Chapter 23: Veronica

"Follow me this way," Veronica says. "Now that you're here, you're going to help me. I'd ask nicely, but I don't care much if you want to."

"Runner Five is injured," Nadia argues. "I'm not following you anywhere until you help her. Or at least get someone else to help her."

The ravenette rolls her eyes and bends down. She has a roll of duct tape in her hands, which she sets down to pull up my shirt. After removing the bloody cloth and wiping away at the blood, she grabs the duct tape and-

I hiss when my skin is pulled together by the strip of tape, but Veronica doesn't even bat an eyelid. She does this a few more times, using the duct tape to pull the wound closed. If it didn't hurt so bad, I would laugh, because I've never seen a Brit do anything this American in my life.

"There. That should work for now. Help me, and I'll stitch you up as best I can." She stands up. "Now come on."

Nadia helps me stand, and we both follow the girl down one of the walkways. I can't help but be wary of this girl. She has one of those 'I secretly want to push you off this walkway' vibes. Although she's not doing so well with the 'secret' part since I, as well as Nadia, sense it.

"You're Veronica McShell," Sam gasps. "You're Veronica McShell."

"Yes, that's me," She sighs.

"Of course. Of course. I should've known we'd find you somewhere like this, doing all kinds of science and what's it." He pauses. "Oh, sorry. Sorry. I'm so sorry about your dad."

Nadia's brows furrow together. "What are you on about, Sam?"

"Chris McShell, our old Runner Ten, the zombie killing hero of Abel-this is his daughter. Only uh, he made you sound like a little girl. And you're what? Fourteen? Fifteen?"

She doesn't answer.

"Veronica, we've been trying to get a message to you. Before he went, I-I mean, it was his last request. Did the Girl Guides find you?"

"Yes," She answers. "I know you got him killed."

"We... no, that's-that's not-"

"We don't have time for this now. I need your help. Vince, the only other researcher here, went out this morning to set up more cameras around the perimeter. We're investigating how they react to first contact with the calming plants."

Nadia and I share a look. "Calming plants?"

Veronica's shoulders tense a bit. She's becoming frustrated with our constant asking. That, along with the fact that we killed her precious zombie lynx, and the fact that she thinks we killed her father... well, I think I understand why she's not all that happy with us.

"Vince hasn't radioed in for an hour, and he's not answering my calls," She says, and I hear a bit of worry in her voice.

"So you're charging in for a rescue?" Sam guesses. "Like father, like daughter."

She tenses more at that.

"Veronica... we didn't actually get your dad killed, you know. He was like you. He wanted to do science."

"I don't want to talk about it," She snaps, her voice low and shaking slightly. She's doing a good job at hiding it. "Comansys was propagating the plants here. They're important, and so is Vince. My research needs two people. He could be hurt... unconscious. We have to find him before any zoms do. Come on."

Let's hope that lynx didn't get him before it came after us.

I shudder at the thought. And I think it's best if I don't voice it to Veronica.

It's kind of odd, finding her here. Chris said she was on a Girl Guides trip when the apocalypse happened. Why would she leave? The Guides are one of the most amazing groups of survivalists I've ever seen, and Veronica's smart. I know that just by how she speaks. She'd know the Girl Guides are a good group to be a part of if she wanted to stay alive, and venturing alone is just plain stupid unless you know where you're going.

So did her troop stumble upon this place and Veronica decided she wanted to stay? That does make sense. Maybe she met Vince and whoever else might've been here, and they told her what they were studying. Since she seems to care about research so much, she decided to stay and help while her troop went on without her.

Seems like a good theory.

The short girl leads us to a rope ladder, climbing down and expecting us to follow. We do, but it takes me a bit longer since I'm still in pain from my injury. The fact that Veronica used duct tape on the wound closed is both amusing and impressive. Amusing because it reminds me of something an American would do, (because Southerners say that duct tape and elbow grease can fix basically anything) and impressive because I wouldn't have thought of that, and I myself am an American.

But I make it down, my pride keeping me from letting out too many sounds of pain. No one really seems to notice it either way. Nadia's too busy looking around and Sam's still in shock that we've found Chris McShell's daughter.

But then Nadia grabs my arm a few steps, gaining my attention. "Look. It's those creepers again. They're thicker than ever here on the forest floor."

