*Summer is ending...*

"Fucking thing!"

A series of shouts and gunfire filled the air, sounding quite close to where they were. The commotion seemed to grow louder and louder.

"Is that Ellie?"

She didn't ask, because she knew that voice all too well. Equipped with her knife, Maeve was ready to run to her sister's aid, yet before she could, three figures rounded the corner, shooting back at the infected chasing them.

"Ellie!" Maeve called out, relief flooding into her veins.

"Sam!" Henry rushed over to them, specifically his brother.

"You're alright!"

"Oh, thank God! We gotta keep running!"

"Doorway — over there! Sam!"

They bolted for the door Henry pointed out. She couldn't tell who screamed when the infected barely managed to get through the door with them before it was slammed shut. Fists relentlessly pounded the door; their screams were like a thousand souls being grated in the pit of hell.

"Get away from the door!" Joel ordered them.

He and Henry frantically pushed on the chain-link fence door with no luck.

"Sam!" Ellie shouted out. "He just crawled through!"

"He what?!" Henry quit pushing on the door for a second. "Sam, what the hell are you doin'?!"

"Getting us outta here!"

From the other side of the fence, Sam crawled out of the ventless duct, rushing for the door to unjam it.

"Well, hurry up then!"

The second the pipe was pulled from the fence, they rushed through, fleeing from the horde of infected on their asses.

"Everyone, upstairs! GO!"

Maeve's sneakers pounded against the metal steps, her lungs fanned with the activity, also anxiety. Their screams seemed to fade now, but she still heard them as she raced up the stairs.

They entered what looked like a locker room with wooden lockers and some benches with valuable supply items. She shook herself to focus on the matter at hand: getting out alive.

When scrambling to the final exit, it refused to be opened.

"Damn thing's stuck!"

"Gimme a boost! I can get through that window!" Ellie quickly suggested to the narrow window above the door.

Instantly, she's lifted to the window.

"Open it from the other side."

"Make it fast!" Joel added.

"C'mon, Sam, you're not staying in here," Henry told his brother.

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine. C'mon, go."

Sam was lifted and was able to crawl through the window behind Ellie.

"Get ready!" TJ warned, preparing the revolver Joel lent him.

Screams of infected grew closer, furious and hungry. She could see them race up the stairs and drop from a doorway without a balcony. There was a lot.

She hurried to get a nail bomb from her bag, the nails clinking around inside the canister. Her jaw clenched.

"Everyone, get down!" She loudly warned, just as the infected entered the doorway. She shook the bomb and threw it as hard as she could. The canister hit one of the runners in the face, pissing it off. It roared and went running at them.

BOOM!

A powerful explosion deafened them. Blood spattered everywhere, the lockers, the ceiling, the walls, them. The bomb tore the infected's flesh apart to the point of bone showing. The fungal beings cried out in pain and didn't get very far before dying a painful and bloody death.

"Holy fuck — that's so fucking brutal," Jordon cringed.

"We got it!" Ellie and Sam spoke from the other side of the door, though it was open just enough for one person at a time.

"Alright, move! Let's go, let's go!"

They quickly slipped outside. The crisp air refreshing her lungs, she hurried away from the door and saw it'd been blocked by a vending machine, which is repositioned in front of the door again.

"What the shit? Who puts a vending machine in front of a door?" Maeve grumbled irately.

"People sure know how to make it hard for people."

"Yeah, well...they suck."

"Fresh air..." Henry took in a deep breath.

"Wha—"

"Look at this," Sam gestured to some graffiti on the exterior. In large red letters, there was a warning of infected inside.

"Oh, are you fucking kidding me? Thanks for the warning on the other side, guys!"

Maeve chuckled. She definitely agreed with that. At least she could breathe now, she wasn't as cold as she was before, and the afternoon sky was warm, or was it an evening sky? She shielded her eyes to look at east and west horizons. Though hidden behind some clouds, the sun was setting in the west.

"Where's this tower, again?"

"We're close," Henry answered. "C'mon, let's go."

They wandered to a street lined with old houses. Nice old houses. Some were two stories, some of them had one. Weathered down and overgrown with weeds, some were completely closed off and unable to be entered and explored.

"How are you feeling?" Maeve almost forgot about Jordon.

