“I don’t know what the dinner plans are.”
“Well, I hope they get figured out soon. I’ll be on the move again soon.”
“I doubt that.” Melissa informed her.
“Oh, I didn’t mean that the FBI or whatever agency would be moving me soon. The Teacher will come for me, of that I’m quite certain.” The Ancillary asserted, and then without missing a beat, she pressed on. “I’ll trade you one answer if you bring me something to eat, how about that?”
Melissa wasn’t sure what to make of whatever game the Ancillary was playing, but she hoped she’d figure it out before it was too late.
“I saw a vending machine. Would candy count as something to eat?”
“Anything chocolaty would count.”
“Fine. How do the Reborn keep finding us?”
“Oh, that’s easy. We have access to certain satellites as well as informants who are able to relay internal communications. Every time poor DeWitt called in, the information was relayed to our operatives who tracked the convoy via satellite.”
“Are they going to find us here?”
“That’s two questions, and I’ll need more than a candy bar to answer that.” The Ancillary replied.
Melissa sighed and used the keycard once more to leave the cell block. Under no obligation to do so, but feeling that perhaps building a little trust might allow her to glean more from the Ancillary at a later date, she went to the vending machine in the hall, reached through the smashed window and retrieved a large chocolate bar, then retraced her steps to the Ancillary and tossed it between the bars in the cell wall. The Ancillary thanked Melissa, unwrapped the candy bar, and began to eat politely. Melissa left again and found the Kevin and Roy in the briefing room hanging around a radio they were holding. They looked concerned, so it was with a troubled frown that Melissa approached them.
“What’s wrong?” She demanded.
“There’s... there’s something else we may need to do before we can leave town.” Roy said gravely.
Chapter Four
“Please, please, someone help me! I’m trapped and the infected are coming for me! If anyone can hear me, please come and help me!” A woman pleaded, her voice crackling over the static of the radio.
“Do you know who it is?” Melissa asked, hurrying into the briefing room and approaching Roy and Kevin.
“We haven’t answered her yet.” Kevin informed her.
“Why not? Where is she?”
“Melissa, if we answer this and the Reborn are listening, they may be able to find out where we are. Hell, it could even be the Reborn trying to lure people into a trap.” Roy informed her. Melissa nodded.
“But if it’s not, we’re leaving an innocent person to die. We don’t have a choice, Roy. Or at least, I don’t have a choice. Give me the radio; I’ll get away from the police station and then respond. If they’re monitoring the frequency then putting some distance between us might slow them down locating us. Are there any more radios?” Melissa questioned.
“We found a few.” Kevin informed her.
“Okay, then we’ll use a different frequency to communicate between ourselves - the one from the Seraph will do. Give me that one.” Melissa instructed, but Roy hesitated.
“You don’t have to go alone.” He stated.
“I do because we have a lot to do.” Melissa said, pausing while the woman pleaded for rescue on the radio again. “We need to split up to do everything we need to do; someone needs to go and get that woman, someone needs to get the bus back here with some supplies, and someone needs to shore up the defenses in the station so we’re secure while we’re here.”
“I’d be happy to stay here.” Kevin said, and then corrected himself. “I mean, to shore up the defenses.”
“To be honest, I’d rather Roy took care of that. Getting the bus is going to be a pain in the ass, and not to put too fine a point on it, there may be some running involved.”
Roy nodded, understanding why.
“I’ll get some defenses set up and keep an eye on our guest; you just watch your back out there.” Roy told Melissa.
“So, uh, what will I be doing?” Kevin asked, concern clear in his voice.
“Clear the bodies out of the bus, get some supplies inside it, and then drive it back here.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.” He commented.
“As soon as you fire up the engine, it’ll be loud enough to rile up the infected and potentially nullify the suppression effect of the collar. When that happens, they’ll go feral, so make sure the doors are closed and you’ve got a clear route back here in mind. The infected will follow you so, before you get out, make sure you’ve turned off the engine and allowed a few minutes for them to calm back down, otherwise you’ll be shredded when you get out.”