"Be careful not to touch anything," Veronica says, her tone reminding me of a museum worker scolding a bunch of little kids. "We've cut a path through the calming plants, but we'll have to go single file. Hurry. The last time Vince radioed me, he was heading down this path. He must be near here somewhere."

I walk ahead of Nadia, staying behind Veronica so she can lead the way. The blonde is behind me just in case the dizziness comes back. That way she'll be able to catch me before I fall into the thorns. I've hurt myself enough for one day. This gash in my side will most likely leave a scar.

I wonder how many that makes. I mean, a piece of my left ear is missing, I have a gunshot scar in my left forearm, and I have laceration scars on my back. That's not even counting the little scars I got before the apocalypse...

"You keep talking about calmly plants," Sam says curiously. "Do you mean those little blue flowers?"

When those words leave his mouth, it hits me. I gasp loudly, actually getting a flinch from the teenager in front of me.

"I know where we've seen these before," I say, straining my neck to look back at Nadia. "That hedge around Darren's place. There was a crap-ton of them scattered around the perimeter. That must be what the Exmoore Militia we're using to keep that place zom free."

She nods, her eyes lighting up. "You're right. I remember Phil talking about them. But... they were cut though. They weren't growing like this."

"They only germinate here," Veronica explains. "It's because of the trees in this forest. Most of them are a rare species. The plants only seem to root well in their leaf mold."

Rare species of trees... That must be why they're still green.

"Amazing," Sam says in awe.

"And they repel zoms? Nadia asks.

"They calm them." She points to a group of zoms to my right, and I blink as they just stand there, not moving, not growling. "They've been standing there for weeks. We think they may be forming a rudimentary family group."

"Wow. Finally a real lead on what Comansys has been up to," Sam says as we continue onward. He sounds almost like an excited child, which makes me smile. "Veronica, you're amazing. How many zombies have you killed using these plants?"

She scoffs. "That's a stupid question, as if it's some kind of-of game."

"I'm sorry," He says quickly, and my smile drops. "I'm-I'm just... I'm sorry."

Nadia grabs my shoulder, forcing me to stop once more. She points downward at bits and pieces of metal and springs and wires. "It's a broken radio."

Veronica spins around, her eyes wide as she looks down at the device. She pales only the slightest bit. "That's Vince's radio... The path forks ahead. I... I don't know which one to take."

"Then we'll run down both," Nadia says, having noticed the small bit of worry that's in the teenager's eyes.

"Split up?" I question with a raised brow.

"No. You're injured, so you'll need someone with you just in case something happens, and Veronica's the only one who knows where we're going. We'll go down the left hand fork first, and if we find nothing, we'll go down the right."

"Good idea," Sam says. "Now get moving."

We waste no time, turning left when we reach the fork. I can't help but look around, wondering if this lead will help us find Caleb. It's the first solid lead we've had, since everything else has lead only to half of the truth.

We think Comansys may have been responsible for the start of the apocalypse, but we don't know for sure. We think they may have information on the zombie virus, but we don't know.

The only thing we do know is that Comansys has Maxine and Caleb, and they don't want us discovering anything. That and Diana is a crazy lunatic, but only because I had dreams about her, and a little bit of Tony's testimony. But we have nothing that might help us find where they are-not until now.

The more we go down the path, the thicker the bushes get, but none of these bushes contain the calming plants. It's a little bit alarming, since we don't know what else might be out here. The zombie lynx was the only gray animal here, but I'm not putting my guard down, simply because there was an animal that was a freaking zombie!

"Is it time to turn back and try the other path?" Nadia asks, sounding just as wary as I feel.

"Just a little further," Veronica persists. "I'm starting to get a feeling something's... not right."

"You're feeling that just now?" I ask, and she sends a glare back at me.

"Hey, Veronica," Sam says, "how did you survive? Did your scout troop militarize like the other group of Guides we met?"

She lets out a half hearted laugh. "So that's where he thought I was." Her eyes dart up. "Look. There's a new camera over there-between those trees. Vince did come this way."

"Shouldn't there be more people here?" Nadia questions. "It looked like you were set up for at least a dozen."

"We had twenty. Mostly grad students. They were nice; Into all sorts of things-medieval reconstruction, extreme sports. They're a fun group. Vince said he worked shifts at an educational toy store before."

"Where have they all gone?"

She shrugs. "A new woman showed up a few months ago. She was keen on studying the plants and had some new ideas. Seemed like a good fit. She invited everyone to her quarters one night for a drumming circle. The next morning, everyone was gone... except for me and Vince."

