Chapter 77: Bad Moon Rising (Part 1)

"Okay, Five, there are a few shamblers stumbling through the hedge, but they won't catch you. You need to get back to Abel right now. Janine's furlough is over. She's coming in right now to take command." Sam releases a shaky breath. "Now, the good news is there doesn't seem to be any pursuit from New Canton. The bad news is that's because they're uh, they're mustering their forces outside the gate of New Canton.

"There's thousands of them-armed or riding around in armored trucks. I know you said she'd gone on about it, but Moonchild seems to really really want that Zombie Repelling Device... That's why she wanted you back, apparently. I guess she thought you wouldn't fail her a second time."

"Yeah, well, she now wants me dead since I can't do anything for her," I reply. "I knew she didn't actually care about me, but the 180 was a real shocker."

"Yeah, and um, she also has access to our channels. I'm tryin' to kick her out, but when the whole Fraternal Alliance thing happened, we shared access codes with each other as a sign of trust. Moonchild's probably listening to every word we say. And if you are, I want you to know you're not gonna win. We've taken down people bigger and badder than you, and with better fashion sense."

"I kicked Van Ark's ass and I'll kick yours too!" I shout, smiling as Sam shouts a confirmation.

"Yeah! But, um, Five, New Canton's army is on the march. You've got maybe a fifteen minute lead. Run."

I speed up. Fifteen minutes won't be enough. I need to be at least twenty minutes ahead of them because the second I get back I have to prepare myself to fight. Moonchild will rip Abel down and burn it to the ground for the ZRD. I don't know if she told me what it was for. She might have, but I can't remember it.

But she wants it badly. I remember her telling me that much.

But still I want to know why, and I want to know how she got Bernard and Ilene under her control. She must've had them under her control so she could get them to poison the water supply with her serum. Very few people are allowed around those kinds of things, and even fewer would know how to get there.

Somehow, someway, Moonchild turned them. If we find out how she did that to them, we may just find out how she got to me. I never drank CeretinPlus and I was put under the mind control before the water supply was corrupted. The hypnotism and ZRD had something to do with it, but that can't be all that happened because without that serum in my blood nothing would have happened.

There's something I'm missing and I can't figure out what.

"How'm I doing, Sam?" I ask as I wipe the sweat from my face, goosebumps starting to erupt on my skin from the cold snow that's began to fall.

"You're still ahead of New Canton. They're moving quickly, but you're nearly home. You should get back to Abel in time if you-" His words stop at the sound of the coms door opening. "Oh, Janine. I was just telling Five that-"

"I heard, Mr. Yao. Runner Five will not be returning to Abel."

"What?" He chokes, his voice cracking. "But there's-but theres a huge army-"

"Runner Five, that large oak tree on the horizon marks the border of Dunder Woods. Head straight for it to rendezvous with Runners Six and Four."

"That's in the path of the army, Janine-"

"Abel's entire survival depends on her actions," She snaps, and I flinch. "Have you ever heard of an Israeli general called Moshe Deyana?"

"Uh, not really."

"In war, tactics are everything. Go to that oak tree, Five. Run."

I don't understand what she's trying to do, but still I obey. I run as fast as I can towards the oak trees. It's about a mile away, maybe a little less. I can get there in about seven or eight minutes if I sprint.

I've never been one to say I understand Janine, and there's been a few times that I didn't want to trust her-like the time she had me run to New Canton and I then had to flee for my life and was stuck out in the zombie infested wilderness in the dead of night-but I know she's one of the smartest people here in Abel. I'd say the only person smarter than her would be Veronica, but even she's been known to act on impulse and emotions rather than logic and reason.

Whatever plan Janine has in mind, I know there's little to no flaws within it.

Still, I do feel a bit more anxious now that I'm no longer heading back home to Abel. I can only pray they've secured the children somewhere safe, and that Milo went willingly and hasn't tried to sneak off and get into the oncoming action. I think he keeps forgetting he's only thirteen, just like I did and sometimes still do, even though I'm older now and just almost an adult-legally anyway.

So I keep running, ignoring my racing heart and mind, knowing every step, every breath is valuable. I can't slow down for even a second, for the enemy is coming with bloodlust in their eyes and honey on their tongues. They won't stop because of the delirious joy ringing in their minds. They'll stop for nothing and no one.

We are Abel's only hope.

