Success! I have finally been able to read through and beta this enough for it to be ready for submission. Can I go take a nap now? In all honesty having a full time job and full time college is going to be verrrrry interesting- it was several late nights with homework to get this chapter finished up. I plan to continue working on Chapter 27 when I can but I have to keep my grades up as well. I hope that all of you are doing well And I hope you enjoy this chapter ^.^ As always feedback and comments are greatly appreciated and the people who take the time to leave them are loved :D
Chapter 26
Nick lurched awake but instead of flying into a sitting position like he usually did, there was a weight holding him down. He felt panic sweep through him before he realized it was Ellis. He checked to see if he had woken the kid in his dramatic wake up but Ellis slept on, peaceful and oblivious to the outside world.
Though Nick was not yet free of his nightmares it was strangely peaceful to wake up with Ellis lying next to him- or in this case, on top of him. Of course the two men had shared beds before this but it had never felt quite so intimate. Though that might have had something to do with almost being completely skin to skin but either way Nick was comfortable- even if he hadn't really slept all that well.
Unable to drift back off to sleep Nick's gaze began to wander. In the cabin, with light coming through the windows, it was fairly easy to tell when it was night or when daylight had come… so unless Virgil had decided to go around blocking up all the windows it was still nightfall- dark and in some ways safe.
Ellis' chin was resting on Nick's chest, hair falling in shaggy curls around his face. Nick made a memo to himself to get Ellis' hair trimmed soon as he reached out to run his fingers through Ellis' hair- the soft curls pleasant to touch. It was strange to see Ellis like this and remember the horror he had appeared to be… but it was still Ellis, wasn't it?
The kid's weight felt real and warm and his hair felt just as it always had underneath Nick's fingertips- if maybe a little longer. With Ellis like this that monster Nick had seen seemed to be miles away.
Blue eyes peeked up at Nick, blinking sleepily. "Why're yew awake?" Ellis mumbled, shifting so that he could see Nick better. The soft slide of skin reminded him just how close he and Ellis were and there was absolutely nothing Nick could do about it. Deciding to push that little fact to the back of his mind and just enjoy the moment of closeness, Nick leaned up enough to meet Ellis' gaze.
"No reason." Nick intoned softly, continuing to stroke Ellis' hair. There was an unintelligible grumble from Ellis as the hick pulled his mind from the dredges of sleep.
"Come on Nick. I know tha's bullshit. Don' treat me like I'm stupid." Ellis mumbled, heaving a sigh as he glared up at Nick. Nick couldn't help but chuckle at this which earned a derisive snort.
"Ok. You caught me. I just can't sleep, Kid." Nick replied honestly, his chest rising and falling to gust out a sigh of his own.
"Aw, Nick." Ellis murmured, suddenly understanding. Although his irritation was still there it was a lot less present in his next words. "Anythin' I kin do ta help?"
"Plenty. You can stop worrying about me and go back to sleep. You can stop asking me about the dreams- I know you haven't yet but I also know you want to. You can give up on the endeavor to make them go away." Nick said simply, glancing away from Ellis.
"Course ya ask me ta do stuff that I don' really have a mind to do." Ellis curled one arm up to rest on Nick's chest so that he could take the weight off his neck, resting his head on that arm. The other hand was sliding in a tender trail down Nick's arm, tracing patterns from his shoulder down to his palm and back up again.
"Sometimes the best thing to do isn't always the easiest." Nick acknowledged. "In fact usually the right decision is a lot more difficult to do."
"Yer only sayin' it's the right decision cuz yew don' want me buggin' you on it. The right decision fer me is ta continue pesterin' yew til ya give in." Ellis replied, grinning up at Nick. His expression said he was going to do just that.
"Why don't you go back to sleep?" Nick suggested.
"Cuz yer not sleepin'."
"Is that all that's holding you back? Fine. I will try to go back to sleep."
"Niiiiiick. Talk to me, man." Ellis pushed. He had been soft with Nick so far but it was against Ellis' nature to continue to be so. Sure Ellis was a nice guy but he certainly wasn't a push over. And Nick was not made of glass. Ergo, time to really put pressure on the subject. Ellis knew that it would help Nick break out of this 'nightmare' thing if he'd just talk about it. Or he was pretty sure, anyway.
"Shut up and go to sleep, Ellis." Nick intoned tiredly, shifting out from under Ellis and turning his back on the kid.
Ellis felt a pang of sadness and guilt for a moment before shaking his head. He was done being soft… he was done behaving in a way that wasn't him. Scooting closer to Nick Ellis placed one arm over the man's chest and rested his chin on Nick's shoulder.
"Come on, Nick. Everyone has someone to talk to an' talkin' makes ya feel better."
"No Ellis."
"It's goin' ta remain bad til ya talk ta me."
"Forget about it Ellis."
"Seriously Nick, talk to me." Ellis refused to back down.
"Leave me alone, Ellis." Nick snarled. Usually Ellis would allow those words to strike sadness into him and he'd do as Nick said but he had already decided not to be a push over on this. Nick attempted to get out from under Ellis' arm but the kid held fast, making it extremely difficult.
Ellis did let go eventually, only to sit up and grip Nick's shoulders- pressing him flat into the ground.
