Chapter 36: Return To The Forbidden Planet

"Shh! Quietly," Sam hisses. "Raise the gates."

The gates raise, but no alarm goes off. I raise a brow curiously, but still run out the gates as per usual. It's been a week and now I'm able to run again. Funny how quickly the time flies. We're already over halfway finished with October. I'll be turning seventeen in just over a month.

"Okay, now listen up, Runner Five. This isn't exactly an official run."

"Not an official run. Heh," Jack laughs. "It's like we're spies. The name's Holden. Jack Holden. The Secretary will deny any knowledge-"

"Jack!" He pauses and lets out a slow breath. "Okay, Five, here's the thing. What with all the chaos since Amelia's left, you're the only runner who's free to go out now, since you're cleared and we don't have to worry about any brain injuries. And we've... hit a bit of a problem."

"Bit of a problem?" Jack says, almost mockingly. "This isn't gonna stop us leavin', is it? We're supposed to be off in a couple of days."

"Well, not if Five gets to them first."

"Gets to who first, Sam?" I question, and the man lets out a slight nervous cough.

"Um, well, this is the situation-you may be aware that the past few weeks, the teenage population has gotten uh, well, a bit restless."

Jack scoffs. "Restless?"

"Fine. Rebellious."

I nod. "I'm aware, seeing that I have a teenager of my own."

He lets out a small noise, one that almost sounds like fear. I frown in confusion. "Uh, y-yeah. Milo... They uh, the teenagers are saying we're not catering to their needs."

"Their... needs?" I repeat.

"Yeah. I mean, God, teenagers can be so pompous-besides you, I mean. I'm pretty sure I was never like that. Well, we might not have been paying attention, what with all the time we're spending trying to find that Comansys ship. You'd think they'd have more sympathy with us trying to find the key thing that could stop the mind controlled zombies and people, but no. They want more clothes and better CDs and computer games and makeup kits a-and pig shaped sweets."

I shrug. "They're kids. They think they know everything and that adults are just trying to boss them around."

"You're a kid and you don't think that," Jack says.

"For one: I was put in training when I was twelve. I could kill you in like, four seconds without a weapon if I wanted to. And two: I'll be seventeen in like, a month."

"Really? Huh, you look a lot younger."

I roll my eyes. "Thanks."

"Anyway," Sam says, bringing us back to the main subject, "Jody was good friends with the teens who were left without parents, and all that stuff they found out about her left them pretty angry and pretty confused. And since Janine said no one under sixteen are allowed to be runners-"

"They've been hangin' around with nothing to do but tell me my music's outdated," Jack pouts, and it earns a laugh from me.

"Right, so when a couple of youngsters asked to look at the control center... well, we thought it would be a good chance for them to understand what we do. Maybe record their impressions. Like, uh, a special feature."

"You said it would help morale."

"You said you were good with kids," He snaps back.

I purse my lips, face beginning to scrunch up. "Why do I have I feeling I know where this is going?"

Jack sighs. "Polly and Zach, you know them right? Been here a few months, no idea where their parents are, no one really left but each other."

"I know them. They're friends with Milo."

There's a few seconds pause before Sam clears his throat. "Well, u-um, they wanted to see what our runners do-try on the headsets, stand by the gate... and when the gates went up, they legged it right out of the compound and went to search for makeup kits and CDs, jelly sweets and all the things those selfish old runners won't bring them because-because they're too busy saving mankind."

I can't stop the grin that starts to spread across my face.

"And now Janine's gonna stick me in the brig," Jack shudders. "'Mr. Holden, I expected better from you.'"

"Only if she finds out. So if you go after them, Five, we'd be very grateful."

"Well, I think she'd be mad if we picked someone else, if someone else was available, anyway," He replies.

"How so?" I ask.

"Uh... no reason."

"Uh-huh... well, in a way, I see this as a good thing. It finally gives me an excuse to not let Milo hang around them. They're rebellious and a bad influence. I'd be livid if they tried this again and brought him along with them."

