Alright guys… I busted this out in a day. And then I spent the next few days editing it because I'm kind of my own beta… Regardless, though I wrote this before finding out I may have a job this is more or less a gift in the manner I don't know how much writing I'll be able to do because this job I'll be getting is going to take up the days I don't have school… and with school I also have homework that takes precedence over this story. So I guess I figured I'd just give you guys a heads up. I haven't heard from anyone in a while, though- you all still here? Anyway, I'm going to get this done. I have everything planned out and there's no way I'm leaving this unfinished but it may end up being only one chapter a week or one chapter every couple weeks- we'll see what I can do. You have my word I'll give it my best but for the next couple months my life is going to be hectic… so… well… enjoy this chapter, ok? And I'd love to hear back and see what you guys think
(Also, with this chapter, I have reached over 200,000 words in this fanfic)
Chapter 25
"Everyone still alive and on their feet?" Nick asked, looking around for his fellow survivors.
"Yep." Came Ellis' voice a fair distance away.
"For now." Coach replied, his voice coming from the other direction. There was quiet for a moment which sent the three men at the edge of their nerves.
"Still here. Don't know how much longer, though." Came Rochelle's voice, closer to Nick than either Ellis or Coach. They met up with Nick looking worse for wear. They hadn't had the luck of finding any more medkits but had run into a fair number of infected.
"If I had known we'd be risking our lives for this gas… I probably would have put up less of a fight in being left behind." Nick said, shaking his head.
"Yeah but yer too stubborn to let other's fig're things out fer ya." Ellis replied, slapping Nick on the back. Nick tried not to cringe as Ellis' hand caused short sparks of pain to go up his spine.
"Hey, my being here has saved your ass several times now." Nick reminded.
"Yep!" Ellis acknowledged before beginning to head back down the road. "Does any a this look familiar, Coach?"
"I see a land mark a ways ahead. When I remembered Burger Tank I did not think it was this far away." Coach said as the survivors continued on their way.
"Far away is closer to Virgil. Now let's hurry up and get there before we die trying." Nick said. A dark mood still hung heavily over the group- like a ton of bricks ready to drop at any moment. It wasn't like anyone thought they would actually die but it was scary how close they seemed to be cutting it at the moment.
All those infected that Nick had drawn away with the accidental blast earlier came back to bite them now- almost literally. It seemed like every corner the survivors took held more of the infected to fight off. While that was actually fairly normal usually the survivors had more health to battle them off with.
Ellis was probably having the worst of it- though his comrades knew nothing about it. As Ellis' strength continued to deplete with every attack something dark was threatening to overwhelm him. Ellis was fighting a mental war just as he was battling a physical war with the undead. He didn't know what would happen if he lost but quite honestly he was absolutely sure he didn't want to find out.
"Thanks Ro." Ellis said upon watching an infected fall at his feet, taken down by Rochelle.
"No problem, Ellis. You looked a little out of it." She said, smiling. Even though everyone was at their wits end, drenched and chilled to the bone, and exhausted to boot… they had seemed to pick up their senses of happiness and humor and cling to them.
After everyone had finished shouting at one another and the unspoken truce had been settled it had been quite a bit calmer. At one point things had almost come undone when Nick had thought them to be lost with the way Coach had been leading them… and another shouting match had come close to breaking out… but Ellis had spotted a familiar landmark and things had calmed once more.
Since then things had been smooth sailing. Everyone was watching everyone else's back to the best of their ability, covering someone when they were loading, and helping supply the others with ammo they knew would work with the weapon being carried. Although this was a pretty normal thing- to watch out for one another and cover each other's backs- it had never been done in such a calm nature (well calm except for Ellis who was enjoying exterminating the infected). Everyone was in a central battling mode where the dangers of the outside world seemed minimal and the last reserves of each person's strength was being drawn upon to finish this battle. They just had to make it back to Virgil… and they were almost there.
"There it is!" Rochelle said when the semi- familiar establishment came into sight. She hadn't been one to stop by Burger Tank except in emergencies back when she had been a reporter.
"Man I have never been so happy to see a Burger Tank… and I have been happy to see some Burger Tanks." Coach said, heaving a sigh of relief as the group worked to make it to the building.
"I ain't never been so happy to see anything… cept for maybe this one time when I had lost my hat. Yeah, I was real happy to see that hat.. Oh, and that one time when we had thought we lost Ro! Yeah, I was real happy when we found her intact and not all torn to pieces…. But that's it… well no, there was also that other time when Nick was left behind and we thought he was dead but he wasn't. Yeah, I was real happy to see Nick too… more happy than I am to see this Burger Tank but it comes awful close to being up there with the happiest thing I was ever to see! I'd have to say like top ten." Ellis chattered away as they walked. He found the more he talked and the happier he stayed the more the sickly feeling inside of him was pushed to the back.
Nick remained quiet at that, remembering one of the other times in this apocalypse that he had had a brush with death. That was a really bad memory… and that Rochelle and Coach had been ready to leave him behind… but Ellis had believed in him even then. It did Nick's heart good to remember that… and to remember that Rochelle and Coach wouldn't leave him now just like how he wouldn't leave them. It was rather strange to be able to depend on people but it left Nick feeling happy that he had accomplished what he had never been able to really do before- he had made real friends. Too bad it took the end of the world for this to happen.
