Chapter 13 (Little Bit Broken)

Chapter 13: Little Bit Broken

Blake Rhodes

Unknown, 2029

About 7 years after outbreak

Miami Sewer System

Season 3

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"We're not gonna talk about what just happened back there?"

"Nothing happened."

"Kingsley, you and I are a team. We have to work together so we can-"

She stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes already full of tears. "So we can do what! Find your daughter who's already dead?"

"She's- she's not dead-"

"I didn't ask for this! I don't want you here, I just wanna be alone," the tears fell. "I'm not responsible for you, you're a grown man, I'm just a kid. I don't know you and I don't want to know you."

"Kings, what's going on?" I reached out my hand to her, I felt sympathetic. She turned her back to me, her shoulders shook as she cried silently.

"I know- I know you read-" her voice caught in her throat," I know you know about him."

"You don't have to talk about him if you don't want to."

"Blake?"

"Yeah?"

"If the same thing that happened to him is gonna happen to you, I can't- I can't be near you. I'm sorry but I can't-"

"Did you run because you thought I was gonna die back there?" She turned back to face me but no words came from her mouth. "When I came from that island I thought I was only gonna be here for Macie. But if me being alive means that much to you too, then I'll be here, for as long as you need me." I wiped a single tear as it fell from her watery eyes. A faint smile spread across her face before she wrapped her gentle arms around me and quietly whispered, "thank you."

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Arwen Swanter

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"Well, looks like there's only two doors, the one we came from and the one that leads to another canal. The desk is the only thing we have to keep the door shut and I think it's best if we keep it where it is, so it looks like we're sleeping in shifts."

"Maverick?"

"What?"

"What does it say on the wall right there?"

"Lucio, it looks like? Says it a few times actually. Probably just some drifters that wrote it, I wouldn't think too much about it."

"There's other people down here?"

"Well I can't be the only one smart enough to think of this."

"Andie's tired."

"Okay well you can lay him down, his blanket's in the backpack. You want the first shift? You're tougher to get up in the morning, plus you have insomnia so you'll probably just be up anyways."

"I'll take the whole night."

"Arwen, that's bullshit. You need rest otherwise you're a liability."

"Why do you have such an obsession with making me feel like shit about myself?"

"I don't have an obsession, you just seem to have a hard time seeing all the stuff that's wrong with you. We're not leaving here until I know you've gotten some sleep. You don't have to keep the fire burning once you dry, it's humid as hell out here anyways, but it's not gonna get bright anytime soon so if you get too hot with the fire you can use the matches." He tossed the tiny box to me. I stared at it in my hands as he slowly walked towards the dark corner of the room, he took off his t-shirt and used it as a pillow. I watched Andie drift to sleep, I stood up quietly and made my way over to the door we were to leave through in the morning. The moonlight shone through from the other side but still it was too dark to see anything. I pressed my back to the wall beside me. I let a heavy breath escape my lungs as I slid steadily down the wall until I sat back down on the floor. I hugged my knees and I stared at nothing, my thoughts were disorganized, but I didn't think about Valentine. For the first time, I didn't think about anything.

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It seemed almost impossible but the night appeared to have become darker. The sound of the dead had faded, there were no sounds at all. The fire had died down, a few burning embers were all that was left. Andie tossed in his sleep and a few times I considered moving him further away from the heat but he never moved close enough for me to get too concerned. I don't know how many hours had gone by, my eyes began to get heavy but I knew even if I wanted to I wouldn't be able to let myself sleep, and not just because I was on watch either.

Briefly, the silence stopped. I thought I had been imagining the voices but I pressed my ear roughly to the door, hearing the faint sound of water splashing below someone's feet. The sound became louder, closer. I stood up slowly, determined not to make even the slightest noise as I backed away from the door, trying to make my way back to Maverick. Without even thinking, I found myself with the gun in my hands, my finger resting peacefully on the trigger as I still walked backwards, trying to get to Maverick, never letting my eyes dart away from the door especially as the quiet sound of the people behind it echo softly throughout the room.

I was terrified and I couldn't stop myself from moving backwards, getting to Maverick felt like the only thing I knew how to do anymore. I felt like I was in a trance and the only thing that broke me from it was when Maverick appeared out of nowhere from behind me. His hands were placed carefully on my forearms as he reached down to take the gun from my hands into his. The voices became louder, Maverick stepped in front of me and pushed me behind him with his left hand. The door knob rattled, I glanced quickly at Andie who was still fast asleep, I knew if he woke up they would know we were in here. The door opened, slowly at first and then quickly until it hit the wall behind it. Without hesitation, Maverick pulled the trigger and the taller man fell to the floor.