When Love and Hate Collide

by DragonGamer0713

Two women find each other in a sticky situation with zombies. When they come across a Motel 6 their odds will either increase or decrease. NickXOC EllisXOC

6. Chapter 6

When Love and Hate Collide

Chapter 6: Pour Some Sugar on Me (And Run like Hell!)

~ The tropical storm impaired my vision as I trekked through the construction site in an old town, destroyed by some natural disaster. I don't know which disaster totaled the town, but I do know that I wasn't alone. That Hunter was watching; I can feel my scar burning. Sadly, I didn't have my AK, so I had an axe splintering in my tight fists. I cleared the rain out of my eyes and did my best to stay calm, despite my rage for the creature. Suddenly, about ten witches were in front of me, all crying. My eyes widened as my panic accelerated. "One witch is tough enough, but ten? I'm so fucked!" I screamed in my head. I took a deep breath and axed a witch in the head and booked it out of the immediate area.

That Hunter leaped down and tackled me down to the ground. He snarled, "Stand up and fight! Come on, Chris! Face your fear of me!"

"I'm not afraid of you! I'm not scared of a ghost!" I hissed as I rubbed my knee, which landed on a pile of glass.

"Then get up and fight!" he barked as he slashed my head away from him, as if he slapped me.

I looked up, with a nasty scratch on my cheek and bellowed, "You have just ended your life!"

He grinned, "Then you have ended your beloved team mate's life as well."

Ignoring his threat, I leaped up and swung my axe directly at the neck. He didn't move, defend or even show signs of fear. The sharp blade slit open his throat open with ease, letting blood pour out like a waterfall. I grinned in triumph as his body flopped down at my feet. However, a sharp high pitched scream echoed behind me. As soon as I turned around, I was witnessed a witch take Nick's head and tear it off his body, like Predator. His head-less body fell to the ground in front of me, spraying me with Nick's blood. The witch raised his head into the air and screamed in victory. In pure anger, I leaped at the witch and punched my whole hand through her chest. Sadly, it wasn't enough. Using my friend's head as a weapon, she bashed it against my head, creating a concussion. I stumbled backwards and held my head in agonizing pain. With her claws raised up, ready to tear me to shreds, she charged towards me. Since I was in too much pain, I didn't notice that the witch torn my stomach open, until I fell to the ground, caked with my own stomach acid, my last meal, and massive amounts of blood. ~

I woke up with a jolt, sweating like a pig. I quickly placed my hands on my stomach, realizing it was still in my body, where it belongs. Then I shot to my feet and walked over to the cabin window and saw Nick asleep on one of the window seats. I sighed with relief to see he was alive and well. That was a gruesome death, even for him. That was a gruesome death in general. It was like 'Saw', but with zombies. The Hunter is dead and there can't be a witch that pissed to tear someone's head off their shoulders. Speaking of the Hunter, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Hunter teeth that still need to go on my necklace. I walked back to my jacket and sat down. The sky was still dark, but a little light was peeking over the horizon, signaling that it was around 4 o'clock in the morning.

"Damn. I'm the early bird today", I said to myself.

Then I heard an unfamiliar voice, "No, you're not." I shot to my feet again and faced the owner of the voice. It was the boat's captain, Virgil. I placed my hand on my heart and exhaled.

"Damn, Virgil. You scared the shit out of me", I replied.

He smiled, "Sorry, girlie. I didn't need to. What are you doing awake so early?"

"I was going to ask you the same question", I challenged.

He chuckled, "I'm the captain, silly girl! I need to be awake at a moment's notice if something goes wrong."

I tilted my head, "Then what's wrong?"

He rubbed the stubble on his chin and replied, "The gas tank has been sabotaged. We don't have enough gas to make it to New Orleans."

I groaned, "Great! Now what?"

He barked, "Hey! Don't you give up hope! There's a nearby town called Ducatel that we can refuel the tank. In the meantime, I'll have to fix the tank."

I sighed, "I guess we're the errand boys to retrieve the gas?"

He beamed, "Thank you for volunteering, missy! You are a bold one!"

I growled at myself, realizing that I was tricked into the deed. Virgil just laughed heartily at me. "Har, har, har, Virgil. Laugh it up", I grumbled.

He lightly gripped my shoulder and replied, "Relax, kid. We don't have many days left in this place we used to call 'home'. Might as well make it last while we still have it, before the army blows it up. You should thank your friends for being your friends and enjoy every moment."

I nodded, "Yeah, I should. Hmm. This remains me of a song by Nickelback. It's called 'If Today was your Last Day.' Ever heard it?"

He shook his head, "Can't say I have. It must be a great song. The only thing I listen to is old country classics."

I did my best not to criticize, "Well, more power to you, pal. I'm a rockier."

He shrugged his shoulders and said, "To each his own, I guess. One more thing; take it easy with your friend in the white suit. Nick. He's had a hurtful relationship. Cut him some slack, missy. I know you will show him compassion." He walked back into the cabin and heard Ellis shout in pain, followed by Virgil replying, "Sorry, mate."

I had to laugh at Ellis's pain. Virgil was right; our days are limited and we must not take things for granted anymore. I should be thanking God for being alive. What he mean about Nick having a hurtful relationship? I try not to pry into Nick's personal life, because frankly, I don't care too much. However, the stupid butterflies in my gut are making me feel like a jackass for thinking that way. Maybe I am feeling for Nick. I can admit it in my head, but never out loud. That's too humiliating to confess.

The Hunter teeth in my hand reminded me of my interrupted task. I sat back down and began twisting the holes into the roots with the corkscrew end. I've been doing this for a while now, so I can probably do it in my sleep. Once the teeth were added to my blood collection, I looked up into the sky and thought about Virgil's words towards Nick and my bloody dream.

It was so gruesome compared to my other nightmares. That witch was very vicious towards Nick for some reason. His ex-wife? Maybe so. Call it a hunch but maybe our next zombie run will involve blood and more witches.

Nick had a bad relationship? Well, join the club buddy. I had a boyfriend named Marshall, who cheated on me, stole from me, abused me, and just was a total jackass to me. Thank God for coke. I'm not a coke head now, thankfully or I would've killed Nick on the first night. One night, I snapped and nearly killed him with a wooden baseball bat. I remember screaming at him as he bolted out the door, "If I ever see your fucking face again, I'll blow your fucking head off! Both of them!" How bad was Nick's relationship? Maybe I'll ask him…some time that doesn't zombies.

Ellis approached me, with his hands holding on to his balls. "Damn, Chris. I thought I had to fear you hitting my boys, but now I need to worry about Virgil."

I held back a laugh, but Ellis glared at me with anger and hurt in his eyes. I swallowed my laugh and replied, "I'm sorry to hear that, Ellis. Maybe if we got by a 'Sports Authority' maybe you can get a cup."

He huffed, "You're a real comedian, Chris. Very funny. Just like Nick."

"Sorry, buddy. I can't help it. Do you need a hug?"

His eyes widened with curiosity and slight shock. "Are you offering?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Why not?"

Ellis was taken back and asked, "Who are you and what did you do with my trigger-happy pal Chris?"

I laughed so hard I snorted. Ellis is onto something; hugging is out of my character. Maybe I'm going to turn a new leaf, right here and now. Embrace the day…and Ellis if he wants one. I refuse to fight with Nick and call it a truce. I'll tell Ro and Sheila everything that comes to my mind. I'll listen to Coach more and pitch some ideas to him. As for Alex, I'll help him improve his aim and not criticize him. Yes; it's my zombie resolution!

I stood up and spread my arms wide open and he stared for a second. Then he finally shrugged and said, "Aww hell." He walked into my arms and we embraced like long-lost friends.

It only lasted about three seconds, because deep in my head, conartist me was barking, "What the hell are you doing! This is against your code! Stop hugging the redneck, you bitch!" I listened and we separated.

Ellis grinned and commented, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

I chuckled nervously because I wanted to say, "Hell yeah it was! Why the hell did I offer it in the first place!" Instead, I said, "I only hugged ya, because you were in pain. Don't expect me to be hugging everyone…including Nick. So it was a onetime thing. Ok, Ellis?"

He nodded as he removed his cap, "Got it. Don't worry about it. Now, do you have any idea what time it is?"

I looked up into the sky, to judge the approximate time. The stars began to fade as the sky got a little brighter. "I'm going to say around 5ish."

"Ok. Thanks. Why are you awake so early? Aren't we normally the ones to wake you up?"

I nodded with a small grin on my face, "Normally, yes. A gory nightmare woke me up."

Ellis sat down and said, "Tell your friend Ellis all about it!"

I sighed, "Fine. I was in a deserted ghost town surrounded by about ten witches with only an axe as a weapon. I ran for my life, but the Hunter tackled me to the ground and threatened my bravery. I slightly beheaded him, but a vicious witch behind me pulled Nick's head off his shoulders. Think of Predator pulling his victims' skulls off their bodies for trophies." Ellis winced as he grabbed his head and neck. I continued, "His body fell to my feet and in pure rage, I attacked the witch. I failed miserably and the witch slashed my stomach open, letting the contents spill on the ground. Then I woke up in a sweat and panic."

"Damn. Talk about vicious! That's pretty scary, Chris!" he commented.

I nodded in agreement, "I know. Maybe in our next zombie run…"

He quickly interrupted me, "We're zombie free, Chris! We're going straight to New Orleans and getting rescued! No more zombie killin'!"

I sighed, "I wish that was true, Ellis." He tilted his head in confusion. "We have to make a pit stop for gas for the boat's tank. Someone or something sabotaged it. Virgil is going to repair the tank, while we go and bring the gas to him. To do that, we must go back into zombie territory and battle our way to the gas and make it back in one piece."

