"Open the gates!" Sam commands. The alarm doesn't go off and we only have one sniper, but it almost feel like old times. "Runners set off. We want you a safe distance from Abel before this mission begins. So uh, good. Good day, Runner Five. Thank you for coming from New Canton for this experimental session so promptly."
'No problem,' I answer with furrowed brows. Why does he sound so stiff and... formal? It's weird and just not Sam.
"As you'll see, accompanying you are Runners uh..." His voice trails off as he searches through his papers and I give the two-well, in a way three-runners who are with me a raised brow. "Oh, Runners Three and Four."
"Uh, hi," Jody says with an awkward wave as she jogs, and Simon sends me a wide grin.
"Great to see you," He says.
'Yes, I know who these people are, Sam. If I didn't I would not be allowing Simon to have his hand wrapped around my wrist,' I answer, sending the said runner an amused glance. I'm unsure when this odd little habit started, but it seems every time I go on a run with Three he has his hand around my wrist as if he's leading me somewhere.
I've questioned it plenty of times, but Simon'a answer is a shrug and maybe an 'I'm not sure.' But either way, he's kept on doing it over the many missions we've been on, and since he's always so persistent on it for an odd unknown reason, I've just decided to give in since there really isn't much harm in except I can't reach up to grab my backpack strap as easily.
And I've gotten a bit more used to the physical contact since I now apparently have three children, so I don't feel as awkward.
"He's... um, never mind," Sam says, making my eyes go wide in surprise. Normally he'd want at least some sort of excuse or explanation. "Also in the communications booth with us for this official test today is the doctor."
"I really don't think you have to be like this," Maxine sighs.
"I'm just announcing the mission per protocol, Dr. Meyers, like I always do," He answers, and I scoff.
Maybe he's having a Freaky Friday moment with Janine.
"You're starting to sound like Janine," She mutters, making me giggle and Simon snicker.
"As I was saying, the doctor, and the Major has also joined us to witness our well oiled machine of command," He states with nervousness nearly dropping from his voice.
"Don't mind me," Major De Santa says calmly. "Just carry on as if I weren't here; Just observing you know."
"Not at all. Uh, we're just-yes, this is exactly normal. We're a highly disciplined workforce here. Carry on running. We need you a good distance from Abel before we begin today's mission."
"Yes, you've said," Jody remarks with an eye roll.
'Even if you won't tell us the focus on this mission just yet, can I ask you a question, Sam?'
"Yes, of course," He answers promptly.
'Why did we bring a dog with us?' I look down at the golden retriever running beside Simon. It yaps happily with its tongue out and eyes shining.
"Dog?"
"Oh, yeah," Runner Three laughs. "I forgot to tell you I brought out Runner Seven's dog, Bonnie, out for a run too. She needs the exercise."
"I-I'm not sure I've got a form here for that," Sam stutters. "I uh, doesn't this sound kind of dangerous all around? Sending runners out with a dog?"
"Splendid idea," The Major says gleeful. "Dogs love a good run around, and the zombie virus has no effect on them."
"Oh, yeah."
"Keep running. You'll get briefed on your mission soon."
The coms go quiet, and all of us (except the dog) look at each other in knowing glances. We don't have to speak to know that this mission should be interesting since Sam is trying to do his impression of Janine for the Major and he's not doing so great at it.
Honestly if this is how he's going to be with the Major back, then she should just leave again.
It's a rude thing to think, and selfish, so I instantly try to push the thought out of my head. Selfishness is a sin, and this petty want of mine is exactly that. But still... a part of it lingers.
I've had many radio operators. The AMTB had many since people were constantly getting shipped off to either other American bases or, if the price was right, bases world wide, so I remember having many different trainees who kept filing in. They were all the same, mechanical and stern and emotionless.
I don't hate hearing that from a radio operator or anyone really. After three years of it it's something a person gets used to, until that person has Sam as an operator for six months. Sam, the person who says 'uh,' 'um,' and 'like' more than anyone else I've ever met. Sam, the person who gives out more awkward pauses than me when I first tried talking to Wesley. Sam, the person who is the complete opposite of the radio operators I remember and it's absolutely fantastic, but having him act like one of those guys annoys the hell out of me...
But still, for me to wish the Major to be away just so Sam won't be a nervous, formal wreck is selfish. And selfish is not something you can be in an apocalypse. It's not something I can be in an apocalypse.
My eyes scan the dirty white snow, searching for anything that might be useful, but there's nothing. It's just cold, frozen mush that's only pretty for like the first few hours, sometimes minutes. But with Christmas only a few weeks away, it's easy to not dislike the snow.
