[ti]3[/ti]‘ ( as we knew it /.

                                                                   - SLOANE

Why did everything have to be so fucking complicated? Sloane stood on a single leg, using the back of the sofa she'd slumped on to support herself. Her mouth hang open - frozen in mid-reply. She'd been reaching for Ellie, to place her hands on her shoulders and to spin some sort of bullshit that might keep her from doing precisely this - telling Tess. Whatever cruel God puppetered their shitshow deserved to be hung by his pinkie toe. Slo, numbed by the exchange that occured right before her, was unable to speak. Tess was no fool - Ellie was young, sure, but she had a feeling they'd be able to make the connection. The world was full of ugly things; infected were not of the worst kind. Her grey eyes searched for the floor, but she couldn't find it over the rise of her belly. She bit her lip, briefly brushing her hand over her middle. Her fingers curled in the blood-crusted fabric.

"Nearly six months," she confessed. "But, look- it... doesn't matter okay?" She fanned her hands in front of Tess, hobbling toward Tess and Ellie on unsteady feet. "Bad shit happens to everything and anyone you care about, so I'm pretending like it's not a problem and it would be wise if the both of you did, too." She looked at the blinds covering the windows, scrunching her face. There would be more people. Ellie and Tess needed to get out of there before they returned, searching for the friends that Tess had painted the streets with. Sloane found herself sinking next to Tess, removing a handful of pills from her backpocket. She took Tess' hand and overturned her palm, plopping two there.

"Take those," she insisted, reaching behind her to her bag. She fished through the empty depths until her hand clutched around a bottle of water. She handed it to Tess with a meaningful glare. "The worst of it will come tonight - so you might as well be on top of it before its on top of you." She watched, making sure Tess did as she was asked, before she struggled to stand once more, grunting as she did so. She wrapped her arms around herself, uncomfortable with having her shirt gone. No one had seen her without it. She was certain that being this 'small' while that pregnant probably was not a good thing, but it made for easy hiding.

She sank slowly into the couch with a pained scrunch of her face, her muscles sagging all at once as her cheek found the arm rest. Her face remained covered by her hair as she spoke, wrapping her arms around herself and the child hitching a ride inside her pitiful little bubble.

"I did some work for the men that are chasing us. He got ideas. I told him no. He didn't like that and tied me up for- eh, I dunno - maybe two months? I was kept in a room. Not allowed outside. If I fought back I got the shit beaten out of me," a scoff hosted a half-humored smirk. "Stabbed him in the pecker and booked it out the window. I was shot when I was running away." She motioned with an uncaring wave. "The price I pay for not escaping sooner."

Ellie, face white as a sheet, looked at Tess from where she knelt beside her. There was unspoken hurt and disbelief in her eyes - emotions that didn't belong in the world anymore. She swallowed hard and got to her feet, wandering over to Sloane. Slowly, she reached down and flattened a hand over her tummy. Sloane remained ramrod stiff, boring hot holes into Ellie's skull - but the kid simply took on a goofy grin. Sloane's frown only deepened. As soon as it appeared, the smile took the nearest bus out of dodge. Ellie retracted her hand, looking down at Sloane with an apprehensive pinch.

"If you're pregnant how do you expect to come with us?" Ellie questioned, turning her head to the side. "I don't know anything about having a baby, but... from what I've heard it requires some major help." She turned to Tess for answers. "But we can't just leave her, either."

"I'm fine," Sloane demanded, straightening with a glare. "I'll take you as far as I can. You need the extra gun power. And if you try to leave me I'll just follow you. The two of you have a long ass way to go. If I start to slow you down then I'll fuck off - but only then." She shrugged, patting her tummy. "It still needs to bake a while longer anyway. So I say we book, don't be fuckin' numbskulls, and cover as much ground as possible." Her face fell blank. She rose and crossed the room, disappearing behind a room. When she returned, she had a first aid kit. She held it up, wiggling it a little. "I came here when I first escaped. I almost forgot I stashed this here." She waddled to Tess and dropped to her knees, ignoring the bombshell that still hung over her old friend's shoulders. Having children was not simple anymore. If the infection didn't kill her...

It sure as shit would.

"So," Ellie chirped, clapping her hands together with an attempt to distract the two women. Sloane snapped her head up with a brow arched high. Ellie's smile teetered on awkward ground. "Uh... have you- thought of names?" She moved her hands in quick, rapid motions toward Sloane. "For the- the baby?" Sloane lowered her hand from where it was examining Tess' neck. 

"Did you shut your ears off when I said we're going to pretend I'm not carrying around a cantaloupe?" Sloane snapped.

Ellie shrugged. "I wouldn't say antelope. Grapefruit, maybe?"

Sloane sighed, returning her attention to Tess. With shaky, unsteady hands, she doctored the purple and red marks the man had left on her. Most of the guys that ran the joint were like brick houses - so it didn't surprise her that she'd returned with awful dents and dings. She applied antiseptic, along with a small patch containing Neosporin before gingerly wrapping up the marks. She would heal quickly - but it would still smart for quite a while before that. She moved to pay attention to the cuts left by the gravel and asphalt, devoting her attention to them, rather than the gigantic elephant in the room. It felt odd, to have it in the open. 

