I lay my head on Sam's shoulder, a little giggle leaving my lips as I stay seated in his lap, half listening to Peter and Sam as they talk. I'm so giddy over what's happened today, over everything we've learned, but it's drained me. I think I'm on the verge of delirium with how I'm acting.

"Oh, yeah. it's nice, this accommodation block. It's comfy, like you said," Sam says. "It feels like we never get to sit around and chat anymore, at least not in a room built for it. The Rec building's been taken over by the kids and teens in Abel and well, everywhere is only useful if you have a small group or you don't plan on being too loud. But uh, I think I could get used to oil rig life. Hey, I suppose with Sage as leader of the UK, we'll be doing like, embassies and stuff here all the time."

"Nicole would love that," I murmur. "I'm surprised she didn't join Peter when he agreed to temporarily stay in Banktown. This type of order and structure would have suited her. God, she was so upset when Janine told her she couldn't come to this peace conference."

"But someone's got to stay at Abel and make sure everything's in order while Janine and Jody are here, and while Nicole has been hostile towards you in the past," Sam grits out those last words menacingly, "she's been a very big help to the township."

"I know, I know. I trust her to keep that place afloat. She'll never admit it, but she likes you guys, and me too, since she hasn't tried to kill me in awhile. But just because we know she's needed in Abel doesn't mean she's happy about having to stay there."

Peter stands and stretches, letting out a quiet yawn. "You and Five stay up, Sam. I'm heading to bed. From the sound through Jody's door, she was snoring about five seconds after her head hit the pillow. Pneumatic drill combined with blocked drains."

He tries to imitate it, and I snort at the horrendous sound that leaves his mouth.

"Remember when we were all sleeping in tents, and she never believed us when we said she snores?" Sam asks.

His jaw drops. "The tents! Oh God, when I was Runner Three, she was Four and Alice was-" He cuts himself off with a cringe. "Sorry."

Sam shakes his head. "No, no, no. It's nice to remember her. She did a brilliant Jody's snore too." A sad laugh leaves his lips, before his eyes land on me. "I guess you don't know much about Alice, since I don't talk about her much. She had a little sister too, you know. Frances. Never met her, obviously, but she never met Nikki."

"Yeah, we sent her Frances' diaries a long while back, didn't we?" I chuckle softly. "So we all just had little sisters we lost contact with," I say, and I feel guilty that I was the only one who found my sister again.

"I guess so. And, during the beginning, you were either in America or Mullins, depending on the time, yeah?"

"Yep."

"You know, you've told me about Anna, but you've never really told me anything about Mullins, and we don't visit them often. I mean, I've never seen what it looks like. Hey, how about I make us a cocoa, and you can start-"

There's a banging on the door, causing me, Sam and Peter to snap our gazes towards it.

"Open up. It's urgent."

Sam's face contorts in confusion as I climb off of him and we both stand. "Amelia?"

"Don't open it," Peter says quickly, and a second later the door opens to a smirking blonde. I see Peter's jaw clench.

"It's already open, actually. Oh, hello. Good to see you, Five."

"Is it? Why?" I ask, but she ignores me.

"Sam, Peter, I need you to come with me right now."

Sam laughs in disbelief. "It's-it's eleven at night, Amelia. There's a peace conference tomorrow. A peace conference you're speaking at, actually."

Her face doesn't change. "I'll explain it as we go. I have something you should see. We need to be quick. Come with me." She turns on her heel and heads out, looking at us over her shoulder. "Run!"

Peter and Sam share a look of confusion mixed with annoyance, but they follow. Although Peter grabs my wrist and pulls me along with them first.

"Are you sure you want me coming along? She said she only wanted to have you two with her-"

"Oh please. Since when have you ever listened to Amelia?" Peter asks, and I shrug because he's got a fair point.

"It's actually a good thing you brought her along," Amelia remarks, looking over her shoulder. "The more people that see this, the better."