"You didn't go?" I question.

"The lynx you murdered was more active at night. Vince and I were watching it feed. The plants didn't affect it, which was... interesting."

Nadia laughs nervously. "Right. Yeah. We're sorry about that."

"I'm not," I mutter under my breath. "Damn thing tackled me off a freaking walkway."

"Shh," The younger girl scolds, and there's a rustle of branches. "Someone's moving away from us. Don't look. They might see you."

She sniffs the air, her nose wrinkling in disgust. I do the same, and nearly sneeze. I know that smell all too well.

It's blood.

"We have to catch them, whoever they might be. Run."

•

"Damn it," Nadia curses. "They're too fast. I've lost sight of 'em."

"It doesn't matter." Veronica tips her head down at some trampled down plants. "We can still track them. Sam, are you getting anything on any of the base cams to the north-west? You're plugged in, aren't you?"

"Yep, but nothing at the moment." There's a pause. "No, wait. There she is. You're really close. Just head through that bush at your three o'clock."

"I can see her." Her voice goes from low and almost deadly to gentle and

almost kind as she purses the woman. "Excuse me. Excuse me. Wait!"

The young lady turns around, her dark hair frizzy and covering most of her face. Even so, I can see her hands wringing together nervously, sometimes tugging at the ends of her bushy locks. "Oh, hello. Didn't see you there."

"Who are you?"

The girl's brown eyes go wide. "Me? Nobody. I've got a friend. Yeah, a friend who told me about this place, so here I am. Thought you were zoms. You know how it is. One funny noise and who-knows-what is coming after you."

Veronica sweeps her gaze around the trees and bushes, sending a shrug to the brown skinned girl. "I don't hear any noises."

"You must have just missed it. Hey, are-are you looking for a man carrying electrical bits and bobs? He just headed by here." She jabs a finger back the way we came. "He was going to the treehouse. Hurry a-and you'll just might catch him."

"What's your name?" Her voice has gone back to being low and threatening. The stranger gulps.

"Rachel."

"Rachel, do you know how I know you're lying?" She tips her head downward. "If you were clever, Rachel, you would've wiped my friend's blood off your shoes instead of running."

Our eyes all instantly go to her shoes, and just as Veronica said, there's multiple droplets of blood on them.

"I think I'd like to see where you were going."

"I-uh..." Rachel glances around in panic before she turns and bolts.

None of us need to say anything. We all know what we're all thinking, so we rush after her, listening and watching as she tries to get away. She won't. Even with my injury, we're faster than her. The weird robe/dress she has on is slowing her down. It's already ripped and torn in numerous places, but it still manages to keep getting caught in the thorns and branches of the nearby bushes.

It actually looks familiar-her clothing. I'm not sure where I've seen it though. It looks like something you'd where to a religious ceremony-something sacred.

The only thing I can't figure out is why she would hurt Vince. She must not have known him; She would've used his name if she did, so there's no secret plot for revenge or anything. Veronica doesn't recognize her, so she must not be a person returning to the complex...

Why would she hurt Vince? What possible gain could she get from that? The technology maybe?

But wouldn't it be easier just to offer help in exchange for technology, if that's what she really wanted? Veronica disliked us, but I'm sure she's not like that with everyone.

There's something there in the grass. It's not alive. It's... pieces. Pieces of a body, all in a pool of blood.

"Oh. Oh, God. Veronica, don't look," Nadia says, and I grimace at the sight of a kidney, and what I think might be half a liver beside some muscle tissue.

"It's Vince," Veronica says, her voice hollow. "What's left of him. I recognize the ring on that hand and the keltic tattoo on the half eaten foot."

She walks around the body parts, determined to keep going, but Rachel has stopped in front of her. Every time Veronica tries to move around her, she steps in the way again.

"Stop. Don't come any further."

"Why? What else are you hiding? How many other murdered people?"

"None, I swear." She steps in front of Veronica again. "No, stop! You can't go that way."

"We are though."

Rachel stiffens. "What if I don't let you?"

Veronica smirks. "What will you do? Bash my head in? Maybe it wasn't so bad sneaking up on Vince while he was working, dragging him off, but there are three of us. You can try killing all three of us, but you don't have a weapon and we don't have one you can steal. I'd say the probability of success is pretty low."

"You won't understand," She cries, but Veronica just pushes past her, with Nadia and me following. "Please don't. It's-It's not his fault. Please, wait!"

