When Love and Hate Collide
Chapter 2: A Fun Day at the Carnival!
Ever since that Hunter attacked me and spared me, I've had horrible nightmares that plague me every night when I sleep. I do my best to stay calm and tell myself, "It's just a dream", but I still wake up drenched with sweat and panting as if I ran the Boston Marathon. Tonight was no expectation:
~ I clench my AK in my shaky hands as I heard a Hunter screech. My eyes narrowed in rage as I spiraled around trying to find the thing. My forehead inflamed in pain as I hear the Hunter coming closer. I saw it leap from one roof to the next. I unloaded my whole AK magazine at the swift zombie. I swore as I reloaded, hoping that it wasn't going to attack or worse, run away. Then I heard someone's voice behind me. "Don't worry, Chris. I'll cover you." I looked behind me and gasped. It was Nick. My rage caused me to snap at him, "Get out of there! This Hunter is mine!" He snarled back, "I'm not leaving you behind! Don't be stupid!" The Hunter pounded at Nick's gun, causing him to drop it, leaving him defenseless. I aimed my AK for the Hunter, but he stood up and grinned under his hood. I wonder why. Suddenly, my scar glowed in an eerie yellow color, coursing pain through my veins. I screamed and dropped my AK, holding my head in agony. My hands began to feel sharpened, like claws. My bandana faded away and a hood covered my head. My screaming snapped into a screeching noise. I looked at my hands and gasped. I'm a Hunter! The male Hunter chuckled as the transformation was complete. Then he screeched at me and pointed at Nick, who is officially horrified as he witnessed the transformation. My hunter instinct kicked in as I crouched on the ground, ready to pounce on the survivor. With a snarl, I jumped, claws reaching out, ready to tear Nick into ribbons. Something hit my right shoulder…~
Nick touched my shoulder. "Wake up, Chris!" Since my dream self was in pounce mode, my reflexes caused me to spring and pin my "attacker" down. Nick yelped as I pinned him to the ground. My nails sank into the shoulders of his white jacket. It took me a good two seconds to realize that I'm awake…and completely oblivious that I pounced Nick and lying on top of him. "It was just a dream. Oh thank God!" Still unaware of my pounced victim, I buried my face below me. Instead of a hardwood floor, it was blue, soft, and muscular. If I didn't realize I was on Nick, the clearing of his throat in embarrassment gave it all away.
Sheila was the first to speak, "What happened to you?!" Ellis burst out laughing at us, "Nick! You got yourself a fiery one!" I replied with, "Oh shit!" as I rolled off Nick's body. Coach had a big grin on his face. "What happened last night that made you so…jumpy?" Ro spoke, "Well, I'm glad I didn't wake you up or I'd be the one on the floor." I spoke while panting and wiping sweat away from my brow, "It was a nightmare." Nick spoke in an angry tone, "Nightmares don't make people pounce other people!" Sheila defended, "Chris was plagued with nightmares ever since she got attack by the infected. However, I don't remember any of the others being so violent. You normally pant and sweat. This one made you pounce Nick like a Hunter." I whispered, "I was. I was a Hunter in my nightmare. Nick was there too. And I pounced him because he commanded me too." Just the thought of that Hunter made my blood boil and fists tighten. Nick was confused, "Who told you to pounce me? And why was I in your nightmare?" I ignored his questions completely and said in a very serious tone, "We're burning moonlight. Let's move. If any of you see a Hunter, shout. All Hunters are mine!" I loaded my AK and stood up. I grabbed a nearby crowbar and strapped it to my hip. Everyone was hesitant over my pounce and serious attitude, but they just shrugged it off and gathered supplies. Nick was still a little jostled by my Hunter attack. Ellis helped him up off the ground while I stashed up on supplies. Sheila apologized, "Sorry Nick. She's normally calmer than this. I wonder what got into her." He just shrugged, "Maybe it's payback for me being a total jerk last night. Now, we're even."
