"C'mon, breathe!"

It hurt. The pressure on her chest and then the forced air into her mouth. Her body hurt. Everything hurt. She was cold and numb and in pain. She wasn't sure if numbness and pain could be the same, but for now, they were.

Cold rose into her throat, forcing her to cough. She felt hands grasp her body, pushing her onto her side.

She retched, involuntarily vomiting saltwater and bile. Her lungs fanned for fresh air; the sting of the cold winds caused her to shiver. A gasp escaped her, and she sucked in whatever breath she could.

"Thank God," a voice murmured in relief. "Maeve, can you hear me?"

Yes, I can, she wanted to say, but she laid there on the beady shore, trying to think back. What happened? She vaguely remembered falling into the rapids, and then...nothing.

"Maeve."

The voice seemed familiar. It was warm and soft. Whoever it was, they were trying to get her attention. She forced herself to open her eyes, barely able to fully open them as the dim light of dawn burned her retinas.

"Maeve."

A pained moan left her lips as she sucked in a big breath. Her lungs have never felt so deflated or sore before. The chilled dewy air gave her goosebumps, jostling her into reality yet again. She was afraid to move an inch, she hurt so badly.

She tried to speak, but her voice came out strangled. Her vision blurred for what seemed like an eternity, but she focused on the sight of her wrist. The wrist that adorned the black pearl bracelet. Sigh. Thank goodness. She recalled how strong the water current was, she was thankful Jordan's gift wasn't whisked away. Phantom pressure pin pricked her limbs while she twitched her fingers.

"C'mon, let's get you up."

Gravity swirled her vision into a whirlpool. Her mind spun so quickly, she thought was going to pass out again. She was leaned against a body, the person's arms carefully wrapped around hers. A heart steadily beat within the chest of the person, though a little elevated, it beat with a healthy rhythm. It was almost alluring to hear, and sleep inducing.

"You found her!" A younger voice shouted out in relief. The sound of sand crunched under quickened footsteps. "Thank God!"

"Ellie...?" Maeve blinked, peering around disoriented.

The girl skidded to her side, taking her into an abrupt embrace. She was as cold as she was, probably a little warmer. Maeve relaxed into Ellie's hold, drawn in by what little heat she had.

"Thank fucking God," she sniffled. "We couldn't find you! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Take it easy, kid. She just came to."

"Oh."

After a few more minutes, Maeve regained the strength to sit up on her own, though her mind was still a bit foggy. They managed to brief her up on what had happened so far.

Each of them were found by Henry, Sam, and Jordon, though apparently Joel wanted to shoot them for leaving them to die by the hunters. And then they walked around the beach for a bit to gather their surroundings when TJ found her barely alive.

She didn't know why, but that was the first time he called her by her name. In all their time traveling together, she never heard him say her name. Was it weird that she liked him saying her name? Jordan had that Spanish tang whenever he spoke, but TJ had this faded southern accent to it. It was strange for her to even take notice of it, but she did. She shook it off.

"Aw, man, Joel was so pissed." Ellie went on, her fingers trembled as she helped her to her feet.

A nausea washed over her, and her head spun. For a second, she saw about a million little stars.

"Whoa!" Ellie barely had the time, or strength, to grab her.

"I got you," TJ hurried to catch Maeve before she fell, seemingly effortlessly lifting her into his arms. "You got her bag?"

"Yeah."

She felt a bubble of humiliation inside her. As aware as she was, she couldn't wrap her head around the fact her body won't keep the strength she had earlier. Maybe it was because she'd been laying there on the sand for God knows how long. Needless to say, it felt...weird to be carried by someone, well, in someone's arms. Whenever Jordan wanted to hold her, he'd throw her over his shoulder or give her piggyback rides.

"We should find something for you to eat, or drink," Ellie's voice pierced the sound of the waves and the cries of seagulls. "Get your strength up."

"Worry...about yourselves," she stubbornly argued.

