I would love to thank everyone who has reveiwed this story so far and I hope this chapter will be top notch. Sorry if the pics don't come out. That's a pain in the ass! My bad. Sorry this took so long to write. It's so long, that I had to post it as three parts on Quizilla. Anyway, enjoy! Oh, I don't own anything from the L4D2 universe, including Nick =(. I do own my OCs Chris, Sheila, and Alex.

When Love and Hate Collide

Chapter 5: Plantation Annihilation

"Alright. Is everyone ready?" Coach asked as we prepared ourselves.

"Lock and load, baby!" both Alex and Ellis spoke in unison.

Nick chuckled, "That's a 'yes' for the hick brothers."

I quipped as I tied my necklace around my neck, "I'm always ready to kick some zombie ass!"

Sheila cocked her gun, stating, "I need my 'sniper high'!"

Ellis replied, "Make sure you leave some zombies for us! We don't want another 'I Spy' game, do we, Nick?" Nick and Coach hit him in the head.

Ro quipped, "The more you hit him, the more brain cells are killed."

I grumbled, "I officially hate that game." Coach chuckled as he opened the door and we walked out.

As we filled zombies with lead, we came across stores that used to be slave quarters.

"Am I in one of my college history movies?" Sheila asked with a humorous tone over the scene.

"Damn. Where's my whip?" I quipped. Ro and Coach glared at me with an icy look on their faces. I looked back at them and said, "I'm kidding! I would never repeat history. You guys are my friends." That word rolled off my tongue. I just said "friends." I realize now that these survivors are my friends. Including Nick.

We savaged the stores, looking for anything useful. Alex found a defib unit, while Ro found more laser sights. As we all grabbed one, I looked out the window and called to Nick.

"Yeah, Chris? What's up?" he asked.

I said, "You see that plantation house?"

He cocked his eyebrow and smiled a gambler's smile. "Betting you five bucks that we'll find another survivor in there."

I scoffed, "You're on!" We shook on it and went back to the group.

We blasted into the front yard of the plantation house. "This ain't no mansion on 'Cribs', but I'd love to love here", Ro said about the scene, "Minus the zombies, of course."

Nick pointed to the scaffolding and said, "We can get it through there." We ran to the scaffolding and climbed up the ladder. At the top, Nick began shouting, "Hello! Anyone in there!"

Coach barked, "Nick, what the hell are you doin'?" He answered, "Maybe there's someone in there."

I grinned until I heard a raspy voice calling me, "Chris." I froze in place. My grip on my AK tightened. "Guys. Shut up and listen for a second", I told everyone. We stayed quiet and heard the voice again. "Chris."

Nick grinned, "I was right. I win."

I growled, "No. You're wrong. That's not a human's voice!"

Ro asked, "Then whose voice is it?"

I snarled into the darkness, "The Hunter's voice!" Sheila gasped. At that moment, she immediately knew my situation. I barked into the house, "Face me, you sick hooded bastard! Finish the fucking job you started!" A howl echoed through the house, alerting a horde. I leaped down the hole through the floor with my AK tight in my hands. Everyone followed me down the hole, with guns blazing everywhere.

I made my way onto a balcony. Nick was right behind me. "Will you relax?" he barked at me.

I jumped slightly over his voice. "Jesus, Nick! You startled me! Where is that fucker?"

He grabbed my shoulders and spun my around to face him. "Who cares about the Hunter! We need to stick together! Running off to feed your vengeance isn't team work!"

I snarled, "I care! It's that Hunter that gave me this!" I pointed to my forehead, which was still concealed by my bandana.

He cocked his eyebrow, stating, "It gave you a bandana?"

"No, you dipshit! Grrrr. Never mind!" Sheila caught up with us and almost snickered at the sight. I lowered my AK's barrel onto his groin and growled, "If you want your balls as is, you have two seconds to let go of me." He heeded my warning and let go of my shoulders. I took the barrel away from his crotch to remove the threat.

Sheila shook her head and muttered, "One day, you two will learn to trust each other." I rolled my eyes.

Nick saw a heavy machine gun overlooking the backyard. He whistled and said, "Girls, check this out."

We saw the turret and I beamed, "BFG! Sweet!"

Nick asked confused, "What's 'BFG', Sheila?"

She chuckled, "Big fucking gun. Fire away Chris!"

I grinned evilly, "With pleasure!" I grabbed the yolks to maneuver it and held my right thumb on the trigger on the right yolk. A stream of bullets shot out of the barrel and impaled all zombies full of lead. I cackled manically, "I love this fucking thing!" Realizing I wasn't going to give it up, Nick and Sheila left the balcony and met up with the others.

I destroyed every zombie I saw in the backyard, protecting my team from those flesh-eaters. Whenever I was attacked by zombies from behind, I would kick them away or shoot them with my Magnum. They loved attacking my legs for some strange reason. About two minutes of inactivity, I was wondering what was going on.

Alex finally ran up to the stairs and looked up at me. "A boat is coming for us! Coach will release a flare to signal you!"

I shouted back, "Ok!" We heard the incoming horde boom through the air. I grinned as zombies began pouring out into the back yard. "Let the brains fly!" I bellowed.

Surprisingly, I killed only one Hunter during the whole scenario. It tried to ambush me, but I shot it the very last second. I was able to harvest its tooth when I healed. After that, I became trigger-happy and became killing every zombie in sight. The others were not too happy every time they saw a zombie, I would blow its head off a second later. Numerous times, Sheila shouted at me, "Kill stealer!" I would only cackle like a loon. The only time the turret was truly useful was against three out of four Tanks that attacked us. Thankfully, they didn't attack at the same time, but close enough to fear for our lives. One Tank is enough, but facing three in a row is madness. As soon as I heard a Tank, I stopped shooting petty zombies and open-fire on the steroid-induced monster.

After the third Tank died, I saw the flare fire into the sky in a red, fiery bullet of light. About two seconds later, I heard the fourth Tank roaring over my head. It jumped down to the ground like King Kong and tossed a concrete slab at the retreating survivors. "Hey, you big fucktard! Leave my friends alone!" I bellowed at the beast. It looked up at me and began to climb. "Shit!" I let go of the turret's yolks and picked up a Molotov. "I normally don't use these, but this is an emergency!" I said to myself. As soon as it reached me, I threw the flaming bottle at the Tank's head. It broke and engulfed the beast in deadly flames.

I shouted in victory, but it didn't last long. The dying Tank swung its fiery arm and knocked me off the balcony. I landed with a stomach sickening crunch, incapping me. "OOOWWWWW!" I screamed in agony.

Nick was the last one out the gate when he heard me scream. "Oh Jesus! Chris!" he shouted as he saw the zombies swarming me.

In horror, I shouted back to him, "Nick!"

Nick turned to Sheila and commanded, "Cover me Sheila. I'm going in!"

She looked at him as if he was me. "Go Chris…err…I mean Nick!" He shrugged off the name confusion and charged back into the battle zone.

I was shooting zombies with my Magnum, snarling, "Die you zombie bitches! Die!" Sadly, I was feeling weaker and weaker by the second. Everyone must be on the boat by now, so they must be floating away right now.

