"Are you nervous?"

Tom's voice holds a slight bit of curiosity, but as he and I both enter Banktown's gates, I know he's asking mostly to break the silence that has been weighing heavily on the both of us since we left Abel's gates hours ago. I'm already feeling tired and I know it'll probably be dark by the time we get home since it was such a long run to get here. Maybe next time we can convince Janine to let us use a transport vehicle or something, since Abel is getting something out of this even though it's not our main reason for me coming here.

"Slightly, but I don't think today's supposed to be too bad. They're not-I mean," I pause and sigh, "the nanites aren't ready yet. Right now they're going to be taking some blood samples and giving me something that make weaken my uh, ability to heal. Sage says he doesn't think it's needed, but I'm the guinea pig, so it's best to test it out. If it's not needed, then it's one less needle that will be stuck into Peter."

"Thanks for taking the day off to come with Callista today," Sam says over the headset, and Tom gives him the smallest nod in reply.

"I think Jane would be curious as to why Runner Five came here and stayed if she wasn't spending time with Peter. It's a good distraction for Peter as well, since I'm sure he'd be wondering why you are staying."

I nod. "That's true." I hand my bag of supplies to one of the women at a table at the gate, and Tom does the same. Wordlessly, the woman points to a small building, with no windows and a single door where a person waits for us, probably to check for bites.

We go inside, giving polite greetings, although the most we are given back is a nod. She's got that same wordless efficiency that the woman had as she ushers me into one room and Tom into another. There's a doctor waiting in my room, and I don't have to be instructed to strip down. It's become a habit after all these years. I don't even feel embarrassed about the hands grazing my skin, checking for wounds I know they won't find.

I notice there are three things on the table-a vial of the cure, a gun for if the cure fails, and a communicator. I suppose that's to call for help if the doctor believes someone has been bitten by a V-Type. It's probably to someone can bring in a burn cube.

Abel's given a few settlements some and have shown them how to use them. Some settlements are too far away for us to rush to their aid if there was a V-Type attack. As dangerous as it is, people need their own weapons to protect themselves. We can only pray they use what we gave them wisely.

"You're clean," The doctor says, and I quickly get dressed, humming to myself as I leave the room and meet up with Tom once more.

"Do you know where you're supposed to go?" Tom asks, and I shrug.

"Uh, Sage told me he would send someone to meet me and get me to a lab, or maybe the hospital." I rub my temples. "That day I was kind of all over the place. I had to write down the date and time to get here just so I could remember."

"And I had to help set up the supply run," Sam says. "Sweetheart, I say this in the nicest way possibly, but you were a little... hysterical after everything that happened. You may not have been thinking clearly when you talked to Colonel Sage. Are you sure you-"

"I'm sure," I say. "Veronica lost so much research. She lost any potential ideas from the information she sent as well. You sent what we had to Sage and I wrote down everything I could about the nanites. If Sage can replicate them-"

"How do we know you won't have a reaction like the zombie did?"

"Because Veronica said she believed it was because of what was going on inside the zom. She said she thinks it was caused by a fungus that makes V-Types. I'm not a V-Type, so chances are that fungus isn't inside me. But, since Peter was bitten, there's a chance it may be inside him, but his cell regeneration stopped it from, you know, turning him. That's why I asked Colonel Sage to ensure something like that doesn't happen. Plus it may be a way to stop the immortality of P-Types if another one happens to bite Peter."

Tom looks rather impressed by what I've said. "You've thought of everything, haven't you?"

With a pained smile I shake my head. "No, not everything. But enough to give this a chance." I look around, frowning when I don't see anyone coming around here. I know Sage told me he'd send someone so they could show me where to go.

"Five!"

I turn at the sound of my name, and then grin when I see Peter walking towards us. He's not who I'm supposed to be seeing, but this is good. Him finding us is better and easier than having Tom go out to find him and keep distracted.

"Hey," I greet. "You look happy."

"I'm always happy to see you, darling," He replies, before cocking a brow at me and Tom. "What are you two doing here?"

"We just came to drop off some supplies," I say. "We're uh, trading with Banktown, giving them some of the seeds of fruits we grew in the greenhouse in exchange for yarn and fabric. Even though we've built dorms to accommodate the growth in people, we need other things for them too, like clothes."