Sam bites the inside of his cheek in discomfort. "That's not something I'd like from you."

I tap Peter's shoulder, raising up my free hand. 'What do you think this is about?'

He shrugs, and I don't know what I expected him to say. He doesn't hang around Amelia for good reason. None of us do. I can't understand why she would want us at this hour, but I don't see how it would be for anything good.

'Do you think it would have anything to do with the peace conference tomorrow?' I sign, and both Peter and Sam scrunch their eyebrows in thought.

'I don't know why she would do that. This would be a help to New Canton,' Sam signs, but Peter quickly gives a reply.

'She's always been one to stab others in the back though.'

'I guess we'll find out.'

Oh, how I hate this, but we continue to follow Amelia down the stairs. We don't see anyone, besides the few people heading to bed, but almost everyone has already turned in for the night, knowing they'll have a long day at the peace conference tomorrow.

It's going to be an extremely long day for me and Peter, between going and telling him about the nanites, to going to certain meetings, to going to the medical block after the nurses get those nanites so they can give them to Peter, to patrolling and making sure no V-Types get close to the rig.

I mean, Peter won't be patrolling with me, not after he receives the nanites. I don't want him getting sick. It's been refined to the point that the weakening agent isn't necessary, but that just means he'll have to spend less time waiting to become mortal again.

I probably should be more worried about whatever Amelia wants to show us, since it could put the peace conference at risk, but honestly, as long as she doesn't do anything that could ruin my surprise for Peter, I'm not too worried.

She leads us to a settlement built on top of floating oil drilling machinery. The street Amelia is leading us down is completely empty, with our footsteps being the only thing to fill the aching silence. It's something Amelia comments on.

"Temporary curfew?" Sam suggests. "Sage said they'd set up new security measures."

"There's more to it than that. Sage isn't what he seems."

Judging by how tightly Peter's grip gets on my wrist, he does not like that. I barely hold back a wince.

"Is that what you got us out for? To tell us some crap about Sage? Of course you don't like him, Amelia. He's everything you're not. Brave, self-sacrificing, compassionate."

"Peter," I whisper softly. "You're hurting me."

He snaps his gaze to me, eyes wide. He pulls his hand away from me completely, his shoulders scrunching up a bit in guilt. I rub my wrist, making sure to keep my opposite hand slightly hidden since I still have a band aid on it.

"Oh, yes, I'd heard you'd gone all true believer," Amelia says, causing Peter to scowl at her. "Bit disturbing. Honestly, what possible reason would I have to undermine Sage?"

"I can never work out why you do stuff until like, suddenly there's a big fat profit for Amelia," Sam says, and she blinks.

"Oh, that is kind. Thank you. I was hoping to dig up some dirt on Sage, something I could use to blackmail him into agreeing to good trade terms. But instead of a skeleton or two in his closet, I found the whole Evil Dead franchise."

"Oh, I am not listening to this," Peter says.

"Go back to your room then, if you like. But doesn't Sage tell you that you have to look at the evidence and think things through yourself?"

He grits his teeth and looks away from her, but then lets out a begrudging, "Yes."

"Well, then, look what I found. If it doesn't convince you, report me to Sage yourself. That'll please your obedient heart."

Peter looks like he's about to say something, but Sam cuts him off, probably just to avoid a shouting match.

"What did you find, Amelia?" He asks impatiently. While Sam and I don't trust in Sage as much as Peter does, he has helped us in more ways than one, and Amelia's not the more trustworthy person. Still, if she thinks she found something great enough that she personally would get us, it should be heard.

"I have an informant ready to talk. But first, come down this walkway to the shore. The rig's not the only part of this colony. There's also a village by the seashore. If we hurry, you can still see what's happening there. Come on. Run!"

There's a few walkways that connects this settlement to the shore. It's kept safe by the gates and fences that surround it, all of them sturdy and clean looking. The walkway that leads to the shore unfortunately doesn't lead directly to the gates, so we're out in the open until we get to the village entry point. I suppose this is just in case the rig got infected, and it would keep the village safe from exposure, and vice versa.