There's a awkward pause.

"Uh... y-yeah. Totally wouldn't want that," Sam says, and I narrow my eyes.

"That's sounds rather suspicious, you know."

"Says the person who's full of secrets."

"...touché."

"Just head for the city," Jack says. "That's where they're headed. You're fast. You can outpace the, uh, the two of them."

I nod, pushing myself to go faster. I have to be careful though, since I have no weapons with me today. I would've brought my axe, but it's gone missing. It's odd, since I don't just leave around for someone to pick up. I keep it in the small room where the runners all have their own locker. I don't think it was stolen, since all the lockers have a code. I mean, mine's the numbers of how many letters are in my first, middle and last name-

896

So I know there's no way someone could have guessed it. I must've left it somewhere by mistake instead of putting it in my locker like I usually would.

I must be careful, and I have to be quick. Just because I don't like those two doesn't mean I want them getting bit. Milo would be so angry with me if I were to let anything happen to them.

So I keep heading towards the city, wondering if I would act like they do if I was never a part of the A.M.T.B. or if I never became a Torrencer.

Probably, although I'll never admit it.

"You're gaining on them, Five," Sam says. "Keep running down that street on your left, past the fallen crane. Uh, there's a pack of zoms coming in from the south. Keep going. You'll outrun them. The kids are half a mile to the north, heading for the shopping center. The shopping center that's..." He sighs, "heavy with zoms."

"Kids?" A voice comes in-it's Polly. "I'm fourteen. I'm practically old."

"Yeah," Zach snaps. "We know what we're doing, Yao."

"We're striking a blow of freedom. We're the future of the race."

Zach snickers. "Race. See what she did there?"

"Polly, Zach, listen to me. Runner Five's coming after you," Sam says calmly. "Just double back the way you came. There's a few dozen zoms, but they're shamblers. Just keep moving. You'll be fine."

"I know," She answers. "The three of us are faster than any of you. I've seen your runners goin' out. They're all like, old and overweight."

"Three of us?" I repeat. "What are you talking about?"

"And they never bring anything good back. It's all sports bras and tool kits."

"Sam, what did she mean by 'three of us'?" I ask again, starting to panic.

"Not this time. We know a place," Zach says in a cocky voice. "And there's everything we need there, and if we see anything gray, Milo will take its head off with an axe. So keep away, Runner Five. We don't need your help or anyone's."

"Polly? Zach? Milo?" Sam calls, but they've already turned off transmission. "Damn. They've cut me off."

"I blame the parents," Jack mumbles.

"Excuse me?" I shriek, and I hear the chair squeak from him flinching in fear.

"I-I didn't-I didn't mean... shit. You're going to kill me, aren't you?"

"I'm going to kill both of you for not telling me MY SON was out here in the city that is crawling with zombies!"

"We didn't want you to get upset," Sam says.

"In what universe do you think I wouldn't be upset if this were to happen?" I ask, before taking a deep breath. "If anything, and I mean anything happens to him while he's out here, you won't have to worry about Janine, believe me that. I will kill all of you, including the two brats he's running around with, do you hear me?"

"Yes," Sam squeaks.

"Good. Now where do you think this place is that they're going?"

"I-I-I um, uh, pick up the pace a bit, and go past that burnt out car and-and down to the car park. I can see the kids on the scanners now. Just keep going. I uh, from what I can see, I think I know where they're heading."

"Then just tell me the way," I say, still fuming. It's been a long, long time since I've been this angry. I'm almost seeing red. I can't believe Milo did this. I can't believe he broke into my locker, stole my axe and ran off to play Runner with his stupid friends.

I knew I didn't leave my axe lying around, but I couldn't see how someone could've gotten in my locker. No one in Abel knows my name.

No one except Milo.

I can't believe he'd do this. I can't believe he'd act like such an idiot. I can't believe he'd be so reckless.

I can't believe he'd be so much like me.

Damn it. Damn it all.

