"Hello, Colonel Sage!" Sam says cheerfully. "Good to see you again."

"Thank you, Sam. It's good to be back in the field and running alongside you, Runner Five, and uh," He frowns at the boy beside me. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met."

"Milo Scotts. Abel Township Runner Eight," Milo greets. "My mum said I could come on this mission with her today. Lucky coincidence it just so happens to be my birthday, too."

I force a smile. Seventeen years old. How fast time flies.

Sage nods curtly. "I see. Uh, Runner Five, I know you have recovered, but Jones asked me to pass on his sincere and heartfelt apologies for being taken in by that rogue element in that A.N.N.I.E. device. He has good in his heart, but he's suspicious where he should be open and trusting where he should be cautious. I've had a chance to talk with him as he works on the cliff excavations, and I think he's understood where he went wrong. I'm sorry you went through that."

It takes me a moment to respond. "Oh. Uh, yeah. Honestly with what happened in New Oban a few days ago, I forgot about A.N.N.I.E. trying to kill me. I'm still pretty sore for that, but I feel okay enough to run this mission. Wouldn't want to miss the celebration."

He hums. "Still, I am pleased to see you."

"We all are. It was a near thing," Sam says. "Still, lots to celebrate today. Veronica's got some good leads on the V-Type problem. The country's coming together at last, and the Exmoore Militia are welcoming the Undaunted home."

Milo grins excitedly. It's been a while since we're heard much about the Undaunted, but he remembers all that we went through to stop Sigrid from using them and destroying the UK. I guess to him this might be like seeing it through, since going with me on that mission was probably the most exciting and most terrifying run he's ever been on.

"I'm grateful to you for introducing me to the Exmoore Militia," Sage says. "Their accomplishments make them a good choice to form a country-wide government. I want to know them. They're understandably cautious about outsiders, but they do trust Abel. I'm very happy to be here today."

"Well, you've helped us out a lot too," I say. "You saved me and Maxine from the zombie goo, and that's enough for us to owe you one. Not to mention how you saved Peter in the necropolis, and you're-" I stop and look over at Milo, who's listening much more intently that I thought he would be. I quickly clear my throat. "Well, you get the point. We owe you a lot."

He nods, turning his eyes ahead. "My settlements have enough volunteers with navy experience to form a full replacement crew for the Undaunted. Give the Exmoore family members a chance to come onto dry land. It's an offer I'm happy to make to cement trust. We so badly need one single organizing principle to unite against the V-Type horde. Runner Five getting New Oban to join the alliance was a great stepping stone to doing that, and with the Exmoore families united, it will be time to suggest that they take a leading role in government."

Sam laughs. "Yeah, well, they're going to find it hard to turn that down. If you guys speed up, you may just beat the Undaunted to port. The entrance is just through that flowered arch at the end of this next field."

We follow Sam's instructions, and even from here I can see the mass amount of people gathering for the celebration. I'm sure most, if not all of them, are the Exmoore people, since many other settlements either don't trust the Exmoores or the Exmoores don't trust them. No one from New Oban will be able to come, just offer their support of the Exmoore since Abel supports them.

I don't blame New Oban though. They're still trying to rebuild their government, change the laws, the rules, rebuild communications and learn just what's going on outside their walls. They've missed a lot and I can understand why they didn't come.

This celebration will at the very least boost morale for the Militia, and with Sage's offer, it will strengthen his relationship with them. If we can get everyone to work together, then we'll have a much better chance of defeating the V-Types.

The flowers are pretty, most of them being snowdrops since it's still rather cold out, with spring not having yet made its appearance. Milo is quick to point them out, along with the heather and wood sorrel, something that makes Sage quirk a brow, impressed.

"You seem to know quite a bit about plants."

He shrugs. "My sister used to work in the greenhouse. She constantly was telling me about the different flowers she worked with and forced me to draw pictures of them for her before she..." He trails off, pain crossing his features. "Before she died."

"Ah, yes. I do believe I've read that in one of Runner Five's files. You ended up getting recaptured and bitten, had you not, Five?"

My face scrunches up in discomfort. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I was-I was bitten. Let's uh, not talk about that when we're getting ready celebrate something good."

My mind drifts so Sam's comment a few days ago, how we'd known I'd get bitten for a long time before that, and how we thought I would end up dying, and how terrifying that was. With what Catherine said, I don't want to remind Sam or myself of that time, since it was so traumatic and we find ourselves, possibly, in a similar waiting period of me dying.

Because I can't ever catch a break, it seems.

