"Cat, Sam, it's Halima. I need your help. Something's happened and-" She pauses for a breath. "Something's gone badly wrong in New Oban, and I'm running out of people I can trust. You two and Ellie and Andreas-you saved my life back on Z-Day. I need you to come to New Oban. I'll meet you outside the city walls and... hurry. Please."
"That's really all she sent?" I ask as my feet trod on the cold ground. Sam sucks in a breath.
"Yeah. Well, that and a map marked with a time and a place to meet her. I guess she wanted to wait a few days to make sure we'd actually see and-well, be able to make a plan. I'm so glad we decided to come. She sounds in a bad way. You're not far from New Oban now, love. Keep following the old railway line and you'll see the city walls soon."
"We can still see you from the camper van," Nicole says. "I doubt that'll last."
Sam huffs. "Tell me again why you decided to come."
"Because this woman knew Catherine, the Original, as Singer's called her, and seeing that I want to know more about what exactly Singer and her doppelgangers are-"
"Yeah, yeah. She won't be able to tell you much. She thought Catherine was just a normal person. At the time, Catherine thought Catherine was just a normal person!" He sighs, and I can picture him rubbing his temples in frustration. "Never mind. If you want to waste your time in here with me, fine. As long as you don't get in the way of the mission."
"I won't," She replies, almost sounding offended. "I was a kid when New Oban and the Express was big. Never really knew much about it. It was supposed to be a... model city?"
Sam's tone changes, sounding much like an excited child talking about his favorite subject. "Oh, yeah! I always wanted to visit New Oban. 'The City of the Future.' 'The Jewel of the Scottish Highlands'." Even when it was built, it was groundbreaking, but now, compared to Abel-hell, compared to New Canton or Banktown, it might as well be an alien megacity."
"That great, huh?"
"They're still living in skyscrapers! They've got these massive concrete perimeter walls. I mean, if you had to choose a place to spend the apocalypse, it'd be at the top of your list," He gushes, and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling at how cute he is when he's excited like this. "Halima's been living there since Z-Day. She's got a little girl now-Amala. She used to message me on Roufflenet and tell me how they were getting on, and then-then about six months after Z-Day, we lost touch. New Oban went silent.
"There were reports that a wall got breached; they lost some of the city to zoms and... well, we thought maybe the survivors just didn't want to talk anymore."
I frown. It reminds me of that compound Maxine and I had to break into when trying to stop Moonchild. They were completely silent, no talk to the outside. Although they did it to keep hidden. New Oban was already a known place before the apocalypse.
So why did they do it?
"But then Halima sent you that message last week," Nicole states.
"Yeah. If she really needs our help, we're here for her, right?"
"Right," I chime in, trying not to trip over the train tracks that have almost been grown over completely. "Although there is one thing I worry about. Halima's gonna know that I'm not Catherine. I have brown eyes and she had amber eyes."
"I'm sure it'll be fine. I mean, Halima hasn't seen Catherine in almost eight years. I'm sure she won't remember the color of her eyes."
My teeth tug on the bottom part of my lip. "Well, she'll probably remember that Catherine was French."
"Can't you fake an accent?"
Nicole laughs before I can reply. "We can barely fake accents from our own country. Southern accents are the easiest to imitate but the hardest to shake."
I nod, because she has a point. I think if my accent weren't so thick, it would be easier to fool Halima, but my Arkansan accent is a stark contrast to Catherine's French one.
"Well... we'll figure something out. I mean, you look exactly like her, just say you're her sister, you know... like you told me," Sam mumbles out the last part, but it still catches Nicole's attention, and she asks him what he means. He stumbles over his words, telling her it's too complicated to explain right now.
He's right, honestly. Nicole knows about how we can see into each other, how the hive mind was supposed to work, how we can see bits of each other's lives, but the ability to change the past or whatever it is we do, is a bit too much to explain, at least right now.
