So… here you go Finally got another chapter done. I don't really have much to say other than… it's kind of sinking in that I'm almost done with this. Even though I have a sequel planned… I mean it's kind of sad to me anyway. Anyway this was fun to write- one of those chapters that kind of took the reigns and decided to do as it wanted (seriously, I'd be like 'nooooo, it should work like thiiiiiis' and the chapter was like 'haha, have fun with that. I'm going in this direction'…. In the end it worked out though.) So comments, critiques, all of that good stuff is accepted and praised and creates the need to sit down and continue writing Hope you guys are having a good day! Enjoy the chapter
Chapter 28
"So…. Do any of you get the feeling they're about to fall through the floor?" Nick grumbled as they climbed the stairs of a pretty rickety old building.
"Shoot Nick, this old house ain't nothin' ta worry 'bout." Ellis replied though even he flinched when the house gave an ominous creak.
"Why, pray tell, are we taking the risk again?"
"Rochelle said it's a shortcut to where we're needin' ta be." Ellis responded before anyone else had a chance.
"All I see is a short cut to our deaths. This floor could give out at any moment!" Nick replied, gesturing to the hole in the floor where they could clearly see the first floor.
Ellis opened his mouth to reply once more when zombies began to pour into the house.
"God, what the hell? Do the infected have like… beacons on us or something?" Nick complained. The hole in the floor now became very useful- allowing the survivors to shoot the infected down below before they made it to the stairs.
"In a way, it's possible." Rochelle replied.
Nick nodded at that. They probably gave off signals being alive that was like an ice cream truck bell to the infected. He wondered what about them the infected were actually drawn to- if they could figure that out then perhaps they could mask it and make their way through places undetected.
Discussion stopped as everyone focused on keeping infected from reaching them. It quickly became hectic but working together meant that instead of massive damage taken, they were only taking minor scratches.
"Aw Shit! Smoker!" Ellis replied, pulling at the tongue as it dragged him toward a window.
Nick shook his head as the always lovable hillbilly got attacked by a special infected once again. They always seemed to go after him first- or he was just always in the line of fire. Smoke erupted as Coach fired off a clean shot and Ellis tore the tongue away from him, pushing to his feet as infected stormed up the stairs.
"Well looks like we're trapped." Nick noted mildly.
"Naw. We're the trap." Ellis replied before pulling an automatic weapon from his back and letting loose on the zombies that were piling up the stairs.
"Shit, Fireball… I'd say 'nice shooting' but I'm pretty sure the gun did most of the work." Nick teased, knocking Ellis' hate crooked.
"Hey now- yer jus' jealous tha' I saw an' grabbed it first." Ellis shot back, grinning when Nick came to lean on his shoulder. The conman shook his head, grinning- and although Coach didn't necessarily look pleased he wasn't angry either.
The quartet soon began to make their way back down the stairs, having found an ammo dump at the top and grabbing all the ammo they could carry.
"Well, though that house was a massive waste of time, it was a good place to cover our asses." Nick muttered as they exited the house and began to make their way down the street.
"So no' really a waste of time, then."
"Ellis, it took time away from us reaching the bridge to go in that house. Ergo: Waste of time." Nick explained slowly, earning a scowl from Ellis.
"Nick- yer logic sure is skewed." Ellis observed. "An' wha's the hurry, anyway? We still got daylight hours 'head uv us."
"I'm just ready to get out of this hellhole- that's all."
"We all are, Nick." Rochelle pointed out. "Sorry that the house was a bust but at least we were able to restock on ammo and get some quick healing done."
Nick rolled his eyes but said nothing. His irritation came from a nagging worry at the back of Nick's mind… he tried to push it away but it persisted and ticked Nick off even more. Eventually he just accepted that whatever was bothering him would go away eventually and he'd just have to cope until then but it greatly shortened his temper. Out of the usual Nick lead the pack of survivors instead of Ellis- Rochelle becoming his wing pilot while Coach and Ellis covered their backs.
During one of the pauses Coach moved close enough to Ellis to be able to speak without shouting.
"Boy, I wanted to talk to you and I'd appreciate it if you heard me out before sayin' anything."
Ellis was pretty sure he knew what was coming but decided it was better to hear it now than to fight back and cause potential trouble. He wondered why Coach would choose now instead of a saferoom, however, where they could have a conversation in peace.
"Now I know that in an apocalypse pickings are slim and a young man will have strong urges… but I don't think you're thinking things through with Nick." Coach said quietly. When Ellis opened his mouth to argue Coach held up a hand and Ellis remained quiet.
"Look, Nick's a cool guy. He's had our backs and although he can be a pain in the ass I acknowledge that he's not a bad person. Now that being said, keep in mind he's not really a good person- either. I just don't feel that you're thinking things through, Ellis."
Ellis rubbed at his chin thoughtfully a moment. He was saved from an immediate response when more infected began to come at them and it gave him a little more time to think- though he did less thinking and more shooting really. After several minutes of terse silence after the wave had been cleared away, Ellis spoke.
"I know what yer sayin' Coach, really. An' it don' make sense ta me, either… but the way things stand I don' feel I'm doin' anythin' I'll regret later."
"You say that now but you're not at that later point. What about that girl…. Zoey? If you could win her affections she'd be a wonderful match for you." Coach suggested.
"Zoey is amazing." Ellis replied, a goofy grin covering his face. "But she ain't Nick an' I'd save him before I'd save Zoey. Ok, no, tha's a lie… I'd save both of them. But point bein', Nick ranks higher in my book."
"Both of them?" Coach asked, confused.
"Yeah! I'd be bad assed enough that neither of 'em would die." Ellis replied proudly.
"If you say so, young'un." Coach said, pulling the conversation back to his main reason for talking to Ellis. "Just know what you're doing- that's all I'm saying. Nick's past is unsavory… are you sure you want to tie yourself to that?"
