Frost Bites – Chapter Three

Aidan tried hard not to glare at Nick over the dining table. He knew just what Jenny and Nick were doing before he had rushed to the room on the pretense of announcing that dinner was served.

God, Paul, look at what your daughter has become, Aidan thought, watching as Jenny laughed at something Nick had whispered in her ear. She's become a gangster's whore.

Beside him the kid named Ellis wolfed down a slice of pot roast. It was his second helping already, but it seemed as if he still had room for more. Francis, on the other hand, was busy picking his teeth clean with a fork.

"So, tell me your stories," Aidan prompted. "Except for yours, Jennifer. I already know yours."

Ellis quickly launched into a long "about me" monologue, which was interspersed with stories about a man named Keith. He talked about how he had first Nick at the top of a burning hotel, The Vannah, and how they were forced to fight their way to Liberty Mall in the hopes of being evacuated. He then told Aidan about the adventures he and Nick went through, along with Rochelle and Coach, who were both in Utopia.

Francis just told Aidan he was some guy who liked killing zombies, while Nick only mentioned that he was previously a conman. Aidan could imagine the look on Paul's face. Paul Greene had been very particular of who his daughter went out with, up to the point of keeping her completely isolated from the opposite sex.

When Lily was alive, Paul was a bit more lenient. After her death, however, Paul went into overdrive and scrutinized every boy Jenny went out with. If he found a single disagreeable thing about the boy, he refused to accept him.

Aidan remembered joking to Paul that he (Aidan) may be the only one good enough for her, considering that he was just like Paul. Paul had then turned to him and said sternly: "No. I don't want Jen to be married to a man like me."

In other words, Paul told him to fuck off and leave his daughter alone. But Aidan didn't. He continued to watch her from afar, especially when she came to the company to visit her father. He had hoped that once Paul was gone, Aidan would be free to make his intentions known.

And then this bloody punk just had to come between them and fuck things up.

"Aidan, what happened here?" Jenny asked. "How did the employees become Infected? Were they in the laboratories the entire time? How long was my dad here before you evacuated him?"

Aidan took a long sip of water before replying. "When the outbreak came we had to bring your father here. He was the only one who understood the dynamics of the strain. Not long after he arrived, a few employees started exhibiting strange…symptoms. Your father instructed to have the entire building gassed as a precaution before he and the other scientists left. I stayed behind to make sure that there would be someone who'd help you get to Utopia."

"Did my father know that the military cruise ship would be destroyed?"

"No. But he did plan on sending you to Utopia eventually. He knew the cruise ship was vulnerable to attack, and he had scheduled your transfer after a few months. I was to wait here for you and evacuate you once you arrived," Aidan explained. "The employees that were gassed were housed inside the storage cells beside the laboratories. The military was a huge help during those times."

"But why gas them? Why leave them behind? They had families of their own," Jenny said, aghast.

"Your father suspected that there were Carriers and he didn't want to add to the spread of the infection. I'm not saying his plan was foolproof; your father did all he could. But I think he wasn't thinking straight. All he could think about while he was here was your safety," Aidan finished.

Jenny, surprisingly, wasn't crying, but her face was full of sadness. Aidan wanted to reach out and comfort her, but instead she leaned against Nick's shoulder and played with her food. Aidan fought down the anger that was bubbling inside of him and chewed on a piece of pot roast to take the tension away from his face.

Across the table Nick kept a close watch on the doctor. Nick noticed that Frost was looking tense, especially when his gaze rested on Jenny and Nick. Nick didn't want to think it, but the doctor had all the classic signs of jealousy.

He's old enough to be her dad, Nick thought with disgust. Sure I'm 35, but hell this guy's a decade older than me!

Nick placed a hand over Jenny's to see how Frost would react. As Nick expected, Aidan's eyes narrowed slightly. Jenny wiped her mouth on a table napkin and excused herself. Aidan's gaze followed her out the door, and Nick resisted the urge to punch the man's lights out.

Francis seemed to notice the obvious tension between the two men and started wondering silently how long it would take before the two would crack and end up fighting. He personally didn't trust Frost, but he was their only ticket out of here. He hated having to put his faith in the military (they, after all, had tried killing him and Louis and basically screwed them over countless times), but he was grudgingly giving them another chance.

For Ro, Francis thought.

Ellis was beside himself. He hadn't had pot roast in months, not since his Ma prepared one for his birthday. The steamy meat reminded him of home, and he helped himself to another serving. He was so wrapped up in eating pot roast that he failed to notice the tension in the dining area.

That Aidan is a helluva cook, Ellis thought, chewing on a juicy piece. This tastes almost as good as my Ma's pot roast.

