I don't really know what's gotten into me but this chapter more or less wrote itself. There was a couple of times where I had to back track and re-write a few things so that it sounded better but for the most part this chapter came out as what you see right now. Miracle, right? 2 chapters in one month?! Well I did mention trying to get better about that… here's hoping things continue on smoother for me than it does for our comrades trapped in the apocalypse. Comments are always loved- the people who take time to leave me a note have a special place in my heart. I'm glad to be back on this story after so long and hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it Enjoy
Chapter 21
As the group trekked away from what they'd always remember as their 'prison' multiple problems cropped up. Namely facing infected with no real weapons, but besides that was the problem that none of them had eaten for several days now. They had gotten lucky and had found a rundown shack with a stash of clean bottled water that the group had collected and brought with them.
"What I wouldn't give for a burger joint." Came Coach's voice, tired and worn down. Nick heaved a sigh of annoyance but refrained from actually responding- only just barely, though. Coach had been grumbling about food for the last hour and he was working on Nick's last nerve.
"Did I ever tell you guys about this one time Keith had been absolutely sure aliens had taken over the local burger joint an' he an' I staked the place out an' I've gotta admit there were some strange goin' ons in the place-"
Nick shook his head wearily, trying to repress the smile that threatened to show on his face. Ellis had gone back to his usual behavior- much to Nick's surprise. There had still been odd moments here and there – like just the other day Ellis had spoken about the infected as if they were an inferior species (which, ok, Nick could kind of see but Ellis had made it sound like a new race of creatures like some kind of backwards evolution). Ellis switched topics before anyone had enough sense to comment on it, though.
"So anyways, we was tryin' to figure out why the freezer door had a 'stay out, danger' sign on it when this guy jumped Keith and then Keith and I were fightin' off like a ton of guys with the same face!" Ellis said, his hands motioning to illustrate the event. Ellis' chattering had become pretty non-stop as of late; as if he was trying to make up for his time trapped in silence.
"… Ellis…. 's now….. good time?" Rochelle mumbled. Everyone paused for a moment to look at her. She was hanging over Nick's shoulder once again, since Coach wasn't able to carry her at the moment and Ellis insisted Nick be the one to do it. She had been mumbling a lot in the past day… Nick was hoping she woke up soon- for more reasons than his shoulder was tired of supporting her weight.
"No time like the present, Ro." Ellis replied cheerfully. He grinned over at the others but as soon as he thought their eyes were off of him he let the smile drop. Was that believable? Did he still sound like himself or had it been too forced?
Ellis pulled the bill of his hat lower over his eyes as he watched the ground. He kept his ears pricked for anything dangerous but otherwise he let his mind wander. Ellis couldn't really put his finger on it but whatever had happened between before he had been in the lab and after.. well he just felt different. He didn't want to worry the others with his paranoia, however, so he stayed quiet… there was no reason to bother them with something like this. It was more than likely in Ellis' head, anyway. A stinging odor hit Ellis' nose and he picked up his head, eyes scanning everything to figure out where it was coming from.
"Oh Gods, it looks like a Spitter vomited all over around here." Nick's disgruntled voice echoed through the area. His nose wrinkled in distaste. "Whatever you guys do, stay out of the 'water' if you can help it. I wouldn't put it past the stuff to dissolve clothing and skin alike."
"It would be you to put clothing in the mix." Coach said. His voice was halfway between serious and teasing.
"Well what did you expect me to say, Coach? Shoe leather? Or perhaps I should say 'burgers and skin alike, just like some horrific stomach acid that's spread over everything'?" Nick asked, his snarky edge rounded down a bit by a humorous tone.
"Alright, boy, I get your point." Coach replied, shaking his head.
"Aw shit, you weren't kidding." Ellis complained as he jumped back from the acid that had bubbled up and upon bursting had splashed onto the bottom of his pants and parts of his feet. It burnt like hell and he could pretty much watch the acid eat away at the ruffs of his pants. He sighed… it wasn't like his clothing was in a state to worry about anymore but if he wasn't careful, Ellis would end up running around naked in this apocalypse. He would need to find some kind of new clothing soon.. as badass as he was, running around without clothing would do him no favors.
"Thank you, Ellis, for making sure I was right." Nick said lightly, glancing back to make sure that the kid was alright. It was so strange for things to be so… well 'normal' would be a bad term to put into this situation but perhaps 'usual' or… 'routine'?
"Shucks Nick, ain't no problem." Ellis said, laughing as the pain subsided a bit. "Seriously, though, guys, stay out of that stuff. It's meaner than my nannie after she's been insulted while drunk."
"Pure poetry." Nick replied, shaking his head. "Remind me never to get on the wrong side of your Nannie, Ellis… Even if she is nicer than this shit… a comparison can't be good at all."
"Do you guys see the signs of civilization ahead?" Coach asked as if he didn't trust his own eyes, cutting smoothly across Nick and Ellis' conversation.
Nick looked around for what Coach was seeing. He was about to decline when he noticed the areas they were walking on… well they weren't paved in any specific way except to have planks of wood that seemed to form a kind of trail. The planks were old and beginning to rot but they could still be spotted every now and then.
"Let's follow this trail to see where it leads." Nick acknowledged, hefting Rochelle so that her weight was draped differently- it didn't really help anything but Nick figured it was worth a shot. It was another hour's walk before they found any absolute signs of habitation… and another hour after that before they noticed huts in the distance. The sun was beginning to set and the bugs began to swarm around them.
Nick had enough bug bites now that he was pretty sure he could make a complex 'connect the dot' drawing on his skin if he had the mind to and a pen. Maybe they'd find a salve to help with the itch… the finding of houses brought so many images filling Nick's mind that he sighed longingly.
