Chapter #14: Breathe

"Well, it looks like we'll be following the creek for awhile until we can find a way back up there," muttered Nick after roughly ten minutes of trekking through the shallow water.

The water was nearly freezing, soaking through his shoes and socks within seconds and leaving his feet and legs chilled to the bone. All of them were stepping along the rocks as much as possible, but all it took was a single step into the ankle-deep water to get a literal case of cold feet. So far, a way out had not presented itself, the mud and loose rocks making it near impossible to climb the steep slopes. He, of all people, had considered the fact Ajax could very likely take them one by one back up to higher land with a single leap; though, he doubted the Hunter would be in a very charitable mood.

"Least it ain't hot in the water."

"Shut up, Ellis."

"Well, this went to Hell in a handbasket real fast!" Nick pumped his shotgun and emptied yet another shell into the swarm of infected charging at him from what felt like every angle. "Reloading!"

Nevaeh ran side-by-side with Rochelle through the shallows, each of them taking turns shooting back at the infected chasing them as the other was reloading. Not too far away, Ajax leapt down onto a Charger, steering it off course just in time to spare the two women from being ran through.

"Thanks, Ajax!" called Nevaeh. It wasn't seconds later, though, that an unfamiliar screech had her whipping around. "Ajax, look out!"

The warning was given too late, however, and because Ajax had still been busy with the Charger he hadn't had time to evade the attack. He went rolling as the Hunter sprang upon him like a cougar, and they went down in a tangle of claws and snarls.

Nevaeh immediately tried running to his aid, but she and Rochelle were utterly surrounded. "Ajax, hold on!" She sliced through another as she watched them brawl, heart racing as Ajax clearly struggled to maintain the upper hand.

Nick had turned at her shouts, and after a brief moment his eyes landed on the two Hunters. "Shit..." He lifted his gun, aiming at the other Hunter's head, but right as he found a clear shot he was knocked off course when a zombie rammed into him from the side. "Fuck!" Turning, he jammed the butt of his gun back into the undead's teeth.

That was when the Hunter on top of him got in a powerful blow to the side of his head, knocking him into a temporary daze. In seconds, the other Hunter had grabbed his head and shoved it under the water, pinning him down as he thrashed to free himself, and despite her efforts Nevaeh could not shake the horde.

"AJAX!"

"Goddamn it!" With a particularly aggressive shove, Nick was able to knock back the last of the infected surrounding him, and in one sharp movement he turned to face the two Hunters.

Lip turning up in a sneer, he lifted his shotgun and took careful aim, following the offending Hunter's movements carefully. One false move, and Ajax would be dead. Lips pressing together, he drew in a slow, deep breath through his nose, gun swaying with the Hunter's movements, and his finger pulled back on the trigger.

The shotgun's roar echoed through the air, and a sharp spurt of dark red spewed from the side of the Hunter's head, its body giving a violent jerk to the side as it fell with a splash to the water beside Ajax. Lowering his gun, he watched both Hunter's a moment, waiting for any type of movement, but there was none. Before he could get to Ajax, though, he was being assaulted once more by a small group of infected. Cursing, he turned on them with gritted teeth, shoving one back and blowing another's brains out with a slew of swears.

Nevaeh had spun in a full 360 at the sound of the gunshot, and he eyes widened at the sight of the dead Hunter laying beside an equally lifeless Ajax. In a burst of adrenaline fueled by the sheer need to get to Ajax, she took out the remaining five zombies surrounding her with her swords, and as they fell dead she tore off towards her fallen counterpart.

"Ajax!" She fell to her knees beside him, lifting his upper body out of water and cradling him in her arms. Reaching down, she pressed her fingers to his neck, only for panic to flood her when she felt no pulse. "Ajax! Hey!" She shook him, but earned no reaction. In a panic, she stood up and hooked her arms under his, and she started dragging him towards a small strip of land to their left.

She laid him flat on his back, where she proceeded to perform CPR without hesitation, completely disregarding the remaining infected. A few came at them, but were shot down before they could reach her, causing her head to snap up as Ellis ran in, where he rigidly placed himself in front of them. As he continued to shoot, she continued her frantic attempts to revive Ajax.

"Ajax, breathe! Goddamn it, breathe!"

