A Long Way from Home
Chapter 2: Down the Rabbit Hole
There was a heavy pause as the man in the suit looked over the crowd, him knowing very well that most were not going to like how the teams were paired. Did he care? No; he was doing his job, and he was doing it how he wanted to, whether others liked it or not. Those were the perks that people got when they were in charge of anything, especially in major corporations.
The whole room was tense with the heavy fear of being separated from the group that they had been traveling with to get to where they are now. Most, if not all, of the people had grown close with those they traveled with, forming friendships that were hard to break. Nick, Ellis, Rochelle, and Coach were no exception.
All of them had learned to trust one another and rely on one other for help –other than the few captains and pilots that helped them out along the way, the group only had each other, and, as Ellis often said, they were a family. Sure, Nick didn't like to call them family, but, after all they had been through, he would gladly at least call them friends.
On more than one occasion, he had told Ellis that he was not planning on abandoning them once they reached safety. But, the threat of forced separation was at hand, and everyone was worriedly awaiting the list of people in each team. Around the group, the other survivors were quietly whispering to each other, asking small questions like; 'how many teams are there?', 'Is he going to split us up?', and 'Why can't we just decide where we want to go?'
The whispers soon faded, but their questions still lingered in everyone's minds. Glancing around again, to reassure himself that he still had everyone's attention, the man in the suit cleared his throat, eyes darting over the anxious, captivated audience.
"Alright, there will be four teams: Each team is split up into a precise number of people as to not overwhelm the country you are being shipped to. As I mentioned to all of you previously, the boats will arrive here in a few days to pick their assigned team up. Each boat will already have a group of survivors from another evacuation zone."
With a nod, he continued, "Now, here are the teams. Team A will consist of-" he proceeded to list off thirty or so survivors, then, at the very end, two names that caught the group's ears. "and finally, Ellis . . . and Rochelle. That is all for team A. Now, team B will be Nick, Coach," and once more, he went off to name thirty or so more survivors.
The four sat there, tuning the man out as the news sunk in. Ellis set his fork down and gave Nick and Coach a sad smile; his eyes delivering a deeper message than words ever could because, for the first time, the redneck was speechless. His gaze quickly dropped to the table, and he felt Rochelle's hand on his shoulder, not willing to let this tear their group apart.
The dark-skinned woman looked at Coach, who nodded in silent acknowledgement: The two were going to have to come up with some sort of plan if they wanted to keep their group together. Coach only gave the two a small glance, worried with how the two boys were going to take it.
Letting out a sigh, Ellis rubbed the back of his neck, adjusting the hat that felt like a foreign object on his head. "I reckon we ain't gon' be seein' one another after we get shipped off, huh?" The youngest member bit his lip, holding back the sorrow that was gnawing at his chest; Ellis' worst fear coming true.
"Not like we expected any differently." Nick stood with such force he knocked his chair to the ground, causing half, if not all, of the hall to turn and watch as he stormed out of the hall. Ellis' shoulders dropped as he watched Nick leave; for some reason, seeing him leave hurt Ellis more than the younger boy thought possible.
A strong hand rested on Ellis' shoulder, and the boy looked over to see Coach standing there, a small smile on his face. "We'll figure this out, don't you worry boy." Ellis smiled and nodded; he trusted the two, and knew that they would fix the situation, but he was still upset with Nick. Why had the older boy left like that? Didn't he have faith in the two?
"Hey ya'll . . . just do yer best, aight?" Rochelle smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Don't you worry, Ellis, we're going to fix this mess . . . " The three looked up to the man in the suit, who seemed ready to continue with his speech.
"Now, I know that some of the groupings haven't been exactly what people have expected, but I assure you that we have done this for specific reasons that will remain unknown to you. Now, Team A, you will be shipped off to Japan, Team B, you will be sent to France, Team C, you're going to be going to Germany, and Team D, you're going to Africa."
Once he was finished with his speech, the head of CEDA stepped down off the stage, walked over to a table of men and women in business suits, and took a seat amongst his co-workers. Ellis gave Rochelle and Coach a smile, pushing his plate away a little bit. "Hey, I'm gonna go get some rest; I'm exhausted."
"Alright, sweetie. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask! Coach and I will come speak to you and Nick once we figure something out." With a nod, Ellis gave the two a smile and stood, pushing his chair in like the Southern Gentleman he was, then walking off. Even though he was exhausted, Ellis wasn't about to go to bed; he had too much on his mind, so he slipped outside to explore the island.
Glancing around, Nick kept himself pressed to the wall, his black hair messily framing his face with no gel to hold it back. The conman kept his breathing down as he listened intently for the sound of footsteps to disappear around the corner. Once he was sure the retreating footsteps had gone a good distance away, Nick cautiously poked his head around a corner, eyeing the scene up to make sure he wasn't putting himself in too much danger by risking this.