"We might actually find a shelter to spend the night in." Nick said gratefully.
"And food!" Coach replied, fist pumping.
"Keep yer voices down." Ellis hissed, eyes flitting around. Nick and Coach turned to look at Ellis in shock before nodding and taking Ellis' suggestion.
Ellis' warning unfortunately came a little too late. Mud men started appearing from the murky depths of the strangely acidic water, splashing the horrific concoction over the comrades. Ellis took his hat off and shoved it into Nick's arms before settling down onto all fours to face off with the Mud Men. He gave a snarl of warning, looking at each of the surrounding infected in turn.
Their returning growls were not cowed at all. Ellis snorted in annoyance, attempting to make himself look bigger as the Mud Men continued to close in on them.
Nick and Coach moved closer together to try and leave a smaller target for the attacking infected. Nick felt particularly useless and it was a feeling he wished he never had to feel. He watched nervously as the Mud Men turned their sights between Ellis, and himself and Coach. They decided to turn their efforts on Ellis- probably because they realized the possibility that he was a threat.
Watching Ellis fight was strange for anyone concerned- it was like Ellis became more creature than human. His movements were quick and short, yet nonetheless with the grace of a predator. As many ways as it seemed wrong for Ellis to be using teeth and hands to kill the infected there was something right about it when Nick watched… Nick would go back to realizing just how wrong it as after the fight of course but during there was a strange kind of power that would accompany watching Ellis become a predator of a higher power.
Having finished the last of the Mud Men Ellis stood and ran a hand over his mouth. "There blood is Nasty as Hell." He muttered irritatedly, spitting in attempt to get the taste out of his mouth.
"I'll take your word for it." Nick replied. "You ok, Sport? You've got a few burns from where that one got you with the water."
"'ll be fine, Nick. I won' say no to a medkit if we find one but til then I'll be fine." Ellis responded, retrieving his hat from the conman. He stayed at Nick's side a moment, wrapping his arms around Nick and resting his head on the conman's shoulder- careful of Rochelle of course. Ellis heaved a sigh of content- apparently happy to just stay like that for a few minutes.. Nick wouldn't really have minded too much either. The biggest problems for him was that his shoulder was sore from holding up Rochelle and that keeping her in place meant he couldn't return the 'sort of hug' that Ellis was giving him.
Coach cleared his throat a few minutes later. He was pointedly not looking at either Nick or Ellis, his face slightly flushed. If Nick had the energy to care he might have made an act of pushing Ellis away in annoyance but at the moment he couldn't care less of what Coach thought of them.
"Shall we be on our way, then?" Nick suggested before leading the way towards the enclosures they could just make out. Ellis followed right on his heels while Coach trailed at the back of the group.
Coach, Ellis, and Nick cautiously entered the encampment. Ellis looked back and forth between the different shelters. He heard noises coming from all over but he couldn't identify anything directly. On the plus side he didn't hear any witches or hunters or any of the other special inferior.
Ellis pointed to the nearest enclosure then motioned for Nick and Coach to stay put. Coach did so fairly easily but he looked worried, while Nick grudgingly stared after Ellis. He didn't like the kid putting his neck on the line- even if Ellis did have super senses for the time being.
"Sonuva bitch!" Came Ellis' voice suddenly, louder than even Coach and Nick had been earlier.
"What is it?!" Nick responded, moving as quickly as the extra weight weighing him down would allow him to. Coach reached the shelter first, throwing back the tent flap. The sight awaiting them was not what they were expecting.
"Aw man I missed havin' a gun in meh hands." Ellis said, running his hands ever so lovingly along the length of a shotgun.
"Boy, you scared the hell out of us. Was that shout really necessary?" Coach scolded though he also looked impressed with the gun stash they had stumbled upon. Even though this apocalypse was no joy ride… it was a lot better having the equipment to fight then having to run around with no form of defense.
Ellis' grin was a little sheepish but he tossed a pistol to each Nick and Coach. "Course it was, we got real lucky with this. There's a couple rounds for each a them so le's make'em last while we can."
"Roger that." Nick replied, opening the bullet compartment and seeing that he had six shots. Well… that wasn't very much in the grand scheme of things but it was a lot better than no gun or a gun with no bullets.
"Let's find something to eat and a 'safe' place to sleep tonight." Coach suggested as they headed out of the encampment. Nick kept his eyes sharp- Ellis' shout could have easily attracted unwanted attention but they seemed like they were ok so far.
The group split up to search the different shelters though they didn't stray far from one another. Nick really didn't know how to tell what was food in the little huts… he was hoping for something obvious but was not lucky in the slightest.
"Any luck?" Nick asked when they had grouped up again.
"Nope." Coach replied gruffly.
"Nada." Ellis looked really put out with those words.
"Well let's keep trying."
The group continued to search, slowly making their way to the center of the camp.
"It's getting to be too dark, Nick." Coach said, sounding forlorn. Nick felt simultaneously like snickering at Coach's expression and consoling his comrade. His own stomach gave an unhappy rumble.
"I guess we'll just have to call it for tonight. Maybe we'll have better luck in the morning." Nick replied. Ellis and Coach nodded, spirits having sunk to a rather low place.
Nick set Rochelle down carefully, doing his regular check to make sure she was still alive. It may sound rather silly but it was something that put everyone's mind at ease.
"She's still with us." Nick made sure not to add 'for now.' If they didn't find something to get into Rochelle soon Nick was pretty sure they were going to lose her. Her mumbling was a good sign that she might be waking up soon but there was no promise as to when.
