Chapter 65: Love Is A Stranger

"Raise the gates! Covering fire!"

"You know, Mr. Yao, I've been meaning to tell you for some time, it's not covering fire," Janine says while running beside me.

"Well, they do fire, and it sort of does cover you, in that it protects you because it kills the zombies that were near the gates."

"Yes, but it would only be covering fire if the zombies were able to be frightened by it. Otherwise it's just fire."

"Why are you choosing to bring this up on your first mission out of Abel in months?" He asks.

"Being unable to leave on a mission has unsettled me, Mr. Yao. Precision and order are settling."

I would agree with her, but I've lived on two military bases since the apocalypse and they were both precise and orderly. I never felt settled at either one of those places.

"It's gonna be fine," Sam says, and Janine purses her lips.

"I know that, Mr. Yao."

"I was talking to both of you," Sam says, and I simply roll my eyes. I still haven't told him about my most recent vision, and I don't plan to despite the promise I made to him. He still thinks I think my fate is unchangeable, or at least that I highly doubt that it is changeable. He needs to think that, because I can't give him what could be false hope. I can't do that to him.

"It's gonna be fine, and it's important," He continues. "If Maxine and Paula or the people at Comansys can really build something that can recreate what the Tavington machine did-"

"I know that too, Mr. Yao. Five and I both do. We also know that Comansys does not have the right equipment on their ships to reconstruct the machine. That's why they asked Dr. Meyers and Cohen to build one here at Abel or even repair the one at the Tavington Clinic."

"Yeah. Well, I put up a call on Roufflenet for spare parts, and we got a tip that someone found a hobbyist's basement full of electronic bits. And you need to go there and see if any of it would work for the machine," He pauses. "I-I-I know you already know that, but I just find the runners appreciate it if I do a mission briefing even if they already know most of it. It's just, you know..."

"Routine is comforting?" She guesses with a professional tone.

"In which case, you might like to know you've picked up a few zoms. Might want to speed up."

Janine simply nods in reply as we pick up the pace, our feet crunching in the freshly fallen snow. I can hear the low moans of the zombies behind us, but I pay them no mind. They're not too fast, so we can get rid of them pretty easily if we keep up this pace. Besides, I have other things on my mind.

"If we do find what we need to fix or even build a new machine, how long do you think it would take before it would be safe to use?" I ask, giving Janine a curious glance.

The dark skinned woman shrugs. "It could be weeks or even months, given the damage that was done to the Tavington machine, and it could take longer if we decide to build one from scratch. I know Dr. Meyers and Cohen will work tirelessly to fix the machine's damage, but it won't be done anytime soon."

"So I guess-I guess Caleb won't be home for Christmas then, huh?" I don't try to hide the disappointment in my voice.

"Five, Christmas is four days away," Sam says. "It would be impossible to hope he'd be home for New Year's, much less Christmas."

I sigh. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Stupid me, thinking stupid thoughts. Sorry."

He immediately starts sputtering. "No, I-I wasn't meaning to-I-I don't think you're.... You're not stupid."

"Mr. Yao is right," Janine says. "You are not stupid. You just let your wishful thinking get the best of you. It happens to us all."

I think this is Janine's way of trying to comfort me, but I can't be too sure since she tells me this with a neutral expression and an even more neutral tone of voice, if that's even possible. Still, I send her a closed lipped smile and a small nod of thanks.

I crane my neck to look back at the zombies, who are far behind us but still following. They are not much of a threat now. I guess they never really were... but looking at them, I think back to when we thought we had a way to stop the apocalypse with the Meyers' spray. We thought we could end the end of the world.

That was wishful thinking.

I wonder what Janine's wishful thinking could be. I mean, she did say 'us all' as in what I assume includes her, but she's... she doesn't look like a person who does much wishful thinking.

But on the outside, I don't look like someone who can literally see glimpses of the future, so I really can't judge anyone by how they look on the outside.