It's just off the shore, off the sand of the beach and onto normal dry ground. When we get closer I see just how nice all these little pastel colored houses are, with their nice front lawns. It almost looks like one of those resorts I'd see on pamphlets.

Amelia just calls the colored houses dinky, her nose twitched, and I roll my eyes.

"They look really nice, actually," Sam huffs. "What's your point, Amelia?"

"I'm getting to it. Here." We reach a stand full of pamphlets. There's tons of them lining the outside of the village, possibly for events with security that ensure no zombies. She grabs one and hands it to me. "Tell me if anything on this pamphlet rings a bell?"

"Uh, okay," I say in confusion, but I blanch when I see the first two words printed on the front.

The Method.

"Looks like you've already found it."

"I-how?" I shake my head. "This-this can't be the same Method that the-the Riders talked about. I mean, we thought the Method was a person."

"But you never caught them, did you? Did you ever really find evidence of there being a leader besides Nadia telling you they just kept talking about the Method? Even then you weren't sure if it was a person or idea."

"That's a stretch," Peter says disbelievingly, snatching the pamphlet from my hands to place it back in the stand. "Maybe they knew about it and made fun of it. That's what it's like to be cynical. You come across something true, and the only response you have is to laugh. I should know."

Amelia rolls her eyes and grabs the pamphlet from the stand and opens it. "Listen to this. 'The Method. Step 1: Identify your calling. Step 2: Spend time only with those who have a similar calling.' He's making his own caste system."

Sam makes a face. "To be honest, Amelia, that sounds like something you'd love. Caste system of Amelia on top, everyone else underneath."

"Listen to this. 'You must be willing to live and die for your calling. The Method calls for discipline above all.'"

Peter shrugs. "That's good advice." He looks back over his shoulder, squinting at the shore. "Look, Amelia, that horde of zoms are still on the beach from earlier today. Did you bring us here to get eaten? Because if there's any V-Types in there and we-"

He cuts himself off with a sharp breath when he looks at me, probably kicking himself for nearly spilling my now irrelevant secret. "If I get bitten, that's bad news for everyone."

"Sage is giving a speech by the village gates, do you see?" She points up ahead, and though it's a bit hard to make out, I think I can see something-a group of people maybe?

Why are so many people grouping together this late at night?

"We can sneak behind that podium and listen to what he's saying," She continues, and Sam nods.

"And also get away from the zoms, which is never a terrible idea. Come on, Callista. Let's run."

•

I place my hands against the back of a tree, using it to hide myself as I look at the crowd of people. We're directly behind the podium Sage is standing on, and the surrounding trees are keeping us screened from the onlookers.

I don't think they'd see us anyway. Their eyes are all trained on Sage, all of their faces somber. One of the people of front is shaking, and I can see a flash of fear in his eyes before he straightens his back.

What is going on?

"I don't see why we're hiding," Peter grumbles, crossing his arms. "If Sage did spot us, I'm sure he'd just wish a pleasant evening and ask us if we wanted to talk about our problems."

Amelia just shakes her head in exasperation. "Oh, yes? Listen to what he's saying to these people."

"The Exmoore tragedy shows how important you runners are to this settlement," Sage says, and I give a small smile. "You may feel that you've come to occupy the lowest rung in our society, but the least among us may do the greatest deeds."

I frown. Least among us? Runners get some of the best privileges in Abel, since we literally risk our lives almost daily.

"Maybe you are angry because your chaotic flouting of the rules led you to lose privileges. However, whether it was failure to complete assigned tasks or a refusal to follow simple procedures, your misbehavior had serious consequences." He pauses for a moment. "But by volunteering for this mission, you are proving your worth, keeping your friends and family safe. They need you to take your noisemakers and lead them as far away as you can."

