Chapter 80: There Is Power In A Union

"Okay, night has fallen. Well, I mean, night fell a few hours ago. It's really like early, early in the morning, but uh, yeah. The zombie moaning and shrieking and rattling of the fence has started up as usual. Honestly, I'm sure you miss it here. And Moonchild's forces have eased off for the day."

"How's things going, Sam?" I ask. We've been traveling for two days now, three if you count today. I miss home already. I miss my kids already. I can't wait for this to be over with.

"Eh, not bad. Not bad. Amelia and Janine have reached some kind of truce based on swapping stories of famous military commanders. They pulled a maneuver today where they covered the mind controlled New Cantoners with animal entrails, so the zombies attacked them and they fell back."

"Sounds fun," Maxine says while I silently grimace.

"Hey, as long as they are attacking us, it means Moonchild doesn't know you've got the Zombie Repelling Device," He says, a shrug in his voice. "And the longer she doesn't know that, the safer you are. And if we keep her from that 'til January twenty first, when the satellites align-well, if we can do that, we're golden."

"Do you think we'll be able to keep that from her til MLK day? I mean, that's five  days." I ask.

"Let's hope so. But right now we need to focus on getting the stupid thing working again." Sam lets out an exasperated sigh. "Can't believe the battery's stopped working. I mean, what it is, product of Argos?"

"We should be able to fix it here though, right?" Maxine asks. "I think that's the light up ahead, through the trees."

"Yep, that'll be it. Keep following the river. The compound is right on the banks."

Maxine places her hand on my arm. "Careful, Five. It's slippery. The last thing we want is for you to fall in."

"Why? It's not like I can get pneumonia. The cold water might actually help with the soreness," I mumble tiredly. The long run from the day we chased down the Radio Cable guys left quite the aftereffect on me. My entire body hurt so bad yesterday Maxine had to help me walk for the first few hours. That's why it took us so long to get here.

"As amusing as it would be to see you slip into the river and get soaking wet, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable since you'll have enough of a problem trying to sneak into Henley-On-Thames, current home of our best hope of fixing the anti-zombie doohickey."

"And you're sure Pro. Downes lives here?" Maxine asks.

"Judging by the Roufflenet rage when people found out about the Henley Compound, they're pretty damn sure. 'One of the few Comansys scientists still with them, an expert in micro-power systems and most of Comansy's technology, living the life of luxury in a high security, rich, survival colony on the bank of Thames.'" He lets out a breath of air. "The Roufflenet folks hit the roof."

"Y-Yeah, I can definitely see the light now." We both pause behind a tree when we notice the light is moving. There's another light doing the exact same thing.

"Spotlights," I whisper.

"Yep," Sam says. "What? You didn't think this compound wasn't heavily guarded, did you? Nah. Where would be the fun in that?"

"You say that because you aren't out here with us," I scoff.

"I am so with you, in spirit and in mind and in body. Well, not in mind. That was Moonchild... Oh... Yikes. Sorry. Sorry. But I am here in the other ways."

"I get the 'in spirit', but 'in body'?" I ask.

"Yeah, I mean, not like... I'm not in... your body right now or anything... Wait." He chokes, and I feel the blood rush to my face. "Oh, God! I wasn't meaning that I ever was or will be-I mean-I just-I'm not in your... a-and I don't want to be-I mean, not that I don't ever want to be, I-wait! Shit! No!"

There's a short pause. "No-I'm-I'm here in the coms shack in body. Oh my God... I think I'm going to go jump off a bridge after this mission."

"I think I'll do the same now that you've given me that mental image," Maxine mutters as she rubs her temples, while I scream internally...

Sam screams externally.

"Can we please get back to the mission," I ask, knowing this conversation is going to pop into my mind at all the wrong times.

"Uh, y-yeah. Oh, God. I'm never going to get over that," Sam says, and I can feel his embarrassment all the way from Abel. "I count two guards in elevated lookout posts, one spotlight each. Tall brick and steel fences, razor wire. Your classic rich-poor divide."

"I hate this place already," I reply, and I hear a growl in the distance. With the only light being the spotlights, I have no idea where it came from. "And we've got zombies to chase us in, because of course we do. This is going to be just perfect. Let's go, Doc."

We sprint off, making sure to stay far away from the two spotlights moving about. I can hear the zombies growling around us, but I can't see them. My mind flashes me back to when I was fifteen, having barely been at Abel and suddenly out in the zombie infested wilderness at night, all alone except for a voice in my ear and a beacon... I thought the stakes were so high back then. I thought I was gonna die that night...

