S5E12:

Bailey POV

A guard held her firmly by the arm as she was dragged back into Altura behind Estes. They reached the community building where there was a line of people going through an old metal detector like you did at the airport. All around were signs marking the building as a polling station and signs of 'Safety First Vote Safety.' 'Vote Sanity' and 'Humans First' were hung. There were more guards with guns while one guard had a scanner and was checking people by their face ID after they'd step through the metal detector. It went by person by person until the scanner let out a low beep.

"Traitor!" One guard shouted and stepped forward as the man raised his hands. He was shot in the head before he could get out a single word and Bailey couldn't help but let out a shocked and horrified little 'yelp' at how quickly they'd killed that man.

"Altura's new security." Estes said smiling and walking over to where she'd stopped and was staring at the man on the ground as his head bled and they left him dead on the cement as they continued scanning people.

"Traitors are now shot on sight." Estes continued, "Don't worry though, you're with me. Killing you now would be a waste. I have other plans in mind." And with that he continued into the building and she was shoved along.

-Undisclosed Location –

Third Person POV

One by one the Talkers were shoved onto the two yellow school buses by the guards Estes had stationed there.

"I'm going! Take it easy." Murphy grumbled as he was shoved by a guard into line, "You know you guys need to watch out for these Talkers, they get a little if-y when they're hungry. How long is this ride? Hey stewardess, will there be bizkits?"

Then his complaining was cut off as he was pushed to the bus door and noticed that the wheels on all the buses had been taken off. When he stepped inside it got even stranger.

"Where's the driver? Hey!" he shouted as the door closed behind him, "You can't just lock us in here! They're going feral!"

Then he turned and saw all the Talkers moving to one side of the bus clawing at the windows desperate for the brains inside the guards' skulls. Murphy raised his hands and focused and soon all the Talkers sat calmly back down on both busses.

"Hey what's going on?" one guard asked another.

"Yeah, why'd they shut up?"

Then Murphy took the driver's seat, smiled and waved out the window where he knew Addy would see him.

-Altura -

Once Citizen Z, George and Warren had infiltrated Altura he headed off to find Kaya while the others put their plan into action. He carefully wove through the hallways of one of the lower floors of the community center with his gun drawn ready to shoot if he absolutely had to. At the end of one hall was a vending machine for soda that Kaya had told him to meet her at.

"Kaya?" he whispered, "Kaya?"

Then there was a small squeak and the front of the vending machine moved just a bit. He walked over and opened it and saw that the back of the machine was missing and the wall behind it had been carved out and there sat Kaya in the glow of her laptop.

"Come to mama." She smiled as he climbed in and shut the door behind him.

"Hey babe." He said giving her a kiss.

"Did ya get it?"

"Yeah." He said pulling out a thumb drive, "Computer keys to the kingdom. Every password and key in the network."

She smiled and plugged it in. "Altura is at my fingertips. Let's rock."

-Undisclosed Location -

Pandora strutted along the dead bodies of the militia, she'd gone to investigate the busses after there had been no word back from the guards there. She found one dead body after another and wiped some blood of a bus and tasted it.

"Human." She whispered to herself before turning to her lieutenant, "I'm supposed to believe a bunch of strung out Talkers did all this?" she asked before getting on the nearest bus and looking for further clues. She walked seat to seat until someone with red skin jumped up.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoo -wow. Uh, hello. Loved you in phantom of the apocalypse." Murphy joked looking at her mask.

"What happened to my men?" she demanded.

"Your men? Oh. . . you're Estes' mascot, hello." He said smiling and giving a small wave.

"And you're the big red one, proprietor of Limbo."

"Well, I was until Estes' goons forced me out of business."

"Friend of Talkers and Talker lovers. Friend of traitors." Pandora sneered.

"Sweetheart I have been called much worse." He scoffed, "I'm sorry, where do I look? The real eye or the pretty one?"

"You really love listening to the sound of your own voice don't you?"

"Well I've been told I could have had a career -." Murphy shrugged.

"What happened here?"

"Altura scum forced us in this bus, the Talkers went batshit. Surprised?"

She chuckled, "You honestly expect me to believe that my armed militia was overrun by a few starving Talkers?"

"Well your guys weren't exactly Seal Team 6, know what I'm saying?" he asked as she drew a pocket knife and it shinged as she flipped it open.

"And where are the Talkers now?" she asked her voice low and deadly.

"Umm I don't know they ran off. . . north by north west?" he asked as her personal bodyguard moved to stand in the seat behind him, "What? Or is it east by east west?"

"Well I could just eat your brains, find out everything I need to know." She said as her friend grabbed him from behind.

"Alright! I got knocked out during the fight, I woke up here and everyone was gone."

"Doesn't matter, you can't protect them anyway." She smirked as her phone went off.

"Where is everyone getting these phones?" Murphy asked jealous yet again.

"I should take this." Pandora said before answering the call and putting the phone to her ear.

"Do you have a phone?" Murphy asked looking over his shoulder at the guard.

"Yes?" Pandora said when she'd answered, "Yes. I understand Roman. Yes. I'm on my way."

