𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐃 Station looked like a ghost town, Noah couldn't even remember the last time anyone from Everwinter had been there, even if it were five minutes from the community. Everything in the nearby vicinity was cleared to the bone; they'd done a good job when clearing it a few years ago.

   The Underground team parked the rovers in the bus garage a few minutes away from the Station and continued on foot. Upon reaching the entrance, Noah radioed in that they'd arrived. It was eerily silent when jumping the barrier and descending to the Central Line.

   Once the team had come to the platform heading to Ealing Broadway, Noah halted to regroup. "Aight, we're gonna make it down the Central Line to Liverpool Street where we'll meet the others. Stay close, quiet and alert. I don't doubt that croakers will appear further ahead, so it won't hurt being cautious." he explained.

   Noah walked along the platform, while others jumped onto the tracks, to search for any dead before they left. When he spotted a walker slouched on a bench, he pulled out his dagger, grappled onto its tattered shirt while it bit at him, and drove the blade through its eye. It fell limp.

   After discarding the body to the side, he stopped at the gaping hole of tunnel entrance. Noah scowled in disgust and flapped furiously, as a spider then dropped from its web—he wasn't too fond of them. "This shit is fucking sketchy, mate," the guy that had previously complained disgruntled.

   The team moved to the tunnel, as Noah jumped onto the tracks, and marvelled at how it seemingly grew in intensity. Zara tutted and took the lead, "Can we avoid wasting time, please?" She turned on her torchlight and led along the right wall.

   As the lights gradually faded, Monet paused beside Noah, "Afraid of the dark?" They gazed at each other in the slight darkness.

   "No."

   "Afraid of what's in it?"

   "No." he hummed. "I just really want to go home, I won't lie to you," She light-heartedly chuckled.

   "For a leader, shouldn't that be a little concerning?" The light had now completely disappeared, so Monet began walking and Noah instinctively followed. Walking behind one another, Noah inspected every bit of Monet's person that his light revealed, from the sleek blades on her back to her hypnotising hips.

   He'd forgotten to answer her question. "Hm?"

   "I'm saying, you're very unbothered, and ain't that even the littlest bit concerning for a leader?"

   "I don't like moving mad, I work better when I'm calmer," he returned flatly. They were soon nearing the others.

   "Well, that is a whole lie, mate, you were moving mad when I mentioned that Angelo guy," Monet peered over her shoulder. "Did he break your heart, or fuckin', like sleep with your girl, or something? 'Cause it ain't no lie that you're proper hurt,"

   "He's dangerous."

   "Dangerous how? These times, people can be dangerous from just having an infected paper cut," Her persistence irked Noah, but she did have a right to know what to be worried about, if West was so adamant on her staying in Everwinter.

   "Sooner or later, he's going to attack Everwinter, I don't know when or how, but he will. He's out for my head." he briefed. Monet hummed, as she kicked a few rocks beneath her feet.

   "Okay, you're paranoid. What did you do?" Noah looked incredulous, "Unless postcode wars are still a thing six years into human extinction, I'm assuming that you've done the worst. By the looks of your face, you have,"

   It took a few seconds for a reply from him, but it wasn't the life story she was expecting, but the answer to her initial question, "As a leader, I have to do what I have to, to protect my community, no matter if it's moral or not. I'm not 'paranoid', I'm taking precautions for the safety of everyone, yourself included. I seem like I don't give shit because if I were screaming my head off, wouldn't you be too?"

   His hot-headedness was slowly making Monet smile, he cared about his people, which was all she needed to hear. "I get it,"

   "You don't," he grunted.

   "I do. My dad was the leader of Goldcrest, and he would've died for it, I would've too. Having people dependent on you brings mostly guilt, among other things. I still feel guilty for escaping and not helping those that were caught in the fire." she swallowed hard. "So I get it."

   Silence remained between them until they re-joined the group, simply because Noah didn't know what to say. Apologising would've been futile, but he didn't like to empathise—before he'd say too much. So the silence continued, and frankly, Monet appreciated it.

•

   "Bruh, it's been six years and you're still not used to these mutants," Tristan grunted, as he swung his mallet into a walker diving towards him.

   "I'm sorry that these things are a spawn from the Devil, and a child of God like me can't stand to see them, they're disgusting, my guy," Rocky answered.

   Noah rolled his eyes at his companions arguing further ahead. "Can you guys actually concentrate, man, I just want to get this done and get back,"

   "So you can get back to blow backs out? At this point, I would've thought you'd have moved on from Mariah already, Ren was moving mad clingy after the second time, I heard, and you're going all risky with three rounds?" Rocky laughed.