"Dammit! Who turned out all the lights?" Nick said, switching on his flashlight. He had used it off and on earlier but had wanted to save battery life just in case.
"Shit, did the sun just set?" Ellis asked, noticing just how dark it had suddenly become. He got his flashlight working as well and noticed the others were thinking along the same lines as him.
"No Ellis, that was the storm coming in." Coach replied. "Though it's late enough in the day…"
"Man I do not want to be out here in a storm." Rochelle muttered angrily.
"Then let's make it the rest of the way to that burger tank and get that sign lit up." Coach suggested. If the infected were bad before they were terrible now- they seemed to come out of nowhere. On top of that was the fear of shooting one another.
"Nick if you keep shooting like that you're going to end up being the last man on Earth." Coach grouched, pain searing in his left shoulder. He attempted to push it to the back of his mind so that he could keep fighting… it was only a little farther to Virgil. They could still make it… they had the gas- they just needed to get that sign going and make it back to the boat.
"I'm sorry, is that what you want to hear?" Nick asked, his tone slightly angry as well. The group was beginning to fall apart again… and Ellis feared if they truly fell apart, this time there would be nothing left to save because they'd all be dead.
"Just watch where you're shooting." Coach replied.
Nick bit back a reply, choosing instead to jog the last few feet to the Burger Tank. They had been keeping to high ground thus far, the rain causing huge puddles to form.
"Hey y'all, how do ya turn on a sign?" Ellis questioned. His flashlight kept flickering and threatening to go out as he followed closely at Nick's heels.
"Isn't there usually a switch in the building?" Rochelle suggested.
"That or it's on the sign." Nick replied. They were all shouting over the wind and rain at this point just to converse. When storms hit in Mississippi they sure hit hard.
Rochelle, Coach, Ellis, and Nick paused inside the Burger Tank building- catching their breath and surveying the area.
"There're medkits here." Coach said, tossing one to each of the survivors.
"Cool." Ellis replied, quickly setting about to bandaging up while Rochelle and Nick covered them. They swapped with Coach and Ellis shooting infected down while Rochelle and Nick healed up. All the survivors released a heavy sigh of relief before quickly searching through the Burger Tank building to see if there were any 'sign switches' in there. After testing a few and having no luck two thoughts came to mind.
"What if the power's out." Ellis asked, dread filling him.
"Then we're more than screwed." Nick replied. "Come on, let's check on the roof. There's a ladder over here." Nick said, gesturing the others to follow. The drumming on the roof became chilled drops falling on their heads.
The group climbed the ladder quickly before shining their lights around to try and spot the sign in the encroaching darkness. Nick attempted to ignore that Ellis' light was flickering…hopefully it would hold out long enough for them to make it back to Virgil.
"The sign is over here." Rochelle called. "I'm going to flip the switch."
There was silence among the survivors as they held their breaths.
"It's not working…" Ellis said softly, his voice swept away on the wind.
"Are you sure you flipped the right switch?" Nick demanded.
"There's only one switch!" Rochelle replied.
"I've got an idea!" Ellis replied, quickly scaling down the ladder. Infected met him at the bottom. He aimed and shot as quickly as he could, trying to take them down before they got near him. Once he saw that there were no more white shadows chasing him he rushed inside the Burger Tank building once more.
"Ellis, what are you doing?" Nick asked as he peered over an opening in the Burger Tank roof to look down at the flickering light that showed where Ellis was.
"Give me a minute." Ellis said as he headed back to the switches they had found before. They had messed with the switches… so what if one of them was the power to the sign and they flicked it off or something along those lines. Ellis crossed his fingers as he started working his way through the switches that controlled the power.
*flick* Ellis chewed on his lower lip as nothing happened. He tried another, his heart beginning to pick up speed. Something began attacking him from behind and Ellis elbowed the attacker, scrambling for his gun. He shot down the assailant, his heart thundering in his chest at this point. He turned back to the switches and that's when his flashlight decided to give out.
"Shit." Ellis cursed under his breath. It took him a moment to feel around and find the power grid again. He tried another switch, hoping it wasn't one he had done before. Once again, nothing happened. Beginning to feel like it had been stupid for him to hope that maybe there had been some sort of mistake Ellis started flipping switches faster.
Another attack from behind had Ellis sprawled across the floor, sliding from the rain water that coated the floor in a slick layer. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" Not only was Ellis fighting blindly at this point… but in the chaos his gun had been knocked from his grip. He couldn't see where the attacks were coming from and Ellis had to admit- he had never felt so terrified. From the way pain was shooting through him Ellis could only really determine that there was more than one attacker. Unable to do much to fight back Ellis began to fear that he was going to die down there, alone, and in the dark.
Something snapped inside of him and he suddenly became extremely calm. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to take damage as he assessed the number of attackers and their locations. One of Ellis' hands snapped out and grabbed a throat, tearing it from its owner. With a gurgle the attacker dropped to the floor.
"Overalls?" Nick's voice called from overhead. "Hey Kid, I'm coming down to help you."
Ellis didn't respond… his hand shot out and plunged into an eye socket, tearing the eye away when he pulled his hand back. There was no sound of pain… but then he hadn't been expecting one. It wasn't like the inferior could feel anything… it wasn't like they had any sense left.
Plunging his hand in once more he finally had enough force behind his attack to slam his hand into and through the inferior's brain. It dropped to the ground. Now to finish off the last.. Ellis pushed to his feet and grappled with the last. It took him mere seconds before it was also lying on the ground, never to move again.
