Runner Series (Book 1): Runner 3 (4 page)

The crowd hummed with approval, but Audrey was seething. She tapped her heel on the ground quickly and stared at the red carpet until Dean finished announcing the plans for the Runners’ new guidelines. He took his seat next to her and put his arm around her back.

“I’m sorry, Audrey,” he whispered in her ear while the meeting was being closed with the vote on the Runner program. “It was the only thing I could get the whole Council to agree on.”

She snorted and turned her head away from him, “You could have done more. Your father is in charge of everything and we all know he’ll listen to you when it comes to what the Runners do.”

“I’ll make it up to you,” Dean said giving her shoulder a squeeze. “I promise.”

He didn’t give her any idea of what he might do to make up the possibility of no longer going to Carlsbad to her and instead turned to talk to Peter.

After the Council held a vote to see if there was general consent to the new guidelines for Roswell citizens and Runners the meeting was closed and people started branching off into groups.

As soon as the Council ended the meeting Audrey stood up from her chair and walked toward the door of the conference room. She was stopped by the third councilmember, Sandra Jimenez. She was a short stocky woman who spoke quietly and took notes during town meetings instead of engaging with the people.

“Audrey,” she touched Audrey on the shoulder to get her attention. “I just wanted to see if you would be okay with organizing a service project for the Runners?”

The woman’s kindness threw Audrey off for a moment, but she gathered herself and smiled, “Sure, what will it be for?”

“We’re going to need all the help we can get to prepare dwellings for new citizens,” Mrs. Jimenez said. “If the Runners could help us it would be appreciated.”

“I’ll let Dean know and we’ll make a schedule,” Audrey looked over her shoulder to see where Dean was and hurried to end the conversation. “I’ll bring whatever we put together to you later.”

“Thank you, sweetheart,” the older woman said before heading back to the Council’s table.

Running into Mrs. Jimenez helped Audrey calm down enough so she could rehearse possible arguments she could have with Dean about why none of the new restrictions were okay with her.

It was unfair for the Council to try to take away the extra perks she had for putting her life on the line as a Runner—like going to Carlsbad. It’s not like she asked for an apocalypse to happen.

She stormed out the building and wished there were more doors she could slam. She grabbed the handlebars to her bicycle and started walking north.

“Audrey wait!” Dean called from behind her.

She bit her tongue and stopped to wait for him, “I’m not okay with having to go to you for approval for my runs to Carlsbad, Dean.”

“Well, there isn’t much of a choice right now,” he countered.

“Of course there isn’t. You’re not even going to try fighting the restriction because you know you’ll have the chance to stop me from going now,” Audrey climbed onto her bike.

Dean sighed and dropped his hands to his sides in defeat, “What do you want me to say, Audrey? I know how dangerous what you’re doing is. You know I haven’t been okay with it either.”

“I want you to trust me,” Audrey stared at her handlebars.

“I do trust you,” Dean said. “But the dregs are becoming more unpredictable and I don’t want you to do anything that might make me lose you.”

“You won’t lose me, Dean. I’m being as careful as I can,” Audrey knew he had more to say, but she refused to look at him. She pushed on her pedals and headed home.

She welcomed the cool breeze on her skin. She pulled her hair out of the ponytail and let her hair flutter in the wind behind her. She did her best to distract herself and let her mind wander back to the things she had to look forward too, like the Runner’s service project… and finding out who would be coming to stay in Roswell with the people from Artesia. She focused on that and couldn’t help but smile.

Audrey panted and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as she pushed herself to stay ahead of Dean.

The night before he had given her time to get home and cool down before he came to talk to her. When she had opened the door to her house to him standing there she still felt like chewing him out, but he had promised her that he would make it up to her for the new restrictions he had agreed to for the Runners. One of the ways he tried to make it up was by offering to train with her every day to help build her speed up during her runs.

“Your endurance is really good now, but don’t think this will guarantee you a trip to Carlsbad every month, Audrey,” he said between heavy breaths when they finished running.

He sat on the grass in the middle of the track and patted the ground next to him.

“I know I’ll get the trips,” Audrey said as confidently and sweetly as she could while being covered in sweat with bright red cheeks and sat down next to him.

Dean smirked and laid down, “How can you be so sure?”

“Because you don’t want me to be mad at you anymore so you’ll approve the trips,” she said laying down on the dry, prickly grass next to him. She fanned her face with her hand, “You’d think with all the clouds floating around it wouldn’t be so hot out.”

“They just trap everything down here and make it humid and gross,” Dean closed his eyes and scooted closer to her. “I’ll approve your runs as long as you do well with the weapons training, but I can’t guarantee Pat Ruthers will make things easy for you.”

“Your dad and Mrs. Jimenez never pay much attention to him anyway,” Audrey laughed. “I think they’ll keep letting me go as long as I follow the new decontamination and time restrictions.”

“Hopefully,” Dean said.