We make it to the entrance, quickly heading over to the pier, making sure to go around the masses, since trying to maneuver through them would take who knows how long. Seeing all these people, I forgot just how big the Exmoore Militia really is. I always knew they were a fairly large and organized group, but seeing it just puts in perspective just how many people are a part of Exmoore.

I look around, frowning when I can't see Jules in the crowd. Unfortunately I don't see any white hair, which is the woman's most defining feature. "Where is she?"

Sam seems to be picking up on just who I'm referring to, and he hums in thought. "Well, Jules is supposed to meet you right where you are. I don't know how she'll get through that crowd."

Colonel Sage takes a sweeping glance around. "It's an impressive celebration. How did they find so much bunting?"

"We do still have our resources," Jules says from behind me, and I jump in shock, spinning around to face her as I try to calm myself. Her eyes aren't on me though. "Colonel Sage, is it not?"

He nods and offers her a hand she doesn't take. "Yes, and I-"

"Five, good to see you," She says to me, and her eyes light up when she sees Milo. "And I see you've brought your son. It's been a few months, but I do remember he was with you and King Jaime when you went to contact the Undaunted. It's nice to see you as well, Runner Eight." She glances at Sage. "As for your company, any friend of Abel is... allowed within our borders."

I cringe, but Sage brushes off her cold demeanor.

"Thank you. And wonderful job with the security. I didn't know a noisy celebration like this would be possible in the apocalypse."

She nods, not impressed with his flattery. "We drafted in more citizens to work on our security. Five, I do hope you'll stay to watch the ceremony. I'm giving a toast to Harry and the others. We've even got champagne. I'm sure the crew will think it's too much, but we're happy to have them home, even for a short while."

"On that note, I have a proposition-"

"No time now, Colonel. I'll talk to you after the ceremony."

She turns and walks off, just as Sam speaks.

"Oh, hold on! Wait! Janine just gave a message for Jules."

"Well, she's gone, Sam. Lost in the crowd," Sage says, looking rather disappointed.

A sigh leaves Sam's lips in response. "Bother. Yeah, well, apparently someone on Rofflenet is reporting suspicious activity in a building near you." He snickers. "Actually, they were complaining about weird smells and gurgling. It sounds more like, well, you know, dodgy plumbing. But Janine wants me to be extra thorough today. Uh... yeah. I'll message you through to Exmoore HQ."

"Tell them Five, Eight and I can handle it. If it turns out to be serious, we'll alert them immediately."

There's a short pause as Sam considers it. "Yeah, alright. It's the gray building just off the pier. Flat 302. If you check it out quickly, you should be back in time for champagne."

My nose crinkles as we start heading for the building. "I don't like champagne though."

"Well, then you can drink it for me, since I'm in Abel and can't have any."

"If you want, I can see if I can bring some back for you?"

"Oh, if I weren't already married to you, I'd get on one knee right now."

"You dork," I laugh.

"Your dork," He corrects, then chokes when Sage clears his throat. "Uh, right. Uh, well, hopefully whatever's in that building isn't too serious. I mean, weird smells and gurgling noises? Those are things you find just about anywhere now in the apocalypse."

"Well, people like to complain sometimes, even when something good is actually happening," Milo replies with a shrug.

We reach the building and head upstairs. Third floor has the 300 rooms, which makes our search a bit easier.

"306, 304, 302," Sage says as he grabs the door handle. "This is the flat."

The door is unlocked, thankfully, and it opens with a slight click and closes with one once we walk inside.

"See anything suspicious?" Sam asks, and I press my lips together.

It just looks like a regular apartment, if a bit small. I relay the message to Sam but stop to sniff the air. "There is a bit of a weird smell. Too faint for me to place it."

"Is it bad?"

"No, not bad really. I know bad smells and this one is just a little odd. Not something I'd buy a candle of, but not something I'd light a candle to mask either."

Sage and Milo split up and head into different rooms while I try to see if the smell is coming from anywhere in the living room. I don't have to look for long before Sage is calling out to me and Milo from the bathroom.

I run inside with Milo a step behind, and I gasp when I see the red stains in the white bathtub. It's blood, and it still looks a bit fresh. I slap Milo's hand away when he reaches out to touch it as Sage relays what we see to Sam. A second later he turns to a green container in the corner of the bathroom.

"It's empty, labeled 'Comansys'."

My eyes widen, and I practically shove Sage out of the way to get to it. I breathe in deeply, the scent hitting my nose at the same time that bile hits my tongue.

"I know this smell," I admit fearfully. "Sam, it smells like celery."

"Oh. Oh crap," He mutters while Milo and Sage stare at me in confusion. "Comansys. Celery smell!"

