Title: Tales of the Special Infected
Author: Bluehawaii
A/N: From just playing the demo alone, I knew that Nick was going to be my favourite character, then after playing the game, I grew to really like Ellis as well. My brain then took this and turned it into slash, as it does from time to time. Also, I think I've realised where my love for Nick came from, I think it stemmed from the fact that I see him as a computerized John Cusack. So without further adieu, please enjoy and don't forget to review.
Hunter
His legs were beginning to ache from the constant running they seemed to be doing. The soles of his shoes slapped roughly down on the pavement, sending a shock and a wave of pain up his legs and down his fingers. The single pistol in his grip shook from the violent impact but remained tightly and securely in his hand as if it was his own lifeline.
If he were anyone else, he would have complained. His companions would spend the day with their fingers jammed in their ears just to avoid catching a word of his rambling verse, but they didn't because he wasn't. He was no one else but himself. Unfortunately, that meant all these thoughts were instead forced to swirl around his own head and almost drive himself to pound useless on his forehead simply to make sense of it all.
Smack. The road they were travelling along dipped slightly and Nick's boot covered foot slammed harshly down with more force than strictly necessary. He winced but said nothing.
A familiar echo of footsteps surrounded him and put his at ease. Nick had realised, about two days ago, that because they had been together for so long, he could now recognise his companions by their footsteps alone. Coach, to his left, was the biggest of their group, so naturally his steps were the loudest. That one had been easy. Rochelle, who was at about 5 'o' clock to him, had the lightest. Her steps were quick and frequent in order to catch up with the rest of them. Nick had picked up on that one pretty easily too. However, Ellis, who Nick could only guess was somewhere to his right, was difficult to place. Depending on whatever mood Ellis was in, his footsteps changed. Sometimes they were light and scarce, when other times they were loud and flurried. It was impossible to tell, sometimes, whether Ellis was to his left or to his right. A quick glance to his right confirmed his suspicions; Ellis was happily sprinting alongside him.
Nick continued to stare even after he had made sure that Ellis was close by. His hat was pulled down low, but his eyes were still visible. His clothes were stained with blood, sweat, mud and other unidentifiable things and in his hands he held a pistol that was similar to Nick's own. Unlike the others and himself, Ellis' expression was carefree and his limbs pumped languidly as though he was having no trouble with fatigue. A spark of jealously flickered in Nick, but quickly disappeared when a sudden brightness filled Ellis' eyes and grin spread across his face.
Nick tore his gaze away to follow the other's eyes. Straight away, he saw what had pleased Ellis so much, and he even felt a smile tug at his own lips. A safe house sat, just off the main road, inviting them in.
"I see a safe room, guys!"
Ellis' boyish drawl shouted over the noise of their feet and, all of a sudden, Nick felt disorientated. He looked to his right only to find that Ellis was no longer there. In his haste to get to the safe room, Ellis had crossed over to run on the other side of Coach. Nick shook his head, feeling disappointed in himself that he couldn't pinpoint Ellis' position quite as easily as he could the others. The thought made him a bit sick with worry.
"We can all see it, Ellis. There's no need to shout."
Rochelle's voice came from exactly where Nick expected it to, but it didn't help Nick's sudden worry for Ellis. If anything, it just made it worse.
Another set of footsteps suddenly joined the fray. They were unusual sounding. It was like, whatever it was, was hopping towards them. Judging by the noise, it sounded like it had more than two feet as well. His own, Rochelle's and Coach's were already taken into account, so unless Ellis and decided to cross back over behind him, something was advancing on them.
A warning was on the tip of his tongue, but before it could start it was cut off. A heavy weight crashed onto Nick's back and knocked him off his feet, and sent the pistol flying out of his hands; he landed sprawled on his stomach, his face grinding into the asphalt, while a weight sat on his back holding him down. Thrashing about and twisting his body did nothing to dislodge the creature; without hesitation it began digging its claws into the flesh of his back, shredding his once white jacket into strips.