All of sudden Nick comes running up the path and began shooting all of the zombies swarming me. "Die you asshats!" he barked, "Get away from her!" I was so happy to see him. He's being my knight in white armor…wait! Urgh! No more of these stupid fantasies!

Once he killed all of the common zombies, he kneeled before me. "Are you ok?" he asked.

I shrugged, "I've had worse moments. Thanks Nick."

He chuckled, "Don't thank me just yet. I need to get you out of here first."

He grabbed my hand and hoisted me to my feet. Thank God I had no broken bones, but something was wrong with me. I tried to walk, but pain shot up my right leg causing me to howl and fall forward. Nick caught me before I fell into the blood-stained dirt and we both looked at my right leg. It was singed from Spitter acid and clawed by zombies on the balcony. I apparently landed onto a Spitter patch when I fell and my right leg took the blunt of it.

Nick hissed in sympathy, "Shit. That looks awful."

I cringed, "It feels worse."

Nick thought for a second and soothed, "Don't be alarmed."

I asked confused, "Alarmed about wha…!"

He grabbed a hold of my good leg and wrapped his right arm around my back.

"Jesus!" I barked in shock.

He grumbled under his breath, "I warned ya."

For support, I wrapped my arms around his neck and used my bad leg to hop up, giving him a better hold. As soon as he stood up right, I held a Jockey cackling nearby. It showed itself and eyed Nick's shoulders like a racing mount. I grabbed the collar of his blue shirt and swung my right arm down to his leg where his Magnum holster was. Within seconds of the pounce, I took aim and shot past Nick's shoulder, nailing the Jockey in the face. Nick looked behind him and whistled in amazement.

"Nice shot, sweetheart", he commented.

"Thanks", I replied with a slight blush to the "pet name".

He carried me bridal style through the blasted gate, while Sheila shot any zombies in Nick's way. We both heard a Hunter snarl and I quickly aimed Nick's Magnum behind his back.

He grunted, "Leave it. I need to get you to the boat."

I growled in defeat. I knew Nick was right. He's kind enough to be saving me, because I know as well as everyone else; he can leave me for dead. However, I'm beginning to sense a small pattern in his actions. He's pissed off at me one minute, but when I'm in trouble, he's there front and center. I shook the thoughts out of my head and slipped his Magnum back into the holster. He lightly smiled in victory and continued to the boat. Sadly, that snarl grew much louder and closer. I looked behind his shoulder and saw the Hunter crawling up the path. My eyes widened; it was him.

My grip on Nick's collar tightened, alerting him to my sudden rage. "What's going on?" he asked as he walked onto the dock that was partly submerged underwater.

I didn't answer him; instead I pulled a Molotov off his belt and threw it over Nick's head, into the Hunter's path.

"Shit!" he barked as he spun around, "What the hell?"

The Hunter saw the Molotov explode in front of him, causing him to stand up and yelp in fear. The fires spread around him, increasing his panic and sealing his retreat. The Hunter's form got engulfed in the fire, screeching in pain. He thrashed violently against the fire ring, desperate to break free. Finally, he was able to leap out of the fire pit and pounced away back into the gardens of the plantation house, burning like a camp fire weenie.

I grinned ear-to-ear as I watched the fiery Hunter leap away, whispering, "It's over. It's finally over!" Nick just rolled his eyes as he carried me to the boat, collecting Sheila on the way.

Coach and Alex hoisted me out of Nick's arms and pulled me onto the boat. Nick jumped in and was closely tailed by Sheila.

A voice boomed over the boat's intercom, asking, "Is that everyone?"

Coach shouted, "Yes! Take us out of here, Virgil!" Two seconds after shouting, the boat began moving away from the submerged dock, while zombies ran out to catch us. Those who were stupid enough to get close enough to the boat, they sank into the dark, watery abyss. As we got a safe distance from the plantation ground, we all sighed with relief and exhaustion. No more swamps. We're safe…for now.

Nick began to pant due to his aching muscles. I crawled over to his side and said, "Hey." He turned his head, but once again, we were a little too close to each other. We recoiled back, blushing like crazy. "Nick thanks for saving my life…again."

He shrugged sheepishly, "It was nothing. We couldn't leave you there."

I nodded and then grinned, "Pay up!"

He looked up in shock, "What? What for!"

I explained, "Our little bet about being more survivors in the plantation house. You lose. Pay up, Niccolio! "

He growled, "Fuuuuck!" as he dug through his pockets and pulled out the five dollar bill, slapping it into my hand.

I quipped, "The more we bet, the less this bill will be!" I noticed Nick and I have been betting over the same five dollar bill since Day 1. It's torn, crumpled, and losing its color. If we keep it up, Nick and I will be betting over a useless and value-less piece of paper.

Ro looked down on my leg and ushered Ellis to go get a med kit. "Damn girl! How did your leg get messed up that bad?"

I looked at my leg and shrugged, "I don't know. I guess Spitter acid and zombie scratches equal massive pain." Almost on cue, the pain shot up my leg again, causing me to grip my leg in hissing agony.

Alex stated, "You need to patch that up before it gets worse. Where's Ellis with that med kit?"

Thankfully, Ellis came running with a med kit in his bloody hands. He kneeled before me and patted my shoulder, "Don't worry, Chris. I'll patch you back up."

I grunted, "Thanks, Ellis."

Coach commanded, "Nick, hold her leg still. I have a feeling it's going to hurt and a stray kick can hit someone." Nick nodded and grabbed a hold of my ankle. I knew it wasn't a move, but I was going to make Nick blush.

"Take it easy, Sparky! Control yourself, Niccolio!" I barked at the conartist. He blushed like I knew he would. This is my new favorite hobby: making Nick blush. Alex and Ellis did their best to hold in snickers, increasing the redness in Nick's cheeks.

"Shut up!" he barked at the hicks brothers.

Coach snapped at them, "Enough, you two! Grow up!" He turned to me and growled, "And you better stop embarrassing Nick! He's following the orders I gave him! Quit teasing him!"

I grumbled, "Yes, Coach."

Ellis cleared his throat and unzipped the med kit. "Ok, Chris. Prepare yourself. Nick, roll up her pant leg." Nick blushed again, but obeyed regardless. In my head, I knew Ellis chose Nick to do that so he can blush. I like the way he thinks…except when it involves me. I did my best to hold my tongue as I watched Nick gingerly roll my right pant leg up to my knee. Ro and Sheila watched for any reactions that I might give them. His fingertips brushed the bare skin of my leg, causing the skin to tremble. I blushed slightly. Ro and Sheila grinned a little.

"Sorry", Nick spoke in a husky voice.

"It's k", I replied. I knew it was an accident and that it wasn't foreplay. However, I hoped it won't happen again.

My injury looked worse than we thought. Claw marks were oozing green, thanks to the acid. Blood caked the skin around the wound. Plus, dirt was visible in the scratches and swamp water soaked into them, thanks to my pants. Both factors enhanced the pain. Everyone gasped and hissed over the horrible sight before them.

I asked, "How bad is it? I can't see from this angle."

Sheila replied, "Image a slap fight with a bleeding Alien with wet and dirty claws."

I hissed at the description. "Damn, that's pretty bad! Patch me up!"

Elis and Nick blinked and returned to their work. Ellis poured rubbing alcohol onto a cotton ball and began cleaning the scratches. I hissed and screeched in pain. I began clawing the deck boards, but it wasn't enough to take my mind off the flaming agony. I needed to squeeze something to ease my pain.