She hung up and her guard let go of him as they headed off the bus.

"Hold on, you're not taking me to Altura?" he asked.

"No need." she said spinning back around to face him, "Estes has already arrested your little friends, George and Lieutenant Warren. The election is happening and you will never be welcome in Altura."

Bailey POV

Estes had brought her to a windowless room and had her hands tied behind her back restraining her to a chair. She was there for a good few hours, maybe five? Or twelve? It was hard to tell, all she knew was it was a long time before the door was opened again and a guard brought in two more chairs and placed them behind her. She looked over her left shoulder and saw George and Warren get dragged in and tied to chairs just like she was. No one said anything until the guards left.

"What are you two doing here?" Bailey asked, her voice an urgent whisper.

"Had a plan, got caught." Warren said shortly before turning to George and Bailey got the impression their leader might be worried they were still being watched, "Hey they'll find us. They will."

Bailey's eyebrows crinkled in confusion before she saw them both discreetly glance at the security camera mounted above the door and her brain put two and two together– Kaya and CZ.

"Did you plan this?" Bailey asked keeping her voice quiet.

"It got us to you didn't it?" Warren replied turning as best she could in her chair to look at her, "Just hang tight, we're all getting out of here."

10K POV

He and Doc had just gotten the truck to the forest near Pacifica that George had pointed out on their map.

"This it?" he asked as they got out and leaned against the tailgate.

"I think so." Doc said taking out the map, "Yeah, right where Warren said, let's get to it." He said as they saw Addy come over the hill and through the forest with the Talkers.

"Let's go everybody you've got your orders!" Doc called and 10K used his one hand to start pulling supplies out of the truck as different pairs of Talkers took it and went about their jobs setting up their false camp. While they worked 10K had trouble keeping his mind off Bailey. From the moment she'd been dragged away a knot formed in his stomach, worried by all the things Estes and his militia could be doing to her. She could be back in jail, she could be getting tortured or she could be dead already. He took a deep breath and shook his head trying to focus on his job. It had taken a lot of convincing from Doc to keep him from running to Altura after Bailey but in the end Warren had a plan that they needed him for. Even one handed he was still their best shooter and they needed him here, not in a cell or dead in a ditch with Bailey. He just had to trust Warren he kept telling himself, she wouldn't let anything happen to Bailey he had to have faith in that.

In no time they had half a dozen tents up, some of the Talkers went with Addy to fill sandbags while he helped Doc put up the last tent. He used his antler to hold a pole upright as his fingers wove some rope through the hook as Doc nailed the pike into the ground.

"That swiss army claw really works." Doc said smiling and patting him on the back before moving to get some barrels as 10K looked down at the antler. He was happy it helped him shoot again but it still felt a bit odd when he went to do certain tasks and there were still things that he couldn't do at all he thought as he looked down at his Velcro boots. He took a deep breath and got his thoughts back to the priority at hand, blocking out everything else.

Bailey POV

It wasn't long before Estes reentered with his guards and Bailey turned in her chair again to look over her shoulder to watch him. She knew George and Warren had gotten caught intentionally in hopes of finding where they were keeping her and now she had to do all she could for them and the best thing she could do was search Estes' every expression, every movement to look for some sign of weakness that could help them.

"Hello George." He greeted politely, "Lieutenant Warren –"

"Save it." Warren snapped interrupting him and any attempt at false manners he'd intended to try on them.

"What happened to you?" George asked, "Have you been lying to me this whole time?"

"Unbridled idealism is rather easy to direct." Estes replied.

"I think the word you want is manipulate." Warren said and Bailey did her best to hide the smirk that wanted to appear on her face. She knew Warren was choosing her words carefully and with Bailey in the room her use of the word manipulate hadn't been coincidental.

"Final Mercy Estes? That's your idea of democracy?" George asked.

"So you hacked me." Estes said now figuring it out.

"We know everything. How do you think your fellow Alturans are going to feel when they find out you're behind the blasts?" George asked him.

"And who's going to tell them? You?" he scoffed.

"The truth always gets out." Warren warned him. It was true, Kurian's deception, the fake CDC, even Zona, no matter how hard people tried to hide their true intentions one way or another it always got out.

"Does it though? While you're locked in this cell Altura's going to elect me Supreme Commander of Security Forces and you'll be convicted of treason."

"Supreme Commander?" Bailey asked, "You're a little old for comic book villain titles aren't you?"

"Treason?" Warren scoffed possibly intentionally drawing attention off Bailey.

"Harboring fugitive Talkers, theft of Altura lithium and the illegal hack of Altura's computers tsk, tsk." Estes listed, "We take a very dim view of election interference here."

"Why Estes? Why?" Warren asked not in the dramatic way but more like she was digging for information, to find the point of all this trouble Estes had gone through.

"It's nothing personal, just evolution." He shrugged turning to one of the guards, "Bring her."

Then the guard stepped forward and cut Warren from her chair and dragged her out of the room.

"Warren!" Bailey shouted.

"Wait!" George cried.

"Leave her alone!"

