"No, I mean, I don't mind the guys from the castle. They're nice people! Just, well, you know." Sam sighs through my headset, trying to come up with the words without sounding like too much of a complainer. "Shower rota time is less than five minutes now."

Peter hums, his grip on my wrist secure as he leads me along on our scouting run. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Still, have you heard some of their stories when Kytan runs those sharing circles? That girl Tijuca who ran with the Last Riders for a while-the story about how they made her kill her brother... I mean, it made dying in a collapsing skyscraper seem like a light romantic comedy."

"Surprisingly, our trauma at such a young age is something we've been able to bond over," I say. "Nicole and I can't reveal as much since, well, you know, eyes and ears everywhere. Don't want to suddenly get shot with a poison dart by a Torrencer. But we were able to talk about some things with them. Nicole's even starting to become acquaintances with some of them."

"Acquaintances. Wow," Sam says in awe. "That's surprising. I mean, I still really don't like her, but if she's making friends then maybe she won't act like she has a stick up her arse all the time."

"You're her brother-in-law. She's always going to act like that towards you."

"Probably. Still, I think the guys from the castle told Janine a lot of useful stuff about how the Riders operate. You know, where their stashes and haunts are. And Veronica's installing and testing that clean version of A.N.N.I.E. software. When it's stable, she'll be able to hook up her new core. So we're getting closer to dealing with the Last Riders and the V-Types."

The door to the coms shack bursts open. I flinch at the sound and Peter's already half-way to grabbing his knife.

"Runner Three, Runner Five, abort your patrol," Janine demands, and the urgency in her voice is enough to make us tense up. "Colonel Sage, leader of Banktown, has an urgent message." I hear Sam yelp as she practically pushes his chair out of the way, before she types something into the computer. "Patching you in now, Sage."

"De Luca, I have received a distress call from a convoy en route to my settlement through Pennant Valley," He says, his voice calm but still holding an air of tension. "Playing it for you now."

"We've been hit!" A terrified voice yells, and I wince. "An arrow. A flaming arrow. Oh God, the Riders! They're in the hills!"

"The situation is grave, and I have no runners in the area. Colonel De Luca led me to understand at the peace conference that I could contact you if I were in distress."

"We're on it," Sam says instantly. "Guys, Pennant Valley's not too far."

Peter and I share a look and pick up the pace.

"The convoy is north-northwest, formed of thirty-two caravans and has 342 souls aboard," Janine informs. "Runners, you must not alert the Riders to your approach. Surprise is our only advantage. Many lives are at stake."

Peter nods, opening his mouth to speak, before he trips. His hand grips my wrist, and I use my free hand to grab his arm to pull him up so he can regain his balance. I look back at the thing that nearly caused him to faceplant.

It's a zom that had been laying down and hadn't bothered to get up. We've certainly given it the incentive to do so now.

"Yeah, many lives, including yours," Sam says. "That zom's getting up and there are more in the tree line. Run!"

We take off, our feet pounding into the ground as the wind whips my hair around. Peter snickers when my ponytail flings forward and slaps me in the face.

"Having some trouble there, Five-o?"

"Shut up," I grumble.

"What? I was just asking. I know you don't like your hair getting too long. Want me to cut it when we get back to Abel?"

My nose scrunches up. "Peter, I love you, but if you even came close to my head with a pair of scissors, I'd have to give you a black eye. And I really don't want to hurt you."

"I really don't want you to hurt me either. I still remember the time you punched through a metal door then ripped open a hole for us to climb through."

"I'm sorry. She did what?" Colonel Sage asks. Oh, that's right. He wouldn't know about that.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I can do that sometimes. Van Ark subjected me to phase one of his regeneration treatments when I was sixteen and it sort of did some stuff to me. Don't know exactly what, but I'm not dead and I haven't grown a third arm, so I'm luckier than most," I reply, sounding a bit awkward.

"I see," He replies thoughtfully, and my shoulders scrunch up. I hate being studied like I'm some type of animal.

