"Look, I really don't think Runner Five's up to it," Sam says as I stand at the gate. "Not for the first mission based out of Abel Township. It's not my call, of course. Not gonna make decisions for someone else but..."

I feel a small smile spread across my face as I give a sidelong glance at my running partner. It's funny how protective he seems to be, even though Nadia will be nowhere near me or the coms today. But I guess it makes sense since I've been having less than great luck on my missions.

"I get it, Sam," Maxine agrees. "Really, I do, but the Major's been explaining how important working together with New Canton is. We've got that summit coming up-peace discussions. For the survival of the human race we have to share resources and experimentations, not keep on with this back biting, childish, tit for tat-"

"Childish tit for tat?" He repeats with venom in his voice. "Are you saying that deliberately trying to get Runner Five killed is just what? What is it, a game?"

I frown, shifting my weight grins one foot to the other. I want to tell him it's okay and I forgive Nadia for she tried to do, because I guess in a way I deserved it, but I don't. Because that just makes him angrier, because he knows about the words she said to me on that mission because I stupidly told him. I can't say anything near to the fact that I might have deserved what I got, even though a part of me believes it.

"We've got a larger enemy here," The doctor stresses calmly. "Van Ark is the one who attacked Abel; He's the one who fired that rocket launcher at Five's chopper; He's the one who keeps sending his fast zombies to attack us. He-he's got Paula."

I flinch. During one of the meetings we were to discuss more about the Jeffro Complex, and Archie told about the snippets I-well, Chrysalis-heard. Paula was mentioned... Maxine has been trying to keep us from seeing just how this affects her, but we all see the slivers of pain that flash across her face at times, and the way she tenses when we mention who might be working with him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know," He replies, voice low. "How've you been... since we've found out Paula's um, working with Van Ark? I know it's not easy but... how are you?"

"Fine. Yeah, I'm-I'm fine." Her voice is clipped and professional and I can almost see the lie even though I can't see her face.

"Okay. Yep. Fine. Hearing that. Raise the ugh, raise the gates!" The gates open, but it still doesn't have the alarm, and we still haven't been able to fix the dents that are still in it. Looking at it reminds me we aren't finished rebuilding yet, even though we are getting closer to getting it done. A few things are supposed to be getting worked on today, and the gate is one of them.

"Covering... fire. Go."

We race outside as Amber takes her shot at the zoms, hitting the target spot on. They fall down in sync, each within two seconds of each other. The thud of them hitting the snow covered ground almost creates a beat to the steady rhythm of our steps.

"I don't see why you're worrying," Maxine says. "New Canton have put Nadia under house arrest. They know what she did was wrong; They're trying to make amends in anyway that can."

"That's why they sent me!" Archie squeals from beside me. I'm surprised she's been silent for so long, but I think she might have been making a picture in the snow and her focus is what has kept her quiet.

"Yeah," Sam says in uncertainty, "I uh, is that amends, exactly? It's not quite-"

"It's going to be lots of fun today. We need barbed wire so we can make your township truly secure so we can all go to the peace meeting. And-and maybe we'll find some apples," She giggles. "I love apples-so crunchy. The old ones are soft and sweet. All apples are good apples."

"Can you believe she has a PhD in protein crystallography, Sam? From Cambridge," Maxine whispers.

"I still think she might stop dead in the middle of a zom attack to... look at an interesting cloud. Dead being the operative word."

'Be nice,' I scold. 'Need I remind you, Maxine, that you are a doctor who plays Darkness and Demons, which is a role playing game?'

"You play it with me."

Only because I really, really value our friendship. 'I'm not a doctor though. Just be nice. She has a happy personality. There is nothing wrong with that.'

Except that it can sometimes get annoying, but you learn to deal with it.

"There's barbed wire around one of the Roufflenet transmitter stations that way," Archie states, pointing towards the east. "We can cut it off for now, because borrowing is okay."

Sam gives a long suffering sigh at her enthusiastic tone. "Right. Let's make it a good one. Mission to retrieve barbed wire from Roufflenet station. Go."

The coms go silent, and so does Archie. She's admiring the beautiful scenery of the snow covered hills and the clear sky. The bit of sun that has come out makes the snow sparkle. It's pretty, but as I look back I grimace at the footprints we leave behind. It messes the look up, and people only like snow when it's pretty. That's how it is with a lot of things, really.

