it with a heavy exhale. The internal conflict was beginning to return.

Olivia, James, Caleb, and Mikey joined in Olivia's place for their last meal together. To assume that they would never be seeing each other again was heartbreaking, especially for Mikey. James offered her the chance to join them on the road one last time, but she came up with her own resolutions to find somewhere else for herself and Mikey; a place where they could feel safe at all costs. She had her doubts at first, but she believed it wasn't impossible. Over dinner, she voiced how thankful she was that Caleb took Mikey under his wing. She was so grateful to have met such a bold duo. They had their differences, but James and Caleb organically worked well together. After a hard work of getting smiles on each of their faces, their dinner eventually came to an unwanted end.

James and Caleb finally returned to their apartment and immediately fell asleep to get an early start in the morning. This time, they slept with both of their heads on the same end of the bed. James was already resting on his stomach, whereas Caleb stared directly at the ceiling. Just as James began to doze off, Caleb oddly turned his head to look at James,

"Thank you..." he genuinely said out of the blue.

James opened his eyes and blinked a few times, double checking to see if he weren't delusional.

"Hm...?"

"Thank you," Caleb repeated without struggle.

"Oh," James softly chuckled, "You're welcome."

Normally, it would have hit him harder, but James was too exhausted to really give it much thought. He turned his head in the other direction and shut his eyes. Caleb turned around and slept on his side, having their backs face one another. This was it–Their time together was coming to an end. It had Caleb wishing that he had never participated in ambushing Boston with the fireflies...and that was saying something. Then again, he would have never met James.

"It's time to get a move on," he heard James' voice fade in and out, "Come on, Caleb. I've been trying to wake you up for the past thirty minutes…"

He felt a repeated tap on his foot that eventually led to a small tickle. The tingle made Caleb's foot jerk upwards. He opened his eyes and rolled them until they glared at James, who was squatted at the end of the bed and fully dressed.

"You look like you're shitting…" Caleb teased.

After resting his head back down on the mattress, James retaliated by quickly shooting up and grabbing Caleb's entire foot and trying to pull him out of bed. Caleb tried to kick his foot loose and basically cried uncle for him to let go. Since Caleb pretty much slept in his clothes, there wasn't much to do except wake up. James was so eager to leave that he already had a bucket of water prepared for Caleb to freshen up with. Caleb climbed out of bed, went into the bathroom and took care of his hygienic business, which included brushing his teeth. After he was finished, he walked out with his belongings. He noticed James resting on the wall right beside the bathroom door with his heavy arms crossed and eyes closed.

"Ready," Caleb scared purposely.

James shot open his eyes and slowly came to his senses,

"What took you so long?" James yawned.

"Sorry."

James and Caleb strolled through their temporary home, getting one last look at everything. Although everything wasn't a pretty sight, the one thing they agreed that they would miss most of all was the mattress. If only they could fold it and place it in their book bags, they would have no problem leaving this mess of a place. They exited the house and sealed the door shut behind them. Olivia and Mikey were both sitting on the porch like early birds, looking out at the autumn landscape. The sun illuminated all of the orange colors, making everything lush and vibrate to take in. Once Olivia heard the door slam behind them, she and Mikey turned around and stood up.

"You're leaving?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah…" James admitted, sounding a little disappointed.

After a dome of silence overcame the party, Olivia pulled both boys in each arm and hugged them. Their heads looked at each other as they hung over her shoulders. James let out a heartfelt chuckle while Caleb was in the midst of his suppressed emotions. She pulled herself away and apologized by explaining that she could no longer control it. She wanted to give them a hug since last night, but they were so eager to hit the sack. Caleb leaned to the side and looked behind her and noticed Mikey a few feet away. Initially, Caleb saw the youngling as a liability and a reason to get Olivia killed. However, it was hard to admit that Caleb would really miss having the kid around. Although the toothless smile would have some time reappearing, it was something that would never leave Caleb's (and undoubtedly, James') mind. After spending so much time with him, he felt like an transparent bond formed between the two despite their major differences. Caleb walked up to Mikey and knelt down to his level. Thinking of ways to be affectionate, he reached up and grabbed Mikey's small hand.