"Nick?" I called to him.

He looked up with pity and replied, "Yeah?"

"Give me your hand."

He was confused at first, but seeing me clawing the boards made him realize why I needed his hand. He nodded his head to my request and offered his right hand while his left remained holding my leg down. I grabbed it and squeezed it tight. Nick was surprised on how strong I was so in order to balance the power, he squeezed back.

After a few minutes of intense pain, I then heard Ellis say, "Can I borrow your knife, Chris?"

Despite the fact I knew what he was planning and the fact it was going to hurt like hell, I agreed to let him use it. I ushered Sheila to my side and said, "It's in my left back pocket."

She nodded and reached into the instructed pocket. She pulled the knife out, but sadly, my wallet came out with it. Nick eyed it with greedy interest.

Ellis asked, "Nick is it possible that you have a lighter on ya?" Nick was snapped out of his gambling thoughts and nodded at Ellis. He pulled out a square lighter with a dollar sign on it and gave it to Ellis.

I reached to grab my wallet, but by now Ellis has heated up my knife with Nick's lighter. As soon as the hot blade made contact with my open skin, I wailed in pain and nearly crushed Nick's hand in the process.

"Jesus!" he squealed, "Are you in labor! You're got a nasty death grip on my hand!" The pain was close to my breaking point of tears, but I refused to cry, no matter how hard it was. Sheila knows me too well; she knows that I believe crying is a sign of weakness. She just sighed as she watched me suffer through the intense pain of the healing process.

Ro picked up my wallet and a small worn-out picture floated out, landing beside Nick. Curious, he picked it up with his uncrushed hand and looked at it. It was a picture of a beautiful 18-year-old girl with long, straight blonde hair, slim figure, piercing hazel eyes, and a gentle smile. She was wearing a long, form-fitting black dress with red trim. Nick didn't bother looking at the boy behind her in the photo; his eyes were glued to her. She looked like an angel to the conman.

He shouted out, "Holy fuck! She's hot!"

Ellis, who was now wrapping my leg in gauze, said, "Let me see, Nick!" He just shook his head, not taking his acid green eyes off the picture. He began to feel hard again, causing him to blush, since he was so close to my back.

Ellis rolled my pants leg down and declared, "All done! You're as good as new, Chris!"

I let go of Nick's hand and replied, "Thanks, Ellis." Then I turned to Nick and snatched the photo out of his hand, snapping, "That's mine, you prick!"

Nick blinked and asked desperately, "Who's that! I need to know!"

I slightly blushed at his determination and said, "You may not like the results."

He shook his head and shouted, "How can I not? She's drop dead gorgeous! Is she dead?"

I shook my hand side to side and replied, "No and yes." He just cocked his eyebrow in confusion.

Sheila looked over my shoulder and scanned the picture. She chuckled, "That's Chris at her senior prom."

His jaw dropped and replied, "Bullshit!"

Ellis then grabbed the photo out of my hand and whistled, "Damn, Chris. Black is so your color. You look so pretty in this picture."

I blushed at his comment, "Thanks, Ellis."

Coach, Ro, and Alex swarmed all over the picture and commented on it. Ellis looked back at Nick, who was still speechless and getting hard. He howled with laughter. Nick grew red as he stood up and escaped to the bow of the boat, before Ellis can subtly announce his hard-on.

Ro gave back my wallet and Ellis returned my prom picture. I slipped the photo back into my wallet and slid my wallet back into my back pocket. I also asked for my knife back, which Ellis quickly returned. I sat up and patted my leg. The pain was hardly noticeable now, so I stood up, testing its limits. I began walking around in circles; some of the leftover pain resurfaced, but it wasn't as bad as before. Coach began running drills to test my leg just in case I sink to my knees suddenly in pain. I was treated like a football player, being barked at and pushing me to do better. Even though my leg passed all of his tests, I growled, "Shut up, Coach! I'm not your star quarterback! Tone it down a notch!" He nodded and let me rest.

Alex dropped the bag off his back and commanded, "Everyone, place your guns, med-kits, knick-knacks, whatever in the bag. Nick'll keep them safe and he'll be in charge of it when we reach dry land." Ro and Coach gathered up all of our gang's guns and stuff them in the gun bag. "Remember, y'all. Nick's in charge of the bag."

I noticed Nick wasn't among us, so I asked Ellis where he went. He grinned devilishly and replied, "I believe I saw he walk to the bow. He looked shocked, so why don't you go cheer him up."

I nodded and walked to the bow. He was looking down at the water below as he leaned over the bow. It felt like a Titanic moment, so I decided to break the ice by saying, "Hello, Nick." He turned his head and asked, "Is that a line from 'Titanic'?"

I chuckled, "Sort of. The line is 'Hello Jack', but it's close enough. Why are you up here?"

He looked back down at the water and replied, "I needed to be alone for a minute."

"Oh", I said as I began walking back to the stern.

Nick heard my retreating footsteps and quickly turned around. "Wait! Hold up!" I stopped and turned around. He continued, "I'm fine now. I just needed a minute of peace. You can stay if you want." I nodded in understanding and walked back to my original spot.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked.

I hesitated for second, but replied, "Sure. What?"

"Why are you so vicious towards Hunters?"

I sighed because I knew I couldn't dodge that question forever. Nick has the right to know. I replied, "It's a long story."

He shrugged, "We've got time."

I sighed again and said, "Fine. I was driving to Georgia when a Tank picked up my car and threw it. I passed out and was revived by a local named Mac. He dispatched two Hunters, but was killed by the third one. Since I was unarmed, I was scared stiff of the creature. He pounced me into the dirt, but didn't claw or bite me. He just 'stared' at me with his dark voids for eyes. Blood dripped off his teeth as he growled at me, as if he was trying to talk to me. I was paralyzed. He scratched my forehead with his index and middle claws, causing me to wail in massive pain. Then he said, 'This is just the beginning. We will meet again!' before leaping away. Those words haunt me to this very day."

Nick asked, "Is that why you wear that bandana? To cover the scar?"

I nodded, "Yes. It served as a temporary bandage, but when I patched it up for real, I couldn't get rid of it, and so I washed it out of the blood and used it as concealment. When I covered the wound, I vowed right then and there that I would kill that Hunter and any other Hunter that got in my way. Hopefully, that Molotov made short work of him. "

Nick was quiet for a minute, trying to absorb my story. Then he asked, "How can you tell the Hunters apart? They all look the same to me."

I answered, "Aside from the fact he could talk in a very raspy voice, he also has a wedge cut out of the hood near his left eye socket. Plus, my scar burns whenever I see him nearby. It's like a tracker."

He asked rather sheepishly, "Can I see the scar?"

I chuckled, "Don't push your luck, Nick. I don't trust you that far yet." Nick snapped his fingers in defeat as we walked back to the stern.

"Look who's back!" Ellis teased as he saw us walking back from the bow…together. Nick flipped him off as he sat down on the deck.

Ro barked at the older redneck, "Quit being such a prick to him! He doesn't tease you about Sheila!" Sheila giggled while Ellis turned beet red.