"Man, I thought your dad was a total legend, but that was something else," Sam says in awe. "I can't tell through the head cams. Did you even blink? What-"

"Shut up."

I flinch back at the venom in her voice, even though it wasn't aimed at me.

"Woah. Hey," He replies in a much sterner voice, but she doesn't care. Well, she doesn't look like she cares, nor does she act like it.

"Stop talking about my dad. You don't get to tell me about him. You don't get to tell me he would've been proud. He was my father-mine. You're just the people who got him killed." She scoffs angrily. "You think sending me a message fixes that? You think we're friends now because you were nice enough to tell me he isn't coming back?"

"Oh, come on."

"No," She spats. During Veronica's rant, Rachel managed to catch up with us. Her eyes are wide-desperate-and she keeps tugging at Nadia's arm, trying to get her to stop.

"Please don't. Don't! I love him!"

"Path leads this way." Veronica rolls her eyes at the woman's begging. Nadia simply pushes her off. "I'm going to find out what's out here. Come if you want to, Five. I suppose Rachel might try to kill me if you don't come."

"Why me?" I question.

"Oh, Nadia can come along as well, but she's not a killer-not one of actual people. You, on the other hand, will do what needs to be done in order to protect yourself."

I raise a brow as I keep following her. "Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"

"Neither. It's a fact."

"I... guess it is." My eyes are downcast and my chest is tight. She's right; I have killed in order to keep myself alive. I've killed to keep other people alive. I've done it lots of times... I just haven't thought about it in awhile. I haven't felt guilty about it all in awhile.

Thanks for bringing those feelings back, you smart little crap-head.

"Veronica-" Sam starts.

"Don't!" Rachel reaches out and grabs my arm, but I wretch away from her, wincing as pain shoots up my side. "Turn around. Please turn around. You can still go back. We'll leave, I promise. We'll leave you alone. Nobody has to know."

She passes me to get to Veronica, her eyes desperate, but the younger girl doesn't care.

"What about Vince?" She asks. "I think Vince had to know, didn't he?"

There's a growl from up ahead. I recognize that growl; It's a zombie.

"He's all I have! You don't understand. He still knows me. He would never hurt me. He loves me."

Veronica pauses in her steps. "Who was he?"

Rachel wraps her arms around herself, her eyes filling with tears. "His name was Danny. We used to live with others like us-people who had their eyes opened, who knew the zombies were their friends and how to make peace with them."

Suddenly her attire makes sense, to me and to Sam.

"Oh, God," Sam gasps. "I thought I recognized her. She was in that zombie cult."

"Something went wrong," She continues. "Strangers came and they didn't understand. They made the zombies so angry with us."

My jaw drops. This bitch tried to feed me and Louise and Moonchild to zoms and she's trying to pin it on us? She's trying to say we're to blame?

"Danny and I got out together. He must've been bitten already. I-I-I don't know. We were hiding in an old garage. I went to sleep, and when I woke up, he was so cold... but he was still Danny. He'd never hurt anyone; He wouldn't. He just... gets so hungry sometimes."

"How many people have you killed for him?"

She shakes her head. "You don't understand."

Veronica turns to me. "Runner Five, you have that gun with you, right? Get it out. Stay close."

I reach down to my holster, eyes widening at the fact that my gun is still there. I remember picking it up, shooting the lynx in the chest... then distracting it when Nadia was stuck and the lynx wouldn't die. I didn't drop the gun like I did the first time it attacked me. I put it back in my holster and forgot about it.

"You said you weren't armed," Rachel gasps.

"We lied."

"No. No, I won't let you. You can't harm him." She grabs Veronica, pushing her to the ground, but the teenager is stronger than she looks. She pushes Rachel off her, kneeing her in the stomach.

She stands, brushing herself off as she stares at the woman who is clearly crazy. She uses her foot to hold her down. "I don't care what he used to be. He's a zombie now, and there's only one thing to be done with zombies. Come on, Five. I can hear him through the trees. This way, before he escapes."

•

"There he is," Nadia breathes, looking completely horrified at the zombie chained up to an oak tree. It has the same attire as Rachel has on, only bloodier.

It growls at seeing us, but makes no move to come after us. Its face is covered in blood-Vince's blood. There are bits of his skin in its teeth.

"Good Lord have mercy," I mutter.

Rachel pushes past me, nearly making me fall into a thorn bush. She rushes toward Zombie Danny, standing between it and us.

