Hey guys, its Yobloc20 here. Thank you for the reviews! You guys are the best. Story is coming along nicely I think, so let's get into it! Favourite, Review and Enjoy! Valve owns all characters except my OC's.

Chapter 7: Change of Course

Francis scoffed at the suggestion. Zoey furrowed her brow and glared at him, not understanding why he was so dismissive of the idea. What other things did they have going for them.

"Zoey, where do you even think we start looking for them?" Francis inquired, clearly unconvinced about the plan as a whole. It seemed unrealistic and farfetched to him. Louis didn't know what to think. She was still concerned about them?

"I'm sure wherever they are, they're doing fine." Louis tried to interject.

"That's the thing!" Zoey exclaimed as she jumped to her feet, surprising the two men. "They're with the military! They're carriers! What the fuck do you think is gonna happen to them?!"

Francis and Louis were shocked by her words. What happened at Millhaven was a nightmare. The last thing they wanted was for anyone else to experience what they did. But that didn't happen at every camp, just at the sick place they ended up at in Millhaven.

Or so they presumed.

"Zoey, we have no idea if that is even happening to them." Louis remarked as he straightened up his tie.

"And what if it is? Are we going to let them die?" She responded, hopping down off the boat and down to their level. Francis grumbled something under his breath as Louis looked down at his shoes. He felt a slight sense of guilt creep in but he knew they couldn't save them, even if they tried.

"Zoey, it's too much of a long shot. We have no idea if they're genuinely in trouble. They could be absolutely fine!" Louis insisted, hoping the college student would buy it. Francis nodded in agreement and jumped back onto the boat.

"What else are we going to do?! Stay here? We need to get off this island and help them!" Zoey pursued her idea, her mind was set. She needed to help them.

"You have no proof. I'm not hunting them down to find them having a picnic." Francis called out from inside the boat. Zoey groaned in frustration, her mind felt like a tornado was running right through it.

"I can't believe you guys are giving up on them this easy. We have no further business on this stupid island!" She remarked, clearly becoming more vexed as the argument stretched on.

"It isn't our job to look after them! We look out for ourselves, like Bill said. We did everything we could for them but now they're on their own." Francis objected as he re-emerged from beneath the boat with a box of cereal in his hand.

"What have we even got to lose? We have no other plan! We have nowhere else to go!" Zoey retorted. This was a battle she refused to give up on, and the other two knew it.

"Why? Why do you want to help these guys so goddamn much?!" Francis questioned with a furrowed brow.

"Because they were our only other friends on this planet right now, so excuse me for becoming attached." She explained with a frustrated voice. Francis was just about to interject when she continued.

"Because if anything happens to them, I'll blame myself." Zoey replied solemnly.

The two men looked at her questionably, not understanding what she just said.

"What do you mean?" Louis asked in a soft tone. Zoey shrugged and sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"We let them run off to the military, knowing well what happens to captured carriers. You saw what they do at those camps first hand. Do you really want that happening to those guys? Our friends?" Zoeys words cut deep in their minds, slight guilt arising in the two.

Zoey turned to Francis. "What about Rochelle? She could be in trouble and you're sitting here doing nothing but basking in the fact that you could help her but you're not bothered."

Her words were cold but they were the ugly truth. They let these people go to the military, who tried to kill them for being carriers. They could've brought the group with them but they willingly let them go.

Francis was speechless. He just grunted and looked down at his shoes.

"That's right." Zoey said as she began to place more pieces of wood into the fire, leaving the two men quiet in thought. She sat back, watching the blaze slowly cover the darkening beach in an orange glow.

"We should find some fuel further into the island tomorrow." She uttered as she hopped back onto the boat to look for food. Francis and Louis both looked at each other and shrugged.

It looks like they would be leaving this island a hell of a lot sooner than any of them expected.

Back at the compound

Nick strolled back to his friends after his little talk with Beth, seeing the other group of Ellis' friends had pulled over chairs and joined them.