Although I am worried how Halima will react when she sees me, when she realizes I'm not Catherine. I mean, I know everything she's gone through, but I can't possibly tell her that. How could I explain that I'm one of Catherine's clones and can technically see her memories and the memories of the other clones and she can do the same and that's how I kind of knew what to expect?
Yeah, she'd probably think I'm crazy and that's not what we need. We need to help her.
Sam is convinced that's why I had the dreams of Catherine when I did, so I would know what was going on when Halima called for help.
All this must have happened for a reason. All the visions I've had, the memories, the dreams-God does all of this for a reason, even though there are many times I've had a hard time understanding it. It always shows up, eventually. This, I think, is one of those times.
I keep going down the tracks. These haven't been used in a while, unlike some of the other train tracks across the UK. I can't help but remember all the trains I've had to chase down on tracks that weren't near as overgrown as these. I remember when there were bandits trying to chase a train down why we were delivering fuel...
I was sixteen then.
There were other times I snuck onto trains or had to run to catch up with them, but that time with Sarah and Simon and Owen and the other runners... those days Van Ark was the worst of our problems... they're the easiest memories to look back on, the least painful.
Van Ark and normal zombies.
Things were so much simpler then.
"Alright, Five, you're keeping a good pace," Sam says, "and if I'm right, there should be a railway tunnel around the bend."
I hum when I see it, and I try not to show the slight falter in my steps when I see how dark it is inside. I'm sure Sam and Nicole can see it through my headcam. Dusk has already come, and it'll be gone soon enough. It makes sense that Halima would want to do this under the cover of night since she said she wasn't sure who she could trust.
"According to the map Halima sent, she'll meet you down there," He continues, humming as I head inside. I can hear some dripping of water and slight scurrying. "Uh, you might want to turn on your torch. I think there's something ahead of you in the tunnel."
I fish my flashlight out from my backpack and turn it on, flinching when rats squeak and scurry around from the sudden light.
Sam gasps, but then breathes out a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's just rats."
"'Just rats'. Easy for you to say when you're not surrounded by them. They're huge," I mutter, gulping when a few stop scurrying to stare at me with their beady little eyes.
"They're probably more scared of you than you are of them. Right?" He pauses. "Though, uh, that one there-that-that-that big one with the red glowing eyes... No, he doesn't look afraid of anything. Better keep going."
I couldn't agree more, which is why I pick up the pace. Heading down the dark, dripping tunnel, my flashlight lights the way. Sam chuckles softly.
"It-it's funny. Zoms, I've got used to. I mean, I think we've even gotten used to V-Types, sort of. Enormous rats, not so much."
There's a growl from one of the connected tunnels, and I inwardly groan.
"Of course. Glowy eyed giant rats and zoms, because it had to be both."
"On the bright side, they sound like regular zoms and not V-Types," Nicole says, and I smile sarcastically.
"It would be a bright side if I had brought a vial of the cure with me, but I didn't have the signed papers before I left this morning."
I hear her facepalm. "Why didn't you have the papers signed?!"
"Because Maxine and Paula were busy!"
"We have other doctors and scientists in Abel!"
"Both of you, stop it!" Sam shouts. "Arguing isn't going to help any."
"Oh, so you are okay with the fact that your wife so stupidly didn't bring the cure with her?"
"No, I'm actually the opposite of okay with it, but I'll yell at her about it afterwards or something. Right now we have to focus on keeping her alive."
There's a reflection of light up ahead-the glass of a train window. I run faster towards it. It was one of the experimental trains for the NewOban Express, like the one that brought Halima here, the one Ellie and Andreas and Halima and Catherine got on after the Express crashed.
But it's different. This train has been partially stripped down, probably for parts.
"Oh," Sam breathes out painfully. "It hurts to see it like that, knowing it will never go anywhere again... Lost so much all at once when the world ended, didn't we?"
"Yeah," I reply sympathetically, glass crunching under my feet.