"Well, at least you still have your attitude. That's a good sign."

"Piss off," Maeve grumbled weakly. "Jus' cold."

"We found your bag a while ago when looking for you," Ellie still seemed shaken. "Surprisingly, everything is still dry. You want your jacket?"

"Please."

"Let's get back to the group first," TJ stopped her. "I don't wanna leave Joel unsupervised when he's pissed."

She just about dozed off; the sound of wet sand softly being crunched under their shoes seemed like a serenade. It wasn't until she heard the voices of Henry and Sam that she made herself stay awake.

"Joel." TJ's voice vibrated in his chest.

"Oh, shit," the older man said, and then heavier footsteps hurried across the sand as TJ lowered her to a piece of driftwood. "She alright?"

"For now," TJ responded. "Got any food, or something she can drink?"

"I mean, it's not really something to drink, but I found a small thing of bourbon," the guy, Jordon, spoke up. "Will that do?"

"Better than nothing," TJ shrugged and was handed a small bottle.

"Hella kick," Maeve coughed once the bitter liquid dripped past her lips, her words sounding more like gibberish than actual words.

"She's so out of it," Ellie lightly joked and dug through her sister's bag for her jacket. "Here, put this on her."

"Shouldn't you be worrying about yourselves?" Jordon asked.

"We should, but she almost died. My sister is my priority."

Little by little, Maeve gained enough strength to put her jacket on. She didn't like having to dampen Jordan's coat, but she did feel somewhat better, and a little warmer. She couldn't describe how she felt. Maybe having been dipped into an ice bath would be best to say or be soaked and then waiting in an air-conditioned dormitory.

"I think I'm okay," her voice came out better than the last time she attempted to speak. "I'm just freezing."

"Do you think you can walk?" Ellie stayed by her side.

"Probably," She rubbed her aching head. "I just need a minute."

"Okay."

It was more than a minute. She didn't feel the least bit of bad for it, and she was sure everyone needed the extra breather after what happened with the hunters. A part of her hoped they were washed way down the river, far, far away from that horrible, hell-like city.

By the time she felt she was ready, she did try to stand up, though her legs were weak, she pulled through. She didn't want TJ, or anyone, to carry her. It was embarrassing enough when he did it. She knew how strong he was, she'd seen it plenty of times, but she never thought he'd carry her. For a brief minute, she felt so fragile, and no, it wasn't because he'd just given her CPR, or whatever it was called, she felt absolutely powerless. Then again, she did almost drown and die. That was also a factor.

"We found a place to cut through," Ellie continued to stick close to Maeve. "But we didn't want to leave you behind. I'm glad we did."

"Ha. You can't get rid of me that easily,"

She felt fine now, honest to...whatever god that was out there. From being slushed around in a cold current, a lot had been taken out of her. Guilt swished around inside her, knowing she had caused Ellie grief. But for the most part, she was glad to be alive. She'd do her sister no good dead, as morbid as it was.

"You sure you're okay?"

Maeve glanced at her sister, who noticed as she barely struggled to climb the small cliff with a thin stream. The breath left her for a hot minute and then her head took a spin for the sky. Her knees locked, and she just stood there in the middle of her climb.

"I told you, I'm fine." She hadn't meant to sound so bitchy, but she refused to let herself hold everyone back. "I'm not the only one who's tired."

She wasn't the only one who got washed away, and she wasn't about to let herself be the one who needed the aid. There were six other people who were also exhausted, she understood her body was merely fatigued.

Ellie seemed to want to say more and frowned, "O—okay..."

"It's up here," she heard Jordon say.

It was a sewage pipe with a latch gate. She frowned at how it protruded the cliff and concluded that was the way they wanted to go. Inside a sewer. What was it with them and sewer pipes?

"We're going into the sewer?" She couldn't help but be disgusted.

"Just to save time," Henry mentioned as he grabbed the gate. "Joel, gimme a hand with this."

