"The van's pickin' up speed, Five," Halima pants. "We've got to keep up with it if we're goin' to find out where the marshals are goin' with that little boy."

"Look, I'm a good runner, but I'm not Quicksilver," I retort. "And neither are you. We can't keep pace with a vehicle going forty miles per hour! Especially since it's going up a hill."

"Where does that lead?" Nicole asks.

"They're heading uptown, in both senses of the word," Halima replies. "New Oban's built on a hill and after the zoms got into west sector, the surviving citizens all got crammed into emergency accommodation just inside the city walls. Suddenly, anyone with any power or any influence was moving up the hill where there was more room."

She points to two giant skyscrapers towering up ahead, and I shudder at the mere sight. "See those? One on each side of the wall. That's Redwood Heights. The two towers are connected. There's a tunnel halfway up, and a little gantry at the top so the original residents could move from one side to the other without even havin' to touch the ground."

I shudder again. "Sounds horrible."

"The west side's totally overrun with zoms. The Board of Governors live in the east tower, but they don't come out anymore. All their orders come through intermedia."

"Why haven't they got rid of the zombies?" Nicole asks. "It's been six months, and your people obviously have the weaponry to get rid of them and rebuild."

I ponder for a moment. "Unless those zoms can't be killed."

Sam chokes. "What? You think there might be V-Types in there?"

I shrug. "Maybe. But if there were V-Types, they would have infected every zombie by now, and they'd be making an effort to get into New Oban."

Halima frowns at me. "Sorry, but... what's a V-Type?"

"Oh." I cringe. "Right. You haven't heard about them. Hopefully there aren't V-Types in there. But they're uh, zombies that can't be killed."

Her eyes widen, and I suck in a sharp breath through my teeth.

"Yeah. A lot of stuff has happened these past several years. It'll probably take a while to explain it all-"

I'm cut off by the sound of the bells chiming, and the automated voice comes through the speakers around the city.

"Citizens are reminded that identity card work permits must be carried at all times. It is your responsibility to ensure that your permit is correct. Failure to be in possession of valid documentation will result in immediate arrest."

Halima rolls her eyes. "I don't know why they bother with all that paperwork anyway. Everyone's been chipped like people used to do with their pets before Z-Day. Do you remember?"

The blood drains from my face. "I'm sorry. Did you say 'chipped'?"

She nods. "Little tiny implantable trackers under your skin... They're supposed to make sure you're getting enough exercise and eating your five-a-day. That sort of thing. The fact that they can track your movement is just a 'happy coincidence.' They're designed to integrate themselves around your spinal cord so you can't remove them."

"I'd find a way," Nicole mumbles. "No way would I let someone put a device inside me to track me."

"People have tried to remove them, although it usually ended with them dying or being permanently disabled, both a dead giveaway to what they'd tried to do. Trying to remove them can get you sentenced to life in prison here." She rubs her eyes. "That's why you're so important in all of this, Callista. You're our secret weapon. You're someone they can't track."

She looks ahead at the van that's barreling away, gaining more and more ground between us and them with each second.

"We can't lose sight of that van. It's our only hope of ever finding where Amala is being held."

I try to pick up the pace, our footsteps a pattern-less echo across the asphalt roads. Sweat drips down my face as we run, the van seeming to get further and further away. But we can still see it, thankfully. That's what matters. As long as we can see where it's going, we're good.

We'll need to be as quick as possible, though. If Halima is being tracked, then we'll need to hurry before anyone notices she's not in the right place. I'm sure they've got ways to avoid being caught, since an entire resistance has been formed, but it doesn't sound like it's the strongest hold of resistance. It kind of reminds me of Abel's resistance against Sigrid, when we were all living in Noah Base, or in the camper vans before that.

It was there. It was something, but it wasn't great. It wasn't strong.

I'm hoping whatever they're doing with the children is not like what Sigrid was doing with babies. Why does evil always target the innocent?

"Tell me more about these V-Types," Halima says. "They're zombies that can't be killed? How did that-"

"Well, they're a bit more than that," Sam answers, stammering a bit. "They-well, we're not exactly sure what they are yet, but they were the first zombies from like, thousands of years ago from the Viking Era. And unfortunately, while we were looking for the cure in some caves, they got out, and the variant of the virus they had started spreading."