Nick leaned back and quipped, "Sweet justice. I knew I liked you, Ro. Well, not in that way."

I grunted in agreement, understanding that he was glad that someone, other than me, was defending him against the harsh pressures of Ellis's teasing. I unrolled my IPod headphones and began strolling for a good song to listen to.

Alex asked, "Do you have the Midnight Riders on there?"

I shook my head and replied, "Sorry. I don't." He gasped in shock. Ellis and I chuckled at his expression. "Alex is so your brother, Ellis. There's no doubt about it, my friend." Ellis nodded in pride.

The song I was listening to was "Scarface (Push it to the Limit)" by Paul Engemann. I sang along with the song, "Push it to the limit. Walk along the razor's edge. Don't look down. Just keep your head or you'll be finished." All four boys looked up with grins on their faces. "Open up the limit. Pass the point of no return. You've reached the top, but you still need to learn how to keep it!" Even Ro and Sheila looked up, beginning to recognize the song. "Hit the wheel and double the stakes. Throttle wide open like a bat out of hell. Crash the gates. Crash the gates! Going for the back of beyond. Nothing's going to stop ya. There's nothing that strong. So close now, you're nearly at the brink, so push it! Oooh yeah!" I took a small pause before continuing, "Welcome to the limit. Take it baby, one step more. The power game's still playing, so you better win it!" I began to mock a keyboard player by pretending to hit keys on one for the instrumental part of the song. "Push it to the limit. No one left to stand in your way. You might get careless, but you'll never be safe while you're still livin'!" After that, it loops until it fades.

Once the song was done, Ro and Sheila ripped off my headphones and the boys yelled in their best Cuban accents while aiming their guns at me, "Say hello to my little friend!" I leaned against the edge, not knowing to be scared or amused.

"Are you going to kill me or sell me some coke?" I joked. The boys chuckled at my connection.

Ellis asked, "Who has the best accent?"

I rubbed my chin for a second and finally grinned. "Undecided. I need a nap."

Alex groaned, "Oh come on! You're just covering the truth that you would choose Nick, because you really like him because he saved your life and that he thinks you were hot in that sexy black dress in your prom picture!" He began panting after his rant.

I calmly and smoothly looked up at the fuming brother and asked, "Are you finished?" He nodded. "Good. I need to catch some shut eye. See y'all in a few hours." With a click of my IPod power button, I fell asleep under my random and awesome music.

It was about three hours later when I began to stir out of my nap. Actually, it was Nick who stirred me out of my nap. "Chris? Chris? Wake up, sweetheart."

I groaned sleepily, "That's the third time you've called me 'sweetheart', Nick."

He smirked, "It's sad that you're counting."

I sat up and cracked my neck, knuckles and back. "It must mean something to you if you keep calling me that."

He blushed a little and covered it by barking, "It means nothing!"

I cocked an eyebrow and asked, "Did I step on a nerve?" I quickly dismissed it, because I'm not in the mood to piss off Nick. "Whatever. I don't feel like pissing you off, Nick."

"Then what do you feel like doing?" he asked with curiosity.

I grinned, "I feel like gambling."

Nick met my grin with his eyes glimming with interest, "Now that's what I like to hear. I knew I liked that gambling spirit in you."

"Thanks…I think", I replied.

"Anyway, what's the ante?" Nick asked as he cracked his knuckles.

I thought for a second and answered, "Material possessions only. Things that can be replaced after this hellhole blows over. However, only one item will be off-limits. Mine will be my IPod. What will yours be?"

He pulled out his lighter and tossed it to me. "My lucky lighter is mine."

I caught it and examined it for a second and asked, "What's so lucky about this lighter, if you don't mind me asking?"

Nick shrugged, "I don't mind. That lighter saved my ass one night when my gamble went wrong many years ago. I was 20 years old, I believe."

I nodded as I pulled out my IPod and placed both items on top of Alex's gun bag. "That makes sense. The only thing my IPod has ever done was relax me and helps keep my recent nightmares mild."

Nick chuckled, "Then why did you pounce me on the first night?"

I decided to tease him and reply, "Because I'm not supposed to cuddle on the first night. I was taught better than that!" Nick realized I was joking, but he blushed anyway. Hell, so did I.

Nick tucked his hands into his pants pockets and asked, "So…will it be several games of poker?"

I shook my head, "No. Remember that my deck is rigged?"

He smirked, "Oh I remember. Just like I remember you staring at me out of the corner of your eye."

I turned beet red and barked, "Oh shut up! I was trying to look into your hand!" He just rolled his eyes, knowing I was trying to cover my true motive during that game. "It'll be a bunch of random challenges."

He cocked his eyebrow, "Random challenges? Like what?"

I scratched my neck and answered dumbfounded, "I don't know exactly. Maybe a spitting contest or arm wrestling or something."

He scoffed, "I can beat you in a spitting contest easily."

I placed my hands on my hips and retorted, "Is it because I'm a woman, Nicko?"

He growled, "Don't call me 'Nicko'. I hate that."

I smirked and replied, "Fine, but I can spit farther than you."

"I'll bet you this ring if you win", Nick responded. He showed off the ring on his left index finger. It was 10-carat gold with blue details. The gem was a sapphire. It was very beautiful, despite the fact I was never a big ring person. The only other ring I have is my class ring from high school, but since I wear my biker gloves for protection, I had to take the ring off and now it's in my pants pocket, collecting lint.

I grinned at my prize-to-be and said, "You're on, Nick!"

He quickly raised his hand and ushered, "Slow down, Chris. If I win, that bandana is mine!" I hissed at the mere thought of revealing my scar, just because Nick won it in a contest. Well, now I have motivation to win. Finally, I nodded to my "rival" to the terms of our challenge.

We lined up side-by-side and placed two empty Spaghetti-O cans on the end of the stern. Nick's can had the label on it, while my can had the label torn off. I retrieved water from the gun bag and tossed a bottle to Nick so we can moisten our mouths. We began hawking after our drinks.

I asked with a mouth full of saliva, "You ready, Nick?" He nodded without answering. I started the countdown on my fingers, three…two…one…spit! We hawked those loogies at the same time, but only one hit the cans: my loogie hit my unlabeled can.

Nick wiped leftover spit off his chin and groaned in defeat, "Shhhiiiitttt."

I chuckled at him, "Never thought that a woman can out-spit a man?"

He growled as he wiggled the ring off his finger, "Don't rub it in." He struggled to get it off, but after pouring water on it, he was able to slide the stubborn ring off. He placed it in my hand and mumbled, "Take it. Just take it." I don't think the ring had any sentimental valve to him; he's just pissed that I beat him. The sun set gave a lovely glow to the ring, which made me smile.

"I promise I'll take good care of it, Nick", I told him as I slipped it into my pocket. "Since you lost this challenge, you get to choose the next one. Sounds fair?" Nick nodded as he pondered his mind for a challenge that he'll be good at, but I would suck at. He began humming as he thought to the tune of "Breath" and I began giggling for some odd reason. He stopped humming and cocked an eyebrow at me. I blushed and cleared my throat.