"This is a bad idea."

"It'll be fine," Joel glanced at her and helped the man open up the gate. "In you go, children."

"I'm not a child," Jordon scoffed, but climbed into the sewage pipe anyway.

Maeve managed to pull herself into the pipe after him, Ellie giving her a small boost. She shuffled forward quickly so the others would have room. She kept her palms on the pipe's walls, feeling its roughness while she continued into the linage.

"Hey, flashlights out. Sam, stay—"

"Stay close, I know," the boy cut his brother off, his voice resonating off the round walls.

"Someone's finally learning."

Maeve jumped down into a pool with running water. If she hadn't been soaked to the bone before, she certainly was now, though the water came up to just below her shins. The surface rippled violently as she hurried through to get to the solid walkway a few paces before her.

She found herself looking at a fork in the tunnel. "Hey, so...which way do we go?"

"We should split up," Jordon suggested, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Cover more ground."

No one needed an answer, because they went their different ways. They weren't far apart and could still hear them.

"How do we get in here?" Ellie approached a chain-link door, kicking the fence with her shoe, causing it to rattle.

Maeve watched from across the semi-wide tunnel hall. She leaned against the cool cement and took a deep breath.

"You okay?" TJ's voice was low, almost low enough to almost miss it.

Her eyes flitted to his form. "I'm good."

"You sure? No one can just bounce back after that," his brows creased as he observed her, as if to see through her fib.

"Dude, I'm fine," she huffed and pushed off the wall. "Stop badgering me."

She wasn't sure if he was trying to be a good person and have a decent conversation, but that wasn't a way to start one. She'd repeated it over and over, she was fine. After some sleep, she'd be good as new.

Then again...he did save her.

A twang of guilt rose within her chest, she opened her mouth to apologize, but TJ had already turned away from her. She closed her mouth, sealing her lips into a thin line. Now she did it.

The guy saves her, and she just told him to fuck off.

Great.

"—and voila!" Ellie's voice sung out.

She was inside the fenced room, proudly holding open the door. Maeve realized Joel took off the cover of a vent for her to get in.

"Good job, Baby Shroom," TJ strode past her and had a look around.

Ellie's face twisted up. "Don't call me that."

The blond boy seemingly ignored her, which caused her sister to huff.

"You think the guys will join us all the way to Tommy's?" Maeve gnawed the inside of her cheek as she stepped into the room.

Joel appeared to think about it for a moment, his eyes crinkling. "Well, I don't know. I guess we're just gonna have to see how everything pans out."

Made sense, Maeve nodded. From what she understood, they were also looking for the Fireflies. Though, she wasn't sure she wanted to travel with people who left them to die. Then again, she felt she had to be lenient, with Sam being a kid and all.

"Hey," Henry's voice echoed off the sewer walls. "This way. Looks like there's a path up ahead."

The four of them glance between each other before heading toward their fellow survivors. The guys had already climbed up the metal stairs and into a flooded cistern.

Moistened dew filled her nostrils, and the rush of water flow serenaded an oncoming headache. There was little light to go around, aside from the light from their clip-on lights. She observed the area a bit, barely managing to see a submerged vehicle to the left of the short walkway. A half-sunken tree sprouted from beneath the body of water, seemingly to flourish in its watery terrain.

"Any way to cross this?" Sam's voice was low, but somehow loud in the empty air.

"Nah," Henry shook his head, flashing his light around. "There's no way to reach that."

She realized what they were talking about, the other side of the cistern was a generator. It seemed like a smart idea, or at least it did. Someone would have to swim over and turn the damn thing on. However, no one stepped up to take on the task.

"Well, I can't swim."

"That makes two of us," Ellie responded to Sam's side comment.

"This thing's on a track," TJ kicked the metal beam near them. He stood on the barred pallet. "We could probably use it to get across."

"Good idea," Joel hummed in agreement.