My frown deepens. Why is he having them do this at night? Even with flashlights, running decoy at night with zombies are dangerous. You can't see and neither can your operator-

He speaks again and my heart plummets into my stomach.

"We do not have sufficient radio operators to guide you. You must rely entirely on your own recourses. Many of you will fall, but it will be a noble, useful, good death. Raise the gates!"

Sam is shaking besides me as the gates go up and the people run out of the village, turning on their noisemakers and waving them around to get the attention of the zombies gathered on the shore. He grabs my arm, as if he needs me to keep him upright.

"He-he's sending them out without operators. That's-that's suicide! He's sacrificing them!"

I look at Peter, who looks confused, conflicted.

"They... they volunteered!" He stammers, tensing up. "You heard him. There's a system at Seaside. Fine, it's rigid. At least people know where they are with it. Those people wanted privileges, so they volunteered for a brave mission."

Sam chokes. "Brave? It's stupidity! These people broke rules and lost privileges that must mean so much to them that they're willing to die to earn them back! And you're okay with that! Did you forget that you and Callista and Tom broke curfew multiple nights a week at Abel? Would you be okay if we sent Callista and Tom out there without an operator on decoy duty at night, even if they volunteered?"

He falters. He doesn't say yes, but... he doesn't say no either. I try not to let the hurt show too much on my face, although I feel as if I've just been punched in the stomach. My throat burns and the air seems to have been stolen from my lungs.

Amelia rolls her eyes. "There's none so blind as those who won't see. Listen."

I hear Sage sigh, and his shoulders slump. He turns to a man who's face I can't see. "They're gone. A good night's work. Thank you for your organizational skills, Dennis. I know this must be hard for you after your husband died this way. I believe in you."

I straighten. "Dennis? That guy we met at the necropolis? That's what happened to his husband? He was..."

"Sacrificed," Sam finishes.

"And he's still working for Sage," Amelia says. "If Janine sent Zoe off like that, I would gut her with my fingernails. And I don't even like Zoe!"

"You can't make anything out of this. You can't!" Peter says, but I don't know whether he's trying to convince us or himself. "We don't know the whole story about any of this."

"I... don't understand," I say, trying to think. My thoughts are jumbled. This doesn't make sense!

"Because we don't know the whole story."

He looks so utterly convinced, so utterly desperate. I find myself choking on my words. "I... maybe."

Amelia scoffs. "Oh, you're only saying that because he's helped you. I don't know what he's done, but don't think I haven't seen that bandage on your hand just because your friends haven't."

She points to my hand and I quickly cover it up. "And I heard from a little bird that you visited the medical wing earlier today. Whatever Sage is helping you with, don't let it cloud your judgement."

"Callista, what's she talking about?" Peter asks, and I tense up.

"N-nothing!"

Amelia rolls her eyes. "We don't have time for this. We have to talk to my informant. Come on. We have to get back to the rig before Sage spots us."

She takes off, and we follow. I'm not sure what to think. I mean, we can't deny what we saw. Sage sent those people out there to die. There's no way around it, but I just don't know why.

I've been out at night without an operator. I survived only because God decided to be gracious. My survival was an outlier in the statistic, not to mention I had a weapon. All they have is noisemakers.

It makes no sense. Sage helped me and Peter! He helped me even though I have been lying to other people, and with how strict his rules seem to be, he'd see that as a bad thing. So why did he help me?

Why did he send those people out to die when he seemed so burdened by what happened with Exmoore?

We get back to the rig fairly quickly, and the entire time Peter keeps trying to grab my wrist out of habit, and each time I twist out of his grip. I understood that he had changed a bit being with Sage, and that structure has become important to him because it's helped him with stability and has improved his mental wellbeing, but he didn't deny Sam's accusation.

He didn't... he didn't say he wouldn't be okay if me and Tom...

I grit my teeth, internally screaming and wondering just why such a small implication hurts so damn much!