Finally, he declared, "I hope you have good upper body strength", then his tone changed to sound like a drill sergeant, "Cause you're going to drop and give me 20!" I gulped. Aw shit! Push-ups? Flashbacks of my high school gym class filled my head. I have always hated doing push-ups ever since Day 1. I can do about five and then get tired. I suck at them, but maybe Nick is bluffing. I looked at him square in the eye and tried to break him. He just grinned at my pathetic attempt to read his eyes. Sadly, the song "Poker Face" played in my head while I was glaring into his emeralds he has for eyes.

"Damn", I replied in defeat, "If I win, I get that chain around your neck."

He tugged on the chain and replied, "This old relic? Sure. I won this in an amateur poker game against my cousins. They said it belongs to my ancestors but I say that's a load of croc. I have no interest in it."

I scratched my head and said, "Well, if it's a family heirloom, then I don't want to take it…or win it in this case."

He shook his head, "Don't worry too much about it sweetheart. I can easily find another one at the nearest jewelry store. Simple as that." I shrugged my shoulders at his answer. I guess it's ok then. He grinned, "That bandana will be mine."

I growled, increasing my determination to win, "Bring it on!"

He smirked, realizing that I won't give my bandana away willingly. "Ok. First to 20 push-ups wins. Girlie push-ups don't count." I snapped my fingers in disappointment. Damn; they were my ticket to winning his challenge.

We hit the deck at the same time and began our push-ups. I'm surprised that I was able to make it past ten, but as soon as I hit 13, my arms began to hurt. I gritted my teeth and hissed at my decrease in speed. I looked over at Nick and he was going at a very sturdy pace, without breaking a sweat. "Damn it! How can he do that?" I barked in my head. Well, I guess he does have good upper body strength, because he did carry me out of the plantation backyard and to the boat as if I was his bride. Wait…bride? Why do these thoughts keep entering my head? Get out! Jesus. I pushed those thoughts out and pushed my arms to the limit, causing them to collapse under my weight. "Fuck…" I groaned into the deck boards.

Nick leaped to his feet as if it was nothing and smirked, "I win, Chris."

I tried to sit up, but my arms failed me. Nick lightly chuckled as he kneeled down and grabbed my right arm to help me up. I grumbled as I dusted myself off, "I hate you."

He just shrugged, "Join the club, sweetheart. A lot of people hate me. But like you said before, 'don't hate the player, hate the game.'" I gritted my teeth again, because I did say that to him. Damn you karma!

Since he did win the challenge, I won't refuse to give him his prize. I lowered my head and flipped my hood up to conceal my forehead. Nick only sighed as he shook his head, as if to say, "You're impossible sometimes." I slid the bandana off my head and offered it to Nick, whispering, "You won it fair and square. It's yours."

To my surprise, he didn't take it right away. Instead, he barked with fear, "Hunter!"

My head whipped up so fast, it forced the hood down as I darted my head around to find the creature. "Where?" I growled, determined to kill it.

However, I quickly learned that there was no Hunter. Nick lied. He grabbed a hold of my skull so he can hold me still for a second. I hissed at him, "You're an asshole!" He only grunted with acknowledgement as he gingerly brushed loose hair away with his thumb. His eyes widened at the sight before him: my hidden scar. It was a scratch; no doubt by the way it was positioned. It was two dark red-brown lines, but the top (index) line was slightly longer and bigger than the bottom (middle) line. It would look like this:

He stared at it and hissed in sympathy, "Jesus Christ. It must have hurt like hell. No wonder you wanted to hide it and no wonder you hate Hunters so much. If they gave me a scar like this, I'd be the Hunter hunter in this group." I had to chuckle at his comment. Even his humor made me feel a little better. But him holding my head like Predator doesn't help my mood. My eyes darted around, trying to avoid contact with his. Despite his Predator-like hold, he was very gentle. Plus, his voice was softer and sweeter than normal. As he examined my Hunter scar, my rage cooled dramatically and my gruffness towards the con man faded.

However, deep in my head, my con artist self, screamed, "What the fuck are you doing? You can't trust another con artist, especially a male one! Snap out of it, bitch!" I managed to clear my throat, snapping Nick out of his "inspection". He stepped back and blushed fiercely.

"Sorry for staring", he apologized as he finally took the bandana out of my hand.

"It's ok. Now you know what it looks like, so you don't have to bug me anymore. All that staring must have placed a mental image in your head." He chuckled in embarrassment. I continued, "Now I need to cover it with something else."

Nick chuckled and shrugged, "Then you should have won." I growled and flipped him off. He only grinned with amusement, knowing that I was just pissed off by his statement.

I brushed my bangs in front of the scar and flipped the hood back up, creating a shadow that helped conceal the scar. I flexed my arms, which didn't hurt so much anymore and announced, "The next challenge will be arm-wrestling."

Nick shook his head, grinning, "Do you want your arms broken?"

I scoffed, "I know I can take you! I know the secret. And besides", I decided to use one of my con artist tricks on Nick, "I know you wouldn't hurt me, Nick." I smiled and giggled like a school girl over a crush, making me look like I was a pretty and innocent face. Nick knew I was far from one, but he couldn't help looking away, blushing while trying to cover a growing smirk. "Too easy to make men fall", I thought in victory. I'm a very successful con artist thanks to my "innocent and pretty" act, because men think with the head below the belt, then the head on their shoulders. Apparently, Nick was no exception.

Once he got his hormones under control, he asked, "What secret? A secret that'll seduce me?"

I giggled, "No, but I won't tell you. If I win, you must provide me with something that'll cover my scar."

He finally sighed, getting back to his old self, "Fine. But if I win, I'll get your right biker glove." I flexed my right hand, remembering that that's the hand I have my star tattoo on. Then I shrugged, remembering that everyone has seen it already, so it wasn't a big deal. If everyone saw the tattoo on my back, now that's a different story.

"Deal", I replied.

We looked around, trying to find an elevated surface for an arm-wrestle. I wondered into the cabin, where everyone else was. Ro and Alex were snoozing on the window benches, Coach was reading a fishing magazine, Ellis was telling Sheila one of his stories about Keith being on a ship and how he almost fell overboard and drowned. Sheila was the first to see me. After Ellis's story, she stood up and approached me.

"Hey, Chris! What's up, my friend?"

"My gambling habits. That's what's up. I lost my bandana to Nick."

She evilly grinned at me, "Don't you mean you let him win?"

I growled, "I didn't let him win! It was push-ups! I can't do push-ups to save my life!"

Her grin grew bigger as she countered, "Then you'll need Nick to save you."

I grabbed her shoulder and pushed her out the cabin and onto the stern, where Nick was waiting. By the snarl on my face, he knew Sheila said something that pissed me off. I'm still on my "cycle" if you know what I mean.

He said, "If it was any irony, that hoodie and your attitude is making you look like a Hunter, Chris."

Sheila only laughed, "I pissed her off by saying you would save her if push-ups were going to kill her." Her comment earned a chuckle from Nick, but a scowl from me.

He said, "Do you know what she does as a con artist?" Sheila shook her head. Nick grinned and whispered close to her, "She tries to seduce her victims. I was one of them."

She gasped, followed by laughter. Nick joined in her laughter, leaving me to blush uncomfortably. I finally sighed and grumbled, "Get a room, you two." I walked back into the cabin, leaving the laughing hyenas on the stern. The inner con woman in me was putting a paper bag on her head. Damn, that was humiliating.

