Grace didn't want to trust her, but what choice did she have? The woman wore all black, and despite having emerged from the middle of a forest, seemed more polished and put together than anyone Grace had seen in weeks.

"This might sting," the woman said. She pulled Hunter's hand away from the wound, pulled out a small bottle, and poured some liquid over the seeping blood.

Hunter flinched and bit his lip, keeping himself from yelling out.

"Here, pressure there." The woman produced clean bandaging and placed it over the injury. Then she turned to Grace. "You won't last out here by yourself," she said. "They're not good in the woods, but they're also not bad. So, you have about two sentences to tell me why I should take you with me."

"I don't even know who you are," Grace argued.

"Now you have one sentence."

Grace glared into her eyes, but the woman remained completely calm, although her body was taught with a sense of urgency. She wasn't with the fascists, that much was clear.

"Jackson and Carrie say hello."

Grace wasn't even sure where the idea came from, but the words were out of her mouth before she could even think about it. A flash of recognition crossed the woman's face.

"Help him up," she ordered. "And move quickly."

Hunter put an arm around Grace's shoulders, and she wrapped her around his waist, hoisting him up to a standing position. Just then, she heard a faint shout in the distance.

"Follow me," the woman said, casting a glance behind them.

"Do you think we can trust her?" Hunter muttered in Grace's ear as they limped along as fast as possible.

"We have to," Grace said grimly.

They staggered along. The woman clearly wanted to be moving faster. She kept getting ahead and then doubling back for them, but Grace was already moving a greater pace than she would like given the blood that soaked Hunter's bandages.

"Here." The woman finally stopped at the foot of a large boulder. She bent down and pulled open a trapdoor that Grace hadn't even been able to see, it was so well camouflaged. She looked at Hunter. "For the sake of time, just jump," she said. "It's not too far."

Hunter glanced at Grace, and she nodded. No time for questions.

He let go of her, sat down at the edge of the hole, and pushed himself off the edge. A fraction of a second later, Grace heard a dull thud.

With one look from the woman, Grace followed, dropping herself down into the hole. The woman was right; the drop wasn't far at all, and Grace landed on the concrete floor with a small huff. In the dim lighting, she could see Hunter leaning against a wall for support.

The trap door swung closed above them. The woman stood at the top of a ladder, securing some locks, before coming down to the floor. "No one else is out right now," she explained at Grace's confused expression. "So best to lock up, although I doubt the guys chasing you would be able to find it in the first place."

True. Grace highly doubted that their pursuers were particularly intelligent.

"Let's get your friend to a doctor," the woman said. "Then we'll talk."

Grace helped Hunter limp along the hallway. Dim, flickering lanterns hung on the walls about every 20 feet, so at least Grace could somewhat see what was in front of her. She had just begun to wonder as to where exactly they were going when the tunnel opened up into a large room. Two people with automatic weapons stood on either side of the entrance.

"They're with me," the woman said. The guards just nodded, allowing them to enter.

The woman strode to the other side of the room and wrenched open a door. "Come on."
Grace and Hunter followed and awkwardly made their way down a set of stairs that led deeper into the bunker. The room they descended into had a few tables spread out, maps on the walls, and papers everywhere, but no people. It looked to Grace like a sort of situation room.

The woman led them down another hallway and pushed open another door. A man sitting at a desk turned around as they came in. He nodded to the woman in greeting, but his recognition turned to confusion as he saw Grace and Hunter.

"He needs your help, Derek," the woman said.

"Sit down there." The man nodded to a makeshift hospital bed that sat in one corner of the room. Grace helped Hunter limp over and ease himself down on it.

"We'll be just next door," the woman said.

Grace and Hunter exchanged uneasy glances at the idea of splitting up, but Grace followed the woman nonetheless. So far, she no one had done anything threatening.

The woman opened the door to another medical room, although this one was empty. "Sit," she said, pointing to a chair.

Grace sat down on the edge of the seat, casting her gaze around the room and taking note of the space.

The woman sat down in the chair at the desk and looked Grace up and down appraisingly. "Well, you don't have any open wounds as far as I can tell, but I must say, you look like hell."

"Uh, right." Grace wasn't really sure what to make of it. "Are you a doctor?" she finally asked.

The woman gave a small smile. "No, but I've learned a lot about healing over the past few years."

"Right. Uh, then who are you, exactly?"

"My name is Madeline," the woman said. "And when I'm not treating injuries or illnesses, I'm a scout for Underground 106."

"Underground 106?" Grace had never heard of anything like that before.

"If you know Jackson and Carrie and knew to tell me their names, you must have some idea as to who we are."

"The active resistance?" Grace questioned slowly.

Madeline's smile grew slightly larger. "We do our best. But before any more questions," she cut Grace off before she could even ask something, "I need to know about you. You must understand, it's a risk bringing new people here."

