"Bloody hell," Sam murmurs under his breath. "A moor, a dead tree struck by lightning.... These Edgeware Dragons have picked a bleak spot."

"Have I told you guys I have a bad feeling about this yet?" I ask, and Janine sighs, casting me a sideways glance.

"Yes, and you have repeated it four times now."

"Yeah, that's because I do have a bad feeling about this. I mean, when Jodes, Nicole and I went with Valmont after he rescued us, he said the Edgeware Dragons didn't like us, and they probably don't like us even more now that we stole from them. I mean, they don't know it was us, but they might suspect. And now, about a month later, they want to talk." I wrinkle my nose. "Smells like a trap to me."

"You need not to worry, Runner Five. There will only be two of them today, and they wish to claim asylum at Abel."

My eyes simply narrow, but no words leave my mouth. I know this feeling. I've felt dread before, many times, but there's certain times when you just know something isn't right. I wish I could tell them how I can taste blood on my tongue, smell it in the air, along with something sour and potent, wrong. It's all very faint, but it's still there.

"Not exactly an original idea," Amelia hums, and I cast a glance at the blonde. "With all the new refugees, Abel smells noticeably of cheese and nappies."

"Yeah," Sam sighs. "We're sleeping four to a one-person room at the moment. We even moved Adora's crib into the coms shack yesterday, so there'd be more sleeping space for some of the other children in the nursery."

I make the same face as before. It's not that I don't like new people arriving. Having large numbers is good as long as we don't get too big. But I know why people are coming to Abel. People don't like Abel. It's clear because of how many settlements still want us to prove ourselves. No, people don't like Abel. They like the idea of it, and those who don't like their own settlements try to come in in hopes this place is some sort of paradise...

In actuality, it's far from it.

"Well, Fort Canton's happy to help rehousing the more interesting characters."

"The more useful to you, you mean," He says lowly, and she smirks.

"I find things useful to me interesting. The Edgeware Dragons held a lot of Sigrid's data storage. They might have some useful intel or hardware. And if not, I'm happy for them to join the merry throng at Abel."

Janine rolls her eyes. "Ever the humanitarian." She pauses, squinting as she looks ahead. "That must be them. Two figures by that blasted oak."

I see them. One is larger, a man. His brown hair is long, thick and coiled. He kind of reminds me of mountain men in movies, how they're large and strong. He looks malnourished, though, lacking muscle in comparison to those in fiction. It doesn't make him look any less intimidating. The scar that extends from his temple to his lip makes me flinch.

The person beside him is smaller, but her red hair is just as wild, frizzy patches sticking out from her braid. She has a scar on her neck, and  multiple scratches on her arms and legs. I can only guess what these two have gone through.

But that's strange... The Edgeware Dragons were very tidy people, neat. At least that's what I could see when we went to their territory. How long have these people not been with them?

"Excuse me, are you the Edgeware Dragons?" Janine asks as we approach them. The man pinches his lips, eyeing us with what almost appears to be disgust.

"Who's askin'?" He asks, his Scottish accent thick, his voice heavy.

"I'm from Abel Township-"

"I'm Amelia Spens," Amelia interrupts, which earns her a glare from Janine, "duly elected leader of Fort Canton, happy to discuss any data-"

She's cut off when the man pulls out a pistol from his cloaks and points it straight at us. My eyes widen, breath catching in my throat. I only have a second to think about how I was right before the man is speaking again, lips pulled back to show surprisingly white teeth and pink gums.

"I don't give a crap about Fort Canton. I'm here for De Luca."

"Oh, crap," Sam whines in alarm. "Oh, crap, crap, crap!"

"I'm Colonel De Luca," Janine says quickly, and I tense, readying myself to jump in front of her in case this man decides to shoot her. "There is no need to brandish a weapon. I'm happy to speak with you."

"Nice try," The woman says, her voice slightly ragged. I can't pinpoint her accent. "We want Janine De Luca, not some impersonator."

The man nods. "Colonel De Luca would never be out in public without her cat suit."

Amelia's face twists as she groans. "Dear Lord."

"Ian Golightly's broadcasts were very clear. De Luca wears an eyepatch. You have two workin' eyes."

Amelia looks at Janine, her eyes wide as she forces a smile. "Well, fake Janine, this man is going to not-at-all-fake shoot me unless you..." She looks at the man, whose jaw is clenched with rising anger. "What is it that you want?"

"Take us to Abel!" He shouts. "Now!"

"Run!" The woman demands.

We don't argue. I have my axe, but I don't think I'd be fast enough to stop the man before he shot us. He seems very angry, and I know how trigger-happy people can become when their emotions take over.

