Radioactive

"You and me against the world.."

---

The next two weeks went by uneventful. Amaryllis found herself pacing most of the time, more bored than she had ever been before. At least in the lab they could train to occupy their time, now they were just sitting around with nothing to do.

Harper and Matt ambled out of the furniture store, finding most of the others at their usual place, although some of them were still sleeping.

Matt sat down on the couch while Harper walked off to find Clyde. Amy plopped down on the couch beside him as soon as Harper walked around the corner, crossed her legs in front of her, and positioned herself so that she was facing towards him. She reached forward to mess with his messy hair. "You look really hot with your hair all messy like this."

Matt warily shot her a look. He was growing used to her constant flirting. She suddenly leaned forward, so that her face was only inches away from his. "Got ten bucks on you? For that, I could make it worth your while."

Neither of them had noticed Piper come up behind them. "Amy, you know he has a girlfriend, right? You know who i'm talking about. Harper. Thick eyebrows, really big eyes, also, she's pregnant."

Amy rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to Matt. He was obviously uncomfortable. "I just don't want you to feel like you have no other options. I mean, Harper doesn't have to know. You don't have to be stuck with her just because you knocked her up."

That obviously infuriated him. "You're only talking to me because you have no other options. Does Justin not want you?"

She grinned, twirling some of his hair around her finger. "Justin gives me whatever I want."

"Okaaaaay," he got to his feet, running his hands through his hair to mess up what she had smoothed down. "I'm gonna go find Harper." Before he could walk off, she came back around the corner, Clyde in tow, an annoyed look on her face. She appeared to be arguing.

"--is how can you just send him off like that when there are so many others to choose from?"

Clyde shot her a look. "Are you saying the others lives are expendable?"

She looked horrified at the thought. "No, I just--"

"Matt, Justin, Blaze, Philip, get over here." Clyde called, interrupting her. Her face darkened, and she stomped towards the couch, hardly glancing at Matt as she threw herself down beside Amy.

When they joined him at one of the desks, Clyde laid down a map. "Alright you guys, we're running out of food again. It's time to stock up, and you guys are the ones i've chosen. Blaze this is your first time, so you better pay close attention to what the rest of the guys do. Matt, i'm expecting you to be grown up about this. How old are you again?"

"20." Matt piped up, shoving his hands into his pocket.

"You're not a kid anymore, so i'm expecting you to be able to deal with yourself." He pointed towards one of many red x's on the map. "This is where you guys will be headed. We haven't been here before, so it's new territory. Philip will be the driver. Matt, Justin and Blaze will head inside. Two of you load up, the other keeps watch for walkers. Got it?" He took a moment to give them each a hard look before pulling the keys out of his pocket and tossing them to Philip.

"Alright, let's go." Justin said, clapping his hands together, taking charge of the small group.

Matt looked surprised that they were heading out so soon. Harper was still sitting on the couch. He wandered over to her, not taking a seat beside her. "We're leaving now." He told her, assuming she was already aware that he was being asked to go.

She stood up, frowning up at him. "Do you have to go? Can't you tell him you'd rather not risk yourself like that?"

He shook his head, "no, I can't do that. I have to earn us being here. We're just here eating their supply of food. And currently, i'm the only one capable of going. Other than Amaryllis."

She tucked her hands into the pockets of his hoodie, tilting her head back so that she was looking up at him. "Can't you earn it another way? You told them about the serum and everything we've learned from the lab. Isn't that enough?"

"I'll be back in just a few hours," he assured her, leaning down to softly press his lips against hers. He smiled at her as he pulled away, her hands dropping to her sides.

He'd only gotten a few feet away before Amy tottled towards him on high heels that she must've found in one of the stores. "Oh, Matt!" Naturally, he turned towards the sound of his name, but it was obvious that he wished he had kept walking when he saw who it was. "You have to promise you'll come back to me." Amy said, sticking out her lower lip in an attractive pout.

Harper glared at her, anger bubbling inside of her. It wasn't until she leaned up and pecked him on the cheek that she found the courage to do something. Matt had already given Amy a horrified look and disappeared around the corner as Harper advanced towards her and grabbed her by the shoulder, roughly spinning her around to face her. "Excuse me?" She snapped hotly, able to feel her face turning red with anger. "You do realize that was my boyfriend, right?"

