Chapter 40: Brand New Start

"Hello?" Kefilwe asks meekly. "Hello, can you hear me?"

"Hey, hey, hey," A voice replies in a chipper manner-Runner One. I think his name is Yang. "Kefilwe Kasigo. You know we can hear you. It's groovy. It's great. I've packed up Thirteen's headset just fine."

Runner Thirteen, Cameo, laughs. "You know, One, I only couldn't do it myself because I've always been more of a software girl. If it weren't so privative, I would've been in there so fast."

"We know," Kefilwe says in amusement. "I still can't believe what managed to make out of those three smashed iPhones and that cash register."

"That thing that turns into a radio and then prints Radio Abel snippets even though they're broadcasting from the field? That was you?" He laughs. "Wow. Mind blown."

I hear more footsteps, and I huff and tap my foot impatiently as I stand at the gates. Where the hell are they?

"Runner Eleven, my man!"

I pale slightly. Oh, God.

"Guys, guys, did I miss anything?" Runner Eleven, Kytan, asks. "I'm here. I'm here. I just had to kick Runner Sixteen's ass at table football, and I did, convincingly."

There's a grunt, followed by several laughs.

"We believe you, Kytan," Cameo giggles. "No need to do a backflip."

"Oh, lovely lady, there is always a need for a backflip, like just ending this sentence. Check this out-"

"Oh, wait," Yang says. "Guys, is Andrew not coming with us on this run? I thought it was the Gang of Four; The rockstars out on another awesome mission of adventure and excitement."

We haven't even started this mission and I'm already beginning to regret it.

"No. Sorry, Yang," Kefilwe says. "With Amelia gone, the systems are not quite working so well. Janine is trying to pull things back together, but shifts are disturbed. Now that we've worked out Amelia's codes, we know how to get into contact with the Laetitia Greenwald.

"It's vital we make contact with them. Andrew won't be with you today, but that's okay. All Abel runners are up to the job. I'll be you operator, as usual this time, but your fourth member will be..."

"Me," I say, and I raise a hand to wave at the three figures I see heading my way.

"Oh. Runner Five, you're waiting there already. Yes, you're all very lucky. Runner Five will be with you today."

"Runner Five..." Yang clears his throat awkwardly once he and the others reach me. "Hi. Okay then."

"Right," Cameo says in discomfort, her brown eyes full of disappointment.

"This is not what I was expecting," Kytan grumbles, and I scoff and cross my arms.

"Well, excuse me. Next time I'm asked to go on a mission with you three, I'll just say no."

"There's no need for that," Kefilwe says calmly, and I simply shake my head. It's not exactly like they were my prime pick of who I'd like to go running with, either. They're too... playful. I understand the need to joke and such on a low risk mission, but doing backflips and saying the word 'groovy' isn't exactly my thing.

Although, I honestly don't think saying the word 'groovy' should be anybody's thing.

I have a group that I would prefer to run with, but one of the members is dead, one is off with a criminal, and the one is still being despised because of past deeds.

So instead I'm stuck with these guys.

Great.

"Okay, here we go," Kefilwe says enthusiastically. "We have an important mission today to find the boat that Comansys is hiding on. So, raise the gates... Covering fire. And run."

I take off running, easily keeping pace with those beside me. They start chattering about whatever it is they like to talk about, but I tune them out. It's not that I don't like them, exactly; They just aren't the type of people I usually am around. They are funny, but they tend to push the border of funny and just plain stupid.

I look at them, all smiling and happy, joking around about dumb things... I remember when my runs were like that, when me and Simon would go on runs, although his thing was terrible puns laced with innuendos I didn't get until five minutes after it was said. Jody was funny too, and Sarah... well, Sarah was Sarah. I miss the times when the four of us would run together...

It hurts so much to think that we'll never have those moments again.

I reach down and pick up a broken pencil. It's an okay find-not completely useless. Finding things will be a lot harder once it starts snowing again, and seeing how we're in the beginning of November, little flakes of white, powdery torture will be falling soon enough. I'm relishing in what little snow-free time I have left, even though it's still cold as all get out right now.

"No way. No way. Because if a zom got me by the hoodie, I'd be all like, ninja-wa!" Kytan kicks his foot out dramatically, and he brushes his hair away from his green eyes. My nose scrunches up. "And I'd take it off like this, and do a forward sprint like this, and then into a roundhouse kick."

He does all that, and he does so surprisingly well, even if it does sound like a bit much. Maybe I'm just used to killing zombies quickly.

"I couldn't believe it when you took that zom's head right off with that kick," Cameo says, and the dark haired man shrugs.

