Dead at Night – Chapter Three
Dex was the latest addition to our Survivor group, and after Louis and I had detailed our plan to rescue my brother, he agreed to go along. He seemed eager enough, and Coach helped Dex choose the right weapon for him, as well as find some new clips for Dex's Glock.
Nick seemed distant, and he was more prone to firing a snappy remark whenever it concerned Dex. I could sense Coach was getting tired of Nick, so I pulled Nick aside and asked what's wrong.
"I don't trust him," was all I could get out of Nick.
I sighed. We had been through this before with Dolly and Johnny, but Nick had been dead wrong on that point. Nick seemed too quick to jump to conclusions, but I decided to trust him (a bit) and keep my distance. Still, Dex's enthusiasm was contagious, and I could see that Louis and Coach liked Dex.
He was like Ellis, minus the Keith stories.
Night soon came, and with Dex around it was decided that Louis and Dex take the second watch. Coach needed some rest, and the former health instructor didn't complain as Dex lent him the ratty cushion he had been using as a chair the entire day.
Again Nick and I were watching the safe room door, the truck just visible from our vantage point. A few Infected peered inside the truck curiously (or something akin to that) and then wandered off. I had replaced my ammo for the sniper rifle, which was lying on the glass display case behind me.
"I just don't trust that jackass," Nick said. "He's too accommodating."
"I know. But Coach and Louis like him, that's got to count for something, right?" I wanted to believe Nick – he was, after all, a connoisseur of people with all the experience he got playing poker and reading the personalities of people – but a part of me just couldn't help but like Dex.
Or maybe I just missed Ellis too much.
Nick snorted. "I like Coach, but Dex is just…I don't know, too god damn charming!"
I suppressed a giggle. "Well you're charming, in your own way. Come on, why won't you give him a chance?"
"Because he doesn't deserve one," Nick growled. "He was obviously high on drugs or some shit like that when we found him. And his story about being left behind? Bullshit."
"What do you mean?"
"I think he either killed his companions, or they left him behind because he did something they didn't like. Being stranded in the middle of an Infected highway with a Glock? That sure sounds like a damn punishment to me."
I frowned. Nick did make sense, and in a way, Dex seemed to be laying praises out a little too thick. He thanked Coach over and over, calling him "a hell of a man," while Louis became his "shift buddy."
"Okay, you've convinced me. But what do you plan to do?" I hoped Nick wouldn't do anything drastic or overreact.
"Nothing. But I'm not going to take any of his bullshit lying down," Nick muttered.
"Please tell me you're not going to kill him," I whispered. "What if he's just like Dolly all over again?"
"I hope for his sake he is."
That scared me. I knew Nick had a violent and criminal past, but it was only now when I started to see it rise to the surface. Most of the time he had a cocky "me first" façade, and I could deal with that. But seeing him calmly discuss whether or not to kill someone made me nervous.
It was as if I didn't really know Nick at all. To be honest, I didn't.
I pushed all negative thoughts of Nick out of my mind and focused on the present: the cool night air nipping at my shoulders and face, the warmth of Nick's body pressed against mine, and the occasional snores coming from Coach and Louis.
I popped open a pack of peanuts and chewed them while watching the street. I checked my watch (I had gotten one from the store in Utopia the day before we left) and saw that it was nearly time for Louis and Dex to start their shift.
Nick stood up slowly and watched while I shook Louis, and then Dex, awake. Louis was easy to wake up, while Dex took a bit longer. When he did get up, irritation flashed across his face for a brief second. It was brief, but it was there.
I glanced at Nick to see if he had witnessed this, but he was busy talking softly to Louis. The former systems analyst was nodding his head, as if listening intently to whatever Nick was telling him. Dex wandered over to the small food pile, which Coach had reserved for breakfast tomorrow, and snagged a bag of chips.
"Dex, we're supposed to save those for tomorrow," I told him gently.
"I'm hungry." Dex shrugged and tore the bag open.
"Yeah, well that's coming out of your breakfast portion," I replied coolly. I didn't want to kick up a fuss, but I wasn't ready to let him off the hook just yet.
Dex didn't reply, but instead walked over to the combat shotgun he had chosen and gripped it. I frowned, wondering if he was subtly warning me to back off. Nick approached me and I wiped the scowl off my face, giving him a reassuring smile as we lay down on the makeshift bed, with Coach snoring away beside Nick.
I had no idea how long Nick and I slept (most likely an hour or two), but the next thing I knew I was jolted awake with the sounds of a scuffle.
I bolted upright and saw that Nick was pummeling Dex, who was lying on the floor, bleeding. Louis was slumped beside the safe room door. He had been knocked unconscious.
"Coach!" I called, shaking the older man awake. "Coach, wake up!"
Coach mumbled incoherently and then opened an eye. "Jen?"
I stood up and grabbed my sniper rifle, pointing it at Dex. "Let him go, Nick."
Nick looked up at the sound of my voice. His knuckles were bruised and bloody, and sweat was running down his face. It was obvious that the two had been at it for some time.