"Ah. Well, this will give you a chance to enhance your sewing skills."

I laugh, although it's half genuine. "Yeah..."

"So how are you enjoying your work here?" Tom asks, shifting the subject. He takes a glance around. "It all seems very... organized."

"Extremely. I think if Jenny ever came by, she'd believe she died and went to her own little version of heaven. Colonel Sage likes to keep things efficient."

"Do you like it here?" I ask hesitantly, and I'm not sure how to feel when he nods.

"I do, actually. While I do miss our chaotic antics at Abel, this constant, scheduled structure for everyone-as annoying as it is-works. Plus I don't have to worry about putting any of you guys in dangers as a runner."

"You're not the only one we have to worry about," Tom says, glancing at me, and Peter shifts uncomfortably.

"Right. But-"

"Ah, Runner Five, there you are."

My eyes widen as I spot Colonel Sage waking towards us, and Sam lets out an unsure noise.

"I thought Sage said he was sending someone, not himself," He says.

My eyes narrow the slightest bit as he comes closer as I mumble under my breath, trying to make sure Peter doesn't hear me when I speak. "He did." I clear my throat before speaking up. "Hello, Colonel. I didn't realize you were looking for me."

He nods, his dull eyes not showing a single emotion as he keeps his professionalism. "Yes, I got a call from the doctor who examined you. Said your ankle looked badly swollen and that you needed to have to have it checked and treated by someone at the hospital. She feared you may have fractured it. Since I'm headed that way myself, I told her I would show you where to go."

"O-Oh, um, I mean," I pause, unsure what to say. If I agree too quickly, Peter will know something's up because he knows I'm immortal and that I wouldn't agree to be looked at since I wanted to keep my healing a secret. "I don't think I fractured anything-"

"The medical professional in that building would have to disagree."

"She probably just sprained it," Peter jumps in. "I'm sure if she rested here for a little while, by the time she needed to head back, she'd be fine."

"I insist," Colonel Sage says, his tone calm but holding a certain authority to it. "We wouldn't want your friend to be seriously hurt and not treat it. I wouldn't be a good ally if we didn't take the precaution to ensure her safety, and from what you've told me, Runner Five is one of Abel's most valuable runners. The faster we treat her, the faster she will be healed and can get back to helping her township."

Peter swallows and gives me a thousand silent apologizes when he glances over at me. "R-right."

I give him a small smile. I know he did his best.

"Now, come along then, Runner Five. Peter, why don't you show Abel Runner Thirty to one of the commons? I'm sure he'd like to rest while Five is being looked at. We'll have the yarn and fabric ready for you both to take to Abel once we're sure Five is safe to run."

Peter nods despite his hesitation, and he gestures for Tom to follow him to one of the common areas. I follow Sage as he leads me off towards the hospital, making a show to limp a bit. Peter thinks it's for Sage's sake, although really, it's for his, so he'll think I'm doing it for Sage's sake.

"Wow," Sam says after a moment. "That was some good acting from the both of you."

"Thank you, Mr. Yao," Sage replies, and Sam coughs awkwardly.

"Oh. I didn't realize you had-"

"I have in an earpiece. I wasn't going to think you would leave Runner Five when it came time for her treatment, so this was a way to effectively communicate."

"Oh," He says again. "Um, yeah. Cool. But I thought you said you would send someone. We weren't expecting-"

"When it comes to something such as this, I'd like to be able to help monitor the situation. Five-"

"Callista is fine," I interrupt, and he raises a gray-haired brow, but nods.

"Callista, this is for your benefit as well as Peter's, and it would ensure we'd never have another P-Type zombie to worry about, if successful. But we know this could put your health at risk. If I'm the one that allowed it, then I will be the one with you as you go through the treatments."

Sam lets out a breath. "I-wow. That's uh, really nice of you, Colonel."

"I believe it to be more of an obligation. I would be neglecting my duty if I did otherwise." He says it so casually, as if that isn't something extremely admirable. Caring for his town is one thing, but I am just an ally. An ally of use, but Sage didn't have to agree to help me, and yet here he is, doing so personally, at least to a point.

