"Go? What do you mean go? We haven't even started thinking about L.A." Artemis caught the bag the Barry threw at her. This wasn't right. The trip out west was supposed to take weeks at best, and they needed time to plan for it. Now she was being shoved out the door with little more than a duffle.
"And what do you mean 'both' of us?" Wally asked. Barry also gave him a bag, but this time handed it to him gingerly. The bottom of his bag sunk with weight, but Wally didn't seem to notice. "Barry, what's going on?"
"There's been some...complications. The Light to be specific," he said quickly as he gathered Artemis's things. "Luckily they don't know what either of you look like, so they won't be looking for you, in particular, but Artemis, you need to keep your sleeves down and avoid any and all health scans and check points."
Barry reached into Wally's bag and pulled out a gun - a pistol of some sort as far as Artemis knew. She never even knew he had one nevertheless how to use it. Barry tinkered with various parts as he showed his nephew how to use it. "Safety on. Safety off. Reload here. Clip goes here. Be careful with this and use it only in emergencies. You guys are small and quick. You can outsmart them."
Artemis looked to Wally. He seemed to carry the same worry and fear in his eyes that she felt. Shouldering the bag, she pulled her sleeves down over the rough patches of skin on her wrists.
"Back stairwell down to trash chute," Wally said.
He placed the gun in the back of his jeans like she had seen in so many old movies. Barry whispered something in his ear and they hugged goodbye, but it was lost on Artemis, her mind whirling with the events from the last few minutes. The older man reached over to hug Artemis.
"Good luck, kiddo. Just keep your head down and you'll be fine." He squeezed tighter, though whether for her sake or his own she couldn't tell. She held on a few moments longer before letting go. "It's just Barry, by the way. Not short for anything...Just Barry." He looked between the two teenagers once more. "If you're going to go, you have to go now. Wally remember - Blüdhaven."
Wally nodded before grabbing her hand as he ran out the door. As they descended the stairs, they were met with little difficulty. Most of the workers in the area must have evacuated. Emergency sirens sounded in the distance as they proceeded further and further away from the only home Artemis had ever known. By the time they reached the garbage chute, the sirens were barely audible.
"There's no other way to do this?" Artemis asked. Warm, putrid air hit her nostrils as she peered down the small square in the wall. Reeling back, she gasped. "Besides how are you going to slide down with a gun in your pants?
"I'll think of something," he replied, half distracted by the various sounds in the tunnels. "This is the fastest way out, and no one will expect an infected kid to go diving into a pile of trash, now move it!" Wally tossed his bag in before grabbing Artemis's. With a halfhearted grin he threw it down the shaft. "Oops! Better go after it."
Somewhere a long the corridor, a door slammed followed by angry muffled voices. Artemis took a deep breath as she jumped in. The tunnels were slick from years of garbage as she slid straight down. Not far behind her she could hear Wally's "Shit shit shit!" before quickly diving in himself. With a wet thud, Artemis landed in the freshest - and thankfully least rotten - pile. There was no way to tell what she had landed in, nor did she really want to. Loud bangs pulled her attention to the ceiling. Wally's form came rushing out of the chute, narrowly missing Artemis.
"Someone saw us down jump down. We gotta keep moving." Wally grabbed the bags and pulled her to her feet. "I think there's a way into the sewers from here. We'll be able to lose them in there."
"First the garbage now the sewers?" Artemis grabbed her bag after attempting to brush the garbage from her hair. She looked up to see his form already heading off into the distance. He looked over his shoulder.
"If you want to be caught by the scary looking chick I saw down the hallway, be my guest. That being said, if you do, Barry and everyone else in this facility will kill me, so I'd really rather you'd keep up."
Artemis looked back up the chute before heading off to follow Wally, certain she heard someone above opening the chute.
It had been hours, or at least it seemed that way to Artemis. The sewer had proven difficult enough to locate, but when it came to navigating, Wally was a lost cause. Turns lead towards dead ends, and openings sent back towards the inside of the facility. Once they had gotten close to getting outside, and Artemis promised herself that if they were finally free, she would never doubt anything Wally ever did ever again. Unfortunately the way was blocked by a row of bars that refused to yield no matter how they tried to remove them. Another dead end.
"Do you even know where we're going?" Artemis could feel the moisture from the air seeping into her clothes and skin. "We've found three exits and none of them we're good enough."
"We need to go to Blüdhaven, but first we need to get away from here."
"Ok. How do we get to Blüdhaven?"
"We walk. It's only a few miles away, so it shouldn't take too long."
She stopped. "Few mi-Wally, it has to be pushing eight o'clock. You aren't thinking about getting all the way there tonight, are you?"
Artemis heard Wally sigh as he slowed to a stop. "Well, I was," he mumbled. He turned to face her. "We need to get there as quickly as possible."
"Yeah, but…" She leaned against a rusting old ladder, having given up on staying clean for at least a that day. "To walk miles, will take hours. Not to mention that we could blindly walk into who knows how many nests of infected. If we stop for the night, we can rest then go at daylight where we can actually see around us."