Sam gives me a few more directions, and his voice is shaking slightly, mostly from fear that I might snap at him at any given moment. Good. Let him be scared. This moron let these kids sneak out and now my kid could quite possibly die.

I don't think I've ever been this angry at him before. I'm can feel the rage bubbling under my skin, and my face is hot as the sun. I can taste the bitter words that are pushing at my teeth, desperately trying to spew out of my mouth like deadly poison. I'm angry.

I'm angry at everyone and everything.

"Here we are," Polly gasps. "Planet Omega! The only cool place left in the world. CDs, T-shirts, games, and look! Harry Hippos!"

"I used to love those," Milo exclaims, and I grit my teeth at hearing his voice. I can hear them tearing open the packaging to eat the sweets that should be well rotten, but aren't because of the dozens of unhealthy preservatives added to them. "Oh, my God. The sugar rush."

"Look at this stuff, guys," Zach says. "Graphic novels, books, signed posters. The limited edition Vampire Wars with collectible figurines."

"Hurry up. Get what you can and shout if you see anything gray."

"Polly, Zach, Milo, Runner Five's here to rescue you," Sam says as I enter the shopping center. Polly pops up from the second story, a smug grin on her face.

"You look out of breath, Five. Here." She chucks a gummy at me. "Have a Harry Hippo."

"Where's Milo?" I growl.

"I'm right here," Milo says, looking down at me.

"Milo Scotts, you get down here right now. Polly, Zach, you too. I'm taking you back home to Abel."

"And why do we have to listen to you?" Polly asks.

"Because you're going to get yourselves killed if you don't."

"We know what we're doing," Milo argues. "Just because you don't think we're ready to be runners doesn't mean we are."

"The way you've acted just proves that you aren't."

"Kids," Sam says softly, "you don't understand. There are zoms all around this place. It's like zombie central. In fact, it's a miracle you're not already surrounded. You have to follow Runner Five now."

"Oh, he called us kids again," Zach says, and Polly sighs.

"Some people never listen."

Both Polly and Milo disappear from view, and there's a faint click signifying they've cut off coms again.

"Five, if you can't get the kids to come back, at least show them a safe route through. Head around towards the stairway, and then turn left towards the billboards. You should be able to make in time before the zoms cut off your escape route out of-oh." His voice dies out when I hear a door squeak open. "Uh... hello, Janine."

•

"I'm trying to understand, but you're not making it easy," She says in irritation. "What exactly is this, Mr. Yao?"

"Just an ordinary... Uh-uh, just a completely ordinary run to um, to-to-"

"To demonstrate to the listeners of Abel the work that our marvelous runners do," Jack interrupts, and I know he added the marvelous part to make up for what he said earlier. "Seeking out supplies and such and etcetera."

"Stop trying to hide the screen, Mr. Yao," Janine says angrily. "Is that... is that a shopping center? And who are those three runners with Runner Five? Those three very short runners?"

"I can explain," Both Jack and Sam say immediately, but I pay them no mind. I just keep chasing after the kids who somehow always seem to run out of sight from me.

Milo is in so much trouble.

"Well?"

"Um... no," Sam says. "It turns out I can't explain after all."

"Mr. Yao, did you send out three children on a mission in the city at this very critical moment? With the Ministry demanding we show we're capable of our affairs or they'll send us another external administrator, which is a bit rich seeing as they're still doing an internal investigation. But nonetheless, this is when you decided to send children out on a mission?"

"I didn't send them. They... ran off."

"That is no better!" She shouts. "We've had quite enough people running off. Quite enough. Runner Five, back to base. We're not risking a runner's life on a ridiculous escapade."

I laugh. "You want me to come back to Abel? Hell no. I'm not leaving without Milo."

"Runner Five-"

"I am not leaving without my son!"

"He is not your son."

"He is. And I'm not leaving without him."

"Come back to Abel at once. That is an order."

"Your orders can suck it!"

"Alright, that's enough," Sam says. "Five, listen to me. You have to get to those young people before the horde cuts you off. You can't afford to be trapped inside, not with the zoms closing in. And try to get them to listen to me, please. And run. Just keep running."

