Just wanted to give a quick shout out and thank you to everyone who read chapter 1, and a special thanks to those who faved, reviewed, and the like =) here they are so far.
Gaven Johnson is a Brony, WolfSpiritFlower, Darkshame, LoserChild27, l4d2fan123

Enjoy the next chapter!

The woman led Nick down a wide path between two buildings. It must have been a truck route at some point, but now the pavement was buckled and cracked, and weeds and grass had taken over. Thick lines of moss grew along the edges of the concrete, the result of years of rain dripping off the corrugated roof.

The woman walked slightly ahead, keeping her gun at the ready. She seemed anxious, but that was to be expected considering what had happened only a few minutes before. As they walked, Nick took a good look at the newcomer. She was a bit taller than Ellis, with brown hair that was braided down her back. She might have been considered pretty, but the fact that she knew how to handle a gun and the look of seriousness on her face told of a tough edge.

The con-man couldn't tell how old the woman was either. She seemed younger than him, but you could never tell with women. You thought they were twenty and they turned out to be forty or something vice versa. Nick had learned to just not ask; he'd been slapped one too many times. Whoever this chick was, she knew how to take control of a situation. Most survivors would have turned tail and run if they met a hunter. It was also a one in a million chance that she had been there to save Ellis. Not that Nick would have been lost without the mechanic, but it was nice to have someone else with in case you had to fight off a horde.

Suddenly, Ellis stumbled, tripping Nick and nearly causing him to fall. The con-man swore under his breath and pulled the mechanic's arm back around his shoulder.

"Hey, is that factory much farther? This guy's not exactly a lightweight."

"We're almost there." The woman looked back at him. "I'm Katy by the way. Katy VanAlstine."

Nick realized that she hadn't said anything about herself until now. She's been in such a hurry to get away from the dead hunter that her name never came up. Nick liked people who didn't talk too much (something Ellis didn't seem to grasp the concept of.) They were easy to get along with. The con-man himself wasn't one to form friendships, but if a person didn't give him any shit, he would generally tolerate them. Katy seemed to be on the right course so far. Still, he had a feeling she was going to be the queen bee sort after this died down. He hoped he was wrong.

A few moments later, Katy stopped in front of a sliding metal door. "Here we are."

Nick looked up at the building. The section with the door was sloped like a lean-to. Behind it, the factory towered four stories above them. Nick found himself thinking about the hunter. He doubted the one that attacked Ellis was the only one around. It didn't help that most of the buildings around here were made of brick. Nick had witnessed hunters scaling brick walls in mere seconds to attack survivors. It would be a bad idea to stay here for much longer.

The heavy metal door made a grating squeal as Katy pushed it open. She waved her hand at the narrow gap "After you."

Nick helped Ellis into the dim space. They were in a loading dock of some sort. The floor sloped downward away from them, ending at a concrete platform and an opening to the main floor. There was

"The lift's this way."

The group climbed the stairs and entered the bottom floor of the factory. It hadn't been abandoned for that long, maybe a decade or so. The floor was thick with dust and many of the windows had been smashed. Graffiti tags emblazoned several walls. Nick looked around. "Well, this is homey."

Katy shrugged. "It beats running 24/7."

She had a point. Besides the obvious threat of hunters, this was the place to be. There were no other zombies around to speak of unless they wandered into the factory park, which they probably would eventually. The door would keep them out for a good period of time unless a tank or charger showed up. When they finally reached the lift, Nick took one look at it and raised an eyebrow. It was platform with waist high mesh walls. It hadn't begun to rust yet, "You sure that thing's safe? Katy nodded as she stepped onto the mesh-walled platform. "I haven't fallen to my death yet."

"That's not comforting."

"Well, I'm not making any promises about the strength of that sheet metal." Katy nodded to Ellis. "And he needs to lie down somewhere.

Nick smirked. "Maybe I'll just leave you down here, Ellis. You weigh the most." He waited for Ellis to make some smart comeback, but the man remained silent. Nick shook him a little. "Hey, Overalls, you still there?"

Ellis finally groaned. Katy clearly wasn't impressed by Nick's attempt at humor. "Just get on the lift, Nick; those gashes are starting to bleed through."

The con-man flinched slightly at the sudden sharpness in her voice. There was the queen bee, hethought. He sighed and pulled the half conscious mechanic onto the platform, leaning him against the mesh. He'd come this far only to be bossed around by another woman. Why did that always happen to him? He certainly didn't ask for it, but it happened nonetheless. Maybe it was revenge for his being a smart-mouthed ass all the time. But then again, what did he really care?