"Don' be turnin' yer back on me an' leavin' me out, Nick." Ellis replied, fire in his eyes. Nick glared up at him, his lips pressed into the thinnest of lines. Although Ellis wasn't about to give up, he hadn't realized just how difficult this would be.
"Look, ya know me. An' ya know I'm not gonna let this go. Might as well save yerself the time and jus' tell me now."
"Goddammit, Overalls. Why can't you leave this alone?" Nick fumed.
"Cuz yer hurtin' and it's honestly drivin' me insane to see ya like this. I'm goin' to help ya whether ya want it er not so yew should jus' accept it."
"Has anyone ever told you just how much of a pain in the ass you are?" Nick grouched, causing Ellis to laugh.
"Eh, it may have come up once er twice." Ellis replied, settling heavily onto Nick's chest so that it would be difficult for the conman to dislodge him and roll over.
"Fine. Fine. You want to know, I sure as hell don't have a right to keep it from you- even though they're my demons. My problems to cope with… but no, Ellis has to know. So Fine. I'll tell you."
There was quiet after Nick's rant.
"I'm waitin'." Ellis replied, knowing full well that Nick was trying to guilt trip him. There was some success on Nick's part- he had at least been able to create a sense of guilt in Ellis. He did not, however, curb Ellis' interest in the subject and Nick saw it in Ellis' expression that he was not going to give up.
"Assclown." Nick huffed, his gaze meeting Ellis.' "Look, they're just scenarios where I lose you, ok? And no matter how hard I try they seem so real that I'm sure I've lost you. Is that good enough for you?"
Ellis watched Nick carefully- Nick was being plagued with losing him. There was a strange spark of sadness in Ellis- in a way it was his fault that Nick was having nightmares. It was also strangely touching but there wasn't enough in Nick's description. Ellis had asked for this and he found Nick's explanation did not fulfill what Ellis was seeking. He found himself wanting to know more- he wanted to know all of it.
"Tell me 'bout the scenarios, Nick. What happ'ns?" Ellis replied which caused Nick to groan out.
"Are you fucking kidding me, Ellis? Why don't I just tell you my life's story while I'm at it?"
"I won't say no ta tha', either… but fer now I'm happy with jus' the dreams." Ellis grinned at Nick which caused the conman's scowl to deepen. "Also Nick, yew should probly keep yer voice down. Coach an' Ro won' be lovin' ya if ya wak'em up."
"God you are such a pain. Why the hell do I put up with you?" Nick grouched which earned a chuckle from Ellis. He leaned over Nick and touched the tip of his nose to gambler's, looking at the jade eyes that he had been learning to understand. Mischievous green eyes that were avoiding his gaze at the moment.
"Cuz you'd be lost without me." Ellis replied softly. Nick looked up at him a moment and Ellis was shocked by the truth Nick found in those words. His gaze spoke as if Ellis had hit the nail on the head with those words. There was quiet in the cabin as the two men stared off with one another.
"Fine. Have it your way." Nick replied before launching into what he can remember of the scenarios. He had figured that the kid hadn't meant what he had said about really listening so it caught Nick off guard when he realized he had Ellis' full attention. The kid never looked away from him, eyes never drooped back to sleep while he spoke, and he didn't once interrupt. When Nick finished talking his gaze strayed away from Ellis. Nick couldn't say that his chest felt any lighter… but then again Ellis was lying on it so how would Nick be able to tell?
With no verbal response from Ellis the only sounds surrounding them became their own breathing, the motor from the boat and the waves crashing against the hull. Ellis stared down at Nick as he tried to figure the man out. Every nightmare Nick was having truly had some aspect of Ellis in them. When Nick had told him about the dream that included Abbey, Ellis blinked back tears. The emptiness that Abbey had left in his heart had been pushed away and though Ellis hadn't attempted to forget her, he hadn't been actively remembering her either. The pain Nick must have been feeling from these dreams… it sent hurt pounding through Ellis with every beat of his heart.
"Nick…" Ellis murmured softly, snuggling closer to Nick.
"If you keep that up you're going to suffocate me." Nick grumbled but he didn't really have a problem with it. In a way it was cute how Ellis cared so much for him.
Ellis just hummed, squeezing Nick closer before releasing him to fold his arms over Nick's chest and rest his head upon them. Ellis bit back empty words of promise, knowing that they would be of no help to Nick. Instead he remained still as he gazed down at the conman, wondering why Nick cared for him so much when he told Ellis off on a regular basis.
The two men remained that way for some time, too lost in their own thoughts to speak to the other. At some point Ellis drifted off to sleep once more and Nick found he didn't mind that Ellis hadn't commented on the dreams. The kid's expressions while he had been listening had said enough.
Pale light began to peek through the windows and Nick felt his eyes beginning to droop closed once more. The usual dread that came before sleep didn't appear and although Nick fully expected to have nightmares they didn't seem quite so bad anymore. Not when he could awaken to have the real Ellis still at his side- still with him, safe and sound for now.
"Y'all made it ta New Orleans!" Virgil's voice woke Nick from his sleep abruptly, both he and Ellis lunging to their feet before realizing there was no danger. Not at the moment, anyway.
"Hell of a wakeup call." Nick muttered, scratching tiredly at his chest.