Ellis felt it was a little too late to be asking that question but he decided to humor Coach regardless. "Look Coach, 's no' like Nick an' I are gonna get married tomorrow or anythin'. We're just testin' the waters right now. Tha's all… so don' go worryin' over it. I know what I'm doin'."
"I sure hope so, Ellis." Coach replied, clapping Ellis fondly on the shoulder. The quiet afterwards was companionable and though Coach still looked disappointed, Ellis felt better about the whole thing.
Meanwhile, at the front of the group, Rochelle was enjoying a moment of teasing Nick.
"So…. You and Ellis, huh?" She inquired after, her expression innocent.
"Seems like it." Nick replied vaguely, glancing in Rochelle's direction when he had the ability to. He couldn't really assess where she stood on this whole relationship between himself and Ellis.
"What happened to 'my gate doesn't swing that way?'"
"Everyone has a right to change their mind. Besides, my gate still doesn't swing that way… Ellis is just an exception to the rule."
"An exception, huh? I suppose that makes sense- Ellis seems to be the exception to a lot of rules."
Nick just nodded. He wasn't completely comfortable with this conversation. It bothered Nick when he didn't know what to expect. He wasn't one to talk about his feelings and he didn't even understand why Rochelle was bringing this up. Was it just something she wanted to tease him about or was there something more to it?
"Are you two serious, then?"
Nick glanced over at her with a raised brow. He was pretty sure he understood Rochelle's game now.
"Maybe. What's the matter sweetheart? Jealous?"
"Of you? Yes. Ellis is a good guy with a strong heart. It's every girl's dream to have a guy like that."
That was not the answer Nick was expecting at all- yet he was ready with a reply. "Are you saying?..."
"Don't worry, Nick. Ellis is like my little brother…"
"A hot little brother." Nick joked, elbowing Rochelle playfully.
Her reply to that was to laugh and shake her head. "Yeah, he's the hot little brother of the group and you're the Shady, mysterious Uncle."
"Shady Uncle? I can live with that." Nick nodded- he had lost Rochelle again since his earlier assumption had been wrong. "So does that make you and Coach the mother and father? Or is Francis the father?"
Rochelle placed her fists on her hips a moment, shaking her head but the edges of her lips were quirked in a smile. "Coach and I are cousins. Just cousins. Obviously."
"Mhmmmm." Nick replied, winking. An explosion that shook the ground beneath the survivor's feet sobered the conversation quickly- causing Rochelle to cut to the chase.
"Do you love him, Nick?" Rochelle inquired softly. This left Nick a little tongue-in more ways than one. On the one hand he wondered if Rochelle really had the right to ask such a personal question… sure they were colleagues and one might go so far as to say friends… but in this kind of matter...
"What kind of question is that?" Nick asked, scowling at Rochelle.
Rochelle's expression showed that she knew she was pushing the limits asking such a question… Nick debated what to answer or even if to answer and when the pause in conversation went from awkward to tense to suffocating Nick made his decision. He'd tell Rochelle the truth.
"I don't know." Well… it was mostly the truth, anyway.
"Nick… it's obvious that you care about him. Just… well try not to hurt him, ok?"
"Your concern is appreciated but Ellis is a grown man- he can take care of himself. He knows what he's getting himself into."
"I'm sure he does Nick. The question is, do you?" Rochelle replied- her tone kind. "We both know Ellis isn't the type to set into something without being serious about it."
Rochelle had a point… in this relationship Nick was the wild card. This wasn't something he wanted to be questioning at the moment, however. He and Ellis had finally been able to come to some sort of conclusion more stable than it had been in the past… if Nick began to doubt himself now…
"If we survive long enough to get out of here, I'll consider your words carefully."
Rochelle nodded, smiling over at Nick. "Fair enough. I just don't want to see either one of you hurt."
"Remind me to dog your every choice when you meet up with Francis." Nick scoffed but his tone was in good humor.
"What makes you think Francis is the man I'll be chasing after? What about Louis? I mean… he's pretty cool too, you know." Rochelle pointed out.
"Ah… so you're interested in Louis…"
"That is not what I mean Nick and you know it." Rochelle replied, her cheeks tinging pink.
"If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen." Nick replied. Things quieted down between them as taking down zombies became top priority and the group split to do so.
"This way, people. I think I've found an ammo dump!" Coach called.
Rochelle moved to Coach's side as they passed a flashing Motel sign 'Closed Until Further Notice Due to Sickness.' Ellis caught himself looking at the sign a moment longer than necessary- imagining what it must have been like to believe that things weren't all that bad and that it would be over shortly… and what a wake-up call it must have been when the infection really took over.
Snapping out of his thoughts Ellis checked behind them to make sure that no infected were following before jogging a bit to catch up to the others. There was the tinkling crash of glass as Coach knocked a hole through the door and opened it- holding the door open for the others.
Just as Coach had predicted, the motel had things needed to restock their supplies. While Rochelle pulled out a map to make sure they were heading in the right direction, Nick took a seat next to the cash register. Meanwhile, Coach had discovered an official looking notice and began to read it out loud- his tone serious though there was an underlying layer of scorn.
" 'Report unusual behavior. Barricade your homes. Avoid all contact with infected individuals. Wait for 'ficial instructions.' Wait my ass."
Having come across a gun locker and beginning to pass weaponry out, Ellis added, "Kill all Sons a Bitches. That's my 'ficial instructions." He said, grinning.
Nick chuckled to himself, nodding. "If we had waited for official instructions at any point in this escapade- or had depended on CEDA at all… well we'd be dead." He muttered, opening the cashier and smiling to himself at the contents within. At one point he had coveted the green paper that lay within the plastic machine but now it was utterly useless to him. Funny how something that had once been the center of his world had so easily found a backseat once survival was on the line.
