The Swamp Chapter 1.5; Plank Country Part 2

I wiped the tears away attempting to clear my eyes and in hopes that no one noticed. I heard the latch of the helicopter door close behind me as my eyes scanned the areas; the stage, the lights station, the stands, the floor. Peering through the sniper scope I noticed there was an unusually large huddle of zombies by the container of firecrackers. The few stragglers who weren't doing anything meaningful ran towards that spot when they looked over. Some stumbled back, some were slashing, some were… gushing blood.

BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG! BANG-BANG! I pulled the trigger as fast as my sore body would let me. I didn't wait to aim as well as I did for the first shot after each recoil; I aimed for any part of the infected, not just their vitals.

By the time I had to reload there was a pile of dead corpses. I did not need to watch my hands as they went through the motions of reloading, instead I kept my eyes glued to that spot, waiting for any sign that Ellis was actually there. I had just clicked the safety off when his head came into view. 'He must have been crouching…' I thought as I smiled.
Our eyes met and I jerked my head. He nodded towards me and began trying to sneak as close to the chopper as he could before having to fight off more infected. "Ellis is alive."

I heard footsteps directly behind me. Rochelle must have stepped closer to see for herself. "Where?" She asked, apparently looking farther away then she needed too.

"There." She let the red laser guide her to where I was looking for it was following Ellis almost exactly. Every few seconds a common would spot him as he limped closer, only to find itself within my cross hairs and crumbling to the ground.
Ellis was just feet from the railing when-

The sudden sound of water being splashed around caused me to sit up too fast, making my head spin. I looked around, seeing nothing at first. I waited a few seconds before laying back down just in case. Despite not knowing what it was, I was glad to hear the splashing sound again. I turned my head toward the noise, watching the water be thrust around.

A hand shot up from beneath the surface, grabbing hold of one of the lower bars to the boat's door. I jumped back, reaching for the magnum. With shaking hands I aimed, ready to defend myself. Seconds later another hand shot up grabbing a bar, then slipped and slapped onto the surface. A zombie wouldn't do that… would it? It would just pull itself up…I thought as I watched the struggle.

The next thing I saw both shocked and excited me. A blue and white hat with a cartoon drawing of a car on the front appeared from the water. "Ellis?!" Immediately I dropped the gun in my hands. His arm shot out of the water again, this time wrapping around the door. There was terror on his face… as well as the look he always has when he's on the brink of exhaustion. I scurried towards him, reached through the bars and took hold of his tee shirt in an attempt to keep him afloat. "Ellis…! Hang in there!" I could feel his body shivering.

He coughed out water and swallowed some. "…Ni… ck…?" His head rolled forward, his arms started to unwind from the bars… his body went limp. I began to panic. I stood up, retracting one of my arms so I could reach over the railing. Once I knew I had a firm grip on Ellis's shirt I let go with my other arm and took hold of his other shoulder. Breathing heavily, I used what strength I had left along with a frustrated cry to hoist him up out of the water and onto the boat.

Out of energy, I let him down onto the floor and sat down on the bench seats. I let my head fall back. My eyes shot open as I heard more thrashing in the water. I lifted my head up to see a common quickly lifting itself over the railing where I had just dragged Ellis up and over. Exhausted I fell to my knees on the floor, desperately reaching for the gun. I scooped it into my hands, took the safety off and- out of the water a giant alligator shot up like a rocket, taking the infected back down under. Flabbergasted, my muscles lose their strength again and I fall back down, lying next to the man I thought was dead only moments ago.

For some reason, I couldn't help but smile as I gazed at his 'sleeping' face. He was on his stomach, with his eyes closed in a surprisingly peaceful expression. Extending my arm towards him, I brushed a few stray strands of hair away from his eyes before resting my arm upon the floor once more. I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of his breathing. I never thought a sound like that could make me feel so happy. It was another surprising moment in this new life of ours, to feel happiness in between fighting for your survival. Before all of this shit happened, I got joy from the sound of money flipping through my fingers… never would I have even imagined back then that the sound of a man's breathing could be even better than that.

I allowed myself to run my fingers against his cheek. The image of the kiss slowly appeared in my mind as I trailed my fingers over Ellis' soft lips. I jerked my hand away as soon as I noticed him stir. His eyes fluttered for a moment before opening completely. He rolled over onto his back before coughing. We both sat up. I patted his back as he continued to cough, what I presumed was any water still left in his lungs.