I let out an angry noise, but keep running. I put on a burst of speed before the three can turn a corner and lose me, so I catch up to him. Polly and Zach look as happy as they can be, but Milo won't look at me. I think he's too afraid of the look I'm giving him.

He still has my axe in his hands.

"Let me at least show you the way out. There's a horde coming, and I don't think you want to die today," I say.

Zach rolls his eyes. "I told you, we don't need you help."

"No, you don't want it. There's a difference. If you listen to me, then I might just leave you alone so you can have your fun elsewhere, but you'll never know unless you listen, because otherwise I'll just keep chasing you and not letting you get the cr-I mean, stuff, you want."

Milo looks at me with wide eyes, surprised that I might leave them be. I won't. I'll drag Milo back to Abel kicking and screaming if I have to, but sometimes it's best to lie to get them to listen.

"Mr. Yao, I know you're no Travis, but on the other hand, these three children are no Amelia Spens either," Janine says. "You're telling me they tricked you into letting them out to find a Planet Omega, and then you sent one of our best runners into a restricted area to fetch them? A runner who has yet to acknowledge my orders and-"

"Oh, I've acknowledged your orders," I say, "but given they were stupid ass orders, I've elected to ignore them."

Milo snorts, but his smile drops when I sent a glare at him.

"Yes, and you sent out Runner Five when you knew a boy she cared for deeply was out there. You knew that she would come into this mission emotionally. I knew you were irresponsible, Mr. Yao, but-"

"Ooo, sounds like someone's in trouble," Polly giggles. "Who is she? Your mother? No, she sounds like my mother."

"Polly, listen to me," Sam says. "This whole place is crawling with zoms. You, Zach and Milo have to follow Five back to base. I'll talk you through the safest route, and she'll keep you safe."

"Keep us safe? She doesn't even have a weapon. We'd actually be the one keeping her safe."

"It's my axe you stole," I growl, and Milo's shoulders scrunch up to his ears as he runs.

"I'll deal with this," Janine says. "Mr. Holden, please would you leave us. As for you, Mr. Yao-"

"I'm not leaving, Janine. I'm not."

"I'll deal with you later. Now, children."

"Oh, God," He murmurs.

"Listen to me. You are safer at Abel Township than anywhere else in this country. Our Zombie Repellent Device means you cannot be attacked in the children's dormitories. You may not understand how lucky you are, but we do. Now make your way to the exit immediately."

"Who do you think you are?" Polly snaps.

"This is Janine De Luca. I'm taking charge of this operation."

"Who says? I thought Sam was in charge, and Five is Milo's mum, not you."

"Mr. Yao is not in charge anymore, and Runner Five is merely responsible for Milo. I am very much back in charge of the whole of Abel, and that's how it's going to stay. Your orders are-"

"Orders? I don't think so."

"Polly, please," I start, but the ginger girl stops me before I can continue.

"You're Milo's mum, not mine." She sticks her foot out, causing me to trip and fall face first into the floor.

"Hey, not cool!" Milo shouts, but she shrugs.

"She'll be fine. Come on. I'm not taking orders from anyone."

The three run off, although Milo's a bit more reluctant than the others. As I look up, I see him looking back at me before turning a corner and racing off.

"Not a good choice of words, Janine," Sam scoffs. "Runner Five, it's up to you. There's a parking garage two floors down. So far it looks mostly clear. From there you can get to the street via an underground walkway, but you'll have to be quick. There's a group of zoms heading straight for you. You'll have to make a break for it. Now, get the kids and run. Run!"

I jump up, sprinting after the kids as quickly as I possibly can. It doesn't take me long to catch up to them again. I wrap my hand around Milo's wrist, and the brunet frowns in confusion.

"You either come with me, or I drag you. Believe me when I say I will do either with no complaint."

"You can't-" Zach starts.