"It looks like we've been right so far. According to this map the highway leads right to the bridge. We should easily be able to make it there by the end of today if we really push." Rochelle informed, accepting the handgun that Ellis had set on the table and fitting it into her back pocket once she had made sure the safety was on.
"We all ready ta head out?" Ellis asked, feeling a lot better with the new, fully loaded guns that were now strapped to his back along with a new medkit.
"Let's go." Nick replied and Ellis- feeling very much the badass- kicked the door open and began to shoot down the infected that had wandered out to surround the building. It took very little to clear out those who had found their way into the area.
"It looks like the army abandoned this area." Coach noted quietly. Before anyone was able to truly respond, however, a flying car and a roar alerted them to the horrible fact that a Tank had caught onto their presence.
"We got a Tank!" Nick called- just in case it wasn't already obvious.
"Shoot the shit out of that thing!" Rochelle encouraged, unleashing her own shot gun into the terrible monstrosity that lay some ways ahead of them. Gunshots rang through the air- almost muffling the sound of a chainsaw starting up.
Eyes focused on their goal, it was more than a mild shock to see Coach heading for the Tank, chainsaw in hand.
"This used to be a nice neighborhood." Coach said- more of a statement than a battle cry- before laying into the beast with the chainsaw.
"Cool." Rochelle praised as Coach stood over the remains of the Tank. It wasn't often that Coach was recognized as the hero- not when there were people like Ellis throwing their lives in the mix just to show off. In fact Coach hadn't really meant for it to be a hero moment. He had just been pissed at seeing all the infected in a place that he used to know.
"Alright, Coach." Nick said lightly, clapping Coach on the shoulder. "Didn't know you had that in you."
"Me neither." Coach replied, huffing out a huge breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.
"Ya nailed it, Coach." Ellis crowed triumphantly, fist pumping. "From a scale from one ta ten on awesomeness you got an 11."
"Alright, Thanks. We're almost home free, people." Coach said, accepting the praise graciously. They were making it… slowly but surely… they were making their way to that bridge.
"Jesus, what is that stink?" Nick asked, freezing up as breathing became difficult and it felt like the air was choking him. The stench was awful- invading his noise and making his insides churn.
"Are we near the sewer?" Ellis suggested, coming over to Nick with his shirt clamped over his nose. Nick doubted the material smelled any better but if it made the kid feel better…
"Sewer over here!" Coach called, waving the survivors over.
"That's not what I smell." Nick replied, shaking his head. This was a smell Nick had known to some extent before the apocalypse. Feeling a sinking low in his gut, Nick followed his nose to where the stench grew worst- fighting off a gag. Coach and the others followed him, the sight alone making contents of stomachs threaten to reappear.
"These ain't zombies. Somebody's been shootin' people." Coach intoned before backing away from the bodies.
"Somebody? Christ, Coach. You know who did this." Nick said angrily, moving away as well. Ellis and Rochelle had mirrored images of disgust and anguish, their pallor a sickly pale as they back tracked quicker than either Nick or Coach.
"How does bein' so right feel, Nick?" Coach spat, glaring at Nick though there was fear in his eyes. Nick understood… he hadn't wanted to be right but ignoring what had been presented to them might get them all killed.
"Not Good." Nick's voice had no real emotion- it was low and sounded truly upset that he had been correct.
"You know who dun this, Coach?" Ellis questioned, eyes watering as the 4 headed back towards the sewer.
"I don't know shit. We're gonna keep movin'." Coach declined quickly, expression becoming determined. "Come on y'all. Into the sewer. Nick picked a bad day to wear his white suit."
The last sentence was obviously an attempt to lighten the mood and perhaps even tease Nick but that discovery rested heavily on all of the survivors. Nick didn't even argue entering the sewer- what difference did it make anymore, anyway? His suit was ruined beyond repair- there was no getting past that. He still flinched after climbing down the ladder and splashing into the questionable liquid.
Coach was far ahead of them- anger making him a bit reckless. Rochelle stayed somewhere in the middle, covering Coach's back but keeping an eye on Nick and Ellis as well.
"Why were people dead, Nick?" Ellis asked softly. He wasn't stupid- he had an idea of what was going on… but he needed it confirmed. He needed to know what they're up against.
"Well either a bunch of serial killers with access to machine guns went on a rampage or we can't trust the military to save us." Nick muttered in an undertone.
"Goddamn. What are we gonna do?"
"We've made it this far, Ellis. There's not much else we can do but keep going." Nick murmured in resignation.
"We're going to die, either way, aren't we Nick." It wasn't phrased as a question.
"I sure hope not, kid. I really hope not." Nick answered, wrapping an arm around Ellis' shoulders and pulling him against his side. He still remembered his promise that if anyone was to make it out of this, it would be Ellis. Nick didn't plan on going back on that promise yet.
"Hey Nick, how's your suit holding up?" Rochelle called back to him, causing Nick to chuckle.
"I'm pretty sure it's going to permanently smell like the sewers at this point."
"Could be worse…" Ellis offered.
"Worse? God it stinks inside my head."
"You sure that's the sewers and not your own foul personality?" Coach called back. The bite in his words were more irritation and fear at the situation. On a regular day it would have truly been in jest.
"Well Coach, if it's me smelling so bad I hope to God you'd have the decency to say something." Came Nick's smart mouthed reply, echoing through the caverns. Coach's laugh intermingled with the echo from Nick's reply, causing the sewers to reverberate with sound. The group quieted to see if anything had been attracted to the noise, though so far the survivors had found that the infected didn't tend to travel under the city- at least not this part of the city.
A splashing could be heard and the survivors turned their guns down a narrow passage to the right, lights flashing on movement. Ready to let loose a barrage of bullets the team froze when a terrified "Wait- Don't Shoot" rent through the air.