"Hey, Mikey," he somewhat sang, cheerfully shaking his hands.

"Hi…" he responded dryly.

"You know I'm leaving today right?"

Mikey silently nodded. Caleb was going to speak again, but Mikey was quick to speak up,

"B-but...c-can't you stay a little longer?" he stuttered anxiously.

"Nah…" Caleb shook his head, "It's my turn to get James' home now."

Mikey walked closer to Caleb and hugged him, wrapping his tiny arms around his neck. His small fingers tensed and curled, grabbing the loose hood of Caleb's top.

"I'll miss you," he said sorrowfully, trying to stifle back tears.

Caleb reached up with one arm and pulled him tighter. Once he realized that his emotions might have finally gotten the best of him, Caleb placed a halt on the embracement and pulled himself apart from Mikey. Giving a small nod and a forced, yet heavy smile, he walked back to James with his head down. The smile instantly vanished and Caleb's face fell subdued. Both adults knew Caleb encountered his least favored feelings, and knew he didn't want to show it. They just didn't fully get why.

James gave his farewell and best wishes to Mikey as well, and as an act of friendship, they both traded their caps with one another. Even if James' head was too big for Mikey's hat, he took it anyway and placed it in his backpack. Memorabilia was something very important to James, if he didn't emphasize it enough earlier on. Before finally separating, Caleb finally lifted his eyes from the ground and gave a crinkled, folded piece of paper to Olivia. Once her eyes rested on the paper and read what was written on it, she leaned in and gave him one last hug and a friendly peck on the cheek. With misery eventually swelling up under both of his eyes, Caleb turned awat and walked off, similar to storming away from an argument.

The soldier and the Firefly walked on separate sides of the cold road. Although James looked back to wave multiple times at Olivia and Mikey before they fully shrunk into oblivion, Caleb just couldn't bring himself to do the same.

It had been about two days since the departure and it had been abnormally quiet between the two. An unimaginable amount of discomfort placed itself between them, and they usually found themselves split far apart from one another. It was a very chilly night and they both failed to find shelter. They crossed into a strange part of town earlier, where nearly all the houses and shops were filled with Infected. For their own safety they crossed far out into a forest with a maze of towering trees. They discovered a pond and decided it was best to camp there for the night.

James was usually the one to bark first and he knew that it was something Caleb feared despite the fact that he could stand his own ground. But there was something about Caleb's mood that made James feel really uneasy and guilty. Since they arrived at the pond, Caleb sat by the pond, hooded and hunched up with his back turned to the campfire James took nearly all night to put together. James grabbed a wooden branch from his side and poked the fire, making sure that the ignited sticks were in the right position once the smaller ones burned out. James lifted his head and looked at Caleb, this time worried,

"Caleb," James called out, shivering slightly after a strong wind blew in, "Get over here, aren't you cold?"

Caleb wasn't warm, but probably the least cold since he had on a large heavy sweatshirt. He shook his small head, but the hood was big to indicate any message to James from behind. Therefore, James believed he was being ignored and took slight offense to it. The hooded Firefly could've cared less though.

About an hour later, Caleb finally picked himself up, went by the campfire, laid down, and rested his head on his back pack. James sat up, taking it as a sign of something monumental. A faint smile appeared on his face and he positioned himself to speak with him, but Caleb didn't bother looking at him. Caleb glanced over and noticed the vanishing of James' smile,

"I should of stayed. I should've stayed with them," Caleb said randomly as if it was clawing to get out all this time, "Now, I'm gonna be all alone again,"

James silently sat across from him and looked out into the pond since he couldn't bring himself to look at Caleb's internal suffering. He knew what it felt like to be alone, but due to Caleb's personality, being alone was something he became so accustomed to. However, just because you've become suitable for that life, doesn't mean one actually wants to live it. Just because people all adapted to co-exist with the Infected didn't mean they wanted to see and fight them everyday. After a moment of pondering on what to say next, James finally responded and it took a lot of courage in him to say so,

"Why don't you go back?" James asked, fiddling with his shoelaces.