Peter seems to sense my rising discomfort, and he squeezes my wrist and clears his throat.

"Well, Five, if you did happen to grow a third arm, I wouldn't love you any less."

I laugh at his poor attempt at a joke, but we still fall into an uncomfortable silence for another few minutes. The only noise we hear are the slowly fading growls of the shamblers behind us. I'm glad they aren't V-Types. We don't need any more trouble on this run.

But all those thoughts are pushed away when we see the convoy up ahead. It's made up of many different vehicles-mini vans, cars, some lorries that look to be made into dormitories. I don't see any Riders, though.

Maybe they were able to get ahead of them for now, or the distress call may have been sent by scouts. Either way, we know they're coming. There's no way Riders would just let them go if they knew there were this many people, this much stuff for them to scavenge and destroy.

We keep running until we're parallel to the convoy, which looks rather peaceful. I'm a bit confused as to why so many people are out here. Three hundred plus is quite a large group when it comes to people being outside the safety of a fenced-in settlement. Are they relocating?

"Okay, the Riders'll have to come along this road. It's the only pass between the ravine in the wood, so keep an eye open," Sam says.

"I know I don't need to emphasize the importance of this mission to you, runners," Janine says. "Much is at stake in addition to innocent lives. This is an opportunity to learn about the Riders. And Sage would be a valuable ally to us. While the UK is crumbling, Banktown stands strong."

I pause when I hear a sudden rumble of machinery. Multiple rumbles. They're loud and obnoxious and followed by several high-pitched whoops.

"Looks like the party's arrived," I mutter, and Peter sneers as he looks behind us.

"Riders at six o'clock. They've set their own helmets on fire, so that's alarming. That, and the ululating. I think my blood might have just curdled... There aren't many of them, though."

"We've been fortunate," She replies. "A few outriders must have happened upon the convoy. Runners, distribute caltrops at six inch intervals across the road."

We nod, pulling them from our bag. These were another thing Janine had us add to our standard pack, since we knew we'd need some way to stop the Riders if they happened to spot us while on a run. Peter and I slow down a bit, heading across the road and dropping the caltrops behind the convoy. I wish it would go a bit faster, because even though this is a semi-decent pace, the Riders are quickly catching up.

We keep dropping the caltrops. I don't know how many Riders there are. It's a bit hard to tell from this far away, but I think there might be five or six. I'm dropping down more caltrops just in case. Even one Rider is dangerous. They're unstable. They'd kill themselves if it meant hurting and killing others.

"Colonel Sage, what is this convoy?" Sam asks.

"A mobile resettlement colony," He replies. "It travels the country collecting people from one township and reuniting them with friends and family in another, colloquially know as The Long Way Home."

"Aw. That is just so lovely. Was it your idea, Colonel?"

"Yes."

"An excellent idea, and one I ought to have had myself," Janine praises. "Most admirable, Colonel."

Peter rolls his eyes and mumbles under his breath, "Oh, can you just fry him in butter and serve him with gnocchi?"

He smiles when he sees me trying to hide my own. I can hear the sounds of the motorcycles becoming louder, and I move off the road to use the trees as the way to hide, pulling Peter with me. As much as I want to keep this convoy safe, I'm not going to just let us be seen and  have our heads bashed in with bats, even if we would survive it.

"The bikers are closing in on you. Impact in five, four, three-"

She's cut off as the bikers zoom past, the Riders whooping and hollering as the they fly by. Peter wasn't lying when he spoke of the flaming helmets.

"Uh, uh, these caltrops don't seem to have had much effect." Sam's voice shakes with nervousness. "Are they slow-release caltrops?"

"No, Mr. Yao. The Riders have clearly reinforced their tires."

"Not great news, but they haven't seen us," Peter says. "We can sabotage the-"

He's cut off by the sound of a horn honking and tires screeching. Sam gasps in horror, and I'm frozen as I watch one of the lorries veers off course. A Rider drives up to it, pulls out a crossbow, lights the arrow on fire, then shoots the driver!