"Mmmm." Ellis mumbled non-committedly, stretching out slowly. Ellis' eyes widened after a moment and he turned to Nick.
"What?" Nick asked, confused by Ellis' expression.
"We made it!" Was the warning Nick got before arms were being thrown around his neck and he was pulled into a crushing hug.
"Um… Whoa." Nick was still attempting to process what was going on. After a few minutes of standing there, dumbfounded, Nick returned the hug. Ellis' skin was warm and smooth beneath his hands and it was extremely comfortable- making Nick's brain even less cooperative in waking up.
Finally Ellis' words completely sank in as did the message that woke the both of them up. They had made it to New Orleans. For whatever reason Nick wasn't completely overjoyed about that fact. Not that he wasn't happy- but to get so excited when they still had so far to go seemed a recipe for disaster.
"Hey kid, how about a haircut before we head out?" Nick offered, trying to get rid of the foreboding feeling hanging over him.
Hot breath washed across Nick's neck as Ellis sighed. "Sounds good. 'm real ready ta get rid a all these damn curls." Despite his words Ellis didn't pull away from the embrace and neither did Nick. It felt like one of those moments that no matter when it ended, it would end too soon.
Although Nick wasn't big on pulling away – having Ellis in his arms like this was more than appealing… though it was making the conman's mind drift into a more sexual place- he also didn't want to get caught by the others. Not that he had any trouble advertising the relationship that he and Ellis had (even if he, himself, wasn't absolutely sure what that relationship was) he just didn't want any trouble for it this early in the morning.
"Come on, kid, let's at least get dressed." Nick suggested, beginning to move away from Ellis. The kid's grip remained firm a moment before he released Nick, his head shaking at Nick's suggestion to put on clothes.
"Le's get tha' haircut done. I don' wanna deal with hair in my clothes. It'll get real itchy an' unpleasant real fast."
"Alright, fine. Have it your way." Nick replied, chortling. When Ellis didn't move Nick added on, "Well? Find somewhere to sit."
Ellis found a crate and pulled it over, sitting on the edge. Nick couldn't help how his gaze wandered over the other man. Even though they had faced hard times, the kid was continually filling out.
Nick could feel his mouth beginning to water and inwardly sighed. It was ridiculous that he saw Ellis in such a light- even now. Nick still firmly believed that he wasn't attracted to men. There was just something about Ellis- obviously Nick still didn't see the hick as anything but a man but his attraction was to something deeper than that. Or at least that's what he told himself.
Fetching the knife from his pants, Nick went to stand behind Ellis, tugging playfully on the curls for a moment before beginning to raggedly cut through the strands. The muscles at the back of Ellis' shoulders and neck tensed but the kid didn't say anything.
Nick worked quickly, knowing that the job was uneven and far from a salon job. He doubted that Ellis really cared, however, and focused on just making sure he got the curls off without giving the kid a buzz cut.
When Nick finished he ran his hand over Ellis' head, amused by how short it was. Here and there it stood out in strange patches… and after a moment of petting Ellis Nick realized that those would have to go… Sighing at having some finer detail work to do when he had thought he was done, Nick worked on evening out the patches a little more. This time, when Nick was satisfied, he allowed himself a moment to lean down and nuzzle behind the kid's ear- cheek brushing up against the still soft yet shorter hair.
"Ya done?" Ellis asked, reaching up to run a hand through what was left of his hair.
"Yep." Nick responded with a smirk, running his nose along Ellis neck. He grinned when the kid shivered and left a soft kiss on Ellis' shoulder.
"Probly a good thing I don' have a mirror, huh?" Ellis teased.
"Just get dressed." Nick replied, pulling away to fetch Ellis' shirt. He considered walking over and handing it to Ellis but in the end settled for throwing the clothing at his face. Nick laughed to himself as his aim came through beautifully and Ellis was left with a face full of coveralls.
"Ya taken' yer jacket back?" Ellis asked when he had removed the rough material from his face and noticed that the white jacket was not among the items sitting in his lap. He glanced over at where he had left the stained piece of fabric, feeling the urge to get up and steal it away before Nick had the chance.
"I was thinking I might." Nick said with a nonchalant air.
"Cool." Ellis replied as he got dressed. Nick wasn't sure how to read the kid's tone. Having gotten his own pants on Nick moved to where Ellis was sliding his shirt over his head.
"White isn't your color." Nick teased, wrapping his arms around the kid's waist and placing another kiss to the kid's neck. Nick could easily feel the ripples coming from Ellis' muscles when he pulled his shirt into place and then heaved a sigh.
"Yeah. I s'pose." Ellis huffed, leaning back into Nick's embrace.
"Besides, no one can see your tattoo when you wear it."
"Nough said, Nick." Ellis reached up, taking Nick a little by surprise when he turned and pressed his lips to Nick's in a searing kiss. Warmth rushed through Nick, as it always did with Ellis but had never really done with anyone else. Nick took a moment to deepen the kiss, tongue sliding through Ellis' lips to tangle with his tongue. One thing Nick always found interesting was how people really did have different tastes… and it wasn't something that could really be described.
Ellis turned toward Nick, finding an angle that didn't hurt his neck, while sliding his hands up the conman's back. The heat began to grow between the two before Nick pulled back, panting. Ellis took the moment to leave a trail of kisses down the side of Nick's neck while his hands gripped Nick's hips.
