Radioactive

"A little bit longer and i'll be fine."

---

The RV rumbled along the gravel road, the loud vehicle attracting the attention of zombies as they passed. "I wish this thing was quieter." Matt grumbled to Amaryllis, who was sitting comfortably in the passenger seat, keeping an eye out for the zombies that would sometimes get a little too close for comfort.

"Yeah, well, this is all we've got. Deal with it."

Old, vintage looking buildings surrounded them. Thrift shops, little cafes and diners, providing nowhere safe and secluded for them to stop and rest. The sun was rising slowly, casting rays of light that shone across the damp pavement, giving the town a peaceful look.

Amaryllis spread the map across her lap, studying it intently. "There's a mall nearby." She said after a while, pointing to the spot on the map.

He didn't take his eyes off of the road. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. I mean, others probably had the same idea and set up camp there."

"It might be a good idea to find others. People who actually know what's going on. We need information, we need to know how the rest of the world is handling this."

Matt sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Why do we need to know that? Shouldn't our main concern just be focusing on ourselves?" Amaryllis stared at him. "You know, me, Taniss, you, Harper, the baby." He said, emphasizing the last word.

"If we're going to keep ourselves safe, it's probably best not to be completely oblivious." Amaryllis told him, pointing again at the mall on the map.

"You really think it's a good idea to go there?"

"I do. Besides, we need to start focusing on finding somewhere to stay. Maybe not right now, but Harpers only going to get bigger and things are going to get harder for her."

Matt squeezed his eyes shut, but only for a moment. He stared intently out over the road. "Yeah, you're probably right." He admitted gruffly.

"Okay, turn left right up here then."

-*-*-*-*-

To say there were a bunch of walkers surrounding the mall didn't quite do it justice. It seemed like hundreds of them had taken to the streets around it. The RV made enough noise to attract attention of the closest ones, but most of them seemed oblivious to their presence.

Harper and Taniss hovered behind the seats as they slowly weaved their way through the hoard of zombies, taking the long way around to the back of the mall. "How are we supposed to get in?" Harper asked, finally letting out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

Matt glanced at her in the rearview mirror, "Through the loading docks. Hopefully it'll be unlocked."

"Let's all pray." Amaryllis said jokingly, but the others only shot her glares, so she grumbled to herself.

They pulled in at an angle, so that they only had to run a few feet to make it to the door. Matt put the RV in park, shoved the keys into his pocket, and pushed through the group, checking out the window only briefly before pushing open the door, jumping over the steps and onto the ground. He extended the gun in front of him, swivelling around to survey their surroundings before waving behind him.

A low growl came from the side of the RV as Harper and Amaryllis joined him on the concrete. "Go," he demanded, giving Harper a shove. Amaryllis gripped onto her hand and they darted across the gravel.

Taniss was moving slowly, as if he was having a hard time standing on his own two feet. Matt roughly gripped onto his shirt and pulled him down the steps. "Hurry up, man!" He snapped, giving him a shove to get him going. Taniss mechanically moved faster, while Matt hurried after him, just as the walkers rounded the side of the RV. "Is it unlocked?" He called to Amaryllis.

To test it, Amaryllis quickly pushed against the bar on the door. It opened. "Yes!" She yelled back, relief flooding through her as she dragged Harper through the door.

Matt pulled the trigger. Once, twice, three times; continueing as he shoved Taniss again, up the steps and through the door. It slammed shut behind them. "We need to block the door."

The group spun around, searching for something to block the door with. "There," Harper shouted, pointing towards the door. "That pipe."

Matt spun around, shoving the gun into the waistband of his pants. Sure enough, a pipe was wound around the door frame. He gripped onto it, tugging at it just as something slammed against the door. It opened only an inch before slamming closed again. Amaryllis and Harper both threw themselves against it, holding it closed as he pulled the pipe, ripping the restraints that bound it to the wall. It gave way, breaking off with a loud crack. He twirled it in his hands and shoved it into the door handle. They stepped back just as another zombie threw itself at the door. It remained closed, leaving them to stare wide eyed as a rotted hand was shoved through the small crack.

Harper was the first to turn away, "I'm guessing this is just the storage room? I've never been into this part of a mall."

Rows and rows of crates and boxes were stacked throughout the room. Most of it had been sifted through, and whatever order the workers had had was gone. Matt took the lead, leading them through the maze of boxes to the other side of the room. He tested the door, making sure it was unlocked before shoving it opened. "There could be zombies inside. We got in so easily." Matt warned, but their path remained clear as they stepped out into the hallway of a mall. All of the stores were open, and things were thrown around inside. Clothes, hangers and tags littered the floor as they picked their way through the wreckage.

They rounded the corner, stepping into another hallway. Matts gaze flitted up, and he quickly threw himself backwards, shoving Amaryllis who had been following close behind him. A gun shot rang out, the bullet itself richocheting across the opposite wall. "Shoot!" He shouted, grabbing onto Amaryllis to keep her from falling over into Harper. There was another gun shot. "I didn't mean it literally!"

