Inside Information: Safer Side

"Remember that time people thought I was a priest at a wedding? Come on, let's get you on yer feet."

"Keith, that was a wedding! Not some… CEDA shit!"

Ellis exclaimed, grunting as Keith slung his arm around his neck and in one motion, stood tall. Ellis let out a yelp and threw him a dirty look.

"Hey now, that hurt."

"For once it's you an' not me."

Keith grinned back at him and helped him sit back down on the bed.

Ellis examined his best friend from head to toe. His goatee had been shaven off but wasn't taking much time to grow back in and his hair was tied in a wiry half-assed ponytail at the base of his neck. He wore CEDA armor that resembled military armor (except for the fact that the word C.E.D.A. was clearly printed on the back in huge, white, bold lettering). A standard military rifle and sniper positioned on his back and Ellis couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. The boy could barely keep himself alive without the help of a gun, and yet there he was—standing tall and proud with one pressing into his back. The only thing missing was the standard mask to protect him from the virus but Ellis could have guessed that he was an immune as well.

"It's good to see ya, brother."

Keith squeezed Ellis's shoulder, he returning the smile and flinging his arms around Keith.

"Man oh man it's good to see you. Have I got stories to tell you! But first I need to know how you of all people ended up here! What happened to ma? I thought you were taking care of her!"
"I am. This is how, bro. I was with her for a while, an she was sobbin' an' cryin' for you an' she wouldn't forgive me fer bein' there an' not you. So I said, "Ma, I'm gonna find that crazy son a' yours an' I'll bring him back to you." So I stole a CEDA uniform and they haven't questioned me since. Seems like even CEDA got too much to worry about if they let someone like me join 'em."

"Christ, Keith…"

Ellis ran his hand through his hair and furrowed his eyebrows. At the very least he had inside intel now. That was the most important thing of all.

"How's ma…?"

"Ma? Shoot, she's an immune, believe it or not. She's got kids t'take care of. More n' she can count. She's real happy, yanno. It's like they've got a village full of immunes and non-infected out in New Orleans. Man, it was great. But hell, Ellis, y'shoulda gotten on the whirly bird when you had the chance. Ma's furious."

Keith had been over so often and they were almost like brothers and Ellis's ma insisted on having Keith call him ma. She adopted that status with Keith within the same afternoon. Ellis was a little bit jealous at first, but after a beating from his pa and a scolding from his ma, he was quick to allow his best friend to keep calling his mom ma.

Keith never had a mom. She had died a few months after Keith was born and his father abandoned him for it. So his uncle took him in and he never seemed to be quite right after that. Always sought approval. Keith was the brother Ellis never had, but their close relationship never quite came to fully form until later on.

"Think she'll forgive me?"

"Nah, bro. Not this time. She's as mad as a possum stuck in a wall."

Ellis winced at his words and frowned.

"Anyhow, I gotta get goin' elsewise they'll get suspicious of us. An' between you an' me, they don't like guards getting friendly with people. I got loads t'tell you, but not now. It ain't safe t'talk here."

"Got it. Man, Keith…It's awesome to see you…"

"You too, brother. Shit's crazy, Ellis…keep yer head down nice an' quiet like until time t'eat."

Ellis gave a nod and shoved the older man. He wasn't used to having Keith acting…mature. At least he was going to get proper answers now. There was someone he could trust.

"Now stay put!"

Keith issued an order, eyes flickering to the corner of the room before exiting the area and leaving Ellis with more questions than before and an intense feeling of frustration.


Nick caught up with Ellis as they ate in the crowded cafeteria with other CEDA personnel. They were given the freedom to eat with them but were kept out of their reach. Jack had requested to eat with them so that he would be in better suited company (Nick).

"So tell me about how you acquired so much money."

Nick stabbed into his steak and analyzed it with an appraising look.

"Money? Gambling, my good friend. A well placed bet here and there and soon enough you find yourself beoming the owner of a shiny new car, home, and hell, even a few companies."

Nick bit into the steak and chewed as if in deep thought. He didn't want Jack to think that this was the best meal he had in what seemed to be forever and a year. Ellis remained quiet, holding onto his wound with one hand and ate with the other. He had been reminded by Nick to remain quiet out of the corner of his mouth as he walked in with Ellis. They still haven't had their little chat together about what he had spoken to the man about but whatever it was, he seemed obviously disturbed by it.

"Well, I am glad to be in your company then. You know, money will be probably inflated after all this, with people suddenly acquiring mass fortunes thanks to insurance. With your money, I'll be able to get what I need and be done with people entirely. Goodness knows I'm sick of healing the weak and stupid."