But then he continues.

"I do have one query. It seems that Peter knows of your situation, but you want me to keep it a secret on why you are here, even though many others seem to know about it. Why is that?"

I sigh. "Look, I... I really want to be human again, or at least as human as I can be. I want it so bad sometimes it's all I can think about." I look down at my feet. "But no matter how badly I want to end my accelerated healing, it'll never been as much as Peter wants it. When Maxine gave him the drug that took away Van Ark's immortality, he was so excited, but then he fell and cut himself and healed within seconds. I... if you'd seen his face. He was horrified. The fact of the matter is, we don't know if this will work, and I don't want to get his hopes up only to crush them again, not when he's happy here.

"Plus, if he knew about this, he'd be wanting to volunteer himself for testing instead of having me do it. And I don't want him going through any more pain because of me."

He blinks, taking a second to ponder on my words as we reach the hospital. "That's understandable. But I do hope you know that-"

"I've read the Roufflenet messages. This weakening agent and the nanites aren't going to make me feel good. I know. I haven't changed my mind."

He doesn't say anything as he leads me down into the lower levels of the hospital. There's a room he takes me to with nurses already waiting. The fluorescent lighting makes them look a lot harsher than they probably should, but as I take a seat on the examination table, I find that they seem to have the same efficient viewpoints as Sage, barely offering hellos before instructing me to roll up my sleeve so they can prep me to draw blood.

"So, what exactly are you giving her?" Sam asks, barely able to mask his concern with curiosity.

"My scientists stated that this is somewhat like your Dr. Meyers made for Pro. Van Ark, but they made a few changes. We know Dr. Meyers' concoction cannot make Runner Five or Peter mortal, but with the few changes we've made, we think it may weaken her body to allow the nanites to be more effective. We're taking two blood samples: one before receiving the drug," He pauses when I wince and the needle pricks my arm, and blood starts going from the tube and into the vial labeled 'Sample A'. "And one a few hours after it is administrated. This way we can test the nanites on her blood to find out if anything changes. It will show if the drug is necessary to stop the accelerated cell regeneration and-"

"And it will keep her from having any bad reactions like that P-Type did."

"Exactly." Sage watches as the nurse removes the needle and places a cotton ball and bandage over the injection site. She immediately grabs a sanitary wipe and wipes down my upper arm, grabbing the syringe near on the tray. "Now, Runner Five, I will say this one more time. Are you sure you want to do this?"

I nod. "Yes."

"This isn't going to be pleasant, and what I mean by that is you will feel ill, something you haven't felt in a long time. You do understand that, don't you?

"Considering what I've already been through, I don't see how this could be any worse."

He doesn't seem to like my dismissive answer. "I just want you to know-"

"Yes, I know," I grit out, lightly smacking my hand down onto the examination table. "I know this isn't going to be fun, but it's not... it's not just for me. You know that."

He sighs. "Yes, I do... We're going to administer the drug now. This is our first trial-"

"Wouldn't be pre-trial?" Sam asks, but he's ignored.

"We're hoping it will be one of few and not of many."

I look over at the nurse holding the syringe, silently waiting for the okay. I nod. "I hope the same."

And she pushes the needle into my skin.

•

"And there," The nurses says after she takes my blood once more. "We should have everything we need now. We'll contact you when we get the results back and if this changes any of the results after testing the nanites on you blood samples."

I nod drowsily. Since I've had to sit here for a few hours doing nothing, waiting as this weakening agent or whatever worked through my system, I fell asleep and was only just woken up moments ago. I feel drained, more so than usual, but I can't tell if it's the drug or just a placebo effect.

"Here." The nurse hands me a mini bottle of water and a cookie wrapped in cloth. "You need to eat before you head back home. Since we took two blood samples today, you may feel tired and nauseous. The nausea may make you not want to eat but doing so will give you energy to get back to Abel Township."

I nod and silently take the what's handed to me, and the nurse leaves the room. I assume I'm supposed to get leave now.

"Are you feeling alright?" Sam asks as i adjust my headset, and I blink.

"Have you been here this whole time?"