Ellis was the first to lower his gun and take a step forward as the sloshing towards them slowed. Nick grabbed for the kid's arm to stop him from moving any closer but Ellis easily pulled from his grip, ignoring the warning hiss of 'Ellis' from Nick.
"Hullo?" Ellis called out, his flashlight falling on two silhouettes in the distance.
"Hello? Are you… well you're normal, right?" Came a quavering voice in the distance.
"Normal? I take it ya mean 'not infected'?" Ellis called back. The figures continued to approach and the light eventually illuminated a teenage girl and a young man approaching with their hands facing palms up towards the survivors.
"Yeah. That." The girl replied though she didn't sound completely sure of her words- as if that hadn't been what she meant.
"Well I ain't had a hankerin' for flesh yet but I tell you what- if I do ya got my permission ta take my gun an' shoot me." Ellis replied, grinning. Neither the girl nor the boy laughed- instead pausing a few feet from the survivors.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" The boy asked.
"Well uh- I'm Ellis, this here is Nick, the lady is Rochelle, and the big fella over there is Coach." Ellis replied, introducing them.
"We came from a town a good distance from here that had been overrun." Rochelle added in.
"How did you manage to get out?" The girl questioned, a note of accusation in her voice.
"We walked." Nick replied, crossing his arms and staring at her.
"You mean you weren't locked in that town?" She pushed.
"Nope. We grabbed up the Jimmy Gibb's car an' road it a good ways then ended up in Whisperin' Oaks- ya know, the amusement park- an' then a helicopter came ta pick us up but then we crashed. From there we made it through the Mississippi swamps 'til an awesome man named Virgil –who is a goddamned hero- came ta pick us up and brought us to New Orleans." Ellis explained. He had made it all sound so easy when really there had been so much strife in their making it to New Orleans.
"How come you're not sick, too?" The girl asked as she got closer. The boy moved to hold her back and she obeyed his silent command.
"That's a long story. Probably best if we don't get into it. Just accept that we're not infected." Nick replied. He didn't like these two right off the bat- what were they doing questioning them? On the bright side Nick saw that they didn't have weapons on them. It begged the question 'how they had been surviving,' however… if not using weapons to tear through the infected.
"Does tha' mean yer sick?" Ellis inquired right after Nick. The boy glared at them and instead of responding the girl asked another question.
"Are you carriers?" The girl whispered. Nick didn't catch it but Ellis heard.
"Carriers?" He asked, scratching at his neck in confusion. "Dunno what those are… we're jus' regular people."
"So were they… but when they got around those who weren't immune they brought the plague with them. It tore apart sanctuaries built by CEDA in a blink of an eye." The gruff voice of the boy explained.
"So how did you two get away?" Nick questioned.
"We didn't." The boy replied vaguely and the girl clutched compulsively at her arm. Nick noticed red smeared there. So she had been bitten- possibly it was only a matter of time. Then Nick began to notice the bruises under both of their eyes. It could be from lack of sleep but it looked worse than that.
"Look here, you two. Why don't you come along with us and we'll get everything sorted out. There's people to take us to safety on the other side of the bridge."
"Thanks but we'll pass." The boy answered, cutting the girl off in her tracks. She looked torn- as if she wanted to argue and come along with the 4 survivors but in the end she nodded, backing away.
"No, wait!" Ellis called, taking a step toward the two but the girl shook her head before turning her back on them. The boy followed closely behind her.
"Good luck with CEDA." The girl called back before they disappeared into the darkness.
"Everyone else saw them too, right?" Rochelle asked, glancing between the three men.
"Why woul' they jus' leave?" Ellis asked, confused. "We gotta convince them ta come with us…"
"There's no convincing them, Ellis. Their fate is sealed."
"What do you mean?" Ellis whispered, turning to Nick.
"I could be wrong, kid… but I don't think they were immune."
The truth sank into Ellis, practically visible as it clicked. Ellis gave a firm nod before turning back in the direction they had been heading. His posture was stiff as he strode through the sewer, back perfectly rigid.
"Kid, you can't save everyone." Nick whispered, resting a hand against Ellis' shoulder.
"They didn' even let me try, though. I coulda helped them." Ellis muttered. "The girl looked like she was ready to follow us."
"The boy knew it was too late for them, however. All he did was remind her that it was too late for them."
"What if it wasn't too late, though, Nick? They couldn't know it was too late." Ellis argued, receiving another pat on the shoulder from Nick. He didn't have an answer- it may have been possible to save the two wanderers… but they had made their choice and there was no point in chasing after them. Especially not if they were infected- or soon to be, anyway.
"I'd like to know why they were down here." Coach piped in quietly.
"And I'd like to know what they were meaning by carrier… people who were immune but carried the virus?" Nick said- it made the situation more real, more fearful.
"Perhaps that's why they were shooting people. It would make sense…" Coach replied softly.
"Coach, it never makes sense to shoot people unless they're infected." Nick growled, cutting off whatever Ellis had been about to say. The group continued to trudge through the swamps. Everyone was on edge- everyone was near breaking point. Good thing they were almost to that bridge… they just had to make it onto that highway and then they'd be home free.
"Come on guys, we reached the end a the sewers!" Ellis called, climbing up the ladder that lead to the way out. The light from the setting sun was pleasant against Ellis' face and the fresh air was extremely welcome to his lungs.
Of course he only got to enjoy that for a moment as the infected began to stampede towards him. He quickly cleared the entrance of the sewer and was about to start shooting when he saw the cars that littered the area.
"Maybe it'd be best if we didn' use our guns here…" Ellis suggested, grabbing up his melee weapon- a police baton that Ellis had come across earlier- and began beating the infected into submission.
"Haha, you think? God this is ridiculous." Nick growled without humor.