Coach barked, "Is everyone ready!?" We readied our weapons and waited for Coach to open the door. He lifted the bar and opened the door. Zombies were just lumbering around…until Nick nailed one in the head. The rest of the zombies screamed as they ran towards us. I quickly swept my AK like a machine gun, hitting and killing any zombie that got in front of me. "Die, you zombie bitches! Die!" Then we heard a Jockey nearby. Ro screamed "Jockey!" right before it got her head. Ellis was quick to knock it off Ro's head and Sheila finished it off. "Just like high school", she quipped as she reloaded her sniper.
As we fought our way to Kiddie Land, we were attacked by a Tank. Ellis was the first to see it. "Oh shit! Tank! Tank!" All of us scattered and shot the Tank. It bellowed and went after Coach first. It swung its arm and Coach went flying into a trash can. "Coach!" Ro shouted. The Tank heard her and went charging at her next. "Run, Rochelle!" Ellis barked. She shot at the steroid-induced zombie while running backwards. Sheila quickly climbed up onto of a building and sniped from above. A horde began running towards Ellis as he shouted. I noticed I was on my last magazine for my AK. Nick kept firing at the Tank, hoping it would leave Ro alone. Something green and swishy caught my eye and it was on Nick's belt. Boomer bile! "Nick! Throw the bile onto the Tank!" He heard me, thankfully. He had to stop firing in order to unclick the puke tube. The tank was about to hit him when I ran and attacked it with the crowbar in the back. It shrieked in annoyance, not pain. It turned around and glared at me. Then I screamed at Nick, "Throw it!! Now!!" As soon as he did, the Tank's mighty arm made contact with my body, causing me to fly into a cotton candy tent. Nick screamed, "Chris!" As the Tank got mauled by his fellow zombies, Nick and Ro ran to the tent to check on me. Ellis helped Coach up and Sheila climbed down off the roof and ran to join Ellis and Coach. Thanks to Nick's Boomer bile, the Tank became mincemeat for the common infected.
Nick and Ro pulled away broken planks of wood that didn't do much to soften my landing. Ro shouted, "Chris! Speak, girl!" Nick added, "Come on bitch!" I heard Nick's comment and grumbled, "Dumbass con man…" Nick grinned at Ro. "Works every time", he boasted. Ro hit him on the arm and continued digging through the rubble. Ellis, Sheila and Coach joined them and covered them as they rescued their fallen comrade. Nick removed the tent fabric that was in his way and uncovered me. I could hardly move. Pain coursed through my body and I grumbled, "It looks so fucking easy in the movies."
Ro chuckled and replied, "Can you stand?" I struggled to move, but Nick knew I wasn't going to get out by myself. I clawed a broken plank and used it to lift myself up. I hissed in pain as my legs began to buckle under my own weight. I was about to fall, but Nick quickly grabbed my hand. "Come on! Stay light!" he snapped as he pulled me forward towards him. I barked, "I weigh less than 100 pounds! I can't get any lighter, even if I tried!" He rolled his eyes and pulled me out of the remains of the tent. I stood on my feet and they were still wobbly from the crash. Nick let go but caught me again before I fell to the ground. I growled, "Jesus! Where's a power boost when I need it!?" Nick ignored my complaint and asked, "Is anything broken?" I looked up at him and said, "I don't think so. I'm just shaky from my unexpected flight. Ummm…..You can let go now." Nick scanned both of us up and down and grew very bright red. "Right", he muttered as he let go. I kept my arms out to maintain my balance and my knees bent. "This is worse than the hangover I had during my 25th birthday", I muttered. Nick scoffed, being his original jackass self, "I had worse hangovers."
Sheila ran to me and embraced me. "Holy shit! Are you ok??" "I will once I get the feeling in my legs back", I replied. Ellis added, "Damn! I've never seen anyone fly so far before! If you had wings, you could just fly to New Orleans! Plus, Nick flipped out when he saw you flying!" I did remember Nick screaming my name when the Tank hit me. "I heard him, Ellis. That's not like him to be care for others." He knew I was trying to piss him off. Coach placed his hand on Nick's shoulder and asked, "You going soft on us, Nick?" He let out a huff, "Over my dead body I'm going soft! All six of us must stick together so our odds of survival are greater. Nothing more and nothing less." I growled at the con artist, "You're a piece of work! You know that!?" He just shrugged and said, "Get used to it, sweetheart. What you see is what you get." Sheila saw me twitching in anger. If she still didn't have a hold on me, I would have pounced at him again.
