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

“I know you could have, but you’ve been gone too long already. People are starting to talk about things,” he looked back at the people in the camp that were watching them walk out and moved closer to her so she could hear him whisper. “No one wants a repeat of what happened to Tanner.”

“It’s not like I violated the time constraints or anything,” she uttered as they walked through Artesia’s gate. “I’ve been careful while I’m out too.”

Dean rolled his eyes and pursed his lips, silently reminding her that she was out too late the night before. She looked away from him sheepishly and kept walking until they reached the car.

“I know you didn’t do anything wrong for a Runner, but people at home are wary of anyone gone longer than three days now,” Dean opened the trunk to the old police cruiser.

“They realize Runners need more time to gather information, right?” She handed her bag to Dean and watched him toss it in the trunk.

“Ever since Tanner was exiled after being bitten I don’t think they care what the Runners need,” Dean shut the trunk and took her bicycle from her. He lifted it onto the bike rack on the back of the care and locked it into place.

He opened the backseat door for her and waited for her to get in, “Besides, there have been some developments in Roswell that started while you were gone the last few days that might change your mind.”

“This is the way the world is now,” Audrey grumbled after she sat down. “It’s not going to change anytime soon just because they want it to.”

“Things
are
starting to change, Audrey,” Dean sat in the passenger seat and Peter started the car. “The dregs are starting to come out during the day.”

It took Audrey a while to process what Dean had said. She was silent for a moment and then asked, “What do you mean they’re coming out during the day?”

“I mean exactly what I said,” Dean answered. “There have been dregs walking around in broad daylight.”

“That’s not possible,” Audrey said incredulously. “Everybody knows dregs are nocturnal.”

“Maybe in old myths and urban legends, but I’m telling you, the dregs are coming out,” Dean insisted.

Audrey watched the clouds silently pass in the sky out the window. The warm air circulating through the shoddy air conditioner in the car stifled her and she started to feel claustrophobic. She took her shoes off and rolled down the window before laying down and sticking her feet out the door into the air. She sighed and stared at the car’s ceiling and tried to wrap her mind around what Dean had told her.

Weren’t zombies supposed to be just like vampires? It was something commonly accepted as fact and when people started changing into the dregs that fact was revealed to be true. Until now.

“You need to sit up and put your seatbelt on,” Dean said from the front of the car, interrupting her thoughts.

“Why? It’s not like there are any other cars on the road. Who would we could get into an accident with?” Audrey asked and jabbed him in the back of the shoulder with her finger. “Quit being such a dork.”

Dean leaned back into his seat, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s just hard to break old habits.”

Audrey stretched out across the back seat and yawned, “So, tell me more the dregs are coming out during the day. Did it just start out of nowhere?”

Dean tapped his fingers on his knee and looked over his shoulder while he was talking to her, “That’s what it looks like. We opened the gate and there was still a few of them out. They weren’t in a hurry to get out of the daylight until closer to noon and they’ve been that way every day.”

Audrey leaned up on her forearm, “Why are they doing it though?”

Dean pressed his lips together so they formed a line, “I don’t know, but they’re wandering around like it’s the middle of the night. It has a lot of people scared to the point that the Council is talking about closing the gates permanently.”

“I’m lucky it was only dregs out there. I didn’t have to worry about being chased on my way back to the community,” Peter added.

Audrey sat up and rubbed his shoulder, “I’m glad nothing happened to you, Pete, but what’s the point of closing the gate permanently?”

“We want to make sure the community is safe,” Peter said. “Personally, I think we should just kill all of them. It would be a lot easier than pussyfooting around all day.”

He smiled at her in the rearview mirror and patted her hand on his shoulder, “You know I’ve never cared for them though.”

She still couldn’t believe it. Dregs couldn’t come out during the day.

“Has anything else changed with them?” Audrey’s mind turned to Carlsbad and what she witnessed on her last trip. “Are they turning back into regular people?”

“We don’t know what’s going on,” Dean sighed. “It’s not like we can just walk up to them, catch them, and run tests with our non-existent equipment and scientists.”

Audrey rested her head on the back of Dean’s chair and watched the calm desert scene. None of this should be happening. She should be going swimming with her friends or going on her first dates, and now, because of the dregs acting unusual, even going outside the wall might become a thing of the past.