He glanced around at his teammates and noticed just how wasted away they were becoming. Once flushed, full cheeks were now haggard and there were heavy set rings around everyone's eyes. Nick let out a sigh of exhaustion- might as well get some sleep. Any form of energy would be helpful at this point.
Ellis watched as Nick and Coach bedded down for the night. So far he had kept his distance from Nick while sleeping but things were beginning to feel hopeless. Ellis waited until Nick had comfortably settled onto his side – at least as comfortably as he could since one shoulder ached and the other still showed signs of injury- before moving to curl up behind Nick. The last thing Ellis wanted to do was impose too much on Nick's space- he just craved being close to Nick again.
Nick sighed, shaking his head in amusement before rolling over so that he could face Ellis. He tugged Ellis' cap off and set it a little ways above them before pulling Ellis into his arms. He had been a little concerned about the kid- he was so used to him clinging to Nick that now he wasn't quite so much it made Nick wonder from time to time if Ellis' feelings had changed. He wouldn't blame Ellis if they had, quite honestly; he didn't know what the kid saw in him in the first place.
Ellis hummed contentedly even though part of him didn't appreciate being enclosed in Nick's arms. Ellis really didn't like whatever part of him had issues submitting to Nick- not that Ellis ever actually would be completely submissive… but he didn't like the foreign feelings of dislike at the prospect. It was like something else was in his head and it worried Ellis. He had been attempting to put some distance between himself and the others just in case whatever was going on with him was dangerous but… well he just couldn't fight it tonight.
It didn't take long for everyone to be asleep. Usually they'd have a sentry on duty but with Ellis' enhanced hearing and his reflexes that proved to work as well as any sentry, the group had relaxed- it had been too hard on them to keep up sentry duty for long, anyway.
Ellis wasn't really sure what had woken him up but whatever it was, he was completely awake now. Senses going on high alert Ellis disentangled himself from Nick to poke his head out of the shelter carefully.
He didn't see anything right away and definitely didn't sense anything dangerous. His eyes continued to roam in the darkness but when he didn't see anything for a few moments he was ready to call it quits. Then movement caught his eyes again.
Ellis crept from the tent quietly, head continually turning this way and that to make sure that nothing was sneaking up on either him or the shelter he had just left.
Getting closer to the movement revealed that it was some kind of… bunny? It looked like a rabbit but in the dim lighting Ellis couldn't be completely sure without getting closer. Ellis had a flashback of memories of hunting with his father and trapping his first bunny. Even though it was a cute critter a rabbit was a rabbit, and it didn't look like there was anything wrong with it… except for maybe the part that it had wandered into a human settlement which was unnatural. Then again there probably hadn't been any activity in the area in a long time and the animals found it safer.
Ellis thought it strange that the zombie populace hadn't just wiped out all the animals as well as humans but the rabbit seemed to be doing alright. He continued to creep up on the animal, trying to be silent- wouldn't his comrades be happy to have a little fresh meat brought to them? Ellis could feel his own mouth watering when a twig snapped nearby and the rabbit startled and took off.
Wondering what had caused the twig to snap, Ellis moved to the shadows and looked around. He took a deep breath but didn't smell any danger- the sour burn from infected a day or two old at the least.
"Overalls?" Was whispered and Ellis sighed tiredly but he couldn't help but smile.
"'m here, Nick." Ellis replied.
"What are you doing?" Nick asked, squinting into the darkness to try and see Ellis.
"Somethin' woke me up so I came out to check it out." Ellis replied, moving to stand in front of Nick.
"Did you find what woke you?"
"Maybe, but ya scared it off." Ellis wondered if the fatigue he was feeling showed as clearly on his face as it showed on Nick's. He hoped not.
"Sorry?" Nick wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing- going from Ellis' tone it wasn't really a good thing. He sighed. Nick had woken up and panicked a little when Ellis hadn't been around.
"Nah. Don' worry bout it, Nick. S'all good." Ellis said, knowing that guilting Nick would get them nowhere. Instead he leaned into the conman, pressing his face into Nick's neck and inhaling slowly.
It felt like another time, another place, another world when Nick and Ellis had been able to be close like this. Some parallel universe almost. Still, it was a strange form of reflex for Nick to reach up and wrap his arms around Ellis, stroking and tangling his fingers in Ellis' hair.
"Yew gonna get around to shearin' these extra locks off?" Ellis asked, pulling away to tug at his hair. It was getting way too long for his liking and Nick had made a point of mentioning it a couple of times.
"If we find a knife… or scissors… remind me Ellis." Nick responded. "Are you ready to go back to sleep?"
"Nah, whatever woke me up still has adrenaline pumpin' through my veins. I'm good, Nick. You go get some sleep, though. Yer startin' to look older than ya are with those bags under yer eyes." Ellis said, tracing the edge of the dark colored skin with his thumb.
Nick didn't like the idea of just leaving Ellis to do whatever he was up to… but he was quite frankly too exhausted to really care. "Alright kid, I won't argue. Just don't stray too far- alright?"
"Gotcha. Can't go that far, anyways. I'm on guard duty, after all." Ellis said, grinning at Nick and reaching around Nick's neck to the pull the conman into a soft kiss before releasing him again.
Nick had a small smile as he headed back to lie down. This was more or less a test of his trust to Ellis and he did trust the hillbilly, even though he would loudly deny it at times. Ellis wouldn't disappear and leave them to the zombies. That thought allowed Nick's mind to cool down enough for him to fall back asleep.
Ellis looked up at the sky for a while, breathing deeply. There was cloud cover that prevented him from seeing the stars but he didn't mind it all that much. After a while of just letting his mind go blank Ellis felt the itch to do something enter his veins. He began to wander through the tents, always keeping the tent he was in charge of guarding in sight.