"Got any family, Doc?" Ellis asked, stopping his eating just long enough.

Aidan shook his head. "No. I had an ex-wife once, but she left me for another man. I don't have any kids either."

"Now that's a damn shame," Ellis replied. "A man's gotta have a family of his own sometime."

"Do you like someone?" Aidan turned his head towards the mechanic and bit into a soft carrot. Most of the food in the kitchen had been pre-prepared before the outbreak and stored in the large freezer. Aidan had mostly lived off preserved food and snacks, so most of the food was still there. All that he needed to do was to pop the food inside an oven or microwave to reheat it.

"Yeah," Ellis replied. "Her name's Zoey. Met her back in Rayford, and I tell you, brother, I am going to marry that girl."

Aidan smiled. "Well congratulations."

Nick stood up. "I'll go check on Jen."

"You do that," Aidan said stiffly. "I hope the two of you won't get…lost again."

Nick ignored Aidan and went out of the dining room. As he passed Francis, the biker grinned.

The entire underground facility was composed of laboratory rooms that went down for four more levels. The topmost level, according to Frost, was a devoted living area (with a few lab rooms thrown in for less important departments) and several offices. The entire facility was in a square shape, and that there were no branching hallways. It was virtually impossible for a person to get lost inside the facility, which made Frost's comment ironic.

He might have been spying on me and Jen in the hallway, Nick thought as he shut the door. The cockblocker.

Nick set off down the hallway, wondering if Jenny went back to the room. He decided to walk the entire length of the level just to make sure. About ten minutes later Nick was back outside the dining room.

Where the hell could she be? he thought, frowning. She wasn't in their room, nor was she inside her dad's office, which was right beside Frost's. Compared to Frost, Paul Greene had a significantly larger office. Nick had peeked inside in the hopes that Jenny was there, but immediately left when he saw that she wasn't.

He decided to head there again. Frost had made Paul Greene sound like an uptight and overprotective dad, which was contrary to the way Jenny talked about him. Nick had never felt curious about anyone in his life, but Jenny wasn't just someone. She was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and Nick had never been surer about anything else.

Nick pushed open the door to Greene's office and stepped inside. The man's desk was in disarray, as if he had been forced to leave in a hurry. This was unlike the state of his office in the building, and Nick decided that Greene had headed here first.

Aside from piles of papers and a pen or two, Greene had photographs of his wife and daughter. Nick smiled a little when he saw a baby photo of Jenny, her fist raised, as if she was trying to punch whoever was taking her picture. Another photo showed Jenny in her prom dress, dancing with a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes (Tyler?). And there was a studio family picture, with Jenny's mom sitting on a tall-backed seat and Jenny and Greene on either side of her.

Nick rifled through some of the papers, but they were all gibberish. Nick decided he had seen enough. Frost may have subtly described Paul Greene as someone who wouldn't approve of Nick's relationship with Jenny, but the man had kind eyes and a homely look about him.

Nick was about to leave when he heard someone cough. He slowly turned around, his instincts telling him it was most likely that dickhead, Frost.

It was.

"What are you doing here?" Aidan asked, his voice dripping with venom. "I thought you were going to look for Jennifer."

"I am. I thought she'd be here," Nick replied shortly.

"Well apparently she isn't. You were looking at Paul's papers earlier. Why?"

"I don't need to explain anything to you, fucker."

Aidan's smile widened. "Does Jenny know the kind of language you use? Why her father wouldn't even let you look at her."

"Oh really? And you know Paul Greene that well to speak of him that way?" Nick balled his hands to fists. He hated everything about Frost, from the man's sandy-colored hair to his unpolished dress shoes.

"We were colleagues. I don't think I can say the same about you. From what dump did you come from, anyway? But the most important question of all is: what the hell did you do or say that made Jennifer even like you in the first place?" Aidan snickered. "She's clearly beyond your league."

"Tell that to someone who fucking cares," Nick growled. He pushed past the other man but Frost swung a fist at him, which hit Nick on the side of the head. His ears rang, but years of brawling in bars had given Nick the ability to land a punch quickly.

He turned on his heel and slammed his fist onto Frost's nose, and he smiled with satisfaction as blood spurted from the doctor's nostrils. Nick then landed a gut punch, which caused Frost to back off and left him gasping. Nick shook his arms and cracked the crick in his neck. When he turned his back to leave, however, Frost was upon him a flurry of fists.

Nick felt blows land on his face, but he grunted, grabbed Frost's shoulders, and kneed the doctor in the groin.

"You…fucker…" Frost gasped, falling to the floor, clutching his dick.

"You started it. I just finished it," Nick told him, walking out the door and slamming it shut.