However, a screech in the air calmed me down. A Hunter was near. Time to go killing. I wiggled out of Sheila's arms, who quickly said, "Are you going to pound the living shit of out Nick?" I shook my head and replied, "We need him to increase our odds for survival. I've got a Hunter to butcher." Ellis saw Nick's jaw drop at my comment. "Oooohhhhh! Nick, you got burned, man!" Nick punched Ellis in his arm and growled, "Shut up, Ellis."
I grabbed my dropped AK and grabbed more ammo for it. I tightened my bandana and ran out of Kiddie land, hoping to find that Hunter. Rage fueled my veins, enabling my legs to move without wobbling like Jell-o. The rest of our band struggled to keep up with me. I found him near the safe house. I reloaded my AK clip and aimed for the mutated creature. It saw me and it leaped off the roof and pounced towards me. I quickly ducked and it leaped right over my head. It turned around and snarled at me. My necklace of teeth jingled as I swayed side to side, ready to kill it. It saw the teeth and pounced at me in fury. I shot it in the chest and it fell to the ground. Nick was the first to reach me. The Hunter weakly snarled, indicting to me that it was still alive. I pulled out an old Swiss Army knife and stabbed it in the head. Nick was suddenly terrified at my brutality. I flipped the creature onto it's back and pried it's jaws open. Using my knife, I wedged it between two of its teeth and wiggled the blade until one of the teeth was loose enough to be pulled out with my fingers. I pulled out the first tooth and examined it. It shined in the moonlight and blood dripped onto my fingers as I scanned my prize. I grinned evilly as I stood up. For extra gory measure, I crushed its skull with my sneaker. "Go to Hell, you little fucker."
I didn't realize Nick was watching me. He wanted to gasp or shout an insult, but all that came out of his vocals was a tiny failing squeal. I hardly heard it. I placed my trophy into my pocket and turned around and came face to face with the horrified Nick. He just stared at me with his wide green eyes. Not that I was staring at him. My Hunter rage faded, causing my vicious brutality to melt away. I walked up to Nick and waved my hand in front of his face. "Nick? Are you ok, buddy?" Then I thought to myself: did I just call him "buddy?" But didn't he call me "sweet heart?" I scratched my bandana-covered head and snapped my fingers, forcing him out of his trance. He blinked. I sighed with relief. The other survivors finally made it. Ellis panted as he placed his hands on his knees, "Is there a reason you took off like that, Nick and Chris?!" I simply answered, "I had a Hunter to kill. Nothing I couldn't handle." Coach snapped, "I understand you still have a lone wolf streak with Sheila, but you're now in a team. We must work as a team, fight as a team, and survive as a team. Got that, Chris?!" I nodded, realizing that I did just run off without concerning about the team as a whole. "Ok. I'll remember that next time. Sorry, guys." Ro walked over to me and place her hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry, Chris. You learn from your mistakes." I nodded. Sheila asked Nick, who was still recovering from his trance, "Why did you run ahead. I knew Chris's reason, but why did you run after her?" Nick still could hardly talk. Instead he grew a light shade of red. Why did he go after me? He just shrugged at Sheila. Ellis leaped back when he saw the Hunter carcass. "Holy shit!" he shouted, "That's brutal! Its head is crushed to bits." I scraped my sneaker along the dirt, quipping, "And some of its brains are on my shoe." Nick only glared at me.