"Uh-huh."

"What?" Milo asks in exasperation. "What are you talking about?"

"That's exactly what the stuff in Moonchild's labs smelt like-the stuff that made the fungus grow really fast. Oh, crap. I think I've worked something out. Accelerant, and blood-probably zombie blood. Colonel Sage, this is very serious. I know we said the Last Riders were all gone, but this look to me like someone's been mixing up one of their 'turn into a zombie fast' cocktails."

Sage quickly shakes his head, even though Sam can't see it. "No, the Last Riders are all gone now. I've spoken with your friend, Kytan. He's worked with the remainder. The whole evil horde of them has been purged from the system."

"We thought that before and were wrong," I say, my brows knitting together. "And this looks to be something similar to what we've seen before. So this is either a copycat, or we have a last Last Rider that's been waiting to strike at a large celebration."

Sage rubs his temples, his jaw clenching in frustration. "This is a force of chaos. This is what I've spend my life fighting, and yet it rises and rises. This person will want to do maximum harm. They will be in that crowd of joy and celebration."

"If they take that pill in the crowd, it'll be carnage!" Sam yelps. "I'll radio to Exmoore security."

He nods, his face morphing into one of determination. "Five, Eight, come with me. If we head over to that tower overlooking the pier, we may spot suspicious movements in the crowd and help security forces identity the Rider. Run!"

•

I cringe at the sound of a speaker coming to life.

"We are proud of what we've accomplished together," Jules announces, her voice echoing across the crowd. "The bonds from charity auctions and play groups became strategy meetings and lines of defense. We survived."

"Five, Eight and I are in position on the tower. Patch us through to Exmoore security, Sam," Sage instructs, scanning the people below intently. Sam's answer makes my stomach drop.

"I can't reach them! No one's answering!"

Milo gasps. "Something must be blocking my transmission. Maybe the Rider. I mean, he left the door unlocked in that flat. Maybe he did it because he knew if someone found it, they wouldn't be able to call it in."

"I'll keep trying to reach them. And I'm putting messages on Roufflenet. But I don't know what to do! If you shout or cause a panic, whoever it is will definitely take the pill. What do we do now?"

Sam's voice wavers with fear, and I try to look out into the crowd to find someone that may seem suspicious. There're so many people, too many. With the haze of paranoia, everyone seems like they could be our guy.

"Alright. This person has not taken the pill yet. He or she must be waiting for their perfect moment," Sage says, keeping calm. "That means we still have a chance. I'll scan the crowd. I'm trained in neuro-linguistic programming and body language. There are signs of an attacker like this. An overconfident stride, a nervous tick. Someone who seems to be waiting, watching. within the celebration, but apart from it."

"What if it's just a person who got distracted by a butterfly?"

Milo shakes his head. "No. I think what the Colonel means is that this person will seem almost too focused on blending in. So much so that he'll make himself stand out."

Sage nods, impressed. "Precisely."

"But survival alone has never been our style," Jules continues. "We began to thrive. We built a settlement that the Undaunted is proud to come home to."

"Oh, look!" Milo points to a man in a security jacket, and Sage smacks a closed fist into an open palm.

"Of course! He would have to access the security radios to block your transmissions, Sam. Good spot, Runner Eight. See, Five? He's ignoring the speech, eyes ahead, walking into the middle of the crowd-"

"Tapping his pocket."

"If that's the guy, I will actually start to believe you can do magic," Sam says in awe.

"We have to try to bring him down before he takes his pill. Sam, keep trying to raise security forces by any means you can. Five, Eight, run with me, now."

Without a second's hesitation, we're bounding down the stairs to get out of the building. My legs feel wobbly from what happened a few days ago, but I jump down and skip a few steps to keep from taking too long. We have to keep moving. I've seen how fast those pills turn people. Even if that's just regular zombie blood in that pill, the person taking it will turn and bite someone far too quickly for any of us to administer a cure or even shoot him.

We can't let that happen. This day is supposed to be a celebration. We can't let some idiot with no hope turn this into a massacre.

I still remember what happened at the rave a few months ago. Some of the survivors still haven't recovered. We need the Exmoore Militia strong so they can help in fighting against the V-Types. If they fall, or if their morale crumbles too much, we won't be able to have them take over the responsibility.

And we have no one else we can trust to do it, and we can't do it ourselves because there's still so many people that don't trust Abel.

We get out of the building, and I head into the crowd, ducking under arms and maneuvering around bodies like it's nothing. I've gotten used to this by now, with how many times I've been required to do it. Usually I'm the one running from someone instead of after them, but needs must.