Caleb gave a look of hopelessness and exhaustion,

"I can't," he said tossing his arms to the side.

"Why not?"

"They're probably gone already...besides I'm only with you so we can have a better chance of surviving out here, remember?"

James may have taken it one way; but Caleb wasn't concerned of his own safety; he was concerned for James' at this point. Although the guy was built like a soldier, he was the type of fool who didn't know where to draw the line—that, within itself, was enough to get James killed. 'American grit' meant nothing.

James paused again, suddenly hit by a question he was too selfish to even consider earlier on. His brain processed his thoughts into words, and it escaped his lips out of concern,

"W-what are you going to do after I get to Harrisburg?"

"That's confidential," Caleb said back, mimicking what James first said when he was asked why he had to leave Boston and go to Harrisburg. That, there, was enough to quit James from asking anymore questions. Caleb picked up a sharp rock and began to draw little images in the dirt beside him, "I just hope I make it alive out there."

"But you've always made it back in one piece when you went on those lone-runs back in Boston."

Caleb sighed in frustration,

"That doesn't matter!" he said, violently tossing the rock into the pond, "That's all luck! I was alone sometimes. I would meet up with fireflies to help me out, but that's all just fucking luck," he spoke once more before finishing but sounded much more disappointed, "And luck runs out."

"Well, aren't the fireflies your new family?" James asked, specifically putting air quotes around the word 'family'.

"Well...yeah, but they're as much as my family as the military is to you," Caleb cleverly summed up.

Again, James shut his mouth. He found it thought provoking that Caleb could simply look at his beloved militia objectively, something James couldn't bring himself to do about the military; because he was too busy generalizing. He thought whatever bad thing said about the military reflected upon him...but he began to realize more than ever that that wasn't true. Maybe that's what Caleb and Olivia had been trying to hint to him this entire time. Maybe it was one of the reasons he was still alive, and the same could be said for Caleb. They were simply individuals. They were small components of a really big picture.

During that night, a Clicker searched around endlessly for the two bodies it thought it had just discovered. It was salivating and roaring to itself, hopefully to alert any other Infected in the area, but they were incapable of that kind of intelligence. It's unfortunate doom caused the fungal growl to plate itself over the host's eyes. However, it was fortunate for others, who could use it to their advantage. Within a split second, it's head was separated from its body and rolled off its shoulders like a boulder down a mountain. Caleb breathed heavily and looked back at James who laid sound asleep on the blanket of patchy grass. The fact that someone could sleep in the middle of the woods without any thoughts of dying was either an idiot or with someone they trusted their life with. It could be flattery, but Caleb took it as something else.

He flicked his blade at the ground and the small droplets of blood could be heard hitting the surfaces of the trees, dirt, and rocks. He walked back to their dying campsite James rested at and looked at his katana. He took notice that his sword was beginning to become dull and once he caught a vague reflection of his face, personal flashbacks ensued within him. Slowly backing out of it, he turned to see about five dead Clickers and two dead Runners scattered around the trees. Caleb would be lying if he said he didn't lure some of them there to purposely kill them, but some eventually caught on to his game and it began to get exhausting. Surprised by more screaming out in the distance, Caleb sat on the grass and interlocked his fingers in them. Like grabbing Earth's hair, he pulled them out little by little out of anxiety. He wanted James to get the best sleep he could get but it was becoming risky.

Putting the sword back in its scabbard, he used the hilt of his sword to tap James' thigh and then his kneecap. James opened his eyes ever so slightly and peered at Caleb. Unsure if he was awake in the dim light, Caleb continued to nudge him,

"What?" James moaned, rubbing an eye.

"Oh, you're awake. Sorry," he quickly apologized, pulling the hilt away, "We can't stay here…" Caleb whispered, "It's too dangerous."

James turned his head up from his book bag and saw about six bodies scattered across on the ground with missing limbs. Shocked, James jumped up and looked at Caleb like he was insane,

"You waited until you killed fifteen Infected to tell me that?"

