"Uh.... did we know the fungus farm looked like that now?" Sam squeaks, having that slight waver in his voice that tells me he's trying to hide his nervousness.

"I saw some stills, but... it's bigger when you're next to it, isn't it, Five?" Jody asks, and I nod, swallowing down the nervousness as I look at my target, the place I have to enter to get my memories back.

"The fungus has certainly grown to an impressive size," Janine says, and Sam laughs painfully in agreement.

It doesn't even look like a building anymore. It honestly resembles a white, blobby mass with a few rust colored bricks poking through. I can only imagine how hard it will be to get in there and maneuver around.

"We've taken sample of the fungus that's infested the building. It may look frightening, but rest assured, it is a harmless form of a native tree mushroom. Edible, in fact."

"Yeah, but it's everywhere." Jody's green eyes flash with discomfort. "All through the buildin'. Is it safe for me and Five to go in?"

"We'll proceed carefully. After that accelerant made the fungus grow at a prodigious rate, it eroded the foundations, but the growth has stopped for now. The fungus itself should have structural integrity."

I don't tell her how that doesn't make me feel better.

"Yeah. That's more than we can say for the country, or us," Jody says, and I try not to think about Peter's face when I told him to stay there at Seaside Rig before we left to get Lizzy to a transport to Abel and Jody and I transport here. Janine and Sam are at Seaside on coms, but they also suggested it might be best for Peter to sit this one out, since we don't know what my memories could reveal.

I know I saw something. Moonchild wouldn't have shown up now if what I saw wasn't important. I just don't know if it will be good if we find something against Sage. I can only imagine what that would do to Peter. I know what it's like to be hurt by someone you put your trust in...

There was also a V-Type here that last time I was here, and we can't risk it biting Peter. We can't handle a P-Type right now. We simply can't.

He's probably angry at us, possibly believing we don't trust him anymore, and my heart sinks because that's not the case in the slightest. Everything is all scrambled right now, and we have no idea what's really going on. We have to figure this out, somehow.

Jody places a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. "We're gettin' your memories back, Five. And if Sam's right, and the accelerant the Last Ridders used in their V-Type pills came from here, then there should be some clues here about what they did.

"This access tunnel should get us in, and then we just need to find a little black thing that looks like a torch to get your memories for you. If the Moonchild voice in your head is right, it should just be a few minutes there and back."

"You must be swift," Janine stresses. "If Ms. Spens' informant Lizzy is right, the Last Riders may still be active, and you may encounter them in this building. Run."

I don't know how they'll be in this building, considering how overgrown it is. I can suppose some of it has wilted away, or maybe they carved tunnels through it. I have my pistol on me, just in case we have to defend ourselves.

I clench my jaw, anger scorching my chest over this, all of this. The confusion, the veiled truths. It's all so frustrating! Every time we think we've stopped the Riders, they pop up again like weeds. It's like a disease that just doesn't stop. Lizzy said Seaside was a Riders settlement. I don't know what she meant by that, or if she was just babbling, but those pamphlets on The Method can't be a coincidence, and what Sage did to those people...

That was only a few hours ago... How many of them have already fell? How many have sacrificed themselves just for a chance to regain whatever privileges they lost?

It hurts to think like this, to think that Sage may be a villain. This has happened before, with people we trusted turning out to be our worst enemies. It's happened every time actually. We thought Van Ark was okay for awhile, same with Moonchild. We worked together with the Ministry and Sigrid until we discovered she tried to kidnap baby Sarah...

But it's different with Sage. With Sage we did more than just a few missions to benefit each other. There were times he went out of his way to help us, and he saved our lives more than once. To think that someone that did so much for us could actually have something to do with the Last Riders...

I don't like thinking about it, but I still do. I know I should focus on what's going on right now, as we keep heading through the access tunnel. That white fungus covers the walls, and I am surprised at how much room we actually have considering how I was nearly engulfed last time. I'm guessing the Riders must have drilled through here or something.

It's dark, and my flashlight doesn't help much, but it's better than nothing.

I hear the groaning and creaking of wood with every breath, every move. I suck in a sharp breath through my teeth before turning to Jody, who looks just as nervous as I feel.

"I'm guessin' you heard that too? I don't think this place is goin' to last much longer," She says, and I nod quickly in agreement.

"You're doing well, guys," Sam praises. "I've got you on cams. That tunnel's leading you straight into the basement, which is where you need to be."

