Joel scowled and slowly raised his hands, his flashlight still clutched in one. Ellie and James froze, their bodies tensing as they instinctively gripped their weapons tighter.

  “Now, turn around and face me,” a voice commanded from the darkness.

  Joel hesitated but did as told, pivoting slowly until he was face to face with a group of four—three men and one woman. Two of them had rifles trained on him, while the other two held bows with arrows nocked, ready to fire.

  "Now, drop both those rifles and any weapons you’ve got." The man in charge—a broad-shouldered figure with a steady, no-nonsense tone—gave the order.

  Joel’s jaw tightened as his eyes flicked between them, assessing. His fingers flexed slightly before his hands curled into fists at his sides. The woman with the bow noticed his hesitation and, without a word, pulled her bowstring back ominously, the creak of the tensioned wood loud in the silent night.

  Joel exhaled sharply through his nose. Grudgingly, he unstrapped his rifle, lowering it to the ground with slow, deliberate movements. His machete followed, the dull metal hitting the pavement with a soft clank.

  The leader called over his shoulder. “Jordan.”

  One of the men with a bow slung it over his back and stepped forward, quickly scooping up Joel’s weapons.

  The leader’s gaze returned to Joel, his lips curling slightly. “Now the kids. Their guns too. Then we can get them out of there.”

  Joel’s scowl deepened as he turned his gaze downward to where Ellie and James stood in the pit.

  “Hand me your guns,” he ordered.

  Ellie scrunched up her face, looking like she was about to argue, but the sharp look Joel shot her made her rethink it. With a muttered curse under her breath, she grudgingly handed over her pistol.

  Joel bent down and placed it on the ground, then turned to James.

  James shrugged innocently. “I don’t have a gun.”

  Joel’s stare hardened.

  Even Ellie looked at him in annoyance. “James.”

  “I swear!” James raised his hands, grinning. “Search me if you don’t believe me!”

  Joel gritted his teeth, but when he turned back to the leader, the man just shrugged indifferently.

  “If he tries anything, all of you are dead,” the man said, nodding toward Jordan, who collected Ellie’s pistol.

  Then, with a slight gesture of his hand, the leader motioned to one of his men. A coiled rope ladder was tossed forward, landing in the pit with a soft thud.

  “Hook it up to that ring on the edge,” he instructed.

  Joel’s eyes scanned the nearby wall until he spotted a small metal ring jutting out of the concrete. He grabbed the ladder and secured it, giving it a firm tug before stepping back.

  Ellie and James scrambled up quickly, shaking the cold, murky water from their boots as they climbed out.

  The leader gave a small nod. “Search them, Hawk.”

  One of the gunmen—a rough-looking guy with a scar across his chin—lowered his weapon and patted both kids down, checking their jackets and boots. After a moment, he scowled.

  “They got nothing but blades.” His eyes narrowed as he gestured toward James. “Swear I saw this little idiot with a pistol, though.”

  James frowned in annoyance at the insult.

  Ellie and Joel both shot James a look of suspicion.

  Did he stash it? Drop it? Joel’s gaze flicked back to the pit for a moment.

  The leader’s expression darkened slightly, then he nodded toward the hole. “Search the pit. If he dropped it, it’s probably in the water. Don’t take too long. We can always come back.”

  Hawk grumbled but obeyed, descending the ladder while the leader turned back to the trio.

  “Now,” he mused aloud, crossing his arms as he studied them. “What to do with you?”

  His gaze lingered on James, lips curling slightly. “Surprised you’re still alive, honestly, being brain-dead and all.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  James scowled, bristling. “The hell is you people’s problem? You know me or something?”

  The leader frowned back at him. “Course we do. Hard to miss you after you pissed off that horde.” He tilted his head. “You’re lucky none of my men died, or I’d have shot you already.”

  James shifted uncomfortably, face heating. “It wasn’t on purpose!”

  The leader rolled his eyes, amusement slipping into his tone. “Sure, it wasn’t. Still, I didn’t think there was anyone left in Cleveland stupid enough to go into that hospital.”

  Ellie smirked at James, who visibly shrank. Probably best not to tell them he’d mostly gone for the thrill rather than any real plan.

  The leader then turned to Joel and Ellie. “I know the dumbass has been in Cleveland for a while. But you two?” He raised an eyebrow. “My scouts spotted you coming into the city yesterday. What’s your business here?”

  Joel’s eyes flicked to Ellie briefly before answering. “We’re trying to find a safe path west.”

  The leader hummed in thought. “West, huh?” He tilted his head, watching Joel closely. “And what’s west?”

  Joel’s face remained stone-cold. “Our group. We got separated.”

  The leader seemed like he was going to push further, but before he could, Hawk climbed back up the ladder, shaking water off his boots with an annoyed grunt.

  “Didn’t find the pistol,” he reported.

  Joel and Ellie both turned toward James, suspicion clear in their eyes.

  James just blinked back at them with a faux-innocent expression.

  Joel narrowed his gaze, then mouthed to James: Don’t try anything.

  James rolled his eyes but gave a small nod.

  The leader’s brow furrowed at Hawk’s report, but after a moment, he let out a low sigh and straightened.

  “Alright then. Let’s get these three back to base.” His expression turned amused as he added, “Put ‘em in the pit.”

  All three of them tensed.

  The leader chuckled. “Relax. It’s temporary. Till we figure you out.” He gestured vaguely. “We don’t plan to kill you… so long as you don’t give us a reason to.”

  Joel’s shoulders remained stiff, but he didn’t argue.