And since this guy listened to Ian's broadcasts, it's going to be hard to convince him of anything.

How is it Ian's been dead for over a year and yet his bullshit actions are still causing trouble for us? The darker, meaner part of me wishes he didn't get such a quick death. After all the shit he put Abel through, he deserved a hell of a lot worse.

Most of the villains I've faced did. I think Van Ark and the Warden from the women's prison were the only people who really got the deaths they deserved. Everyone else should have gotten worse. Sigrid did die by lava, but she probably died too quickly to feel anything, which is a lot more merciful than the things she created to kill others.

"So, um, why is it you want to talk to Janine De Luca?" Amelia asks cautiously. The man glances at her.

"That's for us to know and for her to find out."

The woman grins. "Yeah, she'll find out."

"Well," Amelia says, before gesturing to me, "you know, this is Runner Five."

A choked noise leaves my mouth. "Why are you bringing me into this?"

"Oh, be quiet. Perhaps you could whisper your demands to her. She's very well trusted by the Colonel."

The man and woman both look at me, their faces a mix of horror and hatred and disgust.

"What?" I ask.

"We're not sayin' anything to Five." The man points his gun at me, sneering. "You're the world's greatest criminal, cold-blooded killer, the scourge of all free people!"

"Scourge of the free-"I almost laugh. "You know I'm American, right? My country is literally called "The Land of the Free.'"

"I believe that to be a word-for-word quote from one of Mr. Golightly's more florid broadcasts," Janine explains, but before she can say more, my head snaps to the side with a sudden force.

"Five!" Sam shouts in horror.

"Shut up," The man growls, and I bring my hand up to my face, pain emanating from my left brow bone. It only takes a second for me to realize he hit me with his gun. "I've heard all about how manipulative you are, how you lie and cheat your way through everythin'."

"Right, right," I mutter. "I also, uh, I also seduce people before I kill them, right?"

The man grits his teeth, taking my question as mockery, even though really his hit has left me so disoriented I can't remember all that Ian said about me.

"You disgust me," He says, but to my relief, he doesn't hit me again.

"Guys," Sam says lowly, his voice teetering on panicked, "they haven't noticed your headsets. Keep heading west. We'll work something out. Just stay away from Abel. There are zombies massing at our fence right now."

Janine's face hardens with determination as she looks at the two strangers. "Friends, we apologize. Colonel De Luca demands many of us act as decoys to guard her from the army of assassins sent to kill her."

The woman gasps. "We heard about that army, didn't we? Broadcast 221?"

"224," The man corrects, and he almost looks pleased. "Glad you've seen reason."

"Now we've told you our names, so why don't you tell us yours?" Amelia asks, and the man takes a second before replying.

"I'm Jones. This is Evans."

"Very good. I'm Amelia Spens, person of no consequence. You've established that you will not speak to Five here, but perhaps you'd like to know that this," She gestures to Janine, "is Jody Marsh. She's very personable."

Janine's eyes snap to Amelia. "What?"

For the first time since meeting him, Jones smiles. "Oh, we've heard of you, Jody. We like you."

I almost gasp in offence. Last time I checked, Ian painted Jody in a very bad light, just like he did me. Why do they like her but hit me with the butt of a gun?

"You don't have to hide your accent from us anymore, Jody," Jones says, and I don't think I've ever seen Janine look so panicked.

"Oh... wey aye, you've found my secret. I'm right perplexed." She cringes before whispering a soft, "No, that's not right."

"That's Newcastle," Amelia whispers. "Jody's from Liverpool."

"I can't fool you, can I?" She asks, trying but still butchering the accent. "I'm Jody..."

"And you're in love with Sam," I remind her quietly, and she glares at me.

"And I'm in love with Sam Yao." It looks like it physically pains her to say that, and I don't know if me or Sam should be more offended.

"I'm having so many confused feelings right now," Sam states.

"It's her! It's Jody!" Evans exclaims happily, and I stare at them in surprise. They really bought it. "I've always wanted to meet you."

"We have," Jones agrees.

"How is it possible you speak nine languages fluently and can't do a passable British regional accent?" Amelia whispers, and Janine scowls.

"I grew up in Pakistan and I have no access to phonetics tapes," She whispers back before looking at the two. "Why have you wanted to meet me... big boy? What's your interest in little Abel Township, Evans?"

Evans grins. "Well, Jody, you see, we've heard that Abel knows things."

I roll my eyes. How very specific.

"Okay, guys," Sam whispers. "Plan: keep going. We'll have a sniper waiting at the bottom of the hill. Run towards the green barn as soon as you hear the duck call. And we'll pick them off."