"Hey, whatever else we dig in this electronics trove, I'm hearing there's a crate of battery powered lanterns," Sam sighs wistfully. "Wouldn't it be lovely to read at night without worrying about burning the whole place down?"

Janine nods, a hint of a smile on her face. "If we're lucky, we'll find capacitors, analogue and digital ID chips, switches, resistors, and a voltmeter. Oh! And I'd love to have a good oscilloscope. If we had one, we could design our own circuits."

"Yeah... that was a childhood dream of mine too," He mumbles, and I giggle softly. "Hey, Janine, you were in covert ops before the zombie outbreak, right?"

"I think you're well aware that's classified, Mr. Yao."

"Yeah. Yeah, but you knew that Ministry guy, Travis, and you and Sarah Smith had some kind of plan together..."

I flinch at Runner Eight's name.

"Which is also classified," She snips.

"And you were sitting in a secret lab under your farmhouse..."

"Mr. Yao, do I need to come back there and teach you the meaning of the word classified?"

"No, no!" He yelps, then lets out a nervous little laugh. "Okay, but right, suppose you were in covert ops, what would your cover have been? I mean, did you tell people you worked at an electronics store? Because that'd make sense. Or um, did you say-hmm, now let me see-uh, that you were one of those people who go to children's birthday parties dressed as a cartoon character? Or uh, that you're a hand model? Or a chocolate taste tester?"

"I thought we all agreed no more chocolate talk," Janine deadpans, and I raise a brow at her in curiosity. She simply shakes her head as if to tell me not to ask.

I don't.

"Oh, did you say you were a hypnotist who got people to stop smoking? Or that you sculpted blocks of ice with a chainsaw?" Sam giggles like a child. "Did you tell people you were a romance novelist, Janine? Because that does seem a lot like you. Or did you-or did you-did you say you were the person who does the voice overs for movie previews?"

Janine gives out a long suffering sigh, while I just grin. Sam's happiness is always contagious, especially when it makes someone else exasperated.

"Mr. Yao, please be serious. Runner Five and I have a job to do." She goes quiet for a moment before a small smile spreads across her face, and she glances over at me. "'In a world overrun by zombies, one woman and one child are the only the only chance humanity has.'"

I snort, but it fades quickly. "Wait, are you calling me a child?"

Her smile stays. "Come on, Five. Let's pick up the pace. For all we know, Moonchild's mind controlled people could be after the electronics cache too."

I cringe at that thought. It's odd, thinking about knowing what I know now, knowing there's a chance for me. If Moonchild thinks we might have a way to fix that machine, she'll do anything to stop us. We can't take chances and assume she doesn't know what we're trying to do. We have to get that equipment, fast.

The cold air stings at my throat slightly, but I ignore it as best I can. It's getting easier to ignore it. I think it's because I'm so used to lacking warmth, or maybe Van Ark's treatments are showing new ways of making me less human. I'm not too sure anymore.

I'm not too sure about anything anymore, to be honest. I mean, I was so sure my fate was unchangeable, but only five days ago I was proven wrong.

What else is there that I only think I know?

"I'd forgotten how nice it is to get out of Abel-stretch the legs a bit, see a bit of scenery." Janine takes a look around at the snow covered hills. "I should go out on missions more often."

"That would be... fun, wouldn't it, Runner Five?" Sam says slowly, forcefully. "Janine helping out, having opinions, making sure we always follow the rules."

"Are there any rules you aren't following, Mr. Yao, Runner Five?"

"No," I say quickly, and she raises a brow.

"I see. And your answer, Mr. Yao?"

"Uh... so, in the old days, Janine, did you claim you were the captain of a sports team? Or a doctor in a smallish country?"

Way to avoid giving the answer.

"It's just lovely out here," Janine says, avoiding the question just like Sam did. "Just look at how white and sparkling everything is. Dr. Meyers and Cohen must be enjoying their furlough with this weather."

