Artemis started coughing before Cameron had even opened the tent flap. Her throat was dry despite the humidity in the tent, and her inhales shallow. She kept her head resting as comfortably as she could on one shoulder. When he finally shuffled through the opening, Cameron looked between the two on the ground. Artemis felt a cool breeze of the night air.

"What's wrong with her?"

"She's been coughing since early this morning," Wally replied. Though she couldn't see him, she heard the concern in his voice. She let out a pained wheeze. "She drank all her water this morning. I don't really know what's wrong with her."

Artemis watched as Cameron's feet took a step back. "Is it from her…. you know…"

"Her infection? I don't know. I think I remember reading that asthma was an onset symptom, but…" A sigh. "It's been almost eighteen years, that can't be it."

She stared blankly at the ground, listening but not reacting. Another wheeze burned out her lungs.

"Are you going to stand there, or are you going to give her the water?"

"And what, let her bite me? No way?"

"Her hands are tied, and she's spent the last two days in this tent with hardly anything to eat or drink. She's probably just dehydrated. Just…please. Give her the water."

Artemis listened as set his lantern down. The plastic cap was twisted off the bottle, and Cameron crouched before her. Slowly, she lifter her head.

Her arms snapped to his shoulder, sending the two of them crashing onto the ground behind Cameron. One arm held his throat in place as the other reached to the back of her jeans. She pulled the scissors out and flipped them open in one fluid motion. She compared the blades choosing the sharper looking of the two to place along the side of his neck.

"This is your first hostage situation, isn't it?" He swallowed and his features morphed from shock to defeat. She smiled. "Mine, too."

Wally was already on his feet. Artemis gave him enough room to lift Cam without roughing him up too much. She returned the scissors to rest along his throat as Wally bound his arms.

"OK, so here's what I need from you. I need you to be quiet. I need you to be helpful. I need you to be honest. Is anyone else awake?"

Cam's face remained defeated. "Why would I bother helping you?"

Artemis rolled her eyes. One hand went to cover his mouth as the scissors swiped over his thigh. His cried was muffled, and she placed her weapon back on his neck.

"Because I'll do that again only deeper, and in more vital areas. Believe me when I say I don't want to stab you. This is not enjoyable for me, so please, let us leave undetected. No one has to get hurt."

"Says you. After you leave I'll get shot or worse for letting you slip away."

"Then, Cameron, I have some good news for you. We're going to take you with us."

"You are?"

"We are?" Wally repositioned himself behind Artemis in an attempt to look threatening.

"Yes, we are. So, I'm going to ask you one last time," she diverted her attention back to Cameron, making sure to look straight in his eyes. "Is anyone else awake?"

Artemis shut the flap to the tent behind them once they had safely made it into storage. She kept the lantern at a low glow to illuminate the cramped space as she looked around. The lantern was an older kerosene lamp that she didn't realize still existed. Outside the small flame did little to light their way, but inside let off a warm glow on their surroundings. There were crates of nonperishable food, stacks of bottled water, and small boxes and buckets of ammunition in every spare space around them. The back wall housed a small wire rack with guns of all shapes and sizes.

"We'll need three bags then," Wally said. "One for food, one for weapons, and one for general supplies."

"Cam, where can we find bags?" Artemis peered into crates looking for anything that might be useful.

"I'm not really sure. Under the shelves maybe?"

"So glad we're bringing you along." Wally readjusted his arm to get a better grip on a squirming Cameron. "For the record, I wanted to leave you back in the tent."

"Wally, play nice!"

She had started making little piles of things she knew they'd need - bandages, pliers, lightweight jackets. Under a blanket she found a backpack and a duffle. It would have to do. They couldn't afford to spend much more time here without risking getting caught. Artemis dumped everything in the bags, not worrying too much about maximizing space. Everything they needed she made sure to get three of. She grabbed three random guns from the back praying she'd know how to use at least one of them. She put one, a small handgun, in the back of her jeans.

"It's not that I think we'll need this much ammo," she said as she dumped every last bullet in their bags. "I just don't really know how to tell it apart." She snorted. "Also, I don't want these guys to have it."

The other two exchanged glances, but neither protested. As she shouldered the backpack, Artemis looped the duffle around Cameron's neck.

"I'm trusting you with this. Mostly because Wally can't carry it, but I'm trusting you, Ok?" Extra emphasis was placed on "trusting". Cameron nodded. "Just one last thing before we leave." Artemis opened the flap of the tent for them to leave before turning the flame of the lantern up as large as it would go. Making sure they were all out, she tossed the lantern in before turning towards the woods. She heard the glass shatter and started running.

