𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐎 (𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐔𝐒) *editing*

𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥🌷

*An extra long chapter because yes.*

"Is that a bloater?"

Unlike earlier, where she offered her archery skills, she wasn't ready to try and take down a bloater again. Clickers and runners were easy, sure, but a bloater wouldn't be so easy to take down. Her arms hurt seeing it wobble around mindlessly.

"Two, actually," TJ carefully peered around the pickup they used for cover. At first, she didn't see the second one until the first one moved away. It was stood up but slouched a bit. It was weird to see a bloater rest like the runners did.

"There's a lot of them..." Ellie murmured, scanning the darkened tunnel.

"Okay, uh..." Joel wiped his mouth, carefully observing their surroundings, flicking his flashlight on to get a better view of the tunnel. "How many of those arrows do you have?"

"Not enough." Maeve answered solidly, tearing her focus away from the two bloaters.

"I'm seeing an exit over there." Joel pointed toward the area with the bloaters. Behind them was a pile-up of cars and a long semi-trailer blocking the tunnel, a large square crate sat atop the flipped-over trailer. "We get there, get over, we're safe. Now, how many arrows have you got?"

"Like, three or four." She counted.

"Make every shot count, then."

She nodded and notched a bow. The runners would have to go down first, she figured, like earlier. If they're aware of them, they'll wake the damned tunnel of infected. She wasn't particularly fond of being a bloater's meal or a rag doll. Maybe sneaking was a better idea.

Carefully, they made their way through the tunnel. With her limited ammo, she calculated out scenarios and outcomes. Four measly arrows, too many infected ambling about. There was a mail truck with its doors wide open, probably abandoned during the chaos of outbreak day, but that wasn't important. As quickly and quietly as she was able, she climbed onto the hood of the truck, and then atop the back. She glanced around, having a better view of the infected below. She felt stupid, quite so; she'd overestimated the numbers of the fungal beings.

She notched an arrow, aiming for the stumbling runner. Though still targets were easier, but she supposed moving ones wasn't as much of a challenge either. She just had to aim high enough. She pulled the arrow back, making sure her arm was steady before she released the arrow.

It silently whistled through the air, glinting from the broken street further ahead, and then sunk right into the back of the runner's neck. The impact of the shot caused the infect to topple forward, falling into the puddle, creating a splash, which alerted the infected. Her heart began to race when she realized she gave them away. Okay, maybe not away-away, but the sleeping infected were now awake and heading to the dead runner's body.

The movement came from the corner of her eye. She glanced to the right, and from another truck, one like the one she was perched on, Joel readied a Molotov, lighting the alcohol-soaked cloth, creating a flickering orange light. With a swift movement, the bottle was thrown at the gathering infected. Immediately upon contact, the flames dosed them, creating a bright explosion as well. Horrible screeches and roars echoed through the tunnel.

The two bloaters remained unfazed by the fire killing the runners and clickers, zoning in on where Joel and the others were.

"Hey, uglies!" Maeve shouted, quickly notching another arrow, releasing it at the giant-bodied infected. The arrow ricocheted off the fungal plates it had, but she got what she wanted: their attention. The bloaters roared this roar that caused her eardrums to quake. She was quick on her feet when one of the bloaters shot acid spores at her.