Something Else
…
He saw out of the corner of his eyes that the other three in his little group had frozen at the sight of their newly infected pilot. It didn't take him long to make a decision as he reached for his magnum. At the sight of movement, the infected lunged forward with a snarl. Nick shot him in the chest three times, not lowering his pistol until the body had stilled.
"Nick!" Ellis cried in horror, apparently unfrozen at that point, "What the hell! You shot the pilot!"
"Ellis, he was…" Nick trailed off into silence as the helicopter began to tilt and swerve back and forth. Ellis was right; he had shot the pilot.
Key word; PILOT.
Forgetting that he didn't actually know how to fly a helicopter, and reacting to Rochelle's startled cry, Nick darted into the cockpit, throwing himself into the seat and grabbing the steering. Up is down, down is up. That was just about all he knew about flying anything at all.
He pushed the steering down, trying to level out the copter before they hit the ground. The last thing he wanted was a 200 MPH nosedive to deal with. He knew that he was probably going to die eventually, but he had planned a battle out in his head for his last moments. He wasn't going to die in a stupid helicopter. They were dropping fast, and he had no idea how to accelerate to lift it back up. Nick turned to glance out and down so he could see what they were heading for, and he didn't like what he saw.
He could hear the others calling for him in a panic, and he shouted back to them, ignoring the fact that he seemed a lot calmer than he thought was normal, considering the fact that he was about to die in a helicopter crash.
"HANG ON!" He barked over the sound of the spinning blades. He could see a pair of trees that were growing out of each other in opposite directions below them. The last thing he wanted to do was pinch the copter between them, but it was looking like he wasn't going to be able to stop it from happening.
Ellis appeared behind him, his face stark white. He was talking loudly, trying to be heard, but Nick ignored him.
"Get in the back!" He shouted, cutting off the mechanic completely, "Get in the very back! All of you! Get back there and stay back there" He ordered. Ellis was gone in an instant, apparently having heard the instructions and had a plan to carry them out. He heard Rochelle scream as the aircraft was slammed around by the two trees, bouncing back and forth roughly between them. There were several loud bangs, almost like snaps, as the propellers broke in halves and flew across the way. Nick tried to steady his own body to keep himself for getting hurt, but when the helicopter suddenly jerked to an uneasy stop, rocking back and forth for a second as the trees shivered from the blows they had sustained; his head was smashed into the steering. The world spun out into darkness faster than the crash as he lost consciousness.
…
"Oh my God, oh my God…" Rochelle whimpered; trembling all over as Coach gingerly helped her up into a sitting position. He was crouching, apparently not trusting the wreckage of an aircraft enough to stand up. She was crying, the scare having been that bad. She gripped Coach's thick arms tightly, biting her lip gently as she struggled to hold herself up. Rochelle looked up at him, searching for comfort. He looked just as frightened as she did, though he seemed to be okay, compared to her. A man of faith he was indeed, probably having asked for mercy during the crash. And boy, had they gotten mercy. He looked her up and down at least three times, making sure that she wasn't badly hurt. Rochelle could see bruises and small cuts on his arms and face, a slight tear in the collar of his shirt.
She looked past him as a flash of yellow caught her eye. She spotted Ellis, on his feet and limping towards the crushed part of the helicopter. He tapped it with his knuckles, making a soft sound become louder as he knocked insistently harder. Coach turned around to stare at him nervously, seeing the expression on his face. He clearly remembered Ellis running back from the cockpit, extending his arms and grabbing Rochelle and Coach around the waist as he herded them all to the very farthest back corner of the helicopter. He had shouted that Nick had said to stay back there. He had run up to see if Nick was okay. He had been shouting the loudest for Nick to answer.
And now he was trying to see if Nick was alive.
Coach opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. Rochelle's lips parted only slightly in horror.
Oh my God, it hit her hard as she realized what had happened. They were alive because Nick, uncaring, unkind, unhappy Nick, had saved them. He had run to the deathtrap of a cockpit and steered and jerked until they weren't nose-diving. He had ensured that the middle of the helicopter had been crushed. He had ensured that they hadn't gotten hurt by telling Ellis to put everyone in the very back corner. He had saved them.
And now he was… dead?
Ellis was mumbling something to himself, probably trying to reassure the others without thinking of actually talking to them. He smiled nervously, rubbing his index fingers and thumbs together as he paused in his knocking and tapping.
"N-Nick?" He croaked, being the first to speak anything legible, "Nick…" He spoke a bit louder as he repeatedly called for the conman while starting to knock again.