"Well, I mean, I kept the transmission going just in case you woke up, but I haven't just been sitting here on my lonesome. I've done a few things around the shack, and I had to tell Tom what was going on so he could distract Peter while you were resting."

"Oh." I unwrap my cookie and take a nibble. "Thank you. Sorry I just fell asleep on you there."

He chuckles softly in amusement. "I'm not upset. You need the rest. Did you sleep well?"

I shrug and take another small bite of my cookie, taking a sip of water to wash away the sugary sweetness that makes my stomach turn. I suppose the nurse was right about me being nauseous. "It was okay."

"No dreams of the future or of Catherine or of... Oh, I don't know, mad scientists or something?"

I laugh. "No, no, nothing like that. All I had this time was a regular person dream, which, as we know, are the dreams that make even less sense than the ones I have about Catherine or the past or the future or-or anything like that."

"Not wrong there. Want to tell me about it?"

"Do you want to hear about it?" I ask with a raised brow. "I mean, it doesn't make much sense."

"I could use the entertainment. While you were asleep, I did have to listen in to Peter and Tom's conversation. Peter was mostly just talking about how happy he was to not be a danger to anyone. Not as interesting as the conversations you've told me the three of you have had together."

"Not even close." A small smile spreads across my lips as I stand, finishing my cookie and placing the cloth on one of the nearby tables. I know better than to throw it away. "Uh, well, it's been kind of ongoing, but nothing like the weird vision dreams I have. Um, the zombie apocalypse never happened, but like this bomb went off in a train station in Inverness, and this woman gave me a box and now I have to walk to... somewhere or another because when the bomb went off an EMP went off too, so now I and some others who also have boxes have to get them away from this terrorist group called the Burn who want to get these boxes for some reason."

"That sounds interesting."

"It is. The call me Walker, which is ironic, although the first thing I thought of was an American show called Walker: Texas Ranger. But it's weird how this was what I dreamed of since it's all so random."

He hums. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're there, but your name is Lawrence, or at least that's the codename given to you, and you're a PhD student. Paula is a general. Archie is my person leading us on, although her name is Charlie. Uh, Jody is a conspiracy theorist, and do you remember Ephraim from forever ago, the guy who led me and Maxine and Runner Eight to the Jeffro Complex and then he told us that there was a traitor after we saved him when I was like, sixteen?"

"Uh, yes?"

"He's there. His name's Paul. Nice guy... in the dream at least."

Sam is quiet for a few moments. "That is weird. And you said my name is Lawrence? That's a nerd name."

I roll my eyes. "Okay, Samuel."

"Hey!" He huffs when I giggle. "And did you have a name change?"

When my laughter fades, I answer. "I did, actually. Evangeline. It's funny because that was one of the names my mom had for me before she and my dad decided on Callista. In the dream I'm getting a Master's degree in Kinesiology."

"What's that?"

"I don't know, actually," I admit, feeling slightly sheepish, although to be honest I don't even know if I'd heard about kinesiology before this. I can only assume I heard it in passing and my subconscious brought it up for plot reasons.

But that also wouldn't make much sense since most dreams don't have coherent plots.

"Want me to look it up on Roufflenet?"

"Sure. Why not?"

There's a short second of Sam tapping on a keyboard before letting out a sound of triumph. "Found it. Kinesiology: The study of the anatomy, physiology, and mechanics of body movement, especially in humans. Alternate definition: The science of exercise, especially as a hygienic or therapeutic agent."

I rest my chin into my hand. "Huh. I did remember dream me saying she wanted to be an occupational therapist."

"But why would you dream about that degree if you don't even know what it means. That's usually what happens in your uh, vision dreams?" He laughs lightly at how odd it sounds, and I just shrug.

"I don't know. I mean, I know it can't be real because there are no zombies, and it can't be a doppelganger because there's only five of us, and I doubt you, Paula, Jody, Archie and all Ephraim has doppelgangers too."

He hums in thought before gasping loudly. "Do you think it could be like-like an alternate universe or something?"

"Babe, those things don't exist," I say with a scoff.

