#zr transcript

~

[van creaks]

BRENT VALMONT: Alright, Five. Let’s hash this out. I really hate to show my temper, but you’ve left me no choice. Are you sitting comfortably in the back of that van? Got your Valmont headset tight? Good, because I know you’ll want to hear who I’ve got speaking next.

[tape recorder clicks]

SAM YAO: Five? Five, it’s me. It’s Sam. It’s going to be okay, Five. Everything’s going to be alright.

[tape recorder clicks]

BRENT VALMONT: Spoiler alert: it’s not.

[tape recorder clicks]

SAM YAO: Valmont said I have to tape this message. I... I don’t know how long it’s been since Tunisia. He showed me the footage of your last run to the Maghreb border. Oh, you were so fast, leaving the whole Red Scorpion Army behind! They never would have caught you... if he hadn’t have been waiting in that boat. Amelia always said we shouldn’t trust him. Of all the ways to find out she was right.

Valmont says he’s got a mission for you, Five. He showed me the brief. It’s just a simple item grab. I don’t have every detail, but nobody’s about, nobody gets hurt... and what they’ll do to you if you refuse... I think you have to do it, Five. Just this once, I think you have to do his run.

[tape recorder clicks]

BRENT VALMONT: I know you miss him, Five. I can see it on your face. Those Valmont headcams work both ways! So I’ll make this really simple for you. You turned down all my other jobs. The assassination in Bolivia, the firebombing in Berlin! But this one’s non-negotiable. Get it done within the hour or Sam loses a thumb.

[van door slides open]

Back of the trucks’ cracking open. Look at all that daylight spilling in! I know I’ve got you fighting mad, so let’s channel that rage! Down the ramp, full speed ahead, just follow the street, straight along the cobbles, under the big stone arches. Don’t think of it as helping me. Think of it as saving him. Here, I’ll even let Sam play you out!

[tape recorder clicks]

SAM YAO: It’ll be okay, Five. I know it will. Remember what Janine’s always saying? When things are at their darkest, a runner strikes a match. You keep the hope. No matter what, you keep that flame alive. And promise me, the first chance you get, promise me you’ll run.

~

[birds coo, wings flap]

BRENT VALMONT: Mind the pigeons, Five! But take in the sights! Italy, the Vatican, St Peter’s Square itself. Look at those grand colonnades on either side, the great Egyptian spire in the middle. Though the basilica’s looking a bit dowdy, isn’t it, the way the dome’s collapsed in? Head straight for its entrance, past the burned-out popemobile. It’s through those great big pillars where the tourists used to queue.

It’s been hard on landmarks, Five, the end of the world. The Eiffel Tower, Washington DC, poor old Red Square. Not exactly sitting pretty since Van Ark’s Armageddon did the renovators in. Oh, I know. I told you the apocalypse was mine. I didn’t mean it literally. It was Sigrid’s passion project, Van Arks’ silly plague. [sighs] He was such a stupid genius, wasn’t he? Took the blame for the disease to please that humorless wife of his. Invented immortality, but he couldn’t get the hang of spin.

ANNIE knew what they were planning, Five, long before it happened. I had her watching Sigrid, Van Ark, Moonchild, too. You don’t become a billionaire without probing your rivals. We caught their little scheme to end the world, and yes, I could have stopped it, it’s true, but I know a bargain when I see one. The whole world on fire sale! I’m not the one made the end, but I like to think I’m who it’s for.

[door clatters open] This is a grand old entrance, isn’t it? That distant gilded ceiling, the sunswept marble floor. All those saintly statues watching with white eyes. [building creaks] Careful! Sidestep to your left. The ceiling isn’t stable. Some of it’s coming down.

You, me, mortal peril! It’s just like the old times, eh? Admit it, I was quite the charmer, running with your Abel crew. You were all so wonderfully obliging. I always needed Sigrid gone, and V-types can be a pain, but I never lied about it being a good time, Five. As far as handy decoys go, your lot were the best.

See that body, beneath the fallen pillar? That’s Valmont Runner Sixty-Four. Last one in before you. I warned her that this mission was a risk, but still, she volunteered! It’s amazing, the loyalty people give you in a post-apocalyptic world. So much for so little. You dig them out of burning rubble, offer them beans and a bed, and suddenly their life is yours. I used to run orphanages on the same principle. Shame my finest runner’s busy on assignment. She’d have at least survived the masonry, unlike poor old Sixty-Four.

I know what you’re thinking, Five. How many have gone in ahead of you? Oh, I’ve lost count! There’s something I need in that city, something hard to find, but you’ve got an advantage. You’ve seen it before. We just need to be careful, with all that panacea in your blood. My doctors have been draining what, a pint of plasma at a time over the last few months? That’s plenty of samples. Your body’s a little panacea factory now, thanks to that injection you stole! But we’ve got big ambitions. Things will go much smoother if they can harvest a whole lot more!

[building creaks] Better get a move on, Five! That building really doesn’t like my people. The ceiling almost sounds upset! Turn right at the papal altar, take the tour guide passage to the Sistine Chapel. And ignore the fallen runners up ahead. There’s no point dwelling on them, Five. There’s no profit counting the dead.

~

BRENT VALMONT: Look up at the ceiling, Five! Soak that culture in. The Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s masterpiece! All those gorgeous frescoes painted on the walls. Saints, sinners, serpents. And Adam, on the ceiling, about to high five God! [sighs] I was planning to steal this, but ANNIE says it wouldn’t survive the airlift. [sighs] Follow the frescoes down the corridor, the one with all the maps. Try to find an open window. You need to get outside.

Moonchild used to say my collections were “bad karma,” that it was wrong to try to cage the world. This, from Lady Mind Control. She reminded me of my mother, Five. Ghastly, hippy-drippy woman. Stole my father’s fortune, frittered it on “charity.” Said the world was full of wonders, but not a single one was ours! A thing’s not beautiful until you own it, that’s the dirty, ugly truth. Knowing something might be taken is a spoiling blemish. I used to tell Amelia that. Maybe when I take her world, she’ll learn.

It’s hard to find people who understand, Five. I wake up every morning with this screaming hunger in my heart, the torture of ambition. No matter what I have, no matter who I own, I know I can do better. It’s like an engine in my belly. I know I can own more!

There, an open window. Climb out to the courtyard, quick! Have you heard much lately from that Moonchild in your head? I bet you haven’t. Maybe my panacea killed her. Maybe she’s finally dead. The Cortile del Belvedere A pope once paraded his elephant here. That’s my kind of style! Just parked cars and a broken fountain now. See that big beige building over there? That’s the Vatican library with the Apostolic Archives next door. Those archives hold the secret storeroom of the Catholic church, and what we want’s inside.

[laughs] I know what you’re hoping, Legs. You think my wife will come and save you, Amelia and the rest. But the truth is, they’re not even in the game. I’ve got decoys with your shirt on from Peru to Paraguay, corpses with your DNA slung into shallow graves. I’ve got moles in the Maghreb, spies in the UK. I’ve got Amelia spun in circles, always looking the wrong way.

Sigrid, Van Ark, Moonchild, they were all small fry. Couldn’t even keep their Armageddon to a timetable. ANNIE didn’t expect their gray plague to get loose so soon. I wasn’t quite ready to put the Ministry straight down. But I was miles ahead in stockpiling, and I’ve had eons to prep since. I knocked down half the satellites, razed the global village. No more cheap communications, no calling distant ears for help. The market should be nice and manageable, survivors stuck in isolated pockets. I’ve got bases like Red Scorpion all over the world, allies in armies you’ve never heard. I know what happened to the last aircraft carrier, why zombies scream on roads. I am a one-man superpower. Your friends don’t have a chance!

Uh-oh! Zombie priests crawling out of the cars, and those look like Swiss Guards lurching from the buildings, the elite protectors of the Vatican with feathered caps and halberds high. Well, that one’s got halberd sticking through his chest, but what can you expect from zoms? They’re closing in behind you, still guarding the library even in death. There’s a car crashed through the archive wall. That’s your way inside. Get into that building, then down to the basement. Do not let them catch you! Go!

~

BRENT VALMONT: That’s it, Five. Keep going straight. They call this part of the archive the Bunker, where the most precious texts are kept. Frankly, I’m disappointed. I expected flaming torches, spotlights, demons dancing around the Holy Grail, not just endless dusty bookshelves. [zombie growls] Careful, there are zombies crushed together between some of those shelves. Stay clear of the books. Their arms are clawing out between them.

Do you know what the worst part of this church is, Five? It’s that it isn’t dead. There’s a whole new pope in Istanbul readying teams to nab these treasures, and they’re not the only holdouts. There are still rabbis, and imams, Buddhist monks, Mormons, Quakers, Sikhs. People who believe in gods, or hope, or just each other, joining hands to cope. Little groups like Abel brightening the dark.

It makes me so damn angry! It’s... not the apocalypse I bought! I wanted Mad Max, the Walking Dead, the first bit of The Road! Ruins, misery, hopeless dread, and I’d swoop in with my hoarded cans and lift the peons up, have them rebuild in my image, grateful for the helping hand. ANNIE predicted overwhelming collapse, once the dust settled. You were supposed to get nuked offing Sigrids or implode like Sage. Those Last Riders had the right idea, until they turned V-type. But no, you had to flourish, didn’t you? All over the world. The groups that defy the odds. The Maghreb, Arcadia, Abel, Vashisht. That galling, glowing 1% like aniseed in the stew!

There, see that staircase behind the red cordon with a vault door in the bottom? That’s the hidden heart of this bunker. A room that’s not on any maps. If there were demons locked away, that’s where they’d be. It’s time for the big drum roll, Five. The reveal of why you’re here. Remember your trip to Moore Island, the [red god] and the cult? Amelia never let me read the Edda, but the church has another copy hidden in their vault. Moonchild stole a partial transcript before they upped security. My runners don’t know what it looks like, but you’ve seen it before.

[zombies moan] Damn! Coming up the stairs, are those - red robes and pointy hats. Oh no, lots of zombie cardinals, and they’re in your way. The others are closing in behind you, too. Swiss Guards, priests, tourists in backpacks. There’s no going back. Forward is your only shot. Those are halberds lying on the floor. The guards must have made a stand here. Quickly, pick one up. [metal clinks] You’re going to have to rush them straight down to the vault. I can hack the door with ANNIE. That blade looks blunt, but you can at least push them back. Move it, Five, get down the stairs! Not sure what a zombie bite will do with all those Valmont patents in your blood. Don’t let the cardinals grab you. Run!

~

[door clatters open]

BRENT VALMONT: Now this is more like it! Big, oblong chamber full of sealed glass cases. Ancient scrolls, mysterious parchments. No sign of the Holy Grail, but I bet it’s around here somewhere. Find my Edda, Five. You don’t have much time.

[alarm blares]

This room is pumped full of an inert gas to preserve the relics. We don’t have the proper codes. I can’t hold it open long. See those dead runners on the floor? They all thought they’d find my prize, and they all died choking anyway. Funny thing, Five. None of them blamed me. Now that’s lasting ownership, the kind that leaves them dying but still feeling the love.

