Meridian | The Second Life III [COMPLETED]

6 - The Odyssey

- R I V I A N -

I leave the tower doors, looking around at the fantastic sunrise. It's partly cloudy, and the orange glow seems to bounce around the sky. The cold bites my skin; while we are in a warm spell, it's still New York in the winter. There had been snow last week, though nothing like the noreasters from a month ago.

I can see Zach and Evan near the gate, readying their weapons: Evan with his crossbow and Zach with his... wait, he has a rifle now? That's new. It looks like an M4- kind of overkill if you ask me. Before I join them, though, I have a stop to make.

Crossing the street, I walk into a townhouse-styled building. This is Marseille's place and the hideout the others used before attacking the Sanctuary. The technology here is necessary for obvious reasons, so it's kept tucked away and hidden from view.

"Marseille!" I yell. Usually, she'd be waiting for one of us at the foot of the stairs. I take a few steps up the staircase and look around at an empty room. The living room was devoid of people-

The door swings open to my right. Out of it pops a tired Marseille. "It's... like, early, man," she mutters, almost under her breath. "Why'd you wake me?"

"Had to grab some cures," I reply, leaning against a wall.

"I left them, uh," she mumbles. She walks to the stairs and descends before pointing to the vials sitting right there on the table. "Here, dude. Right here."

"Sorry," I mutter, walking down and grabbing the vials I had missed. "I have my moments."

"Maybe you should get your eyes checked," she laughs, trudging up the stairs. "You'll need it for your mission."

"Maybe," I sigh, backing up towards the door. "Hey, stupid question. Why can't we just infinitely replicate these things and cure all of the Z's in the city?"

She looks at me, scrunching one of her eyes. "They only work if you're in transition. If you're too far gone, you're fucked."

"Gotcha," I say, turning the doorknob. "Thanks! Get some sleep, sorry again."

"'Lest someone barges into my house and yells my name, I should be good," she laughs, smirking. "Good luck on your mission, dude. You better come back with Catey."

"You can count on it," I state confidently. She smiles in response, disappearing from view as I walk out of the house and shut the door. Good to know I've accomplished my daily dose of dumbassery before I embark on the mission; I have a feeling this will be pretty dangerous.

Blake had given us the location of Catey's last known location: East Harlem. That puts her about 10 miles north of home, much farther than any scavenging mission to date. Zach's idea is becoming even more likely with every nugget of info we get. Blake probably thinks we wouldn't notice, but we don't want to have our cake and eat it too. We're already on a sanctioned mission and don't want to throw that away.

"Riv!" Zach calls as I walk towards the gate. "You got the vials?"

"That's right," I reply, holding up the glass vials. There's also a syringe; you have to inject this into the subject's veins. The virus, in the end, is a blood-based disease. Most have begun calling it the Crimson Plague- probably because it sounds cool. It caught on quickly, much like the virus itself. "You got supplies?"

"Right here," Evan responds, holding up a backpack. It holds water, granola bars, fire starters, and other essential survival equipment. It looks bulky; Blake was generous with this pack.

"Come in, Zach," I hear on Zach's radio. I recognize that voice anywhere: Eagle. Not necessarily for good reasons.

"Receiving," he replies, holding the handheld radio up to his face.

"I've made it to Columbia University," she states. "Rendevous here. Be careful. There's been some strange Z activity on route."

"Define strange activity," Zach says apprehensively.

"Unnaturally aggressive," Eagle responds. "My theory is that they're desperate for food. Increased daytime activity, nighttime is crazy, that sort of stuff."

"Copy that," he responds. "We're headed that way. See you soon."

"Copy," she states, and Zach holsters his radio. Columbia, huh? That's where Catey was trying to go to college, funny enough. That means we'll be hugging the shoreline of the Hudson, essentially, for ten miles. Glad yesterday wasn't leg day.

"Let's take a stroll," Evan says, loading a bolt into his crossbow. The gate creaks as I swing it open, stepping through with the others. Riko had built a quality system here. I swing it shut, instinctually checking if my sword was properly secured. It was.

Time to save her.

- B L A K E -

"See you guys soon," I say into my radio, stepping back inside the building. I would love to say that I'm confident in my team, but I'm not so sure. If Rivian, Eagle, and Evan can put aside their collective differences, maybe this could work. They all have a history with each other.

Truthfully, I wish Nick could've joined them; his extreme martial arts skill would be useful to any group he's a part of. Then again, his contempt for Evan renders that impractical, especially when paired with Rivian's. Zach, however, worked perfectly in this case. His arsenal of weapons, I'm sure, would be of great utility.

If what I'd heard over the radio a week ago is correct, they'll need all the firepower they can get.