"So Marlene thinks you're immune?"

Ellie hummed. "That's what she believes."

Maeve resisted the urge to snort as she stepped on the ramp to venture and find supplies around the garage.

"Well, how were you bitten?" Tess asked. "I mean, you must've been somewhere you shouldn't have been to find infected in the zone."

"Yeah," Maeve heard the embarrassment in Ellie's voice. "I'd sneak out. See, we were in this military boarding school."

"You? Military boarding school?" TJ coughed, peeking into the loading trailer.

"Yes," Maeve replied, tight-lipped. "We were going to be soldiers."

"You must be so relieved to not be anymore."

Tess shook her head at the interaction between the two and continued, "You'd sneak out?"

"You know, explore the city. I was in the mall when I ran into the infected."

"The mall? That place is completely off-limits! How the hell did you get in there?" Tess and Ellie entered into the adjoining museum, passing Joel who stood at the workbench, cleaning or fiddling with his gun.

Tess nor TJ bothered him.

Maeve shook the thought off and followed after Ellie.

"I... had my ways. Anyway, one of those — what you guys call Runners — bit me. And that was that."

Tess hummed. "I see. Were you with Marlene when you were bitten?"

"No," Maeve answered before Ellie could. "We went to her for help afterward."

"Knowing her, I'm surprised she didn't shoot you." TJ joined the conversation, rummaging through the desks by the garage door.

The sisters chuckled. "She almost did."

"So what about you, Maeve?" Tess asked the older girl.

"Oh, no. I'm not bitten. Came close, but Jor—" Maeve cut herself off, the memories flashed through her mind. "Never mind."

Tess gave her a weird look, her eyebrow perked up, but she said nothing. "Joel? How we doin'?"

"Good," the older man trudged past them. "Found some ammo."

"Very nice. What about you, TJ?"

"Same." The blond boy came into sight again, counting rounds into a revolver he found in the Goldstone Building. The pieces clicked together once he was finished.

"We should move forward." Joel said and walked around a fallen shelf with a vase sitting on top of it.

The second had caved in, or melted? Maeve wasn't sure how to put it. Sure, it looked like the boards just gave away, but some of the floor bent to a curve. Maybe from the lack of human care. And large amounts of water damage.

"Behind ya." TJ glanced at the three females before going up after Joel.

Maeve rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. How brooding of him. It was like he was a mini Joel, with lighter hair. She looked between Tess and Ellie, her eyes heavy. Man, she was so tired.

She moved forward when she saw Ellie stumble on a stray piece of wood. Her small body crashed into the fall shelf and accidentally sent the vase off the surface and onto the floor. The shatter echoed off the walls. Everyone stilled.

"Ow, shit! Sorry, sorry! That was me!"

"Tess." Joel said, though his voice was a little muffled, Maeve could hear the annoyance laced in it.

"Sorry!" The younger girl tried again and regained her footing with the help of Maeve.

"Dude, you okay?" Maeve asked her.

"Yep, totally cool!" She was given a thumps up.

"C'mon, you two. Stay close to me." Tess told them and they went to climb up to the second floor.

"Oof!" Maeve bumped into a door framed while she walked through the undestoryed museum rooms. "What is this place, exactly?"

She knew it was a museum, but what kind of museum is what she was curious about. She eyed the mannequins set up next to broken displays, dressed up Confederate Soldiers from the old world, long before the outbreak. Hm. Pretty tacky, if Maeve thought about it. The pants seemed too tight for a guy to wear, and the tri-pointed hat just screamed pirate.

Ha. Confederate pirates.

"It's an old museum," Tess hummed, surveying the floor. "Some of these things are hundreds of years old."

"Really? Wowsers."

"Hey, Maeve, look!" Ellie hopped to her side, thrusting something into her hands.

"The hell's this?" Her face screwed up as she held the strange brooch up. It was broken, or at least the carved ivory woman did. The metal entwined the stone like tiny little vines glinted orange, most likely rust or maybe it was supposed to be that way. God knows how this stuff has been sitting here, just rotting.

"Dunno, but I found it. It's cool, right?" Ellie sauntered away.

"Sure." Maeve chuckled and pocketed the brooch, tailing behind her sister.