"Okay, Five, Owen and Jody are just ahead of you," Sam says. "They're behind some of the trees. I guess they didn't want any New Cantoners seeing them from a distance."

I nod, my steps slowing to a jog as I go past the trees, eyes searching until I find the two runners. Jody's green eyes are wide as she looks at me, and Owen has relief practically written across his face.

"Thank goodness you're alright, Five. We heard about New Canton. I don't understand how Moonchild got every person in the place." He makes a face. "What's to stop her from doing it to us?"

"She hasn't suborned our leadership like she had theirs," Janine snips, and Sam gasps.

"Suborned? You think she... bribed the Advisory Council? I know Bernard's a bit of a knob, but-"

"Not bribed. Do you remember, Five, that gunman in New Canton? I believe he must've been under Moonchild's control-a stratagem to place the entire Permanent Advisory Council within her reach."

Owen nods. "Yeah. I heard about that. She helped you get away, right, Five?"

"And then what did she do?" Janine asks, and I shrug.

"She took us to her bunker with the coal cellar after Jonathan... after he died. She locked the cellar door then played a tribal whale song. None of us liked it, but I don't see-"

"She played a soundtrack with a regular, repetitive beat, and..."

"Oh, my God!" Sam exclaims. "She gave you all ginseng tea! Loads of it!"

"Yes. Ginseng tea laced with her chemicals. I believe that is when she established control over the PAC."

"And they drank more than I did. I only had a few cups," I say. "I didn't like it, so I only drank it when she basically shoved it in my face."

"Because you didn't drink enough, she had to use Isabel's hypnotism as a final trigger. Once the PAC was hers, they introduced the chemicals into New Canton's water supply. And that coal bunker she led you to-I believe that place is the nerve center of her operations."

"And you want us to attack it when we're under the threat of annihilation from a-a ginormous army?" Sam sputters.

"If your enemy intends to strike your most vulnerable target, the only way to win is to strike first. Moonchild, if you're listening, and I'm sure you are, I'm going to hit you fast and hard. Runners Four, Five and Six have been issued high explosives."

I blink, resisting the urge to pull off my backpack and check for myself. I don't remember seeing such a thing when I was putting water bottles in my bag, but to be honest I wasn't exactly looking in my bag, and there are the inside pockets which hold emergency items.

"Oh, that is cunning," Sam murmurs, a grin in his voice. I know the look he's wearing; I can picture it now-a sly grin and a gleam in his dark eyes, and I feel my heart skip a beat.

"Divide your forces, Moonchild, or see your base destroyed. Runner Five, you'll guide them there. Go."

•

"Are you reading me, Abel Runners?"

"Loud and clear, Janine," Jody replies.

"Good. I've switched to new encrypted frequencies," She says. "Moonchild should not be able to eavesdrop on our conversations."

"Great," Owen says, but he then scrunches up his nose. "But you did tell her where we're going anyway."

"That was necessary for the plan to work, Mr. Landis. She had to be aware her base was under attack."

He tugs at a bit of his hair. "I know. It's just... she does have a bunch of people with guns going after us."

"How many are there behind us?" I ask. Before we reached the trees, we were able to see some of Moonchild's forces as they headed for Abel, and we were only able to see them turning to look out at us after Janine gave her speech. How many of them are actually coming for us is a mystery, but we know she's not one to risk something like this. At least, I know she isn't.

There are people coming after us, even if Moonchild doesn't care that much about her base. She wants me dead because I am immune to her control. She'll do almost anything to get me out of the way now that I can no longer serve her.

Our radio operator lets out a small noise. It's so quiet I almost miss it, but it tells me everything I need to know. "Well, Moonchild definitely isn't happy about us going after her base. She's hived off... I think... it looks to be half her force. They're heading straight for you. Um, how's it looking for you? I don't have many cameras in Dunderwoods."

Owen shudders and casts a glance around. "It's spooky. There's hardly any sunlight, just shadows and the old, old trees with brown needles draped over them like shrouds."

Jody and I both share a look and we both suppress a smile. Owen's words are true, no doubt, but his tone makes it sound a lot worse than it actually is. Sure, this can be seen as scary to someone who hasn't been here before, but we have. Not to mention we've had to run through much worse.

"Can't believe you're scared of a few pine trees," Jody giggles. "Wuss."

Her giggles stop as soon as she hears a moan, followed by a few more. I tense, all my laughter at Owen's fear gone. Although unlike him, my fears are of something that actually pose a threat.