He rolled his eyes, Ellis quickly clenching onto his wounds and knowing that he'd have to heal up and fast. There was no mercy with this man and if he was running the whole compound, the other personnel wouldn't be afraid to gun him down if he was weak. And he was then and there. Unable to move too well on his own without help or lots of time to get to where he needed.

A familiar face approached the table carrying a tray of food. Ellis's heart jumped into his mouth as he saw him not make any eye contact at all. As if they were never friends.

Just maybe Keith knew how some things worked…they were nearly brothers, after all. If they couldn't read each others' minds by now, there'd be a problem.

"Howdy there, Jackie boy! How's it hangin'? Jus' wanted t'meet the new meat here! Name's Keith!"

He slid his tray next to Jack and rounded over to the two survivors, grasping the backs of their necks in a friendly manner.

"Tops to ya, boys! Shit, I can't believe that you managed to survive out there without no CEDA help!"

Nick seemed to be irritated beyond belief. It was on top of whatever Jack spoke to him about and now this Keith fellow strangely resembled that character that Ellis always spoke of. He even had the same accent.

"Goddammit, if you're that same Keith this bastard always talks about…"
"Naw, Nick, the Keith I knew had way more missing fingers. And burned…and shit…he was missin' a few teeth too."

Ellis gave a laugh as Keith squeezed the back of his neck almost painfully so.

"Name's Ellis, that there is Nick."

"Well howdy."

He removed his hands and looked up at Jack, seeing his face turning red. He must have had a question burning on his tongue and the men gave him no time to ask his question.

"Now Keith, since you've so humbly volunteered yourself to be their,erm…personal guards…I expect you to show them the ropes."

"Th' ropes? Now, Jackie, I was s'posed to-"

"Keith…"

"Naw, doc, I ain't babysittin' no carriers! I dun-"

"I give the orders here." Jack leaned forwards, as if warning Keith with a glare.

"I expect you to follow them. Now, Nick, is there anything else I can do for you?"

Ellis snorted and watched Keith take his seat beside Jack, seemingly upset but the mechanic knew that his friend was officially the happiest man in the compound. They would have exchanged bro-fist pounds if Jack wasn't looking, but unfortunately, he was right there.

"Yeah, get us to that other compound with our friends. Like you said you would."

There was a pause and Jack seemed obviously upset now. Nick rose his eyebrows and set his fork down. He knew what was coming next. It was almost a sixth sense of his to know exactly when the shit was going to hit the fan.

"Now, Nick, don't be mad…I called up the other compound where your friends were being held…" Nick could feel himself beginning to grin angrily. He knew it.

He fucking knew it.

He leaned towards Jack and felt anger rising off Ellis. He knew it too.

"'Now Nick, don't be mad…'" He repeated after Jack, seeing his face blanche a bit.

"Do you realize the mistake you just made?"

Rhetorical question.

He drummed his fingers on the table.

"N-Nick…"

"You just told me that our little deal was one sided. You just told me that we were not going to see our friends. That's not the first time you disappointed me today, Jackie."

He imitated Keith's name for the doctor. Ellis rose an eyebrow. Not the first time today? Just what the hell happened between them?

"Nick…buddy…it's just a minor setback…"

"A minor setback is telling me you're missing gas for our ride. A minor setback even, is waiting for Ellis to heal up for a few more days. This? This is telling me we can't see our friends. That was the whole point of our little bargain."

Jack licked his lips and held a hand out to Nick in trying to reason with him.

"Listen, we need you here a bit longer because we need the dog-"

"And our friends can't come here, champ? Too hard?"

"N-no, Nick, juh…just give me more time."

A sinister grin grew on Nick's face as he leaned forwards once more.

"You also just told me right now that you're used to saying that to somebody…just give me more time…if my hunch is correct, you've made a lot of bad deals in the past."

"N-no, not true-"

"Don't dance with the devil, Jack. I know a sucker when I see one. All you gotta do is reunite four people together and a dog. Does that sound hard to you?"

"No…no, I suppose not…"

"Then don't sweat it. I'm your friend here."

Nick leaned back and grinned, lacing both arms behind his head and shrugging a bit with both eyes closed.

"It's not like you owe me money, Jack-a-roo. Just some reuniting."

The slightly overweight man sweated a bit as he rubbed his palms together, trying to weedle his way out of a tight situation.

"Right…right…"

He cleared his throat and abandoned his tray of food and stood up tall.

"Keep an eye on these fellows. I'm…going to try making a few calls."

"Aye, aye."