We heard crying, causing all of us to freeze in place. This wasn't hard for Nick to do. Sheila grinned and scouted ahead. "Kill your lights", she commanded to everyone. We obeyed and Ellis followed her with curiosity and a sense of security. I knew Ellis liked Sheila. I know puppy love when I see it. Ellis waved for us to follow them and he quickly came up beside Sheila. A very pale girl was sitting on the ground, sobbing. Ellis smiled as he tapped his shotgun's trigger. We stared at the crying girl. I heard Nick whisper, "Sounds like my ex-wife." Sheila began to stand up, but Ellis quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her down again. "Hey!" she hissed softly at him. Ellis was inches away from her face as he spoke, "Do you know what she is? That's a witch and she'll tear you to fucking shreds if you disturb her." We watched to see Sheila's reaction. To our surprise, she smiled at Ellis, "I'm going to crown that bitch. If I miss, you'll back me up." He blushed and gave her a goofy chuckle, "Hell, I would. But I suggest you use my shotgun. It's much more powerful in close combat." As he spoke, he swapped his shotgun for her hunting rifle. She gripped it tight and smiled at Ellis, "Thanks, Ellis. Time to blast this bitch." As she and Ellis slowly stood up in unison, I whispered to the rest of our group, "Be ready to fire if things go wrong." Ro, Nick and Coach reloaded their weapons because once someone startles a witch, she's a bitch to kill!
Sheila quietly loaded the shottie and aim directly at the witch's head. Ellis was holding his breath as he aimed the rifle at her just in case she sprang into action mode. Sheila pulled the trigger, the ringing of the shot gun made everyone jump. The witch fell to the side. Ellis shouted in victory, but Sheila unloaded another cap into her head, because she still saw the witch's eyes moving. Ellis swapped guns again and asked, "Why did you shoot her the second time?" I answered Ellis's question, "It's a tactic called Double Tap. One shot may not be enough to kill a zombie. You double tap to double check." He nodded, understanding my statement. Ellis walked to Nick and said, "You learn something new everyday, Nick." Nick still hasn't found his voice yet, so he just cocked an eyebrow at the redneck. Ellis just grinned as if Nick was just giving him the silent treatment. Coach asked Nick, "What's wrong with you? You haven't spoken a word since we caught up with you two. Did she say something to you that made you shut up?" Ellis quipped, "Maybe he learned that Chris has a lover!" I wasn't even ten feet away from the rest when I heard Ellis's comment. I cocked my AK and aimed at Ellis, hissing, "I heard that, Ellis! I've got a full magazine and an itchy trigger finger right now, bud!" He turned to face me and immediately cowered. "Don't shoot! I was only kiddin'!" Nick actually grinned, which was a sign to me saying "You made him feel a little better." I lowered my gun and Ellis stopped cowering. "Don't piss off a girl with a gun, Ellis. Or else you might get shot." He nodded horrified, giving Nick a toothy smile this time instead of a small grin.
Sheila shouted, "Safe house ahead!" My head went back into zombie-killing mode again and I shouted to everyone, "Alright! Let's move!" All together, we ran into the incoming horde. We began sprinting for the safe room, which was the Tunnel of Love. My killer attitude instantly drooped and I moaned, "The Tunnel of Love?! Jesus Christ." What I didn't know it that Nick said the same thing in union with me. I stopped and just in time to be Jockey bait. It jumped onto my shoulders and began steering me into an acid pit set by a Spitter. Thinking fast, I went limp and fell onto the ground, crushing the air out of the Jockey. I jumped up and shot it dead, dead. Ro and I were still fighting through the horde, while making our way to the door. I quickly grabbed a pipe bomb and tossed it away from us. The explosive drew the zombie's attention from us, giving us a chance to run. We ran inside and Coach closed the door, disabling any zombies from entering the safe house. I said with a grin on my face, "Anyone want zombie soup?" Everyone thought about it and gained faces with disgust. I chuckled as soon as we heard the pipe bomb explode.