I tried to die that night.

But I didn't. I couldn't seem to die... Funny, seeing how many times I've almost died, but just wouldn't, even though I've seen in my fate that I eventually and, as far as I can tell, inevitably will.

We reach the wall undetected, and the zombies are a good ways behind us. I know if they get too close they'll most likely be shot.

Have to protect the rich people inside.

I almost laugh. 'The rich' sounds so... outdated. Money means nothing now, and yet these people who have it still live the life of luxury, and have been since the apocalypse began.

Disgusting.

"Unit Seven, do a sweep of Sector Two and report," I hear a voice say from overhead.

"Copy that," Is the reply.

"Stay low," Sam commands. "There's another patrol passing just on the other side of the wall."

"Nice wall," Maxine whispers. "Nice brickwork, steel mesh. The zoms'll have a hard time climbing this."

"Zoms, the middle class, you name it."

"No one got in without a first class ticket, eh?"

"It used to be one of those-oh, what do you call them?-gated communities. The richest people from miles around have holed themselves up in here, waiting out the apocalypse 'til they can come out and spend their way to power again."

"Lovely," I say with monotone voice, and he scoffs.

"You think that's good? You should see their wine cellar. I've been reading up on it. Some butler-because yeah, they've got butlers-got kicked out for swiping a sack full of food and trying to smuggle it out for his family. Once he was out, he had nothing left to lose and spilled the beans on Roufflenet. They've got farmers in there, gardeners, cooks and maids. They grow their own food and make their own power. More than enough to go around, of course, but none of it ever leaves the compound. I mean, we didn't even know the place existed until that butler guy went public."

"So what you're saying is we have no idea what's inside," I say. It isn't a question.

"We're working in the information the butler gave us. He even drew us a little map."

"Can we trust him?" Maxine asks.

"Well, a few posters thought it was a hoax. I mean, the place is so secretive. It's all so hard to prove, but he definitely mentioned a Pro. Downes in there, and that she used to work for Comansys, so I did my own research and... uh, hang on. There's a gap in the patrol, and those zombies that were behind you haven't been shot yet. Gotta go now. Grappling hooks away."

I pull my grappling hook from my backpack as Maxine does the same, and with a pull of the trigger the hooks fly off, hitting the top of the wall and clinging on.

"This is the part of the mission I've been dreading," I murmur.

"Yeah, sorry, Five. I know how much you hate heights, but you need to get climbing. Uh, catch you on the other side, I guess."

I huff, then swallow down the bile that starts to rise in my throat as the two of us start our ascend. I keep my eyes ahead, one step at a time. I'm wearing those fashionless fingerless gloves because I can already feel my palms starting to sweat, and I don't want to fall to my death because of something as stupid as sweaty palms. I can hear gunshots, and I know it's the guards shooting at those shamblers that were following us. Still, the sound causes anxiety to spike in my veins, and I climb quicker, reaching the top with Maxine and throwing the rope down the other side.

I don't look down. Maxine gives me a small smile through the darkness, and I manage to muster one in return, then we slide down into the compound.

The second our feet hit the ground we rush away from the wall, taking our rope and grappling hooks with us. We can't leave behind any evidence.

This place... I have to conceal my gasp. It's pretty well lit, so we have to hide in the shadows, but it's just so... extravagant. The buildings are huge, and the streets clean and paved! The streets are concrete and some even have little stone paths to-is that a coffee shop? And a bakery?

You've got to be kidding me.

"Okay, Pro. Downes' quarters shouldn't be too much farther. Go past those little clothing... are they considered shops? I'm not sure. Go past those and then, uh, do you see that row of houses to your right?"

"This place is insane!" Maxine says in a loud whisper. We both gape at the 'shops' and the houses. "These aren't houses. They're freaking mansions."

"Let's not get carried away."

"Sam, I lived in a two story, four bedroom house before the apocalypse," I say. "These houses are at least twice the size of that. Also who has the time to keep windows that clean? Or lawns mowed like that? I mean, just wow."

"Focus," He hisses. "Get behind those houses. There's a path back there. Follow it."

We do as told, but Maxine pauses when we reach the picket fence that leads to the small stone path. "Wait, Five. Guards."

We duck down as we hear footsteps along the patch, going so still I can hear my own heartbeat.

"It's okay. They're heading away from you."

Maxine and I jump over the fence, me whispering, "Parkour," as we head down the path like Sam said. I hear him snort.

"Oh, my God. They have topiary," Maxine gasps.

"Like I said, they gave gardeners on staff-eight of them!"

