Radioactive

"Sugar, we're going down swinging."

----

The ventilation system turned out to be sweltering hot. It didn't help that Brown had cranked up the heat as a cold front came through.

"I'm going to kill Brown when we get out of here." Amaryllis muttered, and Taniss only grunted it response. He unscrewed the next vent they came upon, unable to stand the heat any longer. Once the vent had been moved to the side, he lowered himself down, dropping the few feet to the floor. Amaryllis followed.

"Where exactly are we?" Taniss questioned as she landed beside him.

She glanced around, trying to recognize anything. She had toured the entire facility with Brown, except for the C Wing. "I don't recognize anything. But I only toured it once."

They chose a direction and started walking down a narrow hallway. There was a bat propped against the wall, and Taniss scooped it up, swinging it around just to have something to do with his hands. "I don't understand why he'd want to lock us up in the basement."

Amaryllis looked like she had been thinking about it too. "I have no idea," she replied with a shrug. "He's a creepy scientist. There could be so many motives behind it."

"Do you think Matt and Harper are alright?" Amaryllis didn't want to think about it.

The walls on either side of them were made of glass from the waist up, other than the full glass door, revealing the labs on the other side. Taniss was trailing lazily a few feet behind her, swinging the bat so that it made a loud hissing noise. She noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and glanced towards it. She cursed softly beneath her breath, ducking down below the glass.

Taniss stopped walking, the bat swinging uselessly by his side. "What is wrong with you?" She held a finger up to her lips, her eyes wide in alarm. He gazed back at her, his mouth agape as she waved towards the glass room behind her, motioning for him to get low with her other hand. The wild motioning was all too much for him, and he only shrugged at her.

"Zombies," she mouthed, not getting a response. "Walkers. Freaking dead people. Scientists."

She was still wildly motioning behind her. He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Amaryllis, you're being childish. You need to--" out of nowhere, a rotted walker threw itself blindy at the glass, attracted to the noise. He jumped backwards, dropping the bat, only to trip over it. He scrambled backwards until he was out of it's sight.

Amaryllis raised her hands into the air, looking slightly satisfied from his pain. "Keep quiet." She mouthed, pressing herself against the wall.

The zombie above scraped it's yellowing teeth against the glass, it's hands scrabbling for a hold on it. Taniss was just barely out of it's sight. Slowly, Amaryllis shifted closer towards the full glass door, staying down below the glass so it wouldn't see her. She carefully moved to her knees and then into a crouch beside the glass door. She listened to the zombie as it scraped it's rotted nails against the window for a second before throwing herself forward, nimbly rolling passed the door. She pressed herself against the wall to listen again, her chest heaving. The zombie hadn't moved. She must've timed it at just the right moment.

Taniss sighed, tilting his head back against the wall. She motioned for him to come, and he looked like he'd rather do anything but that. Eventually, he laid flat on his stomach, slowly reaching out a hand to grab at the bat he had dropped. The zombie didn't notice the movement. They rarely noticed movement. He pulled the bat to his side, carrying it with him as he crawled towards the door. He didn't wait before darting forward, not rolling quite as nimbly as Amaryllis did. His feet hit the wall, causing the zombie inside to scramble towards them, only to slam loudly against the glass.

Amaryllis crawled down the hallway, only standing when she was out of the zombies line of sight. She brushed herself off, although her clothes weren't dirty. Taniss straightened up beside her, "We're in the C wing."

The had reached the end of the hallway. Amaryllis stopped walking as Taniss pressed his back against the wall and glanced around the corner to make sure it was clear. "What?" She only replied in alarm.

Taniss motioned towards the sign on the opposite wall. One of the lights were out, and the other lights didn't quite read it, so it appear to say "C Wi"

"Oh." Amaryllis reached out to take the bat from him, but he didn't release it.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he pulled it back towards him and she struggled to wrench it from his grip.

"I need to protect myself."

"I'm a lot stronger than you, Scotty, I can kill the zombies faster and easier than you can." He snorted.