"C-Careful not to cut yourself. And try to get some distance between you and those zoms."
His worry for me is sweet, and when I comment on it, I can't help but grin at his bashful reply, along with Nicole's scoff in disgust.
But he's right. I do need to be careful. Zombies can smell blood from miles away, and I need to be able to sneak into New Oban, seeing that Halima feels so worried and she asked me to come now, like this. Can't give myself away by bringing in a bunch of zombies.
It's a bit of a squeeze to get in between what's left of the train and the wall, but I manage, maneuvering around the bits of metal that jut out sharply. I try to keep my head turned away from it, just so Sam doesn't have to see the damage done to it. As Catherine, I remember hearing the excitement in his voice. To teenaged Sam, this was one of the coolest things ever. I don't want to make him feel worse by seeing the destruction that's come about to something so great.
I keep going, minute after minute, and I can't see how long the train is, or when I'll get to an area with more space. Glass crunches under my feet, and I wince as I have to press even further into the wall to keep going.
"Looks like you're getting squished," Nicole says, and I grunt as I get through a particularly tight spot.
"That's one way to put it."
"You're going strong," Sam says, and his praise makes me feel a bit better, although the gratefulness is overshadowed by worry when static starts coming through my headset. "But uh, from the sound of those zoms, they're a lot nearer than I'd like them to be. Plus my signal's not great. Seems to be getting worse the farther in you go."
"We're not going to lose her, are we?" Nicole asks, and he audibly winces.
"Please don't word it like that. I-" He's cut off by loud growls, and my gaze snaps forward. Those came from in front of me.
Shit.
"Great," He huffs. "You have to get to the driver's compartment. That's where the map tells you to go. I think you're going to have to climb into the train to get to it. Uh, it's hard to see through your headcam, but there should be a broken window you can climb into and get there that way. You're not safe outside the train. Just be careful."
I roll my eyes as I tuck my flashlight under my arm and hoist myself up to climb through the window into the train. When my feet hit the floor of the train car, I feel a bit of... nostalgia, I guess, even though the nostalgia doesn't really belong to me.
"Least the train looks clear," I mumble, waving my flashlight around to check for zoms. I brought my ax, but I'd rather not waste my energy before seeing what Halima needs, and using my gun would only draw more zombies towards me.
"Even mostly stripped like this, it's nice," Nicole says as I start walking forward towards the driver's compartment.
Sam hums. "Yeah. You know, I still wish I'd gotten to go on the NewOban Express, with Halima and everyone. Well, maybe not when it crashed, but still."
I reach the driver's compartment, grabbing the door handle and sliding the door open. Dust coats just about everything in the room, and it's like everything just looks a lot more dull than it did all those years ago.
I shine my flashlight around, preparing to make an excuse up since she'll know I'm not Catherine, but Halima isn't there.
"Are you sure you read the map right?" I ask, and Sam stammers in reply.
"Y-yeah. I mean, let me... Yeah, I did. This is where Halima wanted you-well, Catherine-to be. Oh, I hope she's okay-what with all the zoms out there. Lots of zoms. Since they haven't had communications with anyone in years, they probably don't even know we have a cure for the regular zombie virus."
As I shine my flashlight around, I spot something white in the driver's seat. I take a step closer, picking it up. It's an envelope with Catherine's name on it. I recognize Halima's handwriting too, so I don't waste time opening it and pull out the note.
Dear Sam and Cat,
Use this frequency. I'll explain everything when I see you.
-Halima.
I quickly reach up and change the frequency of my headset to the numbers she has written on the paper. There's a crackle of static for a moment, before a voice comes through.
"Hello? Hello, Cat? Is that you?" Halima asks, before sighing in relief. "You found my message. I was worried you might miss it in the tunnel. We're on the only frequency I know that gets 'round the signal jammers on the walls."
There's another crackle of static.
"Five? Halima? Are you there?" Sam calls, which makes her laugh.