Of course, since this will be Christmas: Zombie Version, the most gifts a person could get is maybe some little trinket and food, but we all appreciate what we get.
Speaking of Christmas, I'm going to have to get the kids something.
"Very good work, Runners," Sam pipes in. "Now the mission on my log today... uh..."
There's more shuffling of papers, and Simon just barely tightens his grip on my wrist in an attempt to keep from snickering when the radio operator lets out a small whine in frustration and annoyance.
"It's here," Maxine sighs with a touch of amusement hidden in her voice.
"Oh, um, thank you, Dr. Meyers. The mission today is to lay those caltrops for zombies to test our VS72 hybrid." There's a long pause. "Uh, I'm not sure I fully comprehend that mission statement, Dr. Meyers. Would you care to uh, elucidate?"
"Guys, you've each got a bag full of spiked half tennis balls that I've dipped in a formula we think will slow down the fast zoms," She explains.
"Oh, yeah. I heard you had Runner One sawing tennis balls in half and driving nails through them. I thought it was occupational therapy."
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling.
"They'll always fall cut side down with the nails pointing up. We're hoping it'll be a good delivery mechanism for the formula, but to get the zombies to walk over them we're gonna need you to run with a couple of fast zombies chasing you."
Isn't that lovely?
"So, uh, we're goin' on a run chucking tennis balls behind us as we go?" Simon giggles and releases his light grip on my wrist. "Sounds brilliant, Doc."
I reach into my backpack and pull out said cloth bag holding the half tennis balls, and the others do the same. Jody gives Three a raised brow at the fact he almost seems giddy to start chucking the tennis balls.
"Runners get ready," The Major warns. "Release the zombies."
And then they come, from one of the multiple fields that are gated just for this test. We don't have to look back to know they've seen us. We can hear it-feel it.
We split up, going in differing directions to help spread the formula. Some go after me, some go after Jody, but only a few go after Simon since with his long legs he's bounding and leaping off with Bonnie without even thinking of it. He keeps muttering praises and laughs at the dog who seems happier than ever to be in the outside world.
It's nice though, to not be completely afraid of the undead at my tail. Of course, there's still that slight fear of them catching up, especially since these are fast zombies, but it's less scary knowing we have a formula that might slow them down. And if it doesn't work then they may still get a tennis ball stuck in their foot so they won't be able to run as fast either way.
Simon starts moving a bit closer to me, staying right beside Bonnie who is jumping around and barking like this is the best day of her life. I can't stop the smile that appears on my face as I look at them, then at Runner Four.
Her face still holds a bit of nervousness that she does carry around with her on missions, but her running posture isn't as stiff and she's throwing the tennis balls behind her with ease. She appears to have pretty good aim even as she's chucking them behind her. Three of the zoms that are following her have already gotten a nail stuck in their feet.
"Wow, that is amazing," Sam says in awe. "Look, that one zom chasing Five had trodden on a tennis ball and it's slowing down. And there goes another one-slowed right down. What'd you put in those nails, Max-I mean, Dr. Meyers?"
I giggle at how quick he was to correct himself. I guess in a way I understand. I've only talked to the Major a few times face to face and saying she can be a bit intimidating is an understatement.
"The information the Major brought us from the army base up north was really invaluable."
"Hoped it would be." Major De Santa comments with what sounds to be a small grin in her voice. "Marvelous results."
I throw another half tennis ball behind me, a light feeling flooding in my chest as the realization that this stuff is actually working and it just might help us defeat Van Ark kicks in. It's a happiness that I don't get the pleasure of feeling very often; It's a hope for something that's there just out of our reach, but with every breakthrough we get closer to seizing it.
"They've been working on modifying the virus's effects," Maxine explains. "Putting their research together with our work on a vaccine, we came up with this formula which changes the way the zombie virus works, although we still don't know exactly how."
'It's still a start though, right?' I question, feeling that bubble of hope in my chest start to deflate just a small bit.
"Right."
"So will this be safe to inject into humans?" The Major questions, and the doctor sighs.
"No, it's not a vaccine. This formula only affects fast zoms as far as we know, and the caltrops aren't the best delivery system. We wouldn't want to send runners back into this area in case they step on a nail a zombie had trodden on."
"Infection city," Sam murmurs. "I-I mean catastrophic infection risk."
"Exactly, but still this test looks quite-" Her words are cut off when Bonnie barks serval times, all panting and wagging her tail as she runs beside Simon.
That is, until she isn't running beside Simon; She's running ahead of him.
Far, far ahead of him.
"Bonnie, come back here!" Three yells with a twinge of fear in his voice. "Come back!"
