My breathing is coming out in quick pants as I run. The chopper has flown out of sight, but it's still around as we can still hear it. Whether it's following us or not Sarah and I both know we have to get to that Corner Shop as quickly as possible.

Sarah twists around as she runs, firing her pistol and taking out two of the zombies that are still chasing us. We've managed to lose a few when we made it into Hurtston, but some of these undead fiends are persistent. After Sarah takes the last one down she looks at me with wide eyes and sweaty face.

"We're almost there. If that chopper's waiting around for us they'll know where we're going but-"

Her voice is cut off as the ground rattles and a very loud boom fills the air. Not once, nor twice, but three times. The two of us stagger on our feet at the loud sound of the explosion, and my eyes wander upward where fire and smoke can be briefly seen, and I can see the top of the building going up in flames before collapsing completely.

What the hell?

"What the-Runner Five, Runner Eight, are you alright?" Sam questions through the headset, his voice sounding frightened and worried. "Respond. Check in, Runner Five, Runner Eight."

"We're okay, Sam. We're okay," She replies, breathing heavily. "It's about a kilometer away. We can see partially see it, but that explosion was nowhere near us."

Sam mutters something along the lines of, "Thank God," and I raise a brow in question.

'Can you of see anything through our head cams?'

"We had to turn them off since it started to become blurry and out of sorts. I think the chopper might have something to do with it."

As soon as he says the word 'chopper' I see that said thing fly around the building-or what's left of it-and continue to circle it, as if it wants to just watch it burn.

I have a bad feeling about this.

"What was it? What was destroyed?" Dr. Meyers asks.

"It's the chopper," Sarah answers. "It's destroying a building about one K from where we are now."

"What are the chances?" Sam sighs. "It's the Simpson's Corner Shop."

I sigh heavily, knowing that most information we could have found is destroyed; And since someone was sent to literally blow the place to smithereens, I know there must've been something there that would have been useful.

"We can see the smoke from our position," She states.

"Who'd have thought there was someone who actually hates over priced curly-wurlies and bean-boxes that much?"

I keep my eyes on the helicopter, watching as it finally stops circling the building and starts flying off into the unknown, and Sarah is quick to tell this to the doctor and the radio operator.

"If you feel safe to go on might as well what is left there and if anything is salvageable," Maxine says in a voice that is dripping with disappointment.

"Looks like the place is still on fire," Sarah says, and I feel the almost uncontrollable urge to smack her upside the head.

It was literally just blown up. What the hell did you think would happen after that? Did you seriously think the fire would die out that quickly?

"If we want to see anything, Five, we'd better get moving, and fast. I guess it's a good thing we're only half a click away."

We keep going, sprinting down the streets in hope to reach the burning building before it's gone completely. My feet pound into the ground so hard I feel the vibrations shoot up my ankle, making me wince in pain.

Yep, definitely going to be sore tomorrow.

Sarah wipes the sweat from her brow as I struggle to keep a steady breath, and the smoke that starts to fill my lungs as we get closer doesn't help.

"Nearly there," Sarah gasps. "It looks pretty burned up. Think they threw a few incendiaries in there."

"So, we're thinking what?" Maxine questions. "That someone listened into Sam's transmission, knew we were coming to the Corner Shop where Gurkin used to work and decided to completely obliterate it?"

Way to hit the nail right on the head, doc.

"Not to mention destroying the file, and maybe trying to get the backup file before we did." She sends me a grin. "Good thing you sent Five out there the day you did."

"Seems like we better try to find out more about Pro. Van Ark," Maxine murmurs.

"So you're sure that was him you saw at the Keeley Center?"

"Positive."

"So it's a conspiracy," Sam buts in. "Leading all the way to the-wait, do we even have a top anymore?"

'Probably not,' I input, shrugging slightly. In all honesty I doubt having a sound leader over everything would help us in a time like this because well, there's always going to be someone who disagrees; And a riot is the last thing we need.

"Whoever Van Ark's working with now, they're trying to cover something up; Stop us from following evidence."

"But what they're trying to cover up is the real question," Sarah says, and for once I find myself agreeing with her.

"Cover that last half K as quickly as you can," Maxine instructs. "There might still be something there that can help us."

The coms don't cut off, but the two stay quiet over the headset as we keep heading towards the shop. I begin to feel hotter with each step, but thankfully the building isn't still a blaze. It's mostly ash and cinders.

It takes us about three minutes to get to Simpson's Corner Shop, and I hear Sam come on the headset immediately after we stop to take a look at what's left of the building.

"Well done, guys, or uh... girls. You're there; You've made it five kilometer in really great time. That's great work."

I beam at his praise. 'You flatter us, Sam.'