Suddenly, his body lurched back to life with a ragged gasp, making her jumps as he rolled over and vomited up what seemed like two lung-fulls of water. She nearly passed out.

"Ajax!"

Ellis took a fleeting second to glance behind him, where Ajax was coughing up a storm. Beside him, Nevaeh supported him as she rubbed and patted his back in attempt to help him clear his lungs.

"Good boy! That's it!" Tears had begun to well in her eyes as he collapsed back to ground, out of breath and exhausted.

He wasn't given long to recover, though, for it was mere seconds later that the ground started to shake, starting off as a slight tremble before growing more prominent.

"TANK!"

Ellis' head snaps up at Coach's shout.

"Oh, come on!" complained Nick.

The brute was upon them within the same moment, barreling around the boulders as they all turned their fire on it in unison. All of them were running dangerously low on ammo, but it was Ellis who was the first to run out, and to his greater misfortune the Tank chose that moment to turn its rage onto him. His eyes had flown wide at first, but then they were darkening, and rather than running he merely tossed the now empty gun to the ground.

"Ellis, what the hell are you doing?!" Nick yelled. "Get out of there!"

Reaching behind him, Ellis pulled out the machete hanging on his back, holding his ground as the hulking mass of flesh charged ever closer at an alarming speed. From her spot on the ground beside a still incapacitated Ajax, Nevaeh stared up at him in horror.

"Ellis! Run!"

He didn't move. Fear shined bright in his baby blues, but he kept a firm front, machete held in front of him at the ready. His entire body clenched up when the Tank reared its huge arms up into the air, towering above him like a zombified Incredible Hulk—when all of a sudden a black blur flew in overhead, and a piercing screech echoed through the air.

The next thing any of them knew, the Tank was releasing a thunderous bellow as a Hunter landed on its head in a storm of teeth and claws. Ellis had stumbled back when one of the huge arms missed him by mere inches in a blind swing, falling to the ground beside Nevaeh. Hastily, she pulled him back, and they watched in shock as the Hunter mauled the Tank's head, but this wasn't Ajax, who lay on the ground beside Nevaeh in equal shock.

This Hunter was clad in a black hoodie, a jagged set of healed claw marks raking down the left side of his face. The Tank managed to grab him by the leg, throwing him aside like a ragdoll. He landed harshly in the water with a splash, but he was back up in the same second, lunging once again onto the beast's back just as it was making a turn for Nick.

All the others could do was stare in amazement as the black-clad Hunter all but made the Tank tear itself apart, expertly dodging its hands as it tried grabbing him again. At one point, Nick had started to take aim with what little ammo he had left, carefully shooting around the Hunter whenever he was given an opening. Then finally, after minutes of effort and close calls, the Tank emitted a deep, fading bellow, falling to its knees, and then landing face-down in the water with a huge splash.

The strange Hunter leapt off as the beast fell, landing on a nearby boulder. They all stared openly as he turned and proceeded to scale the cliff to the rocks above, where he came to a stop on a car on the higher ground above them. Coach had lifted his gun, but a hand lowered down on it before he had a chance to fire, and he looked beside him at Nevaeh.

Her eyes didn't leave the Hunter. He stared right back at her, unflinching, for almost a full minute, and then he was turning around and bounding away, disappearing from sight.

"What the hell was that?" muttered Nick.

"Did that Hunter just protect you?" asked Rochelle, speaking to Ellis.

Nevaeh was still staring in the direction the Hunter had taken off in, eyes narrowed in silent wonder. One look at Ajax told her he was thinking the same thing she was.

"Hey!"

They all looked to where Nick had wandered a bit farther up the creek, waving at them as he pointed to something. "Looks like a way up over here! I see a sign for a safehouse, too!"

None of them had to be told twice. Low and behold, it turned out a set of wooden stairs had been built into the side of the cliff, and they were able to climb them back to the road. Cars lay scattered and abandoned on this section of the road as well. To their right was the direction they had come in, and to their left was a chain link fence that blocked off the rest of the road.

"Looks like we're climbing." Slinging his now empty shotgun over his back, Nick grabbed onto the chain link and began to scale the ten-foot fence. Rochelle, Ellis, and Coach followed his lead, causing the chain link to rattle noisily.

