AN: At last, the totally inconsistent writer has returned. Please, please, hold your applause.

Thank you to all of you who have left reviews recently, and who have waited this long for this chapter. I really appreciate your support.

Before we get to the story, I have a few things to cover.

Thing one: This will not be the last chapter of the story - there's still one more coming. I had intended to end the fic with this chapter, but realized that the original idea I had for the ending was too rushed, and didn't do the story justice. The next chapter will definitely be shorter, but it'll tie things off nicely. I have no idea when I'll have it up, however, because I'm pretty busy at the moment. Also, for those of you that asked for it, after the ending of the last chapter I'm going to include a deleted scene of sorts, which'll cover Joel and Tess talking to the girls about their relationship. I wanted to try to fit it in this chapter, but it just didn't work right with the flow of it.

Thing two: This one is a doozy. I meant to keep it shorter, but it was another one of those situations where there was no good place to break it off, and cutting anything out would have taken away from the story/made the characters' motivations a little harder to understand.

Thing three: I will be start the next chapter of Summer Nights in the next few days. It'll be pretty short, and probably the last chapter, but it will be coming out soon.

Thing four: As always, reviews and such are appreciated, and please let me know if you have any questions. There's a lot happening in this chapter, and I'm a little worried that it might not make perfect sense to people who aren't quite as interested in the personalities and motivations of the game's side characters as I am. I keep forgetting that the majority of the fandom hates Marlene. Whoops.

Thing five: There will also probably be some spelling/grammatical mistakes, because not only do I not have a beta, but I have barely had any time to work on this recently, so I've been rushing to get it finished.

Anyway, that's enough of my blabbering. Enjoy the chapter, and let me know what you think!

P.S: I know Hozier's music probably wasn't out before the apocalypse started, but zombies aren't real either, so shut up.

Ellie could feel sweat beading on the back of her neck, and wiped it away absentmindedly, moving her hand to swat at a mosquito that hovered by her ear. They were everywhere, with the change of the season. Spring had descended on them like a thick, damp cloak, thawing the jagged edges of winter, dulling its razor points. The world seemed to be melting, shining drops of water clinging to the knobby, budding branches of trees like diamond rings on skeletal fingers. The fresh spring grass crunched wetly underfoot wherever one walked, and on the few days it didn't rain the air was thick with mist and damp like cobwebs.

Not that Ellie was complaining. Anything was better than the cold, and the memories it brought.

Her eyes fell to the flames of their campfire that rippled like blades of grass in the wind, the wood crackling softly beneath them. The fire licked at the bottom of the metal grill Joel had propped up over it, slowly heating the can of beans that rested on top of that. Ellie's eyes fell to the can in her own hand, which appeared to hold what was supposed to be sausage, but might also have been dismembered fingers.

The electronics store they had camped out in for the night was by far Ellie's favorite place they had stopped in a while. The roof was intact – which was better than most other places – and it was impossible to be bored, due to the hundreds of CDs that surrounded them, their dry-rotting plastic cases piled haphazardly on countless metal racks. But the best part was what they'd found stowed away in the back of the store, some how preserved amongst the toppled boxes and shattered glass: a battery-powered CD player, silver and the size and shape of a dinner plate. Tess and Joel had been hesitant about wasting batteries on it, but had conceded after a while. After all, they wouldn't need to be saving batteries for much longer.

They'd chosen a CD on Tess's recommendation, something by a man with a strange name Ellie couldn't remember. His voice was deep and rich and soulful, seeping into the silent night air like dark ink into paper and reverberating across the empty store, the sound almost mournful. Riley had taken to the music quickly, sometimes even humming along with it quietly as she and Tess sorted through their food and medical supplies.

Ellie leaned back against her backpack, listening to the crackle of the fire and the purr of the singer's voice, and the clanks and clicks of the metal cans as they were shuffled around.

After a few minutes, Riley's voice joined the singer's.

"The way she tells me I'm hers and she is mine…"

She was still looking down at the cans she was sorting, her expression content and almost peaceful as she sang.

Ellie found herself watching her, focusing on the way the firelight played on her features, on how it illuminated her freckles and the numerous little scars that dotted her face, and where it caught on her eyelashes and reflected off of the few errant curls that strayed from her bun. Riley, feeling Ellie's gaze weighing on her, glanced up at her. A smile curled at the corner of her mouth, reaching her eyes for the first time that day. Ellie scooted closer to her, until their shoulders brushed against each other. The contact sent tendrils of warmth spiraling through her.

"He's good," Riley said, nodding her head toward the CD player.

Ellie shrugged. "He's alright. Some of it's pretty bad, though. I mean, 'she gives me toothaches from kissing me'? Come on."

Riley laughed quietly, the vibrations of it carrying through her frame into Ellie's. Before she knew it, Ellie found herself joining in. The glow of the fire, the warmth of Riley's laughter, and the soft murmur of the thrumming guitar and singer's voice seemed to dispel the darkness that surrounded them, leaving Ellie feeling lightheaded and warm. She was reminded of their days back at the military school, when sometimes they'd sneak a bottle of whiskey or beer into their dorm room, drinking until they were reduced to giggling fits, or – in some cases – until they passed out entirely.

Looking back, Ellie found it hard to believe that the memories she had of their school days had even happened. They had spent so many hours complaining about being trapped there, plotting their escape. The vast world outside the zone had seemed so glorious back then.

They'd been naïve, she realized.

"So, how much further have we got?" Tess asked, interrupting Ellie's musings. Ellie glanced up to see Tess looking at Joel, who was examining a wrinkled map, the curling corners of it held down by a few spare cans.

"Should get there tomorrow," Joel said, tracing his index finger along a crease in the map. "Mighta been today, if we hadn't gone through the suburbs."

Riley scoffed, and Ellie looked over to see her scowling at Joel exasperatedly, her jaw set.

"Are you still pissed about that? Seriously?" Riley sighed.

Joel looked up at her, brow furrowed, the lines and crevices on his face deepened by the firelight.

"It woulda been faster if we'd just gone straight through downtown—"

"And we would've ruined your horse's feet in the process," Riley snapped, setting down the can she'd been holding. "If she hadn't thrown that shoe it would've been fine, but you can't ride a horse barefoot over concrete for that long. It'll mess them up."

Joel sighed exasperatedly, but didn't respond. Ellie saw Riley roll her eyes before returning to sorting the cans, muttering something under her breath.

Considering that it was only the third time that week Riley and Joel had bickered, Ellie decided they were making progress. They'd been at each other's throats for the last month more than ever before, and went back and forth on a daily basis about everything from rationing of food to routes to take. Most of the time, Ellie was left to play peacemaker, while Tess told them both to shut up and made the decision herself.

Ellie watched Riley finish checking the labels on the cans, catching her eye when she finally looked up. She shot her a small smile, and Riley returned it with equal warmth, the sour expression quickly disappearing from her face.

At least nothing between them had changed, Ellie decided.

And, if Joel was correct, then tomorrow would be the last day they had to get through.

Ellie returned her gaze to her can of sausage, carefully working it the rest of the way open with the sharp edge of her switchblade.

They just had to make it one more day.

When Tess woke, the light was just starting to seep over the horizon, leaching into the dark sky and staining it with vibrant streaks of red that Tess had once found beautiful, but that now just reminded her of fresh wounds.

She rolled out of her sleeping bag stiffly, feeling her joints pop and crack, and pushed herself to her feet. In the dim light she could just make out the outline of the girls, who were curled together in one sleeping bag, both sound asleep. It was a practice they'd picked up during the winter, when nightmares had begun interrupting their sleep at least every other night.

Even after months, neither would talk about what had happened in those woods. As it was, it'd taken them at least a week to return to any semblance of their normal selves. Riley had been withdrawn for a few days, distant, distracted. Ellie's temper had risen to a new level, barely a few hours going by without an outburst of some sort. She'd nearly broken her toe a few days after leaving the cabin, when she'd kicked a rock in a fit of petty rage after breaking the zipper on her coat.

Tess often wondered if she should have tried to talk to them, to reach out to them. Whatever they had been dealing with – and still were, she imagined – had been bad. They'd needed support. She and Joel had tried at first, probing them a few days afterward about the details, but it'd only resulted in worsening the girls' moods even further. After a while, they'd given up and left them to deal with it on their own, which they had after a week or two. They'd started to come back around, started talking more, sometimes even smiling and teasing each other.

The only setback had been their first encounter with a group of hunters, about half a month after leaving the cabin. It hadn't even been that bad – nothing like Pittsburg – though Ellie had had one close call with a man with a baseball bat. Nonetheless, the girls had been jumpy for the rest of the day, and had both slept restlessly that night.

Tess grabbed a bottle of water from her backpack and then padded outside as quietly as she was able, carefully pushing the glass door closed behind her. She glanced up at the sky for a moment, gazing at the last few resilient stars that glimmered in the indigo sky, refusing to be swallowed by the growing light of the morning.

She heard the door creak open behind her, but didn't bother glancing over her shoulder, eyes still fixed on the sky.

"Mornin', Texas."

She heard Joel give a grumbled acknowledgement.

"Everything alright?" he asked wearily, and she nodded.

"Fine. Just getting some air."

Joel walked up to stand beside her, rubbing at his eyes with the back of one hand.

"You want to head out this early?" he asked.

"Nah. I think we should let the girls get some rest. No reason to drag them out this early, as close as we are."

Joel nodded. "You're the boss."

Tess gave a quiet chuckle, the sound throaty and warm.

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Somewhere in the distance, a whippoorwill called.

"I can't believe we're almost done," she said, her voice so low Joel had to lean in to hear it. "We sure as hell got more than we signed up for."

"That," Joel said, "is an understatement."

He paused, and then glanced at her. "You still think it's actually gonna work?"

Tess considered it for a moment.

"At this point, I don't give a damn. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, we tried."

"And that's enough for you?" Joel asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yep. I don't know about the girls, though. I think they've got a hell of a lot more riding on this than we do."

They both glanced back into the store in tandem, where Ellie and Riley were still sleeping.

"We're gonna have to figure out step two soon," Tess said after a moment, turning to catch Joel's eye. He avoided her gaze.

"Step two?" he asked, careful to keep his tone light.

Tess sighed. "Where we're gonna go, Joel. What's going to happen to the girls."

Joel's brow furrowed. "We could just go back to Tommy's. It's the closest to home we're gonna get."

"They may not want to go there," Tess said. "We're gonna have to ask them. For that matter, Riley's still a Firefly. She might want to stay with them. And where she goes Ellie'll go."

"You want to just leave them?" Joel demanded.

"I'm not saying that, Texas. I'm just saying that you're forgetting that they aren't little girls. They've got minds of their own. They can take care of themselves. If they want to go off on their own once the cure's out of the way, that's up to them."

Joel shook his head. "You think that's really a good idea? After what happened back in Colorado you think we should just leave them with the Fireflies?"

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that they might have a different idea of what they want to do after this is over, and you need to think about that. They're not our kids, Joel."

Joel said nothing for a moment, and then he shook his head.

"I'm going to go get a little more shut-eye," he muttered, turning away and walking back inside.

After a few minutes Tess joined him. There was no point in passing up a chance to rest, she decided.

The next morning dawned aggressively, the light that fell through the jagged edges of the store's windows a vibrant gold that was almost sickly in color. Ellie woke to find her face nestled in the crook of Riley's neck, as it had been when she'd fallen asleep the night before. They shared a sleeping bag most nights now, partially because they could use the extra bag as another blanket, and mostly because they wanted to.

Riley was still asleep; Ellie could feel the subtle rise and fall of her chest against her own, could feel her breath tickling her hair, and the weight of her arm flung over her waist.

Ellie realized they should probably get up soon – Joel had said they were within a day's walk of the hospital, which seemed impossibly close after so many months of travel – but couldn't bring herself to move. Something in her gut felt wrong, knotted, like she was forgetting something important, or something was happening soon, but she couldn't remember what it was. The feeling left her uneasy, and she wasn't sure she wanted to interrupt the pleasant haze that she was in yet, with Riley so close to her, and the world so still and quiet. For all she knew, it could be their last.

Eventually, when she could no longer justify putting it off, Ellie wriggled carefully out of Riley's grasp and up until their faces were level. After a moment of admiring the peacefulness of her sleeping features, she sat up and, imitating the croak of a clicker, leaned down and nipped her on the neck. The reaction was immediate, and Ellie narrowly missed having an elbow driven into her eye as Riley jerked awake.

"What—"

When Ellie burst into laughter, Riley narrowed her eyes, absentmindedly rubbing at the spot on her neck.

"Not funny, is it?" Ellie asked, grinning as she watched confusion and realization chase each other through Riley's eyes.

"You're such a bitch," Riley whined, shoving her shoulder gently.

Ellie simply dipped forward and kissed her in response, and felt the sour twist of Riley's mouth quickly fade away under her lips.

"Still not the worst way to wake up, I guess," Riley said with a shrug after they broke apart. Ellie just twirled a loose strand of her hair with her finger and smirked.

Riley looked at her for a moment, her mouth twisted in Ellie's favorite smile – the type that she fought to keep back, which lingered just on the cusp of a grin – and after a moment Riley fell back down against the sleeping bag, dragging Ellie with her. They ended up with their faces barely a hand's breadth apart, their breaths mingling.