She'd been ignoring it herself. Sloane is pregnant. It didn't seem real. She didn't want it to be real. Sloane took her hand away for a moment as she was suddenly recalling the room in which it had undoubtedly became a problem. A tall man, tan skin, cruel, red-lipped smile. Her hand gave a twitch and she dropped the bandage. She cursed softly, flattening her palm over the hardwood floor before laying it over her stomach as it churned and threatened to be rid of the little contents inside of it. She sighed and hung her head, before continuing to doctor Tess' wounds.

"Don't be so careless," she scolded under her breath. "Ellie's gonna need you alive."

---

"We're not leaving you behind. Period." Grimacing as unsteady fingers ghosted over the purpling marks on her throat, nevertheless her words were icier than steel. It burned a deep pit in her stomach, what happened to Sloane. Not uncommon in the piece of shit world that they lived in, so common in fact that Tess was desensitized to its cruelties, but this was different. Her fingers twitched and had she not been occupied by her mission with Ellie, she probably would have slipped back out to do with the motherfucker as she had with those that were involved in her mother's death. Or no, she would not let him off that easy. Sloane was left with a permanent reminder of what he did. A living reminder. Her jaw ground so hard that it hurt. While Tess could only imagine how shit it was for Sloane, she did ache.

As Ellie continued to chirp about the baby, Sloane writhing as the girl's questions kept on coming, Tess heaved an edged sigh and shot a look in her direction. "El. See if there's anything else useful in this house, yeah?" They locked eyes for a moment. She heard Ellie huff out a "fine" under her breath before trudging out of the room. A frown threatened to pull at Tess' lip. The kid likely did not understand the brevity of the situation and paid little mind to how insensitive her enthusiasm may be. Tess assumed that Sloane was anything but enthused about carrying a tiny passenger. There was also the due fact that the baby may not even make it to term. If it will last till term at all. Sloane physically was in shit condition, between the infection, her leg, and the rest of their unfortunate downpour. The tiny human inside her might not be strong enough to withstand it all. Sloane's chances were grim, the baby's even grimer. Tess would do everything in her ability to ensure that Sloane pulled through. If she could anything at all at this point. The thought of losing her again was too painful to linger on.

"Don't be so careless. Ellie's gonna need you alive." Sloane chastised.

Tess' mouth twitched. She wasn't sure if it was from Sloane's prodding fingers or faint amusement. "Likewise with that leg of yours," she muttered. "I'll fuckin' carry you the whole way if I have to."

Tired eyes watched Sloane's fingers tend to her wounds, from the bruises to the scrapes from the asphalt and debris. Every once in a while she would grit her teeth or hiss, but otherwise swallowed down the aches. Her ribs particularly hurt like hell but nothing can be done for those except painkillers, which they needed to use sparingly. Tess agreed to the ones that Sloane force-fed her few minutes earlier, but she would refuse any more. Every breath that she took felt like another foot to her side, and every cough that shook her was that much worse. After a nasty fit, Sloane had passed her one of the dusty pillows from the sofa so that Tess could clutch it to her chest, breathing out a shaky, grateful sigh.

She thought for a moment, leaning her head back against the couch. "I have people in Wisconsin. Not far from Madison. They settled down there and started to build their own town. Last I was there while working, they already had their walls up. Infected proof. Good fucking luck to any assholes trying to get in," she turned her head to look at Sloane. "Whether you come to term or not, your leg is not going to make it to Colorado. So, we can take a slight detour and drop by Ashton's. Either stay there till you're well again or...whatever happens. Some people from our old group are there, too. Point is, they'll take care of you and we can take a break from running." Before Sloane could protest, Tess went on to add, "Ellie and I aren't on a time crunch. Mission is to get her there alive. They didn't give me a deadline. Just a location."

Soon as Tess figured her injures were tended enough, she shifted her attention to Sloane's leg. For this she made Sloane move to the couch so that she would be more comfortable──or was it just because she just found out she was pregnant? How Tess didn't notice Sloane's swollen tummy before was beyond her. Her leg looked no different at all and some of the shitty stitches held─surprisngly─so Tess repeated what Slo did for her and dressed the wound.

"He didn't happen to be one of the guys back there, did he?" Tess asked lowly after a pause, brows knitting. Part of her hoped. She let her hand rest gently against Sloane's wound as her eyes traveled to her belly, then up to meet orbs of piercing blue.

The patter of small feet reached them as Ellie came back downstairs, hands shoved into the pockets of a new hoodie she had managed to fish from a closet. "Any chance we can rest up here till morning?" The question was punctuated by a muffled yawn, but Tess heard the exhaustion in the adolescent's voice. Their morning started with a Clicker chase, an unexpected run-in with Sloane, and then turned into a chaotic mess with that group showing up, and they have not stopped moving since. In just one day they all got fucked. Ellie was ready to drop, and Tess' own body pleaded for even a wink of rest. She sighed and looked back up to Sloane.

"I took out the ones that showed up. One was left, but Runners may have shown up to finish him off. Haven't heard shit since. If they haven't looked here before. then I think a few hours won't kill us." Tess' fingers gently patted Sloane's leg. "You need a few at the least. But if we should go further out and find somewhere else to bunk down then say the word."

                                                                   - SLOANE

Sloane didn't have much to say as she tended to Tess' wounds. She listened - took in every single word, actually - but she hadn't the capacity for a reply. She'd encountered people that had ideas just like this; safe zones, plagueless cities. Sooner or later their hopes would come crashing down, carried back to Sloane on the wind. Nowhere was safe anymore. It was enduring and survive - or die. Sloane didn't look up at Tess as she finished wrapped her wounds, allowing her to scoot her over to the sofa. Sloane stared at the empty dark while Tess restitched her wound, so accustomed to the pain it brought that her face remained in a blank, thin line. No matter what hopes Tess had for her - and the sprout inside of her - Sloane did not have the funds such foolishness required. Hope came at a heavy cost. She had nothing left she could give, aside from her own dwindling breaths.

