To Be A Hero

Chapter 36: In Da Club

"I do appreciate this, you know," Moonchild says, smiling softly at me, and the raging sounds from all around are gone, just me and her. I find myself staring at her, feeling like a small child as she looks at me, studying me. "Bringing me in for the best bits. Have you noticed that? You only ever imagine me-or tune in to me, or hand yourself to me, or whatever this is-when you're really up against it. So let's see... where were we? The doctor and Janine seem to have their hands full in that broken down van."

A scream of pain breaks through the silence, and I wince, the sound stabbing into my head.

"Oh, God! God!" Maxine cries. Her voice is loud. Too loud. It hurts!

"It's all going very well, Dr. Meyers," Janine says. "You are, I estimate, at seven centimeters."

"You can do this, Maxine," Kefilwe says encouragingly. Her voice is soft, but it hurts. I have to resist the urge to claw at my own head in hopes to stop the pain.

"Screw anyone who ever said anything about natural painkiller-free deliveries!" Maxine yells, shouting out in pain again.

Then silence, and Moonchild stares stares at me, as if she can see into my head. I think she can. She flashes her teeth.

"They've got that under control. Dr. Lobatse's in Abel, but she's got better advice than me. And how is the indestructible Abel Township?"

Screaming hits my ears, the sound skittering up to my brain, causing flashes of white hot agony to fire behind my eyes. I have to resist the urge to scream.

Loud! Too loud!

"The north wall-it's on fire!" Jody screams. "No, I don't know how it got set on fire! I'm not the mother of dragons! Throw some water on it!"

Silence falls once more. I'm shaking. Moonchild's smiling.

"She's doing well, isn't she? More to her than meets the eye, that girl."  She looks about. "There's a horde of zombies approaching from the west, but you can handle zombies, Five. I've seen you."

She reaches out and grabs my chin. I swear I can almost feel it before her hand drops.

"So, what am I here for?"

We both look at Sam at the same time. He's looking at me, tears running down his face, eyes swollen and puffy.

"Five, you have to get going," He says. His voice doesn't hurt. He takes my gun from its holster on my hip. "I'll... I'll do it."

Moonchild blinks. "What is he talking about, Runner Five? What's he going to do?"

I look over at Paula, who's coughing and rasping, horrible half-groans leaving her lips. She's only able to force out one word.

"Max!"

"Oh! I see. Paula's about to turn into a zombie. Yes, you were right to call me in for this." Her fingers brush against my face. I don't feel them. "I'll always be here for you. Always."

"Help me," I whisper, eyeing her desperately. She leans close to whisper in my ear.

"You remember something. Maybe Veronica's talked about it. Or maybe I'm the one who knows. Doesn't really matter. One of us knows that sometimes people turn so quickly, but sometimes they turn very slowly. And you've seen something in the field."

Suddenly flashes of today's events play within my mind, even as I hear the talk of the present world.

"Paula, hold on!" Sam cries.

"Zombies on the way," Milo says.

"They're attracted... by the blood," Maxine says.

"I'm ready," Janine says.