"Yeah, though with all that staring into each other's eyes, I don't think they'd notice if it was raining actual fire," Sam jokes, and I stay quiet because, well... I'm really not one to talk since I've actually walked into poles while talking to Sam.

"It is... good to have someone remind you that duty is not all there is," Janine says, and I see something flash across her face. I don't have to ask who she's thinking about. She blinks and the look is gone. "Still, it's enjoyable out here. Fresh air. Fresh faces."

"If you don't mind most of them belonging to zombies. Actually, speaking of zombie faces, you two are right in the area where New Canton found a zombie last week."

"Well, that certainly qualifies as news, Mr. Yao," She responds sarcastically.

"I wasn't quite finished with my story, actually. It had the word 'Grass' carved on its face."

I frown. "That's weird."

"Yeah, someone must've been pretty insane to do that."

"Did you say it was... carved?" Janine asks, the color draining from her face.

"Yeah, on its forehead."

She looks down, her brows furrowing together for just a moment. She then shakes her head as if to push the thought away. "Everyone's gone a bit mad these days, I suppose."

"Okay, guys-er, I mean, girls, you're getting close. You still have that group of zoms following you. They're still a bit of a ways away, but more have joined, and they're quick.

"Janine, you'll be going into that great, big, white house on the left. The electronics store is in the basement. Runner Five, keep running on the main road to keep the zoms away from Janine. You might want to turn on your noisemaker."

I grimace, but pull the device out of my backpack as Janine splits off, heading towards the house where the electronics are stored. I look back, seeing the gray blobs that are all merged together. It's probably a pack of twenty, maybe twenty-five. Not a horde, but definitely not a small pack that I could take down easily.

I flip on my noisemaker, cringing at the loud sound that comes from it. But even from here I know it's got the zoms' attention from the way they speed up slightly.

This will all be worth it if we get what we need to save the Tavington machine, or build a new one. It'll be worth it if I can save myself, save Caleb and everyone on those Comansys ships. It would all be worth it.

After about five minutes or so the zoms have gotten closer, and they're all following me, fast enough to make me run, but not fast enough to worry me.

"Can I turn this thing off now?" I question.

"Yeah, you've picked a good enough tail," Sam answers, and I sigh with relief when the sound stops. "Janine, you find anything good?"

"I'm afraid it's rather disappointing as to rebuilding the machine, Mr. Yao." She sighs heavily, and I feel my heart sink. "I suppose it was a little too much to hope we'd find proprietary Comansys technology in this stash. Though, in other ways, the collection is rather impressive."

"You found the battery lanterns?" He gasps hopefully.

"Indeed. The place is packed, and not just with electronics. There are also weapons, even a few grenades."

"Grenades. Well, that's great." He laughs. "You know, I really never thought I'd become the kind of person who got excited about grenades. It's weird, right? I mean, you'd never know who you'll turn into until you're actually out into that situation. Never know who you could be.

"I mean, look at me. I'm not a failing engineer student, worried he'll crush his parents' hopes and dreams forever anymore. Instead, I'm a radio operator, which is actually what I really wanted to be.

"And Janine, you don't have to pretend to be someone you're not. I mean, y-yeah, the shambling hordes of the undead aren't great, and the loss of everyone we loved isn't brilliant, but on the other hand, we can just get rid of our past and start again."

Janine hums in reply. "That's a nice idea."

"If it were only that easy," I mutter.

"Hey, hang on," He mumbles. "What was that?"

I tense. "What was what?"

"That pack chasing you just ran close to a cam, and looked like one of the zombies had a word carved on its forehead."

"Must be the same one New Canton found," Janine replies. "Actually, if you could bring it on in, Runner Five-"

"No, no. They said they took that one out, and-and this one looked like... um, okay. Five, can you just circle past that CCTV camera post? If you could come in at more of an angle, I should be able to take a longer look."

I nod, doing as told. "Got it."

"What is it you think you saw, Mr. Yao?"

