To Be A Rebel

Chapter 60: The One That Got Away

Warning: Use of the F-word in this chapter. If that word offends you, then I suggest not reading this chapter. It it said around the end, but still be warned. Also, please read the A/N at the end of this chapter.

" Ian! Don't do this!" Sam yells as we run through the training ground, back towards the glass building. "Don't do it, Ian! You'll die too!"

"I don't care!" Ian shouts back. "I don't care about any of it. We'll all die together! Stay back, Runner Five, stay back!"

"Or what?" I scoff. "You'll blow us up even more?" I look down at my feet, then at Sam. "I'm still okay, for now, but if I get even one bit of that blood on me..."

"I know... but I can't bring him down," He replies. "Not by myself."

I offer him a small smile, then nod, pushing forward a bit more to race up behind Ian and grab his arm. He screeches as if I burned him, spinning around and trying to swing at me. I'm able to pull back, but as soon as I do, his yanks himself away from me, nearly knocking me off balance.

"No, no, stay away," He warns, stepping back into the bridge of trees. "This isn't how the story goes. This isn't how it goes! Stay back!"

I go to take a step onto the bridge, but Sam grabs my hand to stop me when he hears the crackle of the plastic beneath Ian's feet as he stands in the middle of the bridge. I see what he's not saying. Even though Ian and I are both small, our combined weight could cause the bridge to collapse because of its already fragial state. Ian grins, all stained teeth and crazy eyes.

"I'm going to destroy this bridge!" He laughs. "That's what heroes do, isn't it? Then you won't be able to chase me!"

He presses his weight down onto the trees, causing more plastic to splinter and break.

"Is he trying to..." Milo says over coms. "Is he trying to destroy that bridge while he's still on it?"

"I think so," Jody replies.

"Oh, my-Mum, please just bring this idiot in, for his own safety if anything. I mean, what does he think is going to happen?"

I step out, place one foot onto the bridge, but then pause when I see the look in Ian's eyes. He jumps up, his weight slamming into the trees when gravity pulls him back down. The loud cracking sound that erupts when he does so causes me to jump back as the bridge collapses. Ian shouts in shock as he falls into the zombie moat with a splash. He coughs and sputters, trying to climb out, but failing.

Sam's and I watch wide eyed for a second.

And then I laugh.

The sound bursts forth from my lips, foreign and odd and hinted with hysteria.

"That's what you get!" I yell, laughing to the point I don't even recognize the sound anymore. "You reap what you sow! You reap what you sow!"

"Help me!" He cries pathetically, causing my giggles to calm down some, the hate and anger still burning under my skin. "Help me out of here! The water-it's in my mouth and my eyes. Help me out!"

"Did Veronica do that test on you?" Sam asks, his voice calm. "That test they're doing in Finland, to see if you're immune?"

"Yeah. I'm not immune! That's why I needed the serum!"

"Have you taken the serum?"

"No, she never sent it so me! Why are you just standing there? Help me out of here!"

Sam sighs heavily, giving me time to step back before reaching down and giving Ian his hand. He takes it, and Sam pulls him out.

We stand in silence for a few seconds.