"Kid, you doing alright?" Nick asked and suddenly there was a bright light searing Ellis through his eyelids. He covered his eyes and flinched away, smearing blood over his face in his haste.
"Kid?" Nick asked, his flashlight following Ellis' movements. Ellis let out a snarl of anger at continually being blinded. This creature was an idiot to attack him with a light in such a blasé manner.
"What are you doing? And what were you doing down here, anyway?" Nick asked as he shone the flashlight around. Ellis kept moving from the light of the flashlight so he couldn't get a clear view of him. When he still didn't receive a response from Ellis he sighed. "Look, I don't know what you're up to but stop being the hero and let me help you." Nick said, reaching out to where Ellis' form was quivering. A sound of distress came from Ellis' throat as Nick caught hold of the hick's arm and held the light on him steadily.
"Is that… blood on your hands? It's not your blood, is it?!" Nick replied, moving the flashlight over Ellis' body. "Kid, talk to me! What happened?!" Nick asked before stumbling over a corpse lying on the floor. In his fall he drug Ellis' hand away from his face and the light of his flashlight revealed the depthless black eyes of a killer.
"SHIT!" Nick said, his worry for his own life coming through before his terror at the thought that something was seriously wrong with Ellis. Nick hadn't had any dreams where he had had to cope with Ellis in that form… but Nick could easily imagine that it was the bite that had done this to the kid.
Nick attempted to scramble away from Ellis, trying to figure out just what he could do. Do to help the kid, do to not die, pretty much do so that both he and Ellis could see the light of day again. Nothing came to mind.
Ellis was stunned a moment, having had the light flashed directly into his eye. Keening in pain he rubbed at his eye, trying to see. Opening his eyes showed just how much he couldn't see- one side of his vision was white and the other side was black. He could hear the being breathing hard, however, and followed that sound. With a snarl Ellis leapt at the man, effectively pinning him to the ground- though the man had already been lying on the ground. It made Ellis' job easier.
Claws outstretched, Ellis hovered over the person who thought it fun to shine a terrible light in his face. The man hadn't even moved away with a soft plea from Ellis.. Even though this creature was of some importance it was best for Ellis to teach it a lesson…. First things first, when Ellis' vision came back he pinpointed the weapon of light and knocked it from the man's hand. It went spinning away across the floor, stopping to rest so that light shone across the man's face. What Ellis saw was absolute terror.
"Nick? Ellis? What's going on down there?" Rochelle called.
The familiarity of the voice rang in Ellis' mind and he closed his eyes to try and remember who it was. Upon opening them again he found the man he had trapped staring up at him. He hadn't moved to fight back which surprised Ellis since the man still had a sharp metal shooter lying nearby. Perhaps the man was frozen in terror but something told Ellis otherwise.
"Kid… hey Overalls…" Nick whispered, his heart thundering so hard that his body was quivering. He was in just about the same situation he would have been in had he run into a hunter or witch. Ellis was poised to strike- dark eyes boring down into his. "Ellis, are you in there?"
Ellis stared down at the man. It equated to the man hadn't attacked him because he didn't want to… even though Ellis was threatening to tear him to pieces. That didn't make any sense at all- was this creature so weak and cowardly to submit to its own death?
"Ellis?" Nick tried again, looking for any glimmer that Ellis was still in there. All he had to go on at the moment was that the kid hadn't begun to spill Nick's guts over the floor. Not much, in other words, but at least it was something. Ellis' gaze locked on Nick's- or at least Nick thought it was. There were no pupils in his eyes to show where he was looking.
"Do Coach and I need to come down there?" Rochelle called again, her lack of patience evident by the tone of her voice.
Rochelle's voice, Nick's gaze, the lack of him attacking Ellis and the question in Nick's voice was enough to mend whatever had snapped. Ellis fell back, away from Nick, clutching at his head. That was Nick on the floor. That was Nick he had been about to attack… that he had been about to kill. Tears streamed from his eyes as he scrambled as far from Nick as quickly as he could.
"Fine! We're fine!" Nick quickly called after he had gotten to his feet and caught his breath. "Aren't we, Ellis?" He asked. Terror was still pumping heavily through Nick's blood as he reached for his flashlight to shine it on Ellis. The last thing Nick wanted was for Rochelle and Coach to get involved in whatever was going on. Relief swept through Nick when Ellis looked up at him with familiar blue eyes but that feeling changed when Ellis' expression turned to that of terror.
"Nick, watch out!" Ellis shouted, grabbing Nick's arm and tugging him aside before leaping at the infected that had been about to attack him. It was rather stupid of him, really… he had less health than Nick and Nick would easily be able to deal with a regular infected… but Ellis' mind wasn't clear and Nick being in danger… even though Ellis had just put him in danger… Ellis' mind was in knots about that.
Nick watched in horror and slight fascination as Ellis tore an infected apart limb from limb. The kid could have easily done that to Nick… and Nick had been sure he was about to. Nick vaguely wondered what had stopped him- though Nick was grateful for whatever had. Nick also wondered why he hadn't automatically fought back. Sure it was Ellis and sure Nick didn't want to kill the kid- obviously- but was Ellis' life worth more than Nick's so much that Nick would allow the kid to kill him?