"I never knew anyone who managed to be sort of friends with the voice in your head, Five. It sounds sort of scary, but also sort of comfortin'," Jody says with a bit of a awkward smile. "A bit like how all those people think of Sage, maybe. He tells them what to do, they trust them."

"Yeah, I don't think Five decided to let Moonchild in though," Sam says, and he sounds a bit... irritated that Jody compared me and Moonchild to Sage and his people, since Sage did send some of his people to die a few hours ago. Moonchild needs me alive so she can stay alive.

And speaking of her, she hums beside me. "We've come to... an accommodation, haven't we, Five?"

I don't answer her, but she is right. I can shut her out if I want to, but she mostly leaves me alone. She's better than some of the other voices I've had, ones of guilt and shame and reminders of what I did in order to survive.

"It was a good idea we found this secondary tunnel, though," The blonde continues. "I would have hated to come through the one you used last time. It looked totally filled with white fungus."

"Yes, very fortunate," Janine says, her words clipped. "That access tunnel is only marked on some plans of the building. Certain dark areas of this facility are not in the architectural drawings."

My stomach clenches a bit. That doesn't sound very comforting. But what's also not comforting is what we see as we keep moving through the tunnel. I squint. It's a little ways off, and just about everything is covered in fungus, but I can make out the room with the light from my flashlight.

"That's weird. You see that?"

It's a little kitchen, with an oven, hob, kettle, saucepan, bottles of stuff and... an empty cage. It's a big cage too, possibly one someone would get for a large dog breed. I'm not sure how much Sam can see through our headcams, so I relay it back to them as we get closer.

Sam hums. "You're getting very close to where the memory thingy is supposed to be. Can you see anything like that?"

When we reach it, we look around, and I almost miss it because it blends in so well with the fungus. I head over to a white box on the wall, and shine my flashlight on the words to read it.

"'Cognitive Retrieval, Emergency Use Only.'" Hope wells up in my chest, and I smile...

Until I open the box and find no memory retrieval device inside. There's only a piece of paper, which Jody grabs and reads.

"It should be in there." Moonchild frowns, and I just huff through my nose.

Should have known it wouldn't be this easy.

"This is a little plan showing where another one is. It's just a short way up this tunnel," Jody says.

"Someone might have dropped that one around there though," Sam replies. "Is it anywhere in the little kitchen?"

"No, it's all-" Jody shouts in panic, jumping away from the stove.

"Miss Marsh, report! What is it?" Janine demands, and Jody shakily points to the saucepan. When I try to peer inside, she grabs my arm, as if to keep me at bay.

I blanch when I see it. "The saucepan's caked in blood, guys."

Jody pulls me back now that I've seen it. "Don't touch it."

"I wasn't planning to," I snip, my voice teetering on annoyed that she thinks I'd be so stupid. "There's more. Little pill molds half full of blood. From the looks of it, it's been awhile."

"Did any of it touch you?" Janine asks, and I shake my head.

"No, we're clean."

"Good. Stay away from it."

"Well, we found the zombie pill kitchen," Sam sighs.

"It seems likely. Runner Five, Runner Four, you must find the memory retrieval device further up the tunnel. The solution to the entire mystery may be here today."

Her saying that makes me feel worse than better, but I know she's right. We have to keep moving. Even if that memory retrieval device is in here, we shouldn't look for it. There's too much of a risk of there being V-Type blood somewhere we don't see and getting it on us. I don't want to risk it.

So we keep going, and going, minutes passing us by in silence before Janine speaks, demanding a status report. I can understand why she wants us to be in constant communication.

"Not much to report. It's quiet. It's dank. It's cold. There's white fungus through the walls." She pauses to sniff the air. "The air smell a bit like celery."

"Well, that's the accelerant," Sam explains. "Yeah, that's what we thought. Someone used that same celery-smelling stuff to make the zombie blood pills in Exmoore. How did they know to do that?"

"The Last Riders may have experimented with various cocktails of drugs until they found something that worked," Janine replies in a neutral tone.

Jody stops when we enter another room. "And they came here to pick up the supplies. Lizzy was right. They're not gone at all, just underground. Hidin' and workin'."

She points to the workbench, and when I shine my flashlight at it, my breath catches in my throat. It's mock-up Exmoore Militia passes, along with scissors and glue. My stomach twists at the image of someone sitting here, planning to kill hundreds of innocent people, and treating it like a third grade arts and crafts project.

"It is urgent we learn what Runner Five saw here," Janine says seriously. "Are you safe to proceed down the tunnel?"