She hung her head when Tess finished, unfocusing her eyes while she stared through the white noise. Tess assumed, by some ungodly twist of luck, she would survive. She would be able to overcome the infection coursing through her veins, she'd beat the monster inside of her, the infected lurking in under the wind of every shadow; how naive. No sound came to her ears, despite Tess' moving lips as she lifted her hazy eyes, catching Tess' dark eyes with hers. She could see it there - the determination that would one day kill her in more manners than one. Sloane smiled, not for Tess, but for her bliss. She envied it. She was jealous of it.

"His name is Jonathan," she whispered under her breath. "And he could snap your neck from five miles away. Don't be stupid. Don't hurt yourself for someone else when you have a bigger weight to carry than me."

Wordless, Sloane brought herself to a rickety stand, limping on dragging feet to the other side of the room. She wrenched open the drawer of an inconspicuous dresser. Several lumps of fresh clothes were inside. Sloane tossed them aside with careless flicks of her wrist until she happened upon a black sock, weighed down with the item it concealed. She pulled it out, fishing inside of it before bringing out a shimmering pendant - somehow unbent and unscathed. Sloane ran her thumb over the metal wings of the makeshift firefly. She clutched it in her fist and then tossed it into Tess' lap.

"I don't know what the hell that kid could possibly do for the whole of mankind, but you better be sure you know what you're doing." Sloane glanced through the open door, looking at the back of Ellie's head with a deepening frown. "We're not the only ones that are dangerous, Tess." She looked over her shoulder at her. "Whatever the fireflies want with this kid may not be whatever you've been told." She sighed, swaying as the weight of the evening started to fall over her. She was exhausted. She braced herself with a harsh thud against the doorframe. "We'll stay until morning, then we can get the fuck out of here. Staying is a lot more idiotic than leaving."

Sloane teetered from the room, vanishing within the folds of the dark. Ellie, returning moments later, held an armful of useful things with a bright gleam. She began to speak, but paused, coming to a halt. Half of her findings fell to the floor.

"Where'd she go?" Ellie mumbled.

&&&

"No, not like that, Jesus. Not unless you want to shoot your own fucking foot," Sloane growled, reaching for the bow Ellie held in her hands. She attached the arrow to the notch where she'd instructed for it to go numerous times now. With harsh direction, she adjusted Ellie's arms, holding it steady for her. She leaned close to Ellie, standing on her tip toes. "Don't try too hard to aim. Do that and it falls off kilter." She shifted Ellie's wrist with the gentlest touch. Ellie stared with wide eyes at the stumbling crow. "Deep breath, then exhale." Sloane staggered back, slumping with a hot wheeze against the picket fence. She held up her hand before Ellie whirled her head around to look at her. Ellie puckered her lips, but returned to her prey.

She breathed, shut her eyes, opened them, then released the arrow. It snagged the ground where the crow had been hopping moments before. Ellie released a loud sigh and dropped her arm. "Shit."

"Hey," Sloane snapped, backhanding her shoulder. "Language." Ellie gave her a dry look before handing the bow back to her. She slouched against the fence beside her friend, kicking the sand. 

"Do you think she'll find anything in there?" Ellie asked. Sloane gave an uninterested look to the looted gas station. Sloane shrugged, lowering her head as she fought to draw in another breath. Ellie frowned. They'd spent three weeks on the road toward this place that Tess supposed was safe enough. Sloane had only deteriorated further. He skin had faded to a sickly pallor. Her eyes were dull and bloodshot. She looked like a zombie. Ellie ran her hands over her arms, tapping her foot on the ground with a sigh.

Tess needed to hurry up.

"

---

The pendant in her hands made the muscle in her jaw twitch, as the Firefly that spread over the blades of her shoulders prickled. Etched into her skin by her mother, who died for a cause that gave no care for the lives dedicated to it. A corrupt promise of hope. Where Roberta dedicated every fiber of her being to the Fireflies, Tess loathed them with every intangible ounce of her soul. As though it burned her hand, she dropped the pendant onto the cushion beside her. As she made her bed on that sofa, Sloane's words echoed in her head over and over, Whatever the Fireflies want with this kid may not be whatever you've been told. When Ellie was first handed to her, Tess wouldn't have given two shits what the Fireflies wanted with the kid. Ellie was just cargo to be smuggled, and Marlene dangled a hefty reward on the other end. But now...part of her didn't even want to deliver Ellie to their hands. Ellie meant far too much to her now. One thing was for sure: Tess would stick it out with her till the very end. If the Fireflies intended to harm her, then Marlene was brewing a dangerous storm.

---

Three weeks later they were nearing the compound. The detour took them through the northernmost part of Indiana along the shorelines of Lake Michigan; however, when they neared Chicago, Tess guided them around downtown through the suburbs. Downtown proved to be far too dangerous, even in memory, and Tess refused to test their luck. Danger was inevitable, however, and they did happen on a horde of Clickers here and there. Ellie got to see a Bloater in the distance for the first time, too. The way that the adolescent's face paled had Sloane and Tess chortling for hours. But that was about the only light they had. Sloane progressively grew sicker, so much that they needed to stop far too frequently then Tess would like. The redhead's condition was gnawing at Tess' heels to get them to the compound sooner, but she couldn't put any more strain on Sloane. Like a mother goose fussing over her goslings, Tess treated both Sloane and Ellie like fragile leaves so much the two were growing sick of it. No amount of complaining did any difference, though.