The trees pose no threat.

"I hear zombies."

"Oh..." Sam says. "Um, I know you're probably all going to hate me for asking this, but... Five, wasn't this where you saw the, um, skinless zoms?"

I sigh. "Yep."

"Skinless zoms?" Owen all but shrieks.

"Uh, yeah. So you should probably run a little bit faster."

We don't need to be told twice. My feet pound into the ground, my hand coming up to wipe away the cold sweat from my brow. I can hear the zoms around, but there are none in my sight. We just keep running. I grab my axe from my back, adrenaline pumping as the sounds of growls and snarls get louder.

Jody's green eyes go wide, and she looks at me in a way that says 'get us to that base and get us there quickly.'

I don't plan on disappointing her.

We race through the trees. I see glimpses of figures. Not Moonchild's people, thankfully. If they were they would've tried to shoot us. No, it's just zombies-zombies that aren't quick enough to keep up with us.

There's gray blood on the trees. We all make sure to stay away from it. Depending on how long they've been zombies, just touching the blood could turn someone. It's terrifying, knowing even the simplest of touch could get you killed, and seeing just how many ways I could die, seeing and knowing that I will eventually die... it makes this even worse.

Because my fate is ever changing, or at least I think it is. And to be honest that is more unsettling than seeing my death, because while there is a chance I'll get out of it, there's also a very high chance I'll just end up dying a different way.

I hear the chorus of moans from behind me, but they're louder than normal. I take a peek behind me shoulder, and my stomach turns. We've picked up a tail. There's maybe twenty of them, and I think there's a larger group of them behind that-much larger. Some of them are skinless-a lot of them are, bleeding their grayish red blood everywhere, on the ground, on the trees.

But some of them are not skinless. Some of them are just regular zoms, covered in the blood of other zombies. One of them...

One of them looks like Jonathan.

I shake my head. No, Jonathan was eaten alive. There was nothing of him left to turn.

A shiver runs up my spine and I curse myself for thinking that that thought would make me feel any better about Jonathan's death...

He died pointlessly, stupidly... all because of Moonchild.

I narrow my eyes, and I push my legs onward.

"This way!"

"Reinforcements to the east gates!" Janine yells. I'm guessing she's saying this over the speakers. "Defending the army won't matter if our perimeter is breached."

I look over at Four, and I swallow nervously. She wears the same uneasy look.

"That doesn't sound good."

"Don't concern yourself, Miss Marsh," Janine says. "Your own mission is a priority. You should be approaching Moonchild's base now."

Owen scoffs. "I see a derelict shack. It doesn't look like a high security base."

"There's a cellar underneath it," Sam says quickly.

"And I believe that cellar contains an entrance to a larger facility," Janine says, which causes Jody to raise a brow.

"You believe? What if you're wrong? We'll be trapped in this cellar with at least a couple hundred zombies outside!"

"The army Moonchild has sent after you suggests I'm not wrong."

We open the door to the shack, head inside and shut it before heading to the cellar door. Owen opens it up with a grunt.

"Alright... down we go, I guess."

We quickly go down the ladder into the cellar. I connect my axe back to my backpack after grabbing a flashlight and clicking it on just as the cellar door is closed.

"It's so dusty down here... dark too," Jody comments, but she quickly joins me and Owen as we feel up against the wall, trying to find something, anything to show that there's something that connects to this cellar.

"It's just like I remember it," I mutter, parting my hands against the wall and praying there are no spiders around here. "It's eery and creepy and-"

Then I feel it. It's a small gap in the wall. I shine my flashlight on it, eyes widening at the sight of an outline of a hidden door. I tap my knuckles on it, and hear a bang in response.

Metal.

I instantly begin searching around for a doorknob. Jody and Owen have already ran over my side, and they quickly try to aid me in my search. When I find the handle, I try to open it...

Only to find that it's locked.

"Damn it," I mutter. "There's no way in."

"I believe I can help with that."

We all spin around to face a familiar blonde wearing a smirk. I resist the urge to sneer. The two with me do not.

"Amelia?" Owen gasps before glaring at her. "Amelia, you-you murderous cow!"

"What the hell is she doing here?" Sam asks.

"Janine contacted me."

He chokes. "Janine? Y-you-you-"

"Recent events have made me think about the advisability of leaving anyone behind, or turning away from potential sources of assistance," She says simply.