He walked beside her, glancing at her, his eye knitted together with slight concern.

"Oh...um, I'm fine."

"I mean, 'cuz you seemed really out of it earlier."

"I'm fine," she firmly repeated. "I won't be if you keep asking."

"Sorry, I just—I guess I was little concerned."

Her eyebrow raised. Why was he concerned about her wellbeing? They only knew each other all but a couple of hours. But here they are, awkwardly chatting.

"Meh, nothing to it," she waved him off. "I've gone through worse."

He blinked at her in surprise. "Really?"

She shrugged, thinking back about her Jordan and his lifeless body in her arms...yeah, she'd gone through worse. A flush of heat centered behind her eyes, she hurried to blink away any threatening tears before anyone saw.

"Yeah."

"Should we look for supplies while we're here, Joel?" TJ shuffled toward a house with no door.

The older man tilted his head in consideration. "Might as well."

Maeve trotted into the home behind them, eager to see what a family home actually looked like on the inside. That, and she wanted to get away from Jordon. He wasn't bothering her, no, it was her memories of her dead boyfriend that bothered her.

"Oh!" Maeve squeaked, suddenly seeing someone to her right as she passed by the entertainment center in the living room.

Embarrassment flooded her the moment she realized it was a mirror. Hmm... her reflection was worn, needless to say. Her green eyes had exhaustion bags hanging underneath them, her nose was slightly sunburned, her cheeks too. The freckles pinpricked around her cheeks and nose seemed to be intensified by the pinkness. Her lips were horribly chapped, so she licked her lips to try and moisten them.

"Agh..." She leaned closer to the reflective slate, prodding at her jaw, eyebrows, cheekbones, nose, and hairline. Her hair was a mess. She totally felt she looked like she had a brawl with a raccoon or something.

She pursed her lips, eyeing her frizzed hair. Her fingers had already begun to tug the tie that held her braid together and undo the braid entirely. Her auburn hair was let loose like a horse's mane. Briefly, she combed through her not-so-luscious locks and started to re-braid it.

"What're you doing?"

"Mother fu—!" Maeve's soul left her body and canon-balled back in. She spun to see an amused TJ. "You fucking asshole! You think you're so funny, don't you!?"

"I know I'm funny." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, funny looking."

"Is that your weak attempt to insult me?"

Her words caught in her throat; her face burned with humiliation. "You—! Fuck you!"

As her face reddened, she wanted to hit him so hard. Hard enough to send him back in time, or maybe forward. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. Oh, how she wanted to just deck him across his smug ass face.

"You are such a hothead," he rolled his eyes and stepped back to turn around and head outside with the others.

Breathe in...breathe out...Maeve attempted to calm her anger before she actually stabbed the ever-living shit of him.

Why were boys so...so...UGH.

"So fucking annoying," she muttered with venom.

"Mae?" Ellie's head poked into the doorway.

"Yeah — sorry, I'm right behind you!"

She trudged across the living room, dreading to see TJ. Their interaction was just annoying conversation, and she wanted to punch him for it. Maybe turn that sharp chin of his into a round one.

The sun yet again blessed her with warmth as she stepped out of the house. Everyone was already halfway down the street, she cursed under her breath, jogging to catch up with them.

TJ's blond hair managed to walk into her line of vision. That petty anger came back, oh how she just wanted to —

"Maeve?" Ellie's voice sent all fragments of irritation away like a sudden wind.

She glanced at her sister, gnawing the inside of her cheek. Ellie was right there in front of her, a concerned expression painted on her exhausted face.

"What's up?"

"Everything okay? You look kinda...red."

"I'm not a hothead, am I?" Maeve burst accidentally, catching Ellie off guard.

"I mean, you might look like one 'cuz your face is all red."

"Ellie!"

"I don't think so."

She wasn't a hothead. She was not hothead. Maybe if she thought hard about it, she could find the answer herself. She'd never been an angry person, at least not that she could recall.

Ellie squinted at her, suspicious. "Okay, what the shit happened? Why're you acting all weird?"

"Bah!" Maeve threw her hands up, storming past her sister and toward the group.

"You don't gotta be a dick about it!"