The course on which they were on right now was through ground that Tess knew well. Trailing along the interstate leading through Rockford into Wisconsin led them through the more desolate part of the countryside. They'd managed to loot through a couple of cars and found stale chips, antibiotic medication that the corpse wouldn't need anymore, among other goods. Ellie found a comic book series that captured her eye and Tess promised her she'd keep an eye out for any other volumes.

Tess snorted a quiet chuckle as she listened to Sloane's attempts to teach Ellie to properly wield a bow. The gas station was ransacked and a mess but Tess saw worth in searching through it anyway. Ever since Sloane's pregnancy was exposed, Tess had been picking up little things here and there: vitamins, tiny socks, baggier clothes to accommodate Sloane's growing belly, and so on. She hunted for antibiotics wherever she could or any stronger medicines to treat her leg and battle the infection──anything that would get Sloane to the compound at the least. The redhead may have been getting worse, but maybe all of this was slowing it down some. Tess can't just do nothing and hope for the best.

They were nearing Ashton's compound, perhaps a few hour walk. To get there they needed to cross the river.

See, they didn't have the best history with rivers.

Tess sat back on her heels and pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes with a sigh. Even now after she found Sloane she couldn't shake the image of her falling into that Clicker-infested river. All the ways that went over the river usually sported the rogues that expected payment for passage─or simply tricked innocent passersby into helping them, in order to ambush and loot (a type of crowd Tess used to run with, so she knew how they ticked). Their safest bet was somehow crossing the river. Granted they even find a clear area to cross. She ran her fingers through her hair, frustrated. Time wasn't on their side to go slow and steady.

Ellie's impatient yips pulled Tess from the weight of her thoughts. She tossed the bindings and pill bottles she found into her bag, in addition to a matchbox and another bottle of prenatals and antacids. Shit that Ashton would get for her a few years back. Then with a sigh, she hung her flannel around the strap of her military bag and made her way back out to them.

It hurt to look at Sloane. While the infection did little to dampen the woman's fire, her body betrayed that she was on the verge of physically breaking. None of them were hopeful that this compound was safe at all, and that low morale made Tess wonder if it was even worth dragging them out this way. After all, it'd been a little over a year since she last even came this way. Who knows if Ashton and the rest of them succeeded in building their own little compound.

A flock of crows suddenly took to the skies on the other side of the meager town. Tess' gaze hardened as she looked in that direction to see what could have caused the disturbance. It was quiet, and there was no distinct clicks that may indicate infected but...Tess didn't like this. She thought back to what Sloane said about Jonathan. A hand went to pull her gun from its holster.

"Lets keep moving. We're almost there. Just have a river to get across."

Ellie's eyes widened.

Tess frowned. "What is it?"

"I can't swim."

"We shouldn't have to. Worst comes to worst just grab onto me."

It didn't seem like her words reassured Ellie that much.

Not wanting to linger in place for much longer, Tess led them on. Ellie stayed glued to Sloane's side the entire time.

The deafening roar of the river soon drowned out the crunch of the leaves beneath their feet. Soon as Tess saw the fall over which the water flowed she changed their course: they needed to do the bridge. The last time she came the water had been low enough that she'd been able to cross──and Ashton had been there to lead her to the compound. She didn't know if the river was calmer farther downstream or up, but they didn't have the luxury to see. Initially it looked safe. But it wasn't until they started to cross that they heard them: Runners.

And Clickers.

                                                                   - SLOANE
A symphony of rot and death carried on the wind. Clicks bouned around inside of SLoane's head. Each spelled a different demise. Her head shot around, silver eyes brewing wild with her fear. Her hands flew to her waist where she drew her pistol free. She shared only one look with Ellie, before she slammed her shoulder into the girl's back and forced her into a run. Sloane turned her back on her friends, aiming outward. Sure enough, five racing shapes were vomited from the foliage surrounding them. She fired two shots at the first. It fell in a disgusting heap to the asphalt.

"Oh, shit," Ellie shrieked, scuttling back to Sloane. She clasped her arms, but Sloane shook her off in an unkind manner, shoving her chest so hard Ellie's breath was knocked from her lungs. Sloane followed up with slapping the bow and arrow into Ellie's flailing hands. She flung the girl toward Tess, giving her only two lights in the dark a withering look - and then she ran toward the clickers.

Hungry caterwauls escaped their floral mouthes. Sloane felt the wind of gnashing jowls close around the air where her neck had been only atoms prior. She took three of them with her - booking it with a clenched jaw across the barren ground they'd been crossing. Sloane reached a log, slamming chest first into it as she scrambled on top of it. Blindly, she whirled around, firing off a few shots into the mouth of the one that clutched her ankle. She gave a snarl that belonged to a wolf when the other wrapped its teeth around the heel of her boot. She wrenched it out with a pained yank, jamming her foot into its face five times before it finally fell backward and she took its life with the last bullet she had to her name.