“Oh crap.” Kevin muttered. Melissa slapped him on the shoulder.
“Relax. You’ll do fine. Just don’t fire your weapon unless absolutely necessary,” she informed him. With one last look at Roy, an expression of trust and concern passing between them, Melissa placed the keycard and the keys to access the cells on a table then turned and left the briefing room. She stopped in the doorway, only just remembering to relay what she had learned from the Ancillary about how they were tracking the convoy. She could see the hurt in Kevin’s eyes as he realized they had been betrayed, but there was no time to see if he was going to be okay. Without another word, Melissa turned and hurried out of the police station.
There were only a few infected lingering in the vicinity, but as the radio burst into life again, a few curious looks were directed towards Melissa. She turned the volume down as low as she could while still being able to hear and jogged down the street, wanting to be as far away from the police station as possible before she answered the increasingly terrified woman. A minute longer and Melissa came to a stop, ducking into a dingy, gloomy alleyway before pressing the talk button on the radio.
“Hello? Are you still there?” Melissa questioned.
Silence. Melissa felt guilt stab her gut, fearful that in her desire to protect herself and her two cohorts she had damned whoever this woman was to the worst kind of death... or perhaps undeath.
“Hello?” Melissa questioned again. “If you’re there, pick up.”
More silence. Melissa sighed heavily, but thought she’d try one more time before she gave up - then suddenly, a hushed voice cut through the silence.
“I’m here! I’m here! Help me! Please, please don’t hang up!” The woman begged.
“Take it easy; I’m here to help. Where are you?”
“I-I don’t know. I’m from out of town. I’m in a supermarket.”
“Great.” Melissa issued irately - though with the talk button off. “Okay, do you know what it’s called? The market I mean?”
“I think it was called the Ultra Value Market. Please, find me; the infected are everywhere!”
“Hold on.” Melissa told her, and after clipping the radio onto a hoop on her vest, she grabbed the tablet computer and searched for an Ultra Value Market. There were three, but the closest to the police station was about six blocks west; a hike for sure, but within range. The only problem was if the woman wasn’t at that one, it would more than double the distance to the next, which was eight blocks east and two north, and that would increase the chance that she would be dead by the time Melissa found her. There wasn’t time for an internal debate; all that mattered was making a choice and following it through. She put the tablet away and grabbed the radio.
“I’m coming for you. Grab something to defend yourself with and stay hidden. I’ll be as fast as I can.” Melissa told the woman with a confidence she didn’t entirely believe herself.
“Thank you. Thank you.” The woman repeated, obviously weeping.
“I’m going off radio for a while, but I’ll contact you when I’m closer.” Melissa assured her, then she changed to the frequency the trio had agreed on in the hope that they might throw the Reborn off if they’d been listening to the
standard frequency. She started moving along the route she’d identified while speaking into the radio again.
“Roy, are you there?” She asked quietly, moving between individual and small groups of infected.
“I’m here.” Roy replied, a little breathlessly.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. The desks are heavy.” He told her shortly.
“I’m on my way to where whoever this woman is. I’ll let you know when I get close.”
“Keep your head on a swivel out there.” Roy instructed. With the call concluded, Melissa clipped the radio back onto its hoop. She started to move a little quicker, a speedy jog that would allow her to arrive sooner but not sap her strength too much. She hoped, as she hurried to save the woman, she’d arrive in time.
