Time frame: Cold Stream Pt 2.
Rating: T/M for language and peril
Established relationships: Mentions of Frochelle, Nellis
Description: More of Nick being an asshole, out of pain and frustration.
Against all odds, the group managed to pull on and get to the next safehouse. It took even longer this time than the day before. Nick was in a state of constant intoxication just to keep himself standing. He took every bottle of alcohol that he found in the cabin and brought it with him. He was sweating and started developing dark circles under his eyes, but he was tagging along. He'd attempted to wash his clothes the night before, hoping that wearing something clean might do something to prevent his infection from getting any worse, but with only cold water and a bar of soap, there was not much he could do. By the time the survivors reached the next safehouse, Nick was exhausted and in a mood.
The others did all they could to stay positive. After all, they were getting closer to the lookout and it was more likely than not that some of the planes flying overhead would spot them. Originally, Nick wanted to stay with the helicopter that they went down in, but it was damaged badly in the crash and infected would have no trouble getting in.
"When all this is over, I owe you a steak." Rochelle assured Ellis, "Thanks for getting my back out there."
"Don't worry about it. You guys all done the same for me when I get in a mess. But I will take that steak. I miss steak. When the world comes back, you and me are gonna have a survivors' night out." Ellis smiled, nudging the only female of the group.
"I mean, if your cool, leather-wearin boyfriend would be cool with it."
"He's not my boyfriend. And what about Zoey? What if she has a problem with you taking other women out for steaks?" Rochelle laughed.
"Well, she's gonna just have to trust me. I don't see no problem with havin friends that are girls, even if you happen to have a girlfriend."
"Really? Did your girlfriends in the past feel that way?"
"Sometimes. Usually. I mean I'd like to think that I was a good guy to be with. I was easy to trust and most of my lady friends weren't a 'threat' to my girlfriend at the time." Ellis explained.
"Really? So you wouldn't stop seeing a friend if your girlfriend had an issue?" Rochelle was interested, leaning into the conversation.
"No. I mean, not unless there was a good reason to. Like if the female friend was completely disrespecting the girlfriend, then yeah. But just because of misplaced jealousy, no. The way I see it, if it's meant to be, it will work out."
"That's a good way to look at it." Rochelle agreed, "I guess it's a good thing Zoey already likes your friends...I mean, the ones that are alive. I mean us."
"Yeah, she is somethin, isn't she? Think I should bring her somethin if I ask her out? Like a spitter's head, or the steering wheel from the Jimmy Gibbs Jr. No wait, I take that one back. I can't bring myself to dismantle that car." Ellis sighed.
"Ugh, shut up, Ellis. Really, I've had enough. I think we all have had enough of this fleeting glance shit you had with some girl that may or may not even be alive still." Nick complained from where he stood in the small room, literally two steps from where Ellis was standing.
"Why's that bug you so much? She was a real nice girl and it was good to see that more people are hanging on." Ellis replied, taken aback.
"That's right. It is nice that more people are still living. You know what isn't nice, though? Hearing you go on and on like a little school girl about some silly crush you developed within five minutes of meeting a person. Are you fucking twelve?" Nick was pinching the tension spot at the bridge of his nose. It had been a long day, and Ellis was not helping. He took another swig of the cheap wine he found earlier that day.
"You haven't seen her in weeks. And in the apocalypse, weeks is almost like years." Nick finished.
"Sorry, just trying to look on the bright side. Just because she liked me instead of you-"
"Liked you? Excuse me? She liked you because she talked to you like a human being? You are so goddamn naïve."
"Why are you getting like this?" Ellis asked, propping himself against the wall.
"Because. I'm getting like this because you drive me nuts!" Nick said this loud enough to draw attention from Coach, who met Rochelle in the doorway of the room, where she was originally heading out for a bathroom break but stopped to gauge the argument.
"Man, you're about a miserable son of a bitch, you know? We can't all be that dark, and anyhow I'm just tryin to think of better times than being around all these zombies. It makes me feel better thinkin about someone that found me interestin."
"She said like 8 goddamn sentences to you. Goddamn it, Ellis! She doesn't put up with your endless babble like the rest of us do! And you know what, she wasn't the one that fucked you so hard you walked funny all week. Was she?" He leaned in and let the venom seep from his voice when he said this.
"Nick..." Ellis' face went beet red and he dropped his gaze to the floor, embarrassed that his friends just heard what Nick said to him and there was nothing he could do to deny it.
"Was it her name you were pushing your face into the bed to keep from screaming? No, I didn't hear no goddamn 'Zoey' cause you were too busy saying 'Nick'." Nick's face was flushed in his anger and state of drunkenness.