"I just mean... priorities. Oh, cute little Narnia lamp posts too. So they definitely have power."

"Oh, yeah. Definitely. Plenty of it according to that butler. Solar, wind, even a little watermill by the river." He laughs, but it's hollow. "The residents of Henley Compound are very well looked after. Just keep following that path until you reach the end of the houses."

Suddenly Maxine grabs my arm, stopping me dead in my tracks. She points to a trashcan that has lost its lid. "Jesus, Five! Look at this. They throw food away. They have enough food to throw some away! I haven't seen leftovers in years." She takes a few steps towards it, then looks inside. Her eyes sparkle. "That's eggplant! Oh, man... eggplant."

"Maxine Meyers, I am not going to stand by and let you eat out of bins," Sam scolds. "Keep your mind on the job. If we don't get the ZRD fixed-"

"I know. I know. But still, eggplant!"

"I'm just glad they don't leave their laundry out," I say. "Do you know how long it's been since I've worn an undergarment that's not a sports bra?"

"Uh, no. Out of all the clothes, though, why would you... never mind," He sighs.

"Oh, I'd steal some dresses too."

"Of course you would. Just keep going. Those guards are turning back. You need to hurry."

We run along, our soft footsteps sounding like banging drums in our ears. I hear murmurs of suspicion from behind us, our footsteps probably being what caused them. I crane my neck to look over my shoulder and see the two guards that had passed by us moments ago start to turn back, waving their flashlights around in wonder. I grab Maxine and push her into a bush, but the sound of leaves rustling only causes the guards to run towards us.

"You heard that, right?" One asks.

"Yep. Someone's in the compound."

'They're onto us,' I sign to Maxine.

"Think it might be just an animal?"

"Do you really want to risk it?"

'We're going to have to stop them,' I sign, and Maxine shakes her head frantically, eyes going wide. 'On my mark, you attack the guard on the left. Just get that gun out of his hands.'

"Sector Seven, Harris and I have heard suspicious movements near Top Wane Path," The dark haired guard says. "We're going to investigate further."

"Copy that. Radio in if you need back up."

"Copy."

The two men ease closer, closer, closer, and I feel myself tense. I look at Maxine, who looks terrified.

'Ready?' I sign. She shakes her head. 'Now!'

We both jump out of the bushes. She grabs the left guard's arms, struggling to pull the gun out of his hands. The one on the right tries to aim his gun at her, his mouth open to yell a command, but my fist hits his throat before he can say anything. I grab his arms then knee him in the stomach, and as soon as he doubles over my knee goes up again, smashing into his nose. I smack down onto his back, slamming my knee into his face once again before pulling him up to deliver a hard left hook to the side of his cheek, knocking him unconscious.

I grab his gun, then spin around and point it at the left guard's head. Both he and Maxine go still.

"Don't. Move," I say lowly. "Let go of your gun slowly."

He does as told. And I smack the back of his head with my gun in hand, knocking him unconscious as well. I take his radio for a short second.

"False alarm," I say in the deepest voice I can muster. "It was just a few mice. Nothing to worry about."

"Copy that, Green Wing."

I click off the radio before looking at Maxine, who's watching me with shock. "Help me drag them into the bushes. If someone spots them then they'll know something's up."

"When did you learn to do that?" Sam asks after we've hidden the two men and have kept going onward.

"What do you mean?"

"That was... you just pulled a Runner Eight."

"No, I pulled a Runner Five. I was a part of Mullins and the AMTB before Abel, remember? I had to know how to fight, not just kill zoms."

"Yeah. I know. I know. Sometimes I forget how..."

"How violent I am?"

"No, how badass you are."

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. "Thanks, Sam."

"Look, this a farm. A good farm."

Maxine says.

She eyes the small barn and silo, with a long patch of dirt that, at the moment bears no vegetables because of the season, but still looks to be in good position from the look of the buildings and fences.

"They've got to eat."

"Yeah, but I recognize these types of crop placements. That field there is for vegetables, and the other for fruit, and there's an orchid over there. I bet they've even got pigs and chickens."

"Feeling homesick?"

She shrugs. "Well, this farm is on a smaller scale than the one I grew up on, but still, I mean, it's huge. And so well equipped. This place must cost a fortune. How many people live here?"

"Well, our butler friend says twenty-five residents, sixty odd staff, plus armed mercenaries to defend them all."

"Sixty? All this for twenty-five people? How did they get so many people to work for them?"

Sam scoffs. "Where would you rather be-somewhere warm and safe with plenty of food, or on the outside? I wouldn't blame anyone who decides to do whatever they can to stay on the good side of the wall."

