I dropped from the rope onto the floor. I took in my surroundings. I was in an underground mining tunnel. It stretched off into the distance from either side of me. 

"Thomas, you okay down there?" Garrett asked from above.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't see Danny anywhere though." I replied.

I looked around the floor and saw drops of blood on the left side of the tunnel, presumably Danny's. I swallowed nervously. 

"It's an underground mining tunnel. I think I know which way Danny went." I yelled up to the surface.

"Sounds good!"

"Good luck!"

"Come back in one piece Thomas!"

I started walking in the direction of the blood trail. It led into a small side tunnel. I started calling out for Danny's name. After a few moments, I heard a reply.

"Thomas, is that you?" 

I turned towards the voice and saw Danny in the corner, nursing an injured arm. His forehead was also bleeding. I rushed over to him.

"Danny are you okay? What made you walk all the way down here?" I asked, worried.

"I thought I heard something but I guess it was just in my head." He replied. I took my first aid kit out of my backpack, grabbed some cloth and wrapped his arm in a sling. I wrapped his forehead to slow down the bleeding. 

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" I asked.

"No I'm fine." He winced in pain as I helped him stand. 

We started to make our way back to the others when I heard someone's voice. I turned to Danny.

"Did you hear that too?" I asked.

"Yeah." He replied. 

We turned around to see a little girl, covered in soot smiling at us.

I nearly screamed in surprise.

"HI! I'm Emily! What's your name?" Emily asked.

I introduced the both of us. "What are you doing here all by yourself?" I asked, concerned.

"I live here, with my family." She replied.

I looked to Danny and he simply shrugged. I made an executive decision. 

"Let's get you back up to the surface, since your injured. I'll stay down here with Emily and meet her family." I told Danny.

"Are you sure?" He replied, hesitant to leave me by myself.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. You know where to find me." I reassured him.

He nodded. I tied him to the rope leading to the surface and yelled, "Guys, we're back! Can you lift Danny up?" 

"You got it!" I heard Garrett reply from above. Once Danny was at the surface, I said, "I'll be back soon. I have to check something out, but I'll be right back!" 

The others said okay, and with that I followed Emily back into the main tunnel. We made our way down the right side of the tunnel. We walked for about 10 minutes until we reached a small opening to the side of the tunnel. Emily turned towards me and said, "Go ahead."

I nodded and slipped inside. I looked up. It was a large cave, with around 20 people inside. There was a good mix of men, women and children. Their leader, a middle aged woman, approached us. 

"What do we have here, Emily?" She asked.

"This is Thomas, he's from aboveground." Emily introduced me.

The lady raised an eyebrow. "I'm Emma. We used to live in a small village some miles east of here. We've lived down here for quite some time now for protection because ever since the Flare broke out the outside world has been utterly chaotic. Everyone who wasn't Immune has passed away, including Emily's parents. Our supplies are running low. Are there more people with you?" She asked, hopeful.

"Yeah, we've set up a community of sorts a few miles away, west out of the forest. Would you like to join us?" I asked.

Emily smiled in relief. "Of course."

She turned to the others and began giving them directions to pack up their things and get ready to leave. 

I had definitely found something, but it wasn't anything that I had ever expected.