Thankfully the cool breeze isn't sharp enough to sting my lungs or bring tears to my eyes. I don't know what I look like but I imagine my face is like Archie's-cheeks flushed and nose red and eyes gleaming. A few drops of sweat run down my face, dripping off my nose and onto the ground. I can taste the salt in it every time I lick my chapped lips, and I mentally slap myself since I know you're not supposed to do that in the cold, or ever really.

My eyes drift over to Archie as thoughts of New Canton enter my mind. A heavy feeling settles in my chest and a lump forms in my throat as I think of Nadia being under house arrest. I try to swallow it down but I can't because she only did this because she was angry and upset and who could blame her? Yes, it is... painful to know she wanted to straight up murder me but if I was in her place I can't say I wouldn't try or at least want to do the same.

I can't say I wouldn't want to hurt someone if I were in that situation with Wes.

The beauty in the scenery is suddenly less vibrant, and the breeze that cools the sweat on my brow doesn't feel as refreshing now that these thoughts plague my mind. But luckily the transmitter station is about a half mile away; I can see its figure in the distance. It doesn't look very big, but it's bigger that Abel's coms shack. It's bigger than New Canton's too, but I don't think it's bigger than the coms station Mullins has or the one that belongs to the AMTB.

"Who put up these Roufflenet stations anyway?" Sam asks, tuning in again. "I mean, it's a bit organized in the light of the um, zombie plague."

"I think it was mostly pieced up by survivors using old transmission stations. That kind of thing," Maxine answers. "Some dedicated radio and communications people left transmitters powered by solar or wind generators to be repeater stations."

Archie hums in response. "How would they do it? I expect any old links router would do. Just grab two APs and microwave dishes, flash the router with DDWRT, simple BGP routine table, and... hook the whole thing up to a car battery and it would work just fine. If you put up a wind turbine the LEDs would probably keep on blinking for years. Very clever of them."

I gape at the raven haired girl. I understood only a few things out of the entire little lecture she just gave. I try to replay her words in my head to see if I can piece some of it together and make sense of it, but I just keep getting more confused each time I do.

"I... uh, yeah," Sam mumbles, sounding just as lost as I feel. "That... sounds about right. Yeah. Definitely."

"This one's very well looked after," She says as we get closer to the Roufflenet station. I hear a odd sound in the distance-like a noise an animal, a bird, would make-but dismiss it as I focus on the barbed wire. "The defense of barbed wire makes it look like a little bird in the nest. It won't mind if we take a little barbed wire for now." She beams at me. "And then you can come to New Canton because now Abel will be-chickens!"

I lean away in confusion before snapping my head to left where Archie is staring with wide eyes.

"Abel will be... chickens?" Sam repeats. "Is-is that some kind of tech jargon?"

"Look, she's right," Maxine says as I refrain from laughing at the squawk that sounds in the air, now knowing what I heard from before. "On the cams, just to the north of the repeater station. Looks like a small flock of chickens; Must've come from some farm."

"Um, I don't know how to um, flash a router with a WD40 or whatever, but I am pretty sure that chickens produce eggs."

"And sometimes baby chickens," Archie adds.

"Which makes more eggs."

"Your knowledge of biology is really impressive," Maxine states sarcastically, while I giggle to myself. Sam ignores us though.

"So, if you're thinking what I'm thinking..."

"Come on, Runner Five. With me." She giggles enthusiastically. "After the chickens!"

We turn and run, and just like Archie said-after the chickens we go, quick and quiet. Well, I'm quiet. Archie is giggling and carrying on how she's always wanted a chicken, and hopefully after this she can get one and can take it back to New Canton with her. My lips curl up in a sneer before I can stop myself. I honestly can't see why anyone would want a chicken as a pet. The only thing really good about them is their meat, eggs, and they can help keep some of the insects down.

But I've had friends who owned chickens and horses and it wasn't something I ever wanted for myself, because the smell of chicken crap made me want to gag, and stepping in chicken crap made me actually gag.

And I'm slightly terrified of horses. They're dangerous on both ends and... crafty in the middle.

We slow down when we get closer to the animals, since we don't want to scare them off. For now we may be able to only take one each since we have a mission that must be accomplished, but we'll probably have to come back to get more since it'll help Abel in terms of food.