Nick groaned slightly at the sight, he wished him and his friends to be left alone but instead, the kid had brought them all over for a chat. And from the laughter he was hearing, it sounded like it was going well.

The conman rubbed the bridge of his nose before arriving back at the table, everyone gave a quick glance over at him.

"There you are! Where do you keep disappearing off to?" Rochelle exclaimed with a grin as the suited man return to the table. Nick gave a nod and sat down beside Coach.

"I went for some fresh air." Nick muttered as he leaned back in his chair. Rochelle nodded and continued with her conversation with the others. Nick not being in anyway interested with talking, he turned away and gazed back over to where Beth was sitting.

She sat there with her three male friends. Nick was still very much in the dark about her. Why had she asked Nick to help her instead of her one of her friends? She sat beside the youngest looking man, with the blue plaid shirt and a nasty looking black eye. They didn't look like the worst kind of people. The conman considered Beths' earlier offer of joining them for a talk but wiped it away, knowing full well it would most likely be extremely awkward for Nick.

"What did the girl want?"

The sentence slightly startled Nick. He had completely forgotten that Coach was right beside him. He had also forgotten that Coach had seen him talking with Beth. Nick wracked his brain for an excuse, knowing that Coach would be less than impressed about Nick sticking his nose where it didn't belong.

"She thought I looked familiar." Nick shrugged, noticing that Coach had a slight grin on his face. He seemed to have bought the lie.

"Oh really? Did you get her number as well?" The big man joked with a chuckle. Nick just sneered and shook his head.

"Nah, but I could've. Easily." The conman stated. Coach raised an eyebrow at him while Nick gave a sly smirk. A brief moment of comfortable silence came over them as they listened in on the conversation beside them. Ellis was talking to his friend Paul, but in a hushed tone, a serious expression on his face. Nick found that rather odd but he ignored it.

"The canteen is now serving dinner!" A guard yelled from the door of the cafeteria. Everyone in the room rose to their feet and made their way to the canteen to get dinner. Ellis wasn't even that hungry but he wasn't going to turn down a meal. He joined the small line for the canteen which was gradually moving along. Rochelle glanced back at him from further up the line and smiled back at him, which he returned.

The dinner which was served to them by rather expressionless lunch ladies, it was the same as yesterdays dinner, which was stew. While it wasn't the best thing Ellis had ever eaten, it was so much better than scrounging on scraps like they did out in the infection ravaged wild. He took a seat beside Rochelle at the same table they were at yesterday, also with a bowl of stew.

Paul walked over to join them, sitting down beside on Ellis' other side, also with a bowl of stew. Ellis gave him a small grin before swallowing a spoonful of his dinner, the warm stew settling nice in his belly.

"So, how did you end up here Paul?" Ellis asked as he ate another spoonful.

"Well, I actually got out on one of 'em whirlybirds at the hotel back in Savannah. Waited for you and Keith as long as I could but we were forced into one and choppered out. Stopped in a few places on the way here, that's when I met Liz and Thomas. Good guys, normal people like you and me." Paul said as he gestured to his two friends a few tables over.

"Yeah, they're nice people. Man, I just wish I could've stuck with Keith." Ellis muttered as he hung his head.

"Don't worry about it man. I'm sure he's fine. Don't blame yourself." Paul commented as he patted the mechanic on the back.

"I sure hope so, man." Ellis mumbled as he ate another spoonful.

"So, how did you find your way here?" Paul questioned as he propped his elbow up on the table, using it to support his head.

"Well, I've been one hell of a ride man." Ellis chuckled as Paul gave him an amused look.

"Really? Well shit, I'm listening." Paul stated as he he brushed back his brown hair.

"Started off when we saw those helicopters leaving us behind at the hotel. We traveled across Georgia and Louisiana to get to New Orleans, the last survivin' evacuation point in this region. We went through carnivals, swamps, storms, all kinds of shit man. Shit, we even stole Jimmy Gibbs stock car from the Liberty Mall." Ellis beamed.