"It got him right in the face! That's horrible!" Sam yells.

"That is the vehicle in which is the most vulnerable travel. It is full of children and the elderly," Sage's voice hitches, and I groan because of course it is.

"No puppies? I'm surprised," Peter says sarcastically.

"Crap! It's heading for the ravine!" Sam shouts, and my eyes go wide. Before Janine can even give us the order we're running after it, and thankfully it's not going too fast. Still I don't think we'll be able to reach the door in time.

So I veer off course, heading for the hills just slightly away from the runaway lorry.

"What are you doing?" Peter yells as he runs after me, and I pray I'm fast enough to get there in time. This is a shortcut, but the clock is still ticking.

"There're hills and rocks this way. If the lorry keeps going in the direction it's going, it should pass run under an overhang-"

"Oh, I see where you're going with this," Sam says. "Then you can jump onto the lorry and stop it before it goes off the ravine."

"I don't think we'll be able to catch up to it otherwise," I reply, pumping my legs a bit faster. We dart up a hill, running over to the bit of rock that sticks out from the dirt.

"Okay, the lorry's about to pass. Jump when I say. You'll land right on top. And... jump now! Now!"

"Here goes nothing," Peter says with a fearful look, and we jump.

I feel weightless, my heart stopping in panic as gravity takes hold and I'm sent rushing downward. I twist as I fall, landing on my side, and I feel a sharp pain in my right hip that took the blunt of it. My hair whips around, and I realize how fast this thing is going because of the slope.

"Peter, are you on top? I can see Five, but well, my cams are partially obscured and I don't see you."

"Five is on the top. I have splattered myself on the windshield like some sort of giant immortal fly," He answers. and I cringe.

"Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine, darling."

"Uh, Five, you're getting close to that ravine. Lean into the cab to get at the brakes." Sam's trying to sound calm as I scramble forward, but fear still leaks through in this tone. I grab at the door handle, but it doesn't budge.

"The door won't open!" I yell, looking up and gasping because we're running out of time and-

"Runner Five, reach in the window and turn the wheel hard!" Janine commands, and I reach inside, ignoring how the broken glass from the window cuts into my arms or how I nearly fall forward from trying to twist my body into the position.

Tires screech as I jerk the steering wheel, and I'm nearly flung from the top of the lorry as it turns.

I scream when it stops moving and I look down to see no solid ground below me. Half of the vehicle is dangling from the edge of the ravine.

I freeze.

"I'm climbing up onto the roof." I hear Peter trying to scramble up. "Five, a bit of a hand, please? Five? Five, help me up!"

Him saying the word 'help' seems to snap me from my trance, and I look at him.

"Good girl. Keep your eyes on me. Now remove your arms from that window and then come help me up, alright?"

I nod, trembling as I do as told. I barely even feel the burning on my arms as I crawl over to him, pulling him up.

"Sorry."

"It's alright."

We both crawl to the other side that's still on the ground and hop down, opening the doors. We're met with scared faces and shifting eyes.

"Hello, everyone. Please make your way to the end of the vehicle that isn't hanging over a precipice," He says, speaking over the crying children. The lorry shifts, and people start to slowly head over this way. "That's it. Slowly, slowly-"

A loud boom comes from the front of the lorry, and I look around to see the front going up in flames.

"Uh, not slowly! Not slowly!" I say, grabbing someone's hand and practically flinging them out. "The engine's on fire. Everybody, move! Out now!"

"Oh, it's going to blow!" Sam shouts. "Five, there's a couple of children too small to run. Pick them up. Peter, round out the rest. Get those people out of there! Run!"

•

I flinch at the sound of the explosion behind me, followed by the creak and groan of metal as the lorry falls off into the ravine. The crash can be heard for probably miles off.