"Shit, kid… really, where did you learn to kiss?" Nick asked as pleasuring sensations spread down his spine. Ellis didn't respond as he bit down softly on Nick's neck, beginning to suck on it gently. Nick bit his tongue as he fought back a sound he knew he would have regretted later if it had escaped. That, however, didn't stop him from tilting his head to the side and giving Ellis better access.
Heat was burning in Nick's gut and he knew that Ellis was on the same page, both men wanting to take further steps into the feeling of pleasure but knowing they really didn't have the time. Ellis eventually pulled away- grinning at the mark he had left on Nick's skin. From the kid's expression Nick was pretty sure he'd need to make sure to button his shirt up all the way. With a last soft press of lips Ellis and Nick separated to continue dressing- Nick snagging up his jacket before Ellis had the chance. It wasn't that he didn't really want Ellis to wear it- it was more like the kid looked better without it and Nick didn't look complete unless he had it. Just like Ellis didn't look quite like himself without his hat- which Nick snagged and placed on Ellis' head backwards. It wasn't too much longer before Nick and Ellis were joining Rochelle and Coach outside the boat's cabin, Ellis having placed his hat back into its proper forward position.
"Why has the boat stopped?" Nick asked, wondering why he hadn't noticed earlier.
"Virgil expects us to swim from here." Rochelle replied and Nick felt dread coil into his gut. They could see the dock, of course, but that wasn't a very short swim. They were going to need every drop of energy they had for this next battle and starting off with a swim just seemed like a horrible idea…
"Wha' if there're zombie sharks, though?" Ellis whispered. He was peering into the murky depths of the water with a look of absolute concentration. A splash nearby had him leaping away from the edge of the boat and behind Coach. Nick rolled his eyes before turning to Rochelle and noticed her expression of withheld mirth. Realizing that Virgil wouldn't make them do such a thing Nick rolled his eyes again.
"Oh, ha ha." Nick said- meaning for it to be without humor but failing. After having fought with each other so terribly when they had had to get fuel, a quiet pact had more or less been formed to prevent that from happening again. Even if it hadn't, though, Nick was amused by Rochelle's bold sense of humor. "So why has the boat stopped, really?"
"Virgil didn't want to reach shore and just kick the lot of us off. It's safer to remain here for the time being- at least until we're ready to get off." Coach explained. He looked decidedly less grumpy than he had the other day. Nick decided it was probably due to a good night's rest.
"Are there even sharks in these waters?" Ellis asked, his face tinged pink from his earlier reaction.
"I don't know. Why don't you find out?" Nick asked, pretending to attempt to shove Ellis overboard.
"Tha's ok, Nick. Pretty sure your suit needs a bath so maybe you should go an' find out." Ellis replied, playfully pushing Nick back.
"That water doesn't look like it would be helpful to my suit." Nick replied, shaking his head.
"It definitely wouldn' hurt it. Hate ta tell ya this, Nick, but yer fancy suit is beyond savin' at this point"
"Hardy har har. You're one to talk, Ellis. Your clothes are practically rags at this point."
"'m not arguin' with that." Ellis replied. "Damn, I need some new clothes."
"We all do, Ellis." Rochelle muttered, looking at her own worn and tattered clothing- complete with zombie splatter stains and swamp splash marks.
"I think my suit just needs a good washing. None of our clothing would be helped by a dip in that water, though."
"I dunno, Nick. The water don' look all tha' bad. Either way, 'm glad tha' Virgil isn' actually makin' us swim. An' I'm glad he's got a reasonable reason fer stoppin' an' that it wasn' cuz something was wrong with the ship."
"It's a boat, Ellis." Nick replied, "Not a ship."
"Poetaytoe, puhtahtoe." Ellis replied, waving his hand back and forth dismissively.
"Completely different." Nick argued and before he knew it he found himself in a wrestling match with Ellis. He was taken off guard at first but quickly got back with the program, struggling to keep the boy from pinning him down. Rochelle and Coach watched with slight amusement as the two men struggled.
"Might be best to try and save that energy for later." Rochelle suggested.
"But I always have tons a energy, Ro." Ellis argued, voice strained as he and Nick grappled. At some point Ellis' hat got knocked to the ground.
"Lookin' good, Ellis." Rochelle said with a snicker when her gaze caught on his hair.
"Tha' bad, huh?" Ellis said, looking up at Rochelle. He had to crane his neck to see her from his angle on the ground. Nick was able to catch Ellis off guard thanks to Rochelle's comment, and was able to pin the boy beneath him. Ellis, who had been smiling earlier, looked a little put out by this. Nick wondered if Ellis was questioning trusting the conman with cutting his hair at this point.
"It's fine, boy. Don't you listen to Rochelle." Coach said kindly.
"Yeah Ellis, you look fine… you know, if you had just fought a lawn mower and lost, I mean." She said it teasingly but from Ellis' expression he took it a bit to heart.
"Don't listen to her, kid. She's just giving you a hard time." Nick said softly, releasing Ellis so that they could both get up before grabbing the kid's hat and offering it to him. Ellis accepted it but before putting it back on, squared off with Rochelle.