Wally seemed to consider her for a moment, obviously not wanting to agree. "So where are we supposed to sleep? There aren't exactly a hotel near by."
"…I hadn't thought that far ahead yet. We'll walk till we find something."
"Fine, but we need to keep going then. We have to get out before we can get any closer to Blüdhaven."
"Why don't we check here?" Artemis gestured towards the ladder supporting her. "It's why I stopped here."
She laughed as Wally's hand made contact with his forehead. Grumbled curses could be heard as he walked past. "I swear if this is the right manhole, I'll get right down on my knees and ask you to marry me right now."
"Oh, honey that's so sweet," she replied, voice heavy with sarcasm. Her eyes followed him as he ascended the ladder, skimming up the rungs, his legs, his…She shook her head. The sound of the metal cover caught her attention as she craned her head upwards. "What do you see?"
The redhead pulled himself up, vanishing from her sight. "I'll buy you a ring in Blüdhaven." Artemis began climbing after him, the taste of clean air already heavy on her pallet. Wally looked down from the sky briefly enough to help her out before returning his gaze to the sky. Above, stars littered the vast darkness catching Artemis's breath in her throat.
She could count the number of times she had seen real stars on one hand. Much like tonight, every other time had been with Wally. Each time, they'd sit on their same bench, out past curfew, animatedly talking about the different tests Artemis had been put through, Wally's growing crush on his tutor…But these star were different. Bright and clear and far from the lights of the facility.
"I was kidding about the marriage thing," a soft voice whispered as an overlooked hand slowly slipped out of her own. Artemis turned towards the movement. She had completely forgotten that Wally was still there. His eyes were already back on their surroundings.
"We need to go this way." He pointed in what seemed like a random direction.
"Are you sure?" The blonde looked around, trying to discern some of distinguishing landmarks. Nothing. As far as she could see, it was dark and they were stranded on an abandoned road that stretched out into forever. "Why not follow the road?"
"Shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Also, I have no idea where this one goes."
"But you know where we're going?" Wally laughed.
"Something like that."
They walked. Farther than Artemis had ever thought was imaginable. The sewers had been rough enough between the smells and rancid air, but the chance of running into an infected had been next to nothing. While being outside, was a welcome change of pace, every little sound had them on their toes. Infected, wild animals, hunters - all lurked in the wilderness, the night their playtime. Blue-grey eyes danced around, taking everything in. Clusters of trees were barely visible in dark as they dotted the horizon. Old power lines stretched on, electricity no longer running from place to place.
It was hard to even imagine what life had been life before the infection spread. Very few of the films that had been salvaged gave little hints to how things had been before. Most movies weren't playable, and it was hard to find something to play them on. All Artemis and Wally had was a collection of old books and encyclopedias which only Wally had picked up. To the two of them, the world had always been dark and quiet, and there wasn't much chance of a change.
Time passed slowly, and they seemed no closer to their destination. Leaves crunched beneath their feet, each step heavier than the one before. Artemis looked up from her tired feet. Wally walked directly in front of her, never saying a word, occasionally looking up to the sky.
"So what's in Blüdhaven?" Artemis finally asked. She jogged up to his side, matching him stride for stride.
"An old acquaintance of Barry's, and hopefully a car. And if we're really lucky…a bed." Wally's voice was heavy with fatigue. "I'm going to miss beds."
"Why do we need a car? And do you even know how to drive?"
"I know the theory. My dad and Barry said they'd teach me if we ever found a car. Or if the infection cleared off. Which ever came first." A deep sigh left Wally's lips. "Besides, having a car could take days off our timeline. We just have to hope for gas and a clear road."
"Are the roads not clear?" Artemis's fingers played with the rashes on her wrists.
"Some are, but a lot of cities started blocking them off or even destroying major bridges to keep infected out." He had stopped walking again to look up into the sky, seeing something that the blonde did not. "We should probably stop for the night. Head for the trees. That way we'll have some sort of shelter, a place to hide."
Artemis nodded before looking up into the night's sky, hoping to see the same sign her friend seemed to spot so well. Nothing. A mess of stars and nothing…Once agains she jogged to catch up, falling along side him as her thoughts quickly turning to pleas for slumber.
A loud PING! pulled Artemis from thoughts. An unknown object snaked along the grass and through unseen hooks and pulleys. Almost as soon as it had started, they two found themselves crashing together. The red light of a flare illuminated the area, revealing the net that now held them about ten feet off the air. Artemis's head fell into an unknown part of Wally's body as she let out an exasperated sigh.
"Well, we know we're heading in the right direction…"
I am way less than happy with this chapter. I can't think of much else to do with it before it starts doubling in length and I dont want that. My weak has been beyond crappy and stupid, and unfortunately my writing reflects that, hence a late chappy riddles with weirdness.
Next weeks should be better, just because i have some awesome stuff in mind. I bet you can guess who's coming next! After all I did give you a big ol' blüdy clue.
Have a great weekend!
-mags