This chapter is over 4500 words, and as long as 6 pages on my google docs, IT TOOK OVER AN HOUR TO EDIT IT! Ugh, i did not expect it to be this long, i almost wanted to cry... anyway, I dont have much else to say.
Enjoy!
~ZombiesXBrainzz~
Chapter 2: Avoid All Contact With Infected Individuals.
Ellis didn't want to be at the party, but he felt that if he didn't go he wouldn't hear the end of it from Aria and Nick. He sat and talked to Thomas about work, for once Ellis wasn't moping around like he always did. Aria took a sip from her coffee, glancing at Ellis from time to time, "I haven't seen Ellis this lively in years." Gina said to her and Rochelle,
"I know, every time I had seen him he was always mopey and barely said a single word to me." Rochelle said,
"I know how he feels, trust me, but it's time to move on." Aria said, "It was hard for me to do it, but I think of all the good times I had with Soph..."
Gina put a hand on Aria's shoulder, "I think the problem is that Sophie was the only girl that would actually put up with him."
"That and she was pregnant with his child." Rochelle added,
"He may not have had much time to spend with her, but I saw the way they acted around each other, it was like they've been together for years." Aria sighed, "Everyone's different I suppose."
Nick walked into the room, "What are you ladies talking about?"
"Well Nick, we were talking about how our periods are all synced up, it's amazing how women's bodies work." Aria smirked. Rochelle and Gina suppressed a laugh,
"You're disgusting." He opened a bottle of whiskey and poured a couple glasses,
"Well what are you men talking about?" Rochelle inquired,
"Manly things." He grabbed the glasses,
"I'm sure you are." Aria said as he walked out.
Nick went back into the living room and handed the glass to Coach, "Thanks man." Coach said,
"No problem, so how have you been?" Nick asked,
"I ain't complaining, living my life day to day just like everyone else."
"That sounds pretty boring."
"You don't sound like you've done anything exciting in your life since we've been here."
Nick went to protest but stopped himself, "You're right, this place is pretty boring." He took a sip from his drink.
The girls walked out into the room where the guys were, "I think we may have to go." Thomas said to Gina who looked down at their daughter sleeping in his arms,
"Yeah, it's about time to have her nap."
"Thanks for coming over." Aria gave them both a hug as they left. Ellis sat awkwardly on the couch, "You know, you can't spend your whole life sitting in awkward silence." Aria said,
"Says who?" Ellis challenged,
"Me. If I can spend my entire life knowing someone and get over their death then you can get over a girl that you knew for like two months." She knew it sounded harsh the moment the words left her mouth, but it was already said, she couldn't take it back.
The room fell silent, Ellis wanted to yell at Aria, to tell her off, but he didn't. Truth be told she was right, if she could get over Sophia in a matter a few months, why couldn't he get over her after 3 years? Ellis sat up on the couch, "You know what Aria, you're right, I should move on. It's not good for me to hang on to the past."
Nick and Aria were shocked that he agreed. He never agreed with anything they had to say, Aria blinked a few times, "Y-Yeah, I am right, I'm glad you agree with me." She said, hiding her shock.
Rochelle rolled her eyes, "Ellis, sweetie, how about you do whatever makes you comfortable."
Ellis stood up, "I am Ro. I think that I need to move on and stop moping around."
"Good for you Ellis." Ellis said his goodbyes and went back to his apartment.
Aria looked at Nick, "At least I can get one guy to listen to me."
"What? I wasn't listening." Nick smirked,
"I hate you." She rolled her eyes and walked away.
Ellis got back to his apartment feeling better that he was moving on, until he saw Sophia's ring sitting on the kitchen counter, "Who am I kidding." He said to himself, "I can't forget about a girl like you Soph." He picked up the ring. It was a gold class ring with a sapphire in the middle, it had a '09 engraved on the side and an image of pompons underneath, on the other side was an image of ballet slippers.
