While I breathe, I hope.

-Cicero

Emma

Three weeks have passed since my phone call to Rain. Three weeks of no significant event. Burns and I are slowly adjusting to the mundane days. I try to pass the time by making decorations on the walls of people's sleeping space for anyone who requests it. It was Blake's idea really. I still owed him a painting and once I had finished it, he showed it to everyone who would see.

It made me feel awkward at first, but now it gives me something to do, aside from the usual chores.

There is no paint for me to use, but soothe works just as well.

"We should get you some real paint on the next raid."

I turn around at the sound of Blake's voice and grin. "I'm not sure paint ranks high in the list of necessities."

He shrugs. "One bucket won't make much of a difference in a van full of spoils."

I wipe my hands on a cloth and turn away from the mural I've been working on in the game room. "So what's everyone up to today?"

"Nate wants to explore one of the older tunnels," Blake answers, "they assembled a group to clean the boards and debris. This one seems to run deeper underground. They want to see if there's another exit, one we can use in case of emergency."

I nod in understanding. "So who is going?"

"Will and Kelsey. Philip. Burns and you and me. I came to get you actually."

I stare at him. Work together with Will? The past three weeks haven't exactly brought us closer together. We avoid each other as much as possible.

Blake smirks amused. "No burying Will in any tunnel, squirky. We still have use for him."

I snort and follow Blake towards mentioned tunnel. The others are already there. Will is glaring daggers at Burns while Burns is trying to avoid looking at anyone in particular.

Kelsey is nervously looking back and forth between the two and Philip looks like he has a headache already.

I sigh. This is going to be just wonderful.

Burns smiles when he sees me. "Did you finish your painting?" he asks as I move to stand next to him.

I shake my head and answer his smile. "Not yet, but I'm getting there."

"I'm sure it will be beautiful."

Will rolls his eyes. "Get moving already. I want to have this over with." He picks up crowbar and a flashlight.

Kelsey casts me an apologetic smile and hands me a large empty crate. "To move the debris," she explains.

I nod and follow her and Will. The others follow with more tools. I'm not sure what is expected of me, but I guess I'll find out.

Philip holds a second flashlight and he and Will use them to inspect the tunnel. "Looks solid," Philip comments.

Will nods carefully and taps the crowbar against one of the walls. When nothing happens, he looks over his shoulder at the rest of us. "Stay behind us. We'll test each square foot at a time and if a part is blocked we'll try to remove the debris. Any indication something might collapse, get the hell away."

We slowly proceed down the tunnel. Philip and Will test every piece of wall and ground before moving on. It doesn't even take long before we stumble on the first blockade. Part of the tunnel is boarded shut, preventing us from moving any further.

"Now what?" Kelsey asks, "do we break it open?"

Philip nods. "We'll remove the boards and investigate before proceeding. There has to be a reason this tunnel was shut. It could be bad flooring, but it could just as well be something else."

"You and Kelsey stay back," Blake says to me, "we'll remove everything and hand you the boards and rocks that can still be used for something else."

I nod. "Okay."

"Burns," Philip instructs, "you and Blake help move things out of the way. You can take the flashlight to light us. Will and I can do the breaking."

Burns nods and takes Philip's flashlight. "No problem."

Kelsey and I watch as the boys break away the boards. They are old, but some of them are still in good shape. When Burns hands us a pile of planks, Kelsey and I get to work and hammer out the rusty nails.

"You know," I say, "I think I read somewhere that if you put rusty nails in a bowl of cola, you can clean away the rust. Maybe we can still use them."

"That's a good idea," Kelsey answers, "we should try it."

"There is no cola," comes Will's gruff voice.

"Then we'll bring some on our next raid," Blake counters, "stop being such an ass all the time."

"Don't tell me what to do," Will growls.

"Enough already," Philip interferes, "use that energy to get the job done. We don't know how long this tunnel runs or what we'll find. I'm tired of you two arguing all the time."

I bite my lip. I knew working with Will would cause problems.

Will snorts and Blake scoffs, but they continue their chore without any protest.

I'm not sure how much time passes, but eventually the way is cleared and we can move on.

"Looks solid," Philip says after patting the floor and wall again, "but be careful."

There are more rocks in this section of the tunnel and parts of the wall are being supported.

"Well I guess we know now why this section was out of use," Blake comments.

"If it leads outside, it could still be an escape route," Kelsey says.

We arrive at an intersection where the tunnel splits into two narrower tunnels. Philip shines down both tunnels, but we can't see where they lead.

"Which one will we take?" I ask him.