"He attacked Louis," Nick said, breathing heavily. "I knew he was a jackass!"
Coach was fully awake by now, and he adjusted his belt as he made his way towards Dex. "What the hell is going on?"
"That shithead attacked me!" Dex exclaimed, pointing a finger at Nick. "He knocked Louis out and started punching me!"
"I'm going to fucking kill you!" Nick shouted. "You tried to run off with our guns and food, you son of a bitch!"
"Nick, calm down," Coach said. "What happened?"
Dex started to open his mouth, but I snapped the safety off my sniper rifle. "Shut up."
"I knew that asshole was up to no good, so I stayed awake," Nick began, his gaze fierce. "And then I saw him knock Louis out and get the keys to the truck. He was going to steal our food and weapons, Coach!"
"So you stopped him, eh?" Coach finished, frowning at Dex, who was spluttering up blood.
"No Coach, it ain't true!" Dex cried, gripping Coach's leg. "I swear, I wouldn't hurt Louis!"
"Let's see what Louis has to say about that," Coach replied, causing Dex to grow pale. "Jenny, see if you can wake Louis up."
"And he'd better still be alive, fucker," Nick added.
I lowered the rifle and snapped the safety on, making my way to Louis. "Louis? Louis?"
No response. I checked his pulse and found it, steady and strong.
"He's out cold," I said, walking back to Coach. "I think we should wait until morning and decide what to do with Dex."
"Wait? He tried to fucking rob us, Jen!" Nick answered angrily. "I say we kill him and be done with it."
"No, no killing. We'll see what Louis has to say and leave Dex here. We ain't murderers Nick," Coach said.
"If we leave him here, he's going to do the same to the next Survivor group he meets!"
"Nick, just drop it," I said softly.
Nick gave a disgusted sound. "Fine. Fine."
I reached over to touch his arm, but he jerked it away. Hurt, I stepped back and let him be. I helped Coach heave Dex to his feet and put him on the corner of the safe room. Coach kept an eye on him, while I cleaned the small wound on Louis's forehead where Dex had hit him.
Nick was still acting distant, refusing to meet any of our gazes. I wanted to see how he was doing, but my inner voice told me to give him some space. An hour before dawn I heard Louis stirring, and I walked over to him.
"Hey Louis," I said, smiling.
"Hey. God my head hurts," Louis muttered. He seemed to remember the events a few hours ago, because he suddenly became agitated. "Where's Dex? That guy hit me with his shotgun!"
"I told you." Nick's surly reply came from behind me.
I sighed. "What are we going to do with him, Coach?"
"Leave him here," Coach replied.
Nick snorted, but didn't say anything. Dex was unusually quiet, but I could see his eyes follow Coach as the older man moved around the safe room. Once we were sure that Louis would be okay, we packed up and brought the food back to the truck (Coach had retrieved the keys from Dex, who had placed it inside his pocket).
Nick was left behind with Dex to make sure the latter didn't try to escape. After helping Louis onto the passenger seat, I made my way back to the safe room. I was a few steps away from the door when I heard Nick's angry shout. I ran inside the safe room and saw Dex on the floor, his hands wrapped around Nick's throat. Without thinking, I raised my sniper rifle and shot Dex on the head.
A red bullet hole appeared on top of Dex's head and he slumped over on top of Nick, who promptly shoved the dead man off. I stared at Dex, lowering the sniper rifle to my side.
"The hell is going on?" Coach demanded, his breathing labored.
"I…he was…"
"Dex attacked me, Coach," Nick spoke up, walking towards me. "Jenny had to kill him."
Coach frowned. I turned towards him. "I couldn't let him hurt Nick," I explained. "It was self-defense."
Coach studied me for a moment, sighed, and then nodded. "Guess not everybody's as decent as Virgil."
I glanced at Dex before leaving the safe room with Nick. Although I felt relieved that I was able to save Nick, I couldn't believe I had just murdered another person.
I had no qualms about killing the Infected – they were, after all, no longer human in my eyes – but killing a fellow Survivor felt wrong.
"It's okay Jen," Nick whispered, pulling me close. "You did what you had to do." He took my sniper rifle from me and kept an arm around my shoulders as we followed Coach back to the truck.
Coach eased himself into the driver's seat while Nick and I sat at the back. As Coach turned the ignition, I heard Louis ask Coach what happened.
He was scum, I told myself. He was going to kill Nick, and you shouldn't beat yourself up over that shithead.
Coach drove out of Peer Rock, with Nick and Louis shooting down several Infected that tried to follow us as we made our way out of town. I soon picked up my sniper rifle and joined them; the sight of exploding zombie heads brought me back from my funk.
The interstate was free from vehicles, but we did pass by an abandoned car or two. Louis read the map out to Coach, and we learned that there was another town coming up, about fifteen minutes from Peer Rock. I settled back against the truck and checked the remaining bullets inside the clip. Satisfied that I still had enough, I set the rifle down.
"Is it just me or do you keep on saving my ass?" Nick commented after a few minutes. He had wiped off the blood that had splattered on his face when I shot Dex, although his suit was back to its dirty appearance.