There was no answer.
Rochelle lowered her gaze; only to jerk it back up as Ellis started beating his hand on the metal, "NICK!" He barked, his voice becoming desperate. Coach stood up unsteadily, walking carefully over to Ellis' side and touching his shoulder. The mechanic turned to face him, eyes wide and frightened. Coach shook his head slowly, lowering his head slightly in sadness.
"N-no…" Ellis choked out, turning back to the wall between him and the conman, "NICK! Nick, wake up!" he knew that Nick wasn't dead. There was no way; he was too sturdy. The kind of guy who wouldn't just die suddenly; he would've gone down fighting. He would've been able to respond, telling Ellis that he wasn't going to make it much farther. He would've told them to leave him. He wouldn't have just left without telling anyone. It wasn't his style. Not when he was stuck in an apocalypse. Not in a helicopter. Not like this.
"Ellis, honey," Rochelle mumbled softly, "I'm sorry…"
He shook his head insistently, "No," He replied almost angrily, "He's not… he wouldn't just… He might be hurt! He might've been knocked out or something! If we wait, he'll…"
"Ellis," Coach intervened, "Look around you." He paused for a moment and sighed, "It's not like we can rush him to a hospital. If Nick's hurt badly enough that he can't respond then he won't make it."
"I don't want to just leave him here!" Ellis choked out, leaning his head against the warm metal, "You know how he's lived! It would suck more than anything if the only people he trusts left him just because… I want to wait for him to wake up…"
"Ellis," Rochelle was by them at that point, having finally been able to get to her feet and join them by the crushed middle, "Even if he wakes up, if he's hurt enough to be unconscious, he can't climb down from here on his own." She explained gently, "It's not like we can carry him down…"
Ellis shook his head again, "That's… It doesn't matter. I'll wait here. You guys can go ahead. When he wakes up… I just want to be there to talk to him… I mean, what if he's fine and wakes up and we're gone?"
Coach sighed, "Ellis, you know that Nick would understand. He's a smart guy, and he can tell time. If he wakes up after we leave, he'll follow his senses and find a way to catch up."
"But…" Abruptly, there was a loud creak as the helicopter shifted its weight. Rochelle whimpered softly, grabbing a tight hold of the nearest object; Ellis' arm. The mechanic took her hand gingerly and squeezed it comfortingly.
"Ellis," Coach said quickly, "This thing is gonna go down any second if we stay in it. If Nick is alive and well, then our best bet would be to get out of here before our combined weight and movement makes it fall. If he's okay, he'll be able to get out."
The mechanic glanced at Rochelle; she looked like a frightened rabbit, lower lip trembling as she squeezed his hand tightly. He watched her for a moment, his heart sinking. Slowly, he nodded.
"Coach, you got first," He said quickly, "You're the heaviest, not offense. Rochelle you go second, so that if you slip you can be caught. I'll go last…" The older man nodded approvingly, patting Ellis on the shoulder.
"That's right," He said. He felt bad for partially tricking Ellis. He knew that Nick wasn't going to be okay. But Coach also knew that Nick would be furious if Ellis died because he didn't want to leave the conman. The sacrifice had been a show of courage and compassion, and should it be wasted, Nick's life would've been wasted as well.
Obeying Ellis' plan, Coach stepped towards the side of the copter, looking out at the surrounding branches and searching for a sturdy one, "Now, you young'ins watch where I go so you know where the sturdy branches are, alright?" Rochelle nodded and nervously stepped closer to the edge so she could peer over the side and watch the older man. Ellis followed her, keeping her hand in his to comfort her.
Rochelle didn't let go of the mechanic until she was well out of the copter, slowly making her way down. She was lucky to be wearing a decent pair of boots, as they gripped the branches tightly and prevented her from slipping, even where there was gasoline that had dripped from the crushed tank. Ellis gave the crushed part of the copter one last forlorn look before taking a quick look around. He gave the 'give me a minute' hand signal to the other two, who were looking up at him expectantly. He found the back corner were they had dropped their sleeping bag when they'd first gotten into the helicopter and picked them up, shaking them to get the glass out and off the cloth. They were unhappy looking sleeping bags, but they would do just fine. Since they'd known they were going to be rescued at the concert, they had decided to bring their sleeping gear with them. There guns, he discovered, were gone probably having slid out of the copter. It made sense; they had been carrying the weapons, and had instinctively let go of them in the haste to grab something sturdy to hold onto while they screamed in terror.
He returned to the exit of the helicopter, trying to ignore it as the wind suddenly picked up and the trees shivered, making the helicopter creak.