"No way! Man, at least you had a bit of fun while you were out there." Paul grinned, making Ellis wonder did he even know about the hundreds of zombies that stood in their way that whole time.

"Yeah, we even came across this group of three. Great people, they saved our asses, gave us food and shelter. I owe them a lot, if we ever happen to run into them again." Ellis sighed, his tone slightly more deflated.

"Yeah? What happened to them?" Paul inquired as he sat up in his seat.

"They all sailed off to the Florida Keys, apparently it was safe out there. I just hope they made it man." Ellis uttered as he took off his cap and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm sure they are fine man. They were good people?"

"Yeah man. They had this girl with them, Zoey was her name. The most beautiful girl I've ever seen. And that ain't no word a lie." Ellis stated as Paul let out a snicker.

"Really? Ellis, I thought you weren't the guy for long distance relationships." Paul joked as Ellis let out a small chuckle.

"Hey man, she was truly amazing, I'm not joking. Everything about her was just... Perfect. I never even got to say how I really felt about her." Ellis beamed, seemingly slipping off into his thoughts. Paul noticed that he was serious and just nodded his head in silence. Paul remembered Ellis when he was in high school. He was in a relationship with this girl and he was head over heels for her too. But she broke up with him to get with a member of the football team and Ellis was left heartbroken.

From that day on, Ellis seemed to have trust issues with women or something. The kid would always presume that he was never good enough for any girl and would become very worked up about little things. The psychological damage done by that girl must have been very hard on him.

Since then, Ellis never really talked to girls in any other way besides just being friends. Paul could hardly believe that in the middle of the apocalypse, Ellis would actually develop a crush on a girl again. He couldn't help himself but grin at the mysterious mind of Ellis. But as Ellis explained, the girl had also left him to escape to the Florida Keys, and Paul wondered did it have the same effect as the girl in high school did.

Paul felt nothing but pity and concern for the man beside him.

Back at the Keys

Louis gazed down at Zoey, who was currently sleeping quietly on her side near the campfire. The sun had now set and the only light was the blaze that covered the whole beach in light. Francis sat a couple of feet away, brandishing his trusty shotgun. Louis put his gaze back on the college student, he knew she wouldn't give it up. Zoey was right about helping them, she only had good intentions in mind for good people. But what if they didn't need help? They could traverse the whole country to find them absolutely fine. Louis sighed and threw a stick onto the fire.

"Are we seriously about to track those guys down?" Francis asked after a long moment of silence.

"Looks like it. She does have a point." Louis said as he kept his gaze on the sleeping girl.

"I know, but what do we do when we find them? Take down a whole camp of soldiers? That's even if we find them." Francis protested as he aimed his shotgun into the sky, checking the sights.

"It's a risk we're gonna have to take." Louis replied with a smirk. Francis chuckled lightly and shook his head.

"I will admit, it would be nice to have Rochelle back with us. She was cool." Francis laughed dryly.

"She was cool? Is that all?" Louis joked with a sly grin.

"Alright, alright. She was pretty too."

Louis let out a small snicker, causing Francis to raise an eyebrow.

"What? You're just jealous!" He remarked and Louis held his hands up in defense.

"I'm not trying to screw with you man. It just sounds weird coming from the guy that hates everything." He responded as his laughter died down. Francis just mumbled something under his breath and looked down at the fire, and then at Zoey. Louis followed his gaze and also set it on the sleeping girl. There was a brief moment of silence as they both felt an odd sense of misery just looking at her. She had been through so much at such a young age.

"She really liked that Ellis guy, didn't she?" Francis said as he looked up at Louis again.

"Yeah. He was the only guy she had met in a while that was somewhere near her age." Louis agreed.

"You think uuuh, you think those two were...?" Francis didn't need to finish his sentence for the IT technician to understand.

"She liked him back? Yeah, I think so. They were really close, you know?" Louis answered as Francis nodded.

"You think that's why she wants to go after them?" Francis asked again. Louis never really thought of it that way.