Aha, you’ve spotted something. The big tome on the plinth. Smash the casing and grab it! Use that halberd, now! [glass breaks, alarm beeps, zombies growl] Those zoms are pouring in behind you, they’re blocking the way out. There’s another vault door straight ahead, right across the archive. Move it, Five, and hold the Edda tight! If you die of oxygen deprivation, Sam’s the one I’m sending in there next. Speed up, before the door snaps shut. Run!

~

[birds caw, wings flap]

BRENT VALMONT: You did it, Legs! You’re clear of the archive and clear of the Vatican, footloose on the streets of Rome. And you’ve got my Edda. Oh, I know what you’re thinking. Yes, you could destroy it, tear it up and run, but what would happen to poor Sam, and Janine, and Peter, too? That’s right.

[engine rumbles] My truck’s approaching. Drop the halberd, get inside. [metal clinks, van door slides open] There you go, Five. Straight into the back. I’ll see you get a raise for this. That means extra cushions in your cell!

The apocalypse hasn’t gone as planned, it’s true. But I’ve had a fix brewing for years. You pushed up my timeline with that scramble through Tunisia. I was worried we might not pull it off, but now I’ve got the panacea and the Edda. I’m all set for the apocalypse, take two.

The panacea, Five, that’s my little joke. You see, it is a cure, of sorts. The cure for all my ills. Soon, I won’t have any rivals. The whole world will be my orphanage. Amelia, Abel, and the rest, they’ll be swept away, or transformed, replaced by broken, helpless, loving people. Like Adam on the ceiling, Five. They’ll all be looking up... to me.

~

ERNIE VAN ARK: Well, Ranger Five, that should be it, on the horizon. The base holding your namesake, Runner Five. A top secret Valmont facility in the Spanish desert. An entire prison dedicated to a single high-priority captive. That’s what it said in the intelligence we stole from Casablanca, but all I see is an Old West town. A single strip of wooden buildings. A saloon, a sheriff’s office. No signs of life.

I don’t know much about the American West, Five. They only had so many history texts on Red Scorpion Base. Sam once said they used to make cowboy movies in the Spanish desert. There must be old sets in this area. Sam knew a lot about movies. I hoped... one day I might get to watch some with him.

[Ranger Five’s implants whir]

Weeks of searching, Ranger. Weeks since we escaped Red Scorpion. All those Valmont decoys. The fake prison in Gibraltar. The false Fives in Tangier. This can’t be another dead end, it can’t be! What would the old me say, I wonder? Something megalomaniacal, I expect. I hear him sometimes in the night, Five, scolding foolish little Ernie for letting Valmont get ahead.

Valmont’s weakness is his flair for drama. That’s what the old Van Ark would say. His tendency for fancy. Just because he built a prison doesn’t mean it looks like one! See? Most of these buildings are wooden backdrops, but not the saloon. Its windows are all barred and sealed. Hiding a prison in plain sight surrounded by tumbleweed, that’s the sort of thing Brent Valmont would do!

You’d better get your implants ready for a fight. Runner Five’s imprisoned on that film set, I’d bet on it. It’s getting dark. We can use those wooden carts to cover our approach. Watch out for guards. There’s a hero waiting on our rescue. Run!

~

ERNIE VAN ARK: Here we are, Ranger Five. The saloon. It’s even got swinging doors. Sam’d love this, wouldn’t he? We’d best be careful. We don’t know what we’ll find inside, although... it’s strange we haven’t encountered a single guard yet.

[footsteps on creaking wood, piano plays]

I don’t understand. This place is deserted, but it’s certainly not a real saloon. Look at that thick metal door behind the self-playing piano. And the bar’s a computer terminal in disguise. [sighs] Hold on, I’ll hack the door. [computer zaps] Inside, Five. Quick!

[door opens, devices whir and hiss, chemicals bubble]

So much for the Old West. This is a laboratory! Centrifuges, robot arms, dissection tables, all fully automated. There! A cell door, in the corner. That must be where Runner Five is kept. Can you wrench it open? [implants whir, metal creaks, monitor beeps] A padded cell. One poor soul strapped to a gurney... Don’t worry, Runner Five, we’re here to - ! Oh. That’s... Not Runner Five.

PETER LYNN: Time for another robot checkup, eh, Brent? Got to top me up? Oh God! Oh, that’s Van Ark himself! That’s all I... [laughs] That’s all I need.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Peter Lynn! He’s unconscious. So many tubes connected to him. The immortal! He’s the priority prisoner, not Runner Five! [discordant piano chord, alarm blares] Damn! Can you carry Peter, Five? [implants whir] Please try not to hurt him when you unhook the tubes. There’s a back exit past the fume cupboards. Must lead up into the hills. We’ve got to get him out of here. Come on, Five!

~

[alarms blare in the distance]

ERNIE VAN ARK: Alright, Five. We’re out of the immediate danger zone. These hills and gullies will give us cover, but security can’t be far away. There must be guards somewhere. We need to keep moving. How’s our patient faring? Can you hear me, Peter?

PETER LYNNE: [gasps] Cold... So cold. Oh... no, no, no! Take me back!

[cloth rustles, metal clanks]

ERNIE VAN ARK: Don’t struggle, Peter, you’ll hurt yourself. Here, take my coat. [rocks clatter, zombies growl] What was that? A hand reaching out of the ground right where my foot was a moment ago. Zombies! Another one. Careful, Five. That one almost got your leg. We need to get Peter out of here before they surface fully. Quickly, run!

[footsteps in gravel]

PETER LYNN: What’s going on? Van... Van Ark? No, you can’t have me.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Keep a good hold on him, Five.

PETER LYNN: Get your metal monstrosity off me. I can’t be here! Jenny needs me.

[cloth rustles, metal clanks]

ERNIE VAN ARK: You won’t be doing anything for anyone if those zombies get you. Now, where have they gone? [rocks clatter, zombies growl] Up ahead, Five, clawing their way out of the ground. They must have burrowed under us. No time to evade them, Ranger. We’ll have to take them out. Put Peter down and fire.

[implants whir, zombies splatter]

Thank you, Five. These must be a variant of our Tunisian zombies. [footsteps] Oh no, Peter’s running away! I didn’t think he was well enough. He’s in no state to fend for himself out here. We need to get after him. Come on, Five!

~

ERNIE VAN ARK: Another Old West film set, and nothing but scrubby desert all around. Peter must be hiding in there. Keep your sensors hot, Five. [devices whir] There, slumped against that stagecoach. The adrenaline must have worn off finally. Peter, please do listen to me. We’re here to rescue you. Well... maybe that wasn’t the initial intention, but it’s certainly what we intend to do now. You have to stop running away! Let Ranger Five help you.

PETER LYNNE: [laughs] Your oversize Roomba can just keep its distance! I have had enough robotic hands inserting things in me for a lifetime! There are only so many curative substances one man can take, even me!

ERNIE VAN ARK: Curative substances?

PETER LYNNE: Which one was your favorite, Ernie? The one that blistered every inch of skin on my body? Or what about the projectile vomiting? Or – or that one where all my blood vessels ruptured at once, leaving me clinically dead for a week?

ERNIE VAN ARK: Peter, these experiments, these horrible experiments, they weren’t mine! I-I know what my other self did to you. Janine told me. I think it was the thing she was angriest about. But I’m not with Valmont. I was his prisoner, too! He destroyed the only homes I’ve ever known. Red Scorpion Base, my friends from Abel. He even killed Guillemette. And she was... kind to me, in her way. I saw him bragging about it in a Ranger’s files.

PETER LYNNE: I... don’t know what your game is. Maybe you are telling the truth, [laughs] I can’t tell! I think I lost touch with reality several experiments ago. You need to stop your walking Tonka truck stomping around like that. If you are who you say you are, I would get going while I still can.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Not without you.

PETER LYNNE: I have to say, [laughs] I’m surprised this latest batch is so mild. Uh, you know, I’ve had worse comedowns in abandoned warehouses in Manchester. Credit where it’s due, though, it certainly is... moreish.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Moreish? Has Valmont been injecting you with opiates? To make you dependent, I suppose.

PETER LYNNE: You know, a normal person’s first thought would have been to numb the pain.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Oh. Yes, I suppose it would.

PETER LYNNE: It doesn’t. Just FYI. Numb the pain, I mean. Oh, and as-as for the dependency, bit redundant if you ask me. Not like I have much choice but to stay here. [rock rumbles and clatters] Oh, [laughs] there’s my ride now.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Burrowing zombies, more this time! We need to move before the whole street gives way! [ground collapses] Peter, Ranger? Is everyone alright?

PETER LYNNE: Oh, yep, never better!

ERNIE VAN ARK: Fascinating! We’ve fallen into some kind of underground tunnel system.

[zombies growl]

PETER LYNNE: And we’re not the only ones.

ERNIE VAN ARK: There’s zombies breaking through the walls. I thought they had human hands, but they’re actually more like huge blunt claws.

PETER LYNN: This is no time to admire monster design, Van Ark. Listen, I don’t much care if you live, but assuming you do, I suggest you follow me. I’ve been here before... and I know a way out, but we need to go now.

ERNIE VAN ARK: You heard him, Five. Run!

~

PETER LYNNE: Looks like we’ve lost them for now.

ERNIE VAN ARK: A chamber in the tunnels filled with Old West memorabilia. A sheriff’s hat, a gun holster, a giant cow’s skull. Wait. Not all of these are animal bones. That’s a human tibia with some flesh still hanging off it. It looks like it’s been... gnawed! Peter, what is this place?

PETER LYNNE: Ah, it’s just a cavern.

ERNIE VAN ARK: A cavern with claw marks on the walls that are a perfect match for those mole-like zombies and pits in the ground filled with more half-eaten corpses. I think that one’s moving! This isn’t a cavern, it’s a larder!

PETER LYNNE: I suppose you could call it that.

ERNIE VAN ARK: You brought us here deliberately! You wanted to be caught!

PETER LYNNE: Well, what was I supposed to do, trust you? Ernie Van Ark, action hero? Oh, forgive me if I don’t buy that from the man who ended the world!

ERNIE VAN ARK: And you allied with him from what I’ve heard! Why am I irredeemable, but not you?

PETER LYNNE: I don’t know! Uh, maybe both of us are, uh... But I can’t leave. The way out’s over there. I’m going this way, into the belly of the beast. Follow me or don’t follow me. I don’t care.

~

ERNIE VAN ARK: There he is, Ranger. Just standing in the center of a huge chamber surrounded by decaying, half-eaten corpses. He looks utterly without hope. Peter, please -

[intercom squeals]

BRENT VALMONT: Petey, Petey, Petey. If you’re hearing this, it means you’ve tried to escape again.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Oh no.

PETER LYNNE: Don’t worry, it’s a recording. I don’t even rate live surveillance, apparently.

