To Be A Survivor

Chapter 56: Ready To Go

"Look. Just look-look. The-the thing is-the thing is, right? The thing is-"

"Spit it out, Sam," Nadia says in irritation.

"Well, the thing is," He giggles excitedly, "what if we've really done it?"

"Then it's a cause for celebration."

"Yeah, but I mean-I mean, you know. I mean, what if-"

"Early days yet."

"Yeah," He sighs, as I bounce my leg impatiently. My hand reaches up to grab at the strap that holds the multiple small canisters of anti-zombie spray to my back.

"You told me yourself the results from that serum Paula sent over are very promising. Most of the zombie killing power without-"

"Child killing power," Sam finishes.

"I wasn't going to say that."

"But you were thinking it," I butt in. "I mean, I'm glad I don't have to worry about that anymore. I have three children I need to..." I cringe. "Two. I have two children I need to protect. I... my mistake. Sorry."

"It's alright, Five," He says softly. "You have no reason to apologize. It's only been about two weeks since Willis-"

"Eleven days, actually."

There's a moment of silence-crushing, aching silence that threatens to consume me whole. It threatens to drag me down and never left me back up.

That is until Nadia thankfully breaks through it, her voice shattering it into a million peaces. "Local field trials of this new formula have gone well. No dead children, hence this test. A few unmanned airborne drones spraying a wide area. So we'll see."

He hums in understanding. "But, I mean, look-"

"You need to send your Runner Five out, Sam, with the canisters of the formula for the wee flying things." I can hear the forced smile in her voice.

"Yeah, yeah. I guess so. I'm just-I'm just... this is so exciting."

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling.

"Are you going to raise the gates and say covering fire?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah. Raise the gates! Covering fire! And go, Five."

I don't need to be told twice. In an instant I'm sprinting out of the gates, listening to the alarms as they sound off, annoying and yet oh-so familiar. It's nice to be running outside again. After the fiasco with Van Ark about four days ago, I've been kept inside. The only running I've done is on the track.

"Runner Five, you're carrying a payload of zombie killer to five airborne drones," Sam explains. "You have to get it there quickly or the formula will degrade."

"Why don't we just send five runners then?" Nadia questions, and I find myself thinking the same question. Of course, racing against time has become a specialty of mine, but still, this test is a very important one. I'd rather succeed with the help of others than fail trying to do it all on my own. Not that I believe I will fail but... yeah.

"Dry run," He replies. "When we do it for real, all runners will need to hit at least five drones. We need to see if it's possible."

"You know, you sound uh, oddly professional."

"Hmm... this is a very odd day. Runner Five, run for your life. Go."

I press my lips together into a thin line. "I'll never understand why you say that when I'm already running."

"Do you want me to say 'keeping going' then?" He asks.

"I don't know. I just... I've always wondered that."