Short and mostly gen. I'm really surprised and happy at how active this section is, and I hope to contribute more soon!
Nick knew he'd been right the first time. They should have split up before the mall, before all of this could happen. Now he was stuck, despite his basic nature, in a group he couldn't leave behind.
At first he told himself it was just a convenience. With the odds stacked as they were, doing it solo was just not an option, and he was looking out for number one. Then his first aid kits were starting to disappear, being used on injuries that were not his own. And he found himself watching not just his own back, but that of three others. His…teammates? Yeah, that was it. Friends…was just not a word in his vocabulary.
They were good people, unlike himself. Rochelle, just so sweet and just so damn…female that even Nick couldn't fight the baser urge to protect her. Coach, well he didn't need much in the way of protection, so despite their differences, Nick was glad the big man was on his side.
Then…there was Ellis. God damn annoying, but somehow endearing bastard that Nick just couldn't help but to route for.
That was the hand that he'd been dealt. If he had been smarter, if he had been himself, Nick probably would be out of this hell hole by now. Instead, he was huddled in a corner, wrapping up broken ribs with a tenderness he never knew was possible, and it scared him worse than any damn mutated infected.
"Come on now. We've got less than ten minutes to cross this thing!" Coach's said impatiently, but the concern on his face showed. Ellis was unable to walk after a vicious attack from a Charger, and was nothing but dead weight now. They all knew it, just none of them wanted to say it.
Ten minutes. Shit, Nick had run faster than that in High School, and he could do it again but not with these three in tow. He was fucked, panicking, but not letting it show. Never letting it show.
The adrenaline in his system was making him fidget, yelling at him to move dammit but then he made the mistake of meeting eyes with Ellis and it hit Nick like a ton of bricks. The energy and spirit in those eyes were gone, replaced with desperation and Nick was starkly reminded of just how young Ellis really was. Scared and vulnerable and looking up at him like Nick was life itself. The other half of their team was staring too, asking without words what the plan was. When in the hell they had come to decide his opinion was the final decider, Nick didn't know.
Quietly, deep in his own world, Nick was folding.
"Coach help him up on my back."
"Ain't you full of surprises," Coach laughed, clearly aware of the handicap this gave them, but pleased. "You sure you don't want me to carry him?"
"No, I need you on the front lines. Rochelle, you'll be guarding our rear." The woman nodded and brushed some hair out of Ellis eyes as he was hauled onto Nick's back.
"Man…you don't have to….to do this," Ellis muttered, voice weak with pain. Nick felt it more than heard it against his ear. Felt a chin rest heavily against his shoulder a moment later. Felt eyelashes flutter shut against his neck as Nick gripped the kids legs hard enough to hurt.
"Ellis, shut the fuck up," Nick said, not for the first time. He hoped it wouldn't be the last.