*another boring chapter, but we get more of Maeve's thoughts if you could call it that*

The bus terminal was in shambles. A mess everywhere she looked. Outbreak day really destroyed the buildings around. Maeve stepped over dumped luggage, old clothes had spilled out of the container. The stairs to the second floor had been demolished by time and weather. Like always, the building was stilled by the outbreak, just standing with the memories of the last day of civilization.

It still bamboozled her how each building felt different. It wasn't the structure layout or the interior. It was the feeling she received in the air. The vibes were different, in a way.

Their footsteps echoed off the emptied walls, crunching on whatever leaves and strewn out twigs that blew in through the years. The place wasn't all that big, just enough to place makeshift walls to conduct a line of people. This quarantine zone seemed just as strict as the rest. She wouldn't expect anything less.

Ellie approached a round bench in the middle of the terminal building, sitting on the dusty bench to rest for a moment. Forgetting her experiences, Maeve recalled her sisters'. She was just as scared as she was. David didn't want anything from her other than to kill her, or at least that's what she told everyone. Maeve had to assume David would've done to Ellie what his son almost did to her. The insane boy didn't die as horribly as his father, but he should've met the same fate.

Maeve shuffled toward her sister; everything around was numb as she sat beside her. They weren't okay, or even fine. But they would be, not for a long while, but it was all in the healing process. Time would mend what had been done, and it was taking its sweet time. Subconsciously, she brushed her neck, feeling her shortened tresses against the back of her hand. Like bristled grass, her hair left imaginary stings to her skin. Her jaw clenched. She hated that her hair was sliced off, that he cut it off. She tried being optimistic about it, but how could she?

It was a reminder that it did happen. She'd have to live it for the rest of her life, feeling his hands force her to the cold floor and yank on her braid. At times, she could still feel the tugs of the blade as he hurried to cut through each strand of hair. The pressure of his body was on hers while he held her down to cut it off.

If this is what fate had planned for her, why was it so cruel?

"You two all right?" Joel cast a glance at them while he looked around for something to get up to the second floor.

"We're fine." Maeve answered at about the same time Ellie apologized.

"No, it's not...you're fine," he stumbled over himself. "You seem extra quiet today."

She wanted to say something completely sarcastic, but she held her tongue. He didn't necessarily deserve the whole moody teenager attitude. Joel was only concerned for them, she understood that, though sometimes his worrying was overbearing. TJ was like that too, although he didn't ask as many questions as Joel; he just stood there and observed as much as he could. She thought they should worry about themselves, since they were also healing. Not much could be done other than making sure they didn't have fevers and that their scars were turning green or becoming infected. She thought about her own wound. It was healing painfully slow, but at least it finally scarred over. Bending over and curling up irritated the skin and the damaged muscle beneath it, but it was a pain that didn't bother her often unless she thought about the events that caused it...which was all the time. Unfortunately. She couldn't stop thinking, her mind raced twenty-four-seven. It seemed impossible to silence the thoughts in her head.

"Hey." The loudness of Joel's voice shook her from her thoughts, causing her and Ellie to look at him and TJ. They stood over by a broken balcony, a ladder barely peeking over the floor.

"What?"

"One of you," the older man gestured to either of the girls. "The ladder, c'mon."

"Oh...uh...sorry." Ellie was the first one up, which was fine with Maeve.

The sisters approached the guys while Joel readied himself to boost Ellie up. She stepped her foot into his hand and was tossed up. Her small body hung halfway off the broken balcony for a short minute and then she disappeared altogether.

"Okay..." Maeve watched her sister straighten up and reach for the ladder only to crane her head, seeing something behind her. "Oh my god."

She dropped the ladder, causing the three below to hurry out of its fall range.

"Ellie?!" Maeve called out, her heart thumping. "Ellie!"

The ladder was grabbed by one of the guys as they continued to call for the youngest of them.

She was the first one up the ladder, not giving either male a chance to take the first step. "Ellie!"

Barely catching a glimpse of the girl, Maeve took off in the direction, her name being called by Joel and TJ now. She didn't care about that. Her sister was her priority.

"Ellie! Wait!"

"Maeve, you gotta see this!" Ellie hopped excitedly through the halls of the terminal.

"What? I don't see anything!" She jogged past the windows as an enormous, yet skinny shadow cast over the inside bridge. "What the hell?" Unfortunately for her, whatever created the shadow was gone when she looked through the windows.

Maeve followed after Ellie, coming to a room with overgrown lush foliage and plants. Her breath caught in her throat, taken aback by the beautiful creature carelessly munching on the healthy leaves through the huge hole in the side of the building. Her eyes widened as the creature continued to munch its snack while the girls gaped at it.

It was beautiful with an irregular pattern of brown patches on tan fur. Its prehensile tongue grappled for more foliage to eat. Its head nodded, reaching upward to browse more of the vines growing onto the ceiling. The muscles in its neck flexed as it moved, the thick arteries and veins poked through its skin for a moment and then vanished. Her eyes traveled from its specially designed coat, to its short dark main, to its head and its bone-like horns.