"You're just sayin stuff like that cause you been drunk for two days-"
"Goddamn it, Ellis! Cut the shit. I don't fucking care! I don't want to fucking care anyway. But I give a shit as much as I don't want to and I can't take this anymore." Nick finished his shout and stumbled forward, taking the younger man's face in both hands before roughly connecting their mouths. Ellis stiffened like a corpse, eyes wide in shock as his hands went up, pausing in the air as if he was not sure what to do. Should he push Nick away, or draw him closer?
Nick's mouth sloppily opened, trying to deepen their kiss by forcing his tongue into the southerner's mouth, right in plain sight of the two people they'd been fortunate enough to travel with. Ellis' hands now gently caught Nick's shoulders, ending their kiss by pushing him away but keeping the distance between them very closed in.
"Ellis, I've been such an asshole." Nick stared intently into the eyes of the man he wanted. "Listen, I'm sorry. Something is there between you and me and I'm such a piece of shit for trying to make you feel like garbage because I'm going through a midlife crisis."
"You're 35." Ellis finally said.
"I'm 36 in what I think is a month from now. I'm getting older and balder-" Nick complained.
"Nah, your hair is fine."
"That's not the point. Goddamn it, the point is that I'm not...the same as I was before all this." That was all Nick could think to say.
It was all that made sense. No, he was not the same. He was a jerk, always had been and always will be. But this soft spot carved into him for the most unlikely person was a change of plans. He'd wasn't new to the feelings one had while committed to a relationship, but this was different. This was unlike any traditional bond he'd ever shared. Ellis was...something else. The way he smiled, the way he looked up to Nick like a dumb puppy, the way he was so ready to just give up his entire past and be anything Nick needed him to be without a second thought. And against everything he presented to the world, he wanted that. He wanted Ellis to need him, wanted to give this a try without constantly questioning.
The older man dragged himself a step forward, defeated, and leaned into his companion both out of need for closeness and need for physical support. He'd been standing around drunk for the duration of this argument and his leg was both weak and in immense pain. Like clockwork, Ellis slid his arms around Nick's waist, keeping him from falling in more ways than one.
"Maybe change is good." was all the younger man said, and it spoke volumes.
It didn't seem to matter that people were watching. Rochelle and Coach mustered as much decency as they could and went into the other room, leaving the two alone. It didn't matter, though. They'd seen everything and whether their gaze was full of judgment or not, Ellis would never abandon someone that needed his help, even if that someone treated him like crap in the past.
"C'mon, you need to have a sit down." Ellis continued, crutching Nick over to the empty couch.
He did need to rest. It was apparent being that within moments of lying down and attempting to get comfortable, Nick was either asleep or unconscious. Ellis curled up on the floor beside his injured comrade, telling himself that he would make sense of everything in the morning.
Morning came and it brought more anguish than the night before. Nick couldn't stand on his leg no matter how hard he tried. He had a fever and felt dizzy and dehydrated. His whole body ached and getting into a sitting positioned took so much energy that standing and walking to the next safehouse was nothing short of impossible. He was barely able to remain awake for more than a few minutes.
"Guys, he isn't gonna make it to the next safehouse." Ellis said the next morning.
Everything felt so somber, so quiet and sad.
"Maybe we can just get to the lookout and then when the helicopters pick us up, we can point them in his direction and make sure they rescue him." Rochelle suggested.
"He won't be able to take care of himself in his condition. He can't move. What if an infected gets in? Or if it takes a few days and he needs food or water?" Coach pointed out.
"I'm gonna stay." Ellis announced.
"Ellis, sweetie-"
"Ro, I can't just leave him behind. Ya know I can't. You and Coach can have the guns as long as I just keep one. I'll stay back and take care of Nick. There's a lot less of them things runnin around here. I think if you and Coach try and make a straight shot, you'll get to the lookout in another day or so." Ellis was explaining, not looking at his companions.
"Sweetie, you know this is bad. He might not make it."
"I know that. But I can't bring myself to let him die alone. I mean, if it happens, then I will catch up to you later, but I'm stayin with him. He's tough as hell and maybe you'll get some help here in time." Ellis looked over at his sleeping gambler.
"Rochelle, I think we can do it. But we gotta hurry. I don't want this guy to die on us." Coach encouraged.
"But-"
"I promise, I will see you guys again, and we will talk it all over. But there's no time. You guys need to go. He doesn't have but a couple of days with the way that infection is looking." Ellis was practically begging now.
"You be safe and don't do anything stupid." Rochelle finally agreed, readying herself to go.
"I won't. You guys be careful. I'll see ya when we get rescued." Ellis smiled, relieved.
"That grumpy son of a bitch is lucky to have you." Ro added as she and Coach headed for the safehouse door.
Ellis was in complete silence for nearly four hours before Nick woke up.
"Where is everyone?" He asked, glassy eyes searching the room.