BRENT VALMONT: You remember the rules of La Prisión de la DeLuca, don’t you? You stay put and let me try out my samples on you and I don’t cut off Janine’s fingers one by one and make you listen to her screams. Got it? Good! Now you enjoy the zombies hospitality and I’ll have someone out to pick you up ASAP. ASAPish, anyway. Only fair to let my undead security team have a nibble after the trouble you’ve given them. Oh, and uh, don’t try this again! Third strike, and Janine really will be out. Ta-ra.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, I escaped once before, but the zombies caught me. They’ve got a slow-acting strain of the virus, so they don’t need to feed as ravenously as your normal zom. They just bury you in a pit and pull bits off whenever they fancy a snack. It was... Days before the extraction team arrived.

ERNIE VAN ARK: So Valmont says he has Janine, and you just... believe him?

PETER LYNNE: [laughs] What choice do I have? If there’s any chance I can keep her safe -

ERNIE VAN ARK: No.

PETER LYNNE: What do you mean, no?

ERNIE VAN ARK: I won’t allow it. We came here to rescue a friend and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. We can find Janine together. Runner Five, too.

PETER LYNNE: And if I don’t want to come, you’ll just kidnap me again, I presume.

ERNIE VAN ARK: No. If you stay, we stay, too.

PETER LYNNE: Oh great, very productive. We can all enjoy Brent’s lovely acid trips together!

ERNIE VAN ARK: Yes, except he won’t need you then, will he, if he has me? I can be his scientist and lab rat rolled into one. What do you think happens to you then? To Janine?

PETER LYNNE: You... [laughs] you wouldn’t.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Don’t presume to know what I would or wouldn’t do, Peter Lynne! You refuse to believe I’m on your side, so do you really want to risk Valmont getting his hands on me again? [zombies growl, rock clatters] Hundreds of burrowing zombies bursting out of every square foot of wall and ceiling. Decision time, Peter. Them or me.

PETER LYNNE: Alright, fine! That tunnel to the left, that’s the route Valmont’s men took the last time they hauled me out of here. It’s a safe passage to the surface. Follow me. Go, go!

~

[footsteps]

PETER LYNNE: [gasps] The surface. We’ve made it.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Keep running. These zombies tunnel at incredible speed. We’re not out of the woods yet. [zombie growls, rock clatters] To your left, Five! Claws bursting out of the ground.

PETER LYNNE: Up ahead, a whole line of them like an undead barbed wire fence!

ERNIE VAN ARK: We’ll have to jump them, then head for the river beyond. Ready, Ranger? 1, 2, 3, jump! [implants whir, footsteps, water flows] We’re over the river. Keep going!

PETER LYNNE: Wait! [laughs] Wait! [laughs] They’ve stopped following us.

ERNIE VAN ARK: The river must act as a natural boundary to their territory.

PETER LYNNE: Oh God... Oh God, what was I thinking? I can’t go on the lam with Van Ark! Janine...

ERNIE VAN ARK: Peter, you being locked up in that lab helps no one but Valmont. What do you think he’ll do to Janine once you’ve outlived your purpose, hmm?

PETER LYNNE: But when he finds out I’ve escaped -

ERNIE VAN ARK: Who’s going to tell him, the zombies? That message was prerecorded. He doesn’t know you’ve escaped yet. And he doesn’t expect you to actually try, not with Janine at stake. He won’t know you’re not in the zombies’ larder until he can get a recovery team out here. That will be two weeks at the earliest based on the map I’ve constructed of Valmont’s facilities. Find her before then, and Janine’s safe.

PETER LYNNE: All right... Say I trust you on that. What’s next? Do you even have a plan?

ERNIE VAN ARK: That recording, do you remember hearing anything in the background?

PETER LYNNE: I don’t know. Bird calls, maybe?

ERNIE VAN ARK: Several different species, if I’m not much mistaken. And more than that. There were waves, too, crashing against rock.

PETER LYNNE: So we’re looking for a seaside location that’s... popular with birdwatchers, or-or used to be?

ERNIE VAN ARK: There’s only one Valmont facility that matches those criteria. I’ve got the map here. Look, this island.

PETER LYNNE: Tabarca. That’s... really close. All right. Okay. I don’t know what Valmont’s drugs have done to me, or... how I’ll cope without them. But I can last until we get to Janine. I can free Jenny. And then nothing else matters.

~

ERNIE VAN ARK: Careful, Ranger Five. Keep to the ruin of the church. That’s Valmont’s correctional facility ahead, a former resort on the island of Tabarca. It appears he’s swapped the swimming pool for a 20-foot perimeter wall with turrets every meter. The patrol of guard makes its changing shifts by the gate. I know it’s difficult being back near your kin. Janine is there, I’m sure of it. Getting her out won’t be easy, Five, but no matter what, remember, we’ll be there for you.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, for the love of – did you have to call this one Five? There’s plenty of numbers out there that aren’t dear and absent friends, you know.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Runner Five is heroic, efficient, devoted, brave. Who better as an icon for the escaped experiments of Red Scorpion Base?

PETER LYNNE: Brilliant! I’ve gone from Valmont’s drugged-up lab rat to joining his posse of lost toys! He’s going to find out I’m free any time now, Ranger. We have got to get Janine out before he does!

ERNIE VAN ARK: I wish we could be with you, Five, but only Valmont mechs can enter that building. I’m getting your shoulder cam live and clear. We’ll be monitoring from the boat. Funny... A prison of that size. What does Valmont need it for? He can’t have that many enemies he wants kept alive. Sorry. That’s him, I think. My other self.

PETER LYNNE: I’m telling you, Ranger, you ought to sleep with one eye open. One of these days you’re going to wake up to find he’s stripping you for parts! Oh, the shift change is done. The old patrol’s gone inside. The new one’s walking the perimeter.

ERNIE VAN ARK: They’re out of sight. See the gatehouse, Ranger? The bunker built into the wall with turrets either side? This is your chance to slip inside before that patrol comes back around. Quick march, like you belong. Fast as you can, Five. Go!

~

ERNIE VAN ARK: Gosh, those turrets bracketing the gatehouse door are big. There’s a scanner on the lefthand one, Five. Press your eye to it. The mechs here are old Model 4s. I used to see them on Red Scorpion. I’ve tweaked your transponder to match. You’re clear. You can get inside.

[door creaks]

PETER LYNNE: Not exactly plush, is it? Like a big, bare closet. Just a work station cycling images of the prison.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Not even any chairs for the rangers on duty! And Valmont let them get rusty, too. Barbaric. Better hurry, Five. There’s a guard watching the far monitor, but they haven’t noticed you yet. Plug the cable from your left forearm into the nearest console. The rangers here are networked with the prison. It was similar on Red Scorpion Base. I can use you as a relay to hack the system.

PETER LYNNE: The other mech’s looked your way. That’s a really big gun arm she’s raising. Ernie, hurry up!

ERNIE VAN ARK: Got it! I’ve sent a signal to all the guards, triggering their diagnostic protocols. They’ll be offline for a short while, cycling self checks. According to the database, DeLuca’s in cell 44 on the far side of the prison. Five, you can take the stairwell behind the gatehouse up. That was an extremely messy hack. The guards won’t be offline for long. And they’re going to be very, very angry when they wake up. Run!

~

PETER LYNNE: God, Valmont made this place a proper Cell Block H, didn’t he? And not even the Freak to liven things up. Corridor after corridor of cold, gray cells with murky portholes on the doors. I don’t see any prisoners so far, just lots of ugly stains. Ugh. I thought my prison was hell. This one might be even worse.

ERNIE VAN ARK: She wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me. I put that tracker on the USB stick in Tunisia. I’m the one who got you captured. The old me didn’t make that choice. This was all my fault.

Peter, the others said... You know about guilt. Do you ever... see something beautiful, like a bird or a sunset or this island, and then worry that you maybe don’t deserve it because of what you’ve done?

PETER LYNNE: No. No. I told you in Murcia when you tried to toast those marshmallows. I am not playing therapist with the ghost of Ernest Van Ark! Christ, you were easier as an evil boss! There! That’s her, cell 44. Break the door down, Five, now! [metal slams] It’s... It’s just... An empty cell and a wire cot. [exhales] Ernie? She isn’t here.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Wait. Look. There’s a loose breeze block behind the cot. Five, see if you can pry it all the way out.

PETER LYNNE: A hidey-hole with a snapped off spoon inside. I can see there’s something carved into the stone in the hole. It’s a... is that a... [laughs] It’s a flow chart. A branch plan. Janine told me they help with organizing thoughts in times of extreme stress.

ERNIE VAN ARK: She’s noting the guard patterns, getting floor plans. She’s working out an escape. Oh, Peter, these branches all link to your name. She was planning to find you.

PETER LYNNE: Valmont was threatening to torture her already. If he caught her planning an escape...

ERNIE VAN ARK: She must be in serious trouble. Five, the interrogation wing is on the bottom level. Take the spiral stairs ahead down. There’s a warden’s office in that wing. It has line of sight to anywhere they might have taken her. Freezing the rangers may have bought her some reprieve, but they’ll probably blame her for us shutting time down. We’ve got to get her out of here. Hurry, Five!

~

PETER LYNNE: There, Five! The iron door at the bottom of the stairs, it’s marked Warden. Kick it down!

[door slams open]

ERNIE VAN ARK: Lots of monitors in there, showing all the interrogation rooms. Look for Janine, Five. Hold on. The way Sam used to describe Abel. That room looks like his comms shack, only filled with extra recording equipment. Are those film cameras?

PETER LYNNE: Yep. That room’s got a Maghreb flag pinned up. That one’s got the stars and stripes. They look like... film sets? What is Valmont doing here?

ERNIE VAN ARK: Five, something’s moving in the vent above you. Look out!

[JANINE DE LUCA shouts]

PETER LYNNE: It’s Janine! She just dropped out of the vent! Careful, Ranger, she’s on your back. Jenny, can you hear me?

JANINE DE LUCA: First sever the optic relays, then the cranial wires!

ERNIE VAN ARK: She’s ripping Five’s external cables out. Hold on, I’m routing us through Five’s speakers.

PETER LYNNE: Janine! Janine! It’s me, it’s Peter! It’s okay. The ranger is with me.

JANINE DE LUCA: Peter? No. Enough recordings, enough simulations, enough making me hear him in distress or Mr. Yao in fear. If you think feelings will stop me, you are very much mistaken!

PETER LYNNE: Janine, it’s me, it’s really, uh – Suffolk tequila! Remember? Number 77 on your bucket list, you wanted to be spontaneous with me! Spent two days planning it. We drank a bottle of tequila from the Suffolk enclave on your farmhouse roof. I sang Fernando! Badly! But we danced, and you fell and sprained your wrist. I don’t think Maxine believed it was a training exercise. It’s really me. I came to rescue you.

JANINE DE LUCA: Peter? No. You should not be on this island.

[alarm blares]

ERNIE VAN ARK: That sounds like a problem.

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Van Ark. I wouldn’t have expected you to be involved in this. The other rangers appear to be shut down. If this was your doing, it was very, very rash. Valmont boasted of the security here when I first arrived. If the guards are inactive for more than a short time, the prison will start a purge. All captives will be executed.