“We’re going to have to get back inside the gates before they close them,” Audrey whispered. A cloud moved over her and she closed her eyes. “I don’t want to be out here when the dregs start coming out again.”

“Let’s go then,” Dean stood up and brushed the yellowed grass off his shorts and then helped Audrey up. “There are other places that are taking new precautions too. It isn’t just the dregs here. We heard from Gallup and Albuquerque that the same thing is happening there.”

Communications from other towns usually came in sporadically from the places that had the internet available, but multiple towns and cities had been reporting to each other for days. A lot of people were terrified after the news came.

Bigger communities, like Albuquerque, had decided to start training groups they called “elimination forces”. Their sole purpose was to wipe out as many dregs as possible. The Council had talked with the Runners while Audrey was gone and they had considered the idea as well. It was something the Runners were willing to do on top of the duties they already had.

“Really? How is everyone else reacting to the idea of being the elimination force here?” Audrey inquired.

“For the most part they’re okay with it. Peter is eager to get started. He thinks it’ll help get the walls taken down faster,” he shook his head. “Audrey, I know it might make you upset, but I don’t know if I would be comfortable keeping you on as a Runner if it happens.”

“Why not?” Audrey snapped at him. “I’ve already proven I’m fast. You think I can’t kick some serious zombie butt?”

Dean smirked and grabbed her hand, “I’m sure you could. I’m just worried about you and it wouldn’t just be dregs you’d have to go after. Eventually it would be the mutants, too.”

Audrey wouldn’t openly admit it to Dean, but mutants terrified her. They weren’t the same as dregs chasing you around mindlessly because you smelled good or infecting you with nonlethal bites. Mutants were out to kill and were still intelligent enough to figure out how to get you.

It wasn’t clear why some people mutated differently when they turned into dregs, but there had been three different kinds of mutants catalogued and reported in different areas: Howlers, Gushers, and Behemoths.

Howlers were the most common type of mutant. They were small in size, but when they were disturbed by something or if they were out hunting they could run at inhumanly fast speed. If that wasn’t terrifying enough, they would emit a blood-curdling shriek that could be heard up to a half a mile away. It made it easier for them to take down prey because the regular dregs would be startled by the screams and would chase after the Howler’s prey. After someone was caught the Howler would rip at their flesh until they died.

Back in the early days before the walls were up there had been a Runner who actually escaped an attack by a Howler, but he didn’t last for long when he got back to the community. It was after that the Council decided infected people would be forced out of the community.

Gushers were something Audrey had only seen near Carlsbad and they hadn’t been spotted near Roswell yet. They were slow moving, but agile—and they were covered with infection filled boils. Audrey knew it was best to avoid them because the pockets of pus that covered them were fragile and broke open when anything came into contact with them.

Audrey had once seen a dreg bump senselessly into a Gusher and it was immediately covered in the foul smelling yellow goo. Audrey could smell the liquid from her lookout area and was glad she wasn’t close. The dregs in the area seemed to be hyper attracted to the smell. They swarmed the dull creature and by the time the smell had dissipated there was nothing left of the dreg who had been covered.

Behemoths were rare and had only been sighted about a dozen times throughout the entire planet. The idea of a huge, muscle bound zombie the size of a small sedan did scare Audrey, but she knew there was no chance she’d ever meet one with how rare they were.

Audrey chewed on her lip while thinking of all the terrible things that could happen to her, but shook her head, “It don’t care, Dean. I’m going to do it. I’ve been a Runner this long, there isn’t anything that will make me quit.”

“Audrey, be reasonable,” his hands trembled slightly and he put his arm around her shoulder. “I know you want to keep going on your outings to Carlsbad, but what would everyone here do if you go through with it and we lost you.”

“Nothing bad will happen,” Audrey stated matter-of-factly even though she knew she couldn’t guarantee it. She hugged him around his waist and walked away. She repositioned her ponytail and straightened her shirt. “You know I can handle myself.”

Dean sighed exasperatedly, “I guess we’ll just have to keep training then.”

They walked back through the north gate together. Dean tried to talk to Audrey, but her thoughts were consumed with the images of mutants and the different ways she could possibly kill them.

“What are you thinking about?” Dean bumped his shoulder into hers.

“Just everything, I guess. Carlsbad has Gushers near the caves. Even though I’ve never seen a Howler in person I’ve heard them every night for month. Just like everyone else, but if it weren’t for Tanner bringing one so close to here so long ago…”

“Let’s not talk about Tanner,” Dean suggested stiffly as they walked through the Commons Square. “I think it’s almost dinner time.”

“I know,” Audrey stared at her feet while they walked and fidgeted with her hands. “Sorry for bothering you.”

“You’re not bothering me. You know I just want to keep you safe, right?” Dean put his finger under her chin and lifted it so her gaze met his. “I know it’s not really my job, but now that you don’t have anyone left here I want to make sure you’re okay.”

