I DO NOT OWN LEFT 4 DEAD I MAKE NO PROFIT!!!!
Kay let me start off by saying THANK YOU FOR NOT HATING THE LAST CHAPTER (Bows) I'm grateful! I'm attempting to have SOME NickxEllis action in the chapter; I mean its chapter 4, its time for something!!! So wish me luck (Cracks knuckles) let's do this!
Nicks whole body ached. He felt the skin pinched on his back where Coach stitched him up. His body was hot; burning. He lifted himself up using his elbows and glanced around. The safe room was dark, the only light coming from the candle in the lantern by where Coach and Rochelle slept side by side. Her head on his shoulder why his head on top of hers. Nick panicked for a moment when he couldn't find Ellis. He pushed himself up so he could sit on his knees and bit back a moan "Shit…" he hissed.
"Ah, yer up." Ellis said from Nick's right.
Nick glanced over and saw Ellis rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands; he had been sleeping. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you…"
"Its fine its fine." Ellis grinned "I wanted to check up on ya anyways."
"Oh." Nick said and looked down at the sleeping bag he was in. He wondered how many others had slept there, and what happened to them "Hey Overalls?" he asked looking over at the young man.
Ellis looked up at him with his usual smile "Ya, Nick?"
Nick felt his heart start pounding for reasons unknown to him. Nick shook his head before asking quietly "Do we have any more of those pills?"
"Sure do!" Ellis grinned and quickly got up to go the table where four med kits laid. Ellis dug around until he found the small white bottle of pills, pulling out three. He walked back over to Nick with a water bottle "Here ya go buddy."
"Thanks." Nick said and quickly swallowed the pills before washing them down with water.
"Ya in alota pain?" Ellis asked.
Nick shrugged "A bit yeah. But the pills should help."
"Good, that's good…" Ellis glanced away "Y'know, Nick, I'm really sorry… S'all my fault that yer so beat up."
Nick shrugged again "I'm not going to argue you on that one." He said.
Ellis nodded "I shoulda paid better attention."
"Yeah." Nick nodded.
"It won't happen again." Ellis promised and grabbed Nick's hand "I promise! It's my turn to watch yer back!"
Nick raised an eyebrow and glanced down at their hands. His hands were only slightly larger than Ellis. Ellis's hands were callused so they were rough on Nick's. Nick pulled his hand out from Ellis's "Alright. Sounds good."
Ellis beamed "Ya should go back to sleep. Coach is probably gonna make us go on for a while tomorrow!"
Nick couldn't help but let out a small chuckle "Yeah you're probably right. Night Overalls." He said laying back down on his stomach.
"Nighty night Nick." Ellis said back down on the cold ground.
Nick watched as a small shiver ran through Ellis's body, he sighed "Get over here Overalls…"
"Huh?" Ellis blinked and looked over at the older man.
Nick scotched over "there's room for you in here too. I don't need to cover myself I'm not cold…" Nick silently thanked whatever high being that had kept them alive this long for the dim light so his blush was hidden "So you can have half of it instead of freezing on the cement floor."
Ellis jumped up and quickly moved over to the sleeping bag "Thanks a ton Nick!"
"Don't mention it…" Nick said and turned his head the other way.
Ellis leaned over and placed a small kiss on Nick's cheek, making the older man jump out of his skin. Ellis chuckled "Night!" he said lying down.
"Jesus Christ…" Nick mumbled and rubbed his cheek "Stupid hick…"
Ellis let out another small laugh before the two fell asleep.
"You look like you're feeling better!" Rochelle grinned when she noticed that Nick was up before the rest of them and standing on his own. He was looking over some of the guns.
Nick looked over his shoulder and smirked "Thanks to coach stitching me up and those pills you guys got, yeah." He said. Though his back still ached and if he moved to quickly he'd still get light headed, but all and all he was back.
"That's great." Rochelle smiled. Her attention was quickly brought to Ellis who was still fast asleep on the sleeping bag "Didn't you sleep there?" she asked.