"Look, there's a generator," Ellie pointed out.

"It's jammed."

Maeve craned her neck to peer at what the man was attempting to do. He grasped a metal wheel attached to the wall; a gate slightly trembled with the groan of its gears unable to fully work.

"I'll go have a look. Keep an eye out."

Joel stepped around the younger humans to inspect the sluice, discovering there had been, in fact, something on the chain, preventing it from being used. When he came back up for air, Henry was able to turn the wheel without much further difficulty.

She watched the man swim under the gate for a moment and could hear him move around from the other room. Finally, there was a splash.

"Joel? You okay?"

"Yep!" The man grunted, returning from the other room, pushing a wooden pallet.

Ellie cringed, groaning. "Oh — this thing again."

"Let's go, Ellie," the pallet was pushed against the lower part of the walkway's short steps. Though it mildly terrified her, Ellie hopped onto the pallet, and Joel paddled her to the other side of the cistern.

"Oh, there you go. That's smart."

"Ahh, I can't wait to get outta this place."

They gathered onto the platform as Ellie climbed onto higher ground. Maeve watched as her sister fired up the generator. This loud alarm-like beep pierced through the murky air and the metal platform jerked. Her hands caught the beam in fear she'd fall into the water.

She had enough of water for today.

Slowly, but surely, the beam rolled over toward the other side, clanking as it finished out its duty to serve as a bridge to the humans.

"Nice job, E," Maeve fist bumped her sister.

"Badass, am I right?"

She snorted. "Yeah, totally."

"Can't believe that actually worked," Sam marveled.

"Don't jinx us, kid." Jordon nudged him lightly.

"It's okay." Maeve chimed up and flashed a smile at Jordon. "Joel's got a shit ton luck, he's sure to have plenty to go around."

The said man snorted after being helped from the water by Henry.

"Gotta say, I'm impressed with you four."

"Pssh!" Ellie waved him off with a grin growing on her face. "We're pros at this by now."

"By "pros", you mean...?"

"She means she's got a gun."

"I'm not entirely sure if that's informative or a threat," Jordon warily glanced at Maeve, who shrugged.

"Take it however you want. She's a cocky shit."

"Not cocky, badass," Ellie corrected proudly.

The older girl rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say."

They'd been too enthralled into their little back-and-forth banter that they hadn't noticed the strange glances given by the three newcomers. Even if they did, they wouldn't care. The sisters gave no fucks to people who thought weirdly of them.

"Y'all coming or not?" Joel's voice echoed off the round sewer walls.

"No, we're going to stay here," Maeve released sarcastically with the roll of her eyes, and then added, "Yes, we're right behind you."

The girls trekked behind the four dudes, furthering into the sewer.

She couldn't say it smelled down there, but it did. Kind of like...um...dead bodies? She sniffed again. It kind of resembled musty furniture, the kind that's been sitting in rain and then intense heat. A sewer can smell like many different things, poop water, mostly. But this sewer didn't stink like human waste, fortunately enough.

The air smelled musky, old.

The curving tunnel led them to a set of closed doors with faded, childish drawings colored onto them. At first, her mind filled with a couple of thoughts, the other seemed confused as to why children would be in a sewer.

"...what's up with this?" Ellie asked cautiously, eyeing the drawings.

"You think there's people inside?" Sam spoke after her.

Henry shrugged, seemingly unfazed by the eerie drawings, "Maybe."

Joel pressed against the handles of the door.

"Are we really going in there?"

They seemed to have no other choice; they couldn't go back. Might as well go forward.

An odd sound rippled through the empty air., and off the sewer walls. Like glass shattering on the concrete ground. It startled everyone. The shattering froze them into a cautious stance, awaiting any screams of infected, but there wasn't.

"The fuck was that?" Jordon cursed aloud.

"Dammit," Joel grumbled, swinging the door wider to reveal a bunch of broken bottles that had fallen from a contraption. "It's a sound trap."

