Runner Series (Book 1): Runner 3 (11 page)

“I don’t know. It depends on how many stay when I tell them the plan,” Dean told her.

“I’m glad I brought my machete then,” she looked at her side where her machete hung from her belt.

It had been her grandfather’s from when he was a soldier. It was one of the few relics she had left from her family’s history and it had proven useful in clearing out the dregs around the hospital.

“Everyone have the weapon they want?” Dean asked when they came back.

They all nodded.

“Before Dean says anything else,” Audrey interrupted, “The plan for now is to go to the baseball field by the hospital and take out any of the dregs that have been out around there during the day.”

“What?” one of the twins asked in disbelief. “I am
not
okay with that.”

The other twin nodded and dropped the ax she was holding, “Olivia is right. We’re not trained to do that. I’m not going to do anything if we’re not going to be trained before you take us over there.”

Dean folded his arms over his chest, but said nothing and kept his expression blank. He looked at Gene and Lincoln, waiting for a response from them.

Gene had started trembling and sweat gathered on his brow, but he clutched onto his baseball bat with white knuckles.

Lincoln casually held an ax horizontally in his hands and stared straight ahead with a stoic expression similar to Dean’s.

“Do you guys want to stay or go?” Dean asked the girls who were still complaining.

They looked at each other and whispered back and forth for a few seconds before Olivia shrugged and walked away.

“Your loss!” She flipped her hair over her shoulder as her sister trailed behind her.

“Alright guys,” Dean addressed Gene and Lincoln. “We’re going to head over to the diamond now. Audrey is coming with us for extra help.”

Audrey scowled at Dean but followed them, “You’re still going?”

Dean nodded and wouldn’t look at her.

“You’re going to need to be quick if there are dregs there. I’m grabbing one of the pistols,” she huffed.

“Here are the masks and safety glasses we’re required to wear,” Dean said as Audrey walked away.

She watched him pull out the masks and goggles they were required to wear and passed them out.

“Why are these required?” Gene asked Audrey when she got back from the firearms shed.

“The bodily fluids from the dregs still contain the mutated virus. We wear them as a precaution so no one gets infected. The last time someone was infected it didn’t end well,” she focused on fitting a holster around her thigh opposite of her machete.

Gene paled, “Can’t we just use the guns you guys have so we can stay far away enough that we won’t get infected.”

“We can’t use the guns a lot. We have them in case of emergencies, but there isn’t a lot of ammunition left anywhere,” Audrey put the gun in her holster. “We can’t just waste what we have when we can train to use melee weapons.”

“Makes sense,” Lincoln said.

“Alright guys, keep close to one of us and we’ll keep you covered,” Dean said through his mask.

He held his baseball bat over his shoulder and walked away from the field with Gene following close behind him.

“This is pretty intense,” Lincoln fell into step with Audrey.

“I guess so,” she muttered. “I wish we weren’t doing this at all. It’s not safe with untrained people.”

“It’s only a few of the roamers, right?” Lincoln reasoned. “If it were a night exercise I wouldn’t have stuck around, but I think it was smart to see if we have the nerve to go through with it.”

Audrey nodded, slightly annoyed that Lincoln agreed with Dean, “On a plus side, the mutants are still nocturnal as far as we can tell.”

“I think we’ll be fine,” Lincoln smiled and bumped her elbow with his.

It was close to noon when they arrived at the baseball field and there weren’t any dregs in sight. Dean circled around the bleachers and the concession building. He banged his baseball bat against the metal trying to draw some out, but couldn’t find any of them.

“Dean, let’s just go back to the field and use the dummies I set up this morning,” Audrey said, relieved that Gene and Lincoln could finish the testing somewhere safer.

“No,” Dean shook his head stubbornly. “I’ll try to get a few to come out of the hospital. Stay here a few minutes. I’ll be right back.”

He jogged to the hospital and quickly disappeared around the side of the building.

Gene waited quietly. He fidgeted and looked around with wide scared eyes, but Audrey and Lincoln walked slowly towards the hospital together trying to see what Dean might find.

Audrey headed for the corner to make sure Dean would be okay, but she knew there might be a huge nest of dregs somewhere around the large building and it worried her.

“Dean, c’mon. Let’s just go,” she said as loud as she could without yelling at the building.

“Stay out here, Audrey,” he said sternly coming back around the corner before he quickly walked through the sliding glass doors at the front of the building that lead to the emergency room.

Audrey paced restlessly, but stopped when she heard multiple doors slamming against walls. After a couple moments that seemed to drag on a single dreg shuffled out through the glass doors.

“Dean!” She shouted at the front of hospital. “We have one out here!”

Lincoln rushed toward the slowly ambling zombie and took a defensive stance with the ax he carried, “Do I just hack at it or what?” he asked Audrey over his shoulder.

