KEY

Claire tried to keep her eyes peeled, looking out for any signs of movement in her surroundings. However, walking around the streets was certainly more unsettling than she had imagined. It felt surreal, just how much the world had changed in a matter of months. Even when completely empty, the streets didn't feel safe.

Ironically, she has having second thoughts, despite being the one who suggested and insisted on the idea. She wasn't sure why did William agree in the first place, she didn't really expect him to.

With the exception of that one horde they stumbled upon a while earlier, the surrounding streets were devoid of shamblers. That didn't mean they were safe, but William seemed to use that as justification to do something that would otherwise be outrageous for him.

[At the slightest sign of danger, we call this off and go back up, you hear?]

Those had been his words before climbing down. But what was a "sign of danger" anyway?

The surrounding buildings had a much more sinister feel from the street than they did from the rooftops. Windows. Gateways. Doors. All of them black pits of uncertainty, all of them potentially hiding the next threat they'd have to face. Claire shook her head and tried to focus on what they needed to do: finding Nora and Lilian.

From the moment they hit the ground, William had taken the lead. Claire followed him slowly but steadily down the street, as they did their best to keep a low profile and merge with the shadows cast by the buildings. Her head kept turning from side to side. Every store, every alley, every corner, they offered a new chance to spot Nora or Lilian. All indoor spaces were brimming with darkness, but still, sunlight managed to reach inside far enough to allow them to get a decent glimpse of the interior.

That area was almost exclusively a shopping district. Most of it was torn to pieces, either destroyed or salvaged so many times it was left in pretty much unrecognizable shape. It would take them an unrealistic amount of time to find anyone in such a place, unless they were standing in plain view.

'Nora… Lilian… Where have you gone…?'

Something interrupted her thoughts. Out of nowhere, William grabbed her arm, roughly pulled her behind a nearby car, and put a hand on her mouth to prevent her from screaming in response.

"Quiet…!" he whispered.

What was going on? Shamblers? He had clearly spotted something, but Claire didn't see what it was, and she didn't dare raise her voice to ask. She nodded at him, and he let go of her. She noticed how he immediately grabbed his pistol from its holster.

'You don't use guns against shamblers… Right…?'

Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard several footsteps approaching their position. Coordinate, rhythmical footsteps, not the characteristic stumbling and dragging of the shamblers. It was people.

She gulped, and stared at William. He wasn't paying attention to her, he was completely focused on the incoming danger, and most likely ready to pull the trigger if necessary.

They were talking. The distant murmur became gradually clearer as they came closer, at a surprisingly rapid pace.

"—still don't think this is a good idea, man. What the hell is Marcus thinking!?"

"Shut it, we don't get to make the decisions, do we? Besides, we only need to take a look. We shouldn't get into trouble as long as we don't stick our noses where they don't belong."

"Bah, whatever…"

They sounded like they were almost at the other side of the vehicle.

'Please, keep going, keep going…'

"But seriously, I don't care who that chick is, we should've gotten rid of her. Did you look at her in the eye? She creeps the hell out of me!"

"Keep talking like that and they'll feed your tongue to the shamblers. Come on, less chit-chat and more walking, we need to be back before nightfall!"

"Yeah, sure, it's not like—"

Eventually, their voices got lost in the distance again. Claire and William stayed still and quiet for a couple of minutes afterwards.

******

"That… didn't sound good." it was William who eventually broke the silence. "What do you think…?"

"Ah… Well…"

"Don't beat around the bush. Do you think it could be one of them?"

"Hmm… Lilian does have a tendency to stare a people in strange ways, especially if she's uncomfortable. But how can we know for sure…!?"

Indeed, there was no way to know for sure if they were talking about Nora or Lilian. For all they knew, those thugs might have been talking about some other unfortunate soul they managed to get their hands on. But for some reason, such a thing felt unlikely.

'They should've gotten rid of her…?'

Those people weren't exactly keen on sparing anyone without a good reason.

"Those guys were from the same group that attacked us." he said.

"H-Huh…!? Are you sure…!?"

"Marcus… That's their ringleader, I'm sure I've heard his name before."

"T-Then… If they captured Nora and Lilian… Oh no…"

"Hold on, let's think about this for a moment. If they captured either of them, they might want to use them as hostages, as a blackmailing tool to get what they need from us. And I suppose stumbling upon either of them out here in the middle of nowhere must be quite unexpected. They might have sent those two to check on our shelter, to figure out if something has happened…"

He pondered for a while. Claire fidgeted and started biting her nails, unable to remain calm.

"W-What do we do then…!?" she asked.

William threw a glance down the street, towards a big subway station.