“The Council is having a town meeting today for anyone who wants to come,” Dean turned back to the front of the car. “They’ve been talking to us the last couple days and they’re thinking of revamping the Runner program, thanks to Peter.”

“What did Peter say to them?”

“Pretty much what he just told you. He wants us to just start killing them off,” Dean informed her. “If they decide to go with it there would be new requirements to become a Runner and we’ll get some new training.”

“What kind of training would it add?” Audrey felt dizzy and laid down again. She rested her feet outside the car window and wiggled her toes in the breeze.

“I don’t really know,” Dean shrugged. “It will have to be something that gets us closer to them so we can kill them. It’s not like we have a surplus of guns and ammunition. Everyone who goes to the meeting gets a vote and people still aren’t very happy about Runners going out and possibly coming back infected like Tanner was.”

“Everyone will probably try to vote the Runner program out of existence just because of that,” Audrey crossed her arms and put them over her eyes.

“I know a lot of them will try. Mr. Ruther’s will probably be heading that platform,” Dean sighed. “It’s not like it’s the worst thing that could happen though.”

“Might as well just take away everyone’s freedom to do anything,” Audrey countered angrily. “There’s no point in keeping the gates closed or only letting people out to continue working in the orchards and farms.”

“I know it’s not ideal, but it would keep people safe until we can be sure there are no more dregs,” Peter reasoned. “Besides, you can’t keep going to Carlsbad. It’s dangerous for you.”

Tears stung Audrey’s eyes at the thought of never having the time to go down to Carlsbad and be away from Roswell again.

She sat up and rested her forehead on her knees and tried to breathe slowly and deeply, “It’s not up to you guys to make my decisions.”

“Roswell is one of the best organized settlements right now with the lowest mortality rate in New Mexico, Audrey. We have the rules for a reason,” Dean chided her, he rubbed his face and looked back at her. “I’ll see if I can make a good argument for you before the meeting.”

“You know I’ll help however I can too,” Peter looked at her in the mirror with a smile.

Audrey looked up at them and rubbed the tears off of her cheeks, “Thanks guys.”

They drove quietly into Roswell through the south gate and parked the car by the wall. Audrey looked around at the small town and wondered how long she would be able to justify staying.             

“We can’t keep letting our people out there with those things. There is a possibility of bringing back the virus that could kill the last of us. The Runners are risking the safety of the entire community,” Pat Ruthers angrily addressed the room full of people who had gathered in the hotel conference room for the meeting.

Mr. Ruthers was a silver haired middle-aged man who held a position on the Roswell Council and had a passion for trying to limit what the people of the town could do. According to him it was for the safety of the community, but Audrey wasn’t sure he cared much about the welfare of Roswell’s residents.

“I agree we need to do all we can to be safe, but the fact of the matter is that it is unreasonable to cut off the rest of the world outside our gates,” said Grant Davies.

Mr. Davies often disagreed with restrictions Mr. Ruthers tried to force on the citizens of Roswell and because he was the Head Councilman he had a little more sway when it came to passing new laws for the town.

“The sole reason we’ve built the wall and cut ourselves off is to protect everyone from further threats,” Mr. Ruthers argued vehemently, flecks of spittle flying from his mouth. “There shouldn’t be exceptions for people that would have the potential of getting us all killed!”

Audrey snorted and put her ankle on her knee. She wiggled her foot impatiently and shifted in her seat. She looked at the other nine Runners and was surprised to see that no one else seemed as irritated by the murmurs of agreement that were being whispered throughout the crowd as she was—except maybe Peter. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his jaw was clenched so hard the muscle in his cheek ticked.

“We need to keep lines of communication with other towns and cities open, Pat,” Mr. Davies tried reasoning with the older man. “We need to know how the rest of the world is recovering and adapting. We need to know how things are changing.”

“Isn’t that why the internet is being kept up?” a man shouted from the back of the room.

Mr. Davies rolled his eyes and groaned. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face with this hand. He looked over at the Runners to gauge their reaction and spotted Audrey fidgeting. He shook his head with raised eyebrows and a can-you-believe-this look. He laced his fingers together and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table.

“I am going to turn the time over to Dean, who is our current Director of Runners and Runner One,” Mr. Davies introduced him. “I think he can help us understand the importance of why the Runner program is beneficial to all of us.”