Whatever rules those people broke, whatever privileges they lost, they shouldn't have to go off on a suicide mission in order to try and get them back!

"Psst!" Amelia whispers, looking around. "Are you here?"

A woman steps out of a dark corner. "I am. You don't need to whisper."

My eyes widen as I recognize her, and then my expression darkens. "You."

It's Lizzy, that Last Rider Phil, Zoe and I met. Kytan was supposedly helping her. She seems to recognize me, and a small, forced smile appears on her face. I'm sure she can feel the hostility radiating off me.
But I keep my mouth shut, shoulders tensed

"Hello. I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here. I've been working with Kytan for a long time. He's been trying to help me. I live here now on Seaside Rig."

"Tell them what you told me about Sage, about his ambition," Amelia instructs.

"I'm so confused. I was just so tired."

"Five,
"Five,
"Five,

"Five," Moonchild says, and the sound of her voice sends a sudden pain up the back of my head. "I know this is a weird time, but I need to just say that-"

Her voice becomes distorted and inaudible, like when you play a scratched CD. Her nearly see-through form groans beside me.

"Damn it!"

I hiss, placing my palm to my forehead in pain. No one notices.

"You can tell us anything," Sam tells Lizzy. "We'll listen. We'll believe in you."

Peter scoffs. "Oh, what is it Amelia's convinced you to say?"

"No one's convinced me!" Lizzy shouts. "I used to be an agent of chaos, but now I'm part of order, but how can I be? How can I turn from chaos to order? The world tends to entropy. You can't unmix the jam and porridge."

Amelia sighs. "Just tell us in your own words what you've seen. We just-oh."

Lizzy's pulled something out of her pocket. It's a pill-a zombie pill.

"The Last Riders all have these," She says. "It's a ticket to the final journey."

"Lizzy," Sam says cautiously. "Don't do anything rash."

"You have to come with me now. If you don't come with me, I'll take this pill."

My heart stops in my chest. If she takes that pill, we could all be dead, especially since that must be a V-Type pill and she's in close proximity to Peter.

"Come on!"

She turns and runs, and we're forced to follow. My head pounds, and Moonchild is still here. I can't tell Sam right now, not with this threat looming over our heads. Whatever she wants can wait as Lizzy leads us higher up to another part of the rig.

I have no weapons. Hell, I'm running in a baggy T-shirt and sweatpants, wearing a pair of old tennis shoes that I wear for leisure since the support in them are all but gone. If she takes that pill and becomes a V-Type, we have no way of stopping her, and we can only hope we'll be able to get away before she bites one of us, especially Peter.

She looks back at us fearfully, as if we're the scary ones, not her, who's threatening to put this entire rig at risk. Then she leads us onward, on a walkway... with no safety rails.

I grab Sam's arm as my heartrate picks up.

Don't look down.

"Alright, Lizzy, we're lovely and high up now," Amelia says. She's trying to sound calm but her voice wavers on every word. "No one can hear us. I expect that's what you were worried about, isn't it?"

"I know how desperate you can feel, Lizzy," Peter says. "I've been there more than once. It's not your fault."

I have to hold back my scoff, but Lizzy doesn't do the same as she stops, turning back to us once again. "Not my fault? Do you know what I have done?! Do you have any idea?! No, you can't! You don't know the darkness, only the light!"

"Well, I'm doing a good impression then, because I've done plenty that's bad. As bad as you, maybe. What I know is there's always a way back."

She shakes her head. "You can't make order out of chaos. I'm scrambled, like eggs." Her voice breaks. "Can't put me back in the shell."

His face crumples in sympathy. "I promise, Lizzy, there is a way. I've seen Colonel Sage do miracles. We need to talk to him."

"Sage? Sage! Sage!" She screams, making my head throb. I taste blood. "Sage is a word for the wise, and wise is a word for the wily. And wily is a coyote, a jackal. He knows more than he's telling!"

