Barry watched each person carefully as they stood outside the lab. Iris and Mary looked on through the window, and Rudy was silent. Inside the next room, two children sat on opposites of the room. Artemis kicked her legs as she sat on a table. Her eyes drifted around the room in a way that was much too calculating for a seven year old. What Barry was really concerned with was Wally.
Wally arms were crossed in the corner of the room and scowling harder than ever. His eyes glanced over to Barry's momentarily before returning to Artemis. If he didn't know any better, he'd think Wally was actually trying to set her on fire.
«What about a quarantine camp?»
«We are quarantined,» he replied. Iris nervously bit the tip of her thumb nail.
«Were quarantined. Were. Up until about five minutes ago.»
«That's, he sighed, «That's not how it works. It's not airborne, or else we'd all be infected. She,» Barry gestured to the window, «is no more contagious than any of us already are.»
«How can you be sure?» Rudy asked, and Mary turned from the window.
«That's your nephew…my son in there.»
«And so far he's fine. He honestly stands more of a chance of getting a black eye than the infection.» No one seemed comforted by that, and Iris audibly sighed. «Ok, maybe that's not what everyone wanted to hear.» He moved towards the window, knocking before putting his finger on the intercom button. «Wally, you could stand to move a couple feet closer.»
«No way.»
«She's not going to bite you; I promise.»
«There's no way you know that!»
«Why would I want to bite a scrawny jerk like you, anyways?» Artemis asked. Her legs kicked the air with more force.
Wally stepped forward, trying his best to be intimidating. «Hey! I'm not scrawny!»
«Yeah, but you're a jerk.»
«Am not!»
«Oh yeah? Prove it!»
«Make me!»
Barry felt three pairs of eyes on his back as he watched the two pitch school yard threats at each other. He turned around. Iris was trying not to laugh. Mary's deadpan stare tore through him. And Rudy….Rudy was increasingly hard to read throughout the whole situation.
«See? They're completely fine.»
Wally's head lay in Artemis's lap as the two sat in the back of the dark, damp van. In his left hand, he held the bruised right arm, broken in multiple places. He had passed out not long before, no doubt with help from the woman who was now in the front passenger seat. She had roughed him up before throwing him in the back of the van. Together, the two strangers had taken their guns, supplies, everything before locking them in the back. At least now she had her pants.
Every bump of the old car sent a jolt straight through his arm. Artemis let her hands rest in Wally's wet hair, careful not to accidentally hurt him. It was too dark to see, and every time she closed her eyes, she only saw her own eyes starting back at her. Only they weren't her eyes, exactly. They were the man's eyes, but also her hair and cheekbones.
The car shook and her lids drifted open again. Up front, the voices of the other two wafted in, barely audible over the motor and rain. They were arguing, but Artemis couldn't tell what over. For all she knew, they were lost, heading nowhere to be murdered. Of all the ways she figured she'd die, murder was not on the list. It reminded her of one of the movies she and Wally watched as a kid. What was the line?
«The horse is a surprise,» she mumbled.
It was hard to tell how time was passing. There were no windows in the back, and no sign of light peaking through. An hour had to have passed. Artemis carefully stretched her legs out, allowing the feeling to return to her feet. In her lap, Wally remained motionless. When they slept in the back of the Jeep, he talked in his sleep, but never anything intelligible. At one time, the idea of a quiet night had been welcome to her, but now that she had it…It just wasn't right. Everything was so wrong. Where did it all go so horribly wrong?
Artemis jumped at the sound of the car door opening and the unfamiliar chatter of voices. How much time had passed? She must have fallen asleep somehow. There was a crick in her neck, and her legs felt numb under Wally's weight. Outside the van was still dark, with the faintest hints of dawn on the horizon.
«Wake up, Alice. Come back from Dreamland," the woman called to her. Behind was a camp of no more than 5 tents surrounding a fire.
"Alice was in Wonderland, not Dreamland."
"Damn, you got me. Get out of the car." This was the first time Artemis had gotten a good look at the woman. Dirt and grime covered her head to toe, but she was unmistakably tan with masses of black hair sticking out of an old baseball cap. Her eyes were dark, like most people these days, but it was her size that was most intimidating. She was petite, no taller than Artemis, but she commanded authority as if she were as large as the man with her.
