Zombies are such... terrible things. But, they weren't really zombies persay, they were the outcome of the epidemic, The Green Flu. It didn't infect everyone though, there were survivors, but it rapidly spread from Pennslyvania where it began, all the way down to Savannah, Georgia. The night prior of the flu, a young mechanic hadn't a fear in the world, living his live happily. He had friends, a stable job, a mother who loved him and a never receding optimism for life. Ellis had curly brown hair under his blue and white tow truck cap he always wore, bright blue eyes that always shimmered with excitement and had a muscular frame with a tan.
He was finishing up in the auto-shop he and his friends started in highschool by slamming down the hood of a truck, wiping his hands on the legs of his mechanic overalls he wore. Readjusting his hat, he whistled in appreciation at his handiwork, then headed to the door. "Y'all, I'm done for t'night." he called out, his southern accent heavy. He strode over to his friends, Keith and Dave.
"Be careful, will ya?" the rusty haired man said, sipping at a beer. "Shit's been goin' on with that nasty flu 'n all, El." Keith said, picking absentmindedly at a spot on his pants. Ellis frowned and shook his head.
"El, promise us." his other friend, Dave, spoke up this time.
"Yeah, a'right, I'll be careful." Ellis rolled his eyes.
"I heard it's spread all the way down here now! There's been a few cases already!" Keith explained, moving his hands around. Ellis' frown only grew and he shrugged a little bit.
"Can't be all that bad, Keith," the contagious grin was back. "Really, man. I mean, shit, if it was so terrible, wouldn't the government be here 'n all?" With that, he stood up, bid them farewell again and left.
Ellis was grateful the moon was bright and lighting up his way in the wooded area he always took from his house to the shop. It was the quickest way and it was a clear path. He replayed Keith's words in his head, about how the infection has already made it's way down here in a matter of weeks. There's a few cases already! Keith had said. When he was hearing it, a swell of fear bubbled in his stomach, but Ellis quickly just blew it away with his positive comment. When he got to the clearing of trees that lead to his home, the mechanic blinked at the men in yellow hazmat suits were walking around, examining the small lake by his house.
"What's all the commotion?" the southerner asked the nearest man.
"A case of the Green Flu has spread to this area and we're testing the water." the man said, glancing at the house. Ellis looked to where he was looking and squinted a little bit.
"Aw, hell! That's Keith's house!" he gasped. "Is... is anyone hurt or y'know.. sick?" Ellis asked, mouth hanging open slightly.
"An elder man and a woman." the CEDA member told him. Of course, that must be Keith's step-father and his sister, right? "The woman was found in a house about four houses down." Or not. Four houses down was...
His house.
Ellis' eyes widened and covers his mouth, trying to swallow down the lump that was forming in his throat. How could his ma be infected with this? She was most certainly dead by now and that just send a numb feeling course through his body. He felt tears prickling up in the corners of his eyes, his lower lip trembling. "If you lived in any of the houses, I'm going to ask you to come with us. Do you have any names or numbers of other people on this block?" the CEDA worker asked. Ellis just nodded slowly and bit his lower lip. The worker lead Ellis to a truck, Keith's younger sister and a few more of his neighbors were already on board.
The little girl scooted her way towards Ellis, hugging him tightly, tears already streaming down her face. "E-El!" she sobbed, unable to control it any longer. "W-where's.. where's Keith?" she asked, whimpering.
"K-Keith's at the shop, Elise," he said, wrapping his arms around her, trying to calm her down. "So is Dave! They're both safe..." he said lowly. Elise continued to cry into the twenty-three year old's yellow Bull Shifters t-shirt, hugging onto him for dear life. He glanced at one of the neighbors, a younger man, about his age. "Where's this truck goin'?" the brunette asked.
"It's goin' to the Savannah Hotel," the man around Ellis' age said. "You know, the one in town." Ellis just nodded and went back to comforting the small, rust haired girl again. "Uh, does anyone have a phone or somethin' I can call her brother with?" he asked and glanced around, a pretty girl handing Ellis the phone. He sighed, dialing the auto shop's number quickly.
"Hello?" it was Keith.
"Dammit, Keith, get out of the shop, take Dave 'n meet me at the Hotel in town, okay?" Ellis sounded paniced. On the other end, Keith frowned, blinking at the phone.
"What's up, Ellis?" the older of the two asked, worried slightly that his best friend sounded so scared.
"I'll tell you later, just..." he trailed off and glanced down at the floor. "Just get there now, okay?" he hung up. Keith frowned and then glanced at Dave, telling him what happened a few seconds ago and then, loaded up his truck and headed towards the hotel.