"We should probably get up," Riley murmured.

"Meh," was all Ellie said.

After a moment of considering her through her lashes, her gaze trailing languidly over her face, Riley leaned forward and kissed her again, cupping her face softly, a thumb tracing over her cheek. Ellie only had a moment to enjoy the feeling of her lips against her own before she was pulling away, her eyes turning to where Joel and Tess were stirring at the other side of the burned-out fire.

And just like that, Ellie thought, the moment was gone. It wasn't that they were trying to hide anything from Tess and Joel – they had known about their relationship for some time, after Joel had tried sitting them down and casually asking about it one day, much to their mutual horror – but the presence of Tess and Joel seemed to change something in the air, quickly evaporating the feeling of ease and contentment that she felt around Riley. Once Tess and Joel were awake, it was back to work, back to the mission.

Sometimes she found herself missing their days back at the school, when it had been just the two of them against the world. Not that it did any good. Even with their journey drawing to a close – or so she hoped – things probably still wouldn't be settling down for a while. She wasn't sure how long it would take to make the cure, or how much they'd need from her, or if she'd be allowed to leave afterward.

Ellie realized her discontent must have been showing on her face when she saw Riley cock an eyebrow questioningly. Shaking her head in response, Ellie dropped her gaze and crawled out of the sleeping bag, ignoring the stiffness that lingered in her back from sleeping on the hard ground.

At least getting a break from traveling would be nice.

The ground squelched beneath the horses' hooves as they stepped into a grassy patch in the pavement, the air thick with the raw scent of damp earthy and crushed greenery. Callus attempted to duck his head down to chew at the grass, and Ellie gave the reins a tug, pushing him on with her leg.

"Looks like we're heading in the right direction," Joel called from Betsy, reining the mare to a stop and waving toward a blue rectangular sign on the side of the highway. It was marked by the words "Hospital, NEXT EXIT" in large white letters, the metal scuffed and tarnished by time.

"Thank God," Tess muttered from behind him, leaning back in the saddle to scan the horizon ahead of them.

She turned to look at the girls, a wry smile playing around her eyes. "You ready to get this finished?"

Ellie glanced at the expanse of the city, shielding her eyes from the glare of the midday sun.

"If they're even there."

"They will be," Tess and Riley said in tandem, causing Ellie to give a huff of laughter.

"They'll be there, Ellie," Riley insisted, her tone bordering on vehement. "They will."

Ellie decided it would be best not to argue with her.

They continued on in silence for a few minutes, a chorus of insects serenading them from the thick grass that had sprung up from the cracks in the pavement, the sun that glinted off of the hoods of cars shining into their eyes.

It was when they passed a wall that bore a faded Firefly symbol that Ellie next spoke.

"What if they don't know who we are?" she asked, feeling Riley's questioning glance. "I mean, it's been nearly a year. What if Marlene isn't there? We don't know anybody—"

"We can just tell them who we are," Riley said. "It'll be fine."

"The first time we ran into them on our own they tazed us. And the time after that they handcuffed us and—"

"They what?" Tess interrupted, and Riley only waved a hand dismissively.

"It won't be like that. Everything will be fine. I mean, I joined them, so they'll have my name and number—"

Ellie frowned. "Do you even remember your number? Wait, where is your pendant? I haven't seen it in forever."

Riley hesitated for a moment before answering.

"I… don't have it."

"What?"

Ellie glanced back at her curiously, and noted the dark expression that crossed her face.

"Back… back in winter. He took it."

There was a moment of stiff silence. Callus twitched his tail uneasily, sensing his riders' tension.

"Oh," Ellie said. "You didn't tell me."

Riley shrugged. "It was just a pendant. Besides, I have the number memorized."

Ellie chuckled weakly, feeling Riley relax.

"Nerd."

Riley smacked her arm playfully.

"Shut up."

After another few minutes of riding down the highway they found themselves pulling the horses to a halt next to a sign announcing the entrance to an abandoned quarantine zone, a wall of trucks and cars piled up against the QZs locked gate. Beyond it was some sort of terminal, and a collection of small storefronts. More signs dotted the side of the road, reminding them of the hospital's presence, and of the approaching tunnel.

"How are we supposed to get the horses around this?" Ellie asked, frowning. The cars were packed tight, their metal dented and cracking where they'd collided. They'd have to climb over just to get through on their own.

"We'll have to leave 'em," Joel said.

"Something might mess with them—" Riley began, only to be interrupted by Tess.

"We can tie them in one of the stores, come back and get them tonight. They'll be fine," Tess insisted.

"Whatever you say," Riley muttered, dismounting from Callus and offering Ellie a hand down.

They eventually decided to tie the horses in a nearby warehouse, which, though cluttered and in disarray, was empty and cool. They left the remainder of their water in a bucket between them, so they wouldn't get overheated. After all, the Fireflies would surely have enough water for them at the hospital.

Ellie spent a moment scratching Callus's neck before they left, the hair from his shedding coat clinging to her sweaty palms.

"You okay?" Riley asked her, keeping her voice low, her eyes moving quickly to where Tess and Joel stood in the doorway.

Ellie nodded. "Yeah. I just… I don't know. It's dumb."

Riley raised an eyebrow, waiting, and Ellie sighed.

"I don't know. I just have a weird feeling."

Riley gazed at her for a moment, her eyes soft, and then reached out and squeezed her shoulder.

"It's going to be fine, El. We're almost done."

Ellie bit her lip, her eyes turning to Callus once more, and then nodded.

"You're right."

"Duh," Riley said teasingly, though her tone lacked its normal joviality. "Now come on. Let's go save the world."

They climbed from the top of a vine-smothered bus over the gate and stepped out onto an empty street, the four of them coming to a halt in the center of it as they scanned the horizon.

"There it is," Tess said, jerking her thumb toward the skyline, where the hospital sat hunkered between the skyscrapers that bordered it. The cross on its glimmering front jutted out like an old scar. The letters that proclaimed it "Saint Mary's Hospital" were faded and barely decipherable across the distance. Still, it was there, shining in the vivid mid-morning light.

Ellie nodded, feeling a speck of hope beginning to stir in the pit of her stomach.

"How do we get there?" she asked, eyeing the cement barriers that surrounded them, blocking their way. "It's all the way across the city."

"We can cut through here," Joel replied, gesturing toward the bus station that sat adjacent to them. "Should lead out somewhere. And from there we'll just have to head through the tunnel and we'll be there. Easy."

"Lead the way," Ellie said, shrugging. She fell into step with Riley as they walked toward the station, their shadows intertwined, like ink blotches on the sun-bleached pavement.

The inside of the station was half overgrown, vines trailing from the cracks in the windows, their leaves shining like stained glass in the light. The air was warm and damp, and the tile smudged with dirt. ATMs and ticket stub machines lined the walls, their plastic faded, their touch screens cracked. Personal items of those who had once stayed there were strewn around the room – notes, random clothing, bottles of medication and faded, rotting photographs. Joel and Tess quickly set off to try to find a way through the station, as part of the building was collapsed in and filled with rubble, the stairs gone with it, and most other doors and gates were locked and bolted.

While they scouted around, Ellie and Riley decided to see what was left in the way of supplies. They searched musty, water-rotted duffle bags, and suitcases with wheels that no longer turned, a comfortable silence lingering between them.

"What if this is it?" Ellie asked suddenly, her hands sifting through a leather purse.

Riley quirked an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean…" Ellie shook her head. "After all this time, after everything we've done this year – what if this is really it? What if we really find them, and they can actually make the cure? Then what?"

Riley considered it.

"Well, then maybe we'd actually get to chill out for a while. I mean, I think we've kinda earned it."

Ellie snorted. "No kidding."

"And," Riley added, "maybe things might actually be… normal, again. Y'know, like they were before the outbreak. Maybe we'd get to do normal stuff for once. We wouldn't always have to be fighting. I mean, it'll take a while, but we might actually get that one day."

Ellie met her eyes, trying to read past her words.

"Do you think it'll really work?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. She wasn't sure she wanted the answer when Riley dropped her gaze, her eyes focused on the bag in front of her.

After a moment, she sighed.

"It has to."

Their gazes met once more, and Ellie was struck by the desperation in Riley's eyes, the sheer hope. She wanted to reassure her, to tell her that it would all work out, but couldn't bring herself to. Riley always knew when she was lying.

Joel's voice echoed across the room then, calling them over.

"We found a way through, c'mon," he hollered, standing on the edge of one of the walkways that had once connected to the now collapsed stairs, a ladder beneath him.

The girls stood up, pocketing the few bottles of pills they'd found, and started toward him, their hands brushing as they walked. Ellie went up the ladder first while Riley held it steady for her, taking the hand Joel offered at the top and then getting to her feet. She glanced around them at the tables and chairs that lay toppled throughout the room. The area appeared to have once been a little food court, much like the one she and Riley had used as a haunt at the mall in Boston. As her eyes scanned the large bay windows that opened out over the city, she caught a flicker of motion among the sea of green and gray, and her eyes widened as she realized what it was.

"Riley!" she yelled, sprinting toward the window, "Come here, hurry!"

"Hold on!" Riley called, nodding appreciatively to Joel when he steadied the ladder so she could climb the rest of the way up.

She'd barely gotten to her feet before Ellie was grabbing her arm and dragging her up a small set of steps and down a hall, a grin splitting her face.

"You've gotta see this, come on!"

They bolted down the hall, the dappled sunlight illuminating the threadbare carpet beneath their feet. Riley found herself smiling, in spite of not knowing what Ellie was taking them toward. She realized she couldn't remember the last time they'd run together without having something behind them to be afraid of, or, for that matter, had done anything just for the fun of it. There was something utterly liberating about the feeling of tearing across the building, keeping in step with each other easily as Ellie led them through various twists and turns, past the gaping maws of busted windows and through trashed rooms and glowing, pollen-filled hallways. Riley glanced out of the corner of her eye at Ellie, seeing her hair whipping wildly around her face, her eyes bright and determined and joyful as they'd been back when they'd run through Boston together each night. Riley suddenly remembered, with renewed feeling of wonder, how fantastic Ellie really was. It wasn't that she'd forgotten – she was certain she'd feel awestruck by sight of her every time she looked at her, even if they were to live forever – but in the year since they'd left, the immensity of all that had happened had left the world feeling foggy and dimmed, the beautiful details easily overlooked in the constant struggle that came with simply existing.

Riley was so busy looking at Ellie and reflecting on everything that had happened that she almost didn't notice the giraffe until Ellie pointed at it.

For a moment they both stood in silence, unable to move. The giraffe was just across the small room, its head dipped into the window to pluck at the vines that grew there. Its coat glistened where the sun struck it, its brown blotches stark against its sunflower-golden coat. Its eyes, like large dark pools, took them in with casual interest.

The girls heard footsteps behind them, and Ellie turned back to hush Tess and Joel as they caught up with them, their hands on their weapons.

"Don't scare it," Ellie hissed, pressing a finger to her lips.

"Well, I'll be damned," Tess breathed. Joel just shook his head in wonder.

Riley took a slow step toward the giraffe, mindful of the broken glass by her feet. The creature didn't stir, only turning its attention to a cluster of leaves higher up.

"You're going to scare it away," Ellie whispered, and Riley shook her head, beckoning her forward.

"It's fine, come on."

Joel gave Ellie a nudge, and she stepped after Riley warily, almost on tiptoe.

"See? It's fine," Riley said softly, as she stepped within arm's reach of the giraffe.

She waved Ellie closer, and then nodded.

"Go on."

Ellie shook her head, her eyes wide, and then reached out and touched the giraffe's smooth coat with the tips over fingers, trailing them softly down its neck.

"So fucking cool," Ellie murmured, her eyes fixed on the giraffe.

Riley only watched her, feeling something warm bubbling up in her chest. Suddenly, she wasn't sure how much the cure really mattered.

She glanced over at Joel and Tess, who stood a little ways back, watching them. Tess's expression was wistful, her smile almost bittersweet. Joel's smile seemed to hold a hint of resignation, of acceptance. Riley didn't feel like questioning why.

After a minute, the giraffe left the vines alone and turned away, lumbering back across the lawn.

"Come on, let's see where it's going," Ellie insisted, heading toward the doorway.

Riley started after her, hearing Tess and Joel following a little more slowly on her heels.

They crossed a few more rooms and jogged up a few flights of stairs, coming out on a rooftop balcony that overlooked a wide expanse of land, where a herd of giraffes was milling.

They leaned on the balcony wall together, the cement warm from the sun, their shoulders brushing.

"You know," Ellie said quietly, her voice almost reverent, "whatever happens, I think it'll be okay."

Riley glanced at her questioningly. "Okay?"

"Y'know, if the cure works or not, or if the Fireflies are there or they're not. Whatever happens, I think it'll work out alright," Ellie said, her eyes on the giraffes.

She looked up at Riley, and then reached over and took her hand, intertwining their fingers. Riley squeezed back, feeling Ellie rest her head on her shoulder.

"Yeah," Riley said softly, "I think you're right."

They stood together for a moment more, watching the giraffes lumber across the sea of thick spring grass while birdsong drifted from the skeletons of the buildings around them.

"So, you ready?" Riley asked, as Tess and Joel approached from the stairwell behind them, their footsteps thudding on the cement.

Ellie nodded. "I'm ready."