Milo and Sage are behind me, not moving as quickly, but still quick enough. We ignore the offended looks and shouts of how we're being rude. I don't bother telling them that we're trying to save their life.

"Hey, you almost made me spill my champagne!" A lady shouts as I rush by her, brushing against her arm and nearly causing her to drop her champagne glass.

I roll my eyes. My focus goes back to the man in the red cap. He hasn't noticed us following him yet. He keeps glancing back at Jules, as if he's trying to make it seem like he is paying attention. His focus on following everyone else is what keeps him from seeing me causing a ruckus behind him.

"We're almost there," Sage says. "Five has a knack for weaving in and out of crowds."

"I will now read a list of those we have lost in our struggle before we raise our glasses to toast them," Jules says, her tone bittersweet. "Marjorie Reinhardt, who ran our northern border defense until her encounter with a so-called 'fast zombie'. She is survived by her sister, Georgie, on the Undaunted."

I reach the man, lunging forward and tackling him down from behind. There are a few gasps from the people around me as we hit the ground, but most are too enamored by the speech, too moved as they listen about those they've lost to notice.

"Get off me!" He yells, and I raise myself enough to flip him to his front before pinning him down again. My knee digs into his stomach, making him wheeze.

"Got him!" Milo cheers as he and Sage make it to me. "Great tackle, Mum."

"Indeed," Sage agrees. "He won't be moving a muscle in that hold. Now you, where is your zombie pill? If you hand it over, things will go easier for you. Milo, search his pockets while your mother holds him down."

Milo bends down to do as told, but the Rider just grins.

"Congratulations. You've arrived just in time."

"Oh no." I look over at my son, seeing that he's gone deathly pale. "These aren't pills."

He opens his hands, and I blanch. He's right. He hasn't pulled out pills from the Rider's pockets, but instead...

They're champagne corks.

"No!" Sage shouts.

"Oh, God. He's dosed the champagne." Sam's voice shakes. "But everyone's got a glass!"

"Three cheers for the fallen!" The Rider shouts, still grinning manically. I smack him.

"Shut up!"

"Exmoore Militia!" Sage shouts, watching in horror as everyone raises their glasses, not knowing where the command for cheer came from but still wanting to celebrate.

"Hip, hip, hooray!" The Rider yells, with the crowd.

"Don't drink!"

"No tomorrows."

The crowd applauds, their glasses raised as they wait for Jules to unknowingly give them the signal to kill them all.

"They'll never hear you over that," Sam says. "You need to get out of there, now!"

"We can't just leave these people to die," I reply, and the Rider laughs. I've long gone tired of him, so I hit him again, hard enough that pain shoots up my knuckles and he's knocked out cold.

Sage looks back at Jules. "If we head for the front, we can warn everyone over the microphone. Five, Eight, come with me. Run!"

I stand, leaving the Rider's limp body behind. The hit I gave him should leave him unconscious for a long while, and we can deal with him after we've put a stop to this. We run off, again weaving through the crowds, getting some nasty looks from those we pass by. I try to tell people not to drink as we pass by, but many don't hear me, and those that do just give me weird looks of confusion.

I can't afford to stay and explain. We can do that when we reach the front, which we're trying to do.

I can only hope we'll make it in time.

"Come on, Five, faster!" Sage snaps. He looks desperate and afraid. "We're nearly there. Jules, please stop!"

She doesn't hear him.

"And so, everyone, please. A toast to all of us. We are Undaunted."

I hear the sound of dozens upon dozens of glasses clinking as we reach the front, near the microphone.

"No! No, don't drink!" Sage shouts, and then I hear glass shattering. It causes Jules to stop just as the glass is about to touch her lips.

"Colonel? Five? What's wrong?" She asks, before turning back to the microphone. "Please, everyone, hold off your toast for a moment."

There are screams, followed by growls. I recognize these types of growls, and a choked noise pushes its way out of my throat.

These aren't regular zombies.

"Oh, no! No!" Sam shouts. "They're V-Types! No!"

"We're too late," Milo cries, and Jules looks into the panic in the crowd before looking at us.

"Too late for what?"

"A Last Rider," Sage replies. "He put a zombie pill in the champagne. He must have done it before we arrived. I'm-I'm so sorry. We have to evacuate now. Everyone we can. Now!"

Jules goes still, her eyes glazing over as she shakes her head. "No. Not now. Not here. Not us."

I grab her arms and give her a rough shake. "Hey! Snap out of it! We need you right now. You can't daze off on us now. Snap out of it!"