"Huh?" Nick glanced over to where she was looking "Oh, yeah. I let Ellis move onto it too. Thought the floor was cold."
"Well I'll be damned… you have a heart." She smiled.
"Shocking, isn't it?" Nick asked sarcastically.
Rochelle giggled "Really. I didn't know you had a soft spot for Ellis."
"I wouldn't call it a 'soft spot'…" Nick frowned.
"Then what would you call?" Rochelle asked.
Nick thought for a moment. What did he consider his feelings for Ellis? The other two were easy, they were the closest thing to friends he's had in a long time, but Ellis was different… he was more important than the other two.
'Thanks Nick. Y'know yer really special to me… Probably the most important person in my life right now…' Ellis's voice rang in Nick's head.
Nick's green eyes went wide "Holy shit…" He mumbled to himself.
"Nick?" Rochelle blinked, obviously confused.
Nick covered his mouth with his hand. Did he feel the same way? Was Ellis the most important person to him? He always worried over the boy, sure, but he worried about Coach and Rochelle too. 'Not as much as Ellis…' a voice in his head said. Only care for number one! Number one! He never wanted to break that rule again! He broke it when he asked Alex to marry him and he broke it again when Katie was born. When he cared for others and he got hurt. He lost that game, the most important game to him. Nick looked back over at Ellis. His hat was lying at his side and his brown hair was a mess on the top of his head. His mouth was opened as quite snores escaped. Could he be in lov-No! Nick shook his head "No, no, no!" Nick shouted out loud startling Rochelle and waking Ellis and Coach up.
"What!? Whats wrong!?" Ellis said jumping to his feet.
"Damn Boy!" Coach hissed standing up as well "Do you have to scream like you were being dragged away by a damn smoker!?"
Nick let out a frustrated sigh and tried to smooth down the hair on his head "Sorry…" he grumbled and turned back around.
"Crazy son of a bitch…" Coach mumbled waking up.
Rochelle placed a hand on Nick shoulder "You sure you're okay?"
"Yes!" Nick snapped.
"Well dang, Nick, Ro's jus worried about ya." Ellis frowned.
Nick bit down hard on his tongue and walked away from the mechanic and waited by the safe room door.
"What the hell?!" Ellis snapped and walked towards Nick "Whats yer problem today?"
"You." Nick snapped "You, you stupid hick, god damn it!"
Ellis's brown eyes went wide "I didn' do anythin'!"
Nick let out a frustrated growl "Just get your shit together so we can fucking move!"
Ellis's eyes narrowed as he whipped around grabbing his shot gun not saying a word. Coach glanced over at Rochelle silently asking if he had missed something; Rochelle shrugged in response.
Ring……Ring……..Ring……..'Hello, sorry I can't answer your call right now. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you asap!"
"God damn it, Alex, it's me." Nick said from the bus stop. He had just arrived in Savannah and it was a ghost town "I need to know where the hospital is, call me back." He said hanging up.
"You're on your own from here on!" The bus driver said nervously "That damn flu infected everyone and I aint staying around long enough to catch it!" he said closing the door and quickly driving off.
Nick rolled his eyes from behind his sunglasses and started down the street. He'd figured he would be able to find some bar open at noon, and he could really go for a shot or two at the moment. A woman was walking in front of him swaying side to side as she walked. "Hey, sweetheart." Nick called out "Anyway you can point me to the nearest bar, or the hospital? Weird combo, I know, but either's good at this point.
A low growl escaped her lips as she turned around. Her one eye hung from its socket and half her bottom lip was missing showing off her gum and teeth. The woman began running toward him at top speed.
Nick jumped back "What the fuck!?" he shouted as he started backing up.
"Get down!" A voice shouted from behind him.
Nick listened and quickly ducked his head as a bullet pierced straight threw the woman's skull.
"Woo-wee!" the man behind him shouted "That was a good one don't ya think!?"
Nick stared at the woman's body in horror "Y-You just killed her!"
"Well, duh. She woulda killed ya!" The man frowned and started playing with the blue and white cap on his head "Shouldn't ya be thankin' me? I jus' saved yer life."