"We have to go… in there?" Ellie asked, feeling her stomach turn.

Riley raised an eyebrow, her mouth twisted in a frown. "Looks like it."

The entrance of the tunnel stood before them like a gaping maw, thick with shadows, light pouring through a collapsed section of the ceiling a little further in. The scent of death and decay lingered in the air, the darkness humming with the sound of insects.

"If we want to get to the hospital anytime soon we do," Tess said flatly. She shifted her backpack on her shoulder, clicking on her flashlight with her other hand and scanning the beam through the darkness, the light reflecting off the metal of a car. "I don't see any other way around."

"Sound's going to echo in there, y'know," Ellie added dubiously. "If there are infected or anything, they're going to hear us."

Joel and Tess exchanged glances, considering it.

"It'll be alright," Joel said, after a minute. "Just… keep your voices down."

Ellie glanced at Riley, who only shrugged, pulling her gun from her belt.

"We've been through worse, right?" Riley added, catching her eye. After a moment, Ellie nodded.

"I guess it really can't be that bad," Ellie agreed.

No further conversation needed, the four headed into the tunnel, weapons drawn. The beams of their flashlights sliced through the thick darkness, illuminating overturned cars and greenery. The pavement was wet and muddied from the water that fell from the ceiling, the sound of the dripping more unnerving than the silence itself.

They followed the tunnel as it sloped downward, to where a tractor-trailer blocked most of the road, its front crushed against the wall of the tunnel, cracks sprouting across the cement in front of it like veins. Joel was the first to clamber over it, balancing amongst the broken glass on the truck's hood until he was able to pull Tess up after him, and the two of them helped the girls up in turn. Once over to the other side, they scanned the way ahead, seeing nothing but more cars and dirty, lichen-covered walls that glistened in the sunlight that dribbled in through the roof. Just as they were about to continue forward, a noise reverberated from the darkness ahead, bringing them to an abrupt halt.

"Oh, fuck," Ellie said quietly.

The sound, rumbling like the cracking of earth or the growl of a rushing river, raised the hair on her arms, and she didn't need to look at the others to know their expressions matched hers.

"Fucking bloater," Tess groaned. "Why is it always fucking bloaters?"

"Why the hell is it here, if the Fireflies are holed up in the hospital right down the road?" Ellie asked suspiciously, finding herself glancing back over her shoulder at the opening of the tunnel, and thinking about how easy it would be to turn around.

"They might've left it to scare people off," Joel murmured, his eyes darting along the tops of cars and into the shadows further down the tunnel, looking for any sign of the infected. "Like a guard dog."

"You think we can take it out?" Riley asked. "With all of us together—"

Riley's suggestion was interrupted by another rumble, though this one at the opposite wall of the tunnel. As they watched, a bloater trudged into the one of the beams of sunlight, splashing through the water that was pooled next to the rubble of the collapsed ceiling. Another could be seen further down, lumbering along blindly. A clicker followed it, and together they disappeared behind a parked box truck, their cries echoing sharply through the tunnel.

"…Never mind," Riley muttered.

"So what now?" Ellie asked, watching the first bloater track along the tunnel toward them, before it turned and disappeared back into the shadows.

"We be very quiet," Tess said, "and very, very careful."

Tess took the lead, her movements slow and deliberate as a cat stalking a bird, leading them along the wall of the tunnel and into the first patch of sunlight. The ground beneath their feet was soggy and slick, the grass that carpeted the fallen rubble threatening to give way. They slowed their steps even further, all halting for a moment as they considered the way forward.

They had few options. The left of the tunnel was clear, the cars there spread out enough that they could all have walked between them with ease, but the bloaters could still be heard, somewhere amongst the vehicles and shadows, the cries of clickers accompanying them. The ground was covered by at least a few feet of water, which had run in from a hole in the ceiling caused by a truck that had crashed in from somewhere above, bringing the mountain of rubble with it. To the right was a small platform, with a door in the wall behind it. The door hung halfway open, enough so that they could slide inside soundlessly if they tried. Hanging askew on the door was a metal sign that read "MAINTENANCE." Tess started toward it, not looking to see if they were following. She crept slowly down the rubble hill, stopping twice to catch herself as she started to slide, and then slipped down into the water, which came up to her waist. Dirt bloomed up around her legs, and the ripples spread across the waters surface, slapping against the sides of the tunnel and making all of them cringe. However, the sound elicited no reaction from the infected, and Tess was able to wade across the expanse of water and climb up onto the platform. They watched her peer in through the open door, shining her flashlight inside, and then she turned and waved them forward before disappearing through the door.

Ellie cringed as she stepped down into the water after her, feeling the legs of her jeans grow soggy, the cold water stinging her skin. As the water lapped the sides of the tunnel once more, she heard a clicker's croak, this time closer than before, but still out of sight.

Ellie paused, holding her breath, and felt Riley touch her shoulder a moment later, gently encouraging her on. They climbed up onto the platform together and ducked into the gap in the door. They found Tess waiting for them inside.

"It's clear," she murmured, before leading them on.

They trekked up a few stairs and through a hallway with a floor of rusted grates, their footsteps sounding obnoxiously loud in the silence. Soon they were exiting the hallway, into another dark, nearly bare room, and then they were walking back out onto another platform. To their right was another collapsed part of the roof, the sunlight that came in through it illuminating the gloom and making the water below sparkle like the sea.

Less pleasant than this sight was the pair of bloaters that stood in the middle of the water, a hoard of clickers and a few stalkers milling around them. Past the pack was a crashed tractor-trailer, which seemed to block the tunnel completely. If they crossed it, the infected wouldn't be able to follow.

If they were going to get to it, however, they'd need a distraction. Something loud, and preferably very, very far away.

Ellie had an idea, suddenly, and she turned to Tess, tapping her elbow with her finger.

"Where's that extra pistol you found the other day? It's a shot in the dark, but I've got an idea."

Tess stared at her warily, and then Ellie sighed.

"Trust me," she prompted.

After a moment, she handed her the pistol. Ellie took it and then headed toward a box truck that was parked next to the ledge they stood on. She clambered up the hood and then on top of the truck, and then crept to the very end, as far away from their exit as she could get. Then, taking a deep breath, she cocked the pistol and then threw it with all of her might down the tunnel. It crashed through the window of a car, where it went off with a bang that made them all flinch, and made every infected in the tunnel scream in unison.

"Now come on!" Ellie hissed, hopping down from the truck and then taking off toward the tractor-trailer as the infected ran toward the sound of the gunshot.

They made it to the truck in a moment, and Joel boosted her up first, and then Riley, and together they pulled up Tess, who then pulled up Joel.

When they landed on the pavement on the other side, they all paused to catch their breath.

"That… I can't believe that worked," Tess laughed, shaking her head. "Holy shit."

There was a moment of silence, and then Riley narrowed her eyes.

"A shot in the dark… Jesus Christ, Ellie."

Ellie blinked, and then realized her meaning, and burst into laughter, stifling the sound with her palm.

"That was my best yet," she said. Riley just gawked at her incredulously.

"Incredible," she said, but her voice was breathy with barely suppressed laughter.

Ellie just smirked, and then glanced across the expanse of the tunnel.

"Come on, let's get out of here, before the infected figure out where we went."

"I don't think they're gonna be following us," Joel said, eyeing the truck they'd crossed. "That was put there on purpose to keep them over there. That might mean your group is close by."

They all glanced back at the truck, noting that its front seemed pretty intact where it was pressed against the wall. Ellie felt the stirrings of hope in her chest, and readjusted her backpack on her shoulder before following Joel and Tess onward.

The rest of the tunnel was entirely free of infected, though not of obstacles – Joel was forced to dive beneath the water at one point, to swim beneath an upturned truck to the other side so he could haul them up with a length of rope he'd found there (the rope's presence implied people had been going through the tunnel recently, which they decided was another good sign).

Overall, the journey was almost easy – up until the encountered the T in the tunnel, and the rapids.

Where the water was flowing from Ellie wasn't sure, but the sound of it was so enormous that they could hardly hear their own voices.

"Dammit," Tess muttered.

"Where is the water coming from?" Riley asked, glancing up ad down the tunnel, her brow furrowed.

Tess glanced around, her eyes landing on a rusted sign on the opposite wall.

"It joins from the north tunnel," she explained, "which runs underneath the river. Must be busted somewhere."

"Well, that's great," Riley muttered.

"What now?" Ellie asked, eyeing the white foam that bubbled up at the surface. Droplets of water spattered her jeans where they bounced off of the cars stranded in the rapids.

"We're just gonna have to make our way across," Tess said flatly, her eyes scanning the tunnel. After a moment of thought, she turned to Ellie, and gestured to the car nearest them – a battered silver SUV, which was a short hop from the edge of the ledge.

"You're lightest, so it'll be best if you go first, to make sure it'll hold me and Joel. You think you can handle that?"

"Tess, that's not the best idea—" Joel began, but Ellie shook her head.

"I got this," she insisted, stepping closer to the edge. She glanced down at the water once more warily, and then nodded to herself. Taking a breath to steel herself, she hopped the short distance to the car, landing crouched low, her hands out in front of her to catch herself against the car's roof. It held steady beneath her, though the surface was slick from the water that had washed over it, the paint chipped and faded.

"Okay, it's fine," she called, before climbing a little further along the car. Riley was already waiting right behind her on the ledge, her expression fretful until she noticed Ellie looking, at which point it quickly returned to its normal calm façade.

The next car was only a step away, thought it was tilted slightly to the right. Ellie stepped to the left, managing to counterbalance it. Riley followed after her, her eyes on her feet. Once they'd made it to the second car, Tess and Joel jumped to the first, and waited for them to go on.

They continued like this for a few minutes, sometimes hesitating when the spaces between cars was larger than usual. At one point, Ellie nearly lost her balance, her foot losing traction on the slick surface of one car's roof. Riley caught her hand just before she started to fall, towing her back to safety.

"I got you," Riley called above the roar of the water, her voice strained. Her heart thudded in her chest as she gripped Ellie's arm to steady her.

Ellie nodded mutely, swallowing. They stood there for a brief moment, their gazes locked, and then Riley released her grip on her.

"Why don't you let me go first," she suggested, but Ellie only shook her head.

"I've got this, Riley. Now come on."

Riley watched as Ellie carefully picked her way from car to truck to van to car, staying as close to her as she could, and wincing whenever the metal would buckle beneath her with a thud, or when a car would shudder or sway like it planned to fall over. The water lapped up over the edges of hoods and roofs, splattering her already sodden legs, and the metal was often slick from the water that ran over it, making the footing questionable. However, they seemed to be making their way well enough, up until Joel lost his balance.

In the moments that followed, Riley wasn't entirely able to keep up what was happening. First she heard the pop and crack of splitting glass, heard Joel's cry of distress from somewhere behind her, and then looked up from where she'd been watching her own footing to see the car he was trying to cross lurch suddenly to the side, breaking free of where it had been stuck against another car. It began to drift down the tunnel, pushed on faster and faster by the rushing water, Joel kneeling on its roof, his hand gripping the underside of the window for stability. The truck was now moving nearly as fast as the water itself, and was heading right for the car that Tess was perched on. She heard Tess yell some warning, but realized that it was already too late – once his car met Tess's, both vehicles would coming barreling straight for where she and Ellie stood on an already precariously balanced station wagon.

For a moment, she wasn't sure what to do. There was nowhere to go, other than the car ahead of her, which was still in the path of Joel and his car. And either way, they wouldn't be able to move fast enough, even if there was somewhere to go.

She could see Joel and Tess shouting, but couldn't hear them over the roar of the water, and doubted whatever they were saying would have helped, anyway.

A moment later, the roof beneath her was yanked away, and then she was hitting the icy water with enough force to knock the breath from her chest.

Water filled her mouth, forced its way into her nose, her ears, her eyes. She was being spun, like a leaf in the wind, dragged beneath the water, swallowed by a crushing darkness that seemed to stretch in all directions. She kicked and struggled, trying to remember what little she knew of swimming, though it did nothing – the water was simply too wild. Her lungs burned, and for a moment she couldn't figure out which way to even try to head, darkness seeming to be everywhere, until she noticed that the bubbles she saw seemed to be going upside down, and she turned to follow them, in spite of her senses encouraging her to do otherwise. A moment later her head broke the surface, and she wretched, coughing out water until her throat burned, and she was able to drag in a few gasping breaths. The water was still carrying her, but it had slowed, and she could see that the tunnel forked ahead, the leg she was heading toward glowing with sunlight. An exit. She swam toward it as well as she could, her limbs weak and head spinning. As she went, the water became shallow, and beyond she could see an opening in the tunnel, where green grass and buildings were visible. She continued toward it, her head spinning, and collapsed once the water was low enough that she could, her frame seized by another fit of coughs. After a moment she lifted her head, her vision still blurred by the water in her eyes, and noticed a form lying nearby in the shallows. She saw a green jacket, and a mop of auburn hair that'd been darkened to a bloody color by the water.

"Ellie," she rasped out, staggering to her feet and splashing over to her. "Ellie!"

Just before she reached her, Ellie pushed herself self up into a sitting position, her shoulders shaking with coughs, water falling from her lips. Riley knelt down beside her, her back to the tunnel's exit, waiting until she'd caught her breath before cupping her face to get a better look at her.