"I can hear the security forces, but they can't hear me," Sam says. "People are turning gray all over the settlement. Families are attacking each other. People are trying to run, but they're being trapped by the crowd. It's-it's horrible!"

Tears sting my eyes as I hear the screams and growls. None of them have tried to claw their way to us yet.

"Not everyone's turned. Not yet."

Finally, Jules replies, although she still sounds dazed. "No. No, of course they haven't. Some will escape. And the children won't have drunk the champagne. They're all in the petting zoo enclosure with their teacher. David and Oscar are there. Five, you see? Please go and lead them over here through that fenced-off pathway.

"I'll direct everyone who hasn't been bitten to the Undaunted." She laughs forcefully, painfully. "We'll have to do quarantine on the boat, but we'll manage. We... we'll manage."

She grabs her microphone. "Everyone, stay calm. If you have not had the champagne, drop it immediately. Stay as far away from the zombies as you can and rendezvous at the center dock leading to the Undaunted. Oscar, David. My darlings, Mummy sees you there with your friends. You just stay away from the fence where the zombies are. Yes, just like that. Mrs. Walsh, your teacher, will help. Mrs. Walsh? Runner Five is coming."

She turns to me. "Runner Five, please. I can't go to them myself. Colonel Sage and I must help my people."

"I'll go with you," Milo says, and I quickly shake my head.

"Not a chance. You stay here with Sage. I won't risk you getting bitten."

"But-"

"No!" I don't give him a chance to argue, instead turning and looking for some way down there that isn't in the middle of multiple V-Types.

"Be careful, Callista," Sam warns. "It's chaos down there."

"Yes, I can see that."

"There, on the far left of the boardwalk," Sage points out. "If you go straight down, you should get through untouched. If anyone can get to them, it's you, Five. Now hurry. Run!"

•

"Five, get on board!" Jules commands as Milo helps get David and Oscar onto the boat. They were good, smart. Oscar is about eight or nine now, old enough to understand that he needed to listen, and David is about thirteen, so he was able to help me with his brother while I worried about the other children.

My skin stings from scratches that the younger children gave me, all of them scared of the zombies. They became scared of me when their teacher got bitten, and I had to shoot her to give us some time to get away.

"That's the last of them," She continues, looking at me with an almost numb look in her eye. "Thank you. Pull away from the dock, Undaunted."

I'm assuming someone hears her from her walkie-talking, since a second later I feel the submarine moving. Jules turns to her boys. "You both ran so bravely. Well done. Do you have any cuts or bruises? Let me look."

She quickly looks over David, who raises his arms to show that he's fine. Oscar squirms when she touches his arms, which causes her to frown and scold him. Thankfully he's okay, and Jules lets out a sigh of relief.

"You're both okay. No cuts, no marks. You and your friends did marvelously running with Five. And now we're all on the Undaunted and you get to see daddy." She forces a laugh and a smile. "Go down that hallway there, you see?"

The boys both nod and take off, wanting to see their dad. I think this will be the first time Oscar will be meeting his dad, in person anyway. I wish things hadn't gone the way they had, because it would have made it a more joyous occasion.

Jules turns back to me, Milo and Sage. "Thanks to you, all the children have made it, and some adults. As many as we could wait for. And some may survive in our shelters."

"You should go below too," Sage says sympathetically. "You should not have to see the destruction of your own community."

"Someone has to bear witness. To think that I just had twenty-two names of the fallen to read this morning." A few tears fall down her face, and I blink away my own.

So many people, so much chaos because of one person's anger and refusal to see any light or hope for tomorrow.

"I wish we could have done more for you. For all of you." He sighs, his shoulders slumped for a short moment before he straightens. "I can offer safe harbor. Seaside Settlement, near to Banktown, is an offshore oil rig with maximum security. You will be safe there."

It takes her a moment, but Jules nods. "Thank you. On behalf of what remains of the Exmoore Militia, I except. Now, if you'll pardon me, I must write down a list of the names of the newly fallen before they fade from my mind."

She wipes a tear and pulls out a notebook and pen from her pocket. She starts to walk away, and as she does, I can hear her speak the names as she writes them down.

"Elaine Walsh, who worked in the school. Amartia Nuzzaci, orchard keeper. Natalie Roman, fishing net weaver..."

I look at Milo, who's watching Jules as she continues to write down names. He's crying.

I lay a hand on his shoulder, and he jolts before looking at me. "Are you okay?"

He nods quickly, sniffling. "Yeah. Uh, yeah, I just..."

He trails off for a moment, and I look at him patiently, waiting for him to finish, or possibly not finish.

"I just didn't think this was how my birthday would go."

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