The tunnel is dark, only illuminated by the light of the headlights as we drive further into it. The car jostles as Frypan drives over potholes, making sure to drive slow. I can feel Thomas's eyes on me periodically, but I can't see him. It's too dark.

It seems to go on forever in darkness, no end in sight. The headlights reveal old cars parked and abandoned inside, looking as if they've been there for years. For all we know, they have.

Newt shines one of the flashlights out his window, which is rolled down, shining it on the walls and cars we pass.

"Here we go," Fry mutters in the silence as we drive deeper and deeper into the tunnel.

"Just take it nice and slow," Newt replies.

I can't help myself from muttering, "that's what she said," under my breath. Thomas and Fry both let out a snort of laughter. Even Newt, who never found the jokes funny, lets out a soft laugh. Despite the laugh, he says,

"Bloody hell. I thought we were past those jokes."

I reach over the chair and pat his shoulder. "Never," I reply. Newt turns and looks over at me. In the faint light from his flashlight, I see him smile.

"It's good to have you back, V," he whispers. I smile back, nodding and swallowing down the lump that had formed in my throat.

Frypan drives carefully around the cars as Newt shines the light around the tunnel. Anxiety quickly conquers my mood as we drive deeper into the tunnel. I find myself fiddling with my fingers, counting like I used to do in my cell.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5... 

Repeat.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5...

Over and over again. There's an unsettling feeling in my stomach, the same one you get in those moments of torture when you know you need to throw up, but are simply stuck waiting for something to happen. 

The car clanks as Frypan begins slowing down. "Woah, woah, woah, woah," Newt mutters as the car comes to a jolting stop. He shines the flashlight on something a little ways away. I squint my eyes only to see a figure standing in front of one of the cars, swaying back and forth slightly in place.

Fry turns around and looks over at me, noticing the anxiety in my eyes. He reaches over and takes my hand, running his thumb over my skin for a moment. "It's fine, okay? We're fine," he tries to assure me. I nod, but I know he can tell I'm not convinced.

"It's okay," Thomas says, holding his flashlight tight in his hands. "It's just one, so just take it slow. Go around him." Frypan looks over at Newt. I look up at Thomas, the anxiety radiating off of me. He meets my eyes. "We'll be fine."

Fry nods, turning back around. "Take it slow," he mutters to himself, adjusting himself in his seat. I can hear the tremble in his voice. He swallows hard before speaking again. "Take it slow," he says once again, his grip tightening on the wheel as he takes a few deep breaths.

Newt rolls up his window, blocking out all sounds of the Crank's distant coughs that could be heard before. I take a deep breath, my hand instinctively going to my neck. Thomas glances over at me, his eyebrows furrowing for a moment. I immediately remove my hand and instead bring it to my necklace.

Thomas turns to look out his window before jumping back, letting out a choked cry of fear. Newt turns in his seat, pushing himself as far away from the Crank standing right outside the car as he can. Thomas pushes himself into me, trying desperately to get away.

"Please!" The woman cries outside. She rattles the door handle, Thomas shining his flashlight right in her face. She stares blankly at us, pleading with us to let her inside. "Help me! Please! Please, let me in!"

Another Crank, this one much further along in the disease, slams his hands against my window. I let out a cry, my body pressed against Thomas's. The Crank screams, throwing his body against the door. The woman's pleas mix with his shrieks, making a horrified shiver run down my spine.

"Drive, Frypan!" I shriek as more Cranks begin throwing themselves at the windows of the car. "Drive the fucking car!"

"I can't!" He shouts back, his voice high. "I can't just-"

"I don't fucking care! Floor it, goddamn it! We have to go!" I shout back.

"Come on, come on!" Thomas shouts. Frypan slams his foot down on the gas, making the car lurch forward. One of the Cranks flies up onto the hood of the car, shrieking and growling as it tries to break the windshield. It punches the glass, making a spidery crack all along the windshield.

I let out a cry before turning to look in the back windshield only to find a horde of Cranks chasing after us. Frypan weaves in between the cars, throwing us from side to side, the tires screeching on the slick cement floor.

Thomas grips onto a handle right in front of him. "Come on, Fry! Shake him!"

"I'm trying!" He roars back. The Crank slams its fist down on the windshield again and again before moving over to the driver's side door. It draws it's fist back, punching the glass as Frypan tries desperately to shake it off the car.

"Get it off the fucking car!" I scream, gripping onto Newt's seat. 

"Hang on!" Frypan cries before swerving to the left. Our bodies are thrown to the side as the Crank is thrown into a tall metal object laying on top of an abandoned truck. It's body falls off of the car, left on the side of the road. 