An hour or two later found him curled up at Nick's side once more, exhaustion reaching out to Ellis and dragging him under. Ellis slept peacefully for the rest of the night.
"Don't you wish you had a camera for this moment, Coach?" Rochelle's voice rang clearly through Nick's mind and pulled him into awareness- though he came rather grudgingly.
"Not at all." Coach replied but there was a smile in his voice.
"But it would be such good proof that we saw this coming all along!"
"Have we seen this coming all along?" Coach asked, turning to Rochelle. She nodded to him.
"Of course we have." Rochelle replied matter of factly. "Well… maybe not all along but we've seen it for quite a while."
"Yeah but we already knew they were together… since… well since the zombie girl, right?" Coach pointed out.
"Well yeah… but it's still cute and I'd love to have a picture of this."
The chattering had become too much for Nick as much as he attempted to allow his mind the peace of more sleep. He opened his eyes slowly, turning to glance over his shoulder where Coach and Rochelle sat. Nick heaved a sigh and allowed himself to relax back into his previous position. A pair of blue eyes were looking up at him now.
"Mornin' sunshine." Ellis said chipperly, kissing the tip of Nick's nose before sitting up.
"Aren't you guys a little too cheerful?" Nick asked tiredly, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes. Was it just him or did everyone look a lot healthier than before?
"Course not, silly!" Ellis said, his grin stretching from ear to ear. Nick couldn't put his finger on it but something just seemed… well… off.
"We're in the middle of a war… I mean… so we need to keep our hopes up but this is ridiculous." Nick replied, shaking his head.
"War? What war?" Ellis asked and Nick realized he was now sitting at a table and Ellis was setting down a plate of food in front of him. Nick felt his mouth begin to water but he shook his head, hoping to clear it.
"The… war. The zombies! Ellis, this is ridiculous. We were just fighting yesterday!"
"Yer jus' confused, Nick. That's been over for years. Everything's back to normal now. So cheer up!" Ellis said brightly, wrapping his arms around Nick's neck. Nick noticed a glimmering of gold on Ellis' left hand and then glanced down at his own to notice he also had a ring. But… when had he gotten married? Was it… was he and Ellis were married? Nick could feel himself sinking into the happiness of this world..
"I'm sorry, Ellis. I don't know what got into me." Nick replied, smiling at the hick.
"S'okay Nick. It was all jus' a bad dream. Jus' a bad dream."
Nick jumped awake, but sat up slowly. Ellis reached out and pulled himself closer to Nick. Rochelle was still out over on the other side of Ellis. Looking over to Coach showed that he was still asleep as well. Nick heaved a sigh, nuzzling into Ellis' hair. It had been just a dream. A good dream, for sure…
Nick paused as he remembered details of the dream, trying to push away the sadness that he had woken up. He would have given just about anything to just stay in that dream… although he wasn't sure about the whole 'being married again' thing… Sure he cared about Ellis –quite a lot if he was honest with himself- but it could be some weird effects from fighting for their lives together. It could easily fall apart when they got back into society where their choices were expanded further from a sassy anchor woman, a burnt out football coach, an optimistic hillbilly kid, and a shady gambling man.
A couple moments passed with Nick pondering over this. It made the sadness that was creeping along the edges of his mind plunge its icy fingers into his heart. He was in this really deep at this point. Yet somehow Nick didn't seem to mind it all that much.
There was a stirring from behind Nick and he glanced over his shoulder to see that Coach was beginning to wake up. It seemed like it would be just about time to start the day at this point. Nick relaxed back into his earlier position, however- might as well let Ellis sleep for as long as he could.
There was a pleased noise from Coach before he asked "Where did you guys find this?" Coach picked up a couple packets of jerky as well as some freeze dried food that would most likely continue to last a while longer and remain good. There were even a couple cans of food stacked in a neat little pyramid.
Nick shrugged. "Ellis." He mumbled sleepily in response.
"Hmmmm?" Ellis asked, beginning to sit up and look at Nick and Coach with the haze of sleep still clouding his eyes. He rubbed at them before stretching and looking at them again.
"Good job, boy!" Coach cheered quietly before tearing open one of the jerky packets. The familiar smell made Nick and Ellis' mouths water. "You're a real life saver, Ellis. When'd you find this?"
Ellis shrugged. "I couldn' sleep so I figured I'd do somethin' useful." He grinned and leaned into Nick's side. Nick wrapped an arm around Ellis' shoulder and smiled.
"You did good, Ace." Nick praised which made Ellis smile more. The kid's smile dropped when he looked over at Rochelle, however.
"Nick…do you think Ro is gonna wake up?" Ellis asked softly.
"Of course she is." Usually Nick was against giving false hope but he wanted Rochelle to be ok as well. He was trying to use the trick that if you say it often enough and really believed it would become true.
"Is yer shoulder holdin' up alright?" Ellis questioned next.
"It's doing fine, Ellis." Nick replied- though that was a half-truth. Nick was pretty sure that it wasn't going to fall off anytime soon but he wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to carry Rochelle. Nick wondered if the team would be opposed to staying hear another day if they could rustle up any more food. Reaching around to scratch at a bug bite that was making itself known on Nick's back caused Ellis' eyes lit up a moment.
"Ya know, Nick, I always heard covering yourself with mud helps with bug bites and what not." Ellis suggested off hand. Upon seeing Nick's expression of utter horror Ellis laughed.
"I'm pretty sure that it won't work that way." Nick said, thinking about how the mud in this swamp was probably festering with diseases. He could do without that risk, thank you very much.
"Aw shucks, Nick. Yer no fun at all. Then again, I dunno if it actually woulda worked or not." Ellis replied. Nick continued to scratch at bug bites, looking pretty miserable. Taking pity on the poor guy Ellis poked him in the side to get his attention.
