Fanfare music rings through my headset, and I bite back an ireful moan. I'm sure that stupid tune is burned into my brain by now. I'll be hearing it in my sleep at this point.
"Hello, Mor Islanders. This is Prime Minister Amelia Spens. Listen, I am a reasonable person. One of you has the Edda of the Wakened Warriors. More importantly, you have a specific piece of the Edda that is the key to stopping the red fungus growing on the mainland. Now I know you don't much care about the mainland, or indeed, anything of greater global importance than this year's turnip yield, so I'm offering a reward. Power, luxuries, as many turnips as you can eat—whatever you want. You'd be surprised how many things I can make happen. Just bring me that Edda."
Jody groans as her tan hand tugs at her ponytail. "Sam, is there no way to block that out? It's the eighth time just this evening!"
Sam sighs apologetically. "Sorry, Jody. Amelia has the Undaunted broadcasting it on all frequencies."
"Yeah. Can't go a second without listening to her annoying voice," Nicole murmurs beside me.
I know she's pissed since yesterday I requested her to move the laptop and headsets somewhere more secure after almost getting caught by Tom. After transferring it to a different location in the med bay, she tried to get in touch with Abel so a message could be passed to her favorite nephew. That stupid message repeated itself four times in the five minutes it took her to set everything up. She ended up giving up and just sent Peter a Roufflenet message so he could repeat it to Phineas.
My request did come with a price, even though keeping this secret kept Nicole out of trouble as much as it did me. She annoyed me with more questions about my deterioration condition. I didn't have it in me to lie, not that I'd been really lying about this anyway, so I told her what little I knew, assuring her that no harsh side effects had come up yet.
It was better to just appease her since I'm sure if I didn't, she'd have set off to try to find Catherine herself and make her work on a cure for me now. Or worse, kill her to see if that would make things better.
Nicole never fails to baffle me. If the Torrencers gave the order, she would kill me, yet she nearly loses her mind at the thought that I could be dying now. I'm unsure if her only being fine with me dying by her hand is a sibling thing, a Torrencer thing, or possibly a mixture of both. Whatever the case, I've managed to get her to calm down enough for now and appeal to the logical part of her that appeals to the mission and saving humanity.
Sam sniggers at Nicole's vexed tone. "Yeah, she's hellbent on getting the Edda, especially now since she knows the King of the Rocks connects to it and the red fungus."
Jody nods. "She's got her marines to quarantine the cave me and Five found two days ago, the one with the seed pods. They're experimenting with acid to dissolve them. But we need the Edda to find out how to stop the fungus for good. Is the bribery even working?"
"Um, sort of? People are bringing her everything from the Ladybird Book of Vikings to An A to Z of Fungal Infections."
She scowls. "Don't they realize this is serious?"
"They're just trying their luck. But Janine got a message on Roufflenet that could be legit, and Amelia wants us to check it out."
She cocks a brow. "Let me guess—because it's perilous and unpleasant? Doesn't she have a sub full of marines to run errands for her?"
"No, no, it's got to be us. Here's the message: 'Colonel De Luca, thank you for your actions during the zombie invasion. You've earned my trust, unlike the Prime Minister. That's why I'm telling you I have the Edda. The pages I have describe the wizard Loki and the zombie guards.'"
Nicole clicks her tongue. "That sounds legit. Probably a trap?"
"Read my mind. They want to meet by the old well at sundown. Alone."
"Definitely a trap."
"The well's on the hill. If you approach from the north, we'll see which terrifying people are waiting to ambush you, eh?"
I nod. "On it." I pat the pistol on my hip. "I suppose the one good thing about Amelia making her appearance is that she was able to provide us with a bit of weaponry. We'll have least have something to defend ourselves with."
"Yep," Nicole hums, patting her own pistol. "Now let's go."
We head off, footsteps soft on the dirt path as we head up the hill. Nicole seems tense as we run, not that I blame her. While the overwhelming sense of comfort still tries to seep its way into my veins every now and again, it's easier to push away. Now it's overshadowed by the disgust of knowing why I'm feeling this way.
A few minutes later as we are running along a ridge, Sam lets out a startled gasp.
"All of you, get down now!" He warns, and instantly Nicole is grabbing my shoulder and dragging me into a nearby bush. Jody is quick to follow.