Ro sat down and said, "This is the most relaxing safe room I've ever been in." I had to say, "Relaxing for some, but not for all." The thought of romance and happiness seemed very ironic at this time. Nick remained silent, but he was closely observing me as if I was an animal ready to attack anyone. I did my best to ignore him, but his acid green eyes bore through me. The intensity made me feel very uneasy until I snapped, "Stop staring at me, Nick!" He blinked without saying a word to me. I groaned as I sat away from him and pulled out the Hunter tooth. As soon as Nick saw it, it set him off. He pounced me to the ground, snarling, "What the fuck was that display for, uh?! Is it a very sick hobby you developed!? Tell me!!" I really felt much violated, so I kneed him in the nuts. He groaned in pain, but didn't move from his position, still keeping me pinned. Nick's sudden attack alerted everyone. Sheila tried to pry Nick off me, but he's stronger than he looks. She barked, "Coach! Ellis! Help me out boys!" They ran to Nick and pulled him away, thanks to their combined strength. Nick struggled as I sat up, wheezing for a breath. Ro and Sheila sat on both sides of me, showing their concern. "Tell me, Chris! Why?!" Nick continued to snarl. I calmly replied as I stood up and walked to the enraged con man, "I'll tell you when you calm down." He glared at me and his heavy breathing began to slow down and become softer. He let out a deep breath out of his mouth, calming him down from his outburst.
Coach and Ellis let him go and he fell back to the floor again, because he's now feeling the pain in his crotch when I kneed him in self-defense. He held his boys and hissed in pain. I sat down in front of him and explained, "I have an uncontrollable rage towards Hunters, so for revenge, I kill them and claim a tooth as my prize." He looked up at me and asked, "Why?" I sighed and replied, "I can't tell you. At least not yet. I need to trust you more before I can spill my guts." Sheila retorted, "Nice figure of speech, Chris." Nick sighed in disappointment. He knew what I meant about trust. He and I play the same game: never trust anyone and look out for #1. However, Sheila is my expectation. He nodded at me and he stood up. More like hobbled up. He was just as shaky as I was when I was hit by the Tank. I swear to God that there's cotton candy in my shoes.
I focused on the tooth in my fist. I pulled my necklace off my neck, revealing it to everyone. Nick was shocked, "How many Hunters did you slaughter?!" I looked up at him for a second and looked back down at my Hunter collection. "20 at least." He whistled at the number. "That's a lot of teeth." I nodded as I pulled out my Swiss Army knife again. Using the corkscrew end, I twisted a hole through the roots of the tooth. Then I untied my necklace and slipped it down to the others. I get it a slight jolt, making the teeth to clatter together. I grinned as I tied it back up and lassoed back over my head.
Sheila sat next to me and whispered so no one else can hear her, "Why are you being so difficult to Nick? He asked you a question. Why didn't you tell him about the Hunter?" I sighed, "I don't trust him. He's nice one minute, but then he's sour the next. Like he's two people at once. He's hot, then cold." Sheila grinned as she sang, "You're hot, then you're cold. You're yes, then you're no. You're in, then you're out. You're up, then you're down." I grinned as I hit her shoulder. She did have a good sense of humor. At least I ignored the topic of Nick. Good. The last thing I need is drama between me and a fellow con artist.
A water bottle came flying at me. I looked up and my reflexes caught it. Ellis was one who threw it. "Good catch!" he commented. I nodded to acknowledge him. I unscrewed the bottle cap and took a long drink. The water hit the spot. My mouth was dry all day because Nick didn't give me any water, unless it came out of his mouth. That was unexpected and disgusting. I pulled the water bottle down and sighed. Coach asked, "Is everyone ready to go?" I looked up and cracked my neck. Nick groaned, "Now?" The ex-football player nodded, "Yeah, we need to get going. Unless you want to stay in the Tunnel of Love, Nick." Nick thought for a half a second, replying, "Let's go." Coach grinned. He now knows how to motivate Nick: his weakness towards love.
We grabbed supplies and ammo, getting ready for another zombie run. Nick looked at the entrance into the Tunnel of Love and said at Ellis, "You finally got your wish, Ellis. We're in an amusement park ride." Ellis said at him, "This ain't that kind of ride, Nick." He chuckled at his next statement, "This is where you make out with your girlfriend." For some ungodly reason, Nick and I instantly turned red. Ellis snickered at Nick, because I wasn't facing Ellis at the time. I quickly barked, "Alright! Sooner we start blasting zombies, the sooner we can get out of here!" Sheila chuckled as she teased, "Can't stand the Tunnel of Llloooooovvvvvvveeeee?" I growled as I removed the bar securing the safe room door. "It's too nice for my taste" I finally answered her question. Ro replied, "Oh come on. Nothing's too nice during a zombie apocalypse." I scoffed, "This 'ride' is too nice! Get me out of this place!" I opened the door and nail my first zombie with a crowbar. The others just shook their heads as they followed me out.