They ran until they got too deep in the woods to see clearly. Between the darkness and Wally leading Cameron, it was all they could do to not trip over something. They slowed to a walk and continued on for a solid hour before stopping to rest.

Artemis's eyes had finally adjusted to the night, and she could see the exhaustion on Cam and Wally's faces. She braced herself against a tree for a quick breath.

"Let's stop here for a minute," she breathed. She set the backpack down and stretched her shoulders.

"So, what next?" Wally asked. He still had his arms around Cameron, and the scissors at his throat reflected what little moonlight danced through the tree branches. "I honestly didn't think that would work."

"You can probably untie me now," Cam sighed. Artemis looked between him and Wally debating her options. Both of them needed to trust her if they were going to make this work. She sighed.

"Alright yeah, we could probably do that." She stepped forward towards them, but Wally backed up.

"Are you sure about this? I don't exactly trust him yet."

"Then trust me." Artemis took another step forward and removed the duffle from Cameron's neck. Looking to Wally, she met his eyes. "Well?" She heard him sigh as he loosened the ropes from Cam's wrists. When he was done he stepped away.

"Thank you." Rubbing his wrists, Cameron stepped towards Artemis to make more space between himself and Wally. "Now before we get moving again I'd like t-"

The butt of Artemis's gun whipped across his forehead, effectively cutting him off. Wally caught him and laid him gently on the ground. Cameron didn't stir, but his breathing remained slow and constant. Shouldering the duffle off the ground, he came to stand by Artemis.

"You're really hot in a hostage situation, you know that?"

They walked until Artemis was sure her feet were bleeding. She was exhausted emotionally, physically, and any other way she could be. The sky was slowly beginning to lighten though they still couldn't see the sun. Never in her life did she imagine that she could walk that long. There was no knowing the distance, or their location. All around them was deep dark wood. Artemis paused against a tree and willed her lungs to take in more oxygen.

Wally watched her. He was always watching her, making sure she was ok. It had been annoying at first, but she was staring to realize it was only because she was always watching him, too. A natural occurrence of only having each other.

"We need shelter," he said. He reached into the bag on his back for a bottle of water. He took a quick sip before passing the bottle over to her.

Artemis stowed the water in her own pack, and looked around the woods. Nothing. No conveniently abandoned houses or directions to a hotel. While she had been glad to avoid the roads and the chance of running into well, her dad again, she also resented the lack of civilization. They were, for all intents and purposes, lost. Turning slightly, she headed in a new direction. She had no idea where she was going, but it felt like north.

The last thing she wanted to do was keep walking. She fought back exhausted tears as they moved on. There had to be something out there.

They walked for what felt like another few hours. Despite the rising sun, there was a definitive nip in the air. They were walking right into colder weather wearing little more than flannel. The sweat on her skin was cooling her down too quickly at this rate. Artemis kept her arms crossed over her chest in an effort to fight off chills, willing all her energy into looking for some place, any place to rest. Their prayers were answered in the form of a small cave, though it wasn't too deep. Artemis was willing to take her chances against whatever was living in there after the last few days she had been through.

Their new camp was less than perfect. One of them had been smart enough to grab a lighter, allowing them to build a small fire at the cave's opening. Artemis found an emergency blanket in her first aid kit and quickly bundled up

Artemis sat next to Wally letting all her weight fall on his good shoulder. She let out a shuddering breath, and his arm went instinctively around her. They watched the small flames, and for a moment they weren't lost somewhere in the Midwest. They were home in the little garden outside the facility. They were sneaking out of her lab to watch the sunrise like they would when they were young and bored. They were ok.

Wally's lips pressed against the top of her head, and Artemis closed her eyes.

"Well, this certainly isn't how I had planned on our first date going."

She felt the smile going on her face. "Oh, do tell. How was our first date supposed to go?"

"Well," he started, "I would politely ask my mom to make us dinner, because you deserve better than the cafeteria food. Then I would whisk us away someplace private, probably just outside because no one else goes outside, and we would do something romantic like watch the stars or something." He paused. "And then I'd get to like…second base or something I don't know."

"Second base? On the first date." He shrugged. "You think so little of me. I could easily round third." Artemis smirked. "How much of that did you just make up?"