"True. Come on, I can see some single story buildings up ahead," I say, wondering if maybe that's where they put the workers. I mean, they're not mansions, but they're definitely better than the dorms in Abel.

"Yeah, it matches up to the map the butler drew. The professor's quarters should be around there."

I start to walk, heading towards the far end of the farm, when I notice something low to the ground glint in the light. I pause to study it, but Maxine keeps walking.

I realize what it is too late.

"Max, wait!" I yell, but she's already walked through the tripwire.

Lights flash on. An alarm sounds. There's shouts from the guards, and in seconds I hear dogs barking in the distance.

Damn it.

"Get moving, now!"

•

"That's it! Door on the right. Quick!" Sam commands, and we burst through the unlocked door. It's not surprising actually, seeing how well guarded this place is. Why would someone think to lock the door?

We enter a large living room, where a Indian woman with dark long hair sits reading a book. She gasps when she sees us, standing immediately.

"What? Who are you? What's going on?"

I lunge at her, pushing her back into her chair and placing a hand over her mouth as Maxine shuts the doors and closes the shutters on the windows.

"The guards are getting close. They're right by the substation," Sam says.

"Did they see us?" I ask.

"Hard to tell. They're letting dogs sniff you out so I don't think so. But it won't be long before they reach you."

Maxine nods before turning to me and the professor. "Alright, Pro. Downes, or at least, I assume you're Pro. Downes, Five is gonna take her hand away from your mouth, but we need you to be very quiet. Or you can scream for help, that's fine. But you need to hear us out first."

I take my hand away. She fixes her glasses and looks around frantically, fearfully.

"Who are you? Leave me alone."

"I'm afraid we can't do that. Have you got a lab around here?"

"Why?"

Maxine pulls out the ZRD. "Does this look familiar?"

She stares at it for a long moment. "That's Comansys technology. Where did you get it?"

"London, originally. It's changed hands a few times since then. But you recognize it?"

"I recognize parts of it. Comansys had so many different teams, each working on different projects. We had a modular approach to development-certain basic components we shared between projects." She laughs, nervousness laced in her tone. "Well, I say basic-"

"And you worked on the power packs?" Maxine asks, and Pro. Downes nods.

"Yes." She points to the wires connecting the three pieces of the device. "That's my work right there on that... what is it?"

"Get it working again and maybe you'll find out," I reply with sass. "You can start by taking us to your lab. Now move it."

She stands up, eyeing the gun I have attached to my hip. It's the same one I stole from the guard. Whether she notices that or not she doesn't say. Instead she leads Maxine and I to the kitchen-one that has marble countertops and a dishwasher (why would she need that when she has cooks and maids?)-to a hallway with a white door at the end of it. It's there we make our exit.

It's then that I pull out my gun.

"I don't want to shoot you," I say, "but if you try to scream then my finger may just slip on the trigger while being pointed at your leg."

"Runner Five!" Sam scolds. "We want her to help us save the world from Moonchild, remember?"

"Yeah, but we won't be saving anyone from Moonchild if she decides to cry for help and Maxine and I get shot."

"Moonchild?" Pro. Downes repeats, giving me an odd look before starting to lead us onward, behind buildings and through small patches of decorative trees.

"Yeah. Her real name is Cynthia Hill. She worked for Comansys. She's been using drugs to put people under mind control. It's like... you feel so happy you do whatever she tells you... She's recently taken over a compound that housed around 26,000 people."

"Good Lord."

"Yeah. She wants to take over the entire world. I'm sure you probably worked with her a few times."

"Yes. Yes, I know her. That nickname is familiar as well. That was the name she took after she did that vision quest. She was always an odd one, even in Comansys, and we were all oddballs. I mean, look at poor Jerold-running the IT department one week, and disappearing off the next to found that mad conspiracy group. What were they called? Neophil?"

"Netrophil," I whisper. "You knew Jerry? You knew the founder of Netrophil?"

I didn't think anyone knew the actual founder of Netrophil, besides those in Netrophil.

"Well, I didn't exactly know him, but we were colleagues."

"So you knew two raving lunatics who have multiple body counts. Lovely."

She sends me a side glance, but then continues. "As for Cynthia, I... saw her once when her father came to visit. Really regressed to a child-like state. But will she really do this? Take over everyone in the world?"

"It's her kind of thing," Maxine replies as we reach the lab building. The door requires a pass code, oddly enough, but Pro. Downes quickly punches in the code so the door swings open.

"I mean, everyone knew Cynthia. I thought Diana was the real powerhouse there. I always worried Cynthia might send herself over the edge, but this?"