"Oh, God," Thomas mutters, letting out a sigh of relief before immediately crying, "Frypan, watch out!" Frypan lets out a cry as he tries to stop the car before it can hit a barrel. He turns the wheel sharply, but can't stop it in time. The car hits the barrel, throwing it into the road, but throwing the car off balance. 

I brace myself for the impact as one side of the car is thrown into the air. It hits the ground on its side before turning once more, so that we're sitting upside down on the side of the road, trapped inside the car.

We're all coughing, trying to free ourselves from the car. "Everyone okay?" Thomas calls, his voice sounding extremely strained. Nobody responds, simply letting out grunts of frustration and coughs to answer his question.

"Oh, shit," Fry mutters. 

I try to push open my door, but it must be stuck on something because it doesn't seem to want to budge. I let out a cry through gritted teeth, covering my eyes with one hand before slamming my fist through the window, glass shattering around my unprotected skin. The boys all cry out in shock.

"What the shuck did you do?!" Newt shouts. I don't respond. I feel glass cut into the skin on my hand, stray glass flying at my face. Warm blood trickles down my forehead and cheeks. I grit my teeth, punching out the rest of the glass around the window frame before forcing my way through, ignoring the pain searing through my hand.

"Fry, cover your eyes!" Thomas shouts before breaking his window and crawling his way out. Frypan bangs on his door. Thomas tries to open it, but can't. "Alright, Fry, go around." He rushed over to the other side of the car, opening up Newt's door andmaking the blonde topple out onto the ground in a fit of coughs. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," Newt replies. 

"Venus, are you alright?" Thomas asks, looking at me with concern in his eyes. The other two boys are looking at me the same, but there's something other than concern in their eyes. I can't help but think it's fear. Fear of what I did? Fear because I barely had a reaction? Fear because I don't seem to be bothered by the fact that there's glass in my skin and blood dripping in steady streams down my face or blood gushing from my hand? Or fear of me? 

A cry interrupts us, echoing throughout the walls of the tunnel, making us all jump. Thomas shines his light down the way it came from only to find a Crank chasing after us, running as fast as it can towards us. It's clicking noises and guttural war cry bounces off the walls.

"Fuck!" I cry.

Newt reaches into the holster on his side only to find it empty. His gun must've fallen out in the car. "Shit," he mutters.

Fry and I stare in utter horror at the sight. If one of them is nearing us, it's safe to assume others are following. "Frypan, I think we've gotta move now!" Thomas shouts, snapping the boy out of his daze. Despite the brunette's shout, he dives back into the car. 

"Fry, come on! We've gotta go!" Newt cries.

"What are you doing?! We've gotta move! Now, now!" Thomas shouts.

"Hold on!" Frypan replies. The Crank in front is running full speed at us, closing in on us quickly.

"Frypan, let it go! We've gotta go! Come on!" Thomas grabs the boy, pulling him out of the car. The Crank is right in front of us. Three more seconds and we'll all be dead. Fry emerges with a shotgun. He cocks it, runs forward, and fires, knocking the Crank to the ground. "Nice shot, Fry," Thomas breathes, wrapping one of my arms around his shoulder so that he can support my weight.

More cries sound the same way the first Crank came from, though this time, it sounds like there's an army of them. Sure enough, they begin to emerge, not just from where the first one came from, but by climbing over the cars to try and get to us faster.

"Go, go!" Thomas shouts, turning around. Frypan fires into the crowd over and over again, knocking Cranks off their feet one by one. "Fry, come on! Let's go!"

We start running as fast as we can through the tunnel. Cool blood runs down my face as I force my legs to move faster. I force myself to keep up with Thomas, pushing my legs past their limit.

We skid to a stop as Cranks begin coming from the other side as well. That same, anxious, sick feeling floods my body along with the throbbing pain in my hand.

"Watch out," Frypan says, pushing himself in front of us and firing at them.

"Fry, you got 'em?!" Thomas asks.

"Yeah," he replies over the gunfire. 

"Okay, this way, this way!" Thomas shouts before turning around, hoping to run the way we came. However, there's a horde of Cranks that way. Frypan tries shooting at them, but there are too many. "Okay, other way, other way!" He cries, only to turn around again and find more Cranks coming towards us. 

Frypan fires into the crowd once before running out of bullets. He tries cocking the gun, but it simply clicks in response. "I'm out!" He shouts above the cries and screams of the Cranks surrounding us.

"Shit!" Thomas says as we turn around and around in a hopeless attempt to find a way out. But there isn't. We're fully caged in by Cranks and there's no escaping it.

I see Ben and Winston standing in the crowd, a bullet hole in the middle of Winston's forehead, black veins completely covering Ben's face. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to rid myself of their faces.

