To Be A Runner

Chapter 41: What We Don't Know

What. The. Hell.

I know dreams-normal people's dreams, at least-are supposed to be weird, but this makes absolutely no sense to me.

At first I thought this might be some sort of guilt dream that shows me-or Chrys to be more specific-what would have happened if Van Ark had lived but now I know that can't be it.

Van Ark was a good man, or a decent one at least, so I know this dream can't be what I originally thought, since from what he told us he never actually saw Paula; He just thought he had. And he never said anything about New Canton, at least not in the real world.

And half-zombies? Where did that come from? That's not possible. You're either alive, dead, or the walking dead. There is no half-alive, half-walking dead. It's simply bizarre.

I need to wake up.

"A few guards to your right, Runner Five. Just be sure not to get too close to them," Archie warns as I pull the third device from my backpack. I run a bit further out away from the Complex walls while ducking down low into the taller glass.

"Yes," She whispers gleefully when I place the device on the ground, it clicking on just as expected. "That's good. I don't think they've noticed you."

I keep crouched down for a few seconds as I watch them pass. Their forms are only yards away from my own, and I hold my breath as they stride by silently, watching and looking. Once they get a few feet away I jog off, keeping my steps as light and quiet as possible until I'm far enough away that I could be mistaken as another guard if seen by them.

"That's great, Runner Five," Nadia praises as I head back in closer towards Jeffro's walls. "Third device is in place. Keep running."

I give a curt nod in acknowledgment, although I know she can't see me. I focus on my breathing and my steps instead of the thoughts swirling around my head.

Stop thinking about it so much. It's only a dream.

Even as those words echo through my brain, I still have trouble truly believing  it.

I wince as my left ankle skids across the concrete wall from me getting to close. I pull away and grit my teeth together as the small scrape stings. Trickles of warm blood fall down my sweaty skin, staining my sock.

"Great," I mutter begrudgingly, knowing how hard it is to find clothing that is clean and undamaged.

The sting isn't anything that will slow me down, but now it's an annoyance-a distraction, which is the last thing I need, since I already have questions that keep drawing my attention away from today's... tonight's... this morning's?

God, now I sound like Archie.

Drawing my attention from this mission.

"That's right," Nadia says. "Runner Five's there now with Runner Twenty. They're circling anti-clockwise and-"

"Runner Five, two guards," Archie cuts in, her voice sounding rushed and slightly panicked. "I think they've spotted you."

I mutter a curse as I try to pick up my pace, the stinging pain of my scraped ankle momentarily forgotten as I wonder how I couldn't have seen them.

They must've been a few yards away from the wall itself, staying hidden in the tall grass and behind trees like I had done.

"That's a confirm. Two guards following close behind you. Doesn't sound like they've radioed back to base yet," Nadia mumbles out something before continuing. "Run straight for about fifteen feet then into the trees to your left. We have a sniper waiting about half a kilometer in. They'll get them."