"Oh my God, Sam! It's so good to hear your voice. I wish I could be there to meet you right now, Cat. You've got no idea how good it would be to see a friendly face. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get out of the city without being spotted."
"Spotted? By who? Are you in danger?"
"I'll explain everythin', but there's no time now. Cat, there's a security pass in the envelope. It'll get you through the gates at New Oban Station. Climb out the windscreen and head towards the platform. And hurry..." She sighs as I scramble to obey, my steps echoing against the tunnel walls. "You're crossing onto the perimeter wall, Catherine. Welcome to New Oban. Don't slow down."
•
"You're nearly at the platform inside New Oban, Five," Sam says. "Watch out for the crawler down there. It's a nasty one. The rats have gnawed it's face right off."
Nicole snickers. "Funny to see that zombies are still part of the food chain."
"You're in the low level of New Oban Station now," Halima says. She was surprisingly neutral about another person being here, and quickly accepted Sam's explanation that another operator was advised to help oversee this mission by our township's leader. She's mostly ignored Nicole, so maybe she won't react too harshly when she realizes I'm not Catherine. "It was built to be a regional transport hub for the whole west of the highlands, but only one train ever arrived. Swipe your keycard and the doors will open."
I do as told, the door beeping before clicking open. I head inside and shut the doors to keep the zoms out. They are an annoyance I don't want to deal with.
"Now, head up those stairs to the main platforms. You'll need to move fast and stay quiet. There might not be any zoms in New Oban, but that doesn't mean you're safe."
My stomach twists at her words, and I keep my footsteps as light as possible as I head up the stairs.
"Hal, what's going on?" Sam asks, voice dripping with worry. "You're starting to freak me out."
"Yeah, I'm not a big fan of all the riddles," Nicole agrees, but Halima doesn't give a reply, not to them.
"Cat, don't move," She says, and I freeze in the shadows, my eyes on the figure moving along. His steps are rushed with his hands in his pocket.
"Who is that?" Sam asks.
"It's just a citizen," She replies, "but if he gets caught past curfew..."
As soon as the words leave her mouth, three men in uniform approach the citizen,
"Stop in the name of the law!"
The man noticeably straightens, and even from here I can see how his hands shake. "Oh, Marshal. yes, of course. I was working late. I'm going straight home."
"Breaking curfew is a crime punishable by law," The marshal says in a stone-cold voice. "Under the New Oban Civic Credence Act Article 4C."
"Keep your head down, Cat," Halima hisses as I watch, eyes wide.
The man stammers out a defense. "I-I made a mistake. I'm sorry. I lost track of time."
The marshal sneers at him. "Ignorance is no defense. Your decade in the isolation cages will give you time to reflect on the severity of your crime." The men around him slap something on his wrists, and I hear a whirring sound. "Don't struggle. The electrical cuffs will deliver a fatal shock if they register resistance."
I watch in shock as they start to drag the man away. My hand reaches for my pistol.
"What the hell?!" Sam shouts. "Did he just sentence that man to ten years in prison... for breaking curfew?!"
I aim.
"Don't!" Nicole shouts, making me hesitate, my finger resting on the trigger. "Hold your fire!"
"Don't do it," Halima agrees. "If you try to intervene, they'll drag you off too."
I forget I'm supposed to stay quiet. "But-"
Halima doesn't register that my voice sounds different, instead keeping her voice firm and demanding. "Stay in the shadows, and head for the exit."
I look back at the men disappearing with the prisoner that I can near hear sobbing. Regret eats away at me as I turn and head for the exit.
"New Oban used to be a great place to live. We had good neighbors, enough to eat, no zombies. How many people can say that these days? I honestly thought my little girl would have a normal childhood," She says with a sigh.
"How is Amala?" Sam asks. "Oh, this must be awful for her."
