𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐎 (𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐔𝐒) *editing*

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐥🥀

rewritten: January-May 2025

"What are we doing here?" Maeve voiced, trailing behind Jordan, whose stride was much wider than hers. She had to jog a bit to even keep up with him. Her sneakers made soft thuds against the tiles. Every store they passed made her uneasy, her mind racing with the fear of infected leaping out at them any moment. Sure, Riley and Ellie had snuck in a few times, but Maeve never had the courage to take that risk. The thought of defying her commander – and the very real possibility of death – loomed heavily in her mind.

"Wow, you're just as restless as Ellie," Riley teased, smirking.

Ellie's expression darkened. "Har, har. Screw you."

"Well, you can't exactly blame me," Maeve shot a look at Riley. "You two vanished, and now you're back as Fireflies, leading us through the QZ's most restricted building. Doesn't scream happy feelings."

"Walked right into that." Riley said with a wince.

"Yep."

Maeve could see the tension resonating from both Riley and Jordan. They seemed ready to dig a hole and hide in it.

While Riley's words held some truth, Maeve was determined to argue. She wasn't being impatient...well, not too much; her unease stemmed from being in the mall. It did nothing to calm her nerves, especially since they acted as if everything was perfectly fine. It frustrated her.

And she had a feeling Ellie felt the same way.

The chances of encountering an infected person in the mall was low. They could be safe now, but there was just an equal chance of infected actually being in the mall too. There could be infected nearby, there could not. The weights are balanced.

"Hey now," Jordan flashed a crooked smile at Ellie. "We're all here together, and that's what really counts."

"Whatever," she replied, brushing him off.

Speaking a few words in Spanish, Jordan moved closer, draping an arm around her shoulders before she could escape. He pulled her in against him. "It's a lovely day, well if you ignore the storm, so please don't be an aguafiestas."

Maeve winced as Ellie jabbed him in the stomach with her elbow. He'd been wearing a smug expression, but that quickly vanished as he doubled over, gripping in his belly in shock and pain.

"Ellie!"

"What I can't understand is how you can just accept this!" Ellie stepped back from Jordan, who was still hunched over.

"You weren't the only one who was hurt, Ellie." Maeve shot her a pointed look.

After what felt like a while, Riley finally spoke up, her voice breaking the heavy silence. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, glancing back and forth between them.

Jordan audibly winced as he straightened up, rubbing his tender abdomen. "It's okay, Amor, I'm alright," he said, trying to regain his composure. "I think you might've turned my outie into an innie, nina."

Maeve let out a snort and patted his shoulder. He chuckled weakly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, likely thinking she was his safest bet since Ellie clearly had some animosity toward him—at least for the moment.

Clearing his throat, he added, "We should probably go our separate ways."

"Why's that?" Maeve raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on her lips. "Not scared of Ellie, are you?"

He switched to Spanish, pretending he didn't understand English. Maeve rolled her eyes before turning her attention to Riley, who nodded in agreement.

Jordan cleared his throat, saying again, "We should part ways."