"Hall's blocked," TJ said as he glanced at the hallway, much to his dismay. "How we gonna get around this crap?"

"I'll find us a way." Joel said to him and started looking around.

With a little more snooping through the old world museum, Maeve managed to find a few valuable items. Namely a jar of needles, irresponsibly hidden in the bottom cabinet of a display shelf, another bottle of alcohol. It was surprisingly untouched and still sealed. And last but not least, a full roll of gauze.

Gotta keep this safe! Maeve stuffed her newly found supplies into her bag. She figured she could get them to Joel or Tess later. Not TJ. Her pride refused to acknowledge him as a contender to onto fresh supplies. That, and he has been nothing but a jackass to her.

Call it pettiness.

"Hey, over here! Think I got us a way through." Joel called for everyone, to a doorway completely full of debris with a huge wooden beam holding it all together.

The wood groaned and the debris shifted as Joel raised the beam up, which created a little pathway through all that rubble and shit.

"Alright, watch your head." Joel strained with the debris.

Tess got down and started to crawl through. The debris rained dust and tiny pebbles of plaster and splinters of wood.

"Ellie, you go first." Maeve nudged her sister.

"But—"

"Just go."

"O-okay..." Ellie got down and began to crawl through the pathway.

Maeve was already kneeling down and was ready to crawl through when the beam began to crack loudly.

"Shit...sonof—"

"Watch it!"

Maeve was suddenly yanked back just as the debris broke, parts of the ceiling caved in as well. TJ threw himself over her, protecting her from the bigger pieces of ceiling the dropped around them. Thankfully, and fortunately for them, the broken piece fell around them.

"Oof..." Maeve coughed out and sat up, swatting away the dust particles that partied in the air. "Thanks."

TJ grunted and leaned back on his knees.

It was dark now, just barely any light around them. Must have happened when the beam broke. Recuperating, the guys flicked their flashlights on.

"Ellie?!" Maeve crawled over to the doorway and caught a glimpse of her and Tess.

"I'm okay! You?"

"Never better." Maeve answered lightheartedly.

"Goddammit—this shit's blocking us." TJ growled as he grabbed at some of the debris, failing at pulling it away from the door.

Yeah, there's no way they're getting through this mess.

"Leave it." Joel told him. "Tess?"

"We're okay!" The woman said. She sounded a bit shaken from the collapse.

Joel irately grumbled and glared at the exit being covered. He wiped his mouth and went into thought.

"We'll just make our way around to you—"

Screeching of infected silenced the man. Not just screeching, clicking.

"Look they're here!" Ellie yelped in panic.

"Run. Run!"

The females rushed out of Maeve's view and her heart did a series of flips when the Clickers stumbled after them.

"Ellie!" Maeve yelled, but she silenced herself. Dammit!

"C'mon, let's get outta here. Joel crouched through a hole that led out into the hall.

It was the other side of the rubble-filled double doorway. That's convenient. Note sarcasm.

"Whoa! Shh-shh!" The man ducked quietly as a Clicker stumbled about a display room with a fake horse and ride.

Maeve bit her lip. Looked like those things were here in too. Damn. They couldn't catch a break today, apparently.

TJ nudged Maeve to move forward and follow Joel down the hall. A Clicker was dead ahead, awkwardly pacing in a circle near the exit. She could hear Joel's jaw clench. Okay, that was weird that she could hear his jaw clench like that.

Focus, Maeve! She shook herself from the detail.

Without even a shared plan, TJ crept out to the Clicker, swiftly pulling out a hunting knife. He thrust the knife at the infected's temple, ultimately unaliving it.

"Great job, kid." Joel praised him lightly and then proceeded to lead them out of danger.

In the stairwell, there was no signs of infected, and just to be sure, TJ grabbed a chair nearby. It was one of those fancy-looking velvet cushioned armchairs. The door was shut quietly and the chair was stuck under its handles. TJ rattled the chair a little, as if to make sure it stayed there even if forced was applied on the other side.

Thought she found it silly, she also thought it made a bit of sense. It would slow any infected while they made their escape.

The guys straightened up, standing now; Maeve followed their lead hesitantly.