"A what?"

"It's a sort of alarm."

"I don't hear anything."

Joel sighed slightly and entered the next part of the tunnel. "Someone used to live here. Don't look like that's the case anymore."

"Who'd wanna stay in a sewer?" Jordon glanced around.

"Someone who thought they could keep a place like this safe."

The people that used to live...were they dead or...were they infected? The question aroused some concern in her. If they had been infected, God knows where they were at, or how many of them there were, or how long they were down here for.

Soon, the group came to a dead end, well not a dead end- dead end, it was more off to the side of the real tunnel. Someone chalked one of the walls with a drawing of a soccer net. A bench sat off to the side of the small area, loads of boxes full of junk rested on the floor next to it.

"Oh, awesome!" Ellie hurried for a ball that hid in the box.

"Ellie, don't —"

"Ah, calm down," she interrupted Joel. "Hey, Sam, stand by those posts over there."

"Okay," the boy obliged, scuttling over to the new drawing. He awkwardly stood there uncertain of what he should do.

"Ready?" Ellie dropped the ball in front of her, dribbling it around a little, steadying the ball so she could kick it. Swiftly, she drew her foot back and sent the ball soaring into the air.

Sam caught it just seconds before it made contact with his face. Achieved laughs escaped the both of them, smiles blossoming excitedly on their faces.

"Henry, Jordon, did you see that?" Sam beamed.

"Let's keep it down, buddy, okay?" Henry chastised.

The boy's smile dropped, and he dejectedly looked at the ball in his hands. The ball bounced as he tossed toward the bench.

"Yeah. Sorry."

Poor kid. His brother seemed so harsh on him, putting him down whenever he got the opportunity to be the child he is. Living in an apocalypse as a child just sucked balls. It was all about survival. It was literal hell.

The sisters shared identical glances as the group began to head down the different path. A familiar croak bounced around the atmosphere.

"Hear that? Infected."

Maeve pulled out her switchblade, as the rest of the group pulled their weapons out too.

They rounded the corner, entering a whole part of the sewer. The ground was dryer, and there was some light around.

"Clicker!" The shout came from Ellie as the infected suddenly appeared from a room to the right of them.

A fungal-plated infected went for Jordon, seemingly because he was the closest to the entrance. It had happened quickly, possibly too quickly for any of them to comprehend what was happening at first.

Shink!

Maeve was quick to kill it, sinking her blade into its cranium. She hadn't realized she acted so fast until the body flopped to the ground, clicking its last breaths.

"Holy fuck — thanks!" Jordon breathed out shakily as he patted his shirt out.

"No problem," she nodded; however the short celebration was cut short when grating screams seemed to increase tenfold.

Three Runners stumbled from the short set of stairs, shrieking as they saw the group. The infected lurched for them, baring their greening teeth.

"Shit!"

Pow! Pow! Pow!

And like that, the infected were killed. Their chest bled as they awkwardly dropped to the sewer floor.

"Well, I guess we know what happened to these people."

Maeve would have laughed just then, but she didn't. It seemed like an awful fate, the more she thought about it. Her heart jumped around in her chest, she guessed they'd have to be extra careful, considering that, in fact, infected resided in these sewers.

"Seein' as how there was a clicker, they must've been gone here a while."

"We keep moving," Henry said. "All we can do is hope that there aren't any more of 'em. Doubtful, I know."

They moved past the bodies, into a bit of a dryer area with a broken balcony.

"Maybe we should make more Molotov's before we get further," Ellie suddenly mentioned. "Or some bombs. Could help us."

"Bombs?" Jordon glanced between her and Maeve, who lowered herself to the ground to make said items.

"I'll be quick," the older girl promised.

"You know how to make bombs?"

"Not to brag," Ellie grinned and planted her fists on her hips. "But she can make a lot of things!"

"Ellie."

"What? It's badass."

"I'd say," Jordon hummed. "I can't make a molotov without burning myself."