"Where are you taking her?" George demanded.

"Just to answer a few questions." Estes replied, "Don't worry about her, I'm playing good cop."

Then Estes left the room and Bailey and George turned to each other with looks of worry before they heard heels clacking against the tile floor and a moment later Pandora strutted in with her Talker lieutenant.

"Hi." George said her voice wavering with uncertainty. Meanwhile Bailey felt her rage ignite inside her at the sight of the masked woman.

"Pandora." She sneered between clenched teeth.

Pandora chuckled and bent over resting her hands on her knees which were covered by her black rubber dress. "Oh, I did get you good didn't I?" she asked tapping her own temple as she referred to the red cut and ugly stitches on Bailey's own head.

"You were the one who knocked me out." Bailey said her voice soft in realization before that rage returned, "You porcelain faced bitch!"

Pandora sneered at her, "You're lucky Estes says you're off limits, so please don't test me." She said as she stood up straight again with a joyful gleam in her good eye that Bailey could tell meant trouble for her and George.

Third Person POV

Back in Sun Mei's lab she and Red were examining 10K's severed hand as it twitched across the metal table while Sun went through her vials of tests. After seeing what had happened to Becky, as tragic as it was, it had given Sun Mei an idea and she was glad she'd saved 10K's hand after all. It still had that gruesome bite mark in it just below his pinkie running along the side of his palm. The skin was grey and darker veins were visible throughout it and instead of bleeding from the wrist the blood had congealed into this Jell-O like consistency at the point where Red had cut it off.

"I'm never going to get used to that." Red murmured watching the appendage as it crab walked around using its zombie fingers to move.

"The zombie virus is singularly focused." Sun Mei explained, "It wants brains."

Red reached out and grabbed the hand as it got closer to the edge of the table and she lifted it and moved it so it wouldn't fall.

"I still feel so bad for 10K." she said softly.

"After all the trials and horrific tests it all comes back to where my mission started – Murphy's blood." Sun Mei went on trying to get Red's mind off her guilt. "The virus works in mysterious ways, something in the ooze that runs in Murphy's veins binds to the same notor-receptors as the zombie virus, it can be any one of a hundred unidentified antibodies but the other ninety nine will kill you."

"But you're close. Right?" Red asked hopeful.

"Maybe we'll get lucky." Sun said holding up a needle with the same thing she'd used on Becky. "Hold it still."

Red held down Tommy's hand while Sun injected it. The thumb still twitched trying to move as they ran their trial.

"Another moment." Sun instructed.

"What should I do?" Red asked.

"Let go of it."

The hand stayed still for a moment after Red had moved her hand from it then it twitched again before it fell flat on the table. They both noticed the skin looked less gray and the veins in it were fading.

"Careful." Red said slowly as Sun Mei reached out and touched it.

"Some mysterious contaminant in Murphy's blood killed the virus and re-humanized 10K's hand." She said sounding amazed.

"The. . .cure. You found the cure." Red said as she smiled.

Bailey's POV

"I'll break your fingers. . . I'll break your toes." Pandora sang looking over sharp tools for torture. "Or. . . I'll break your nose." She said in her regular voice before moving over to George. Pandora's friend had dragged George's chair across the room before spinning Bailey's seat so she could watch.

"Aw did you not learn that when you were a kid?" Pandora asked with a mocking tone in her voice.

"What's it like being Estes' pet?" George asked mocking her right back.

"Jealously does not become you George."

"He's using you."

"We're using each other." Pandora told her, "Oh and we have big plans. I'm his queen."

"You keep telling yourself that." George said unconvinced.

"Why are you and Warren in Altura?"

"Sightseeing."

"Where. Are. The Talkers?" Pandora asked waving her weapon of choice in George's face.

"Well you rounded them up. You tell me." George replied.

"I'm actually glad you're not cooperating." Pandora said as the tool buzzed in her hand and Bailey felt her heart jump realizing it was an electric prod she was holding.

"Why are you siding with Estes over your own kind?" George asked before a scream ripped through her throat as she was stabbed and electricity moved through her veins.

"THEY ARE NOT MY KIND!" Pandora shouted.

"You're a Talker!"

"I – I. . .am NOT a Talker!" Pandora sneered in a low voice.

"There's no shame in being dead." George told her "My best friend is – was a Talker."

"Oh, oh yes, the poor rebel Dante. He was so hopelessly devoted to you." Pandora said softly.

"Don't talk about him." George said now looking away at the wall.

"Oh I think I've earned the right to say whatever I want about Dante."

George turned back to her and Bailey craned her head trying to see better, she didn't like Pandora's back to her it meant she couldn't read her as easily and something in her gut told her Pandora knew that.

"What's that supposed to mean?" George asked.

"Oh. . . you really don't know do you? Oh that's precious. This is going to be wayyyy better than electricity." Pandora drawled.

"What?" George demanded.

"Well you see George, it was me that killed Dante. Not some random vigilantes." She chuckled.

"Bullshit." George spat.

