Meridian | The Second Life III [COMPLETED]

13 - The Old Law

- R I V I A N -

I hold my sweater tight as I follow Eagle through the streets. The temperature dropped considerably last night, and so I'm sure the nice weather we'd had is coming to an end. The others follow behind us, weaving between alleyways. As she promised, Eagle is leading us to the horde.

I don't know what to expect. I mean, I have the description, but I've never seen anything remotely like it. No amount of disclaimer, I fear, can stop the inevitable shock I'll have to see such an alien sight. I won't be alone, I'm sure.

"We're getting close," Eagle whispers after letting us catch up. "We cannot make any sound, understand?"

I nod, and she begins to run again. Eagle's very good at running quietly. Nobody can run silently, but she has a knack for landing lightly on her feet. I'm not sure how she does it, but it sure sticks out with all three of us back here clomping behind.

She stops before rounding a corner, motioning for us to be quiet. She begins sneaking before rounding the corner, and we follow suit. That's it.

"Oh my," I whisper, looking at the 'paralyzed' horde. Hundreds of Z's stand in the shaded area of an intersection area, staring at the ground. I see Zach and Evan's faces fill with confusion and fear, much like mine. Eagle stands still, cool as a cucumber.

"Rivian!" I hear a whisper behind us. I look back at Evan and Zach, expecting it to be one of them. It's not. I turn around completely, seeing someone standing there. I nearly scream in shock.

Catey.

"Come on," she states quietly, catching Eagle's attention too. "Follow me."

"Catey!" I exclaim, following her as she runs through the alleyway and turns right, out of sight of the horde. The others follow closely. Rounding the corner, I catch up to her and catch her in my arms.

"Hey," she smiles, hugging me back. A massive weight has just been lifted off my shoulders. Relief replaces the shock of the recent sight as I finally relax. Thank fuck. "Didn't think I'd see you up here."

"You should know me well enough," I laugh, letting go. The three stand behind me, and she smirks at me before looking at them.

"Good to see you, Eagle, Zach, er..." she pauses as she realizes Evan's here too. Her relief, it seems, just washed away. "Evan," she states flatly. Evan looks at the ground with a defeated look on his face.

"Anyway," she sighs, adjusting the sling for her bow. "Come."

- ~ -

"Let me recap," Eagle mutters, scratching her head as we all sit in the living room of an apartment. This had been Catey's home for the past week or so. "It wasn't a scouting mission."

"No," Catey responds, handing all of us a bottle of water. "Blake sent me here to investigate the horde activity. He disguised it as a scavenging run so people wouldn't freak out."

"And you went offline because of a Z attack?" Zach asks for clarification.

"Correct," she responds. "One got within melee range and bumped my radio out of my holster. Cracked on the ground."

"There's still one thing, though," I murmur, heavy in thought. Everyone's head turns my way. "How did Blake know?"

Eagle raises her eyebrows in response, nodding her head as if to say 'fair enough.' Zach and Evan follow suit as Catey nods. "He says he got a radio transmission."

"Huh?" Zach chimes in, looking at her in disbelief. Catey's head turns his way. "I never got any signals, and I have that big array!"

"You didn't?" Catey questions with a surprised look. "Yeah, he told me he intercepted a radio talk from some guys up here in Harlem."

"There's no way," Zach sighs, nodding his head. "I have that giant array. There's nothing Blake could hear that I couldn't. Hell, I even got an upgrade part from a recent scavenging run!"

He dips his head, clearly frustrated. "Something doesn't add up, then," Zach concludes simply. "I don't want to be that guy, but, could Blake be lying?"

"What?" Eagle interjects, looking at Zach incredulously. "Why would he do that?"

"I'm not saying he would!" Zach defends, making random gestures with his hands. "All I'm saying is this: if he lied to all of us about the true objective, then he could've lied to Catey about the main point."

"I... doubt it," Catey mutters, shaking her head. "Then again, there's a horde of asleep Z's outside. I thought that was impossible too."

- R O N N I E -

I close the door to the vehicle. The reflection of sunlight off of the bright white snow causes me to squint as I view the road ahead. Last night, the storm had let up significantly, preventing me from being trapped in the lodge for days.

Babying the vehicle, I inch down the slick road toward the highway. Four-wheel drive doesn't help in the ice, after all. Nevertheless, I eventually reach the bottom of the hill. I double-check the car before turning on the highway. Luckily, it seems I haven't forgotten anything. I turn the wheel right, beginning onto the on-ramp-

My eyes go wide as my body tenses. A figure stands at the end of the ramp. It's pitch black. I slam on the brakes as I slap myself. To my terror, I don't wake up. I feel my face warming as I swallow bile.

What. The. Fuck.

I refuse to take my eyes off of it. Horrifyingly, it casts no shadow. "What are you?" I attempt to say; my vocal cords barely squeak it out. I break eye contact, instinctually reaching for my pistol in the passenger seat. When I sit up, pointing my pistol at it behind the windshield, it's... gone.

Chills run down my body as I check my mirrors and windows apprehensively. It takes every bit of will I can muster to complete my search. No figure is anywhere to be found.

Am I... hallucinating? Ironically, that would be the best option at this point. That can't be real. Whatever that thing is, it's stuck in my head. It can't exist in the real world.

Can it?

With my arm shaking, I put the car in gear and gingerly press the gas.