To Be A Champion

Chapter 21: Come Back... Be Here

I find it's a lot harder to sneak off than I had initially thought it would be.

I only plan on being gone a few minutes, just so I can get back to the medical center. I need to do this to feel completely at ease and prepared for what's supposed to happen today... or tomorrow. It's hard to tell. We think the zombies will be here in a few hours, but you never know with them. They move steadily, but currents can slow them down. They may be resilient, but their bodies are still decaying corpses.

If the ocean decides to sweep them away, it will, no matter how badly the zombies want to come here.

However, Janine has us set up a few camps in case nightfall comes around and we feel too tired to stay awake. She has arranged for shifts so some people will stay awake while the rest of us sleep; after a few hours, it will change. I believe she's set up the same system for the other two groups part of this plan.

I'm sure it's not the most ideal, but it is what it is.

However, with all of us here with supplies to keep us from needing to leave, I'm having a difficult time finding an excuse to get out of here. I doubt Janine would let me go if I told her I wanted to go see Nicole one last time, just in case something happens. She would tell me that I am not going to die today, and I shouldn't even think about it. And Nicole isn't even in the medical center at the moment. She's with Sam on coms, the two of them both seeming to get along well enough for now.

But because she's on coms, if I wanted to, I could say my thinly veiled goodbyes to her and Sam that way.

I shouldn't be thinking about goodbyes. I should be telling myself that everything is fine. That everything will be fine, as if that will make feel better. I know worrying will do me no good, but neither will me lying to myself and assuming that this plan will go flawlessly. And honestly, saying goodbye or thinking about the worst that could happen isn't why I want to get back to the medical center.

No, the reason I want to go back to the medical center is so I can sit on my laptop, tap away at the keys, and put on a spare headset so I can talk to Peter one last time before it all goes down. And I don't want to do it to say goodbye or act as if I'm scared. Because even though I am a bit scared, I really just want to talk to my friend again since I didn't get the chance to yesterday.

It's just like how it felt when he was in Banktown. There's a dull ache that reminds me he's not here, and I hate it.

But trying to get away isn't going to be easy. No one is paying me any attention right now, but I'm sure people would notice if I disappeared suddenly. And since I've still got my headset on and there are cameras set up on multiple areas, Sam would surely spot me trying to leave. He would know why I'm sneaking off, and I doubt he or Nicole would approve. Nicole definitely wouldn't, even though she is the one who set the computer up in the first place.

She'd say I'm letting my emotions get the better of me during a time of emergency or something like that. She's managed to keep her feelings rather well in check, even with her interest in Rory. She told him they would see each other after, but he needed to do as told and stay in the laird's mansion, and she would do her job. I don't think he liked that very much, considering how she still has multiple stitches in her head from what happened not even a full week ago. But trying to deter Nicole isn't something you can do easily.

I'm just glad she's doing her job as a coms operator with Sam rather than being risky and working out in the field like Janine. I think Tom's been subtly trying to persuade her to let him do the McShell Maneuver with me instead, but she's having none of it.

My eyes follow Tom as he stands, eyes peeled, face fixed with determination. I think the only time his expression changes is when Jody says something to him over the headset. That bit of warmth that comes from his smile when she speaks shows how much he loves her.