"I don't wanna say until I'm sure." He pauses as I run past the camera post. "Oh, my God. It is him. I-it's Travis-the Ministry Marshall who came to arrest Jody."

What?

Janine takes a moment to reply. "Are you certain?"

"Well, it used to be Travis until he turned. Now he's missing one of his arms and most of his lower jaw, and he's got the word 'Failure' carved into his forehead."

"Oh..." She lets out a deep breath. "I don't want to alarm either of you, but Runner Five, we need to contact New Canton and leave right now. If that zombie is Travis, then-"

She's cut off by the sound of glass breaking, and I hear her gasp.

"Oh, God... No, put that knife down. Put it down!" There's a long pause. "I thought you were dead."

Her coms cut out.

"Janine?" Sam says worriedly. "Janine, are you alright? Please answer me! Let me know you're okay! Janine? Janine! Five, you've got to get back to that house now!"

•

"Where is she? Where is she?" Sam panics when I reach the basement.

"She's not here," I reply. There's obvious signs of a struggle. Desks are overturned, there's shattered glass everywhere, and I can see drops of blood on the floor as well.

"Hello. I know who you are," An unfamiliar male voice says into my headset. "You're Janine's people. I've got Janine. I've got her headset, and I've got a message for you: this isn't you anymore-not your fight, not your battle, not your war. Who owns the war? Who owns the broken bodies of the soldiers? Not her. Not any of them. Not the Grasses or the traitors or the snitches or the thieves. Not Janine!

"Let fate take its course. Nothing could have stopped this. If you leave me be, no one will get hurt." He laughs. "Except Janine, and she's got it coming!"

"Got it coming?" Sam repeats. "I've known Janine for ages. She's clever and loyal and-alright, sometimes she's a bit... formal, but she works as hard as she can everyday to save lives."

"Then you don't know her very well," The unknown man snarls. "Janine, tell them to stay away. Tell them! Tell that little runner to go and run far away and not send anyone! You wouldn't want anymore blood on your conscience, now would you, dear?"

"Mr. Yao, Runner Five," Janine says, panting, as if she's been hurt, "this man is very dangerous. I cannot emphasize that enough. Do not come after me. This man... I don't know what he'll do."

A small noise leaves my mouth. "Janine, I'm not going to let this lunatic-"

"I repeat, do not attempt to follow me. My last request is that you tell Mildred Van Der Grauf that I am thinking of her right now."

My voice catches in my throat. "Uh, y-yeah. Of course."

I hear something like an engine revving up before static comes through, signifying he cut coms with us.

"Sam, you remember that name, don't you?"

"Yeah. Archie named one of those chickens that, and then she wouldn't stop going on about it. That kidnapper must be taking her near where you found those chickens! Hurry. Get some of those weapons from the basement and then go after them."

"Right," I grab a few handguns and shove them in my backpack. I also grab a few Bowie knives that still look pretty sharp, as well as three grenades. It's not much, but I still have my axe, and that's something I know won't fail me.

So I run, adrenaline rushing through my veins, heart hammering in my chest. This man-whatever grudge he has against Janine-he's not going to stop. He said 'the Grasses', and 'Grass' was the word carved into that one zombie's forehead. It's an easy guess that he also carved 'Failure' into Travis' face, and I think he's going to do something similar to Janine.

We can't lose her. She's our leader. She's the person who keeps Abel sane.

I have to save her.

"Runner Five, I've managed to pick up that guy on cameras," Sam says. "Janine's right; They've stopped by that place we found the chickens. I'm sending out every runner we've got to help, but you're the closest. And with luck, there won't be too many zombies between you and them."

And when have I ever been lucky?

"Now, he might be dangerous, but we're dangerous too, right? I know you're dangerous. That's what makes you so good and amazing and wonderful at what you do."

"Not the time for flattery, but thank you. You definitely just earned some brownie points," I reply with a slight grin. "But what do you think Janine might have done to him to make him this angry?"

"I don't know. Do you think he might have been married to her?"

"Does he look like her type?"