"Like, all of it." He was talking into her hair, and his breath warmed her scalp. "Really, I figured I'd just come in your room one day, tell you I liked you and to deal with it. Probably never talk to you again." Wally adjusted the blanket around their shoulders, making sure Artemis was fully covered. She could feel the tension in his voice from speaking his feelings. He changed the subject. "What did they want back at that camp? When they took you to the big tent?"

"Oh, right! I never told you about that!" Artemis straightened, letting the blanket fall off her much to Wally's dismay. "So, you remember how all this started when there was a raid back home? Barry was freaking out?" Wally nodded for her to continue. "So, these guys, The Light they call themselves, is looking to make an antidote out of me, too. Only they want to make it some sort of…" Her hands gestured in the air. "…post-apocalyptic capitalist venture or something, I don't know. Something stupid. But here's the kicker. That big scary guy and the woman with him? That's my dad, and my sister."

Artemis watched Wally's face for some sort of reaction. For a moment, when he hadn't moved, she assumed he hadn't heard her.

Then it hit him.

"What?"

"Yeah. My long-lost family, that we had all assumed died after abandoning my mother, is alive and kicking, and they want to sell me for spare parts."

He was a silent for another moment. "Your sister broke my arm."

"Oh, don't worry. She also threatened to kill you. As did my dad. Who did not seem too concerned with the fact that I was alive." She paused. "Or in front of him."

"Huh."

"Yeah." She readjusted under the weight of her exhaustion, or perhaps it was the weight of the world. It was hard to tell. Her head went to Wally's lap, and his hands instinctively nestled in her hair. The dancing flames before her started to blend together. "So, it's safe to say he doesn't exactly approve of you."

He tried to run his fingers through her hair, but it they only got caught in the tangles. "Did he say anything about your mom?"

"No. Well, he kind of did." Her lids were getting especially heavy now that she was letting everything out. "He didn't seem to feel too guilty over her death."

"Weird, he seemed like such a stand-up guy." She didn't respond. Couldn't respond. The shock was too fresh. Not over him being a jerk, but of him being alive, her having a sister, meeting both of them. The ironic part was, she had always wanted a sister, and now she didn't even know her name.

"I wish we had stayed home."

"I know."

Hours of walking turned into days. Eventually they came upon a road, a real road. Each car dead along the highway was a haven. One broken down Camry had a jacket left inside. An old smart car had matches. They slept in a Tahoe on one particularly cold evening. None of them started. They were getting too good at breaking into cars.

There were hardly any Infected as they walked down the road. The further they went, the fewer there were. The landscape turned hilly and low rising mountains loomed in the distance. Kansas City or St. Louis, those were the only options the road signs gave, and only one of those options headed towards California. Two days later, they passed a sign welcoming them to Kansas.

Fucking Kansas with its dead cornfields and nothingness all around. There had been one city, if you could call it that, and not even the Infected wanted to hang around. There had been one that Artemis shot out of spite, and immediately felt guilty about wasting the bullet over.

One of the guns they had brought was a long rifle type, similar to the one Bruce had lent her back in Bludhaven. It felt like a lifetime ago that she and Wally had literally stumbled upon Bruce, Dick, and Barbara. A long, exhausted sigh escaped her lips before she could even stop it. Without a word, Wally held her hand as they walked.

The next town was no more impressive than the last one they had seen. Picturesque, it must have been nice in its day. Among the buildings that still stood, a bank, a few gas stations, and a hospital, it was all but abandoned. Wally veered them off the main road in an effort to keep them safe from Infected and any traps that might be lying around.

It was hard to tell which cities were safe outside the larger ones. Places like Gotham, New York and Boston had all sealed themselves up. National Security patrolled fences and enforced strict curfews in an attempt to maintain order in a chaotic time. As for the smaller towns, they were left to fend for themselves. Some fell to ashes while others became hideouts for paranoid survivors like The Light. Or Bruce. This one was more or less left for dead.

Roads quickly twisted and turned out of the downtown area into what seemed like more endless fields, and the night was quickly catching up to them.

"Art. Art." Wally nudged Artemis out of her daydream. "How about there?"

He was pointing to a nearby farmhouse. The place appeared abandoned, but then again, most places did these days. It was seemingly empty save for the two horses in their stalls towards the back of the barn.

Artemis had never seen a horse before. She hadn't seen much of anything outside of dogs and squirrels. Step by step she approached them, keeping her hand outstretched to them. Their large eyes stayed on her, and she had no idea if they trusted her, or if what she was doing was helping. Behind her, Wally set his bag down on a bale of hay.

