Set Me Free ▪︎ Joel Miller ▪︎

▪︎○ Seven ○▪︎

They continue to move forward, weaving their way further down the building until they reach an abandoned subway station infested with at least a dozen infected and two dead fireflies. The familiar clicking and groaning echoes through the air, alerting the group of the danger lurking in the darkness.

They sneak silently, occasionally throwing bottles and bricks to distract the infected and lure them away from the exit.

Eventually - after killing a single clicker that got too close for comfort - they reach a ladder that leads back to the outside where the sun had begun to rise.

"Holy shit. We actually made it," Ellie says as she jumps down and follows Tess, with Olivia hot on her tail.

"Don't sound so surprised," Olivia smirks.

"Everyone okay?" Joel asks from behind the pair, his heavy footsteps trailing after them.

"Yes. Let's move." Tess instantly responds without glancing back, her focus locked in on the road ahead as she takes point.

"You guys are pretty good at this stuff," Ellie compliments causing Olivia's smile to widen.

"It's called luck, and it is gonna run out." Joel retorts bluntly whilst pushing past the pair to catch up to Tess.

"You know, one of these days you'll learn to take a compliment. It won't hurt you, I promise!" Olivia quips back with a smirk, earning a chuckle from Ellie.

"Which way, Tess?" he asks whilst ignoring Olivia completely, a huff escaping him.

"This way,"

The trio follow the female smuggler, allowing her to lead them towards a large truck wedged between two building, blocking their path ahead.

"Here, help me move this." Olivia says whilst reaching for a display stand on wheels, her request aimed at Tess who nods and helps her wheel the wooden stand up against the truck, giving them a way to climb over it.

Ellie climbs over first with Tess whilst Olivia hangs back to wait for Joel. She hears him take out the two runners in seconds. Once she is sure he is making his way towards the truck, she climbs atop the stand and pulls herself onto the truck top.

"You can do it, grandpa." Olivia playfully cheers with a grin.

"There is only thirteen years difference," he notes with an arched brow as he too climbs the truck unimpressed.

"And by my calculations that still makes you older," she shrugs smugly before hopping down off the truck and following after Ellie.

A few minutes pass by as they walk the street, coming to a closed shutter that Joel manages to open by pulling a nearby chain. The women slide beneath it when he has it half way open, holding it up for him as he follows suit. Once they are all inside, they drop it shut and breathe a sigh of relief as the infected soldiers attack it from the outside.

"That was close," Olivia pants as she glances to Ellie, giving her a once over to make sure she is okay.

"Well, how do we get out of here?"

"Let's find out." Tess mumbles with a shrug.

The group spread out, searching the room for supplies as Ellie explains how she got bit. Turns out the kid has a knack for sneaking into places she shouldn't be with people she'd rather not discuss. Olivia figured that the person she had snuck into the mall with had also been bitten and unlike Ellie, they'd turned. So, she doesn't press the girl for more details, nor does Tess.

Instead, they move along through the wooden door just to the far right corner of the room, leading into a large storage room. They wander the space, taking in the details when a loud smashing sound snaps their attention towards Ellie, a sheepish expression on her face as she stands beside a broken vase.