Ellie, still with Tess, skidded to a halt. She whipped around, eyes bugging out of her head as she watched Sloane defend herself against the Clickers. She looked back at Tess, who was dealing with her own fair share. Ellie squeezed her eyes shut and dropped a curse. She strung the arrow then - aimed it at the Clicker crawling over Sloane's waist and prayed to all the fucking gods and goddesses the human brain could fester. She let go, keeping her eyes closed tight. She cracked one open only after she heard a body hit the floor. She looked up to find Sloane staring at her with the most pissed off expression she'd ever seen the woman make. She flung both of her arms out to the side. Ellie smiled and gave a breathless chuckle. Sloane slid from the dumpster, rejoining them. She leaned over, clasping her knees with her rattling rasps, her knuckles digging into her skin as she fought to catch her breath. She watched from where she stood as Tess finished off her problems, too.

"Well," Ellie said, shouldering her bow with a smirk. "That wasn't so bad, I guess."

"Don't get used to it," Sloane snapped, pointing a finger at her nose. "You're not fucking keeping it."

"Wanna bet." It wasn't a question.

"Listen to you little fuck, I will-"

A disturbing sound interrupted them; it was ghastly, guttural, unnatural. They'd heard it once before, not too long ago. All three of them froze there in the middle of the street, rooted where they stood. Ellie's hand slowly reached to clasp at the quiver Sloane made her carry, but her hand only closed over air. She'd used all her arrows. The trees began to rattle, spewing dying leaves in the incomer's wake. Ellie flinched when the sound grew louder and the ground quaked like something had cracked it. The breeze tickled their hair: and that's when they smelled it.

A bloater.

"Run," Sloane demanded of them both, turning Ellie around on her heels. Ellie didn't have the courage to argue with Sloane as she usually did. She took off along the bank, fighting big stones and tripping over soaked roots and plants. They barreled along the river with the humongous footsteps practically slamming right through their bodies as they went. They have forced up an incline and they pushed through a cluster of brush. There, both of them coming to a clumsy stop on a ledge faced a rickety, broken bridge.

"That doesn't look safe!" Ellie wailed.

Sloane looked down at the raging river. If they fell- shit, the rocks would kill them quicker than the fucking water would. The bloater released an angry outcry that had her leaping into action. She threw Tess forward with an elbow, ushering her onto the wobbling planks. She held Ellie's arm - waiting until she made it across before she sent Ellie after her. Ellie moved far slower, her hands twisting in the empty air every time the rotting wood tried to cave under her weight. Sloane held her breath as the last few spaces fell underneath her. Ellie gave a yelp as she jumped, her feet nearly missing the ledge. Tess grabbed onto her with both hands and pulled her up to a steady spot.

Great, that actually worked. Now I have to do it. Sloane thought to herself.

She started on the bridge, sucking in a hiss when the board creaked under her weight. She held both hands out to her sides, clutching the splinter-filled rails with a death grip. She took a few steps, withdrawing her foot with a yank when her heel plunged a hole in one of the boards. She'd just made it over the broken plank when the bloater found its way up to them. Sloane whirled around, staring at the monster with horror plastered over her face. They had little to jack shit ammunition. Fighting it with fists was not an option. It would kill them all.

If she didn't do something about it.

Sloane threw a look at Ellie and Tess, her expression relaxing into a meager smile. Her last peace offering. Then, she turned around, removing her baseball bat from the spot it earned in her backpack and heaved it over her head. She slammed it down on the boards, chipping it away until it began to fall apart piece by piece. Outraged, the bloater tried to rush Sloane, creating an earthquake of chaos in its wake. The entire bridge's support gave a protestant snap, taking the first half of the bridge sideways. The platform shifted with a ferocious buck, sending Sloane skidding across the broken surface. She grabbed onto a breaking beam, her legs kicking and flailing in an atmosphere that offered no ground.

"Sloane!" Ellie cried, trying to race forward to help - the planks in front of her broke, splintered into a thousand little pieces. Mouth agape, Ellie met Sloane's fearful eyes. She could say all the shit she wanted - but it was very clear in that moment to Ellie that Sloane was, in fact, scared to die. Springing an idea, Ellie tore out her bow and raced to the ledge, where she tried to hold it out to Sloane. "Grab on, Slo!" She wailed over the sound of the breaking wood. "Come on! Reach!"

Sloane looked at Ellie with a solemn face. She gave a single shape of her head. "Sorry kid," she told her. "Short girls don't have long arms."

The bridge collapsed in the blink of an eye. Ellie didn't see her fall - but she watched the water swallow her up. She wasn't aware that she was screaming until Tess had her hands over her mouth and had pulled her into her chest to craddle her. Ellie shoved Tess away - unwilling to waste time on comfort. She raced down the ledge, ignoring any and all outcries Tess released.

They searched the river for four hours - back and forth over the same damn spots. They found the bloater well down stream, caught up on a spew of rocks that had beat it to death over and over. Ellie wondered if Sloane had been smashed beneath them, too, or if she'd drowned well before that. As the moon ascended for its faithful watch over the Earth, they ascended the hills in loud silence. Neither had the energy to speak to one another; Ellie hadn't the capability to make her body cease its useless shaking. They'd thought her dead once before (Tess had) - maybe this was the same case. Maybe they'd see her again. She was good at making last second appearances.

When they were standing in front of the safe zone's gates those chances demeneased from pretty unlikely to totally hopeless. Ellie ducked her head, refusing to the meet the eyes of the glaring people around them as they trudged inside, tired and wary.They were given soup, blankets, and a few other things Ellie couldn't give a solid fuck about. They were huddled in a corner together, shadows from a fire cast over them as they picked at their overwatered food with dull eyes.