"'S no' all that bad, Nick. I's like a puzzle!" Ellis pointed out, a winning smile on his face. Anyone else… anyone else but Ellis and Nick probably would have shot them for being a goddamned nuisance.
"Ellis. No. Just no. This is not a game. We set one of those cars off and we'll have hell to pay." Nick replied, shaking his head. All the survivors had switched to melee weapons at this point but were having a heck of a time keeping up with the infected that were attacking them.
"This truly shows just how nice it is to be able to shoot guns." Rochelle lamented, slicing through an infected with a katana that Coach had tossed her just before the onslaught had set in. Coach was still using his chainsaw- having the easiest time taking down infected since he was able to wield the clunky machine pretty smoothly. Nick had found a guitar that shockingly doubled well as a mix between an axe and a bat- bludgeoning and sometimes dully cutting through infected flesh with the sharpened edges of wood and plastic.
"Ha… guys… you know…. Ya know wha' would be real bad right now?" Ellis brought up, meaning it as a joke.
"Don't say it, Ellis." Coach replied but his voice was drowned out by the saw.
"I'm afraid I know the punch line to this." Rochelle said as she swung and felt the vibration through her arms as sword connected with muscle and bone. Pulling back and swinging again caused a clean sever.
"A Tank." Ellis replied- his gaze moving to all the cars in the vicinity. That would definitely give the Tank plenty of ammo- though they'd have a decent amount of cover if they did things right as well.
"Ellis." Coach said exasperatedly. "Boy, don't jinx us."
"Pfffft, don' worry Coach. The Tank woulda been here already." Ellis said with confidence. He was swinging his cop baton to smash through a nearby zombie when something latched onto his back and fingers snaked into his mouth to grip his cheeks.
"DA' BA' HU'ER!" Ellis exclaimed around the special infected's fingers as the Jockey drug him back and forth into cars.
The jockey had successfully drug Ellis into a group of infected a fair distance from the other three survivors.
"Screw it." Nick growled, pulling out his gun. The first three shots rang true and the conman was becoming rather proud of himself until there was a crash and a car alarm began to go off.
"Don't Shoot the Cars!" Rochelle shouted, unaware of Nick's rescue attempt of Ellis.
"Trying not to, sweetheart." Nick ground out. Not only was it difficult to avoid shooting the cars, it was also difficult to avoid shooting Ellis who was still being drug back and forth. On top of that, Nick was attempting to keep infected from both himself and Ellis… and with an empty click from his gun, he also had to reload.
"Cover me." Nick exclaimed to Rochelle and Coach as he reloaded his gun, then began to make his way towards Ellis. He flinched as an infected fell near him. He probably would have thanked Coach or Rochelle if he wasn't so focused on getting Ellis out of his current predicament.
Another car alarm was set off and the sound rang through Ellis' ears as he grappled with the hands still gripping his face.
"Ge' vuh hew' offa ee." Ellis wheezed, beginning to gag on the flavor in his mouth. It was beginning to feel like the Jockey was reaching further down his throat- a sickening feeling of revulsion building within Ellis at the thought.
There was a hard yank backwards when Ellis was finally able to get a grip on the Jockey's arm, causing Ellis to lose his balance and his grip and fall backwards. A twist of the Jockey's weight had Ellis falling on his face- now pinned beneath the Jockey's weight.
Tears stung Ellis' eyes- mostly from frustration and a feeling of helplessness- but also from fear that his friends weren't coming for him. It was possible that they hadn't noticed- and with him being on the ground and out of sight it was unlikely they'd catch on now.
With the fear came a darkness- flooding Ellis' system and making his world fade over into nothing.
"Overalls!" Nick called, having lost sight of Ellis. The kid had just been in sight but now he was gone- lost in the sea of cars and infected. Nick didn't know why he was calling, the likelihood that Ellis could hear him was borderline impossible since Nick could barely hear himself.
"Overalls?!" What can Nick say? Shouting was keeping the panic down. It was just a Jockey and common infected…. Nick still had time.
A roar caused all the survivors to turn their heads in terror- the sound strangely also killing the car alarms so that there was a lack of sound through the area.
"A Tank?" Rochelle asked fearfully.
"Doesn't sound quite right…" Coach intoned.
"Because it's not." Nick replied, swallowing around the heartbeat in his throat. It couldn't be…. But what else could it be at this point? Another roar had Nick sprinting around cars.
"Running towards fearsome sounds tends to get people killed!" Rochelle called after him. Whether she would have followed him or not was decided for her when a boomer when off near Rochelle and Coach and a horde was attracted to them.
Nick, of course, ignored her- sprinting around another car and nearly tripping over a struggling Ellis and a Jockey that had him trapped on the ground. Another roar shook the air, making Nick fight the urge to jump back. He didn't have to see the kid's eyes to know that he wasn't himself… but that didn't stop Nick from aiming his gun at the grinning Jockey and shooting it down.
Ellis froze up a moment, testing the dead weight against his back before shrugging it off and pulling himself into a crouch. The black eyed creature stared up at Nick and the conman prepared himself- a fight or flight response making his heartbeat pick up.
Biting his lower lip, Nick slung the gun over his back once more and looked at Ellis- deciding that at that point in time the only response Nick would accept would be of flight, not fight. The cries of dying infected showed that Rochelle and Coach were still holding their own- and were also still very distracted.
"…Overalls?" Nick tried- knowing it was stupid and pointless but unable to resist the attempt. He could still feel his heart pounding in his throat and his palms began to sweat as Ellis did nothing but stare at him with those depthless, dark eyes.
The weight on Nick's back reminded him that he had just stowed his gun there- almost without thinking. It ran through his mind that he was quite literally handing his life over to a monster- because certainly that wasn't Ellis. Ellis was still in there, though… and somehow that gave Nick the confidence not to reach for his gun. That- or maybe it was a foolish hope that Ellis would soon be back with his ridiculous stories and ready grin… and the monster would once again be left behind and forgotten.