“Just take its head off if you can. If you can’t do that hacking works,” she answered.

She eyed the doors and smacked her lips impatiently before turning her attention back to Lincoln as he swung the ax.

At the very moment Lincoln’s blade went through the dreg’s neck the piercing shriek of a Howler came from inside the building.

The hair on the back of Audrey’s neck stood on end and she didn’t know if she should wait to see if Dean would be able to get out of the building, if she should go in after him, or if she should take Lincoln and Gene and run back to Runner’s Field.

“Gene! Lincoln! Get out of here!” She yelled frantically and headed towards the open doors of the hospital.

Her heart jumped when she heard the squeak of Dean’s shoes on the linoleum floors. She backed away from the building hesitantly and peered through the glass doors to make sure Dean was coming.

“Get away from here!” he yelled at her as he slid around a corner into the old waiting room.

He waved his hand at Audrey to shoo her away and barely made it out of the building before a grey-faced Howler rounded the corner behind him.

Audrey looked over her shoulder at Gene and Lincoln who were running away from the hospital and sprinted in their direction.

Audrey stopped in the middle of the field when the vague idea to shoot at the creature formed in her mind. She could hear the rush of her heartbeat in her ears when she reached for the gun strapped to her leg. She gasped when Dean ran past her.

The Howler didn’t seem to notice her as it chased its prey. It was completely focused on Dean as it ran in front of her. She turned to aim at it, but watched it run straight into the waiting head of the ax Lincoln was holding at its eye line.

There was a sickening crunch and the Howler dropped to the ground.

Audrey’s mouth dropped open under her mask, “How did you do that?”

She could feel sweat beading on the back of her neck. She lowered the gun and took in the scene around Lincoln. Blood from the dreg had splattered across the face mask and glasses he wore. He stood almost motionless except for the trembling in his hands and stared at the body on the bloody ground at his feet with wide eyes. He dropped his ax to the ground and looked at Audrey.

Gratitude flooded through her for what he did to save Dean. She rushed to his side and hugged him. The Howler’s legs and arms twitched a few times before the body went still.

“Thank you so much,” she said softly into his shoulder.

Lincoln pulled her closer into the hug and she could feel his arms shaking, “Anytime.”

She stepped back and looked at the hospital where a group of eight dregs had quickly followed the Howler out of the building and onto the field. They searched for the victim they had been alerted to.

Audrey saw Gene was still running as fast as he could to the north gate and was relieved he was safe.

She spotted Dean standing at the opposite side of the baseball diamond where he had finally stopped and was able to catch his breath. His hands were on his hips and his flushed face was shrouded with anguish.

The happiness she felt knowing the Howler wasn’t going to get him like it had Peter drained out of her when she saw his features settled into a scowl.

“Dean wait!” She cried out to him, but he ignored her and spun on his heel to follow Gene.

She wanted to go after him, but knew she had to stay with Lincoln and make sure the remaining dregs were taken care of.

“Let’s take care of these things,” Lincoln picked up the ax and walked with her towards the dregs.

“What the heck is your problem?” Audrey hollered at Dean from the north gate.

He was calmly sitting on the corner of the sidewalk reading a book. She could tell he was waiting for her because he wasn’t out doing his daily errands or at the Fairfield Inn getting the next day’s schedule ready for the Runners.

“Dean!” Audrey exclaimed again. “You owe me an explanation for the crap you pulled back there.”

Dean closed the book on his finger and looked up at her with a bored expression, “An explanation for what?”

“You freaking pissed off a Howler after I told you not to go into the hospital and then ran off before helping me with the dregs that came out after it. Lincoln was kind enough to stay with me and help,” Audrey fumed. “I am so beyond angry at you right now.”

“You’re mad at me?” Dean snarled and shot up to his feet so he was looking down at her. “You know how I feel about you Audrey, but when
I’m
the one in danger you stop to give that guy a hug.”

“He had just killed that stupid thing to keep you alive!” Audrey said loudly. “I gave him a hug and thanked him. Before I could even head after you I had to deal with the freaking dregs alone!”

“I thought you had Lincoln there,” Dean spat the name out bitterly.

“He didn’t know what to do because he isn’t properly trained!” Audrey clenched her fists and waited for him to show remorse for what he did.

Instead, he folded his arms over his chest, sniffed his nose, and looked away from her, “It’s not my problem.”

“Oh, you better believe it’s your problem, Dean!” She threw her hands in the air. “You are the Director of the Runners. If this isn’t your problem I’d like to know whose problem it is.”

Dean stared at the ground and tapped his foot impatiently, but remained silent.

“This isn’t okay, Dean,” Audrey balled up her hands into fists at her sides and dug her nails into her palms. “You still have to make a decision on who the new Runner is since you decided that was your job.”