'I saw them come out of the subway… I knew they were stationed somewhere nearby. I should've thought they were using the underground tunnels…'

The situation had taken a turn for the worse, and they had to do something about it. They were sitting ducks, right at the core of enemy territory. The only clue they had was uncertain at best, and it was leading them even deeper, directly into the lion's den. Should they disregard it and walk away? Should they follow it further in?

William's thoughts were strongly divided, opposing each other. Rationality or impulse? One way or another, they had to take a choice, and quickly.

…

[It's not like she's your sister after all!]

[I know how painful it is to lose a loved one.]

'Nora… I get it…'

******

"Uggggh…!! It's no use, I can't…! Too heavy…!"

"That's fine, I'll do it, just come down. Watch your step, it's a bit slippery." said William.

"A-Alright." Claire gave a shaky reply as she climbed down the manhole. "Are you really sure this is a good idea…?"

"What else do you suggest, barging in through their front door? At least the sewers should allow us to approach the subway undetected."

Actually, Claire understood the reasoning behind that choice. She was simply scared of wandering into those dark, claustrophobic corridors.

She reached the solid concrete bottom and stepped away from the ladder. William proceeded to reach up to the manhole cover and dragged it back in place, locking them in complete darkness. Then, Claire heard him climb back down and rummage in his pockets. A flash of light suddenly illuminated the entire corridor, emerging from a flashlight in William's hand.

"Here, you take this one." he said, as he handed her another one.

He grabbed a piece of chalk and marked the wall behind him, drawing an arrow pointing towards the ladder.

"Alright… We don't wanna get lost. We'll mark the left wall as we go, pointing towards the exit. I think I have a rough idea of the layout of the subway tunnels. We'll try and find our way into one of them, then we head for the station. Are we clear?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Good, let's move. And keep quiet."

…

Time really seemed to stop flowing down there. Claire followed William along the twisting passageways, but it's not like she had any other choice, many of them were so narrow they couldn't possibly fit both of them side by side. The shape of the sewer kept changing. Some sections were so narrow she felt the walls could collapse on her at any moment, other sections were so wide she couldn't reach both sides with her arms extended. Some were so tall she couldn't touch the ceiling, and some required her to crouch to pass through.

She hated it.

Those walls looked like a coffin, they gave her a feeling of being buried alive. Her limbs tingled, as if they were about to go numb if she walked further into the creeping darkness. The only things keeping her focused were the sound of their footsteps, and William's scribbling on the walls.

The corridor opened up into a bigger section of tunnel. William stepped out and took a look around for a moment.

"You good back there?" he whispered.

"S-Sure… Just… a bit anxious…"

"That's probably normal. Now, come quietly. No matter what, don't raise your voice when you see this."

'When I see… what…?'

She walked out into the open tunnel and looked at whatever William was pointing his light at. She couldn't help but gasp, but covered her mouth with her free hand to prevent any more noise from coming out.

Several shamblers. Just a couple of meters away. Staring right at them.

"Don't make any unnecessary noise. These won't be an issue, but we don't know what's further beyond."

"A-Ah… W-What…?" Claire's voice trembled, she couldn't articulate properly.

It was the first time she could observe them so closely and so clearly. But something was odd. They stared at them with hungry eyes, but their otherwise erratic and feral behavior had been reduced to nothing but some occasional twitching, along with faint wheezing and moaning. They almost looked sad.

"They become like this when they spend too much time in the dark." explained William.

"T-Too much time…?"

"Darkness seems to accelerate their movements and sharpen their instincts, but if they become stuck in darkness for a few days, they eventually start slowing down to a crawl… Don't ask me why, I have no idea how they work."

'They look… starved…?'

"Don't step too close to them. They can barely move, but they will try to grab you."

"Oh god… A-Are you sure it's safe…?"

"It wouldn't be this quiet if it wasn't. Come on, follow me closely. And don't stare at them too much…"

Claire didn't say anything else; she just scurried behind William and followed his every step. As they advanced along the passageway, zig-zagging between standing corpses, Claire couldn't prevent herself from doing exactly what William told her not to do. Loose jaws attempting to dislocate themselves in a biting motion. Hands slowly trying to grab something out of thin air, with twitchy fingers. Joints popping and cracking as they did their best effort to turn their bodies in her direction. Frustrated eyes following her every movement.

They weren't really doing any meaningful movements, but she could feel the lethargic sense of unrest all around her, like an animal slowly waking up from its slumber. The myriad of anguished wails didn't help either.

'Come on, Claire, focus… It's okay… You'll be okay…'

She gulped and tried to clear her mind for a moment. If she followed William, she should be alright. He was way more experienced than she was, or so she wanted to believe. And whatever Nora and Lilian were going through, it was most likely worse than some decrepit shamblers.

'Nora… Lilian… Please, be safe. We're coming…!'

