"Mae, wake up."

Maeve was nudged by an elbow. Her body, which was awkwardly positioned on the chair, jolted. Groaning, the auburn-haired teen peeked at the mis-doer through a squint. She eased as she saw Ellie, who stood in front of her with her hands on her hips and a mischief grin on her face. The room was cocooned with dim light from the scouting lights off in the distance, not giving much to see.

"Fuck off." She murmured and closed her eyes again, adjusting her body to the chair again.

"Tess is back, so we're leaving. Get your ass up."

That wasn't Ellie's voice, and Maeve felt a little stupid thinking it was, and it definitely wasn't with it being deeper and all. Her groggy mind wouldn't allow her to thin straight. They both looked toward TJ's figure as he pulled on his knapsack. Maeve glared at him and unwound herself from the chair, finally getting to her feet.

"Touchy," she pursed her lips, leering at him. "Asshole."

Giving attitude to someone who just woke up guaranteed fifty percent attitude back, with the rest just her being grumpy. Well, Mister TJ, two could play at that game. She yawned, stretching her arms over her head before grabbing her bag from the floor.

After she adjusted her bag to her body, Maeve saw Tess and Joel conversing near the corner of the room, occasionally glancing out at the probe lights.

"How's Marlene?" she asked, causing the adults to look at her.

"She'll live," Tess answered with a nod. "Let's get this over with, yeah?"

"Uh, sure?" Maeve's brows knitted together at Tess's eagerness, but then realized she wasn't speaking to her.

Tess scurried into the next room, Joel on her tail. Ellie followed after, though Maeve was a little more hesitant about going.

"After you." TJ said, sounding impatient. He gestured for her to go through the door.

Maeve looked at him, she wanted to say something, but didn't. She knew better than to argue so entered the tiny room as Tess scooted a shelf away from a hole in the wall. She watched the older woman shimmy through, and then Ellie. Joel looked at Maeve expectantly, she grimaced but she slipped through the wall with ease. Once through, she hurried to Ellie's side on the makeshift elevator as TJ and Joel filed into the room too and started up the generator.

"Who's waiting for us at the drop-off?" TJ asked.

Maeve stood behind him as they're lowered, she glared at his stupid wolf tail. Oh, how she hated him being so tall. She twiddled with her thumbs and gnaws on her bottom lip anxiously.

"She said there's some Fireflies that have traveled all the way from another city. They must be important," Tess said, looking at the sisters. "What's the deal with you two? You some bigwig's daughters or something?"

Maeve made a face, sharing a knowing look with Ellie, "...or something."

"Still, you two must be pretty important," TJ said, his tone wasn't as harsh as before. "Especially if you have to be smuggled out of a quarantine zone."

"So, how long is this all gonna take?" Ellie asked Tess.

"If everything goes as planned, we should get you to them in a few hours," Tess explained and the elevator reached the tunnel. "Ellie, Maeve, once get out there, I need you to follow our lead and stay close."

The sisters nodded, having no choice but to go along with Tess, and considering that they've never been outside the zone before...

"Sure, no problemo!" Maeve cracked a smile and saluted the older woman as they headed for a red lit hole in the wall.

"C'mon, ladies." The woman gestured for them to follow as she crouched and entered the tunnel.

The narrow pathway turned into a passageway with a ladder on the wall, which Joel had already began to climb. He opened the entrance and surveyed the area, but ducked suddenly, lowering the pallet, "Hang tight, there's a patrol up ahead—alright, we're good. Let's get goin'."

Joel moved the pallet aside and climbed out of the hole, gesturing for Ellie to climb up next. And then her, then Tess, and then finally TJ.

Rain sprinkled down on Maeve as she ducked under the scaffolding concealing the north tunnel.

Great...Maeve frowned, the top of her head already damp. It was a lot cooler out than inside the rendezvous point. Goosebumps rose on her arms and neck, now she was cold, much to her dismay.

"Don't tell me you're cold." TJ noticed.

"Fuck off," she blew a raspberry at him. "I'm not cold. It's just rain."

"Sure," the blond smirked, ducking under the pole and walked into the wrecked street.

Dammit, Maeve gritted her teeth. She glared at his figure for a moment and then slipped her bag off and fished Jordan's jacket out. It was too large for her body, but at least she'd be somewhat dryer. And warmer.

"This rain ain't gonna do us any good." Joel commented after pulling the pallet over the tunnel entrance.

"Holy shit, Mae! We're actually outside!" Ellie practically squealed, leeching onto her older sister's arm, and shook her with glee.

The outside... well, the outside was fucked. Like, royally fucked. Fucked more than the usual fucked. The roads—if Maeve could even call them roads—were cracked to hell and back, crumbled into debris, big or small; she even eyed the enormous potholes. If she could consider them potholes, they were like kiddie pools! And the buildings...ugh, the buildings, they towered over them, so far leaned, that Maeve became terrified of the smallest wind that could blow. If the wind blew hard enough, the building would probably tilt over and squash them flatter than a pancake.

"I see that," she responded and pulled the hood of her jacket over her head. "It'd be nice if it weren't raining, though."

Yes, the rain didn't make it any better. A puddle everywhere they stepped. Splishing and splashing as they were walked through. She wanted to complain that her socks were now wet and cold. If there was anything she despised most in the world besides infected, it would be having to wear soggy socks.

"Afraid you'll slip and fall into a puddle, princess?" TJ taunted her he messily walked through a massive puddle, splashing her along the way.

"On the contrary," Maeve huffed. "I like the rain."

"Not being in it." Ellie joked.