"Recent events? What, do you mean your brother-"

"None of us are precisely what we were. We can't afford to simply throw useful resources away."

"Useful recourse?" Amelia repeats with a scoff. "How charming. In any case, Owen, let's keep ourselves under control until after I've helped you escape the hordes of zoms and mind controlled people outside. Let me just..."

She pulls out a small box and holds it out to a small, hidden, black screen by the door.

"This is Moonchild. Authorization Alpha Niner Foxtrot."

The screen suddenly lights up green, and with a small click the door swings open. Jody looks at Amelia with wide eyes.

"How did you-"

"My automated runner guidance system has many uses." She gives us a raised brow. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go inside."

I give a look of reluctance, but still I go inside, Four and Six both following me. The corridors are made of concrete, stretching out as far as the eye can see and then some. The darkness is everywhere, and I use my flashlight to help us see what is ahead of us. I try to keep my steps quick and quiet. We have to keep going to find the right places to plant these explosives. It's Abel's only hope.

A lump forms in my throat, and I can't help but wonder how many more times we'll have to risk our lives like this, and how many times we'll make it out.

"Five, are you alright?" Sam says. "I can see you shaking through Owen's head cam."

"I'm fine. Just cold."

It's a lie that thankfully sticks, although the small hum he gives in reply tells me he's uncertain of my answer.

I hate how he can see right through me.

The quiet is unsettling. I can hear my own heartbeat as blood pounds in my ears. Amelia seems calm, although that's not surprising since we all know she'll bail out on us if things go wrong. She's never been one to stick around when things get tough.

Jody and Owen are trying to keep a straight face, but the fear in their eyes gives it all away. I blink, making sure the fear in my own brown eyes stay hidden. I can't let them see how I feel. Someone has to be the strong one here, and we can't exactly see Janine. So I have to appear to be the fearless one, even if I wish I didn't have to be.

I look around, trying to find anything that might jog a forgotten memory, but I find nothing but shelves of canned peaches. It does nothing in helping me remember what I possibly could have done while under Moonchild's control.

"This place is huge," Owen says, looking up at the high ceilings.

"Yes," Janine agrees, "and so far, we've found nothing but a surprising amount of peaches."

"It's a defense perimeter around Moonchild's bio lab," Amelia says matter-o-factly. "I imagine it's rather similar to the one in Abel you never allowed me into, Janine. Of course, they were both built by Comansys."

I wait for her reply, but all I hear through my headset it sudden static, and Janine gasps. It's quick, and barely heard, but it's there.

"What do you mean there's another force approaching?" She demands over a different radio.

"A second force?" Sam's voice shakes with fear. I hear him typing on his keyboard. "Um, I-I-I got them on long range cams... Oh, God. There's hundreds of them."

"We'll deal with them, Mr. Yao. Abel will not fall today."

I nod. She's right. It won't fall today. I will not let Moonchild or anyone else hurt my kids. I've already lost Willis. I've won't lose Penelope and Milo. I won't lose them or anyone else.

"Owen, this is a good location to plant the first explosive," Amelia says after coming to a stop. We all turn to face her, and the Australian man sneers at her.

"If you think I'm going to listen to you after what you did to me-"

"Actually, she's right," Janine says, and Amelia smirks at the three of us. "Miss Spens and I have been... exploring mutually beneficial actions since she rescued Five. Can you set the first charge?"

I bite my tongue in order to keep from correcting her, because it was Simon who rescued me, not Amelia.

"You heard her," The blonde says, and Owen takes an explosive out of his backpack, grumbling as he does so. "As I said to Janine, you can trust me because I'm acting in my own self interest, which does not include living in a world run by an aura-loving lunatic."

"Indeed. I suggest you not stretch my trust any farther than that." There's a subtle malice in her voice. It's just enough that we all catch it and know the underlying threat within her words, but Amelia doesn't so much as flinch.

"Dully noted. And I suggest you take a closer look at your battle."

She flashes me a certain look as she says that, and I tense.

Sam hums. "Janine, these new people. They're-well, it looks like they're shooting at Moonchild's forces. I-I think they're on our side!"

"On my side, to precise. You might recognize Simon at the head of that second armored column. You could call us the Calvary. I was very persuasive to the North Norfolk Militia. Come on, gang. Off to set off more explosives."

She trots off without another word, and this time it's us following. Breathing suddenly becomes harder even with the good news that we aren't having a second wave of mind controlled people coming down on us. Simon's here... He shouldn't be here.

