"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is the twenty-first mission of Season 9.
Reuniting with your friends was never going to be easy. There's drones in the desert and a ghost dogging your steps.
Cast[]
Crew[]
- Writer: Zombies, Run! Writing Team
- Director: Matt Wieteska
- Sound Designer: Mark Pittam
- Series Created By: Naomi Alderman
Plot[]
Seeing Daylight[]
You reunite with Mo, who can guide you through the mountains. He tells you that the area is full of Red Scorpion patrols and drones, but the mountains contain enough iron to interfere with the drones' signals. You need to move quickly. Dawn is approaching and it will become too hot to travel.
Outer Scorpion Squadron[]
Watch your footing! The mountain goats make it look simple, but you could easily slip and fall, and the ravine is writhing with fallen zombies. Mo says you're about five days away from Mahgreb territory, and Red Scorpion won't pursue you once you're there. There was a bitter war between Mahgreb and Red Scorpion early in the apocalypse, which has become a tense peace. Mo spots someone following you along the path. You need to keep moving!
Hellhound on My Trail[]
Mo says he's seen your pursuer twice. It's a man wearing Bedouin robes, but Red Scorpion often use those robes as a disguise, as do mercenaries, and it would be unusual for the Bedouin to be so far south at this time of year. He says it reminds him of an old tale about an Englishman who dressed as a Bedouin and tried to make a deal with a Djinn for eternal life, but was cursed to wander the mountains forever. Mo says that the path splits ahead, so if you speed up your pursuer won't know which path you took.
We Have Seen the Enemy[]
There are zombies on the ledge above you – most of them just torsos, but still trying to reach you. If you dislodge some of the large boulders, you'll be able to block off the path behind to put off pursuers. You see the figure again, heading towards you. You dislodge the rocks and seal the path, but also knock some of the zombies down from the ledge. Better get running!
If You See Light[]
Dawn is breaking over the mountain. Janine says that in the half-darkness it looking like the robed figure had no face. Mo is surprised that Janine knows the legend, but Janine insists that she doesn't. Mo explains that in the myth, the robed figure has no face, and if you look into his empty hood you won't leave the mountain alive. But for now, you need to reach Sam and Maryam!
Source Decay[]
You've almost made it through the mountains, and you can see the village ahead. You can rest there and move again at night. You spot the robed figure again, ahead of you this time! It's probably just a hallucination, but keep running and do not look at them!
The Bad Doctor[]
The village is in sight, but the robed figure is still following you. They call out and seem to know your names! You recognise the voice and realise that it's Van Ark. He says that he followed you alone because he wants to talk. He tracked you by inserting a tracking device into the USB drive that Bakari gave you. Janine is sure this means that Red Scorpion can track you and that Van Ark would never be so sloppy, but Ernie insists that he isn't Van Ark. Red Scorpion will soon be tracking you and the only way to get rid of the tracker is to destroy the USB drive. Ernie has put you in a very bad position and you might not leave the mountains alive.
Transcript[]
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Janine, Runner Five, over here.
JANINE DE LUCA: Well met, Mr. Boujettif. I trust your journey through the night to the foothills was uneventful?
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: It was, indeed. Merely two Red Scorpion patrols, easily avoided.
JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Boujettif, it is vital you were not followed. Runner Five and I have gained a significant advantage over Red Scorpion by dint of faking our own deaths. We cannot lose that advantage now. Even contacting you for guidance was a calculated risk.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: I understand, Colonel De Luca. I’m aware of how much you have already lost on this journey. But I know these mountain pathways well. My uncle and aunt live in a village to the north. I spend my winters here. I will see you to safety.
JANINE DE LUCA: Very well.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Runner Five, you are the one we must protect at all costs, the one who must make it out for the sake - I believe I am not exaggerating - of the entire human race. You are the one Red Scorpion is looking for.
This whole area is patrolled by Red Scorpion soldiers, by allied militia, and their autonomous drones, but the iron heart of these mountains interferes with the drone signals. They can’t follow us here. Sam and Maryam await you on the far side of this range in the rock village.
JANINE DE LUCA: We'll be safe there from the drones too, but we must move quickly. It will be dawn soon and then it will rapidly become too hot to travel. Run.
~
JANINE DE LUCA: What a magnificent place. Even in the predawn light, the winding path along this golden mountain face is truly majestic.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: They’re also very dangerous. Please watch your footing, Runner Five. The mountain goats clinging to the side of the rock are deceivers. It would be most easy to slip and fall. Look down into the ravine.
JANINE DE LUCA: Oh yes, I see. The ravine is writhing with broken and well-rotted zombies.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Hikers in the early days, trying to escape the plague by running to the Maghreb, falling to their death, but no death came for them.
JANINE DE LUCA: How far are we now from the borders of the Maghreb, Mr. Boujettif?
