Chapter 4

As Ellis ate his pop-tarts he couldn't help but think about his time back in Savannah. When he had been a kid before the zombie apocalypse had hit. Daryl reminded him of another boy he had known when Ellis had been pint-sized. Only ten years old at the time, Ellis remembered spending his summer days helping his daddy out in the mechanic shop.

It had been the first day back to school. Right before he had left his daddy had given him his old hat. The one with the tow truck on it Ellis had always loved. Proud he was now on the road to being a true mechanic, Ellis had held his head up high, sporting his brand new grease stained hat as he walked to school. That was when he noticed another group of boys hanging out on the street corner. They were a few years older than him. Twelve year olds, boys just on the verge of becoming teenagers.

Keeping his head down, Ellis prayed they wouldn't notice him. Pulling the brim of his hat down to hide his face, he crossed the street, pretending to be fascinated by the cracks in the sidewalk as he walked. From the corner of his eye he noticed one of the boys motion towards him. There had to be at least five in the group. There seemed to be a consensus among the group of boys as they too began to walk in the same direction Ellis had taken, pretending to walk at a casual pace, but quickening their steps as they began to move in on him.

"Hey, Ellis! ELLIS! C'mere, I wanna talk to ya!" One of the boys yelled. Ellis's head lowered as his shoulders tensed, putting his head down like a bull he began to pick his feet up more. Behind him he could hear the group of boys start to run after him.

A full panic took hold of him. Ellis lifted his head and simply started running for all he was worth. He wasn't fast enough though. His sneakers slapping against the pavement, the boys caught up easily. One second he was running for his life and the next Ellis yelped as he was yanked back by his backpack straps. One of the boys laughed as they took away his hat, twirling it on his finger as he took a step back from the younger boy.

"What is this shit, huh? Couldn't afford to get a new one? It smells like ass." One of the boys commented, wrinkling his nose. Ellis made a grab for his hat only to be shoved back. His bottom lip began to tremble as he reached uselessly for it.

"Give it back. My daddy gave it to me." Ellis said. He hated the way his voice turned into a whine. The boys laughed at him, tossing the hat back and forth.

"C'mon, Ellis, we're just playin with ya. Can't we borrow your ass smelling hat?"

"NO! Give it back!" Ellis said his voice going shrill. The boys were a good head taller than him. He had no chance against the whole group. They surrounded him like a pack of hyenas ready to tear into a gazelle. He already knew they would beat him up. All he wanted was his hat back though.

"Give it back! Man, you sound like a little ass kid. Be a man why don't you? Why you such a whiny little bitch?" One of the other boys interjected, shoving Ellis hard in the shoulder to send the boy staggering. The others laughed when Ellis staggered, almost tripping over his untied shoelaces.

What commenced was a shoving game of sorts with Ellis caught in the middle as he tried desperately to break free. Whenever he made to escape, one of the boys simply had to reach out to grab their victim's backpack and yank him back into the fray. When he finally couldn't hold it back anymore, Ellis began to cry, feeling the tears go down his cheeks as the boy's cruel laughter grew even louder.

"Crybaby!"

"Little Bitch!"

"You and your stupid hat! Ellis the pixy!"

"Turd!"

Ellis sobbed, unable to help himself. When he was shoved to the ground he no longer cared. He could only curl up into a small ball and cover his head, crying as the bullies began to kick him. Their sneakers dug into the small of his back, stomach, and legs. All he could do was lay there and hope it all ended soon.

He didn't see the other boy. A loner who happened to walk by his father's shop now and again. A boy with reddish brown hair who always wore raggedy shirts, usually tagging along behind his older brother who glared at anyone who dared to mess with his younger sibling. This strange boy in question usually kept his head down. From time to time, however, he would stop and give anyone he knew a piercing green eyed stare. His gaze was always wary as if ready for a fight, almost daring the other children to come at him. While the strange boy never fought, the others would throw insults at him, but never dared to venture to close.

All of a sudden, Ellis heard a cry different from his own. Then he heard the meaty sound of a fist on flesh followed up with a click of teeth as all at once the group of bullies began yelling. Ellis dared to open his eyes when he felt the kicking stop. Sitting up with a tear streaked face, he froze at what he saw, completely forgetting for a moment he had been about willing for his short decade long life to end right then and there.

The strange boy was busy punching one of the other boys. In scuffed shoes and hole-filled jeans, he moved like lightening. His shirt was two sizes too big for him, probably a hand me down from his older brother, as he spun and punched another of the boys in the jaw. The bullies attempted to regroup to try and pin him down but he was too fast. He easily side stepped as he planted an elbow in another of the boy's faces.

"Give me the hat!" The strange boy yelled. His voice carried down the entire street, strong and commanding as he glared at the bullies with his damning green eyes. For a second the bullies teetered on the edge of fighting back. Then as a group they took off back down the street. Not once looking back as Ellis's hat rolled temporarily caught in the wind of their escape.

Ellis sniffled, unsure if he should get up or not. He watched as his dark haired rescuer went and retrieved the hat, wiping it clean on his already stained jeans as he walked back over to Ellis. Ellis blinked up at the older boy. This strange kid had to be at least the same age as the other boys if not a bit older. For a moment they just stared at each other. Then the boy held out his hand to Ellis.

Silently he latched onto his rescuer's hand, surprised by the strength in the other as he all but effortlessly pulled Ellis to his feet. The strange boy handed him his hat which Ellis took, still unsure of what to say to him. He was too stunned his attackers had been beaten up by one person.

"You okay?" The boy asked him. Ellis blinked up at him, still silent. A look of concern had crossed his rescuer's face. Up close Ellis could see a bruise on the boy's shoulder and several on his arms. They didn't look like they had been made by the bullies either.