"TJ, hand me the materials from your bag."

"Oh, uh, sure," the blond fumbled with his backpack to retrieve said items.

Once they were in her hands, Maeve made quick work, crafting two half-full bottles of arsenic liquid, and three nail bombs. It was lucky for her to have snatched so many supplies throughout their journey.

"Damn, girl," the dark-skinned boy whistled out. "That's some skill you got."

"Thanks."

The molotovs were carefully placed into Joel's backpack, whereas the bombs were put into Maeve's bag. She'd rather herself blow up than any of them. The bombs were her responsibility, anyway.

"Okay — we're all set," she stood, readjusting her bag to her shoulders.

"Will those bombs be okay?"

"Yes. I've done this for a while now."

"That's awesome."

She'd been praised for her skills before, but this dude seemed to enjoy knowing she could craft items that could combust at random. Or maybe she was getting sent wrong signals...or something. She wasn't sure if she liked the attention, he was giving her or not. She never did like having the spotlight on her...it was just...weird.

"Okay, we should get going."

"Right."

Joel shuffled for a chain-link door. Maeve, TJ, and Sam right behind him. She didn't know why, but she had this horrible feeling swirling in her stomach. The door creaked open; this loud metallic squeal nearly deafened her. This huge door came from the cement ceiling, loudly parting the group whilst hitting the ground.

"Ellie!" Maeve rushed for the door, peeking through the only slot hole with little bars.

"I'm okay!"

"Thank god!" She was partially relieved.

"Sam!" Henry looked through the hole, frantically searching for his brother.

"I'm cool," the boy answered.

"That was me," Joel explained gruffly. "I must've triggered some sort of safety gate or somethin'. Henry, see if we can lift this."

Joel crouched to grab the bottom of the gate and to try and lift it. He seemed to struggle with its immense weight.

"So...this is awkward," Ellie lightly joked from the other side, peering at her sister.

"You think?"

The sisters shared a chuckle.

"Clickers!" Jordon warned with panic.

"What?"

Henry and Joel stood back up.

"Hey, this thing ain't budging, man." Henry blanched.

"Just go, get outta here!"

"Sam, you stay close to him!"

"Henry, we gotta fucking move!" Jordon and Ellie raced past him.

"You keep him safe!" Henry sprinted away, a couple of clickers hopping from the balcony and casing after them.

"I hate when shit like this happens," TJ grumbled under his breath.

"Ditto."

"We're gonna be fine."

Maeve glanced at Sam as he muttered under his breath anxious. She laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it to comfort him a little. He didn't relax at her touch, if anything tensed more. Joel's words didn't seem to reach him.

"Don't worry, kid, Joel's got this."

"Yeah, yeah," he gulped. "I know."

"Alright, come on, kids. Let's see if we can find a way outta here, yeah?"

"Please," TJ checked the magazine of his pistol. "This place's creepy as fuck."

They continued into the compound, not going twenty feet before finding a large number of infected stumbling about. As if their luck had run out just then, one of the infected spotted them and screamed.

"Oh, fucking hell!"

It wasn't just runners or clickers in the sewers, there were also stalkers. About a dozen fungal beings came out, rushing at the quartet.

Gunfire violently echoed around the compound, the screams of the infected as they attacked and died.

"Fuck, I'm empty!" TJ grunted out; his gun suddenly unable to shoot out bullets.

Maeve had his back. Joel was a bit busy, Sam helping him. She dodged the flailing stalker and its arms, swiftly shoving her knife into its torso, right in the ribs. She yanked her blade out and stabbed it in the cheek, and then gave it another stab in the forehead.

"Ugh...gross..." her nose crinkled; her knife covered in dark blood.

"That the last of 'em?"

"Sure as hell better be," TJ huffed. "I'm out of bullets."

"Take this," Joel handed him his revolver.

"Thanks."

"Now let's get the hell outta here."