The reverberate of an explosion travelled through the narrow tunnel. They halted in their tracks.

Sasha swayed temporarily off balance. She pressed her good arm against the grimy wall. Her body was aching, hands clammy, chest tight. Sasha didn't know if she was going to make it out in time, but her odds certainly weren't looking good.

"You okay?" Louisa asked.

"Been better."

"Come on," River prompted. He took the lead, wrenching open the metal door in their path. It budged, but barely past half way. A small gap, just enough to slip through, was granted to them.

River gestured to usher them inside. Sasha remained stood at the wall, head shaking defiantly. "You two should go on. I'm holding you back."

With wide eyes, River stared back at her, brows furrowed in disbelief. "Are you serious? We're not leaving you."

"But–"

"No, end of discussion."

"I'll slow us down," Sasha argued. "Get us killed." She had shuffled away from the wall, but hesitated in front of the doorway.

"Shut up and move," Louisa ordered.

Since time was of the essence (and angry Louisa was scary), Sasha begrudgingly shimmied through the gap. River strained to force the door shut. It scrapped the floor, jamming a quarter of the way. Frustratedly, he uttered, "What the f–"

"Forget it, forget it!" Louisa dismissed. She marched forwards, pointing ahead of them. "The hatch is just over here."

River abandoned the door and caught up to Sasha, who had stalled again. "Hey." He held out a hand. "We get out or die trying, yeah?"

Sasha acknowledged his outstretched palm, then looked up at him. "You'll die."

"Risk I'm willing to take."

She shrugged. "All right. Suits me." Sasha brushed past him, smacking his hand en-route.

"Ow, you fuck–"

"Hurry up!" Louisa yelled.

They hurried to the end of the tunnel, where she stood underneath a ladder, neck craned.

"It's high," River noted.

Sasha bumped against his shoulder. "Well fucking spotted."

Louisa faced them. "I'm not sure how–"

"I'm gonna climb with one working arm?" Sasha finished. "Yeah, funnily enough, was wondering the same thing."

Louisa took a step back, hands on her hips. "Okay, well, how about you go first and we can push you up?" she suggested. "Or–"

Sasha dismissed the idea. "No, it'll take me too long. Puts you both at risk."

"Right, Louisa, go ahead," River delegated. She glanced back at him, a silent conversation appearing to take place, until she seemingly gave in and began climbing the rungs. He told Sasha, "You go next. Means you're between us if anything happens."

Sasha said softly, "River..."

"Trust me."

"You're wasting time!" Louisa shouted down.

Sasha tried to make her reluctance clear through a harsh glare. River simply smiled in response.  She set her foot on the lower rung and raised her good arm, fingers curling around the bar above. Sasha pulled, grip tightening, muscles feeling the strain all the way down to her ribcage. She set her other hand down to regain balance, and braced for the impending shockwave of pain.

"Ready?" River asked.

Sasha drew in a shaky breath, lips pressed together in anticipation. "Ready."

His hands were set on her waist, fingers dug in a touch too hard – but that was the least of her worries. He gave her a push, the momentum she needed. Sasha stretched her arms up, gritted her teeth, and pulled.

Agony.

The pain in her arm was almost unbearable, as if every nerve was blazing on fire. A pained whimper escaped her. "Fuck."

River held her tighter. "You're okay, I've got you."

Sasha let out a frustrated groan. "I can't–"

"Keep going!" Louisa encouraged. She was already at the top of the ladder, and was reaching above to slide open the hatch. Sasha heard the slab grating against concrete. And then gunfire.

"Fuck!" The hatch clattered shut with a thud. "Down, down, down! We can't get out that way!"

"Shit." Sasha looked below. She was only a quarter of the way up, but the thought of climbing back down again...

"We gotta close that door," River realised. He glanced up at Sasha. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just go."

River scrambled to the ground. She squeezed her hands tighter against the rungs, drew in another deep breath. Carefully, she lowered a trembling leg to the rung below, and started to climb down.

Sasha heard metal clanging, and a string of swear words...

And then more gunfire.

"Shit!" River flew around the corner. "No, no, no. Back, back, back, back! Back up the ladder!"

"For fucks–"

"I'm not fucking dying here today!" Louisa snapped.

Sasha reckoned that, if anybody was going to die, it would be herself, out of sheer fucking agony.
But she had no option but to continue the climb, to the almost certain doom awaiting them above.

Breathless, she struggled to the top, clinging onto the rungs with any remaining strength. Her head spun, vision invaded with dark spots. Either sweat, tears, or a combination of both pooled down the side of her face. Her chest heaved, heart raced, body quaked. The searing pain striking down her arm had gradually faded into more of a dull, heavy ache. But at least the burning kept her awake and alert. Now, she was descending into dangerous exhaustion territory, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold out.

They waited underneath the hatch. Sasha leant some of her weight against Louisa. River was just a few steps below.

Light from the tunnels breached the room. River straightened up. His hand inched closer to his waistband, settling over the gun.