I spent months planning a covert escape by the vents, one that wouldn’t raise the alarm! When the rangers shut down, I was forced to expedite my exfiltration in a far from optimal way. We must evacuate the prison. I’m taking command of this rescue operation, effective immediately. Ranger, follow me. According to that screen, the other prisoners are in this wing. Open every cell door that we pass. There’s no time to lose. Down the corridor, past the guard stations. Move!

~

ERNIE VAN ARK: One more cell ahead, Five. From seeing their databases, the last with a prisoner inside. The rest are all trailing behind you and Janine.

[door slams open]

CAPTAIN : Qu’est-ce que c’est? Qu’est qu’il ce pass?

JANINE DE LUCA: It’s a prison break, Captain. Follow me. To freedom!

ERNIE VAN ARK: Wait a minute. I recognize that man. Captain Blaise [Canard, a French sailor who joined the Maghreb. He caused a lot of trouble for Red Scorpion Base before his ship went down. Some of these prisoners must be his crew.

JANINE DE LUCA: Valmont tried to force me to record tapes for Abel, implicating the Maghreb in my capture. I checked the warden’s office during my escape. He’s trying to do the same to other prisoners here, trying to make the Maghreb believe Abel is holding their sailors ransom. This is no mere prison. It’s a factory for disinformation and false flags!

[jingle over intercom]

PETER LYNNE: Oh, that sounds like a Valmont announcement.

BRENT VALMONT: Attention, prisoners! If you’re hearing this, my guards haven’t regained control in the allotted window. Janine, I bet it’s you, you scamp! Well, don’t worry. As the vet said to the vicar, I’ve got a fix for that. My techs developed a painless gas for quelling prison riots! This isn’t it. This one makes your lungs pop and your eardrums melt. Don’t worry, I’ll have your remains stuffed and sent to Peter. What an end for star-crossed lovers, eh? The exits are all sealed. Enjoy your tomb, Janine. It’s been a wheeze!

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Van Ark, gas is pouring from the air vents. We could use an exit plan!

ERNIE VAN ARK: I... I don’t know. I thought turning off the rangers was clever. If I had another week, I could have shut the whole system down, but we were in a hurry. I’ve done it again. I’ve doomed you all. I’m sorry.

PETER LYNNE: Ernie! Van Ark, you little megalomaniac, focus! You never felt guilt when you were killing millions. Why start now? They need ideas, not brooding. That’s my turf! What about Five’s arm cannon, is it powerful enough to break through the walls?

ERNIE VAN ARK: It isn’t. Unless... Peter, you’re a genius. The rangers are as deserving of rescue as anyone. The gas will kill them, too. But they might also be our only hope. Janine, Five, there’s a vehicle bay down the corridor. It has poorer ventilation, the gas will take a while to build there. Smash through the doors, Five, and try to hold your breath. Hurry, go!

~

JANINE DE LUCA: [coughs] Mr. Van Ark, we’ve reached the vehicle bay. The door’s sealed behind electrified shutters. The bay is empty save for many frozen guards.

ERNIE VAN ARK: The rangers are all networked, Five, remember? If you use your cable to plug into the nearest one, I can grant you admin privileges. I can route the network through you. You’ll have control of every ranger here, enough to shoot your way out. But the neural strain will be extreme. You won’t be able to take more than a few minutes, maybe not even that. Are you sure, Five?

JANINE DE LUCA: Under the circumstances, Mr. Van Ark, we have no alternative. Your ranger is plugging in.

ERNIE VAN ARK: I’m configuring the network, Five. Linking you to all the other mechs, waking them up, giving you control... now. [Ranger Five screams] Five? Are you all right? If you can still hear me, raise your right arm. It worked! All the mechs in the building are raising their arms! Five, if you can bear the strain, point your gun arm at the nearest wall. Let them follow suit, and fire!

[heavy gunfire]

PETER LYNNE: That did it! And the wall’s coming down. Roof’s starting to give out, too.

JANINE DE LUCA: Thank you, Ranger. Now lead the prisoners into the courtyard before the ceiling collapses. We must get clear of the gas. Through the wall, run!

~

ERNIE VAN ARK: You and Janine are almost across the prison courtyard, Five. Peter and I are waiting past the gates. I’m so sorry, I know this must be agonizing, but if you can manage one more volley, blast the outer wall down.

[heavy gunfire]

Five, thank God you made it out! I’ve set your network to shut down. The other rangers should be going back to sleep any second now. Oh gosh, you fused half your circuits. That gun arm won’t be firing anytime soon. Still, look at all these prisoners you’ve freed!

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Van Ark, that was quite the rescue plan.

PETER LYNNE: [clears throat] It, uh... wasn’t all him, you know. God. Jenny, come here.

JANINE DE LUCA: Peter, you’re shaking.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, that’s just some uh, drug withdrawal and a spot of joy. I, um... I didn’t think I would see you again.

JANINE DE LUCA: I had no intention, Peter, of letting that be true. You and Mr. Van Ark are a surprisingly effective team.

ERNIE VAN ARK: We’ve had our ups and downs, but I suppose we’re both immortal. We’ve got eternity to work on it.

PETER LYNNE: Under absolutely no circumstances! He’s been worse than torture, Jenny, really.

ERNIE VAN ARK: Janine, it’s my fault you were captured. I promise, I will make up for it. I only wish we’d got more of the rangers out, but at least we’ve rescued most. If I study their software, I think I can work out a shutdown hack that accounts for Valmont traps. And there’s a yacht beached along the shore we can use to send the prisoners home. Now you’re free. If anyone can give us an edge against Valmont, it’s you.

PETER LYNNE: After we get some rest somewhere far from that cell.

JANINE DE LUCA: Alas, that’s not an option, Peter. Valmont chose to gas his captives rather than use explosives. He likely means to count the bodies. When he finds I’m missing...

ERNIE VAN ARK: He’ll know to raise his game.

JANINE DE LUCA: Indeed. Whatever his plans, whatever he was using his prisoners to distract from, our escape only invites an escalation. We must seek to counter him. Whatever friends we have in danger, wherever Valmont has his sights, I fear things for everyone are about to get much worse.

~

[helicopter blades whir]

SLAVA: Red Scorpion Base just on the horizon. See it now, Ranger Five? And all around it, rolling dunes, a few isolated caravans winding their way between oases. Must have looked the same a thousand years ago. You’d hardly know the zombie apocalypse happened. [chuckles] Mind you, briefing said the zoms hide beneath the sands in these parts. Useful adaption. Mr. Valmont says, “We have to change with the times or die.”

RANGER SEVEN: Correction. Zombies are already dead.

SLAVA: [laughs] Good one, Ranger Seven! Oh wait, you weren’t joking. Not in the programming, right? Closer now. Can you see the smoke? That’s courtesy of Abel Township.

RANGER SEVEN: Abel Township. Designation: enemy settlement. Action plan: eradicate.

SLAVA: Give that supersoldier a cigar! But that’s a problem for future us. [rocket launches, alarm blares] Rocker launch on our three! Evasive maneuvers! [rocket zooms past] Nice piloting, Five! Best put us down here, outside the perimeter. Don’t want anyone else taking a pot shot.

[chuckles] Mind you, I don’t think that rocket was aimed at us. Looks like there’s a firefight going on inside Red Scorpion. Lucky I’ve got two strapping soldiers to guard me. Mr. Valmont said you’d been a bit glitchy lately, but you’re the only two in fighting condition. “Always make the best of what you’ve got, Slava!” That’s what Mr. Valmont told me.

Touchdown. Out of the bird, both of you. Better get moving. [door opens] This mission is time critical. [zombies groan] Also, looks like we’ve woken up a few of those burrowing zoms. More than a few. Remember the brief: find and eliminate Ernie Van Ark. Now run!

~

SLAVA: We’ve outpaced the zoms. Got to say, you guys are quick on your feet. Not exactly been dazzling me with your witty repartee. But then, Mr. Valmont told me he took your voice box out, Five. Guess there’s not much point talking when all you’re saying is, “Yes sir, no sir.” Ranger Five, take point. Seven, guard our rear.

RANGER SEVEN: Yes, sir.

SLAVA: I’ve got to be honest, you guys give me the creeps. Don’t get me wrong, almost unkillable cyborg soldiers definitely a mission asset. You’ve got to respect a trooper with built-in ordinance. But your eyes... Oy. You always look like you’re screaming on the inside!

RANGER SEVEN: Error. Enhanced soldiers don’t experience fear.

SLAVA: [chuckles] Or happiness, or sadness. Or that feeling when you get when you’re too full, but you’re going to eat the last chocolate anyway. You know what I mean? What am I saying, or course not. I heard it was quite the technical challenge making it so you don’t care about anything.

Me, I came that way out the box. A 93 on the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale. Took that test when I was seven. Bet you’re wondering why they gave a seven-year-old psychopathy tests, aren’t you?

RANGER SEVEN: No, sir.

SLAVA: Hm. Well, it was Mr. Valmont. He funded a string of orphanages across the old Eastern Block. “Charity has its place.” That’s what he says. “And that place is when it’s benefiting me.” He arranged for the orphanages to give all the kids the Levenson test, and the real high achievers like me got taken out and put into special schools, Valmont Academies. Mr. Valmont’s been training me for a long time. That’s why I’m the best at what I do.

RANGER SEVEN: Ranger Five has reached the perimeter wall.

SLAVA: [sighs] I can see that. Now breach it.

RANGER SEVEN: Ranger Five, initiate perimeter wall breach protocol.

[rubble clatters]

SLAVA: If Mr. Valmont wants one for the tip box, maybe give the next batch of supersoldiers a bit more get up and go. Nicely done, Five. You’re through! We’re heading for Control Alpha. That’s the blocky concrete monstrosity at the back. But we need to keep our heads down. Mr. Valmont’s been cleaning up shop. And by cleaning up, I mean shooting, and by shop, I mean all the base personnel.

[zombies groan]

Damn it! Zoms are catching up, and they’ve brought some friends. I guess the noise drew them. And now we’ve given them a way into the base. Oh well. Should help the other crews with the cleanup, but we’d better run.

~

SLAVA: No hostile contact yet. Lots of broken glass. Remains of a solar panel field, I’d say. Looks like old damage. Mr. Valmont told me those Abel Township people did a number on the place. Ranger Five, clear us a path to the entrance.

[glass clatters]

Guess you guys are wondering why Ernie’s a target. Wondered the same thing myself. I know how much effort Mr. Valmont put into creating him. But he said to me, “I had such high hopes. The original Van Ark was so bracingly immoral! But remakes are always a disappointment, aren’t they, Slava? Ernie’s the Wicker Man of evil masterminds.”

Remake! [laughs] Mr. Valmont got a way with words, hasn’t he? When I was a kid, I used to write down everything he said to me. Had a secret journal for it. Hid it under my bed. They didn’t like you keeping anything private in the Valmont Academies, but I wanted to remember it all! He only came to visit us at Christmas and Easter, spent a little time talking to everyone. Highlight of my year.

RANGER SEVEN: The path to the door is clear.

SLAVA: I can see that. Five, override the security lock on the door, would you? Looks like someone’s tried to disable it from the inside. [electronics whir] See the corpses, Seven? One to the chest, one to the head. Classic double tap. Mr. Valmont sent in a few kill teams before us. People here knew too much about his plans.

