𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐎 (𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐔𝐒) *editing*

𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐬🌞

"See that silver lining? Just stay low and you'll be fine."

There was another tripwire to avoid. Maeve lost count on how many tripwires they had to step over or duck under. They only traveled a short while, maneuvering through the maze of back alleys andclosed-offf buildings.

It had only been half an hour, but to Maeve, it seemed like a whole day. Other than that Clicker, they hadn't run into any infected. Yet.

She hoped they got to Bill with the extra turbulence.

"Now listen," Joel began after ducking under the wire. "Bill ain't exactly the most stable of individuals. So, when we get there, you let me do the talkin'. You understand?"

Maeve and Ellie glanced at each other. "We understand."

"We gotta be clear on this," the older man continued. "He...he don't take kindly to strangers."

"We get it."

"Bill's a good guy," This TJ took the stand. "He definitely needs time warming up to you."

Maeve adjusted her bag's straps. "Damn, this guy sounds like he needs a hug."

"I mean, you can try."

They came to another small alley, with a chain-link gate and another trailer blocking off a clear exit. It was against the warehouse-looking building, broken metal fire escape and stairs were just above it. Maybe they could boost each other up and use that?

Bill certainly made it difficult for outsiders and infected, didn't he? The auburn-haired girl laughed to herself.

She recalled when Joel said Bill lived in Lincoln alone. Is that he booby-trapped every nook and cranny of this place? Seemed to her, this was far beyond paranoia. There was bomb after bomb, they were hidden in plain sight too.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Maeve squeaked and flinched at the violent pounding of flesh on metal. A door from the building beside them jostled abruptly before a heaving growl escaped from behind it. And heavy footsteps ran up what sounded like stairs.

"You hear that?" The guys pulled their guns out.

"Yeah." Joel etched closer to the door.

"Oh shit," Ellie muttered, looking at the man incredulously. "You're gonna go in there?"

"It'll be fine," the metal swung open easily, Joel kept his gun at the ready. "We should see what we can find."

"You're gonna find my body when I die of a heart attack." Ellie responded sassily.

"Don't worry, I got this."

He sounded smug as he crept up the stairs. It didn't seem like much, but did lead to a small apartment.

Maeve pulled her switchblade out, just in case the infected decided to Jack-in-the-box them. She never knew when they would appear. It may have unintentional, or it could be, but the infected seemed to love to jump scare non-infected. She gripped the handle of her blade as they entered the upstairs. Alright. Small bedroom, a living room/dining room/kitchen. Nothing seemed out of —

"RAH!" A floppy body raced out of the tiny bathroom, on the other side of the apartment. It bared its teeth and lunged for the group.

Joel, quick-thinking and cool-head, dodged its flailing arms and snapping jaw, and easily threw it off guard. He arms linked around its neck, swiftly shoving to the ground when it landed on its back. It yelled out at Joel before he stomped on its face. The skull broke like hollow wood. Blood poured out of the broken cranium, all mushy and clumpy with brain matter, and thick, dark crimson.