Ellie sat cross-legged on the floor, her fingers carefully flipping through the pages of a Savage Starlight comic, eyes wide with excitement. The soft morning light filtered through the shattered windows, illuminating the glossy cover in her lap—its edges slightly worn but still in surprisingly good condition.

  “Dude,” she breathed, grinning as she turned the page. “You basically have every issue of Savage Starlight. I haven’t seen like half these before!”

  James sat a few feet away, leaning back against a crate, smirking at her reaction. He hadn’t been able to get a good look at her last night due to the dim lighting, but now that the sun was up, he could see her just fine.

  She looks exactly like she did in the video game, he thought. A cute, if somewhat plain-looking girl, with freckles dotting her face.

  James shook off the thought and refocused back on the conversation. “Yeah? Well, welcome to the Apocalypse Archives.” He gestured lazily toward a small pile of comics stacked neatly in a box near his sleeping bag. “I’ve been hoarding these since I got here.” he said, proud to finally have someone to show off his collection to.

  Then, muttering under his breath, “Too bad I’m gonna have to ditch them when leaving.”

  Ellie shook her head in disbelief, flipping to another page. “Okay, but where the hell did you even find all of them? I swear, every place I checked was already picked clean.”

  James chuckled, stretching his arms behind his head. “You have to know where to look.” He shot her a smug look. “Downtown bookstores, old comic shops—hell, even a couple of gas stations still had some. Everyone looted food and weapons, but no one gave a shit about comics.”

  Ellie scoffed, shaking her head. “Idiots.” She glanced up at him, her eyes flashing in annoyance, “Joel doesn’t let me search for comics, he says ‘they are a waste of time’” she said, mimicking Joel's voice.

  James laughed at her impression, “Well, if we get out of this alive I’ll show you how to find the good spots.” he said.

  Ellie grinned at him excitedly, “Really!? You have to promise me!” She exclaimed, pointing at him.

  James held up his pinky, “Pinky promise” he said, causing Ellie to smile happily and cross her pinky with his.

  Once she put her hand down she stared at the comic in her lap happily, “I can already picture it—an untouched comic shop.” She said, stars in her eyes.

  James smirked. “We might have to fight some infected to get there, you willing to risk your life for a good read?”

  Ellie glanced up at him, completely serious. “Absolutely.”

  James laughed, shaking his head. “I respect it.”

  The mood in the room was noticeably lighter. After a solid night’s sleep, James felt a thousand times better. His nerves weren’t as frayed, and his muscles, while sore, were at least usable now. After the whole "We’ll kill you if you try anything" speech, they had at least managed to rest, and now morning had arrived—though it wasn’t exactly peaceful.

  Outside, the infected were still pounding and screaming at the base of the building, their grotesque moans and guttural snarls a constant reminder that their situation hadn’t changed.

  The golden morning light cast long shadows across the room, making the dust in the air glow softly as it drifted through the still air. Somewhere in the distance, the sound of a collapsing structure echoed faintly—another building, crumbling under the weight of time.

  A low grunt from the other side of the room made both of them turn their heads.

  Joel had been sitting against the wall, silent for the past hour, lost in his own thoughts.

  Finally, he broke the silence.

  "You know the city well?" Joel’s voice was even, but there was an edge to it—calculated, probing.

  James blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question, but nodded. "Yeah. Been going on scavenging runs every day for the past two months. Why?"

  Joel’s eyes flickered toward Ellie, then back to James. "Because waiting it out ain’t an option. We don’t have enough food or water to last long. If we’re gonna get out of this, we need a plan."

  James exhaled sharply, running a hand through his messy brown hair. "Yeah… I might have something."

  Joel raised an eyebrow. "Let’s hear it."

  James pushed himself to his feet, brushing the dust off his pants. "Not gonna explain it here. Easier if I show you. Follow me."

  Joel’s jaw tightened. He didn’t like the idea of following this kid anywhere, especially when they were still trapped in a building with a horde outside.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Ellie, however, was already standing. "Well, alright, let’s go then."

  James walked over to the elevator shaft, peering down into the darkness below. "We’re taking the express route."

  Joel and Ellie exchanged a glance—they had climbed this thing before so they weren’t too worried. Still, the idea of heading down into unknown territory wasn’t exactly comforting.

  Joel gave the ladder a firm shake just to be sure it wouldn’t collapse, then nodded. "Alright. Let’s move."

  Without hesitation, he gripped the rungs and started descending, his movements steady and deliberate.

  Ellie sighed. "God, I hate doing this in the dark." Still, she followed, her hands firm on the cold metal as she descended into the void below.

  James went last, effortlessly sliding down the rails, landing with a quiet thud like he’d done it a thousand times before.

  After descending about four floors, James told Joel to get off here. After Joel and Ellie stepped onto the new storey the boy hopped off the ladder and motioned them to follow. He led them through a dusty, abandoned hallway, the air thick with the scent of mildew and rot. They stepped over scattered debris, moving carefully to avoid making too much noise.

  James stopped in front of a large wall-mounted map, the glass covering it cracked but still mostly intact. He wiped a layer of dust away with his sleeve and tapped a section near the base of the tower.

  "See this?" he said, pointing to a network of tunnels marked beneath the structure. "This building used to have maintenance tunnels that run underneath it. Those tunnels lead straight into the sewer system, and the sewers run all over the damn city."

  Joel leaned in, studying the map closely. "You’re sure they still exist?"