After the CEDA workers piled in the other neighbors down the way, the truck started with a rumbling sound. Ellis swallowed the lump in his throat, then glanced out the back, clenching his jaw as he stroked Elise's hair gently, his hand twitching each time. Elise had fallen quiet at the reassurance that her older brother was okay, peering around at everybody. Halfway there, the girl who had given Ellis the phone gripped at her head, making a soft groaning noise. She coughed and leaned forward, vomiting on the floor in front of her.
"Ah! Are you okay?" the same man that was Ellis' age asked, looking concerned at her. She didn't answer, but continued to moan and cough. The mechanics' attention was on the woman, then he glanced at the back, tensing, his heart starting to pound. Before he knew it, the blonde girl was at the man's throat, biting it and getting herself drenched in his blood as he screamed. At that precise moment, everyone in the car started to hustle around, trying to escape this new threat. Ellis felt himself be shoved and smacked, his head hitting the back of the truck. The new infected girl had snatched another person, the man next to Ellis and began to gnaw and claw at him. The mechanic had jumped up and grabbed Elise's hand, hurrying out the door with her, dragging the small girl by her arm. She let out a cry and the brunette was thrown from the truck's exit by the slamming of breaks. "What's going on in there?" a CEDA worker yelled, holding a gun and opening the door, his eyes widen behind the protective mask he wore at the blood staining the floor and walls and the she-zombie currently eating her share of survivors. She then eyed the CEDA worker, springing at him from the open truck, biting at his arm through the suit.
Ellis took the moment to run out with Elise, holding her close, he squated, waiting for her to jump on his back before watching the blonde woman go down and the CEDA worker clutching at his arm. The mechanic dashed through the night towards the large sign that said 'Savannah Hotel', praying to God that the other two had made it safely.
Once he was there, Ellis was in exhausted, leaning over, the small girl still holding on with her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. He saw more CEDA workers, pointing out different areas were evac stations were. He saw three long lines of people and stared as helicopters departed and came back in. The next task, was to find Keith and Dave. He began searching through the lines, yelling out for them, looking everywhere. The tan boy failed to notice he was getting closer towards a white back. He crashed into the man, yelping as he fell forward, then was shoved backwards. "Watch where you're going, assclown!" the annoyed man yelled.
"W-well sorry, man!" Ellis apologized, backing away, continuing his search for Keith and Dave. Eventually, he found the two, towards the end of a far line. "Keith! Dave!" he yelled, rushing over and hugging them both, followed by an estatic Elise hugging her older brother tightly.
"Keith!" she began to sob, shaking her head back and forth. Keith had the little girl in his arms and tried to shush her up, kissing her forehead. "Hey, hey, kid, I'm here, calm down..." he whispered. After about thirty minutes, she quieted down and they were a few people away from getting onto the helicopter. "El... We gotta get outta here, as soon as possible..." he said.
Ellis shook his head in agreement. "No, Keith... Take Dave 'n your sister out of here and get to safety." He glanced up as the two in front of them loaded on, Keith standing in front of him.
"We have room for three more!" the man called from the helicopter. Keith hesitated and opened his mouth, but was quieted before Ellis placed a finger on his lips, shaking his head.
"Go, Keith," Ellis glanced at Dave, who had Elise and was already on the helicopter. "I rather see you guys all safe. I'd catch up with ya anyway." he smiled and removed his finger, but gasped when the older man yanked him into a tight hug.
"I swear to God, you better come back." Keith growled into his ear, biting it hard, earning a yelp. He chuckled inwardly, watching the brunette with his own, peircing blue eyes.
"I-I will, okay?" he flushed dark red, swallowing heavily as he watched Keith get on the helicopter, leaving him there on the rooftop of the Hotel. Ellis sighed, turning around to head downstairs to get a room.
"Kid, there'll be another one at Liberty Mall, tomorrow morning."
"Thank you..." Ellis sighed, staring down, starting to walk down the steps. Inside, Ellis stood at the desk, waiting to get his room key. Amongst the people, about thirty or so, he noticed the white suited man he met earlier. He saw the man's features now, how older he looked, yet he was still very attractive. The hick saw the stubble on his lower jaw and licked his lips to wet them. Once he got his room key, he strode closer to eye the man again, passing him as he went towards the stairs.
The white coated man watched as Ellis walked by, smirking to himself. Maybe, he'd find out the kid's room number and get a one night stand before this infection took out all of Savannah. Nick chuckled to himself and followed after the younger mechanic, eyeing his own room key. He had no idea that the brunette in front of him would be tagging up with him very soon.