Max and Lizzie were escorted back down the tunnel and locked back in the cell by Nev and his guards.
The other prisoners briefly looked up, barely interested at who had survived the ordeal. Some eyes lingered longer as they realised two people had come back, but even they didn't care enough to comment.
"You were fucking amazing out there Max!" Lizzie cheered as soon as Nev and his goons had left.
Max smiled; who knew the thing he would be best at in life would be killing clickers. He's been waiting years to find something he could excel at. It was a pity it was something so depressing.
"Hang on, I thought last time was just a lucky shot with that knife, but what the fuck kid?! You were hitting them between the eyes every time! How did you do that?" Max asked, astonished at the skill and precision she had.
Lizzie's smile instantly wiped from her face and she looked away from him.
She mumbled something completely inaudible.
"What was that?"
Lizzie shuffled her feet and mumbled slightly louder, embarrassment painted across her face.
"Yeah, one more time, bit louder," Max chuckled, easing the information out of her.
"Magic Camp," she muttered.
Max collapsed into a heap on a nearby sofa, holding his stomach tightly as he loudly hooted.
"Magic Camp? Fucking Magic Camp?!" he cried.
"Shut up! My mum used to send me there every summer," Lizzie defended.
"And out of everything, you went for knife throwing?" Max asked, still laughing to himself.
"I was an angry kid, what can I say? I was good at it," she smirked, now seeing the funny side.
She hopped onto the sofa next to him, jamming her elbow into his side.
"And to think you were impressed with my juggling," Max chuckled.
"Well, everyone seems to be in a good mood over here," Paulo said.
Max hadn't even noticed him approach while he was laughing.
"Yeah, well, surviving feels good buddy," Max replied.
"I think it's your turn to repay the favour; I have some questions for you now," Paulo whispered, perching himself on the arm of the sofa.
"Shoot," Max said, lowering his voice too.
Something told him this wasn't a conversation Paulo wanted people overhearing.
"Firstly, how are you both still alive?" he asked with interest.
"I don't know man, for some reason that guy in charge, the guy with the glasses..."
"Patrick," Paulo informed.
"Yeah, him. He decided that two out of the three of us could walk away. The crowd seemed to love the whole team thing; I think it was just some sick way of keeping them entertained," Max explained.
"Interesting," Paulo pondered. "What about the guards? How many were there?" he asked after a few more seconds.
"Escorting us from here?" Max questioned.
Paulo nodded.
"Three," Max answered.
Paulo smiled.
"One guard for each person? I was right!" he smirked.
"Right about what?" Lizzie chimed in.
Paulo leant in closer and lowered his voice even further.
"For a few weeks now I've noticed that the guard count has been far lower than usual. It seems that with every day or two that passes, they have less and less."
"How many used to escort you over to start with?" Max asked.
"In the beginning, around four per person. Either they've gotten lazy, or they're running low on manpower. Either way, it could be our chance."
"Chance as in chance to escape?" Lizzie said excitedly.
Paulo waved his arms in a downward motion.
"Hush girl! This stays between us for now!" he hissed at her.
"Why? Surely we need all the help we can get?" she replied snootily.
"Not until we come up with some kind of solid plan. We don't want anyone getting too excited and jumping the gun. We only have one shot at this," Paulo clarified.
Lizzie nodded in agreement, clearly not happy that she had lost the argument.
"Have you got any kind of plan?" Max queried.
Paulo thought for a second before replying.
"Nothing subtle, no."
"We don't really do subtle," Lizzie joked.
"Well, then maybe I'm talking to the right people, Paulo smiled back.
"The way I see it, when they come to collect the contestants, the only people here are Nev and a couple of guards" he thought aloud.
"So you're thinking just storm forward and overpower them all together?" Max asked.
He had to admit the plan wasn't impressive or clever, but if Paulo was right about the guard count being low then it might just work.
"Precisely. I'm afraid once we're out of this room it's every man for himself," Paulo warned.
"Agreed," Max nodded.
"Sounds good to me," Lizzie added.
"So I guess that just leaves the question of when?" Max pondered.
"I think we leave it a few days, monitor the guard situation, and slowly bring everyone else in on the plan," Paulo theorised.
"What if me and Max aren't around in a few days?" Lizzie muttered.
"We'll just have to take the chance, kid," Max said, reassuring her with a confident look.
She nodded back at Max, not at Paulo. It was Max she would place her trust in, not him.
"Well, we're in," Max said, extending his hand out.
Paulo shook it and smiled.
"I knew you would be."
Max, Lizzie, and Paulo discussed the escape for what felt like hours, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't come up with an alternative. After a guard turned up to throw stale bread into the cell for dinner, Lizzie eventually fell asleep curled up on the sofa.
"So what's the deal with you two anyway?" Paulo asked, pointing his finger between Max and Lizzie.
"The deal?"
"Well, she keeps calling you Max, so she isn't your kid; is she a niece, or cousin, or...?" Paulo probed.
"Just a friend," Max answered bluntly.
Paulo looked at him, his face clearly begging for more information than that.
"We met on the road; I saved her. Well, she saved me, really. I haven't been able to get rid of her since," Max joked.
"Everyone needs someone, I don't care what some people say. This is a lonely life, especially now, and you can't do it alone," Paulo said.
"I know I couldn't," Max replied, smiling at the sleeping Lizzie. "But tell her that and I'll rip your balls off," he smirked at Paulo.
Paulo forced out a chuckle before falling into silence once more. His mind was clearly elsewhere.
"Who did you lose?" Max asked; he knew the look on Paulo's face. He knew that pain.
"I don't even know. That's the worst part of it...the not knowing."
"What do you mean?" said Max.
"I was away for work for a while. I'd just got the news that I could go home early when all this shit broke out. By the time I made it back home, all their stuff was packed and gone. I know they got away safely; the car and suitcases were missing, but after that I have no idea. I have no idea if my wife and kids are even alive man!" Paulo said numbly, with a dead, defeated look in his eyes.
"Sometimes you're better off not knowing man. At least you can convince yourself they're still out there," Max argued.
He wished he'd had that privilege with John.
He knew his family were dead. He knew every graphic detail of his brother's death. There's no way not knowing would be worse; no way.
"You know if we ever get out of this place, you can always come with us?" Max offered sincerely.
Paulo really smiled warmly for the first time.
"You know what, I think I'd like that."
They both sat there, sharing silence and grief, before they both drifted off to sleep.