I couldn't stop moving. I really wanted to get out of here. Out of the Tunnel of Love. When the group stopped, I groaned and walked circles around them. Ellis was taking his god damn time for some reason. I growled at the redneck, "Let's pick up the pace, Ellis!" He grinned slyly, "Hold up, I gotta heal." I snarled, "You healed yourself five minutes ago!" He retorted, "We fought a witch five minutes ago. Will you chill? Damn, you're on a sugar high or something?" I scoffed, "Yeah, it's from all that cotton candy I ate while Nick and Ro discovered me!" He shrugged and said, "Alright. I'm ready to go." I sighed, "Finally! Let's go." As we advanced through the Tunnel, Nick stayed as far away from me as possible. It wasn't a surprise. If I got near him in this ride, Sheila and Ellis will constantly tease us, then we would have a massive argument. Sheila and Ellis however, were like right next to each other. I grinned. If she was going to tease me about Nick, I'll tease her about Ellis. An eye for an eye.
A Tank was blocking our way out. At this point, I was ready to go ape shit on the thing as long as I got out of the Tunnel of Love. The romance and niceness is killing my toughness. Coach saw how jumpy I was, so he said, "We'll distract the Tank, while you get some fresh air. It looks like you'll pass out if you don't." I nodded rapidly, "Good idea, Coach." They attacked the Tank while I whacked my way through the zombies and ran outside. I shouted, "Yes!!! Finally!! Air!! Zombie-infested air!!! I needed this!!" After my little victory shout was done, it attracted the Tank. "Oh shit", I said to myself. It ran at me, but I was able to unload my whole AK magazine into its head. Thankfully, it was enough to kill it. I sighed and shot a Hunter behind me. It was such a blind shot; it didn't even see it coming. It collapsed dead. I turned around and said, "Holy shit. What luck." I harvested its tooth and watched the others file out of the Tunnel of Blood. I reloaded my gun and asked, "Is everyone ok?" Sheila replied, "We're fine. What about you?" I inhaled the stale, bloody air. "I feel like a million bucks. Trust me, that's very good." The fact that I used money as my comparison made Nick roll his eyes and softly grin. Coach said, "Look! A roller coaster!" Ellis shouted in excitement, "The Screaming Oaks!!" I grinned, "I can easily handle a roller coaster. Let's go!"
We jumped the fence and blasted our way to the control box. Nick said, "Alright. Once I push this button, we all need to run along the tracks." Ellis shouted in happiness, "Oh my God, it's Christmas!" We laughed at his reaction to Nick's instructions. I hit Nick's shoulder and said, "Fire up this fire ball and run like hell!" He grinned as he pushed the button. The coaster whirred to life and the carts took off along the track. Once it was far enough, the gate opened for us. We all leaped onto the track and sprinted along. I ran next to Nick and shouted, "Five bucks says I'll save your life before you get off this coaster!" He scoffed, "You ain't winning this time! You're on!" I nodded and prayed for a Smoker to snare him.