Audrey nodded and crossed her arms. She turned her head away from him and looked at the ground with her jaw clenched. Dean might think he was trying to protect her, but keeping her in Roswell was not what was best for her.

Her watch beeped and her stomach grumbled, “My legs hurt and I am beyond hungry.”

“Let’s get something to eat then,” Dean rested his arm around her shoulders and they walked to the community mess hall.

~~~

The next few days were hectic for the Runners. They eagerly waited to start their new weapons training. In the meantime, each of them was issued a pistol from the old police station armory and they were allowed to participate in target practice outside the walls during their regular training hours which had shifted to the afternoon so they could go out onto the field after the dregs who came out during the day were gone.

“At the end of this week we’re going to bring in a trainer from Albuquerque to help us with our training. He’ll be teaching us basic hand to hand moves and will work with us on our shooting techniques for a couple days,” Dean informed everyone. “Until then you’ll be returning the pistols at the end of every practice.”

“That sucks, man,” Peter protested. “It’s not like we won’t get to keep them all the time eventually.”

“I’m just telling you what the Council told me to do until we’re properly trained,” Dean laughed. “You’ll get to keep it soon enough, you gun nut.”

Audrey didn’t mind turning her gun in at the end of the day and wasn’t looking forward to when she was going to have it all the time.

After practice she went to the library where she frequently volunteered to help her roommate, Jennifer, on Tuesdays for reading time. The library was also used as a day care during the day, so there was usually something for her to help with.

“Fancy seeing you here again,” Jennifer greeted her with her happy and squeaky voice.

Audrey smiled at her and rubbed her hands on the sides of her legs, “Yup, here again. What can I do to help you out today?”

“I’m afraid there isn’t really a lot. You’ve been here a lot the last few days, so all of the extra things we had to do are pretty much done,” Jennifer smiled.

Audrey liked Jennifer. She was nice and always happy, but there was something about her perfectly curled long blonde hair that didn’t sit right with her.

“Alright,” Audrey’s shoulders drooped. “Well if you can think of anything just let me know.”

“Actually,” Jennifer said thoughtfully touching her fingertip to her chin. “There is something I could use some help with.”

“Cool, what is it?” Audrey asked.

“We have some extra snack foods that we usually give to the kids. Mrs. Jimenez asked if we’d be able to spare any for the new houses they’re setting up for the people coming from Artesia,” Jennifer explained. “I have a box of stuff in the back and since you guys are going to be working on that anyway do you think you could take that over to the community food bank?”

“Absolutely,” Audrey smiled and headed towards the breakroom the childcare providers used to store things for the kids. She grabbed the box that had been prepared and left quickly.

Helping with preparations for the new citizens from Artesia was something Audrey was excited to do. She and another Runner named Marcella had already helped set up a couple houses with furniture. Mrs. Jimenez had given them keys to the food bank so they could stock the house’s pantries with canned foods.

The arrival date of the fifty new people had been set for the end of the month and Audrey often found herself absentmindedly thinking of Lincoln, wondering if he’d be one of the new residents.

When she got to the food bank she was surprised to see Dean and Peter were sorting through the cans and packages on the shelves so they could take the food that was close to expiring to the mess hall.

“Do you know who’s coming to Roswell?” She asked Dean and started pulling old boxes of crackers off a shelf so there would be room for the new food.

“The Council has a manifest of the people being sent here,” Dean dropped a can into the old red metal children’s wagon he and Peter were using. “Why?”

Audrey moved the cardboard box she brought from the library next to the counter, “I was just wondering if I might know anyone on it.”

“How many times have you been to Artesia?” Dean looked at her questioningly. “You’ve only stopped there a few times. Who would you know?”

“Yeah, I’ve stopped a few times,” she snipped. She usually stopped there on her way to and from Carlsbad, but she didn’t bother talking to people and would just pitch her pop tent for the night or fill up water bottles and leave. Lincoln was the first person she had said more than hello to during any of her stays. “I was just wondering, Dean.”

“I can see if there’s anyone on the list,” Dean smirked and helped her put sheets on the bed. “What the name of the person you’re looking for?”

“Lincoln,” she answered. She felt her cheeks heat up and refused to look at Dean.

Dean leaned against the counter and cocked his head to the side, “Lincoln? Last name?”

“I don’t know it,” she muttered. She tried to picture the camouflage army jacket he’d been wearing, but she couldn’t remember the name on the tag.

“I’ll look,” Dean stood up. “Looks like we’re done here. Want to head to the mess hall to get food?”

“Sure,” Audrey said. She didn’t care for the food the Council provided through the mess hall, but there wasn’t a lot of food for individual households, so cooking at home was a luxury. “Are you coming Peter, or are you headed home?”

“I’ll come by in a little while. I have some stuff to do before I call it quits for the day,” He scrunched his nose up and sighed. “Besides, there’s nothing like bland food in the cafeteria. It’s like being in school all over again.”