Ellis was quiet for a minute, trying to absorb what I just told him. The silence was short-lived when Ro began to wake up. Both of us watched her rise up slowly like a mummy. He rubbed her eyes and yawned, "Hey, Ellis and…Chris?"

I awkwardly waved to her, "Mornin', Rochelle. How's it going?"

She sat up and asked, "Girl, what are you doing, being up so early? Couldn't take Nick being your alarm clock anymore, huh?"

I replied, "A scary-ass nightmare woke me up this early. As for Ellis being awake, Virgil stepped on his balls."

Ellis added, "They still hurt."

Ro soothed, "Aww, poor Ellis. Don't worry; the pain will go away."

He said, "I know it will. One time, Keith and I were playing baseball with our friends and once Keith hit a hard ground ball. I ran for it and the ball literally jumped and nailed me in the nuts. I was howling all day. Keith felt so bad, so he purposely hit his own nuts with a titanium bat."

Both Ro and I winced at Keith's pain. Ellis chuckled. "Damn, boy!" she replied.

I commented, "Now that's a true friend."

Ellis laughed, "I know! I hope he's ok. He's the only friend I've got back home. What 'bout you, Ro? You must have a sweetheart or family back where you come from."

Ro nodded, "I have my little sister back home. Hopefully she's ok. Believe it or not, she's around your age, Ellis."

He beamed, "Cool! What 'bout-"

I quickly interrupted with venom in my voice, "Don't go there, Ellis. That's your only warning, buddy."

He rose his hands in innocence, "Ok, Chris. Sorry for bringing it up."

Ro decided to change the subject by saying, "I'd kill for a decent meal right now."

Our stomachs began growling on queue with Ro's statement. Ellis grumbled, "Me too. A nice rare steak on the grill…awww man! With ice cold beer on the side! Damn, I'd kill a thousand witches to get that fantasy!"

I groaned, "I'd fight through five thousand Tanks to get a huge deep dish pizza! All to myself. Pepsi as a drink and a scary movie on the TV. Candy on the side. Shit, fantasy food is spreading!"

Ellis and Ro began laughing softly as we thought of our favorite meals. In the midst of our food conversation, Coach woke up and staggered out onto the stern. We looked up to greet him.

"Hey, Coach", Ro said happily.

"Mornin' Coach!" Ellis greeted him with his bright smile. If there's one thing Nick might never have is Ellis's bright smile. Even it makes me happy for the moment.

He yawned and replied, "Hey, Ellis, Ro, and…Chris? You're awake awfully early."

I sighed, "I know. A scary nightmare forced me awake."

He asked, "Was it about the Hunter?"

I looked down and nodded slightly, "Yeah, but I killed him, only ending Nick's life as well."

He joined our little circle and asked, "Whatcha talking about?"

I explained, "The Hunter said to me, 'Then you have ended your *cough* team mate as well' when I attacked him. When I decapitated him, nearly, a very pissed-off witch tore Nick's head off his body."

Coach hissed as a visual image played in his head. "Damn Chris. Are you going to tell Nick?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. Only if he asks. I don't want to spook him too much. It was as gory as 'Hostel' and all of the 'Saw' movies together."

Ro shook her head, "Don't worry about it. It was just a dream. Dreams project images and activities for our lives into our heads when we sleep. You spent a good amount of time with Nick last night, so that's why Nick was in it. The Hunter was killed yesterday and witches are vicious bitches that we tangle with every day. As for the blood and gore, maybe you watched too many horror movies as a kid."

My mouth hung ajar for a few seconds before answering, "Fuck being a reporter, Ro! You should be a psychologist."

Ellis grinned devilishly, "Why is Nick always in your dreams?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe because he's the one I clash with the most or have the same career choice."

Ellis's grin grew wider as he shouted, "You like him! Admit it, Chris!"

Realizing he was still asleep, I tackled Ellis and placed my hand over his mouth, snarling, "No…I…don't. And unless you want to be swimming to New Orleans, you'd keep your mouth shut. Got it?"

He refused to give up on his goal, because he spat into my hand. I leaped off him, wiping his spit off my hand on his pants. Ro and Coach began laughing as they saw the disgusted look on my face. I can handle zombies without getting squeamish, but if someone spits on me, I immediately take a disliking in it. The spitting contest last night was different; it was spitting at a can, not onto someone.

He sat up and rubbed his back. "Damn, you pinned me good, Chris. Now I know how Nick felt when you tackled him!"

Coach said to me, "Don't hurt the boy. We need to be in fit condition if we're going to fight again."

I looked up at him, "So you know we're landing and getting gas for the boat."

He nodded, "Virgil told me when I woke up."

I sighed, "Ok. Only Nick, Sheila, and Alex don't know yet. We'll tell them when they wake up."

Ellis smirked, "Will you wake up Nick?"

I growled, "He'll wake up with your blood on his suit if you're not careful."

He just shook his head, realizing that it was just an empty threat. But my next sentence made his blood run cold.

"Maybe Sheila will wake him up."

His grin disappeared faster than Jimmy Gibbs Jr. racing towards the finish line on the last lap. He growled, "Don't even joke."

"Jealous much, Ellis?"

He growled again, "Just drop it, Chris!"

I shrugged because I got the reaction I wanted out of him. If he teases me about Nick, I have the ability to tease him about Sheila. Even if I have to add Nick into the mix. He's like a dog that's protective over a rawhide bone. If another dog goes near it, he'll get defensive about it by attacking or barking. One day, he'll learn not to be so jealous.

Sheila began to stir at the mere sound of her name. Ellis froze as she groaned as she rolled onto her back. "Someone better have breakfast ready, because I could eat a zombiefied cow!"

I chuckled, "Nope! The only thing that's on this bloody boat is the beer and the M&Ms from the helicopter."

Without opening her eyes, she crawled her way to the circle, grabbed my arm and grumbled hungrily, "I'll take them! I'll die without food right now!"

I sighed, "Drama queen." I pulled out the bags of M&Ms and opened the bag. "Cup your hands together, Sheila." She obeyed eagerly. I poured some of the yummy chocolate bits into her waiting hands. When she began eating them, I offered M&Ms to everyone else, who gladly accepted. Be the time everyone got hands full of M&Ms, the bag was half empty. I apologized, "Sorry. It ain't much, but they'll hold y'all over for a bit."

Ro commented, "They're just fine. It's good to have something fill your stomach, other than beer."

I chuckled as I thought about last night. I literally said, "I love you, Nick!" just because the man brought me a six-pack. I hope he knew I was kidding. If not, then I'll have some explaining to do when he wakes up. Come to think of Nick and beer, he had about three beers and I had two and opened a third one. I can only wonder how good his alcohol intake is. H can be a hard-core drinker or have a few beers and fall face first to the floor. Hangovers are rare in my case. However, I have heard Nick complain to himself when wounded, "Stop being a baby. You've felt worse after a night of drinking." I wonder if he'll get a hangover when he wakes up.

Alex stumbled towards us and saw the M&Ms. He whined, "Awwww! Can I have some?"

I chuckled as I opened the bag again, "Sure, Alex. Why not?" I poured some into his waiting hands and he began munching on them as if he was dying of hunger. "Chill out, Alex. I know none of us have eaten anything good in a while, but seeing you eating like that makes me feel bad."

He swallowed the chocolate wad in his maw and replied, "Sorry. I've never been without food for this long before. I would normally eat something at Burger Tank or the Waffle House, by now."

Coach's stomach growled so loud, we all thought it was a zombie, "Don't say Burger Tank, Alex. I'm dying for a triple cheeseburger with tomatoes, pickles, and mayo. Damn!"

We all began laughing at Coach, while our stomachs began to growl along with his. Finally, I asked Alex, "What's Nick doing when you woke up?"

He looked up with a small grin playing on his face, "He was sleeping like a baby, sayin' some pretty weird things."

I sighed, trying to avoid grinning, "I know I'm going to regret this, but what was he sayin'?"

Alex's grin finally broke as he did his best Nick impersonation, "Take me baby! I need you bad! Give it to me!"

Everyone burst out laughing, falling backwards on the deck, holding their sides and snorting like pigs. I was cackling like a hyena as well, but I was also mortified, thanks to my dirty mind. "Please dear God, he's talking about his ex-wife", I mumbled to myself.

Over the P.A, Virgil announced, "Ducatel is coming up in a few minutes. Everyone get ready!"

Only Alex and Sheila was wondering what he meant by that. We quickly explained to them what we were doing: collecting gas for the boat so it can sail to New Orleans. They groaned at the thought of more zombie runs, but they didn't complain. That's Nick's job.

Speaking of Nick, I stood up and walked into the cabin to wake up the sleeping con artist. I kneeled before the window seat he was sleeping on and began to gently shake his right shoulder. "Nick. Nick. Wake up, buddy. Time to go."

He groaned in response. He began mumbling something, but I didn't catch it in time.

I began to shake a little harder, "Come on, Nick. Up and at 'em!"

He swatted my hand away from his shoulder and rolled onto his right side, his back to me. I growled at his stubbornness. Finally, I stood up and walked over to the cooler where the beers were. I pulled out an ice cube and spoke to Nick's sleeping form, "You better wake up or you're going to get a nasty surprise."

He grumbled, "You would, bitch" and he rolled off the seat onto the floor in a painful huff. I sighed as I tossed the ice cube back into the cooler. He lifted his arm up and I grabbed it before it grabbed me. I helped Nick off the floor. I knew he had a hangover, because as soon as he got to his feet, he groaned in pain and leaned against my body for support. "What the fuck happened last night?"

I ignored his question and opened the cabin floor him. "Come on, Nick. All hands on deck."