There was a horrible grating thump and the lift slowly began its ascent. Nick leaned against one of the railings, watching Katy. The woman looked back at him once, but didn't say anything. Ellis might have broken the ice, but he wasn't exactly all there, so they remained quiet until the lift shuddered to a halt. A massive warehouse floor lay before them, completely empty. Like the first story, it was covered in dust. Nick noticed trails of recent footprints all around them; not all of them were Katy's

"Is there anyone else up here?"

Katy shook her head. "Not anymore. Help me lift him up."

They half carried, half dragged Ellis over to a corner. There was a small pile of supplies there and a back pack. Katy indicated a mat, and they laid the half conscious man on top of it. The woman set the guns in the corner and rummaged in the backpack. She brought out a med-kit and began to untie the folded jacket.

"I got this." Nick said, taking the med-kit. Katy seemed somewhat surprised.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, trust me; I've had a lot of experience in this area."

The woman looked at him skeptically for a moment. Nick frowned.

"Have you ever had to dig a bullet out of your own arm? I don't think so. Now, do me a favor and take off his shirt."

Katy knelt on Ellis' other side and slid the torn piece of clothing over the mechanic's head. The hunter had had a field day. Ellis's torso was criss-crossed with cuts and scratches. Thankfully, none of them were deep enough to be life-threatening, but they needed to be cleaned. Nick dug through the med kit and brought out a bottle of rubbing alcohol. He looked down at the mechanic.

"Okay kid, this is gonna hurt like hell."

Lucky for Ellis, he was only half conscious.

Twenty minutes later, all the wounds had been cleaned and bandaged. Katy inspected Nick's work.

"That was…impressive."

"I told you, I have a lot of experience with personal injuries." Nick poured some of the alcohol on his hands and wiped them on his suit jacket. Katy watched him with an amused smile.

"White's not really the best color for a zombie apocalypse, is it?"

The con-man shrugged. "It's pretty easy to get blood out of a suit. Now, a wedding dress, it is not easy getting blood out of a wedding dress…don't ask me how I know that."

"I'm sure I don't want to."

"You don't."

Nick nodded at Ellis, who had fallen asleep. "He'll be out for a few hours. After that, we should leave."

Katy looked sympathetically at the con-man. "You both look like you could use some sleep."

As much as the con-man didn't want to admit it, she was right. With the constant threat of infected at every turn, a good night's sleep was a privilege many survivors could no longer afford. Nick tried to think back to the last time he had slept soundly. He couldn't remember.

"You can rest if you want. I'll keep watch."

The gesture was meant to be kind, but warning bells immediately went off in Nick's head. The last time someone told him that, it ended had with a dead body and a wall full of bullet holes. Not to mention someone had nearly stolen his gun and every single cent he had on him. Like sleep, trust came at a premium with Nick. That is, if he even decided to afford you the privilege at all. The con-man locked eyes with Katy.

"You better not be screwing with me. Because I swear to god, if you are…" he trailed off. "I've already killed other survivors and it doesn't bother me goddamn one bit. You screw us and I will shoot you with your own gun." All sarcasm had gone from the con-man's voice. This was a pure warning.

Katy gazed silently at Nick, holding the man's gaze. She nodded.

"Same to you."

Nick hadn't expected that. He watched Katy as she closed her pack and stood. "And for the record, I don't screw with people. All that does is get you enemies. I can't afford that anymore. None of us can."

Nick didn't answer. He didn't have a comeback. He hadn't even known this girl for an hour and already she had proved that she wasn't going to give him an inch. And yet, she didn't strike him as a truly violent type either. That might have been the survival instinct showing through. Panic and danger could make a badass out of anyone. Or a complete asshole. Rochelle had decided that Nick was the latter. Maybe he was.

"Hey."

Nick looked up. Katy's deadpan gaze had disappeared. It wasn't good-natured yet, but there was the slightest hint of empathy. "I don't want us to hate each other. I already know what that does to people."

Nick sighed. So do I. It had done too much. The con-man rubbed the back of his neck. The muscles there were tight from stress. God, this whole thing was fucked up; the zombies, hiding in abandoned buildings, never knowing whether or not you'd still be alive at the end of the day. Given, Nick often had to deal with the last two even before the zombies, but never to this extent. It was just unreal. The con-man finally looked up.

"I just have a problem with trusting people, sweetheart, you know what I mean?"

Katy nodded to Ellis. "You must trust him?"

Nick rolled his eyes slightly and looked at the mechanic. Did he trust Ellis? His immediate vocal answer would have been 'no', but Nick had the strangest feeling that the mechanic really did have his back; even if he was annoying as hell.