"They seem like they're well taken care of." The horse was let her stroke its nose, perhaps thankful for the affection. "So, there's probably someone living in that house."

"Probably." Wally had joined his bag on the hay, the closest thing he had had to a bed since the Jeep. She watched him, his eyes closed, finally allowing himself to stretch. His right arm was still in the sling from the camp. His expression was almost peaceful.

She left the horse and looked around in the darkness. If there was anyone living in the house nearby, she didn't want to alert them with any light. She found what she was hoping for – a large bale of hay, loose, soft, and dry. Tugging on his good arm, she moved Wally to lay down with her instead of the stiff bale. He fell asleep almost immediately. She stared at the stars out of the holes in the roof.

There was no way, on God or whoever's green earth, that the two of them would make it alone, nevertheless on foot. She imagined the old farmhouse, the family that might still live there. Was there any chance that they might help them? It was hard to imagine anyone good in the world after what they had been through, what they had done. Her mind immediately went to Cameron, left for dead in the woods with no way to defend himself. He hadn't been a bad person. Next to Dick and Barbara, he had been the nicest person they'd met. And yet, she'd left him.

Her eyes shot open, and the stars above were starting to fade. Sleep had snuck up on her, but she was still exhausted from living the night of their escape over and over again. Her head turned towards the farmhouse. For the briefest moments, she could have sworn she saw a light in one of the windows.

It was time to go.

Artemis dumped the contents of her bag on the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wally jerk out of sleep. He tried to take in his surroundings, but with the sun having not yet risen, it was hard to tell the time. He had either slept too well, or not at all. "What are you doing?"

"Trading." Her voice was determined. The tiny metal clinks of metal on metal echoed through the barn as the animals began to stir. She was organizing the ammunition.

"Trading what exactly?"

"We're taking the horses. I'm leaving the ammo we don't need. Seems fair."

He thought about it for a moment. It did seem fair, at least to her. Even if there was no one the house, it was the smallest bit of absolution for leaving Cameron. "How do you know which ones we don't need?"

"The big red ones-"

"Shot gun shells."

"Whatever they are, they are don't fit any of our guns. We have roughly a million of them. We'll make room, and be doing these guys a favor. Everybody wins."

He couldn't argue with her, and she wouldn't have accepted no as an answer. He found saddles and bridles along the walls near the horses' respective stables and did his best to attach them. By the time they were something close to secure it was beginning to lighten up outside. Morning. They needed to go if they were going to avoid getting caught. Artemis finished furiously scribbling on to a scratch piece of cloth as he finished packing their belongings.

We're sorry.
We had no choice.
I hope you have a shotgun.
We're sorry.
A W

They were back on the road before the sun had risen over the barn. Wally set his horse into a quick trot down the road. Turning back, Artemis caught the name on the mailbox.

"I'm sorry, Kent family. I-" her voice caught, "Thank you."

YAAAAAAAALLLLLL

I'm pretty sure I convinced myself I published in like...October. WELL IT WAS A YEAR AGO SO SORRY. HAVE AN EXTRA LONG CHAPPY.

I drank a bottle of wine so thats probably why i finally finished this. Typos? Blame it on the wine. My biggest fear was never getting this chapter out. This chapter has literally haunted me. It was my white whale and now it's my bitch. This was the bridge chapter that signifies the end of one half and the start of the next. From here things ramp up and start getting good.

That being said, ON THE NEXT SEASON OF RADIOACTIVE:

EMOTIONAL GOODBYES AND REVELATIONS.

SNARKY BANTER.

SEX.

I want to once again thank you for sticking with me. Yall keep me fantasizing about cartoon characters. Keep it real.

Love yooooou.

Mags

UPDATE: 8/26/18

Hi.

It's been a while.

This chapter, as well as the next, is getting an update before the next update somes out. Basically, timelines are getting clarified, routes are being made known, and worlds are being expanded. The last few chapters essentially...got puched out for the sake of being published, and that's not what you deserve. I rushed through 33% of the entire nation? and gave you nothing. And that sucks.

As an apology slash world building exercise slash get back into this story exercise , I've been writing the stories of characters not included and their fates in this world. I'm not going to post it as a whole yet becasue SPOILERS, but I'll be adding them to the ends of chapters (not all tho. Just telling your now). It should also be known...some of your faves are dead. It wasn't fun to write (yes it was).

Basically, in my own words:

I'm sorry.
I had no choice.
I hope you have a shotgun.
I'm sorry.