He grabbed the door and fell once he let go. I sighed and helped him up again. Only this time, he held onto me. He looked like a little kid clinging onto his mom on the first day of school. "Damn it", he grunted, "I hate hangovers."

"Me too. You using me as a hold isn't funny. Before the boat stops in Ducatel, you better pull yourself together!" I led him onto the stern, where everyone was waiting and preparing. The mere sight of Nick holding onto me made Ellis and Alex howl with laughter. I snarled, "Shut up, boys! I hate both of you right now."

Sheila asked while doing her best not to snicker, "What happened to him?"

I answered, "Hangover. He's dizzy, light-headed", then I told Nick, "Turn your head towards me."

He grunted, "Whatever." He turned his head and drunkenly glared into my eyes. I took two fingers and opened his eyelids of his right eye a little more. He had bloodshot eyes.

"And bloodshot eyes. Plus, he can't remember anything from last night. If that's not a hangover, then I don't know what is." The Bucker brothers were about to say something, but I quickly sneered, "If you two are about to say what I think you're thinking, then you'll be living in a world of zombies and pain." They immediately shut up.

Nick shook his head semi-clear and asked, "Does anyone have pain killers? I've got a headache the size of Iceland over here."

Alex walked over to the gun bag and pulled out a bottle of pills. He tossed them to Nick, but in his hangover state, I knew he wasn't going to catch them. I snatched them out of the air like a ninja and opened the bottle. "Here, Nick", I soothed as I offered him the opened pill bottle. He smiled at me and swallowed the pills without any fluids. After the last bunch was forced down his gullet, he sighed with relief. "Your head feeling any better, Nick?"

He nodded, "Yeah. A little. Little hangovers like this will wear off in about fifteen minutes or so. I'll be fine. It's nice to see that you're so caring to me."

I blushed and our friends began snickering. Right; he's in a drunk-like haze, so I guess he's not lying because his minds still on beer. So, if someone asked him a personal question, he'll tell the truth. In my head, I yelled, "Fuck! He better not say anything!" I grumbled, "Well, at least you're better than…" I quickly shut my mouth and regret bringing it up. My hand gripped the bottle cap so hard, my knuckles turned ghostly white.

Ellis asked with uncertainty, "What?"

I snapped my head in his direction and my sharp hazel eyes shot daggers into his heart, immediately scaring him. Sheila rolled her eyes as she knew who I was talking about. Marshall. My abusive ex-boyfriend. She gripped Ellis's shoulder to comfort him. "Don't worry, Ellis. You don't need to know. It's all in the past. Right, Chris?"

I growled as I slightly nodded. Nick let go of me and stood up on his own, but he was still a bit dizzy. He ran his ringed fingers through his hair and asked, "Old boyfriend?"

I growled louder as the mere thought of Marshall made me very angry. "Don't piss me off, Nick", I hissed at the con man.

He raised his hands in defense and replied, "Jeez, I didn't know you got so touchy about your old flame. He must have been a total jackass if you hate him so much."

I exhaled through my nose, making a slight hissing sound, "Let's just say he's ten times worse than you, Nick. We fight verbally, not physically."

Alex gasped, "He abused you!"

I closed my eyes and growled, "Let's get off this topic before the lead flies, ok?"

Alex nodded in slight fear and remained quiet. Sheila sighed again, realizing that I'd rather cover my past then reveal it. She knows everything about me. My high school days, my love life, the [violent] break-up, my family's end, and my attitude adjustment. She could write a book about my life. And maybe the first line would be: Christina is not a bad girl; she just had bad experiences.

The boat slipped up against the dock and Virgil said over the P.A, "I'll anchor just off shore. Signal me when you have the gas."

We all leaped off the boat and landed on the dock (Nick tripped onto the dock, thanks to his dizziness.) The boat began to turn away from the dock and sliced through the thin fog of the river. I stretched my limbs and heard them crack. Sheila lightly hit my shoulder and whispered, "Keep an eye on your drunken boy. With his shaky aim, he'll shoot us!"

I sighed as I grabbed Nick's arm and pulled him in the group. He asked me, "How are we going to signal him?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, buddy. Ellis?"

He looked at me and answered, "Don't you remember? There's flares in the gun bag."

Nick asked in confusion, "What gun bag?"

Ellis looked at Nick with sudden urgency, "You didn't bring the guns!"

He snapped, "Me? Who died and made me gun monitor!"

Ellis retorted, "Pretty much everybody!"

I defended, "Knock it off, you two. Ellis, Nick's in too much of a hangover to do anything right now so cut him some slack. Nick, you didn't know that you were put in charge of the bag, so it's not your fault. We'll have to adapt, that's all. Just grab a melee weapon and let's get moving."

There were melee weapons on the ground in front of the Burger Tank, so we all grabbed something. It was mostly axes or crowbars. Nick was still a little dizzy, so I had to keep a close eye on him. We walked into the back door of the fast food restaurant and noticed all of the equipment inside. Ro whistled and replied, "Well, we'll be well supplied for once."

Coach commented, "We're doing fine on what we have. Take a few and save the rest. We may need it."

She nodded, "Fine. Everyone grab a weapon!"

Apparently, Nick and I had our eyes on the very same gun, which was a sub machine gun. We both grabbed it and both of us (being the stubborn con artists that we were) refused to let go. "Hey!" Nick barked at me.

"Hey back!" I snapped in the same tone.

"This gun is mine, sweetheart!" he hissed as he tried to pry my grip off the gun.

I resisted, but couldn't help saying, "Ninth time. Let go, Nicko!"

He growled, "Don't call me-"he tripped over a chair and went flying backwards. Sadly, neither of us didn't loosen our holds on the weapon, so I was pulled forward with him as he stumbled into a janitor's closet. Desperate to grab something, I used my other hand to grip the door. Once again, sadly, it didn't slow me down and as an added bonus, it shut behind me. So now, I'm in a dark closet with the hung-over Nick, with one gun and as I tried to open the door again, it was locked from the outside. What else can go wrong?

"Guys! Open the door! We're locked in here!" I barked as I banged on the door.

Instead of crazed scrambling, I heard snickering on the other side. "Hey. Chris!" I heard Ro shout, "Now's not the time to play '7 minutes in Heaven!'"

I retorted, "Not my fault! He tripped and dragged me along for the ride! Come on, guys! Let us out! And I hate that game!"

Sheila began laughing, "Well, be happy it's not Marshall. You said so yourself, Nick's better than him!"

I snarled, "That fucker is dead to me! I'd rather be set on fire than be the closet with him right now! By the way, I was talking about his hangovers, not him in general!"

Sheila barked, "Just admit it! You'll sleep better at night!"

"Hell no! Fuck no! That Hunter haunts my sleep remember! There's no good sleep for me anymore! Now open the fucking door or I'll be forced to bust it down!"

She slyly replied, "Not until the seven minutes are up. Starting now."

I growled, "I fucking hate you right now, Sheila. You know that?"

Ellis began cackling while she answered, "I know! And I love this new torture!"

I growled as I looked back at Nick, who was among a bunch of mops and brooms. One of his feet was in a bucket and he was sitting on an electric floor buffer. His hand held onto the sub machine gun, so I guess he gets it. He looked up at me and quipped, "You've got great negotiating skills."

I hissed, "Shut up, Nick. I'm not in the mood to be taking any of your bullshit."

He asked, "What did Sheila mean by 'admitting it'?"

I sighed, "Nothing. At least nothing that concerns you."

Ellis shouted on the other side, "Yes it does!"

I hit the door and a small yelp came on the other side. "You deserved it, Ellis!" I barked.

I heard him mutter, "Bitch" and his footsteps retreated away. I growled in impatience as I can't wait seven minutes to be free. Nothing's happening! Nick's not pulling moves on me or vice versa! I began pacing, while I heard Nick stand up among all of the cleaning equipment. He grabbed my shoulder and said, "Relax, will ya? We'll get out of here."

I scoffed, "Yeah. In less than seven minutes. That game brings back some bad memories. I can't wait that long. Fuck this. I'm going to kick the door down.

Nick just shook his head and replied, "Five bucks says you're going to hurt yourself."

I huffed, "Deal." I stood about two feet in front of the door and barked, "Get away from the door!" I swiftly kicked the door with my right leg with all the force I had. The door whined under the sudden force of the kick, but it didn't break. However, the scabs on my leg did.

Nick asked, "Are you ok?"

I gritted my teeth in pain and replied, "Never better."

He tilted his head and cocked his eyebrow at me. Thankfully it was dark inside, because I was so close to crying from the pain. Finally, I exploded, "Motherfucker, shit-sucking, camel-humping, monkey-eating, cum-consuming whore bitch! Those Hollywood sluts lied to me!"

I heard Alex say, "Damn, Chris. That's a new one."

I kneeled down and grabbed my leg in agony. I can feel warm blood beginning to seep through my pants. Nick used the sub machine gun flashlight and pointed it at my leg. My pant leg was stained red and as well had my hand. He hissed in pain as he saw it. Then he stood up and said to me, "Stay down".

I obeyed and he began shooting around the doorknob. There were shrieks and shouts on the other side of the door. When the sub-machine gun stopped firing, Nick pushed the door open and growled to his fellow survivors, "That wasn't funny. Now help Chris out of there, while I go scout ahead. Now!"

Ro and Sheila scrambled towards me while Ellis, Alex, and Coach guarded the front door. Ro helped me limp to a table and saw my leg bleeding again. "Oh man, Chris. Why did you have to kick the door?" she complained to me.

I was about to snap at her, but Sheila quickly replied, "Because I refused to open the door. Good thing Nick had a clear mind in there. He helped you out."

I growled almost automatically, "Nothing happened."

She nodded, "I know. Believe it or not, Nick almost shot me and Alex when he was blasting the knob to bits."