Grace nodded slowly. Despite the obvious risk Madeline had taken, she seemed completely calm, very relaxed. If Grace didn't satisfy her with her story, Grace didn't want to know what would happen to her and Hunter. "My name is Grace," she began, "and I'm from a town called Seaside."

Grace took Madeline through her story, beginning with a brief description of Seaside and her talents at finding rare items. She recounted meeting Hunter and their journey together and why they were traveling. As she ended with their rather trying events in the central valley, Grace suddenly felt exhausted, the lack of sleep and food finally catching up with her.

"Your friend's sister, what's her name?"

"Anna DiAngelo."

Madeline nodded. "Wait here."

Without another word, Madeline stood up and strode out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Silence fell. Grace sat back in her chair, staring at the door. Madeline had remained very impassive as Grace told her story, so she couldn't be sure if the resistance member had believed every word or thought Grace was telling utter bullshit.

About 15 minutes later, 14 of which Grace had been pacing around the room, trying to not bust out and shatter any bit of trust Madeline might have in her, the older woman came back in. She chuckled slightly as Grace whipped around at the sound of the door opening.

"Come with me," she said.

Grace hurried out of the room, and Madeline brought them back to the first room. To Grace's immense relief, Hunter was sitting up, looking much better. He tried to stand as Grace came in, but winced and sat back down.

"Yeah, I wouldn't make any sudden movements," Derek advised. "We don't have enough pain medication to spare on you."

Grace walked over and sat down on the bed next to him. He put his hand over hers for just a moment and gave it a light squeeze.

"Well," Madeline said, entering as well and shutting the doors, "the good news is, your stories match. We don't believe that you 're spies."

Grace and Hunter glanced at each other. "Er, thanks," Grace said. "I'm glad you believe what we told you."

"It's not just that," Madeline said. "Anna DiAngelo."

Both Grace and Hunter straightened up at her words.

"She's not here," Madeline said, holding up her hands, "but, a few of the refugees who we are currently sheltering came from the Ocean Train. And two of them remember her."

Grace's mind was racing, her exhaustion and hunger forgotten. She didn't know if she should feel ecstatic or an immense sense of dread. They had found their train, yes, but what happened to everyone that Underground 106 hadn't taken in?"

"Do you have any idea what might have happened to the rest of the travelers?"

Grace's heart broke at the sound of hopelessness in Hunter's voice. It seemed he was already assuming the worst, and Grace honestly couldn't blame him.

Madeline gave him a sympathetic look. "It was chaotic, when it all happened." She sighed and took a seat next to Derek. "They group came down right through the center of this valley, and the closer you get to the center, the more tightly it's controlled by armed militants. I was on a scouting mission with a few others, looking for supplies, when we heard the fighting.

"We missed most of the actual action," she admitted. "We just saw people running, heard guns firing. There were a lot of injured people, and everyone was going in separate directions. We just followed the group that was running toward this bunker and got as many as we could to safety. It was only after we talked to them we heard about the attack."

"Did they say why they came this way?" Grace asked.

Madeline shook her head. "The men who run the train, I guess they made that decision. And they're not here, we don't know what happened to them."

"So you don't know what happened to anyone else except for who's here?" Hunter asked.

"I didn't say that," Madeline said. "About a month after it all happened, when things started to calm down, we got a message from another Underground station. They were asking for extra supplies for a sudden influx of people. Long story short, a lot of the passengers got away and are hiding in Underground 109."

Grace felt a tiny spark of hope. "So she might be there?"

Madeline nodded. "It's not guaranteed, but I wouldn't say there's a bad chance of it."
"How can we get there?" Hunter asked.

"I know you're eager to get going," Madeline said. "But you both look dead on your feet. Stay here for at least a couple of days. Sleep, eat, be safe, at least for a little while. And then we'll talk about how to get you there."

Grace appreciated that Madeline didn't even seem to consider talking them out of making the journey. "Thank you," she said, "we accept the offer." Grace spoke quickly, wanting to avoid Hunter potentially arguing. He was as stiff as a board beside her, but didn't say anything.

"Sleep or eat?" Derek asked.

"Sleep," Grace and Hunter said together.

Derek chuckled as Madeline got to her feet. "Follow me," she said. "I'll show you where you can get some rest."

Madeline guided them through the bunker. Grace's eyes were already threatening to close. They saw a few people as they walked, but no one gave them much of a second's glance.

Finally, Madeline pulled open a door to reveal a few cots. "Take these two," she said, pointing to two of the beds. "When you wake up, make a left out of here and go to the second room on your right." She left them alone, closing the door.

Neither spoke. They both just collapsed onto the cots, and within seconds, Grace was overcome with sleep.