Ellis silently nodded his head. He was still shaking from the attack. The strange boy tilted his head to the side, his eyes flicking up and down as he inspected the damage. He reached out which made Ellis flinch. He expected to be hit, but instead his rescuer gently dusted off a smear of dirt on his shoulder. Then he picked out a few leaves that had got tangled in Ellis's hair and plastered onto his shirt.

"I'll walk you the rest of the way to school. Okay?" The strange boy said.

Ellis nodded his head again, doubting he had the choice in the matter. Without a word, he put his hat back on and began walking. Despite his rescue, he had thoughts filled with this new boy about to beat him up. Maybe he would demand payment for his protection. Yet the entire fifteen minute walk to the school, the other boy didn't say a word. When they reached the gates, the boy waited until Ellis had reached his classroom before silently slipping away to disappear into the crowd of students to his own class.

Ever since, Ellis had a crush on that strange boy. He smiled at the thought as he finished his pop-tarts. Daryl really reminded him a lot of that kid. Not only in the way he moved, but the way he stopped to look at him. As if he saw more than what was on the outside. With a quiet sigh, Ellis got up and moved to the sink. Washing his dish before putting it away, he thought about his new situation. Until they managed to find a new group, how would day to day life to be for a while?

Pulling back the edge of the curtain, he waited to see if he could spot Daryl. A second later he saw the hunter weaving in and out of the trees, his eyes completely focused as he watched a few squirrels. In the blink of an eye, two of them were suddenly writhing on the ground in their death spasms. They were caught on the same arrow as the rest shot for the trees nearby. Daryl expertly reloaded his crossbow within a few seconds, firing off a couple more shots into the treetops and even managing to pin one of the elusive squirrels to the trunk of a tree.

"Damn, Daryl, you got 'em good." Ellis muttered, letting out a low whistle of appreciation. Daryl moved in and retrieved his prizes, continually stopping to scan the area for any signs of zombies. Seeing none, he removed his arrows from the bodies of the small critters and strung them all together to carry them conveniently before moving back towards the camper. A second later the door banged open as the hunter stepped in. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he held the string of freshly killed squirrels.

"What'd I tell ya? I can catch my own breakfast. Easy. We'll have some fresh meat tonight!" Daryl hooted as he set the squirrels down. He would have to skin them later for eating. They would keep for a few hours until him and Ellis could get to a safer spot.

"I haven't had anything fresh for a while. Except getting sprayed in the face with zombie goo of course... Which I don't recommend because I don't think there's such a thing as fresh zombies, is there? They all smell like shit."

"Got that right." Daryl agreed. He fell down heavily into the driver's seat of the camper. Reaching over, he flicked the engine on. Ellis came over and sat down in the passenger seat with the bed blanket still wrapped around his shoulders. Checking the rearview mirrors, Daryl slowly began to go around into a circle, bouncing back onto the freeway as he pushed down on the gas pedal. He sped the camper up just as a few walkers cleared the trees, reaching out with claw like hands for the two survivors.

"At least we're good for a couple more days. I'm actually surprised I even saw any critters. I'm lucky if I find even a pair of squirrels this far out." Daryl commented. Ellis nodded trying not to peer to closely at the occasional abandoned car they passed, not wanting to think about who may have been inside when the apocalypse had hit.

"Yeah, the zombies are probably eatin' em all. Either that, or the critters are gettin' smarter. I'm kinda hopin' they just got smarter. I don't want to see no zombie Bambi wandering around, you know?" Ellis pointed out. Daryl nodded in agreement, his lips set in a thin line.

"They probably started going more inland. Where the forest is thicker. I actually came across some good huntin' in a swamp. The zombies get stuck in the mud and it makes a good haven for the critters. Gives them time to get away." Daryl explained.

"What are you hopin to find after all this? I mean, if you had to choose?" Daryl said, deciding to try and enlighten the conversation. Ellis glanced at him, a silly grin beginning to cross his face.

"Somewhere with a lot of people. I actually kinda miss runnin' my auto-shop with my buddies. I think I'd probably go back to doin' that given the choice. Maybe take some time for myself and relax somewhere quiet like. Just kind of enjoy being alive, you know? What about you?" Ellis asked. For a long moment, Daryl didn't say anything, unsure of how to put what it was he wanted into words.

"Open skies, for one. I think I'd probably move back into the mountains. I ain't got no problem with people, but I get tired of bein' judged all the time. Just spend my days huntin'. I love livin' off the land, man. There's nothin' like it."

"So you want freedom?" Ellis asked with surprise. Daryl laughed, shrugging his shoulders as he glanced at his companion. He gave him an easy smile as he drove, thinking about his dream home.

"Yeah, I guess so man. I don't think I've ever been meant to ever really live in the city. Suburbs, now, I didn't mind them dat much. At least you still had trees you could look at. Feel the breeze in your hair. But there's somethin' to be said when you're standin out in the middle of nowhere. After the rain just came and swept everything clean. You just about feel like you're king of the world." Daryl said dreamily. Ellis smiled, deciding he didn't need to say anything more.

"Sounds like you're livin' the dream."

"I wish. Once all this blows over I'm gonna call an early retirement." Daryl said, shaking his head. He could only pray his brother Merle was okay, wherever he had got himself off too. After he had left his original group back at the prison he had never seen his brother since.

"You wouldn't mind if I visited you up on your mountain once a while, would you, your majesty?" Ellis asked with raised eyebrows. Daryl snorted shoving Ellis's shoulder.

"Sure, man. You can visit me anytime. I'll even lower the drawbridge for you myself."