"I doubt it. But it's probably a factor. I wouldn't think it's the whole reason though."

Francis just nodded and sighed.

"Let's hope they're still alive at least."

...

Zoey eyes fluttered open slowly. She yawned and looked around her. She was in a dark room. She didn't know where she was. Zoey looked down, she was in a nice looking bed with a blue duvet.

"Hello?"

Zoey sat up and climbed out of the bed and landed on her feet. She felt dizzy.

She walked forward, using the beige colored wall as support. Panic was beginning to set in.

"Louis? Francis?"

She was met with nothing but deafening silence.

Zoey began to look around the room, it looked oddly familiar. There was a desk on the other side of the room, a lamp illuminated it. It seemed so far away.

She began to stumble across the room, as if she had forgotten to walk. Her legs felt so weak.

She nearly crashed into the desk. She drew a deep breath and recomposed herself.

"Get your shit together Zoey."

She looked around on the cluttered desk. It was filled with papers and copies. Unfinished assignments. A letter from her college, stating her attendance needed to improve or else they would have no other choice but to revoke her scholarship.

"This is my room."

She was home. There was a picture beside the desk. With shaky hands, she picked it up.

It was a small picture of herself and her parents sitting on the couch in the sitting room at Christmas. All smiling nicely at the camera. All happy.

Zoey dropped the picture to the ground, the glass shattering at her feet. She brought her hands up to her mouth, to try and quieten her sobs. She missed them so much.

"They're in a better place Zo, I wish I had that peace of mind."

"What do you mean Ellis?"

"At least you know that they're no longer in pain. I don't know what happened to my Ma. She could be alive or dead or needing my help or... even worse."

Zoey was so shocked by that statement. He was right, he had to go through the mental torment every day, not knowing what fate had met his dear mother. She couldn't even begin to think about how awful that must be to live with. But yet Ellis was always an optimist. When everything looked grey he made it seem vibrant.

Zoey collapsed to the floor, her legs no longer having the strength to carry her. The broken glass cut her hands and legs, but she didn't even feel it. She felt the blood drip from her cuts, but no pain. She lay on the floor, in a slowly growing pool of her own blood, sobbing for her parents and surprisingly, for Ellis too.

Warm arms wrapped around her frame and pulled her in. She didn't even need to question who it was. She just buried her face into his shirt and sobbed.

"It's s'alright Zo. It's okay. Nothing is gonna hurt you anymore." Somehow, she didn't doubt that. She believed him.

"Ellis, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry about your mom." She sobbed as she stroked her hair gently.

"There's nothing you could've done Zo. There's nothing either of us could've done. Don't be sorry for me." He was always so considerate of others, Zoey began to wonder did he even care about himself.

His embrace was comforting as always. She could stay like this forever in his arms. She gazed up at him, his face seemed distorted, almost blurry, but she made out his face. His warm smile and his hypnotic eyes.

She slowly leaned in, beckoning for his lips. But she never met them. Instead she felt his grip on her slowly loosen.

"Ellis? Ellis!" She cried out, desperately reaching out for him, tears streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry Zoey. I have to go." He uttered, becoming more distant.

"Ellis! Please don't leave me!" She nearly yelled, desperately reaching out for him.

"I'm sorry Zoey." She tried to grab his hand,but she never reached him. He was gone.

Tears fell down her face but she didn't even bother wipe them away. She was too fed up with being hurt at this point.

Zoey rolled up into a ball and closed her eyes, no longer caring about anything. She had lost everything she cared about. She had nothing to live for anymore.

Her eyes fluttered open again, the soft sound of waves crashing against the beach behind her. She rubbed her eyes, she was back on the beach. Louis was asleep on the sand a few feet away from her, Francis was sitting by the fire with his back to her.

Zoey lay back down on the sand, looking up at the stars in the black sky. Her eyes threatened to spill more tears. Now she was having nightmares about him.

She was going to find Ellis. No matter what.