"They went to get help." Ellis answered, combing fingers through sweaty dark hair.
"You should have gone with them, you dumb son of a bitch." Nick lectured.
"Shoulda, but I decided to stay here with you. We're gonna get rescued, I promise." Ellis assured the sick man fading away before him.
He hoped he was right, because in all honesty he only believed they would be rescue. He put faith in Coach and Rochelle, but he had no idea if they were going to make it to the lookout. He had no idea if they would be back or if they were still alive at that very second.
"S-cold, Ellis." Nick said.
He was shivering due to the sweat that drenched him while he slept.
"Gimme a minute. I'm gonna clean up your leg and then I'll keep ya warm."
Nick's leg was constantly getting worse. It would look better for a few hours and then it would look like it was going to fall off later. It was sticky, it smelled a bit, and now there were little red lines streaming from his wound across his skin. Blood poisoning. Ellis did not have the medical training to handle blood poisoning. He did all he could to clean the wound before rewrapping it and snuggling up next to Nick on the couch, wrapping their bodies as close as they could get.
Several minutes later, Nick's shivering subsided and he went back into a restless sleep.
Twelve hours elapsed since Coach and Rochelle left and Ellis didn't know if he was waiting for rescue or waiting for disappointment. There was no way of knowing. Mentally, he gave them two days. After two days if help didn't arrive, he'd sent them out to die.
Nick wouldn't eat and wasn't keeping fluids down anymore. It took all of his will to absorb pain pills and not vomit them back up a short time later. He'd wake up in pain, and if it was even close to his next dose, Ellis would give him more pills. He didn't know if he was helping or hurting this situation. For all he knew, he could be slowly poisoning his friend, but hearing the man he loved groaning in pain was torture.
It was lonely here in the safehouse. Nick would wake up and have short conversations with Ellis before falling asleep again. He'd sweat while he slept and then wake up cold. Ellis pulled off his pant and suit jacket, finally removing his shirt when he drenched them with sweat. A wet rag did nothing to break Nick's fever and when he'd get cold, Ellis would cover him with every blanket he found in the safehouse, making sure to put the cleanest one in closest contact.
"Goober, you still here?" He called after waking up briefly.
"Of course I am. Do ya need something?" Ellis offered.
"Just wanted to say thanks for staying. I'd be dead without you." Nick said sweetly before losing consciousness again.
Ellis smiled. That was not like Nick at all. It must have been the fever talking.
"DON'T MOVE!"
Ellis snapped into consciousness with the barrel of an assault rifle in his face. It had been a day and a half since Coach and Rochelle left and the whole time he'd barely left Nick's side. As it stood right now, he'd been laying on the floor beside the couch again, trying to sleep to pass the time. The sun was setting and the light in the safehouse didn't make things very clear.
He did what the voice said and didn't move. Something else was moving. Several somethings. Was it infected? Maybe people? He didn't know. People were talking to one another and finally the heavily dressed man with the gun spoke to him.
"Are you Ellis?" He demanded.
"Yep. I'm Ellis-"
"Are you immune?"
"Yeah. I'm immune. Me and my buddy Nick are immune. He's got an infection though. Not like this kinda infection. He hurt his leg real bad and needs help." Ellis was stammering as more men with guns were examining his companion. They were saying all kinds of codes and official sounding instructions to one another.
"Stand up." the man who was probably a soldier said.
Ellis followed directions, watching the other men as they were looking over a very confused Nick.
"Hey, he's probably real startled. Don't be rough with him." the southerner warned, noting how firmly the soldiers were moving him. They were probably looking him over for bites, and finding none, they offered aid.
One soldier all but forced Ellis onto the helicopter, insisting that the other three were going to transport Nick on a board and bring him on right behind them.
"They're not gonna shoot him, are they?" Ellis begged, not really believing the soldier.
But they kept their word. Nick was loaded onto the helicopter as soon as the soldiers discovered that he did not have any bite marks. They started on much needed medical attention, properly cleaning Nick's leg would and starting an IV tube in his arm.
The entire trip was a blur, and things sped up as soon as the helicopter landed. More soldiers arrived, taking Ellis away from the others and leading him through a doorway without explaining themselves. Frazzled, Ellis tried resisting them and found himself in a small white room, alone. It was a lot like a typical doctor's office, except that there was a bathroom inside and a place to sleep. It was a holding cell. He was locked into a holding cell, and this one had four walls and only a slat of glass in the door to see the outside world.
He'd long since given up struggling or asking questions after soldiers and people in lab coats alike piled into the room, demanding all sorts of tests. A full physical examination was performed in front of a room full of people, blood tests were taken, and questions were asked. It was so much like Ellis' idea of what being abducted by aliens would be like. Several times he asked about Nick, Coach, and Rochelle and several times he was told that his questions would all be answered at another time.