God, she hated feeling flustered! She hated being called things. She wasn't a hothead, she was an over-thinking, cautious bitch, that's what she was. Nothing more, nothing less. That was it. She was just a step away from going off the deep end. She frowned. This was not like her. At all. Jordan pulled the same shit TJ had; it was so fucking annoying! Why were boys so annoying? Did they have some sensor that goes off to agitate a girl into murder?

What were they thinking? Do they see an invisible button on them and say, "A sketchy looking button, Imma press it!"

"—end up together?" Sam's voice came from inside a house.

"Oh...a friend of mine and Maeve's, Marlene, asked him to us to the Fireflies."

"You seem to get along well."

How'd Ellie get ahead of her? She wondered silently and approached the doorway. She was so out of it, she guessed.

"Yeah, well...now we just boss them around. Isn't that right, Joel, TJ?"

"What about you TJ? How'd you meet Joel?" Sam focused on the blond boy who suddenly sprouted from the kitchen, opposite of the couch the pre-tweens were sitting on.

"He was my babysitter."

"Really?" Ellie snorted.

She could see it. He acted all broody and shit, just like Joel. Walked like him, too, with that "Badder than everyone else" attitude. She rolled her eyes. There she went again, thinking about him and his stupid self. It felt wrong. Jordan was her only love, well, until he died, but that didn't make it any easier. He's dead, but it was like acid scorching the insides of her chest and ribcage. Sure enough, just thinking about another guy made her feel like she was betraying his memory, his name.

Her body twisted away from the door frame to avoid TJ as he strutted past her, back into the street.

"What was this place without infected?" Ellie asked the second she left the house, and then shook her head. "Tsh...I can't even imagine it."

It seemed like it was okay to imagine it. She looked at those houses, seeing ghosts of what the neighborhood before the outbreak. She could see children riding their bikes and parents yelling for them to be back when the streetlights turn on. Bizarre.

""Will shoot on sight"," Sam read off the graffiti on the last house of the curved street. "Huh. Lots of friendly people lived here."

"Kind of relieved I wasn't alive during the outbreak," Jordon commented, his face crinkled with either relief or I-can't-imagine.

"Dude!" He was smacked on the bicep.

"What? I'm just sayin', it sounds more like hell than it does now."

"First few months after the outbreak, they had a lot of lootin'. Everyone got paranoid," Henry peered up at the graffiti and then at Joel. "You remember any of that, Joel?"

The older man nodded grimly. "Everyone barricades themselves in their homes, then supplies started runnin' low. That's when you saw what people are really capable of."

"I was only five when the Cordyceps hit. My memory's pretty hazy, but I remember living in a neighborhood just like this."

"What do you remember?" Ellie questioned as they began to trek around the curve to another line of houses.

"Uhh...barbecues. Parents, they would throw these crazy big barbecues and invite a ton of people. You know, I remember the smell more than anything. Weird."

In all honesty, Maeve thought that sounded nice. A cookout, surrounded by friends and family, nothing seemed better than that. Sure beat having to survive against hostile territorial, trigger-happy dudes, and bite-happy zombies.

Barking caught her attention. Down the street, two dogs played. One was black, the other a blonde coat. They chased each other, jumped on each other, looking as happy as dogs can be.

"Oh. Doggies!"

"You're gonna want to stay away from those. It's not like it is in the zone. These are wild."

"Boo!" Maeve grumbled, disappointed about Joel's words.

"I'm sure we'll find domesticated dogs for you to pet later."

"I fucking hope so. I want a dog to love."

They come across an old ice cream truck, inconveniently in the middle of the freaking street. She hoped whoever drove this before the outbreak lost their license, because the parking job was shitty.

"What's this?" They approached the rotted vehicle.

"Oh, this is an ice cream truck," Sam answered.

"An ice cream truck?"

"Oh, yeah!" Jordon suddenly piped up, rubbing his face. "Henry told us about these. Didn't they sell ice cream out of the truck?"

"Yep."

"What?" The sisters scrunched their faces up with disbelief. "No way. Joel?"

"It's true," the older man confirmed. "This thing would drive around and play real loud, creepy music and kids would come running out to buy ice cream."

"You're totally fucking with us."

"Um-mmm. Serious."

"You lived in a strange time."

"Told you so."

As they walked a bit more, they entered a house that seemed more like a mansion. Its walls was broad and tall, rooms were spacious. Maeve found it quaint, and if it weren't looted and dusty to hell and back, she would've thought it was homey.