"Not fifteen. Sev–"

"Shh!" James interrupted by putting up his hand, "Come on!"

James stomping out the remains of the campfire and grabbing his backpack. Still drowsy, James stumbled over things while he quickly marched away from the campsite. Caleb involuntarily followed and looked back every ten seconds to make sure they weren't being followed.

They wished it didn't have to come to this. Returning back to main road beyond the forests, James noted that he had seen two porta-potties down the road,

"No. No fucking way…" Caleb said, looking more horrified than he's ever been around an enemy.

As he voiced his disapproval, Caleb didn't have much of a choice. James wasn't going to postpone another day just because the night owl didn't get any sleep over a porta-potty. There was a row of four upright porta-potties, the fifth one being thrown on its side. With each of their flashlights powered on, they each looked into separate porta-potties, hoping that they would find the cleanest one before the other. James looked into the first one, which had to be the most vicious sight he had ever seen. He gagged as a reflex and instantly shut the door. Next, he looked into the second and saw a dead body with maggots and flies living in its eye sockets and opened mouth. This time he quietly closed the door as if he didn't want to disturb the dead. Looking into the third one, there was no signs of water in the bowl, but there were solid pieces of decaying wastes inside. Closing it he moved on to the fourth, where Caleb already stood triumphantly at the door. He claimed it as the cleanest one and didn't want risk losing it before moving on to the other ones. Just to clarify that he got the shortest end of the stick, James checked the fourth stall.

He, indeed, got the short end of the stick.

"Come on," James groaned, looking down at Caleb, "Can't we share it?"

"I don't think both of us can fit in a portable bathroom, James…" Caleb expressed in disbelief, following James movement and placing his palm out to stop him, "It's just shit...besides, you've got a gas mask."

James looked at Caleb as if he were some sort of genius. He would've never thought to use his gas mask. Thankfully it was decaying shit because he didn't think a gas mask could filter out such a fresh smell. James reached into his book bag from the side, pulled out the gas mask, and put it on. He looked down at Caleb and spoke,

"How do I look?"

"Like a loser who has to sleep with shit tonight," Caleb joked in his usual manner.

James amped his arm up and delivered a jab to Caleb's shoulder. He intended for it to be playful but it was a little stronger than he expected. To make matters worse, it was the shoulder Caleb recently dislocated. Although the shoulder was relatively healed, he still had some remnants of injury left over. After James realized how strong his hit was, his eyes flew open and his jaw dropped. Caleb let out a quiet squeal and held his shoulder. He tightened his lips and exhaled sharply through his nose before shooting two separate glares at James,

"I-I-I'm so, sorry. I forgot! I didn't mean for it to be that hard," James spoke so quickly, it didn't sound like English.

"Goodnight," Caleb said, dramatically holding his arm as he stormed off and slammed the porta-potty behind him, "Man, you're such a jackass sometimes!" James heard him say behind the door.

"I'm a jackass?"

"Mhm."

James groaned to himself while looking at the sky, almost like he was talking to God. He removed the gas mask and walked to the fourth porta-potty, resting his forearm on it.

"I'm sorry, Caleb…" he apologized through a jerk smile. He received no response. After a moment of silence, featuring some midnight chirps, he thought of what to say next, "Lighten up, tonight might be our last night together," he placed his ear to the door and listened closely—he could hear shuffling coming from inside when he was suddenly hit on the ridge of his brow bone by the opening of the door. He dropped the gas mask and jumped back after seeing a literal flash of light. After he regained his vision, he rested his fingers on his brow and looked up at Caleb, "See, you got me back," he said.

Reaching out for a with his separate handshake, probably settling their 100th truce; this time for something more high school. They both knew it wasn't on purpose, but Caleb reached out and shook it. However, he couldn't let go and he looked up at James who continued to keep grasp,

"Are you tired?" James asked.

"Not really."

"Then let's do something fun before tomorrow…"

Caleb finally slipped his hand free from James' hold, giving himself an Indian burn in the process,

"Fun?" Caleb repeated, "Jeez, I haven't heard that word in a long time. And there's nothing 'fun' around here…"

"We'll improvise."