I carefully pick up a chicken that's nearby and Archie does the same, but unlike mine that is calm, hers squawks loudly and ruffles its feathers. This doesn't faze her, though. She still grins widely at the chicken in her hands while I open up my backpack, take it off, let the chicken nestle itself inside, and put the backpack back on.

"That's okay, little chicken," She says. "We're going to take you back to Abel and give you a nice life with grain and things to peck."

"At least until we roast you with a wild mushroom sauce," Sam murmurs and it takes a lot of effort to keep from cracking up.

"Hm, now how are we going to cut the barbed wire around the transmitter station?"

"Put it under your arm, wings folded so it's not uncomfortable," The doctor instructs before I can point to my backpack as a suggestion. "What? I grew up on a farm, okay?"

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to say anything, Sam. I could see it."

"Oh, she's so happy now." Archie grins at me and then back at the chicken. "I'm going to give her a name."

I raise a brow as Sam groans. "No, don't do that. We might want to... you know, eat it."

"I will call her Mildred, or maybe Van Dur Grauf. Do you think she's-she's more of a Mildred or Van Dur Grauf, Five?"

'I don't know,' I reply honestly. 'I've never named a chicken before.'

"You mean you're not going to name yours? You need to name your chicken, so she won't feel left out."

I deadpan. 'Fine. Her name is Susan.'

"Yay, now we have Susan and... Hm, I still cannot decide."

"Yeah, okay," Sam interrupts. "Uh, so with the chicken under that arm and Five's chicken rather more sensibly nestled in her backpack, off to get that barbed wire now? To defend Abel? Against attack from zombies? You remember the zombies."

'Who could forget those?' I ask.

"Come on, Van Dur Grauf. Let's go for a run."

It doesn't take much for us to start back up again. I go at more of a jogging pace since I don't want to scare my chicken and have her fly out of my backpack. I can't help but wonder how the chickens got out, and why they decided to wonder around in the snow. I'm sure it must've been warmer in their little chicken coop, but I've come to learn that animals can be pretty dumb sometimes. Hopefully they'll stay around this area so more runners can come to pick them up.

Adding them to the cows we got from Beatrix's mansion of a house-there were originally five cows but zoms ate three so we only could get the remaining two-as well as the sheep, we'll be able to have meat and dairy that wasn't found in a can and wool to make thicker clothing and blankets.

"Okay, I see," Archie says as we make it back to the Roufflenet station. "There are strips of barbed wire around the fence, keeping the zombies from the transmission hut. So if I stand here and..." She pulls out her wire cutters from her bag as I remove my backpack off my shoulders.

I pull Susan out of her resting place. She squawks noisily in protest, but I grab my gloves from my bag and slip them on before returning Susan to her place in my backpack. She seems to settle down after that, although she send me what looks to be a glare from her beady little chicken eyes.

"Yes, you stand with the chicken in your hand and snip the barbed wire, and Five, you run around the fence and reel it in," Sam instructs. "You've got gloves, yeah? Um, we sent Runner Five out with gloves to get the barbed wire, yeah?"

'Just put them on, Sam.'

"Oh, good."

"Yes, we made sure to bring gloves," Archie agrees. "Good for catching chickens; Not so good for stroking chickens. Hm, I wonder if chickens like to be stroked. Do you think they do?"

"Just help with the barbed wire. Remember Runner Five who is waiting on you?"

"Oh, yes." She cuts the wire with one hand holding the tool and the other holding Mildred or... Van Dur Grauf.

Who comes up with names like that? Seriously.

With a roll of my eyes I start to reel the wire in while running around the fence. I'll only need Archie to snip the last bit off once I'm finished, although she could cut off another strip of wire for herself to reel in, but I think she's simply going to stand around and have fun with her chicken. Although by the distressed noise she's just made through her headset I'm thinking she's on the lesser side of fun at this moment.

"What is it? Zoms?" Our radio operator asks with a touch of worry in his voice.

"Mildred Van Dur Grauf has gone a poo-poo all over my hand," Archie says in disgust. "Oh, it's coming out of her bottom-ah!"

Her shout accompanied by a loud squawk causes me to stop and turn. The chicken is no longer in Archie's arms, but instead on the ground and running-sprinting away. Even from this distance I can see the distress on the New Canton runner's face. She seems to have forgotten all about her poo covered glove and is taking off after her chicken.

"Come back, Mildred! Come back, Van Dur Grauf!"