"Yer jus' jealous cuz this is a badass zombie killin' machine haircut an' you don' have one." Ellis' grin had returned to normal as he playfully shoved Rochelle. His response caused Rochelle to burst into fits of giggles.
"It really isn't all that bad I guess." Rochelle said after a moment, reaching out to mess up Ellis' hair. He rolled his eyes at her before putting his hat back on and crossing his arms over his chest.
Virgil joined them before they had a chance to start anything else. "Y'all ready to head aboard?" He asked, standing next to Nick. The survivors shared looks before nodding.
"I'm as ready now as I'll ever be."
Virgil nodded at Nick's response, smiling. There was sadness behind the sparkle in the boat captain's eyes.
"Well alright, then. Virgil'll take y'all to shore." He replied before leaving the group.
"I can't believe we're almost there." Rochelle said, her voice soft as the 4 watched the dock come closer.
"We've still got a long way to go." Nick reminded, causing Rochelle to roll her eyes.
"Is it so bad to think the worst is behind us?"
"Nah, Ro. But we still gotta be ready fer anythin'. With our luck we still got a shit ton of things to get through." Ellis replied.
"And again I say, pessimism doesn't look good on you." Nick murmured.
"Not pessimism, Nick. 'm tryin' ta be realistic."
"Ellis? Realistic? Nick, what have you done to him?!" Rochelle accused, turning suspicious eyes on Nick.
"What makes you think I had anything to do with his delusional attempt at reality?"
Rochelle was saved from answering as the boat reached the dock. The 4 survivors stared at the wooden planks that lead into New Orleans wearily. Nick was the first to get off, a weight coming onto his shoulders as his feet left the boat. Rochelle and Coach weren't far behind him… and Ellis lagged way behind before finding the strength to get off.
"Now Virgil ain't goin' no further but y'all can make it ta the bridge from here."
"Thanks Virgil. You stay safe, brother." Coach replied, his voice heavy with emotion.
"Good luck, now. I'm going to go look for other survivors." Virgil called as he began to pull away from the dock.
"Thank ya Virgil. Yer a good man an' ya got a hell of a boat." Ellis said, waving.
"Alright you all take real real good care now. Bonjours now!" Virgil almost sounded sad… and it settled heavily onto all 4 of the survivor's hearts.
"You too, Virgil." Nick said, nodding respectfully toward the boat.
"Stay safe!" Rochelle called to Virgil. He waved to them as the boat began to leave the dock.
"That Virgil is a goddamn hero going back when we are so close. Hey, let's get to that bridge. For Virgil." Ellis said, causing Nick to once again roll his eyes. If he kept this up they very well might roll right out of his head.
"You mean that blurry line on the edge of the horizon? Let's not get ahead of ourselves here." Nick muttered- ever the optimist.
"We've been through hell getting here. I'm proud of you all. Now we're down to the last mile. Let's make this count." Coach said as the 4 left the docks. Virgil's boat disappeared into the soft mist as the morning brought soft sunlight to descend over the survivors.
"Yeah well seeing the bridge and getting to it are two different things."
"Oh stop being a Debbie Downer, Nick." Rochelle said, elbowing Nick in a lighthearted manner.
"Just telling the truth. Someone's got to be realistic in this group…" Nick replied, shrugging.
"Hey! I'm jus' as realistic as you are, Nick." Ellis replied indignantly
"Well if our heads were in the clouds before, they aren't anymore." Coach said. The words had no hard edge, just like the words from earlier that morning hadn't.
"Ready?" Rochelle asked, having headed a little further into the town. She had paused when turning to check on the others showed she was no longer being followed.
The three men exchanged glances- not realizing they had paused to stare after Virgil's boat once more. Grins cracked out across three faces and Ellis laughed.
"Le's go kick some ass!" Ellis crowed before charging on ahead of Rochelle.
"Slow down, tiger! Don't leave us behind!" Rochelle replied as the three less enthusiastic zombie killers chased after Ellis.
"You speed up!" Ellis called back. Zombies were beginning to appear, charging at Ellis as he came into their sights. "Come on guys! The faster we move the sooner we kin get ta tha' bridge."
"The rest of us would like to get there in one piece, Overalls!" Nick responded as he attempted to keep pace with Ellis.
"What are ya gettin' at?" Ellis questioned, quirking a brow back at Nick before snagging up a bat and bashing zombies apart. He wanted to save ammo for when it would really be needed and besides that Ellis had a lot of pent up energy that he wanted to let loose. Needless to say the energy's source came partially from the continual wall between him and Nick.
"That you're going to get us all killed." Nick replied. Ellis looked over at him, wondering if Nick was serious or not. Either way Ellis slowed down- giving the others a chance to catch up. The three more serious survivors breathed a sigh of relief- Coach leaning over to try and catch his breath.
"Sorry y'all. I didn' mean ta be pushin' ya er nothin'." Ellis mumbled sheepishly. It was a moment where Ellis had forgotten his own strength- though it was more he had forgotten the amount of energy he had in comparison to the others. Rochelle had been keeping up with him well enough but now that Ellis got a good look at her he noticed she was looking tired as well.
"It's alright Youngun, just remember that the rest of us don't quite have the capabilities to keep a fast pace the way you do." Coach replied as he straightened, having recovered his breath. With Ellis better reigned in the group fell into fighting sync.