Once he ceased he turned to me. "ahem… Nick?" Ellis looked around, taking in his surroundings. "Did… you pull me up?" I nodded. We both smiled and for some reason began to laugh silently. Without warning he turned towards me and in the same movement wrapped his arms around me in a hug. He grasped my blue button up shirt tightly as he rested his head on my chest.

I was once again reminded of Ellis' shaking. I could feel every shiver that went through his body. I sighed, pushing him back in order to have more room. I promptly stripped myself of my white jacket and placed it on Ellis' shoulders. He looked up in confusion at first, which was soon replaced with gratitude and pulled the sides closer together. "I'm sure it's a little too big on you… but you'll get warmed faster if you wear it like this." Smiling, I took his hands in mine and helped him put his arms through the sleeves.
Ellis looked away. "Nick I'm sorry… about earlier."

I waved my hand. "Don't worr-"

"No." He leaned closer. I could feel his staggered breath on my skin. "It… wasn't right of me to... do that. So, I'm sorry Nick, really. If you want to just forget it happened, I'll never bring it up again." Not once did he look directly at me. This idiot…

Sighing, I leaned back on my hand, brushing my hair back with the other. It was then when the doors on the other side of the boat began to move themselves open, in an attempt to expel us. The seconds turned to minutes as we both watched the doors come to a halt on either side, screeching during every inch.

For a moment Ellis and I just sat there, staring out at the swampy forest. We both knew we would have face it if we wanted to get out of this alive. To the right was a dense set of trees that we'd have no hope of maneuvering through. My eyes followed the wooden walkway that stretched out from the dock and ran above the swamp water. Up ahead I could barely see that there were broken slabs of wood that had sunk into the murky water. Thankfully, though, to the left was dry ground. All I could see from here was a small shack but I was grateful we wouldn't have to be struggling through a foot of mud at... despite how short a stretch of land it could be.

Ellis' voice brought me back. "We're sitting ducks just waiting here..." I stood, unlocking the magnum. From what I could see, no infected were near us yet. Ellis groaned as he tried to stand. I held out a helping hand which he gladly took and hoisted him up. He retrieved his machete from his belt, tossing it back and forth between his hands. "We might as well go now, before they get the chance to corner us here."

Ellis took one step off the boat and my hand shot out, grabbing his arm. He stopped, looking back at me in confusion. I searched my mind for a decent excuse... one that wouldn't scream I don't want to lose you again. Without meaning too I blurted out a response. "I... think I should go first. You're probably still exhausted..." He stared at me as if he were debating whether or not there was any hidden meaning behind my words. He gladly stepped back, waiting for me to go first.

I let go of his arm and stepped onto the wooden platform. Just a few moments ago everything was calm. Ellis was with me and we were safe. But the second I stepped off the ferry fear crept in. I resisted the urge to turn back to him, to make sure he was there with me and that I wasn't alone. Because alone, I wouldn't last even a few hours. At least with someone with me, I'd stand somewhat of a chance. "Let's just get this shit over with..."

First we checked out what was on the patch of land. An empty shack and a few picnic tables with rags and a few empty beer cans. In short, nothing of interest. After checking whether the area is clear, which strangely there isn't even one infected around, we moved on. The whole thing was eerie.

The next thing we checked out was a bigger shack, that was off of the wooden walkway. The door was already gone, a spot in the wall missing looking out into the swamp and a few broken windows. We both immediately walked in. We searched around the boxes, on the shelves and in the corners. I found a molotov on one of the lower shelves while Ellis disappointingly, found nothing.

I was just about to leave the shack when Ellis grabbed me, and pulled me back against the wall, covering my mouth with his hand. I began to struggle out of his grip when he raised his finger to his lips. He took his hand off my mouth and we both listened. He took a step back, giving me space. I continued to listen, this time closing my eyes. It was then that I heard it. The noise was soft and low. "... witch..." Ellis whispered.

"Great... just what we need. A bitch." I leaned back against the wall. Frustrated, I hit the wall. Ellis shook his head. Surely I can't be the only one who's sick of never catching a break.

"Nick." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure we'll find a way around her." He said, speaking as though he even doubted his words. We checked all of our equipment before leaving, making sure that if we needed something it would be easy to get to in a pinch.

We walked out of the shack stopping at what appeared to a bathtub. "Left or right?" We both asked at the same time. Our jinx induced a smile out of both of us. I pointed to the left, where the walk way went high up off the ground a lot sooner than the right did. Ellis shrugged and began walking that way with me.