That’s the trouble with new hires. They’re never completely loyal, not like me. Can’t trust them not to blab. “It’s not a secret when three know it.” [laughs] That’s not Mr. Valmont. Heard it off a kid from one of those weird Scottish islands. Morn, Marn? Something like that. Lot of kids from around there in the orphanage.

[door opens]

RANGER SEVEN: Ranger Five has gained access. We can go home now.

SLAVA: Home? I suppose it is the closest thing they’ve got to home. Okay. Ernie’s holed himself up in the executive bunker. Probably treating himself to Mr. Valmont’s 60-year-old Macallan whiskey. Probably thinks he’s sitting pretty in there, but you guys laugh in the face of reinforced steel.

The zoms have reached the breach in the wall. Must be a good score of them now. Doesn’t matter. We’re on a timer, anyway. Oh, didn’t I mention? Mr. Valmont wants a tissue sample from Van Ark. That’s why we’re going in. But more importantly, he wants Van Ark dead, so he’s got a bomber standing by. The whole place is going boom in 15 minutes, and if we’re not out by then, so are we. “Pressure’s good. It’s how you make diamonds.” [chuckles] He told me that when I was 13. Ranger Five, Ranger Seven, watch my six. We’re going in.

~

[gunshots]

SLAVA: So this is where the real action is. Armory. Figures. “We’re just apes fighting over scarce resources,” like Mr. Valmont says. We’ve got cover behind these crates, but it’ll be hard to get across without catching a stray bullet. I can’t see who’s fighting who. Looks like every man for himself. Very high body count. Okay, Seven. See that metal table? That’ll have to do for our next piece of cover. Five, suppressing fire while we run. Now! Made it. Looks like they winged you though, Seven.

RANGER SEVEN: They wired the pain receptors to the pleasure receptors in my brain. I was made to be hurt.

SLAVA: Yeah, sure, buddy. Come to us now, Five. Seven will cover.

RANGER SEVEN: We’re not alone.

SLAVA: Yeah, I see them. Zoms have come to join in the fun. Good news for us. Everybody turned fire on them.

RANGER SEVEN: Ranger Five, we’re not alone.

SLAVA: You already said! No, wait. Is that another supersoldier?

RANGER SEVEN: His battles are over.

SLAVA: Oh shit, a zombie supersoldier! Forget cover, just run!

~

SLAVA: This place is a maze. Endless olive green corridors. Could have gone for a more cheerful color. It’s not like the walls need camo. [zombie growls] Damn it, can’t seem to shake that supersoldier zom! Guess the cybernetics keep working even while the flesh is rotting away. You’ve got a clear shot, Five. Take it! Five, don’t malfunction on me now! [gunfire] All right, belay that. It hasn’t even dented him. Take a left here. Schematics say it should lead to... Yes. Inner courtyard, greenhouse. There’s a service hatch to the tunnel network there, shortcut to Ernie’s hidey-hole

RANGER SEVEN: This was Ernest Van Ark’s place. Ernest Van Ark was happy here.

SLAVA: Was he? Guess you’d know. You must have seen him around the base back in the day.

RANGER SEVEN: All the plants are dry and dead. No one to water them while Ernest Van Ark was gone. When things are neglected, they die.

SLAVA: Not necessarily. Take me. Mr. Valmont gave me my psych profile to read a couple of years back. There’s stuff in there from before I can remember. Like apparently no one hugged me for the first whole year of my life. Crazy, right? But Mr. Valmont says that’s what makes me me. It makes me special.

RANGER SEVEN: When things are neglected, they die on the inside.

SLAVA: Jesus, you’re weird. Five, what are you waiting around for? Get that trap door open. [hatch creaks open] Seven, buy us time to get clear, any means necessary. I don’t care if that zom tears you from limb to limb. I don’t need both you and Five to finish this mission. [glass shatters] It’s here! Five, take point. Go!

~

SLAVA: This is it, the entrance to Ernie’s bunker. What are you waiting for, Five? Get that door off. Only eight inches of steel, shouldn’t take you long.

RANGER SEVEN: Wait... for... me.

SLAVA: Seven, I thought I told you to guard our rear.

RANGER SEVEN: I must... complete... the mission. Ernest Van Ark is the mission. I must complete the mission for Ernest Van Ark.

[metal creaks]

SLAVA: Nicely done, Five. Took that door clean off. Now stand back.

ERNEST VAN ARK: Finally! I wasn’t sure you’d make it. It’s a bit of a mess out there.

SLAVA: Sorry, Mr. Van Ark, but we’re not here to rescue you.

ERNEST VAN ARK: Oh, I wasn’t talking to you. Thank you, Five. Thank you, Seven. I’m grateful for the risks you took. I suppose you’d better relieve your companion of that rather dangerous-looking gun.

SLAVA: What? Five, let go of me! What are you doing?

ERNEST VAN ARK: The inevitable. It’s the nature of sentience that a being will come to know and choose for itself. My friends at Abel taught me that.

SLAVA: Ranger Five, you are malfunctioning. Run diagnostic Hotel Golf. Obey me, damn it! Valmont made you. He owns you!

ERNEST VAN ARK: The thing is, Miroslava, a child doesn’t belong to its parents. A clone isn’t... fenced in by his genetics. And supersoldiers can break free of their programming, with a little help.

RANGER SEVEN: Ernest Van Ark freed soldier 2759. Ernest Van Ark is our friend.

SLAVA: It’s the supersoldier zom! You aren’t getting out of this alive, Van Ark!

ERNEST VAN ARK: If I die, you die. But you genuinely don’t care about that, do you? What did Valmont do to you?

RANGER SEVEN: Go, Ernest Van Ark. I will stop him.

ERNEST VAN ARK: Nonsense. We’re all getting out of this together.

RANGER SEVEN: I am hurt. I will slow you down. My tactical onboard computer calculates 13% survival chance if I accompany you.

ERNEST VAN ARK: Seven, no!

RANGER SEVEN: Five will protect you. This is my choice.

~

ERNEST VAN ARK: I think that’s far enough, Five. We’re clear of the base, and clear of the zoms. Too much food inside for us to be of interest. No sign of Seven. I thought... I thought he might make it out after all. How arrogant of me to assume it would all go according to my plan. Not entirely free of my genetics after all.

There’s no sign of Miroslava, either. It would have been sensible to dispose of her, but I know you don’t much care for killing anymore, Five. She could cause problems for us down the line. But then again, she could be trapped inside when... right on schedule. Valmont’s bomber, come to dispose of the evidence. [explosion] Dear me... He doesn’t do things by halves, does he? And now he thinks we died in the base.

I imagine New Agadir would be happy to take you in, Five. They’re very keen on new tech, and on freedom. No? Onward, then. Without Valmont on our backs, we can concentrate on what’s important. What do you say, Five? Do you think it’s time to go and find your namesake?

~

[alarm blares]

GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Abel spies, throw down your weapons and surrender immediately! There will be no second warning.

JANINE DE LUCA: Hands off your gun, Five. I count a dozen soldiers in this hangar. The only way out is the front gates and they're barely half open. Escalation is suicide.

GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Ah yes. Colonel De Luca, isn't it? Your real name. The woman attempting to infiltrate my base. And that’s Sam Yao, Peter Lynne, and Runner Five. And Maryam Abani, the doctor from New Agadir. Took the boss some effort to identify you, but you'll reveal more when we interrogate you. You’ll tell me everything. Guards, get those gates closed and locked now!

[gates roll shut]

SAM YAO: That doesn't sound good.

PETER LYNNE: No, especially since they've got Van Ark on hand to torture us.

SAM YAO: Van Ark, who's definitely this secret boss they keep talking about, right? I know you said he wasn't, General, but they'd obviously been keeping you in the dark about him.

GENERAL BAKARI: Indeed. De Luca, Operation Pinafore.

GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Bakari, back away from those spies! Your own role in this will be thoroughly examined.

GENERAL BAKARI: You know, Guillemette, I always found you smug. Consider this my resignation. System, emergency program Bakari One!

[explosion, Five's ears ring]

GENERAL BAKARI: [muffled] Five, can you hear me? Can you hear me, Five? [clear] I said Five, can you hear? That was a sonic pulse, got the soldiers dizzy and heaving. You too, I'm afraid. Janine and I were ready, blocked our ears. She's getting the rest of ours upright. The gate's still half open. We have to go.

GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Do not let them escape!

GENERAL BAKARI: On your feet, Five. The soldiers are already recovering. Come on. Remember, it's your blood that contains the panacea. You and the USB you're carrying are absolutely vital. More diseases stalk the post-apocalyptic world every day. That data is our only hope of curing them. Follow me. Through the gates, run!

[soldiers chatter, gunshots]

~

[gunshots]

SAM YAO: This is really bad, Five, even for us. Thousands of miles from home, stuck on a desert base with our escape plan wrecked.

PETER LYNNE: And fighting Van Ark. Again. Look, I know I'm not one to talk, but why can't the dead stay dead?

SAM YAO: At least we're clear of the main complex, but we're still on base ground surrounded by a high security fence and that's a lot of angry soldiers after us.

GENERAL BAKARI: Cut straight through that solar panel field toward the perimeter fence. The soldiers won't risk firing on the panels, the base would be dead without them.

MARYAM ABANI: General, what exactly did you do back there?

GENERAL BAKARI: I've been working here a long time. Programmed an escape contingency into the base’s security system. Opens all doors, triggers a sonic pulse, shuts down main power. Frankly, our odds of survival are still perishingly small, but it was the best I could do.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, um, that warning you gave Janine. Operation Pinafore? Code from an old mission, or...?

JANINE DE LUCA: It was... the name of a musical performance at my boarding school when I was 15. Reviews were... unkind.

GENERAL BAKARI: “Cover your ears,” the school paper said. She wasn't happy. [chuckles] Always told you and Tom, bad memories make the best passcodes. You never forget.

[solar panels whir]

MARYAM ABANI: Is it my imagination or are these solar panels moving?

PETER LYNNE: Maryam's right, the panels ahead are tilting towards us. God, it's all of them. Agh! Oh my God, that... Okay, the glare is painful!

GENERAL BAKARI: The panels can adjust to follow the sun, but Guillemette must have restored power to them. She's using them to dazzle us! The soldiers are closing fast behind us. They have protective goggles.

PETER LYNNE: Well, they're going to catch us if we're staggering blind! Um, [clears throat] Sam, do you uh, reckon we can even the odds?

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Yao?

SAM YAO: Oh, uh, Peter and I took some grenades when we were touring the base armory. You know, for the sake of keeping character as ruthless mercenaries. I think some of them were smoke grenades.

GENERAL BAKARI: That might work. Aim for the soldiers, quick!

SAM YAO: Five, take this one. Aim right behind us. Throw! [explosion, smoke sprays] Well, that's a lot of black smoke drifting over the panels. Swallowed the soldiers completely.

GENERAL BAKARI: The blowback will dim these panels, but not by much. We're near the edge of the field. Just keep your heads down and make for the outer fence. Run!