Sheila and Ro lead the way, Nick and I were in the middle and Coach and Ellis brought up the rear. We saw a Charger ahead, so all six guns were firing at it. Once it was dead, we leaped over its corpse and fell down a steep slope. Several of us groaned or snarled at the sudden drop, but we still ran, knowing that zombies were right behind us. Ro was attacked by a Jockey as soon as we came across the tunnel. Sheila swiftly knocked the Jockey off her head and Nick killed it with his axe. I heard a Smoker nearby, so I grinned, thinking I was going to win the bet. Sadly, I failed to realize that I was closer to the Smoker than Nick. It saw me and unleashed its lengthy tongue at me. I yelped as it wrapped around my waist. I screamed, "Smoker's got me!" As soon as I said that, it dragged me off the tracks and I swung all the way to the other side. I collided with the wooden beams full force. Nick was the first on the scene. He whipped past Ro and Sheila and unloaded his Assault Rifle into the Smoker's body. "Let her go, you bastard!!" he bellowed. The Smoker's tongue was severed, causing me to fall to the ground. For a few seconds, I just lied there. Pain engulfed every nerve in my body and tears were close. I groaned in agony. Lifting my head slightly, I saw a good number of zombies running towards me. I spit blood out of my mouth and pulled out my Desert Eagle or Magnum. I was shooting zombies left and right. I struggled to stand up, causing my aim to be shaky. However, a Hunter leaped through the crowd of zombies at me. I shot it dead in the eye socket, causing its body to flop on top of mine. Too weak to shoot anymore, I used the Hunter's dead body as a shield from the slashing zombies.
While I waited, I pulled out a loose tooth and held onto it. I prayed that my friends will remember that I fell. If not and if this is the end, then I must say a few words. Sheila, you're the best sniper a badass could ever ask for. Ro, be strong for both of us and hit Nick once and a while. Coach, you're a great motivator and a great friend. Ellis, even though I snap at you, I could almost call you my little brother. And Nick…oh Nick I so sorry for betting five bucks off you, pouncing you, hitting you x amount of times, insulting you, traumatizing you, and not telling you the truth.
All of a sudden, the Hunter's body was pulled off me and Coach helped me up. "Come on, Chris. You look horrible." I nodded in agreement. He took my arm and wrapped it around his shoulders. "Lean on me and walk in unison." I nodded again. We limped our way into the safe house, just before a zombie got shot in the head. Ro closed the door behind us.
Coach kindly dumped me onto the floor. I groaned in pain again. "Sorry, Chris. Are you ok?" Coach asked. I grumbled, "Everything…hurts…like…hell…fuck." Sheila sat me up and Ellis handed me some pain pills. "Here. You need these more than I do." I opened the cap and swallowed every one of the pain killers. Some of the aching went away, causing me to sit up on my own. "A little better. Thanks, Ellis." He smiled, "You're welcome." Nick was in a shady corner before I saw him. "Nick?" Ro spoke to him. Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Uh?" he asked. Ro said, "Join us, Nick. I think Chris has something she wants to say to you." He cocked his head, interested. He crawled over to my aching body. "Hey", he simply said. I swung my head around to meet him, but our faces were almost touching, startling both of us. Ellis laughed, but Coach hit him upside the head. He backed away a few inches and blushed. I was turning red as well, causing Sheila to grin evilly. He cleared his throat and spoke softly, "Are you ok?" I nodded without looking him, fearing that he was still very close to me. "Thanks for shooting that Smoker." He looked down in shame and replied, "It still didn't help you too much. You fell from a good height and none of us protected you until Coach ran back to save you." I turned to him and said, "I'm alive aren't I? If you didn't shoot that Smoker, I could have been killed. I'm fine, Nick. I just need to take a few more pain pills and a few shots of adrenaline in order to get my strength back." He nodded in relief.
After 4 shots of adrenaline and 5 pain killers, I was on my feet and ready to fight again. Ro said, "We should rest. We tackled two waves in one day. That's a lot for us. Besides, you need it after surviving that fall." I stood up, causing a Charlie Horse in my right leg. I felt the pain, but I ignored it so it shows that I'm not weak. Ro wasn't buying it. "No." I groaned, like a little kid getting a no from a father or mother. "We need to keep moving forward in order to reach the helicopter in time. We need to get into the stadium, and then I promise that I will set my AK down for the night." She just stared into space, deep in thought. She finally answered, "Fine. But you must be guarded. You're still in pretty bad shape." I sighed, "Fine. Who will be my escort?" She only smiled, making me frown. "Oh come on! He's done enough for one rescue! Let him go!" Ro ignored me and called to Nick, "Nick! If we advance to the stadium tonight, you must escort and protect Chris." He groaned, "Oh come on! Why me?" She replied with a sly grin, "It'll give you two a chance to gain trust." Nick shut up. He'll be violating the con man's code. Me too. The Code was created for a reason: to ensure the survival of the common gambler. He finally sighed, "Fine. I'll do it." Ro patted his shoulder, "Good man, Nick." He only huffed.