Ellis was awake, keeping watch in the safe room. They were sitting in the tunnel of love which they all thought was pretty weird, he had confessed his feelings for Sophie which she happily accepted, and he didn't think she would. She was asleep next to him, curled up and using her backpack as a pillow. He smiled at her, she looked so innocent, and to him she looked beautiful. She rolled over and kicked Ellis pretty hard in the shin, then let out a groan. Ellis grabbed his leg and moved back, then she kicked him again, "What the hell?" He asked himself, she kicked him again, "Sophie..." He shook her awake, "Wha- Where am I?" She jolted awake, "You were kicking me... Really hard." "I was?" "Yes." "Did it hurt?" "Kind of." She smirked, "Good." "Why is that good?" She shrugged, "It just is. I always kick a guy I like." "So how many guys have you kicked?" "Three, one guy in elementary school, my old boyfriend Michael, and you. I mean, I've kicked guys that I don't like too... I kicked Nick in the balls yesterday." Ellis laughed, "Trust me, if you would know if it wasn't a friendly kick." "Well I'm glad it was friendly." "And I hope that you're the last guy I kick." She smiled, and she wasn't wrong.
A knock on the door interrupted Ellis' thoughts, "Ellis! Shit, open the door!" Nick said urgently.
Ellis opened the door, Aria and Nick were there with their bags packed, "What's going on?"
"We have to get out of here, the infection has reached the city and they're evacuating everyone." Aria said, "You gotta hurry up and pack."
Ellis nodded and went to his room. He had put Sophie's backpack in his room the night before, he was thankful he had kept it because that's the only bag he had to pack stuff. Leaving the other items in he also managed to put some clothes in the bag as well, he grabbed some food from the cabinets in the kitchen and he grabbed the ring from the counter, stuffing it in his pocket, "Let's go." Ellis said, putting on his winter coat.
"What's the point of washing our clothes if we don't even have any laundry soap?" I asked,
"You always ask that." Darcy said,
"And I'll keep asking it." I retorted,
"Sophieee, can't you just be happy with what we've got for now?"
"No, I wish we were in Florida, I HATE the snow."
"Why, it's not like we can feel the cold anyway."
"I know, I just really hate snow." We were at the top of a hill. Down below was the river where we washed our clothes, and the bridge that cut across the river, "Well, we're here and the river looks like it's frozen over, what's your big plan Ms. McCormick?" I raised an eyebrow,
"Well Ms. Smartass, we are going to figure something out." She headed towards the river, Max and I followed.
The gang met together at the military evac center at the edge of town, they were taking people out in helicopters, "Shit." Coach said, joining back with the group,
"What is it?" Rochelle asked,
"There isn't enough space for everyone to get saved."
"What are we going to do?!" Aria exclaimed,
"This is some real bullshit." Nick said.
A soldier approached them, "Ma'am, we are going to take you and your child in the helicopter." He said to Gina,
"What about my husband?" She grabbed Thomas' hand,
"Your husband and friends will have to walk to the evac center out in Glenwood Springs."
"Glenwood Springs? That's like a two day walk!" Aria said,
"You'll be sending us to our death sentence." Nick added,
"We will provide you with weapons to aid you on your journey as well as a map." Thomas looked at Gina,
"Go with him honey, I'll be okay, you and Thalia need to get to safety." She nodded.
Thomas kissed Gina and kissed his daughter on the forehead, "I love you both." He said,
"I love you too." Gina said,
"I love you daddy." Thalia said, waving her small hand at Thomas.
He held back tears as he watched them get escorted to the helicopter, Aria put a hand on his shoulder, "They'll be okay." She said.
The group was all handed a map and some guns and ammo for their journey as they were led out of the city and into the woods, "At least we will be okay if we just stick to this main road." Rochelle said,
"This is going to be a long ass walk." Nick said,
"Hey, it'll be just like old times." Aria said,
"For the most part." Ellis said sadly.
The zombies were scarce during the winter time, it was ideal for the survivors that were travelling to the next evac center. The group walked for about 6 hours before they came to a road block, another traffic jam similar to when they went to Whispering Oaks, "Not again." Nick facepalmed,
"Maybe we can cut through the woods." Ellis said,
"Good idea, don't lose track of the highway." Coach said walking off the road. There were plenty of pines in the woods, enough to cover the view of the highway.
The group approached a river, it was frozen, but the ice looked thin, "We can't cross this." Rochelle said, "We have to find a way to cross somewhere."
"Okay, well right now we are heading west right?" Aria said, the others nodded, "So we just need to remember that the if we follow the river south, we will find the highway."