"Hey Nick, I found this fer ya as well. Ya know, ta help with the bites." Ellis said, pulling a small bottle out of his pocket. It had a strange name written across it and Nick wasn't sure at first but with Ellis' reassurances Nick gave it a shot and felt a lot better. The bug bites that Nick had broken the skin on stung but the ones that were still just welts were soothed.
"Ya sure ya got'em all?" Ellis asked before moving behind Nick and tugging his shirt up. After rubbing the cream on a few spots that Nick couldn't reach, Ellis gave a nod of satisfaction and moved away. "It's too bad you didn' wanna try the mud. It would've been fun to see what other colors yer 'white suit' would turn."
Nick gave Ellis a dirty look but was saved the chance of reply by Coach.
"So what's the plan for today?" Coach asked, his gaze on the door flap that led to the danger outside.
"You mean other than surviving?" Nick asked, looking over at Coach wearily.
Coach nodded mutely- concern and fatigue had further etched their lines into Coach's face. Nick had never known the other man to look so old before.
"Well I suppose that depends on whether you think it best for our party to move on or not." Nick pointed out. Ellis' gaze moved between the two men as he listened, curious to find out his parts in the plan- was there even a plan?
"The way I see it there are pros and cons to both options." Coach replied as Ellis snagged a bag of jerky from him and offered it to Nick. Nick's stomach gave a harsh rumble and he accepted the food gratefully, reaching out to mess up Ellis' hair.
"...More cons to staying." Rochelle mumbled. Her eyes were open and watching them, a sleepy expression across her features.
"Ya think so?" Ellis said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "So you think its best we get a move on?"
Rochelle nodded before her eyes slipped closed and she was out like a light once more. Nick chewed on a strip of jerky slowly as he thought about it. Well, it wasn't like there was very much to keep them where they were so maybe moving on wouldn't be such a bad idea.
"Well you heard the woman, let's get a move on." Coach pushed to his feet, empty bag of jerky dropping to his feet.
"I reckon I kin carry Rochelle for a bit taday an' give yer shoulder a break, Nick." Ellis said as Nick moved to pick up Rochelle. He looked at Ellis curiously but nodded.
"You take the pistol, then, and I'll take over the shot gun for now." Nick said, pulling the pistol from where he had been keeping it tucked into his pants and offering it to Ellis. The kid nodded but was grudging in actually releasing the shot gun.
"Ya better not burn up all the shots, Nick." Ellis warned before finally letting go of the gun. "So... we headin' out right now, then?"
"How did you phrase it again? Ah yes: 'no time like the present.'" Nick replied, grinning. Ellis nodded.
"Yer finally catchin' on!" Rochelle's weight was no bother to Ellis at all as he scooped her up and held her bridal style. Ellis trusted Nick and Coach to cover him if they were ambushed... worse came to worse, though, and he could carry Rochelle over his shoulder while shooting.
The small group of survivors were soon on their way, moving through the rest of the encampment and back into the swamplands. Nick wondered just how many settlements were set up through the land... what they really needed to do is figure out where they were now. And find a way to continue on their way to New Orleans.
"…Nick…. What are the chances… that the swamp people are alive?" Rochelle asked.
"What… Alive and infected or alive and not zombies?" Nick asked, moving to walk next to Ellis so that he could hear Rochelle better.
"Not zombies." She replied.
"One hundred to one." Nick replied. "Those blood farmers Ellis mentioned a while ago are even money, though."
"Sounds about right." She replied.
"Hey Ro, we got some food 'ere. You up fer eatin' a bit?" Ellis offered, pulling out the packet of jerky that Nick hadn't finished.
Rochelle nodded, her hand reaching out towards the packet slowly- as if it took great effort for her to move. Ellis juggled her around a moment so that he could easily hand her the packet.
"Ya holdin' up alright?" Ellis asked, wondering if Rochelle was going to go under again. She seemed to be staying with them for the moment at least.
Rochelle's response was to nod since she was sluggishly chewing on jerky. She swallowed and then Ellis offered her the bottle of water, checking and finding they still had a couple bottles left in the ramshackle bag Ellis had thrown together. She drank from it gratefully before settling back into Ellis' arms tiredly.
Nick felt a bit of a twinge in his heart at seeing Rochelle so close to Ellis. He had never really thought of himself as the excessively jealous type…. But then he had also never considered the possibility of being attracted to another man. Ellis was changing a lot of things for him apparently.
Quiet entered the group after that. There was some idle chatter here and there and the occasional story from Ellis but otherwise the group didn't speak. Rochelle stayed awake awhile longer before she fell asleep once more. Everyone took that as a very promising sign and spirits seemed to lift.
There was a strange air in the swamp that had begun to drag on the groups nerves after a couple hours of tramping through the swamp. As glad as they were not to have seen a zombie it was beginning to become way too still. Shouldn't there at least be one or two here and there? Maybe there really was military ahead that was taking care of the infected.
As they reached what appeared to be a village they noticed the ground was littered with items as if people left with great haste. Here they ran into several infected swamp people, as well as a few medkits and some new guns to bring with them.
"We've been making good time, as far as I can tell. I vote we stop and take care of any injuries we've received recently." Coach piped up to which the rest of the group agreed. They found a safe place to hole up for the moment, setting Rochelle down carefully before beginning to tend to the burns they had received the other day from the acid water and any new cuts inflicted by the infected. Nick was also not the only one suffering from bug bites so the group did what they could to take care of those as well.
"How could anyone live in a place like this willingly?" Nick asked after a while. "The bugs practically eat you alive, there is mud everywhere, there're no out houses, and the animals are about as friendly as Ellis' Nannie."