Ellis continued to attack the infected even after it had stopped moving… and though it chilled Nick to the bone he moved to Ellis' side and settled a hand on his shoulder. Nick wasn't sure how much more time Rochelle and Coach would give them before coming down as well… and Nick did not want them seeing Ellis like this.
"We're alright, right?" Nick couldn't lose Ellis… not now… no matter what he couldn't lose Ellis.
"Y-Yeah…" Ellis replied, his swipes stopping automatically at Nick's touch. "I… I .. power… the switches…" Ellis said, gesturing to the power panel. He then began to try and wipe the blood from his hands and face.
"Got it. Smart of you, Overalls." Nick replied, shining his flashlight on the switches. He quickly flipped through all of them as Ellis scrambled to find his gun. There was a victorious shout from above.
"You did it! You did it!" Rochelle called down to them.
"Way to go, you two." Coach praised. Ellis nodded more to himself than anyone.
"What happened to your flashlight?" Nick asked softly.
"Went out." Ellis replied, his voice even softer than Nick's.
"Well come on then, you should be able to fight from the light of the sign if we can make it back up there." Nick replied before leading Ellis towards the ladder. Nick attempted to eject some normality into the situation- something that would help them move away from whatever had just happened. Speaking of which… what the hell had just happened?
"Watch out! Here they come! Here they come!" Coach warned.
It was like something from a nightmare… a mass of black was charging in their direction. Nick was effectively snapped away from his dark thoughts as the will to survive took its proper place in Nick's head again.
"We can Not get trapped down here! Move Move Move!" Nick demanded, gripping Ellis' arm and pulling him towards the ladder. He shoved Ellis toward it so that he could climb up first- causing Ellis to stumble but he quickly recovered, grabbed onto the ladder, and climbed for all he was worth.
Nick was about halfway up the ladder when the horde hit, scrambling up after him. There were so many trying to make it up that the ladder began to wobble back and forth.
"Nick! Yer arm, reach! Jump!" Ellis was too frantic to try and make serious sense of his words but Nick got the gist of it. He took a deep breath before giving it his best shot to jump into the air and reach for Ellis' hand. The ladder tumbled away and Nick could have sworn he was beginning to fall as well… when a hand shot out and connected with his.
"I got ya." Ellis said, his hand clamped tightly around Nick's. The grip was slick with rain water and it was terrifying dangling over a mass of infected… if Ellis slipped even a little and Nick fell back down that was the end of him for certain. Nick should have known better, however. Ellis wouldn't ever let him fall…
Ellis worked as quickly as he could to pull Nick up onto the roof… but he was afraid to tap into his strength completely so it was slow work. When Ellis had pulled Nick far enough that the conman could start pulling himself up, Ellis left it up to him… and once Nick was over the edge Ellis pulled him into a hug.
"Ya alright, Nick?" Ellis asked softly.
"Yeah. Fine, Overalls." Nick murmured, hugging Ellis briefly despite knowing it wasn't the time or place. Not when they were under attack. "Come on, let's fight these brutes off. Soon we'll be back on that boat, Kid, and we'll be on our way to New Orleans… but we need to make it through this first."
Ellis gave a firm nod, fixing his hat, before pulling his gun up and turning in a circle to make sure there were no infected on the roof just yet.
"Signs on baby! Sign is on!" Ellis replied heartily as his gaze finally alighted onto the sign that turned slowly and lit up the area. He wondered vaguely if what he had just gone through had been worth it…. If Virgil did see the sign… well Ellis quickly decided it would be worth anything to have his friends safe.
"Yes Ellis… thank you." Rochelle replied, shaking her head. "Way to get it working."
Ellis nodded, a smile alighting on his features. If Nick didn't know better he would have said that what had happened in the Burger Tank while Rochelle and Coach were on the roof was from his imagination…
"Please be watching Virgil."
"If he's not watching, Ro, we're goners." Nick said, trying to play off the fear still coursing through his system. If he had a dollar for every close call they seemed to be having on this venture… well he felt he'd be pretty wealthy at this point.
"Very helpful, Nick." Rochelle replied as the cries of infected filled the area. Sprinting forms could be seen all around the building as the Burger Tank sign turned slowly. It was a mystery as to how infected were getting on the roof… but they were and the survivors were beginning to fight them with all they had.
"Where are these things coming from?!" Nick asked. The ladder had been knocked down… wasn't that the only way onto the roof?
"They're jumping from the other roofs to here." Coach warned, his gun firing quickly as he solved the short lived mystery.
"Oh… well I suppose that makes sense. Hey, Ellis, battle closer to the sign so you can see." Nick ordered immediately as he found a taller point on the building. It was a good vantage point to cover Rochelle, Coach, and Ellis as infected swarmed the area. He had considered giving up his flashlight to Ellis but… he just couldn't let it go. Not right after what happened underneath this roof. Nick pushed that to the back of his mind- it was something to worry about later.
"We kill and kill and kill and yet more of the infected keep showing up." Rochelle noted.
"Well tha's cuz there're a lotta people turned inta zombies." Ellis shouted over the storm. Only Nick seemed to notice that Ellis' voice seemed thin and that it wavered when he spoke.
"I prefer not to call them zombies." Rochelle replied.
"What, the apocalypse not really believable to you? Bit hard to swallow?" Nick asked, his voice a little snippy.
"Yes, to think we're at the end of the world is a bit difficult to take." Rochelle replied.
"All the zombies around here should help set your stars straight." Coach said as he blasted a zombie away from the roof.