As the Director of Runners, Dean had an unofficial part of the conversation as a community leader and would speak to the citizens at public meetings to help sway the opinion of people who came. He was also Mr. Davies’ son and it was evident from the senior Davies’ expression that he needed to say something to the citizens that would support his father.

Dean walked into the middle of the floor and stood in between the Council and the residents who were attending the meeting. He smiled at the crowd and paced confidently back and forth with a thoughtful look. Audrey watched the people grow anxious as he stalled to gather his train of thought.

“There are two questions that need to be answered right now. First, are the Runners an essential part of running Roswell? And second, should we shut the gate? The answers to those are simple. Yes and no,” Dean looked at the angrily chittering crowd and clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Roswell is unable to completely sustain itself at this point in time. We still rely heavily on trading with other communities and the small trading caravans that come through.”

People in the crowd started nodding in agreement, so he continued.

“We aren’t always going to live behind these walls. We all know they are a temporary measure. So, why go back to keeping them shut like we did when we first built them?” he asked.

“Because we don’t want to die!” a man contributed sarcastically.

“That’s a given though,” Dean agreed with a smirk. “We all know there is a very basic internet system in use right now that allows us to receive information from other towns, but there are places we need to keep in contact with that don’t have that luxury. Places like Artesia and Carlsbad.”

“But do we really need to send a Runner down to a mutated zone like Carlsbad?” Mr. Ruthers interjected. “We are risking the safety of everyone who is left by sending a runner down monthly.”

“The information the Runners bring the Council is valuable and will help us when the time comes for more extreme measures when dealing with the dregs,” Dean said.

“It’s hard to believe the Runners are more qualified to do anything the rest of us can,” a petite woman Audrey knew was named Melissa stood up. “If I wanted to pop on down to Artesia or head over to Albuquerque—or anywhere else for that matter—I could do it too, and I could get just as much information.”

Audrey wanted to scream at the small woman, but she had to stifle a laugh as she watched Dean rub his face the exact same way Mr. Davies had when Mr. Ruthers had annoyed him.

“Can you run a mile in nine and a half minutes if you were asked to?” He looked directly at her and crossed his arms over his chest.

Myrtle’s ears turned red and she shook her head no.

“Could you run or jog for six hours straight?” he asked as sincerely as he could without revealing he was angry, but Audrey could tell he was by the way he was tapping his toes while he waited for the woman’s answers.

Melissa shook her head again and sat down.

“I know a lot of you don’t see the Runners as a necessary part of life, but they are. Did you know that if it weren’t for Audrey’s latest run, we wouldn’t have known that Artesia was in imminent danger of running out of supplies and collapsing?” Dean asked the now silent group of people. “Their resources are dangerously low and because of their small size they have no one to relay that message. They only have just enough fuel to keep generators running at night to deter Howlers.”

The new information piqued Audrey’s interest and she sat up straighter in her chair. Artesia was in danger?
They seemed to be okay. I wonder why Lincoln didn’t tell me there was trouble so I could tell the Council
.
He knew I’m a Runner.

“That’s another good reason the Runners are important,” Mr. Davies cut Dean’s speech off. “Fuel is a resource that is in short supply these days. Do you know how long it takes to run from Roswell to Artesia?”

Many people shifted uncomfortably and whispered guesses were thrown out.

“If you think you could run from here to there during daylight hours and be back by the time the dregs normally start coming out, then by all means, do it,” Mr. Davies challenged the multitude. He held up a packet of papers, “Artesia has people who have been using supplies far too frivolously. They have been more liberal when it comes to their wants and don’t have a council to provide guidance.”

“The Head Councilman is right,” Dean took over again. “Dr. Searle, who is their unofficial head, was too lenient with supplies. They have just sent out pleas to other towns in New Mexico and just over the border to Texas for aid via our Runners and our radios because the town cannot be sustained.”

“Thank you for that information, Dean,” Mr. Davies said with a stern look which effectively cutting his son off.

Dean nodded and took his seat between Peter and Audrey.

He looked at her questioningly with his thumbs up, “So what do you think? Good argument?”

She nodded and gave him a thumbs up before turning her attention back to Mr. Davies.

“If it weren’t for Audrey’s last run we wouldn’t have known how bad it truly is there,” Mr. Davies leaned forward and flipped through a pile of papers on the table in front of him. “This also brings us to another decision the Council has made that needs to be announced to everyone—and make sure you pass it on because it’s been decided and there will not be a vote. Artesia will soon be disbanded and we will be accepting fifty of their citizens.”