Sasha prepared to die.

Brightness swarmed, shadowy figures drifting across the walls, low murmurs. River didn't hesitate. He fired a shot below at Chieftain's men, then another. He pulled the trigger again. An empty click. "Oh shit."

River stared down at the empty weapon. It slipped from his grasp, pummelling to the ground. In a stroke of pure idiotic luck, it clattered into one of Chieftain's men.

Sheepishly, River glanced up at the pair of them. Before his stupidity could quite be addressed, metal clanged loudly above them. Something scraped against stone – the hatch.

Sasha jolted as their hideaway was abruptly exposed to the outdoors. Fear struck through her, immobilised her body. They were trapped, caught from both ends. Sasha was going to die, and the last thing she remembered was River dropping his stupid fucking gun.

"Get the fuck out!"

A familiar brummie accent.

Sasha snapped her head upwards. The air returned to her lungs. Shirley.

The others must have come to rescue them.

Louisa wasted no time, hauled herself through the gap. She clambered out, flat on her stomach, then shifted onto her knees and leaned over the hatch. Shirley crouched beside her. They outstretched their arms for Sasha, who clasped onto both their hands.

"I'll give you a push," River told her. "Ready?"

"Ready."

He pushed – well, more like shoved – at her hips, though his left hand very noticeably brushed against her bum.

"Do not even–"

"It was an accident!"

Hm.

Without much thought, Shirley (thankfully) yanked her good hand. Louisa was relatively careful as she tugged at her bad arm, though Sasha still let out a strangled yelp as a fresh wave of pain shot through her. Noticing her discomfort, and the urgency of time, Louisa leaned further down and grabbed the scruff of her top.

Sasha's feet managed to locate River's shoulders, using them for the final push. "Get me up!"

"Ow! Fucking hell, Sasha," River grumbled underneath her.

She was dragged onto the concrete, all three women collapsing against the ground. Sasha was sprawled on her stomach, clutching her arm, tears brimming in her eyes. Breaths ragged, Louisa shifted from her backside onto her knees. Shirley stumbled back to her feet. Neither of them made much of a move to assist River, who climbed through with a frustrated glare and a sarcastic, "Thanks for your help."

Ignoring him, Shirley returned to the hatch. Clutched in her hands, an oval grenade. With her smirk directed inside, she pulled the pin and let it drop. "Nighty night."

Shirley slammed the hatch shut.

With a muted rumble, the ground shuddered beneath them. And then silence.

Sasha rolled onto her back, stared up at the sky, and tried to regain her natural breathing pattern.

River crouched a few feet away, panting heavily. "Fuck."

"Can someone please tell me, why is everyone trying to kill you?"

River knelt down, unzipped his jacket. He reached into the inside pocket and removed the file. "For this."

Sasha set her elbow down, attempted to push against it so she could sit up. She got about halfway there, then gave up. With a groan, she collapsed against the concrete.

River handed Shirley the file. She peered down at it with a frown, briefly flicking through the pages.

"She needs to go to a hospital," Louisa stated. "And you better get that file out of here too, no?"

River was knelt beside Sasha. He clasped her arm, taking a closer look at the wound. The sleeve of her hoodie was damp and heavy, material soaked in her blood. She tried to withdraw from him, hissing in pain at his touch.

He set both hands on her shoulders. "Hey, you need to stay awake, okay? I'm gonna bring the car around, get you to a hospital."

Sasha barely managed a nod.

River straightened up, wiping his bloodied hands. He pointed towards Shirley. "Appreciate all that, by the way, thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Yeah, well played," Sasha said from her deathbed. "Thanks for making my last memory at least sort of epic."

"Don't talk like that," River chastised, in unison with Louisa's scolding, who reprimanded her for being "so bloody dramatic."

"Better move faster, Cartwright," Sasha warned. "Don't want me bleeding to death on your seats."

"Stop it," Louisa intervened. She crouched in front of her, concerned eyes meeting hers. "You're gonna be fine, okay? Just stay awake."

Sasha could have swallowed her pride and thanked her for the reassurance. She could have told the truth, admitted that she felt like she was dying, that she was scared.

Sasha instead opted for a secret third thing. With a scoff, she uttered, "Stay awake? I'm gonna be in a car with River, that might be difficult."

Louisa ignored her whinging and turned to Shirley. "Where's Marcus?"

"Oh yeah, he'll probably wanna see Sasha before she goes, right?" Shirley said. "Final goodbyes and all that."

With all her might– not that she had much of it left – Sasha responded with the nastiest glare she could muster. "Really enjoying the sympathy vote, thank you."

The rumble of an approaching car engine captured their attention. Shirley craned her head to see properly. "River's here."

The vehicle came to an abrupt halt alongside them. He leaned across the front seats, pushing open the passenger side door.

Louisa helped Sasha from the ground. An arm around her middle, she leaned closer and said, "Listen." Sasha waited for some profoundly sentimental or comforting parting words. "Try not to die on him, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sasha drawled. She reached the car, resting her good hand against the roof, and told Louisa, "See you in hell, I guess. Or the hospital. Wherever I end up."