"Yeah… there sure are a lot of zombies." Rochelle murmured.
"Thought you didn' call 'em zombies?" Ellis teased lightly. If they weren't caught up in a battle for their lives Ellis was pretty sure he'd be curled in a ball hiding in a corner somewhere… he had almost caused Nick serious harm. He had had no control.. and that in itself was terrifying. A zombie came close to knocking Ellis off the roof… and that was when he realized that it was best not to worry about that right that moment.
"Please be watching, Virgil." Coach said as his first gun clicked- empty. He threw it to the ground and pulled out the pistols he had been hanging onto as back-up.
"Oh Virgil had better be watching." Rochelle said. Nick was right… if Virgil didn't see the sign… didn't come for them.. it was very unlikely they'd survive the ordeal.
"Come on Virgil…" Nick muttered. The chorus of bangs from the guns were nothing compared to the sound of the boat's motor… and yet they didn't hear it… Rain thundered down around them and a storm rang overhead, the cries of the infected and the sharp sounds from the guns, all this made a chaos of noise that each survivor prayed was the reason they didn't hear the boat.
"How's everyone doing on ammo?" Nick called.
"Good." Ellis called back, checking his pockets and finding that he had a couple of magazines left to reload. It wasn't actually all that 'good'… but Ellis wasn't in dire need just yet.
"Can't complain right now… but it's getting a little close for comfort." Rochelle answered.
"I'm about out." Came Coach's response.
"I was afraid of that." Nick responded. It was only a couple more shots from Coach's area before he announced that he was out. Nick tossed his spare gun down to Coach though he himself was not doing very well with ammo at the moment. This was once again becoming a little too hectic for Nick's taste.
"Ho! Look up there! Virgil sees us!" Coach called to the others, relief heavy in his voice.
"Let's get to the boat!" Rochelle shouted, leading the way. She used her bullets carefully now, only aiming to take down the infected that was in their path and bashing any others with the butt of her gun.
The Survivors clambered down over the roof, Ellis staying back to shoot Infected coming at them from the bottom before jumping down behind them. He couldn't help the happiness sweeping through him upon seeing Virgil. They weren't going to die!
"Virgil! What's up, brother?!" Ellis called out to the boat man.
"That was real smart there with that Burger Tank sign, ha Ha." Virgil said. It shocked Nick to hear how happy Virgil seemed to be.
"Virgil, We're Comin'!" Ellis said as the survivors began to run for the boat.
"Whoa! Look out fer that big fella!" Virgil warned.
"What?" Nick asked. The happiness of just about having made it had made the survivors a little less aware of their surroundings. There was a shout of pain from Nick as he was slammed into by a tank, the warning roar of the monstrosity reaching the survivor's ears too late.
"Nick!" Rochelle called. She was unable to rush to his side with the Tank between herself and Nick. Coach was also at her side… but Ellis was back with Nick.
"Shoot that big Motha-" Coach shouted, firing the last of his bullets into the tank. He shouted a curse as his gun clicked empty… as did Rochelle. Ellis continued to fire away at the tank, staying between the tank and Nick at this point. Even as the tank lumbered nearer Ellis gave away no ground as he shot the tank down.
Ellis' gun clicked empty and the tank had still not fallen… so Ellis rushed to Nick's side, hoping that they could move faster than the tank. It was a stretch but Ellis felt it was either that or die here with Nick because there was no way he was leaving the conman here.
"Hey, you alright?" Ellis asked quickly as he crouched at Nick's side. The conman was pretty beat up- enough that he hadn't even moved since landing on the ground a few feet away. Lucky that no infected had been nearby.
"It would be best if you left me here." Nick muttered. Ellis pulled Nick's arm around his Nick and began to pull him toward the boat, ignoring Nick's words.
"Now tha's jus' crazy talk." Ellis growled angrily. Another angry roar from the tank harried their steps so that Ellis was practically carrying Nick as they ran.
"Thank god you don't actually listen to me." Nick replied. He would have been ready to be heroic and let Ellis leave without him so that the kid could get away alive… but he preferred not to die just yet if it could be helped.
"Yew jus' hang in there." Ellis said, his emotions shoved away into a tiny box so that he wouldn't start panicking over Nick's chivalry. What had happened to Nick's resolve to not die?
"I can't believe I'm looking forward to getting back on that boat." Nick's voice was choked with pain as he spoke.
"'S alright now. Yer gonna be alright." Ellis assured as they made their way the last bit of distance to the dock and onto the boat. There was another furious roar from the tank and something was lobbed at the boat… but thankfully it seemed that the injuries the tank had sustained made its aim horrible and the projectile didn't come near the boat at all.
"Thanks man, I owe you." Nick replied. It felt just the slightest bit awkward to be in Ellis' arms… but at the moment Nick shoved it aside. He was alive… he and Ellis were both alive and they were back on the boat and would shortly be heading to New Orleans… and then to a safe place where they would hopefully never have to deal with this shit again.
"You know I'd never leave you down here." Ellis said softly. Obviously he wouldn't…he would never leave any of them, Rochelle and Coach included… but especially not Nick.
"Whoooo, ya made it now!" Virgil crowed when they were a safe distance from the tank and the other remaining infected.
"That was a little too close." Nick replied as Ellis carefully set the conman back onto his feet. Upon finally feeling safe… having gotten the gas and made it back against all odds… well the relief that swept over the survivors was so strong that it had them all practically collapsing in heaps into the nearest thing to safely sit on.