"Alright y'all, let's go find a bridge." The team headed north. They detoured half an hour before they found a bridge, "Look y'all there's a bridge up there." Coach said,
"Thank god." Nick said.
They approached the bridge but stopped when they heard talking on the other side of the bridge, "Are those other survivors?" Thomas asked,
"Let's go see." Aria said walking ahead. She froze in her tracks at the sight that was in front of her.
"Darcy..." I said,
"Shut up, I can get it!" She jumped up and down on the ice,
"You've been jumping for like 10 minutes, you're not going to break the ice."
"Yes I am, you watch." She stopped jumping and knelt down, "Hiya!" She punched the ice, there was a sick cracking noise, but it wasn't the ice. Darcy yelped and pulled her hand away, Max suppressed a laugh, I didn't, "Oh yeah? If you think you can do it then be my guest." She gestured out to the ice in front of me.
I knelt down, "You know, there's a reason we have claws Darce." I clawed at the ice to weaken it,
"Soph, that's not going to work." I ignored her and kept clawing.
Once I was sure the ice was weak enough I stepped back and jumped on the thin ice. There was a shattering noise and I fell through the ice into the water, I swam back up to the surface, "Ha! Sophie 1, Darcy 0." I smirked and climbed out of the hole,
"Shut the hell up." Her and Max walked over. I tossed my hoodie in the water and swished it around, "You're not even cleaning it properly, no wonder why you have to keep washing it." Darcy said,
"Yeah, it's because we don't have laundry soap." I said, wringing my sweater out over her head,
"What the hell?" I laughed, "You really suck, you know that?"
"I am aware that I suck, yes." I started walking towards the riverbank. I looked down at the snow and smirked, Max noticed this and shook his head as a warning, I laughed evilly as I balled up some snow in my hands and turned to face Darcy.
She was holding up her hoodie to observe if it was clean enough, I whipped the snowball at the back of her head, "Ah!" She reached the back of her head and pulled some snow out of her ponytail, "You bitch!" She lunged at me but I dodged out of the way. She slashed at me, ripping a hole in my tank top,
"Darcy! That was my only top!" I said,
"That's what you get for throwing snow." She smirked,
"It was just a joke."
"And so was that." She said, whipping a snowball at me.
Somewhere within the woods there was a noise, like a twig snapping, and I heard someone talking, "Shit, someone's coming, lets hide." I said and Darcy and I hopped up into a pine tree, Max hid behind a pile of boulders. Down below there was the sound of snow crunching beneath people's feet, a group of people, "Darce, why are there people out here?" I whispered,
"I don't know, this is weird." She whispered back.
The voices got closer, "I'm telling you, I saw them in the river." A female voice said, a familiar female voice,
"I think you're just seeing things honey." Another familiar voice said, this one male.
The group was close, like right below us, "No I swear it was them."
Darcy looked through the branches, "Holy shit. It's them."
"Who?" I whispered,
"Them, our friends, and your sister. C'mon, let's go down there." She said out loud.
I covered her mouth with my hand, "Shh, Darcy I don't think that's a good idea." I felt something wet and slimy on the palm of my hand, "Gross!" I shoved her. She lost her balance and fell, but she dragged me down with her. I landed face down in the snow, "Ow..." I muttered. I heard Darcy get up,
"Well, long time no see huh guys?" she said,
"Darcy?" I heard Aria say,
"Well who else would it be?"
"The Boogeyman... If it were first thing in the morning." I said, lifting my head up and smirking,
"Shut up." She shoved my head back in the snow and held it there. I heard footsteps approach, "Hey Max, look at what the cat dragged in."
"Darcy... Is that my sister pinned down in the snow?" Aria asked,
"Uh..."
"Darcy..." I felt Darcy move off of me, "You can get up now." Darcy said.
I got up, "You didn't have to hold me down in the snow." I said, brushing the snow off my tank top and leggings.
Aria wrapped me in a hug, "I thought they killed you!"
"Do I look dead?" I asked, "Never mind, don't answer that."
"What did you do to your hair?" Nick asked, flipping my hair.
Aria let me go, "I cut it with a pair of scissors I had found." He looked the same as he did before, but a little older, which was kind of hilarious. It was strange, seeing everyone again, it felt like we hadn't seen each other in an eternity. I saw Ellis standing in the back of the group, his hair was growing out the sides of his hat and he was wearing a brown winter coat, he had stubble growing as well but he still looked the same as I remembered him.