As soon as he says it, Jones looks around, and I taste something sour on my tongue again, metallic and something a bit stronger.

"Somethin's not right here. This is wrong." He glowers at us, and my eyes widen in fear. "Abel's that way. I'm not an idiot. You can't deceive me with your tricks, Jody. I should shoot you right now for this!"

He raises his pistol into the air and fires, and I hear Sam let out a choked noise.

"Oh God. You're behind a tree on my cams. What's happened?"

"Jones has shot into the air," Amelia replies. "You don't have to do that, Jones."

"If you shoot us, no one will let you into Abel," Janine says. I nod in agreement.

"Jody's right. If you kill any of us-ah!" I screech when Jones hits me with the butt of his gun again.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?!" He yells, and I stumble backwards, my hand coming up once more to hold onto my face. He hit me in the same exact spot, although I can feel blood trickling down my face from this hit.

Shit.

My inward cursing becomes a lot more vulgar when I hear zombies from afar.

"Guys, those shots are attracting the inevitable," Sam states, and he sighs when I move just in sight of his cams. "And Five's blood isn't going to help with that."

Jones fires again, glaring at me as he does so. "Don't you dare think about runnin' off. I don't care if there are zombies. I've got twenty clips. I'll keep goin'! Being eaten is better than what we've lived through." He fires again. "Take! Us! To! De Luca! Now!"

"Yes, alright," Amelia says quickly. "We will. We will. It's along that this field and to the next one to the north. Let's run."

•

"You're keeping pace with the zoms for now," Sam says, "but you're heading for a massive horde closer to Abel. We have a new plan. If they want Janine, we're going to give them Janine. In the form of Jody. Cat suit, eyepatch and all."

"Which might not matter if that Janine also doesn't give them whatever it is they want." Amelia hisses, but then pauses. "Wait, Jody is dressing up in a cat suit and eyepatch right now?" She places a hand over her heart. "Be still my beating loins."

"We will try to find out what we can. Divide and conquer," Janine whispers, before clearing her throat and attempting Jody's accent again. "Mr. Jones, I liked how you fired the gun back there. You were so devil-may-care. Would you like to-I mean, I'd love to hear about your life. Anything you want to tell me?"

Jones stares at her in surprise. "Really?"

She nods. "I like bad boys... like Sam Yao."

I snort, and Jones looks at me, raising his gun up. I flinch back, tensing and preparing myself for another strike of pain. It never comes, thankfully. Jones seems satisfied to see that I'm afraid of him.

It makes my blood boil, although from the grumbled cursing I hear from my headset, Sam is a lot angrier at him than I am. If the low rumble of his voice tells me anything, it's that he's killed Jones in his head about three times now.

But Jones has turned his attention back to Janine.

"Oh, I'd love to talk to you, Jody. Evans, you take the gun and cover the others." His green eyes focus on me after he hands it to her. "Five, we've got our eye on you. If you give us any trouble, Evans'll shoot you. Now run!"

Evans presses the gun into my back to push me forward, and I comply with a grunt. Amelia runs beside me as we run ahead of Jones and Janine. Evans seems far too happy to push that gun against me. It gets to the point that I wince in pain and hear Sam let out another string of angry curses.

"You don't have to push so hard," I say. "I'm doing as you want."

"Not big on pain, are you? Yeah, Golightly always said in his broadcasts you were more on the giving end."

I grimace, remembering how Ian portrayed me now that my head injuries have burned themselves to healing. "Well, it's not my fault I'm a sadist. Being subject to an apocalypse at a young age does things to the mind."

"You know, you're not as flirty as I thought you'd be."

"Well, it's hard to be in a flirtatious mood when I know that hard thing pressing into my back is a gun and not... well, you know." I reply, ignoring the raised brow Amelia sends me. "And usually when it comes to things like... that, I like to be the one in charge."

I mentally kick Sam when he snorts, my face burning when he mutters something around the lines of "That's a lie."

"But if we're going to speak about me, which is a great topic, what all has Ian said about me?" I just know I'm going to regret asking this question. "I never really got to listen to most of his broadcasts. I just listened to the ones that featured Ian talking about my husband, Phil."

That feels so wrong to say.

"He said you killed a lot of people, that you're good at it."

"...Okay."

"And you like it, that you'll use anyone and everyone to get what you want, and you don't care who has to die in the process."

It sounds like Ian got me confused with Amelia.

"Huh. That's not as bad as I thought it'd be, honestly."

"He also said you've been seducing your higher-ups since you arrived in England."