Unable to let Nick go or have any distance between them Ellis clung to him as the 4 of them accepted that they had made it out of there alive.
"How about we not do that again." Nick suggested. It was still strange to know that they were safely in the boat and that they were finally on their way to New Orleans. He kept reaching out and touching the wood grain of the floor just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
"Amen to that." Coach responded. For once he wasn't taking the energy to show how disgusted he was by Nick and Ellis' display.
"No arguments here." Rochelle murmured.
Ellis just snuggled closer to Nick. In this moment of peace the reality of what happened came crashing down over Ellis and he realized he had a serious decision to make… The black prospects of that decision were not lost on him. For now he'd put off thinking about it, though. For now he was going to allow this moment of peace. They were all still alive and in one piece.
"Fig'red you folks would need a bit of a picker upper." Virgil said, coming in with a couple of medkits and a bottle of whiskey.
"I shall not say no to your gifts." Nick said, eyes falling more on the Whiskey than the medkits.
"How about we get everyone healed up first before we go about getting drunk." Coach said, his voice a little dark.
"That's a great idea, Coach. Here, you heal up Rochelle and I'll take care of Ellis." Nick offered, taking Ellis' arm and beginning to pull him away from the others. It would take more than one bottle of whiskey to get Nick drunk anyway…
"Well there's a shock." Rochelle muttered, shaking her head but there was a smile on her face.
As Nick separated himself and Ellis from the others, he began to doubt his reasoning for pulling Ellis away. Already the ordeal in the Burger Tank seemed distant… had that really even happened? What if Nick had a moment of madness and the strange moment with Ellis had been his imagination?
"Let's get you fixed up, kid." Nick mumbled quietly. Ellis nodded… his mind was elsewhere though. He had almost lost Nick several times this last trip and one of those times had been his own fault- almost by his own hand.
Nick hesitantly removed the bandage that covered the bite wound Ellis had received earlier, ready to see black oozing from the wound or a strange discoloration… he felt his jaw drop at what he actually saw.
"Maybe I'm going insane." Nick muttered under his breath.
"Say what?" Ellis asked, his head turning to the side to eye Nick. He turned to look at his arm and felt his heart stutter. "Didn' I get bit there?"
"Did you?" Nick asked, looking up at Ellis in surprise.
"Didn't I?" Ellis asked, as confused as Nick at this point. They both set their gazes back on Ellis' arm to study the smooth, unblemished skin.
"So you don't see the bite either? And you're sure you got bit?" Nick questioned.
"Uh yeah. I know I got bit… but where'd it go?" Ellis said. "I mean… I know I'm a badass zombie killin' machine but this is ridiculous."
"So you were bit… but now you're not." Nick said, as if saying it out loud would explain what happened.
"Is it possible that it jus' healed?" Ellis asked quietly as Nick ran a finger along his arm.
"Possible. Probable. Seems like what happened…" Nick replied, beginning to pull off more bandages. Every time he did, no matter how bloody the bandages had been, the skin underneath was smooth and whole with no wounds to be seen. Every now and then there'd be a pink mark of a scar…. They'd show up where Nick remembered an especially deep or gruesome wound had been. Every time Nick would run his hand over the area just to double check… but Ellis' skin continued to be smooth, warm, and completely uninjured. Except, of course, his most recent injuries from the battle on the roof.
Ellis stayed still while Nick checked all of his injuries and watched goose-bumps rise up on his arms whenever Nick ran a hand over an area where an injury had been. It wasn't even like Ellis' mind was in the gutter often but lately, around Nick… especially when the conman did things like this… well Ellis felt like he couldn't be blamed when heat would begin to coil in his gut.
Realizing that his body's interest in Nick's touch was becoming a bit more obvious Ellis felt heat flush over his face and he crossed his legs, looking anywhere but in Nick's direction. He would do something to get back at the conman for this- especially since Nick didn't even seem to be aware about what he was doing to Ellis.
Having decided that Ellis really had healed, Nick began to work on bandaging the injuries he did still have. He wondered vaguely if they'd be gone by tomorrow.
"What's the difference?" Nick asked himself.
"'Scuse me?" Ellis asked. He had been lost in his own thoughts but Nick's mutterings had his gaze focusing on Nick.
"Just… you've been healing at a normal rate up until now. What happened?" Nick asked as he finished placing the last bandage into place.
"Dunno." Ellis replied, shrugging. The strangeness of it all was beginning to really worry Ellis and it took his mind off of Nick's touch, which had continued to linger upon his skin up until then.
"Come on, Overalls… have you done anything differently? Anything happen to you?" Nick urged.
Both men closed their eyes and flinched at the memory of one big thing that had happened… something that could possibly explain this strange phenomenon. But neither wanted to admit… to say it would make it absolutely true and neither man could really cope with that at the minute. Nick was happier believing it had been a hallucination… Ellis was happier pretending it had never happened and would most certainly never happen again.
"Le's get you all healed up, Nick." Ellis said softly, choosing to completely ignore Nick's earlier question. For the moment.
"Yeah. Ok." Nick replied, removing his shirt so that Ellis would have an easier time dealing with his injuries. They weren't in a hurry this time- No Coach to rush them or storm at their heels. With that in mind Ellis was planning on making sure that Nick was properly, thoroughly taken care of. Ellis smiled softly, one hand running slowly down the bandages that covered Nick's back… here was his chance to pay Nick back. And a chance to get his mind off earlier events.