"He did ask me to give you a message though. His last words so to speak. Now what were they hmmm, oh yes. George," she said her voice trembling, "George please help me. Why. Why did you leave me all alone George I- I need you. Please, oh no stop please don't do that, please stop, just- just stop don't, don't do that please I just stop no NOOOO!"

"Bitch!" George shouted before she was shocked again.

Pandora laughed a loud cheerful laugh, "Now you're getting it."

"Dante was the best person I ever knew!"

"He wasn't a person. By the time I got through with him he wasn't even a Talker. All that was left was a bag of garbage. Now I'm gonna ask you one more time. Where. Are. The Talkers?" Pandora asked shocking George again as she laughed like a madwoman though this time George stared at her with hate and rage as she was electrocuted.

10K POV

He and Doc were crouched on the ground rolling out some more wire for the camp perimeter as Addy took more Talkers elsewhere to finish more work.

"Ever notice how Murphy's never around for the heavy lifting?" he asked.

"Yeah he's clever that way." Doc replied as they rolled the cable.

"Why can't I be clever that way?" he asked as they stopped to catch their breath.

"Cause you are a good man."

"Thanks Doc." He said with a small smile.

"You're welcome. Nice to know a compliment still means something in a world like this." Doc smiled at him then something in his eyes turned more serious though still soft, "You know Kid, there's no telling how this is gonna turn out. But whatever happens, you keep going. You're resilient. A damn cockroach right?" he asked with a chuckle and 10K smirked at him, "I know your dad would be real proud. I sure am. . .I love you Kid. Like you were my own son."

"Thanks Doc. You too." He replied with a smile trying not to let too much emotion get to him. It felt like they were saying goodbye and he kept telling himself this wasn't, it wasn't the end, "You think this is gonna work?"

"Well it better, all our lives depend on it." He said as they got back to work on the cable. 10K's mind drifted to what he wished he could do one more time if this was the end, he'd done so much in his life it was hard to pick something. He'd jumped off a bridge so he knew what it felt like to free fall. He'd ridden a motorcycle, fought aliens, crossed the border to Mexico, died and came back to life and infiltrated more than one secret government base. If anything he'd pick something Pre-Z, something mundane. Maybe he'd go fishing one more time, feel the sun on his face, listen to the birds and die peacefully. But the thing that shocked him most was who he pictured dying with, whose hand he'd hold, who he wanted beside him.

Bailey POV

George groaned again as she was electrocuted, between that and the in between beatings Pandora was giving her she already had a swollen eye and blood dripping from her nose and down half of her face. Bailey had shouted at Pandora to stop which only seemed to make her laugh louder and when she'd turn and look for a new torture device George would shake her head telling Bailey to stop. It was hard but she bit her lip til it bled every time George cried out in agony again.

"You can tell me George." Pandora said returning with the electric prod which seemed to be her favorite, "Are the Talkers planning an attack on Altura?"

"Sorry about earlier." George said with a trembling voice, "Is your hand okay? Hope you didn't break your little brittle bones on my face."

Then Pandora shocked her again, "What are you and the Talkers planning? Tell me now."

George spat blood onto the floor, "And ruin all your fun? Come on."

"I can do this for as long as it takes."

"Ditto."

Pandora smiled again, "You might, but can your friend?" she asked as she turned to Bailey.

"You said –" George began to reply but Pandora cut her off.

"Estes wants the information you know more than he wants to keep her unharmed." She said getting close to Bailey and bringing her small sharp knife to her face. "He just needs you alive."

Bailey said nothing and looked Pandora in the eye keeping every emotion off her face trying to seem tough as she braced herself for whatever was about to happen.

"You know George," Pandora said turning from Bailey but keeping her knife near her skin, "One of your weakest points is that you're so damn noble. Someone might come along one day and exploit that." She smirked, "Can you really keep your mouth shut while your friend suffers on your behalf?" Bailey nodded at George telling her it was okay, she could take whatever Pandora could dish out, after being gnawed on by a zombie and all the experiments on Zona Pandora would be easy.

When George said nothing Pandora turned back to her and smirked then quicker than anyone could blink she flicked her knife and made a long cut narrowly missing the end of Bailey's eyebrow and the corner of her eye. Bailey felt the sharp sting but got used to it quickly, she had a high pain tolerance but she wasn't sure if that would help her or make this worse for her. Pandora's smile widened showing her teeth as she saw Bailey's eyes harden as she glared at her. Then with her free hand she punched Bailey hard enough across the face to send her head whipping to the side and she wondered for a second if Pandora had just fractured her cheek bone.

Third Person POV

Estes was still giving Warren his 'good cop' interrogation, "Think of your kind. You're willing to decide for every human in Altura that your way is right?"

"Isn't that what you're doing?" she replied without a seconds hesitation.

Estes paused as they stared at each other, then he leaned over her chair and got in her face again. "Where are the Talkers?"

She grinned widely at him before she started laughing which made Estes straighten up and turn away from her. Warren was no Bailey but she still knew that Estes was worried he wouldn't break her in time to stop whatever she was planning.

"Any attack on Altura by the Talkers would be folly." Estes finally said though she got the impression that he was also trying to convince himself of that.