~

PETER LYNNE: Oof! Glad to be out off the panel field, Five. I'm still seeing spots. And at least we're ahead of the soldiers. Oh, there! Uh, I see a way out. There's a, it's a big metal gate, sort of a portcullis in the fence ahead, and it's open.

GENERAL BAKARI: Part of my sabotage. It should remain open for as long as the base is compromised.

[portcullis clatters down]

MARYAM ABANI: The portcullis is going down. Fast.

GENERAL BAKARI: Blast it! Guillemette must be overriding my program. [sighs] It was only ever meant as a last resort.

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Yao, you and Dr. Abani are in the lead. You're almost there. Dive under before it closes!

MARYAM ABANI: She's right, Sam. Come on!

SAM YAO: Wait, we can't just leave Five! Maryam, no, let go! Get off my arm! Stop!

[gate slams shut]

JANINE DE LUCA: Slow down, Five. The gates are shut. We're not getting through.

MARYAM ABANI: [radio crackles] Can you hear me? Sam and I made it. We're on the other side of the fence.

JANINE DE LUCA: Understood, Miss Abani. Thank you for guiding Mr. Yao. You and he must get to safety. The fewer of us in the power of Red Scorpion, the better.

SAM YAO: Hold on! Janine, what about you?

JANINE DE LUCA: The gates are sealed. Mr. Yao. Mr Lynne, the general, Five and I will have to find another way off the base. Get yourselves clear, that is an order. We'll arrange a rendezvous once we have made our own escape.

GENERAL BAKARI: Remember, you have trackers under your skin. Guillemette’s monitoring systems are down right now, but you need to be far away before they're restored. [grunts in pain] Five and our stolen USB on this side of the fence... damned bad luck.

JANINE DE LUCA: General, are you all right?

GENERAL BAKARI: Blasted leg wound. Painkillers wearing off. Should have been an easy mission, De Luca. I sneak you in, you take the data and leave. But once again, you and Runner Five have blown my life apart. Sigrid always said you'd be the death of me.

JANINE DE LUCA: General, focus. There must be another way off this base. We need options.

GENERAL BAKARI: Unfortunately, De Luca, we don't have any! Except... See that glass building? Greenhouse. There's a potential path that way. It's a horrible idea, but then, this is the day for them. Those soldiers are catching up. To the greenhouse, run!

~

JANINE DE LUCA: Quick, Five, inside. I do not think the soldiers saw us duck in here. We should be safe for the moment.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, nice greenhouse. It's very roomy, lots of big tomato vines. Quick question, um, how is this remotely a way out?

[foliage rustles]

ERNEST VAN ARK: Stay... stay back!

PETER LYNNE: Um, is that... is that Van Ark hiding behind that rack of planting trays? Because he looks, um... young.

JANINE DE LUCA: This is a new person - a new iteration, I should say - made from Van Ark's remains, but still the same man.

ERNEST VAN ARK: I know you're spies. Guillemette sent out a general alert. She told me to stay here, prune the plants. Always calms me down.

JANINE DE LUCA: You can drop the act, Professor. We're well aware that you are the man in charge, the boss, the one who revealed our true identities. I'm unsure what game you're playing - !

ERNEST VAN ARK: This isn't a game, not to me.

PETER LYNNE: Well, why don't we just shoot him? We can end this now.

GENERAL BAKARI: Not worth the risk, Peter. Ernie has an earpiece in. Personal comms. If we shoot and miss, he calls for help. But if he calls for help, we shoot, so you just stay there, Ernie. I always thought creating you was a mistake, and I'm half inclined to subscribe to my friend's theory that you've been in charge here the whole time. Now I'm going to open this floor panel nice and slowly, then we'll be gone and nobody gets hurt.

[floor panel creaks and clatters open]

ERNEST VAN ARK: And I'm supposed to trust you, am I, like Guillemette trusted you? Comms, voice activate. Guillemette, they're in Greenhouse 4.

[gunshots]

PETER LYNNE: Damn it, he ducked out of sight! Oh, don't look at me like that, Janine. He's Van Ark! You know he'd do 10 times worse to us.

GENERAL BAKARI: We have to get out of here, now! There's a ramp under the hatch. Jump down, then run. It'll lead you deep underground. Follow the ramp until you reach a metal door. The soldiers are here. They'll know where we're headed. Go!

~

JANINE DE LUCA: All right, General, what now? The ramp ends here and this metal door is quite immovable.

GENERAL BAKARI: Damn! My program should have opened it. Guillemette must have a lot of systems back online. Five, help me pry open that wall console. I can override.

GUILLEMETTE FELIS: [intercom squeals] Bakari, I know you can hear me. I've got the Tannoy up in your section. I've been thinking about your little history, that business with 555. In hindsight, you stink of rats!

JANINE DE LUCA: The soldiers are approaching, General. We must hurry.

GENERAL BAKARI: Hold on. There's an intense security down here. If I trip the wrong system, it'll electrify the floor.

PETER LYNNE: Hmm, that's odd. It sounds like they're holding position a way behind us.

GUILLEMETTE FELIS: I don't think much of your little gang, Bakari. Scoundrels and crooks, the boss says. You can surrender or suffer. Either way, whatever secrets you've stolen, they are never leaving this place.

GENERAL BAKARI: Oh hell, she's managed to reboot the floor paneling here, and there's usually a massive current running through it! My program shut that system down. Won't take long to charge it again. If we're lucky, it'll kill us.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, and if we're not?

GENERAL BAKARI: Guillemette will have it set to stun so she can take her time with the interrogations. [door opens] Got it. The door's open. The corridor beyond is metal, but if we get past that, there's a stone cavern, no electric floor there. Quickly, run!

~

[metal door slides shut]

GENERAL BAKARI: It's okay, Five. That's just the door we came through slamming shut far behind us. We're past the electrified floor. Just stone underfoot from here. How are you, Five? Uninjured? Good. Remember, you're holding data crucial for the human race. You must remain alive.

JANINE DE LUCA: This cavern... there's scorch marks on the walls, old flamethrowers strewn about. Where are we, General?

GENERAL BAKARI: The old caves beneath the base where they used to grow the red fungus. It's all dead now, of course. Just blackened rock and shadow.

PETER LYNNE: Hmm. Are those... bones? No that, that looks like... Yeah, that's, that's a human skeleton. Oh, oh good! It looks like it must have been eight foot tall, at least. Like a giant.

GENERAL BAKARI: There have been a lot of things down here over the years. The soldiers won't follow us. That door, the electric floor, it's not to keep people in, but to keep other things out. Protect the base from what's underneath. This cavern leads to deep tunnels.

Grab whatever equipment you can see. We might need it. Because frankly, this is going to be far worse than the base. We'll be very, very lucky to make it out of here alive, but we must try, for the sake of humanity.

~

SAM YAO: Five, Five, in here! We can hide in these old trailers. [door creaks shut] I knew that garage would be crawling with zombies!

PETER LYNNE: Yes, everywhere's crawling with zoms, Sam! You're not exactly Nostradamus. Eugh, it is really musty in here. Must have been empty since the apocalypse. Five, could you hand me that old tea towel so I can clean the window? [glass squeaks]

SAM YAO: Are the zoms still out there?

PETER LYNNE: Well, I don't see them. So knowing our luck, yes.

SAM YAO: [sighs] Well, at least we've got a moment to catch our breath. See if you can find any useful parts here, Five. Janine always has that “I'm not angry, just disappointed” look when we come back empty-handed.

PETER LYNNE: What are a bunch of rusting camper vans doing out here in the desert, anyway?

SAM YAO: [rummages] Junk. Junk. Junk. Oh? Nah, probably shouldn't eat that. Ooh, I think this radio might be - ! Uh, salvageable?

PETER LYNNE: There's a cluster of buildings in the distance past those dunes. Let's grab what we can and head over there. They look more secure than a rusty old caravan. After you, Five.

[door creaks open]

SAM YAO: I can hear moaning. Can you hear moaning?

PETER LYNNE: Over there, rising out of the sand dunes. It's a... [clears throat] It's a zombified Napoleonic regiment. Huh.

SAM YAO: Are those muskets they're holding? That's so weird! Well, maybe this was a battle sight or something!

PETER LYNNE: Zombies... zombies from the 1800s? It doesn't matter, because there's more coming from the left. Oh, and behind us. Uh, we need to get out of here. Pronto! Make for those buildings, run!

~

SAM YAO: Look at that! A few hundred meters behind the buildings, it's-it's a whole Roman amphitheater! It's still in pretty good nick, too. This must have been a tourist site.

PETER LYNNE: The whole area's fenced off, though. Five, could you give me a boost over? There's a bench on the other side. Once I'm over, I can pull you both up. Great, now give me your hand.

SAM YAO: That's it, we're all in.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, and just in time, too. The zombie regiment’s arrived.

SAM YAO: Oh wow, that's a lot of zombies. Oh, and just a rusty bit of chain holding the gate.

PETER LYNNE: Uh, the amphitheater looks really sturdy, nice and defensible. Once we're there, maybe we can figure out where the imperial guard came from.

SAM YAO: Yeah, well, I think I might have cracked that one.

PETER LYNNE: What?

SAM YAO: Well, there's a trailer over there just like the ones we found in the dunes, except this one's full of camera equipment.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, a film set! See, I knew there was a logical explanation for finding a bunch of zombies dressed as 19th century French grenadiers in the middle of the Tunisian desert. Oh, bloody hell! More zombies. Are those... are those Roman legionnaires?

SAM YAO: Must be the rest of the cast. Dozens of them, and they're all flinging themselves against the fence!

PETER LYNNE: Well, the costumes are right, but the formation's terrible. Oh, there goes the chain. Time to exit stage left.

SAM YAO: Head for the arena, Five. Run!

~

[zombies moan]

SAM YAO: Quick, Five, into the tunnel.

PETER LYNNE: Damn it! There's no gate. There's nothing to stop the zoms.

SAM YAO: Uh, yeah, I can see light at the other end of the passageway. It... yeah, it must come out inside the arena. Look, when we've got some breathing space, we can do a McShell, then circle back around here -

[explosion]

PETER LYNNE: What the hell was that? The whole tunnel's collapsing!

SAM YAO: There's slabs of rock falling all around! Ugh, that one just squished two zoms like flies.

PETER LYNNE: Well, it'll squish us, too, if we don't get out of here! Now come on, the end of the tunnel's just ahead. [coughs]

SAM YAO: Daylight! The arena! We made it.

PETER LYNNE: Okay, that wasn't Roman cowboy builders, that was a bomb. It's buried half the zoms.

SAM YAO: Yeah, but the others are still after us. Uh, and now the way out's blocked.

PETER LYNNE: Come on, there must be another exit. These places were the sports stadiums of their day, right? If we just look around...

SAM YAO: Wait, wait. There's someone in here with us. Look, up in the box at the far end of the arena. Is that... is that a camera?

HAYDEE: Everyone, give a warm welcome to the newest members of the cast. I was saving those explosives for the grand finale, but no matter, there are plenty more. At long last, we can complete the picture.

PETER LYNNE: [laughs] Of course. Of course there's an insane director coordinating this whole thing.