Ellis shook his head, a grin on his face from Nick's words. "I'm jus' gonna say this right now. I don't like the swamp."
"I don't think anyone likes the swamp." Rochelle piped in.
"Well Swamp People must, right?" Ellis pointed out. "I mean, I've gotta admit they've got some things figured out right here. No cops, no rules, and they've figured how to stop using the bathroom!"
There was a pause as the rest of the group stared at Ellis incredulously. His expression changed from that of enthusiasm to one of disgust.
"Oh wait, I just got that. Shoot, that's gross as hell."
The rest of the group broke out in laughter at this. It attracted a couple infected but a couple shots and they were down for the count.
"Sometimes Overalls… sometimes I wonder how often you'd lose your head if it weren't already attached to your shoulders." Nick said as his laughter died down. "I swear, sometimes you can be as dense as a rock."
Ellis just shrugged, shaking his head. His cheeks were pink from the embarrassment and he pulled his hat lower over his eyes.
"Hey, do you guys see this? It looks like there's a rescue mission for survivors just a little ways deeper into the swamps." Coach's voice was one of hope.
"Or at least there was. It's probably where the swamp people headed." Nick replied.
"It won't hurt to at least check it out." Rochelle mumbled.
"Probly got a good point, Ro." Ellis agreed. "'m all for findin' a way out a this place."
"You and me both, boy." Coach added in.
"Well that makes 4 of us if I'm to assume Rochelle wants out of this place as well. Let's get a move on guys, the sooner we move on the sooner we find out if there's a saving grace at the end of this hell hole." Nick said, packing up his guns and what was left from the medkit. He watched Ellis collect Rochelle and felt the twinge in his heart again but he pushed it aside. Now was not the time to be thinking about his own soft heart.
Infected began to grow more frequent which set the groups mind at ease in a lot of ways. In general it meant that things were back to 'normal'. For Ellis, it meant he got to kick zombie butt and he'd stop worrying about everything for a little while. All that mattered was that his gun had ammo and that Ellis' aim was on target.
"Ellis! Watch what you're doing, boy! You almost got me there." Coach reprimanded as a bullet came too close for comfort.
"Sorry Coach." Ellis said. He had slipped which had thrown off his aim and had him squeezing the trigger on reflex. His hand was sweaty now- it scared him that he had almost hit Coach. Images of his friends dead because of a mistaken shot from Ellis flashed through his mind and made his pulse begin to sky rocket. He was able to keep things mostly under control but his nerves made it more difficult for him to hit a target and one of the infected came close to getting him and Rochelle. Luckily for Ellis Coach had noticed in time to shoot it down.
"Stay on top of it, Ellis. We can't have you spacin' at a time like this." Coach warned. Ellis nodded and the continued on a ways before another mishap hit Ellis… or well he caused another mishap, anyway.
"Shoot me again. Shoot me again, Ellis, I dare you." Nick demanded, looking at the slice on his shoulder from where a bullet had just barely grazed him.
"I'm sorry!" Ellis replied quickly. In his defense he had gotten the zombie that had been coming at Nick… but it had been a seriously close call.
"Maybe I should carry Rochelle for a while." Nick offered.
"Or maybe Rochelle could… you know… carry herself?" Rochelle offered. She didn't like that she was causing other people trouble.
"Whatever you all are doing, figure it out quickly. More infected are on the way!" Coach warned.
Ellis set Rochelle on her feet and she wobbled for a moment but otherwise she stayed upright. She had to lean heavily on Ellis but at least she could shoot a gun, now, and Ellis' aim wasn't as affected by her as it had been.
The 4 survivors battled side by side for a short while, Rochelle leaning heavily on Ellis to stay upright. Coach and Nick stood nearby, all 4 of them firing shots into the crowd of infected headed their way.
"I'm out." Coach said, falling back behind Nick and Ellis.
"Me too." Rochelle said, lowering her gun to double check it was truly out of bullets.
"Make these shots count, Fireball." Nick warned. Ellis nodded, sweat beading along his brow. Ellis loaded the last of his shots into the pistol while Nick held them off with the shot gun. A click from Nick's gun spoke of its lack of ammo and Nick cursed under his breath.
Ellis bit on his lower lip as he shot at the zombies charging them down. He almost wanted to go back to the eerie lack of zombies at this point… but the adrenaline rush from the danger was just so appealing. If it weren't for running out of ammo Ellis would truly enjoy shooting zombies down.
"Nice shootin', Ace." Nick praised, clapping Ellis on the shoulder as the last of that wave of infected fell at their feet.
Coach offered to take over helping Rochelle along as the group continued on their way. It seemed like Rochelle, though not fully recovered, would at least be able to stay conscious from now on. Hopefully.
"Insects. Gators. Snakes. Is there anything else I've missed out on while I've been unconscious?" Rochelle asked.
"You forgot zombies." Nick pointed out.
"So what do you think is going to kill us first? The Insects, the snakes? Maybe the gators… or the zombies?" Rochelle's tone was a mix of bitterness and teasing.
"You're forgetting- with our shooting- most likely we'll just kill each other." Nick mused. At Ellis' puppy dog pout Nick amended, "Though we might be getting better… just a little."
They reached something like the village before and the decent spirits everyone had been in took a crushing blow.
"Shit man, they didn't make it." Ellis said, looking at the empty- except for zombies- village.
"Now this is just sad." Coach added.
"Dammit, the swamp people are zombies." Rochelle sounded as forlorn as Ellis felt. They didn't have the chance to mourn, however, since it wasn't long before the infected were upon them.
