The word alive never seemed to taste so sweet before. I had been torn before, flitting between the desperate hope that someone had managed to survive here and chiding myself for thinking it was possible. The fact that it had been my constant companion seemed to further stick the words to my throat, and for a brief moment I wondered just what else could be possible. Jaclyn and Kayla alive? My family? Well, if Leah was here, perhaps the former would not be so unlikely.

I swallowed thickly in the silence, and for a moment I feared we'd be stuck mute forever from the shock of seeing each other. What was one to say when it seemed the past had come back to life? I shook my head, opening my mouth to attempt to unstick whatever words had stopped up in my throat, but was saved the pressure of speaking first by her voice. A wide smile cracked my face. "I could say the same for you." I said, ignoring how cracked my voice sounded to my own ears. Hers sounded just as, probably from lack of use. 

The smile faded a bit at her questions and I shifted, trying to stretch in the small space of the air duct. "The elevator shaft." I said, moving to run a hand through my matted hair. "I managed to pry it open and I've been hiding out there." I paused, allowing time to carefully phrase my words. "I assume the same way you have. Avoiding the dead, stealing what food I can find, but..." Another pause, biting the inside of my cheek. "I haven't seen anyone else." It felt like a bitter phrase, quelling the joy I had felt but I ignored it. I had found one live person, surely there would be more. It was plausible.