   It was a known secret that Noah had slept around with a few of his female age mates—they boasted like it was a trophy. You couldn't blame him, sex was enough to get your head away from the poisoned reality.

   "Allow it, man, if I got Mariah even once, I wouldn't let her go either," Tristan chuckled back.

   "You lot are disgusting," Zara tutted. She never really liked hearing when the guys fuelled Noah's heinous activities.

   "Zara, if you wanna get dicked down, you really just have to ask, you know," Tristan preyed. She presented him with her middle finger.

   Noah rolled his eyes again, "I'm starting to think that your lives are so boring that you're so worried about what I'm doing. Keep my name out your mouth."

   His comment made Rocky groan, "I wouldn't say my sex life is boring, just extremely available," Tristan snorted.

   "Don't lie to yourself, I'm sure you ain't getting no gyal 'cause you're a pussy yourself. How can man be scared of a walker?" The tunnel echoed with Tristan's hearty laughter.

   "Shut up, bruv, they can kill you, this is worse than gang shit. No fed is gonna stop these monsters from licking off your head," Tristan continued to laugh.

   "Pussio,"

   Noah shook his head and tried to refrain from them amusing him. Monet, however, couldn't stop herself from giggling, causing Tristan to say, "See, even Monet thinks you're some pussio,"

   "Ay, don't involve me like that, you guys are just weird." she replied, pulling out her right katana as a walker slowly approached her.

   "But proper funny, innit?"

   "No. Just weird," Noah said, watching Monet's anticipation. She used her whole body to swing and slice the head off the walker. Its head-top slid off its body, as it fell dead. He was pleasantly impressed.

   As they moved further along the Central Line, they were soon approach Mile End, an intersection where they came across an abandoned tube train. The windows were smashed and blood was everywhere the torch shone upon. The lights were dead, it was dark and silent.

   The team stopped in front of the door and waited for Noah to say something. He watched the closed door, listening for anything. Monet pulled out both blades, standing in a position that could benefit her slashes. Noah pulled out his pistol and knocked on the door three times.

   Not even a moment later, the snarls of walkers were heard and getting closer. One walkers stuck its head through the window, arms outstretched to grab onto anyone near.

   The torch shone on its dead features, its skin was rotting and peeling off its face like rubber. Its eyes were glassy and clear and its teeth were decayed and mostly missing. Monet silenced its growls, its head toppled to the ground as its body slumped in the window. Rocky scowled.

   More began to make their way to the only entrance. Noah pried the jammed door open and the rest of them fell out. "Gosh, these things are fucking disgusting," Zara muttered.

   They continued in a single file from the darkness, one by one falling onto the ground as a suppressed bullet was rooted into their heads.

   It soon fell silent once more. "Are they all dead?" one asked. Zara stepped up and climbed into the train. The place reeked of death and decomposition, it was exactly that. Bodies were decaying in the seats they had died in. Zara ran back out.

   "I'm going to be fucking sick," she wretched behind her mask, "the bodies are decomposing, I don't know how we're getting through that." she coughed. She walked away to take a few breaths, but it didn't take her long to vomit. Noah stayed with her, as she brought up all of her breakfast.

   Monet kept the distance, not very fond of any part of vomiting. She watched the other teammates as they now talked with fear of going through the train.

   "You alright now?" She looked up at him and felt a wave of embarrassment as he gazed at her with a mountain of concern.

   "Yeah. I've always had an easily triggered stomach. I don't know if we'll be able to get through there, Reid, and it's at least eight carriages." she spoke slowly, trying to let her stomach settle.

   "How about you stay here and we clear train to make it easier for you and anyone that might get sick?"

   "I mean, I don't think I'll throw up again, I can come." Zara responded abruptly. She already felt weak for throwing up, she didn't want to make him believe it by staying behind. Noah looked at her earnestly. "I'll be fine."

   He sighed, "Say nothing. Just take it easy, aight?" he gave her a small smile and her heart fluttered. "You got anything to block the smell through your mask?" She shook her head. He patted his pockets and pulled out the thick cloth that he used to wipe his dagger, "Use that. It's still clean." She appreciatively smiled and he helped her up.

   As he walked back to the group and continued the operation, Zara lingered, rubbing her fingers along the cotton fabric. Without it even close to her nose, she could already catch onto Noah's scent. She brought it to her nose, sighing with comfort. It smelt fresh, metallic, but also like the woody cologne that she knew Noah liked.

   She opened her eyes and locked with Monet who looked beyond uncomfortable. Zara hastily corrected herself, walked past Monet without addressing it and stood by Noah.

   Monet stifled a laugh. This girl was surely obsessed. She pushed herself off the wall and re-joined the group as well.

