The men carefully made their way through the buildings, guns at the ready. Above them, the three fugitives found a way to cross over to the state museum through the press room.
Joel caught his breath. "We need some weapons if we're gonna get through this."
"I've still got three clips. You?"
"Two. Not enough."
"What about this?"
Ellie pointed to a dead Firefly slumped against a wall. A sniper, judging from the rifle in his arms.
Tess picked it up. "You know how to use this?"
"I'm from Texas. We learn how to shoot these before we walk."
As they continued to move, the group was careful to slip past any soldiers they could. Those that got in the way were disabled by Joel and Tess using chokeholds.
Eventually, they managed to slip out the back. There was an old subway tunnel that led to the outskirts of Boston, far from FDRA's control.
Tess and Ellie went first, with Joel falling behind to make sure that they weren't followed. Just as he reached the middle of the stairs, a huge Humvee rolled up.
"Shit! Get down!"
The Humvee opened fire with its mounted machine gun, but the three had already gotten out of range. Joel could practically hear the driver cursing as he tried to move the heavy rig so that the pursuit could continue.
Tess looked worried. "Can they follow us?"
"Yes. But we'll be far ahead before they can."
The tunnel was heavily flooded. Joel and Tess could swim, but to their annoyance, Ellie could not. "I never learned, alright?"
With no other options, Joel fashioned a raft from some wood and used it to ferry Ellie across the tunnel. At the end, Tess was waiting to pull them out.
"Now what, Tess?"
"We stick to the plan. Amherst's not far, but we might have to spend the night somewhere. Just need to find a house not filled with clickers."
"And how do you know Bill'll help us. Cause' last I recall, he threatened to shoot us if we tried to find him."
"Bill's a paranoid hick, but I knew him long before you and I met. He's rough around the edges, but he just wants to live. And he knows that the sooner he gives someone what they want, they'll leave him be."
That night, the three managed to find a small two-story house that, after a rigorous check by Joel, was determined to be free of infected. Ellie found a spare bedroom to sleep in, and Tess found another.
Joel volunteered to sleep near the front door in case of trouble, but Tess insisted he sleep with her.
"You're the only one I trust to keep us alive, Joel. So I need you fully rested. Just know that if you try to move over onto my side, I will shoot your dumb ass."