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: A journey of around five days when we’re over the mountains. Not far. No one from Red Scorpion will pursue you when you’re even one pace into the Maghreb territory.
JANINE DE LUCA: They’re bitter enemies.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: The war between Red Scorpion and the Maghreb was bitter in the earliest days of the apocalypse. Many people died. Now there is a tense peace. Red Scorpions patrol this side. Maghreb drones patrol up to the border on their side. There lies your sanctuary.
JANINE DE LUCA: But for now, we must keep clear of any Red Scorpion allies.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Hmmm…
JANINE DE LUCA: Is something wrong?
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: A moment. Yes. There, behind us, where the path turns. Gone into the shadow, but yes, a figure. Someone is following us. We must keep moving. Run!
~
JANINE DE LUCA: Do you see them now, Mr. Boujettif?
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: No, which is what concerns me. I’ve seen the figure twice, a man wearing Bedouin robes.
JANINE DE LUCA: Might that not be a local person, perhaps just going about his business, not following us at all?
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Wearing Bedouin robes covers a multitude of sins. Many Red Scorpion patrols disguise themselves thus, and there are mercenaries who wear the clothes of the Bedouin. Red Scorpion has placed a bounty on your head, Runner Five. Anyone after us could be a threat.
JANINE DE LUCA: I see, yes.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: It would be unusual for a member of the Bedouin to be this far south at this point in the grazing season. Not impossible… [laughs] but if I didn’t know better, I’d say he was a wanderer, Al-Ha’im.
JANINE DE LUCA: Al-Ha’im?
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: An old superstition. The legend tells of an English milord who dressed in the clothes of a Bedouin and tried to make a bargain with the Djinn for eternal life. The Djinn granted his wish, but cursed him to wander the mountains forever.
JANINE DE LUCA: An eerie tale.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Just a legend. Ignore my ramblings. I have an idea. The sun will rise soon, making us more visible, but this path will shortly split into six tracks, all leading out of the mountains. It would be very hard to predict which way we turned. If we draw far enough ahead, we can block the path and then whoever is following us will be unable to see which route we chose. Come, run!
~
JANINE DE LUCA: Watch out, Runner Five. Look at the zombies on the ledge above us.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: They’re ravenous! No fresh meat can have come this way for months, maybe years.
JANINE DE LUCA: Most of them are just torsos, some of them just head, shoulders and arms, but they are trying to shuffle themselves towards us.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: There’s just one thing we need to do here. See the boulders to the left of the path here? If we three dislodge the largest…
JANINE DE LUCA: Ah yes, I see. It will roll down and block the narrow rock tunnel we just passed through. A very effective strategy to hide us.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Look! Down on the pathway below us, crossing the rock bridge, do you see? He’s much closer than before.
JANINE DE LUCA: The figure in the Bedouin robes. I see. Looking neither right nor left but only ahead.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Al-Ha’im can only look at the path before him. The legend says that he is drawn to follow travelers, but in his fury, he will hurl anyone who stands before him off the mountain. Whoever it is, he may be real danger to us. We must block the path.
JANINE DE LUCA: Runner Five, let us place our shoulders to the wheel. Or rather, to the boulder.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Very good. The path behind us is sealed. No one can follow directly, and no one will be able to guess which route we've chosen.
JANINE DE LUCA: Runner Five, did you see? The figure didn’t even look up, not even at the crash.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Oh no. The shaking rock has dislodged some of the zombies from the ledge above us. They’re crawling over each other to get to us. We must go now. Run!
~
JANINE DE LUCA: Good, we’ve lost the zombies and our pursuer.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: We’ve taken a more circuitous route than I wanted, but it would be impossible now to know which way we’re going.
JANINE DE LUCA: Do you see, Five? Dawn is breaking over the mountain. The light that clears away all fears and horrors. [laughs] It is strange, you know. In the half dark, I could almost have sworn that robed figure… [laughs] he had no face.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Ah, you do know the legend then.
JANINE DE LUCA: No.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Well, you must have heard it somewhere.
JANINE DE LUCA: I swear, I have not.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: We must keep moving. We don’t have far to go now.
JANINE DE LUCA: What do you mean about having heard the legend?
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Al-Hai’m has no face. His face was stolen by the Djinn. If you look upon the empty hood where his face should be, you will never leave the mountain alive.
JANINE DE LUCA: Oh. It’s nonsense.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Just a superstition, of course. [laughs] Ridiculous. The dawn has risen. We must reach Sam and Maryam on the far side of the mountain quickly. Please, run!
~
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: There we are. We are almost through the mountain. Look ahead, down the track and into the foothills. You see the village in the distance? A straight road between here and there.