"Oh trust me, I'm aware." Amy said, giving her a smug look.

"Who do you think you are, acting like that with him?" Harper snapped, pointing after Matt, who had long disappeared. "If you so much as stand too close to him--" she began, but Amy only let out a high pitched, tittering laugh.

"Listen," she said in a threatening voice, taking Harper by surprise. "You're having his baby out of wedlock. And by the looks of it, you are in no position to be threatening me."

Harper gaped at her in surprise. They were so caught up in their argument that they hadn't notice Amaryllis come up behind them, listening in on their conversation. "She may not be," she interuppting. Amy sivelled towards her, her eyes widening in surprise. "But I am." She pulled back a fist without a moments hesitation, shoving it forcefully into the other girls stomach.

The air was pushed out of her lungs, leaving her gasping. Amy stumbled backwards a few steps, but not before Amaryllis gave her a rough shove, sending her toppling over onto her back.

"Scotty!" Harper shrieked in surprise.

Amaryllis lunged forward without noticing her friends yelling. Her fist met Amys jaw once, twice, and before she could do it a third time, strong arms encircled her waist, yanking her up into the air. She thrashed against whoever was holding her from behind, but she was unable to reach them. "Let me go!" She cried as she attempting to wiggle from their grip.

She felt her feet touch the floor, and then the strong arms were yanking her around. She found herself face to face with Taniss. He looked angry. "You probably just broke that girls nose."

"She sure as hell deserved it! Pregnant or not, Harper wouldn't have done anything." Amaryllis insisted, glaring up at him, although the sight of him sent an unnoticable shiver down her spine.

"I might have." Harper mumbled, shooting a glance at Amy as she wallowed around on the ground, clutching her face.

Andy came around the corner just then. He caught sight of Amy on the ground, "what happened?!" He crouched down beside her, holding his sleeve to her nose to stem the flow of blood. Harper crouched down beside them to explain what had happened, all while Amy whimpered pitifully.

Amaryllis couldn't do anything but gaze up at Taniss. Something about him was captivating, even as he glared down at her. "You could've gotten hurt." He said gruffly, his eyes skimming over her.

"Yeah, maybe if Amy had scratched me with those talons of hers." She let out a dry laugh. The tension between them seemed to settle, but they still remained staring at each other, only inches apart. She wanted to reach out and take his hand. The impulse startled her. "Taniss, I--" she began weakly, unsure if she'd have another chance to talk to him.

"Don't." He said in a grave voice, his expression changing back to the blank look he had recently adapted. He roughly shook his head as he backed away and ducked around the corner, disappearing from sight.

His departure had a sense of loss blooming inside Amaryllis' chest. She ignored it as Harper got up and walked towards her, annoyance clear on her face. She gripped onto her arm, pulling her away from Amy before she felt the need to punch her again.

Amaryllis glanced over her shoulder. "Trashy bitch," she added as an after thought. Amy glared after her through bloody fingers, her gaze murderous.

-*-*-*-*-

Matt braced himself beside the door, the shotgun clutched tightly in both of his hands. Justin fidgeted with the lock a moment before there was a resounding click, signalling that they were free to leave. "Ready?" He whispered over his shoulder, his voice hardly audible. Matt, being the closest one, answered with a brisk nod.

Justin threw open the door, not even taking a moment to check his surroundings before he darted out the door. Matt followed close behind him. They darted across the gravel, low growls echoing hungrily around them. Very few walkers were nearby, so they easily managed to dive into the back of the bread van. Philip scrambled into the drivers seat. Matt stayed crouched low in the back as Philip got them out of the parking lot.

-*-*-*-*-*-

The ride was only an hour, but none of them talked the entire way. Justin kept shooting glares at Matt from the passenger seat. The red x happened to be a Publix. They parked right outside the front door, in front of one of the large brick columns.

Matt shoved open the back door and jumped out, holding it open for the rest of them. Blaze was looking shaky, so he gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. It was the first time he'd ever seen him not look gloomy.

Justin had deemed himself leader of the group, so he took charge, leading them across the sidewalk. The automatic doors slid open with a whoosh, and the small group slowly wandered inside, each of them holding up a gun. Blaze was shaking so bad that Matt hoped he wouldn't accidentally shoot him in the back as they walked.

