The sisters spotted the archer statue. It was a good sign because they were close to the yogurt shop. And by sheer luck, and some digging in back rooms, they found some blankets with enough thickness to keep themselves warm. The downside to the blankets was that they weren't big, but they could find a couple of them, so TJ and Joel would be somewhat snug. They even found some things for themselves.

"---here! I can hear the horses!"

That stopped the sisters dead in their tracks. About a thousand scenarios, panicked and fearful swarmed through their minds. They shared a glance.

"Dammit," Ellie hissed, bringing out her pistol. "Joel, TJ, you two still better be alive when we get back to you."

Maeve knew she wasn't being talked to. She hoped the same. Frankly, she felt more like a burden now than ever. With no arrows and no materials to make bombs with, she was practically useless -- oh. She just remembered her knife. She wouldn't be able to do much damage, but it'd be enough. Not to mention, she had at least two years of soft tactical training. She could use her surroundings to her advantage.

They crept closer to where their shelter was. A metallic clanging grabbed their attention.

"Fucking break it!" A man's voice growled loudly. No! No, no, NO!

Her heart leaped into her throat and then dropped into her stomach. As quietly as possible, she and Ellie crept toward the broken escalators.

There were three by the closed yogurt shop; one was knelt, hammering away at the padlock on the floor, and the other stood guard. They seemed to have rifles, though it was hard to tell with their backs to them.

"Maeve, get back!" Ellie's hushed tone and harsh tug on her hoodie nearly sent her to the tiled floor. "Look, there's more of them up here too."

The auburn-haired teen gnawed her bottom lip. Just how many were there? She narrowed her eyes, counting their new numbers. No matter how she tried putting it -- getting through them would not be an easy task.

"Do you have any more artillery?" Ellie whispered, tugging on her sleeve again.

"I took everything out of my bag."

Ellie blinked, almost stunned. "What?"

"I'm sorry," she hurried to say. "I didn't know we'd be dealing with live people!"

"We got attacked at the university, and you didn't think we'd run into more people?!"

"Don't yell at me, I said I'm sorry! The best I can do is use this bow, if you've found more arrows, I can immobilize them from a distance, and you can finish them off."

"You are SO lucky I found some." Ellie handed Maeve four arrows. She'd have to use them wisely.

"Hurry, Mae!"

"IT'S THEM!" Somewhere around them, someone that hadn't realized walking around, spotted them.

"Maeve!"

To their left and their right, men ran out of the food court and clothing stores, bearing pistols and rifles. Her mind raced with ways to take them out without killing them. Within seconds, she aimed at the man with the rifle, firing at his leg. He cried out as the arrow pierced above his knee. That seemed to slow him down and he went to grab the arrow, which caused him more pain.

"Bitch!" The man from their left yelled, aiming at them, but Ellie shot him before he could them. He dropped to the floor, blood seeping from his chest wound.

That ensured chaos. Yells and shots rang out, sharply bouncing around the plaza, encasing the sisters in a fierce battle. They dodged bullets and even threw bottles they found on the floors. After what seemed like an eternity of gunfire and shouting, it was quiet again.

"Any more of you fuckers?!" Ellie called out in a threatening way. "Don't even think about coming back! I'll take you out like I did your buddies!"

No one answered, much to their relief. It was quiet. The silence reassured Maeve they were out of the woods, or at least, almost. She and Ellie anxiously rushed down the escalators. Their footsteps were thunderous against the machinery of rubber and metal.

"You two better still be alive." Ellie fumbled with the padlock, grumbling impatiently and incoherently about how frozen her fingers were. "Finally!" Once she got it, she slid the door up and they ducked inside, closing it behind them.

"TJ? Joel?" They laid where they left them, on their makeshift pallets.

Maeve paced toward TJ's lain form, crouching down, hovering her fingers near his nose, relieved to feel his breath. Though they were shallow and quickened, she was glad he was still breathing. Breathing meant he was alive. And alive is good. She placed her hand gently on his wounded shoulder, pulling back his jacket and shirt collar.

The bleeding stopped. Finally, she rejoiced silently. A sigh left her and she looked toward Ellie, who just pulled out the medical kit. She tore apart the packaging and clumsily secured the suture through the loophole at the end of the curved needle. Her hands trembled, but she managed to tie the end off with determination.

"Do you want me to do it?" Maeve asked. Their eyes locked for a moment.

"No...I think...I got this. You take care of TJ."

"Are you sure?" Maeve felt unsure about Ellie's unsteady hands. "I can--"

"Yes," Ellie snapped. "Focus on TJ. I've got this."

Maeve slowly nodded and refocused on TJ's form as Ellie began to sew Joel's wound shut. She tried not to watch, anxious it'd put pressure on Ellie. Her chest swelled with pride, her sister had the nerves of a veteran, though she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She knew better. The toughness was an act, built up for her peers. To protect herself from potential dangers. Just because they let loose sometimes, didn't mean they lowered their guards. She was very much aware of the pain Ellie held inside. The both of them hid their pain well. Or at least they tried to.

"Fuck...it's getting colder." She shivered in her hoodie, and her breath came out in thick puffs. At least we found some blankets. She peered up, catching a glimpse of Ellie halfway through her stitching and then she paused to wipe her hands on her jeans and rub her palms together to create some heat. Maeve wished she could build a small fire to keep them warm, but doing that would be dangerous. Both for them and for the risk of being found again.

She thought about it more. They're like the hunters they encountered in Pittsburgh. They seemed territorial and merciless. She remained bewildered they attacked them without having been provoked.

"Mmm..." a soft groan entered her ears.

Her eyes flew to TJ's body. She hadn't bundled him in blankets yet. His face twisted with pain, no doubt feeling the full effect of his injury. The cold likely wasn't helping.

"Don't get up," she placed her hand on his chest as he tried moving. His eyes crinkled, splitting open into slits. A ragged breath escaped his pale lips, parting enough for muddled words to come out, but she couldn't understand what he said. "TJ?" She adjusted herself to lean closer to his face. "What are you trying to say?"

"...h-hurts..."

She could hear his agony. Her heart ached for him, knowing there wasn't much she could do for him other than to make him comfortable.

"I know," she murmured. "I'm sorry I can't do anything else to help."

TJ shivered, his eyes closing. "...s'okay."

It was beyond freezing, and even Jordan's hoodie couldn't keep out the frost. To ignore the cold clawing at her, she started fixing TJ up and then covered him with some of the blankets she'd gathered, hoping to preserve some heat for him.