“Why don’t you just go give your new boyfriend the good news then?” Dean jeered and turned to walk away from her.

“Fine, I will!” Audrey wanted throw something at the back of Dean’s head and seriously considered taking off one of her shoes to accomplish that, but she was able to restrain herself by yelling. “By the way, he’s not even close to my boyfriend, you dummy!”

She looked around the Commons at the people who stood with open mouths and craned necks, watching the drama unfolding in the middle of the street.

“What are you all looking at?” she said loudly.

Everyone quickly looked away and she jogged back out the gate to find Lincoln.

It was easy to find him. He was walking down the yellow lines in the middle of Main Street heading back towards the north gate with one of his hands in his pocket and the other dragging the ax behind him.

“Did you see Gene anywhere after we got done by the hospital?” He asked as Audrey approached him. “I’m worried about him.”

“Don’t be. When the Howler showed up he got out of there quick. I know he really tried during the field tests, but I don’t think he was cut out for some of the more difficult tasks we have as Runners,” Audrey said quietly

Lincoln nodded his head, “So, when do we find out the results of the tryouts?”

“Are you kidding?” Audrey punched him on the shoulder gently. “You’re the only one who stayed to the end. Plus you killed a mutant. And you stayed to help with dreg control. You’re in. There’s some stuff you have to fill out for the Council, but we can take care of that later.”

“That’s pretty awesome,” Lincoln said with a half-smile. “This is going to be great. It’ll be fun.”

“Weren’t you just with me out there? I don’t know if fun is the right word,” Audrey laughed. “It’s pretty boring most days. Especially since we don’t go scouting much anymore.”

Lincoln shrugged, “Sounds like more fun than staying close or inside the walls all day, every day.”

“You probably won’t go far from here even as a Runner. You might get assigned to the orchards for the first little while,” she headed back into the Commons. “Let’s go get some food.”

“It’s not dinner time yet,” Lincoln said. “I don’t want to waste anything.”

“We didn’t have lunch thanks to the Howler and we get extra rations to keep our strength up. I’m sure they won’t mind us eating now,” she explained.

“Extra food sounds good to me,” Lincoln licked his lips and winked at her. “Do we get extra bread? I could eat bread all the time.”

They moseyed back into Roswell and stayed on Main Street while they headed towards the cafeteria.

“This is Lincoln,” Audrey introduced him to one of the workers. “He’s the new Runner Two, so make sure he gets the right amount of rations, please.”

They ate their lunch at the table where the Runners usually ate. Audrey learned a lot about Lincoln. His family was originally from Tonga and his father was the first one to die during the original outbreak.

“I’m sorry you lost him,” Audrey said.

“I feel sorry for my mom,” Lincoln took a bite of rice. “I have two brothers. They live in Utah and Colorado. She lives with one of them.”

“I didn’t know you had family left. Why weren’t they in Hobbs with you?” she asked.

“My brothers are quite a bit older than me and had already moved away from home way before everything happened,” he explained. “I was the only one at home with my mom.”

“Why didn’t you go with her up north?” Audrey took a bite of her turkey sandwich and grabbed a few of her carrots.

“I decided I wanted to do something important. So, I joined the army and tried to help with containment,” Lincoln took a drink of water and rested against the back of his chair. “What about your family? Do I get to meet any of them?”

Audrey shook her head and pushed the scoop of cottage cheese around her plate with her spoon, “Everyone in my family turned a few months back.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Lincoln laid his silverware down on the table. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“It’s okay,” Audrey mumbled. “I’m over it now.”

She could feel Lincoln’s eyes studying her, but she refused to look at him. She put her hands in her lap and stared at her legs. She felt his fingers on her shoulder. Her eyes widened when he pulled her into his side and embraced her gently. She resisted for a second, but then leaned into his side.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime, Runner Three,” he smiled and set his chin on the top of her head.

There were clouds in the sky that were getting thicker the farther east they traveled when they left the cafeteria. A gentle breeze kept them cool and they walked aimlessly up Main Street.

“I’m happy the whole Howler thing didn’t scare you away from the Runner program,” Audrey admitted without looking at Lincoln.

“Why is that?” he asked, turning onto a back street that put them on course to Audrey’s house.

“It’ll give me a better chance to get to know you,” Audrey softly bumped her shoulder into his arm and smiled at his smug look. “It was lucky that you got to come here when Artesia was disbanded.”

“Nah, it wasn’t luck,” Lincoln said looking at his feet with a grin. “When I heard the news and they told us we could transfer to either Lubbock in Texas, Roswell, or Albuquerque I couldn’t help but ask to come here. I wanted to see you again.”