"The cure?"

"Oh. Uh, right. Yeah. We have a cure for the normal zombie virus now. Have for a while, actually. It's the V-Types we're all worried about now. Thankfully we don't have anyone else to deal with."

"What do you mean, 'anyone else'?"

"Well, uh... there's been a lot of really bad people that's tried to destroy Abel and uh, also the world. Like the person that brought back the zombie virus was going to bomb the entire UK until Five stopped her, and her husband was going to kill a bunch of people just to make a few immortal until Five stopped him, and then there was a weird hippie that mind controlled people and was going to make the entire world a bunch of happy idiots until Five stopped her, and..."

He trails off, seeming to run out of breath. "Well, when we say a lot has happened, we mean a lot has happened. V-Types are the latest problem. They get smarter the more of them they are, and we've recently found out that it's a fungal virus. But I doubt there's V-Types in New Oban. If there were, they would have tried to get to the people rather than just walking around west sector."

She swallows. "Oh. That's... not really all that comforting, honestly. It's comforting that they're probably not in west sector, but-"

"The fact that they exist is... yeah."

I see the van ahead going through an exit tunnel, disappearing from sight. "Where does that tunnel lead?"

Halima narrows her eyes. "It... that tunnel only leads to Redwood Heights."

"Which is where the governors are," I finish, my face scrunching up when she nods.

"Yeah..."

"While the implications are worrying, there's another problem with them being with the governors." Nicole huffs in annoyance. "Those governors are the highest in power. They're bound to be surrounded with security. If the children are with them, it's going to be tough to break them out."

The bells chime again overhead.

"Citizens of New Oban, an unauthorized outsider has been identified in the Middle Circle."

I blanch. "Oh no."

"District 7, be advised, the outsider is reported to be a white female in her late teens or early twenties, estimated 5'3 with brown hair. She is armed and highly dangerous. A reward of 500 New Oban credits will be offered for any assistance given to the marshal leading the capture of this suspected terrorist and her accomplice."

"That's a lot of money," Halima says, swallowing nervously. "More than most people here can earn in a month. Everyone will be looking for us."

"Do you have a friend near here?" Sam asks. I can hear the worry building in his voice. "S-somewhere you can hide?"

She shakes her head. "No, we're so close to finding Amala. We just need a bit of time to think."

"Yes, and that would require somewhere to hide," Nicole snaps. "We know where that van is leading, and now that Five has been spotted, they're going to be locked up tight at Redwood Heights. Is there anything you have that might mess with the signal of your tracker? They're going to be searching for any suspicious movement because now they know Five's here and they know someone's with her. Five, do you have anything in your backpack?"

I roll my eyes. "Yes, let me just take out my handy dandy EMP device that I keep on my person at all times."

I probably should have brought one, seeing all the weird dreams I've been having about them, and an odd version of myself using them.

I shake my head. I can't think about those silly dreams right now. Unlike the other types of dreams I have, these are pointless.

"Wait," Halima gasps. She points at a nearby underpass. "That underpass runs close to the city's generators. They've been known to mess with the trackers' signals. It'll buy us some time. Come on. Let's run."

My legs burn as we keep going. Whatever time this buys us, we'll have to make use of it by coming up with a plan to get into Redwood Heights. It'll be challenging since the only person who has even the slightest idea of the security is Halima. I almost ask Sam if he should call Janine to see if she could think up a plan, but we can't do that.

She's focused on the V-Types, with figuring out how to get the Edda out from where it's buried, where we could get more fungicide, and how to get back into Moonchild's mushroom farm for me to get my memories back. And even the latter two have been placed on the back burner because the celebration of placing the Exmoore Militia in charge of the V-Type efforts is coming up, and she has to prepare for that.

To call her and ask for her to come up with a plan on the fly would be inconsiderate of her time.

I'm Abel's Head of Runners. I should be able to think up something... right?

Even in my head that sounded weak.

I purse my lips in thought. The marshals are efficient, but not perfect. The fact that we're still out here proves that as we pass through the underpass, heading down another lane nearby. We'll have to take the backways to get to Redwood Heights, but there is no back ways inside the towers... We won't be able to avoid any marshals.

The marshals travel in groups, but if we can find a small group, maybe we can take them down and steal their uniforms and passes, securing us a way in.