"Ellis… Ellis is like a puppy…a redneck puppy with overalls that follows me around…and is probably rabid."

Katy raised an eyebrow. "A redneck puppy with overalls?

"God damn it, it's the best definition I got, okay? You have no idea how annoying this kid gets. He's lucky I haven't left him behind already."

Katy laughed. "He sounds like my brother," she said quietly. She smiled faintly and was quiet. However, the happiness soon faded away and was replaced by solemnity. Katy shook her head and looked up.

"You really should get some sleep. If we want to leave today it's going to involve a lot of moving."

Nick growled under his breath. Yeah, he was definitely beginning to regret this. And the worst part was that he was actually considering going to sleep. There were some things about women that just scared Nick. One was their ability to subliminally convince you to do things you really didn't want to do. Katy seemed to have mastered this ability. Nick shook his head and stood up.

"You know what, sweetheart? If it'll make you get off my case, I'll go to sleep, okay?" The con-man picked up his gun and walked farther back into the massive room. A few minutes later, Katy heard him snoring. The woman shook her head and smiled to herself

"Told you so."

Ellis opened his eyes. The sun glared into his face, making him groan and squeeze his lids shut again. He lay still for a moment, blinking. Where was he?
The mechanic wracked his memory trying to remember what had happened. Slowly, it began to come back. The horde; running away; the hunter attack. Ellis groaned again as he recalled the less than enjoyable experience. His upper body and head were filled with deep, aching pain. It reminded him of the time he and Keith had gotten drunk on Keith's homemade moonshine…except it was worse. There were bandages wrapped around his arms and chest; he was lucky to be alive.

The mechanic eased himself into a sitting position and gazed around the open room. The ceiling was lower than the first level, but other than that, it was the same. Dust and broken glass covered the floor. Ellis was wondering where Nick had gone when he saw the other man slumped against the back wall of the room. He was snoring loudly. The mechanic's rifle rested across his knees. Even in sleep, Nick took precautions.

"Morning, sunshine."

Ellis jumped at the sudden voice, triggering another wave of pain in his chest. A woman was sitting in the corner a few feet away. Ellis hadn't even noticed her.

"Hey," he managed to sigh.

"How are you feeling?"
Ellis rubbed his head. "Like I got mauled by a gator."

"That bad, huh?"

"It ain't an enjoyable experience, trust me." Ellis grimaced and slowly leaned back on elbow. Katy went to the med-kit and pulled out a bottle of pain medicine. "Here, take these. You'll be sore for a while, but you'll live." She handed him two pills and a water canteen. Ellis accepted them gratefully. He swallowed the water sparingly, which was difficult because his throat felt like sandpaper. He wiped his mouth and squinted at Katy.

"What's yer name again?"

"Katy."

"Oh…I'm Ellis. Some people call me El, but I really prefer Ellis 'cause El kinda sounds like a girl's name. But, you know, if you wanna call me El…I guess you can."

Katy laughed faintly. "Ellis sounds fine."

The mechanic looked slightly relieved. He glanced over at Nick. "Did you knock him out or somethin', 'cause I ain't never seen him sleep like that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, normally, you move and he's wide awake. Like, this one time I tried pokin' 'im 'cause I wanted to see if he could really shoot a gun in his sleep. He can."

Katy glanced back at Nick. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, an' he's a pretty good shot too; only missed my head by half an inch."

The woman looked at him strangely, unsure whether to be impressed or disturbed. She couldn't understand how Ellis could possibly be smiling as he was telling her this. Thankfully, the mechanic's short attention span kicked in and he changed the subject.

"How long was I asleep for?"

"About five hours. I was getting pretty bored sitting here with no one to talk to."

Ellis shrugged. "Well, Nick ain't fun to talk to either way. He just don't yell as much in his sleep. Except when he dreams about his ex-wife; now that is some funny shit right there. He started cryin' once, an' then-"

"Ellis…"

The mechanic stopped mid-sentence as the con-man spoke. Nick was walking over to them, and he didn't look pleased.

"I'm sure Katy doesn't want to hear about that."
"Well, she was laughin'."

"I don't care. You say one more thing about me sleeping and I'll make sure the next time you sleep is permanent." Nick gave Ellis a cold stare. The mechanic didn't say anything else.

"And here I thought sleep would help," mused Katy. Nick looked like he was going to comment, but he shut his mouth in the end.

"Okay, moving on. We need to get out of here, preferably today."

"Are you guys going to New Orleans?"

Nick shrugged. "The last CEDA map I saw said that was the only evac station left."