Nick wasn't sure what to do at this point… was there a special command that got Ellis to snap out of it? A cry of pain from one of his still human comrades had Nick taking a step back which seemed to break Ellis from a trance.
A low, rumbling growl made Nick freeze in his tracks, his eyes darting to where Ellis was now making his way towards him. The kid circled him slowly, staying on all fours and Nick was beginning to see him more as a threat and less as his recent lover. Nick reached for his gun but when his hand touched it, the nightmare of shooting Ellis before he was infected flooded back to him and his hand stopped- resting on the cool metal of the gun.
"Look… Ellis… we both know I can't shoot you. Even when you're… like this. So… well I honestly don't know where I was going with that. Perhaps something along the lines of 'I'm not going to kill you so you shouldn't kill me?' Oh look… now I'm the one rambling." Nick said, his gaze locking with Ellis' where the hybrid infected had stopped to crouch in front of him once more.
Ellis began to approach slowly and going by his predatory look, Nick knew better than to try and run. Then he really wouldn't be able to call Ellis back because the hick would be too caught up in chasing him down.
"Come on, Kid… think about it… we're almost to the bridge. We're almost home free… don't lose it now when we're so close…" Nick found himself pleading- annoyed with how out of character this act was but it was for a good cause. "Hey… Overalls… come on now… You're still in there so come on back to us now."
Ellis had stopped at a halfway point between himself and the human- daring the creature to come closer. It was crooning to him and the familiarity of the voice wrapped a blanket of warmth around Ellis' mind. He wanted the human to come closer but the lower being kept turning to run so Ellis had decided on a compromise. He would wait for the human to come the rest of the way.
Man it was slow… it took the human a rather long time for it to take a deep breath and begin walking toward Ellis. Before he came within arm's reach the man crouched down and then came no closer than that.
Ellis released a derisive snort before closing the distance- completely at eye level with this green eyed prey. Part of Ellis told him to tear into the warm flesh and enjoy a feast but the larger part reminded him that the creature was of importance to him. Keeping that in mind Ellis snagged Nick, clawed hands digging into the conman's back as his teeth sank into Nick's neck. The creature was his- and his alone.
Nick gave a shout of surprise and anguish as pain tore through his neck from Ellis' teeth. He expected Ellis to tear away the chunk and then continue devouring him- in the least sexual way possible- but after holding Nick's neck a moment, Ellis released and licked over the swollen, bleeding flesh. It hurt like hell and Nick pushed to get away but Ellis held fast.
Ellis released the human at his leisure, eyeing the mark on the human's neck. Now no one would question who the human belonged to. He bared his sharp teeth at the human, licking his lips to get any of the excess blood. Dead eyes gleamed around them from the inferior but they didn't come close- though Ellis knew the smell of blood was driving them crazy.
A sharp blow across the face had Ellis falling back with shock- his gaze locking on that Nick had a rock in his hand. Black flickered to blue as a startled gaze stared up at Nick. Soft lips pulled back over flat teeth, mouthing around words that the kid couldn't express. The blue eyes went from the angry green eyes to the angry red wound on the conman's neck. Ellis didn't know where to begin…
"N-Nick." Ellis whispered, nearly gagging as he recognized the coppery taste in his mouth.
"Rochelle and Coach might need our help." Nick said stiffly, standing. Though he was relieved at Ellis being back to normal- the kid had just bit him. That wasn't normal… and Nick was finally beginning to realize that Ellis wasn't normal. He was a danger to himself and others… And it was tearing Nick apart inside.
Ellis was mute as he swallowed heavily, unwilling to spit the flavor from his mouth. He followed, his head down, as they made their way hastily back to Coach and Rochelle. Neither man really noticed that the common infected weren't approaching though they clearly noticed the human's presence.
"There you two are. I was about to come huntin.'" Coach said, looking up. "Shit, looks like you two went through hell as well."
"You could say that." Nick grouched before his eyes fell on Rochelle. There was a soft whine from Ellis as well.
"I'm ok, guys. Really. No need to look so broken hearted." Rochelle said grimly, a forced smile on her face as she clutched at her arm, a large gash running from shoulder to forearm and exposing strips of muscle.
"At least it was the left arm, right? You can still shoot…" Nick offered.
"What happened?" Ellis whispered, hands gripping together.
"Hunter clipped me." Rochelle said nonchalantly. "So Nick, it looks like you ran into whatever made that sound earlier. What was it?"
"Would you believe me if I said I don't know? It's taken care of now… whatever it was."
It didn't pass Rochelle or Coach's notice that Ellis' face paled and he shuffled closer to Nick, placing the conman between himself and Rochelle and Coach. The conman rolled his eyes, reaching over to grip the kid's wrist in a brief attempt at a comforting gesture. Nick released Ellis shortly after- still extremely angry.
"Glad it's taken care of." Coach finally said, shaking his head. There was a circle of common infected around the 4 survivors now and it had taken them this long to notice. They pulled out their guns- Ellis was a little shaky on his grip for only a moment before he buckled down- and trained them on the infected but they didn't attack. The infecteds' expressions showed they were ready to. With the survivors unsure as to why they hadn't moved just yet they decided to take no chances and began taking down the infected.
A car alarm went off once again, drawing more infected to the area.
"Stop shooting the cars!" Nick declared angrily before setting off an alarm himself and sighing in exasperation.
"Goddamn it, Stop shooting the cars!" Coach shouted. Another stray shot from Ellis sent off an alarm and previous events were temporarily placed aside from the rush of adrenaline. Ellis opened his mouth to apologize when Nick shot a car again. Ellis quickly changed his response.
"Ya tell us not ta shoot a car an' you go an shoot 2!"
"Shut up, Ellis. Don't shoot the cars." Nick growled before Rochelle set off an alarm herself.