I grinned a little, which made Sheila feel a little better. I stated, "Karma. What a bitch, right Sheila?"

She nodded as she rolled up my pants leg and saw the wound again. Some of the scabs were still sealed, but the bigger ones were flowing flesh blood from them. Instead of the dagger-and-lighter healing, the girls patched me up with the traditional alcohol-and-gauze method. It didn't hurt as bad as the first time, but it hurt enough for me to hiss. Once they were done patching my wound, the boys ran inside.

Nick took my side and asked, "Are you ok?"

I nodded as I gripped his left shoulder, "I'm fine, Nick. I hope I won't slow anyone down. If that happens, then just…"

Nick interrupted, "We're not leaving you behind. No way in Hell! You're staying with us and blast zombies just like the past few days. And probably blast a couple of insults towards me."

I shrugged, "Nah. No insults. No bullets. No vicious pouncing. Today's a clean slate since I'm off my crazy mode…if you catch my drift."

The guys thought about it for a second and realized what I meant when I limped to the bathroom. Thank God the cycle lasts only one or two days, but I get an extra dose of "bitch" than any other girl. Oh well.

Once I limped out, everyone was waiting for me in the kitchen. I took out my axe and commanded, "Come on. Let's get this show on the road!"

We went outside and Nick saw a sign that said, "Ducatel Diesel. Next Gas 2 miles " He pointed at the sign with a small grin on his face, which to me means "He made a bet off this, didn't he?" Indeed, he said, "Out of gas. What did I tell ya?"

Ellis walked next to him and replied, "Looks like we gotta head to this Ducatel place."

Nick retorted, "What makes you think they still have gas?"

Coach stepped in, "'Cause if they don't, we're gonna be stuck here forever, Nick."

I gulped, "Oh not good! With my leg like this, I can't swim very well. Plus, four out of seven of us can't swim anyway. We better pray that Ducatel has gas."

Coach added, "Amen, Chris."

After blasting zombies for about five minutes, Ro got attacked by a Jockey. "Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!"

Luckily, I was the closest and I'm the only one still using a melee weapon, so I was fastest to her aid. As I swung my axe and nailed it in the back, I snarled, "Back off, Jockey!" It fell off her and she said, "Thanks, girl. I thought I was done."

I scoffed, "Hell no. You're just lucky I was nearby. You do look a ragged, so here. Take these pills." I took the bottle of pills I found in the back of an ambulance and handed them to her.

She grinned as she swallowed them, "Thanks, Chris. All better now."

While I was helping Ro, Alex found some laser sights on the porch of an old house. "Hey. Laser pointers here", he announced as he attached one to his assault rifle at the yard sale. The guys followed his example by grabbing laser sights for their guns as well. Nick was equipping his sight on his combat rifle when he saw Ro and I catch up.

"What happened to you guys? Ellis realized you weren't behind us and we got a little worried."

Ro quipped, "Aww Nick. You were worried?"

He quickly stammered, "I said 'we', not 'me'."

She smirked, "We know what you meant."

I jumped in, "Enough you two. We're here now, alive and well. Ro got jumped by a Jockey."

He nodded, "Ok. You're still using that axe?"

I looked at it and asked, "What's wrong with it?"

He replied, "Nothing, but I think it's not going to help against larger or far-off targets. Here, take my combat rifle. I can get another weapon." He handed me his fully-loaded combat rifle with the laser pointer attachment.

I smiled as I placed the bloody axe on my back, "Thanks, Nick. I wish I still had my AK, but like I said before, I wasn't your fault. No more beer for you, my friend."

He rolled his eyes as I walked by him. Ro just crossed her arms and glared at him. He asked as he threw his arms in the air, "What?"

She only grinned as she answered, "Nothing, Nick. Let's get moving."

He just shrugged and followed me back to the group. I began to speak, "I can walk two miles easy, but limping will take awhile. I don't know if-" I was quickly interrupted by Nick loudly clearing his throat. I looked up at him. He had a small scowl on his face at the suggestion I was going to make: leave me behind. I finished, "I don't know if anyone knows how to hot wire a pick-up." I pointed to a beat-up and rusty pick-up truck that was in the drive way. Alex and Ellis looked at it as if it was the Mona Lisa.

"Chris, you're a genius!" Alex beamed as he ran towards the truck. Nick quickly snatched another combat rifle while we walked to the vehicle. Alex told Ellis, "When I smash the window, the alarm may go off. When it does, prepare to fight while I hot-wire our ride."

Ellis nodded and replied, "We can count on us, lil' bro."

Alex took his assault rifle and bashed the window open. Sure enough, the alarm went off. All of us had our guns at the ready, while Alex unlocked the door and slid under the steering wheel. Nick, Ro and I were guarding the "shotgun" side of the truck, while Coach, Ellis, and Sheila protected Alex while he went to work. The horde came running, as usual. As we sent lead flying through the air, once, a Smoker tried to snag Nick. However, nick saw the Smoker and quickly shot it before it got a chance to grab him.

I commented, "Nice shooting, Nick!"

He grinned, "Thank, Chris."

As soon as the horde ended, I felt a single raindrop on my head. "Huh?" I looked up and noticed how dark it was getting. "Damn. I think a storm's coming our way. On the up side, we need the rain to wash the blood and sweat off."

Nick quipped, "What about Axe?"

I snapped my head in his direction and playfully hit his arm. "That too."

Ro quickly replied, "I knew I smelled Axe last night! You two got cuddle-y when none of us were looking, eh?"

Coach and Sheila began laughing at our red faces. Nick snapped, "No! Nothing happened last night…that I can remember."

I added, "It's the head band that smells like Axe. It came from Nick's shirt." To prove my point, I lifted his jacket a little, showing the ragged cutting I did on it. She was still grinning anyway.

"You still sweat him, Chris."

I hissed, "I don't! By the way, he's standing right here!"

Nick felt awkward being in the middle of this cat fight, so he quickly jumped into the bed of the truck and sat down. He heard Ro whisper to me, "Don't worry too much, Chris. He sweats you too."

He hissed, "Do not!"

Ro turned and chuckled, "Eavesdropper!"

All of a sudden, we heard Alex yelp in surprise. We ran to his side, where he was holding a yellow puff ball, no bigger than a grapefruit. It had four little paws and a small fanged mouth. It looked harmless, but who knows in this zombie apocalypse.

"What the hell is that thing?" Coach asked Alex.

He shrugged without taking his blue eyes off of it, "I don't know Coach. When I was done hot-wiring the truck, I sat up and saw this little guy sitting on the dash board. It made a cute little 'meep' sound and hopped into my hand. I was a little startled, that's all."

Ro, Sheila, and I were completely captured by its cuteness. I n unison, we said, "Awwwww! It's so cute!" All the guys just looked at us with questioned looks on their faces. The creature went "meep" again and we began giggling at it. Now the boys were just plain worried about us.

Nick asked as he snapped his fingers in front of my face "Are you high?"

I snapped out of my cute hypnosis and replied, "Huh? No. I'm fine. Even something that cute can make me go…err… 'Girly-girl' for a lack of a better term."

Alex tickled it's chin and nodded, "You gotta admit; this little guy is pretty cute. I'm going to keep it like a pet."

Coach countered, "That's not a good idea, Alex. We don't know what it is. We don't know if it's dangerous or not. We don't know what it eats. We don't know anything about this little ball of fluff."

Ellis looked at the creature and it looked at him. "I think it's a Hunter pup."

We all asked, "A Hunter what?"

"A Hunter pup", he repeated, "I've seen them in my dreams before. These little fellas are completely harmless, unless provoked. Just like the adult Hunters, they eat meat."

I growled as I grabbed my Hunter necklace, "Not cool. When it grows up, it's going to kill us."

Alex countered, "Not if we treat it like a member of this team. Where's it's parents?"

Everyone looked at me. I shrugged, "Sorry. I probably killed them. Hunter hunter, remember? Just for that, it'll probably hate me."

As if it heard me, it turned to me and stared with its non-exist eyes. I gulped as I stared back at it. It "meeped" and hopped onto my combat rifle, scurried across it and hopped onto my forearm. I flinched, thinking it was going to bite me, but instead, it cuddled into my jacket sleeve and purred. My paranoia melted away when I said, "Awww. Too cute."

Nick rolled his eyes and then the Hunter pup saw how comfortable his shoulder looked. The little guy crawled up my arm onto my left shoulder, scampered across my collar bone onto my right shoulder. Then it slid down to my right elbow and used it as a springboard onto Nick's shoulder. He yelped in surprise as the little yellow puff ball curled into his suit shoulder. He looked down on it, annoyed I must add. He wasn't amused by this thing, so he growled at Alex, "You better get this thing off me, before I crush it with my shoe."

Alex carefully pried it off of Nick and warned, "That's no way to talk to Lazerlemon like that, Nick. He's one of us now."

Nick cocked his eyebrow and asked, "What kind of name is Lazerlemon? Sounds like a videogame code name or something."

He countered, "It's the name I gave him! He's yellow like a lemon and he likes the laser sights on our guns. Look."

Alex pointed his gun on his arm and the pup followed. Then he pointed the laser on his hand and the pup pounced it playfully. Then he pointed it at Ellis's hat and the pup took a mighty leap to his hat. Sadly, it was a few inches short of the jump and almost fell. Ellis caught him before he got hurt. "Easy there, Lazerlemon. Don't hurt yourself, ya hear?"

It nodded at Ellis. Nick finally spoke, "Ok. Who wants this thing in our party? Raise your hand."