"There goes the lorry," Peter says as I set the two children that were on my hips down, then kneel so the one that was hanging onto my backpack can get off me. "It was nicely kitted out too. Could well imagine going on holiday in that. And then getting out of it and staying in an expensive hotel."

Before I can comment on his rather active imagination, a horn honks. It's faded, far off, but still there. I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Sam, what's happening?" I ask.

He sucks in a breath through clenched teeth. "Uh, well, there's a big rig on the horizon. And well, that's never good. We've all seen Duel."

"That is a Last Riders war party," Colonel Sage states. "This escapade may have been a trick to lure any possible defenders away from the convoy. I believe they mean to steal the contents of the last caravan. I'm sorry, De Luca. I've put your people in danger."

"Why?" Sam asks. "What's in the last caravan?"

"That is the transport for the convoy's weapons, for defense against a zombie attack. The Riders must have heard rumors that the weapons are of high quality."

"Then why don't your people, I don't know, use the weapons against the Riders?" I ask as if it's obvious, because it is. "A bullet will kill them just as well as it would a zombie."

"That would be a waste of weaponry," Janine inputs, and I frown.

"It will really be a waste if the Riders end up stealing it."

"Runner Five, we will not use the weapons against the Riders unless absolutely necessary. I have a plan. Colonel Sage, tell the convoy to double back and head down the slopes and into the ravine."

"If the convoy enters the ravine, it will have to slow down, and the bikers will be able to board it," He replies.

"Yes, and my runners will be able to board them."

The rig honks its horn again, and the Riders on motorcycles whoop as they ride beside it. Peter and I start running back as we watch a ramp rise from the rig, and bikers start pinging off it.

"They're like flaming Evel Knievels," Peter comments, and I simply tip my head to the side. He doesn't explain it to me.

"Remember, Colonel, the possibility of victory lies in the attack," Janine says.

"Very well," He says, although he sounds unsure. "Far be it from me to contradict Sun Tzu. I will contact the convoy to instruct them."

"Runner Three, Runner Five, meet the convoy at the entrance to the ravine. You'll need to be fast. Run!"

There's already a burn in my legs, my breaths coming out in quick pants. I glance back, and the people that we rescued are heading off, probably under Colonel Sage's instructions to hide somewhere. While the Last Riders may want the weapons, that doesn't mean some won't take a detour to kill a few children and elderly folks. And even if the Riders don't come for them, zombies can still come along. Even regular ones can be scary since none of us have any cure on hand.

We head for the entrance of the ravine, our strides longer than what is probably healthy for our joints, but right now we can't waste the time to care about it. I can see the convoy and the Riders that are chasing after it. Even though the vehicles of the convoy have sped up a bit, the Riders are already catching up, and they'll have caught up completely by the time the convoy enters the ravine.

I push away the worry that swirls in my chest. We've already lost one person. We don't want to lose any more. Once we board the convoy, I can use my axe or handgun to kill some of the Last Riders. Janine doesn't want us wasting the convoy's weapons (even though I honestly don't see how it would be a waste), but she never said I couldn't use my own weapons.

"Okay. The convoy's heading into the ravine," Sam says just as we meet them there. "Runners, you'll have to board it as it moves so they don't have to stop. Grab the ladder on the lead vehicle."

I let out a grunt as my hand wraps around the ladder and I hoist myself up onto it.

"Good. That's good. Up you go," Sam praises, which makes me feel slightly better as I climb onto the top of the vehicle, Peter right behind me. "Alright. So, you're at the front of the convoy, but you want to be at the back. You'll need to head across the tops of the caravans, then hop onto the Last Riders' big rig and then um..."

"Plant the device," Janine finishes.

"Plant the device, and-wait. What device?"

"The one placed in Runner Five's pack for precisely this type of situation. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail, Mr. Yao."

I look up and gasp, reaching forward and grabbing Peter's arm. I pull him towards me, ignore how his bodyweight slams into me and nearly knocks me over. There's a thunk of metal piecing into the caravan-an arrow where Peter was just standing.