Roy huffed as he shoved a desk to block off one of the glass doors by the reception desk; he’d already shifted the corpse that had been blocking open the other one after Kevin set off, and when he was finished there he would set to work using another of the metallic desks to block off that door. He hoped there would be enough desks to use from the various departments and offices, but his focus was on securing the obvious entrances as much as possible, then he would focus on using what remained to create obstructions in the corridors themselves. None of them would hold up against an intensive assault by the Reborn or the full weight of an infected horde, but it would buy them time should either of them attack the police station. He moved back into the main hallway and decided instead to raid the armory next, to load up everything into the duffle bags he’d seen earlier and leave them near the cells; that way they could grab them on the way out as well as giving him access to plenty of firearms if any of his enemies attacked before Melissa or Kevin returned. It was a good plan, he considered, but he was feeling a little weakened, and so decided to grab something from the vending machine to eat while he walked. As he snatched up a candy bar, he heard a distant voice.
“Hello? Did you all leave me?” The Ancillary asked. Her voice was faint, and Roy wished he hadn’t heard her. “Yoo-hoo!” She called out. “I’ve got an urgent need!”
Roy took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. He didn’t like the Ancillary; she was ultimately responsible for the death of a lot of his friends, his colleagues in the Seraph... the death of Donna. However, beneath the anger, beneath the raw emotions he felt, Roy was an honorable man and held fast to the code he’d believed in as a police officer, even though he had left the force several years ago. He took a final bite and scrunched up the wrapper, shoving it in the pocket which held both the cell keys and the keycard he would need to use to see what the Ancillary wanted.
“Mr. Snipes!” The Ancillary beamed when she laid eyes on him.
“What do you want?” Roy asked curtly.
“So many things, Mr. Snipes, but currently I need to pee.”
“There’s a toilet in your cell.”
“Yes, but I was hoping you could take me to one that didn’t look quite so... mucky.”
“That’s the best you’re going to get.”
“Then perhaps you could at least remove my handcuffs? It’ll be difficult to... ”
“You can manage, I’m sure.” Roy told her shortly, before starting to step away.
“Oh, well, I guess I’ll have to make do. But while you’re here, Mr. Snipes, can you answer me one question? I’ll trade you an answer for a question of your own.”
Roy sighed. “Okay.”
“Excellent. Tell me, where’s the Witness?”
“She’s out.”
“Doing what?”
“That’s two questions.”
“Touché, Mr. Snipes. Fair is fair, I suppose. What question do you have for me? Think long and hard; I’ll answer anything you wish, though I suspect I know what it’ll be.”
“What’s your endgame here? By that, I mean what do the Reborn hope the world will be like when they’re done?”
“You surprise me, Mr. Snipes. I expected your question to involve your wife in some capacity. But a deal is a deal, Mr. Snipes. The world we envision is one where everyone has value - no more power being granted by birthright or money or the ability to spin a good lie. No, people in our world will be held accountable for what they say and what they do.”
“That doesn’t sound all that different from what we have now.” Roy answered.
“Oh, but it is Mr. Snipes, because right now with enough money and the right friends, you can get in or out of anything. The Teacher will stop that; he’ll show everyone a new way - a better way - to live their lives. A place in the new world can be earned by anyone who shows that they have the true strength to do what needs to be done. A place for you has already been earned, and for that sweet wife of yours.”
“Don’t speak of my wife.” Roy growled, approaching the bars and resting his hands on them.
“I meant no offence, Mr. Snipes, I really didn’t. She’s safe, don’t worry.” The Ancillary assured him with a pleasant smile.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Roy demanded.
“I tried to have you killed in the Seraph, Mr. Snipes. Your associate assured me he could do the deed and he failed. I didn’t recognize your strength, and that was a mistake on my part. So, now that we’re alone, I can tell you that my men went to collect your wife. If they don’t have her already then they will eventually, and I will be the one to reunite you.”
Roy slammed his palms against the bars, rage flooding through him.
“Where is she? What have you done?” He roared.
“Calm yourself, Mr. Snipes. She’s not going to be harmed, I promise, and if I’m anything, I’m a woman of my word. You bought her a place in the new world with your strength, and that means that there’ll come a point when you can choose to be reunited with her sooner rather than later.”
“And what choice would that be?” Roy snarled.