Ellis set to work removing the bandages but he did so at a leisurely pace, with absolute focus, purposely making sure his fingertips brushed against areas of skin that were uninjured. Every now and then he caught Nick shivering and his grin widened. His smile only faltered once or twice when a particularly bad wound was revealed once the bandaging was removed. When this happened Ellis would lean in and kiss the skin above the area softly- especially if the wound was on Nick's back.
Every time Nick's breath left him in a rush or goose-bumps would rise on his skin Ellis tallied a victory mark mentally. Every now and then he wondered if Nick realized he was doing it on purpose- especially since the conman hadn't said anything since Ellis had set to work.
The bandages were now a neat pile of soiled fabric on the floor and it hadn't passed Ellis' notice on how dirty the outside of those bandages had been. His gaze moved to Nick's shirt and the culprit was discovered- the inside of Nick's shirt was still coated with dirt and mud from their fall in the sugar field. That seemed like so long ago now…
"Sure was heroic of you to stand in the way when that tank threw me atcha." Ellis teased, wondering how much more painful his landing would have been if Nick hadn't been there.
"Anything for you." Nick replied softly. He gave his usual charming smile and Ellis smiled in true amusement.
"Probly a good idea for ya to wash this shirt, though. Ya know… when you get the chance." Ellis said nonchalantly as he prepared to clean Nick's wounds.
"Thanks Overalls, I'll keep that in mind." Nick said, shaking his head. His face was flushed and he knew it… but he wondered if Ellis knew what his ministrations were doing to Nick. He wasn't about to risk finding out that Ellis actually hadn't meant to arouse Nick so he kept quiet for the most part, trying to ignore the warmth that swept through his body whenever Ellis touched him… that was until Ellis got to the less sensual part of bandaging people up. Nick bit his lip at the stinging that swept over him from the multitude of scratches up his back that Ellis had just doused in disinfectant.
"Hey Nick?" Ellis asked softly, carefully leaning over Nick's back to rest his chin on Nick's shoulder so that he could whisper directly into Nick's ear.
A chill went up Nick's spine and he shivered pleasantly. "Yeah?" Nick asked, a little breathlessly.
"They're Coveralls. Not Overalls." Ellis murmured, nipping Nick's ear playfully.
Nick didn't really have a response for that. He had considered calling him Coveralls at one point or another but it was so much more fun to get a response from him. Besides, Overalls had a better ring to it. And if this would be Ellis' reaction from now on Nick had even less reason to stop- he found he really liked this side of the hick.
"I really wish I could tell you two to get a room." Coach grouched as Rochelle and he came over to check up on their two comrades.
"If you think this is bad, Coach, you don't know what you're missing. I've done a lot worse in front of people. Pretty sure it wouldn't take much to scar you for life." Nick replied, grinning up at Coach… though it was entirely a lie. He'd cheat and gamble and steal to his heart's content but when it came to sexual endeavors- well that happened behind closed doors. Preferably in a bedroom, but not always. One thing Nick would never do was become intimate with someone when he had an obvious audience.
This made Rochelle and Coach's presence pretty annoying for Nick. Them being nearby meant that he couldn't enjoy the flirtatious moment with Ellis. Quiet fell between the group and the rain outside became a very clear noise that surrounded the survivors.
The storm still raged and every now and then a particularly rebellious wave would rock the boat… but it seemed so far away at this point. In the safety of this cabin the entire disease seemed far away.
"Don't test me boy. There are other ways of scarring people that I wouldn't mind practicing on you if you give me a mind for it." Coach warned.
"Oh don't I know it, Coach. Either way I doubt Ellis would let you get away with harming me." Nick said, leaning back into Ellis a little as he spoke, ignoring the burning that was caused from his movement on his still open wounds. He heard a snicker from Ellis.
"Eh, it depends on what ya did ta Coach." Ellis replied, wrapping his arms around Nick so that his palms rested on Nick's chest. It was strange being able to do this… to be allowed to touch and caress and hold without being told off. When he felt Nick shift uncomfortably beneath his hands Ellis wondered if it was actually ok to be doing as he was. There were limits for everybody, after all.
"No need to play coy, Ellis. We both know if Coach were planning to follow through on his threats you'd be the first to step up in my defense." Nick replied, trying to relax into Ellis' hold. He still didn't have his shirt on and even though Nick wasn't particularly shy about his body he also wasn't one much for showing it off. Not when it was particularly sensitive to a certain hillbilly's touch and that same hillbilly had made it especially sensitive in the past few minutes.
"Eh…. Well, maybe. Like I said, it depends." Ellis was enjoying this game. He wondered if he'd be able to get Nick to react- but he was also afraid to push the conman. It was no secret that both of them were on edge and it didn't help having Coach and Rochelle right there as well… still, Nick hadn't told him to stop yet and it was obvious that his touch was having an effect on the conman although hopefully it wasn't as obvious to Rochelle and Coach as it was to him.
"Look you two, there better not be any hanky-panky going on on this boat." Rochelle warned, her hands on her hips. Apparently it wasn't as subtle as Ellis had hoped…
"No promises." Nick replied, grinning. He wondered when things between Ellis and himself had fallen so easily into some semblance of a relationship. Tilting his head a little he could see how red Ellis' face was but the kid had a grin stretched across his lips instead of his usual expression of mortification.
