"Man, I can't believe it," Ellis said, looking over to Nick, whose attention was focused on the road ahead, his hands clutching the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles were white. "We haven't seen a single zombie since... well, it's been a while. Think maybe we killed 'em all?"
Nick snorted a laugh. His eyes were scanning the sides of the highway half expecting a charger to come rushing out from the tree line. He'd had more than enough of running for his life. Sure he'd done it in the past, but for reasons he didn't care to talk about. It was obvious that everyone knew that his past wasn't exactly clean, but he kept it to himself the best he could. He still had to force himself not to laugh when he caught Rochelle looking at him. There was a certain fear in her eyes from the moment he made it clear that he was an ex-convict.
He was pretty sure that the only member of their small party who didn't exactly catch on to his remark about not being legally allowed to own a gun, was Ellis. That kid, as Nick liked to call him, trusted him more than anything, and almost seemed to look up to him. As hard as Nick was on him, he did care for him the way a brother would, and he swore to himself that he'd look out for him, even though he continuously let on that he had a soft spot for none but himself and his white suit.
He glanced in the rear view mirror, trying to ignore the crack in the glass as he looked at the two companions sound asleep in the back seat. Sleep. He longed for that. He could feel it in his every movement that his body was running on less than empty, every muscle struggling to do what his brain signalled it to do. He ran a weary hand down his face, making sure not to keep his eyes covered for more than a quick second. He didn't want to get them into an accident by running into unexpected company.
He gave Ellis a quick glance, and was quickly reminded of a child on summer vacation. Ellis' eyes were darting all over the place, more in fascination than on guard. It was apparent to Nick that the poor kid had never been too far from home before, and his wonderment was like that of a five year old. Every now and then, the young Southerner would shout out in excitement at something he saw.
"Woah, was that a mountain lion? Nick! That was a mountain lion!"
Nick was thankful for the random outbursts. They kept him on his toes, and he managed to stay awake. Luckily for him, Ellis was so concerned with his surroundings that he never noticed when Nick's eyes would get heavy and the car pulled in one direction or the other.
It wasn't until they nearly collided with an overturned SUV that Nick figured it best to hand over the wheel. He had been driving for at least fifteen hours, and his body was beginning to ache. I am too old for this shit. He drove until the SUV was out of sight, and slowed the car to a stop along the shoulder of the road. Something he laughed at himself for, knowing that the chances of someone needing to pass them by were slim to none. Ellis looked over at him, his eyes showing concern, and without a word, he was out of the car, and walking around to the driver's side, ready to take his friend's place.
"Thanks, Ace," Nick said with a small nod. He could barely manage to push open the door, and Ellis motioned for him to just shift himself over the emergency brake to the passenger seat. It proved more difficult than either of them thought, but he managed, leaning the seat back as far as he could without cramping Coach.
Ellis pulled away from the side of the road and sped off, looking to Nick whose eyes were already closed. He smiled and shifted gears.
"C'mon Jimmy Gibbs Jr.," Ellis said, happy to be back in the driver's seat. "Let's show old Nick here how it's done.
"Guys?" Ellis couldn't believe what he was seeing. Well, he could, but after traveling so far without any sign of life, he wasn't sure if he was seeing things. "Hey guys!"
The fence stood no less than fifteen feet high, a line of what looked like razor wire running along the top, and the chain link that seemed to stretch on for miles. There were a couple of military units stationed on the other side of the fence, though they appeared to be empty. Ellis wasn't sure if there was any life inside the perimeter, but he took a look around as he stepped out of the car, leaving the door wide open, and avoiding closing it in case he caught the attention of something unpleasant. He walked up to the reinforced gate before him, trying to peer through to see if there was anyone in sight.
"Wouldn't get too close to that fence, Ellis."
Ellis turned around to see Nick rubbing his eyes, and frowned in confusion, before his suited comrade pointed to a big white sign with bold black letters.
"Danger... high voltage... keep away," Ellis read aloud. "So how we supposed to get in? I ain't just turnin' this car around and goin' back the way we came, Nick. We're tryin' to get North, remember?"
Nick didn't answer. He was too busy checking the clip in his beloved Magnum. Ellis chewed his bottom lip as he watched him walk around the area, tucking his gun into the back of his pants and pulling his suit coat over to conceal it. With a single raised brow, he glanced up at Ellis and nudged a hunk of black plastic sticking out of the dirt by his feet. He reached down and grabbed it, wiping the sand and dust off of it, flashing it at Ellis who then shook his head.