"You worked for Comansys. You must've known what the scientists were up to," Maxine says before casting a glance around the lab. It's clean, tidy, meaning it's barely ever used or used so often that it's being constantly cleaned. The different machines and metal parts are all well polished, almost too well polished. "Nice lab. Very well equipped."

"Very expensive."

She quirks a brow. "You don't say? Anyway, where do you keep your tools? What to you need to fix this?"

"Before we start, I have to say in my defense Cynthia was very secretive. And I also must ask... we'll be safe in the compound, won't we? I mean, the guards-"

"Will soon be serving Moonchild."

"But the wall-"

"Will be great to stare at when your mind's taken over," I interrupt. "Why is it so hard for you to understand? She wants to rule the world. A fancy wall and a few spotlights won't stop her. They didn't even stop us."

"The general, Dr. Ashgrove, told us that when we gave them the money to set this place up-"

"It doesn't matter what they said! All the money in the world can't save you from Moonchild."

"Maybe we can find a way to neutralize the signal," She says shakily.

"We have a way," Maxine says, holding up the ZRD. "It's this clever device right here. It's just not working right now. We would have built our own, except, well, we couldn't. None of us are clever enough."

"Uh, guys," Sam murmurs through our headsets, "we've got trouble."

"The power pack's broken," She says, looking at her desperately. "We just need to fix it; That's all. And then we can take it to London and stop Moonchild."

"Maxine, the guards are outside!" Sam squeaks, and loud banging comes from the door.

"Mrs. Downes, everything okay?" Someone asks from the other side. The professor looks at Maxine, then at me, then at the gun I still have in my hand.

"Oh, it's fine! I'm fine!"

"Mind if we come in?"

She looks at the two of us again, and I set the gun down on a nearby table and step away from it. "So... what's it gonna be? Will you help us?"

She stays silent for a long moment, before turning towards the door. "Coming! Just give me one minute!"  She looks back at us. "Back door. Shed at the end of the garden. I'll meet you there. Go!"

•

"They guards have gone," Pro. Downes whispers after entering the dark shed where Maxine and I have been hiding for the past ten minutes. "I think I managed to convince them they saw a fox. They're not employed for their brains."

"I'm guessing that means they haven't found those two unconscious guards yet," I mutter, causing her to send me a raised brow.

"What?"

"Nothing," Maxine rushes out. "Now, can we please get this thing fixed?"

"Let me see it." She takes the device from Maxine, with me holding the flashlight over it. "Hm..."

"How does it look?"

"The hysteric relay's blown. This is not good at all."

"How long will it take to fix? I mean, we've learned it's only a few days until Moonchild throws the switch."

She rubs her temples. "Look, it's not that simple. If we'd ever managed to get the neural interface working, perhaps, but we were forced to halt the research. People get awful squeamish when you do those sorts of things to monkeys. No, as it stands, this isn't something I can fix here."

"You can't fix it?" I ask, the hope in my chest deflating like a burst balloon, and she shakes her head.

"Now, I didn't say that. There's an old Comansys lab nearby, just a small one-an experimental facility built into the banks of Thames. They were doing some stuff with trout, suppressing usual mating behaviors, trying to increase the creature's limbic..." She shakes her head. "None of that matters now. It was abandoned long ago, but they'll have the right equipment there, the things I need to fix the power pack."

Maxine nods, although her pursed lips show her slight disappointment. "Okay. That's that then. Can you provide our communications guy with the coordinates?"

"Of course. They're on the computer in my lab. There's just one thing."

I groan. "What now?"

"I'm going to have to come with you."

I snort. "You're joking, right?"

The look she sends me says she is definitely not joking.

"No way! It'll be much faster for us to go there, get what you need and then bring it back."

"I'm sure it would, but the lab has a voice activated security system. You'd never get in."

"Wonderful," I growl. "I hope you're a fast runner."

"I used to jog, but it's been a little while."

Maxine smacks her forehead. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm sure I'll be able to keep up. So, shall we?"

"Yes, let's get going."

"Lead the way, Dr. Meyers. I'm sure this will be fun."

"Exactly how long has it been since you left the compound?" I ask.

"I never have. I've been in here since the apocalypse started."

Maxine and I share a pained look.

Oh, it's going to fun indeed.

A/N: Here you go, guys! I'm so happy to announce that this book has less than 10 chapters left! I'm so excited! Also I hoped you liked this chapter. Please be sure to vote and comment! Have a blessed day!

This chapter is dedicated to WillowRaintree