AHHH! I'M BACK WITH MULTICHAP FICCCC? Ok. It's not the sequel to SG, but I'm still not totally sure where I'm going to go with that. I want whatever the sequel turns into to be just as good as Shop Girl, so I'm going to take my time brainstorming. Meanwhile, I've had this idea in my mind since I finished The LAst of Us, and now that I'm reading World War Z, it's the perfect time to get this out here.

The plan is for this to be a completely different style from SG. Less playful and more...dark? It's a much more serious piece, so hopefully I can capture that.


The doors slid open as the blonde man came in carrying the same Wednesday meal they always prepared.

"Bernerd," she said without missing a beat.

The man laughed and shook his head. "You already guessed that, and no." He sat the tray down on the table before pulling out the syringe. Artemis shivered. Sharp and intimidating as always. After a shot every month, she had hoped it would get easier, but each time it was as nerve wracking as the last. He seemed to notice her anxiety and smiled.

"Come on, let's just get it over with so you can eat your lunch in peace."

"Or we can skip it," Artemis offered. "I've been here pretty much my entire life, and nothing has changed. My rashes haven't spread, my blood work is always clean...I don't even feel the need to chew on human flesh! Barry, please, just skip this one shot!"

"But you're still infected, so we need to draw some blood just in case." Artemis sighed as she reluctantly offered him her arm. She hated being called that. Infected. Ever since the outbreak nearly twenty years ago, the word had only brought malice and quarantines. No one was really sure where the infection started, or how. People slowly appearing with rashes, some bearing oozing pustules or others as hard and scabby as bark. Despite its slow appearance, bodies soon started turning up over town - hard, petrified bodies riddled with bite marks as more and more individuals started displaying signs of infection. It spread like wildfire and the world seemed to go crazy.

The first recorded incident of anything actually resembling "zombies" came about six months later when an unlucky journalist came upon a group of infected just outside the city. The poor bastard didn't last much longer, but his camera was found weeks later containing evidence of cannibalism, as well as the last few moments of his unlucky life.

It was after that that the real panic set in. People showing signs of infection were turned out of hospitals to prevent any sort of airborne contagion and strangers started looking more and more like enemies. As more and more infected showed up outside the cities, the more the "healthies", as they came to be known, were locked in. Citizens were scanned before exiting cities and often had to wait for large groups to accumulate before being allowed to leave.

That was how Artemis's mother was attacked. Six months pregnant hardly left her in a strengthened position which lead to a nasty bite on the back of her leg. Most in the group weren't keen on letting her continue to travel with them, but her pregnancy lead to a few sympathetic enough to get her to the nearest hospital. The infection spread at an alarmingly slow rate and seemed to miraculously avoid her stomach. Artemis was delivered without any complications...up until her mother quickly took a turn for the worst, rashes quickly spreading up towards her torso. It was unexpected. She took an unlucky nurse down before being restrained.

Despite her mother's infection and all the tests, Artemis's blood yielded negative results - not even a strain of the virus. An average birth, an average weight...with the exception of the rashes on her arms and a small one around her stomach, there was no way to tell she was a carrier.

"Done." Barry's words shook her from her thoughts. "Now eat your sandwich."

She ate her sandwich in silence as she watched Barry fill out the same form he had been filling out for years. Shot number three million and seven, she thought. As with the last three million and six it would appear as though nothing's changed. Still afraid of shots and still hasn't guess my real name.

"So what did you think of the book?"

She swallowed and glanced at the unopened book on her bedside table. "You mean another society without rules book?" Another bite. "Completely fascinating. Why do we only have post-apocalyptic or importance of society books?"

"So what did it take for you to convince Wally to do all your work?"

"It's his favorite book, it was hardly impossible."

"He only likes it because it's Linda's favorite book."

"Ooooh! Linda!" Artemis responded with feigned excitement. She took another bite.

"Don't be so jealous, Artemis. Guys don't like that." A voice rang out over the intercom. The doors opened for the tall redhead as he walked in. Artemis rolled her eyes before tossing a crumpled napkin at his face.

"I'm still technically infected, and I will bite you." He grabbed the second half of her sandwich off her plate despite her protests.

"So what's the deal? You dead yet?"

