*Yay an update! 

Ugh. Life has been stressful so...

I've been having a time so thank you all for your patience and support <3

One Hundred Eleven |

Our team was small to my surprise. Ten of us—Jessica, Oliver, Owl, myself and six other soldiers who dressed from head to toe in black armor, and a woman dressed in a long puffy coat, with faded jeans. The soldiers unsettled me, even having black mesh masks on which Jessica had told us was for their own protection. I found it odd, but didn't question it. The soldiers didn't talk either, they just followed Jessica's every order like faceless dogs. Puffy jacket lady said her name was Maeve, and as we walked towards the dock, I spotted the dove in her coat and it clicked. She'd be our communication person.

"Come on," Jessica snapped, jumping onto the boat we'd be taking.

I bit my lip nervous to get onto another boat so soon. This one was smaller, but it still reminded me of Sonar, and his sacrifice. The soldiers climbed onto the boat, and one turned to help Maeve up. Then Oliver climbed on, and Owl jumped onto the boat after him. I shut my eyes for a moment, frozen in place. The engine ripped alive and the scent of gasoline reminded me all too much of the grandfather that had been torn from me.

"Hey!" Jessica yelled, making my eyes snap open, "Come on. Let's go."

I rolled my eyes, taking a deep inhale before jumping onto the boat. I sat beside Maeve, my fingers digging into the railing as the boat took off across the water. As it did, the wind sprayed trickles of water towards us, a coldness thick in the air. I shivered, placing my hand on Owl. He comforted me with purrs, and I distanced myself from the memories of Sonar's goodbye.

Eventually, we stepped off the boat and onto the city port. The guards stepped off first, their guns loud as they cleared any stragglers. I was surprised at first, there was little to no zombies and it seemed using guns here wasn't a noise issue. My eyes flickered over to Oliver who was just as tensed as I was—we seemed to be on the other side of the city—far away from the Labyrinth and the hospital. That also meant we were heading in the wrong direction of any of the settlements we knew. Hell, this side of the city was unfamiliar to me.

"Let's move," Jessica barked like a dog.

I didn't obey, "Where are we going?"

She gave me a bitter look, "Did you forget your mission already?"

"I think Mira is confused as to where we are going. We are at the wrong side of the city," Oliver piped in, pointing across the way towards the island but also the other side of the way, "We came from that side when we arrived. The zombie boat also came from that side as well."

She tsked, "We're going to the closest settlements first. That means the Ghost Town is first, and that's North. You came from the South."

Oh.

"Alright," I drawled out, eyeing her up and down.

Honestly, I didn't trust Jessica at all—she gave me Landon vibes. For all I knew she was planning to kill Oliver and I off as soon as she got the chance to. Even these guards were her soldiers—Oliver and I were outnumbered here and I knew that bastard had picked this team for that purpose.

Beside me, Owl rubbed his fat head against my fingers and I smirked softly, relaxing slightly. He silently reminded me that it wasn't two against the group, it was three against the group and while that meant nothing, it did comfort me.

"Clear!" One of the masked soldiers yelled.

Jessica nodded, tossing her head back towards me, "You coming Subject Zero?"

This bitch, Zero cackled in my mind, seems to want to meet me badly. Should I take a bite out of her neck maybe? Or that bitter face? We should put your mother's words to the test.

I shivered at her words and quickly started after Jessica. It scared me now. Thinking about Zero in my mind made me very afraid of myself. This new knowledge gave Zero more confidence and that scared me. It was power, and Zero enjoyed that. She liked knowing that not only did the undead ignore us when she fronted, but we could also make them.

"Hm," Oliver hummed beside me as we walked towards the crumbled road, "Do you think Lisa is doing alright? Do you think she's happy without me there?"

I jolted out of my thoughts and looked at him curiously, "Do you want her to be?"

"I think so," he replied, frowning slightly, "I'm not sure."

I smiled at him, "Do you miss her?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation, "But I miss Ophelia too. But I miss them differently. Owl misses them too, but Lisa secretly gives Owl treats. Ophelia doesn't do that."

I placed my hand on his, "I miss Sebastian too."

Lisa and Oliver were an odd pair and I hadn't realized the liked each other. Maybe Lisa didn't like him the same way but I could see how much Oliver liked her, maybe even loved her. He just didn't understand what that meant. I just hoped for the sake of them that Lisa felt the same way. Or in the very least, understood that he loved her.