Keith saluted with two fingers and watched the man take his leave, almost running for the nearest exit. As soon as he was out of sight, Keith let out a loud sigh, Ellis doing the same and pulling his hat back on his head, laughing a bit.

"Jesus, it's like you're used to this or something, eh, Nick?"

Ellis pat Nick on the back and gave a relieved laugh. Nick, on the other hand, ran both his hands through his hair and sigh.

"You did good, Fireball. For once, you listened to me and kept your mouth shut with your bird-brained friend there."

"Yeah, well, I figured you n' Keith got a plan."

He gave them a small grin and realized that Nick wasn't fooled with Ellis's lie about Keith.

"So, this is the famous Keith, huh?"

"Yup, that's me."

Keith grinned from ear to ear and plopped in his seat in front of them.

"I guess Ellis made a new friend."

"A couple actually, Keith. Say, what are you doing here now that there ain't people around?"

Keith shrugged and grinned.

"Ma sent me, I told you."

"Naw, Keith, you said there were too many people…"

Keith shifted his eyes and shook his head.

"Dunno what you mean. Anyhow, eat up right quick. There's this real cool place in here that not many people know about, an' there's this really cool thing that I gotta show you."

Keith grinned from ear to ear and rose up both eyebrows, earning a nod from the other two men. They knew that the room wasn't safe. Why? Only Keith knew, and he wasn't about to spill where everyone could hear. He began scarfing down the food in front of him almost ravishly. Ellis was used to seeing Keith eat like a monster, but this was different.

"Where have you guys been?"

Keith asked in between mouthfuls of mashed potatoes. Ellis threw a grin over at Nick and saw him scratch the back of his head.

"Savannah trying to get to New Orleans like everyone else…we figured no helicopters would be coming back."

"An' you were right."

"This kid almost got himself killed…"

"I did not! You thought I was done for an' you left me!"

Ellis defended himself with a grin creeping up on his face.

"An' I sure as hell don't think I'd meet my Angel if you didn't do that. Where is she anyhow?"

"That's what I spoke to the doc about."

Nick winced a bit, guilt brewing in his gut. He swallowed hard and tried to rid of the ice in his stomach.

"They were throwing numbers out of the blue when you were out cold."

Keith snorted mashed potatoes out of his nose and instantly began trying to clear his airways out so he could laugh properly.

"Ellis was unconscious!"

More laughing. Ellis hunched over and grasped onto his wound with one hand and pulled the bill of his cap over his eyes with the other.

"It ain't funny…"

"Aw hell, your lucky streak is running a little low, ain't it! This kid, believe it or not, ain't never got no scratch on him even during our games! Ain't that the shit?"

"That's a lie! I broke my arm once!"

"And ma spanked me real good."

Ellis grumbled, earning a crook of Nick's eyebrow. Why was notgetting injured such a shameful thing? He tucked the piece of information away in some recess in his mind and continued.

"Anyways, you lame brains, there were numbers going into the millions. I found out what they were…"

"Experiments…that's our job here at this compound…retrieve lost specimens, or experiments, n' exterminate 'em like varmin. Any carriers are under examination too."

Keith whispered, pulling up his sleeve to show hundreds of needle marks and slash scars.

"There's nothin' you kin do about it neither…they did this t'me 'till they knew I weren't gonna make another round of turnin' into a carrier again."

The two looked up at Keith, horror etched in on their faces. The true face of this compound?

"Keith…aw hell…"

"Now keep eatin'! I gotsa show you 'round like the doc ordered me tuh."

Keith spoke really loudly so the guards passing by would hear him. He continued to shovel food in his mouth afterwards and watched them squeeze the trigger of their assault rifle slightly as it was poised upwards from under their arms. They passed and Ellis was now laughing, clutching his injuries as he did so.

"Guess ma was right, the military did really straighten you up!"

"Shut up, El." Keith's eyebrows drew over his eyes as he flung his peas at his friend.

"What about other compounds? What are their functions?"

"Naw, I can't tell you here."

Keith knew that he was becoming more and more comprimised. He couldn't afford that, not that he was on the other side of where Ellis and Nick stood—the safer side.


AN: Do you guys know what farmer days are? Yeah, I'm a farmer of sorts, 'cept we farm plants (lilacs to be particular). And it isn't going well, guys. The family business is running down the drain because no one is buying plants. So, we have no money really to hire employees so it's me and my dad and we've been pulling farmer days for a while. That's when you work early in the morning (we've been going in for 8 everyday, god help us if we went earlier, we'd be living at the farm), and end work at 4:30 to go home to eat supper, and go back to the farm to finish up work until the sun goes down. So that's why updates have been a little slow…I ask for a little slack please and thank you for your understanding ^^;;