"It's open, c'mon!"

They hurried to file inside the abandoned bar. The guys slammed the door shut just as Clicker tried to enter after them. Maeve could hear it shrieking from the other side and couldn't help but flinch away. She moved a safer distance away. She pressed a hand over her hammering heart, feeling it through her skin and bones.

Whew... She hunched over, palms on her knees while she calmed her breathing. She could hear everyone else try to collect themselves too.

"Man...that was close," Ellie breathed out. "Uh...thanks for the heroics and all. Um, I'm Ellie."

Maeve glanced at her sister, to see her offer the masked man her hand. He approached her and took his mask off to reveal a very grunge-looking man with greasy hair dirty face. He suddenly grabbed her and cuffed her wrist.

"Hey, what are you — Joel?"

"Bill."

"What are you doing?!" He cuffed her to a pipe protruding the wall.

"Bill!"

"Let my sister go, you crazy son of a bitch!" Maeve lunged at the man, but he pulled a gun on her. The barrel was just inches away from her forehead. That stopped her in tracks, especially with the look he gave her.

"Turn around and get on your knees!" He ordered and then turned his gun on Joel and TJ. He shoves Maeve over to them.

"Just calm down for a second—" TJ tried to reason with the estranged man and gun was aimed at him.

"Turn around and get on your knees!" Bill said louder, kneeing Joel's leg from behind, forcing him to kneel. Maeve and TJ hurried to their knees so they wouldn't be attacked.

"Alright!"

"Don't test me!" Bill began patting Joel's arms and torso.

"Just...take it easy!" Joel hissed at him.

"You got any bites?" Bill patted some more.

"No." Joel irately replied.

"Anything sprouting?"

"No, goddammit, I'm clean!" Joel growled.

"Well, I see so much a twitch—"

Ellie broke free of the pipe she was cuffed to and used the pipe to hit Bill. She got his right arm pretty good, Maeve heard it.

"Ow!" Bill roared.

With the man briefly out of commission, Maeve hurried back to Ellie, grabbing the pipe and shielding her from Bill.

"Stop!" Joel tried to assess the situation, or at least prevent it from escalating any further.

"Son of a bitch!" Bill crowed, still holding his arm.

"You done?" Joel exasperated.

"Am I done...?" Bill began with breathless agitation. "You come into my house, you set off all my traps, you damn near break my shootin' arm. Who the fuck are these punks and what are they doing here?"

"We are none of your goddamn business, and we're here because you owe Joel some favors. And you can start by taking these off!" Ellie went around Maeve and jangled her cuffed wrist in the air.

"I owe Joel some favors," Bill guffawed. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"I'll cut to the chase," Joel faced the man. "I need a car."

Bill barked laugh. "Well, it is a joke. Joel needs a car. Well, if I had one that works, which I sure as hell don't, what makes you think I'd just give it to you? Huh? Yeah, sure, Joel, go ahead, take my car. Take all my food too while you're at it."

"By the looks of it, you could lose some of that food," Ellie sassed, and Maeve snorted.

"Listen to me, you little shit—"

"No, fuck you! You handcuffed me—"

"Bill, calm down!" TJ stood in front of the man and Joel held Ellie at bay.

"I need you to shut up. Alright?" He told her.

Bill backed off, retreating to the bar counter. "Whatever favors you think I owe ya, it ain't worth that much."

"Actually, Bill, they are." Joel approached Bill.

"Well, it don't matter 'cause I don't have a car that works."

"But there is one in this town." TJ crossed his arms over his chest.

"Parts," Bill said. "There are parts in this town."

"Meaning that you could fix one up."

Bill contemplated with himself for a moment, Maeve saw. He was still for approximately three minutes before he caved in.

"Alright. If I'm gonna do this, there's some gear I'm gonna need."

"Alright."

Bill pulled a map, it was full of annotations and margin scribbles. He placed it on the bar and unrolled it. His pointer finger circled an area on the map.

"It's on the other side of town. Now you help me gather it, and maybe, I can put something together that runs. But after this, I owe you nothin'."

"That's fine," Joel agreed as Bill put the key to Ellie's handcuff on the surface. "Couple days from now, we'll probably be dead anyway."

The man unlocked the cuff on Ellie and the metal restraint was discarded on the floor with a metallic clatter. Now that was done...

"Good. Follow me. Whole goddamn town's booby-trapped, best stay right on my ass." Bill instructed.

As the man walked around the bar, Ellie leered at him, "Can't miss it."

"Knock it off." Joel hissed.

"Alright. Whatever supplies you may want or need, I suggest you grab them." Bill said from all the way on the other side of the bar, waiting impatiently by an old jukebox.

"Thanks," Joel mentioned. "Ellie, Maeve, TJ, take a look around and see if there's anything we can use."

"Oker dokers." Maeve saluted the man.

He rolled his eyes and went off in search of supplies, or whatever. Rude. Maeve eyed a bar stool and decided to sit on it. Her legs practically cried out with her weight not baring down on them. It was sort of relaxing, but it wouldn't last long.

"So..." she glanced up as TJ slowly approached her. "That was neat how you threw that molotov earlier."

Was he...complimenting her? She eyed his shuffling form. She couldn't tell if he was genuinely curious or looking for a reason to chew her ass again.

"Sure?" What was she supposed to say? Thanks?

"When did you have time to make another bottle?" He asked.

"Oh, well—I didn't. I made it when we were in the subway." Maeve met his eyes.

"Really?" he seemed surprised, if anything, shocked.

"I'm like a ninja, not heard or seen." Maeve karate chopped the air with her hands.

"Right," TJ snickered. "A ninja is more silent and invisible."

"You know what." Maeve huffed.

It was sort of nice sitting down and taking a breather. Today had been a long day, despite it having been a few hours. They had to walk from the Boston QZ outskirts all the way to Lincoln County, which had been a few miles apart. It was a long walk, too. Not to mention, hot. Her nose and cheeks resonated warmth, which she presumed was a sunburn.

"How are you doing with all this?" TJ leaned against the counter beside her.

"With what?"

"Your sister is the cure for humanity." He replied.

Oh. "I don't know what to make of it," Maeve shrugged. "It's just one of those things that happen, something as a rare as shooting star, you know?"

"And you were in the mall when she was bit?"

"Where are you going with this, exactly?" Maeve asked him and leaned away from him.

"Nowhere, I'm just curious—you were there too, weren't you?"

Maeve eyed him more before releasing a scoff and hopping off the bar stool. She didn't have to continue this conversation. Once her feet touched the floor, Ellie sauntered over to her from the back room, her hands in her pockets.

"You okay?" Maeve asked her.

"Fine," Ellie sighed. "I'm tired."

"Same," the older girl agreed and spotted a chessboard on one of the booth tables. "Oh, cool."

"You wanna play a game?" Ellie joked, following after her sister.

"You know I'm shit at this game." Maeve snorted and reached to touch the black Bishop piece.

"Hey, Bobby Fischer—don't touch anything on that board!" Bill called from his place the exit.

"Bobby what?" The sisters turned to him.

"Just let it go," Joel passed them.

What was with this guy?