“In due course, Mr. Snipes, in due course. But please, don’t bother the Witness with this right now; she has her own trials to overcome and this would just distract her. And the last thing we both want is for her to be distracted while she’s surrounded by adversity, right?”
Roy glared at the Ancillary for a few moments longer, not sure how to respond.
Melissa had managed to close the distance between her and the Ultra Value Market in record time. She’d never considered a career as an athlete, having always wanted to be a journalist, but when she thought about how much running she’d done in Galgambwe and more recently at the Seraph, she thought she might have had an aptitude for it. She rounded a corner and saw the lot housing the Ultra Value Market ahead. In the darkness of night, the bright illumination blooming out from the store’s windows and the large highlighted lettering above made it take on a strange, almost otherworldly quality. Oddly, the way the building was glowing, reminded her of alien spaceships she had seen in movies, but she ignored this movie-related thought and concentrated on the task in hand. There was a massive parking lot in front of the market with a number of cars visible, no doubt abandoned after their owners were killed, and mingling between them were a large number of infected; upwards of a hundred if Melissa’s quick glance was accurate. And beyond these ghostly, human shapes moving between the vehicles, the interior light of the market revealed there were more of them inside. She sighed, then prayed that whoever she had made contact with was still alive. Melissa let her weapon hang, grabbed the radio and changed the frequency before bringing it up to her mouth.
“Hey, are you still alive in there?” Melissa asked bluntly. A few moments of silence and then the woman responded.
“Yes! Yes! Oh, God, thank you! Where are you?” She asked her statements quick, hushed and urgent.
“Outside. Where are you in there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay, I really want to help you but I’m going to need more to go on. So tell me, what do you remember after you entered the store?”
“I don’t know... it all happened so fast. We were runnin
g, and there was screaming and... and... Please, just find me!”
Melissa didn’t quite know what to make of it, but she knew that in moments of panic, during the rush of adrenaline, someone could do just about anything and then it would be lost in a haze of confused, jumbled images and sounds where memories should’ve been. Melissa only wished she was that lucky with regards to the things she’d seen.
“Fine. I guess I’ll figure something out. Just stay quiet.” Melissa instructed sternly before changing the radio frequency.
“Roy, I’m going into the market.” She announced. Melissa waited a few moments but there was no answer. She felt a pang of concern, wondering if something had happened, but then she heard a crackle.
“Okay.” He said simply. Melissa wondered briefly why he didn’t have more to say - like which market, because she latterly recalled she hadn’t revealed where the woman was - but then she figured he was busy or perhaps didn’t want her to divulge her whereabouts on air, so she changed the frequency back on the radio to the one that kept her in contact with the woman, then clipped it onto her vest and grappled her weapon, raising it to a half ready position before advancing towards the market.
The infected, much like the others she had worked her way through so far, ignored her as the suppressive effect of the collar neutralized their instincts to kill and feed. There was, however, little comfort to be found in this fact. She knew that any number of things within the market could make enough noise to break the suppression effect, and then she could find herself in the middle of a ravenous horde of undead with only her weapons for protection. Another thought occurred to her: how was she going to be able to get the woman out of there through the infected without them detecting her? Melissa imagined that if she kept her close enough then the collar should, in theory, protect both of them, but it would be risky. She crossed the parking lot, weaving her way between abandoned vehicles and the infected alike, and made her way to the front of the store. She figured finding the woman wouldn’t be overly difficult; the infected would have her scent and would be clustered around wherever she was hiding. Something about actively seeking out the largest group of infected didn’t sit well with Melissa, but there was nothing else she could do as the woman was trapped and she wasn’t exactly being helpful about where she was located. Fleetingly, Melissa thought there was a small chance this was some kind of trap; it was just the kind of thing that the Reborn might do to lure her out, and so she mentally prepared herself for anything.
A World Reborn (Book 2): Global Outbreak Page 7
