To Be A Champion

Chapter 1: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Time.

Tick. Tock.

Time's running out.

Tick.

"I've worked it out," Jones says, terrifyingly calm. "She's the root of it. The Ministry was right about Janine De Luca. The world's better without her."

Tock.

"Five, please, you have to help her!" Peter begs, desperation dripping from his voice. "There's-there's a lifeboat on the south side of the rig. Please, help her. Get her to that lifeboat. Run!"

Tick.

"We're out of burn cubes," Sam says. "We haven't got anything else that will kill the V-Types. So if we don't find Jones, Janine dies."

Tock.

"Do you see him, Captain?" Janine asks. "Any sign of Jones' boat?"

"Last night's storm has thrown a huge amount of debris into the ocean, Colonel De Luca. Even with our digital periscope, a large vessel can be hard to spot," Captain Harry replies.

"We have to find him," Jody says desperately. "Jones has the only thing that can save Janine's life. It's been five days since he left the oil rig, and this is the first time we've gotten close to the tracker in his boat!"

Janine sends Jody a blank look. "He also has something far more important than the nanite control box, Miss Marsh. He has the missing piece of the Edda that will help us to defeat the V-Type zombies on the mainland."

I huff, wondering why Janine can't accept the fact that we don't want her to die. I understand she believes in duty above all else and all that, but she is important. She is our leader, and has made up most of the plans that have saved my skin and others' multiple times throughout the years.

"The tracker says he's close to Mor Island, the largest island in the Far Hebrides archipelago," The Captain says. He gives such a comforting smile that I once again feel bad we asked him to leave Jules and his boys to take us here. "We'll find him."

Sam grabs my hand and squeezes, probably to comfort himself more than me. I still appreciate it. "Yeah. Do you know any more about why they're not replying to any coms pings? Nicole and I must have tried to contact them fifty times in the past day."

Ellie fiddles with her sleeves. "The Far Hebrides are notoriously... independent. It's a tradition that goes back centuries. They were never conquered by England like the Inner and Outer Hebrides."

"But they were part of the UK."

"But they never really believed it," Tom adds, "even before the apocalypse. They had their own ways of doing things."

Paula nods in agreement. "We tried to send them cases of the cure, but they refused. They said they hadn't had a zombie get onto the island since the start of the outbreak, so they had no need for it."

Sam chokes. "What? They've never had zombies? Well, why don't we all just move there?"

"Mr. Yao, we are here for our mission, nothing more," Janine says. "The Undaunted cannot be spared from the mainland, but we are enough. Each of us are here for a reason. Myself and Miss Marsh, for operations. Tom for tactical. Dr. Cohen is our medic. Miss Maxted is our expert in the ancient and modern people of the Far Hebrides and will be a vital passport onto the islands. Five is the mission runner, and Miss Edwards is our backup mission runner."

"And I'm here because you lot couldn't stop me from coming," Sam says, and I send Nicole a look because I just know she wants to say something snarky.

I suppose I can understand her frustration. I wasn't a fan of Sam coming either, not because I don't want to be around him-of course not!-but because this mission could be dangerous. We know nothing about the people here, or what Jones is planning.