SAM YAO: Yeah, no. No, sorry. Sorry, w-we're actually on kind of a mission here. If you could just like... show us the exit?

HAYDEE: What mission could be more important than cinema? And at last, I have three living actors to complete the great work, my terminal oeuvre, an epic history of the Tunisian people.

SAM YAO: But we're not even Tunisian!

HAYDEE: We'll fix it in post. This is the day Haydee Ghazal becomes a name to be remembered. This is the moment that makes it worth all the scorn. All the battles with producers, all the notes, all the... all the death!

PETER LYNNE: Uh, zombies still quite close. Getting closer.

[explosion]

SAM YAO: [coughs] Five! Five, are you all right? She just blew a hole in the arena floor! The whole place must be rigged!

PETER LYNNE: And full of zombies. They're crawling up out of the rubble and they are - [sighs] they are dressed like Ottoman janissaries. Really, could you just pick an era and stick with it?

HAYDEE: It's allegory. The survival of Tunisia through centuries of struggle. Just as you must now struggle to survive.

SAM YAO: Five, look, there's a collapse in the arena wall. If we scramble up the rubble, I think we can get up to the stands.

PETER LYNNE: We have to reach it first.

HAYDEE: Action!

~

SAM YAO: Here, Five, we can climb up this rubble and into the stands.

PETER LYNNE: Well, we can hide between the seats. That might buy us a bit of time. But we'll still be stuck starring in Zombie Apocalypse Now. Oy, you. Haydee, you've got this whole place wired for explosives, haven't you? If you don't take out the zoms behind us, your magnum opus is going to be short three stars!

HAYDEE: But that's the ending the movie needs, don't you see? I was hired to direct some brainless propaganda movie, utterly worthless. Then one of the undead broke into the set. One bite, that was all it took. Now it's my duty to make a truly great film! A film worthy of the sacrifice. Something truthful. And how can my film be truthful if you survive, if any of you survive? That's not... that's not what happens. In this world, people don't live, they die. However hard you try to save them.

SAM YAO: Ah, I see. I'm so sorry, Haydee. How long have you been here on your own?

HAYDEE: [sighs] All great artists are ultimately alone.

PETER LYNNE: It's no use, Sam. She's too far gone. And the Napoleonic zoms are right behind us, [laughs] and there's a pack of Red Scorpion soldiers pouring in from the left.

SAM YAO: There's another set of steps leading back down to the arena. We can make it, but that's where all her explosives are.

PETER LYNNE: Don't worry, Sam. I have a plan. Follow me, run!

~

SAM YAO: It's not good. We're just running in a huge circle, and we're picking up more zoms all the time. And the bunch right behind us looks like Aztecs. She must have scavenged costumes from every am-dram company in Tunisia.

PETER LYNNE: We're nearly there, Sam. You see that balcony up ahead? While we're in its shadow, she won't be able to see us. Just for a few seconds, but it will be long enough, I hope.

HAYDEE: I can tell you're tiring. Please, come down to the arena. All my cameras are trained on it. I need to film your deaths. If they aren't preserved in celluloid, how can they mean anything?

PETER LYNNE: Three people torn apart by zoms? Bit of an anti-climax isn't it? How about a real blockbuster of an ending? A man sacrificing himself for Tunisia! For life! For freedom!

HAYDEE: You'd do that? [laughs] Yes! Yes, of course! Method acting, true dedication to the craft! At the moment of your triumph, I'll blow it all up. The arena, me, you, the zombies, all gone! The perfect climax!

PETER LYNNE: Keep that camera on me, Haydee, because we're only getting one take.

SAM YAO: Peter, what are you doing?

PETER LYNNE: Get close to Haydee, Sam. Talk to her, keep her distracted. Five, you run up and around until you're just above her. I can get her to use the explosives to take out the zoms, but you need to stop her taking us out with them.

SAM YAO: I hope you know what you're doing.

PETER LYNNE: Well, that seems unlikely, doesn't it? Now run! Bring it on, you incoherently-themed buggers! It's time to die again!

~

PETER LYNNE: That's good, Five. I can see you running towards the back of the emperor's box. There aren't any zoms after you. There's so much noise down here, they're all heading towards it. But you're going to be in Haydee's line of sight in a moment. Sam, you are right in front of her. Now get her attention.

SAM YAO: Ah, so this is where the magic happens.

HAYDEE: Don't get any closer. I can't have any distractions while I'm filming.

SAM YAO: No no. No. No, I-I understand. You need to capture every moment of this. Peter's... God, he's surrounded by zoms. Oh, no. No no, he's okay! He's climbed onto that statue of Zeus. The zombies are trying to pull him down, but he's fending them off. Oh, look at that sword work! He’s just like Errol Flynn!

HAYDEE: I haven't seen star power like that since - ! Since... but Aziz would understand. Sometimes a part needs to be recast.

SAM YAO: Aziz... was he your lead? Before the zombies came?

HAYDEE: Yes, he was. He was very young. I discovered him in open casting. His mother didn't want him to do it, but I told her his talents would be wasted outside the cinema. But your friend has even more raw talent! Look at him go! He's leapt from the statue and is running toward the arches of the amphitheater, just where I placed the explosives.

PETER LYNNE: Well, Sam's done his job. Haydee hasn't spotted you, Five. Just run a bit further and you will be in position.

~

PETER LYNNE: You're almost there, Five. Just a few more paces and you'll be in position.

HAYDEE: It's spectacular! One man against an army of zoms. Now for the climactic explosion!

SAM YAO: Haydee, please. You can't set them off, the blast will kill him.

HAYDEE: I have to, don't you see? There has to be an ending!

SAM YAO: No, don't!

[explosion]

SAM YAO: Peter! Peter! There's so much dust, I can barely see.

HAYDEE: I thought... I thought for a moment, he might survive. But of course, we must stick to the script. Only one explosive left now, the one beneath the stand.

SAM YAO: No, no wait. I can see Peter. He made it! He's striding over the rubble, haloed in flames. Is that... is that a prop sword in his hand?

HAYDEE: He survived? The zombies are gone and he's still here?

PETER LYNNE: Now, Five!

[Five tackles HAYDEE]

SAM YAO: Five, quick, grab the detonators!

HAYDEE: No! Give them back. I have to finish the film!

SAM YAO: No no no, you have finished it, Haydee. Good triumphed. Evil was destroyed. Just because it's a happy ending doesn't mean it's not a true one. The world isn't always cruel. Sometimes things really do work out for the best.

HAYDEE: Y-you really think so?

SAM YAO: Yeah, I really do. You've made a great film, Haydee. One that will last. And your leading man barely has a scratch on him. Peter, that was... amazing!

PETER LYNNE: Yeah, it was one of my better performances, if I do say so myself. Oh, and [laughs] and you, too, Five. Well, the zoms are all buried under the rubble. And uh, [clears throat] we just need to find another way out.

HAYDEE: There's another exit above us. You can leave that way.

SAM YAO: We can leave. You're coming with us, Haydee. We can get you some help.

HAYDEE: I have to stay with my crew. I-I can't leave.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, of course you can. You do want your film to find a distributor, don't you?

HAYDEE: Yes! Yes, of course! A distributor, wide release. The footage is too good to waste.

PETER LYNNE: Exactly. Maybe I'll put it on showreel, just-just to see what happens. I mean, at least one agent must have survived the apocalypse.

~

[motorcycle engine turns over but fails to start]

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Yeah, it was a bit much to expect that the bikes would suddenly have grown more petrol in their tanks overnight.

ERNEST VAN ARK: No, it's sometimes worth trying with an engine. Once it's cold, fluid vapors  can settle in the lines and then you can get a little more out of them.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: It was a noble idea. Frances, it is not long until dawn. Time for you and I to lay a false trail.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Yeah, we're going to try and push the bikes as far as we can, at least downhill. Leave a trail making it look like you went the other way, towards the forest, Five.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Meanwhile, on the tabletop of the mountain, your next transport. The mini helicopter Maryam and I landed there this morning.

ERNEST VAN ARK: This plan is working, then? Red Scorpion don't know where we are?

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Yeah. Good news overnight. They were searching the glass dunes, they found where the glass was smashed and thought we must have got stuck there. They're sending soldiers beneath the glass to hunt for us. If you just keep doing what you're doing, Five, just keep moving every morning at dawn as soon as your tracker bip goes, I think we'll do it.

ERNEST VAN ARK: So all we need to do is reach the mountain top by dawn.

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: And your transport will leave no trace. You will have vanished like the jinn in the desert.

MARYAM ABANI: This is it, then. Five, Ernie, we’ll go up the mountain together. Mo, Frances, will we see you again?

MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Inshallah, one final time before the journey ends. The caravan with which my wife and children travel is passing to the west tomorrow. Frances and I will join it then and travel in safety to the Maghreb.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Good luck, Ernie. Good luck, Five. You can do it!

MARYAM ABANI: We'll see you at the next dawn. Now run!

~

ERNEST VAN ARK: Are you sure we can make it before dawn? This path is quite steep.

MARYAM ABANI: Just keep up this pace. We're not leaving you, if that's what you're worried about.

ERNEST VAN ARK: I think I... it's not how my mind works. Not naturally, anyway.

MARYAM ABANI: Brains are plastic. You can learn to make your mind work differently. Have you ever seen a group of three-year-olds trying to share a toy? They don't know how. On the set of my TV show, I once had to break up a fight over a stuffed giraffe live on air. But we teach them how to share. They learn.

ERNEST VAN ARK: I suppose I really am only four or five years old, actually. I - what was that?

MARYAM ABANI: A rock fall. But what...? Oh no!

ERNEST VAN ARK: A Red Scorpion augmented soldier above us on that overhang. It's... it's very large, isn't it? They never let me see them up close.

SOLDIER: Enemies of Red Scorpion, halt.

MARYAM ABANI: We can't fight it, Five. Look at the way the hydraulics of its arm merge with the flesh of its chest! It's more machine than person! Our weapons would be useless against it. But your anti-tank rifle... you have some ammo left, don't you?

ERNEST VAN ARK: Yes. The physics work. If you aim for the bottom of the overhang she's standing on, Five, the whole thing will come down, and her with it.

SOLDIER: This unit’s instructions have been disregarded. Lethal countermeasures authorized.

MARYAM ABANI: Fire, Five! [explosion] You did it! It's fallen 100 feet below us, but it won't stay down there for long. We have to hurry, run!

~

SAM YAO: Okay... okay! Hi! Uh, yeah, I got your call. I can see what's happening via the satellites, Maryam. Keep moving. I'll give you the status report. Um... okay. Could be worse, given there's a super soldier climbing up a mountain behind you. It's moving... moving quite slowly.

MARYAM ABANI: The mountain is fairly unstable. It's probably assessing the terrain. And it will already have summoned Guillemette. Red Scorpion will be on their way now. Maybe its orders are to wait for backup.

ERNEST VAN ARK: Those things were made out of my cell cultures, weren't they?

SAM YAO: Augmented somehow, yeah, with stuff they took from you to make them heal very fast. Okay. Okay. I'm-I'm gonna let Veronica take over just for a bit. This feels like your department, Ronnie.