The zombies came in easily managed waves and the survivors worked together as an unstoppable zombie killing force. Rochelle and Nick covered zombies that were running from a distance, careful not to shoot Coach and Ellis while the two men grappled weapon to hand with any infected that made it too close to them. At the end of the last wave the team regrouped, pats of congrats at the good shooting and good fighting handed out.
"An' when Nick sho' tha' smoker 'fore it even got a chance to snag one a us- man tha' was freakin' awesome Nick!" Ellis said, using his hands to recount a long shot Nick had made that had ended in a puff of smoke.
"Thanks Ellis." Nick replied, gripping Ellis' shoulder fondly.
"An' oh man, Coach, thanks for coverin' my back when things got a bit messy. The one ya took down right as it was bout to steal my bat- yeah, you saved my ass Coach."
"It was something that needed to be done, boy. I couldn't let that zombie leave you weaponless."
"Yeah, but'cha took a nasty swipe an' I feel a lil bad now." Ellis replied and the blood that colored Coach's shirt showed he had, indeed, taken an attack at one point or another. Whether he had received it while lending Ellis a hand was questionable, however. Coach nodded though, just to keep Ellis happy.
"An' Ro, yer such a badass! Ya like halved the monsters that were gonna reach me an' Coach. Nice shootin'!" Ellis offered Rochelle a high five and she accepted it, grinning at him. Even though Ellis always handed out praise it was nevertheless a spirit lifter. Ellis continued to recount the battle that everyone had been present for, getting excited at the highlights of it while they walked down a street. They turned a corner and Ellis cut off in the middle of what he was saying, quickly changing topics.
"Do these things ever seem like one great big maze to any of yew?" Ellis asked as they looked at a rather large truck that blocked their path.
"Maze? Boy, what are you talking about?" Rochelle questioned. There was a stutter in her shots while she waited for Ellis to answer- because of course the waves of infected had started up again and of course that would be the time when Ellis brought up something weird.
"I jus' keep imaginin' us as the mice and somethin' is leadin' us ta the end a somethin' … question is, is there cheese er poison at the end a this maze?" Ellis thought aloud, causing the rest of the survivors to roll their eyes- some in a good manner, others in annoyance.
"Boy you aren't making any sense at all." Rochelle replied as the team worked their way up an apartment complex. Zombies were scattered about the apartment, not really noticing the survivors at first. It was interesting to catch one of the infected off guard since they seemed to become dormant in a sense when they were left alone. They went from leaning against a wall and staring blankly to going at a full out sprint to reach the survivors once they recognized the survivors as the uninfected they were.
"Sorry." Ellis ducked his head in further embarrassment.
"Why don't we just play the quiet game for a little while?" Nick suggested. The kid meant a lot to Nick, sure, but that didn't mean he didn't get on the gambler's nerves every once in a while. Especially when the kid was spouting nonsense and Nick's nerves were already shot from a strange foreboding feeling.
Surprisingly things were quiet between the comrades for a short while- well as quiet as it can be when there are gunshots, the moan of the infected, and the thuds of physical blows given and taken by the survivors.
"Hey guys?"
"Quiet game, Overalls."
"But Nick!
"Shut up Overalls."
"But I saw-"
"Ellis, do you know how to play the quiet game? Yes? Then let's do it." Nick cut off once more. He wondered briefly why he felt so irritated at the moment and stocked it off to be sexual frustration having been built up for so long and still having had no release. A part of Nick still wondered if he could get Ellis into his bed if his interest in the younger man would die out with that.
A whoosh and the shaking of the ground had the team looking around in surprise, trying to spot what had caused the abnormal event. Nick's thoughts were left in scrambled disarray as his gaze moved over the buildings and the ground- wondering if whatever had just caused that was an immediate danger to the 4 of them.
"What in the hell?" Coach muttered as he did a 360 degree turn.
"I was tryin' ta tell you." Ellis pointed out, causing the other three to turn to him.
"Point out what?" Rochelle prompted.
"I saw a-" Ellis didn't get a chance to finish as an explosion filled the air a distance away.
"What in the hell is going on around here?" Coach muttered as smoke rose from a distance, just barely in sight for the survivors.
"I was meanin' ta tell you I saw a fighter jet." Ellis finally got out. "It was cool ta see one cuz that means we definitely ain't the last people on Earth!"
"Were you beginning to wonder?" Rochelle asked, turning to Ellis. Part of her still held onto that this was some bad dream that they'd wake up from or would be rescued from. She didn't really allow herself to question if everyone else in the world had been turned into zombies.
"Well… I mean obviously there's also Virgil an' all but I mean… well an' Zoey, Louis, an' Francis but I mean.. well and Keith… but my point is that I was beginnin' ta worry a lil, yeah." Ellis attempted to explain.
"Well I'm with Ellis in taking the jets as a good sign."
"I have a bad feeling about this." Nick said mostly to himself. "You don't evacuate people in fighter jets."
"It means they haven't given up on New Orleans." Coach replied but Nick looked skeptical. Coach ignored Nick's expression in favor of saying "Come on, Let's move."