When he had left the banquet hall, Nick had planned on just going to his room and sleeping until it was time to leave, but on his way to the elevator, he had heard two CEDA crew members talking. Taking cover behind a corner, he listened as they spoke about having to print out the list of people for the ships –and that's when it hit him.
He had the perfect idea, and he wanted to jump on it as soon as he could. He had slyly managed to follow the male, and what Nick presumed to be his girlfriend –or, at least, she seemed highly interested in the man. The two had lead him off to some lab-looking place that Nick never expected to see in a hotel . . . one in Hawaii, none the less.
The conman had kept close eyes on the two, and watched as they typed in the password that opened the metal door. It seemed to lead into a computer room filled with high tech shit you usually see in the lab of some weird science fiction movie. No one seemed to be in it, though, and that made the older boy relax a bit. As he listened to the girl pretty much get rejected, he looked around for any signs of a camera or guards.
Everything seemed clear, though; for such a high tech facility, it was really surprising that it was left so open, and actually really easy to find. The boy walked away first, leaving the girl behind in shame as he went off to go about his business, but the female had remained. She was muttering something about ungrateful men and how no one would ever give her an actual chance.
Nick was growing impatient though, and was beginning to feel nervous standing there. In the conman's mind, anyone of the CEDA crew members could walk by and find him –after all, he wasn't hiding or anything, he was just behind a corner, waiting for the female to leave. And, finally, she did.
It was his chance, with the two gone; Nick knew he had to be quick. Looking every which way, he rushed over to the metal door and punched in the number, a smirk spreading across his face as the door opened for him. Giving a quick glance around once more, the conman slipped into the room, watching as it shut behind him
The room gave off an eerie feeling: with the computers all having some sort of matrix-like code running on their screens, and with the hollow sound the floor made with each step. It put the gambler on edge as he looked around for a computer that would possibly hold the list, so he could change the names.
Having gone so long with Ellis by his side, Nick wasn't about to give up so easily; he was going to make sure he and Ellis were together. Even if Nick wasn't ready to tell the younger boy how he felt just yet, he wasn't planning on letting something like this rip them apart. Finally, Nick stopped in front of a laptop, the only one in the room, and his smirk grew.
Brushing back some of his hair, wishing there was hair gel to keep it in place, Nick sat down at the desk and ran his finger over the mouse, his eyes darting over the screen as the screen saver disappeared and a desktop with confidential information popped up. Not moving or exiting anything, he simply minimized what was up and went to look for the list, exiting the things he personally opened.
The conman was honestly surprised when thirty minutes passed and no one walked in. He had found several of the old lists, but had no luck with the one that he and his friends were posted on. Finally, after what seemed like forever, his eyes landed on a document; 'shipment teams', and then the date that followed. A smile hit Nick's lips and he quickly opened it, scanning for his and Coach's name, ready to move them to team A's list.
Cutting the two names, and moving them up into team A, Nick took two people and moved them down to team B. With a nod, Nick was about to save the file, when a door behind him opened, and his eyes widened in horror: He was busted.
Slipping out of the hall, Ellis smiled at some of the workers, before walking outside. The hooded t-shirt felt weird to the twenty-three year old –he felt like a teenage boy again in his new clothes, but he didn't mind. He looked down at the sand under his converse and smiled. The heat in Niihau was hotter than in Georgia, but he didn't mind. It felt nice, and made Ellis feel more like he was at home. Yet, the thought of home, made Ellis' heart tear.
Over the past events, the young mechanic never really had time to think about home –his mind was always focused on listening for the infected, or for special infected; he was focusing on where to find shelter, how to protect those he considered friends.
Sure, Ellis never really seemed like he was focused, considering he was always talking, running his mouth off about something –mostly the stupid stunts that Keith pulled, or some random story he hoped would make the group laugh. But he really was trying to keep his mind straight and, despite the incessant speech, Ellis had his friend's backs.
As the hick walked on toward the beach, Ellis also realized another big factor that kept him from thinking about home . . . Nick. That was the only excuse that the younger boy could come up with as to why he was so upset when Nick left. Even though the gambler was always so harsh toward Ellis, he loved being around Nick: Something about him made the younger boy feel relaxed, and at ease . . . safe.
Yet, when Nick had stormed out of the banquet hall, Ellis felt exposed, uneasy, and almost completely helpless. That was all that could really mean, right? Rubbing his arm, Ellis stopped and kicked his shoes off, letting the tide wash up against his bare feet. Despite living on the east coast, Ellis had never been to the beach, and this was a new experience for him.