He shrugs. "Both," he says, "we'll take the left one first and mark it and if we find another split or blockage we will head back and try the other."

Blake nods. "Sounds like a plan."

Burns looks at me. "You still good? I can carry that crate for you if it gets too heavy."

"I'm fine," I smile back.

Kelsey smiles at our exchange. "You two are so cute together."

We both blush at her words and she laughs. "No need to get embarrassed."

"Give me a break," Will mutters.

"Oh jut shut up!" Blake says, "just leave them alone for once."

Will turns to look at Blake. "Stop defending them, Blake. We all know you're just sticking up for her because you want to get in her pants."

Before Will's comment even has the chance to sink in, Blake has already thrown himself at him in anger. They slam against the opposite wall with a loud crash. Will pushes Blake away, causing him to hit the other wall.

After that, everything happens so fast I barely have time to react. The collision with the wall causes the tunnel to tremble and debris is coming down exactly where Kelsey is standing.

Burns wastes no time and dives to push her out of harms way.

At the same time, Will reaches for Kelsey with a panicked expression.

I scream when I'm being pulled away by Philip and watch in horror as a large part of the tunnel caves in, separating us from the others. "Burns!" I scream. I break free from Philip's hold and move towards the blockage. "Burns!" I shout again.

"Emma," Blake says quietly. He's reaching out for me, but I don't let him finish.

"Stay away from me!" I hiss, "this is all your fault!"

He looks hurt, but I don't care right now. If he hadn't acted like an idiot, we would all still be safe.

"She's right you know," Philip glares at Blake, "I told you not to fight. You knew the tunnel was unstable. And you know what a blockhead Will can be. Why do you let him provoke you?"

Blake doesn't answer, but sighs.

Philip walks up to the debris. "Will? Burns? Kelsey? Can you hear me?"

It remains silent and I'm on the verge of tears. Then there is muffled sound and we all lean closer.

"Hello?" Philip asks again.

"...ma?"

"Burns?" My eyes widen and I place my ear against the rock.

"... hurt. We need..."

"What? I ask, "I can't hear you."

His voice sounds again, louder this time, but still too muffled to completely understand.

"... hurt... Heal.. Clean... hurry."

"We'll get you out!" Philip shouts and he turns to Blake. "Go get Nate. Tell him to bring a few others. We have to break away this wall, but we have to be careful about it or more of the tunnel may cave in."

Blake nods and glances at me before rushing back the way we came.

I keep staring at the pile of rocks in front of me until strong hands turn me around.

"Hey," Philip says, "I need you to focus now. Panic doesn't help anyone."

I nod. "Yeah. Okay. I know."

"Okay," Philip nods.

I bite my lip and think back on the words I did catch from the other side of the debris. Hurt. Heal. Clean. I look at Philip again. "Someone is injured there. I need to get Burns' medicine."

Philip eyes me skeptically. They still don't trust the alien medicine. And I suppose if I hadn't seen it work and taken it myself, I would still have been wary too. But then he nods. "Go then. But hurry."

My feet move on their own. The thought of Burns being trapped in a small space with Will is enough to have my heart jump out of my chest.

I arrive at the storage room and frantically look around for the medicine. It's on the top shelf and I have to stand on my tiptoes to reach it and even then I need to stretch.

A lot of other things some crashing down as I grab the bottle and the spray. Nothing breakable, at least I think so, but I don't have much time to pay it any attention. I rush out of the room again and back to the tunnel where a few others have already assembled. Blake is there too but I ignore him. Will's words to him are still ringing in my mind and they make me uncomfortable.

I move to the front where Philip is talking to Nate. "...at least one conscious. I don't know about the others."

Nate nods. "We have to be careful when removing the debris. We don't want the tunnel to collapse on them." He sees me and sighs. "You should stay back, Emma. It's not safe."

"Burns needs me," I say.

"And you'll help him far better by staying back," Nate says firmly. He eyes the medicine in my hands. "Besides, you are the only one besides Burns that knows how to work that stuff."

"It's not that complicated," I protest, but Nate gives me a stern look.

"You can help once we've safely removed all those rocks."

I sigh. I know that's the best I'm going to get.

"Emma."

Blake's voice sounds beside me and I close my eyes. I let out a tired sight. "What?" I ask.

"I didn't mean for this to happen," he starts.

"Yeah, well it did."

"But what Will said..."

I look at him. "I don't care what Will said," I say softly. I don't have the energy to argue and I don't want to argue. Another sigh escapes my lips. "Let's just get them out of there."

Blake sighs too and nods. "Yeah."