"I think you're confusing me with someone who scares easily." she said keeping her voice calm.

"Hmm, am I?" Estes replied before giving a chuckle, "You mean like Bailey?"

Warren tilted her head like she was asking really?, "Bailey doesn't scare easy."

"She does when I threaten the right people." Estes told her now with more confidence in his tone, "Like when I threatened 10K and she came running. I bet all I have to do is put the right suggestion in her head and she'll sing like a canary."

He chuckled as Warren's expression became harsher, he knew she wouldn't like the idea of him threatening the people she cared about either. And the people Bailey and Warren cared about were all the same which only made it simpler for him.

"And I bet that works the other way around too." he crossed his arms and leaned back on the wall casually, "I bet if I put the word out that I was going to execute Bailey at dawn that 10K and Doc and Addison Carver and any other friends you have out there will come running. Because that's the kind of people you are."

He moved from his place and stood in front of her again, "Tell me where the Talkers are hiding."

She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye, "You tell the people of Altura, what you did to their friends and neighbors. You let the Talkers come back and vote and maybe. . . they'll let you live." she winked at him.

He smiled and scoffed, "I find it amusing that you think there's still a debate to be had." then he made him way tot he door, "Goodbye Lieutenant Warren."

"There comes a time when everyone turns Talker." she called after him, "Remember that Estes!"

Third Person POV

Red quickly grabbed an insulated bag and ran it over to Sun Mei who was packing another bag similar to hers with medical equipment and her other tests of the cure.

"Everything?" Red asked.

"Everything you can carry." Sun said.

"Where can we go?"

"Anywhere to get this out of Estes' hands. Pacifica, Hackerville, even zombie territory."

"My friend Ted has access to an Altura truck, maybe I can get it." Red offered.

"Okay but be careful." Sun told her as she started to leave, "But Red, hurry."

She nodded and left. Sun Mei took the vial with Murphy's cure and labeled it with a marker before putting it in with the other vials in the rack in the bag before moving across the room and grabbing more supplies. Then she heard the door open.

"That was fast –" she said as she turned to the door and froze. "Estes." She said shocked as she saw him standing there.

"Going somewhere? With my lab?" he asked curiously, "What's the matter? You okay Sun Mei?"

"We were just sanitizing the lab so the samples don't get contaminated." She lied as she returned to the counter with the bags and reached in placing some more tools inside, when she did she discreetly rubbed off the freshly written label from the vial of Murphy's blood and moved it to a slot mixed in with the others. The small clack it made in the plastic holder drew Estes' eye for a second.

"Why don't you have a seat? You've been working so hard lately." He offered.

"I suppose that's true. The trials have. . .taken a toll on me, but I have to –"

"I insist." He cut her off with one of those smiles that made your spine shake. He nodded toward her chair and she sat down. Then Estes turned to the bag she'd been loading. "I haven't seen you in days, you look. . . tired." He said as he started rifling through the vials, "How do you keep all this straight? VN5. What's this one?"

"Just another failure." She said making her tone sound disappointed in herself.

"Hmm, why keep it?"

"To learn why it failed." She said obviously.

"Ah yes the scientific method." He said rifling through for another vial and took out a needle, "What's in here?"

"Careful, that's pure zombie virus." She said with fear and warning in her voice.

"Well. . ." he trailed off as a whirring sound started, and he turned to her cabinet and she followed his gaze. There was a drone on top of it that blended in well with her other tools and equipment but the part she worried about was the camera on the bottom of it.

"Impressive work with that zombie hand, if it means what I think it does." Estes said turning from the buzzing drone to her.

"You were spying on me?"

"Is that a real question?" he smiled.

"What do you want?" she asked not beating around the bush. There was no point anymore.

"Another question you already know the answer to." He said drawing a gun from his back pocket and aimed at her, "Lean back, get comfortable."

"Estes, you don't have to do this." She said as he began strapping her to the chair. Then he put his gun away and took out the needle again, "What are you doing?"

"Compelling the witness." He said uncapping the needle.

"No, no, no, no, please. You don't have to okay? No –" then he grabbed her throat, held her head back and injected her as she let out a small whimper.

"Now maybe you'll tell me." He said moving to the bag again and grabbing a vial. "Is this the zombie cure? This one? Pick the right one I want to watch the cure work on a live human subject. Which one is the vaccine?" When she didn't reply he smiled, "Okay I'll just find it myself, I have no shortage of human subjects, starting with your friends."

Sun Mei started to twitch in the chair as the virus began to take effect. Estes smiled putting down the vial in his hand before he winked at Sun Mei, "Don't go anywhere."

Then he left as she continued to twitch in the chair.

Bailey POV

When Pandora was finished cutting and punching Bailey's face – luckily it wasn't as bad as George's beating had been and Bailey could still see out of both eyes – she turned back to George.

"Didn't factor in that Bailey's even tougher than I am did you?" George mocked.