Ellis, Alex, Ro, Sheila, and lastly I raised our hands in the air. Nick mentally begged for me to put my hand down with his pleading eyes. I closed mine to avoid staring and feeling guilty. Pleading green eyes get me every time. Alex beamed, "Majority rules! He's stayin' with us! Now, all of y'all hop into the bed and hang on tight." I was about to climb in, but Alex quickly stopped me. "I don't think so, Chris. You've got shotgun on this ride." I shrugged and hopped into the passenger seat of the truck.

I opened the back window and slammed the door. Alex asked, "Are you ready back there?" Everyone made some sort of sign that they were ready and hanging on to dear life. Unknown to me, Alex or the pup, Sheila found a video camera in the bed, along with a digital camera. She loved taking pictures and creating videos so she decided to catch some of this apocalypse on tape and film.

As Alex drove down the zombie littered road to the gas station, Sheila was filming everyone as if we were soldiers going into battle. She aimed the camcorder to Ellis and said, "Hey, Ellis! This is a recording!"

Ellis looked up and noticed the red light was on. "Oh shit! Do I look decent?"

She giggled, "You look fiiinnnee, Ellis!"

He cleared his throat and asked, "What should I say?"

"Say anything! Do anything! Do one of your Keith stories."

Everyone in the bed shouted, "No!"

She then pointed the camera at Coach and said, "Hey Coach! What do you have to say?"

He thought for a second and replied, "I hate zombies! It's like I'm stuck on the set of '28 Days Later'. But I will kick some zombie ass, even if it kills me!"

"Very strong words, Coach." She turned to Ro, "Do your best Madonna impersonation!"

She looked at her confused, "Excuse me? My best what impersonation?"

All of the guys began to snicker at Sheila's request. She repeated, "Madonna impersonation. Sing us a little something!"

She sighed and sang, "Livin' in a material world and I am a material girl! That's all your getting, guys. I don't like to sing out loud with people around."

Ellis added, "Don't worry, Ro. You did good. I believe the only person that likes to sing out loud would be Chris. Nick knows she sings in her sleep."

I heard his comment and shouted, "Only if I have my IPod on when I sleep! That was only one time!"

Sheila crawled over to the window and stuck the camera inside. Lazerlemon just stared at it and tilted its head in curiosity to the device. Sheila cooed, "You're so cute, Lazerlemon! Yes, you are! Yes, you are!"

I looked to my left and the camera spooked me. "Holy shit! Get that thing out of my face! Go pick on Nick with it!"

She snickered, "I thought picking on Nick was your job!"

I growled, "It was! But not now!"

She asked, "What happened in the closet?"

"Nothing happened! That's what happened! Nothing! The bet and my leg injury! That's it! No juicy secrets that you can post on YouTube when this hell blows over!"

"Then why do you smell like Axe?"

"The head band! It's the head band!"

"Yeah right! You like him."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"So you're saying that you don't un-love Nick!"

"Yes!"

She smirked, "I caught you with a double negative! You just confessed that you love Nick!"

I hissed, "Fuck you! Oh wait. That's Ellis's job!" The whole truck went "Ooohhhh!" over my comeback.

She blushed and replied, "Touché."

Nick tapped the glass on the window and I immediately got a little edgy. "What, Nick?"

He grinned slyly, "Pay up! I won. You…got…hurt." His normal, snarky attitude was toned down by sudden concern. He growled to himself, "Damn hangovers!"

I turned my head and pulled up the five dollar bill anyway. I hung my arm out the window (past the camera) and hit Nick's shoulder. With guilt, he took the bill and replied, "Thanks. Sorry for being a jackass."

I shrugged as I pulled my arm back into the truck, "It's ok. Don't go soft or you'll be dead before we reach New Orleans! Don't you go falling for me, k, Nicky?"

He growled, "Don't call me 'Nicky!' How many times do I gotta say it!"

I quipped, "Out of that whole sentence, you're pissed off at the nickname?"

He thought about it and blushed at his mistake. Sheila was taping the whole time, catching Nick's embarrassment on camera. When he realizes that he was being taped, he threatened, "If this goes on the internet, I'll hunt you down and wring your neck until you're purple."

Sheila ignored his threat, because he's all talk and no action. However, she did turn off the camera and muttered, "I'll save some film for later. Hey, Chris! Take this digital camera and keep it."

I didn't even get a chance to react when she tossed it through the window. I was lucky I caught it before it shattered against the dash board. Why? Why does she want me to take pictures? Of what? The zombies? Us? The atmosphere! I don't know. What I do know is that I will get some pictures of my friends. Even if I have to tackle them to the ground in order to get it. Whatever. I want to have pictures of them if I even decide to write a book when I get out of this. I tested the camera on Lazerlemon. I turned it on and peered through the screen at the fluff ball. "Hey, Lazerlemon. Smile!" To my surprise, he did. He gave me a big toothy smile when I took the picture. The flash kinda stunned him a little, but he shook head and was fine in the end. I looked at the photo and said, "Aww. Even in a picture, he's so cute."

I heard Ellis shout, "Hey Chris. Speaking of singing, give us a song!"

I turned and stuck my head out the window, "I can't. My IPod is on the gun bag. So is Nick's lucky lighter. Can't sing without music."

Ellis rolled his eyes at my feeble excuse, "Oh come on, girl. Hey, I know a song you can sing! Do you know 'I Don't Want-'"

"'To Miss a Thing' by Aerosmith! No way in Hell! I know the song; I just refuse to sing it! Sorry, Ellis. Choose something else…that isn't lovey-dovey."

He hummed for a second and finally said, "What about 'The Enemy' by Godsmack?"

I grinned, "I love that song! Ok. Just let me get the rhythm in my head."

Everyone waited for a second and Nick began singing it out of impatience, "Hey! Oh, Mr. backstabbing son of a bitch! You're living in a world that will soon be dying!"

Ellis quickly joined in, knowing the song, "And I know! Everybody knows you try to be like me! But even at your best, there's a man you doesn't equal half of me!"

I joined in the chorus, "I am realizing that everybody's lost their simple ways! And now that it's here, I see it all so clearly! I've come face-to-face with the enemy! Oh the enemy!"

Sheila nudged Ro as she began to sing, "You! You're another shit talking punk to me! The living inspiration for what I never want to be!"

Ro finally gave in and sang, "And I see you've been blinded by what you believe! And back up and sit down, shut up and act like you need to be!"

Coach smiled and joined into our group, "I am realizing that everybody's lost their simple ways! And now that it's here, I see it all so clearly! I've come face-to-face with the enemy! Oh the enemy!"

Nick growled in a deep voice, "Come to me. Come to me. Oh the enemy. Come to me. Come to me."

He looked at me in the corner of his eye and I quickly looked back. He blushed slightly, but I just shrugged. Hey that line was part of the song. No need to be embarrassed by it.

Alex sang the last bit on his own, "So predicting, you're the reason why I lie. Simple decision took too much time to fly! Oh check mate! Check mate!" He began drumming on the steering wheel to the beat in his head.

The final chorus was sung by all of us, "I am realizing that everybody's lost their simple ways! And now that it's here, I see it all so clearly! I've come face-to-face with the enemy! Oh the enemy! Come to me!"

Once the song was over, everyone cheered at each other's singing and high-fived each other. Sadly, this happy event was interrupted by a strange null in power in the truck. Alex hit the dash board and Lazerlemon went 'meep?' The truck ran out of gas. Alex turned and announced, "Sorry, guys. Out of gas."

Ro groaned, "It's just like Jimmy Gibbs stock car. Out of gas."

I snapped my head towards her, "You saw Jimmy Gibbs Jr.'s stock car! Lucky bitches."

Ellis and Alex looked at me and Ellis beamed, "You like Jimmy Gibbs Jr. too?"

I gave a thumb sideways and replied, "I love his car, not too much Jimmy himself. He has a vibe that says 'cocky jerk', especially when he's racing."

Ellis sighed and Alex asked about the story on how they got Jimmy's stock car in the first place. When the elder Bucker brother told his exciting story to his young charge, I took Lazerlemon and slid out of the truck…right in front of a safe house. Lazerlemon 'meeped' at me and hopped into my jacket pocket. I wondered why until I heard faint thunder claps. I quickly shouted, "Guys! Safe house ahead! Hurry! The storm's getting closer!"

Everyone looked over in my direction and ran into the safe room. Sadly, a nearby Charger spotted me as easy prey, thanks to my limping. He bayed, which made me freeze and aim my combat rifle everywhere. "Where are you, you crazy fucker!" He tackled me down the stairs in front of the safe room door and little Lazerlemon tumbled out of my pocket. At the bottom, the Charger lifted me up and pounded my body into the ground with bone-shattering force. I shouted in pain, but it wasn't heard right away. Lazerlemon squealed at the top of his little lungs, alerting everyone that I was in trouble. Ellis was the first on the scene. "Oh shit! Back off!" he barked as he bolted down the stairs and shot the Charger in the arm, causing it to let go of me. "Finish him off, Chris!"

I grumbled as I sat up, "With pleasure!" I aimed my rifle at the creature and shot it in the chest three times. It fell dead while I struggled to stand up. "Son of a bitch! My legs feel like pudding!"

Ellis ran to my side and helped me to my feet. "Stay with me, Chris. Lean against my side and hop up the stairs." I obeyed and leaned against Ellis's side as he guided me up the stairs and into the safe house. Lazerlemon hopped up the stairs and scampered into the safe room, leaping onto Nick's shoulder like a bouncy ball. It jumped up and down, squeaking at him with urgency. He growled as he shooed the puff ball off his shoulder. It huffed at the con man and hopped back into Alex's hand. Outside the door, Ellis yelled, "Open up, guys!"

Nick looked up as Sheila and Coach opened the door and Nick gasped as he saw Ellis drag me inside. He leapt to his feet and grabbed my other arm, trying to get me away from Ellis. Ellis grinned evilly as he let Nick take over. Sheila asked, "What happened?"