"Now what?" She asked, unsure of their antics.

"We go find Tess and your sister." TJ said as Joel began climbing the stairs.

Oh, right. Finding Ellie and Tess. That was the right thing to do. Her mind nibbled on the thought of those Clickers doing away with the two, but she knew Tess was smarter than the infected. She could hear the woman's voice in her head while she ascended the stairs. Clickers could be evaded, even if they were on someone's trail, all they'd have to do was shut up and hide.

"Grah!" A yell rippled through the atmosphere when the trio made it to the top floor, and they immediately hunkered down to a crouch.

A runner banged ferociously on a closed door at the end of the hall. Its hands were all bloody, its face too. Maeve couldn't help but flinch when the infected began to violently bash its head on the door, the chipped paint becoming red with its blood and skin.

Jesus...her nose crinkled as a headache formed just looking at the Runner torture himself.

"Hang back. I'll take care of this." Joel crept up on the fungal being, he acted quickly and grabbed it into a choke hold.

The runner yowled and clawed Joel's arms, but the man snapped its neck before it could break his skin.

"Shit, Joel..." TJ breathed while the man tossed the body to the side with a thud.

A sudden yell caused all three people to become defensive. It came from the other side of the door, the door the Runner was trying to get through.

"Stand back, you two." Joel said and positioned himself before the door and delivered a powerful front kick to it, breaking it open easily.

The impact of the kick broke the door, the knob piece remained intact with the door frame.

Strong kick...Maeve marveled shortly.

"Tess!"

A runner had her pinned to a decorative side table, and she was struggling against its vast strength. But, somehow amidst the struggle, Tess managed to overpower it before Joel could even intercept it. She threw the infected off balance, it tumbled to the floor, and she beat it to death with a piece of ply wood. The sound it made during the last few hits made Maeve a little sick to her stomach.

"You okay?" TJ hurried to her side.

"I'm fine," Tess panted and dropped the now broken piece of wood.

"Guys, get in here!"

"The girl!"

"Ellie!" Maeve called out and whipped her switchblade out as they entered the room just as a few infected ran at them.

"Take this!" She saw Ellie hit a runner in the head with a bottle.

Maeve felt a swell of pride in her for just a second before she had to dodge an infected as it came at her. The runner flailed its arm at her, growling and wheezing.

"Stupid thing! Hah!" A bottle to the face threw it off guard, giving Maeve plenty of time to stab its jugular.

The body fell and she hurried to Ellie.

"You okay?!" Her sister instincts went mama bear mode as she checked Ellie over for injuries.

"I'm fine, I'm fine—watch it!"

Pow!

A runner had came at them during their interaction was shot. Its forehead leaked with blood and brain matter from a bullet, the body dropped to the ground with a thump.

Ewe...

"Stay focused!" TJ lowered his gun.

Just he went to turn, a runner seemingly came out of nowhere and grappled him. He barely had the time to react, his gun was smacked out of his hand.

"TJ!" Maeve shouted out as he was overwhelmed by the infected.

She rushed to the struggling sight, her blade readied. Gritting her teeth, she hurled herself onto the runner's back, ultimately gaining it aggressive attention.

"Bitch!" She grunted and jabber her knife into its throat.

Blood immediately squirted from the penetration. She yanked her knife out and stabbed it neck again and again until its life leaked from its body, which slumped the next second and collapsed.

"Yeesh..." TJ dusted himself off and peered at the gushing body with furrowed brows and then met Maeve's eyes. "Thanks."

"Y-yeah..." she trailed off.

"Alright," Joel's voice called out from a sectioned part of the room. "I think that's all of them. Everyone okay? Clean?"

"I'm clean," TJ responded after a moment of patting himself down and retrieving his fallen gun.

"Mae?" Ellie approached her sister, noticing how silent she'd gotten.

"Yeah?" She was quiet, a bit dazed as she stared at the dead runner.

"C'mon, let's go."

Shaken from her shock, Maeve wiped her knife on a clothed mannequin's sleeve before she pocketed it.

"You okay?" TJ suddenly asked her.

"Fine."

"You sure? You look kinda—"

"I said I'm fine." Maeve snapped at him, brushing past him with another word.