"Oh, yes I can. But if you want to stay here and get eaten by the undead, by all means, go ahead and take a few more minutes to look around. Milo's not dying here today."

Milo looks like he might fight back. He is the one who has an axe, after all. But he's smart enough to know that all hell would break loose if he even thought of using my axe to threaten me. So he keeps running behind me as I pull him along towards the parking garage.

Polly and Zach have enough common sense to follow. Good. I would've left them there if they kept resisting. Right now, the only kid I care about in this trio is my own.

There are a few zombie security guards stumbling around, and I try to pull the three away from them, since the last thing we need is more zombies coming after us. But they just don't seem to get the hint, and instead of going around to avoid the zombies, they run straight for them, with Milo leading.

"Wait! Stop!" I screech, which was a bad decision on my part, since I just gained the zombies' attention. Now they're heading right for the kids. "What are you doing?"

Milo raises the axe, slamming it down into a zombie's skull before kicking it away. He swings the axe up, the blade slicing through a zom's jaw. He follows through, slicing the rotting brain in half. He does a similar move to the other two.

"I told you. I know what I'm doing," He tells me defiantly, but instantly shrinks back when I send him a cold glare.

"Don't ever do that again," I snap, before heading towards the walkway. "Now come on."

•

"That's great, Runner Five," Sam says. "You're through the walkway and into the street. Polly, Zach, Milo, are you with me?"

"Yeah," Zach laughs, and Milo echoes something similar.

"Those zombie store managers," Polly giggles, and I grimace at how close I was to getting bitten in that underground walkway. "What a blast! Let's do it again."

"No! Just follow Runner Five. Take the next turn in the left. Head to the long term car park."

"Mr. Yao, that car park is filled with zombies," Janine says, which causes me to groan. Milo grips the axe tighter.

"I know. I don't think we have a choice," He answers. "Uh, Five, after the car park, you'll see an alley on your left. I think it's clear for now, at least. Just run and don't stop. Polly, can you hear me? You've fallen behind. You're falling back. No. No! Don't stop there!"

I crane my head to look back, slowing down when I see Polly has stopped even though there are dozens and dozens of zombies following after us, and just as many heading right for us from the car park. The only way we'll be able to make it out of here is if we keep running.

"I'm just havin' a look, Sam," She says. "Relax. I can outrun them. Wow. Some of these are really gross. Hey, guys, exfoliate much?"

"Polly, this is serious!" I yell, stopping. God, why is she being so stupid?

"Well, skincare is a serious business. Hey, there! Hey, it's me!" She reaches into her bag and grabs a gummy before chucking at a zombie. "Have a Harry Hippo! Have a mini makeup kit! Have a Kesha St. Cloud CD. Maybe you'll like her now."

I pull Milo a bit closer to me. The zombies are getting closer. We have maybe two minutes before they're right on top of us.

"Zachary, those zombies are almost on you," Janine says. "Please can you communicate to Polly that throwing items at them will not keep them away for long. We train runners to do that only as a brief distraction before continuing to run."

"I think there's something else going on here. See that guy in the gray suit and the woman with the handbag? The zoms Polly's chucking stuff at?" Zach sighs. "They're-"

"They're just zoms," Sam says. "Slathering, hungry, reeking of death-"

"Yeah, I'd know them anywhere. Those are Polly's parents."

"Oh... right. Yeah, I get it. Five, you gotta get a weapon. There's some replica playing sticks in the Planet Omega."

"There's not enough time," I reply, before turning to my son. "Give me my axe."

He blinks. "What?"

"Give me my axe. I'll hold off the zoms while you and Zach try to convince Polly to move her ass."

"But-"

"This isn't up for discussion!" I yell, grabbing the axe from before he can protest any more. I charge ahead, passing Polly and slamming my axe into a zom's skull. Milo and Zach find an old wrench and a piece of metal-probably from a car-and use that to keep the zoms on the other side of us at bay.

If we don't get out of here soon, though, we'll be surrounded.