"Agghh..." Ellie's groan seemed to amplify off the wallpaper of the living room. "Is anybody else hungry?"

The mere mention of food had Maeve's stomach clawing her insides. Before she knew it, it was beginning to make whale mating sounds, all while aching. Flushing red, she folded her arms over her middle, in hopes it'd tone the growling down.

"Yes."

"Hey guys — we break when we get to the radio tower," Henry reminded them all.

She wandered toward the TV stand in the furthest part of the room, to check the entertainment stand cabinets. Who knows, maybe there was something good in there worth taking.

Nada. She found nada. As she stood back up, she raised her arms over her head and stretched her muscles. Her chest puffed out a bit, a nice quick crack of her vertebrates emitted from her body.

"Ah..." she groaned with satisfaction, some of her tension being released with the pops.

"Hey," Jordon shuffled toward her awkwardly, his hands in his pockets.

"Hey?" She lowered her arms.

"Back at the sewers, you made those bombs."

"Yes?" She squinted at him.

"How, um, could you, uh, maybe teach me?"

She blinked at him. What? "I—I guess I could, but why are you wanting to know?"

"Well, we are in constant danger and being chased by hunters and occasionally infected. Why else would I ask?"

"Point taken," Maeve tilted her head. "Uh, so basically you need a metal canister with a lid, nails, razors, needles. You'll need explosive powder. I use chemicals I find anywhere, so that when it does combust, it gives the one at the end extra burns, or whatever."

"Wow, oh uh, that's a lot to remember."

Maeve shrugged. "I've been doing this a while."

"Really."

"—darts."

She gazed across the room. Sam seemed to have challenge Ellie to game a darts.

"Where'd you learn it from?"

The older girl peered back at Jordon. "A friend taught me — oh man, I feel so bad for Sam right now."

"Huh? Why?''

"Poor boy's been trying all day!"

"What's he been doing?" Jordon glanced between the kids and back at Maeve.

"He's been flirting with my sister."

"Oh, is that...is that bad?"

"Not at all, but Ellie's gay."

"Oh."

"Who's gay?" TJ trudged into the living, having overhead the conversation, he served over to them.

"Ellie."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yes."

"Bet you don't gotta worry about her dating douchebags, huh?"

Maeve crinkled her nose. "That's not — I was just saying Sam's been trying to —agh whatever! You're one crude person."

TJ's brows creased together. "You think so?"

"I fucking know so."

"Boosh! I am a natural!" Ellie gloated loudly.

"Luck," Sam denied her good throw.

"No, it wasn't."

"That was luck." He throws dart, scoring well.

"Alright, get outta here. You're getting cocky. Here we go," Ellie throws the dart, scoring horribly. "Fuck."

"Horrible," her opponent snickered.

"Alright...it's a tie."

"No, no, you clearly got destroyed."

"How did I clearly get destroyed? That's practically a tie!"

"Yeah, okay."

What competitive children. It was good seeing Ellie be herself, and she was sure Sam had fun too, even though that last round was intense.

Joel came back into the front hall, seemingly satisfied with whatever he found upstairs.

"There'll come a day when kids can just be kids again," Henry sighed.

"Let's go."

They leave house, heading further down the street. There didn't seem to be a way down the hill, the road was blocked by whatever shit that was. It didn't even look like furniture.

"Oh, hey, look," Jordon approached a stone wall of a yard. A Firefly insignia spray painted on. "Fireflies were here."

"How're we gonna find them?"

"I know a guy," Joel answered. "My brother, actually. He was a Firefly. Last I heard he was in Wyoming. We get there, we find him. We find the Fireflies. Whaddya say?"

Henry nodded with a grin. "Sounds like a good plan, man."

"Ah, okay," Ellie interrupted, "you guys are killing me with your downer talk. It's joke book time."

"What is that?" Sam inquired.

Ellie grinned, her joke book already in hand, "Just bear with me. "You wanna hear a joke about pizza? Never mind, it was too cheesy.""

"I don't get it."

"Yeah, me neither. "What did the green grape say to the purple grape? Breathe, you idiot!""

Okay, that one was good, Maeve grinned a little.

"That's so stupid," Sam chuckled. "Alright, I got a joke for you."