"I try."

I take a look at the building, studying it closely. It kind of reminds me of that picture of the dog sitting in a chair saying 'this is fine,' while everything else is on fire. But there's something in this place that definitely wasn't in the picture, and I feel my jaw drop.

Oh my God.

"You've done well," Maxine comments. "Now what can you see at the Corner Shop?"

"Corner Shop?" Sarah repeats almost mockingly as she shares a look with me.

"Yeah, yeah," Sam says. "Simpson's Corner Shop, Hurtston. A-anything left there?"

She looks at me and then back at the sight before us, and I do the same. Now we know what they were trying so hard to hide.

But what were they using it for?

"You know, I don't come from 'round here," She says, "and the place is pretty smashed up from those explosives and incendiaries, but unless corner shops in this county typically have sub-basements containing what looks like... Well, what would be a fully functioning industry lab if it weren't on fire-yep, I'd say this place wasn't just a corner shop."

"Fully functioning lab?" Maxine repeats, voice full of astonishment and awe.

"That's what it looks like."

My eyes scan over the burning pieces of equipment. Most of it is already ruined and-at least to me-unrecognizable, but there are a few pieces that I remember seeing at the Tessen-Dory research center.

"W-well, do you think you could maybe retrieve something to bring back?"

A chorus of growls and almost roar-like sounds fill my ears, and I look up from the basement and my eyes widen with fear. A horde, probably attracted by all the noise and the light of the fire.

"Holy Mary, mother of God," Sarah mutters.

"What? What is it?" Sam asks, concern edging into his tone. "Has the chopper come back?"

'It's not the chopper,' I reply.

"I'm turning back on your head cams now and-Oh, my God. You guys need to get out of there now.  We can come back another day after the fire dies down and there's less than a seventy zombies-"

"That looks more like eighty," Sarah corrects.

"Eighty zombies heading right towards you."

"But by then all of the equipment could be ruined," Maxine argues, and I'm currently resisting the urge to turn and run as the zombies in the far-less-than-far distance keep getting closer by the second. They'll be on us in about seven minutes I'm guessing.

"Maxine-"

"He's right," Sarah says, "If we try to take this one it might get damaged even more at the farmhouse. We can come back in a few days." She looks over at me with a calm face. "Come on, Five. Best we get going now before the zoms get sight of us."

•

Thankfully it only takes us about fifteen minutes of fast running to get to the farmhouse, and to add to that luck most of the zoms stayed behind to swarm around the fire like idiots. The few that did actually try to follow us were either shot by Sarah or outpaced.

The farmhouse is impressive looking, with its large windows, a little swing set on the porch, and a small chain link fence surrounding the yard and a barn that stands not too far away. A little Yorkshire Terrier puppy is in the yard and starts yipping away when he sees us, prompting its owners to come outside.

A thin lady who looks to be in her thirties appears, wearing a bright yellow sundress which is odd not just because it's a zombie apocalypse, but because it's a week in October. She greets us with a wave and walks to the gate, unlocking it for us to come through.

"Hello," She greets with a smile. "I'm Avery. Just a quick question but I was told one of you can't speak."

I slowly raise up my hand, gaining Avery's attention. She grins at me, her gray eyes beaming as she pulls something out of the pocket of her sundress. She hands me a notebook and a pen and her gaze is slightly apologetic.

"Unfortunately none of us here know any sign language so I thought I'd give you this to communicate."

I narrow my eyes at her. She's very cheery. There's a catch in this somewhere.

They probably eat dogs or have a person trapped in their basement, I think warily. I'm going to have to keep an eye out for them.

She glances over at Sarah for a moment. "So, do you have the hard drive?"

She nods. "I'll give it to you once we get inside."

"Of course." With that she leads us inside, shutting the door with a loud slam.

Inside sitting on the couch is a man with dark hair and a child with eyes too bright of a blue to be considered normal. They both look up at the three of us, but only the man smiles. The kid just... stares.

"This is my husband, Travis, and my son, Aaron," Avery introduces as Sarah shrugs off her backpack and pulls out the hard drive.

"Nice to meet you," Travis says and I nod in agreement, but Aaron says nothing. He just continues to stare blankly. There's no sign of emotion in his eyes, or a hint of a smile on his face.

"Aaron doesn't talk much," Avery explains. "Now, I'm sure you two want a shower, and we have two bathrooms. I'll show you where they are and give you a pair of extra clothing."

She leads me to the guest bathroom after giving me a pair of her clothing, and I'm guessing she shows Sarah the master; Not that I care, since I got to a bathroom first.