"What is it?" The brunette says in alarm, chocolate brown eyes wide and searching. "I don't see anyone."
Sam's silent for a moment before letting out a breath. "No, it's nothing. I thought I saw a figure on the edge of town, watching you, dressed in gray."
We all share a look, but it's Jody who finally speaks. "Not followin' us now, are they?"
"No, I might have imagined it. Haven't been sleeping well recently."
I suck in a sharp breath. "Yeah, sorry about a few nights ago-"
"No, no, it's not you. I've uh, just some nightmares. Lots of nightmares. People in skincoats chasing me. Only in the dreams, they were made out of actual skin, dripping red blood."
He loudly shudders, and I notice Nicole has gone stone still beside me. I give her a questioning look, which she ignores.
"Sam," She says, voice awfully serious, "how long have you been having these dreams?"
"Uh, about a week? Maybe longer. Why?"
Her eye twitches, but her voice is steady as she replies, "No reason."
"Uh, okay," He says, befuddled. "Okay, you should have a good view of the well from where you are. See anything?"
Jody peers out of the bush, green eyes narrowing. "Someone's standing by the well. A young man with curly hair. He doesn't look armed."
We stand, and the man whips his gaze in our direction. He takes a panicked stance before turning and darting into the woods. Without thinking, I dash after him, staying along the ridge to avoid the rougher terrain.
As Jody said, he isn't armed, so at the very least, we won't have to worry about him shooting at us. The last thing Nicole and I need are more injuries. And if he's unarmed, we likely won't have to fire at him. While the skincoats are rumored to be cruel, and I know that Nicole and I can be as well, it doesn't mean we will be if we don't have to be.
Plus, from looking around, there's no one else about, so it seems very unlikely that this guy is leading us into a trap.
Sliding down from the ridge and entering the thick woods, I manage to pull ahead of the others, expertly hopping over tree roots and limbs. The sound of branches snapping ahead gives away the man running from us. He's having trouble maneuvering through the thick bushes and dips in the ground. I catch up to him almost effortlessly.
Then I lunge, wrapping my arms around the taller man's shoulders and using the momentum to bring us both to the ground.
The knee of my right pants leg rips, and a sharp rock cuts a gash into the skin. I ignore the pain as I struggle to flip the failed escapee over. He struggles, wriggling and jerking to get out of my grasp, but I'm stronger than him. I manage to flip him over. Still, he tries to kick me off as I place one knee on either side of his waist. His knee comes up and slams into the middle of my back, causing me to yelp before fury takes over.
"Stop fighting me-"
"Get off me, you-"
We both freeze, recognizing each other's voices and finally stopping to look at each other's faces.
"Runner Five?"
"Rory?"
Nicole and Jody have caught up with us, and I look at my little sister, brows raised as I keep her sort-of love interest pinned to the ground. "Did you know about this?"
She scowls. "Does it look like I knew about this?"
"Nic!" The strawberry blond's eyes flood with relief. "It's you!"
"Who did you think it was? You contacted us," She replies, which causes him to flush brighter than his hair. I quickly climb off of him and help him to his feet, and he dusts himself off.
"I can't believe it's Rory," Sam says in shock. "If he's a skincoat, I'll eat your running shoes, Five."
"Dork." I smile. It drops when Rory speaks again.
"Someone else is after me. I thought you were them." He shifts nervously. "They want the Edda. It's valuable, aye? The Prime Minister's offering a big reward?"
Jody nods. "Yeah. You're right not to trust her about... about almost everything. But she'll keep her word on this. 'A deal's a deal' is practically her religion."
"Are you sure? Because I'm not safe on this island. The Edda's my ticket off."
"I'm positive. If you have it, Amelia will help you."
Nicole quickly steps forward, her shoulders tense. "Hold on a minute. What do you mean you're not safe?" When he doesn't answer, she only gets more agitated. "Rory, has someone threatened you?!"
I flinch. Even though Nicole has told me repeatedly that she isn't like me and doesn't let her emotions control her actions, her murderous look tells me otherwise, at least when it comes to Rory.
Interesting.