The store had been thrown apart, no doubt people had clambered in here months ago and picked the place clean. They had a few backup plans, but they hoped they wouldn't have to use them. The next store was only ten minutes away, but they wanted to be back and safe as soon as possible.

"Keep a look out for the walkers, Matt. Blaze and I will stock up." Justin told him, shoving his gun into the holster hanging from his hip. He and Blaze both grabbed a cart, knocked over on their sides, and Matt followed closely behind them. The produce aisle was surprisingly filled. They were all surprised to see this kind of food. Blaze let out a whoop and lunged towards the cheese, ripping a pack open and dumping the shredded, yellow cheddar into his mouth. "This tastes so good!" He moaned happily.

"Just shut up and stop being so loud." Justin spat harshly, yanking some meat off the shelf and tossing it into his cart. Blaze followed suit, shoving some more cheese into his mouth before reaching into the cooler, still running, to fill up his cart.

Matt wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings. He was still laughing, shaking his head at Blaze's childish antics as he paced back and forth down the long row of aisles. He swung his gun at his hip as he walked, glancing between the aisles to make sure they were clear.

Blaze let out a girlish squeal, "look at this!"

Matt swivelled around to see what he was pointing out, just as a large, solid form came lunging out from one of the aisles. The dark, hooded figure slammed into him from behind, pitching him forward. He caught himself with his hands, the gun sliding out of reach. To avoid any blow his attacker could be making, he dropped to his stomach and rolled to the side. A metal, black bat slammed into the ground where his head had just been.

The man jerked the bat away as Matt grabbed for it, grappling for a holding on the cold metal. He gripped onto the edge of the bat, bringing up his leg to kick his attacker in the stomach. The blow sent him tumbling backwards, slamming into the empty shelves.

Justin let out a shout, pulling his gun from the holster. There must've been a walker or two nearby, because only a second later, a deep, resounding growl echoed from one of the further aisles. Instead of helping him, Justin vaulted passed him, his gun raised. "Keep loading the cart!" Justin demanded Blaze before disappearing around the corner.

Matt tossed the useless bat to the side and dived for the gun. His fingers had barely brushed the handle when the man gripped his leg from behind. He made to shake him off, violently jerking his leg from his grip, but the man only threw himself on top of him, scrabbling for the gun himself. He caught a fleeting glimpse of Blaze looking extremely conflicted as he tossed more things into the cart. In one fluid movement, Matt bucked beneath the man, scooped the gun off of the floor, and rolled out of the way. He brought up the gun, training it on the mans head.

The man was on his knees now, holding his arms above his head. His hood was hiding most of his face.

"Who are you?" Matt asked. Before the man could answer, there was the loud, echoing bang of a gunshot. Matt shot to his feet in alarm, the gun remaining trained on his attackers face. "Are there more of you?!"

"No. That must've been your friend." The man answered calmly, his gaze glued to the ground.

He had forgotten about Justin. There was another gunshot, making them all cringe. "Who are you?" Matt asked again.

"The names Jared." The man moved his hands, moving slower when Matt jerked the gun up to his face again, and dropped his hood. He had thick, graying hair, and a scruffy beard. He looked like the kind of guy that you'd see on the side of the street begging for money.

Justin came back around the corner the way he had left, looking a bit flustered. "Kill him and let's finish up."

Matt didn't look away from Jared. "I'm not going to shoot him."

Justin turned towards him, his eyes flashing. "He attacked you, we're not taking him back with us."

"I wasn't suggesting that." Matt said, although that's exactly what he had been thinking.

"I'm not leaving. I just found this place. I plan to board it up and stay here for a while. I'm on my way home to my family." Jared said, looking up now, giving Matt a pleading look.

"That's great." Justin said, monotone. "Now kill him."

Matt shook his head quickly, advancing towards Jared. He closed his eyes, although the expression on his face was clearly fearful. Instead of shooting him, Matt only brought the butt of the gun down on the back of his head. He slumped to the ground with a muffled thud. "There. He won't follow us."

Justin looked furious that he had ignored direct orders, but he chose not to comment on it.

Matt shot a glance at Jareds unconcious form as he started his pacing again, this time not allowing himself to be distracted.