To Be A Rebel

Chapter 47: Lazarus

"Report please, Mr. Doble," Janine commands as she runs beside us.

"This is my mission, Janine," Evan replies through our headsets. "Today, you're one of my runners."

She blinks. "Oh. Yes, I suppose that's right."

"We're almost there," Peter says, looking around. "Streets are overgrown. How long's it going to be before we can't really call them streets anymore?"

"That's what I think when I think of the trails I used to hike on back home," I say, a tinge of sadness in my voice. "I doubt you'd actually know that they're there now."

"Yes, you did tell me that Arkansas was called The Natural State."

"I did?"

"Yes, of course. Uh, anyway, there's no sign of zoms, just some slightly sinister-looking crows. What's the collective noun for crows?"

"This is hardly the time-" Janine starts.

"Murder," Evan says. "It's a murder of crows."

Peter's shoulders scrunch up slightly. "Oh, well, that's ominous. Um, speaking of ominous, is it just my imagination, Five, or is that a graveyard?"

Evan doesn't give me the chance to answer.

"Good, you're there."

"At the dead drop," He deadpans, and I squeeze his wrist in an attempt to be comforting. He gives me a forced smile, but I can tell this bothers him some.

"Yes. That's where the previous Jerry left her most sensitive messages. Her last one concerned the Viking armlet. I'm hoping it will tell us why Sigrid is so desperate to get hold of it."

"Desperate is the correct word, yes, for all her activities," Janine murmurs, her lips pinching together. "She has a ruthless single-mindedness in pursuing her purposes. We learned this morning that she is bringing in the same machines which dug out the Channel tunnel to dig her way underneath Abel's labs. She must be using half the fuel in England to do so."

"Lord have mercy," I whisper.

"I think we missed the crucial point, that we're here to look for a dead drop in a graveyard," Peter says, his scoff anything but amused.

"It's a sizable place," Evan says, ignoring him. "I suggest you split up. Look for the grave of Gillian Lynne."

"Mr. Necropolis and I will be running together," Janine says. "Five, you go solo."

"Aw, man," I whine. "Why do I gotta be the one that runs solo in a graveyard?"

"Because I said so. If that is alright with you, Mr. Doble." There's a bit of a bite in her voice as she says that.

"Just be fast," He replies. "We don't want Sigrid's people to find out what we're doing."

"Yes, it's just a dead drop in the zombie apocalypse," Peter says, rolling his eyes. "Can anyone else see the irony? No? Just me then."

"Everything's a bit ironic these days," I laugh, but it quickly fades. "I'll see you in a few minutes, I suppose."

"Run!" Evan commands, and I grit my teeth.

"Don't start with me," I growl out, and Peter blinks in surprise at my sudden change of mood while Janine keeps a straight face, only raising a dark eyebrow in mild interest.

I let go of Peter and head off, heading into the graveyard, looking for one name. I try not to think about it too much. I don't exactly fear death, or what comes after. I mean, I certainly fear the process of dying, just not the actual death itself. When I thought I was turning, I was terrified, simply because I was dying and there was nothing I could do to stop it. But I don't like to think about death. I don't like to think about how all these people, all these names, are people that are gone from this world. Yes, they may be in paradise, if they were believers, but even if they were, they're still gone here. I don't like to think about that.