"It's no big deal."

"No, man. Live in your achievements," Yang says. "Take a moment with that stuff. I'd be proud."

A slightly embarrassed smile stretches across his face. "You know what it was? Sam was on coms that day, and he didn't even see it. Was distracted by something-well, someone."

"What's that look for?" I ask when he glances over at me. "I try not to go in the coms shack when Sam's working."

"Yeah, but you'd left your scarf in there, and he'd noticed. He wouldn't stop talking about how much you hate the cold and how upset you'll be not knowing where the scarf was. Then he started talking about how you basically wrap it around your head when you wear it."

"My ears get cold."

"Yeah, but I didn't need him telling me that when I had three zoms on my tail."

"He's very amusing," Kefilwe chuckles. "I think his relaxed style makes runners feel at ease."

"I know what you mean." Cameo nods, but then her thick brows furrow together. "Still, he did mistake me for Runner Twenty-five when he got mind controlled out of Abel... and Runner Twenty-five's a man."

"I'm sure anyone would make a mistake in such an emotional moment."

She shrugs. "I like it when we have you or Janine. I know she says the same thing over and over again, but you can't repeat stuff often enough when you're in the field. Hey, are they still doing that thing to you?"

I raise a brow in question. "What thing?"

"You know, Runner Five is their friend," Kefilwe says, and my concern only grows. "And it's not so bad. It is a little better now, I think."

"It is not okay," Yang says, a frown settling on his pale face. "People need to live in the now, ya know? And it's not your fault. Five, I'm sure you agree. Kefilwe Kasigo never even met Dr. Meyers-not officially, anyway."

My eyes widen. "Wait. Are you talking about Sam and Paula? They're still... I asked them to... I told them that!"

"I think that is the problem," Kefilwe says calmly. "I-I don't know her, so I can't be sad with them; We can't share that moment of grief."

Eleven shakes his head. "Man, if it was me, I'd go in there and say, 'Hey, Paula. Hey, Sam. If you don't stop ignoring me and talking down to me, you're gonna find your bed is full of ants and all your socks have the toes cut off."

"They're missing the person they love."

"That's no excuse," I cut in. "My best friend is gone too. I miss him everyday. He worked in the hospital. He helped Maxine with any experiments she was working on. You don't see me ignoring you or-or being rude to Veronica."

"There are worse things than being ignored. I had a boyfriend when I was working with the AIDS babies in Mozambique who wanted me to text him every two hours." She sighs. "Anyway, team, you've picked up a small group of zombies at your seven o'clock. Only five, but they're fast, and we can't miss the rendezvous if we want to get our people back. You see the manor up ahead?"

"Yeah," I reply, eyeing the old house with a tall fence surrounding it. It's a bit far away, but I think there's a moat around it.

"You're heading for the crypt. Head to the entrance on the left hand side. Run."

I look back. The fast zombies aren't very close, but they have us in sight. If we can make it over the hill and get inside the manor without them seeing, we should be fine. My chest tightens in anticipation. This could actually be it. We might actually find out where the Laetitia Greenwald is. We might find Maxine.

We might find Caleb.

Oh, how I've missed him. I can't tell you how many nights I stay awake, wishing I'd stopped him from leaving, wishing I'd saved him from Comansys...

But I didn't. I let him go. I let him leave.

But I'm going to get him back. I'm going to get all of my people back. I know Maxine's okay, at least. Caleb must be alright too.

He has to be.

It takes us maybe two minutes to get to the entrance of the manor. The door is locked, but I use my axe to break the lock. One easy swing does the trick, and I smirk when Yang says something around the lines of, "You really don't mess around, do you?"

The door lets out a slight creek once we open it, but it isn't loud enough to cause any concern. We head inside, going down the stone stairs that remind me of something you'd see in a mystery movie. They're pretty, even if a bit dirty, but they also give this place a slightly terrifying vibe, and being in an apocalypse doesn't make it any better.

We reach the bottom of the stairs, and while the place is covered in almost an inch of dust, it's huge, and magnificent in the way the light shines through the windows just above ground, casting an almost heavenly glow on everything it touches.

There are two large bookcase on the side wall, and several smaller ones down the halls and in other rooms of the crypt. Dirty, but lavish looking tapestries hang on the walls, and dusty rugs that hold just as much beauty lie on the floor. There are expensive and beautiful paintings hung up, and a lot of them are framed in what looks like gold framing. I can't tell if it's real gold or not, but I know it's pretty. And it doesn't really matter, since money is useless to the world now.

"This is place is crazy," Yang says in awe.

"No kidding," Cameo agrees. "Wish I had my camera with me. I'd take some shots."