******

The big open space of the subway tunnel felt more welcoming than William expected. At long last, they had emerged from the sewer tunnels into a cramped maintenance corridor that connected directly with the subway tracks. Besides the encounter with those languid shamblers, their walk through the sewers had been uneventful, which he considered a miracle. He did lose track of time though; he wasn't sure how long they spent wandering around those corridors.

The vastness of the main tunnels was intimidating. They were big enough that, even with the flashlight, it was difficult to see the walls on the opposite side of the tunnel. Some kind of white mist seemed to permeate the area, and mysterious noises emanated from the depths.

"Alright, the station should be in that direction… Let's go, and don't aim your flashlight forward, keep it down." he said.

"Down…?" Claire looked somewhat perplexed.

"If you aim it forward, the light beam might give away our position… Nobody would be walking around in this darkness without a light source, and I doubt they live in the dark either. If we can spot them before they spot us, we'll save ourselves a lot of trouble. Just keep the light down, enough so you can watch where you're stepping."

"Alright, I think I get it…"

"Good. Now let's move. And as always, be quiet."

They started walking in silence, accompanied by the sound of their own footsteps and the swaying of the flashlights.

…

After what felt like an eternity, William stopped. There was something ahead, he could hear it.

"Lights off…!" he whispered, as he turned off his own flashlight, with Claire doing the same thing seconds later.

He reached for his back and grabbed the combat rifle he had been carrying with him that entire time. There was no way to know what was awaiting them ahead. He'd better be ready to pull the trigger if he needed to.

"Hey, that gun of yours… Keep it at hand, would you?"

He got no answer from the girl, but he assumed she got the message. She did find it difficult to handle guns though, and he knew.

'Something tells me this isn't going to go smoothly…'

They carefully advanced towards the source of sound. Eventually, a warm orange light started filling the end of the tunnel.

'Is that the station…?'

They hugged the wall and kept getting closer. Several people were talking about something, but it was unclear what it was.

"…no point in… …anymore… …soon as we… …the better."

"…now, there's no… …rush."

They got even closer, and they stopped. They could finally see the station, and several people standing in plain view. The echo of their voices was enough to tell what the conversation was about.

"Man, I don't think you're understanding the point."

"I do, but you're just thinking of yourselves now. I simply can't leave behind my people, and moving everyone will take time. You should be well aware of this, Mr. Julien."

"Please, Mr. Marcus, do consider my advice… Now that we have the girl, we have new options available to us. And you can't feed these people forever. Not here."

'Marcus is there…!? That Marcus…!?'

William was so focused on overhearing the men ahead, that he didn't catch Claire's breathing growing heavier and more accelerated by the second. He could also hear the pistol rattling in her hands. He turned around to face her, but he couldn't see her in the darkness.

'Shit…! Why…!? For the love of God, don't make a noise…!' he wanted to verbally tell her, but he didn't dare to speak out loud, not even whispering.

He felt around until he managed to grab her arm, hoping to calm her down. What was going on? Why was she acting up like that?

Then, out of nowhere, a low mumbling noise could be heard coming from the station. Another voice? It sounded like unintelligible gibberish.

"Who's there!!?" a thundering voice resonated through the tunnel.

'Fucking hell…!! Did they hear us…!!?'

William turned around towards the station. The men had stopped talking, and one of them had taken a step towards their position, trying to make out something in the pitch black. He was holding someone right in front of him, aiming at their head with a pistol. Someone much smaller than he was.

'It's…!! That girl…!'

Lilian's eyes stared right at them, as if she could see both of them perfectly despite the lack of light. Yet William noticed she wasn't looking at him, she was looking directly at Claire instead.

"Are you sure you aren't making things up?" asked another individual.

"I'm quite familiar with this child's mannerisms. She wouldn't react like this for no reason. Whoever is out there, step out!"

"…pieces of shit…" mumbled Claire, gritting her teeth.

Before William could stop her, Claire rushed out of the tunnel and into plain view, aiming the gun at the men on the station platform. Far from her usually reserved demeanor, she looked angry. Very angry.

"You fucking bastards…!! Why!!? Why are you people alive!!? Fucking damn it…!!!" her gun bounced frantically from target to target.

'You've got to be kidding me…!! You fool!!!' William followed Claire, rifle up front.

Upon approaching the platform, he could take a better look at those people. The man holding Lilian captive looked surprisingly clean. Wearing a gray business suit, groomed short hair, not a speck of dirt on his skin… His entire appearance exuded arrogance. Was he the ringleader? No, that wasn't him. He knew for sure Marcus, who was right behind him, was the one leading the group.

Marcus' attire looked way more appropriate in comparison, the same deteriorated clothing as all the other thugs William had seen so far. His medium brown hair gave him a bit of an edgy look; but his eyes were mysterious, difficult to read. He observed the situation calmly, unfazed by the blatant display of firearms pointing right at him.