"Whatever it is, we're here to listen, okay? It's gonna be fine." My words don't seem to calm her much, but she still nods, her neck stiff. I look at Rory, whose blue eyes are wide with startlement at Nicole's outburst. "Do you have the Edda?"
"Not with me. It's-it's hidden. We can get it now. I'll explain on the way."
As we start to move out of the woods, I hand Rory a spare headset from my backpack, and Sam gives him a chipper greeting that makes my heart flutter. Rory relaxes at knowing someone is watching out for us, but his breath hitches at the sound of a twig snapping.
"What was that?"
"I don't know," Jody replies, "but I don't think we're the only ones in these woods. Rory, which way to the Edda?"
"Through the gully. Come on."
•
"Careful on the loose rocks," Rory warns. He offers his hand to Nicole, who, while she doesn't need his assistance, takes it after a moment. I think it's to make him feel more comfortable.
I can see the gears turning in her head. It's obvious he didn't tell her about him having the Edda. If he had, she would have stolen it. She likes Rory—a lot, given her reaction to him possibly being in danger, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't steal the Edda to save the mainland from the red fungus.
While Abel isn't where her loyalties lie, stopping the red fungus there means we'll have a solution to stopping it anywhere else, such as America.
America is doing okay since Nicole shared the recipe for the cure, but we don't know if the red fungus is over there. And seeing how there are different variants of V-Types, the zombie virus that Sigrid created and unleashed could also be capable of mutating. Just because America has a cure for regular zoms doesn't mean they're a safe haven. If they were, they would have pulled her out of Abel already.
"Can you see anyone behind you?" Sam asks, bringing my thoughts back to the present.
"No, but I can feel eyes on the back of my neck." Jody shivers. "Can't you, Five?"
I don't answer, mostly because I've got a lot of feelings that I'm not quite sure of—a sense of being watched, an emotion of comfort that I find disgusting, and a feeling that there's more than just a few things not quite right.
"So, how did you end up with the Edda?" Nicole asks, and Rory offers her a closed-lipped smile.
"I found it a few days ago. It was on a... less popular path. I go there sometimes when I miss my granda. He used to take me on that path a lot before..." He shakes his head. "A-Anyway, it was wrapped in cloth, half-buried, and tangled in tree roots."
"What a bit of luck," Jody says with suspicion, but he doesn't notice.
"Not really. Someone worked out I have it, and they've been on my tail ever since."
I see Nicole's expression shift, irritation and worry in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me someone's been following you? I could have done something."
"Like nearly get yourself blown up? Besides," He blushes and lowers his voice to a murmur, although we can all hear him, "I want you to be my girlfriend, not my bodyguard."
I snort, which apparently was the wrong action since Nicole gives me a look that tells me she's going to kill me after this. Even with her face red from embarrassment, she's intimidating.
Thankfully Sam comes to my rescue, changing the subject almost instantly. "No one here has even seen the Edda. How did you know what it looked like?"
Rory immediately perks up. "Because of my granda."
"I remember you telling me about him," Nicole says, coughing awkwardly. "He was an old Norse professor, right?"
He nods. "My parents died when I was a bairn. Granda took me in. Didn't want to raise me in the city, so we came here. Laird's brother Callum needed an expert in Norse mythology to help market the island's history, and Granda had books all over the house. That's how I recognized the Edda."
"So who's chasing you?" I ask.
"I don't know. Me and Granda were always outsiders here. It was better for a while, but... Everyone's talking about the old ways again, closing in on themselves. I know I've been watched since I found the Edda."
Pebbles rattle, and Jody looks up and shouts in fear. "Boulder! Get out of the way!"
I rush forward, my feet skidding against the rocks as the boulder crashes into the ground, the rock nearly cracking from the force.
"Five, Twenty-seven, Rory, are you okay?" Jody calls. Nicole is tense but unharmed. Rory is the same, although he's gone white as a sheet.
"It's them! They pushed it!"
I look up at the ridge, and my stomach drops at the sight.
It's a skincoat watching us.
"You've got to get out of there," Sam says urgently. "You guys are sitting ducks. Run!"
The skincoat watches as we sprint off, running as fast as our legs can carry us. My fingers itch to reach for my gun, although I know my pistol wouldn't even come close to hitting them from this range.