Ellie put her book away, ready to listen to Sam's joke, "Let's hear it."

"Why can't your nose be twelve inches long?"

"I dunno, why?"

"Because...then it would be a foot."

"That's so dumb. I love it."

Assuming the adults hadn't interrupted the joke circle, Maeve guessed they enjoyed the jokes too.

"Okay, let's find a way off this street."

After some searching around, they found themselves in the backyard of the house near the road blockage. The yard had drop down into another part of the suburbs, and a perfect view of a beautiful house straight down the street. The sun hit the faded cream-colored shutters ever so nicely too.

They each jumped down and was walking toward an old van when the windshield exploded.

Of course, by pure chance, Maeve knew who screamed this time around. It was her, and by surprise, she didn't get glass in her mouth. She was pulled behind the minivan by someone.

"Y'all alright?" Joel looked around at them.

"What the fuck was that?" TJ tried to peek over the hood but was forced back down when another window exploded.

"Fuckin' sniper..." Henry growled. "Did you see where it came from?"

"Somewhere down the street," Joel pulled himself into a crouch. "Alright now...y'all stay here."

"No."

He looked at Ellie, who was ready to argue. "Before you start — I need you guys to keep him busy. I'm gonna go around and see if I can get the angle on him."

"Okay. Hey. Be careful."

Joel sneaked off.

"Oh my God. Did he seriously tell us to be bait?" Maeve grimaced, fear grabbing her body again.

"We'll be okay. Joel'll get 'em. Have faith," TJ's words seemed to comfort her some.

"Okay," she breathed. "Let's go."

Soon enough, the hunters in the area were getting sniped by their sniper, which Maeve was certain it was Joel's doing. He protected them from the danger of those hunters.

"Oh, my fucking..." Maeve felt her soul leave her body for the second time that day, hearing the dreadfully familiar sound of a deep motorized rumbling.

As if the world slowed down, she swore she saw her life flash before her eyes. The truck...and so many hunters flooded the yards of the houses. She couldn't tell how many, just that there were a lot of them. A hella ton.

"It's those damn tourists from the city!"

"Thought you get away from us, huh?!"

"We're back, motherfucker!"

The deadly Humvee's turret robotically maneuvered, the barrel of the slim cannon whirred around, directing its aim at their six targets.

"Shit, get down!"

Maeve dove behind a horizontally rotted car, ignoring the stings in her palms. A scream erupted from her throat as bullets pelted the hood of the car she hid behind, the window shield shattering and metal tearing. She almost couldn't hear her sister calling out for her.

"Stay behind cover!" Her shaky voice managed out over all the shooting and began to army crawl closer to where the others were.

"Not so fast, bitch!" Something grabbed her foot and pulled her back.

A hunter with a machete stood over her, kicking her to be on her back. His face split wickedly as he raised his rusted blade, ready to slice her dead. Something exploded and his side was suddenly growing red. At first, the man roared in pain, but he never took his menacing focus off the girl below him.

He swung his machete down at her.

Maeve threw her arms up to defend herself, sharp pain splitting through part of her left forearm.

Pow!

"C'mon, Mae, get up!" Hands grappled her frantically.

"Fuck!" she cursed, cradling her dominant arm as it bled.

"Get back!" Henry yelled for them; the Humvee rumbling closer to them slowly.

The top latch was tossed open, clanking against the outside. A hand reached out, throwing a fire bottle at their cover. Each of them scrambled for safety, away from the licking flames as the bottle shattered. As quickly as the flames burst from tis containments, it died down.

"That's a lot of blood, Mae!" Ellie eyed her sister's injury as they ran for a fenced house.

"I'm fine! Worry about your own ass!"

The truck drove closer, slowly approaching them as the driver readied another Molotov to throw their way. The driver rose out of the truck's opening, exposing himself to Joel. He was sniped, chest spilling red. The hunter dropped the Molotov on himself, ultimately setting himself on fire and whatever he did as he tried to himself out, or whatever gears he hit inside the truck, the military turret zoomed forward, crashing into the fenced-around house.

"Oh my God," Maeve gasped as the impact of the vehicle caused the front of the house to collapse.

"Holy..."

"You alright, Sam?" Henry asked brother and then looked around at the others. "Y'all alright?"