I'm quick to shut the door and lock it, and within a few minutes my clothing is gone and I'm scrubbing away the dirt and sweat that's on my skin. I don't wash gently, since being harsh makes me feel just enough of a sting to keep my mind from thinking too much of what we found today. If it weren't for those zoms I'm sure we could've investigated and maybe just found something useful.

After my body and hair is all washed I step out of the shower and pat myself dry with the towel that's way fluffier than the ones at Abel. Seeing that Avery is taller than me when I put on her clothes-specifically her pajama pants-they go past my feet and I look almost like a child trying on her mother's clothes.

But it's the best I got, and it's much more comfortable than my nightgown so I simply shrug it off.

I open the door and go to walk out but stop short, mouth opening up in a silent scream at the sight of Aaron standing in the doorway. I jump back, heart beating much faster than normal from the scare, but Aaron just simply stares.

After catching my breath and calming down I stand in my place as the younger boy makes no attempt to move so I can leave. I reach for my notebook and pen in attempt to ask him if he needs something from me or from this room, but before I can write anything down he speaks.

"You're pretty," He simply says, although there still is no smile on his face.

I blink, but knowing I need to be polite I write down a thank you, but when I look up the kid's gone.

Okay, that's weird.

"Runner Five, Runner Eight, dinner's ready!" Avery tells in a singsong voice. With a small sigh I run my fingers through my hair as a makeshift comb before heading downstairs, hoping this stay doesn't get any weirder.

•

"Sorry, you two," Avery apologizes with a tight smile as Sarah and I stand inside the guest bedroom, "but we only have one bedroom with one bed... so you will just have to share."

"That's fine," Sarah replies, "I'm sure Five won't mind sleeping beside me for one night. Right, Five?"

I don't answer, instead I'm writing in my notebook. I quickly finish and show it to Avery, hoping that she'll be able to make out the chicken scratch on the paper.

'Why can't I just sleep on the couch? I don't mind letting Sarah have the bed,' it says.

"I would let you do that, but sometimes Aaron goes and sleeps on the couch when he can't sleep in his bed." She lets out a cute giggle. "So you can, but you'll have to worry about him snuggling up beside you in the middle of the night."

I feel the color drain from my face at the thought of the nine-year-old (that's the one thing he told us during dinner-his age) laying beside me. The kid has eyes that will stare into your soul. I can feel it when he looks at me.

'I'll just sleep in the barn,' I write, and Avery frowns in response.

"Are-are you sure?"

I nod quickly.

"O-okay. I'll... go get you a blanket then."

She briskly leaves the room as Sarah peers at my writing. "Wow, Five, I didn't think you cared about your personal space that much. I am your ole buddy, you know."

I sigh deeply before writing down on my notebook once more, and the handing it over to Runner Eight.

'I don't like you. I like you more than I did when we first met, but I still don't like you. We. Are. Not. Buddies.'

She just clicks her tongue at that. "That's too bad, Five. I myself thought we were a pretty good team, but I'm sure you'll warm up to me eventually."

I pursue my lips in disbelief. 'I'm sure,' I write.

After retrieving two blankets, a pillow, and my headset, I sprint out into the barn and get inside before any wandering zoms pass me by. Once inside I put on my headset and tuck my pillow and blankets under my arms and awkwardly climb up into the loft. I get situated by placing one blanket over a loosened pile of hay and sit down atop and pull the other blanket over me for warmth while snuggling my face into the pillow that has a freshly washed pillow case. It smells like lavender.

It's been so long since I've smelt lavender detergent; It's been so long since I've smelt lavender anything.

With the calming scent filling my senses I close my eyes for a moment and send up a prayer that God will keep everyone out there safe, and that we'll finally be able to figure out what's going on.

"Psst. Runner Five, are you still awake?"

I flinch and my eyes snap open at the voice that whispers into my ear, and I roll onto my back as Sam whispers, "Runner Five? Runner Five..." He drags out the last word and I roll my eyes.

'I'm still up, Sam,' I reply into the headset. 'What do you need?'

"Oh, uh, um... nothing. Nothing. I just um, wanted to wish you goodnight since uh, this is your first mission where you've spent the night out of Abel Township; Well, besides that one other time but... yeah."

'Sam, you do realize I've had missions at Mullins that required me to stay the night away from there, right?' I ask with a sly smile as he stammers out a response.

"I-I know, but-but this is Abel, and I know you didn't really like it here at first but now you do-I mean, you do like it here, right? If you don't please just say yes for my sake because I will actually feel pretty bad if you say no."

I giggle. 'I like it enough to call it my home.'

"Yes, see? You didn't really call Mullins your home," He says, and I can hear the grin in his voice. "I don't think you did, anyway, but uh, yeah. I just wanted to check and say goodnight and sweet dreams and-" His voice cuts off abruptly and I raise a brow in question.