"We gotta be fast about this," Joel told them as they trekked toward a semi-trailer, its door swung in the slight wind.

Maeve sighed and hurried to catch up with the group. Joel was the first one in the trailer, then TJ. She knew how this would go. The first ones out were the first die. Or at least that's how it was in horror movies. Their military school was lousy, but not lousy enough to have electricity, or jumpy soldiers.

"Huh!" Maeve hoisted herself into the trailer, attempting to keep the pace with the others.

"Don't try anything stupid." The girl froze and her hood was snatched, and a metal barrel was pressed against the nape of her neck. The hostile voice belonged to a soldier, for sure. Maeve held her arms up in surrender. "Move."

Reluctantly, she went forward. Joel, Tess, TJ, and Ellie. They were caught red-handed and was going to be evaluated by them. Were they going to die here? They were stragglers, and they probably got orders to kill any straggler on sight. Maeve's heart hammered within her chest as the anxiety pooled in her stomach.

"Turn around," The soldier who held her gun to Maeve's head said. "On your knees. Put your hands on your head. You scan 'em, I'll call it in."

Maeve did as the woman told her, not wanting to give her a reason to shoot her. Ellie was on her right, which meant she'd be scanned before she would be. The younger girl seemed far more worried than Maeve did. As the soldier approached TJ, she could see the wheels turning in her sister's head.

They shared a worried glance.

"Alright," The second soldier, clearly male, said as he pulled out a Cordyceps scanner. "Keep your hands on your head."

Just relax, Mae, the girl told herself and tried to calm down by inhaling and exhaling. Rain trickled down her forehead and the bridge of her nose. It tickled, but she resisted the urge to wipe it. No sudden movements, or it would be lights out, she warned herself.

"This is Ramirez as Sector Twelve. Requesting pickup for five stragglers," the woman said into her earpiece. "Understood."

"I'm getting tired of this shit." The soldier scanning them said sourly.

"Mm-hmm." The soldier calling in the vehicle hummed in agreement.

Maeve could hear the scanner beep as the soldier scanned Tess and Joel. She could hear TJ grumble under his breath as the scanner touched his own neck. She gulped, though the only thing she had to worry about...Ellie...on the other hand.

She watched as the scanner made contact with Ellie's neck.

"Sorry!" The fourteen-year-old plucked her switchblade out and stabbed the soldier in the thigh.

"AH!" He retaliated by kicking Ellie away and unholstering his gun, aiming it at her.

"Don't!"

Maeve tried tackling him but was back handed by the guy. Her body crumpled to the ground and the gun was now aimed at her instead of Ellie. To her surprise, TJ jumped at him, grabbing at the firearm. Within the blink of an eye, the blond overpowered the soldier and knocked him to the ground.

Bang!

The other soldier was shot by Tess, whereas the soldier on the ground was shot by TJ.

"Oh shit!" Ellie sat against a metal create by the semi-trailer and breathed as if she ran a whole mile without stopping. "I thought we were gonna...hold them up or something..."

Maeve peeled herself off the ground and crawled to her sister. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. You got the brunt of it, Mae." She said looking at the older girl.

"Meh, this is nothing." Maeve said, ignoring the intense stinging in her cheek.

"Holy shit. Joel."

The girls looked behind them just as TJ tossed the Cordyceps scanner to Tess and Joel. Maeve's blood ran cold, especially when each of their faces hardened and became alert. Tess pulled her pistol out, keeping it steadily aimed at Ellie.

"Marlene set us up?" Joel growled and looked between the girls and Tess. "Why the hell are we smugglin' an infected girl?"

Tess, bless her heart, seemed to be at a loss. She couldn't bring any words out and shrugged her shoulders.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted Marlene! She set us up!" TJ cocked his gun, finger readied on the trigger. "I say we kill them before they infect us too!"

"We're not infected!" Maeve hurried out, her hands out in front of her.

"Then was this lyin'?!" Joel threw the scanner on the ground, the screen flashed positive for Cordyceps.

Maeve went to speak, but Ellie yanked her right sleeve up, which revealed her bite mark. Though she had seen it plenty times before, she couldn't but feel queasy seeing the bubbled flesh and cyst-like mark.

"Look at this!"

"I don't care how you got it!" Joel dismissed her.

"It's three weeks old!" Ellie insisted.

TJ scoffed. "Everyone knows you turn two days after being bitten. Stop bullshitting us."

Ellie shook her head frantically. "It's three weeks, I swear. Why would she set you up?"

"I ain't buyin' it." Joel frowned, sharing a look with Tess.

"How about you, huh? You bit too?!" TJ aimed his gun at Maeve.

"Don't point that fucking thing at me!" She roared, glaring at him. "I'm not bitten!"

The two had a stare-off before the boy glanced back at the adults, as if to see what they would decide to do about them. And as he looked back, he did a double take.

"Shit."

In the distance, a Humvee drove up. Its head-beams were bright and near blinding. The anxiety spiked sky high inside Maeve.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh fucking shit!

Son of a—

"Run!" Tess bolted through the rain. "Run!"

Without having a chance to actually stand, Maeve was pulled to her feet by Ellie, who forced her to run. Her legs screamed at the sudden action and her head did this weird fuzzy thing, but she shook it off. It didn't help with Ellie's fingernails digging into her elbow.

They hurried after their escorts over a roadblock and a behind a weather-worn vehicle with debris on the hood. Maeve tucked herself close to the rusted down, unsure if she were still visible to soldiers had just pulled up on their fallen comrades.

"We're gonna have to sprint again, ladies," Tess peered around the car. "When I say go, you stay hot on my tail."