"Finally," Amelia sighs. "Lizzy, darling, try to concentrate more on Sage and less on the ramblings. Look, the balance of her mind has clearly been affected, but I can tell you the gist of what she said. That she knows Sage has been wanting to take over the UK for a long time, and if she decides not to take the pill, she can confirm that I'm telling the truth."

"It's the only way. I need to go, but I don't have to take you with me." Tears run down her face. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She turns and bolts.

"Lizzy, stop!" Peter yells, but she doesn't listen. He glares at Amelia. "Bloody hell, how do you always manage to make things worse? She's heading for the edge of the rig. I think she's planning to jump into the sea. We have to stop her. Come on, Callista." He grabs my wrist. "Let's run."

•

I'm breathing hard and my head is pounding by the time we reach her. She's standing at the edge of the platform, eyes gazing out into the vastness of dark waters and the blackness of a night with no stars.

"Lizzy, don't take that pill, and don't jump!" Peter shouts, and she turns to him.

"Don't come anywhere near me! Don't you know I'm dangerous?"

"I promise, Lizzy. I swear, whatever you've heard, whatever Amelia's made you say or made you believe, Sage will help you. Please. The world is better than you think it is. It's..." He glances at me, just for a moment. "It's better than we both deserve."

Judging by the face she makes, she doesn't like that response. "You're an idiot. Don't you know anything? The Last Riders can't be destroyed. They're everywhere! They're rising again. There is no escaping them. I came here to be safe, but they're here too! This place, everything you see around you is Riders. This is a Rider settlement!"

I remember those pamphlets; I remember those people Sage sent off without operators, sending them off in chaos because they refused to believe in order and do their tasks...

I suddenly get very dizzy.

"She's confused," Peter says, but then Sam steps in front of him.

"She's not. Lizzy, I believe you. I don't know what's happened, but I want to listen. If you want to leave here tonight, and never come back, we'll take you away. We're from Abel Township. We can keep you safe. Please give me the pill."

He holds his hand out to her, and after a moment, Lizzy hesitantly steps away from the platform's edge, and she places the pill in Sam's hand.

"Thank you, Lizzy. We'll look after you."

"I'm sorry," She weeps. "I thought it was over. But I had a message from the Riders. They told me to come to this place, a mushroom farm. They're all holed up there, I think, planning what comes next. I thought, 'I can't go through it again. I can't be one of them again.' I needed it to be over."

"Mushroom farm?" I repeat, and then I'm slumping against Peter as the taste of blood on my tongue becomes stronger.

"Five!" Peter shouts, which causes Sam's gaze to snap towards me, worry flooding this face.

"Sweetheart?"

"I-" I can't find words.

"Five, I need to talk to you right now," Moonchild's face is stern when she looks at me. "You need your memories from the fungus farm back. Now!"

A/N: Hey guys! Please read this authors note because I have a question for you all and I'd like to ask it before we reach the end of this book. Okay, so as you know we don't have that many chapters left for this book, but because of what's going on the series, they're about to go on their mid-season hiatus for season 9. I still have to write season 8, but I usually like to have the season ahead of it finished just in case the season before it gave any hints or clues that alludes to the next season, and therefore I don't miss it.

Now, I don't want to wait 15+ weeks to start writing book 8, but I think I may have to go on a slight hiatus on writing after this book. Probably just a couple of weeks until the mid-season hiatus ends and Season 9b starts. Well, since I will have to do that, I was wondering if there were any side stories (like the dreams of "other dimensions" Five has had) you'd like to see, or if you just want me to write nothing for a few weeks before starting Book 8. Most of these short stories would be 3-5 chapters and would basically be alternate universes of ZR, because they are a part of the New Adventures section of the game.

It's completely up to you guys and I'm asking early just so I can get feedback in time so I'll know what to do when this book is finished.

Sorry for the long author's note but I wanted to get this out there. Thank you all and have a blessed day!