"I'll look after you, love," She proclaims, stroking its face for a second, pulling away when it roars at her.

"I know true loves conquers all, but this is a step too far," Nadia grimaces, but then her eyes grow wide when Rachel undoes the chain and attempts to lead Zombie Danny away.

"This way, love. Just follow me and it'll all be alright."

Veronica seems to be holding back a laugh of mockery. "You can't outrun us; He's too slow."

"I won't let you hurt him," She growls, and I roll my eyes.

You can't hurt something that's already dead. That's like trying to hurt a rock or a flower that's already been picked. You just can't.

"We can put him in the calm field with the other zombies," She says. "He's not the problem here, Rachel."

"I can't leave him. He's all I have. I won't let him go."

I take my gun from its holster, watching Rachel closely. I don't want to shoot her, so I have to make sure I have a clear shot of the zombie before I pull the trigger.

She's crying, holding her hand out to Zombie Danny. "Come here," She chokes out.

"What's she doing?" Sam asks. "Oh, tell me it's not what I think she's doing."

"You know what to do, don't you, love?" She forces a smile through her tears as the zombie grabs her hand, pulling it towards its mouth. She's letting it do so. "It's like eternal life, they say. Go on then."

"No! Rachel, wait!" I yell, aiming my gun at the zombie... but it's too late. It's teeth are already breaking into the skin of her wrist. She's bites back a cry of pain, but I shake my head. She's just killed herself.

"We need to leave," Nadia says, and I almost roll my eyes at her stating the obvious.

But she is right. We need to leave. I have my gun, of course, but if we leave I won't have to use it. Besides, if we just get out of eyesight, they'll leave us be. Zombie Danny is too distracted by Rachel's coughing, since she pushed it off her, and Rachel is too distracted by the fact that she's dying.

Veronica leads us a couple yards away, making sure to chose a route that will be hard on them if they hear us and start following. But she stops once she sees we are out of eyesight and earshot. I can still see them through the trees, standing there. One dead and the other soon to join it.

Rachel's skin has lost its color, the brown color gaining an ashy undertone. Her eyes are losing its life as she keeps coughing. It's happening rather quickly for her. The surge of adrenaline is probably why. The light is fading in her eyes with each cough, until finally her cough because a growl, signifying she's turned...

She's gone.

"Quite interesting," Veronica mutters. "I've never seen what happens if someone goes gray around a calming plant."

The zombies start to move, but not towards us. I tip my head to the side, wondering where they're going. I ask Veronica and she simply straightens her glasses.

"We've got a new zombie group starting to form in the southwest fields. They could be headed there," She says with a shrug.

"Um, Veronica," Sam starts, "about earlier, I know I got too excited, but I know how much your dad loved you-more than any of his research. Before he died, all he wanted was to get that message to you at your camping trip. I'm sorry if you think I tried to tell you about him. He belonged to you, not me. I just wanted you to know he was thinking about you, right at the end."

She looks down at her feet, sighing heavily. "I wasn't camping when the outbreak hit. I left the Guides when I was nine. I used to go to the Natural History Museum when I was supposed to be at Guides. Got to know a few of the researchers. They let me behind the scenes, showed me their new projects. That's where I was when... guess it doesn't matter now."

"I am sorry," He says, and I can here the sincerity in his voice. "I still miss him."

She straightens, composing herself in seconds. "I want his research notes. I think I can pick up where he left off. And the abandoned base below us, you saw it?"

"Yeah. Comansys Research Station."

"I want to get inside. They were doing research with the plants. Their notes could help with my work here, but the security shutters are down. Someone inside must've triggered a secure lockdown."

I can feel Sam smiling in the coms shack. "Well, that's great."

"Why?" She frowns.

"Well, if it's sealed, Comansys can't have secured it. We've got to get in."

"You've seen how full of zoms it is. Even if you covered yourself in calming plants, the effect wouldn't ward all of them off."

"Great," Nadia says sarcastically, crossing her arms. "What do we do?"

"I've been experimenting with something that might help us get through." She hums in thought. "If you help me work on it, I'll help you get inside."

"Deal," Sam replies.

"Come on. Let's get to my lab."

"Shouldn't we do something about Rachel and Danny?"

She shrugs, looking back at the two zombies stumbling away. "What can we do? I think they both got what they wanted."

A/N: Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please be sure to vote and comment. Thank you and have a blessed day!