"I have to just..." She trails off. "I need to tell this in the right order, Sam, or I'll get too..." Her voice wavers. "About six months ago, zoms breached the wall for the second time. The last time it happened was when we stopped all contact. It was thought best that way so no one else would try to come in, and there'd be less chance of another breach. And then it happened again. West sector got overrun. The government sacked the old high marshal and appointed his deputy, put the city under army rule.
"At first, there were arrests and show trials, but now they don't bother. People just vanish. The new high marshal, Talyon-you never see her face. She's always wearing a suit of powered bio-armor. I think if she was hunting me, I'd take my chances with the zoms instead. Hear that humming?"
I pause. It's easier to hear once it's been pointed out.
"That's the generators, the ones that keep New Oban powered. They run on biofuel, day and night. You'll get used to the noise eventually."
A bell chimes, the sound loud and clear.
"This is a reminder to those inside New Oban. Anyone partaking in outside recreation will be met with terminal force," An automated voice chimes, and Halima sighs.
"I honestly thought if we kept our heads down and followed the rules, they'd leave us alone. I can't believe I was such an idiot. Keep following the perimeter wall, Cat. There'll be another patrol along in a minute, and you know what happens if you're caught. Run."
I swallow down the anxiety rising in my throat, and I run. The amount of times Peter and I have broken curfew with Tom is more than I can count. We'd never get out of prison. Seeing such a punishment for a small crime-a mistake no less on this man's part-reminds me too much of Sigrid and her view of the world. I suppose this is more merciful, since with Sigrid I think any crime would result in immediate death by plant gas, like we saw on her island.
Did they even know about Sigrid? Do they know about anything since they went radio silent?
I suppose I can ask her when I meet her. I still don't know how well it's going to go. But I'm here to help, no matter what. It's why I keep my steps light as I run through the dark, shadowy parts of the streets, trying to remain unseen.
I'd rather not get shocked with electrical cuffs after getting caught. The nanites have been doing their job tremendously. I got a cut a few days ago, just a small one when cooking in the kitchen. It's still here. Healing, of course, but here.
The bell chimes again, and animated voices speaks over the speakers.
"The penalty for littering has increased to three years hard labor. Jaywalking has been designated as a capital offense."
"Jesus on a boat," I mutter, far too low for Halima to hear. Still, she sighs.
"My neighbor, Gus, got me into the resistance-working against the governors, hiding people they were looking for, helping them get out of New Oban. Gus is gone now. He had to run when we found out there was a price on his head. I asked him to leave the message for you on his way out of the tunnel.
"I never thought I'd be in a resistance, but I watched Star Wars. I didn't see myself in General Leia. I always thought I was more... I don't know, more like Anakin's mum-just trying to get through life one day at a time. I keep asking myself, 'Is that what I should have done? Is this my fault?'"
Sam lets out a slow breath. "Look. Whatever it is, Halima, I know it's not your fault."
"You can't know that," She argues, pausing at the rumble of a truck engine. I freeze before ducking behind a stairway of a house. "We have to focus on getting Cat to safety. You're going strong, Cat. I can see you from where you are. Just slip out from under the stairway and get close to the outer wall. The beams from the search lights don't reach all the way down there. Then run for the alley up ahead. I'll sneak out and meet you, but be quick. If they catch you, you're done for."
•
"Cat, over here," Halima whispers as I run into the alleyway. She emerges from the shadows, dressed in dark clothing. Her hijab is a muted brown, a stark contrast from the bright pink one she wore when I-well, Catherine-met her. I suppose she chose the clothing to help stay hidden. She smiles. "It's me, Halima. This way. There's a safehouse a few blocks from here. Come with me."
She starts leading me down the alleyway, her eyes shining. She hasn't noticed yet.
"I'm so glad to see you. I thought if anyone could help me, if there was another brave enough and smart enough, it would be-" She cuts herself off, her eyes wide as she looks at my face, my eyes. She takes a step back. "You're not Cat."
I hold up my hands. "Wait, wait, you're right. I'm not. I'm-I'm her sister. Callista. She might have mentioned me on the train? Sam said she did."
