Them outsiders, us survivors [#SciFriday]

11. Plant Food

We had to stay on the hospital a few days, waiting for Jan's full recovery, expecting not to be noticed by the Outsiders.

After the kiss, nothing was ever the same between Mat and me. After the moment, I though his feelings for me were nothing but a momentary fluctuation, his attempt to live a teenage dream at the border of an alien apocalypse, while I was afraid of being let down, with pain and regret; but everything happened all the way around, we spent all day long together, and I knew this couldn't be more perfect regardless of the Outsider's crap.

Amy, who knew about my feelings for Mat long ago and respected them, had been asking me suspicious questions until I told her everything, so she now hung out with Cain almost all the time, which was fine by me, except for the fact that he knew a lot of powerful people on both sides of this war, which made him sort of untrusty.

Nevertheless, Jan's recovery was being quite fast. Noon came and daylight struck Earth's surface, projecting over the central courtyard at the last floor, passing across the glass columns of windows of all the plain beige rooms inhabited by all kind of patients and residents; we stayed with her, attended her rehabilitation sessions, and spent our nights at dorms, located about 9 floors below the ground, which triggered Amy's air-pressure ear problems.

People in the hospital had their own indoor greenhouse at the first floor below Earth's surface with windows on the ceiling, ang all types of food growing on pots over the floor... well, I mean "food": the plants received daily doses of radiation, and some chemicals from Austeria -provided by the feeling less creatures here known as Outsiders- causing these plants to work also as medicines.

-We shouldn't be here- warned Mat every time he came with me to the first-floor rooms full of plants, and other colorful cactus mutations.

-Nothing will happen, as long as we're together. - I replied, as I saw his gaze, and through it, my salvation, a miracle, something I didn't believe in any longer: love.

-It's my responsibility to take care of you, my love. - Mat replied.

-They're only some "high" aeonium plants that receive daily weed to be colorful and help the ill. - I said trying to look serious. At first he looked at me hopeless, probably wondering how come a "royal" "girl" refers to experimental plants as "high". These small details make me feel like he's the one. All of a suddenly his expression changed, it was... scared?

I didn't want to look back, or say anything, neither did him. He just took my arm and locked us up in an office full of plants.

-It's them; they've got us - he exclaimed out of his mind.

-Them who? - I replied in an ironic tone.

- The... the... Outsiders - he said hysterically.

As I walked to the door, he threw himself to the floor tackling me, and making me stumble next to the door.

I could listen heavy breathing, and some sort of steps on the other side. Mat could actually be right, and they could've already captured Amy, since this floor is "forbidden". Damn Cain, he's a traitor!

Everything made sense to me, until I saw on the back of his neck an orange cockle buck, probably with poison.

-Mat! - I blurted in a barely audible whisper.

His hazel gaze was totally lost, darkening, not reflecting a single glance of light.

He stared at me as if I was not there. He was being consumed by what seconds ago seemed to be a defenseless "high" plant.

All of a sudden, his eyes turned totally black, like the Outsiders'. I reached the closest drawer as fast as I could, and in the middle of this subtle chaos, I started looking from something to take out the stinger.