I nod. "Yeah. Yeah. There's just a lot of white fungus on the walls-"

"Look at that, Five. The white fungus on this wall has like, red threads going through it."

Sam gasps at Jody's words. "The V-Type fungus was red when it burst out. Bright red. Guys, you've got to be careful there, please. Go get the memory thingy, but you have to be quick. Run!"

•

"Okay, okay," Jody says. "I think we're here."

"More information, Miss Marsh."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry. Guess this little bit of light isn't helping much with these headcams. Five and I are standing in front of a door with a porthole window in it. It leads to the utility room."

Jody and I both get up on our tiptoes to see through the little porthole window. On the far wall there's another little box, but this one is open, and inside is a black thing that looks like a flashlight.

"That must be it!" I say as Jody gives the description to Janine and Sam.

"Very well," Janine says. "Five, Four, you have fungicide with you. If in doubt, use it. Open the door and retrieve the memory device."

With that reminder I pull the canister of fungicide out of my bag and clip it to a pin on my hip. It's not really comfortable, which was why I kept it in my backpack until now, but it's probably a good idea since we saw that red in the white fungus earlier.

We open the door, and once inside I see just how much bigger it is in here than it looked from that little window. There's also a ton of red fungus in here, only visible now that the door is open. I gulp, and Jody and I sprint to the box, grab the device, and start sprinting back to the door, too afraid to be near it all to stay for a second longer than necessary-

Slam!

"Oh, shit." I tremble.

"What's happened?" Sam asks. "It's really hard to make anything out, guys."

"The door closed. Five, open it now," Jody commands, and I try to grab at the door handle, but there isn't one. My fingers grab at the hole where the door handle should be, and I try to pull it open by force...

It doesn't budge.

I shake my head. "No, no, this can't be possible. The door is locked! The handle's been taken off from this side and-"

I hear a horrid sound from behind me. It's the sound of flesh squelching and breaking. Jody gags as I turn to find the source of the sound.

"Oh, God that's disgusting. We have to get out of here, now!"

She's right. We do. There's a zombie here-V-Type. I can see some of its skin, but its entire chest cavity is nothing but red fungus. It's just growing out of it, having conjoined with the fungus on the ceiling and floor. In the corner of the room, there's something else-a large, red sticky mass that's just throbbing.

I don't know how much they can see with through these headcams, but it's enough to get Janine to scream at me to use my fungicide. I grab it, spraying it at the fungus as best I can, trying to get as much of it covered...

"Nothing's happening!" I shout in panic, eyes widening. "A-A few tendrils recoiled, but the thing is just..." I go very still. "What's it doing?"

"Oh my God, it's opening up!" Jody screeches.

"It's got clever, Five. It knew you were coming for that device. It lured you here. Waited for you."

A shiver runs down my spine at her words.

"It's a fruiting body," Janine explains. "It's going to infect you with its spores. You must find a way to escape."

"There's nowhere! The door's locked!"

"Look on the floor, Five. Under the white fungus, quickly!"

At Moonchild's command I drop to my knees and start digging, not touching any of the red fungus. I dig and dig until-

"I've found something!" It's the corner of a trap door. "Jody, help me!"

She does as told, helping me frantically dig as red tendrils start reaching out towards us, trying to stop us, infect us. Hands scrabble for purchase, digging and clawing and getting white fungus all under our fingernails. I find the latch, and pull it open with a clang.

There's another tunnel down there, too dark to see. I don't have time to use my flashlight to inspect it. I'm sure anything down there is better than being up here with this red mass of V-Type fungus.

"Jump down, Five. I'm right behind you."

"The tendril's behind you, Five!" Moonchild warns as I start clamoring down. "It's reaching for you! Run!"

As soon as my feet hit the ground of that service tunnel, I start sprinting. I use every ounce of energy to run faster and faster away. My steps pound in my ears, my breathing heavy, labored and panicked.

Fear pumps through my veins, nothing registering besides the need to get away, the horror of what Moonchild said. It somehow knew I would need to get that device. It knew I was looking for it the first time. It sat there and waited for me to come, set up an entire trap just to get me.

Another shiver runs up my spine, but it doesn't slow me down.

I praise God I told Peter to sit this one out. If he had come with us, if that fungus had gotten ahold of him...

We keep going, and after what seems like an eternity we make it to a door, bursting out into the night and slamming it shut.