It was comforting to be higher off the ground. Knowing that we'd get at least a few extra seconds to ready ourselves if any zombies tried climbing up the sides. We walked relatively side by side, the wood creaking under our feet from a long period of no use. After about 20 steps we relaxed our shoulders. We had been looking around expecting to see the horde emerging from the trees only to hear the sound of a soft cry. Apart from that, it was quiet.

We came up to another shack on level with the walkway. Ellis went in while I stood outside as look out. It was so small there was no need for both of us to search for any leftover supplies. Within moments he came back out. He held out his empty hands, shaking his head. I cursed under my breath and as if in response to it, a loud wailing erupted from somewhere around us. Ellis jumped at the sound. I put my finger to my lips, mouthing shh it's just the witch. He nodded, clutching his shotgun tightly in his hands.

If I had to say who hated witches more out of what our group used to be, I would always say Ellis. When I first met him, witches popped out of nowhere right in front of him like a tree appears in front of a drunk driver's car. Once we passed a gun shop, it was as if the witches became clever. Hiding in bushes or within clothing stacks waiting for Ellis to stumble a bit too close to them. If it weren't for the three of us all shooting the weeping bitch, he would have died long ago. But now that it's just the two of us...

We went as as quietly as we could. "Wow she's crying louder than usual..." Ellis mentioned, I shrugged. My foot fell through the board and I was hanging in the air before I knew what had happened. I heard the rotten wood hit the ground as I swung my free hand onto the edge. I could hear the crying morph into a low growl. Ellis had dropped his shotgun and had gotten down on his knees in front of me. "Hold on Nick!" He grabbed a handful of fabric from my blue button up shirt. The growl became higher pitched. "I'll get ya back up" he said frantically, attempting to pull me up.

One good yank from his end was all my sleeve needed to tear. I stared at the fabric watching every fiber rip. I could see the same fear in Ellis' eyes as sleeve separated from shirt. I landed on the ground mere moments later. Thick, dirty water began to seep into my clothes. A loud, high pitched scream erupted from around me. Instinctively I moved to cover my ears. Before my hands even reached my ears I felt something rip into my forearm. I screamed, water filling my lungs. I lifted my head up only to come face-to-face with the witch.

"He-lp! She'...s shkillung me!" I tried to yell to Ellis while struggling in the water, failing keep the witch at bay. During the short bursts of air I received I noticed Ellis was no longer on the walkway. That fucking redneck left me to die here!As soon as that thought crossed my mind blood splattered on the ground. The witch splashing into the water beside me. I felt a hand on my shoulder, pulling me out of the water.

"Oh man Nick, that was close." Ellis pulled me to my feet. He cautiously shoved the magnum through my belt. I just stood there as he patted my body down checking for any broken bones. Finally both of his hands were on my face. He stared into my eyes and I could tell he was shaking. "Nick... holy shit man I thought I might have lost ya." Ellis wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. I groaned in an attempt to make him remember I was still in pain despite nothing being broken. "Oh sorry man."

I took the ripped part of my sleeve and did my best to stuff it in my shirt to stop or at least slow the bleeding. "I can't thank you enough... but I swear... I feel like I can still hear her."

"I know what you mean." As soon as he said that we both knew; there was another witch somewhere nearby. Fuck.

We managed to find a ladder and get back up to higher ground. Ellis walked slowly making sure to never get more than ten feet in front of me and my limping. Every few minutes he'd turn and ask if I was alright. The answer was a sarcastic no each time, followed with a smile to reassure him.

We soon arrived at a little covered part of the raised planks. On the left side was a table that held a sniper rifle which I gladly exchanged my machine gun for. Immediately I looked through the scope to see if there was a chance I could spot any upcoming dangers. "It sounds like that witch has gotten louder..." At that exact moment, my sights landed on her. She on off the on the left side of the planks after some stairs in the water. No way we'd get past splashing through that water. I nudged Ellis, pointing to her. "Ah shiet."

From there we tip-toed down the creaking stairs. Both of us knew we could not go straight. Neither of us wanted to risk it. Luckily on the right side was a patch of dry land that we could run on. Hastily jumping off, we ran towards the little outhouse. Ellis pointed out the planks of wood laid over shallow water and we quickly followed those to a hill that housed a sewage drain.

Stepping inside and closing that steel door was like finally having a true moment to breathe.