Who are they? They must have been the ones who carved those pictures on the murals, but why are they doing this now? Why did we never see any skincoats when Jones was running around? We'd been chasing him for nearly a month on the island before the laird finally shot him, and we didn't spot that first skincoat until four days after he'd died.
My stomach turns. I'm beginning to think something's been going on here for a lot longer than just the five and a half weeks we've been here.
"You're clear of the gully," Sam announces after a few minutes of sprinting like our lives depended on it. "Can't see any skincoats anywhere."
Nicole looks at Rory coldly, and he flinches. "Rory, you know more than you're admitting. You need to tell us everything right now."
He nods frantically. "Okay. Okay. You know how I told you about my granda, how he died?"
"You said he drank too much and fell off the cliff."
"Yeah. I said that because that's what everyone else says, but it's a lie." His hand fists the fabric of his shift just above his heart, his fear so strong I can almost see it. "He was murdered. Someone killed him.
"It was our fifth summer here. We were walking along the cliff. Granda went ahead. Skincoat came out of nowhere and just..." A choked noise leaves his mouth, a cross between a sob and a gasp, "pushed him over. Looked just like in the stories. Gray all over, one thick purple stripe. I told people. My teachers, the police, but no one believed me. They said the skincoats hadn't been around for years. I know what I saw!"
"What about Chief McCallen?" I ask.
"He was just an inspector at the time, but yeah, he took me more seriously than most. He seemed really upset and angry at the idea there were still skincoats."
Chief McCallen came here when he was young, but Shona still called him an outsider when we'd first got here. Apparently, Rory and his Grandfather were outsiders as well.
Is that why people didn't believe Rory when he told them, and why the chief was the only one who really did?
"I was only five. There was no evidence. Eventually, I half believed I'd imagined it myself, but... I didn't." There's a beat of silence. "People weren't unkind afterward. The Websters took me in and let me take over the corner shop when I turned eighteen. Still, I've kept to myself ever since. I get lonely, but I cope."
"We believe you," Jody says. He all but sags with relief.
"Why do you think he was killed?" Nicole asks, and he sucks his teeth.
"He did drink a fair bit of whisky. Enough that he'd tell me things he shouldn't. Things I'd tell myself over and over after he died so I wouldn't forget. It was island business." His face darkens. "Like the real reason Callum hired him."
A crack reaches my ears, and a gush of wind flies by me. A bullet lodges itself into a nearby rock. My brain barely registers I'd nearly been shot before Sam's shouting in my headset.
"Behind you! A skincoat! How did they get there so fast? I-I didn't even see them!"
"Forget that. How the hell did they manage to get bullets for a gun?" Nicole screams. "I thought Amelia and Abel were the only ones here with weapons! Did people just keep guns outside of the armory and just not use them during the impending zombie invasion?!"
Sam doesn't answer her, but we all know he has no answer to give her. None of us do.
"They've come for me! We have to get away!" Rory is shaking with fear. "Please, you have to help me."
Jody nervously looks over her shoulder, quickening her steps as we all try to outrun the skincoat. They're gone in an instant, not firing even one more bullet.
"You must be right, Rory," Jody pants. "The skincoats killed your grandfather. Maybe they never disbanded. Maybe they've been actin' against us all along."
"Yeah, but who are they?" Sam asks. "Chief McCallen said there were always nine of them, that the role got passed down in families. But many of those families are gone. So, they could be anyone we talk to. People we think are our friends!"
"At least if they're chasing us for the Edda, we can be sure they don't already have it. Maybe that's what Jones was trying to do, in his own twisted way, keep the Edda out of their hands. Remember what he said just before he died?"
I pale. "'They'll be no stopping them now.'" I swing my gaze to Rory. "You mentioned the real reason Callum hired your grandfather. What was that?"
"King of the Rocks," He answers immediately. "Callum wanted to move the ceremony to Niomh because there was oil at the ceremony site on Mor. The islanders respected tradition too much to allow that, but Callum reckoned if a Norse scholar told them it should have been on Niomh the whole time, they'd believe him."
"So Callum paid your grandfather to lie for him. But why would anyone care enough to kill him?" Sam asks.
"The skincoats are guardians of tradition, of the old ways. In the stories, they were ruthless and cruel. They somehow know everything, were everywhere at once. People would slit their own wrists rather than be taken by them."