  James scoffed. "I live here. Trust me, they’re there. I just never had a reason to use them before now."

  Ellie’s face scrunched up. "Ugh. The sewers? Really?"

  James shrugged. "Hey, you wanna take the scenic route through the horde outside, be my guest."

  Ellie frowned but didn’t comment.

  Joel tapped his fingers against the map. "One problem–the bottom of this building is full of infected."

  James nodded. "Yeah. Luckily, the outside’s boarded up tight. Horde can’t get in. But everything that was already inside? Yeah… that’s our problem."

  Joel exhaled sharply, running a hand down his face. "How bad we talkin’?"

  James tilted his head, thinking. "Definitely some Runners, a couple Clickers… might be a Bloater, but I can’t say for sure."

  Ellie frowned. "You might have a Bloater? How do you not know?!"

  James shrugged. "Look, I don’t hang out down there, okay? I hear shit moving, and I steer clear."

  Joel took a step back from the map, his mind already turning over the options. They couldn’t wait out the horde. They couldn’t go through the streets. The tunnels were their best shot—but first, they had to get past whatever was lurking below.

  He let out a slow breath. "Alright." He said, staring at the map with calculating eyes, “I have a plan.”

  .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

  With the distant sounds of the horde outside and the eerie silence within the building, Joel, Ellie, and James wasted no time gathering their supplies. Every bag was filled to the brim with the most vital supplies—ammo, food, medical supplies, and whatever gear they could carry. Anything too heavy or unnecessary was left behind—speed mattered more than comfort.

  They moved to the elevator shaft, peering down into the abyss. Most of the floor elevator doors were closed, including the ones leading to the bottom three floors, meaning they had no choice but to exit at the fourth story and make their way down the hard way.

  After a bit of grumbling from Ellie they climbed out of the elevator shaft one by one, stepping cautiously into the dimly lit fourth floor hallway.

  The air was heavy, pressing down on them like a physical weight. The silence in the room made James grin involuntarily—it was the kind of tension that sent a thrill through his veins.

  They moved with precision, their bodies low, knives and melee weapons gripped tightly, determined to be as silent as possible.

  The hallway was tight, lined with half-open doors, their insides swallowed by shadows. The ceiling tiles had caved in places, their remnants strewn across the ground in a chaotic mess. Occasionally, their boots crunched over broken glass, forcing them to freeze, holding their breath until they were sure nothing had heard them.

  Joel took point, his hunting knife sliding effortlessly into the skull of a lone Runner. His other hand caught the collapsing body before it could thud against the ground. He motioned forward, signaling Ellie and James to keep moving.

  James’ heartbeat picked up.

  It was one thing to play as Joel in a video game, to single-handedly take down hundreds of infected. But seeing someone that skilled in real life?

  It was awesome.

  His admiration was short-lived.

  Click Click Click

  A low, guttural clicking echoed through the hallway.

  James tensed, his breath catching in his throat.

  Up ahead, in the center of the corridor, stood one Clicker and two Runners.

  A bead of sweat rolled down James’ forehead.

  They were standing in an intersection, where one hallway branched into another. To the left, a waiting area had been overturned, a pile of rotted chairs and broken vending machines acting as a natural barricade. The emergency exit sign above it flickered weakly, buzzing every few seconds as if trying to cling to life.

  Joel met their eyes, calm and calculated.

  The older man made hand gestures that James roughly understood—‘I’ll take the Clicker, Ellie takes the Runner on the left, James takes the one on the right.’

  James nodded firmly, tightening his grip on his knife.

  His heart pounded, the familiar rush of adrenaline surging through him.

  They moved as one, slow and deliberate, creeping through the debris.

  The Runner in front of him twitched violently, its body jerking in short, sporadic movements.

  James’ peripheral vision caught Joel moving first—a blur of brutal efficiency as his knife sank into the Clicker’s throat before it could even react.

  Ellie moved next, her blade slicing into her Runner’s neck, suffocating its scream as it collapsed.

  James barely had time to process before his own Runner reacted.

  The infected’s head snapped toward him, its body jerking upright as if it could sense something was wrong.

  James lunged forward, his knife plunging into the side of its neck.

  The Runner spasmed violently, a guttural snarl escaping its throat as it thrashed in pain.

  James felt its hands claw at his jacket, fingers digging into his arms, but finding no purchase thanks to the magazines James has strapped to his body. Its body shook uncontrollably.

  With gritted teeth, James pushed it down, forcing the infected onto its back and pinning it with his knee.

  Its mouth snapped at the air, a choking growl escaping its lips as its hands grasped wildly.

  He stabbed again—

  And again.

  And again.

  Finally, the body went still.

  Currency: 6 (+1)

  James exhaled heavily, grinning like a maniac. His hands trembled from the rush of adrenaline and he tried to calm himself, aware of the wary look Joel was sending him.

  Shaking off the tension, James wiped his knife clean, then continued following Joel and Ellie through the dim, dilapidated corridors.

  Fortunately, that was the last of the infected on the fourth floor, and they quickly made their way down to the stairwell without trouble.

  The stairwell was dark and narrow, metal railings rusted with years of neglect.

  They passed the third floor, briefly scouting through the dust-covered window of the door. Nothing moved inside, so they kept descending.

  Then, they hit a problem.

  The stairwell to the first floor was completely collapsed—chunks of concrete, rusted pipes, and shattered railings blocking the way down.

  James cursed under his breath.

  Joel didn’t speak, but they all knew what had to be done.

  They had one choice—go through the second floor.