  The leader motioned them to follow and turned around and started walking. The rest of his group closed in behind the trio, weapons still loosely at the ready.

  As they walked, the leader glanced back at them over his shoulder.

  “Name’s Akil, by the way. Our group’s called The Lanterns.” His lips twitched slightly. “And I’m the one in charge of the base in Cleveland”

  .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

  After about thirty minutes of walking, James was getting bored—dangerously bored. He glanced around at the group of Lanterns, his eyes settling on the tall man who had searched for his pistol earlier, Not that they’d ever find my pistol, he thought with a satisfied smirk.

  “So… why do they call you Hawk?” James asked casually.

  The man in question tensed immediately, his jaw tightening as if James had just stepped on a landmine. His face scrunched up in annoyance, while the woman next to him let out a surprised laugh. Even Akil and Jordan were smirking, their amusement barely concealed.

  "It’s nothing," Hawk grumbled, his tone clipped and clearly not inviting further discussion.

  James hummed in disbelief, "Doesn't sound like nothing," he prodded, grinning. "Come on, there’s gotta be a cool story behind a badass name like Hawk.”

  Hawk’s scowl deepened, but the growing amusement from his comrades only made it worse.

  "There's nothing interesting about my name," he insisted, his voice flat.

  The woman with the bow let out another snicker, a glint in her eyes. “I wouldn’t say that. There’s definitely a story behind it.”

  James’s grin widened, sensing blood in the water. “Oh? What is it?”

  Hawk whipped his head toward her, eyes full of warning. “Jenna, I swear to God—”

  But the woman, Jenna apparently, just ignored him, her smirk stretching ear to ear. “A hawk shit on him. Twice.”

  There was a beat of silence.

  Then Jordan lost the battle, a hand clamped over his mouth to stifle a laugh. Akil shook his head in amusement, while Ellie and James burst out laughing.

  "No fucking way," Ellie cackled, doubling over slightly.

  "Twice?" James wheezed. "Dude, that’s not just bad luck, that’s a personal vendetta. That hawk had a grudge.”

  Hawk’s brow twitched violently, his fists clenching at his sides. "That was five years ago!" he barked, glaring daggers at Jenna. “Five years, and no one will ever let me live it down!”

  “Of course not,” Jenna said, grinning wickedly. “It was hilarious.”

  Ellie wiped at her eyes, still grinning. "Damn, I was really hoping it was something badass. But no—nature just hates you."

  Hawk groaned loudly, rubbing a hand down his face as his friends laughed at him with complete strangers.

  Joel, as usual, remained silent, but James caught the smallest twitch of amusement at the corner of his mouth.

  Akil finally let out a short chuckle, shaking his head. “Alright, enough clowning around. Let’s pick up the pace.”

  James fell into step beside Ellie with a grin, still snickering about ‘Hawk’ under his breath.

  Behind them, Hawk grumbled something about throwing them both in a pit.

  Despite the fact that the Lanterns still didn’t fully trust them, the heavy tension from earlier had dissolved completely. The atmosphere had shifted, the unspoken hostility replaced by something easier, something lighter.

  As the group continued forward, a comfortable silence settled over them, the sounds of their footsteps echoing softly through the tunnel.

  It wasn’t much.

  But it was a start.

  .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

  Eventually, the group was stopped by Akil, who turned to face them with a firm expression.

  "Alright, we try to stay hidden, so we're going to have to blindfold you for this part," he said. "Can’t take the risk that you leak information."

  Joel remained stoic as the blindfold was slipped over his eyes. Ellie hesitated for a moment before reluctantly following suit. James, however, just grinned, "This is awesome. Feels like we’re being taken to some top-secret government base."

  Akil let out a short chuckle but didn’t respond.

  They were led forward, stumbling slightly as they adjusted to the darkness. The journey lasted about fifteen minutes, their footsteps echoing in what felt like a tunnel. Then, gradually, the silence began to shift.

  Distant sounds drifted through the air—the quiet murmur of voices, the rhythmic thud of footsteps, the unmistakable clang of construction. Life.

  A door creaked open, and warmth washed over them. The muffled noise sharpened into clarity—people talking in hushed voices, the scrape of tools against metal, the shuffling of movement.

  Finally, they were ushered into a damp room, the air thick with moisture. Their blindfolds were tugged off, and they blinked against the dim light. The room was dark, and clearly a storage closet that had the door replaced with a metal prison door.

  Akil sighed. "Sorry about this," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can tell you aren’t bad people, but I can’t take the risk. You’ll have to stay here for a bit while we figure out what to do with you."

  Joel gave a stiff nod, accepting the situation without protest. Ellie and James exchanged glances, shifting uncomfortably before stepping inside.

  Akil lingered for a moment, nodding once more at Joel before stepping back. The door swung shut, and the unmistakable click of a lock echoed through the small space.

  Silence settled over them, save for the soft flicker of an oil lantern in the corner, casting flickering shadows against the damp walls.

  Joel exhaled through his nose, turning toward James with a frown. "So. Where did you put the pistol?"

  James met his gaze, unreadable for a long moment before shrugging. "Lost it."

  Ellie narrowed her eyes. "Bullshit. I saw you with it when we were in that pit."

  James barely hesitated. "Dropped it somewhere in there during the chaos," he lied, glancing at the pistol stored safely in his inventory out of the corner of his eye.

  Joel let out a low grunt of irritation but didn’t push. Instead, he moved to the chair in the corner and sat heavily, arms resting on his knees.

  Something told him they had a long wait ahead of them.