The others backed away and it was just me and him, neither of us said anything, but he ran over to me and wrapped me in a hug. I hugged him back, he smelled like a hint of cologne and motor oil, I didn't realize I had missed him this much until I felt his embrace. He sniffled, he was crying, it made me start to cry too. It was as if everything around us didn't matter, I looked at him. He had gotten taller and a little more muscular, and he had the same blue-green eyes, "I-I missed you." I sniffled,
"I missed you too." He smiled at me, the way he always would smile.
I noticed he had a familiar blue bag strapped on his back, "My bag?"
"Huh? Oh... Yeah." He took it off and opened it up, inside were some clothes and wrappers and a book. I grabbed a book and looked at it, "Hey..." I smiled and opened the front cover, my name was written on the inside, "I remember this book..." It was the Greek mythology one I used to always read, though I suppose I didn't have a use for it now,
"Yeah, Aria gave me the bag and I kinda didn't take anything out of it." He said, scratching the back of his neck.
I put the book back and zipped the bag up, "It's okay, I have no use for this stuff anyway." I gave the bag back to him. He put it on then grabbed a bit of my hair,
"I like your hair."
"Thanks... It's more manageable." I took off his hat and ruffled his hair, "I like your hair too." He blushed a little.
Aria looked at Ellis and her sister together, "I haven't seen Ellis this happy in years." She said,
"How was he?... Without her I mean." Darcy asked,
"He was a mess." Nick said,
"He barely left his apartment and he was always moping around and didn't talk much." Aria added,
"For three years?"
Aria nodded, "We kept an eye on him, Sophie asked me to."
Darcy looked over and saw Sophie ruffle Ellis' hair, "Why are you guys out here anyway?" She asked, turning back to the group, "Why are you guys even out this far from the city? It's almost dark out."
"The infection got into the safe zone somehow, we were ordered to evacuate to Glenwood Springs." Coach said,
"Glenwood Springs? That's like a two day death wish!" Darcy said, Max nodded in agreement,
"Well we don't have much of a choice do we?" Rochelle said,
"Well we have a place you guys could stay the night, it would be better than travelling out in the cold at night. Plus it'll be a bit warmer than having the wind blow on you."
"That would be great." Aria said,
"We should get going then. Sophie get your ass over here!" Darcy shouted.
Darcy interrupted mine and Ellis' conversation, "Sophie get your ass over here!" I sighed,
"Guess we should probably go over there." Ellis said with a smile,
"I guess we should."
We headed over to the others, "So they told me that they were evacuated from the city because the infection got in." Darcy said,
"'Kay."
"We're going to escort them to Glenwood Springs so they don't die."
"Why are you being sent there?" I asked,
"They told us that was where the nearest military post was." Thomas said,
"Well it's a little late to be travelling, and trust me, the worst zombies like to come out at night."
"Yeah, I told them they could stay at our place, it's better than nothing."
I nodded, "Let's go then." I picked my hoodie up off the ground, "It's out west, about a half hour from here." We started walking west. I stood next to Nick, "So, Nick, did you miss me?" I smirked,
"No, why would I miss you?"
"Admit it, you did."
"No I didn't."
"He totally did, one night I heard him sniffling in bed next to me." Aria laughed.
Nick turned a bright shade of red, "I wasnt crying over her, my allergies were acting up that night."
"Were they?" I teased,
"Yeah Nick, were they?" Aria joined in,
"I hate you both." He muttered,
"Aw, c'mon Nick, you know I love you." Aria said,
"And if you love my sister then you have to love me." I elbowed him,
"I don't remember that being a part of the deal. I wouldn't have had sex with her if I knew."
"I doubt that." Aria said,
"Yeah you're right, I would have either way."
Ellis put his hand on my shoulder, "I'm glad they didn't kill you." He said,
"I'm glad you didn't kill yourself after all these years."
"Did you really think I would?"
"Well I didn't think Aria would keep her promise... She's good at those kinds of things."
"Hey, I kept my promise because I thought they were going to kill you and it was like your last dying wish."
"I appreciate the fact that you did it though."
"You're welcome."
I looked over at Thomas who had been quiet for quite a while, "Hey you." I said with a smile,
"Hey Soph, good to see you again." He smiled,
"Where's Gina?" I asked, "I miss her."