"Ellie? Hey, can you hear me?"

Ellie nodded blearily, her eyelashes dark from the water as she blinked, her eyes bloodshot.

"M'okay, but my leg hurts."

Riley glanced down at Ellie's leg, inhaling sharply when she saw the angle of Ellie's foot, which was pointing in a direction she was certain a foot shouldn't go.

"Shit – Um, don't move."

Ellie looked wary, but then glanced down at her leg, her eyes widening.

"Oh, fuck."

Riley shook her head. "It'll be okay, just… don't think about it."

"Great advice, doc," Ellie muttered through gritted teeth. "Where are Tess and Joel?"

Riley blinked, realizing she hadn't even thought of them since they'd fallen, and she glanced past Ellie down the tunnel, where, just over the roar of the water, she thought she could hear faint shouting.

"I—"

Ellie cut her off abruptly, her voice a hiss. "Riley, behind you!"

Her words took a moment to register, and before Riley could turn around she heard a voice speak behind her, its tone commanding.

"Hands in the air."

Riley looked at Ellie, who nodded quickly, encouraging her to do as the voice said, and Riley slowly lifted her hands, turning to glance over her shoulder. She found herself face to face with the barrel of a rather intimidating looking rifle, its owner staring down at her suspiciously.

"Who are you?" he barked.

He was large and sturdy, his skin dark and his arms and legs as thick as oak limbs. His eyes, though not unkind, were serious. Riley glanced between him and his companion, who was much smaller, his features sharp and angular, his hair fair, his expression less severe but equally wary. As Riley looked at them, she noticed that, strapped to their muscular arms, were bands bearing the golden Firefly symbol. Relief flooded through her, and she took a slow breath, lifting her hands a little more in a placating gesture.

"We – my name is Riley Abel. I'm one of yours – I joined in Boston. This is Ellie Williams. She's the one Marlene wanted sent here. She's immune—"

The words tumbled out in a breathless rush, and as she looked up at them, at their wrinkled brows and questioning, slightly disbelieving expressions, she suddenly realized how unbelievable she must sound, how they must look, as drenched and battered as they were.

"You've got to believe us," Ellie pleaded from behind her, her voice cracking from the pain in her leg. "My mom was Anna Williams – she was a friend of Marlene's."

The men glanced between them, and then at each other, and then the slim one pulled a radio from his hip and lifted it to his lips.

"This is Murphy reporting in – we've got two girls in the tunnel, look like they're in their teens. Claiming something about one of 'em being immune."

Riley didn't hear the garbled reply that came from the radio, the voice lost to the roar of the water, and to the sound of her own quick breaths.

"She says bring 'em in."

The larger man nodded, and then slung his gun over his shoulder and stepped forward.

"Can you walk?" he asked in a gruff voice, glancing down at Ellie.

"I—I don't think so," she gritted out, glancing at her leg.

The man nodded, and then scooped her up without another word. Riley stood immediately, watching uneasily as the man walked back toward the mouth of the tunnel. Swallowing, she glanced back to where they'd left Tess and Joel. The other man – the slim one who had referred to himself as Murphy – glanced at her, and then put a hand on her shoulder, encouraging her on. Riley shrugged his hand away, her eyes still searching the shadows of the tunnel behind them.

"Tess!" she called, her voice lost to the roar of the water. "Joel?"

"How many have you got with you?" Murphy asked, his brow furrowed.

"Just two other people," Riley said. "We lost track of them when we fell."

"We'll send someone out to find them," Murphy said, following her gaze. When Riley looked irritated by his lack of action, he sighed and picked up his radio and called a few others out, directing them to search the tunnel.

"Thanks," Riley said, tearing her gaze from the tunnel and turning to look at Ellie, who seemed preoccupied with ignoring the pain in her leg. Riley winced in sympathy, and quickened her pace to catch up with the man who carried her. After a moment, she turned to see Murphy glancing at her again thoughtfully.

Riley glanced between him and his companion, and then at the hospital, which loomed ahead. "How many of us are here?"

"Thirty-seven, last I counted, plus me and Dawes," he said, shrugging and jerking a thumb toward the large man. "Not a big group, and most of 'em doctors. But we're making out alright."

He paused, and then squinted at her.

"What'd you say your name was?"

"Riley. Riley Abel."

He considered her for a moment, his blue eyes scanning her face as he reached up to wipe at his stubbly chin. She realized then that he was barely older than she was, maybe only a few years difference between them, if even that. "Yeah, I think I know about you. Trevor mentioned you a few weeks back. I think you two were the ones who gave him a hell of a fit that one time, back in Boston."

Riley felt a surge of relief flood through her at the mention of Trevor's name, the small bit of familiarity it offered comforting her.

"That was probably us," she said with a shrug.

He chuckled. "Huh. They not give you a tag or armband or something?"

He glanced at her neck, which was bare beneath her sodden flannel. She hesitated, her eyes scanning their surroundings. They'd crossed out of the tunnel onto a patch of thick, green grass, and were now striding across the pavement of the parking lot –which had been cleared of cars and sat large and barren, like and empty field – toward the front of the hospital. It rose before them grandly, its windows glimmering in the sun, the reflections of the city caught in them. The letters that announced the hospitals name – Saint Mary's – were bold and larger than life above their heads. Riley found herself almost awestruck, seeing it at last after imagining it for so long.

The end of the line.

Remembering his question, Riley shook her head. "They did. I just lost it."

"Hm," he said. "We'll getcha a new one. And maybe I can show you around later."

He gave her a half smile, his gaze settled on hers, and she nodded appreciatively before glancing at Ellie again. She took a deep breath, trying to slow the pounding of her heart.

Together they followed Dawes and Ellie through the hospital's wide front door. The reception area into which they walked was cool, the air smelling faintly of disinfectant and dust – a strange combination that made Riley wrinkle her nose. Before they'd gotten past the desk, which sat before a wide hallway with other hall ways and rooms splitting off to the sides, they were greeted by two doctors, both wearing surgical masks and spotless white coats.

"Is this her?" the first asked with an unnerving amount of enthusiasm, his small eyes seeming to bug out of their deep-set sockets, the wrinkles around them and and on his forehead deepening.

"Yes, she's the one," Dawes said, nodding down at Ellie, who glanced at the doctor warily.

Riley felt a pang of indignation at the way they addressed Ellie as if she were an object, not even bothering to speak to her directly.

"Wonderful," the first doctor said, and then he nodded at his larger companion, who reached out for Ellie with gloved hands. "We'll take her to the West Wing, come on."

Riley stared in confusion, watching as Dawes transferred Ellie to the doctor. Ellie looked back at her nervously, her uncertainty temporarily distracting her from her pain.

"Hey, what are you – Riley!"

Ignoring her questions and protests, the doctors started down the hallway, Ellie struggling in the large one's arms, unable to break free of his grip. Riley started after her, tension shooting through her.

"Hey, wait—"

Before she could take another step, there was a hand on her shoulder, restraining her.

"You can't follow her up. Only the doctors are allowed."

Riley jerked her shoulder out of his grasp, and shook her head.

"You aren't taking her anywhere without me," she snapped, starting to follow once more, only to be grabbed suddenly by Murphy, his hands gripping her wrist and stopping her in her tracks.

"You can't go with her," he said, his voice lingering awkwardly between sounding irritated and trying to be placating. "And they aren't gonna hurt her, so just relax. It's okay."

Riley shot him the darkest look she could muster, trying to struggle free. She elbowed him harshly in the ribs, and then went for her gun. Dawes saw her do this, and before she could react he was on her, jerking her gun from his hand and her backpack from her shoulders. Then she was being shoved against the file cabinet that sat against the wall near them, Dawes restraining her wrists, his beefy forearm pressed against her chest.

Panic raced through her like ice, sending her pulse racing in her ears, her breaths coming fast and shallow. She thought of winter suddenly, of being separated from Ellie then, of what had happened – the helplessness of it all, the hopelessness. Seeing her expression, Dawes loosened his grip slightly, and Riley's struggles stilled, though she remained tense.

"There's a whole bunch of men in here with guns," Murphy said, looking at her past Dawes. "You aren't gettin' past them without an army. I promise they aren't gonna hurt her, okay?"

Riley gritted her teeth, her chest heaving, and then she nodded stiffly.

"Fine."

He nodded. "Okay, good."

He looked at Dawes, who still held onto her, and nodded. "You can go ahead and let her go."

Dawes obliged, giving her a warning look, his arms folded across her chest.

There was a moment of silence, and then Murphy seemed to remember something, his expression changing from thoughtful to apologetic.

"They said to put you in one of the rooms, until everything's sorted out."

Riley narrowed her eyes, but said nothing.

When Dawes went to put a hand on her shoulder, she jerked away from him, her jaw clenched.

"I can walk," she spat.

"Alright, then. Then walk," he said.

They led her down a few hallways, Riley spending the whole time trying to memorize each turn for when she got out – which she was certain she would – and finally arrived at a door, which stood alongside a number of other doors, each marked with a number beside the doorframe. Hers was 214.

Murphy pushed open the door, and she walked in hesitantly, her heart rate starting to speed up once more in her chest.

She was getting tired of cages.

The door was slammed behind her, and she heard the lock click into place heavily.

"Sorry," Murphy called from outside.

Riley just stared wordlessly at the dull metal of the door, and then looked around the room quickly. There was an examination chair like she'd seen in the hospital at the school before – the adjustable sort, which was covered with an ancient, waxy sanitary sheet. Beyond it was a window, which Riley could tell wasn't made to come open, and a bedside table with a lap mounted into the top. In the corner of the room was a little bathroom, with a stained-but-clean toilet and a small sink. When she turned on the water it ran cold and clear immediately and her hands came away free of dust. Everything was unnervingly clean.

She sat down the bed, pressing a hand to her head. It came back covered with sticky, drying blood. She realized she'd hit her head at some point when she was being tossed around by the water, and only then started to feel it.

Tiredly, she took off her sodden green jacket, leaving only a tank top beneath, and set it beside her on the bed. Her head throbbed. She sighed, and scanned her gaze along the wall until it fell upon a clock, with ticked softly, the sound steady and unnerving, like a heartbeat.

She swallowed, rested her hands on her knees, and waited.

After twenty years of living as she had, there was little left that could set Marlene's hands shaking, or her heart thudding from anything other than adrenaline.

But when Murphy had radioed in, telling her of the two girls they'd discovered in the tunnel, both of them battered but alive, she'd felt her breath quicken. When they'd described them – particularly when they'd mentioned the one with the red hair and green eyes, her heart had begun to beat like a hammer.

It couldn't be them. Not after all this time. Not here.

She forced herself to walk to the West Wing, resisting the urge to run, forcing herself to take her time, in order to steel herself for disappointment. After everything she'd endured, she'd learned that it paid to expect the worst. Nothing had gone right for years. Why should it start now?

But then she opened the door, brushing past the cluster of men and women milling around in front of it, and she'd seen her, her breath had caught in her throat. For a moment, she was taken back fourteen years, to the moment when she'd first held Ellie in her arms. The feeling was the same – just seeing her, realizing she was there and alive and real.

"Ellie," she said, the word falling from her dry throat like a stone, catching on the way.

She'd changed. That was what struck Marlene first, as she looked at her. Her face was older, though not just in the physical sense. Her eyes were changed, were darker, more aware, wiser. The youthfulness she'd seen before was still there, though faded and worn thin. Her hair was a little longer, and was still damp, bits of it falling from her ponytail into her face, which was pale, the freckles standing out starkly. There were new scars – one on her cheek, another on her forehead – to accompany the one that marked her eyebrow.

Ellie's gaze was fixed on her leg, which was being poked and prodded by one of the surgeons, and her teeth were gritted in response to the pain. However, when she looked up and met Marlene's gaze, her expression changed, her eyes widening.

"Marlene?"

Marlene nodded weakly, and then crossed the room slowly, still watching her. Ellie gave her a small, slightly self-conscious smile.

She rested a hand on Ellie's shoulder, not daring to embrace her – in spite of how much as she wanted to – with her leg in the state it was, and then settled into the chair beside the bed, shaking her head in wonder.

"Welcome to the Fireflies," she said.

"Sorry we're late," Ellie replied dryly.

"You're here," Marlene said. "That's all that matters."

Ellie nodded, and then frowned.

"Where's Riley?"

Marlene blinked, having almost forgotten that they'd brought her in as well.

"She's fine," Marlene said. "They put her in one of the other rooms."

Ellie didn't look satisfied, but still nodded. "And Tess and Joel?"

"One of my men radioed in a few minutes ago and said they found them, and that they're brining them in."

"Good," Ellie said, taking a deep breath. "Good."

There was a pause, and then Marlene spoke again.

"How did you find us?"

Ellie hesitated, and then she gave a weak laugh.

"It's a long story."

"I've got time," Marlene said.

Over the next few minutes, Ellie recapped their year to the best of her ability. She told Marlene of arriving at the handoff location to find the team of Fireflies dead, and then the ensuing journey to Tommy's, and the journey from there to the University, and from there to the hospital itself. She left out quite a few details – Joel's plan to leave them with Tommy and the events of winter in particular – but otherwise told Marlene everything. Marlene said nothing as she spoke, only watching her with a contemplative expression.

Once Ellie had finished, Marlene shook her head.