"Huh?" Nick blinked.
The man laughed "She was a zombie, dude!"
"Zombie…?" Nick let that word sink in "What the fuck are you talking about?!"
"That flu everyone's been talkin' about? Turns ya into a zombie, no joke, it's the gods honest truth!"
Nick stared the man straight in the eyes. The man was tall with dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was well built too. Then something caught his attention. He was wearing a hospital bracelet. 'Holy shit… he escaped from the nut house…' Nick took a deep breath and put his game face on. He cocked his head to the side, removing his sunglasses "You know where the hospital is?" he asked.
"Sure do, just came from there anyways." The man frowned "You don' wanna go that way. It's trouble, zombies all over the fuckin' place! I'm gonna go find my buddy and evacuate this damn city. Those CEDA people hava safe rooms all over the place and evac stations." The man explained "You should come along wit' me. Safer in numbers, y'know?"
Nick fought the urge to roll his eyes "Okay, whatever. I'll face those 'zombie' fuckers by myself. Just tell me how to get to the hospital."
The man frowned "Don' say I didn' warn ya…. Its right down this here street, make a left then ya can't miss it…"
Nick nodded "Thanks. Good luck finding your friend."
"Thanks!" The man smiled "Oh, here." He said taking a pistol out of it holder and handed it to Nick "It's loaded, ya should be fine. Shoot the fuckers in the head!"
"Right…" Nick said and for some reason he couldn't explain he took it. "Thanks."
The man took his hat off for a moment and placed it back on "The name's Kei-"
"Sorry I don't really have the time." Nick said as he started running down the street.
The man sighed and looked down the empty street in front of him "Ima coming, Ellis." He said coughing into his hand as he jogged down the street.
"Spitter!" Coach shouted as he blew the deformed Zombie's head off.
The strange acid goo began to spread on the road. Ellis jumped back, Nick and Rochelle where already far enough away from getting the goo on them. "Damn shit!" Ellis frowned "I really hate this stuff."
"We all do, Overalls, now shut up." Nick said.
"Why do you have to be like that?" Ellis frowned.
"Be like what?" Nick grunted.
"An asshole."
Nick rolled his eyes "Because I can be."
"Knock it off you two!" Coach scolded "You wanna attract every god damn Zombie in the city?"
"Nuh-uh." Ellis said shaking his head.
"No…" Nick grumbled.
"The shut the fuck up." Coach said walking in front the three of them
Ellis quickly walked past Nick glaring at the con-man. Nick raised his middle finger. Ellis glared and stuck his tongue out at him like a child. "Why I ought to…" Nick started and Rochelle harshly poked his shoulder.
"Knock it off. You started this one!" Rochelle growled "Ellis is obviously fond of you and you keep acting like a dick!"
"I don't give a shit what he thinks of me." Nick grunted.
"Bullshit and you know it." Rochelle said and quickened her pace leaving Nick behind.
Nick slowly limped along not even looking behind him when suddenly he felt something wrap around his legs and start dragging him backwards. Nick hit the ground hard and hissed "Shit, smokers got me!" he shouted
POOF! Smoke went straight into Nick's lungs causing the 35 year old to cough. He was saved. He looked up to see Ellis put his pistol down. 'stupid hick saved my life…'
Ellis smiled, please with himself "You alrigh'?"
Nick continued to cough "Yeah." He said and stood up, ignoring the pain that shot up his back.
Ellis walked over to him and placed a hand on his lower back "Ya sure?"
"Yes." Nick said from gritting his teeth he pulled away.
Ellis nodded and still smiled "That's good."
Rochelle smiled and turned to catch up with coach when several loud growls echoed down the empty street the four where on. A horde was coming, and by the sound of it, it was a big one.
Okay so I kinda ended this abruptly and with a cliff hanger! But I have plans for this now, NickxEllis plans! Lemony plans! Okay anyways, I hope you all have a happy holiday (smiles)
~*~30 nights Denie