Rewritten: January-May 2025

Three weeks later

"When's Marlene getting back?"

Maeve, lost in her own thoughts, shifted her gaze to the right. Her sister, smaller in stature, adjusted her position to face her directly.

Ellie's youthful features showed signs of exhaustion, but her energy remained plenty.

She squirmed, feeling a twinge of annoyance at her fourteen-year-old sibling, mentally rolling her eyes at the repeated question. This was the third in just an hour since Marlene had left them in that shabby cafe. Dust coated the display counter, the register, the tables, and pretty much everything else around them.

Sunlight filtered through what would've been the cafe windows, now boarded up, making the room uncomfortably small.

"I don't know," Maeve shot back, earning a sharp look from Ellie. "Probably around the same time you started asking," she added with a sigh, "It's only been an hour, E."

"Yeah, a freaking hour. She could be in trouble," Ellie said, pulling out her switchblade and absentmindedly polishing it on her right sleeve. "Maybe we should—"

"She told us to stay put," Maeve snapped, her gaze darting to her sister. "And don't even think about running off. It's too dangerous."

"But I'm so bored!" Ellie complained, dramatically tossing her head back.

It was boring, yes. Maeve couldn't deny that she longed for more exciting that drawing imaginary shapes on her jeans or fiddling with Jordan's pendant and her bracelet.

"Well, I do have this comic I brought along if you want to read it—" Maeve started to reach for her backpack.

"No thanks," Ellie declined.

"What?! But you're such a nerd! Don't you like stuff like comic books?" Maeve gaped at her, dropping her bag. "You're so weird."

"Don't hate me cuz you ain't me~" Ellie replied with a smug grin.

"Don't flatter yourself, squirt," Maeve shot back with a haughty smirk, puffing out her chest. "Why would I hate someone who has less than me?"

She knew that jab was a low blow. After all, she was the one who had the curves in the family. She liked to think she took after their mom. Maeve kept assuring Ellie that puberty would eventually work its magic, but Ellie always brushed her off. It was clear that period talks and the talk made Ellie uncomfortable. Since her sister already understood how the female body worked, it lightened Maeve's load a bit.

"Ouch," Ellie pretended to be hit, dramatically clutching her chest and falling against the wall. "I'm hurt! I'm bleeding out!"

"You're such a dork," Maeve chuckled, pulling her legs up onto the counter, wrapping her arms around them, and resting her chin on her knees.

"And you're a bitch."

"It wouldn't be fun if I wasn't," she grinned before settling down a little. "You know, this is actually a good thing."

Ellie eyed her with curiosity as she folded her switchblade and tucked it away. "What do you mean?"

"Well, for starters, everything is about to change."

"We don't know that."

"Don't we?" She envisioned a world free from the Cordyceps virus, devoid of tyrannic soldiers and Fireflies.

"Mae," the younger girl said, her expression turning solemn. "A cure won't bring Riley back."

"I know," Maeve replied, her eyes dropping in disappointment. "But isn't it nice to hold onto hope? What else do I have left after everything that's happened?"

"Well, I mean, at least you get to see Jordan again," Ellie slumped forward.

"Well, yeah, I guess so." She didn't know what else to say about that; Ellie lost her best friend in the worst way possible. She opened her mouth to say something but the icebox door rattled, the handle turning. Both alerted, bringing out their knives, ready to fight if there was any sign of danger.

Suddenly, the door opened and a figure tumbled onto the floor.

"Marlene?" Maeve recognized the woman, her gaze drawn to the large blood stain on her side.

A man, significantly older than the girls, rushed to assist the fallen woman.

"Stay away from her!" Ellie shouted, lunging at the man with her knife.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" A woman with short brown hair appeared in the doorway, grabbing Ellie by the wrist.

"Ellie!" Maeve leaped off the counter, rushing to her sister's side with her switchblade in hand.

To astonishment, a boy her age suddenly appeared and grabbed her wrist, twisting the knife from her grip and sending it clattering to the floor. She gasped at his strength, feeling helpless as he rushed her toward a table, slamming her down onto its surface. He lifted her effortlessly, as if she'd weighed nothing to him.

If that wasn't bad enough, having her hands restrained above her head might've been worse. His long arms allowed him to hold her down without needing to lean in too much.

"What the hell! Get off me!" She fought against him.

"Don't even think about it!" He growled.

"Mae!" Ellie shouted, desperately trying to pull herself free from the woman.

"Enough!" the man near Marlene barked, expressing his authority and caused everyone to stop. "Tess. TJ."

"But Joel, she—" the boy began to protest.

"TJ."

With a frustrated click of his tongue, the boy turned his attention back to Maeve. He screwed his nose up at her before, with obvious reluctance, letting her go. He stepped away, returning to the side of the man and woman—Joel and Tess.

Maeve perched on the table where she'd been slammed on, shooting a fierce glare at the blond boy. She was on the verge of speaking her mind, but the expression she caught Marlene giving her made her decide not to.

"Who the hell are you guys, anyway?" she sneered, hopping off the table.