"That's great, Five," Sam says as my blade slices into a zom, and then into another. "You're keeping them at bay, at least. Maybe, uh-yeah. Steer clear of Polly's mum, I guess."

"She never liked Planet Omega," Polly grumbles. "She used to say all it sold was junk. Hey, Mum, you've let yourself go. So gray is the new black, right? And Dad. Dear, old Dad... you'll see I'm still hangin' around the shoppin' mall with losers."

"Mr. Yao, there's a group of thirteen of the undead approaching from the northeast. More zombies in the car park. Zachary, Milo, you have to move now."

"Not without Polly. No way," Zach says as Milo shoves a chunk of metal into a zombie's eyeball.

"See what happens when you call the shots? You watch the world fall into pieces." Her voice is shaking. "Kinda puts the mess in my room into perspective, doesn't it?"

"Polly, please. You need to go," Sam begs.

"You don't understand. They hated the mall. They never would've come here if it wasn't for me. But I wanted Harry Hippos, and when it happened, I just ran."

"Well, of course you did. What else could you have done?"

"I could've been what they wanted. Just once. At least, I could've tried harder not to disappoint them-worn the right clothes for once, tidied my room, been the right kind of girl."

A zombie lunges, grabbing onto my arm, trying to pull me toward its mouth. I grab the top of its head with my free hand, trying to push it away, trying to get it off so I can finish it off.

Milo curses when he sees my predicament. "H-Hold on! I'm coming!"

"But you are the right kind of girl," He says. "You're resourceful, inventive, strong. That's why you're still alive."

"What do you know?" She asks.

"Believe me. I know. You think you're the only person who's ever disappointed someone? Who's ever felt guilty for being alive?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Mr, Yao," Janine says.

Another zombie has made its way over to me, and I'm using my foot to keep it back. Milo's trying to get over to me, but he has to take down more zombies along the way. If one more decides to come over to me...

"Polly, I was a hopeless case. Disappointment to everyone. This-this job, its the only thing I've ever done that's really made a difference, and if you die now, I'll have failed. Polly..."

She lets out a shaky breath. "Okay."

"Okay? Okay. Zach, Milo, Runner-oh, my God, Five!"

"A little help here, please!" I say, pushing the zoms back as best I can. Milo finally makes to me, and in two clean strokes, he kills the zoms. They drop, and in an instant I'm grabbing Milo's hand and running, Polly and Zach behind us.

We listen to Sam's instructions, trying to get away from the many rotting corpses trailing behind us. They're mostly shamblers, thankfully, but we can't risk slowing down. We've lost a lot of time from how long we were standing still.

Fortunately for us, after about ten minutes of running, we lose them-most of them anyway. We've still got a few shamblers trailing behind us, but we should lose them if we keep going.

"That's great, guys," Sam says, relief in his voice. "Come home as fast as you can, and uh, save me some Hippo sweets."

I bite my lip to keep from smiling.

"We're in big trouble, aren't we?" Milo asks.

"That depends on what Runner Five thinks," Janine answers.

"Why?"

"Well, she is... she is your mother, Milo, and since Polly and Zach no longer have their parents, I think it would be best if she chose their punishments, as well."

"Is Sam gonna get in trouble?" Zach asks. "It wasn't his fault we ran away."

"Sam's an adult, apparently. He needs to learn to take responsibility."

"Adults can be clueless too. You should know that, all of ya," Polly says, making me raise a brow in question. Milo just grins at me.

"What do you mean? Mr. Yao, What is this young lady talking about?"

"Janine... I have no idea," He answers, then he pauses. "Did you call me Sam just then?"

"Absolutely not, Mr. Yao."

"Come on," Zach says. "I'll race you back. Leave them to work it out, if they can."

"It's a thinker," Polly adds. "Maybe when we grow up, we'll be just as clueless as they are. Let's go, Milo."

A/N: Here you go, guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Do you think Milo, Polly and Zach are going to receive punishment? Do you think they deserve punishment? Let me know in the comments! Also, don't forget to vote! Thank you and have a blessed day!