I smirk. And people say runs aren't entertaining.

"Uh, yeah... Runner Five, just keep running around collecting that wire, yeah?" Sam asks, and I tap out an affirmative and continue onward, snickering every time I hear her call out to that chicken.

I wrap up the wire as I keep jogging around the fence. The thick working gloves I'm wearing over my normal cotton gloves help in keeping my hands warm, and surprisingly nothing has gone wrong besides Archie's chicken running away from her, and still doing so. It's nice having a mission that hasn't gone terribly wrong.

Then I mentally face palm.

I just jinxed it.

"Mildred Van Dur Grauf! You naughty girl! Come here. No, no, no! Don't go through the fence! No!"

I look Archie's way just in time to see Mildred Van Dur Grauf slip through the fence, and the runner's face contort into anger, frustration, and distress.

"The chicken has gone under the fence," Sam says in a monotone voice. "I repeat, the chicken has gone under the fence."

"Van Dur Grauf, come here," She pleads.

"There's a bit of fencing over there where Runner Five unwinded the barbed wire where you could climb over to the chicken, Archie," Maxine states, and a second later the New Canton runner is racing over to me as I continue to slowly wrap up the wire.

"Yeah, where Runner Five has been unwinding the barbed wire... by herself," Sam stresses, and I roll my eyes because there's not much Archie could do to help me unless she cut a strip of wire to reel in herself. But this should be enough seeing how much I have wrapped around my gloved hand.

"Okay," She says once she makes it over to me, "I'm going to climb over. Come here, Mildred Van Dur Grauf. There's nothing for you in that transmission hut! When I just get over this fence I'm going to-"

Boom!

Archie squeaks in shock and terror while I stumble back, watching as flames go up past the fence. It paints the sky with orange and red and the sharp, cold air becomes tainted with the smell of smoke. My eyes are wide and unblinking and heart is beating so quickly I can barely hear; I feel it though, fluttering quickly like a hummingbird's wings.

Susan squawks in terror and flaps her wings as if trying to get away, but she doesn't leave my backpack-not that I would really care since I'm too focused on the fact that there was just a freaking explosion.

"What was that? Runners, are you alright... Oh."

I look at Archie who looks just as horrified as me. "Mildred Van Dur Grauf has exploded."

•

"So, what are we thinking?" Sam asks as I continue to stare at the spot where Mildred Van Dur Grauf just died. There's still bits of fire that flares up before sputtering out because of the snow. "Spontaneous chicken combustion? Chicken destruction days from space?"

"Land mines," Archie answers in a voice just barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, I was pretty much thinking land mines," Maxine agrees.

"Y-yeah. Yeah, that-that was my first thought too," He stammers. "We should send someone back to put up warning signs incase anyone else thinks of scaling the fence."

Archie sniffs but nods. "I'm sad. Mildred Van Dur Grauf is dead."

"And she didn't even end up a supper."

"Sam!" Maxine scolds, and I have to try really hard not to laugh while repeatedly telling myself I'm a terrible person for finding that funny.

"Listen, I didn't make a joke about an egg-plosion. Don't say I'm not respectful," He remarks, and Maxine laughs openly.

"Yeah, well that's a poultry excuse. It looks like we've got a enough barbed wire to reinforce defenses. Come on home."

Archie pulls out her wire cutters and cuts that final piece of it. I hand it to her to put in her own backpack, since mine is being occupied by Susan, who still squawks every few seconds since she's not yet over the loud boom that just went off.

"I will miss Mildred Van Dur Grauf," She sighs. "She was so rebellious and naughty. And why would someone put land mines around a Roufflenet station in the middle of nowhere? Why have they not thought of chicken safety?"

"Yeah, it is a bit weird," Sam agrees. "Whoever designed the protection around this coms hut did a... bang up job."

"Did you honestly just say that?" The doctor asks.

"I think I did, yeah. I-I mean, I started and just couldn't make it stop."

"It's sad about Mildred, but I will come back another day to find a new chicken." She hums in thought. "I will call it Herbert Vaxeology, or-no, that's a silly idea. Herbert is a boy's name. Instead, Romona Newton."

"For the first time... probably ever, I think I have nothing to say to that... Come on home, Runners."

A/N: Hello, everyone. I hope you enjoyed this less frantic chapter. Please vote and comment so I'll know how much you like it! Thank you and have a blessed day.