"Dog's got away," Major De Santa says, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes at her pointing out the obvious. "High spirits. After her, Five. Wouldn't want her to tread on a nail."
The thought of that makes me cringe. I didn't throw any of the tennis balls ahead of me during any of this, but I can't know for sure about Simon and Jody. I don't like to think they would've, but they might have without actually thinking about actually thinking about it.
Either way, Simon and I both spring after the dog while Jody trails just behind us. Whether or not there's a chance that dog might get hurt, we can't let her run off too far because her playful barking could easily attract some less playful zoms. And we don't need that even if we have slowed some of the faster zoms down.
"Bonnie!" Runner Three calls out, starting to pant. "Bonnie, come here, girl! Come here!"
"Didn't Runner Seven give you that dog whistle?" Jody questions, and his eyes go wide as he nods. I would smack him for forgetting something like that-I am close enough-but I'm too busy chasing that dog and wondering how the hell Evan found a dog whistle in the zombie apocalypse.
"Yeah, he did. I think I put it in here," He reaches into the open space of his backpack, poking his tongue out slightly as his hand digs around for the dog whistle. Thankfully it doesn't take him but only half a minute to find it and use it. "Come on, Bonnie!"
He blows the whistle again, and Bonnie barks. She slows down, looking back at him before starting to bound on back with tail still wagging and eyes still alight.
"Good, she's heard it."
"Guys," Sam says, his voice holding a certain nervousness to it-a certain one that doesn't come from being overseen by the Major.
"Come on, Bonnie! Yeah, good girl," He praises once he reaches her, and she barks happily. "Good girl."
"Guys, the fast zombies have stopped being well, slow. They're picking up speed and they'll be on you in minutes if you don't run any faster."
I crane my head back in efforts to see what's behind me. The zoms are behind us for now, but I can see their rotting legs starting to pump faster; I can see their strides becoming longer, and that light feeling I had before is nothing but dust and ashes buried within the cold snow.
"Stay calm and keep running."
•
I gulp. I am not calm. I am not calm in the slightest bit.
They're right behind us. I don't know how they managed to catch up so quickly but they did. I'm guessing the combination of snow and simple exhaustion of the human body caused us to slow down just enough to allow them to catch up.
Simon and I are running beside each other, his hand having a tough grip on my wrist. With his stride being much longer than mine he's practically dragging me along, but I have the feeling if wasn't for him doing this right now I would've gotten bit long ago. The amount of times the snow has slowed me down is mind boggling. It's only because he has refused to stop pulling me along like a rag doll that I'm still alive.
Jody is farther off to my left. She didn't have time to group back up with me and Simon and Bonnie, so she's running off by herself, trying to trudge through the snow and stay ahead of the zombies. She's succeeding, but just by a hair.
"Okay, I uh... uh, Runner Four, they're close on you," Sam stammers. "Speed up now. They're... they're gaining on you."
"I'm going as fast as I can," She pants. "No snipers within range."
At hearing that I turn my head and see just how far we're getting from Abel, and I silently curse when I see she's right.
"If we can avoid it, we don't want to kill these specimen," Maxine says, and I grit my teeth as I try so very hard to stop from grabbing my axe with my free hand. It would be so easy for me to take a swing at one of the zoms starting to gain on the two of us, but I keep up good willpower and just keep running, and being half dragged by Three.
"There's a reason we never let runners get this close to zombies," Sam mumbles, and I nearly scoff.
You think?
"And they're moving too fast to be sure of a kill anyway."
I look ahead at my running partner, but his eyes are on Four, who is just barely ahead of the zombies. If she slows down even in the slightest-if she trips-if she stumbles, they'll be right on top of her.
"Eh, you're specimens are just nearly on Jody." Simon turns to me and points to the right. "Five, you go that way, and I'll go the opposite. Make as much noise as you can; Clap or throw snowballs at them or something. Just try to get them to chase you."
I nod, and he releases my wrist as I start to slant off toward the right, waving one hand around like an idiot while the other reaches back to find something that might be able to make noise, but turn up with nothing. I could try the suggestion of clapping but I doubt it will actually go over the sounds of the moans and growls and-
I'm falling.
One second I'm running, the second later I've got a face full of snow. Pain shoots up my right ankle all the way up to my knee, and I immediately try to stand. As I move around I brush back some of the snow to reveal what caused me to fall forward. At first I have no intent on looking at it, since some of the zoms that were chasing me and Simon are now chasing me, but then I get a glimpse of it.
You've gotta be kidding me.
It's an old noise maker.
I waste no time in examining its details or whose it might be. I just grab it, stand and turn it on. It does gain some of the attention of the zombies chasing after Jody, and a few of them start heading toward me too. With adrenaline rushing and a happier purpose that I've just took some of the load off of Four, I take off sprinting.