"I lost half of my team crossing the country, and the four of you made it on your own. That's more than luck."

She paused, eyeing the bite on Ellie's arm. "Maybe it was meant to be."

Ellie only looked at her strangely in response, her expression distant.

They remained silent for a moment, until the surgeon – Dr. Caufield– spoke.

"We're going to have to set this leg," he said. "It'll take a while."

"How long?"

"A while."

When Marlene looked irritated, the surgeon sighed.

"Ma'am," he said quietly, his tone stiff, though still deferential, "I practiced medicine for ten years before the outbreak…"

Marlene nodded "Fine. Do what you need to."

She looked at Ellie. "Will you be alright here? I'd like to speak with Riley real fast."

Ellie nodded. "Let her know I'm okay?"

"I will."

Ellie smiled at her, then, and Marlene felt something in her chest swell.

When you're lost in the darkness, look for the light.

After a few minutes of waiting, Riley had taken to pacing the room she'd been left in. Her head still throbbed from where she'd hit it in the tunnel, but she hardly noticed, her mind more occupied by her concern for Ellie.

The Fireflies were the good guys – or at least as good as anyone could be, in their world.

Then again, they'd also knocked them out, tied them up, and dragged them out to their hideout once. And ambushed her in an alley one time, thoroughly – and purposefully – terrifying her. And had dragged them to Marlene with more force than necessary…

And now she was locked up. Again.

Riley sighed tiredly, glancing around the still, tidy room once more.

"I'm getting too old for this shit."

She looked again at the examination chair by the wall, eyeing the handle that adjusted it. After considering it for a moment, she managed to snap the aluminum handle off, the crack of it breaking free deeply satisfying.

She was testing the sharp edge of it that the break had left when she heard the key turn in the lock at the door. She froze, gripping the broken handle tightly, and didn't have time to so much as tuck it behind her back before the door was opened, and in stepped Marlene.

Riley stared at her wonderingly for a moment, feeling faintly surprised, but not quite shocked. After everything, seeing her alive really wasn't even a surprise.

For a moment they only regarded each other silently. Marlene's expression was serene in comparison to her worn appearance. It looked as though the year that had passed since Riley had seen her last had drained her; she still looked as healthy as always, just as strong and steady, but the exhaustion in her eyes told a different story. In spite of this, however, she chuckled.

"That's not going to hold up very well as a weapon, you know."

Riley swallowed, and reluctantly set the handle on the chair behind her, straightening up and squaring her shoulders unconsciously.

"Where's Ellie?"

"She's fine – they're patching her leg up right now," Marlene replied, her tone pacifying.

Riley scrutinized her for a moment, feeling herself trust her more quickly than she liked.

She noticed Marlene was looking at her strangely, her expression thoughtful, and Riley suddenly found herself wondering how she must look, with her head bloodied and her clothing worn and tattered, with new scars that she'd gained over the year and the half-feral look she must have had in her eyes. She crossed her arms, her fingers brushing the scar on her arm she'd gotten in the winter, and she glanced away, at the door, noting that Marlene had come in alone.

They were both silent for a moment. Marlene took a seat in the chair across from Riley, resting one foot against the chair while the other was planted on the floor, the pose so casual and strange for Marlene that Riley almost laughed. She'd rarely seen her look anything other that stern, and doubted she'd seen her even so much as chuckle more than a few times before then. Seeing her look so relaxed, almost happy, was slightly unnerving.

"You kept your word," Marlene said after a moment, "about looking after her."

Riley shrugged, taking a seat on the examination chair across from Marlene. "You know how she is – she doesn't really need anyone to look after her. I think she probably saved my ass as many times as I saved hers."

Marlene chuckled once more, and then smiled slightly, and Riley noted that she did have a rather pretty smile, like the sun breaking through the clouds.

"Either way," she said, "you must have watched out for each other well, to have made it here."

"We didn't do it alone," Riley admitted. "Tess and Joel—"

"Yes, she told me. One of ours just radioed in a minute ago, saying they found them in the tunnel. They're bringing them in now."

Riley nodded, resting her elbows against her knees.

There was another pause, and then Marlene sighed, and reached into the drawer in the bedside table and retrieved a rag. She handed it to Riley, and then glanced at her head, where fresh blood was starting well up along the gash there.

"Thanks," Riley murmured, dabbing at her head gingerly with the cloth.

She glanced at the door once more. "Can I go see her?"

"Like I said, they're still busy trying to set her leg. It'll be a while yet. But she's in good hands. I promise."

"I guess I get to push her around in a wheelchair for a while. She'll have fun with that."

Marlene snorted. "I wouldn't put it past her to abuse it. Anna once fractured her knee, and…"

Marlene's voice fell off, the sound of it choked, and neither of them spoke for a moment. Riley saw Marlene's expression falter, and looked away quickly, knowing she wouldn't want her to question it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Marlene swallow. She suddenly found herself thinking of when Ellie had been bitten, of what she'd felt, then, before she'd known she was immune. Something deep in the pit of her stomach ached at the thought, and she quickly shook it off.

"Anyway," Riley said, "Is the cure… I mean, will they be able to do it?"

"They're going to tell me soon," Marlene said, the relief in her voice at the change of subject palpable.

Riley nodded. "And if it works… what next?"

"What next?"

"What happens to us?"

Marlene frowned. "What?"

"I – you wouldn't let Ellie join before—"

Riley shook her head. "If she survived this year, she can survive with us. She'd probably be safer. If you both still want to be here, you're more than welcome."

Riley nodded, feeling a weight lifted off her chest.

They had a home, now that it was over.

She realized she wasn't sure what Tess and Joel would do, or where they would go, or if they might even stay with them, with the Fireflies, but she decided not to question it. Part of her was still in awe that it had all worked out, after everything that had happened, all that they had endured and done. They were here. They had made it. They'd find out if the cure would work, and if it wouldn't they'd still be fine.

"It'll give us time to catch up," Marlene added, suddenly. "I'm sure you both have quite a story to tell me. Ellie gave me a quick rundown, but I get the feeling there's more to it."

Riley chuckled. "It was an adventure."

Something in her expression must have changed, she realized, as Marlene looked at her strangely, and had opened her mouth to speak when her radio suddenly buzzed on her hip. She picked it up and pressed the button. The voice that poured out of it was slightly urgent.

"Marlene, Dr. Caufield needs you. He says they're ready to proceed. They just need your go-ahead."

"I'll be right up," Marlene said, standing from her chair. "Thank you."

She smiled, and then rested a hand on Riley's shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"Sounds like good news," Marlene said, her tone light, nearly cheerful. "I'll let you know what's going to happen as soon as I can."

Riley nodded. "How do you think they're going to do it?"

Marlene shook her head. "No idea, yet. Like I said, I'll let you know."

Riley glanced at the door, but before she could reply it was swinging shut behind Marlene. She didn't bother to lock it, but Riley didn't see any reason to try to leave.

She was sure it would all be okay.

Barely fifteen minutes had passed before Marlene returned to the room. When she did, she was no longer smiling.

She stood stiffly as the door swung shut behind her and clicked into place. There was a moment of silence. Riley could hear the clock ticking on the wall beside her, like the dripping of rainwater. She found it strange to once more be in a place where people kept track of the hours of the day.

This time, Marlene didn't take a seat in the chair across from her, but instead stood by the wall, her arms folded. Riley, who had stood up when Marlene had walked in, remained on her feet by the examination chair, waiting.

Something in Marlene's expression made her nervous. It was too hard, too sharp. But when she spoke her voice was blunt, the sound of it heavy and unfaltering, like the flat edge of a knife.

"I just finished speaking with the head surgeon," she said, sounding each word out slowly, evenly. "About Ellie. And about the cure. They said that they're going to be able to do it. They'll be able to make the vaccine."

Riley stared at her, feeling her heart rate speed up steadily, like a rolling stone. She held her breath. Marlene looked at her for a moment, her gaze impassive, though her eyes were pained.

"But," Marlene said finally, "they also said that the way that the Cordyceps have mutated, the way that the infection has grown inside of her… they won't be able to extract the parasite without eliminating the host."

Riley shook her head. The words seemed to go in one ear and out the other. She knew what they meant, but the meaning didn't seem to want to stick.

"What?" she said, her voice hoarse. She cleared her throat and tried again. "What does that mean?"

Marlene looked at her, pain flickering across her face, temporarily fracturing her cool expression, like a ripple across the surface of a lake.

"They're going to be able to make the vaccine, but Ellie won't survive the surgery it'll take to get it."

Riley was silent. She exhaled slowly, letting go of the breath she'd been holding.

"There's gotta be another way," she said, after a minute, her throat dry. "This can't be it."

Marlene shook her head. "There's no other choice. This is it."

Her voice trembled on the last word, and Riley shook her head. Her mind seemed to be filled with static, and she stared blankly at Marlene, her gaze falling from her eyes, not able to bear the expression there, and lingering on the wall behind her.

It'd kill her. After everything, after what had happened to them, what they'd done to get there. It was going to work, but it would kill her.

Riley stood there wordlessly for a moment. She found herself focusing on the sound of the clock that filled the silence, the separate ticks each like the blow of a hammer, every one counting away another one of the seconds left in Ellie's life. The numbness began to fade, like the thawing of ice, and in its wake was rage that came like a tide.

"No," Riley hissed, jerking her head up to meet Marlene's gaze. "No. You can't do this."

Marlene set her jaw, her chin lift up slightly, her gaze steeled. "There isn't another option."

"What about just not doing it?" Riley snapped, taking a step toward her. "What about that? You're just going to let them murder her?"

Riley noticed a shadow interrupt the light that came in from beneath the door, and realized then that Marlene had one of her men standing just outside the room. The thought irritated her all the more, and she gritted her teeth, meeting Marlene's gaze and seeing that her eyes were as hard as ice.

"Do you think I want this?" Marlene said, her voice low, barley above a hiss. "Do you think this is easy for me? You know what she means to me – she might as well be my own daughter!"

Riley snorted. "I don't see you stopping them. You're the leader of this goddamn group, Marlene! You call the shots. Fucking act like it!"

For a minute she thought Marlene might strike her, the look in her eyes darkening even further. She bared her teeth in an expression that seemed caught between a grimace and a snarl, and then shook her head, turning away as she started to speak.

"This isn't about me, Riley. This isn't about what I want. This isn't even about Ellie. This is bigger than that. You know that."

Marlene's tone was condescending, impatient, like Riley was a child that was arguing to stay up past her bedtime. Riley felt rage curl through her like flames, eating away all else.

"Don't give me that bullshit," she spat. "How do you even know if it's going to work? What if they fail? What if they kill her, and it was for fucking nothing? How do you even know Ellie wants to die for this? Did you even ask her? You think Anna would thank you for letting them kill her daughter for a chance?"

Marlene whipped around so quickly that Riley hardy had a chance to react before Marlene had seized a fistful of her shirt, jerking her onto her tiptoes.

"Anna is dead," Marlene snarled. "And Ellie has been living on borrowed time."

She paused, her teeth bared and her eyes blazing. Then she shook her head.

"Whatever you saw this year, whatever happened to you two that you thought was bad—" she said, her voice a hiss, and her grip tightening further on her shirt, "—Was nothing compared to what's out there. Eventually, your luck is going to run out."

Riley shook her head.

"What happened to 'look for the light'?" she asked, imitating Marlene's voice mockingly. "Huh? Did you ever believe any of that, or were you just selling everyone bullshit?"

Marlene chuckled, though the sound was without mirth.

"Alright, you want to know the truth?"

The question was delivered like a threat, but Riley continued to stare at her unflinchingly. Marlene scoffed.

"There's no light to find," she spat. "This world is dark, and nasty, and filthy, and ruined. It isn't fair, and never was, and probably never will be. Since the outbreak, I've watched it get worse and worse, like it was rotting from the inside out."

"So who says a cure can fix it?" Riley demanded.

Marlene shook her head. "No one. But what's the alternative? She spends the rest of her life fighting every day, and dies before she's twenty? She's not special, Riley, and neither are you. Eventually, the world will catch up to you, and you'll end up having to watch her die."

When Riley flinched, Marlene continued on ruthlessly.

"Maybe she'll get torn apart by a pack of clickers – that is, if she isn't raped and murdered first. Or she'll end up seeing something like that happen to you. Is that what you want?"

Marlene's words sunk in slowly, and Riley felt the fight start to drain out of her, which frightened her. Before she realized it, her throat was tight, and she could feel the sting of tears at the back of her eyes.

"We've made it this far," she said, her voice growing louder, more desperate. "We can't just give up—"

"This isn't giving up," Marlene said forcefully. Then her voice softened slightly, growing weary, her hand's grip slackening on her shirt. "Don't you realize what this means? They can make a vaccine. A vaccine, Riley. We can wipe out the infection, restore order… We can fix all of it."

Riley said nothing. She stepped away from her, and Marlene let go, crossing her arms across her chest in a way that was probably meant to be authoritative, but only seemed defensive. Riley pressed her hand to her forehead, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Marlene said nothing, only watching her with an expression that Riley thought was almost pleading.