There are Riders at the top of the ravine. The ones on motorcycles must have peeled off from the rig, or maybe more have arrived. I'm not sure.

They've got special guns, and as one fires another arrow into the caravan, I see that it's got a cable attached. They start hooking themselves to the cables and jumping off, hollering as they do.

Not to mention their helmets are still on fire!

"I'm starting to get that 'Good thing I'm immortal or I'd never see bedtime' feeling," Peter says, and I nod.

"Same."

That one little word has him doing a double take. "What?"

"Nothing!" I shout, but his eyes dart down to my arms that still have dried blood on them. They thankfully cover the fact that the cuts are no longer there.

"Remove those lines at once!" Janine yells, which thankfully takes the attention off of me and back onto the Riders. "We cannot allow them to board!"

Peter points to one. "You get that one. I'll get this one."

I nod, grabbing my and axe cutting the cable of the first arrow while Peter pulls the second one out completely. The Riders attached to those cables scream as they fall.

"Ha!" He laughs, while I get ready to slice through another cable. "How'd you like that-"

He shrieks as another arrow thuds into the caravan, this time hitting his foot. I abandon my cable and rush over to him.

"Peter!" I yell, grabbing at the arrow that he's already working on pulling out.

"Get it out!" He yells, and he shouts as I pull with all my might, the arrow finally coming free. I let it go, but I can't relish in my small victory because the roof of the caravan shakes, a thud hitting the air from the weight of another body landing onto the caravan.

"Uh oh. Guys, you've got a hop-on!" Sam warns, and Peter barely has time to get up before the Rider tackles him. As they fall, Peter's hand flies up and smacks me in the face, and there's a sharp pain in my left eye that nearly has me falling backward off the caravan.

I blink the tears away, my blurry vision focusing on the two men struggling a few feet away from me.

"Get off me, you big, flaming idiot!" Peter yells, and I run to them, my foot flying up to kick the Rider in the face. He shouts as he goes tumbling off the caravan, dropping his zipline gun. "Oh. Nice kick, Five. Got him right off." He looks at the bleeding, burning man that's quickly being left behind. "Bye, now!"

"Runners, the big rig is coming in backwards. The Riders must be planning to couple it to the rear-most caravan," Janine says, and Sam lets out a small noise.

"Guys, you need to get to the big rig as fast as you can, and then... and then... and then do something brave/slash heroic so that way I can stop being worried and then swoon over how awesome Five looks."

I blush.

"This is all rather seat-of-the-pants, I must say," Colonel Sage says.

"Horrifies me too," Janine agrees. "But they seem to work best that way. Peter, Runner Five, run!"

My vision's cleared enough that we can hop from caravan to caravan towards the rig. I keep my axe on hand, slicing through any other arrows that are fired. I think the Riders are hoping more to hit us that slide down after us. They should be wary, since I will gladly kick another Rider in the face or shoot them if they try to come after us.

With each jump across, my heart stutters, a brief second of fear hitting me that I'll slip and fall when I land. I don't. Neither of us do.

Sam laughs gleefully as we fly across the convoy towards the big rig. Each second counts, and Peter and I are both pushing ourselves to keep going despite our lack of confidence in each jump.

"Great, platforming, guys! Couple more jumps and you'll be on the rig." He pauses for one second, two, three. "No, h-hang on. Oh, bugger. Can you see that?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Peter replies, and we both come to a stop as Riders start to swarm up the sides of the caravan in front of us. I grit my teeth and curse under my breath.

Then I grab my gun, but before I can fire, the horn of the rig honks, and the Riders hurry to couple the big rig to the caravan. Then the rig starts pulling it backwards.

I pull the trigger of my gun once, twice, hoping to shoot the driver to stop the rig, but it only cracks the glass.

"Damn it! It's bulletproof!" In anger I fire at some of the Riders on the caravan. It won't do anything to stop them, but it will at least wound them. I hit one in the arm and one in the leg. They crumples with cries that I enjoy just a bit too much.