I choke, but quickly recover. "I... see."

"And that you killed a lot of 'em."

"Uh-huh. Well, the way I see it, if I, a thirteen-year-old girl--because that's how old I was when I arrived at Mullin--was able to 'seduce' forty-year-old men--because that was around the ages of most of my higher-ups there--and they agreed and slept with me, even though we all know that is wrong on multiple levels, then they deserved to die, don't you think?"

I look at her over my shoulder. Her face feels she never really thought of it that way.

"You know, sometimes I really love how clever you are," Sam compliments. "But guys, you're heading for Abel, and oh, look! You're going to run straight into the horde in a few minutes. Lord knows why there are so many of them around just now. But we can't tell if there's a V-Type amongst them.

"We're sending Jody out to meet you. Just-just..." He sighs, sounding slightly embarrassed. "Look, don't laugh when you see her cat suit. It's the best we could manage with black rubbish bags, Sellotape and paper clips."

"Sounds marvelous." Amelia grins, but it falls when Evans sends her a questioning look. "I mean, Evans, I would love to see your full collection of Golightly tapes."

The ginger woman beams at that. "After we meet Janine, yeah? Hey, I could also play you my collection of bird calls if you like."

"You like birds?" I ask, an idea coming to mind. "I've always wanted to know more about birds. Amelia loves them. Helps me spot them when I go out on runs. Right, Amy?"

I internally sigh in relief when her eyes brighten, catching on to my idea.

"Of course. Like that one over there!" She points to her left. "Do you see it? The crested falcon stooping over the field?"

"Where?" Evans asks, looking around.

"There, look! Shield your eyes. Look, I'll just take that for a sec so you can see." Amelia takes the gun from Evans's hand, who doesn't even realize  she's lost it, too busy looking for the bird.

"I don't see a falcon."

"But you can see me with your gun." Amelia points it at Evans while I step away, out of line of fire. It only takes a second for Jones and Janine to catch up, and when they do, Amelia laughs. "Jones, Evans, this ridiculous charade is at an end. I have the gun. You two are nincompoops and have made me look ridiculous, which is something I cannot forgive. Please do buggar off home."

Jones's face fills with rage as he looks at Evans. "You gave her the gun? You gave her the gun?!"

Without warning, he rears his hand back and hits her hard across the mouth. The force sends Evans to the ground.

"What the hell?!" Sam yells, and I instantly reach into my backpack and pull out a cloth, bending down as Evans pushes herself up. Her lip is bleeding terribly, and I think her gums are too.

"Here," I tell her, giving her the cloth to help soak up the blood. The smell will be attracting more zoms towards us.

"Mr. Jones, your plan is at an end," Janine says, dropping the accent. "Tell us why you wanted to find Janine De Luca."

Jones bares his teeth. "It's not over. You don't know what we've done. I've planted a device in Abel. You'll never find it without me. It's Ministry equipment. It attracts zombies. They're comin' to Abel right now!"

"Uh, yeah. That is accurate," Sam confirms, and I pale. "Biggest horde we've seen in ages, and not distracted by noisemakers."

"Wait, wait, wait," I say looking at the two, "so you're saying you got into Abel, planted the device, left Abel, lured us out here only to force us to go back to Abel to see Janine? ...You are both idiots. You could have just tried to see Janine then, after you planted the device. You're both really bad at this."

Jones glares at me, and the look I give him is nothing short of mocking.

"What? Gonna hit me again? Try it. I dare you. Try it and see what happens."

"There will be no need for that," Janine says, and I back down at the warning look in her eyes. "Ms. Spens, you have the gun."

Amelia raises a brow. "What? You want me to help you?"

There's a beat of silence.

"Amelia?" Sam asks, almost expectantly.

"Sorry, I'm just working out if it's to my long-term advantage if Abel is spared from destruction or not?"

He breathes out slowly, grinding his teeth. "And?"

"Evans, Jones, take us to your zombie attractor right now. If you do, you'll meet Janine De Luca. If you don't, I'll shoot you both. Carrot, stick. You see? Now come on. Run."

Jones looks absolutely murderous, but he complies, dragging Evans along with him. She's still bleeding, glaring at us as she runs, but she listens to me when I instruct her to keep that pressed to her mouth. It'll help stop the bleeding but also mask some of the smell, although zoms can smell even small amounts of blood from great distances.

They stay silent as we run, getting closer and closer to Abel. The moans and growls of the undead surrounding our fences are loud, chaotic, and there are more coming. That knowledge is the only reason I haven't hit Jones so hard he'd feel it into the next month. He's already pissed at us, and we need to know where that device is, which means complying, even when we're the ones that have the gun.