"What's go you two so—" The second the guys met up with them, they were shushed, not wanting to scare the giraffe away.

"Well, look at that." Joel chuckled softly, slowly approaching the giraffe. It wasn't bothered, and it didn't make any indication that it'd move.

"Shh..." Ellie lowered her voice to a soft tone. "Don't scare it."

"I won't..." Joel stepped closer to the giraffe, reaching out for its neck, his palm grazing its skin.

"What are you doing?" It was obvious, but she was afraid the giraffe would have enough of its audience and leave.

"It's alright," he assured. "C'mere, all of you. It's okay. Hurry up, c'mon."

Maeve, TJ, and Ellie carefully shuffled closer to the wild being, one at a time, patting its neck. Her fingers brushed its smooth fur, though it felt more like skin, it was still an amazing thing to do. Her blood was electric with excitement and awe.

"You're so gorgeous," she murmured just as the giraffe began to move away from the opening. "Aw, where's it off to?"

"Let's follow it! C'mon!" Ellie hurriedly left into a stairwell, zigzagging up to the roof of the building.

The sun shined brightly onto the land below, casting a beautiful view of a whole herd of giraffes. A couple of adults, and a few babies, calmly waltzing past the bus terminal into a vast grassland of what used to be only God knows. It was overgrown anyway.

"Wow." The breath left her again, drinking in the city and the mountains standing proudly from a great distance. As she approached the edge of the roof and leaned onto the brick railing, a gentle breeze swept over the land, causing the tall grass to create waves. A freshness entered her nose, though laced with old city smells like tires. If it were up to her, she wouldn't leave this place, the rooftop, that is. She'd seen plenty of breathtaking sights, but this one felt close to home than any of them. After what seemed like so long, she finally felt somewhat at peace. No infected, no hunters, no thoughts. She was content here watching the giraffes make their way through the overgrown lot and the deteriorating buildings of Salt Lake City.

As awing as the scenery was, Maeve tore her eyes away to glance at Ellie, who stared at the herd of giraffes. They were soon joined by Joel and TJ. She was grateful they didn't tell them to hurry up so they could move along. She was sure Ellie was grateful too. She wouldn't have wanted to miss this for anything. The breeze swept through the area again, weaving into her hair, swaying the short locks, and tickling her nape.

She hated having short hair. It was like being bald, if she had known what being bald felt like, then she definitely felt like it. It was too short. She didn't like how the wind hit her neck so easily now, or that it felt too exposed. Not quite used to the short strands, she always jumped when the ends grazed her skin in the slightest. It was calming, the breeze of little to no fragrance. It carried no sound, and it soothed her nerves. She swayed on her heels, basking in the ambient peace.

"We don't have to do this." She heard Joel say from somewhere behind them. His voice was soft and gentle, yet firm and fatherly. Like he wanted them to be sure of the decision to meet with the Fireflies was absolute. No second thoughts or cold feet. He glanced between the girls. "You know that, right?"

"I'm not the one who's mankind's cure." Maeve turned around fully and hugged her midsection.

"What's the other option?" Ellie continued to look at the scenery, but she hung her head down.

"We go back to Tommy's." This time TJ answered on Joel's behalf. "Just be done with this whole damn thing."

She gaped at his pinched expression. Though his attentiveness to showing emotion towards them has greatly heightened since the lodges. Perhaps it was the shared fear of pain and death that he became so sensitive and observant. His words sunk in like a knife, it almost hurt to comprehend them. In honesty, she wanted to abandon this quest for a cure.

Had given thought, a cure would only prevent the infection from spreading, it wouldn't cure the ones already affected by the Cordyceps. Those who fell victim to the disease would not be saved, they were practically dead. Even if a cure did work on the infected, it probably wouldn't bring them back, nor would it rejuvenate their bodies. And if they were reversed, able to be alive again, it would be severely painful, after all, their flesh and muscles and whatever injuries they sustained while the infection took over would make them wish for death.

She didn't want to voice her thought to Ellie. How could she, anyway? Telling her sister that the possibility of a cure not working would absolutely crush her. And like Ellie said before, a cure wouldn't bring Jordan back. What was the point of a cure if it couldn't undo what the Cordyceps had done?

For some reason, it seemed futile to even go through with. Millions of lives over two decades. Thousands of medical professionals attempting and failing at creating mind-breaking vaccines. Countless studies, experiments, and for what?

Not to sound pessimistic, which she had in the bag, she believed it was all for naught.

It had crossed her mind; the possibility of them having to extract the infection from Ellie's body, which the source grew all over her brain. Much to her disregard for the idea, the variable was the main thought in her own mind.

Ellie's breath hitched as she chuckled. "After all we've been through...everything I've done," she shook her head, pushing off the edge. "It can't be for nothing."

Helplessly, Maeve felt numb while she watched her sister shuffle toward the roof door. The hinges squealed loudly when opened; Ellie disappeared into the dark entrance of the stairwell.