I open my mouth to suggest the plan to Halima, but shouting behind me stops me. Sirens blare behind us, too loud, too close.

Oh no.

"Suspects have been spotted. Heading west down Hospital Way."

"Copy that."

A bullet flies by my head, and Halima yelps in panic.

"They're shooting!"

"No shit, Sherlock. Run!" Nicole yells, and we break out into a sprint.

There's a chain-link fence blocking our path ahead, but I see no other way to turn. Bullets fly past us, some only missing by a few inches. If we try to climb it, we'll end up getting filled with holes. If we stop, we'll be thrown in prison for the next several decades, if they don't just kill us.

But past the fence are trashcans and other various items people place out to be thrown away. If we can get past the fence without getting fatally wounded, we can try to lose them in the garbage.

My headset crackles.

"Halima!" A new voice comes in. American. Midwestern, I think. "I leave you for three days and this is the trouble you get yourself into?"

She gasps. "Gus! You can't be in New Oban. The marshals are after you."

"Look who's talking. Yeah, I had to turn back. Anyway, look. I can help you. There is no way you'll get over that fence without them shooting you down. I know you have to find Amala, but you can't do that if you're dead, can you? Let me guide you to a safehouse."

A bullet hits the wall of the building beside me, and I squeak. "I say we listen to your friend!"

"Unauthorized runners, resisting arrest has now been added to the list of charges against you," The marshal warns.

"Look, if you keep going and look at the wall, you'll see isn't not just one building. It's two. There's a really thin ally way that you can squeeze through. If you're quick, they won't catch you on the way out. Run!"

•

More sirens are going off. I can see the lights clicking on as people look outside their windows, either to figure out what is going on or look out for us so they can report us and get their money.

Sigrid did this too, when labeling us as the bad guys. She promised people in need things that they'd do just about anything for as long as they helped her out. I try not to think poorly of these people. They don't know why I'm here or who I am, just that if they help the marshals catch me then they'll get more money than they'd normally make in a month.

"I didn't know we had a safehouse in this part of town." Halima frowns in confusion, casting a glance around.

"We try to keep their location a secret," Gus replies. He sounds... irritated over the headset. There's an edge in his tone. "The fewer people that know, the better."

She nods quickly. "I get that, yeah. Gus, what happened? I thought you'd got out."

"There were zombies in the tunnel. It was too dangerous. I-I had to turn back," He says quickly, and I hum.

"Yeah, there were quite a few zoms when I was going through to get your message."

"That's about as far as I got," He says. "And uh, nice to meet you, Catherine. I've heard a lot about you."

I laugh. "Oh, right. Uh, I'm not Catherine. Sorry. I'm her sister, Callista."

"Catherine and Callista, huh? Interesting choice of names your parents picked."

I can't tell is that's an insult or not. Either way, I brush it off, not willing to go into another lie of adoption like I told Halima. We don't exactly have time for that.

"Unauthorized runners, this is your final warning!" A marshal states through a megaphone. "Surrender immediately or we will shoot to kill!"

I grit my teeth. "As if that hasn't been what you were doing already. How do they keep finding us? We've lost them three times already and they just keep showing up wherever we go."

"I don't know," Sam hums. "Maybe they know it's Halima and they're following her tracker."

"Maybe," Gus agrees. "But don't surrender to them. Climb up the fire escape on the side of that building to the roof. Quickly. As quick as you can."

My stomach churns as we start climbing, Halima going first and me following. I keep my eyes on the railing, refusing to look down. There's a clang as a bullet hits the metal, and more gunfire follows as we go higher and higher, stopping at the top of the fire escape.

"You should be able to see that bits of the wall of the next building along sticks out. Get as close as you can and swing yourself over the fire escape. You're going to have to jump onto the wall and pull yourself up, okay?"

I grab my backpack strap and my heartrate picks up. I knew I wasn't going to like this.

"Hardly any jump," Halima says, although she tenses when she looks down. I keep my eyes ahead. "But it is a bit of a fall. Okay. Brave. Just like I tell Amala. So, so brave."

I swing my legs over the fire escape, my fingers grasping onto the railing. It's dark, but I can just make out the bits of the wall that stick out. With a shuddering breath, I jump, my hands grabbing onto the walls, my fingers digging into the point that bits of the concrete walls break and dig between my nail and my skin. Halima does the same, and we quickly scramble up onto the roof of the next building to avoid the bullets.