"The military took her and our daughter to the outpost."
"Aww, she had a little girl?!"
"Yeah, we named her Thalia."
"That's a cute name." I smiled, "When you see her again tell her I said Hi and shit... Well don't say that exactly."
He laughed, "I'll be sure to do that, don't worry. I bet she would be happy to hear that you're still alive."
"Yeah, how is your little girl?" "She's great, she's just like Gina, but she's a daddy's girl."
I laughed, "I bet she is." He smiled.
We walked up to the cabin, "It isn't much but it'll keep you warm and safe from the outside." Darcy said as she opened the door. It was dark in the cabin like always, "I'll get the fire going." She said, heading to the fireplace,
"Good, my sweater needs to dry." I said, hanging my hoodie over the mantel,
"Where are we going to fit everyone?" Aria asked,
"Well we can fit two people in a room... Or two people can sleep on the couches. It doesn't matter."
"I call your room." Aria said,
"Fine, but Nick can't be in there."
"Why not?" He asked,
"I don't want you doing shit in my bed."
"We aren't going to do shit in your bed, I just want to go to bed."
"Are you sure?" Nick asked,
"Yes, Nick."
"Damn."
"Maybe next time Nick." I put a hand on his shoulder and smirked.
Everyone was asleep except Ellis and I, we sat in the kitchen and talked by candlelight, "What was it like? Inside the walls of the city?" I asked,
"It was boring. There wasn't much to do but work and live our lives..." He sat back in the chair, it squeaked under the weight. He was just out of the glow of the candle, but he still looked so gorgeous in the lighting. I smiled at him, "What are you smiling at?" He chuckled,
"Nothing, I just like to look at you is all."
"Oh yeah?" He smirked,
"Yeah." I smirked back,
"Well I like to look at you too." He said, "Because I still like you."
"Ellis..."
"What?"
"Do you really like me? Even if I'm a monster?"
He grabbed my hands, "Soph, I don't care if you're a zombie or not. Dead or alive I will always love the girl who would sacrifice her life just to save an idiot like me."
I smiled, "You're not an idiot Ellis." I brushed his hair to the side, "You are the most beautiful and smartest man I had met, and if I recall correctly, you saved my life more times than I saved yours."
"I don't know about that..." I leaned forward and kissed him. Was it weird that I was kissing him? I was a zombie after all, it may have been weird, but at the same time, this was the most human I had felt in years. He backed away, "Was that..."
"Wrong?" I asked,
"It didn't feel wrong."
"I know... I liked it."
"Me too..." He yawned,
"You should get to bed, we are leaving early tomorrow."
"Okay." He got up, "Sophie..."
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
"I love you too." He walked out of the room
I snuck out of the cabin and sat outside on a log and grabbed a stick, doodling random lines in the snow, "Something bothering you?" Someone asked, approaching me from behind.
I turned around and saw Coach walking towards me, I scooted over so he could sit next to me, "What isn't bothering me these days you know." I half laughed,
"I know what you mean girl, the military was foolish to think that place would hold out against the infection, and even more foolish to send us out here on our own."
"Maybe they're trying to thin out the surviving population."
"I don't have a doubt in my mind that that is what they're doing." He looked down at the snow.
The full moon reflected off of the snow, Illuminating the area around us, "I give you props Coach."
"Yeah? Why?"
"I remember Nick telling me once that he thought you would be the first to go in the apocalypse."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, but he was so wrong... You've outlived me by three years." I laughed,
"Hey now, you're not dead yet."
"Not completely."
He elbowed me, "You know, things weren't the same with you gone, everyone just wasn't the same, especially Ellis."
"So I've heard."
"Yeah, that boy missed you like crazy, I thought that kid was annoying when he talked, but he was more annoying when he didn't."
"Did you just come out here to tell me about how annoying you found Ellis?"
"No, I came out here because I couldn't sleep on those old beds you've got."
"Hey now, I'm sorry we don't have luxury feather mattresses like you did in the city."
"Nah those beds were terrible too." He got up, "I guess I should get some sleep, it's going to be a long trip tomorrow." He started walking toward the cabin, "Sophia." He turned around,
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you're not dead." He smiled,
"Thanks Coach." I smiled back