I wheezed, "Charger…down…stairs…hurting…ow…"

Nick replied, "Don't worry. You'll be ok, Chris. I promise…once we find some adrenaline."

Ro plucked the shot off her belt and gave it to me. "Here, girl. You need this more than me."

I replied, "Thanks. I need the feeling back in my legs." Nick held me up while I took the shot and stabbed it into my right thigh. Almost immediately, strength powered my muscles and I was able to stand up without limping anymore. I stood upright and noticed Nick was still holding me. I cleared my throat, but he didn't seem to get the picture. "Ummm…Nick?"

"Yeah?"

I was going to say, "Get your bloody hands off me. I can stand now" but I thought for a second and said, "Bet you five bucks that you're ticklish."

He scoffed, "You're on!"

I grinned, "Ok then." Using my right arm (since Nick has my left trapped against his chest) I reach over to his left side and began tickling him. He shifted away from my hand and did his best not to laugh. I saw Sheila and Ro with sly grins on their faces. Not just towards me but towards Nick as well. I ignored them as I continued my mission in freeing myself and winning five bucks. Nick would always retreat and bite down on his lip to avoid laughing or even to smile. Sadly, his will power was failing and I finally hit his breaking point.

He let out a hearty laughter as he was gasping, 'Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!" I grinned in victory as he loosened his hold on me.

"Finally!" I shouted as I pulled away from him. He was holding onto his sides, trying to control his laughing. Everyone else was amused by my attempt to get out of Nick's arms.

Sheila piped up, "Damn Chris. I thought you would have loved to be held by your man."

I growled, "He's not my man. Y'all know that."

Alex petted Lazerlemon's head and said innocently, "He doesn't know."

I sighed and told the little ball of yellow fluff, "Nick and I are not together. Ok? We are not. He's not my man and I'm not his girl. Do you understand, pup?" It tilted his head and said 'meep'.

I sighed as the boys laughed. Nick pulled out the five and handed it to me, replying, "I don't think he understands what you're trying to tell him."

I scoffed, "It's hard enough to explain it to everyone else, let alone a puff ball."

He chuckled as I stuffed the money into my pocket. I bounced on the balls of my feet to feel any pain over my injuries. Thankfully, the shot was doing its job and not only gave me strength, but numbed the pain of my wound as well. I grinned as I walked over to the table and got ammo for my combat rifle. I heard Ellis mumble to Ro, "I think they're the only ones who don't know that they're in love with each other."

She replied, "I agree."

Nick and I snapped, "We heard you!" They only grinned when we realized that we're speaking in unison. "Damn it! Stop mimicking me! I hate you!"

Coach stepped in and said, "Ok! Enough, you two. Let's get going."

We nodded and followed the others outside the safe room. We had to cut through the sugar mill and back onto the road. The rain was coming down faster, causing Lazerlemon to retreat into Alex's jacket pocket to avoid getting wet. As we blasted common infected through the building, we all heard the faint crying of witches. As we slipped into the mill itself, we silently gasped as this place was covered in witches. We all huddled to together in silent terror as we scanned the mill for all of the witches. Most of them were wandering witches, but some were just sitting in our path. This is our most difficult run yet.

I muttered silently to myself, "Fuck. My nightmare is coming true. At least the many witches part is."

Ellis replied, "Let's hope there's no crazed witch, ready to go all 'Predator' on…you know who."

I nodded, "Me too."

He looked back at the witches and whispered, "Man, I'm goin' start cryin' soon."

Nick added his own comment, "The last time I saw so many crying women was at my wedding."

I quipped at the con man, "Would that be an insult or a comment on your part?"

He glared at me, which made me cringe a little. "I say it's both. Now shut up and let's go."

I pulled out my axe and ventured forward. Nick respected my bravery, but when a witch began to moan, he immediately pulled me behind him. I rolled my eyes and thought, "A little over-protective, huh? I know too many over-protective guys already: top two are Marshall and my father." Just the thought of my father made me melancholy. I wish I could have saved him and my mom, but I was too late to do anything. Ellis noticed my sudden shift in my mood, so he tapped my shoulder.

"Hey. Are you 'k, Chris?"

I nodded, trying to avoid talking. We need to stay quiet so we won't disturb any of the witches. Besides, I think my voice was creaking from sorrow, so if I talked, it would have been a sure-fire sign I was upset with something.

We traveled around the machinery single file and made it up to the command room or office or whatever it was called. Sadly, a witch was wandering towards us! We stayed against the side of the room and remained deadly silent and still. The witch got so close to Sheila and Ellis, he gripped her hand, either in terror or for protection. The witch's breath blew into their hair as they stared wide-eyed, praying that they will survive these ordeal. After a few seconds of intense waiting, the witch began to sob away from our chain of survivors. We all softly sighed in relief. It didn't last.

Thanks to the dust and sugar particles in the air, Ellis inhaled some and sneezed. Nick, on pure instinct, said, "Gesundheit." The witch snapped her head towards Nick and charged towards him, screaming and crying with her bloody claws in the air. "Shit!" he screamed. All of a sudden, he was tackled out of the way by someone. He fell on his hands and knees and growled, "What the hell?" His anger immediately cooled when he saw who took the witch for him: me.

The witch slashed my chest with her claws, forcing me down to one knee. "Shit! Get this witch off me!" I yelled as I shot at her with my Magnum. Ro and Ellis pelted her with lead until she stopped screaming and fell to the side, dead.

I struggled to stand up, but Nick grabbed a hold of my arm and said in an affectionate tone, "You didn't need to take a witch for me. You know that, right?"

I growled at his sudden concern, "No. I didn't. Enlighten me next time. Maybe I'll kill a Tank for ya! Self-sacrifice is in my nature, but for you? What the hell came over me!"

He just stared at me as I ranted, knowing that deep in my heart, I was glad I did it. He hissed as he saw the slashes on my chest, "Damn. Those like bad."

I growled as I pointed to my eyes, "Eye contact, up there, jackass!"

He looked up and huffed, "I know that! But your eyes aren't bleeding like crazy! Those scratches are and you need health fast or you'll die!"

I snapped, "Tell me something I don't know, Nick! Fuck! The one place I had to get scratched! Why not the arm or the stomach? But no, it had to be the fucking chest! My tits hurt like fucking hell! Fuck me!"

Ellis quipped, "That's a little too fast for Nick." Sheila smacked the back of his head as a result.

Nick rolled his eyes at my swearing rant and ushered Sheila and Ro to him. "Stay with Chris. She's too pissed off for saving my life and she's bleeding out fast. The quicker we get to a safe room, the faster you two can patch her up. I'd do it myself, but sadly, I can't get that close because…fuck, must I really explain why?"

Sheila chuckled, "No, Nick. We get it. Girls have tits. Guys don't. That's why. Moving on."

Ro added, "Don't worry about her Nick. She'll be fine once she's patched up. You're right; let's get moving before the storm closes in on us or Chris passes out from blood loss."

He nodded and the chain of survivors cautiously navigated through factory of the sugar mill without disturbing anymore witches. Nick was grateful for that. I did my best to keep my head in the fight, but my vision was getting blurry and the blood continued to flow out of my open wounds. Sheila and Ro stayed with me the whole time and whenever there was an adrenaline shot or pills nearby, they would give them to me. The group had to go up into the mill itself, which is a large building and had to call the elevator. Everyone shoved me into the cage of the elevator. I huffed, stubborn to fight, but even I knew I didn't have the strength if hit hard. They formed a barrier around me, protecting me as they killed zombies left and right. As soon as I felt the cage open, I fell inside and ushered everyone on. I hit the button to take us down and we looked beyond into the sugar cane field. My breathing suddenly was going very shallow and was getting harder to inhale regularly.

I wheezed, "Shit. Come on, bitch. You're no quitter. You can survive this scenario."

Nick looked over me with worry in his emerald eyes. Ellis knew that I was special to him. He sighed, "Chris, I'm going have to carry you again."

I wheezed again, "Fuck that. I'll walk on my own two feet."

Coach shook his head with disapproval, "Quit pushing yourself, Chris. You can hardly walk a straight line right now. Just let Nick help you out."

I groggily replied, "No."

As soon as the elevator hit the bottom and the grate opened, Nick grumbled, "Like it or not, I'm carrying ya!"

I hissed, "Over my dead body!"

Ro spoke with extreme urgency, "That's what you'll be if you won't let Nick help you."

All of a sudden, I got tunnel vision as the remains of my strength immediately faded. Darkness engulfed my vision as I whispered, "Oh shit" and hit the floor of the elevator with a hard thud. Everyone panicked. Nick scooped up my fainted form into his arms and bolted out of the elevator. Everyone else followed the determined con artist.

Ellis barked over the incoming storm, "Cut through the field! Keep going! Don't stop! Go, go, go!"

Nick didn't stop for anything. He had only one thing on his mind: get me to safety and revive me. Ro and Sheila ran ahead of him to clear his path of all zombies and led him into the safe room. Coach and Ellis protected his back while they jogged behind him. Once they made it to the gas station, Ellis barricaded the door, while Coach guarded the windows from any infected ready to break the glass. Nick went into the safe room and gingerly placed me on the floor, using his jacket for a pillow for my head. He placed his hand on my forehead and spoke as if it was a prayer, "Don't worry, sweetheart. You're going to be ok. God spare her."

Sheila quipped as he stood up, "Tenth time. She would have said that." Nick didn't even chuckle as he left the safe room, so Ro and Sheila could patch me up. Sheila asked, "Is she knocked out or dying?"