Rochelle giggled but Coach huffed out a sound of disgust.
"I'm goin' to sleep." Coach said before leaving the two. There was an unspoken threat in those words that had Nick rolling his eyes.
"Sleep sounds good." Rochelle replied, winking. "But seriously guys, no hanky-panky. I'll be right behind Coach if either of you two wake us up."
"We'll be good, Ro." Ellis promised. She accepted that and left them.
"You sure about that, Kid?" Nick teased. His back felt a rush of chill as Ellis pulled away from it.
"Yeah, Nick. We can't get up ta anythin' really- not here." Ellis responded. He noticed he had gotten dirt upon Nick's back when he had leaned into him and sighed to himself. He went about cleaning the wounds once more.
"So we'd be getting up to things if we weren't on this boat?" Nick asked softly which sent a strange thrill up Ellis' spine. He hadn't really meant it that way… if he had the chance how far would he be willing to go with the conman?
"Hey Nick, gotta clean those wounds that go lower down yer back still." Ellis said, purposely avoiding the question. He could feel heat rush up his neck, though, as he continued to consider Nick's question. There were points Ellis felt like he'd happily hand himself over to Nick… and other moments when he wasn't so sure.
Nick automatically reached for his belt buckle, undoing it and his pants to allow Ellis the access he needed to get the wounds cleaned up.
"How ya feelin'?" Ellis asked as he set to work carefully cleaning those wounds as well. Last time Ellis had been in charge of caring for his area he had tried to forget where exactly on Nick that he was cleaning up this time it was more difficult- especially since his body was already experiencing arousal.
"Like hell." Nick sighed as the fun from earlier left him.
"Well least we're still alive, right?" Ellis whispered and Nick nodded.
Ellis began working on getting Nick bandaged up at this point. He was less teasing about it this time but every now and then he would lay a soft kiss over an area of skin before wrapping a bandage around it.
The quiet allowed both minds to begin whirring again and of course they brought up the images from the earlier scare. Nick kept having the image of Ellis with black, depthless eyes conjure whenever he closed his eyes while Nick's expression of absolute terror kept showing up for Ellis.
Neither mentioned to the other the torture they were facing from the event. They only vaguely registered the haunted look that appeared in the other's eye. Strange how quickly their good mood had fallen… but then after having been through such an ordeal Nick was surprised that he wasn't in absolute hysterics.
"'m glad yer alright, Nick." Ellis murmured after he finished getting Nick bandaged up and the conman put his shirt back on.
"I am too." Nick responded. He wasn't sure which way he meant that… he wanted to say that he meant it in the way that he was glad that Ellis was ok as well but he didn't feel like the kid was actually ok. Whatever was going on… well it could mean serious problems in the future. Besides, Nick had always been a person to be glad for his own safety and his own luck- why should that change now? Just because he had 'friends' didn't mean his views had absolutely changed… he didn't plan on dying in this apocalypse. Well, Nick liked to pretend he was still very much himself but the truth was he wasn't sure if he'd trade Rochelle, Coach, or Ellis' life for his own anymore… part of himself wanted to believe he would and part of him was glad that he was uncertain.
"We should see about drying off and then heading to bed as well." Nick pointed out, realizing it was rather dumb of him to have put his shirt back on.
"There's no' much ta use to dry off with." Ellis said as they headed over to the corner Virgil had set up a bed for them in when they had first arrived on the boat.
"Well the least we can do is strip out of this clothing… maybe it'll dry out a little." Nick said though he didn't have much hope for that.
Ellis nodded before beginning to slip out of Nick's jacket and laying it out to dry. His shirt followed shortly after, and the shoes that Nick had snagged for him at some point after leaving the lab… then socks and finally his knotted coveralls.
Out of the corner of his eye Ellis noticed Nick watching him. He tried to ignore the blush that was creeping over his face… when had he become such a star struck school girl over the man? Hell, Ellis didn't even like men like that… and yet he couldn't really say that anymore considering the dreams and notions he had been having with Nick involved.
Ellis tried not to show too much interest when Nick stripped down to his own boxers, laid out his clothing so that it could dry properly, and then went to curl under the blanket. Ellis only hovered over the cot a moment- long enough for Nick to make an impatient motion for Ellis to join him.
It was still strange to be able to have Nick like this… it was still strange to want Nick like this. It wasn't even the sexual part of it- it was the fact that Ellis just craved being close to the other man. He wanted to know everything about Nick… and he wanted to be Nick's everything. Of course it never failed to cross Ellis' mind that it might be something strange induced by being trapped in an apocalypse with the other man.. but he wouldn't know about the truth behind that until they made it out of there.
The first brush of skin against skin had Ellis shivering and he almost wished that he and Nick could do more than lie next to one another… but still, just being able to do that was great in Ellis' opinion.
Nick nestled comfortably behind the other man, settling one arm over Ellis' chest. With a soft sigh it wasn't long before Nick was fast asleep, more comfortable curled up next to Ellis than he had ever been on any king bed.
Sleep was a little more difficult for Ellis to find. The choice he would have to make eventually hung over his head, threatening to choke him… what was he going to do? Nick's grip on him tightened a moment and with it the worry about his situation left. Ellis needed to enjoy this- enjoy what he had right now. He didn't know when he might lose it.