"How about we jus' stop using our guns here?" Ellis suggested before another alarm went off. With several car alarms pressing on the survivor's ear drums tempers went off in all directions.
"Fine. Fine. You want to shoot cars? Let's shoot cars." Nick said, purposely shooting a car this time.
"So we shootin' cars now? Alright. I kin shoot 'em too."
"WOULD YOU ALL JUST STOP SHOOTIN' THE GODDAMN CARS!" Coach bellowed and suddenly the only sound was that of the chorus of car alarms. "Let's get out of here."
With nothing better to add the survivors followed after Coach, heading to the freeway. Everyone was at their wits end with all that was happening. They all had their separate pains to cope with- both physical and mental. Nick shrugged off offered healing and Rochelle pressed that she'd like to wait until they reached a safe room.
The survivors climbed a ladder, away from the cars that they had managed to turn the alarms off on, and onto the freeway that led to the bridge. Once again there was a heavy silence amongst the group and though the anger had died down in most, the mood hadn't really picked up.
"Hey guys… did I ever tell you about the one time tha' Keith an' I tried to catch the Boogeyman?" Ellis asked softly at one point.
"No, I don't think we have." Rochelle said gently, giving him a grimace of a smile.
"Well I was more interested in catchin' Santa Claus but Keith was convinced catchin' the boogeyman would give us better braggin' rights. We were real lil at the time- ya know, still believing tha' the boogeyman existed an' all."
Ellis continued. His voice was a dull drone in Nick's mind as he told his stories to the others. The wound on Nick's neck had fallen to an annoying ache, pulsing with pain. It hadn't bled since the hick had smothered it with saliva but the damn bite still hurt like hell and it further darkened the gambler's mood.
"The bridge isn't much farther." Nick pointed out, cutting across whatever Ellis had been saying.
"We are almost there, people!" Coach replied, picking up his speed.
Nick picked up on the enthusiasm as it crashed over them- they were almost to the bridge. "Hey! We're really here! We made it to the bridge. We're here! We're here!" Nick replied, waving his arms in the air just in case CEDA or the military or whoever the hell was flying the jets would see him.
"We made it! Now all we gotta do is-"
The sound of a jet overhead was heard and Nick had a moment where he thought maybe the jets really had seen them… before the freeway they were on was torn to pieces by a small explosion. Coach was the closest and took the brunt of the force. The momentum sent Coach into a car.
Nick was at his side in seconds, helping the man back up. "Hey- you alright?"
"Motherf-" Coach bit off angrily, accepting Nick's help. "Goddamn."
"What are they doing?!" Rochelle cried out.
"Whoa! That was cool an all but…" Ellis took a deep breath as the events that had taken place sunk in. That hadn't been special effects or a tv show. The highway had pretty much been blown up under their feet. "Shit." Ellis exhaled heavily.
"Alright. Shit. Nobody panic. We're gonna head on down and find another way up to the bridge." Coach said before beginning to head toward the gaping hole in the highway.
"You sure we shouldn't just panic? I mean I think panic was invented for just this sort of situation." Thankfully the pieces of the highway had crumbled in such a way that the survivors could climb down. Nick stared down at it a moment, causing Coach to respond sharply.
"Get your ass movin,' Nick."
Nick entertained the notion of climbing back up the other side but once they had reached the bottom and he was looking up at the freeway he realized that that had only been wishful thinking. And for the record he hadn't jumped at Coach's command- he just realized being left behind would most likely still get him killed.
"I guess we're gonna get to go visit that graveyard. Kinda spooky." Ellis murmured- having become rather good at being like himself even when his mind was elsewhere. He even threw in some creepy fingers when he had said spooky, wiggling them ominously for effect.
"I heard that. Let's move." Coach said shortly, rolling his eyes.
"Oh man. I hope we don't see any ghosts." Ellis said though he sounded like seeing a ghost would actually be pretty cool.
"Ellis you're carrying like ten different guns." Nick griped, gesturing at the guns strapped to Ellis' back.
"Ya can't shoot a ghost, Nick. I mean, shit, it ain't rocket science, man." Ellis responded easily- casually… even though his gaze strayed to the bite wound on Nick's neck. The conman released a huff and rolled his eyes, looking anywhere but at Ellis.
"Look. There's a safe house over there. I suggest we head for it and call it a night. I don't fancy takin' a stroll through the graveyard at night." Coach replied, pointing out a little shed of a house not too far away.
"No? As long as we didn' see any ghosts I think it'd be cool as hell." Ellis replied.
"You would, Overalls. You would." Nick deadpanned as the survivors made their way to the safe house.
"It would be like walking into a horror story." Rochelle pointed out, reaching the door first and holding it open for the other survivors. Once safely behind the door, Nick grabbed up a med kit then headed straight for the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and locking it with a soft click.
"You know, if I didn't know Nick better I'd say he was just being his usual dick of a self. But I know him better. I wonder what's got him so riled up." Rochelle noted mildly as she stared at the shut door. Her gaze flickered to Ellis a moment before straying away again.
"Hell if I know." Ellis said, before grabbing a med kit and leaving Rochelle and Coach to go stretch out on a nearby couch. The other two were soon caught up in conversation while Coach did his best to stitch up the cut in Rochelle's arm. Ellis was beginning to reckon that all that was holding the survivors together at this point was string and bandages.
Peeling off the fabric that had covered Ellis' old wounds, he stared at the smooth skin that was left behind- sighing almost dramatically. As nice as it was that the wounds and injuries were now gone (well, except the nasty bruise on his cheek where Nick had struck him with a rock) it also made Ellis feel guilty.
Coach took up the job of rustling up some grub that night since Rochelle had very little mobility in her left arm. When the man had finished up and handed them all steaming bowls of barbecue beans Ellis took two and moved to the bathroom door. He wasn't sure what to say or how to say it. He didn't know how to begin to apologize and after some thought Ellis realized he really did owe Nick an apology. On several fronts.