Time passed gradually and, after clearing out the train, they were soon to be approaching Liverpool Street. After taking another long break, it was even harder to tell how much time had gone by.

   Monet was dragging her feet at this point, so much that she almost fell over the tracks and tumbled into Noah's side. He steadied her. "You tired?"

   "Yeah, sorry. Feels the same as when I travelled here,"

   "You really travelled all that distance for West?" he questioned.

   She almost shamefully nodded, she'd gone all of these lengths just to kill him. "He's my brother, he supposed to be protecting me so I'm just holding him up to that," she scornfully joked, Noah lightly chuckled.

They walked in comfortable silence, as Monet was more focused on the way Noah's torchlight moved along the tunnel as she thought of something to say.

"Do you know what I really wanna see still standing? That big, red, slide thingy that was in the centre of Olympic Park, and you could see it from Westfield." The spontaneity of her words got Noah laughing again.

"The Orbital thingy? Nah, it's not. It came down like a few other buildings too. The Gherkin ain't even standing anymore." Monet gasped dramatically.

"You for real?" he hummed a yes with a small smile growing behind his mask.

"Yeah, we had to blow it up like two, three years ago because it was just swarmed with walkers. That was the first time we saw a croaker." He remembered that day like it was yesterday, it was also the day that they had destroyed most of the bridges over the Thames.

"What even is a croaker?"

"You've probably come across it but never actually realised. A lot of buildings have been blown up over the years, and the asbestos in the walls is now exposed. When inhaled, it destroys the lungs in a matter of weeks. It led to the mutation of croakers; which allows them to cough up their bloody lungs, which is as infectious, if not more than a bite."

   "Ew," Monet scowled.

   "Yeah, it's pretty rank. But even in these tunnels there's a lot of soot, probably not as much when the trains aren't moving, but they sort of have the same effect. That's why we wear masks."

   "Rahtid, that's proper annoying, you know. When I was younger I wanted to at least see it in person and I never really got to, my mum didn't like me and Westley going out very far, because he'd always get himself into trouble. What about the Shard?"

   "Ah, that's in the south, we don't hang around those ends." he said.

   "That's bull, the Shard was the tallest building in the UK, you'd be able to see it anyway."

   "Alright, fair." he chuckled at her quick comeback.

   "Ay, when I get settled and shit, you best take me to the highest point so we can see if it's still standing." she demanded.

   "And seeing the Gherkin's remains might have to be a motive too," Noah looked over at her, she tilted her head a little to look up at him.

   "Oh, har har," she scoffed. She was easy-going, he was smiling more than he had hoped he would.

He, for once, broke the contact first, as he smiled way too wide, he was thankful the mask was hiding it all. "I'll think about it."

"Calm," Monet grinned.

   The team reached the end of the tunnel, after hours of endless darkness. The other half of the team were already there and waiting and the closer they got, the more it began to stink.

   A Molotov cocktail had been thrown to start a fire and Murphy was tending to it, throwing walker bodies into it and keeping it alight.

   Sasha grunted, as she immediately smelt burning flesh, she looked towards Murphy who was securing his grip around the ankles of a dead body. She got up from the ground.

   "Ergh, they're not firewood, Murph," she commented, covering her nose in discontent.

   "They sure burn well, can't lie. Just because you said that, I'm gonna make you some roasted walker," he chuckled.

   "Don't even think about it, idiot," His green eyes lit up with the fire as he grinned at her deviously.

"When we go on that little date we were planning, I might just have to cook for you instead. You scream cannibal to me, you know that? The way you take my meat is enough to prove it," he chuckled again. She grunted at his playfulness and they tussled by the fire.

Mackenzie was on job, dealing with the headcount and making sure that everything was completed, while Noah was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.

"We cleared out the streets and some of the buildings that were crowded. Sebastian notified me that you found one train that you cleared out. He's just looked over the trains and the tracks here at the Station, and he said that there's hope, so we'll just—" he furrowed his brows, "Are you even listening, bruv?"

"Mack, can we just talk about this tomorrow, my team have been walking for hours, the best I can treat them to is a fucking seat,"

Mack didn't shift, as he stared. He hated the fact that Noah had no urgency to get operations done. "Fine."

"Thank you. Just help me start getting everyone in the rovers," Noah walked ahead, leading everyone to a designated rover parked outside the Liverpool Street Station.

   Mack drove the rover that Noah sat in, Zara sat beside him, doing her best to lay in Noah's arms, he was so tired that he didn't mind.

   He leaned his head back in the seat as the rest of the team began to doze like him. He shut his eyes and let his consciousness go.