Not wanting to be caught in the midst of a high powered wind in an unsteady helicopter, Ellis tossed the sleeping bags down and started down the tree. He reached the ground, hopping off the lowest branch and landing hard. Coach nodded approvingly at him, giving him one last check before speaking.
"Let's go find a place to camp?" Ellis and Rochelle nodded agreeably, following his lead as they worked there way through the forest.
...
His head was pounding so bad it hurt to breathe. Slowly, Nick lifted his head but didn't dare open his eyes. Flashing lights were already bright behind his eyelids, and he didn't want bright sunlight to make the pain any worse. He could feel warmth on one side of his face, and he reached up a hand and touched it. It was easy to recognize the feeling of blood on his fingers.
Nick slowly began to painful process of opening his eyes. Everything that his vision had to take in made his head pound even worse. To his surprise, the sun wasn't blinding him at all. In fact, it looked like it was pretty late at night. Slightly confused, he waited for a long couple of minutes as his eyes sluggishly adjusted to the darkest night he'd ever seen. The sun had been almost fully set when the helicopter had crashed, so why was it so dark now? Had he been out for that long?
The others… his mind began to recall the happenings of the crash, and he took a deep breath to steady his racing heart. He had to make the call or he'd never be okay with himself.
"Guys…?" He called, but there was no answer. His voice echoed off the darkness, and he blinked blankly at the lack of replies. They had to be okay. There was no way he had killed all three of them and survived on his own. No, he couldn't do that. He couldn't live on his own in this kind of world, and he didn't want to be responsible for having murdered three people; especially not the ones who had welcomed him tentatively into their broken lives. It wasn't fair for him to be the only survivor, especially considering the terrible things he'd done to people. It wasn't fair for young Ellis, who had so much life ahead of him, and Rochelle, as beautiful as she was, and Coach, who was so wise, to die before he did. He was the sinner, not them.
"Rochelle?" He called a little louder, "Ellis?" He punched the dashboard in front of him, wincing at the sensation that spiked his headache, "Answer me, damnit!"
It suddenly occurred to him that, considering that he could see the moon and the sun was long gone, it was entirely possible that they were alive and had thought he was dead.
He let out a soft sigh of relief; that had to be it. They had thought he was dead. Not exactly a warm feeling that it gave him, but it meant that they were okay. Even if it turned out to not be true, he had to believe it for now. He inched around in his seat, wincing at the pain in his head as he tried to maneuver himself around. The cockpit had been half crushed, everything behind him completely pinched together. He was trapped.
He let out a soft series of curses, wishing that he was the Hulk for a brief moment. Then again, if he were the Hulk, he wouldn't have been able to fit in the helicopter in the first place and would've been mistaken for a Tank and left behind. That wouldn't have been good.
Nevertheless, he didn't give up. Nick squirmed and wriggled his right leg, the one that was actually stuck. After several minutes of swearing and struggling, Nick managed to free himself. He lifted his hands around himself blindly, searching for something that resembled a door. He found a handle and turned it, feeling something come loose as the sensation of cool, wet air reached him. He let out a sigh of relief, managing to at least partially get up as he pulled his gun out of its holster. He used the flashlight to see how high up he was. It was a long ways down, he discovered with a depressed sigh. He didn't know if he was going to be able to climb down that far without falling or fainting. His heard and heart weren't working well together, the pumping blood from his hammering heart only making his head pound harder.
At any rate, it wasn't like he could stay in the helicopter forever. He started on his way down, using one hand to hold his gun while he used to other to guide himself down. It took forever, and the ground didn't seem to get any closer until he was stepping on it. He knee was burning, probably bruised pretty badly from the crash. He wouldn't be surprised if he had also broken his skull into four parts.
Nick paused and looked around himself; it was close to pitch black. He directed the light around the area, searching for signs of death that would point him towards Rochelle, Ellis, and Coach.
He took a step forward and paused as a low growl reached his ears. He froze, holding his breath and taking slow steps backwards until he was against the tree that he had just climbed out of. Nick's mind worked overtime as he thought hard about his situation. It was dark, the moon covered completely by the thick forestry. It was dark. He only had one flashlight to guide him. He was alone, with only one weapon, and he had hit his head.
It wasn't exactly what he would call safe to be traveling alone in the dark in his condition. He slid down the tree, sitting down on the ground and turning off his flashlight. He hoped that he would look dead enough in his sleep for the infected to ignore him.
It took only seconds before the buzzing on the night sent him into a fitful sleep.
