I hope you liked the last chapter and I hope that you like this one too.

I own nothing except for the plot.

YAY!

Chapter Two

~Destroy the middle~

As soon as Ellis and Nick heard the sound of the gunshot and the thump of a heavy body, they turned around to see what had happened.

Coach didn't even shout, so it couldn't be a zombie, they knew that.

When they saw what it was, they were shocked.

Why would Coach blow his brains out?

What did he get in his head to think that was ok to do?

Nick and Ellis knew that they couldn't stay longer or that they wouldn't reach a safe-house by nightfall.

It may not seem like it, but the zombies got worse at night, and they needed to find shelter soon.

They would mourn both losses when they got to a safe place.

They turned around and quickly made their way as fast and silently as possible into the small town of Washougal, Washington.

They still wouldn't be at their destination until the next night though, but their last safe-house was in the town and they really needed to get to it.

They didn't want to even think about what would happen if they were caught out in the darkness without two of their team-mates.

They finally made it to the safe-house just as the sun went down behind the horizon.

Ellis and Nick were silent for a while just patching themselves up, cleaning their weapons, and restocking their gun clips.

Then…

"Hey! D'ya thinks we'll make it by tomorrow?"

Ellis broke the silence with the question he asked Nick.

"Maybe. It depends on how many infected we have to fight. With just the two of us, it could be difficult. I just hope that the closer we get to the other survivors, the less there are." Nick responded.

"Yeah. Me too." Ellis said.

He looked sad.

He even sounded sad when he was talking.

"Aw man! PLEASE don't start crying like the hillbilly hick I KNOW you are."

Nick tried to inject some humor into his voice, but he knew he failed.

Ellis stood up abruptly with his head down, walked over towards Nick, stood there, looked up, and promptly burst into tears.

"WHY! WHY DID HE DO IT NICK!?" He questioned in a loud, tear-filled voice.

Nick was quiet for a moment.

Then he whispered so low that Ellis almost missed it.

"I-I don't know Ellis. I just don't know."

"Do you think we'll actually make it? What if there isn't anyone ALIVE where we're goin'?" Ellis asked.

He was wondering if this journey was worth everything that has happened.

Once again Nick just shook his head.

"I DON'T KNOW ELLIS!" He shouted.

Nick was frustrated at everything.

He was frustrated at Coach for giving up like he had.

He was upset that both he and Rochelle had died.

He was ANGRY that he was feeling these types of emotions, when he never had before.

Most of all though…

He was FURIOUS with himself.

Why did he have to feel this way, when before, he was cold and emotionless.

He may have been lonely as well, but over time, as he had gotten to know the three other survivors, he had come to care for them as friends, if not some weird, dysfunctional family.

Nick looked over at Ellis and saw the sad look on his face.

"Oh Ellis…"

He said softly, walking over to the younger man.

"I didn't mean to yell. I'm just sad and am sorry that I took my feelings out on you." He finished.

"Aww… That's ok buddy. You just surprised me. I'm all sad too." Ellis responded with a sympathetic face and tone.

"Well!" Nick said, trying to change the subject.

"We should hit the sack. No telling what all we'll have to face tomorrow and we have to make an early start."

Ellis gave a nod of his head in agreement and went off to find a bedroom.

Nick made sure that all the doors and windows were secure, then headed up to find his own bed.

On the way there, he heard a pained moan coming from the room that Ellis had claimed for him-self.

Just to check on him, Nick opened the unlocked door, and made his way towards the bed.

It seemed that the young southerner was having yet another one of his nightmares that he was prone to having every night.

Nick leaned down, put a hand on the younger mans' shoulder, and shook him awake.

"Shh, shh, it's ok. It's only a nightmare. Wake up." Nick whispered softly.

Ellis slowly opened his eyes while stirring and looked blearily up at the older man.

"What?" He asked Nick.

"You were having another nightmare." Nick responded, as if that explained everything.

"Oh… Ok." Ellis nodded slightly and laid his head back down on the pillows.

"Ok then. See you tomorrow."

Nick turned to leave, but before he could take a step, he felt a light tug on his suit jaket.

He turned to look at the man on the bed,

"What now?" He asked Ellis.

"Stay with me? Please?" Ellis responded.

Nick thought for a moment, looked at Ellis, and finally gave up on his mental fight.

"Fine, but only this once, ok?" He said.

Ellis gave another nod and Nick got into the small bed and curled around his young companion so they both would fit.

"Night, Nick." Ellis said.

"Yeah, yeah. Just go to sleep already." Nick responded.

Then they both drifted off for the night.

~It's a waste of time~

End of Chapter Two