Words of my last vision echo in my head, and I feel myself begin to panic a little bit more even as the concrete corridors turn to metal corridors, with lights that we don't turn on and doors that lead to places I don't want to look into.

"Simon... you'll die."

"Yeah. Yeah. That's the plan."

"It'll be excruciating, Simon."

"Five, I uh, know this place is kinda scary, especially since you might have been here before and you can't remember it, but you have to calm down," Sam says slowly. I can hear it in his voice that he knows exactly why I'm panicking and it's not because I'm here. He can read me almost too well sometimes.

"I'm fine," I manage to say, letting out a shaky breath. "I just... we need to keep going."

Focus on the mission. Just stay focused on the mission.

Within minutes, we reach a large room full of computers and screens and monitors. I flinch and have to close my eyes to keep away from the flashing lights the buttons and screens give off. Normally something like this wouldn't bother me, but there's just so many of them-too many.

"There must be about ten million computers here," Four says, and when I open my eyes just a smidge, I spot Owen nodding, his eyes never leaving the screens I refuse to look at.

"Yeah, yeah. And half of them are running some sort of simulation, maybe."

"Computer modeling of biological processes. This is where she's been conducting her research on Veronica's plant." Amelia turns to me. "And a good place for an explosive, Runner Five."

Keeping my eyes on my feet, I slip off my backpack and reach inside to grab the explosive. Owen watches me with a raised brow before looking at the blonde.

"Who died and made you boss?"

"Quite a lot of your friends if my forces hadn't shown up. Talking of which, how is the battle going?"

"The New Canton forces are retreating!" Sam exclaims, and I breath out a heavy sigh of relief. "Yes! They didn't like this at all... but uh, less so on your end. Moonchild's army is nearly on you."

"Just one more charge to set," Jody says. "Let's go."

•

"That's the last explosive planted," Jody says as I wipe the sweat from my face, breathing heavily from the sprinting we had to do to get to the last point of the base. "Sam, how's it going?"

"Moonchild's army is very close, Miss Marsh. You need to leave right now," Janine says before Sam can.

"Hold on a second. There's something I wanted to look at first." Amelia heads over to a nearby desk which holds a single computer. I hear Janine sigh in frustration.

"You don't have seconds, Miss Spens."

"This is important. I didn't come down here for the good of my health. Look at this set of design sketches." She clicks a button on the keyboard to enlarge the sketch on the computer. The design looks eerily similar to that of the ZRD, but it's labeled 'Control Initiation Device'. "I'm downloading these files. I think they hold the key to Moonchild's interest in the ZRD."

"Look over here," Owen says as he wanders over to a dark corner of the room. I shine my light at it, and flinch at the photos and letters-some of them almost look familiar. My vision gets hazy, but I shake my head. I can't do this. Not now. "Blimey! How many degrees did she have by the time she was sixteen?"

"The army's splintering. I think Moonchild's sending a force to cover each exit. Grab whatever you can and get out of there, now," Janine demands.

"Come on. This way," I say heading over to one of the doors connected to this room. It leads to an exit. I checked before we planted the last device.

Unfortunately we barely make it out the door before Moonchild's people are on our tail. They're close, gaining. We push ourselves to run faster, but Moonchild seems to be making them sprint until their legs give out. Even if we find a way to outrun them, we'll just be leading them back to Abel.

"We aren't going to escape. They're-they're too fast!" I yelp, and Janine huffs.

"No. Your loss is unacceptable. All unnecessary losses today are unacceptable. Just one moment. I just need to..." There's a small click. "Moonchild, I'm broadcasting this on an open channel. You may pursue my runners, however, your entire base is filled with explosives. Once my runners are out of range, I shall detonate them, so you may use your resources to chase my runners, or to save your base. The choice is yours. De Luca out."

There's a sharp click, followed by a happy laugh from Sam.

"They're all turning around. They're running back towards the base!"

"She won't find the bombs as easy to diffuse as she imagined. You must get out of the blast radius. You must run!"

Suddenly I'm hit with a wave of dizziness, and I stumble.

"Five, what's wrong?" Sam asks, but I'm too busy looking at my arms.

When did I get these patches?

"Do keep running, Five," Moonchild says. "Just like old times."

A/N: Here you go, guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please be sure to vote and comment! Thank you and have a blessed day!