MOVIE: The Radiant Cancer

Chapter III: You Missed

Jacen stumped on the brakes hard enough to surprise Nate who was peacefully driving behind him.

He left his vehicle followed by the men with him and fired a flare gun directly to the evening sky above.

"what was that for?" Raphy nudged Mary in the back seat

Mary frowned with a hangover and squinted her eyes "it's a bloody flare"

"yes but why?"

"how in the zombie world should i know??" Mary groaned

"Raphael stop asking questions, she had a little too much to drink yesterday" Cammy chimed in

"Look, is that... Is that a gate?" Nate squinted at the distance

"Yep. Let's go. The mission awaits" Cammy jumped out the van and sprinted ahead

Nate mocked with a robotic voice "roger there, you lead the way captain"

Mary hit him hard on the head with her helmet from behind. "kids, make sure your gas masks are secured and your suit is tightly sealed. This is way down south"

They did as asked and followed Jacen and his boys into the gray metal gates of Camp Bear.

Cammy coughed inside her mask three consecutive times.

"hey go ask them for water and food while me and the boys talk to the person in charge here, okay? Also make sure you save us some" Mary told her while patting her shoulder and giving her a light smirk

Cammy nodded.

She was stopped by Nate "hey can i ask you something?"

"sure" she shrugged

He waited until Mary and Raphy were out of sight "so do you think i have a chance?"

"come again?" she raised an eyebrow

"with Mary!" he yelled in whispers, looking around nervously

"Nate. I'm going to be as frank as possible. I think you have better chances with general Texas" Cammy stated

"is that sarcasm?" He frowned

"that's me not giving you false hope" she rolled her eyes

He scoffed and crossed his arms "i see, you like her don't you? Is that why you don't want me to try?"

"what nonsense is this" she frowned and turned to leave

Nate raised his eyebrow "didn't you break your band off because you fucked your bandmate?"

Cammy gritted her teeth and turned to face him "you're a mean awful person. Luna was my friend. Nothing else. I'm straight. Nothing ever happened between us, and how dare you bring her up?"

Cammy's eyes were beginning to fill with tears "just because you heard bullshit and rumors around, it doesn't give you the right to assume anything about me. You're an asshole Nate, that's why you won't get a chance with Mary because as sarcastic as she can get, she's not heartless"

Nate flinched at the reaction he brought out of Cammy "i'm sorry, i didn't mean..."

He reached of her shoulder trying to form an apology.

She sighed deeply "just get out of my face"

"can i ask what was it? I mean i know it's not my place but i'm trying to fix my mistake of assuming anything about you.. You never bring her up, you bring your mom up few times, but never uh- Lunis?" he started

"Luna" Cammy corrected with a threatening frown

He laughed nervously "yeah, her. Why? I just assumed you two had a fling but you hated it so you left"

"we were very close friends for years. My entire career felt like something i loved to do because i got to do it with my best friend... But then she kissed me during an interview..." Cammy recalled

"and you didn't like it?" Nate suggested

"i was horrified. I was shocked and startled and lost. I was so taken aback that i got up and left" she recounted with a sad voice "i didn't have time to think..."

People passed by them. Nate sighed and asked "you feel guilt?"

"that's not even the worst part" she muttered

"NATEEEE THE MAPS!" Raphy yelled from a distance

Nate got agitated, "i better go give them the maps... Don't go anywhere.. Or go, it's a free radioactive country"

Cammy was left alone, she walked for a long while between the settlements and the buildings before reaching a military cabin with the title "survivors logs and files", and a red font that said "authorized personnels only".
Cammy gazed at it with emptiness in her heart, feeling as though she has people she has yet to find.

"excuse me? Is that you?!"

She turned around, a familiar face of a journalist came to view. She was blonde, in her 30s and had a decent brown hazmat suit on with a face mask. The woman smiled "um, Cammy Carlos?"

"enchanté. That's me" Cammy tried her best sarcastic polite tone, she had no time for this.

"you just missed her!" the woman yelled, her voice muffled behind the mask

"what?"

"your ex bandmate? She was taken, and they got her to a private cabin, she has been fighting the soldiers for days, trying to leave the camp and go look for her family and you. She kept saying she can make it on her own to Miami. But the poor girl isn't in her right mind... They tried to stop her, until they had to sedate her." the woman explained

Cammy was paralyzed

The woman continued "it's funny to even think she -"

"L-lu-na?"

"yes"

"where is she?"

"i think they took her to one of these individuals cabins in private quarters where some of the remaining celebrities and important people are." the woman explained

Cammy stormed without saying thank you towards a group of soldiers and breathlessly asked them for the location she's been given. They pointed her to the wrong place and she had to go around asking again.

She reached the cabin where she's been told Luna was held, surprisingly, men in white hazmat suits were standing outside the cabin. Cammy's heart raced fearing the worst.

"excuse me? Where is she? What happened? Is Luna in there?... I-is she alive?"

She was trembling inside out. One of the stern men stood firmly infront of the door "she's okay, we're running some tests on her."

"what tests"

"just some procedural health tests. We gave her a sedative too, i'm afraid you'll have to wait till tomorrow" the man affirmed

"no no you don't understand, please let me inside i need to see her please?" Cammy cried

"tomorrow." the man repeated with no empathy in his voice

Cammy felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned and saw Raphy's frowning face "what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to get food?"

She crunched her back and gripped her knees firmly

"are you okay?"

"not now" Cammy let herself slowly fall to sit on the ground

Raphy tried to pull her up "no get up! All the radiation is compressed on the ground haven't you ever watched a-"

"please just go!" she yelled not looking at him

Cammy wasn't sure what she was trying to do but her heart was beating so fast, she was okay with sitting and waiting until she can see her friend.

...

"baby" she whispered "i'm here now".