"Oh, right. I mean, we're living in a zombie apocalypse, you can see into the past, the future, other people's memories, even those who aren't a part of the Feive Project, you have a crazy dead hippie living in your head, you and your good friend are immortal, and we know someone who put her conscious into a computer system and became a functioning AI, but yeah, alternate universe theories are where we draw the line."

I shake my head at his sarcasm, but don't say anything. I don't need to, since a moment later the door to the room opens. I expect it to be a nurse or doctor to tell me to get out, but it's not. It's Peter and Tom.

"Hey," I say plainly, wiping off my shirt.

"Hey," Peter replies. "Everything okay? They've kept you here for a while."

"Uh, yeah, yeah." I swallow thickly. "Um, obviously I'm fine, but when I got here the doctors thought it was a sprain, so they wanted me to rest it for a while before sending me home."

"You know you could just tell Sage that you're immortal."

I frown, trying to think of a convincing lie. "And have him relay that back to Janine? No, thank you. And he will do it, since Janine is Abel's leader and the tight-knit bond between Abel and Banktown could be damaged if it was found out he was keeping secrets of an Abel resident from Abel's leader."

He gestures to Tom. "You're worried about Janine finding out when you've told her own brother about this."

I look Peter up and down. "I told her boyfriend too. But we're close friends. It's different with Sage. I like the guy and all, and I trust him to an extent, but not with something like this. Not yet."

Sam lets out a shaky breath through the headset, seeming on edge, as if he fears Peter may argue it more, but he doesn't. He only crosses his arms, miffed. It's clear he's taken a liking to Sage while he's been here. I can't blame him, seeing that the man is so helpful, but I have to have him believing Sage doesn't know. If he knew that Sage knew then that would just complicate things more.

I take the opportunity of silence to change the subject.

"Tom, did you enjoy your tour of Banktown?"

He nods. "It's a nice settlement. Everyone seems very well organized, and there's constant chatter about different visitors from other settlements and trading agreements. The people here seem to enjoy staying busy."

"Oh, yeah," Peter agrees, seeming to drop the upset attitude. "If we're not working, we're doing something else for enjoyment. Makes people tired enough to go to bed when it's time for lights out."

I snort. "We'd get into a lot of trouble then, huh?"

He shrugs. "I've actually been keeping busy enough to get an actual eight hours of sleep. I miss getting to see you trying not to get plastered over a little bit of alcohol because you're a total lightweight, but getting rest is... nice." There's a small smile on his face as he says that, despite his attempt to keep it hidden.

My eyes widen a fraction, and I feel a lump forming in my throat. Still, I force the fondest smile I can fake. "You really do like it here, huh?"

Peter nods. "Yeah, I guess so."

My heart sinks at his answer, and I can't understand why. He's happy. That's what I've been wanting for. He's not constantly weighted down by guilt or shame or anything else. He's genuinely happy!

So why do I feel so sad?

I give a small shake of my head to snap myself out of it. "Well, uh, I guess we should get going. It's a long run home and I'm sure a lot of people are waiting on us to bring them their fabric."

"Oh!" He exclaims. "Oh, right! I suppose this will the last time we see each other for a while then."

I try to sound nonchalant when I speak. "I'll be back in a few weeks for another trade off, and you may be called to go on a run with us or something later on. Wouldn't want you to get bored."

He grins slyly. "Oh, yes, because I terribly miss going on missions with you and having to save your arse every time you get into trouble."

"I'm perfectly capable of saving myself," I reply, before bringing my hand up to my headset to make it seem like I'm tuning in to the coms shack. "Hey, honey, we're about to leave the hospital and head to the gates."

"Gotcha," Sam replies. "I'll see if I can find some faster routes home or something, so you and Tom don't have to run for hours. I want you back home so you can tell me more about those stories."

"Stories?" I repeat, before laughing in realization. He means the dreams. "I didn't think you'd be that interested."

"I'm always interested in what you have to say."

I blush, but the smile that comes with it fades as we leave the hospital and head towards the gates where there are two people with fabric for Tom and me to shove into our backpacks.

"I'll see you soon, Peter," I say, giving him a small way and a forced smile. The smile he gives in return is genuine, and I spend the majority of the run home trying to ignore the ache that came as a result of it.

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