"Does Janine have a type?"

I open my mouth to answer, but I'm cut off before I can even start by a scream of pure agony.

It's Janine.

"Oh, God," Sam gasps. "Did you-did you hear that? Okay. Plan. Plan. Plan. Uh, I've only got long range cameras on them, but he's got her out of a jeep and he's tied her up. I think he's waving around a knife, which doesn't seem great considering what happened to Travis. Also, I think there's a pen full of zombies. Ugh, no one ever seems to own zoms for a good reason.

"Okay. Okay, if you attack him directly, he just might kill her, or even you. And we can't lose you-either of you. Oh God, I-I don't-I mean, I know me and Janine are always bickering, but she-I don't know how this place'd go on without her."

"So what should I do to keep us from having to go on without her?" I ask.

"Uh, um, right. You need to cause a distraction. Go for the jeep! Go!"

I keep running, trying to see the jeep in the distance. It's faint, but I can see it. Cold sweat drips down my face, but I wipe it away, knowing that I cannot stop. I cannot slow down.

Loud growls and groans reach my ears, and I remember the penned up zombies. What does this man plan on doing with them, and I do I really want to know the answer to that question?

The closer I get to the jeep, the closer I also get to the kidnapper and Janine. He has a tight grip on her as he drags her away from the jeep. She's struggling, but she's tied up and has a bleeding head wound. She's not going to be able to escape alone.

It takes me only a minute to get to the jeep, and I crouch down behind it, watching. The kidnapper is average in height, very frail looking, and he has dark skin and hair like Janine. He gets his knife out...

And he jams it into her arm.

Janine screams, and I feel the blood drain from my face.

"Oh, God!" Sam cries. "It looks like he's planning to carve her up like a Christmas turkey, which is really bad considering how close it is to the holidays. It looks like he's enjoying torturing her. This is horrible!

"Okay, Five, you took some grenades from that basement, right? Get in position, pull the pin, and run."

I nod, standing up but still staying out of sight. I pull the pin from the grenade and throw it in the jeep, then I sprint off as fast as I can.

"Keep going! That grenade's gonna go off any-"

Boom!

I nearly lose my balance from the explosion as the jeep goes up in flames, but I don't look behind me. I can't let this man see me standing around, not with how dangerous Janine made him seem.

"Yes! Ah, man, that was great! He looked around and Janine kicked the knife out of his hand! But he's... crap. He's already tied her to a tree. He's really fast at knot tying and... oh... He's-he's chasing you now. He's... quite fast."

"Stay away!" He yells. "Just go! Leave us! Forget about her. Don't you understand? Don't you get it? That's exactly what she'd do if your positions were reversed. Do you even know who you're trying to help here? You've got no clue. No clue. She's a good liar. Oh, yes, she's very good at keeping secrets. You don't know who she is. You don't know what she's done!"

"That's not true," Sam replies. "Me and Five know Janine, and she's saved our lives more times than we can count."

Suddenly a hand grabs my arm, and I yelp as I'm turned around to face the kidnapper, who's glaring at me. I struggle, but he holds strong, twisting my wrist until there's a loud crack. Pain explodes in my left wrist, and I scream as he grabs my other arm and refuses to let go.

"Five!" Sam screams.

"She and the rest all abandoned me, left me alone. Poor Tom's a goner. They knew where I was, and they didn't come get me." He looks at me with so much pain, so much anger, pulling me closer even as I struggle against him. "They left me to rot in a jail in Algeria. They denied all knowledge of me. They left me to die. They were so clever, those jailers. They said they'd teach me a lesson. Well, now I'm going to teach Janine the same lesson!"

He shoves me back into the snow, and I fall, still clutching my swollen, broken wrist. He starts to unbutton his shirt.

"What's he doing?" Sam asks, and then chokes when he pulls the shirt away so we can see his skin. "He's nothing but scars!"

Not just scars, words. Words like 'Failure', 'Worthless', and 'Alone' are scarred on his skin.

