Russian Roulette

It's not the same without a gun.

Chapter 1

It had only been a few hours since the helicopter had arrived and rescued the group from run-down, virus-infested New Orleans. Well, most of the group. Much to everyone's dismay, Coach hadn't made it. The horde on the bridge had overwhelmed him, and a tank had done the job of slinging him over the edge after he was not much more than a bloody mass. Needless to say, all of them – Nick, Ellis, and Rochelle – were a little disturbed by this. After all, they had been so close. Why couldn't cruel fate have spared them the slightest chance? Coach hadn't even been that far from the end of the bridge.

Though it made them feel somewhat guilty, they couldn't help but get excited about their evacuation, even if poor Coach couldn't be involved. Nick wanted to find out of Vegas had been hit with the Infection (and he hoped it hadn't). Ellis was, of course, worried about his buddies. Rochelle just wanted everything back to normal – she'd rather go back to telling millions of viewers about a homicide than actually take part in one.

Unfortunately, none of them knew where this new, supposedly-safe place was that they were headed to. They didn't know if it would even be safe; after all, Nick had taken the time in a few safe-rooms to point out writing on the walls people had left. There had apparently been a lot of debate about Carriers, and all three of them were definitely Carriers. The writings had contained messages like "KILL ALL CARRIERS," and lots of people had agreed. No doubt there would be survivors and possibly even soldiers that would be willing to take them out before they even got out of the helicopter. Or maybe they'd do as Nick had warned a while back: "Line us against a wall and shoot us."

Ellis in particular had been thinking about that line, and now he was starting to get a little restless. It was dark outside, and they'd been in the helicopter longer than expected. All of them were awake – more like unable to sleep because of their anxiety. Turning to look at the conman, Ellis asked, "D'you really think they'll kill us?"

Nick shrugged, staring down at the ruins of a destroyed town below. "I wouldn't doubt it," he replied, "but hopefully they'll find a way to work around it. Maybe they've got some different place for us." He didn't really believe it, though. Everyone knew Carriers would be a danger to normal people. A secluded area just for Carriers would most likely not do much good, especially since it was unknown if the virus spread through air or not.

Ellis nodded, the solemnity in his eyes something that was uncharacteristic for his usually bubbly self. Even he understood when something was bad. Sure, the apocalypse had been bad, but at least he had been able to turn it into a real-life zombie hunting game. Getting executed wasn't something you could play with.

Not long after, Ellis and Rochelle were sound asleep in their seats, fatigue having finally taken over them. Nick stayed wide awake: His growling, empty stomach and preoccupied mind wouldn't allow him to surrender to exhaustion. If they were to be shot like he expected, then he'd have to think of a quick escape. Maybe he'd be able to blend in with a crowd of normal evacs and sneak away… but then that would leave the possibility of the Infection breaking out around him, if indeed Carriers were capable of that. And not to mention he didn't even know where he'd be able to go from there.

One last thing made him think the most. He wouldn't be able to leave Ellis and Rochelle behind just to save his own ass. That wouldn't feel right, not after all they'd been through. Sure, he was more of a loner, but he had come to realize that he would not have survived this without their assistance. He wouldn't leave them behind to get shot by some idiot wearing camouflage that most likely hadn't seen a real infected person his entire career because his job consisted only of shooting innocent people that couldn't help being what they were. For once, Nick was going to help someone that wasn't himself.

Sorry it's kind of short, guys. I promise I'll do my best to make the chapters longer in the future. Give me some reviews and let me know what you think!