"It's the old Bechon Manor," Kefilwe says we all take a look around. "The guide book says it was the seat to the Bechon family for twelve generations until-"

"Until the zombies chewed up their bones?" Kytan guesses.

"No, until it was given to the National Trust to escape death duties in 1969. The crypt you are running through now is one of the finest in England with its hanging tapestries and bone ceiling."

"It looks like this amazing wooden ossuary I saw at Burning Man," Cameo says. "They decorated it with like, a quarter of a million plaster bones. Went up like a torch."

"They're not plaster bones; They're real. The crypt is decorated with the bones of the Bechon family."

"Pretty environmentally conscious when you think about it," Yang says, but I shudder. The thought of hundreds of thousands of bones from dead people hanging above me is rather creepy, even with the fact that I deal with walking corpses on almost a daily basis.

"Amelia's notes say she chose this as her coms center because people don't want to come near it, because of the bones. They think it will attract zombies."

"I never liked Amelia, but I can't say she's not smart," I say. It's devious, and probably could be considered as diabolical, but still it's smart.

I spot her radio equipment, but as I start to tell the others, I stop, noticing what looks like a child's tomb... decorated with finger bones.

Kytan's nose scrunches up. "Gross."

"Cool," Yang replies, and I roll my eyes.

"Doesn't matter. Let's get this done."

"Right," Cameo says. "I'm here because my voice is about as close as we can get to Amelia's, though I hope I don't have to say much. And I've got a bit of tech here to help me."

I nod. This could be it. This might be the day we find out just where our friends are. Amelia's notes say she's going to get a call from the Laetitia Greenwald today, and we're planning to use the signal, along with the information we already have pinpoint the position of the ship.

Cameo heads over to the equipment, and after letting out a shaky breath, she presses the button to start the transmission.

"Ready for transmission," A female voice says on the other side of the line.

Then right after, on our side of the line, comes a growl.

Shit.

"Oh, no," Kefilwe gasps. "Those fast zombies have followed you."

"I thought I told you to lock the door," Yang says, and Kytan sends him an apologetic look.

"Sorry, man."

"Quickly. Five, One, Eleven, you must distract them away from Cameo while she makes the call."

I wave my hands frantically in the air, and Yang lets out a loud whistle to gain the zombies' attention. "Zombies, over here! This way!"

They turn to us almost immediately, and in seconds they are sprinting after us with vigor. I would say they're dying to get to us, but they're already dead. The three of us sprint off, and the zoms follow like planned.

Kytan splits off from us, trying to get the zoms to split up so maybe we'll be able to take them. They don't, and it's now that I realize there are more zombies here than there were simply chasing us before we reached the manor. More must've joined the group before they came inside.

Great.

Yang and I turn a swift corner, but only a few of the zoms run into the wall. The fast ones are a little less stupid than the shamblers. They're still stupid, since they're dead, but they seem to have better motor skills for some reason. But then again, the zoms that Van Ark controlled had great motor skills because of that tone box. Maybe that might have something to do with it.

I grab a candlestick holder from a dusty wood table as Yang and I pass it, and I twist around and chuck it at a zom. It hits it in the face, but it doesn't do enough to kill it. It simply rips open a part of its jaw, and now we're blessed the with sight of its jaw hanging onto its face by a few strings of rotting muscle

"That could've gone a bit better," I mutter, and Yang looks back at the zombies, his breathing starting to get labored.

"That looks like, what? Ten maybe?"

"Yeah, something like that. Where's Kytan?"

"Probably ran off to get something to help us get rid of these zoms," He answers. "You know how he can be. Gets an idea and doesn't realize people can't read his mind."

"Well, whatever it is, let's hope he gets what he needs and brings it back soon. There's only so many places around this crypt we can go through," I pant, and he nods.

"They sure are persistent. Watch out!" He grabs my arm and pulls me away from the bookcase just as a rotting hand thrusts out from behind it. If he hadn't yanked me out of the way, the hand would've grabbed me by the neck. It would've been hard to get out of that one not bitten.

"Lord have mercy," I gasp. "Thanks. That nearly got me."

"Don't mention it," He says. "How's it going, Kefilwe Kasigo? Cameo nearly done?"

"Unfortunately not," Cameo answers before Kefilwe can. "They lost signal lock. We need to keep them on the line for as long as possible. I'm not a talented enough mimic to convince them for long, but I've hooked a little something up that should help."

"Whatever works," I say, before grabbing a vase off a small table and hurling at a zombie's skull. It shatters on impact. Too bad. It was a very pretty vase.

