To Be A Hero

Chapter 20: Lullaby

"Runners ready?" Janine asks.

Sam takes in a shaky breath, and I offer him a smile when he glances over at me. He smiles back. "Ready."

"Gates up, please."

The alarm sound, the gates are raised, and we run.

"Hey, both of you, thanks for agreeing to this," Sam says, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "I know taking me shopping isn't really top priority-"

"Miss McShell is making progress in her research from that Viking zombie arm. She has all the support she needs. The Ministry has sent in a team of scientists to help her," Janine interrupts. "Things are quiet. I'm willing to give this furlough some juncture. Plus Five said that if I didn't, she'd sneak you out herself to go to the Chinese Culture Center, and the last thing we need is for her to end up getting herself or the both of you killed."

He scoffs, eyeing me with a sly smile. "True. I'd hate for you to die so close to your birthday."

"Me too," I reply with my own wicked grin. "Especially since you seem so excited for our d-"

"You're not gonna let that go, are you?"

"It's the twenty-first. You still have three days to back out."

"All of this just to see if I'm lying?" There's a glimmer of something in his eyes. I just can't place it. "You are something."

"I try."

"What exactly are you deciding to bring back for the child?" Janine questions, and Sam's face breaks out into a wide smile.

"Ah, it's really cool. I managed to track down one of the guys who used to curate the little museum at the Center on Roufflenet, and he told me there's a whole library of CDs! We only rarely spoke Chinese at home, but when my grandma came to visit, she used to sing me this lullaby. Uh, sort of like 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'." He tries to sing it, but he gets off tune rather quickly, and flushes under my stare. "Sorry. I don't really don't do the lullaby justice. I guess you see why I want the CD."

"That's very nice," Janine says, and his eyebrows go up in surprise.

"You think so?"

"I-yes. I understand. Though if you're intending to reach your destination in time, you'll need to go quickly. We have less than two hours before sunset. Let's have you and Runner Five home before that."

He nods, but he looks at me once he notices I'm still staring. "What?"

"Nothing," I say, cringing when my voice cracks. Still I look at him with slow appreciation. "It's just been awhile since I've seen you in running gear. Not that you look bad in it or anything, but yeah... It's different."

It's true. Seeing in something other than his orange jumper or green T-shirt is so strange. He looks good though, even though his running shirt has no number which seems a bit off, but he looks good otherwise. He looks cute.

He laughs. "Yeah. I think the last time I left Abel was when we went to the docks for Sarah... seems like that happened forever ago." He shakes his head as if to dispel the thought. "Well, as good as you may think I look in running gear, don't get used to it. This is a one time deal."

"You say that until you have such a good time being my running partner that you're begging to go out on a run with me again."

"Seeing how you nearly get yourself killed when you go out, I highly doubt it."

"If you're so worried about that, why'd you ask me to go out with you on this mission in the first place?" I ask with a confused look. Sam shrugs.

"Well, I said you almost get yourself killed. Almost. And you said you'd throw yourself in front of a zom to keep me from being bitten, so at least with you I know I'm well protected."