"What's the fucking point," Ellie suddenly snapped. "What's the fucking point of being here if we don't have Sloane." Her voice broke when she said it. She scrunched her face. There was no time to reply before someone shouted.

"Yo!" A chick barked from the entrance of the warehouse they sat in. She was waving her hands madly. "Patrol found a stray. She's got blood everywhere! Someone get Sam, pretty sure she was drowned or some shit. I think she's dying!"

Ellie jumped to her feet, spilling her soup all over the floor.

Sloane!

---

It happened again. The same exact way that it did near a decade ago. A roaring river, Infected on their heels, Tess ahead of Sloane, and then the redhead just...gone. It all played right before her eyes, once again, like a cruel reenactment. Tess didn't know when the shaking started, but it spread from her gut to the rest of her limbs, and it did not stop. Her throat was scraped raw from yelling Sloane's name when they frantically searched for hours, and even when her knees threatened to buckle underneath her, Tess didn't want to stop searching. Even now, within the safety of the towering walls of the compound, she wanted to run back down that hill down to the riverbank and continue searching. Fuck the Fireflies. Fuck a potentially hopeless cure. She couldn't lose Sloane again.

Tess couldn't even pay attention to the people that let them in, but knew that Ashton wasn't one of them. His arms would have been the first to greet her if he was. She'd murmured a quiet thanks to the girl that offered them food, blankets, and a fresh change of clothes. The two of them then sat beside the fire, soups in their laps, but no appetite to eat. Tess' chest felt as though it were made of stone, so heavy it was effort to drag a breath through her lips. Neither of them spoke to the other.

All of a sudden, Ellie snapped, and her words tore at Tess' already ripped edges. Sickness churned in her stomach. "Ellie." The way she said it gave the notion to drop it. Tears brimmed in the adolescent's eyes, but Tess' own held pain. This was the second time that Tess lost Sloane. Second. Even now she tore at herself for letting her fall in that river the first time, and the second...fuck, if Tess hadn't dragged them out here then maybe it could have been avoided. But then Sloane's leg would have killed her anyhow even if they had gone straight for Colorado.The weight of guilt was overbearing, threatening to bring Tess down to her knees on which she tried to hold the burden of the world on her shoulders. Point was she felt like shit, and Ellie continuously cutting into her, whether intentional or not, was pouring salt over the wound guilt already inflicted.

But then came the shouts. That they'd found someone. Someone who potentially drowned. Ellie dropped her soup.

Tess was already running.

A familiar flash of red hair confirmed it was her. "Sloane. Sloane! Oh, fuck," Tess' words cracked as she reached them. Sloane's skin was paler than ice and her lips were tinged blue. There was blood everywhere.

"Someone get Sam, now!" Ashton's voice startled her. She realized he was the one carrying Sloane.

"I don't think she's breathing. We need to get her inside," Tess moved to help him carry Sloane. Her clothes were still damp, meaning they must have found her farther down the river. "And if Sam doesn't get here soon, I'm going to have his fucking head."

They carried Sloane to where Sam had his infirmary. So many scrapes and cuts decorated the woman's skin that it was painted red. Ashton was saying something, but she couldn't hear him. She leaned her ear down to check if Sloane was breathing. Nothing. Her fingers felt for a pulse. Either her fingers were frozen in sheer worry or she couldn't find one. "Sloane, I swear to fucking God──where the fuck is Sam?"

"Is she alive?" Tess heard Ellie's small voice behind her. She turned her head and saw those eyes pleading for a good answer. One that Tess did not have. "We'll do everything we can, kid. Ashton answered for her. She gave him a look of thanks.

Sam joined them minutes later. Tess had started compressions on Sloane's chest, trying to get the woman to breathe. Initially he was shocked to see that it was Sloane, but Tess' snapped him right to work. "Tell me what you need me to do." Tess was no medic by any means. Super glue a gash shut or do some crude sutures with a fish hook and thread, but that was it. Sam knew more about this shit, so she would rather follow his lead. Sloane was holding on my a thin thread as is, and Tess was not going to risk fucking this up.

No comment was made on Sloane's pregnant belly. Sam already knew, so there was no point in pointing it out. He had her continue as she was until at long last those blue eyes did crack open the barest bit, the relief about washed the weight from her chest. Sam by then moved his attention to Sloane's leg, while Tess tried to fight the bottle of emotions and relief that threatened to burst from her chest. "You fucking idiot," she only managed a whisper, the barest relief tugging at one corner of her lip. Her hands cradled Sloane's face, fingertips brushing damp locks away from the woman's eyes.

Sloane was not out of the woods yet, however. As soon as Sam dealt with Sloane's leg to the best of his ability and situated them in a flat of their own for their stay, he explained to Tess that the redhead's leg was in shit shape. No shit. The wound was going to kill her if it didn't start to improve soon. A fact that Tess had hanging over her head ever since the day she laid eyes on it. The wound never as given proper time to heal and close, and it was taking its toll on Sloane. And with the damage now from the river and nearly drowning...it was a miracle Sloane was even alive. He said that once she was up he would come back to check up on the tiny human in Sloane's belly. But for now he would leave all three of them to rest. Neither Tess nor Ellie slept since they lost Sloane at the river.