"Right, there are zombies basically everywhere, but Jody's coming out to meet you," Sam says a few minutes later, and I see Jody making her way towards us.

Her haired pinned up in a high bun, much like the one Janine is wearing now. She's got the eyepatch, and the garbage bag cat suit looks surprisingly well done, very form fitting, much to Jody's obvious discomfort.

"That is quite a sight," Amelia sighs, making no attempt to hide her ogling.

"Um, hello," Jody says, before clearing her throat and using Janine's accent. "I understand you are Jones and Evans. You wish to meet me, Janine De Luca?"

"Janine De Luca, at last," Jones says. He sounds pleased, but his face holds a gruff expression. Jody curtly nods.

"That's correct. Tell me where your zombie attractor device is and I will tell you whatever you want."

"How do we know we can trust you?"

"For good or ill, I keep my promises."

Evans gasps, pulling the bloody cloth from her mouth for a moment. "That's right! That's what Ian said about her in 173. It's behind the latrines next to your solar collectors."

"Why did you tell her that for?!" Jones snaps, causing her to flinch back, fear flashing across her face. "Why did you do that?! Millie always said you were stupid. You are so stupid!"

"She... always keeps her promises," Evans replies weakly.

"I knew this would happen. I can't take you anywhere! You are so stupid!" He continues to yell at her, and occasionally she pipes up in her defense, but I tune it out when Sam starts speaking to me.

"Five, I need you to leave them to argue it out. There's a weak point in our back wall near the solar collectors, and the zoms are almost through. If they get in, and there's a V-Type in there, we're toast. Please, Five, go now."

•

I let out a yell as I bring my axe down on the device, slicing through it with ease. It crackles for a moment, before the small light on the top of it goes out, and Sam lets out a whoop in joy.

"Well done, Sweetheart! Thanks for smashing that thing. We really did nearly get got."

"Can't have that," I laugh. "I haven't seduced all the higher-ups here yet."

His laugh is like a breath of fresh air, his voice no longer holding that tinge of fear that he can't quite mask. "As lovely as you are, I don't think you ever will. I mean, no offense, but you really don't seem like Janine's type."

"Oh, no offense taken. I'm fine as long as I'm your type-"

"Which you are."

"-then I'm perfectly content."

"Glad to know I please you. But all jokes aside, I think Jody/Janine is finding out what this whole thing is about."

"Patch me in?"

"Of course."

There's a touch of static as my headset is placed back on their channel.

"No, it's okay," Evans says confidently. "I think telling you is the right thing to do. We don't want anything complicated, just the secret files that record what you did to Jones's wife and my best friend, Millie. She vanished on a transport from Routen Settlement. The Minster told us that Abel Township had captured her."

"Oh... now I almost feel bad for them."

I raise a brow. "Almost?"

"It's hard to feel bad for the people who held my wife at gunpoint, and then one of them assaulted her, twice."

I hum. "Yeah, fair point."

"We never captured her," Janine says.

"Lies!" Jones shouts. "I knew it. Nothing but lies from you and from Janine here. Evans, you gave up our only source of leverage. We'll never find her!"

"Look, I'm not Janine," Jody says. "I'm Jody. And this isn't Jody. It's Janine. There have been a lot of lies, but not by us... apart from the Jody/Janine thing. Lies is how Sigrid ran her empire. She told everyone what they wanted to hear, blamed Abel for everything!"

Evans gasps softly. "That's what Millie always said. She said, 'I don't trust that Sigrid, and Golightly even less. Tell us what we want to hear.' That's what she said."

"And she expressed those views openly? And she worked for the Edgeware Dragons, the Minister's data storage center?" Janine asks.

"She was the clever one. Too clever for her own good, she said."

She sighs heavily. "I'm sorry. It does seem likely the Minister might have seen Millie as an enemy. She did not treat her enemies kindly."

"You're lyin'!" Jones's voice cracks, his voice shaking with rage and heartbreak, and I feel the smallest ounce of pity for him. "Someone must know what happened to Millie."

"Sigrid kept people in the dark, sometimes literally," Jody argues.

"I won't give it to you then."

My ears perk up.

"Give us what?" Janine asks.

"I brought you the core of Sigrid's computer. Well, not brought it. I know where it is. The one that ran the AI she used, A.N.N.I.E."

There's a long moment of silence.

"You... You have that?"

"And I'd have given it to you if you had told us the truth. But now, I'll find someone else who wants it."

A/N: Here you go, guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had fun writing it. Please be sure to vote and comment. Thank you and have a blessed day!