Ellis looked up and asked, "What's up, Chris? Do you have a nice nap?"

I nodded, remembering that I was among different company. "Yeah. Until Nick woke me up."

He asked, "Spooked you out of a good dream?"

I shook my head, "I hardly have good dreams anymore. They're all nightmares."

Ellis clicked his tongue and replied, "Well, that sucks. Don't you have your IPod to relax you?"

I nodded, "Yeah, but it doesn't have unlimited battery my friend. Sure, it's solar-charged but keeping it on all night will leave it drained all day. Not cool."

He nodded in understanding. Then he finally noticed that I was wearing a hood, covering my eyes and forehead. He asked in amusement, "What's with the hoodie, Hunter?"

I rolled my eyes and responded, "Nothing, Ellis. I'll explain later. I need to find a table or a spool or something that can be used for an arm-wrestling match."

Ellis's eyes lit up. "Arm-wrestling? Hell, I'm the champ in my old neighborhood, all thanks to the secret!"

I grinned, "You know the secret?"

He nodded, "Yep. Saw it on 'Manswers' and used it ever since!"

"Oh hell! That's where I saw it too!" I shouted with excitement.

He began snickering, "A woman? Watching 'Manswers'?"

I cocked my eyebrow, "And why not?"

He pondered my question for a second and shrugged, unable to give me a straight answer. "Wanta arm-wrestle me?"

I shook my head, "I'm saving my arm for my match with Nick."

He evilly grinned at me and before he could say anything, I barked, "Don't you dare piss me off or I'll shove you outside with Sheila and Nick!"

His grin disappeared immediately and he asked, "She's out there…with Nick…alone?"

I replied, "She's a big girl. She doesn't need a chaperone, Ellis."

He panicked as he flew out the door faster than the Flash. It took me a second to realize why he was so concerned or clingy; he's jealous of Nick being around Sheila. Apparently, he still wasn't over the plane scenario yet. I sighed as I looked around for a table inside the cabin. Shockingly, there was, but it was attached to the wall, so it can't go outside, so I guess I have to drag Nick's ass in here.

Coach looked up from the magazine he was reading and asked, "Did Ellis just rush out of here in pure jealously?"

I nodded, "You hit the nail on the head, Coach. I got to go 'protect' Nick before he's torn to shreds by Ellis, witch-style."

He chuckled, "A Hunter vs. a witch. That's a fight I want to see!"

I cackled as I walked back outside and approached the fusing Ellis. Thinking quick, I slapped the fin of his cap down on his eyes and grabbed Nick's arm, dragging him out of Ellis's line of sight. Sheila only giggled as I dragged Nick towards the cabin while Ellis tipped his cap back up. He sighed, realizing that he was alone with Sheila and Nick wasn't near. As soon as I shoved Nick into the cabin, I shouted at the jealous redneck, "You shouldn't be so jealous! She likes you too!"

I quickly retreated back into the cabin when I heard Sheila scream, "Stupid bitch! I'm going to kill you if the zombies don't!"

I opened the door slightly and barked back, "You couldn't kill me in Call of Duty 4!" Then I closed it, doing my best to conceal my snickering. Nick began to snicker too, while Coach just stared, wondering what was so funny.

I finally stood up, holding my side from my bottled-up laughter and walked over to the table. I pulled it down and beckoned Nick to it. He pulled up an old stool and sat down. "You actually saved my life for that arm-wrestling match?" he asked in a humorous tone. I nodded. He shook his head and mumbled, "You're impossible to figure out, Chris. You know that?"

I just shrugged and replied, "I consider that a compliment, Nicko." He just growled at me when I called him that…again.

We got into the position for the wrestle. He quipped, "Prepare to lose, twice in a row." He offered his hand to me. I scoffed at his comment as I grabbed his hand. Nick looked behind him and asked Coach, "Can you count down for us?"

He nodded, "Alright, children. 3…2…1…Go!"

As soon as he said "Go!" we began straining our arms to force the other down. Since my arm was still a tad bit shaky from the push-ups, I wasted no time in toying with Nick. I used the "secret" trick to gain the upper hand on him: pulling his arm towards my left corner, losing his momentum of force.

"What the-?" he gasped as I was able to slam his arm down on the table. Despite my victory, I used the remainder of my strength in my right arm in that fight, so now my arm is screaming in massive pain. It was almost as bad as my leg wound from earlier. My grip went limp in Nick's hand, which didn't let go right away.

"Do any of the med kits have hot/cold packs? I need one ASAP!" I barked in pain.

Nick asked with fear, "I didn't break your arm…did I?"

I shook my head, while trying to wedge my hand out of his grip, "No. But my arm is burning in agony. Remains me of the time I whacked my funny bone so hard, my whole right side was enflamed in unforgettable pain." I groaned as I placed my head on the table with my hand still trapped in Nick's grasp. "Nick, can you please let go of my hand? It hurts too much for romance."

Coach heard my muffled comment and boomed out laughing, while Nick blushed and let my hand slip out. My hand fell onto the table and a new shockwave of pain trailed up my arm, making me wince. "Sorry", Nick said.

"It's ok, Nick. The pain will go away…soon. Where's the fucking hot/cold pack?" I growled into the table. I felt Nick's presence walk away and about five seconds later, someone else sat in Nick's spot.

"Did ya win?" the voice asked. The accent gave it away.

"Yes, Ellis. I won. And my arm is suffering the toll of victory."

Sheila asked me, "Are you ok or did Nick break your arm?"

Nick's gruff voice barked at Sheila, "I didn't! Why would I? A handicapped zombie slayer is the first to be mincemeat. All of us…including Chris…need to be at the top of our game if we're going to survive." I felt his body loom over me and he spoke, "This may hurt."

Before I got a chance to react, he placed a hot/cold pack on my arm. It was freezing and it shot through my nerves like electricity. My head shot up and I hissed, "Shit! That's freezing!"

My hissing woke up Alex and Ro. As Alex rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he asked, "Morning, people. What did I miss?"

Ellis filled him in, "Nick and Chris are pitting each other in a series of challenges and betting on who wins. So far, there has been push-ups and arm-wrestling."

Nick added, "There was a spitting contest as well."

Ro had a look of disgust on her face, "Spitting? Dear God, did Nick win?"

He looked down in shame and shook his head, "Chris won."

Ro retched, "That's nasty! Girls should never spit!"

Alex asked, "Did you win doing push-ups, Nick?"

He looked up and nodded, "Yep. And I won her bandana as a prize."

Alex's eyes lit up and leaped towards me, pleading, "Can you remove your hood? We all know you have a scar on your forehead. Can we see it?"

I only mumbled, "Over my dead body. It's bad enough Nick went all Predator on me and saw it." Alex, however, didn't heed my threat. He grabbed my hood, but before he saw anything, my arm regained strength from the adrenaline and I grabbed his collar tightly. I brought him close to my face and I snarled, "No means no, you little shit! You dare defy me again and you'll wake up with no balls." My warning terrified him. Not just the fact he could lose his boys, but my appearance of a Hunter horrified him. He nodded rapidly and I shoved him down.

Nick gulped, "I think it's time you collect your prize, Chris, before you go ball hunting. Come with me." He led me outside back onto the stern, away from everybody. He sighed, "Use your knife to cut a strip of my shirt to replace your bandana." I took a deep breath, letting my anger cool down. I took my knife out, which made the con man uneasy.

