Running yet again. It's funny how these things turn out.
After that rather spectacular introduction to the Abel Township populace, I was a pretty well known face. People from all over the site kept finding reasons to talk to me in their futile attempts to find out what was happening "out there". They learnt soon enough that I was the quiet sort and for the most part stopped bothering me. At least Sara would spar back; I didn't even bother responding.
Runner Eight. There was a mystery wrapped in an enigma and bound very, very tightly. She reminded me of Mike in many ways, especially when she made it seem like she knew more than she let on. She also was the President of the "We Don't Trust Five" club (Janine was the honorary secretary). That made it very difficult to train with her, which I found disappointing because she really helped the other runners push their limits in training and seemed to practically throw herself at every new mission slot. She was also handy to have watching your back in a sticky situation, as I learned from stories around the lockers. I suppose I couldn't blame her for her opinion of me as I didn't trust easily either.
That didn't seem to be a problem for most of the other runners, though - they seemed happy enough having me around on missions with them. Seven had already managed to add me to the roster after a few training runs to assess my stamina and give me the lay of the land. I had been out on a few solo runs too. I suppose they weren't exactly solo in the strictest sense because Abel had ended up with the chattiest radio operator in the world, Sam Yao.
He was an odd one, the operator. It sounded like he and the previous Runner Five had been close, yet he had witnessed her undead body destroyed to save my sorry life and still watched out for me on my runs. I found myself growing used to his distracted chatter in my ear as I balanced all my supplies or sprinted away from a horde. We hadn't really had a conversation outside of a mission context but I imagined that he was easy to talk to and wouldn't treat me like Alice was sitting on my left shoulder. I suspect it was just gratitude on my part for being the one denizen at Abel that had openly stated, "If I were attacked by a rocket launcher, see if I'm not too busy protecting my own arse to bother going out again and again to run errands for you sorry lot."
Endearing chap.
As I sat down to wash my sports bra, I realised it was the same one I had been wearing when I'd met Mike for the first time. Should I have trusted him and come here or would I end this with egg on my face, or worse? Ironically, it was the nature of our meeting and subsequent attempt to survive together before landing up at Mullins that had led him to trusting me above everyone else he knew, to come to Abel. Who knew smashing a few infected in to save someone was a good way to make a friend?
I was in the infirmary, getting some shuteye after the mission from hell. Janine had sat in on this one. It had gone tits up faster than you could sneeze, and I'd ended up staying out far later than anyone had intended. I'd also had no comms link back to Abel and had needed to run away from a few persistent infected into the woods, which is a good idea only while you can see your own shadow. In the dark, however, the trees are terrifying shades that whisper amongst themselves and the air plays tricks on you. I also wasn't anywhere I recognised, once I got out of the woods. I was resigning myself to finding somewhere to bunker down for the night when my headset crackled back to life. Never had I felt such a staggeringly powerful relief before - I wasn't alone anymore. Which was the strangest thought to have at that point, if you think about it.
I had somehow made it back. A few minutes later, or if I had decided to rest a bit before carrying on, I wouldn't be safe behind Abel's walls now thinking dark thoughts about my left calf muscle. It was late the next evening and I was already restless, though I was feeling aches in odd places. I knew I had been lucky, not skilled, and the thought terrified me almost as much as the shadows moving while the sun set. I heard a screech and a muttered ow and my heart raced and muscles tensed before I realised it was just Dr. Myers having distractedly walked into a cot again.
"Dr. Myers, when do you suppose I could leave?"
She turned around and smiled. ""Five, how many times have I told you, it's Maxine. Maybe I should hold you here until you've at least learnt that."
Oh. "Maxine, my favourite Abel doctor Maxine, will you be my knight in shining armour and kindly pronounce me fit to leave?"
She looked at her clipboard. "I'm the only Abel doctor, and not until your HP has recovered or maybe if you find a mage with a healing potion in the next- hmmm, what? Sorry, I got a bit muddled up there. Janine's being funny with the quest rules for tomorrow's game and I'm trying to find a workaround."
"Trying to find a way to cheat, you mean, you of the Festering Buboes spells." Jack and Eugene walked in with bags loaded with what looked like bandages, ointments and- oooh, sports bras. I have a thing for a good sports bra. (Must make friends with Jack if he had this sort of access.) While I was distracted by the bags, the friendly bickering had continued.
"If you can convince Janine to lift the silly restrictions she's placing on these power ups, maybe I can be persuaded to conveniently forget my more potent spells when you're around." Maxine look smug and a trifle hopeful.
"Nah, you know she's been keen on doing this ever since Sam repaired that dungeon and locked her in it for two rounds."
"Yes, well..." Maxine levelled a speculative glance at me. "Five, have you ever played Demons and Darkness?"
...
Two hours later, I knew more about Faerie Magicks (Jody) and Giggle Demons (Sam) than I'd ever expected to, and the quickest way to appease the gods (throw a game to Janine). I was feeling much lighter than I had in a long time, and perhaps it was a bit of that and a lot of gratitude that got me comfortable with this conversation.
"Have you always loved board games, Maxine? I didn't know anyone who played them so never got into them myself."
"No, I…" She paused and swallowed. "I used to date someone who was obsessed with these things so obviously I got roped in every time our friends played them."
I hadn't considered her or anyone at Abel as regular people with lives and loves, I realised. (Jack and Eugene were practically one entity so they didn't count.) The way the world was today, it was highly likely that anyone you got close to would be trying to get a juicy bite out of you sooner or later. If you were really lucky, you'd see it quickly enough and take their head off in time. It seemed best to just not bother, but it also seemed to be doing these kind people an injustice to treat them as merely a means to an end. I seemed to be making a friend in Maxine and resolved to treat her like one.
"That sounds so domestic. But, I sense, not a happy ending."
"We were… something special, but separated by the outbreak. What else? It's a pretty common story and far less tragic than most. If you don't mind, I'd rather not go into it."
"Of course. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be seeing all this with your family or partner next to you. Whether it would make it any better or just far scarier, I mean."
"However all this ends, I think everything is better when it's with someone you care for. I realise we don't know each other very well, Five, but circumstances have brought us all together and you're a part of us here, now. I hope you know you needn't be running away any more."
All the subtlety of a hammer, Maxine.
"Figuratively speaking, of course, and literally for the next week at least."
"Aw, man."