"Yes, Wally. After seventeen years of being completely fine, my infection has decided to finally kill me." She grabbed her lunch back out of his hands. "Also you would be heartbroken without me."

Wally smiled through his last bite of her sandwich. "Your entertainment value would be considerably less dead." Trying not laugh, Artemis glared at him. They had been friends for as long as she could remember, but they still bickered like children. She hated admitting that Wally was her best friend, but then again he was the only one close in age. Still immature as ever, Wally had a smile that lit up rooms and made Artemis want to hit him in the teeth.

"She's not dying," Barry started as he finished his paperwork, "but you might be once your parents hear that you're doing her homework."

"You told him?" Artemis shrugged as she finished her sandwich. Wally sighed. "Well, it's not like it's the first time."

Barry looked between the two and smiled. "Why don't you guys get out of here for a bit? I'm going to be scheduling some tests for Artemis for this afternoon, so I'm sure she'll appreciate getting some air."

"Do I have to clean up after her, too?" Wally narrowly dodged her arm as she made a swing for the back of his head.

"Come on, Wallace. The outside world awaits." She pulled on his arm before leading him out the room. Back in his chair, Barry laughed some more, shaking his head over his papers.

Despite the futuristic feel of her own room, the rest of the compound left much to be desired. Her room was bright and clean, airtight locks with no signs of the devastation outside. The rest sat dark and bleak. It was obviously at one point a very nice facility, probably a rehabilitation center of some sort. They were isolated from larger cities, but near by enough that they weren't sitting ducks. Outside there were remnants of gardens and fountains that someone still tended to, a small semblance of normalcy.

"So what tests are they running on you?" Wally asked. They walked through the building winding hallways. The cold autumn air slipped through the cracks between windows causing Artemis to pull the sleeves down on her jacket.

"Probably just stress tests. I think I'm going to be shipped off out west soon. Do the cure thing."

"Oh. Cool?"

She shrugged. Ever since word got out of her condition, rumors had been flying around over a cure. A real cure. A few placebos had been made over the years, but Artemis held the key to the real deal, or so they said. She was no scientist, and had no idea just...how an antidote would be made. All she knew was that she provided the answers.

"How far out west?" His eyes looked distant as they made it outside to one the gardens. Mindlessly, he lead them over to a rundown bench. They always sat here. It was far enough away to be just out of ears. Moss had taken over the stone seating, but it only made it a more appealing place to sit. Their own secret garden they had once called it.

"Los Angeles. There used to be a S.T.A.R. Labs out there that might be of some use, plus apparently that's where the doctors are. I guess it makes more sense for the sick girl to travel out there for whatever reason."

Wally didn't seem to acknowledge her. Something about her infection always seemed to quieten him whenever they spoke. Instead of the happy-go-lucky personality she loved, he turned pensive and soft. They sat in silence in the fall air watching the clouds and the world around them. Nothing else. Only the two of them.


Artemis had no idea how long she had been asleep on Wally's shoulder when the alarm went off. Loud and piercing, she fell off the bench with a start. Wally's eyes searched the area, painting his face with concern. Something had to be wrong. He wasn't laughing at her. Grabbing her hands, he pulled her to her feet.

"We need to get you back to your room. Now"

Wally ran incredibly fast for someone who had lived in what was essentially a refugee camp his whole life. They sped through twisting hallways back towards her room. Frantic people crowded by searching for loved ones and shelters. Voices cried out, most confused at the sudden alarm.

"Get her to her room as quickly as possible. I'm right behind you." Just as quickly as Barry appeared, he disappeared down an adjacent hallway. Wally nodded with a burst of speed that yanked on her arm.

"Wally-"

"Don't worry. You'll be fine." In all her years of living there, she had never heard the sirens. Infected, animals, looters...It could have been anything.

"But-"

"Artemis, you're going to be ok." He glanced back as he ran, never slowing down. "Just follow me. We'll be fine." They ran into the room and shut the door, Barry close behind them with suitcases in tow.

"Ok, pardon my french, but what the hell is going on?"

"Break in. Third sector, but making their way here. Quickly." Barry packed the already heavy bags, clothes and medical supplies.

"So what? Infected? Why the bags?" Wally stood near the door looking out the small glass window. Flashes of people ran by, old and young, all in panic.

"Not exactly. But you need to go now. Both of you."