Immediately shouts of unfairness and off the cuff accusations of communism were heard. A handful of people left the conference room angrily and others patiently waited to hear more information.

Audrey was one of the few in the room that seemed to be excited about the news.

She smiled to herself,
New people would be a nice change
.

Mr. Davies pounded his fist on the desk a couple times to regain order, “I know this seems overwhelming, but we have been fortunate. We have an excess of resources and it will not hurt us to accept these new people.”

Audrey watched the continually flip-flopping crowd quiet down again. She was glad the conversation had drifted away from trying to restrict the Runners and shutting the gates. She was sure the less the people thought about it, the more likely they wouldn’t vote to end the program. She looked at the Council and knew that Mr. Ruthers was aware of what Mr. Davies was doing too.

“We have been blessed to have many of our day to day activities remain the same during this trial and many of us have not suffered through the loss of family like most people in other communities,” Mr. Davies spoke slowly and calmly. “I hope that with time everyone will come to see the benefit of having more people among us. One benefit that will be instantaneous. We will be gaining a trained doctor! Which is something we haven’t had for a while.”

More people settled into a considerate silence as Mr. Davies spoke to them about what would be changing in their near future.

Audrey was happy to find out there would be someone new in Roswell who would be medically trained beyond the few nurses who lived in Roswell. They were extremely helpful and people respected them, but they mainly just treated minor symptoms and physical injuries.

“Does this mean the women who are pregnant will receive more comprehensive care?” A pregnant woman with a rather rotund stomach in the front row asked.

Mr. Davies nodded his head, “We need more people to keep the community growing. We need people of different trades to come in and help us so we can learn.”

“What about the dregs coming out during the day?” A man asked.

“That is something that we’re unclear about at this time,” Mr. Davies admitted. “Dean has more information on the precautions everyone should take and will answer any questions you may have about this to the best of his abilities.”

Dean patted Audrey’s knee and he stood up again energetically. He took his spot on the floor and cleared his throat again, “As most of you know, it was discovered this last week that dregs are staying out into the early afternoon. The Runner—Peter—who discovered this has taken me out and it has been confirmed. There is a small group that is out during the day near the orchards and the North West part of the wall.”

“What are you people going to do to keep all of us safe now?” An old man asked.

“We are going to be enlisting the help of former National Guard members who will be coming to us from Artesia,” Dean answered. “They will be issued firearms that they will use to keep the dregs from both the north and south gates.

“How will the Runners prevent themselves from being infected if they’re going to be coming into direct contact with them now?” another man asked.

“We will be starting new training exercises. All of the Runners will be issued weapons so we can start dealing with the dreg population as we encounter them,” Dean assured the man.

Audrey shifted anxiously in her chair at the thought of being required to handle a firearm, but it was nothing to what went through her mind when she realized it meant killing a person.

“How is that going to help us in the future?” A woman with a baby in her arms asked.

“Currently, the Runners have mainly been trained on how to avoid the dregs. We will each be issued surgical masks and will be following orders to kill them when possible as soon as we’re properly trained,” Dean responded stoically.

The future was an abstract idea to Audrey. Sure, there may be a day when people didn’t have to be fearful of going outside the walls, but no one knew when that would be. It was easier for her to focus on day to day things that would affect her immediately.

“Blowing their disgusting heads off isn’t that hard to train for,” the woman’s husband said loudly. “It’s like shooting at bottle on a fence.”

Peter guffawed loudly and nodded his head in agreement. He leaned over and asked Audrey, “Who wouldn’t kill one? It’s like asking to die if we just keep avoiding them all the time like we do now.”

Audrey rolled her eyes, “We haven’t really had to worry about it until now since they’ve only come out at night before and we’ve had a community-wide curfew.”

She turned her attention back to the meeting in time to hear the answer Dean gave to someone else, “The Runners will be given new time constraints on runs. On top of that anything that hasn’t been approved by the Council and myself will not be allowed.”

Audrey scowled at Dean and imagined sucker punching him in the stomach. She should have known he was going to try to find a way to keep her closer to Roswell.

He looked at her quickly and hurried to turn his attention back to the crowd, “We will also be working with our new doctor, Dr. Searle, when he gets here to improve the decontamination process Runners have to go through when they come back from their trips.”