"Keep up!" Jessica snarled back at us.

My eyebrow twitched with annoyance. We were all of two feet behind her and her goons. Really, she was just trying to be annoying at this point and hell, it was working. I pulled lightly on Oliver's hand, walking so close to Jessica's feet that the front of my shoes kicked dirt under her heels. Owl whined, licking at my fingers anxiously.

"Are you alright?" I cooed to him, scratching the space behind his ears.

Oliver let go of my hand to pet Owl's back, "Owl wishes to slow down."

Jessica didn't turn around, "No."

Owl whined again, and Oliver's eyelids dipped with a frown, "He senses something up ahead. We should discuss a different path, or slow down."

"No means no cat boy."

My eyes narrowed, "We should be listening to cat boy if he says Owl is sketching out. Owl is a cat remember, he can sense shit we can't, like evil--"

"Then continue to lag behind the group like cowards," she snapped, "We are not slowing down. We have a schedule to stick to and we're already ten minutes behind."

Oliver's hand shot out and he grabbed her arm, "Miss I really think we should--"

She turned, shoving him back so hard that Oliver fell onto his ass. Her goons rose their guns, pointing at Oliver and I let out a scream, my hands reaching for my sword that wasn't at my side. I cussed, stepping in front of Oliver, my body tensed and ready to attack.

"What the fuck is your problem?" I hissed slowly.

She smirked, "Your illicit dare put hands on me, that is a threat and we don't deal with threats. Not to mention obeying commands from your team leader. That's grounds for execution. We are not the same, you are barely civilians, I am a goddamn soldier. Know your place and stay in it or you will be considered the enemy."

"Oh Jessica," I smirked back, my anger boiling as Zero echoed my words in my mind as I spoke, "I would be careful if I were you. Mark us the enemy and that gives subject zero the grounds to ruin you. Don't think that because we don't have weapons on us that we're not lethal. Threaten my friend again and I will send your head back to your pathetic island."

We stood across from each other, our tension and anger clashing like fire and lightening. Behind me Owl let out a wet hiss, and slowly I could feel Oliver climbing to his feet. His hands wrapped around my waists and I didn't know if it was to hold me back, or to keep me out of Jessica's way, whichever reason, her eyes flickered between us before she rolled her eyes, turning back around and raising her hand to her guards.

"Stand down," she snapped, "We don't have time to delay."

I sighed softly, grateful this didn't have to get ugly. Oliver let me go and stepped behind me a frown on his face. I gave him a gentle smile before running my hands over Owl's fur. They both calmed and we started walking again. Following the crumbled road that had been littered with abandoned, rusted cars. There were few zombies, but every so often, Jessica's soldiers would shoot one or two down. Aside from the wind, the occasional gun shoot, the only other noise was Owl's persistent noises of disapproval. I knew whatever reason he was on edge, it should be heeded with caution.

These people were idiots to think otherwise.

"Mira," Oliver asked eventually.

I glanced over at him, "Are you alright?"

He nodded, his eyes bright under his mask, "I didn't think."

"About what?"

"I didn't think grabbing her arm would cause such trouble. Lisa said I shouldn't touch strangers, I forgot that. It almost had us killed, didn't it? Lisa said it over and over, and I just wanted her to listen to us too, so I forgot I shouldn't touch strangers. She said others won't agree that I act differently. Did that put us in danger? Am I a danger to us?" he whispered softly.

It broke my heart that this bitch had him worried, so I turned, throwing my arms around him. I hugged him tightly, one hand grasping the back of his head, the other grasping his back. He didn't move, but I could feel his fingers flex against my pants. Then I stepped away, giving him a bright smile, and placing my hand on the top of his head.

"You shouldn't forget what Lisa taught you," I agreed kindly, "But you should never be afraid of yourself. Other people won't understand you, and because of that they will choose not to like you, but that is entirely their problem. Understand?"

"Yes," he nodded.

I dropped my hand, "Say it back to me."

"Other people won't understand me, and because of that they will choose not to like me but that is entirely their own problem."

"Good," I was satisfied, "Now come on before this bitch starts barking again."

He cocked his head as we started walking again, "Jessica is a dog?"

"Yes," I giggled, "A loud-mouth dog. She's only in human clothing."

"I don't really understand," he grumbled.

I giggled again, "I know. It's ok."

