To Be A Survivor

Chapter 1: Back Once Again

Gunshots are fired by both the allies and the enemies. Its sound pierces my ears as the cold pierces my skin. My feet crunch again the snow and ice as I run, and I can see my breath in white puffs of air in front of me.

"There are too many. We'll never hold them!" One of the New Canton runners says in panic.

"Just hold the line, Runner Forty-seven," Nadia instructs. "Remember the formation we practiced. Hold the line. We'll pick them off one by one."

"Okay. Okay," She breathes.

"Runner Ninety-three, I know you haven't been running out with New Canton for long, but this one's all on you now. We've got you on head cam and long range cams. We need you to get after Van Ark and his soldiers before they can get to the helicopter."

You make that sound as if it's easy.

"You have to run down that gantry you're on and drop down onto the roof of the next building and keep running. If you do that you might just get to the helipad ahead of them."

I raise my hand to tap out a reply in Morse Code, but a loud scream followed by gunshots stop me, and I almost start to slow down.

"Don't think about anything else. Focus on the mission. It's time to be a hero, Runner Ninety-three. Now run."

I nod, my lungs burning from the cold as my chapped lips release breath after breath. But I have to ignore that as I think on the mission: Stop Van Ark. Stop the main enemy.

I keep running, ignoring the fear that claws at my stomach as I jump from the gantry to the roof of one of the nearby buildings. It's a small jump, but with the ice there's more of a chance of my slipping and falling to my death, or me slipping and hitting my head.

Stupid winter.

Even with the spiked shoes I was given from New Canton, I still slip around from time to time. It's not enjoyable, but what is less enjoyable is the screams, growls and gunshots I can hear coming from the ground. Van Ark's men are hitting at us hard. I just hope we can hit at them harder.

I know the mission. I know what I'm supposed to do. It's smart thinking; A smart plan created by smart people. But it has to succeed. Even the most well thought out plans can fail, and I really don't want this to be the case.

Not after what's happened to Abel.
Not after what's happened to a lot the people in Abel.

I'm running along the edge of the roof, and the sound of gunshots is normal at this time. Annoying and loud, but normal. So it catches me off guard when one whizzes by me, nearly hitting my left side. It would have hit me if I had been just a second slower.

"Watch out, Runner Ninety-three," Nadia scolds. "You need to stay focused. That shot was close. Head to the side so you're out of eyesight."

I obey, my feet crunching against the ice as I continue.

"That's good. Van Ark's just coming out of that building," She says, and I can see him in the distance, leaving one of the buildings and heading towards another where the helicopter sits on the roof. I sneer at him as I see the smug look his face holds. I want to smack it off.

"We know he and his soldiers came to this lab to pick up valuable intel about the zombie plague. We need that intel, Ninety-three, and we need it not to fall into Van Ark's hands. We know he'll use it against us."

'Just like everything he knows that we might not,' I reply.

"Exactly. You're going well. Now, when you reach the end of the building there's a ladder down. It's icy, so you might just want to slide down and you'll-oh,no."