And nearly scream at the pain that fires off into my ankle.
You've gotta be kidding me.
I nearly trip and fall again, but I just barely manage to keep my balance. I remember this type of pain from the many times I've gone rollerblading when I was younger; It's sprained, but I can't stop unless I want to be eaten alive, so I keep going with gritted teeth and a slight limp.
"Guys," Sam starts and I wince because he only uses that tone when he's going to be the deliverer of bad news, "I don't know how but you've... gained another pack of zoms."
You've gotta be freaking kidding me!
"They're coming in from the west, heading for you, Five. They're heading right for you."
Did I walk under a ladder this morning or something?
I clench my fist as irritation bubbles up in my chest. The pain in my ankle only gets worse as I keep limping through the snow. The noisemaker's rings and sirens pound into my skull and out of the corner of my eyes I can see the zoms getting closer and closer. The more I think about this, the more I realize I might not make it out alive on this one.
I never really thought of it like that-as in me dying on a simple mission-gone-wrong. I don't know why, because that actually was the circumstance of Wes's death. But even though I know I'm replaceable I always thought if I died because of the zoms it'd be some grand thing, like getting hit with a rocket launcher. I mean, I've gotten hit by one of those twice. I was almost beginning to think third time would be the charm.
There's a loud growl behind me, and I have to take a leap forward as a zom's finger tips graze along the back of my arm, and my breath hitches as more moans follow. The pack is gaining on me and the fast zoms are nearly on me.
"Oh, God," Sam says in a low voice. "That zom nearly got Five, and-and that pack is gaining on her, and she's out of sniper range and she's hurt and limping and I-I don't know what we can... I don't know what to do."
"Don't panic," The Major says calmly. "Hand me that mic for just a moment there, Yao... Runners Three, Four, and Five, listen carefully and do exactly as I say. Runner Four, sharp ninety degree turn to the left on my mark."
"Towards the coppice?" She asks.
"Yes. Mark," She commands, and Jody does exactly as asked. "Very good. Five, continue in the direction you're heading and keep an absolute steady pace. Don't let up."
That's kind of hard when you have a twisted ankle, I think frustratingly, but still I keep going, trying my best to do what the Major asked.
"But... that'll take her further away from sniper range," Sam says, "and Four's heading out too."
"Runner Three, see that flag at the edge of the field by the large barbed wire fence? Turn and run for it as quickly as you can, and on my mark, blow that whistle with all your might. Do you understand?"
"Got it," He replies a bit breathlessly.
"Zombies travel in straight lines. We know that from Runner Ten's work, so it has to be at the precise moment... four, three, two, one. Runner Three, stand absolutely still. Mark!"
He blows the whistle, and I turn my head a to see what's going on, but in doing so I turn my body too much at too quick of a speed and I fall forward. I nearly see my life flash before my eyes because I know this is the final mistake that will lead to me being bitten.
I hit the snow with a loud crunch, and I try to memorize the feeling since it's the last thing my skin will ever feel before the pain of teeth going into my flesh.
Except the pain never comes, and when I push myself into sitting position I see the zoms aren't even near me.
"Oh, my God," Sam laughs. "They're-they've following the whistle; Both sets of zoms heading toward that gate in the fence."
"Runner Three, do blow that whistle again, and Five, head towards the gate so you can close it behind them." I can hear the grin in her voice. "Just like sheep dog trails."
I shakily stand up and hurriedly limp towards the zombies who have no sense of me coming up behind them. I nearly laugh at the fact that I'm chasing them. That's one thing I don't think I've ever seen before. After they all file inside the gate I close it behind them, and a few moments later Simon and Jody are both at my side so I can take some of the weight off of my ankle.
"That was bloody amazing, Major!" Sam exclaims. "I-I mean, excellent strategy."
"You know I always thought Janine just had a stick up her butt when she was talking about the importance of discipline, but I get it. I really get it," Maxine says.
"If only we'd of had you here when New Canton attacked, aye?"
"You have more zombies for you to test now, Doctor," She says, ignoring the praises from the two. "Good work today, Runners. Valuable test of the doctor's serum and valuable information about that dog whistle."
"Yeah, we suspected an audio trigger but we were never really sure."
"Excellent. This is how we're going to win this war: science, tactics, discipline."
"You know," Sam mumbles, a small smile in his voice, "I'm almost starting to believe that."
A/N: Here it is, everyone. I've noticed how long my chapters are and I just want to say you guys are the best for sticking with this! Thank you all so much. Please be sure to vote and comment. Hope you all have a blessed day!