Nevaeh looked beside her at Ajax. "You good?"

He nodded, and he stepped up to the fence. He had a slight limp, likely from his collision with the rocks, but he pressed onward. Truth to be told, she didn't like the idea of him pushing himself, but it was either push or be left behind, so she said nothing and climbed up beside him.

Nick was the first to hit the other side, where he took point until the rest of them made it over. "The safe house shouldn't be far. I bet it's right up ahead in that rest stop."

Nevaeh looked towards the large parking lot in the distance set off the side of the road, where a building stood that resembled a small coffee shop of sorts. Before she could ponder on it for long, her attention was turned back to Ajax when she heard him emit a small sound just in time to see him lean against one of the cars with his hand pressed to his side. Slowly, her eyebrows drew together in a small, concerned frown.

"Hey."

He looked at her.

"You okay?"

A small nod was his reply, but she persisted.

"Let me see."

Ellis glanced over his shoulder as she pushed up the bottom of Ajax's hoodie to expose a large purple bruise blackening his ribs, and he let out a sympathetic hiss. "Dang, are his ribs broke?"

"I don't think so. Just bruised."

Ajax grimaced.

Gently, she pulled the fabric back down and gave his chin a tender nick. "Come on. Let's get you inside so I can take a better look at you."

They made a brusque journey across the vacant parking lot, keeping alert as they approached the front doors of the building. Sure enough, it had been fashioned into a safehouse. Nick had taken the liberty to take point while the others shuffled inside, only allowing his gun to lower when he backed in behind them.

"This place is pretty big. Let's take a look around for supplies." Coach turned into a small convenient store. Nick and Rochelle followed his example, dispersing into different areas of the indoor plaza.

"Check under the counters and back rooms of the stores and food court," said Nick. "Policy usually calls for businesses to have a first-aid on hand, especially in restaurants."

Meanwhile, Nevaeh had sat Ajax down on a bench in front of the fountain, and she began to check him for injury.

"On a scale of one to ten, how much do your ribs hurt?"

Making a face similar to a grimace, he wobbled his hand in a so-so manner before holding up five fingers.

"You're probably still recovering from the last time you were thrown. You need to be careful, okay? I don't think your ribs can take another hit like that."

A small, distracted nod was all she got in reply, when she was suddenly pulling him into her arms and placing her lips beside his ear as she hugged him.

"Stop dying trying to save me." She kissed his head.

Once they had thoroughly searched the building and ensured all possible exits and entrances were secure, they had raided what was left of the shops' non perishables and settled down for a brief rest. Ajax had fallen asleep against Nevaeh some time ago, head rested on her thigh as she gently massaged his head through his hood.

Her head lifted when she saw Ellis approaching, and he came to sit down beside her. "Found these in a car a little while back." He handed it over.

Taking the bottle, she looked down at the label. They were painkillers.

"Figured Ajax could use 'em right now."

She met his eyes. Setting the bottle aside, she reached forward and caressed his chin with feather-light fingers, gently turning his face towards hers. "Don't ever pull a stunt like that again." Leaning in, she placed an affectionate kiss on his cheek.

He met her eyes when she pulled away, growing a bashful smile. "What about you? You okay?"

Looking down at Ajax, she rubbed his back gently. "Yeah." She returned her eyes to him once more, a soft smile dancing across her lips. "Thank you, Ellis. You don't know how much he means to me."

"'E's yer family. Family ain't easy to hold onto these days."

"But I still have him, thanks to you."

"Nick's the one who shot that other Hunter off 'im."

Her smile faltered slightly, but he just continued to eye her intentionally.

"What Ro said wasn't cool, and I ain't makin' up excuses for the way they've been treatin' Ajax... but take my word for it. If Nick's willin' to waste a bullet for 'im... then the others are gonna start thinkin'."

"We don't belong in your group, Ellis," she sighed.

"Maybe not yet, but just give it a lil' more time. Like I said, if Nick's warmin' up to 'im, then they will. We're stronger in numbers, and you know it."

She looked at him resignedly.

"Just think on it. Okay?"

A long, tired sigh left her. "Fine."

He smiled. "Cool." Leaning back, he tugged his hat over his eyes.