The blood drains from my face. Cassandra said the red fungus and an old folk tale inspired the Project Feive hive mind—a folktale from Mor Island of people who saw everything and could be everywhere at once.
Lord, have mercy.
"We have to get to the Edda," Nicole says. "If there's nine of them out there, our head start means nothing. Where is it?"
"In a bothy behind that hill," Rory answers. "But Nic, I have to get off this island."
She falters at seeing the absolute terror on his face. "We will. I promise. I won't let anything happen to you. We'll get the Edda and make sure you're safe. Come on."
•
My heart drops to my stomach when we reach the little hut. The window's broken.
Nicole and I immediately grab our pistols from their holsters. We don't hesitate to run inside, ready to fire.
No one's there, but everything inside is destroyed. Papers are strewn everywhere, the little desk is overturned, and floorboards are ripped out of place. There's sheer panic on Rory's face, but he rushes towards the bed, which has been stripped of its covers and sheets. He pulls out a broken lockbox, hands shaking.
"This is where I hid it." He stumbles through the words as he forces the box open, but then his eyes widen in disbelief. The air feels like it's been sucked out of my lungs as I look at the book bound in white leather in jewels.
"It's still here," I gasp. "That's–it's really-"
"Are you telling me we found the Edda?" Sam chokes, sounding as if he might start sobbing in joy.
Jody takes the Edda from Rory, whose eyes are glossy with tears of relief.
"Oh, praise God. Does that mean you'll give it to the Prime Minister and get me off this island?"
"Why didn't the skincoats take it?" Jody asks, ignoring him. "They opened the lockbox, saw the Edda, and didn't take it? Wait..." She flips through some of the pages. "Oh, no."
"What? What is it?" Rory asks, confusion evident on his face.
"This isn't the Edda."
"What?" Sam whispers.
"I've spent days studying everything we know about it, and this doesn't match up. For one thing, these aren't rubies; they're emeralds. And another, it puts the King of the Rocks ceremony on Niomh, not Mor. It's a fake."
"What?" Rory chokes. He looks like he might faint.
The blonde turns to him. "Rory, you said Callum paid your grandfather to convince the islanders to move the King of the Rocks to Niomh. Don't you think forging an Edda would be a good way for a Norse scholar to do that?"
He shakes his head desperately. "But-but I found it-"
"On a path you and your granddad used to take. Maybe he hid it there, buried it so it could be discovered at the right time, and he never got that chance, and with all the rain washing a lot of the dirt away from tree roots..."
He clutches his head. "Oh, God. How could I be so stupid?! I-I'm so sorry."
"So it's not got the bit we need to stop the V-Types?" I ask, and Jody sadly shakes her head.
"I thought-" His voice breaks. "The skincoats control everything. They'll know I've talked to you. They'll kill me now for sure."
"Like hell they will," Nicole growls. "If they want to get to you, they'll have to get through m-"
"Don't finish that!" He screams. "That's why I didn't tell you! The skincoats are cruel. They don't just hurt you. They hurt the people you care about. The only reason they didn't kill me back then was because I was a kid who no one would believe. But they'd hurt you to punish me for talking."
"You don't have to worry about Nicole, Rory, or yourself," Sam says soothingly. "We'll protect you, and we work together to protect each other. Nicole will be fine."
He sniffles, still looking terrified. It's then I realize how young he is, and in turn, how young Nicole is, as she's just a few months shy of turning his age of nineteen.
"Okay," He whispers. "O-okay."
Radio crackles in my headset.
"Sam, Jody, Callista, I've been listening in," Amelia says, highly displeased. "While I can't say I'm surprised that Nicole's idiot boyfriend led us on a wild goose chase, I am angry. With myself above all for believing you or anyone on this fungus-riddled archipelago could be trusted! If I'm to save the UK, you've left me with only one choice. Nisha, switch to all channels."
"What is she doing?" Nicole asks lowly, and a sinking feeling settles into my chest.
"Hello again, Mor Island. You have wasted my time long enough. The reward is off the table. I am aboard a nuclear-armed submarine, and if I don't get the Edda soon, I am going to launch a warhead and destroy the entire archipelago. You have been warned."
A/N: Hi, everyone! 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!