Looking out over the horizon, the younger boy smiled; his hair had grown sort of long over the past few months, and fell about his head in a messy heap of waves and curls, billowing lightly in the wind. Seeing the sparkling blue hues and cloudless sky, all of his worries washed away. For a moment, as Ellis turned his gaze up to some tropical bird flying overhead, he almost forgot that he had just survived the zombie apocalypse, and all the times he had nearly died.
It was a nice feeling, forgetting about all the bad, and finally feeling his body relax like it never had before. His mind wandered to where the man in the fancy suit had told him they were going: Japan. Sure, Ellis knew of Japan, but he'd never even thought of going there, and he had no idea what it was like, or how to speak the language. But that was just another dare that life was throwing in his face, right? Right!
With a smile spreading from ear to ear, Ellis closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath, his body numb to anything as the smell of the tropical island filled his lungs. "Awe shit, man. I know Ro and Coach are gonna fix 'is 'ere mess. . . 'Sides, I doubt. . . " his voice broke off as he looked down to the ground, sorrow flooding his eyes. "I dun think I wanna go anywhere without Nick."
A spine chilling sigh left his lips as Ellis walked from the water's path, sat down, and grabbed for his shoes and socks, stopping, however, when he heard a soft cooing noise. "What the . . . ?" Ellis put his shoes down and looked out toward the lush island forest that was just a few yards down. Standing, the mechanic dropped his shoes and walked toward the sound.
Sitting under a fern was something black and fluffy; it had ears like a bunny, the wings of a bat, and had a long tail with small spikes going down its back like a dragon. "Well damn, ain't you just a cutie?" Ellis bent down and went to reach for the strange creature, but stumbled when it began scurrying away. Curious to find out more about it, Ellis chased after it.
"Now wait up jus' a second lil' fella. I ain't gon' do ya no harm." The young man's mind was blank to where he was going; his thoughts solely focused on trying to catch up with, and figure out what kinda creature the thing was. He had no idea that he had run past the caution tape that CEDA had posted around the restricted areas.
After all, whoever pays attention to those sorts of things when you're chasing after a creature you've never seen, or heard of before? Barefoot, Ellis tried his hardest to avoid branches, any broken glass, or twigs that could possibly hurt his feet. Even after all that time of running from zombies, and chasing after teammates when they were grabbed by special infected, this thing gave Ellis a run for his money.
Dodging through thick underbrush and luscious plants, the young man chased this cooing creature out into an open field that lead to a beautiful waterfall. Gazing at the mass of water in amazement, Ellis stopped for a second, looking around at the magnificent wild life that dotted the tree lines and the edge of the water. The sound of the gushing falls made Ellis shiver, it was peaceful, serene, and almost made the hick forget about the creature he was tailing.
Well, that was until it made another cooing sort of noise. Turning his head, Ellis caught sight of the odd creature sitting on a rock in the middle of the water, well out of the fall's way. Walking over to the edge, Ellis rolled his pants up and sat down, putting his feet in the water, not really concerned with what was in the water. Tilting his head a little, he kept his eyes on the crystal blue-eyed creature. "Now how'd ya go and get all the way out there lil' buddy?"
One of the creature's long, bunny-like ears flickered in response, and it turned around on the rock, looking at Ellis curiously, before lowering itself and giving one huge leap. Ellis watched the creature with wide, amazed eyes as it leapt well over ten yards and landed behind him. Giving a cooing noise, that sounded like it had a hint of a purr to it, it ran off again.
Shaking his head, Ellis darted off after it, curious to find out where it was going, and what kind of creature it was. After a few more minutes of chasing it, Ellis stopped, hands on his knees as he was heaving for breath. Looking up, he smiled as he noticed the creature was sitting still, grooming itself. Walking over, Ellis took slow steps, hoping it wouldn't run again.
Pleased that it didn't make a run for it, Ellis knelt down in front of it hesitantly, in case it darted away but, to his surprise, the small creature lifted its head and nuzzled Ellis' hand. With a smile, Ellis reached down and scooped the creature up, standing with it in his arms, petting it happily. "Well ain't you just a cutie? I wonder what kinda animal you a-" Ellis' words were cut short as he stopped, feeling the ground shake below him.
The small creature in his arms gave a whimper, cuddling closer to him for protection, and he looked down, just in time to see the ground give out –it sending Ellis and the creature plummeting down with a scream; Ellis finally realizing how much trouble he was in from being so far away from anyone that could hear, or find them.
Hey everyone! Back for round two of "A Long Way from Home". I hope everyone is enjoying it, and I hope I'm going a good job keeping them all in character while entertaining you all. ^-^ I'm having fun writing it, and I'm looking forward to any reviews you all have! R&R love you all! Also, don't forget to check out Zombalian Academy!