"Stop dicking around and get in the car."

—

"Right, surely I should be putting layers on, not taking them off."

River sighed. "You're shivering because your body temperature is sky high." He flexed his fingers from their tight grip against the steering wheel. "The more layers you wear, the higher your temperature will get, which we don't want."

Sasha was struggling to remove her hoodie – well, technically it was still his, although she doubted he wanted it back now that it was drenched in blood.

She used one hand to pull it past her neck, but managed to trap her head inside. "Oh for fucks sake."

Eyes mostly focused on the road, River reached his arm across and tried to assist. He grasped the hood and tugged upwards. "Hang on–"

"I got it–"

"Just–"

"I got it."

Sasha yanked the jumper off. Her head finally resurfaced. She sucked in a gasp of air and flung the garment onto her lap.

River double checked, "You good?"

"Dandy, thanks," she replied curtly. River made a sharp, last minute turn around a bend. Sasha almost slammed into the door. "Jesus Christ. Can you drive a bit slower? You're making me feel sick."

"I'm trying to get you to a hospital before you bleed to death," River argued, sparing a frustrated glance at her. "And put your seatbelt back on!"

"Aright, alright! Give me a chance," Sasha grumbled. She reached over her left shoulder, tugged the belt across, and aggressively clipped it in. "Better?"

"Better."

Sasha slumped down the passenger chair. "Dude, getting shot sucks."

"Yeah," River agreed. Although, she was certain he'd never actually been shot before. A miracle really, given his past shenanigans and magnet-like attraction to danger. "How's the pain?"

"Still there."

"Guess that's a good thing," he said. "Means your body is still fighting."

"Wish it wouldn't," Sasha mumbled defeatedly. "I'm knackered."

"Don't say that."

"What?"

"Like you're giving up."

Sasha shrugged. She was trying to be brave, honest. But it had been a horrible fucking day and she could do with the suffering just ending.

She thought about the events of the past twenty four hours; running through the streets of London in last nights clothes, punching Spider in the face (she hadn't been blessed with such a serotonin boost in a long while), and then getting trapped in the facility, hunted down. The argument with River, running for their lives, getting shot (definitely still feeling that), running for their lives again. Ultimately, it was all kind of blurring into one massive fuck up.

Even if she miraculously made it through the night, what exactly was she coming back to? A dingy fucking building in Shoreditch, filled with endless boxes to itemise. A place literally haunted by the ghosts of her past hopes and dreams. There was nothing else to show for her, once impressive career, or her life – aside from the bare apartment and small potted plants she came home to each evening.

River waved a hand in front of her face. "Still with me?"

"Let me die in peace, Cartwright."

"There she is."

Sasha turned her head, watching him for a few quiet moments. His hands gripped the steering wheel, bruised knuckles white. His jaw was clenched, lines on his forehead creased, eyes red rimmed, bruises underneath dusting his pale skin. He looked terrible, even shrouded in the dark, barely illuminated by passing headlights.

Sasha let out a soft sigh. She leaned against the window and allowed her eyelids to flutter shut, just to feel a few seconds of relief.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"For what?" River asked.

"A lot of things."

"Fucking hell. Are you repenting?" River asked, cracking a smile. When she didn't, he cleared his throat and back tracked. "That was a joke, by the way. You're gonna be fine."

"Right. But if I'm not..."

"Don't."

"River, I'm so tired."

He knew what that meant.

River looked into the rear view mirror, checked his surroundings briefly, and then pressed his foot hard against the accelerator. "You've gotta stay awake a bit longer for me, okay?."

" River..."

"Sasha, please." He was travelling way beyond the speed limit now. "I swear to god if you die on me–" River warned."Please, just hold on."

Sasha went quiet again. River continuously made checks to be sure she hadn't actually fucking died. But, instead, she did something even more unexpected – apologised.

"I'm sorry for earlier," she said, then elaborated, "You know, for calling you a dickhead."

"Well, uh, I'm sorry for being one," River responded. "I didn't mean any of what I said earlier. I was being an idiot and I– I don't know..." He swallowed, deliberating. "Maybe I was a bit jealous too."

"Jealous?" Sasha mumbled tiredly. "Why?"

"I–" River stuttered. "Well–"

"Spit it out, Cartwright."

The side of her head pressed against the cool window. Sasha slumped further in her chair, until she became more comfortable.

"Well, it's– I don't know, it doesn't matter," River disregarded. He slowed at the roundabout, the
satnav directing him to the first exit. Knowing the hospital wasn't much further, his unsettled stomach began to calm. "Point is, I'm sorry for what I said. It was stupid, and I didn't mean any of it. I care about you Sasha, really care. And you deserve a whole lot better than being spoke to that way."

When she didn't respond, he asked nervously, "Sash?"

River looked over at her. Sasha was slouched, head lolled to the side, eyelids shut, skin ashy.

"Sasha?"