"Maeve," Marlene gently scolded. "They're here to help."

"Help?" the auburn-haired girl echoed skeptically, snatching her knife from the floor. "Yeah, sure. I really want this guy's help after he used me as a ragdoll."

"You deserved it!" the boy, TJ, retorted from his place next to Tess.

"I'm sure," she replied, walking over to Marlene, ignoring the boy's attitude. "You're hurt."

"This is fixable," Marlene kept her hand on her wound. She hid her pain, but her smokescreen was faltering. "I brought us help."

"Them?" Both girls exchanged glances at the trio of newcomers.

They looked like they rolled around in dirty water and then dry dirt, and then sweated. None of them seemed fit for the task at hand; in fact, they looked like they might collapse at the slightest gust of wind—not to mention they had a menacing air about them. From her viewpoint, they certainly didn't seem all that enthusiastic about the potential journey ahead.

Marlene leaned against the register counter, her face flushing. "But I can't go with you," she said.

"Then we're staying." Ellie replied.

Maeve exchanged a glance with her sister, nodding in agreement. Marlene was too injured to be left alone, especially given the amount of blood she seemed to have lost, and is losing. Neither girl wanted to leave her.

"Girls," the woman pleaded softly, "we won't get another chance like this."

"Wait," Joel interrupted, gesturing between the sisters. "We're smuggling them?"

Marlene nodded weakly, her brows furrowing from her pain. "There's a crew of Fireflies that'll meet you at the Capitol Building."

"That's not exactly close," Tess remarked.

"You're capable. Hand them off, come back, and the weapons are yours – double what Robert sold me."

"Speaking of which—where are they?" TJ interjected, seemingly unfazed by the tension.

"Back at our camp."

The three smugglers exchanged skeptical looks, glancing back at the injured Firefly

"We're not smuggling shit until I see them," Tess stated firmly.

"You'll follow me," Marelen replied wearily. "You can verify the weapons and I'll get patched up," she pointed at Maeve and Ellie. "But they're not crossing into that part of town. I want Joel and TJ to keep an eye on them."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Bullshit! We're not going with them!"

"Like hell I will!"

The four began to argue, their voices drowning each other out, to the point where Marlene seemed to develop a migraine, rubbing her temple in frustration.

"Girls!" Her voice cut through the chaos, silencing their complaints.

"How do you know them?" Maeve asked quietly.

"I was close with his brother Tommy. He said if I ever found myself in trouble, I could count on him."

"Was that before or after he left your little militia?" Joel asked sarcastically.

"He left you too, remember?" TJ chimed in, only to be smacked on the head by Tess. "Ow!"

Maeve stifled a laugh, feeling a strange sense as she watched him take a hit—not out of cruelty, but more like satisfaction. However, when TJ caught sight of her smirk he shot her a glare. Serves you right, jerk! Sure, she had a bit of an attitude, but it was rightfully so. It tweaked her nerves when she met a new person who dished it out first. It unleashed a whole other side of her that was all mouth and sass, and she felt justified in being a bit of a diva. First impressions mattered a lot to her.

"Just take them to the north tunnel and wait for me there."

The males exchanged incredulous looks at Tess.

"Are you for real right now?" TJ muttered.

"Oh for cryin' out loud." Joel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"They're just cargo," Tess said, giving each of them a firm pat on their shoulders and then moving closer to Marlene.

"Marlene..."

"No more talking — you'll be fine," Marlene insisted, straining to rise. "Now go with them."

At that moment, she realized there wasn't room for debate. Marlene's mind was made up, and it was incredibly difficult to change it once it was made up. Who were these people, really? Their names meant nothing to her. The distrust was strong, but...if Marlene had enough faith in them to look after her and Ellie, then she supposed she'd have to give it a shot too.

"Are you coming or not?" TJ snapped at them.

"Calm down, dude!" Maeve retorted, quickly grabbing her bag. She slipped it on and rushed after them, with Ellie right behind her.

"Are you coming or not?" TJ barked at them.

"Chill dude!" Maeve hissed at him and hurried to get her bag. She slipped her arms through the straps and followed after them with Ellie hot on her heels.

"Don't take too long," Joel told Tess and turned to the girls as TJ was already out the front door. "And you two, stay close."

"Aye, aye, captain!" Maeve sarcastically saluted the older man.

The summer heat engulfed Maeve, and the sun was still shining its brilliance on the broken world...and the bodies strewn out on the alley grounds. Blood pooled around their bodies, seeped from the bullet wounds they had received.

"Whoa...we heard all the shooting, but...what happened?" Ellie asked, which earned her a side glance from Maeve.

"The Fireflies. Same thing's gonna happen to us if we don't get off the street."

"You're the pros. We're following you."

TJ dismissed Ellie's comment with a scoff, while Maeve fought the impulse to knock some dents in his arrogance. His rudeness annoyed; sure,they were strangers, but they'd known each other for all of five minutes. Even if the journey wasn't going to be very long, couldn't he at least make an effort to be decent?