"You're American."
"Yes. I was... adopted. We didn't meet each other until right before the apocalypse started. I grew up in Arkansas, hence the accent."
"We wanted to tell you," Sam says, "but it just didn't feel like the right time."
Halima scowls. "Sam, where's Cat?"
"I don't-we don't know. Callista came to Mullins about a year into the apocalypse, but Catherine wasn't there. I only told Callista about her when she came to Abel."
I blink. He lied so flawlessly. I'm impressed.
"But-but listen. Runner Five, Callista-she is Abel's best runner. I wouldn't have sent her if I didn't think she could help you."
I nod in agreement, and Halima looks at me, studies me, before she finally nods.
"Okay. I-I need help, and if Cat isn't here to help, then I'll take what you have to offer."
I smile the most appreciative smile I can muster. "Great. Now tell us what's going on."
"I... it's just so terrible," She says, her eyes welling up with tears, and I remember the way her voice shook earlier, when Sam asked about-
"It's about Amala, isn't it?" Nicole asks. "Your daughter?"
Halima sobs. "She's gone missing." She pulls out a photo from her pocket. It's of her and Amala. "This is the last photo I've got of her. I've been carrying it 'round, hoping that someone might have seen her."
I look at the photo of the little girl with long black hair, her arms wrapped around her mother's neck, smiling. She's missing a baby tooth, her new one looking like it's just barely starting to grow in. She looks to be about seven or so.
"Oh, she looks just like you, Hal," Sam says, and Halima sniffles.
"She loves the swing park. We go in on the way from school. About two weeks ago, when I came to pick her up, the building was empty. Like there'd never been a school there. No one could tell me anythin'. I tried to report it, but it was like Amala had never existed. There was no record of the school, no record she'd ever been born. So... I-I asked Gus to help me get you a message."
My hand covers my mouth in shock, and my mind thinks back to my own children. None of them are near Amala's age, but if that happened to Adora, or any of my children for that matter...
"I understand why you called us," I say. "We'll do everything we can to help you find her."
She gives me a watery smile as we start moving again. "Thank you. You may not be Cat, but you're just as reliable as she was."
"Probably more so, since she's saved the world like three times," Nicole says, which earns her a frown.
"What do you mean?"
"A lot has happened in the time you guys have been cut off from the rest of the world," Sam says. "We'll be sure to tell you all about it after you've found Amala."
Suddenly a spotlight shines on a nearby building, and I instinctively grab Halima and pull her off into the shadows.
There is a vehicle parked outside the building, along with many armed marshals and soldiers. A woman holds up a loudspeaker to her mouth.
"All residents of Block 48, Apartment 401, by order of the Board of Governors, you are hereby informed that you are under arrest. Failure to present yourself immediately will result in an armed response."
Halima gasps. "Wait a minute. I know a family in that building. Their son's the same age as Amala. He went to a different school, but they used to play together."
She's already slinking forward to get a closer look, but she freezes when they start firing. Ice floods my veins as I watch them then head inside. There are screams of people, and I watch in horror when I see one soldier exit the building with a screaming boy in his arms. He looks around six or seven.
He tries to put up a fight. He screams and kicks and even tries to bite a few people, but it does him no good.
"That's little Sandro," She says, shaking her head. "I don't understand. His parents have nothing to do with the resistance. Why do the governors want children?"
"I have a bad feeling about this," I say. "Last person who wanted kids did a lot of terrible things to them."
"Priority target acquired," The woman says through her speaker. "Returning as instructed."
The soldier puts the boy in the vehicle and some of the marshals climb inside before it drives off.
"They're taking that little boy, Five, just like they took Amala." Halima looks at me, her face hardening. "I don't know where they're going, but we're going after them. We're going to find out what happened to my daughter."
A/N: Here you go, guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It is dedicated to Saxophone_Obsessor
Please be sure to vote and comment! Thank you and have a blessed day!