"Come in, Amelia," A female voice says. "You broke up there for a moment. The next shipment will be ready when?"

"Right, that's coming up," A voice replies, but not Cameo's. It's Amelia, or at least, it's a recording of Amelia. It's something akin to her automated operator system, except it's helping us. "Be careful that the rendezvous is secure."

"Do you know of a reason it wouldn't be secure?"

"Right, the way forward is blocked. We need to re-route. Where is the best place for the rendezvous?"

There's a muffled sound on the other line.

"Will you keep it down back there?" The unnamed female snaps. "Amelia, what kind of blockage are you talkin' about?"

Suddenly, a figure pops out from behind a bookcase, and I nearly punch Kytan in the face. "Don't do that!"

He shrugs. "Sorry. But guys, what Cameo says before about Burning Man gave me an idea. Look what I found."

He grins widely and gestures down to the torches and matches in his hands. My stomach churns as he lights up a torch.

"What exactly are you-" I start.

"We can set fire to the zombies."

My eyes widen and I try to grab the torch out of his hand before he throws it back at the undead chasing us. "No! Don't! That won't-"

I'm too late.

"There," He says proudly. "That should slow them down."

"You idiot!" I screech, and I look back in horror at the flaming zombies chasing us-flaming zombies that are not slowing down in the slightest. "Do you not know that fire doesn't hurt them? Whatever. Just-just run!"

•

"They're gaining on us, and they've set the tapestries on fire, and each other." Kytan bites his lip in worry. "I'm thinkin' that wasn't such a good idea."

"You don't say?" I say sarcastically.

"Oh, now, it was very 'out of the box' thinking," Kefilwe assures. "But you cannot stay much longer. This whole building will become a death trap soon."

"I'm nearly there," Cameo says. "I've managed to persuade them to give me some detail about where they're near. Putting that together with the knowledge that they're on a ship, we should have enough to find them. Dr. Lobatse, could you ask Janine if she could do a quick analysis on the background noise in minute eleven of their transmission?"

"Certainly," She replies.

"Come in, Amelia," The unnamed female says. "Say again. Shipment 75E?"

"There are fast zombie movements to the south of that area. It's negatory," She says, doing her best impression. I'm guessing we don't have a clip of Amelia saying that.

"Imma have to say, I'm a peaceful guy, but I like on-fire zombies even less than the regular kind," Yang says, and he glances around as fire licks up the walls. "I wish Jaime were here with his fire fighting skills."

For once I find myself agreeing with you.

"Oh, man, I love that guy!" Kytan exclaims. "Showed me some wicked Judo moves. Shame he had to go be king or-or whatever."

I'm surprised he could be around you three for longer than five minutes, seeing how he's so... well, serious and you guys are so... not.

"We all love that guy. He's gonna be a great king. I never thought he'd leave his kids though, but I guess he had a higher duty."

"And he knew the children would be protected by the zombie repellent device," Kefilwe adds.

"He had all these amazing stories about being a firefighter. Knew a girl who looked just like Runner Five-Cameron. Said she was really clever. Once he and his crew were trying to put out a big fire, and Cameron had the idea to suck out this big lake to put it out, and it worked!"

I gasp, but immediately cough as my lungs are filled with smoke. "That-that give me a... an idea," I hack. "There's a moat outside the building, remember? Maybe-maybe waist-maybe waist high, and I mean your waist, not mine."

Yang nods, a smile starting to grow on his face. "I get you. We run through, get the zombies to put their fires out."

"Exactly. Now come on."

We rush towards the exit, and I can feel the heat of the fire against my skin. Thankfully there are high ceilings here, so we don't have to worry too much about the smoke, but still, taking too big of a breath is painful.

Climbing up the stairs to get out is what's hardest, seeing that the smoke waiting for us as we climb. I hold my breath, skin sweaty and red from running and from the heat. I'm sure my hands are blistering up some, and the blade of my axe is burning against my skin, even with my clothes shielding me.

We make it out, and we instantly begin wading into the water. It's nearly chest deep for me, and about waist deep for Kytan and Yang. I try not to think about how disgusting this water looks or feels. I try not to think about how cold it is, or how bad it smells. Instead I focus on wading through, which is a lot harder than I originally thought it would be.

"It's working," Yang cheers. "The zoms aren't on fire anymore. Actually, they look kind of fragile."

Kytan grins deviously at the sound of that, and in a flash he spins around and kicks his foot up, making water go everywhere. I gasp at the cold water hitting my neck. His foot makes contact with a roasted zom, and it completely falls apart in a pile of bones.

"This is amazing," Kefilwe gasps. "The fire has weakened them."