Ellie was curled up on the loveseat on the opposite side of the room, but Tess refused to leave Sloane's bedside. She only took a cushion to sit on and rested her head atop the edge of the mattress. Her hand held onto Sloane's, as a physical reassurance that she was truly there, alive, and not lost again, soothing her lingering ripples of worry enough that she was able to close her eyes.

A pained groan was what stirred Tess from sleep however many hours later. The brunette opened her eyes and found Sloane's blinking away slowly, grimacing from the aches in her bones. Tess sat up a bit, enough that she was able to look at her. Their eyes met. She swallowed thickly, "Don't do that to me again.

                                                                   - SLOANE
She could hear her, through the fog of it all. People were yelling, infected were snarling - and yet all Sloane really cared about was the sweet sound of someone's whispers in the back of her head. She'd stopped fighting the river. Rocks, water, zombie, or worse didn't pry a single twitch from her. This was how it was going to end - and somehow? She was alright with it. When she splintered the rough surface of that water it was Tess' voice saying her name that she took with her. A rock found its way to the middle of her back. It tore a soundless scream from her lips and the world was no more.

Sloane wasn't sure who the man that found her was. He had coarse hands and a very loud, painful voice. It took three people to lift her ass from the sodden shore of the river. She had the smallest notion to threaten them, but her body didn't seem to be connected to the rest of her mind. Rather than listen to their eager shouts and worry over the hands that held her, Sloane continued to picture her sun-kissed face. Tess. She'd made it out of the situation alive; that is the only thing that mattered.

Time was of no matter to her. She caught brief brushes of fingers over her skin. Voices that were familiar to her pried through the blackness, but she could not place a name to the sounds. Not until she heard her - Tess. Sloane tried to move against the concrete holding her still, but nothing would work. Nothing she did to free herself resulted in the breaking of invisible chains. One of the strangers shouted a familiar name. Sam. She knew a Sam; but he'd been lost to the wave of endless blood years ago. Before their mother died - he'd ran off, unappreciative of the life the kind, frail woman tried so desperately to give her children. Sloane wondered if he ever regreted his decision to leave them. Probably not.

Much later, the world bundled together all at once. The bark of a dog pierced the veil - making Sloane start with a half-withered gasp. She hadn't the time to recollect herself before Tess' demand reached her ears. She tried to turn her head but winced, whining when a bolt of pain shot up her back. Her nails clenched into the cot she laid on, piercing the fabric as she road the onslaught. She fought for her freedom - but a new voice came to their sides before she had the chance to gather herself.

"So who should I yell at? You for being a fucking moron, or Tess for letting you fall off of a fucking bridge?" Sloane's eyes shot open, her attention rolling to behind Ellie and Tess - Sam. Her brother. Sloane's face paled faster than either of her friends had ever seen. Sam slammed the control to some sort of ultrasound machine on the cart it rolled on before he marched to their sides, his eyes zeroing in on his sister. His hair was a shade darker than his younger sibling's, but his eyes were the same bright shade of grey. They were alive with a different kind of fire - far crueler than Sloane's.

"Sammy?" Sloane warbled, reaching out a quivering hand. Sam backhanded it from the air. Sloane flinched back into her pillows with a wince.

"Are you insane?" Sam yelled. His voice held power - like thunder. "You trapse across the country - while pregnant, dear fucking god - in the middle of infected neighborhoods? I knew you were a fucking idiot but never did I think you'd digress to a toddler's logic." He whirled on Tess, face red. "And you! What the hell is this? Meet the Fosters? You can't safely bring a child into this world. What is wrong with you?!" He pointed at Ellie. "And I swear to all Christ if you're my niece, I'm gonna-"

"Fuck the hell off pal," Ellie immediately snapped, shooting to her feet. She shoved her hands into his chest. "You leave her alone. She's been through enough!"

"Oh, aren't we a brave little german shepherd dog," Sam scoffed. "Whoa, for a second there I thought I was playing Fallout 4." He took a threatening steo closer. Ellie stepped back. "Listen here, kid-"

A heavy boot slammed into the back of his head. He spun on the thrower - Sloane, now sitting up with heaving shoulders and raspy, blood-coated breaths.

"Don't. Fucking-" She coughed, leaning over to clutch herself. "Yell at her."

Sam flung his hands to the sky and let them drop to his sides. "Y'all got me fucked up." Turning to Tess, "I want a word outside with you. Minus the kid and Sloane."

---

She was seething, Sam's thunderous words continued to echo in her head. Whether he was shaming Sloane for being pregnant in the middle of the apocalypse or Tess for having her own little on, she wasn't entirely sure, but either case made her blood boil. So when he said he wanted to have a word with her outside, her eyes may as well have burrowed holes into his skull. Jaw set, she nodded and followed him out the door. Before it was shut, Tess watched Ellie slink over to Sloane's bedside. Whatever the adolescent said, however, was lost with the click of the door. She and Sam stood alone.

"Just. Fucking explain what the fuck is going on." His lip curled as he growled. There was no mistaking he was Sloane's brother. "What happened to her? Aside from you almost getting her killed." He jerked his chin towards Sloane's room. "And what the fuck is with the kid? She yours, too?"

Tess' eyes became icy. When she spoke, her words came in a hiss, "If it wasn't for me, she would already be fucking dead. Thought she was for years until we ran into one another few weeks back. She got into some trouble with a group of men. One of them decided to keep her locked up. The rest I'm sure you can guess." As she said this, something in Sam's eyes softened, but a new fire seemed to burn in them. The one that never burnt out in Tess ever since she heard what those motherfuckers did to Sloane. "Her leg was getting worse. She was six months along. I have to get to Colorado, but there was no way she would make it there. And I couldn't just leave her. So I thought I would bring her here. This is the safest place I know. Otherwise we'd be constantly on the run. The fucker that did this to her might even be on our trail, I don't fucking know...But I want her to be safe, Sam. So, fucking forgive me that she almost died over that river because bringing her here probably is her only chance."