Fuck the military, fuck that general, and fuck Frost, Nick fumed as he made his way back to their room. We can find a way out of this shithole.

He was glad to find that Francis and Ellis weren't there – he didn't feel like explaining where he'd been. He entered the bathroom and saw that several bruises were forming on his face. He needed some ice, but there were no ice cubes in the pantry.

Nick hesitated, debating on whether to go to the kitchen (which was connected to the dining room) and risk having Ellis and Francis see his bruises. Unfortunately his face was throbbing too much that he found it difficult to ignore.

He was on his way out of the bathroom when he bumped into Francis.

"Whoa, what the hell happened to your face?" Francis exclaimed loudly. "It looks like you've been in a bar fight."

"I look like shit, don't I?" Nick muttered.

"Nah, you've looked worse," Francis replied. "Betcha you were going to get some ice for that."

"You don't say?" Nick said irritably. "Have you seen Jen?"

"Nope, we thought she was with you." Francis shrugged. "Haven't seen her since she left the dining room. Ellis is still in there, though. I think he and the pot roast are starting a relationship."

"Ha ha." Nick made his way to the door. "Hey Francis? You think accepting Frost's help is a shitty idea?"

"Yeah. I think he and the general are going to screw us once they get Jen on the evacuation plane," Francis replied.

"Think you're up to just skipping the whole evacuation part and finding a way out?"

"Hell yeah!"

Nick grinned. This was probably the first time he appreciated Francis's brash nature, and he nodded once before leaving the room. Nick shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. While they couldn't get a plane, there were probably vehicles in the parking lot that they could use. Nick hoped they had a Hummer or a really large vehicle that could flatten the Infected easily, but he knew that they weren't always that lucky.

"Yo, Nick!" Ellis said, just as he came out of the dining room. "Whoa, you okay bro? You look like hell."

"I feel like it too," Nick replied, walking past Ellis. The kitchen was medium-sized, and Nick found a small bag of ice in the freezer and pressed it to his face. He could feel his face numbing, but he kept pressing the ice to his face. Finally, when most of the ice melted – and most of Nick's face had completely numbed – Nick threw the bag in the trash and went out.

When he opened the door, all he saw was Francis and Ellis.

"Hey man, Francis told me. You think Frost's going to let all of us go?" Ellis looked worried.

"I don't think so. Okay, so maybe he'll let the three of us go, but Jenny? The guy's got a hard-on for her," Francis said.

Nick raised an eyebrow. "You noticed that too?"

Francis snorted. "Yeah, it's been pretty obvious. He gets all angry when he sees you and her together. Which is, uh, all the fucking time."

Nick's mouth twitched. "I think we should do it tonight. I don't want to be here any longer than necessary."

"Nick, I am with you on this one," Ellis said, nodding.

"Count me in, too. I won't let you sissies have all the fun." Francis grinned. Aidan hadn't confiscated their weapons, which was a relief. The three prepared their guns (Nick slipped a full clip into Jenny's submachine gun) and Francis rose to use the bathroom.

"Where the hell is she?" Nick wondered out loud. "She wasn't around when I looked for her."

"Maybe you two just missed each other. I mean she could have been on her way back here when you started."

"Yeah, but she should have returned by now," Nick insisted. "You know what, fuck this. I'm going to look for her."

"Hey wait for us. We don't want to be stuck in this room when Frost comes back," Ellis called. Francis came out just then; he snagged his shotgun and first aid kit and followed the two out.

"Where's Frost, by the way?" Ellis asked Nick.

"I just punched his lights out and kicked his balls," Nick answered nonchalantly. "He's probably still in the office."

Francis laughed. "Gave him hell, didn't you?"

"Nothing else but."

They walked the entire length of the facility, but they still didn't find Jenny. Worry was eating away at Nick, and he felt like punching someone.

"Better go check on Frost," Ellis said as they passed by Frost's office.

"He's not in there, he's in here," Nick said, nodding towards Greene's office. Francis opened the door to find…nothing. There was blood on the floor, but Frost wasn't there.

Nick didn't like the way things were going. First Jenny was gone, and now Frost. But Jenny had disappeared while Frost was still in the room with them, so it was impossible that he would abduct her.

Unless he had an accomplice.

Not knowing what else to do, the three headed to the elevators. They were then surprised to see one of them open.

"Where the fuck is Frost?" Jenny declared, storming out of the elevator. She looked livid. Her face was bloodied and she was holding two katanas, which were dripping blood. "We have to leave. Now."

She turned and entered a series of numbers on a keypad built against the wall. The elevator door opened and Nick and the others filed into the elevator, while Jenny pressed the button for the first floor.

"Jen, where the hell have you been?" Nick demanded.

Jenny turned towards Nick and her expression softened.