Then Pandora clapped her hands and her Talker guard, who had left sometime during Bailey's beating, came back with a zombie on a leash. He had a leather mask over his face that looked like a Doberman head as he snarled. Bailey felt her heart jump into her throat as her mind bombarded her with memories of the last zombie on a leash that someone had sicked on her. Her shoulder throbbed at the memory of teeth digging into her skin and she felt her breath coming in shorter pants.

"Aww what's the matter Bailey? PTSD gotcha down?" she heard Pandora mock as she unzipped the muzzle part of the mask off exposing Pierre's snapping boney teeth, but Bailey didn't really see her. Her mind kept flashing from the room with George to the 'throne room' of Murphy's old compound in Spokane. One moment George was tied up across from her the next it was 10K being held back by blends. Pandora kept shifting to blue faced Murphy and her Talker friend kept becoming the blend who'd led in the last zombie that snacked on her.

"When are the Talkers planning an attack on Altura?" Pandora asked turning back to George and waving a small knife in her face. "Election day?"

"I'm not telling you." George said though her voice trembled slightly.

"Oh, so they are planning an attack."

"Pandora –"

"Where are the Talkers hiding?"

"I can't."

"WHERE ARE THE TALKERS?" she yelled stabbing George but it wasn't fatal, not even close, and that's how Pandora wanted it. Her shouting momentarily brought Bailey back to the present and she started to wiggle her feet trying to get them free from the rope maybe then she'd be able to maneuver her body enough to get her hands free too and help George.

"I'm going to kill you." George stuttered weakly.

"Oh please, I barely touched you. Now hold still, or don't."

"Don't do this." She begged as Pandora started dragging her knife along her face, over her eyes, her cheeks, touching just lightly enough that she didn't cut her skin. Then Pandora brought the knife to her mouth and dragged her tongue over it and hummed in pleasure like she was eating chocolate.

"Mmmm, Pierre is going to find you delicious." She said bringing her knife to George's chin, "Where are the Talkers?"

"Pierre?" George asked looking at the zombie.

"He's French." Pandora said with a small shrug, "Through the face is the long way to the brain. . . mmmm, but the nose cartilage and the eye cavities go down so easy. Where are the Talkers?"

"Don't do this." George pleaded.

Pandora laughed and stood up straight, "Oh, we are well past the point of listening. Besides, I couldn't possibly disappoint Pierre now could I?" she asked turning to the zombie on the leash. Her friend pulled the Z away from Bailey who was struggling to fight off her panic attack as Pandora took the leash from her friend and went on. "Oh who's a hungry zombie, yes you are, who wants some yummy brains, you do. Who wants to eat the face of a dirty disgusting traitor?" then she turned to George, "WHERE ARE THE TALKERS? You know George I really would rather you tell Pierre where the Talkers are before he eats your lips off." she laughed as Pierre lunged at George, "Where. Are. The Talkers George!" she shouted again as he snapped at her face, Pandora letting him get nice and close to George. If she hadn't turned her head Pierre would have already bitten her nose off.

"Get him away!" George cried.

"Down boy down, good boy." Pandora said softly as she pulled the leash back.

George was hyperventilating and crying as Pandora leaned in close to her again, "I'm going to ask you one more time. . . Where are the Talkers?"

Red POV

"Hey I got the truck." She said as she reentered the lab. "I don't know if there's enough gas. . ." she trailed off noticing she wasn't getting a reply. She turned and saw Sun Mei sitting down but her head was turned away from her which made something in Red's gut tell her to be cautious, they might be in Altura but it was still the apocalypse.

"Sun Mei?" she asked then Sun turned and an arm reached out for her that she dodged as Z-Sun Mei stared at her like she was a meal. She had grey skin and black blood running down from her mouth, luckily her arm was the only thing that wasn't restrained while the rest of her was secured to the chair.

"Sun Mei what happened? I –I don't understand." Then she looked toward the bags they'd been packing and a light bulb went off. "The vaccine turned the hand back."

She ran to the bag and started looking through vials, "Okay which one is it? VN8? Uhhh, VN4? This one. . . this one has no label. Why would you remove the label? This must be it." She said grabbing a needle and filling it with some of the vaccine. But before she could use it the last of Z-Sun Mei's restraints broke and she lunged for her.

"Oh, shit!" she yelled as she fell back to the floor as Z-Sun Mei stumbled forward to get her while she moaned for brains. Red crawled backwards on her hands and feet until she passed a small table on wheels and pushed it in Z-Sun Mei's way giving her enough time to get back to her feet. She lifted the needle and tried to get it into Sun Mei's system somehow but the Z lunged at her and shoved her against a table making the needle fly out of her hand. She brought her foot up and kicked Z-Sun Mei back and ran across the room to get the needle from the floor, thankfully it hadn't broken.

She turned just as the Z caught up with her and she tried to push her back, inject her, something and ended up wrestling her into a rack of medical supplies that broke under her weight. She readied the needle again as Sun Mei got up from the broken glass and when Z-Sun charged at her Red was pushed back to the floor pinned by her friend only this time she had enough room to move her arm and get the needle into Sun Mei's neck. Once the vaccine was injected she collapsed on top of Red and gasped. Red took deep breaths worried Sun, who was still twitching, would bite her but the fact that she hadn't yet made her hopeful as she prayed that Sun's hesitation was a good sign.