'And?'

"A-and what do you think about that stuff you found today? Pretty weird, right?" His words sound forced and his tone has changed slightly, but I ignore it.

'Yes, the last time I saw equipment even close to that was when my school went to this science fair that the University College had and they showed us the classrooms.'

"Aw, cool. Did you do well in science?" He questions, and I shrug although I know he can't see it.

'I was better at history, but what I really liked was volleyball,' I answer, and he gives a small gasp in delight.

"Really?"

'Yeah,' I scoff in laughter, 'although it might be because one of Wesley's older sisters, Brittney, was the assistant coach.'

"Wesley? Who's that?"

My eyes widen in horror as I realize how much I've told. It just felt so natural to tell him; So normal. I felt okay talking to him and being happy. Talking to him feels okay... it feels like home. He feels like home.

But so did Wes.

A wave of heavy sadness washes over me, covering me like the blanket I have on now. It lessens the horror and leaves me with the hole in my heart I always have but try to ignore.

'He was a good friend of mine,' I answer after a minute's pause. 'I should probably go to bed.'

"W-wait," He say desperately, "we can talk about something else, i-if you like. I shouldn't have pushed. Stupid Sam, think before you speak."

A half smile appears on my face as he scolds himself. 'We can talk tomorrow, Sam. I have to run home in the morning and we can talk then or something. Okay?'

"Hmm, yeah, okay." His words are reluctant, but he still agrees. "G'night, Five. Sweet dreams."

'Goodnight, Sam. Don't let the bed bugs bite.'

He scoffs. "How can I? I don't even have an actual bed."

I smile at his terrible attempt to be funny, but it fades as the coms go silent. I take off my headset and set it far enough away so I won't crush it in my sleep before turning into my side and closing my eyes. I send another silent prayer, but this time it's that Wes will stay out of my mind and out of my dreams.

•

I know something's not right even before I open my eyes. I sit up and yelp when my forehead connects with something hard and cold, and my eyes instantly fly open as pain erupts from the already bruising area.

I look at the offending thing only to find it's not a wooden beam of the barn like I suspected, but metal, the metal under the top bed in a bunk bed.

I'm in a bunk bed.

I quickly sweep my eyes over the room I'm in, and I see it's full of bunk beds and there are a few people walking around that I don't even know. They don't seem to notice my confusion though, and instead keep on with their routine as if nothing is out of ordinary.

I step out of bed, and just as I do a voice comes through the intercoms.

"Runner Five, report to the north-west tunnel."

The voice-it's female, but definitely not Janine's. I recognize it instantly, and my confusion only grows.

What the...? Why is her voice calling me?

"You better get going, Chrys," A man a few feet away from me says. "You know how impatient Nadia gets."

Chrys?

Confused but quick to obey, I start to head for the door, but before I can the man who first spoke to me is racing towards me. "Woe, wait up a minute. I know you're in uniform but you need to fix yourself up first. You look like a mess."

He grabs my wrist but not even a second later I'm ripping myself away from the stranger's grasp, sneering angrily.

"Don't touch me!"

I freeze as soon as the words leave my mouth.

I... talked. Why did I just talk? And why did my voice have a British accent?

It doesn't sound like my old voice, obviously. I mean, I had a southern American accent... I just talked.

This has to be a dream. Some weird, messed up dream.

But it can't be a dream, because I always see my dreams in third person, as if I have to watch myself make bad decisions and I have no way of stopping. So this can't be a dream.

"Whoa, Chrys, calm down. I just think you should brush your hair," He says.

"Runner Five, report at the north-west tunnel," Nadia repeats, her voice sounding more agitated.

I slowly make my way towards the mirror, breathing in deeply as I see my reflection. My face... isn't my face, and yet the same time it is.

I look exactly like I normally do-same skin, same hair, same body type. It's all the same, except for one thing: my eyes. My eyes-my real ones-are dark brown; This person, this Runner Five, has eyes that are dark green like moss.

My eyes trail downwards and I just now notice what I'm wearing. It's not Avery's pajamas. Instead it's store overalls with 'NC' painted on it as well as my running number.

My eyes go wide in realization and I mutter a curse.

"Hey, Chrysalis, are you alright?" The stranger asks.

That's not my name...

Then do I realize it.

I'm not Abel's 'Runner Five'. I am not me. I don't have my name anymore. I'm apparently Chrysalis, New Canton's Runner Five.

A/N: Hey, everyone! I know you're probably confused right now but I promise there will be an explanation. You'll just have to wait until the next chapter to find out what it is. Heheheh. Don't forget to vote and comment. Thank you and have a blessed day!