I soothed his edginess, "Relax, Nick. I'm trained in using this knife for 15 years. I'm it's master."

He scoffed banteringly, "I'm surprised that you didn't give it a name."

I replied in the same bantering tone, "Maybe I should name it Stabby and you'll be his first victim."

He chuckled nervously, "I was kidding! I'll shut up now."

I pulled the dagger tip out and instructed, "Remove your jacket. It'll get in my way."

He nodded as he slid out of his once-white coat like a snake shedding its skin. Suddenly grinning, he tossed it to me and it landed on my head.

"Ahh! Nick! Come on, man! Are you serious?" I ranted as I scrambled the con artist's jacket off me. He let out a heartily laugh as he watched me scramble out from the coat's grasp on me. "It's alive! It likes me!" I rambled. Nick continued his laughter, even after I got it off me finally. "Now I'm going to smell like Axe. Mixed with blood. I'm going to smell like blood and Axe. Jesus! Did you bathe this suit in Axe, Nick? It's so strong; my eyes are watering."

He blushed as he continued his laughing fit, "I have to use a lot in order to get rid of the smell of rot and decay. Yuck."

"Where did you get the Axe, pray tell?"

"At the mall. Believe it or not, I think the bottle is still in the jacket pocket."

I grumbled, "I'm not going to bother looking. Once Ro and/or Sheila get a whiff of me, they're going to interrogate me as if I was witness to a crime. Oh joy."

Nick's laugh began to tone down into snickers, "Sucks for you!"

I huffed, "Shut up and stand still!" I grabbed the bottom of his shirt and started the cut at below the last button on his dress shirt. The knife began cutting his shirt clockwise. I almost cut him a few times, but thankfully, he warned me by yelping or shouting, "Damn! That's cold!" That's when I'd stop cutting and check his skin for any blood or marks that my knife could have made. Thankfully, there was none at all. After I reached the other end of the shirt, I tugged the strip free and wrapped it around my forehead. I asked Nick, "Is my scar showing?"

He shook his head, "Nope. It's covered."

I sighed with relief as I pushed my hood down. Extra slack from the strip hung loosely behind my head. It looked like a Ninja Turtle headband to be perfectly honest. "Blood and Axe. That's all I'm going to say."

Nick chuckled, "Now that strip can be used as an alibi for the smell."

I shrugged, "That's true, but it's not a 'get out of a female interrogation free card' either." He shrugged back, agreeing with my comment. I grinned, thinking, "Time for a new challenge." Then I asked out loud, "What's your next contest. Nick?"

He thought for a few seconds before answering, "Since you keep quoting 'Titanic', I wonder how well you can guess other movie quotes."

I chuckled evilly while rubbing my hands together, "Nick, I grew up on three things: gambling, Pepsi products, and movies. Prepare to lose that chain."

He shook his head and replied, "Well, prepare to lose that glove!"

Note: Going into a different style of format to avoid confusion, just for this contest. Answers are underlined.

Nick: 1st quote: "These aren't the droids you're looking for."

Chris: "Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope!" When I was a teen, I used to be the biggest Star Wars fan girl you'd ever meet.

Nick: Right. Well, now I know not to do any more Star Wars quotes.

Chris: 2nd quote: "Game over man! Game over!"

Nick: Ummm…damn…that's a tricky one. Oh wait! I got it! Aliens!

Chris: Good job. I thought I stumped you with that one. Your turn.

Nick: 3rd quote: "Time to nut up or shut up!"

Chris: Are you serious? Zombieland!

Nick: Right. It seems to fit this outbreak. Batter up, Chris.

Chris: 4th quote: "Welcome to Prime Time, bitch!"

Nick: Shit. I know this one! It's one of the 'Nightmare' movies. Fuck…it was the TV death in the asylum. So it's either 3 or 6…grrrr…#3?

Chris: What's it called?

Nick: Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors.

Chris: Right. You were close to losing, my friend.

Nick: Yeah, but I didn't.

Chris: Not yet.

Nick: 5th quote: "Don't move. It won't see us if we don't move."

Chris: Too easy. The first Jurassic Park.

Nick: Yep. Actually, I had a moment like that. When we saw the Tank for the first time, I said 'If we don't move, maybe it won't see us'. I was dead wrong, but it was worth the try.

Chris: 6th quote: "Is it an African or European swallow?"

Nick: That's funny. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Funny ass movie!

Chris: I know, right!

Nick: 7th quote: "You talking to me?"

Chris: Oh shit. I know Robert de Niro says that line. Fuck, I wish I saw more gangster movies! Christ! Ummm…Godfather?

Nick: Is that your final answer?

Chris: Yes. Godfather.

Nick: Nope! It's Taxi Driver.

Chris: Fuck…that was my second choice.

Nick: Right. Sure it was. You lose. Give me the glove.

End of quote contest.

I groaned as I pulled the right biker glove off and tossed it to Nick. He grinned as he slipped it on and flexed it. "Nice fit. Hey, now you can wear my ring you won earlier."

"Oh yeah", I brightened. I pulled it out of my pocket, as well as my class ring and slipped Nick's ring on my index finger and my class ring on my ring finger. I examined Nick's ring and actually smiled. I'll admit; it was very beautiful, despite my lack of beauty appealing to me. The blue features made it unique. As a bonus, blue is my favorite color. I sat down on the deck because I was tired of standing up; I saw Nick sit down as well. Realizing that I'm scanning the rings, I felt like a pimp. I shook the thought out of my head and called to Nick.

"Yeah?"

"The next challenge will be so simple, it's not even funny."

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

I grinned, "A staring contest."

He scoffed, "Seriously? A staring contest? Wow. Ok. If I win, I get that dragon ear ring on your ear."

I rolled my eyes, "Because that's where an ear ring would be…on the ear. Do you have piercings?"

He pointed to his left ear, "Just one. Back in my rebellious years in high school."

I smirked, "I can image it. Nick the rebel. Livin' on the edge. Running from the law."

Nick laughed, "Sweetheart, some things never change!"

I laughed back, "That's the sixth time, Nick."

He cocked his eyebrow and countered, "You're still counting. That's still sad."

"Oh shut up. If I win, I'll be getting that chain."

He crawled over to me and sat in front of me. Since we knew the rules of a staring contest, we didn't need a demonstration or a tutorial. I counted, "3…2…1…stare!" We stared deep into each other's eyes, determined to win the game. As I bore into Nick's acid green eyes, my heart accelerated. My stomach began to flutter under his gaze. I loved how gentle his eyes looked when he isn't flipping out or killing zombies in a humorous or vicious fashion. It made me realize that under that hard shell of a man is a soft, kind, and funny guy. Wait…why am I still thinking of this? Am I falling for Nick? I better not, but I think I am.

Nick blinked and cursed, "Damn it!" His cussing snapped me out of my thoughts and focused on him. He rubbed his sore eyelids in exhaust and unclipped the chain from his neck and handed it to me. It wasn't just a chain; it was a pendant. It was King Richard symbol with three spades on the shield.

