𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁.

two.

   "Yeah goal!"

   Sam falls to his knees in dramatics and Ellie cheers, high fiving me from where I sit watching them. I watch as they begin to sort of wrestle and laugh, the soccer ball discarded now.

   I've always liked watching, I think it's what I'm best at.

   I like to watch people happy, it's my favorite hobby.

   I pause my watching as I hear my name from the other end of the room and I know Henry is telling Joel about me. About how I got sick and am the reason Kathleen is after us.

   I gulp down my guilt and stand, making my way over to Sam.

   I lift him onto my back and smile, charging towards Ellie as she runs away laughing. We run around the room in circles.

   My guilt is buried just like that.

* * *

   It's not long before we're out of the tunnels, the playroom left far behind us. I hold onto Henry's hand as we walk through the remains of a neighborhood.

   Sam taps my shoulder, signing to me, "why can't we use our lights?"

   I sign back, "so we don't draw attention."

   "But no one's here."

   Henry seems to have been eavesdropping and he sighs, "I know, no one is here," he states loudly, "and no one's gonna be here because my plan worked!"

   Ellie smiles and I roll my eyes.

   "So much talking," Joel comments.

   "I'm just saying," Henry smirks, "I deliver. Take this right, go down the street, embankment behind the last house. And we're out."

   I tighten my grip on his hand in a pinch at his overconfidence.

   Henry shoots me a glare.

   Ellie turns to me, "so we cross the river then what? Where are you going?" I shrug in response and she smiles, "well we're going to Wyoming."

   Joel turns to her in annoyance and I can read his face, 'why would you tell them that?'

   "It's a huge state, it can fit two more people," Ellie defends herself.

   I hold back my laugh and Henry sighs beside me, "yeah maybe we'll just call this one a success and say our farewells."

   "Nah he'll change his mind," Ellie grins and begins to mimic Joel in a gruff voice, "he's always like 'no Ellie, never ever ever happening' and I would say 'I'm gonna ask you a million more times' and he'd say-"

   Suddenly there's a gunshot and I drop to the ground.

   "Move!" Joel shouts, ushering us behind a car. I duck next to Ellie and hook my arm around Sam's backpack, holding him closer to me.

   "Where the fuck is that coming from?" Henry sits next to us, his arm out in front as if to protect us.

   "Shut up," Joel hushes him looking over to the car we hide behind. Another two gunshots go off and he ducks back down.

   Henry grabs my hand again, "fuck this." He goes to stand up and I pull him back down, "are you stupid you'll get yourself shot."

   Another gunshot.

   "What do we do?"

   Joel turns to us, pulling his gun from his holster, "don't move."

   I can see the panic in Ellie's eyes, "what?"

   She can't lose this man.

   "If you don't move he won't hit you, I'm gonna try and sneak around the house, get in through the back and take him out."

   "If you go out there he's gonna kill you."

   "It's dark and he has shit aim, nobody's gonna kill me."

   "Then he's gonna kill us."

   I watch the two argue, they are definitely father and daughter.

   "Do you trust me?" Joel asks, Ellie finally sitting back. She lets him go and I slip my hand into her's, giving her a small smile of assurance.

   The waiting feels like forever.

   A few more gunshots go off before silence. It's excruciating. Was Joel hit or did he make it?

   I hear another gunshot and turn over the car with Ellie. We look up to the window and see Joel and a smile breaks out on my face.

   He shouts something at us that I can't quite hear and my smile begins to fade. I see lights in my peripheral and turn to see cars, a lot of cars.

   It's only then I realize what he's yelling.

   "Run! Run!"

   "Go! Go! Go! Go!" Henry takes off with Sam and I follow closely behind with Ellie. The truck is coming towards us at full speed, clearing the roads of cars and evidently, us.

  Just as Ellie trips Joel makes a shot through the window, the car steering off course and crashing into a house.

   I quickly pull Ellie up just as the car catches flames and blows up behind us. This is really not good. We need to get out of here.

   The other cars stop and people get out as we run over to where Sam and Henry are ducked behind a van. Henry quickly cups my face, "are you okay?"

   I nod quickly, my heart pounding in my chest.

   We were so close.