A deep voice called out, "who are you? Are you infected?"

"Now Clyde," it was a girls voice, "that isn't the way to treat guests!"

"Are you kidding me right now?" The voice sounded more annoyed than confused.

Matt raised his arms above his head, taking a deep breath before stepping around the corner. Harper let out a nervous squeak behind him. "There's five--er, four of us. We aren't infected."

A man with tattoos covering almost every exposed part of his body kept the gun trained on his face. A small, petite girl with curly red hair stood beside him, staring at the newcomers with wide eyes. The tattooed bald man motioned towards the corner with the gun. Reluctantly, Matt motioned for them to show themselves, his arms still above his head. They copied his position, stepping out to stand beside him. "We mean no harm."

"Unless you threaten us. Then we definitely mean harm." Amaryllis said, earning herself a hard look from Matt.

"Scotty!" Harper kicked her in the leg.

"Scotty? Are you a lesbian?" The red headed asked in a high pitched cheer leader voice.

Amaryllis blinked at her. "What? No. I'm not a lesbian."

"Oh."

"Why me? Why don't you question her sexuality?" Amaryllis asked in annoyance, motioning towards Harper with her head.

"Maybe 'cause i'm five months pregnant?" Harper asked in exasperation, rolling her eyes.

"How'd you get into our mall?" The bald man asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Unlocked door by the loading dock."

The man looked alarmed at this. "What? Didn't Justin just check the doors again?" He asked the redhead.

"Come on, dad, you really think Justin did what we asked him?" She asked in a chirpy voice, her hands on her hips.

"Never mind that," the man, Clyde, said in a gruff voice. "You guys block the way you came in?"

"Rusty pipe. You need a key to lock it and we had none." Matt explained, his arms growing tired from being above his head.

"I guess I won't shoot ya." Clyde decided, shoving the gun into the waistband of his pants. "We're not the only ones here. Piper and I will take you back to everyone. Come on."

Piper was buzzing with excitement as they followed Clyde. She positioned herself in between Harper and Amaryllis, and glanced back and forth between them as they walked. "So, who's the baby daddy?" She asked as they walked, swinging her arms by her sides as if she'd never run out of energy.

Harper didn't say anything, only pointed at Matt, who turned a bit red and ran his hands through his hair to hide it.

Piper raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Were you drunk? Did you sleep with him so he would do your homework? Aren't you too pretty for him? Did he pay you?"

Harper blinked at her in surprise. "No, I just like him."

Instead of questioning them further, Piper moved to the other side of Matt, in between him and Taniss. She let her eyes roam over Taniss until he glanced at her, his eyes narrowed. She stared brightly up at him. "Are you on steroids? Can I feel your bicep?" Taniss only took a step sideways away from her.

They rounded the corner, finding what must've been the center of the mall. There were three couches set up, probably dragged from the furniture store they had passed, and two desks covered in newspapers someone had scavenged. A group of people were milling around, in different states of business. All of this was set up around a large fountain that a blonde girl was filling her water bottle up in.

"We've got guests!" Piper called out in excitement. Everyone in the room turned, their eyes landing on the small group.

Matt leaned down towards Harper, who was quite a bit shorter than him. "They're looking at us like we're prey."

"Careful," Amaryllis warned in a hushed voice, "they can probably smell fear."

"Who's this?" A man with blonde hair and thick brown eyebrows asked, standing up from the couch. He was shirtless, and both Harper and Amaryllis had a hard time keeping their eyes from trailing down his toned chest.

"They got in through the loading dock, Justin." Clyde said in a slow voice, his eyes narrowing.

Justin crossed his arms over his bare chest, "and who's fault is that?" He challenged, quirking an eyebrow in his direction.

"For the love of God, just put on a shirt." Clyde sighed in exasperation. "Andy, take the keys and go lock the door leading to the dock. Take Blaze with you." Justin pulled the keys from his pocket, tossing them to a man, about 25, with sandy brown hair that fell into his eyes. Andy reached down and yanked a teenage boy with dyed black hair off of the couch.

A large, considerably obese man sat seated at one of the desks. He spun his chair around, adjusting his glasses. "It's nice to meet you guys. We've all been here for over a month now, so it's nice to see some new faces!"

Piper skipped across the room, throwing herself cheerily on one of the couches, beside a teenage girl with long blonde hair. "This is Scotty and--"

"My name isn't actually Scotty. It's Amaryllis." She cut in, folding her arms across her chest.

"Oh, well, she isn't a lesbian."

The four set themselves on the edge of the fountain. "Sometimes I wish I was a lesbian." Taniss said in a low, gruff voice. All eyes turned on him, and he looked down at his hands. "Did I say that out loud?"

Before the awkward silence could stretch on too long, a man with black hair that brushed his shoulders stood up and sauntered towards the fountain. He stopped in front of the group and grabbed Amaryllis' hand. "'Chere madame." He said, lifting her hand to his lips. "I'm Philip."

Harper awkwardly cleared her throat as Amaryllis giggled, flattered by the gesture. "Okay, um, yeah, I'm Harper. This is Matt, and the wannabe lesbian is Taniss."