I asked, "Is this your family crest?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Apparently, my ancestor fought in the Third Crusade. I truly don't care, because I suck at History." I nodded as I tried to clip it on. Sadly, my nails were too long or broken to get a good grip on the clasps. Nick shook his head with amusement and said, "Let me help." I was hesitant for a second, but I nodded and Nick crawled behind me to clip the pendent around my neck. "Give it to me", he instructed. I obeyed and he pulled the clasps around my neck, as if he was going to choke me. He fastened the clasps and let the pendent fall onto the surface of my neck.

"Thanks", I said.

"You're welcome", he replied.

To break this awkward moment, I turned around to face him and said, "Alright! One more challenge and then we're done."

"Ok. It'll be bluffing. Since you showed me one of your 'skills', I'll show you one of mine. No one can read my poker face. We'll both say three things about ourselves and only one fact is false. We need to weed out the lie. Before we do anything, thought, do you want a drink? I can drink a river right now", he said.

"Yes please. Thanks, Nick", I answered.

He stood up and began walking towards the cabin, "No problem sweetheart."

I grumbled, "Seventh time." While Nick was gone, I began thinking of my lie and my two truths. I don't want to get too personal, which surprised me. Nick is normally a closed book, but now he's willing to say a few things about himself? Hmm. Maybe the butterflies in my stomach are in his as well. When I saw come back, he had two six-packs of beer in his hands. I beamed at the sight and shouted, "I love you, Nick! Bringer of beer!" He laughed heartily as he sat down nearby. He knew I was kidding; he believes I couldn't truly love him. He slid one of the six-packs to me and I pulled one of the cans out of the rings. "Sweet!" I exclaimed as I opened the can with a "pop" and began chugging the nerve-numbing beverage.

Nick chugged down his own can and afterwards, sighed with drunken relief. "It's been awhile since my last beer."

"Me too. I've been drinking water for the past few weeks. Once or twice, I was lucky enough to find a Pepsi, but I never found beer", I responded.

He nodded, "I know, right? Why don't you start bluffing?"

I began, "I love to write. I was inspired to be a con artist by a late con man named Xavier Powers." I saw Nick grin when I said that name. I continued, "I'm married."

Nick scoffed, "The last one is bullshit. You're not married."

I glared, "It's true. I'm married."

"To who?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not, sweetheart?"

"Eighth time. I'm afraid that if you found out, I would find him dead on the floor with Assault Rifle shells in his head. And you'd be the smooth criminal who did it."

"If you're married, then where's your wedding and engagement rings?"

"I lost my engagement ring in a poker game. As for my wedding ring, it's in my jewelry box in my apartment."

He smirked, "You're bluffing. If you were married, you wouldn't have tried to make a move on me."

"Since when did I make a move on you?" I barked.

He cackled at my blindness, "Every day. Pick one. My favorite has to be you constantly seeing my chest during strip poker. I'm a handsome man. I won't deny that fact."

I blushed fiercely, snarling, "You're not handsome, Nick! Who in their right mind would love you!"

"You after a few more beers", he teased.

I growled as I opened another can, "I still hate you. You're right. I'm single. Your turn, Nicko."

He wanted to snap at me, but decided against it. He began his string of facts, "I was born in Rhode Island. I loved my childhood. I'm legally divorced from my bitch of a wife."

I chuckled, "How many times were you divorced? You attract a lot of crying witches."

He growled, "Only one ex-wife. That's all."

I leaned back on the stern's rim and countered, "Hey, relax. I'm only playing with ya. Damn, man." I then began to think of the false fact. Since he's a big city-slacker, he couldn't be brought up in a small state like Rhode Island. However, I know nothing of his childhood, so it's now a shot in the dark on those two choices. "You're bluffing about being from Rhode Island."

He grinned, "Nope! I was born in Rhode Island and stayed there until I was 19 years old."

I growled, "Prove it!"

He put down his third beer can and fished inside his pants pockets for his wallet. Once it was in his grasp, he opened it up, showing me his old driver's license. Yep. He was from Rhode Island all right. The license expired seven years ago. His "mug-shot" of a photo was him with a black pony tail, a small beard, and a slimmer face. His eyes remained the same and so did his smile. I sighed with defeat. He won; damn it!

Just as he closed the wallet, the force of the flaps forced something out. I knew immediately by just the letters on it: TROJAN. He snatched the chuck of plastic out of the air like a ninja master and his face lit up like a police siren. He grumbled, "Fuck. You didn't see anything!"

I just quipped, "See what?"

He sighed, "Exactly."

I unclipped my dragon ear ring that he wanted as a prize from our last challenge and gave it to him after his wallet retreated back into his pocket. He examined it with awe. It looks like this:

I crawled over to him, because I knew he wasn't going to put that on by himself, especially without a mirror. "Stay still", I instructed as I took the ear ring into my hand. He nodded and waited patiently. I let the jewel go through the hole in his ear and spiraled the dragon around his ear. Very simple, but easy to screw up if not aided.

"Thanks", he said as he touched it.

"You're welcome. Tell me something; you must know about Xavier Powers because when I mentioned him, you grinned", I noted.

He was about to say something, but we heard the cabin door swing open and watched Sheila and Ro walk out to join us.

Ro saw Nick's red face and teased, "Why are you blushing this time?"

I decided to answer for him, "One word: Trojan." Ro and Sheila burst out laughing, while Nick blushed harder. Hell, I did too. It was awkward for both of us.

Nick barked, "Enough already!"

They stopped laughing and Sheila asked, "Do you have a coin? We need to figure out the sleeping arrangements."

I shook my head, "Nope. No coin on me."

Nick replied, "I might. Hold on." He began digging through his pockets again and pulled out a Las Vegas souvenir coin. He grinned and gave it to Sheila.

"Thanks Nick. You call it."

As she flipped it into the air, Nick shouted, "Heads!" She caught it in her hand and slapped it onto her arm. It was heads.

I groaned as I opened my third beer, "Fuck!"

Nick chuckled, "The boys get the cabin tonight girls. Better luck next time." He took his beer and stood up to rejoin the guys. "Night girls. See y'all tomorrow."

We all said I unison, "Night Nick."

He turned to me and said, "I'll tell you something about Xavier Powers that'll blow your mind…tomorrow."

"Ok. Night, Nick. Don't let the zombies bite. And no wet dreams. That's your only suit!"

He chuckled as he turned crimson. Once he got his coin back, Nick waved at us before going into the cabin to sleep with the guys. As soon as Nick was gone, I knew that I had to sleep now to avoid interrogation.

I yawned, "Damn! I'm so tired. Time for some shut eye." I pulled my jacket off and scrunched it into a ball in order to be used as a pillow. Before Sheila could say something to me, I quickly shouted, "Good night, my fellow zombie slayers!" My head crashed onto my jacket pillow. Thank God it was a warm night. Sheila sighed with defeat as she curled up on the deck and dozed off. Ro was the last to fall asleep among the girls.

Before she did, I heard her ask, "Do you smell Axe?" I did my best not to snicker as sleep overcame my senses, dragging me into a dark and longing sleep.

Apparently, the guys were watching over us through the window in the cabin like a bunch of stalkers. One by one, sleep over powered them, so one by one; they fell asleep, eager for rest. Nick was the last to doze off (aside from Virgil) into La-La Land. But as he did, he held my bandana close to his face and smiled.