Snarling, shrieking and more human shouting filled the air, along with a sharp hint of coppery blood. He might have been grunting as well, but due to the pain his mind was so cloudy he couldn't be sure of anything. A particularly brutal swipe caught the back of his neck, and Nick was certain that this was it. He could feel the blood welling and dribbling underneath what was left of his jacket and onto the floor.
Rochelle was near his feet, Coach was by his left arm and Ellis could have been anywhere. Coach's footsteps kept moving closer then back again as he attempted to hit the creature off Nick's back with the butt of his shotgun. Rochelle's paced back and forth as though she was trying to get a clear shot of the thing with the hunting rifle she had in her hands. Ellis could have been anywhere doing anything.
Nick managed to turn his head away from the ground and place his grazed cheek down instead. His vision was blurred and his companions appeared to be nothing more than blobs. Their frames surrounded him and offered him some comfort. One frame was missing though, and Nick couldn't help but deflate. Just as he was beginning to lose all hope and most of his blood, Nick felt the weight shift roughly off his spine. The thing's claws were dragged off his skin and it smacked onto the ground next to him. Before it could even attempt to pounce away, it was riddled with bullets, splattering Nick in the process.
With the little energy he had left, Nick turned his head to face the opposite direction; the world around him dimmed and shined at the movement, but he was able to make out Ellis' face and legs as he crouched by his head. Hands grasped at his arms and lifted him off the blood soaked ground and the touch caused Nick to hiss in pain. One of his arms was lifted into the air and dropped onto someone's shoulders and Nick was sure he heard Ellis' voice over the pounding in his ears. Some of the hands left his body but he was still being held up off the ground by the shoulders and was even being coerced forward by another arm around his waist.
The pain he had felt earlier when his feet had hit the pavement was nothing compared to what he felt now. The sensation of warm liquid spilling down his back was also unwelcome, but the combined effect was almost overwhelming. Whoever had their arm around his waist would have a pretty reddened arm by now and Nick was surprised by the fact that he was still conscious.
A heavy door slammed somewhere around them and Nick was unceremoniously dumped onto the floor. Instead of hitting cold asphalt, Nick was aware of the cold wooden panelling he was sitting on. Suddenly hands were everywhere. On his face. On his back. On his shoulders. His jacket was ripped from his arms and his tattered blue shirt was lifted up his back. Someone was busy wiping away the blood and cleaning the wounds as best they could, while someone else was crouching in front of his face. Through no will of his own, Nick's head kept lolling forward and his chin kept dropping onto his chest.
"Open ya eyes, man. Look at me."
Ellis' southern twang filled Nick's ears and his hand grabbed at his face. Nick was forced to lift his head and meet Ellis' eyes. Knowing that they were now in the safe room helped him to relax and knowing that Ellis was right there in front of him allowed him to take the first deep breath since he had first been pounced on. The lungful of air stretched the skin on his back and Nick could feel the wound bend and grow as a result. Nick wanted to pull his head away but Ellis wouldn't allow it, he had no choice but to keep his gaze steady on Ellis.
"Good. Now keep lookin' at me."
Ellis' face kept hazing in and out of focus but a gentle tap of fingers against his cheeks, every now and then, helped Nick stay conscious. He was half aware of the hands that were working on his body, systematically winding bandages around his middle, but at the moment it was the least of his worries. Even though he was in critical condition, had lost a shocking amount of blood and had untrustworthy vision, all that caused his heart to race with panic was the thought of losing Ellis. Nick's eyelids were growing heavy and every time they fluttered shut adrenaline kicked in and his eyes shot back open.
Ellis' thumb was smoothing over the skin on Nick's face and the time taken for Nick's eyes to shoot back open was gradually becoming longer and longer. The comforting and repeated movement was lulling him into a light sleep. The last things Nick remembers, before completely blacking out, are Rochelle voice, "He's going to be fine, Ellis, he just needs to rest", and the sensation of hands moving down his face and gently lowering him to lie on the cold ground. After that, all he felt was that dull throb of panic because he couldn't find Ellis.