To Be A Warrior

Chapter 40: Down at the Farm

My face twists in discomfort as she pushes on.

"Five, we're close to Valmont's rendezvous."

I nod, eyeing the massive farm up ahead. There are no crops to be harvested, of course. What is there is dead or dying, but the barn's visible from here. It's probably the size of a small mansion, and the water tower is bigger than the one in my hometown. It looks like a UFO on stilts.

Suddenly my headset crackles.

"Hello!"

I cringe at Valmont's loudness.

"Brent speaking. Uh, meet me by the stables. I have exciting news."

"That sounds promising," I reply.

"Oh, you have no idea," He says smugly. "But, uh, do hurry. A.N.N.I.E. has prepared some welcome canapes!"

At the mention of A.N.N.I.E. I flinch, and Nadia notices, giving me a sympathetic look. It's hard to tell if this A.N.N.I.E. will actually be A.N.N.I.E. or if it's more Veronica. I doubt she'd try anything around Valmont. Does Valmont know about Veronica yet? Maybe? I can't remember. Everything's so cloudy these days, my mind crowded with smoke and noise and lights and it's all too much.

Sometimes I think my times of periodically fainting could have do with exhaustion, only it's the mental kind instead of physical.

There's so many lies and secrets that I can't remember who knows what.

That's very dangerous. Best to not say anything just in case.

That is one of the many downsides to lying and keeping secrets. You'll eventually get tangled up within them until one of the ties ends up wrapping itself around your neck and you strangle yourself with your own words.

We reach the stables, which is actually quite a distance away from the barn to my surprise. But that doesn't matter since Valmont is where he said he was. Valmont's eyes flash cheerfully when he sees us, quickly waving us over to him.

"Legs!" He greets me. "Oh, you're looking healthy as ever. I bet you've got your husband in your ear. Don't worry. I've got speakers A.N.N.I.E. can connect him to."

"Oh no, please-" Before Sam can even finish, his voice is coming through the speakers connected to the inside and outside of the stables. He sighs. "Ugh. Okay then."

I frown. Valmont was able to speak to us through our headsets, so why didn't he connect his earpiece or whatever else he was using to be able to hear Sam like me and Nadia? From the amused and almost devious look on his face, I think he can, he just plugged Sam into the speakers because he knows he doesn't really like it.

But his attention soon turns to Nadia, who's looking rather unimpressed.

"And if it isn't my very favorite runner, old Hot Wheels!"

"No."

His shoulders visibly tense at the coldness in her voice.

"Ah, uh Nadia Al Hanaki." He gestures to a small table beside him. "I brought food if you're hungry. Help yourselves."

I sigh sadly. While the fruit and nuts on the table do look good, and I'm sure they taste good too since Valmont is rich and can afford the luxuries the rest of us in the apocalypses can't, I know how bad of an idea it is to eat just before going on a big mission. Plus eating when I'm going to be around hundreds of corpses that smell atrocious is not a good idea.

Just because V-Types don't decay like normal zoms doesn't mean they don't smell like them.

Suddenly there's a loud snort, and the table shifts slightly. Nadia and I share a raised brow.