Left For Dead [malec fanfiction] [complete]

Twenty Four: Left For Dead

"Try and keep up, Jawline! This ain't the Boy Scouts!"

Alec was more than aware that this wasn't the Boy Scouts. Boy Scouts was where you learned to build a fire in the woods. Set up your own camp. Collect badges that didn't mean much to a kid at that time. But looking back at it, Alec thanked his 12 year old self for going through with it and finishing Boy Scouts. It taught him a lot of what he needed to know for today.

"You said you were a scavenger for your community?" Jordan asked as they ducked under a fallen light pole.

"Yeah. Alicante. Have you heard of it?" Alec pulled out his map of Brooklyn and pointed it out. "It would've been right here if the freak storm hadn't destroyed it."

Jordan looked up at him. "Storm? You mean that weird storm we had the other week?"

"Yes. Why would I make it up? Unless I imagined it and the town destroyed itself-"

"Hey now. I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sure you lost a lot of good people that day and I'm sorry about that. We all lost a lot of good people since this shitstorm happened."

"Not me!" Hector laughed from the front of the group. "I'm a lone wolf. Didn't have anyone going into this mess and thank god for that. I don't need anyone dragging me down when I'm trying to survive."

Emma shot him a look. "Nice to know that our lives don't really matter to you...."

"With the exception of you, princess-" Hector laughed as Emma shoved him. "Your Julian isn't here to throw his usual threats at me. I kind of miss him."

"Who's Julian?" Alec whispered to Maia.

"Emma's man. The two of them have known each other since childhood. They're inseparable-until now, that is. He works in surveillance and he more than likely has an eye on us right now."

When she pointed up at a telephone pole, Alec looked up and saw a camera swerving back and forth above them. "Oh. How long does surveillance extend?"

Maia nodded towards the head of the group. "At the end of that street up there. We never could go any further because the video feed cuts out. Limited range."

Impressed, Alec nodded in approval. "You seem like you know a lot about this stuff."

"I would hope," she snorted. "I started out in surveillance when I first arrived at the Institute. I got pulled when they found out that I practically knew this area like the back of my hand. They thought I'd be more useful on the field than behind a screen and honestly? I like it. Keeps me sane."

Alec scoffed with a smirk. "Are any of us really sane these days?"

Maia grinned. "No. Probably not."

Meliorn stopped just outside a building whose entire first four floors looked dilapidated and ready to collapse at any moment. He checked the map, the building, then signalled the group.

"First stop is here. There's some important generator parts in here apparently. Maybe we'll find some other goodies here too?"

"Food!" Emma beamed.

"Clothes!" Maia sent a prayer up to the heavens.

"Booze!" Hector boomed, which the rest of the group had to hush him.

Meliorn sighed. "Yes to food and clothes. No to booze. We get the important stuff first, Hector. Come on man. You've been working with me for years-"

"I know, I know. I've heard it all before," grumbled Hector. "But if I find a bottle, I'm taking a big ol' swig from it. You can't stop me."

They had to set up a pulley system similar to what rock climbers use. Though Alec wasn't much of a rock climber, he did use the pulley once or twice before when places were hard to get. He was slower than the rest of the group on account of his injured shoulder but he still managed to follow behind them while Jordan stayed down below to keep watch and keep the rope steady.