Amaryllis released her grip on the bat, but not because he was right. He had called her Scotty. He'd probably picked it up from Harper, but it still sent a shiver of longing down her spine. The feeling only made her more surprised. "Oh, um, right."

He stared after her in surprise as she started down the hallway, only wasting a moment before he followed her.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Matt flipped through the monitors in the c wing. He'd already checked everywhere else, and all the hallways and rooms had come up empty. He flipped through the cameras, keeping an eye on Harper as he did so. She only sat curled up in the other chair, glancing up at the monitors every so often. He was so focused on her that he almost missed Taniss and Amaryllis on the screen. He had to backtrack to find them again.

They were walking down one of the long hallways, Amaryllis in the lead. He unfolded the map of the building, trying to figure out where the others were. It only took him a minute to pinpoint their location. They were at the very end of the C wing. Which meant they had to get through a maze of dark hallways and hungry zombies. He put his head in his hands, letting out a deep sigh.

Harper eased her way into his arms, settling comfortably on his lap. She stared at the screen with a grave expression as his arms wound around her, pulling her close.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Not all of the hallways were lit. Amaryllis lead the way most of the time, while Taniss followed closely behind with the bat swinging at his side. The glass walls revealed zombies, and they continuously ducked to avoid being spotted. Amaryllis rounded the corner without taking the time to check ahead. She let out a surprised gasp and threw herself backwards, pressing herself against the wall out of the zombies line of sight. She covered her mouth with her hand to try and stifle the sounds she had made. Taniss stumbled backwards in surprise, and the bat clinked against the glass wall. They both froze, their eyes widening. A zombie threw itself against the glass from the otherside, making them jump. It's growls were easily heard from their side of the glass.

More growls followed, coming from the other hallway. Taniss leaned around Amaryllis to peer around the corner. He cursed, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into the hallway, running the opposite way of the zombies. Amaryllis glanced over her shoulder to see two zombies shuffling towards them. Three more came barreling in from the other hallway. Their movements were slow and jerky, but the sight of so many of them sent a chill down her spine.

Taniss made to turn the corner into another hallway, but his path was blocked off by even more of the undead. "Walkers," he said over his shoulder to Amaryllis. He regretted speaking when the zombies growled and groaned at the sound of his voice, their hungry moans echoing off the glass walls.

He whipped around, still clutching Amaryllis' hand, and pulled open the door to the stair well. They darted up the stairs, their footsteps echoing dramatically around them. Amaryllis pulled open the door to the second floor, and Taniss spun the bat around in his hand, bashing it against the head of the zombie loitering outside of the stairwell door. Zombies were throwing themselves against the glass walls of the surrounding labs, their teeth scraping hungrily against it.

This time, Taniss didn't reach for Amaryllis' hand. As soon as the zombie slumped to the ground, he muttered a quiet, "hurry!" over his shoulder, and darted down the hall, not noticing that Amaryllis had ran the other way without any weapon.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Matt and Harper watched the screen with open mouths. Harper was the first to speak. "We have to help them."

"How? what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know." But she got up anyways, retrieving the small gun she had left on the control panel.

He was on his feet in an instant, twisting the gun easily from her grasp. "No, that's not a good idea." He glanced thoughtfully at the screens. "Here, i'll help them. You stay here and watch the screens."

One of the tables happened to be filled with communication devices. He picked up a walkie talkie, checked the batteries, and handed it to her. He pocketed the other one. "Okay, now we can communicate. Do you know how to work the cameras?"

She'd been watching him for long enough to have a basic understanding, so she nodded numbly. He picked up his other, larger gun, slinging it over his shoulder. Before he could make it out the door, she grabbed him by the arm, spinning him towards her. Because he was so much taller than her, she had to grab him by the shirt and pull his head down to her level, but he didn't seem to mind. Her lips found his, but they didn't stay there long. He let out a light moan as she pulled away. She glanced towards the monitors and then back at him. "You have to come back, alright? I need you."

He lightly pressed his lips against the top of her head, using his free hand to smooth down her messy hair. "I promise I'll come back." And then he was gone, leaving her to slump back into the swivel chair, the walkie talkie clutched tightly to her chest.