"Yeah well I'm not letting anyone hurt you," I told him, smiling. "What can I say? I'm a tad overprotective."
Nick smirked. "I noticed."
"Oh shut up. You know you like it," I teased.
"Hey, no hanky panky you two!" Coach warned from inside the truck. "I've got my rearview mirror aimed at the back, so I can see whatcha doing!"
I groaned. "Coach, I am not humping Nick on the back of a truck!"
"Huh. I knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up," Nick said. I leaned over and smacked him gently on the arm.
"Hell I trust you, but Nick? No way in hell." Coach shifted in his seat slightly.
"Hey!"
I grinned at Nick. "Well you were a conman. It's kind of hard to let go of that persona, huh?"
"I don't even plan to, sweetheart." Nick gave me that rakish grin I loved so much and I chuckled.
"Yeah, I'd pound you if you ever decide to change," I shot back. I then realized that Nick may take it the wrong way, and I quickly said: "No, not like that!"
Nick blinked. "You know you want me."
"Nick!" Coach bellowed. "Stop seducing the poor girl and keep your mind on the mission! Don't make me come back out there and slap some sense into you, boy!"
I laughed. Coach was definitely entertaining. I then handed out the last few packs of biscuits and cookies for breakfast. Since Coach was driving, Louis had to hand him pieces of biscuits.
"I feel like a damn parrot," Coach grumbled after Louis gave him the last biscuit.
"Coachie wanna cracker?" Nick said, causing me to snort some water out of my nose.
Coach didn't reply, but I could see he was muttering something under his breath. Once Nick and I had finished breakfast, I crawled over to the remaining food and saw that we just had enough for lunch.
"We need to find more food soon," I said.
"Yeah, we certainly don't want Coach to get hungry," Nick agreed. I sat beside him and hugged my knees. We all didn't get a lot of sleep last night (save for Coach) and I felt drowsy. I ended up dozing on Nick's shoulder, waking every now and then whenever Nick let out a rather loud snore.
We arrived in the next community without encountering any hordes. But we knew that the closer we were getting to large urban areas, we were going deeper into Infected territory.
Why did Logan have to hide in a city in the first place? I thought as the truck ambled slowly down a side street.
A large mansion came into view, and for a moment I wondered why the place looked familiar. Coach answered my question when he cried: "Hey! That's the home of Lucas Ray!"
"That's right!" I exclaimed, grinning. "Oh my god, Coach we have got to stop here!"
Nick was looking at me like I just lost my mind. "Is it just me or did you channel Ellis just then?"
I ignored him and gave a soft cheer as Coach drove the truck closer to the mansion. The gate was open, and Coach parked the truck near the front door. Louis and I jogged back to the gate and closed it, to prevent any Infected from getting in while we were inside the house.
Lucas Ray was one of the latest rising Hollywood heartthrobs. I hated to admit it, but I had a huge crush on the guy. I had seen one of his latest (and probably his last) movies a few months ago with Tracy when she visited for a week. To see and be inside his mansion was enough to send me on overdrive.
"I didn't know he had a home here!" I gushed, as Coach and I led the way inside the house. The mansion still had lights, so we didn't have to down to the basement to flip the breaker switch.
It was two stories high, but featured a sweeping staircase (for making those swoon-worthy entrances during parties, no doubt), a large dining room, and a huge kitchen. Coach predictably made a beeline for the food storage, and was over the moon to find frozen meat still inside.
"You're really hung up over this guy, aren't you?" Nick commented irritably as I continued talking about Lucas Ray this and Lucas Ray that.
"Yeah. He is – was – my obsession before the outbreak." I grinned at him sheepishly while he rolled his eyes.
"I can tell."
"Folks, we can stay here until tomorrow morning," Coach announced, walking into the room holding a tub of cookie chip dough flavored ice cream. "I just hope Mistah Ray wouldn't mind."
"He wouldn't," I replied quickly. "He's really nice."
"And how many times have you met this Luke Ray?" Nick asked, frowning.
"It's 'Lucas', and I haven't met him yet. Oh god do you think he's here?" My eyes widened, and I knew I was stretching Nick's patience a little thin. But hey, this was Lucas Ray! The guy who could make girls faint with just a simple swish of his gorgeous blond hair!
"Now calm down, young'un, we have to make sure that there ain't no zombies about," Coach reminded me.
I nodded. Nick rolled his eyes again and followed me as we checked the second floor of the mansion. We went through all the rooms, until there was only the master bathroom left. The second we entered the master bedroom we got a whiff of something foul.
"Smells like someone died in here," Nick said, covering his nose.
I pinched my nose and checked under the bed and inside the closets. The smell grew stronger as we approached the bathroom, and I feared the worst.
Lucas Ray was sitting on the floor, his back against the counter. He didn't have any visible wounds, but empty bottles of sleeping pills were on the floor beside him.
"Overdose," Nick stated, ripping the bathroom curtain and covering Lucas Ray with it. I closed my eyes and turned away.
"Well that was a rude wake up call," I groused, my earlier giddiness gone.