Sam ground his teeth but nodded. His anger from sooner was slowly waning. "Why Colorado? Thought your business was only around Boston."

Tess sighed, crossing her arms. "Usually, yes. This time I needed to smuggle something else out of the quarantine zone. The original meeting point was deserted, and all leads from there pointed to Colorado."

"The kid?" She nodded. He knit his brows. "What's so fucking important about her?"

"You might think it's bullshit, but she's immune," almost immediately he snorted. "Before she was brought to me, she was bitten. The bite was three weeks old. She didn't turn. You can see the mark on her arm yourself." She gestured to the door. "I'm supposed to deliver her to Colorado where they apparently have some sort of lab where they're working on a cure. A vaccine. Ellie might just be the key."

Sam didn't appear too convinced, but he bit. Silence settled for a few seconds before he spoke up again, "We might have to take her leg."

"You and I both know she won't want that."

"I know."

Tess ran a hand over her face and threaded her fingers through her hair. She knew they might not have a choice when it came to Sloane's leg, especially if it still refused to mend. Now that they were within the walls of this compound and had a decent sized group to fend off Jonathan if he chose to pursue them. They were all armed with guns and Tess was sure they had a few extra to spare. Even a wider arsenal. The walls themselves were near impenetrable, and people were on watch at all times. They grew some of their own crops, hunted as needed, and so on. Last time she was here they were trying to get the plant running. They probably succeeded. The most important part was that they now had a doctor. An actual doctor. Somewhere to stay in place. Those were precisely what Sloane needed now.

"Are we done?" she asked him.

He waved his hand. Dismissed himself and said he would be right back. That he had to do an ultrasound to check on the baby. Tess nodded. Then they parted ways for now.

With that, Tess opened the door and walked back in. Ellie looked up at her, beaming with relief. Sloane was alive, but looked as though she didn't want to be. "Suppose it'd be stupid for me to ask how you're feeling." The redhead snarked a weak reply that tugged the corner of her lip into the subtlest smile. With a gentle hand, she brushed Sloane's locks from her face before frowning. "If you hadn't nearly died, I'd strangle you myself. What the fuck were you thinking, Sloane? Tackling not one, but two Clickers?" She shook her head. "You're an idiot. You know that?"

"At least she's not a dick like Sam," grumbled Ellie beside them.

Tess' mouth twitched with amusement. "No, she's still a dick. Just not as much as he is."

And that was the first laugh they shared since the river.

A few minutes later there was a few pairs of footsteps headed their way, with the patter of two smaller feet. The door opened again, and Ashton poked his head through. His eyes immediately found Tess and he smiled, "Tess. Got someone here to see you." Then he stepped into the room, and holding onto his hand was a little girl of about seven, with sun-kissed skin and wavy locks. Almost a smaller replica of Tess.

In that moment, Tess forgot how to breathe.

"Mommy!"

Tess wordlessly knelt down as the tiniest arms locked around her neck. Her daughter was so much bigger than she last remembered. The way that she clung to Tess' neck was almost as though the girl feared this was a dream. Her chest squeezed. "Hey, Monkey," Tess breathed. She realized her eyes were brimming. She spent more time away from her daughter than she did with her, but that did not mean she loved her any less. And every time that they were reunited, her heart swelled so much it threatened to burst in her chest.

Sniffing, Tess pulled Angel's arms from her neck and held her small hands, looking her over. God, she'd grown. Even after just a year. It was much worse when Angel was just a toddler...but still. Her lips curled into a smile. "You've grown so much. How old will you be now?"

Angel grinned, "Seven!"

"Seven," echoed Tess in a murmur. She pulled Angel back into her arms and hugged her tightly once more. "I've missed you so much, love. So, so much."

"I missed you, too, Mommy."

"Uhhh," Ellie was gaping at Tess and the little girl, looking at Sloane.

It then dawned on Tess she never told them. Slowly, she pulled herself from Angel's arms and turned herself a bit to face Ellie and Sloane. "Um, Angel. This is your Aunty Sloane, and this is Ellie." Tess gave them both a look that said, I'll explain later.

"Hi!" chirped Angel.

Ellie struggled to find her words, still trying to process the fact that Tess had a kid. Sloane was pregnant, but Tess was already a mother. "Nnnice to meet you."

Ashton cocked a brow at Tess, to which she responded with a glare. Don't. He immediately lifted his hands up. Clearing his throat, he looked to Sloane. "You definitely look better than when we found you at the river last night," he commented. "Sam should be back in a second. Food's made over at the mess, if you and Ellie want to grab some, Tess. Bring some back for Sloane."

"We'll meet you there," Tess told him. She pressed her lips to Angel's forehead then offered a smile, "Go grab something to eat with Daddy, okay?" Angel pouted, but Tess quickly added, "I'll be there soon, I promise." The child held up her pinkie, "Pinkie swear?" Tess chuckled and wrapped her pinkie finger with Angel's, tapping her on the nose. "Promise. Now run along."

Ashton hoisted Angel up into his arms and gave Ellie and Sloane a wave before he walked out.