"And what you said," Marlene added, after a moment, "about me ordering them to stop… I think they only asked me as a formality. They had already put her under before I even talked to them. I couldn't stop them if I wanted to. These people have lost so much to the infection – friends, family, sons and daughters, parents—" Here she looked at her pointedly, and Riley looked away again "—siblings, lovers… It's taken so much away from all of us. And now they have a chance to stop it. It's only one more life, in exchange for countless others."

A pause. "You have to understand, Riley."

Riley looked up at her. "If you aren't going to stop them, why are you telling me all of this?"

Marlene said nothing for a moment, and then she shook her head, and turned away.

"I need you to understand."

Riley considered this for a moment, staring once more at the door. Maybe this was how Marlene was justifying it to herself, she decided. Maybe in order to believe her choice was the right one, Marlene needed her to see it that way, as well.

The thought only left her feeling more conflicted, and when Riley looked at her again, Marlene was watching her, her eyes tired but hopeful.

"I know that it's hard," Marlene said, after a moment. "I know. I do. But you'll get through it. I promise."

Her words were heavy with meaning, but before Riley could think of anything to say, the door swung open, and Tess and Joel walked in.

She looked at Tess first. Her hair was still damp from the tunnel, tendrils of it falling in her face. Her clothing was damp, and clung to her heavily. There was a scratch on her cheek, and she held her shoulder awkwardly, like it hurt her. She looked befuddled, up until she met Riley's gaze. Then her expression quickly changed to a mixture of concern and alarm.

"Hey, Riley—you alright?"

For a minute Riley wasn't sure how to respond, the words stuck in her throat.

"Tess—"

She looked at Joel, who was in an equally disheveled state, his clothing soaked and torn, his hair sticking out at strange angles. He looked around the room, past her. Looking for Ellie, she assumed.

That thought was what cracked her.

Her shoulders jerked, something collapsing within her, and she pressed her hand to her eyes, dragging in a choked-off breath.

"Where's Ellie?" Joel demanded, turning toward Marlene. "What's going on?"

Riley barely heard the explanation Marlene gave over the buzzing in her ears.

Ellie. Ellie was going to die.

Over the last year they'd been in more than one situation where Ellie's life had been on the line – the community in Boston and the infected they'd encountered after they'd left, Pittsburg, the bandits at the dam, winter… and that was just the worst of it, not even including the close calls they had daily with infected and humans alike. But, at times like those, there was always something to fight against. Whether it was one person, or a whole group, they had always had an enemy, had never questioned what they had to do. But this… It wasn't the same as having an enemy that wanted to hurt them for their own gain. These people were supposed to be good, were trying to save the world. They were trying to do the right thing.

But what did that even mean, anymore? A year before, Riley would have thought that the right thing was whatever benefited the world, whatever helped to push it in the direction of what was once normality.

Restore the country, save its citizens…

Now, she wasn't even sure the world could be saved, or even deserved saving. Even if they wiped out the infection entirely, the people would still be there. They couldn't be cured of who they were, of what the world had made them.

Her mind suddenly returned to that morning, when she and Ellie had woken up together – the brief kisses they'd shared, the warmth in Ellie's eyes as she'd looked at her.

Even if it all worked out, and they were able to save the world, what would it be without Ellie? What use was the world to her, if its only light had been extinguished?

Riley realized, at that moment, that she'd rather die than let that happen.

She lifted her eyes to Marlene, who stood by the door, her arms still folded tightly against her chest, her jaw set. Murphy and Dawes had returned, and stood just outside the open door, looking at Joel and Tess warningly, their hands on their guns. Murphy glanced at her once, and when he saw her expression his mouth twisted in a frown, and he shot a questioning glance at Marlene, who ignored him.

Riley turned to look at Joel, who stood in front of Marlene, his posture stiff, like that of an aggressive dog. Tess stood off to the side, her gaze distant, and fixed on the wall behind Marlene and Joel.

"Are you sure there's nothing else you can do?" Tess asked, her voice more frail than Riley had ever heard it.

"There are no other options," Marlene said flatly, and Riley saw Joel shake his head.

"You keep telling yourself that bullshit," he said.

Marlene only gazed at him steadily in response, her expression controlled, her mouth set in a hard line. Then she shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking from him to Tess, and then to Riley.

Riley avoided her gaze, closing her eyes.

Silence lingered in the air for a brief moment. The clock continued to tick. She heard Murphy shift on his feet.

"Escort them out," Marlene said, to the men by the door, after the silence had grown unbearable.

"Wait!" Riley called suddenly, stopping Marlene in her stride. She wasn't sure why she'd even said it, and fumbled for something to say. "Wait—can I just say goodbye to her?"

"Riley—"

"Please," she said, and perhaps it was the way her voice cracked around the word, or simply the rarity of hearing her say it, but Marlene hesitated, her expression still reserved, but slightly uncertain.

"You owe me this," Riley added. "I got her here, didn't I?"

She locked gazes with Marlene. After a long pause, Marlene nodded.

"Come with me," she said, after a moment.

"Ma'am—" Dawes began gruffly, "do you really think this is the best idea?"

"It'll be fine," she said, not breaking Riley's gaze. Then she glanced at him. "It's a small thing to ask for, in return for bringing us the cure, don't you think? And besides – do you really think she poses that much of a threat?"

Riley ignored the jab, and only stood tensely, watching as Dawes glanced between her and Marlene.

"What about the others?" he asked, jerking a thumb at Joel and Tess.

"Just Riley," Marlene said, ignoring the look on Joel's face, which could hardly be described as just rage. Tess still looked blank, her gaze on the clock. She was probably in shock, Riley imagined.

Dawes shook his head. "I—"

"Am I not in charge here?" Marlene interrupted him sharply, raising an eyebrow.

He looked away, his expression dark, but nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Marlene nodded in response, her eyes narrowed, and then turned to Riley, her expression softening slightly.

"Come with me," Marlene she said, waving her toward the door. "I'll take you to her. But only for a minute."

Riley caught her eye once more, noting the strange earnestness that still lingered there, and then started after her.

"Now, hold on—" Joel started, but Marlene cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"Just her. For safety reasons."

The look Joel fixed her with could have withered a vase of flowers, but Marlene took no notice of it, heading out of the door and down the hall without another word. Riley followed on her heels, her legs feeling as flimsy as rubber.

They followed a series of corridors and hallways, Murphy at their heels, and passed an endless array of numbered hospital rooms, each as neat and uniform as the next. Everything was organized and sterile in a way that Riley had never seen before. The linoleum even shined in some areas, and her boots, still damp from the tunnel, squeaked against it.

"I know this'll be hard for you," Marlene said, leading her through a pair of double doors and into a large, silent waiting room. Magazines were still piled haphazardly on some of the tables in the sitting area.

Riley said nothing, feeling the lump in her throat harden.

"But you'll get through it," Marlene continued, walking behind the counter and pulling open a door, which led to a large stairwell that was poorly lit by a few fading fluorescents high above.

Riley didn't respond, and didn't plan to, until Marlene spoke again.

"It'll be worth it."

The words nearly halted Riley in her tracks, but she forced herself to keep walking. They were running out of time. Instead of stopping, she took a deep breath to cool the vitriol in her response, continuing up the stairs two at a time.

"You really think that?" she asked, catching Marlene's gaze out of the corner of her eye. "You really think this is worth murdering her?"

Marlene sighed.

"You know that isn't what this is."

"What – you got a better word for it?"

She could tell she'd irritated Marlene once more, seeing her expression darken, a glint of teeth showing in the dim light. However, when she spoke again, her voice sounded weary.

"Please, don't make this any harder than it has to be."

Riley scoffed under her breath.

"Whatever you say."

They passed a few doorways that cut off the stairwell, but Marlene guided her past them.

"It's at the very top. The last door before the hallway turns to the right."

She looked at Riley as she said it. Riley only nodded.

They eventually reached the final doorway, and then strode through it into a wide corridor, which held a new series of numbered rooms, all of which were larger than the ones they'd passed. One open doorway revealed a room with a counter laden with advanced medical tools Riley didn't recognize, along with an operating table and a tangled mess of IVs and tubes suspended from a frame beside it.

Marlene walked a little faster to keep step with Riley, whose gaze was fixed on the opaque glass window of the final room, beyond which the shadowy figures of the surgeons could be seen. Riley jogged the last few steps to the room, pulling the door open and striding inside before Marlene could catch up with her.

She knew seeing her would be hard, but what she'd imagined didn't even compare to the wave of utter agony that crashed through her when her eyes fell on Ellie's prone form.

She looked so small, lain out on the large aluminum table. They'd dressed her in some gaudy hospital gown, little white daises dotting the pale blue paper fabric, the color of it contrasting vibrantly with her red hair. The light above the table illuminated her face, washing out her freckles and making her features glow. She looked peaceful, her lashes dark against her pale cheeks, her mouth covered by an oxygen mask. Her leg remained un-bandaged.

Riley finally tore her eyes from Ellie when she heard one of the surgeons speak. She was certain what he actually said, his words slipping past her ears like wind or water, her mind refusing to process them. She only stared blankly at the group that surrounded Ellie – one surgeon, two nurses, all in spotless blue scrubs, each with a mask covering their mouth and nose.

She glanced at the space between them, where a metal table sat, holding a variety of tools. There were syringes, a stethoscope, a pair of clippers – for shaving Ellie's head, she realized – and, lined up neatly and glimmering in the light, a set of scalpels.

Riley's head began to swim, her chest tight and her pulse as loud as thunder in her ears. She swayed on her feet, her eyes darting from the scalpels to the doctors and then around the room, looking for what she wasn't sure. She could hear people speaking, but the sound seemed garbled, like she was hearing it from underwater. She felt Marlene grab her arm, her grip so tight it was painful, heard her hiss something urgent in her ear.

"—it together. Don't do anything foolish—"

Her eyes fell on Ellie once more, on the slow rise and fall of chest, the way her hair pooled on the table beneath her head like blood. Before she knew what was happening, there was someone pulling on her, an arm encircling her shoulders. She fought their grip, striking and clawing, yelling until her throat was hoarse. It did nothing to help. The next thing she knew, she was pinned to a wall outside the room, Marlene's arm against her throat. Her heart was beating violently with her chest, as if it intended to crack her ribcage.

"Stop," Marlene snarled. "That's enough, Riley."

Riley couldn't meet her eyes. Her head still spun, and couldn't seem to see anything through the blurry haze that had enveloped her vision. She felt Marlene's hand cup her face, forcing her to meet her gaze.

"That's enough," Marlene repeated, her voice taut. "It's over."

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Marlene swallowed, and then shook her head.

"I'm sorry."

The words sunk in slowly, like blood seeping into cloth. After a moment, Marlene released her and stepped away, leaving her slumped against the wall. Riley watched her swallow once more, pressing a hand to her forehead. After a pause, she saw her draw in a ragged breath, and then straighten herself up, turning to address Murphy. She didn't hear what she said to him.

After that, Marlene and Murphy guided her back down the hallway, toward the stairs. Riley glanced over her shoulder more than once, her movements clumsy and listless. She could see the doctors still hovering around the table, reaching for Ellie. She felt hollow inside, like she might simply implode.

Ellie had once told her that stars did that. Imploded.

She felt Marlene's hand on her arm once more, but this time the touch was gentle, attempting to be comforting. She shook it off, all the same.

They returned the way they'd come, stopping once more outside of the room she'd been locked in. She could hear Tess and Joel speaking inside, Joel's voice shaking with rage.

Marlene started to open the door and then paused, turning back to her.

"If there were any other way—"

"I know," Riley murmured, finally finding her voice again for the first time since leaving the operating room. "I know."

Marlene was silent for a moment, her face a twisted muddle of expressions. She bit her lip, and her arm jerked toward Riley as if she wanted to reach out – maybe to embrace her, or simply to steady her – but she seemed to think better of it. After another moment of hesitation, she rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't waste this gift, Riley."

She said the words strangely, too much emphasis on the word "gift", the tone of it somewhere between a plea and an order.

Riley held her gaze for a breath, and then nodded.

After watching her for a moment, Marlene sighed, and directed Dawes and Murphy to fetch Tess and Joel from the room. Riley watched Dawes unlock the door, while Murphy stood to the side, his hand resting awkwardly on his hip, brushing the large tactical knife that hung there. Once the door was opened, Joel stalked out, Tess on his heels. She immediately met Riley's eyes, her eyes brimming with questions. Riley kept her expression impassive, turning her gaze once more to the clock, which she could just see through the doorway.

Tick, tick.

"Show them out," Marlene told Dawes and Murphy.

Joel started to protest once more, but Marlene ignored him, looking at Riley once more.

"It's for the best," she said, her voice soft. Then she left.

Once Marlene's form had disappeared around the corner of the hallway, Riley glanced between Tess and Joel. Joel was staring after Marlene, his hands fisted at his sides, his chest heaving steadily. Tess still looked lost, her eyes fixed one of the faded posters on the wall that labeled various parts of human anatomy.

Dawes lifted his rifle up, gesturing with it toward the end of the hall, opposite of where Marlene had gone.

"C'mon, let's go," he said gruffly. "Get a move on."

Joel glanced at Riley then, and she saw him lift an eyebrow questioningly, the movement so quick that only she noticed it. She simply jerked her chin in a slight nod in response, and then proceeded down the hall, blinking away the tears that still blurred her vision. She turned to see Murphy watching her with what she thought might be pity. The idea made her stomach turn. She marched past him stiffly, her eyes scanning the empty corridor around them until she saw their weapons, which had been piled up with their backpacks on one of the reception counters.