"Nicely done," Gus praises as I help Halima to her feet. "Keep heading north towards Redwood towers."

Halima pants, taking a moment to catch her breath before looking at me. "Come on, Five. Let's run. And whatever you do, don't look down."

"Wasn't planning to," I scoff, running across the rooftops and away from the loud bangs of gunfire. There's shouting from the soldiers, as they try to find out where we are, where we're going.

I don't think they know it's Halima with me, so there's a chance they're not looking for her tracker signal. It's odd though, since they seem to keep finding us.

Up ahead I can see moving figures near to the west side of New Oban. I can smell the rot and decay from here.

It's the zombies. Hopefully since we're getting closer to them, toeing between the two sides of New Oban, we'll lose the soldiers. They won't want to be around them since it'll mean wasting bullets and they don't even know that a cure exists.

When we jump to the next rooftop, the toe of my shoe clips onto the edge and I'm sent falling forward. A hiss leaves my mouth and a gasp leaves Halima's as I skid against the concrete rooftop.

"Callista!" Sam panics. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." I push myself up with a grunt. Halima grabs my arm to help me stand. "Nothing hurt but my pride. Er, well..." I glance down at my hands that are now scraped and bleeding. "It's nothing too serious. I'll be fine. Let's keep moving."

My palms sting, but the pain is easily ignored as we keep going and the moans of the zombies become louder. It completely ruins the aesthetic of the bright lights of the city buildings and the beauty of creations larger than life here in New Oban.

From this type of view, New Oban looks like a paradise in the apocalypse, but that's what every trap seems to look like. Every house has its basements, and every closet has its skeletons, I suppose.

I reach up and wipe some of the sweat from my forehead, although I wince when I realize I've probably just smeared blood across my face. "How're we doin', Sam?"

"Hm? Oh, uh, well, from what I can see-which isn't much-you're doing really well. There're zoms below you, and uh, they're... well, they've definitely got your scent. They can probably smell the blood."

"I figured."

"As long as they stay at ground level, they won't be a problem. And if they do become a problem, you've got you ax and pistol." He clears his throat. "And we both know how talented you are with those."

I fight a smile as my face grows warm.

"A bright side, though, is that you're getting great views of New Oban, and you've completely lost the soldiers."

"You doing okay, Halima?" Gus asks. "Not too scared?"

Halima shakes her head. "All I can think about right now is Amala, how scared she must be right now... When I found out I was pregnant, I had all these plans for the birth. It was going to be a magical experience-candles and a birthing pool. And then the whole 'End of the world as we know it' thing happened and suddenly I was terrified me or the baby or both of us wouldn't survive.

"And when I finally went into labor, it was agony. It went on for days, but at the end of it, the midwife put this little bundle in my arms, all purple and wrinkly and bruised. She made up for it all. She was just the most perfect thing in this whole world. I knew then I'd do anythin' for her." She chokes on a sob. "I never thought I might never see her again."

"We'll find her," Sam promises, before he lets out a sigh. "Oh, that's not good."

"What?" I ask, and Nicole is quick to answer.

"Collapsed building, nine o'clock."

I turn my head to my left, and that's when I see what they're talking about. One of the buildings from the west side has collapsed against the wall, giving the zombies a perfect route to climb up to us. I pick up the pace. They'll have us swarmed soon enough. We jump to another building, and I see that the ground is free of zombies back on the east side.

I usher Halima over to a nearby ladder, and once she's down, I follow. Some of the zombies that have climbed to the divider wall start throwing themselves off in hopes that they'll reach us. They don't, most of them hitting the walls of buildings and falling back over to the west side, but we shouldn't stick around if one or two make it over to the east side.

"Oh, no," Sam gasps. "Guys, three of the marshals' vans are now converging on your position. Forget about the zoms. Just run!"

•

"Halima, Callista, you're running well," Sam assures, which makes me feel a little better since my legs are aching and every fiber of my being is begging me to at the very least slow down. "But uh... you've got zoms behind you. Some of them made it over the wall..."

I groan. "Of course."

"And there are marshals behind you."

"What?!" I choke out with wide eyes. "How?"