Then Sun Mei sat up and her skin was back to normal and her eyes were too. She looked around before looking down on her friend.

"R-Red?"

"Sun Mei?"

"It really works." Sun said with a smile and tears in her eyes. Then she sat up more and their short happy moment turned back to a dreadful one when they saw a glass beaker jammed halfway into Sun's lower stomach and the flow of red blood soaking the front of her white clothes.

"Sun Mei. . . no." Red said sitting up as Sun looked down at herself.

Bailey POV

Pierre ran at George and she brought her leg up to kick him back. Pandora had tied his leash to one of the legs of George's chair so he could only attack her. She still had to keep Bailey alive on Estes' orders though Bailey had no idea what for and that unknown make her wonder if she should eb wishing for death. Pierre's snarling got louder and Bailey remembered when she'd had no other defense but kicking a hungry zombie back away from her - the zombie that eventually sunk his teeth into her - and she knew George wouldn't be able to hold him back that way for long. Now that she'd wiggled her feet free Bailey tried to get her chair to move.

"George!" she shouted, "Kick him one more time!"

George looked like she was running out of energy but was able to bring her feet up to kick Pierre back the next time he lunged for her. She used every last bit of her strength and the zombie fell onto his back on the floor. Bailey pushed herself to her feet and turned as the weight of her chair brought her back down. When it did the leg of the chair went right through Pierre's eye socket and skull giving him mercy.

"Mercy."

"Mercy." They both said catching their breath.

Third Person POV

Citizen Z and Kaya were able to see from the security cameras when Estes and his guards left Warren alone. Only one man stayed to guard the door and both the hackers knew Warren could take him - if she could get out of the room they had her locked in.

"Any second." Kaya said to herself as she typed and a blueprint of the floor appeared on her screen as she found the right door to override. "Hang on. Okay got it."

"Alright she's out, one down. Now where's George and Bailey?" he asked as Kaya flipped through different footage. "I'm going to go meet up with Warren and we'll find them. Try to find Estes so we can keep tabs on him." he said as he got up and left the vending machine.

It didn't take him long to locate Warren, and the guard she'd knocked out. CZ didn't know what she'd hit him with. but he had a pretty nasty cut on his head and a drop of blood dripping along his nose.

"We gotta find George and Bailey." he said when she spotted him. Warren nodded urgently as they left the hall and tried to find the right room.

"Which one was it?" Citizen Z asked Warren as they wove down the halls looking for the room George and Bailey were still locked in. "They all look the same."

"Yeah no kidding." She replied but rushed on, knowing when she saw the correct door her gut would tell her. "I think down here."

They stopped where a short hall branched off with one room at the end.

"Open it." Warren said as they went for the door but it was locked.

CZ turned to the nearest security camera, "Kaya."

"Oh hurry Kaya." Warren whispered seconds before the lock clicked and they made it inside. Citizen Z held his gun up just in case but there was no need, only George and Bailey were inside. Warren rushed over to George while CZ helped untie Bailey.

"George hey." Warren said smiling, "A little close for comfort?"

"A little." she agreed.

"Hey, did you give it up? All of it?"

George nodded weakly, "All of it."

"Good girl."

"We need to find Sun Mei." Citizen Z said as Bailey threw off the last of the rope and stood, "Last I saw on the cameras she was alone with Estes and that can't be good."

Third Person POV

Pandora's heels clicked along the floor of the hall as she turned a corner and found Estes giving directions to one of his guards. One of them had a fresh wound on his head that was still bleeding as it dripped down his face.

"Double the perimeter security. Take a couple men and find Lieutenant Warren, I don't want her skulking about today of all days."

When the guard left Estes turned to Pandora who wore her mask and a smile.

"George broke." She told him.

"I hope that was fun for you." He told her with a smile.

"Mmm she spilled her guts. Literally." She giggled, "It seems they've set a staging area for the Talkers near Pacifica."

"I'll activate the security forces and the reserves. I'm gonna send every available Alturian to wipe their kind off this God forsaken earth."

"Everyone?" Pandora asked, "What about guarding Altura?"

"We've counted for that." He said and something in his tone seemed a bit snappy, like he was on a short fuse.

"Of course Estes, I only meant –"

"Where's George now?" he cut her off though the question seemed to make Pandora happy enough she wasn't upset he'd interrupted her.

"She and Pierre. . . well they're having a little snack." Pandora said before dragging her tongue across her upper lip, the porcelain and the real halves.

"Good for Pierre." Estes said with a smile.

Third Person POV

They all took off down the halls, Warren kept asking George if she needed help which she refused every time. When they made it to Sun's lab they found her sitting in a chair losing a lot of blood from a wound in her stomach as Red stood next to her trying to help but looking hopeless.

"What happened?" Warren asked softly as she approached Sun Mei, "Where's Estes?"

"He's coming back." Sun said sounding in a lot of pain.

"That doesn't look good." George said under her breath but Sun Mei smiled, with dried black blood trails running down from her lower lip to her chin.