Her breath hitched in her throat, and she hesitated, quickly turning her eyes from the weapons. She felt Murphy nudge her forward gently, his palm on her shoulder.

Distraction. She needed a distraction.

She took a step forward and then stopped once more, looking back at him.

"It won't be painful, will it? The surgery?"

She hoped the wretched expression her face – which she was certain appeared thoroughly defeated, with her tear streaked cheeks and reddened eyes – would be enough to avoid arousing suspicion. Sure enough, he looked at her with only a mixture of regret and discomfort, before glancing back at his companion for help. His moment of distraction was all she needed. Her hand fumbled for the knife on his belt, and within a moment she had jerked it free. She drove it into his stomach without hesitation, knocking his gun from his belt as he doubled over, and then jammed the blade into the side of his neck. She met his eyes as he collapsed, seeing the evident betrayal and shock there, and felt nothing. A fraction of a breath later there was a scuffling behind her, and saw Tess tackle the Dawes to the ground before he could retaliate.

"Don't shoot him!" Riley started to call, as she saw Tess pry his gun away, but before the words were out of her mouth Joel had slammed his boot into the side of Dawes's head, stilling his struggles.

"What the hell—" Tess demanded, in the moment of silence that followed.

Joel didn't respond. He only jogged over to the counter and grabbed Tess and Riley's bags, throwing them in their direction before donning his own.

Riley put her backpack on numbly, glancing down at Murphy body. His blood pooled around him on the dark linoleum, looking black as tar in the dim fluorescent lighting that trickled from the ceiling.

"Joel," Tess said suddenly, shaking her head. "Wait a minute."

"What?" he turned toward her, his hands occupied with loading his shotgun. "We need to hurry—"

"You really think this'll work?" she said, staring at him. "Do you know how many people they've got here?"

Joel just shook his head. "We'll figure something out."

"There's no way in hell we're gonna pull this off. And I don't know if we should even try. We're talking about the fucking cure—"

Joel and Riley both turned to her incredulously.

"Did you not hear her?" Joel asked. "Marlene said the surgery is gonna kill her, Tess—"

"I know that," Tess snapped. "And I don't want to lose her any more than you do, but you gotta think about this, Texas. We've done some crazy shit before, but this… Ellie wouldn't want us to get ourselves killed for nothing. And we've come all this way—"

Joel only stared at her wordlessly, his expression dark.

Riley suddenly found her voice.

"Tess," she said, catching her eye. "Please. We can't do this without you."

Tess frowned, her teeth worrying at her lip, a battle seeming to be fighting itself out behind her eyes. Riley held her gaze unfalteringly, waiting. After a moment, Tess swallowed, and then shook her head. The uncertainty fell from her face, and a resigned sort of resolve took its place.

"Fuck it," she muttered. "It wouldn't change anything, anyway."

Riley nodded, grabbing her own gun off the counter and checking to make sure the clip was full, her motions stiff but exact.

Joel strode over to Dawes and hefted his body up over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Tess demanded.

"We need to hide the bodies. The longer before they start looking for us, the better."

When Tess just stared at him, he shook his head.

"Help me, goddamn it," he growled.

Riley sprung into motion then, grabbing Murphy's arm and dragging him toward the room she'd been locked in. Her hands were trembling, the blood on them making it hard for her to keep her grip. Tess joined her a moment later, and together they dropped the bodies into the room and then locked the door.

"C'mon," Joel muttered, cocking his shotgun and readjusting his bag where it had slipped down his shoulder. "We need to move."

The three of them ducked down a narrow hallway to their left, and then dodged into a large room that held a collection of medical machinery. A few X-rays hung from a wire on the ceiling, and others were backlit by a large, glowing panel. Joel closed the door behind them, and then jammed a chair under the handle. Then he turned and grabbed Riley's shoulders, stooping down to her eye level.

"Are you sure you know how to get us there?" he asked, his gaze so intense that Riley had to resist the urge to pull free of his grip.

"Yes," she said firmly. "It's pretty much a straight shot once you get to the stairs."

"Alright, then," Joel said, releasing her shoulders and starting toward the next door, which led out of the room. Riley stood for a moment, retracing the route in her mind.

They could make it. They would have to.

"You alright?" Tess asked, reaching out to touch her shoulder. Riley just nodded stiffly, following after Joel.

"We need to hurry," she muttered, pushing a loose curl away from her eyes, blood smearing across her forehead in the process. "We don't have much time."

She saw Joel open the other door, which led into an adjoining room that was filled with file cabinets. He waved them after him, and the followed quickly.

Inside the file storage room, they crouched by the next door as Joel peered beneath it. After a moment of listening, he cracked it open and looked out.

"It's clear, but I think I can hear 'em, further on. We're gonna have to move."

"I can get us there from here. We've just got to follow this hallway down to the end, and then take a couple of more, and we'll be at the stairs."

"Alright, then let's not waste anymore time," Joel said, pulling the door open and heading out.

Riley found that her memory was surprisingly clear, in spite of the numbness that had settled over her. She led Joel and Tess easily through the hallways and corridors, pausing only once or twice when they thought they heard voices.

They encountered no one, even once the reached the reception room that held the entrance to the stairwell, with the exception of one lone Firefly crossing one of the halls (Joel dealt with him quickly, ambushing him from behind and slamming his head into the wall to knock him unconscious). However, before they headed up the first flight of stairs, Joel grabbed one of the chairs from the waiting room and jammed it under the stairwell door's handles from the inside, effectively barring it.

"They won't be following us up," Joel said confidently.

"Then how the hell do we get out?" Tess demanded.

"There'll be another way. There's always another way out," Riley muttered before heading up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

The climb up seemed twice as long the second time around. By the time she saw the door that led to the top floor, Riley's legs were leaden and aching, her lungs burning in her chest. She paused momentarily at the pair of double doors that blocked her way, bracing a hand against the cool metal and peering through the grated windows. She could see movement beyond – a small handful of soldiers milling about, talking amongst themselves. Past them was the door to the operating room that held Ellie, where shadowy figures moved around, hovering over the outline of her body.

Riley tried to steady her breathing, readjusting her sweating palms around the handle of her gun. She heard Joel and Tess come to a stop behind her, both of them breathing heavily.

"How many?" Joel panted out, pulling his rifle from his shoulder.

"Five or six."

Riley ducked a glance through the window again quickly, scanning for some sort of cover they might be able to use and finding nothing.

"Fuck." Her gaze darted between the various other operating rooms that lined the hall. They might be able to duck into them, but then they'd be trapped.

"I've got an idea," Joel said, pulling his backpack from his shoulder and kneeling down on the stairs to unzip it. Riley watched him rummage through it for a moment before he produced a large glass bottle – the sort that might have once held cheap wine, going by the screw on lid. It was filled with a dark, thick liquid, which Riley guessed was gasoline by the pungent smell that wafted from it. Joel shook it a few times, and then tore off the duct tape that was wrapped around the bottom of the lid, unscrewing the cap and then pulling a rag from his backpack and stuffing it down the throat of the bottle.

"You've just been carrying that?" Riley asked blankly.

Joel shrugged a shoulder. "I threw it together last night. Just in case."

Riley decided not to question it.

"So how are we going to do this?" Tess asked quietly, darting a glance through the window. The Fireflies still hadn't noticed them.

"I'm gonna light this," Joel said, lifting up the Molotov, "and I'm going to throw it right in the middle of them. That'll distract 'em long enough for us to open fire. There ain't much to hide behind in there, but if we get the jump on them we should able to pull it off. But we've gotta move fast, take out as many as we can as quickly as possible."

Riley nodded, checking to make sure that her gun was cocked.

"Just… make every shot count," Joel muttered, his gaze moving between her and Tess quickly, his expression hard. Tess only nodded in response, stone-faced and silent.

"Got it," Riley said firmly, steeling herself. She thought of Ellie, and the year they had passed together, and all that had happened. She thought of her face when they'd woken up that morning, and the sound of her laughter, and the leaves-in-the-sunlight color of her eyes,

She didn't think of what they were about to do, or what it would mean for the world. She didn't think of Marlene, and her arguments for the cure, and the change it would bring. She didn't think of her vow to the Fireflies. She didn't even think of her father, and what the infection had done to him, or what he had done to her mother.

She thought only of Ellie.

The moments that followed were a blur of motion and sound, of blood and flames. Her motions were smooth and exact, her mind strangely blank, absorbed entirely by her actions. Nearly every shot she fired hit its mark, and she downed at least two Fireflies on her own.

She knew she'd been hit once or twice at least, by the feeling of fire that raced along one arm and another leg, but she could hardly bring herself to care. By the time the last Firefly hit the tile, she was on the move again, Joel catching up with her to shoulder the door open just as she reached it.

Inside, they were met by the sight all of the doctors huddled against the opposite wall, with the exception of the one Riley assumed to be the head surgeon. He stood at the foot of the operating table, a scalpel in hand and extended toward them.

"Don't come any closer," he barked, his voice tremulous.

Joel didn't even hesitate before he shot him. The sound of it filled the little room like thunder, and his body hit the floor with a thud, the screams of the other surgeons accompanying it.

"Animals! You're all fucking animals—" one of them screamed. Joel ignored her, leaving Tess to keep watch as he ran toward where Ellie lay on the table. Riley reached her first, yanking off her oxygen mask and cupping her face, tilting it toward her as her fingers sought out her pulse. Once she felt it, beating firmly beneath her fingers as her chest rose and fell steadily, Riley let out an exhausted sigh of relief, her head bowed against her chest.

"Thank God," Riley murmured in a breathy, broken whisper. "Thank God."

She heard Joel give a quiet, relieved sigh.

"Let's get her out of here," he murmured.

Just as he'd started to lift her up, the sound of rushed footsteps drew their attention toward the back of the room, and they heard Tess give a cry of warning just before the new arrival spoke.

"Stop." The word was delivered like a hammer's blow, and Riley recognized the voice as Marlene's immediately. A breath later, Marlene emerged from the shadows in the back of the room, her figure backlit by an open door behind her, a gun in hand and at the ready. Her gaze fell on Riley first, who regarded her impassively. Then she glanced between Tess and Joel, noting the damaged state of them, and the gun Tess had trained on her. Joel started to go for his, but Marlene turned her own on him quickly, bringing him to a halt. She looked between the three of them, her expression somewhere between awestruck and resigned.

There was a moment of heavy silence, filled only by the hiss and groan of the oxygen machine, the dying gasps and groans of the surgeon on the floor, and the whimpers of the two nurses huddled against the wall.

Eventually, Marlene shook her head.

"You must really care about them," she said, meeting Joel's dark gaze.

Joel just scowled at her, and then jerked his thumb toward the door she had come from.

"Make sure there ain't any more of 'em coming," Joel growled, darting a glance back at Tess. Tess nodded, moving past Marlene to guard the door. Marlene didn't even bother to look at her, her gaze settling on Riley.

"I thought you were better than this," she said, her tone baiting. "I didn't think you were so selfish."

The words stung, coming from her, but did little to shake Riley's resolve.

"If you thought I'd let you take her away from me without a fight, you're an idiot."

"I didn't think you were so stupid as to try to pull this off in the first place," Marlene said flatly.

Riley scoffed. "That why you showed me the way up here?"

Marlene's expression faltered for a moment, a flash of guilt flitting across her features.

"I didn't—"

"You knew what you were doing, Marlene," Riley shot back. "You knew. You wouldn't have let me come up here to see her if you hadn't wanted me to try. I'm used to your tests, remember?"

Marlene stared at her impassively for a moment. "I was trying to be kind, but apparently it was misplaced."

The lie rolled off her tongue awkwardly, and Riley only shook her head.

"Whatever you say."

Marlene lifted her chin, her expression darkening. "You know this isn't right, Riley. You know that."

Riley looked down at Ellie for a moment, and then shook her head.

"I don't care."

"You aren't going to be able to protect her forever," Marlene said flatly. "No matter how hard you fight, or how careful or smart you are. You know I'm right."

Riley said nothing, clenching her fists to still the trembling in her hands.

"You're going to lose her one day," Marlene continued, though Riley wasn't sure if she was addressing her or Joel. "You're going to lose her, and it's going to be so much worse than this. And it's going to be for nothing."

Marlene spat the words like a curse, her voice so rancorous that Riley cringed in spite of herself. She held her gaze steadily, watching frustration, fury, pity and desperation chasing each other across Marlene's countenance. After a moment, Marlene spoke again.

"It won't hurt," she said softly, consolingly. "She won't feel anything. I promise."

Riley looked down at Ellie, and Marlene continued to talk. Her voice was low and steady, similar to the tone someone uses to calm a spooked horse.

"You're better than this."

Riley met her eyes again, feeling her pulse racing in her neck. She was suddenly aware, for the first time that day, how exhausted she was. Her whole body ached from the fall in the tunnel, and the various clashes with the Fireflies that had followed. Her head throbbed and her throated burned, her hands trembling even more than before. She felt taut, like she might snap.

Marlene took another step closer to her, lowering her gun slowly. "Think of the good it would do. Think of your parents."

The words, and the sudden resurgence of the memory they brought, hit her like a physical blow. She gripped the edge of the table to steady herself.