"Peachy," Maeve grumbled as she clutched her bleeding arm.

"Why are you always the one getting punched?" Ellie joked lightly.

"Maybe my luck is running out."

"Haha," the younger turned toward the sniper house, waving her arm in the air. "Thanks, Joel!"

"We should move," TJ glanced around.

"Before this gets infected, please."

A scream pierced through the stilled air, or was it two? Either way, the infected rushed from around the collapsed house, grappling at those who were closest to grab. One went for Henry, while the other went for Sam, tackling him to the ground.

Everything happened so quickly. Including the gunshots. The infected were shot and killed. If by the ones with guns, or Joel in the sniper's nest, she couldn't tell.

Henry rushed to help his brother up. "Sam, are you okay?"

The boy brushed him off, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure? You seem funny."

"Ho-oly shit..."

Screaming, wailing, shrieking. However she was able to put it, it filled the air, like a thousand voices screeching their throats raw. Maybe it was the perfect comparison because it was exactly that way. And then she saw them.

A horde of infected, or maybe far more than a horde. There could've been hundreds of them. Everywhere, like ants, they scrambled from behind houses, inside houses, on the hill they came from earlier.

"Run! Run!"

With all the energy she had, she bolted for the sniper house, and the others followed. If they hadn't, well, they would be infected food, and nobody wanted that. She felt like she ran too slow, the screaming of the infected had her ears ringing like bells.

They managed to escape into the sniper's house, finding Joel.

"Joel, you're okay!"

It was relieving to see him without a scratch...er, or at least not a lot of scratches. He seemed relieved to see them too.

"Anybody hurt?" His dark eyes scanned the six of them.

"Just a scratch."

"I'm good."

"Uh-uh."

"No, we're good."

They had spoken simultaneously, their sentences soundings like gibberish meshed together.

"I think it's time we quit this place. C'mon."

As the infected outside tried to get through the barriers of the front part of the house, the group of seven escaped through the backyard and out of the picket fence.

Their final stop: the radio tower.

Finally, Maeve breathed in relief, plopping on the floor despite it being uncomfortable. The radio tower had seemed so close, yet so far away. She felt better knowing they could rest for the night without worrying about all those hunters and infected.

There were two rooms, well, there were more than two, but these rooms weren't full of junk or blocked off. It wasn't spacious, but it was more than enough for them, considering it'd been a whole day without getting a good break or sleep. Oh, and food.

"How's your arm?" A voice penetrated through her thoughts.

"Hm?" She peered up as TJ shuffled toward her.

"Fine."

In truth, she didn't want the others to be grossed out while she fixed her arm up, it proved to be difficult. Her right hand was as useless as a rubber duck. She would've had herself all wrapped and healing if it had been her right arm that the hunter sliced, but no.

"Clearly," the blond snorted, tossing his bag next to hers, and heavily sat before her. "Let me help."

"I don't think—"

"Shut up and let me help," he cut her off and grabbed her wrist, snatching the cloth from her other hand.

"Why're you acting so weird?" She eyed him.

"I'm not."

"You are. Didn't you suspect me, or whatever the hell it was you thought I was doing?"

He shrugged, patting the cut again.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Here he was helping her again, and all she has to offer is complaint after complaint.

I cannot believe I'm about to do this, but...

"Sorry."

He paused mid-dab and slowly made eye contact with her. His brows knitted together. "What?"

"Don't make me say it again," she practically begged.

"Are you apologizing?" His confusing frown perked into a small smirk. "Didn't know you had it in you."

"Don't be an ass, or I'll revoke that apology!"

"Can't revoke something that's already been said."

"Okay, let me rephrase that, I was a dick, I'm sorry."

"Wow," TJ clicked his tongue. "You do have a heart. You should be proud."

Maeve felt something twang through her. Whatever it was, she wasn't sure if she should laugh or be insulted. A huff escaped her lips, and she went to pull her arm away. The cloth stung her opened skin, and so did the air and its dust particles.

"It'd hurt less if you'd stay still."

"Well, hurry up then."

She sat there and watched TJ wrap her arm snugly. A thought took over her mind. A memory danced inside her head. He said Joel was his babysitter, was that another way of saying Joel raised him?

"How'd you get this?"