The sound of an engine revving brings me out of my daze. I look around wildly for the sound just as the car comes barreling through the crowd of Cranks, running a few of them over shamelessly. The car comes straight at us at full speed. 

"Hey, get in!" A familiar female voice shouts. The woman stands up, holding a gun out to the crowd of Cranks before firing at them. It's Brenda.

Thomas and Frypan practically push me into the car before climbing in after Newt. We cram ourselves into the backseat uncomfortably as Brenda continues firing into the crowds. 

"Go, Jorge! Go!" Thomas shouts. Brenda sits down quickly, screaming,

"Go!" Jorge presses his foot on the gas, making the car lurch forward. We fly through the tunnel,  the Cranks following close behind, but quickly losing us. I see a light at the end of the tunnel. We drive through it, the hot sun beating down on us immediately as we fly down the road.

"I'm impressed!" Jorge calls back to us. "You guys almost lasted a whole day."

Thomas doesn't respond, tapping Newt on the chest. Newt looks up at him. "You good?" The brunette asks. Newt nods.

"Yeah," he replies, a pink blush faintly tinting his cheeks. 

I watch the blood run down my wrist and hand, biting the inside of my cheek until a metallic taste fills it. Frypan takes my good hand in his, Newt putting his arm around my shoulder. I lean into him instinctively, resting my head on his shoulder.

Brenda turns around so that she's looking at us. She stares at Thomas, shaking her head, though there's a small smile on her face.

Thomas scoffs in return. "I'm sorry. I didn't wanna bring you guys into this."

"Hey, I think what he's tryin' to say is thanks for saving us," Frypan interjects.

Thomas nods, a lopsided smile on his face as he looks at Brenda. She smiles back before leaning forward. "You're welcome," she says.

"Hey, don't get your hopes up," Jorge says after a moment. "That checkpoint back there, that was the city's last defense. If that was overrun, chances are the city is, too."

Newt taps my leg, pointing out the window. I look to where he's pointing, my eyes widening slightly.

"Yeah, unless they figured out some other way to keep the Cranks out," he says, leaning forward slightly. 

Jorge stares out the window for a few moments before slamming on the breaks, making us all lurch forward. The car skids to a stop, a cloud of dust rising from the tires. We all get out of the car, walking towards the edge of the cliff we're on, staring at the huge city.

The six of us look out at the city, staring at the giant wall wrapping around the buildings. I can't help but scoff at the irony of it all. Before I can say anything, however, Newt says,

"Funny. We spent three years trapped behind walls tryin' to break out, and now we wanna break back in."

"I was thinkin' the same thing," I mutter.

Frypan says bluntly from behind me, "yeah, it's hilarious."

"Jorge, how do we get in?" Thomas asks, ignoring us.

"Don't look at me, hermano," the man replies. "Those walls are new. I guess that's WICKED's answer for everything."

Brenda crosses her arms. "Well we ain't gonna figure it out from up here," she says into the long silence that passed. She turns, walking back to the car. "Let's go!"

I hear Frypan hopping back into the car. Jorge turns and walks back towards his door, leaving Thomas, Newt, and I. Newt walks over to Thomas and I, brushing a piece of hair out of my bloody face. His thumb skims a spot above my eyebrow. I tense slightly at his touch. When he draws his hand away, his thumb is covered in my blood.

"How's your hand, V?" He asks, ignoring his blood covered finger.

I shrug. "Fine. It hurts, but it's nothin' I can't take." Newt nods, running a hand through his shaggy hair.

"You really think he's in there?" He asks Thomas. The brunette glances over at him before his eyes fix back on the wall.

"I guess we'll find out."

"He is," I say, unable to tear my eyes away from the city. "I promise."

A moment of silence passes between us. "You know, she's gonna be there, too," Newt says, glancing at Thomas before his eyes fall on me. A dark shadow passes over my face as I remember my vow. I'd made her a promise and, if I see her again, I intend to carry it out.

I look up at Thomas, who swallows hard, a sad look in his eyes. I know how much she meant to him. I walk back towards the car with Newt, stopping a few steps away.

"What'll you do, if we see her again, I mean?" He asks after a moment of silence.

"I'll kill her, Newt," I say into the silence. He looks down at me, eyebrows furrowed. "If I see that backstabbing bitch, I'm gonna kill her."

"No, Venus. You can't do that. You can't kill her." I can hear the slight quiver in his voice. He stares down at me, his brown eyes full of that same fear I saw in them earlier.

"I'll kill them all."

Newt shakes his head. "No. We can't just go around killing people, V."

"Why not? It's what they do," I snap.

"It's not what we do," he replies. I meet his gaze, my eyes going cold. 

"I'll kill them all," I promise him before opening the car door and sliding into the seat beside Frypan.