Panting heavily, the runner managed to block the horde for the moment, locking herself in the hospital. The zombies groaned and scrabbled at the door, attempting to get to her, but she barred the doors securely and looked around the abandoned building.
"If you don't find it, we won't let you into Abel," a sharp voice warned through the radio, very different from Sam's anxious but welcoming tone. "You have to earn your safety around here."
The runner growled silently and began hunting the hospital for the government item Dr. Myers had indicated. This woman had demanded that she take a detour from her trek to Abel and grab some Center for Disease Control box-file. The runner didn't deny that the information was important, but with a mass of zombies on her tail, the last thing she had wanted to do was lock herself in an unfamiliar, abandoned hospital. However, if her safety for the night depended on it, the runner was damn well sure she was going to find the document.
After digging in the office Dr. Myers had described, the runner found the box-file. It was a hard, rectangular object just small enough to fit on her utility belt. The letters CDC were printed across the government-approved stamp of authenticity. The runner tucked it safely in her belt, hoping that the box-file would have notes or any other information regarding the zombie virus. There was no cure, to be sure, but any new evidence that researchers found would be useful. The main communication towers had been dark for months, so information was a rarity. Inside the CDC box could be clues to the human race's success in this war.
"I found it," she said to the doctor.
"Good," Dr. Myers replied brusquely. "Guard that document with your life. You may come to Abel now."
After the doctor had left, the runner looked closely around the abandoned building before heading out into the open in the opposite direction from the zombie horde that had been following her at the other end of the hospital. Grabbing the CDC file had put her even farther behind schedule, but she still had time to make it to Abel.
"You know," Sam said thoughtfully through her radio again. "I think I'm going to call you Runner Five."
"Why's that?"
"Well… we don't have a Runner Five anymore," he replied uneasily.
"What happened to him?" the runner asked as she found the road leading to Abel.
"She—she's gone now," Sam sighed, his voice suddenly morose. "Runner Five was fabulous, she was. Strong, fast, and wicked clever. She was amazing. She and I…" He trailed off for a moment and then gulped, clearing his throat. "But she's gone now. And… and you can be the new Runner Five once you make it—" Sam stopped.
"What is it?"
"You've got a horde coming," he said quickly. "They know your position."
The runner's heart dropped as she picked up speed. "How far am I from Abel?"
"You're on the home stretch," Sam encouraged, though the runner could tell his voice was strained. "You're only two kilometers away, and—oh, no!" he breathed. "There's one zombie coming up behind you. It—it's Alice! The old Runner Five!" His breathing sped up. "You've got to outlive this, runner. You're almost home. Give it a burst of speed and beat her here!"