"I don't know. Nicole and I were sure you'd lost them. Gus, are they close to the safehouse now?"

He doesn't answer.

"Gus?"

Silence.

"Gus, where is this safehouse?" Nicole asks in a demanding tone. "Five and Halima can't run any faster and they can't keep sprinting like this. Tell them where to go!"

He still doesn't answer, and I look at Halima in confusion. Her eyes are wide, and a look of horrifying realization appears on her face.

"There is no safehouse, is there? There never was."

What?

"I'm sorry, Halima," He strains out, finally speaking. "I didn't even get as far away as the railway tunnels before the marshals captured me. I had no choice."

Her eyes flash with fury. "You always have a choice! You could have said no! You've killed me and you've killed my daughter!"

I yelp when a bullet flies past me, just barely missing my head.

"No. No! No!" Sam shouts. "Keep running! Just k-keep running!"

"Hold my hand, Five," Halima says as the marshals keep shooting. Fear clings to me as I grab her hand. More bullets fly past us. If we get hit, we won't come back. I won't come back.

"Come on," I pant. "Don't slow down. We can still get away. Sam, get Gus out of our coms!"

"Already have," Nicole says. "Working on a route to get you out of there now."

Halima squeezes my hand, tears glossing her eyes. "I believe I will see Amala again, here or in the next world to come."

I hear more gunshots, but no bullets come close to hitting me or Halima. Why? We barely managed to evade them a few moments ago.

The gunshots stop, but I don't look back. I don't take it as a sign to stop running.

"What's happening?" I ask.

"The marshals... they've shot the zoms," Sam says in surprise.

I hear clangs of metal, and the ground shakes as something big hits the ground again and again. I finally peer over my shoulder, as does Halima. There's a person in a large robotic suit behind us, unmoving.

"It's Head Marshal Talyon," Halima says, and we finally slow when we see how they're all just standing there. They still keep their distance even as we come to a stop.

"Abel Runner Five, I've been following your progress ever since you arrived in New Oban," Talyon says. "And Halima Hassan, it's rare I see someone with your determination."

She scowls. "I want to know where my daughter is."

Talyon, in her bio armor, takes a few steps toward us. I tense, my hand still holding Halima's, ready to turn and run if necessary. My free hand reaches for my pistol in its holster.

"And so do I. Believe me when I say what's going on in New Oban shocks and sickens me every bit as much as it does you. I'm not here to arrest you. I'm here to ask for your help."

My eyes widen in surprise, and then the suit opens. Out steps a woman with short blonde hair and blue eyes. She's no taller than me.

She gives us a closed lipped smile. "Under this helmet, I'm just another citizen of New Oban, but I'm one with insight to how corrupt the Board of Governors has become. All the power within this city is locked inside that boardroom. I've followed their orders like a good soldier for years, but I can't turn a blind eye any longer. They're having children kidnapped and imprisoned, issuing arrest warrants for people I know to be innocent. I can convince the other marshals to work with me. This has to end."

Halima hesitates before speaking. "Do you know what the governors want with the children?"

"I don't. We have orders to take them. They never come out, but we supply Redwood Towers with food for children, clothes and bedding."

"They're still alive?"

She nods. "I believe so." She turns to me. "And Runner Five, as the only person in this city without an implanted tracker, you are the one who can rescue them. Redwood Towers' automated security system is set up to trigger whenever one of those chips comes into range, but you're invisible to them, Runner Five. You can get into the towers, disable the security system that protects the board in their inner sanctum. Then while you escape, I will arrest the governors and give New Oban a chance to hold them accountable for their crimes."

I cock my head to the side. "And Amala? She must be inside that building."

"We will free her and all the children. We have one chance and one chance only to root out a cancer that's destroying this city. You must bring the Board of Governors to account."

I blink. If Talyon wanted our help this whole time, why did she have her marshals try to kill us? Why did she make Gus betray us? Why didn't she just try to tell us this from the beginning?

Halima squeezes my hand, looking at me desperately. "Five, I know it's dangerous. I know I haven't any right to ask you this, but you'll do it, won't you? I'm beggin' you. Please! For Amala's sake."

Talyon rests her hand on my shoulder. "You're New Oban's last hope, Runner Five. We're all depending on you."

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!