Ellis, Coach and Sheila were talking until Ro told them to move out. Confused, Ellis asked, "What's going on, Ro?" She answered, "We're going on one more zombie run before the night's out." Sheila nearly fell out of her seat, "Are you serious?! We already did two runs! Who motivated you to do this?!" Ro placed her left hand on her hip and replied, "Ask the Hunter hunter." Sheila growled my name, "Christina Annabelle Starly!!" I flinched at the sound of my full name. Nick laughed. She shouted, "Are you out of your fucking mind!?" I nodded, "Yeah. I'm too high to think clearly." Nick knew it was a joke so he snickered a little. She hit my shoulder, snarling, "You'll get killed out there without rest! You survived a Tank attack, several Hunters, and a fall from the coaster! Your next heavy attack will be your last!" Ellis grabbed Sheila by the shoulders and pulled her away. Nick called to Ellis, "Calm her down, ok?" Coach also disagreed to this fact of three runs. "That's suicide. One of us is bound to be killed if you run for the stadium." Ro admitted, "I don't like it either, but Chris is right about the copter. If we're not fast enough, we'll miss it." He sighed in understanding and nodded.
I stashed up on pills and shots before we left the safe house. Nick stood beside me, with an auto shotgun in his hands. He turned to me and said, "Alright. If things get too chaotic, you fall back. Take a couple shots and return to fight. You got that?" I nodded, even though I disagreed with it. Despite my "looking out for #1" rule, I refuse to leave anyone for dead. I failed it when my family was attacked. But I don't feel like arguing with Nick right now, so I agreed to make him happy.
Ellis opened the door and all of us trotted out of the safe room, ready to blow up any zombie nearby. Nick stayed close to my side, protecting me from any zombies I missed. I really owe him. Sheila also helped cover me, despite the fact that she's still pissed at me for suggesting the third run. So far, I seemed fine, until the pain pills wore off and I felt my aching muscles and nerves. When that happened, I would quickly pop open another bottle of pain killers and wolf them down.
We were able to make it to the gates in front of the stadium. "Sweet! All we need to do is open the gates, and then we're home free", Ro explained. Taking Nick's role of playing the killjoy, I frowned, "I don't know. It's too easy." As soon as Sheila pushed the button, an alarm went off. We all spiraled around, guns at the ready. However, nothing came. The gates opened and we ran through. As soon as we saw the safe room door, a huge horde came from all directions. It was an ambush.
We blasted our way through the slashing horde. We were attacked at all sides, hardly enabling us of moving forward towards the safe room. As I fought, I heard a Hunter screech. I scanned the area for it, and he was standing on top of the stadium roof. It was him. The Hunter that scarred me. I clenched my fists as rage fuelled my strength. I unloaded my AK clip up at him, but only one bullet hit him. He was hit in the arm, causing him to scream in pain. He looked down on me again and leaped away.
"No!" I screamed. He got away again. In fury, I pulled out my crow bar and went berserk. The other survivors followed me as I whacked and hacked my way to the safe room. We were almost inside, when Nick was attacked by a Spitter. I ran out and literally punched the female zombie in the face, stunning it. Then I shot her in her pie hole with my gun.
"Help!" Nick cried. I ran to his side and helped him stand up. "Come on, man! Don't give up on me now!" Nick and I limped towards the door, while shooting zombies. Coach and Ellis grabbed the collars of our shirts and forcefully pulled us inside. Sheila closed the door and fell to the floor. Nick lied on his back, panting, "We made it by the skin of our teeth." I wheezed, "You can say that again." Almost instantly, all six of us fell asleep due to exhaustion. I was the last to pass out. It was that Hunter. It was truly him I saw on the roof. I could have killed him, but instead all I did was given him a shoulder wound. I groaned in anger and let sleep engulf me. The last thing I saw was Nick's Assault Rifle hardly in his hand.