To Be A Killer

Chapter 65: Love Is A Stranger

"Raise the gates! Covering fire!"

"You know, Mr. Yao, I've been meaning to tell you for some time, it's not covering fire," Janine says while running beside me.

"Well, they do fire, and it sort of does cover you, in that it protects you because it kills the zombies that were near the gates."

"Yes, but it would only be covering fire if the zombies were able to be frightened by it. Otherwise it's just fire."

"Why are you choosing to bring this up on your first mission out of Abel in months?" He asks.

"Being unable to leave on a mission has unsettled me, Mr. Yao. Precision and order are settling."

I would agree with her, but I've lived on two military bases since the apocalypse and they were both precise and orderly. I never felt settled at either one of those places.

"It's gonna be fine," Sam says, and Janine purses her lips.

"I know that, Mr. Yao."

"I was talking to both of you," Sam says, and I simply roll my eyes. I still haven't told him about my most recent vision, and I don't plan to despite the promise I made to him. He still thinks I think my fate is unchangeable, or at least that I highly doubt that it is changeable. He needs to think that, because I can't give him what could be false hope. I can't do that to him.

"It's gonna be fine, and it's important," He continues. "If Maxine and Paula or the people at Comansys can really build something that can recreate what the Tavington machine did-"

"I know that too, Mr. Yao. Five and I both do. We also know that Comansys does not have the right equipment on their ships to reconstruct the machine. That's why they asked Dr. Meyers and Cohen to build one here at Abel or even repair the one at the Tavington Clinic."

"Yeah. Well, I put up a call on Roufflenet for spare parts, and we got a tip that someone found a hobbyist's basement full of electronic bits. And you need to go there and see if any of it would work for the machine," He pauses. "I-I-I know you already know that, but I just find the runners appreciate it if I do a mission briefing even if they already know most of it. It's just, you know..."

"Routine is comforting?" She guesses with a professional tone.

"In which case, you might like to know you've picked up a few zoms. Might want to speed up."

Janine simply nods in reply as we pick up the pace, our feet crunching in the freshly fallen snow. I can hear the low moans of the zombies behind us, but I pay them no mind. They're not too fast, so we can get rid of them pretty easily if we keep up this pace. Besides, I have other things on my mind.

"If we do find what we need to fix or even build a new machine, how long do you think it would take before it would be safe to use?" I ask, giving Janine a curious glance.

The dark skinned woman shrugs. "It could be weeks or even months, given the damage that was done to the Tavington machine, and it could take longer if we decide to build one from scratch. I know Dr. Meyers and Cohen will work tirelessly to fix the machine's damage, but it won't be done anytime soon."

"So I guess-I guess Caleb won't be home for Christmas then, huh?" I don't try to hide the disappointment in my voice.

"Five, Christmas is four days away," Sam says. "It would be impossible to hope he'd be home for New Year's, much less Christmas."

I sigh. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Stupid me, thinking stupid thoughts. Sorry."

He immediately starts sputtering. "No, I-I wasn't meaning to-I-I don't think you're.... You're not stupid."