Sam and Five somewhat sheepishly bid each other goodbye, Five heading slowly off to the food storage area and Sam retreating back to the comms. As she reached the rationing station, she was uncomfortably aware of the Abel citizens' eyes on her, each pair searching her body for any bites. She tried to be as open and polite as possible, reassuring everyone that she was all right, but she knew they noticed her obvious limp.

Fortunately, Five spotted Jack, Eugene, and Runner Eleven sitting in a corner having breakfast and made her way over before beginning her new food rationing duties.

"Five!" Jack said brightly as he spooned oatmeal into his mouth. "Glad to see you're up and about. You gave us a right scare yesterday!"

Five laughed. "If you were scared, imagine how I felt…"

"Are you feeling better, then?" Eleven asked her, making a space for Five to sit down.

Five nodded and plopped down beside the runner. "Yeah. I just tore up my calf and have to take a break from running for a while." She made a face. "Apparently I'm going to help with serving you guys food while I recover."

Eugene chuckled. "Can't be that bad. You're a runner, so you get extra rations anyway. Need the energy and all that. You'll just get first pick if you're helping to serve the food!"

"I don't want to be cooped up all day though. I'd rather be doing something else. I don't know. Cleaning weapons or helping in the comms or something."

"Hello, Five."

Five looked up to see Janine staring at her, her lips pursed and her arms crossed.

"Hi, Janine."

"Are you feeling better then? The doctor said you have no bites."

"Right. No bites," Five confirmed, loudly enough so that multiple curious onlookers could hear her. "Dr. Myers just says I have to take a running break for my calf."

"Yes. She informed me of your injury. Please head over to food storage now—they need your help rationing out the lunch portions for later."

"Sure." Five sighed and stood, turning toward the two radio DJs and the runner. "I'll see you guys later."

Five settled into the store room and began helping the rationing crew in documenting the food supply and helping to prepare lunch. Amid her work, Five could have sworn that she heard some sort of commotion in the main quad, but the noise only lasted a moment, so she returned to her work with a shrug.

After completing some of her duties, Five examined her own ration log. All the runners were treated to a little more food than those who stayed comfortably inside Abel's gates due to the extreme amount of energy spent running. Five inquired as to whether her rations would be limited to the normal portions, but Janine confirmed that this would not be the case; even in her brief absence, Five needed as full and balanced a diet as possible so she would not be weak when she returned to running duty.

However, as Five examined her large food rations, a small plan began to form in her mind. In her time off, she didn't need all the extra food. She had a better idea.

As she and the rest of the rationing crew doled out portions in preparation for lunchtime, she subversively asked one of the members if she could use her rations for something other than meals. If she could save her meals for someone else, for example.

The member shrugged; as long as her own health did not decline and she was not suffering from malnutrition, she could do as she pleased.

Satisfied with this answer, Five continued her work quietly, her small talk with the ration crew distant and distracted.

"Runner Five, please report to the comms station. Your manual assistance is required."

Five looked up from the loaves of bread she was sorting, her brow knit as she heard the announcement over the loudspeaker. What on Earth did Eugene need, and why did it sound as if he were on the verge of laughter?

"What's up?" she asked as she entered the comms room. Jack and Eugene turned to look at her, wide grins on their faces.

"We decided you needed a break from food rationing," Jack said slyly. "We told Janine we needed some extra help cleaning the comms, and, since you're technically extra help, we could ask you." He paused. "Yeah, we don't actually have anything to clean. You can thank us later."

Five laughed. "You'd better hope Janine doesn't find out about this…"

"Oh, we'll be fine," he said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. "Come on, now, take a break. You're injured and deserve a bit of a rest."

"Oh, I see how it is," Eugene snorted good-naturedly. "Be nice to the injured runner, but not a poor cripple like me? Thanks for caring."

"Stop whining, you big baby," Jack retorted. "We're about to go live. You want everyone to hear you carrying on like that?"

"It would be better than listening to you," Eugene snapped. "All right, Five, we're about to go on air!"

Five nodded and smiled, sitting on a chair just away from the comms desk and watching interestedly.

The two DJs flipped their equipment on, introducing themselves happily and playing a short clip of someone named Paul who had called into the station with a survival suggestion—not washing any equipment.

"You know, I think we found your soul mate," Eugene said seriously at the end of the caller's message.

"What?" Jack asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

With a cheeky smile, Eugene began sniffing at Jack loudly, and Five had to stifle a giggle with her fist.

Jack gasped. "Rude!"

"You can't say it's not true!" Eugene laughed.

"If my unique odor does affect—"

"No, no, no, it's good," Eugene interrupted him with a smile. "You're keeping me safe from zombie attacks, obviously."

"Oh, shove off," Jack replied, turning back to his microphone earnestly. "Paul, I think it's a great tip. As we all know, survival is far more important than certain personal luxuries nowadays."

"Personal luxuries like hygiene," Eugene smirked.

Jack began counting on his fingers. "Hygeine, clean clothes, matching socks—"

"Oh don't start with that again. I told you, no one cares, and, you know what? You'll just have to make do with what you've got."

"Eugene Woods," Jack retorted. "I may smell like an Olympic weightlifter's underwear, but come on! One red sock, one blue sock? I have standards, sir!"

His partner chuckled. "I'll give you standards…"

As soon as they began playing their next song, Five rolled her eyes at the sly glance they gave each other.

"Dear God. Get a room, you two."