We continued waking again. Eventually reaching the ruins of a highway. Slowly, we moved either around or over cars, the highway stretching up a bridge. As we reached the bridge which was also full of cars, Owl pushed himself between us and the rest of the group, before hissing loudly. I looked past him, noticing a shadow up ahead.

Squinting my eyes, the shadow moved. And then another one, and another. Realizing what it was, I left out a small cry, darting forward, flying past Jessica and grabbing onto the masked soldier closest to the bridge who seemed to only notice the first shadow and rose his gun. He let out a grunt as I shoved his gun down and out of his grasp, the others turning to aim at me. Jessica stepped forward, and I placed one finger on my mouth.

"Be quiet!" I whispered angrily.

"Wha--" she stuttered.

That's when the wind died down for a moment and silence hit us. Or rather, what was supposed to be silence. Instead, a wave of utters and sputters of the undead hit us. A horde was walking across the bridge—towards us.

"Oh god," Jessica whispered horrified.

I looked back at the horde—they had yet to notice us, and if we didn't do something quickly it would be too late. I looked around with annoyance, no doubt this horde was attracted to the fucking guns these idiots were using.

"What do we do?" A masked soldier asked their leader.

Jessica's eyes widened, "U-Uh..."

"Give me a gun," I stepped forward, taking charge, "I'll use the gun to lead them the other way and off the bridge. You guys can hide in any of the cars until they're gone. They shouldn't smell you if you're hiding in the cars."

No one moved.

"Ma'am?"

The question was directed to Jessica who seemed frozen in fear.

"Do you want to die?" I snarled to her.

She blinked, her face pale, "L-Listen to her. Give her your gun."

"Will you be alright?" Oliver asked.

I nodded, clenching the gun I had taken. Jessica seemed to snap back to her senses and barked quiet commands. The group broke up, clambering into any open cars, shutting the doors shut. Oliver hesitated before whistling lowly to Owl. Owl headed over to me and I thanked him. Owl darted across the bridge and jumped onto the stone railing as I pulled myself onto the railing on the other side. I sent a little prayer to Zero, that the zombie trick she did would still work, and then I looked towards the undead sea that clambered towards us. Below the bridge, more roads and more rusted cars. If I fell—my heart sped up and I shook my head. I refused to think that, so I looked back to the hungry horde. That didn't help, as fear spread out inside me, there must had been hundreds. Each stumbling at a consistent pace. I breathed out slowly, then started running down the railing, careful not to look down.

As I did, I pointed the gun into the crowd and began shooting. The recoil of the assault riffle slamming against my chest, my ribs aching in surprise. But I didn't allow that to slow me, as the horde split into two—one half following after Owl with outstretched, rotting fingers and the other, turning to follow after the noise of the gun. I panted softly, but continued to run, pushing my lungs past their burning sensation.

Eventually, I reached the other end of the bridge, launching myself over a few heads of undead stragglers, my feet slamming into the pavement. Grunting, I shot off a few more rounds—my gun however, deciding to run out of ammo and, the zombies who had been following me now deciding I was of no interest. Owl, who had been faster than me, let out a warning hiss, as the full horde now followed solely him.

"Owl!" I cried full of worry, "Zero make them follow me!"

You want to die because of a cat?

"Shut up," I snarled to her, "You like Owl too."

Not enough to die over.

"Zero—" I began when suddenly, the zombies turned, now seeming to notice me.

Thanking her silently, I turned, dropping the gun that now only weighed me down and began running. Leading the horde away from the bridge. Flanking the highway was now what I could see to be more civilization: ruined stores, parking lots, and thriving plants. Panting hard, I ducked down towards what seemed to be a previous outlet mall. Sprinting across the parking lot, I easily moved around the few zombies and jumped through the broken glass entrance. I tripped, falling onto my face onto the tiled floor. Groaning, my fingers pushed myself to sit up, as I noticed the horde was still, and thankfully, following me. In front of the horde, Owl came lunging across the way and towards me.

"Oh thank god," I breathed, hugging his face, "You're alright!"

He licked my face before his eyes drifted behind me.

"What is it?" I whispered.

Click.

My eyes widened as I turned. Standing behind me was a man. My eyes widened, he had bright green eyes and light ebony skin. Dressed in a white shirt and black jeans. In his hand was a small Glock, aimed directly at my head.

"Are you the one that lead that horde here?" he demanded, his voice deep.

I blinked, my eyes narrowing, "And if I am?"

"Then I'll kill you."