"Every few days a new word written on my skin with a knife!" He yells, slipping on his shirt, but failing to button it because he's grabbing at me when I try to stand up again. He grabs my injured wrist, and I cry out in pain. "They said they'd kill me too, but I didn't die, did I? They died instead when the plague came for them, and I was safe in that iron barred cell.

"They reached for me with hungry hands, but I waited. They got bored; They shambled away in search for easier meat. I drank the foul water that dropped through the ceiling, and I got thin-so thin, so skin and bones." He grips me tighter, and I clench my teeth to keep from screaming. "Look at me! One day, I was so thin I was able to squeeze through the bars, and then I began to walk. It's been a long walk-agh!"

He yells when I wriggle free and hit him with my right hand, getting him to let go of me for just a second, and I run.

"Oh, God. Oh, God," Sam whines. "Five, this is-those zombies are breaking out of their pen and Janine is still tied to that tree. You have to get back there and untie her."

"Okay," I reply, pain evident in my voice.

"Are you okay? What-what did he do to your hand?" It sounds like he's afraid to hear my answer.

"I think he broke my wrist. I-I know he did. It hurts, but I'll live. I have to get to Janine."

I hold onto my wrist as I run, the pressure making it feel slightly better. I don't look back. I don't wait to see if he's following me. I just run until I see Janine, until I reach her.

"My arm!" She says, struggling against the ropes. "He's got my arm bleeding to draw the zoms towards me."

I drop my wrist, whining in pain but pulling out my knife and cutting through the rope with my good hand.

"They've smashed through the gates! They're coming!" Sam yells just as I finish cutting through the rope. "Good. Now you have to run! The kidnapper's nowhere to be seen, so just go! Both of you!"

•

"Okay. You're okay. You're losing them," Sam sighs. "We seem to have lost that bloke though. Think he escaped on foot while you were getting away from the zoms."

"He's highly skilled in wilderness survival and concealment," Janine states.

"Are you alright? That wound on your arm-"

"It'll be fine. He only got as far as the letter 'J'."

"For Janine?"

"For Judas. And I believe Five's sprained wrist is worse than my injury."

"Sprained? She said he broke it."

"I heard the bone snap," I reply.

"You can move it," She says, grabbing my hand and having me rotate it slightly. I wince, but it hurts much less before, which it shouldn't it if it were broken. Even though I could've sworn... "It isn't broken."

"I... You're right, I guess."

"Anyway," Sam says, "I'm going to have to ask, who was that?"

"Classified."

"Seriously? There's been an apocalypse between now and then."

"Doesn't signify. It's classified."

"Okay, but I want to send New Canton out looking for him."

"No!" She shouts, eyes going wide. "Mr. Yao, don't do that. Please. He's an operative in the field who had some terrible experiences. He's not a danger, not anymore."

"He was pretty dangerous to Travis, and Five, and you."

Janine sighs. "Travis, Samuelson and I were the last of the team. He deliberately planted a bait he knew I might take. He could've easily killed Runner Five, but he didn't. He won't be a danger to anyone else, I promise. Just don't tell them to follow him. He'll only hurt them if threatened."

"He tried to kill you."

"Sam, please," She begs, and my eyes go wide at the fact that she called him 'Sam'. "Don't go after him."

"Janine?" I say softly, still holding my wrist, and she looks down sadly.

"My cover identify changed over time. There were so many, I can't even remember them anymore. Estate agent, arms dealer, cotton trader... The only thing that was constant was the members of the team, the people I knew I could rely on.

"The Major-I knew her before. That's why she came here, knew I'd have a safe place to hide, and a few others, all dead now.... except for Tom. I thought he was dead, but he's not. Tom is..."

She looks up with watery eyes.

"He's my brother."

A/N: Ooooooooh! Bet you weren't expecting that one! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! This chapter is dedicated to SummerHope03 Please be sure to vote and comment! Thank you and have a blessed day!