“There’s really nothing special about me. Everyone gives me too much credit because of my dad, but I’m just a regular person. My dad was pretty great before he turned though,” Audrey looked up at Lincoln and smiled. “I think you would have liked him. Everyone did.”

“I know about the work he did trying to find a way to kill the virus. I have to agree that he was pretty great,” Lincoln said quietly.

She nodded, “He just didn’t have enough time though.”

“There are probably people who are still trying to find out how to kill the virus,” Lincoln said. “There was big group working up near where by brother and mom live. The last time I heard from her everyone working on it had left though.”

“That’s the side effect of people dying. Everyone leaves,” Audrey said grimly.

“Well, sooner or later everyone leaves then,” Lincoln conceded.

“Do you think things will ever get back to normal and we won’t have to deal with the unexpected deaths anymore?” she asked him quietly.

“I don’t think everything will be back to normal as quickly as I’ve heard other people guess. I think it’ll take a while. Maybe a few years, maybe more. I think it’ll feel more normal than it actually will be.” He stopped walking, “I have to admit, the one thing I miss the most right now is the internet.”

“The internet?” Audrey raised her eyebrows.

“Yeah, I know it sounds stupid. I’m just not much of a people person and it helped me stay connected,” Lincoln sighed. “I think aside from normal stuff I’d say I miss my grandma the most.”

“Did she die during the outbreak?”

“She was never infected or anything,” Lincoln smiled to himself. “She was one of the few that was able to die of old age before things got ugly.”

Audrey turned down the street that led to her house, “Lucky her.”

Lincoln nodded, “One day, she just told me she loved me, laid down for a nap, and said she didn’t want to hear about everything that was going on. She fell asleep and never woke up after that.”

“That’s a good thing though,” Audrey bumped into him. “At least she got to see the world better than it is now.”

They walked happily through the small crowds of people going about their daily errands. There were a few times they almost ran into other Runners, but Audrey would slow her pace and switch their route before they were seen. She didn’t want anyone gossiping about her and Lincoln when even she wasn’t sure what was going on between them.

“I haven’t heard from anyone in a long time because of communication being down in most places though,” Lincoln broke the silence as they rounded a corner on a back street. “Someday I want to go see my brothers and mom.”

“I’m sure you’ll get to,” Audrey assured him, gently squeezing his hand. “I’d like to go to Utah sometime so I can see where my dad spent most of his time.”

“Maybe we can go together,” Lincoln suggested.

“I’d like that,” Audrey smiled bashfully at him.

“You know, I used to have a sister, but she wasn’t able to make it through the original virus outbreak.” His brow knit together and looked down at Audrey with sad eyes. “I miss her a lot.”

“I know how you feel, I had two little brothers,” she closed her eyes and imagined their faces. “They were the best kids ever and I miss them every day. It’s good to miss people. It means they haven’t been forgotten.”

They talked about their families for a while longer and then wondered what the world would be like if the outbreak had not happened.

“I think I want to leave Roswell when it’s safe to travel again,” Audrey said as they got close to her house.

“You don’t like it here?” Lincoln asked.

“I used to a lot, but not anymore,” Audrey sulked. “There are just too many painful reminders now. I’m never going to be able to take my brothers to the little zoo again or drive with my dad down to the UFO museum and look at the weird stuff there—”

“Wait. You believe in aliens?” Lincoln asked with a small smile.

Audrey chuckled and shrugged, “I guess anything is possible. I used to think zombies were science fiction, but look where we are now.”

Lincoln laughed with her, “You’re right. I never thought about aliens except for when my mom and I made fun of the conspiracy theorist weirdos.”

“Some people used to be really intense when they got into it. I don’t know if I really think aliens are out there anymore though,” Audrey pointed at her house when they arrived. “Here’s my house.”

“Mind if I stay and talk for a while?” Lincoln asked.

“Sure, I don’t mind,” Audrey led him across the lawn and sat on the front porch next to each other.

“If aliens were really out there they would have helped us when more than half of the human race died off to begin with right?” She felt silly asking.

“Don’t ask me, I don’t know what an alien would think,” Lincoln looked at her seriously. “I think it would be cool to meet one though.”

Audrey happily stared at Lincoln while he talked.

Audrey liked Lincoln’s presence. It was calming and reassuring. When she was with him the chaos around her became more of a background static and she felt like she could be herself again. He inched closer to her so his thigh brushed against hers.

She liked the way he looked too. He had a broad nose and beautiful full lips. His hair was short and dark, but looked like it would curl if it got longer. His chocolatey brown eyes warmed up with excitement when he talked about things he found interesting.

Just looking at him and being near him made her stomach do summersaults.

“Do you want to go do anything with me tonight?” she asked him dreamily.

“You mean like a date?” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Sure, what is there to do?”