As they continued down a narrow staircase beside the street, TJ and Joel picked up the pace, clearly taking advantage of their long legs, forcing Meave and Ellie to nearly jog to keep up.

"Come on, you two! Keep up!" Joel shouted from ahead.

"We're trying!" Maeve snapped, already irritated with the guys. "Can you believe these jerks, Ellie?"

She caught Ellie shrugging and pushing her bangs out of her face.

Soon, they arrived at a mostly deserted apartment building.

"Where are we going?" Ellie inquired.

"Yeah, this place is seriously creepy..." Maeve scanned their desolate surroundings.

"Look up there, you idiot," TJ said, gesturing towards a broad fire escape. "That'll lead us to the north tunnel."

Maeve was ready to snap back at him, but Ellie intervened before she could unleash her frustration, "How do we get up there?"

"Just give me a second," Joel said before he wandered off in search of something to help them climb.

While they waited, Maeve took the opportunity to study TJ, taking in his features. He was tall, and his dirty blond hair was styled into a wolf's tail. If she looked closely, she could see his surprisingly baby blue eyes. His sharp jawline added a handsome definition to his face, though his nose seemed slightly off, likely from a past break.

Not that she had room to judge; she supposed he was cute, with the blond hair and blue eyes. The thought immediately left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"What?"

Maeve blinked, her cheeks flushing red. She'd been caught staring and quickly averted her gaze, though it was clear her interest had been noticed. "Nothing!"

"Well, it's obviously something if you're staring at me!"

"Forget about it!" she breathed a sigh of relief when Joel returned...with a dumpster in tow?

He pushed it towards the exit, just under the metal escape, where the stairs used to be, and climbed it to the stairs. The others followed after him.

"So, this tunnel...you use it to smuggle things?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Yes," Joel replied dully.

"Like, illegal things?"

"Sometimes."

"Have you ever smuggled a kid before?"

Maeve couldn't help but chuckle to herself. The level of patience these guys had was impressive. They must've had nerves of steel to handle Ellie's relentless curiosity. But Maeve understood; it was just part of Ellie's nature.

"No, that'd be a first," Joel remarked.

As the older teen adjusted her backpack straps, they made their way down a corridor leading to another set of stairs.

"So, what's the deal with you and Marlene?" TJ asked, casting a suspicious glance at the sisters.

"I'm not sure," Ellie and Maeve shrugged. "She's our friend, I guess."

"Your friend, huh?" Joel let out something that sounded like a laugh. "You're friends with the leader of the Fireflies? What are you, twelve?"

Maeve frowned, not liking his tone, but she stayed silent.

"She knew our mom and has been looking out for us. And I'm fourteen, which doesn't really matter...well, to anything," Ellie shot back snidely.

They climbed the short flight of stairs and turned right, entering a narrow hall.

"So, where are your parents?"

"Where are anyone's parents?" Maeve asked glumly, fiddling with her bracelet. "They've been gone for...I don't know, since forever?"

"So instead of staying in school, you choose to run off and join the Fireflies, that it?" Joel turned right again and climbed another set of stairs, which Maeve hoped would be the last.

"Listen, we're not gonna tell you why you're smuggling us, if that's what you're getting at." Ellie crossed her arms over her chest.

"Wanna know the best part of my job? I don't need to know why. Honestly, I couldn't give two shits about what y'all are up to," the older man replied firmly.

"Well, great."

"Good," Joel sighed, reaching a door at the end of the hallway that wasn't barricaded. He looked at the chipped paint on the door before opening it. "This is it."

Oh. That was quick, Maeve thought, blinking. She cautiously peered inside. This must be the north tunnel they mentioned. It didn't look like a tunnel to her. It was small, furnished with a plain blue couch, a side table, a couple of battery-powered lamps, and a chair opposite of the couch. It wasn't much, but she couldn't really complain.

"Get in, you weirdo." TJ grumbled and nudged Maeve through the doorway.

"Alright, fine..." she shot him a glare after regaining her balance. "No need to push!"

"Then hurry up," he said, emphasizing 'hurry' as he stepped inside and closed the door with slightly loud bang.

Seriously, this guy had some major issues...Maeve glanced at Ellie, who was curiously surveying the room. Her gaze landed on Joel, who sprawled himself on the couch with his arm draped over his eyes. Maeve noticed his watch was broken – shot at, which sparked the curiosity in her about how it got that way.

"What're you doing?"

"Killing time." Joel replied in a mumble.

"What are we supposed to do?" Ellie gestured to herself and Maeve.

TJ had already settled on the floor, leaning against the wall with the hood of his coat pulled over his head, apparently dozing off.

"I am sure you will figure that out," he said nonchalantly.

Great. Maeve moved around Ellie to claim the chair. She pulled it to the window, making little noise across the floor.

"Your watch is broken," Ellie pointed out to Joel, who let out a sigh-slash-huff, and joined Maeve by the window, which offered the view of the outskirts of the Boston QZ.

It was going to be a long night.