Wally stirred, and Artemis shook his shoulder. He stretched his arms out from their cramped position, only to immediately retract them.
"Ho-oly what the hell?!" He hadn't swollen up too much, only a little towards the center. It was the slight bend his arm took that worried her. He clutched his arm to his chest again as Artemis helped him up.
"Your arm's broken. Was that necessary, by the way?" she asked the woman.
She shrugged, leaning on the open door. "We may never know. Now about you getting out of the car..."
The welcome to the camp was hardly a warm one. A shaggy group appeared from various tents when the man barked orders. Clear space, find room, set traps. He was clearly in charge, and something about it almost reminded her of Bruce.
Bruce.
Oh, if only he could see them now. He would kill them himself. Although it wasn't really her fault. They did everything he told them to do.
The group was primarily men save for the small angry woman. Most of them were older, somewhere between the woman's age and the man yelling directions. A pair of near identical men stood towards the back. The slight age differences were the only things that gave them away as father and son. The younger one smirked at smirked at her as though it were some friendly gesture. Artemis spat on the ground and continued walking.
Keeping her sleeves down, Artemis prayed no one would see her scars. The last thing they needed was a panic. Between Wally's arm and no way to defend herself, they would only find themselves worse off. Two men escorted them into one of the far tents, and set to binding them up. Artemis had her hands put behind her in a tight knot. Too tight to slip, and there was no way she'd figure out how to untie it. Beside her Wally was protesting, cursing furiously as his broken arm was forced behind him.
Artemis had seen Wally in pain before. He fell down the stairs once when they were about eight or nine, and he'd burned himself more than a handful of times in the lab. Each time he had worn a brave face. It was always nothing. Everything was fine. But this? His face was twisted and scrunched into a horrible mess. His right side was just visible to her, and it was not pretty. He needed a splint, and some painkillers. And maybe a fifth of the whiskey they'd sneak out of the rations room back home.
The two finished tying them off, careful to make sure there was nothing either she or Wally could reach. And just as quickly as they were brought into the camp, they were alone.
Lawrence threw Artemis and Wally's bags at one of the campers. «Look through it for anything useful. And take stock of their ammo.» He entered the center tent where Jade was already waiting for him. It was more makeshift than an actual tent. A couple poles and a tarp fastened the roof over their heads. The walls were thrown together in haste, some plastic siding, others more tarp. But it kept them dry with more than enough room for the two of them to sleep and eat. «These had better be the damn kids from the facility.»
«Of course they are. Who else would they be?» Jade was picking the dirt from her nails.
«Two runaways. Doesn't the bat have a pair of kids now working with him? How do we know those aren't them?» He sat down and propped his feet up onto a box. The drive to their camp wasn't especially long, but his legs needed the stretch.
«So what? We ask them what they know and tell them to beat it.'
«So, we have an impatient buyer who's looking to make a vaccine. The longer we don't have the kid, the more quickly someone else could find 'em. That puts me out one very large sum of cash.»
«And I told you I took care of anyone I saw snooping around Blüdhaven. Now will you stop treating me like I've never delivered on a deal before?»
Lawrence could tell Jade was getting agitated. She lost the trail in Blüdhaven. Much to her chagrin, he had refused to let her work alone. It had been a pure fluke they had caught the trail when they did. Camps and towns all the way from Charleston to Lexington had reports of stolen supplies and dead livestock. The loss was never too devastating, only enough to feed a person or two. It was a big chance following them through Kentucky, but in the end it paid off, or at least Lawrence hoped it would.
«So are we just going to sit on this or what? Weren't you just worried we didn't have the right kids?» Jade asked. She had moved to the only other chair in the tent. There was a knife in her hand now, but she still picked at her nails.
«I'll send the kid in for lunch. Until then, give them a bit. It's been a long night after all.» She sighed and Lawrence rolled his eyes.