"Man, this is Ugly." Nick said as they hunted for ammo in the enclosures, those who had ammo at the moment covering the other's backs.
"I don' think we're ever gonna get good news again." Ellis said after they had finished taking down another wave. He had a fresh cut on his arm where one of the zombies had caught him before he could shoot it down. Nick quickly bandaged it up before looking around. A very welcome stash of ammo was lying nearby and he quickly collected what he could, doling out the bullets to his teammates.
"I don't want to think that… but.. I gotta agree." Coach said softly as they finished getting what they could take care of taken care of. All the guns were reloaded and all new wounds bandaged before the group headed out to face more infected.
"It looks like some of them headed towards the river." Nick pointed out upon further inspection of their surroundings.
"We might as well head there." Coach sighed. "What are we going to do if there is no rescue at the end of this?"
"I think it's best for us to cross that bridge when we reach it." Nick replied.
Coach's expression said he disagreed with Nick's choice of putting it off but shrugged. Soon they were too busy fighting off zombies to really worry much about what lay ahead of them. It was strange how it would work like that- when it came to fighting zombies the most important thing was to seek out the next zombie to take down, aim, and shoot… what came after was hunting down the next to target, aim, and shoot once more.
"There's a plantation ahead. Maybe we should go check it out… maybe some survivors were able to hole up in there." Rochelle suggested.
"Well that's optimistic." Nick pointed out. He couldn't help but hope a little bit at Rochelle's words as well. At the same time, if there were people holed up there it meant that the rescue was no longer in process which would mean they had reached a dead end.
"Sometimes faith is all you've got, Nick." Coach pointed out.
"Count me out of that stuff, Coach. If there is a God he sure as hell never helped me out before so I see no reason for him helping me out now."
There was silence in the wake of Nick's words. Coach was trying to keep his temper in check… Ellis didn't know of anything to say that would help the situation- he wasn't really in the mood to attempt to tell a Keith story and get told to be quiet- and Rochelle was blocking the conversation out. She would hold onto hope even when the situation seemed absolutely hopeless.
By the time the group reached the plantation they were panting with the efforts of keeping the infected at bay. A heavy tension also still hung in the air, wrapping around the survivors like a blanket.
"It looks like there was a last stand here…. Of sorts…" Nick pointed out upon entering the plantation and clearing it of immediate infected.
"Doesn' look like it went all that well, though." Ellis said, his gaze sweeping over the bodies that littered the ground.
"Can't argue that." Nick admitted. "It looks like we have hit a dead end."
"So now that we have reached the river, how are we going to build the bridge to cross it?" Coach said, his voice having a sharper edge to it than usual.
"Don't look at me. I don't lead this group." Nick said, holding his hands up as if it wasn't his problem as well.
Rochelle heaved a sigh of annoyance. "Look, we need to get something figured out."
Ellis wasn't really paying much attention to the others. His attention had caught on a device that looked familiar to him. He headed over to it, staring at the dials and nobs with interest. Curiously, Ellis picked up what looked to be a speaker and having nothing better to do said "Howdy." into it.
"Why Bonjour!" Replied a voice through the speakers causing Ellis to nearly fall back in surprise. The voice had the other's attentions now and they all crowded around Ellis.
"It's been real, real quiet since my woman got bit. I ain't heard nothin' from nobody in quite some time. Where y'all at?" Came the voice across the line.
"Where are we?" Ellis asked, thinking hard a moment, "Oh uhhhhh… yeah… yeah… we're at the uhhh… oh yeah, the plantation house."
"What?" Came the voice, the sound crackling a bit from the radio.
"We're at the plantation house." Ellis repeated.
"I can't quite here you. What? Say what now?"
"We're at a big old house with a gate." Nick jumped in helpfully.
"How many of you are all is there?"
"Hey, he wants to know how many there are of us. What do I tell him?" Ellis asked.
"There are four of us. One of them is a woman." Nick replied.
"Yeah, there's four of us. Can you come get us?"
"Say now What?" The voice raised volume at the end of that, making the survivors flinch.
"Four." Ellis replied, his voice rising in volume as well.
"Say again, now what?!" The voice responded.
"Four!" Ellis practically shouted. "Ok… this guy is askin' a lot of questions. Did somebody else want to take this?"
"Now what now?!" The voice called through the radio.
"Nah, you got it Ellis." Coach replied.
"What?!"
"Kay, well we all here are good people. Well… well my friends call me Ellis. And there's Rochelle, Coach, and Nick."
"Alright now, you just hang tight. Stay right where ya is. I'll be right there for you."
"Well Ok." Ellis replied, feeling rather pleased with himself.
"Say again. Now What?!"
"I Said Ok!" Ellis responded, voice rising again.
"Just stay right where you all are. I'm comin' for ya."
"Well yeah, but no… I mean alright. We ain't got nowhere else to be. Thank you very much. Hey wait, real quick, how we gonna know it's you?"
"Ellis. Can blood farmers drive a boat?" Rochelle asked, her tone clipped but mostly playful.
"Alright, Ro, good point. Well, he said he's coming to get us. And I tell you what, he sounds like a real nice guy."
"Oh God, we're in hell." Nick replied, his head lowered as if this news of the voice being a nice guy was bad. He was rather amused that Ellis hadn't lost his temper with the man over the speaker even though Ellis had had to repeat himself several times and it seemed like the message still hadn't gone through several times.
With the news that someone would be on their way to rescue them, the survivors headed out of the plantation to wait for the man. Ellis hadn't even noticed the gate that surrounded the place before. He wondered if that would cause any trouble later on. Possibly… He had his gun in hand just in case the worst possible scenario were to take place.