Ro shrugged, "I don't know." She placed her index and middle fingers against a vein in my neck and counted the beats. The results weren't good at all. She whispered, "She's barely hanging on to life here. We need to work fast." As they quickly prepped med kits and a defib unit from the safe room, they were unaware that I took my last breath before slipping away into the darkness called death.

I groaned as bright light attacked my eyes. "Ow! Shit! Too bright! Too bright!"

A gruff voice replied, "So you're one of the new survivors?"

I let my eyes adjust before completely opening them. A male stood before me. He was clearly older than 50 years old, thanks to his white hair and scruffy white-grey beard and mustache. He was smoking a cigarette and had an Assault Rifle in his hands. He was decked out in a Green Beret outfit, with a name tag that said "Overbeck" on it. He looked down on me and asked, "Well? Are you going to answer me?"

I growled, "Yeah. I am. Who are you, soldier?"

He rested the barrel of his M-16 against his shoulder and replied with a small smile, "William Overbeck. Vietnam veteran and zombie slayer."

I quipped, "Small world. I've been slaying zombies for weeks, but I've never seen you before. And why does the name 'Overbeck' sound so familiar to me?"

He took his cig and tossed it to the ground. As he stomped it out with his boot, he answered, "I was the soldier you wrote to when you were in middle school…Christina Annabelle Starly."

I gasped, "How do you know who I am? I never met you in real life! Wait, I'm the student who wrote to you?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I think I still have one of your letters in my pocket…back at my body. Oh well. They always made me laugh."

I smiled at his comment. This not everyday someone commented me on one of my hidden talents: writing. But the fact that he knew who I was after all of these years made me confused, "Wait. You know me when I was around…12 or 13 years old. How could you recognize me now, when I'm 30?"

He wiggled his finger as he closed his eyes calmly, "I've been watching you, as a request from your mother and step-dad. They were able to point you out to me. Call me your…guardian NamVet. I refuse to be called an 'angel'. It doesn't fit me."

I titled my head in confusion, "I have no step-dad. Travis Starly is my real father."

He raised his hands in innocence, "Sorry. Anyway, I've been looking over you and I must say, you've got a quick temper and an itchy trigger finger. A lot like me. I must ask though, were you ready to die?"

My eyes widened at his question, "Why would you ask such a thing? Yeah. I lived a good life. And what better way to die than self-sacrifice?"

Bill face-palmed himself, snapping, "You're too young and hardly achieved a thing in your life! You didn't fall in love, leave a legacy behind, make a good living, or faced the truth about your family!"

I defended, "What do you know about my family that I don't!"

He sighed, "You need to go back and find out for yourself. I will say this: you're not the last Starly. Oh, promise me that you'll open up to that Nick fella. He cares for you…a lot."

I huffed as I crossed my arms, "Tell me something I don't know, Bill."

Bill replied, "You love him. And your body is about to get zapped. Brace yourself, Chris. Remember, I'll be watching."

"Wait, Bill! What about-"

The sudden electric current entered my heart, shooting through every vein in my body, causing me to yelp in pain. Bill smiled as he quickly faded away and the bright light went "whoosh!" past my vision. It was like watching me going backwards through a swift tunnel. I gasped as the zap from the defib unit pulled me out of the light and back onto the floor. I opened my eyes and blurrily saw Sheila and Ro grinning ear-to-ear to see that the defib unit worked in bringing me back to life. My vision cleared and I was able to breathe right again. "Whoa! What a rush!" I said as I cleared my head.

Sheila whispered, "Shhh! Stay quiet! Nick doesn't need to know that you 'died'. He'd flip. Don't mention the defibrillator, ok?"

I nodded hazily. "Sure. As long as you don't zap me again. That hurt like hell." I looked down and noticed that my chest felt heavier than normal. I rolled up my shirt and saw thick, red-stained gauze wrapped around my chest. I softly touched it and to my surprise, it hardly hurt. "Wow. You two are miracle workers."

Ro warned, "Careful. We had to use stitches for the bigger gashes. You gotta love modern medicine."

"I do. Thanks you guys. I promise I won't do anything stupid while the stitches are in place."

Sheila quipped, "It's weird. I'm the klutz, but you're the one always in harm's way."

I cocked my eyebrow and glared at her. She and Ro laughed because that fact was true. Ever since the swamp, I've been the injured one. Damn it; if Bill is watching over me, make me stronger so I can survive this goddamn apocalypse!

Lazerlemon leaped into the safe room through the window and landed on my knee. He 'meeped' and bounced around the room. Ro picked him up and petted his little fuzzy head. She turned to Sheila and nodded. Sheila nodded back and opened the door to let the guys in. I quickly rolled down my shirt and stretched my aching limbs.

Nick kneeled beside me, asking, "Do you feel ok?" He collected his jacket and slipped it on.

I grinned, "I feel great! I feel like a million bucks! I'm ready to get this show on the road!"

Nick smiled as I leaped to my feet with my newly-energized legs and picked up a diesel can on the shelf. Everyone followed my example and grabbed a can of diesel gas. Lazerlemon hopped out of Ro's hand and back onto Alex, who giggled at the little creature. He crawled into his pocket when a big thunder clap echoed through the dark station. The clap startled all of us. That only meant one thing: we have to walk back to the dock in the middle of a storm. I quickly prayed to myself, "Bill, please allow us to make it through this storm without any mishaps or casualties. Amen, soldier."

As we prepared for the trip back, Coach asked, "Did you pray for our safety?"

I sighed, "Yeah. I was so close to death, that I saw the light. But I didn't die, so now I'm being a little more…careful. Praying helps."

He patted my back and replied, "Good job, Chris. Let's hope an angel is watching over us."

I muttered under my breath, "More like a soldier." Thankfully, Coach didn't hear me.

We ran into the storm. Since it was so windy, I had to keep my hood off. Instead, to hold back my hair, I had to take off the blue strap and use it as a temporary hair tie. Thankfully it was too dark and rainy to notice the scar. We noticed that the storm had times when it was at its peaks or most dangerous points.

The first one was when we were running through the sugar cane field again. I shouted, "Storm's hitting hard!"

Nick grabbed my hand and shouted, "Stay together!"

We stayed as close together as possible, but sometimes that wasn't even an option. When we did get separated, the group would be split into two pairs and one group of three. Nick and I stayed together, while Ellis and Sheila braved the storm together. Coach, Ro and Alex was the trio. Whenever the peak was over, I would have to wiggle my hand out of Nick's grip and continue to back-track to the dock.

Through the sugar mill was easy, but not so easy when we had to go back through the factory. First, it's still full of witches and second, the ground is starting to flood! Instead of cautiously going through single file, we just rushed through there as fast as we can. The less interaction with witches, the better.

Even the safe room was getting flooded. At least the lower level was. We took a small five minute break, so we can catch our breath and reload. Alex said as he looked out the window, "We should stay above water. We can use the roof tops and scale them to the dock."

Ro replied, "Well, it'll be faster than waddling through the water. Let's be careful though. Shingles are slippery when they're wet."

Ellis commented, "That's good to know. Ok, y'all. We know what we must do. Let's go!"

The bar came down and we rushed out of the safe room. The very first ladder we saw was near the construction site, but the ladder was slippery too. As soon as Alex jumped onto it, he hit his head against one of the rungs and stumbled into a ditch. He landed on a water pipe…right between the legs. Ellis, Coach and Nick immediately went "Ohh!" as we grabbed their own nuts in mock pain. He screamed in agony as he finished the fall into the muddy ditch. All of us looked down in horror, because we knew if we didn't hurry, he can drown if it fills up with rain water.

Ellis shouted, "Try to climb out!"

He clawed into the wall and tore a chuck out of it. "It's made of mud! I can't climb out!"

Coach asked, "What are we going to do now! We can't leave him down there!"

A very familiar coughing got my attention. I looked around for the Smoker and found it on the roof of a nearby trailer. I grinned as an idea popped into my head. I'm going to trick the Smoker into getting Alex out of the flooding ditch.

I barked, "Hey! Smoker! Over here, you walking smoke stack!"

It looked at me and growled then coughed. I began taunting it and made funny faces at it. He was getting pissed at me and it unleashed its tongue at me. I smiled as I prayed to Bill (again) I was going to survive the little stunt I was going to pull. Just before the tongue got a chance to wrap around me, I back-flipped to the other side of the ditch, causing the tongue to fall down into the ditch.

I yelled to everyone, "Grab the tongue! Quick!" Nick was still in awe, but Sheila snapped him out of it and followed my instructions. Coach and I ran to catch the Smoker, who looked horrified over the stunt I performed. Coach grabbed its arms as I stood in front of it. I commanded, "If you cooperate with us, we'll let you live. Do I make myself clear!"

Coach criticized, "Chris, you're talking to a zombie! He's too stupid to understand what you're trying to do!"

To Coach's surprise, the Smoker nodded his head and wheezed. "Good! Coach, you get to be his anchor. Hold onto him and pull backwards when I give the signal." He nodded and I ran back to the "tongue holders". "Ok, guys. When Alex is ready, we'll pull him up and out of there using the Smoker's tongue." I got as close to the edge as I could without falling in and shouted, "Alex! Grab the tongue! We'll pull you out!"

He shouted back, "Ok!" He wrapped his arm around the tongue and held onto it like a fireman's pole. "I'm ready! Hurry! The water's up to my hips!"

I nodded and shouted, "Now! Pull!" Everyone began pulling backwards, causing Alex to be lifted out of the water, slowly. I yelled to Coach, "Keep going back! Keep pulling back!" I then grabbed the tongue and began pulling as well. It was like a game of tug-o-war, except if one end fails, the other one can die.