Artemis didn't know what to make of being left alone for the first half of the day. Slowly sunlight creeped into their tent through small holes in the ceiling. Beside her, Wally was trying to stay awake, for what she didn't know. There wasn't much to do. They had no food, no water, and no feasible ways to escape.
Neither had spoken since they were tied up either. And what was there to bring up anyways? There was nothing that wouldn't have lead to an argument. They bickered like an old married couple, and had for as long as they could remember. Barry said it was the foundation of their friendship.
The friendship that she had stomped all over when she grabbed his face just hours prior.
She groaned, yanking at the knot on her wrists. Kissing her best friend in the rain. What a cliché. Not that it wasn't enjoyable. It was very enjoyable, and something she'd like to do again before she died. But what awful timing! They should have been more alert, or on their way to shelter for a better camp. Shit, locking the damn doors would have been a great start! There was no doubt in her mind that this would definitely not have happened with Barry.
Wally's feet were digging at the ground when she glanced over to him. His legs were clearly getting restless though. Wally needed constant stretching breaks on the drive, always using the growing boy excuse. He didn't move his torso much. Probably trying not to strain his arm. She had been keeping an eye on his arm the whole time, half convinced it would changed shape or fall off when she wasn't looking. It was fine, though. As fine as it could be. Hardly any swelling anymore, just bent out of shape.
«I can see you starting.» His voice was tired. He was tired. «Please don't tell me you've finally given in to your zombie hunger.»
«Har har,» she said. «Still funny after ten years.» She hadn't realized just how dry her throat was. It had to be going on lunch time by now. Her stomach suddenly felt very empty. «Nope. Just my regular human hunger, I'm afraid.» And almost on queue, her stomach growled.
«Uuuugh, no. I've been trying not to think about how hungry I am fort he last two hours.» Wally's feet shook in a mild, little tantrum.
«Just concentrate on your arm.»
«I actually managed to get it in a position where it doesn't feel like I smashed it on a rock. The only problem is I've lost the feeling in my left hand.» He turned his head to meet her gaze. «When we get back, I'm going to have a long talk with Bruce about hostage preparedness.»
«You still think we're going to make it back?»
«One of us has to look on the bright side. It's very clearly not you.»
«I repeat: Har har.» She studied his face, trying to take in some of the optimism. «I missed a spot. On your chin.»
His face reddened. «About that,» he started.
The tent flaps opened before he could really start. Artemis recognized him as the younger of the two identical men she saw earlier. Up close, he was couldn't have been much older than them, a few years at the most. His features were sharp, and his face was hardened far too much for someone so young. The man held two plastic bowls in hand. Under his arm was a bottle of water, but there was no way to know how clean it really was. At the very least, it was't brown. He looked down at the two, then the bowls, and sighed. He set the bowls down in front of each of them.
«I'm going to untie one arm each. Don't try anything. You won't make it five feet.» His voice wasn't especially threatening. He released Wally's good arm, then Artemis's right before moving back in front of them. «Well…bon appetite.»
«What? No spoons?» Wally asked as he lifted the bowl.
«No, no, it's fine really,» Artemis responded quickly. She shot him a stern look as she lifted the bowl to her lips. It was a very plain broth with a few pieces of meat and way too much salt. Most likely the soup had come from a can. After a small sip, she swallowed. «Thank you.»
«You're welcome,» the man said. «Most aren't too happy to have a couple extra mouths to feed.»
«Oh, we don't eat much. Do we, Wally?»
«Speak for yourself,» he shrugged and swallowed the better half of his broth.
«How many would you say are in the camp anyways?» Artemis tried her best to give him doe eyes over her bowl, and he possibly seemed to soften.
«Enough for me to be the one babysitting.» He smirked at her. Bingo.
«We won't be trouble,» she said between sips. Forcing the last bit down, she handed the bowl up the man. When he leaned down to reach her, she licked her lips and smiled. Wally audibly groaned, a little too loudly, beside her into his last gulp.
The man snatched the bowl from Wally's hand, then went behind them to replace their hands. «We'll see about that,» he said as he exited the tent. A moment passed, and Wally laughed.
«What did I just witness?»
«Our ticket out of here.»