"Not another walky," Ellis groaned. "Haven't we had enough trouble with that shit already?"
"Worth a shot, isn't it?" Nick asked with a grin. He turned the small power knob, and pressed down the talk button. "Hello? Anybody there?"
Nothing but static came through the small speaker, and he chucked the walky to the ground. A noise came from near the car, and both Nick and Ellis whipped around, guns drawn, only to see Coach and Rochelle pulling themselves from the vehicle.
"Hey!" Rochelle shouted. "Mind pointing that thing somewhere else?"
"Sorry, Ro," Ellis said, lowering the pistol in his hand. "Thought you were a zombie."
"Where in the hell are we?" Rochelle asked, peering at Ellis through squinted eyes as her sight adjusted to the light outside.
"No clue." Ellis shrugged. "Nick and I been takin' back roads, tryin' to stay away from cities and shit for the last hundred miles. Ain't seen any signs around here either. 'S why we were tryin' to get through on that walky over there."
Rochelle stepped in Nick's direction looking for the radio that Ellis mentioned. Remembering the trouble they had already encountered when it came to dealing with any sound transmitting devices, she could feel her heart slowly sinking.
"Can't get through on that stupid thing," Nick said. "Tried already. Nothing but static."
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't keep trying," Rochelle replied. "It's got to be out here for a reason, right? And with a fence like that, I'm sure someone has to be alive in there."
"Yeah," Nick sighed. "Unless they've been containing an infection in there."
"Well that don't make sense," Ellis butted in. "Why keep the infected inside when they're all over the place outside? No, there's gotta be someone on the other side of that fence."
Rochelle tried to get through on the radio while Nick and Ellis argued with one another about the reasons for the fence, and just what was behind it. Coach sat back against the Jimmy Gibbs Jr., his stomach growling, and his hands shaking. It had been too long since any of them had put anything in their stomachs, and they needed to figure something out soon.
Frustrated, Rochelle threw the radio on the ground, and turned to storm away to the car. She was far too tired, too hungry, and too old for this nonsense, and was tired of waiting to be rescued. The whole idea to go north was a pipe dream as far as she was concerned. Something they were doing for nothing. The entire world had gone to hell, not just the country itself, and she wondered if she was the only one that knew they weren't going to make it out of this alive.
"Did ya'll hear that?" Nick's attention was turned away from arguing with Ellis, and to the walky on the road. He was certain he heard something more than static come through, but the everyone started moving at once, and he couldn't hear anything. "Quiet! Listen."
"Hello! Are you out there!"
"Well I'll be damned," Nick said, breathing a sigh of relief. He grabbed the radio from the ground.
"If you're out there, please respond!"
The man's voice coming through was music to their ears. Finally, a sign of human life. Ellis was beaming in excitement, and Nick looked at Rochelle with a smile on his face as if to tell her that he told her so. He finally pressed the talk button to answer the person on the other end.
"Yeah we're here."
"Thank God!" The voice responded. "I was beginning to think we were the only ones left."
"Only ones?" Nick asked. "Just how many of you are there?"
"Oh hell, I don't know," the man answered. "Maybe a hundred of us? Could be more, we haven't exactly done a head count. You by yourself out there?"
"Nah," Nick said. "Four of us. Any chance you could let us in?"
"Any of you get bit?"
A reasonable question Nick figured. But what to say? All four of them had been beaten, scratched, mauled and had more than likely ingested more infected blood than either of them would have liked to believe. Who would believe they were immune? And so he lied.
"No sir," he said, in his usual confident tone. He glared at Rochelle who he could tell was tempted to open her mouth and be honest, but they needed in this place, and he wasn't going to let her ruin their chances. He let go of the button and pointed the radio in her direction. "Sweetheart, don't even think about it. We're starving, we're tired, and we need supplies."
"Good enough for me," the man answered finally. "Just gotta ask, you know how it is."
"Oh I do," Nick said, an apparent smile in his voice.
"Alright," the voice said. "I've got a few people headed out to the gate to escort you folks in. Shouldn't be more than about five minutes. Just make sure you're good to go when they get there. We don't like leaving it open for very long."
"Not a problem. We'll be ready to move. Thank you, sir."