"You really think it's still standing?"

"It's worth a shot. I don't know about you, sweetheart, but I ain't saying here much longer. The further we get away from these things, the better. And if New Orleans really is still standing, I want to get there before CEDA clears out again. Anyway, it beats sitting here on your ass, waiting for a horde to swarm this place.

"It's safe."

"For now. I doubt that hunter was the only one around here. They can climb, you know. It sucks."

"What was your plan?"

"Well, the roads out here aren't choked up like they were back in Georgia. If we can find a vehicle that runs, we should be on the right track."

"I know where there's a truck," said, Katy "I have the keys for it too."

Nick looked at her in shock. "Wait, you have a truck? Why the hell are you still here?"

"I was going to leave tomorrow. I wasn't supposed to go alone, but that plan kind of fell through.

Nick's mind went immediately to the footprints. He was right, there had been others here. Well, they were either dead or turned now. The con-man noticed the anger that had appeared on Katy's face. She closed her eyes momentarily and collected herself.

"Do you guys have any food?"

Nick nodded. "It's mostly canned stuff."

"I was going out to get some more when that hunter attacked Ellis."

Nick nodded. "I don't suppose there's any good water in this place?"

Katy shook her head. "No. There's a convenience store about five blocks away from here that I was going to. They have water and food there, but there were too many infected around when I tried yesterday."

"We'll need to go there before we leave then, zombies or not."

Katy nodded. "We're going to need more bullets too. I only have a few rounds."

"Same here. There's not a gun store around here by any chance, is there?"

"Actually, there's one pretty close to the convenience store."

"Perfect. You know, this actually worked out better than I thought. Now where the hell did that goddamn map go?"

An hour later, the trio was down in the loading dock. Katy had packed her supplies and loaded the last rounds into the shotgun and the handgun. She'd been somewhat concerned about Ellis moving so soon after receiving his injuries, but the mechanic insisted that he was okay. Katy suspected that this had something to do with Nick threatening to leave Ellis behind if he couldn't keep up.

The truck was parked in an adjacent building. It was a dented Chevy Silverado. Rust had eaten the metal around the wheel wells, and it was heavily dented, but was four-wheel-drive. Nick inspected the vehicle. "This might actually work."

Katy tossed her pack in the front seat. "You can say that after we get out of the city. I never said this thing was zombie proof."

"I tried to make my truck zombie proof," said Ellis "Turns out it was only ninety-nine percent zombie proof. The last one percent tore that thing to shreds."

Nick rolled his eyes at the mechanic. "Was that supposed to make us feel better, Overalls?"
Ellis shrugged. "I dunno. Did it?"
Nick opened his mouth and closed it again. "You know what-"

"Hey, can we focus please?" Katy was looking at the pair with folded arms. "You're the one who wants to get out of here so bad."

Nick nodded. "Fair enough, gimme the keys."

"You don't even know where you're going."

"That's why you're riding shotgun, sweetheart. I'll agree to your plan, but I'm driving."

Katy growled under her breath and pulled the keys out of her back pocket. "You're gonna get us all killed."

"Probably."

Despite this theory, the first few minutes of the drive went surprisingly well. The convenience store was about five blocks away from the square Nick and Ellis had run through earlier that day. They reached the entrance of the factory complex without trouble. Nick slowed the truck as the opening came into view. The zombies had calmed down slightly since the morning, but there were still a good amount left in the open space. In the middle of the square, the exploded carcass of the boomer was still surrounded by infected.

"Okay, you see that road over there?" said Katy. "You take that straight for three blocks and then take a right and then a left and go two more blocks. Got that?"

Nick nodded silently. He gazed at the zombies.

"Everyone for just plowing through these things?"

"Go for it."

The con-man floored the gas. With a roar, the truck took off and sped across the square. The zombies were too slow to comprehend the sudden appearance of the vehicle, so Nick had no problem as he mowed them over left and right. In the back seat, Ellis was having the time of his life

"WOOOOOO! Get that spitter Nick! Oh, wait, there's a couple more right there! Run'em down!"

"Ellis, shut up!" Nick was having difficulty keeping control of the truck. He suddenly hit four zombies at one time, sending the truck into a skid. It was lucky they didn't tip.

"Will you forget about the damn zombies and get to the street!?" Katy yelled.

"Alright, alright!" Nick yanked the wheel to the left, causing the truck to go on two wheels and slam back down. Katy's head hit the window, causing her vision to blur for a moment. The woman blinked and rubbed her head, groaning. "This is why I wanted to drive!"

