To Be A Hero

Chapter 47: Honey Honey

"Wow. Kid catches on quick. But maybe if you can get him to trust you, then maybe you can talk to him about his mum."

"Maybe. I'm going to introduce him to Milo and Penelope after this mission. Hopefully knowing them will get him to warm up to Abel a bit more."

"Yeah, maybe." The way he says it shows his doubt, although I don't blame him for thinking that way. Phineas is guarded, really guarded. He covers up his pain with harsh words or mean jokes, or what he thinks is mean jokes. His teasing yesterday was more annoying than hurtful, since I am in a relationship with Sam, but he only started acting rudely after I asked him about his mother, and if there was anything I should go get from that house later on.

He reminds me of Simon, in a way. He covers up his pain, either by trying to be funny, or by trying to push people away.

I miss him.

"Alright. So, Ellie, we need bees for science," Sam says after a few minutes of silence.

"Yep."

"Now, it's possible that Sarah made this face she makes when she's thinking about doing a burp, but then she decides not to burp, but then she burps anyway-yeah, it's possible she did that face just as Veronica was explaining exactly why we need bees for science."

"I've seen that face!" Cameo exclaims. "That's a good face. Excellent kid you made."

"Thanks. I did almost nothing. Well, except save her from a school full of zoms and Janine's mad brother, who she's interrogating right now. I guess I did do that... Anyway, Ellie. Bees. Science."

"Right, okay, yes. So, I've been working with the lead we have about these Vikings having managed to cure the zombie plague," Ellie replies.

"Back in history time."

"About twelve minutes past history time. We found that extra bit of the Edda of the Wakened Warriors. It led us to the chapel with the metal inscription in the shape of a map on the wall-which you not-so-gently ripped off, Runner Five-and then we reunited it with its other half that we found in the Black Vault, and I translated it."

"Yeah, and it said like, 'The unbound will wake up the unforgiven.'"

"'By the untouched shall the wakened be awakened,'" She corrects. "Which I agree is a bit obscure... although, the thing your blood did to Paula-"

"Oh, yeah, don't say it like that," He says awkwardly. "It makes Paula sound like a vampire, and me like-well, either a sixteen-year-old blonde virgin or the Slayer." He pauses when I laugh, and I almost feel him roll his eyes at me. "Anyway, apparently my blood won't do that again. One time deal. When I got bitten, I made so many antibodies that they could cure-well, sort of cure someone else, but even if I keep getting bitten by zoms-which, by the way, let's not do-I still won't partially cure anyone now."

"Right, but 'the untouched' is suggestive."

"Again, not a blonde sixteen-year-old virgin."

"You were bitten by a zombie, but untouched by the virus. It must have some significance, we just don't know what yet. But the Vikings and Dr. Dee clearly knew something. And it turned out that decorative scroll on this metal map was hollow, and there was a bit of parchment rolled up inside it, which disintegrated as soon as I got it out." Ellie lets out a deep breath. "If anyone heard an elongated wailing sound coming from the New Canton library for about three hours two weeks ago, it wasn't a zombie, it was me. I think I damaged my larynx wailing."

"But you put it back together," Cameo says.

"Yeah. It's still pretty unclear. Ancient mystics really loved their secret knowledge to be secret. You had to prove you were worthy to understand what they'd written. You have to know all the background and be steeped in the lore to have a hope of understanding."