"We're out," Jody pants heavily. "Five and I are out. Oh, thank goodness you found that service tunnel, Five, or we'd have been trapped in there."

"And infected there," Janine adds. "Turned into V-Types by a central controlling intelligence. It's not too much to suppose that the red fungus there has grown monstrously clever."

Sam coughs. "You-what? Wait, you think it knew Callista and Jody were coming?"

"Perhaps. Who removed the device from the first box, leaving the one that Five and Four retrieved?"

"But... not a fungus?"

"Miss McShell has said that V-Types become more intelligent the more of them there are. There is a great deal of fungus in that building. Whatever else we discover, that building must be destroyed. We cannot allow the fruiting body to release spores. I will contact Colonel Sage to make arrangements with the United Kingdom alliance. All stocks of napalm in the country must be used, if necessary."

I nod. While we suspect Sage may be up to something, the V-Types are a far bigger enemy than he could ever be. And he sees the V-Types as the enemy too. And, as of right now, he doesn't know that we suspect anything of him. He will help us when it comes to this.

"Ja, but Five, you've forgotten something," Moonchild says, and I look down at the device in Jody's hand. The blonde notices, and her eyes widen slightly.

"Oh! Yeah, Five, here. This is yours, really. The little black torch thing. I kept hold of it..."

I take it from her, staring at it. Funny how something so small and rather simple looking is what will be getting me my precious memories back.

"Put it in front of your eyes, Five. Press the little green button, and all your memories will come back to you just like you were there right now."

I press the button.

And then I'm back in the building, when I was there the first time, before it got overgrown by the white fungus.

"Oh, crap," Sam curses. "Five, listen, whatever reasons Moonchild is here, tell me why you're running. Three V-Types are approaching the building. You have to be quick, Five. And whatever Moonchild wants, remember the fungicide search comes first. Head left."

"No! Five, go right, through those double doors."

I obey Moonchild.

"No, Five! I said go left! Go-did Moonchild tell you go right?"

I suck in a sharp breath before answering.

"Yeah, she-she said there's something up with those UV lights, that they're going to do something to my mind-my memory," I reply. "She knows this building, so she must... I don't know. She may know it a bit better than you do, and with the V-Types approaching, she may know a quicker way through."

"Oh, right. Yeah," He replies, a bit disgruntledly. "Well, she better know the way through. I don't have cam access in some areas, so I won't be able to see you, or-" Static crackles thought my headset. "Damn it. Some... building's... signal. If you aren't at the circular gantry in fifteen minutes, I'm sending the closest runner in the field after you."

I smile at his concern, although I'm unsure if he can see it as I climb the stairs, heading for another door up ahead. "I'll be okay. Moonchild knows if I die, so does she. I'll be fine."

I head through the door, and all I hear is static.

This is where everything left off.

"Five, listen to me. There's someone else in this building. We have to find out who it is. I can't stop those UV lights from erasing your memories, but we'll find a way to get them back. For now, run!"

I frown. Someone else in the building? How does she know? We know there was someone here recently because of the lights being changed, but that's it...

I keep running until I reach another door, and I open it slowly. It creaks just a bit as I slip through, now onto a high walkway overlooking a room. I recognize this room. It's the kitchen me and Jody just went through.

"That's it, Five. Close the door quietly," Moonchild whispers. "Let's see who left those memory erasing lights on. There's someone down there... Wait, why am I whispering? It's not like that person can hear me."

I roll my eyes. There's a clink of glass. I look down at the person working, moving fluidly and not losing focus for even a second. I can't see a face because they have on a hazmat suit.

"It's got UV protection. They were specially made for this facility, so the memory lights won't affect the wearer. You've see those hazmat suits somewhere before, Five."

I tense. What?

"Yeah. I was there. I watched through your eyes, Five. It'll come back to you."

A zombie growls from below, and my eyes snap to it. It's in a cage, jerking and growling as the chain that holds the cage shut rattles against the iron bars. The person in the hazmat suit jabs the zombie with a needle, being careful to stay away from its teeth, and I watch as blood is drawn into the syringe.

I feel sick.

"That cage is not very secure, Five. And that's coming from me, someone not known for my secure procedures." She frowns as liquid splashes below. "What's going on down there? Lean over. Get a closer look."