There was another guy standing closely by their side, with a smug look on his face, but William didn't recognize him.

"Ah, Miss Bauman… I guessed as much, if Lilian was here, then of course you'd be around as well." said the suited man.

"Makes you wonder if Nora is around too… Damn, I miss her…" the unknown man behind him spoke with an obviously sarcastic tone, before chuckling a little bit.

"YOU!! Don't you dare speak her name, you fucking degenerate…!! It's… It's because of you that she's…!!!" Claire's face contorted as she grinded her teeth, and tears started forming under her eyes.

"Claire!! That's enough, calm down already…!!!" William shouted in an effort to keep her under control. It was obvious those people were related to the girls in some way, but he couldn't let her emotions take hold of her. Especially when she was holding a gun.

"Mr. William, is it? Marcus told me some things about you… You seem more talented than the rest of the rabble—" the suited man continued talking, before being interrupted.

"I don't give a shit. The only thing you'll get from me is a bullet to the forehead." he replied. He wasn't exactly willing to listen to any of their nonsense. Every single person living in that entire subway station was an enemy, period.

"Down to earth, I see. Convenient. I'm guessing you understand that a stray bullet is all it takes, right?" he pressed his gun against Lilian's head, causing her severe discomfort and making her squirm a little bit. "I'd suggest you both lower your weapons."

"Don't listen to him, William!! He's just a manipulative asshole!! They won't hurt her!! They need her alive!!" shouted Claire.

"What do you mean they need her…? Why do they need her…!?"

For a couple of seconds, there was no reply. William looked back and forth, at Claire and then at the man holding Lilian, confused. They needed her?

"Ahhh… Claire, Claire… A sly vixen, as always. Wasn't what you did to us enough? You also had to go and make a fool of this man as well?"

"A-Ah…!!" Claire's expression turned from anger to frustration, and then to fear. Very, very quickly.

"You haven't told him a single thing, have you?"

"Of course she hasn't. Just look at their faces, pfff!" said the individual on the back.

William didn't want to listen to them. But Claire's reaction wasn't something he could just ignore. He slowly turned his eyes towards the man in the suit. The rifle was still aiming directly at his face.

"I'll cut right to the chase, Mr. William." he seemed to stop for a moment and take a full breath of air before continuing. "The girl is infected."

"What…!?"

"Interesting, isn't it? Think about it for a second. Infected, yet she resists the turning process. Don't you see? She's the key. Our ticket out."

"Hold on… Hold on…! Claire…!? Is this true…!? She was infected all along!!?" William didn't really know how to process that new influx of information. But all of a sudden, a lot of things slowly started to make sense. "And you…! A ticket out…!? What do you mean…!?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? The military want her. And we want to get out of this hell. It's such an obvious exchange... Yet all these women did was selfishly running away with such an important asset, dooming us all to die here." he rolled his eyes as he spoke.

"Military…!? You mean to tell me the Army is still active out there!!?"

William's eyes were wide-open in disbelief. He was angry. In a way, he assumed Nora and Claire only wanted to protect Lilian, but he couldn't help but feel anger after that turn of events. He felt betrayed. Used, perhaps? What did he risk his life for? To have been kept in the dark like that? This was way beyond personal experiences or emotional trauma. It was way, way bigger than all of that. And they knew all along?

"Claire…! I trusted you, Claire…!! Shit, I trusted all three of you!!" he turned to face her. "Why aren't you saying anything!?"

Claire simply looked down. Tears slithered down her face, but she refused to look at him in the eye. She bit her lips, refusing to speak as well. William was about to keep shouting, but a threatening feeling on the back of his head stopped him from doing so.

"You shouldn't be looking away from your enemies, dumbass." someone pressed a gun against his nape.

'This voice… Jacobs… Fucking damn it…!'

"Drop the weapons. You're out of options. Don't make me break your arms." said Jacobs. His tone was calm but frustrated at the same time, as if he was eager to further escalate his threat.

Claire's hands trembled for a while, before she threw the gun a couple of feet away. Her shaking was suddenly gone. Had she given up? Surrendering was most likely a death sentence, but… was there anything else he could do at that point? Cursing the moment he decided to venture into that place, William let go of the rifle. A couple of men jumped down into the tracks and approached them.

"Do not hurt them." Marcus stepped forward and gave the order before either Jacobs or any of the other thugs could lay their hands on them. He drilled William and Claire with a cold and penetrating gaze.

"Are you sure…? After all the trouble they have given us?" asked Jacobs.

"I find them… interesting. I'd like to have a chat with them later."

"Tch…! Weirdo…" Jacobs mumbled under his breath. "Come on, start walking, trash!"

"…I'm sorry…" Claire's voice was barely a murmur.

'Being sorry won't fix anything, you know…'