"And you said it was a bad idea," Kytan says smugly at me. I roll my eyes as Yang's eyes light up.

"Five, I see you have your axe. I have my bat. You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

I smirk as I take the axe off my back, "I'm pretty sure I have a good idea."

I turn and swing, slamming my axe into a zombie's neck, decapitating it. Yang's bat slams into a zombie, and then another, making them collapse into nothing but bones and chard skin. My axe swings upward into one's jaw. The flesh so brittle it breaks through and cuts entirely into its head; I don't even have to worry about pulling my blade out.

Another swing, another kill. Sounds of bones crunching and brittle skin breaking fills the air. Within a minute they're all dead, and whatever's left of them is in this moat.

"Man, that was enjoyable," Yang says, slightly sweaty, and wet with some of the water we kept splashing up. "Good swing there, Five. All in the wrist."

I give him a smile in thanks.

"Guys, I'm done with the Comansys people for now," Cameo says. "How's that analysis of the background noise coming, Doctor?"

"It can wait," She answers. "Five, One, Eleven, you need to help Cameo escape. Take your grappling hook to the crypt window and set up a line for her to climb up. Hurry, before the flames completely take over the crypt."

Kytan practically soars over to the window, splashing water on me and Yang. Still, we follow. I use the blunt of my axe to break the dirty glass, and Kytan uses his grappling hook to set up a line for her.

"I didn't even know we had grappling hooks," I say, and Yang frowns.

"You've literally been into the underground labs. How did you not see that we had grabbing hooks? I mean, you find things on runs that no one else would've spotted in a million years. How... that makes no sense at all."

"If you spend more than a day with me, you'll find that I barely ever make sense. But as cool as grappling hooks are, I doubt I'd ever use them."

"Oh, yeah, fear of heights," Kytan says and he pulls Cameo through the window, being careful to make sure she doesn't get cut from the broken glass. Once she's clear, we instantly start running, or as close as we can get to running while wading in water.

When we get out of the moat, we're soaked, but we still keep going, wringing out our dripping clothes along the way. I can hear the roaring fire behind us, eating up everything it can, consuming it in its flames. I don't need to look back to know the entire place is covered in flames. I can smell the smoke. I can feel the heat of it against my back, even as we get farther and farther away.

"That was our last chance to communicate with Comansys," Cameo points out. Kytan looks behind him, and grimaces at the sight.

"Man, that whole place is going up, and there was some really cool suites of armor there too. I really wanted one of those."

"There were a lot of books and nice paintings in there too," I add, frowning as I look back at the flames engulfing the manor. "I'm guessing they're nothing but ash now."

"Hey, we're all okay," Yang smiles, trying to stay positive. "Nice, leisurely run back to Abel. It's all groovy. We got what we needed, right, Cameo?"

My nose scrunches up at the word 'groovy' actually being used in a sentence... again.

"Yep. I've put together the information I managed to get out of them with things we already knew. I'm certain the Laetitia Greenwald is moored here." She takes out a map and a few papers from her backpack. "Map suggests they are about three miles off the coast, but listen. Doctor, what was that I heard in the background?"

"Janine has found something in it. I will start to play it for you, but Runners, you need to start going a bit faster. That building may collapse and the noise will attract more zombies. Now listen to this."

She pressed a button.

"Amelia, your voice is very faint," The unnamed female says, or said, and then faint static. "Keep the noise down back there. This is a critical communication! Amelia, we cannot do the rendezvous."

I blink, and look at the others. They look just as confused as I feel.

"Hey, I don't know if I'm dumb, but I don't get it," Yang says, and Kefilwe laughs.

"I didn't hear it either, but listen to what's there if you take out the foreground noise."

"I have to..." More static. "Abel."

"They said Abel," Kytan says with wide eyes, and my breath catches in my throat. I couldn't hear the voice that well, but I think it's... It just might be...

"And here is an advanced version." Kefilwe plays the recording again.

"I have to talk to her! You have to let me warn her that they're targeting Abel!"

I gasp.

Maxine.

"That's Dr. Meyers. Abel's Dr. Meyers, on the Comansys ship," Kefilwe says.

Oh, my God. It's her. It's Maxine.

She's really alive. And that means... it could mean that...

Caleb might just be alive too. He might be there... on the Laetitia Greenwald.

"I have to talk to her! You have to let me warn her that they're targeting Abel!"

A/N: Freaking finally, right? Well, we still have a lot more to go before everything comes all together. But now they know where the Comansys ship is? That's good, right? Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. Please be sure to vote and comment. Thank you and have a blessed day!

This chapter is dedicated to jettmanas