VERONICA MCSHELL: Thank you, Sam. Yes. Okay. The super soldier is using its grappling claws to ascend the side of the mountain.

[gunshots]

MARYAM ABANI: It's firing at us!

VERONICA MCSHELL: Keep moving. It doesn't have a good vantage point to target you yet. Only a 2% chance of hitting you.

MARYAM ABANI: Its shots are going wide.

ERNEST VAN ARK: They're not. It's hitting its target every time. Can't you see, falling out of the sky, all those little bodies?

MARYAM ABANI: It's... firing at the birds? Something weird is going on. Now it seems to be aiming for that seam of quartz to our left.

VERONICA MCSHELL: Okay, keep moving. Those super soldiers have a kill switch implanted in them. I think I can hack into it and turn it off. You need to be out of its range. Those wild shots might still hit you as it ascends the mountain. Run!

~

[gunshots]

SOLDIER: [with difficulty] Stop. Stop.

MARYAM ABANI: That super soldier is not right. Look at it. It's following us, but sometimes it's walking backwards down the mountain.

ERNEST VAN ARK: Is this what you did when you -

SOLDIER: Halt.

ERNEST VAN ARK: You said you implanted a virus into the super soldiers.

MARYAM ABANI: Yes, to stop their augments from working properly.

SOLDIER: Stop.

ERNEST VAN ARK: Do you think that one could have been out of Red Scorpion all this time?

MARYAM ABANI: Veronica, have you managed to connect to it?

SOLDIER: Stop.

VERONICA MCSHELL: It's... it’s not responding in a normal way. It should be giving me orderly replies to preset commands. Instead, it's confused. I don't think it can communicate with Red Scorpion at all. 

SOLDIER: [with difficulty] Ernest. Ernest. Stop. Ernest.

ERNEST VAN ARK: It knows my name.

[explosions]

VERONICA MCSHELL: It’s also firing rockets at you. You have to keep moving!

SOLDIER: Ernest, stop.

VERONICA MCSHELL: It's not long until dawn, and then Red Scorpion really will be on their way. Please, keep running!

SOLDIER: Ernest.

~

[explosions]

ERNEST VAN ARK: Runner Five, does it look to you as if that augmented soldier is... in pain?

MARYAM ABANI: That ought not to be possible. The augments suppress their pain and emotions.

SOLDIER: [with difficulty] Ernest, stop. Help me.

VERONICA MCSHELL: They’re not supposed to be able to do that.

MARYAM ABANI: Is it what I did? Have I done this to all of them?

VERONICA MCSHELL: No! No, I-I've looked at the virus you installed. It... it takes power from the augments. It couldn't cause this sort of code breakdown. Unless... one of them was already malfunctioning, the augments already not properly installed, the body already rejecting them. Then... then maybe -

SOLDIER: [with difficulty] Ernest, help me. Help me.

VERONICA MCSHELL: If it's rejecting the augments, the pain would be excruciating. But the augments have taken over the work of some of the vital organs...

SOLDIER: Ernest, please.

ERNEST VAN ARK: It’s calling for me. Runner Five, you can go to the helicopter. I can stay here. I think I can... [sighs] I don't think there's any way back for it, but maybe I can work out a way to end its life, put it out of its suffering.

MARYAM ABANI: Ernie...

ERNEST VAN ARK: Is that him again? The easiest way to end things is killing! My stupid, ugly brain!

MARYAM ABANI: No, I think... I think what you're saying is kind. But it's not behaving rationally. It's as likely to kill you, Ernie, and if we leave you here, Red Scorpion will be here soon. Please, Five, lead the way. Just keep moving. It's not long now until dawn.

SOLDIER: Ernest...

~

ERNEST VAN ARK: So the augment at the back of the skull is the one. Without that, brain functions cease?

VERONICA MCSHELL: Yes. All I can see in the schematics tells me if you can get that augment out, it... its pain will be over.

ERNEST VAN ARK: All right. We're at the top of the mountain now. Five, you get into the helicopter. You too, Maryam. Just... look, just give me a moment or two with it. If you're in danger, just take off, okay?

MARYAM ABANI: We’ve no option, Five. The bip is going to sound from your tracker at dawn in 90 seconds.

ERNEST VAN ARK: All right, look, my hands are up. [gunshots] Okay, I can see what you're doing. You're firing at the sky, not at me. Are you hurting?

SOLDIER: [with difficulty] Ernest. Hurting, hurting everywhere...

ERNEST VAN ARK: I can take the chip from the back of your neck, and then you will... you'll stop hurting. Do you understand, though? That will be the end. The end of your life.

SOLDIER: [with difficulty] Yes. End. End of watch. Lights out. Day is done. Sleep.

MARYAM ABANI: 45 seconds until the bip.

ERNEST VAN ARK: It's okay. It's okay. Do you have a name?

SOLDIER: [with difficulty] Don’t remember.

ERNEST VAN ARK: I see your serial number here. 2759. Turn around, 2759. Yes, I see it. I'm going to take out this augment now,2759. Day is done. Sleep. There. That's done. Sleep now, 2759. Return to the earth.

MARYAM ABANI: That was... that was really good, Ernie. You calmed her. In her last moments, someone touched her with kindness. That's-that's worth something. [tracker beeps] That's it. Dawn. Red Scorpion know where we are again. Come on, Ernie, into the copter. I'm starting the engine.

ERNEST VAN ARK: They made her that way out of me.

MARYAM ABANI: I know.

ERNEST VAN ARK: Take me away from here.

MARYAM ABANI: We're heading home.

~

BEN JONES: Abel Township. Abel Township, Runner Five is coming home to you. Abel Township, are you receiving -

SAM YAO: Yes, hello.

JANINE DE LUCA: Brunswick, this is Abel. Mr. Jones, it's good to hear your voice.

BEN JONES: Yours too, Janine.

HALEY BAIRD: Oh, come on.

SAM YAO: Hi, Haley.

[HALEY BAIRD laughs]

BEN JONES: Thank you for lending us your runner. I don't know what we would have done without your help.

JANINE DE LUCA: No problem at all.

BEN JONES: We've got power. Our cameras are as good as they ever were. We've got food for a while. The perimeter's almost secure again, and now we've got a radio link with you.

JANINE DE LUCA: That's a good few days' work.

BEN JONES: Haley's the radio whiz kid. You two should meet.

SAM YAO: She should come and visit!

HALEY BAIRD: Maybe when I'm back on my feet? I don't want you seeing me like this.

BEN JONES: Either way, I figure we owe you. So Janine, as we speak, your runner is carrying a USB stick back to Abel. Consider it many debts repaid.

JANINE DE LUCA: That's… thank you.

BEN JONES: No problem at all.

JANINE DE LUCA: Runner Five, hurry back.

~

SAM YAO: [laughs] Yeah, they're called Jack and Eugene, and they talk nonsense all night. You're praying for a really long tune like Bohemian Rhapsody or something just so you don't have to listen to them!

HALEY BAIRD: [laughs] You know what? We should do a music exchange.

SAM YAO: Now that's a good idea.

[walkie talkie beeps]

BEN JONES: Excuse me. What is it?

[muffled response over walkie talkie]

HALEY BAIRD: Do you like ABBA?

SAM YAO: Yeah! We don't have any.

HALEY BAIRD: Sorted.

BEN JONES: I thought the western perimeter was secure. Damn it!

HALEY BAIRD: Jones, what's the problem?

BEN JONES: We've got a breach. The west fence, right behind us. 40, 50 hostiles coming through.

HALEY BAIRD: I thought the fence was -

BEN JONES: Someone made a half-ass job of it.

HALEY BAIRD: So what do we do?

BEN JONES: Lock the door and sit tight. Kelley and Peck made it to the armory and they're coming around to fetch us.

SAM YAO: Are you going to be okay?

BEN JONES: They're good fighters. They'll get us out of here.

~

[gunshots, zombies growl]

HALEY BAIRD: Come away from the door!

BEN JONES: I'm just monitoring the - damn it!

HALEY BAIRD: What?

BEN JONES: The canteen's gone up. There must have been some gas canisters left in there, and a stray bullet.

HALEY BAIRD: Damn it.

BEN JONES: Yeah. Trees have caught light now, right across the campus. I don't think Kelley and Peck are going to get through to us.

HALEY BAIRD: Are they still alive?

BEN JONES: I don't know. At least the east building should be safe now. The fire means all the hostiles are turning back.

HALEY BAIRD: Back this way?

BEN JONES: If we're quiet, they might not even realize we're here.

JANINE DE LUCA: I can't listen to this.

BEN JONES: Janine, don't worry. They'll probably shuffle right by. Besides, if there's any trouble, I have a sidearm.

JANINE DE LUCA: Runner Five, return to Brunswick and distract the hostiles.

BEN JONES: No, Janine, I've got this. Let the runner be.

JANINE DE LUCA: I'm sending out five armed runners. Mr. Yao, round up a squad and dispatch them to Brunswick. They'll be with you in 30 minutes.

HALEY BAIRD: We'll just sit here and be quiet, then. I can do that.

~

[zombies bang on door and scream]

HALEY BAIRD: Well, that didn't work.

BEN JONES: Here, help me move this table.

[table scrapes across floor]

JANINE DE LUCA: How many of them are there?

BEN JONES: Unknown.

SAM YAO: Haley, you okay?

HALEY BAIRD: I've had better days.

JANINE DE LUCA: Runner Five, return to Brunswick.

BEN JONES: No, I told you -

JANINE DE LUCA: You do not have the situation under control, Ben.

BEN JONES: That runner cannot come back here. Everything on that USB stick - that's what matters. We cannot afford to lose it. Runner Five, no matter what you hear, no matter what Janine tells you, keep running!

JANINE DE LUCA: Our weapons team will be there in 20 minutes. Just defend your position.

~

[door clatters, zombies growl, Brunswick residents scream]

JANINE DE LUCA: Brunswick, come in. What's going on there?

BEN JONES: This door won't hold much longer!

HALEY BAIRD: Oh my God, [?]!

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Yao?

SAM YAO: 15 minutes away. Maybe 10.

JANINE DE LUCA: They haven't got that long! Runner Five - !

BEN JONES: No, Janine. It's not worth the risk. Everything of me that's worth a damn is on that memory stick.

JANINE DE LUCA: Ben -

BEN JONES: You know I'm right.

JANINE DE LUCA: I don't care!

HALEY BAIRD: Jones, don't use all the bullets.

SAM YAO: Don't do - don't-don't rush into anything, okay? The cavalry's on its way. Just a few more minutes.

HALEY BAIRD: You can't see what I'm seeing.

BEN JONES: Three rounds left.

HALEY BAIRD: I can't do it myself.

BEN JONES: Don't worry.

JANINE DE LUCA: Ben!

HALEY BAIRD: Make it quick.

SAM YAO: Just a few more minutes!

HALEY BAIRD: It was very nice talking to you, Sam.

BEN JONES: See you around, Janine.

[two gunshots, JANINE DE LUCA cries, barricade clatters, zombies growl, static]

JANINE DE LUCA: Ben…