I try to, but on accident I kick one of the nerf guns that was on the walkway down a bit, causing noise. The person in the hazmat suit start to look around, startled. In panic, I grab the nearest nerf gun and fire it at one of the beakers below. It shatters, causing the person to jump away. Without another second they sprint out of the door. The zombie growls and snarls, hands grasping the bars of the cage and shaking and shaking and shaking and-

"Oh my Lord, that is some bad science. Look! Didn't fasten the cage properly. Now the zombie's free. Stupid man. Okay. We've got to get you out of here, Five." She cringes when the zombie looks straight up at me. "That zom's looking interested in you. Run!"

Suddenly I'm flung back to the present, if only for a second. I blink, rapidly trying to register what just happened, what I saw.

"So you remember now, Five. That's how you ended up chased by a zombie. But there's more."

And then I'm flung back again, but I'm not where I was before. I'm still in that building yes, but at a different area.

"What?" Sam says, then shouts in panic as I open the door on my left, which leads into a pitch black observation room. "No! Callista, go up! Don't go into that creepy observation room! I won't be able to see you! I don't know what Moonchild's telling you to do, but don't listen to her!"

"I'm sorry," I say, "but I have to go down to that lower level."

"Shit!" He curses. "No! Don't!"

I don't listen, my chest aching as guilt floods my body at the sound of Sam's panicking.

"I-I'm calling Janine."

"Run, Five. Run!"

I enter the room, submerged in darkness, and fear makes my chest feel heavy.

"Alright, Five. I know it's dark, but don't worry. I know where the door is. Cross to the far side."

I start to move, but something loud crunches under my feet with every step. I swallow down the lump in my throat, and Moonchild speaks again, sensing my rising anxiety.

"That sound isn't sinister. We were testing the effects of crystals on fungal growth. In fact, it's given me an idea. Open the door." She pauses and waits for me to do so, and I see light once again. "See that jar of crystals? They look almost like glitter, don't they? Crush them up and sprinkle them all over yourself.

"The man down there has been using my security systems. The crystal glitter will baffle the sensors. We have to find out what's going on here, who's using memory erasing lights, and why he has a zombie in a cage."

I grab the crystals and crush them in my hand. I'm not sure if these are just very fragile crystals or if my inhuman strength is kicking in due to the fact that this all has my heart hammering in my chest. I sprinkle the glitter over the top of my head, and I know I'll get an earful from Sam when I get back to where he can see me, especially when I look like this.

"That's good," Moonchild says as I keep going. "Now, if I've timed this right, he would have fled from the zombie down this passage, and then ended up right here. Look! There he is, below us. Stay in the shadows, Five. Just watch."

I do as told, peering down at the man in the hazmat suit as there are three short knocks at a door, then three long knocks, then fast, erratic knocking. The man opens the door, and a woman is there.

"The secret Last Riders knock," Lizzy says, forcing a smile. "Reminds me of old times. That's what this is about, isn't it? Making things simple again."

She's shaking. She's scared. She doesn't want this. I can tell by her stance, by her face, but the man in the hazmat suit doesn't notice. He just nods and doesn't say anything, as if he doesn't want anyone to know it is him.

"That's your friend, Lizzy. You met her in a tunnel when Kytan was trying to pull the Last Riders out of their communities," Moonchild says, and I sneer at her.

I wouldn't call Lizzy a friend.

"You've got the pills?" She asks. "It's the best way. I'm not strong enough to make it on my own. I like this. Go out with a bang, end of it all."

She sounds frantic, just slightly. I suppose this was the beginning that what she became a few hours ago.

"He's giving her pills. Not the good kind of pill, Five. He doesn't want to make her happy. The opposite."

"Thank you. I-" She starts, but then shakes her head. "Never mind. Thanks."

She leaves and he slams the door shut.

"Okay. We need to get the memory retrieval device. Just wait for-he's taking off his hazmat suit at last!" She says, and my eyes widen, my complete focus on him, on this person. "Now we'll see who it is. Some Last Rider starting this thing up again, one last person infected with this mind virus."

My heart stops in my chest when I see who it is.

No.

"Oh. Of course."

The man chuckles quietly to himself. "A good day's work."

I know this man. I can't believe it. I can't believe it's him doing all this!

It's not a Last Rider. No, it's far worse.

It's Jones, Colonel Sage's right hand man.

A/N: Things are really starting to heat up now! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
Please be sure to vote and comment! And if you haven't please answer the question about whether to take a break or write short stories concerning "alternate universes" in the previous chapter!

Also if you need a memory refresher about when Five first went to the fungus farm, you can reread chapter 58.

This chapter is dedicated to Blank1234567
Thank you and have a blessed day!