"Stop it," she spat, her voice wavering.

Marlene continued on, unperturbed.

"You can still do the right thing," she said, taking one more step forward. She was only a few yards away now.

Riley shook her head, her fingers digging into the metal of the table. She had started to open her mouth to reply when she heard Joel shift beside her, and before she realized what was happening the crack of a gunshot sounded and Marlene fell to the floor with a strangled cry. The surgeons by the wall screamed once more, one letting out a broken sob.

Riley's mind refused to process what was happening, and she found herself only able to stare blankly, her jaw slackened, her breath catching in her throat. It took a moment for her to unfreeze, and by that time Joel had lowered his smoking gun and was stepping toward where Marlene lay on the floor. She was still alive, but more than a little blood smeared the tile beneath her stomach. She struggled to prop herself up on her elbows, her body heaving with gasping breaths.

Riley found her voice, though it came from her throat only in a strangled, frightened croak. "What the fuck, Joel—"

She lunged forward and seized the edge of his sleeve as he started to move past her, stepping to the front of the table to block his way. He pulled up short and then looked at her strangely, his brow furrowed.

"She would've done the same to you, if you'd kept lettin' her talk."

"You didn't need to shoot her," Riley snarled. "I could've handled it—"

"It don't matter," Joel muttered, pulling away from her and advancing on Marlene once more, once he noticed that she was trying – and failing – to struggle to her feet.

It took a moment for Riley to register what he was planning to do, but once she did the idea made her stomach turn.

Her mind was suddenly flooded with flashes of the memories of everything that had happened over the past year, all of the pain and suffering and violence and fear they'd endured, all the killing they'd done.

She realized, then, that she'd had enough of it.

"Stop—" Riley said, stepping forward to grab ahold of him once more.

She heard Tess speak by the door, urging them to hurry. Joel turned on Riley suddenly, seizing her wrist in his grip firmly when she started to put herself between him and Marlene.

"She was gonna let them murder Ellie," he snarled. "Are you forgettin' that? You ain't one of them anymore."

Riley shook her head. "She didn't want this any more than we did. Just let her go—"

Joel tightened his grip on her arm, causing her to grit her teeth.

"We let her go," Joel growled, jerking a thumb at Marlene, "she's only going to come after her, after both of you. And it ain't going to be nice when she catches you."

"Riley," Tess said from the door, her voice strained, "he's right. We've gone through all this to save Ellie. If you want to keep her safe, we can't have them trying to track her down."

Riley noticed Marlene was looking up at them warily, her eyes wide with fear, her face contorted with pain.

Riley met Joel's gaze, staring up at him unfalteringly. "She won't find us. She wasn't able to track us down in Boston, and she won't be able to find us this time. I'm not letting you kill her."

Joel shook his head, his expression dark.

"So, what – this is where your loyalties are. With them?" he snarled, jerking his thumb toward Marlene and then at the dead surgeon and two weeping nurses. "The people that were going to kill her?"

"This isn't about loyalty," Riley shot back, her voice just short of a scream. "I'm fucking tired, Joel. After all of this, every fucking thing we went through to get here for nothing—" her voice cracked, and she swallowed. "I've had it. I mean, we've lost the cure… isn't that enough?"

Her voice was rising with each word, and before he knew what she was doing she had yanked her wrist away from him and had stepped in front of Marlene, her hands trembling with rage.

She shook her head, her gaze unfaltering in spite of the sting in her eyes.

"I'm not gong to watch you murder her. Not now."

Joel stared at her for a moment, his eyes burning with a composed sort of fury that chilled her to the bone, and then he shook his head.

"Get out of the way, Riley."

Riley stared at him for a moment, and then, her hands moving without thought, she pulled her gun from her belt and turned it on him. She was met with an incredulous stare.

"No," was all she said.

No one spoke. Riley heard Marlene take sharp breath, and took a steady one of her own, gripping her gun a little more firmly. Joel stared down at her for a moment, his expression a mixture of disgust and disbelief.

"You're really gonna do this? After all this time I've protected you, after I've helped today—"

Riley scoffed. "Don't give me that bullshit. You know you didn't do this for me. If anything, what you did today was for yourself, and for a kid you lost twenty fucking years ago."

Joel looked like he might do something, his jaw clenching as he took a step toward her, but Tess's voice from the door interrupted him.

"That's enough!" Tess snarled, striding away from the door towards them and adjusting her backpack on her shoulder. "We're out of time – I can hear them coming. We need to get the hell out of here."

Riley and Joel both glanced at her, and then back at each other once more. After scowling at her briefly, Joel shook his head and turned toward Ellie. Tess had already beaten him to it, however, carefully scooping Ellie up from the table and into her arms.

"I'm gonna need you to take the front," Tess told Riley. "Joel, you watch the back. Come on!"

Riley nodded, watching Tess start toward the door. As she went to follow after her, she felt something catch her pant leg, and looked down to see Marlene's bloody hand gripping jeans. Hesitantly, hearing Tess urging her on from the doorway, she dropped down beside her. Marlene clutched her hand.

"Thank you," was all she said. Her voice quavered from pain, and the underlying steel that Riley was used to was gone, replaced by a strange, earnest appreciation that she'd never heard before.

Riley shook her head, her eyes flickering to the blood that had started to pool on the floor. "I'm sorry—"

"It's okay," Marlene said, her voice gentle. "It's okay, Riley. Just go."

Riley held her gaze for a moment more, and then nodded wordlessly. She let go of Marlene's hand and jumped to her feet, seeing Tess wave her on.

She ran without looking back, taking lead of the group with her gun in hand.

They came across a few Fireflies as they wound through the hallways, following the signs toward the elevator. Fire was exchanged once or twice, and a few hit their mark. Riley was grazed twice, on her leg and side, but only noticed the warmth of the blood as it seeped into her clothing, the adrenaline that coursed through her system numbing the pain.

They reached the elevator, and Riley slammed the button with all of her strength. She watched the doors slide closed as bullets ricocheted off the walls outside, the gap between them becoming smaller and smaller and swallowing up the hallway and the lights of the Fireflies flashlights, leaving only the harsh glow of the florescent above their heads. Riley glanced at Ellie where she lay unconscious in Tess's arms. The sight grounded her, and she didn't take her eyes from Ellie until the elevator doors opened.

They ended up in an underground parking garage beneath the hospital, and found a truck near the exit, the keys still in the ignition. Tess laid Ellie gently in the back seat, and Riley climbed in after her, resting Ellie's head in her lap. Tess and Joel got in the front, Tess taking the driver's side. They peeled out of the garage, flying out of the gloom and into the glaring mid-afternoon sun. The Fireflies had apparently cleared the road, as Tess was able to get them onto the freeway within a few minutes of driving, and from there simply weaved in between the few cars that were scattered around.

The silence in the air was thick as syrup. Tess clutched the wheel so hard her knuckles turned white. Joel stared ahead firmly, his jaw clenched. Riley simply looked down at Ellie, who still slept soundly. Her face was serene, her lips slightly parted, her hair falling into her eyes. Riley brushed it away delicately with her bloodstained fingers, grazing them along Ellie's cheek.

Ellie was alive. Ellie was still alive.

Riley clung to the thought desperately, her breathing finally beginning to slow. She tried not to think about anything else, tried not to think of what they'd done.

She hadn't realized how much she'd been hanging onto the idea of a cure until it finally struck her that there probably would never be one. In some part of her mind, she'd seen the cure as the moment that would balance the scales. After what she'd seen that year, after realizing how low humanity had sunk, she'd considered the cure the saving grace that would make it all alright again. It had been the last thread of hope she'd been clinging to for the world, after a lifetime of injustice. After her grim childhood, after the loss of her parents to the infection, after all that she'd been through since – the fear, the pain, nearly losing Ellie time and time again – she'd come to see the cure as the thing that would prove that it had all been worth it. She'd fought for it. She'd wanted it, with every fiber of her being.

And, like so many other things in life, it had never measured up to what it was supposed to have been. It should have been the light at the end of the tunnel, but it had only ended up simply being another flicker in the darkness – gone out as quickly as it'd come, leaving nothing but disappointment like ash where it had been.

But, even with all of this, she couldn't bring herself to regret what they'd done, what they'd stolen from the world for their own selfish reasons.

After what she'd seen of the world, it didn't deserve Ellie's life.

Tess spoke then, interrupting her thoughts.

"I don't think they're gonna follow us."

A pause.

"Everyone okay?" she asked, her tone strangely serene. She might as well have been commenting on the weather.

Riley blinked, having trouble finding her voice.

"Yeah, I'm alright," she said finally, glancing toward the front seat. Tess met her eyes in the rearview mirror. The concern there made something in Riley's chest twist.

"Tess," she said after a pause, "thank you. For everything."

Joel shook his head. "Funny way you've got of showing you're grateful."

Riley tensed, turning to look at him. He didn't bother to meet her gaze, his eyes still fixed on the road ahead.

"Don't pretend you did this for me," Riley said flatly. "You've never liked me, right from the start."

Joel started to protest, but Riley cut him off.

"Trust me, I don't care. Honestly, I think you're a dick. The fact that you care about Ellie is the only thing that you do that doesn't piss me off."

Joel didn't address the comment. "You think Ellie would be fine with you pulling your damn gun on me?"

Riley snorted. "Given the circumstances, yeah, I do. Do you even realize who Marlene was to Ellie? She was the only one to ever look out for her, before I met her. She practically raised her—"

"But she was willing to sacrifice her for a cure that might not even work. Seems pretty goddamn selfish to me."

"It wasn't her choice," Riley snarled. "She pretty much told me that, before you talked to her. Trust me, I'm just as pissed as you are that she didn't help us get her out of there, but she—"

Riley paused to collect herself, and then shook her head.

"And she did show me where to find her, regardless of what she says. But she… I think she really thought that it was the right choice for her. She doesn't think the world was worth living in anymore, going the way it is. She thought Ellie would be better off dead. She wasn't the selfish one, Joel."

Joel shook his head. "Kid, that doesn't change a thing. If she lives through the hit she took, she's going to come after her. Ellie's never going to be safe until Marlene's dead. And that's on you, and your damn hero worship."

Riley felt bile rise in her throat, her hands curling into fists.

"Fuck off," she snarled.

She might have kept her cool, had she not known he was right.

"You might have stopped giving a fuck about right and wrong," Riley said finally, "but, the way I see it, that doesn't make you much different than any of the assholes we've dealt with."

Joel chuckled mirthlessly. "Let me tell you something, kiddo. There's no difference between us and those people. Good people don't make it. We're survivors. That's all we are now, and that's all we're ever gonna be. The moment you start trying to be good, you end up dead. You aren't gonna save the damn world, no matter what you do. Trying will only get you killed."

"So why the hell did you come all this way?" Riley demanded. "If you didn't believe it would do any good, why bother with a cure?"

Joel hesitated for a moment, and then he shrugged.

"Didn't have anything else to do. If it worked it'd work, but I wasn't betting on it."

Riley shook her head disgustedly, and then looked away, out of the window. Trees whipped by in a single brown and green mass. The waist-high grass that grew up from the sides of the road rippled in the breeze.

A few more moments of tense silence passed. Riley heard Tess sigh. After a while, Joel spoke again.

"We can't tell her what happened."

"What?" Riley said, turning to look at Joel once again.

"She can't know," Joel said.

"Joel," Tess said, her eyes turning from the road briefly, "what the hell are you talking about?"

"There's no reason to tell her what happened."

Riley laughed incredulously. "You're kidding."

Joel shook his head. "It'll only upset her more."

"She has a right to know—" Riley began, only to be cut off by Joel.

"No, she doesn't. If she realizes what happened, she's only going to feel guilty for not being able to save the world. She's going to feel selfish just for living."

"She wouldn't have wanted to die for it, anyway," Riley said. "She'll understand—"

"Even if she wouldn't have wanted to," Joel said, "that might change. If things get bad, or if something were to happen, she might try to find 'em again, to sacrifice herself."

Riley was silent for a moment, considering this. 'If something were to happen', she realized, probably meant something happening to her. If she died – ended up bitten, or murdered, as Marlene had suggested – she realized that Ellie might feel compelled to give herself up for the cure, just to make up for it. The idea made her stomach twist into knots, as she looked down at Ellie once more.

"And even if that didn't happen, all it takes is for her to slip up and tell the wrong person. If someone were to find out that there was a cure walking around, they'd turn her in without even thinking about it. It ain't worth the risk."

Riley sat silently, gazing at Ellie, watching her chest rise and fall.

"What would we tell her?" she asked, after a moment.

"We could tell her that they put her under to fix her leg, and that they ran some tests while she was out and realized they couldn't make the cure. Tell her that we got on the road quickly, since there was a storm coming in."

Riley glanced toward the horizon, where, surely enough, a storm was brewing, black clouds bubbling up like tar.

"So we're just going to lie to her?" she asked finally, looking between Tess and Joel.

"He has a point," Tess admitted.

"It's for her own good," Joel said.

He looked back at her. "Alright?"

Riley sat there for a moment, and said nothing. She looked out the window, watching the breeze that the storm had stirred up ripple the leaves of the trees they passed. She looked at her hands, which were still sticky with blood, and then at Ellie, whose cheek rested against her tattered, dingy jeans. She took a deep breath.

"Okay," she said.