JANINE DE LUCA: Astonishing. The rose stone village carved into the side of the cliff face is a wonder. It must remain cool even in the hottest weather.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: It’s a beautiful place. We will meet Sam and Maryam there and rest during the day and then travel by night tonight. This has been the hardest part of the journey, Runner Five. From here, we have four more nights of travel, but the terrain is flat and in many places, verdant. We are very nearly in Maghreb territory.
JANINE DE LUCA: Oh no. No. No!
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: What? What do you see?
JANINE DE LUCA: There, by the side of the road, in the shelter of the overhanging rock, half hidden in shadow.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: It can’t be. He’s ahead of us.
JANINE DE LUCA: Same robes, the same blue pattern on the scarf.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: It’s impossible! There was no way to follow us.
JANINE DE LUCA: And yet the robed figure is waiting for us by the side of the road.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: There is no such thing as Al-Ha’im!
JANINE DE LUCA: We must pass him to reach safety.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Hallucination. We’ve been under stress.
JANINE DE LUCA: If we do not look at him, Runner Five. if we run -
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: - if we run, if we don’t let him touch us…
JANINE DE LUCA: What happens if he touches us?
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: If Al-Ha’im touches you, he steals your future. You will be pursued by demons for the rest of your life.
JANINE DE LUCA: Runner Five, do not look. There is no one there. Do not look to the right or to the left, but straight ahead. Run!
~
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: We have passed him. The village is in sight. Don’t stop.
JANINE DE LUCA: He’s behind us. Not hurrying, not tarrying. He’s walking behind us.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: He’s no more than a trick of our minds.
ERNEST VAN ARK: Stop! Janine De Luca, Mohammed Boujettif, stop!
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: He knows our names?
ERNEST VAN ARK: Why won’t you stop? I’ve come all this way!
JANINE DE LUCA: Just a second. I know that voice.
ERNEST VAN ARK: I’m right behind you!
JANINE DE LUCA: Professor Van Ark, or rather, Ernie Van Ark?
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: Is this gentleman from Red Scorpion? Have you been sent to apprehend us?
JANINE DE LUCA: Worse than that. He’s the boss at Red Scorpion. Where are your soldiers, Van Ark?
ERNEST VAN ARK: Soldiers? Don’t be silly, they don’t know where I am. I’m not the boss of anything there. They’d probably be very angry if they knew where I was.
JANINE DE LUCA: You identified us to Felis. Your letter V is on the super soldiers that pursued us.
ERNEST VAN ARK: All right, if I’m the boss of Red Scorpion, there’ll be soldiers, won’t there? Any moment. Yoohoo, soldiers! Could I be any more alone?
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: If he were the head of Red Scorpion, one would indeed think he would be accompanied.
ERNEST VAN ARK: I said I’m not. I followed you myself.
JANINE DE LUCA: And why did you follow us, Van Ark, if not to spy on us?
ERNEST VAN ARK: Because I want to talk to you! There’s so much I want to ask you. I suppose you’re wondering about the robes. There’s a legend around here about a wanderer, an Englishman. If I dress as him, no one bothers me.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: But how? How did you find us? How did you follow us through the mountain paths?
ERNEST VAN ARK: Oh, that was easy. I saw that General Bakari had been spending an unusual amount of time in the computer lab where Red Scorpion keeps its secure thumb drives. I wanted to know what he was up to, and I thought he might give you one, Colonel De Luca, so I inserted tracking devices into them. The one you’re carrying emits a tracking ping once a day at dawn.
JANINE DE LUCA: You’re not the Red Scorpion boss, but you gave Red Scorpion a way to track us?
ERNEST VAN ARK: Oh, you know, they might not notice.
JANINE DE LUCA: You think that they won’t check the other thumb drives once they realize ours was taken? That they will somehow fail to notice them emitting a regular tracking ping? The Van Ark we knew would at least have never been so foolish.
ERNEST VAN ARK: I’m not him.
JANINE DE LUCA: So you say. Can it be disabled?
ERNEST VAN ARK: Oh, um, not without destroying the drive. I didn’t want you disabling it.
JANINE DE LUCA: Very soon, Red Scorpion will know where you are every morning at dawn, Runner Five. We’ll have to keep running. We cannot take the direct route any longer, it is too exposed. Because of you, Mr. Van Ark, we may never leave the mountain range alive.
MOHAMMED BOUJETTIF: He steals your future and you will be pursued by demons for the rest of your life…
Codex[]
Supplies[]
The following supplies can be found in this mission.
(List may be incomplete.)
Anti-depressants
Axe
Bandages
Baseball Bat
Batteries
Bottled Water
Box of Lightbulbs
Cooking knife
Cricket bat
Hairbrush
Lock pick
Matches
Mobile Phone
Network Cable
Radio
Rope
Sewing Kit
Shorts
Sports Bra
Thermos flask
Tinned Food
Tool Box
Trainers
Trousers
Underwear
USB Key
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