After the last, muscle-straining tug on the tongue, Alex appeared over the edge, wet and very muddy. He rolled away from the ditch and we all let our legs fall to the ground, exhausted from the task. Coach let go of the Smoker, who scampered away, snapping his tongue off in the process. Lazerlemon hopped out of his wet pocket and growled in annoyance to his wet fur. However, he found warm comfort in Nick's coat pocket. Nick was too tired to be pissed off right now.

Alex finally stood up and groaned at his condition. "I'm all muddy and gross!"

I snapped, "Better muddy and gross than dead, Alex!"

He looked down and slowly nodded. "Ok. Point taken. Thanks for saving me, guys."

Coach replied, "You're welcome, boy. Now come on. That storm is getting worse."

We looked into the sky and got pelted by the rain. We stood up and began moving again. However, the storm got so bad; we were forced to take shelter in a flooded home. Oh well; at least there's a roof over our heads. We healed and washed Alex of all of the mud he had on him. Nick sat down on the couch and yawned, "Jesus! We're not even at the dock and yet we're still tired as hell. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired."

I yawned as well, because yawning is contagious. "I know, Nick. I feel your pain, man…and more."

He looked up, "More? What more?"

"More pain. I was so close to death, Nick. I'm just lucky. Hmm. Lucky in strip poker and lucky in escaping death. Cool."

He cocked his eyebrow, "Death is not cool, Chris."

I sighed, "I know. I shouldn't take life for granted. I know that now."

He sat up, "Good. You sure are acting different. That near-death experience must have affected your attitude."

I teased, "You should try it, Nicky."

He groaned as he fell back onto the couch, "How many times am I going to say this? Don't call me 'Nicky'!"

"Hey! You call me 'sweetheart' every chance you get!"

Sheila jumped in, "Ten times he said it."

I turned to her, "I counted nine times."

Sheila explained, "Your near-death experience caused him to say it for the tenth time."

"Really? That's it?"

Sheila realized the game I was playing. She grinned, causing Nick to gulp, "He also said that he would never forgive himself if you died. He even said 'I love you'!"

He quickly barked, "I did not! I never said that!"

She countered, "Oh like you weren't thinking it! I saw you holding her hand in the storm! It's a lot easier to just admit it!"

He huffed, "I admit nothing!"

She sighed, "Fine. Keep lying to yourself. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

I have to admit that teasing Nick like this is fun as hell. But, I believing that Bill was right; Nick truly cares for me. Holding my hand is one sign. Saving me from the plantation is another. Killing the Smoker on the Screamin' Oak as well. Lazerlemon shook me out of my thoughts and hopped onto my star tattooed hand and shimmied up my arm. I petted the little wet fluff ball and he purred with affection. Alex began shouting, "Lazerlemon! Where are you? Lazerlemon!"

I shouted back, "I've got him, Alex! He's with me!"

He came running and scooped him up in his hands. "Don't go running off like that! I was so scared that you were still in the ditch!"

Lazerlemon looked down in sorrow as Alex ranted at him. I butted in, "Relax, Alex. He was perfectly fine. He crawled into Nick's pocket to escape the rain."

He cooled down a little as he tickled Lazerlemon under his chin. I smiled at the redneck and his pet. It's good to see that happiness can still be seen in these bleak times. Even if the little puff ball is going to grow up into a vicious hooded killer…and kill me, because I'm the one who killed his parents. Sadly, they don't look much different from every other Hunter except for the Hunter who scarred me. That fire ball won't be seen again. I hope.

Lazerlemon hopped out of Alex's hand again and grabbed a long of my pant leg. I looked down and saw him, trying to shimmy up. I giggled in amusement as I lowered my rifle barrel to his level. He hopped onto it and got a free ride into my pocket. I thought, "This little guy has a thing for pockets."

I looked over to Sheila who was looking at Ellis. I smiled, knowing that my friend loved him. A city girl and a country boy; both from different worlds and upbringings. He looked towards Sheila, but quickly looked away and blushed. I chuckled to myself, thinking, "He's shy."

I walked over to Ellis and whispered, "Come on! Make a move!"

He shoved me and barked, "Oh shut up!"

I knew violence was a cover-up for him, so I decided to act cool. "Ok, man. Whatever."

Ro walked over to Nick and knocked his legs off the couch, so she could sit down. "Nick, when are you going to say something to Chris?"

He was annoyed enough already, so he wasn't in the mood to talk. "Never will! Get off my case!"

I heard him yelling, so I butted in, "Ro, leave him alone. Now's not the time for love or emotions."

She only looked at me with a face that said "hypocrite". I just rolled my eyes and walked into the bathroom. Once the door was closed, I lifted my shirt and saw the damage for the second time. The bandages were dark red and dry, so that means the bleeding has stopped. I sighed as I thought, "Why did I take a witch for Nick? It killed me!" I rolled my shirt down and walked out. What I didn't know is that Lazerlemon decided to check out the sink, so he leaped out of my pocket and landed inside with a surprised 'meep!'

Coach saw me walk out and asked, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Let's get to the dock before it gets too dark."

I walked beside the couch and ruffled Nick's hair to gain his attention. When he looked up with a scowl, I just pointed to the window and tapped my gun. He nodded and announced, "Come on, people. Let's get moving."

As we walked out of the house Ellis called "Hold on guys. Let me get something." So we all waited as Ellis emerged with a tactical shotgun with a red dot sight.

"Where did you get that Ellis!" Alex asked.

"It was in the closet of the bedroom." Ellis explained.

"MEEP" Lazerlemon shouted. He was still in the house, in the bathroom. Alex then went out of the group to go retrieve him then plopped him into his pocket.

"What did I tell you about getting lost! I was very worried about you. So stay in the group." Alex told him. Lazerlemon meeped in reply then squirmed into Alex's pocket.

We were able to trek back to the Burger Tank when Nick's original question came into our heads: How are we going to signal Virgil? Coach had his heart in the right place: the neon sign. He shimmied up the ladder and turned on the sign, causing it to light up and slowly rotate. This will not only get Virgil's attention, but also the hordes' attention as well.

Coach was followed by Ro, Nick, and Alex, while Ellis, Sheila, and I stayed on the ground, inside the fast food restaurant. We loaded up our weapons and grinned. "Let the brains fly!" Sheila shouted as the horde came running our way.

These hordes are getting harder and harder to destroy, especially since more and more Tanks come in. Every time there was a Tank, I would shout to whoever had a Molotov to throw it on the beast. Most of the time, my voice was drowned out, thanks to all of the madness. On occasion, one of my team mates would hear me and follow my advice. However, even a flaming Tank was still dangerous.

Once we heard the boat horn go off, we all began fighting our way to the dock. Sadly, so was a Tank, eager to attack someone. He decided to attack Ellis and Sheila, swinging his giant arm at them. Sheila was able to strafe to the side, but Ellis wasn't so lucky. He got the wind knocked out of him when the arm swung into his body. Ellis went flying, screaming, "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" past the boat and into the river.

Sheila and Alex, screamed, "Ellis!"

Without a second thought, Sheila jumped into the water after him. Nick panicked, "Is she fucking crazy!"

I shouted over the noise, "You don't know Sheila very well, do ya?"

That Tank swung his arm again and hit Alex onto the boat. Little Lazerlemon screamed through the whole flight. "MEEEEEEEP!"

I took out my axe and charged towards the Tank. "Time to die!" I barked as I jumped and sunk my axe into his fleshy back. He screamed in pain and spun around, causing me to fly off to the side. However, that didn't kill my growing anger. I sprang up to my feet and grabbed a crowbar. "Hey! I'm still alive, you whale-fucker!" The Tank turned around and roared. Nick, Coach, and Ro watched in horror as the Tank charged towards me. I only gripped the crowbar tighter and waited until he was about to attack. I quickly leaped up and drove the crowbar into his zombie-diseased brain. As he fell dead, I bellowed, "That's for Ellis and Alex!"

Sheila finally emerged with Ellis clinging onto life from his watery grave. Coach and Nick helped Sheila drag his body onto dry land, while Ro and I fought off the zombies. Sheila asked Coach, "Didn't you pick up a defib-unit earlier?"

Coach replied, "Hey! You're right, girl! Here! Use it quick!"

She rubbed the chest paddles together, sobbing as she stared at Ellis's still form. "Don't die on me, Ellis!" she cried as she pressed the paddles against his chest, hoping to jump-start his heart. At first, it did nothing, but a millisecond later, his eyes snapped open and gagged on water. Sheila was so happy, that she embraced his coughing form. "Thank God you're ok! I was so worried!"

He wheezed, "Thanks, *cough* Sheila. I do *cough cough* need *cough* air to *cough* breathe!" She let him go and helped him to his feet, escorting him to the boat. Coach covered them, while Nick ran back to collect Rochelle and I.

"Ro! Chris! Let's go! Fall back!" he shouted over our gunfire.

Ro heard him and hit my shoulder lightly, "Come on, Chris. Let's get out of this hellhole!"

I barked in anger, "Not until every one of these motherfuckers die!"

Ro was taken aback by my rage, so she tried to snap me out of it. "Chris! You're crazy! Let's go!" She grabbed my left arm and tried to pull me away, but I only snarled as I pulled my arm away. She knew something was wrong. Then she saw the Hunter. "Oh shit."

Nick came running and hissed, "Let's go, girls! The boat's waiting for us!"

Ro replied, "Chris is in her Hunter mode! There's no way I can snap her out of it!"

Nick muttered, "Shit!" Thinking fast, he grabbed my hood and dragged me back.

I hissed, "What the fuck, Nick? Let me destroy that creature that has made my life a living hell!"

He snapped, "No! Come on! Live to fight another day! Come on, bitch!"

I growled as I back-pedaled towards the boat. Nick and Ro followed. Nick knew I would never get this mad on purpose. He sighed as he thought, "Time for the truth to come out."