The kid's knuckles brushed the wood of the door gently in a hesitant knock, careful not to spill from the bowl in that hand. When he received no response Ellis became a little more insistent. When there was still no reply Ellis pressed his ear to the door and hearing no sounds at all, stood up, took a few paces back, than ran at the door- slamming into it hard enough to knock the door open.
What he received for his troubles was baked beans splattered down his front and a glare from a very annoyed conman, towel wrapped around his waist and the start of a bandage over some bloody wounds along his right arm.
"Uh… Dinner's ready." Ellis replied, cheeks flushing as he looked away from Nick. Not from embarrassment from the man's lack of clothing- in fact Ellis found his whole body beginning to flush with heat from that sight. Instead it was from shame and hurt at angering the conman so much.
"Or at least it was." Nick replied in an exasperated voice. It took Ellis a moment to realize what Nick had meant and when he had caught on he became even more embarrassed.
Ellis attempted to explain that he had been worried but the look he received from Nick had his teeth clicking together as he quickly shut his mouth.
"Boy you are prone to disaster." Coach muttered as he came over to Nick and Ellis and took in the situation. "There's a little more of the beans left but not enough to fill both of you."
"I'll be fine, Coach. My meal's right here." Nick replied. He wasn't sure what came over him but soon he was walking over to where Ellis stood and running his tongue up the younger man's neck- catching some of the juice from the barbecue beans and cleaning it from Ellis' neck. Ellis let out a soft gasp of surprise and Coach gave an annoyed grunt before turning and shutting the door behind him. Nick was surprised Coach hadn't slammed the door as he backed away from Ellis- realizing he'd just trapped himself in an even more annoying mess than having Coach see him with little clothing on. Now he was alone with Ellis- the person he had wanted to avoid the most.
"Look… Nick…." Ellis attempted to start but Nick held up his hand, sitting heavily on the toilet seat. Falling silent, Ellis set the nearly empty bowls on the counter and crouched next to Nick- hesitantly pressing his cheek against the other man's towel clad thigh.
"What's going on with you, Kid?" Nick asked quietly after a moment of debate- carefully slipping Ellis' hat off to stroke the soft strands of Ellis' hair.
If Ellis knew the answer to that he highly doubted he'd be in the situation that he was in at the moment. But the problem is he didn't know- he had no idea what was going on with him or how to control it. Hell, Ellis didn't even know if he could be considered 'human' anymore. What was he going to do? At this point Ellis was beginning to wonder if he was even rescuable or if his place wasn't just right along with the other infected.
"Come on, Kid. Let's get you cleaned up." Nick said softly after a moment, moving to kneel next to Ellis. He helped the hick out of his shirt since Ellis hadn't moved at Nick's words.
"Look, Overalls. You can honestly just give up here and now and wonder if there was ever anything you could have done- or you can do as you always do and keep fighting. It's not over until you allow it to be."
Ellis huffed a sigh before nodding, undoing the knot on his coveralls and sliding out of them, his socks, and his shoes. Instead of heading towards the little bath tub that was nearby, however, Ellis just hugged Nick. He needed the comfort right now- he needed to know that Nick was still there for him- that his anger wasn't permanent.
Nick sincerely wanted to console Ellis with words like 'it'll be alright' but this time Nick wasn't going to lie or give false promises. However, he was firm behind one belief. "We're going to work through this, Fireball."
Ellis just nodded, his face pressed into Nick's neck- the side that didn't have the bite. He didn't struggle when Nick pulled away from him and helped pull him into a standing position.
"Shall we take a bath together?" Nick suggested. "There's hot water in this place, surprisingly enough…"
Ellis glanced at the tub. He was extremely skeptical about both himself and Nick fitting into such a small tub. As Nick got the hot water going to begin filling the tub Ellis slipped out of his briefs, and knelt at Nick's side.
The tub filled slowly but there was a gentle quiet as the two men waited, their minds lost in completely different worlds. Once the tub was full, Nick tugged off the towel and stepped into the small tub once again. He gestured for Ellis to follow and the hick did hesitantly, standing in front of Nick- back to the conman just as Nick instructed.
Nick guided Ellis to a sitting position, taking a seat behind him, and released a hiss of satisfaction as the hot water burned his wounds and heated his skin. Ellis, of course, had no wounds so he just sighed in absolute contentment and leaned back against Nick.
The moment was intimate when Ellis fully relaxed against Nick, head on the conman's shoulder. As he had expected it was rather difficult for both men to fit into the bath but after a little shifting they both found a comfortable enough position. Nick curled his arms around Ellis' waist and rested his chin on the other man's shoulder.
"You're going to be alright. Just like you always are." Nick said firmly, earlier anger not forgotten but temporarily released because the kid needed him… And as much of an ass as Nick could be, he wanted to be there for Ellis.
Ellis didn't respond besides closing his eyes and releasing a sigh. He could believe that to some extent so he planted the words into his heart. He would be alright because that's just how things worked out. He, Nick, Rochelle, and Coach would make it out of this.
The moment between the two men remained calm and understanding- arousal pushed to the side in a focus to comfort. Neither of them moved until the water began to grow cold- after which they pulled sluggishly out of the tub, wrapping towels around their lower halves after drying off and leaving their clothing to soak until morning.
Rochelle and Coach were in bed by then and Nick and Ellis settled onto the couch- tossing the back cushions so that there would be room enough for both of them. Eye's slipping closed, both of them tried to push away the thoughts about earlier events and attempted to get a little sleep. They'd have a long day tomorrow when they attempted to once again make it to that bridge. The question was slowly becoming not if the two men would make it, but what would happen once they did. Because of course they'd make it… of course they would….
