A/N: A very short little Nick and Ellis one-shot. These two are probably my favorite pairing of all time :D Rated T for language. Enjoy, and review!
Ellis had never been so afraid in his entire life.
He was running, he knew that much, but where to, he was unsure. He only knew that whatever he was running from was definitely not happy he was there, and frankly, Ellis wasn't cut out for this kind of cross country shit. The damn thing had been chasing him for almost an hour now, but still his legs moved underneath him fluently, carrying him further and further into damp, muggy swamps and dark, gloomy forests. He had no weapon, no light, and no way of knowing which way would lead him to safety or to failure. All he could rely on was instinct from then on out.
Ellis remembered once when he and his buddy Keith had gone frog fishing at Keith's uncle's cabin in Alabama. They were young back then; probably only ten or eleven years old. Keith was reeling in his first fish when something pulled him into the water. Ellis was too afraid to go in after him, and they were too far out into the bogs to call for help. Turns our Keith was only playing a trick on him, but Ellis had hated swamps ever since. After the whole "everyone's turned dead" madness, Ellis had put his trust in his three partners, Rochelle, Coach and Nick, but swamp-clearing was not one of his most favored hobbies, while they loved it. Still, they all insisted that the less Walkers the safer the area, so he respected their advice.
And with that mentioned, where was his newest buddy Nick? Oh, and Rochelle and Coach, of course he didn't forget them, but the last he recalled was talking to Nick. They'd reached an abandoned shack just outside of a large sugarcane plantation. Nick was complaining about how all they'd eaten for two weeks straight were refried beans and soggy bread. Ellis, confused, asked if he was alright. Rochelle had scavenged the food after hours and hours of searching. Shouldn't he have been the least bit thankful?
"Nick?" Ellis had murmured innocently. "Ya'know we ain't finding any better food than what we have now. Better enjoy it while it lasts."
"Yeah, well I can't take this anymore," Nick exclaimed loudly, catching Coach's and Rochelle's attention. "I can't sleep, I can't eat. We're all just going to die anyways."
Ellis had shrugged his behavior off that day, but when they'd delved deeper into the woodlands, he wasn't sure if Nick had just been mad that day or been telling the truth. They'd run into probably ten large hordes in only two days, and not to mention the countless Hunters, Spitters, Jockeys and hell-knows-what that had ambushed them suddenly along the way.
Crying out for help, Ellis was awakened from his thoughts when his attacker finally caught up with him. He turned his shoulder and recognized it to be a Jockey, but one that was successfully standing upright, and had a more human-like face than the other zombies. All in all, Ellis was utterly terrified.
The Jockey was catching speed, foam blubbering from his gaping, bloody jaws. Ellis tried to jog faster, but it seemed that all of his pent up energy that had been lasting for so long was beginning to wear down. He breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling with each short, ragged pant. A boney, ghastly hand wrapped around his ankle and Ellis hit the ground hard. He scrambled on his hands and knees and turned… to find not a single soul behind him.
Ellis gasped and sat straight up in his sleeping bag, sweat nearly wetting his clothes completely. He looked around him and sighed with content when he spotted Rochelle sleeping a few feet away from him. Coach sat on a chair and was supposed to be watching for any approaching hordes, but instead he was slumped over and snoring quietly.
It was only a dream, He thought, nothing to worry about.
His heart was still pounding and his senses alert. Ellis was sure he wouldn't be resting anymore that night. Standing on shaky legs, he nervously shuffled into the room opposite of his and saw Nick curled up in his own sleeping bag, a hand held loosely around his steel baseball bat.
"Nick." Ellis whispered, but he didn't stir.
"Nick." Ellis repeated. Still, the man didn't move.
"Nic-"
"What, shit, what is it?" Nick nearly jumped to his feet in one second, grasping the bat and staring at Ellis through half-lidded eyes. When he realized it was only the kid he grumbled and crawled back into his bedroll.
"What do you want?" He growled, wiping the sleep away from his eyes.
"I… I had a bad dream." Ellis said, his voice almost choking. Standing in the dark was frightening him, and Nick narrowed his eyes suspiciously when his sight had adjusted to the darkness. Ellis did look bad; with deep, black circles under his widened, light brown eyes and his shoulders tensed tightly.
Nick sighed with slight frustration and motioned for the kid to join him. Ellis, hesitantly, climbed into the bedroll beside him, his muscles not yet relaxed. He was afraid the Jockey was behind him, so he whipped his head around to check. Nothing there. Thank God.
"We're not going to make it out of here alive, are we?" Ellis muttered.
"Of course we will, bonehead," Nick said. Timidly, he wrapped his arms around his friend and Ellis settled into side, resting his head on Nick's chest. "Of course we'll make it."
"Promise me you'll never leave us," Ellis was almost crying now, his bottom lip quivering. "Never leave me."
Nick was taken aback. Was Ellis only reacting because of the emotions he was feeling after his dream? Or was what he said true? Sure, he and Ellis had gotten closer since they'd met, but Nick really didn't roll that way. But still…
"I promise, Ellis."
Ellis fell asleep easily, pressing closely to Nick. Neither of them cared if Coach and Rochelle laughed at them when they woke up. Still, they both awoke before the others and acted the same they always had. Somewhere, Ellis had feelings for Nick. But he knew that he couldn't become attached to anyone now in an apocalyptic crisis. Nick felt like an older brother to Ellis, but, deep down inside, he felt the same exact way.
It was just weeks later when Coach lowered Nick's torn, lifeless body into a sloppy grave Ellis had dug himself. Ellis sat there most of the day, not a single Walker peeking forth from the forests around their shack. He understood his real nightmare, then; loosing Nick.
And, so quickly, it'd already happened.