Things became a little hectic as the team fought through a wave or two of zombies, working their way through the town. A right turn to avoid a nasty traffic collision lead them into a park. Ellis got into a spot of trouble when he ran off ahead of the group again and met up with a jockey that drug him around a corner of a wall. Jockeys, just as themselves, didn't pose too much of a threat but when there was an edge to be 'guided' over or a horde to be pulled into than Jockeys were a nasty piece of work.
"Thanks Coach." Ellis mumbled as he rubbed at the sore spots on his cheeks where the Jockey had gripped. Coach patted Ellis on the back before shooting more oncoming infected.
"Hold still, Dr. Nick is going to fix you up." Nick came over and swiftly began bandaging Ellis up while Rochelle and Coach shot down any zombies that appeared around the corners of the hedge.
"Well Ellis, we found your maze." Rochelle pointed out as they began to make their way through the mixture of tall cement walls and towering hedges. It would have been bad enough if the infected would just randomly appear around a corner of the hedge but these zombies also decided to run right through the hedges and to climb the cement walls so that there was danger coming at the survivors from multiple sides.
"Ha, I didn' even notice til now." Ellis replied though he was distracted with keeping the zombies from reaching them.
"I could really use a safehouse about now." Rochelle brought up, a wistful expression on her face.
"I'm totally with Ro on this." Ellis piped in.
"What happened to reaching the bridge ASAP?" Nick interjected.
"Well…. I fig're if they're there righ' now, they'll be there tomorrow as well."
"It's a good thought, Ellis." Coach granted. "Maybe it would be best for us to find a stopping point even if it's only a short while."
"I wouldn't count on it." Nick tried to put in but he got three sets of glares for his troubles. They didn't vocally respond, just shot him the looks and then continued through the maze- only to shout the alarm of 'Charger' a short while later.
"Gangway! Gangway! It's after me!" Ellis said, sprinting past the others as a Charger chased after him.
"Is it just me or does Ellis attract special infected?" Rochelle asked, strangely calm about a Charger being on Ellis' tail.
"I see it." Nick replied, just as calm as he began sending bullets into the monsters back. Rochelle followed suit while Coach covered the other side- keeping normal infected off of them. The charger went down a little while after that, landing forcefully on top of Ellis.
"Ellis!" Rochelle cried out in alarm, her fear for the boy kicking in.
"Overalls!" Nick echoed as both he and Rochelle began to head towards the Charger's side. There was a call of distress from Coach as a large wave of infected began to rush at them. Rochelle and Nick were forced to abandon saving Ellis for the moment in favor of keeping the zombies away from themselves.
The stragglers from that group were finally shot down and free to go, Rochelle and Nick finally rushed to where the Charger had fallen. There was a strange noise coming from under the charger and Nick felt his heart clench in fear- believing Ellis to be whimpering in pain. As he and Rochelle worked together to push the charger up it became clear that Ellis wasn't whimpering or moaning or making any sounds of distress- he was humming. Nick had trouble believing that though, so he decided to question Ellis on it.
"Are you… humming?"
"Yep! Didn' have anythin' better ta do while waitin' for you and Ro ta come give me a hand. I tell you what, it took ya guys long enough."
Nick felt simultaneously like laughing, punching the hick, and storming away. They were all becoming so used to people just pulling out of these fights ok. When would their slacking off get them killed?
"Good to see you're doing ok?" Rochelle was watching Ellis with a look of confusion. Nick doubted Rochelle had purposely made what she had to say sound like a question.
"Ayep!" Ellis replied, nodding his head. In truth having the charger fall on him had terrified him- he had been afraid he might go all monster on Nick, Coach, and Rochelle so he had started humming some of the best country songs in existence (In Ellis' opinion, anyway) so that he could ignore the pain of having a crushing weight over top of him. Of course he didn't want either Rochelle or Nick to know why he was humming- so he played it off like he was being foolish. To keep up this façade of a demeanor Ellis started pointing out random things.
"Horse!" Ellis said when he noticed a statue nearby.
"Beautiful observation, Overalls." Nick said scathingly. Ellis flinched at the harshness to his tone, swallowing back the pain he was feeling.
"Horses are real neat, don'tcha think so Nick?" Ellis asked. He wasn't really sure what he was expecting from Nick- he just wanted to try and lighten the mood just a little. Not have it so obvious that the conman was irritated with him. He was walking at Nick's side now, Rochelle and Coach trailing a short way behind them.
"Sure. I heard they taste pretty good." Nick responded and he did it in such a way that Ellis wasn't sure if he was joking or if he were serious. It bothered Ellis either way.
"Horses aren't for eatin', Nick, they're for ridin'." Ellis grumbled.
"Oh is tha- Charger!" Nick shouted suddenly- the playful moment turning to one of terror. Nick shoved Ellis, sending the other man tumbling into the hedge as the charger collided with Nick.
"Shit!" Ellis said, scrambling to try and get out of the hedge. He could feel the branches reopening un-bandaged wounds and creating new ones as he pulled himself out of the green, leafy mess.
"Nick?!" Ellis asked as he looked around, gun raised to shoot anything that moved that wasn't friendly. There had been a small swarm of infected following after the charger and Ellis was forced to fight or allow the infected to inflict damage upon him. Ellis always made sure to keep in mind that taking damage wouldn't help his comrades out at all- even if he really wanted to make it to Nick at that moment.