After a few moments Ellis' foot began to tap with impatience. He didn't know why he was so anxious for the man to appear but it had his nerves strung up all over the place. He was ready for the voice to appear… Ellis supposed he was just worried that the man who had said he would save them would be attacked and the survivors would be stranded once more.
"Man, where's he coming from tha's taken so long?" Ellis finally asked.
"Calm down, Overalls. It hasn't been all that long. He'll be here, just be patient." Nick responded, placing a hand on Ellis' shoulder. Ellis heaved a sigh and then nodded, smiling at Nick. The conman shook his head- just from that smile alone it felt like his insides had melted into a nasty pile of goo. This was truly becoming ridiculous… but he didn't pull back when Ellis reached up to pull Nick into a soft kiss.
"We're gonna make it outta this." Ellis said when he pulled back.
There was a loud crash as a boat came in, ploughing through the gate so that it slammed open.
"Everyone get on the boat now!" Came the familiar voice, only this time it wasn't quite as crackly.
"Well that's one way to open that gate." Nick said. He sounded as if it hadn't been the best idea. Ellis didn't need to wonder long on why it would be a bad idea. A large horde of infected had been drawn to the sound and were now charging them down.
Ellis had a moment of contemplation as he faced off with the zombies, lifting his gun to shoot down as many as he could but a sharp yank to his arm had him losing focus on the one he was about to shoot.
"Wha' in the hell?" He said in indignation.
"No time to fight, let's just get on the boat." Nick said, linking hands with Ellis as they began to sprint down to where the boat waited.
"Come on Now! They're comin' after ya now! Get on the boat!" The man called as the infected stormed at their heels.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Ellis said. He could practically feel the hot breath down his neck. It was a good thing that Rochelle and Coach had been closer to the boat and had a head start. With their slowered states they would have had to fight the entire horde to make it onto the boat if they had been any farther back.
Nick lifted the shot gun and cleanly shot a couple of infected that stood in their way, pausing his pace only long enough to aim and pull the trigger. Ellis felt a hand rake at his back as he ran and he picked up the pace. He could feel his heart all the way up in his throat. He kept waiting for something to catch them up, for something to snag Nick or him. He didn't wait in vain.
Not 10 feet from the boat a smoker tongue caught Nick's ankle. The lurch of the conman being pulled back knocked Ellis over as well, thanks to his grip on the conman's hand.
"Knife!" Nick said, pulling a knife from his pocket. Ellis wondered vaguely when the conman had come across it but quickly got to work on cutting through the tongue. Nick bit his lower lip at a sharp pain that was resonating from his lower leg… it was strange for a smoker tongue actually hurt but perhaps they were evolving…
"Come on! Come on! Come on!" Ellis hurried himself and Nick both as he broke the tongue free. Shots fired showed Rochelle and Coach doing their best to cover their comrades while the two got to their feet and picked up their pace.
Ellis felt the wind from a bullet graze his cheek and better understood why Coach and Nick had been so peeved when he had almost shot/kind of shot them. It was rather terrifying.
Turning to check on their progress Ellis' heart lurched farther into his throat, making it hard to breathe. The zombies were practically on top of them. If the boat driver were smart he would have pulled away and left with Rochelle and Coach. Instead Ellis heard the man shouting.
"Hurry! Get on the Boat!"
Ellis decided the man really was a good guy. He turned to shoot at a couple zombies over his shoulder as Nick and he made it the last couple of feet to the boat. They made a jump for it and then the boat was speeding away, shots fired at any zombies close enough to make the attempted jump as well.
"Whooo, alright now." The boat driver said, laughing. It was loud and hearty, full of relief and joy. "You made it! Welcome aboard, now. Haha."
"We made that by the skin of our teeth." Nick said from where he was sprawled out on the boat deck. Ellis nodded, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.
"That. Was Awesome!" Ellis crowed as he pushed his way to his feet.
"The name's Virgil, friends, and I welcome ya to Salvation." The big man from before said, cutting off whatever response Coach and Nick had for Ellis' words.
"Salvation… it's a rather fitting name." Nick mused as he pushed his way to his feet.
"We're real grateful to ya, Captain Virgil, Sir." Ellis said, taking Virgil's hand in a firm handshake.
"No need ta mention it." Virgil replied as he kept the boat speeding away from the infected. "I take it you folks are gonna wanna be heading to New Orleans?"
"That is where they are collecting survivors, isn't it?" Rochelle asked. Her voice was weak and she was leaning heavily against Coach once more. Virgil nodded in reply.
"Then that's where we want to head." Ellis nodded.
"Well alright then. Virgil will getcha there in two shakes of a tail." Virgil said cheerily, his Kajun accent giving the words a bit of difficulty in understanding.
"Yew really saved our hides out there." Ellis stood comfortably next to Nick. His heart rate had dropped back to the normal pace and he was beginning to calm down.
"Well it wasn't like I could just leave ya." Virgil pointed out. Nick refrained from mentioning that it would have been smarter to just leave them behind. Ellis' hand settling into Nick's took the conman's mind off of the fact that if the world were made up of people like him, Virgil would have left them stranded.
"We're really gonna make it ta New Orleans, Nick. We're going to get outta this."
"It really does feel like the worst has fallen behind us. Hopefully there's nothing but smooth sailing ahead." Nick replied. As the adrenaline began to slow that strange sting he had felt earlier picked up again. Nick ignored it as he grabbed the shotgun with his free hand and offer it to Ellis.
"I made sure to save a shot for you." Nick replied, grinning at Ellis. The returning smile from Ellis made Nick's heart soar and then he was falling backwards, a strange darkness closing around his vision as pain swelled up from somewhere in his leg. He landed on something warm… and then he was conscious no longer.