Her arm retreated quickly before his fingers could even graze one pearl on her bracelet. She covered it from his field of vision with her right palm. The leather strings and the pearls seemed to sear her skin. It seemed the Firefly pendant tucked under her collar heated up too.

"Did a friend give that to you, too?" his voice was gentle, nonjudgmental — almost as if he lost someone close to him as well.

Maeve brought her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. Her eyes flitted away from his shocking blue eyes, tears building up at the "waterworks" dam behind them.

"You could say that," her voice seemed too quiet, incoherent. Inaudible.

It was silent for a moment. The group in the center of the small area, eating canned beans and getting Joel to spill stories from before the outbreak.

"I'm gonna get some food. Want some?"

Maeve numbly shook her head. "I think I'll just sleep."

If he wanted to say something to her, he seemed to keep his mouth sealed. She heard him stand up and join the party, so to speak. The cut didn't hurt as much as it did, probably because the adrenaline ran so high earlier. She guessed she'd feel it tomorrow.

A shaky breath escaped her and she grabbed for her bag, unzipping it, and then pulling Jordan's coat out. Her arms were too short for the sleeves, and it smelled slightly of sewer, however, if she pressed her nose into the fabric hard enough, she could manage a whiff of Jordan's scent.

The smell of pine...and spice. Maybe a hint of rain.

Clench.

She adjusted herself to lie down, using her backpack as a pillow. Her eyes closed, and just for a moment, she felt the bliss of a dreamless, well-earned rest.

Growl.

Maeve felt that, and yet heard it all at the same time. Startled out of her sleep, an aromatic scent wafts into her nostrils. Food. Her mouth began to water before she'd had a chance to open her eyes again.

It was light outside, bright enough for her to shield her retinas from the harmful, but not harmful rays. Morning breath attacked her nose as she yawned and sat up. She cringed as the ache of her cut gripped her arm. Uncomfortable as it was, she was grateful to know it wasn't a dream, er, should she say nightmare?

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!" A voice way too cheerful shook her brain like an earthquake.

She glared toward the culprit. Henry just passed Jordon and TJ a plate of whatever the hell he was cooking, unfazed by her grump exhaustion.

"I take it you're not a morning person?"

"I'm not a day person."

That caused a chain reaction between the guys, Joel having himself a chuckle too. A frown met her lips, and she looked around, finding a messy blanket next to her, which she assumed Ellie used. She glanced around a bit more, not seeing her sister in sight.

"Where's Ellie—"

"Sam!"

Her sister's scream tore through the light mood of the morning, alerting everyone. In the room Ellie screamed from; the door burst open. The impact of two bodies struggling against each other nearly tore it off the hinges.

Sam growled out, smacking at Ellie.

"Ellie!"

"He's turning!" Joel dove for his bag before anyone had a sense of what to do.

Pow! Henry had his gun out and shot at Joel, purposely missing as a warning, "That's my fucking brother!"

"Sam!" Ellie screamed again, the ashen boy coming closer to ripping her throat out.

"Screw it!"

"Sam, get a hold of yourself!" Jordon yelled.

Another shot went off, and Sam's animalistic growling and wheezing became silent. His child body slumped atop Ellie, who pushed him off her and quickly crawled to the safety behind Maeve.

"Oh, shit..."

Time seemed to freeze, and Henry realized what he had done. The gun in his hands trembled. His jaw went slack as he wept for Sam.

"Ellie, are you alright?" Maeve checked her sister for bites, purposely avoiding her arm.

"Uh-huh...oh my God..." her eyes flitted between Sam's body and Henry.

"Sam?" His broken voice hurt her.

"Kids, get over here," Joel instructed calmly.

"Sam..."

"Henry," Jordon went to move forward, Joel stopped him.

The older man quaked with his tears. "Henry, what've you done?"

Joel warily shuffled for the man, holding his arms apart to try and not startle him, "I'm gonna get that gun from you, okay?"

"Sa...Sa...Sam..." From sorrow to pained rage, Henry turned the gun on Joel.

"Whoa! Easy, Henry!"

"Okay, okay, easy," Joel ignored Jordon and held up his arms in surrender.

"It's your fault."

"It's nobody's fault, Henry."

"It's all your fault!" Henry raised his gun to his head, finger on the trigger.

"Henry!"

"Henry, no—"

Bang!

"Oh my God!"