"Calm down, will ya? I'm trying to get us out of here."

The con-man steered the speeding truck through the streets, plowing over whatever infected got in their way until they finally reached the convenience store. They slid to a screeching halt in front of the door. Or, at least, what was left of the door. A burning car had smashed through the storefront at some point, the charred remains of its driver slumped over the window. Nick wondered how Katy meant to find anything edible in the wreckage. The con-man unlocked the doors. "Everybody out, this is gonna be a quick one."

Earlier in the factory, they had decided that only two of them would go into the store. The remaining person would stay in the truck and honk if the situation outside warranted getting the hell out of there. Ellis had immediately volunteered to go with Katy. Despite his injuries, the mechanic was too eager to simply stay in the truck; how was he supposed to follow his official instructions?
In the front seat, Katy was checking her handgun.

"You ready, Ellis?"
The mechanic was already gripping the door handle. He nodded. "Kill all sons-a-bitches."

In the same instant, the two sprang from the truck. Ellis immediately opened fire on the zombies that were beginning to approach the half-destroyed convenience store. Hordes always chose the worse times to appear. There were no specials that Ellis could see, but they would come soon. He quickly followed Katy through the crumbling entrance.

A passerby might have thought a bomb had gone off inside the store. Most of the aisle racks had been overturned, spilling their contents onto the cracked linoleum. This was made worse by the fact that there were several zombie carcasses there as well. Katy went down the remaining rows systematically, tossing cans and other food into a small sack she had brought along. Ellis stayed close to the blown-out doors at first, shooting at the gathering infected.

"Hey, if there's anything you want, grab it now."

Ellis looked around and momentarily before spotting some boxes of cake mix. The mechanic grinned. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about." He grabbed a few and some cans of frosting and tossed them into the bag. Katy frowned.

"Cake mix?"

Ellis nodded. "Yeah."

"How are we supposed to make a cake?"

"You'd be surprised how easy it is. Hey, are there still cigarettes back there?"

Katy glanced at the front check-out. "Should be."

Ellis bounded over the counter and landed on something soft that was not the floor. The mechanic slowly looked down and jumped back in disgust. "Whoa, hell!" The soft thing was the decomposing body of what appeared to be the store worker. The mechanic quickly looked away from the gruesome sight and grabbed a few packs of Marlboros. Nick might have been an asshole, but everyone needed their smokes.

"There's a dead guy back there," Ellis said as he came out from behind the counter.

Katy shrugged. "He was dead the first time I came in here."

Suddenly, the truck horn blared outside. Katy slung the bag over her shoulder. "That's the signal!" The woman ran out the door, closely followed by Ellis, and nearly collided with a smoker. The thing made an awful gurgling hiss and Katy screamed as its tongue wrapped around her arm. She turned, swinging the sack of food like a mace. Blood sprayed everywhere as the Special went down, its tongue flailing like a berserk snake. Katy cut through the tongue and yanked the slippery thing off her arm. Behind her, Ellis had hefted the rifle. He shot the coughing smoker in the head and shoved Katy forward.

"Run!"

By now, the horn was flat-lining. Katy yanked open the door and tossed the bag into the back seat.

Nick, who had become impatient the moment they left the truck, began whale on her as soon as she opened the door. "Well, that took you long enough." He leaned over the seat and shouted out the still-open door. "Would you get to the goddamn truck, Ellis?!"

A few seconds later, the mechanic jumped in the back seat, slamming an Infected's arm in the door as he did so.

"Get us outta here, Nick!"

"My pleasure."

The con-man floored the gas again, pushing them all back in their seats. Ellis opened his door and kicked the severed arm out onto the pavement.

"Okay," said Nick. "Guns and then we're outta this hell-hole. 'Bout time."

Katy was scanning the streets. "Turn left up here. It's another block south and then a right." Nick avoided a blackened car in the middle of the roadway and turned down a narrow street.

In the backseat, Ellis was particularly joyful and optimistic. "Woohooo! New Orleans here we come! Aw, man, we kicked some ass back there!"

Nick looked at him in the rearview mirror "You can celebrate when we're actually on the damn interstate, okay, Overalls?"

The mechanic ignored Nick and leaned over the back of Katy's seat. "You think we'll get there, don't you, Katy?"

The woman sighed. "I certainly hope so."

Ellis grinned. "We will. I just know we will."

Nick looked silently out the window. Yeah. If they don't kill us first.

Chapter 2 is finally up =)

After considering the storyline, I decided that I'll probably end up doing 5 chapters (Maybe 6 if I get another idea or something, but most likely 5)

Thanks for reading =)