"I did it." She said grinning wider and showing her black teeth.

"The vaccine works." Red told them making the moment bittersweet.

"Zombie and back." Sun boasted as she kept smiling.

"Zombie and back? Like a bizkit booster shot?" CZ asked looking confused.

"Can you restore Talkers?" George questioned knowing if it could do that then there would be no more need for bizkits.

"Talkers, zombies – fresh ones anyways." Sun specified.

"It's a cure?" Warren asked seeming like she couldn't believe it. Neither could Bailey, after all this time a cure started to seem like some pointless dream, that Altura was as good as it was going to get. Sun Mei's discovery proved that wrong, that life could get even better.

"It's a start." Sun said but a start was more hope then they'd had in a long time.

"Okay." Warren sniffled knowing Sun Mei was still in really bad shape, "Uhh, we can't let Estes find out. Let's grab your research and let's go –"

"I can't go with you." Sun interrupted her, "I can't. But what you need for the cure. . . is right up here." she said pointing to her head and Warren looked at the floor.

"Sun Mei, we can't do this." Red said wanting to do all they could for her. With all the training Red had under Dr. Sun she knew they could operate and save her life, but everyone else including Sun Mei knew there wasn't time.

"I'm dying. I'll be the first death since the Black Rain."

"If this is about Murphy's blood, we can get more." Warren said trying to find some way to save her.

"The antibodies in Murphy's blood are evolving daily. The only way to be sure is to take my brain and preserve it before I die." Sun informed them sadly.

"Maybe we can sew you up." Citizen Z offered like Warren, looking to find a way, "Give you a transfusion, something."

"Yeah. . . " Bailey added, "Between all of us here someone has to have a blood type match."

She shook her head, "I've lost too much blood, if Estes gets ahold of me –"

"I won't let him." George said sternly.

"Get the syringe." Sun Mei told Red.

"I can't inject you with poison." Red denied in a trembling voice shaking her head.

"Yes, you can." Sun said as Red turned to Warren and their leader nodded sadly to her, "The poison will leave a dead end for Estes, he'll have nothing to work with. Tie me off, so the injection doesn't interfere with the vaccine in the brain tissue. You'll have what you'll need to recreate the cure. Hurry before Estes comes back."

Sun Mei's bravery was both encouraging and saddening. Red gave her a hug as an alarm went off and CZ turned his gun to the door.

"Give it to Murphy. He'll know what to do." Sun said.

"Have mercy my sister." Warren said as George used her belt to tie off Sun's neck as they all started crying and Red injected her through her tears.

- Outside Pacifica -

10K exited the tent once everything inside was set up for Doc. He found the old hippie outside rolling some Z-weed by the barrel where he'd left his rifle.

"One last smoke?" he asked walking over.

"Now, now don't be a fatalist."

"I'm gonna go hide the truck." He said.

"Alright be careful." Doc said sticking the rolled joint in his mouth and pulling a lighter from his pocket, "Last smoke my ass."

Meanwhile down the road Addy and Murphy were with the Talkers waiting to make their move.

"They seem nervous." Murphy muttered to her.

"Hold tight guys, it's almost time." she said with a confident voice trying to inspire courage.

"The vote is waiting for you. Citizenship is waiting for you. If you want it. But you're gonna have to take it." Murphy told them.

"And we're gonna be there with you." Addy reassured them, "Arm up!" then all the Talkers took their spears they'd carved from branches and the guns they'd gotten from Limbo and hidden stashes along the Talker Underground Trails and they began their march on Altura.

-Altura -

When Pandora and Estes returned to their prisoners after the alarm was set off they found the door open and George and Bailey were gone.

"Pierre!" Pandora shouted dropping beside him seeing the leg of Bailey's chair through his head, "No!"

"The lab. They went to the lab." Estes said and they rushed up the stairs to the level the lab was on as Pandora shouted in rage.

When they got to the lab the door was locked.

"Use a manual override I need in this lab NOW!" he yelled at the guard with him. When the door opened he and Pandora rushed in and found Sun Mei with the top of her head cut off and blood dripping down her face. Her skull was empty, her brain gone.

"Spiteful." He sneered before shouting, "You're spiteful!"

"What did they do?" Pandora asked.

"The last time I saw this woman she was a zombie, I infected her myself."

"Looks like they took her brain, and the cure with it." Pandora said sounding a little pissed off.

"They think they can keep her discovery from me, drain every drop of blood from her maybe I can recover some traces of the vaccine."

"Yes commander." Pandora responded obediently.

Then Estes turned to the guard, "I want you to go to the camp. I want you to mercy every Talker, every traitor, no one stands against Altura!"

"Yes." Pandora said happily glad George and her friends were about to get what was coming to them.

"Find them and kill them all!" Estes shouted in rage.

AN**I actually wrote Bailey's injected and bitten scene in season 3 wayyyy before I ever saw season 5, so when George's fight with Pierre mirrored so much of Bailey's fight I was really glad I could use it to add to her PTSD flashbacks and give her some more depth. I hope you enjoyed it!**