But then I lower my gun, my heart sinking.

"I'm sorry, Colonel," Janine says. "We have failed."

"Oh, look!" Peter says, far more happily than I'd expect him to. "There's something stuck in the jaws of defeat. Could it be spinach? No, it's victory!" He grabs my wrist. "With me, Five!"

"Wait-what are we doing?" I ask, but he simply points the zipline gun at a nearby tree. He must have taken the one the Rider dropped. He fires, and I'm impressed by his good aim.

His hand leaves my wrist to wrap around my waist.

"Hold onto me," He says, and my eyes go wide. I put away my axe and wrap my arms around his shoulders. "Oh, God. Here we go!"

We both jump, swinging across and using our momentum to get us over the weapons caravan. Peter lets go of the zipline gun, and I squeak as we fall forward onto the top of the rig.

"Wow! Nice landing, Tarzan!" Sam praises. "By the power of Greystroke!-oh, no, wait. That's two different things. Okay, good. Good, good. I'm glad you followed through on my very clear instruction to do something brave/heroic."

"I know Peter was the more awesome looking one, but I hope that was enough to make you swoon because I will not be doing that again!" I exclaim, my heart racing.

"Please, you know it doesn't take much from you to make me swoon," He flirts, and I grin. But it drops when Janine instructs me to take out my device from my backpack and press the red button and stick it to the chassis of the rig.

"I'm guessing this is a bomb?" I ask once I've done as told, but she doesn't answer.

"Both of you, climb down the ladder on the side and jump down."

Peter goes first this time, and as he jumps I see the rough patch he'll end up landing on.

"No!" I yell, reaching out to grab his hand. I do, but instead of pulling him back he ends up pulling me with him. He ends up falling face first into the rocks, and I only have a second to twist before I'm slammed into an equally painful place to fall.

He groans as he pushes himself off, a good half of his face scratched and bleeding. "What the hell, Five?!"

"Sorry. I was trying to help," I hiss, pushing myself up. My shirt covers the scratches on my right side, but Peter can still see the deep gash that goes from my elbow up to my shoulder.

"This is why you don't try to help! Now you're hurt too!"

"You're hurt worse!"

"I'll be healed by the time we get home!"

"Good Lord," Colonel Sage mumbles.

"Ignore them. They always argue like this," Sam says. "Now get clear of that big rig! Now, guys!"

•

"Okay. The convoy's on its way safely now the Riders have what they want, and they're heading back to pick up the children and elderly. And our device is with the Riders, so success! Now return to Abel and resume your perimeter patrol." Sam pauses when neither of us reply. "Kidding! I'm kidding. Come home and rest those tired old legs."

"Colonel De Luca, the weapons truck is far enough from the rest of the convoy now. Activate the device," Colonel Sage says.

"The device has already been activated," She replies.

"So it has failed to detonate." There's a twinge of horror in his voice. "The weapons are lost, and the Riders are better armed than ever. Well, this is hardly the outcome I had hoped for."

"The device was not a bomb, Colonel. It was a tracker. We have not lost the weapons."

"Uh, we did lose a bit of Peter's face though," Sam says, and I cringe, shooting the man in question an apologetic look.

"Colonel De Luca, my apologies. You have shown yourself a formidable tactician, and your runners have overcome overwhelming odds despite their unorthodox methods, or perhaps because of them. We have much to learn from each other."

"Pretty sure Five and I deserve a special mention here," Peter mumbles.

"I suggest we learn on the job," He says, ignoring Peter's comment. "I have a plan to put a stop to the Riders' mindless pillaging. Will you help me execute it?"

"Yes, we will," Janine replies, and Sam laughs.

"A fellowship is formed! Watch out, Sauron." He deepens his voice to imitate Gandalf. "Rest well, for tomorrow, we march on Mordor."

"Mr. Yao."

"Sorry."

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!