07. Ain't No Party Like A Crank Party

"In a tunnel, doing some recon, and following people which is not creepy at all," Osamu sang under his breath.

"No it's not cause it's our job now please shut up," Julia sang back.

Georgie stopped, sending both of them a glare. The pair immediately pulled their lips into straight lines, making a zipped motion.

Julia immediately realized what happened and froze for a second. She glared at Osamu then quickly followed behind Georgie.

When Brenda and Thomas got separated from the group, the three of them were tasked with tracking and, hopefully, apprehending the pair. Following runaways into a dark cave was not on their to-do list.

"So, why do you think they ran? The subjects?" Julia asked. "I mean, what the Lieutenant and everyone else is doing, what we're doing, is important. We're helping people."

Georgie sighed, "Some people can't handle the pressure. But the least we can do is get them back where they're safe. Hopefully, we can get to them before the Right Arm does."

"What even is the Right Arm? Lieutenant Sage mentioned it earlier, too."

"Once upon a time they were a part of WCKED. A smaller department, like ours. Until one day, this scientist lost her shit and went rogue. She took a whole bunch of other workers and even some subjects. No one's been able to find her since. The whole operation is dead set on stopping WCKED. They want to see the world burn more than it already has."

"So, anarchy and shit like that."

"Yes, Samu. Anarchy and shit like that."

Click

Click

Click

"Georgie?" Georgie stopped, putting his hand on his belt. "Georgie, what was that?"

Georgie brought his hand up, silencing them. He looked around into the shadows, catching glimpses of moving figures. He took a slight step back and grabbed a small ball.

"On my mark, you run. Don't stop. Don't look back."

"What?" "No, we're not leaving you."

The shadows moved closer.

"I didn't say you were." Georgie steadied his hand and positioned himself firmly. "Come on, you sons of bitches."

Just as the next shadow moved, Georgie yelled for Julia and Osamu to leave while throwing down a flashbang. The light revealed a horde of cranks that were inhabiting the tunnels.

Osamu held tightly onto Julia's hand as they ran like hell. They didn't stop or look back. He pulled Julia towards an opening that bled daylight into the tunnels. He hoisted her up and quickly climbed up after.

Once they got far enough away, they stopped to catch their breath.

"Where's Georgie? I thought he was behind us?" Julia stood up and looked back where they came, seeing nothing.

Osamu looked as well. He groaned and rubbed the base of his palm on his forehead. "Oh, Seph is gonna kill us. I should've grabbed him."

"Maybe we should go back?"

"Then Georgie's gonna kill us. They both scare me." Julia groaned and slapped him on the back of the head.

"Get a grip, Samu. We can't just stand here all day. The cranks are gonna come out once it gets dark and then we're fucked."

Osamu nodded and grabbed the piece of paper he had with the mission notes. "Ok, Georgie would want us to keep going. We have to get the runaways. That's the mission."

"Right, the mission." Julia nodded and looked around again. She tried to figure out which way Thomas and Brenda had gone. She noticed a trail in the sand, like someone had walked through. "This way!"

She ran to follow the trail.

"Julia- wait for me." Osamu ran after her, dropping a piece of candy he took off of Eddie from dinner.

Georgie pulled himself out of the hole and into the light. A trail of infected corpses laid in his wake. He blocked his hand from the sun and stumbled through the rubble. His shoe caught on something, nearly causing him to trip.

"Osamu..." He picked up the piece of candy before pocketing it and moving on.

By the time he found the rest of his group, they were nearly unrecognizable. Well, Julia was anyway. Osamu seemed like his normal self.

Julia was dancing against Osamu with a lopsided grin. Her head bobbed to the beat of the music while her eyes were closed. Osamu was in a similar state. His arms were wrapped around her, and he seemed to turn them whenever someone got too close.

"Samu! Jules! Come on, we gotta go," he yelled at them, tugging them towards the entrance.

"Geo! Come dance with me. Let's dance." Julia grabbed him and pulled him into the dance she was doing.

"Julia-" Georgie tried to protest. He looked around. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brenda and Thomas being pulled by their friends... and his team?

"Seph! Seph, over here!"

"Georgie?!" She pushed through the crowd with Joan, Eddie, and one of the runaways. They grabbed Julia and Osamu and pulled them into the same direction they took Thomas and Brenda.

"Are you okay? You look like shit." Seph looked him over.

"I'm fine," he lowered his voice, "but how did you guys end up with them?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you when we get out of here," she promised and pulled him out of the inebriated crowd.

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QOTC question of the chapter :

Did you miss me?