Once the wave had diminished once more there was a terse moment of silence for Ellis as he waited to hear Rochelle, Coach… or Nick. He really hoped to hear Nick… and he wasn't disappointed.
"Well that was an adventure I never want to have again." Came the familiar snarky voice. Ellis glanced around a moment before heading around a corner and finding Nick held up between Rochelle and Coach. They stayed that way until Nick told them point blank he could stand on his own and they released him.
"Good God, Nick. Ya scared the shit outta me!"
"I see no evidence of having done that." Nick replied, pretending to look around Ellis for any sign of the shit that was apparently scared out of Ellis.
"Ha ha." Ellis replied, flatly. "What in the hell did you do that for?"
"What? Save your life? Well I guess I was thinking 'Shit! Charger! Get out of the way!' and found getting one of us out of the way was better than the charger getting the both of us." Nick replied sardonically as his knees just about buckled underneath him. "A thank you is enough, you know? Really, you can just thank me for saving you."
Ellis huffed out a sigh and shook his head- mostly out of irritation but there was some amusement as well.
"C'mere. We're outta medkits an' I don' wantcha left behind." Ellis moved so that he was standing in front of Nick, back to him, crouching a little.
"Are you offering to carry me?" Nick questioned just to double check. A nod from Ellis had Nick rubbing at his chin as he considered the pros and cons of this.
"Hurry up, Nick. We need to continue through this park." Rochelle pushed. Knowing that he might as well accept the help Nick took the proffered back. Climbing into place took a little doing but once he and Ellis were both settled and comfortable de ja vu flashed through Nick's mind. It felt like forever and a day but he had been in this kind of situation before- except Nick knew the hick's body better in a sense. His own body still reacted the same to it, however- beginning to take interest in being so close to the other man. It didn't help that Nick's veins were pumping with adrenaline from the battle.
Coach had tossed a pistol to Ellis and a couple to Nick and the group continued on their way. Ellis had a firm grip on one of Nick's legs and shot down what he could with the other, trying not to flinch whenever Nick fired.
"Where do all these chargers keep coming from?" Nick complained as another one was heard nearby, sounding like the survivors would get to meet it head on if they turned the next corner. "I'll be glad when we escape this park."
"Well if we can make it past the charger, we should be home free." Rochelle pointed out.
"Let's do this." Nick replied, noticing how Ellis flinched away as he spoke. Mildly amused Nick filed that away to check into later before Ellis turned the corner with Rochelle and Coach and the 4 members of the ragtag group began to fire into the charger. It had enough time to turn and roar at them before it was tumbling to the ground.
"And we are home free." Nick called as they left the park before his nose wrinkled in disgust. "It smells like…piss…"
"I think it smells kinda nice." Ellis replied- Nick's scent surrounding him strongly enough that it washed out most other scents. The smell from the bathrooms a short ways a way was an under layer of unimportance to Ellis.
"You're screwed up in the head, you know that?"
"Wouldn' be the firs' time someone said somethin' 'long those lines." Ellis replied, nodding.
"Hey you two, over here." Rochelle waved the two men over and they followed her into something that resembled a subway car to Ellis. He was about to ask when he noticed the medkits in a corner. He quickly set Nick on his feet and moved to grab up a medkit before heading back to Nick to get the man healed.
"Alarm will sound when door is opened without proper authorization." Coach read out loud.
"Looks like as soon as we open the door we'll need to make for the tower." Nick muttered.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait… why we goin' to the tower?"
"We run to the tower so that we can turn off the alarm."
"Wait… we are going it together right?"
"Of course we're going together. What would make you think otherwise?"
"I dunno- it makes logical sense ya know? One fer the many an' all that."
"And at what point in time did you begin to believe that's how this team worked?" Nick replied as Ellis finished up the bandaging. Ellis gave a noncommittal shrug.
"We're like the four musketeers. One person isn't going to go riskin' themselves for anyone else- either we all get out or none of us do." Rochelle replied.
"Ro, sweetheart, there are only 3 musketeers." Nick said slowly. Not that it particularly mattered at the moment.
"No… what about that one boy who ends up joining them? Besides that wasn't-" Rochelle argued. Coach held a hand up and Rochelle, Nick, and Ellis turned to look in his direction, effectively cutting Rochelle off.
"Alright you lot… this isn't going to be a walk in the park."
Ellis snickered a little at that, his mind on that they had just walked through a park and it hadn't been very easy at all. He opened his mouth to point that out to the others but a hand on his shoulder from Nick kept him quiet.
"We need to make it to that tower just as quick as we can." Coach continued. "The longer we take the more infected will be drawn to us and I'm pretty sure we'll get a swarm of infected from the very beginning. We are about to face hell but we've pulled through worse. Everyone should make sure to heal up because we'll be heading into the belly of a monster when we open this door."
Nick bit his tongue on telling Coach just how riveting his speech was. Coach was attempting to inspire them… or maybe it was to warn them. Nick nodded an affirmative to Coach, reloading the pistol and a quickfire shotgun and filling his pockets with ammo. He was ready to take on this hell- every step was a step closer to the military. Only a small voice spoke up in the back of Nick's mind. Military doesn't necessarily mean safety.