"Let's not live in the past." Taniss interjected, shooting her a glare.

The rest of the group wasn't very large. Andy and Philip were the security guards, there was an old rich man named Harold with a young wife; Diana. The naturally blonde girl was Caroline, and a girl with bleached blonde hair named Amy.

An hour later, Clyde had finished explaining how he and his daughter had gotten there. He moved on to explaining the set up, "Greg over here has connected us to the internet. We're keeping updated on things the best we can, but it's getting difficult. Not many people are posting about it, and we're not sure what's official and what's made up. We ran out of food from the food court, so we have to risk a few of us every month to go and get some food. We have a truck parked closeby so it's not a difficult trip. We've only lost one in the five months we've been risking those trips out there." Amy sniffled at that, putting a perfectly manicured hand over her heart as if the loss pained her. Although she didn't look very upset. "A few of us sleep on the couches here, but most of us prefer to be alone. There are plenty of stores for you to make claim to. Piper and I sleep in the furniture store down the hall a-ways, and we've got plenty of room for you!" Piper squeaked excitedly at that.

Harold was pacing, looking nervous. His wife got up, looking stricken. "Oh, Harold, don't worry too much! Your blood pressure!":

"If they could get in, how do we know the walkers can't? If we missed that, we could've missed other entrances!"

Clyde shook his head, "that's highly unlikely." He assured them, "I check every night, and i'm not the only one."

Matt pulled up a chair beside Greg, asking him to show him the information he's gathered since the apocalypse began. Harper had to walk away, unable to deal with their nerd talk as Matt told him about what had happened back at the lab and gave him information on the serum. She lowered herself onto the couch beside Piper and Caroline.

Piper squeaked and shuffled closer to her, "did this happen before the apocalypse made you leave your home?" She asked, motioning over her stomach.

"Erm, no." Harper answered vaguely, trying not to show her annoyance. Piper moved even closer, and settled her hand on her stomach. "Does the baby kick?" She asked curiously.

Harper sighed, unable to hide how annoyed she was now. "Not yet. And I don't like when people do that."

"What? Touch your stomach?" But she still failed to move her hand.

Harper grabbed her hand and set it back in her own lap. "Yeah, it's weird." When the red head opened her mouth to ask more questions, Harper had to resist the urge to shove her off the couch.

-*-*-*-*-

That night, they all sat around the fountain, eating the dinner Clyde and Harold had brought out for them. They passed around boxes of cereal. Amaryllis handed the box of Captain Crunch to Harper and she tilted her head back and let some of it fall into her mouth before handing it to Matt. "Where's Taniss?" She asked in a muffled voice, her mouth full.

"Yeah, I haven't seen him in an hour or so," Matt said.

"Oh, I'll go find him!" Amy suggested, sitting close enough to have heard their conversation.

"Uh, no, i'll go find him." Amaryllis said, giving her a look as she stood up from the floor. "He probably just fell asleep somewhere."

Amy watched her wander off. She waited till Matt was occupied handing the box of cereal back to Harper before she scooted closer to him, sitting cross-legged so her leg bumped into his. He noticed her closeness as he drew his hand back from his girlfriend and settled it in his lap, glancing at her uncomfortably. "So, what did you do before all of this?" She asked, twirling her hair around her finger and batting her eye lashes at him.

"Er," he began, fidgeting uncomfortably, "I was in college. I was studying to be an, um, mechanical engineer."

"Oh, that's cool." Amy said, but it was obvious by her tone that she didn't find it cool at all. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and shifted closer to him, laying a hand on his leg. "I was a dancer."

"Ah. A dancer." He repeated, unsure what else to say, shaking his leg a little to try and dislodge her hand. It didn't move.

Harper finally noticed what was happening, and she leaned forward a bit to shoot a glare over Matt at her. "Yes," Amy said. Her voice sounded as if she were trying to purr, but it wasn't quite working for her. "An exotic dancer." She purred, leaning closer to him again, giving him a clear view of her cleavage. His gaze on briefly flickered downwards, but he looked more confused than riled at this.

Harper snorted, "oh, so you were a stripper?"

"No." Amy snapped, leaning around Matt to look at her.

Piper shifted closer, taking the Captain Crunch from Harper and taking a large handful before passing it back. "Oh, that's so cool! Where did you dance?"

Amy blinked sweetly at her. "At a Gentlemans club."

"You're considered a stripper if people shove dollar bills into your thong." Harper told her, shoving some Captain Crunch into her mouth.

Amy leaned away from Matt, looking shocked, and he took this opportunity to get to his feet. "Right, well, Harper and I are going to turn in for the night. This has been an interesting day."

He reached his hand down to her. For a second she considered proving that she could easily get up herself, since she wasn't that big yet, but after a second she took his hand, and he pulled her easily to her feet. As they walked away, Harper turned around and showed her a very unkind finger.

Amy gasped and held a hand over her heart, "Why, I never!"

Piper only glanced at her, "what does that even mean?"