When Love and Hate Collide

Chapter 8: It's Tricky (To Dodge the Bombs!)

I slept with a smile on my face for the whole night, but my body had a very lazy vibe to it. The adrenaline of my rage yesterday was completely gone and I truly feel wiped-out. The wind chill didn't bother me anymore, but I didn't really give much thought about it, thanks to my very sweet dream. I slept like a baby.

Ro and Alex were the first ones awake. Alex yawned and stretched as he walked out to stern. "Mornin' Ro! Chilly night, eh?"

She nodded, "Oh yeah. That wasn't fun. Thankfully, there were blankets nearby that Sheila and I grabbed. I, however, didn't see Chris grab one."

He looked in my direction and quickly covered his mouth to avoid laughing too loud. Ro followed his eyes and grinned at the sight. Alex whispered, "Where's Sheila's camcorder?" He looked around for it and saw it in a pile of stuff beside her sleeping body. He quietly grabbed the camcorder and began recording me.

"Today is…hey Ro! What day is it, today?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. I lost track of the date since this shit started. Say it's Monday. It sure feels like one."

He nodded as he spoke for the camera, "It's Monday morning, nice and slightly breezy, even for a zombie apocalypse. Anyway, our pal, Chris here is sound asleep and look at what she has for cover." He forgot the camera has a zoom in/zoom out figure, so in order to get closer, he snuck closer to my sleeping form and whispered, "That's our very favorite con man's jacket. Nick's his name and betting is his game. What happened here last night while we slept between these two? Ro, what are your thoughts and comments on this shocking discovery?"

As Alex turned the camera towards Ro, she answered, "I didn't hear her get up at all. So if something did happen, it was all Nick. Or your brother is ballsier than I thought!"

Alex snapped, "You think Ellis did this? C'mon now! He's a very heavy sleeper and besides, why would he do something like this?"

She responded, "Because he really wants these two con artists to be together. He's playing match-maker."

Alex scoffed, "I'm the family match-maker! I'm the Bucker dog, not him! He's in love with Sheila, so he would try to get at her for himself."

I groaned in my sleep over the noise. Ro and Alex automatically turned their heads in my direction, waiting to see what I was going to do. Alex grew impatient and shouted, "Time to get up!"

I flipped him off and growled, "Five more minutes, you prick!" I grabbed the "blanket" that was on my head and flung it over my head to block out the sunlight and noise. Suddenly, I muttered, "Jesus. That Axe is stronger than I thought. Man, it's hard to breathe right. Christ! I need air!" I pulled my head from under it, coughing and gagging from the lack of clear air. Ro and Alex fall to the deck, laughing hysterically. I huffed, "What's so funny, you hyenas?"

Ro asked between breaths, "Did you know that you're covered by Nick's coat?"

I looked at it and said, "Um. All be damned! You're right. That'll explain why I didn't freeze to death last night. I was so cold! What about you, Ro? You got attacked by the chilliness of the night?"

She shook her head, "Nope. Unlike you, I got a blanket so I could stay comfortable. Sheila followed my example."

I stood up and threw the coat over my left shoulder. "Damn. Nick uses way too much Axe! That's a new way to die: death by Axe! Knowing my luck, I would die a stupid or humiliating death like that. Hey, did you know two dudes actually died by chocolate?"

Alex gasped and shouted, "No way! What happened?"

I didn't notice the camera was on at all. I thought Alex was just holding it. Sadly, he caught my whole Death-by-Axe comment on tape. Oops. What? It was a lot of Axe! Still oblivious to the camera, I told him the story, "These two guys who were idiots, locked themselves into a closet or panty and had a cocoa powder fight. The powder was being inhaled into their lungs and they suffocated from it."

Ro chuckled as she remembered something. You don't know this but that story reminded me of something Nick said before we met up with you, Alex and Sheila."

I grinned, "What did he say?"

She answered, "We had to go into the sewers of Rayford and Nick said 'I am breathing shit air into my lungs. It is being absorbed into my bloodstream. I am literally full of shit.' I thought it was hilarious. Let's just say that jacket of his has seen whiter days."

I chuckled as I looked at the coat over my shoulder. I'm surprised that the rain got a lot of the dirt, grime, and blood off of it. However, he must wear Axe Dry or some kind of special Axe because it hasn't lost any of its power. "'Full of shit?' No wonder he looked and acted like a jackass when we first met."

Alex quipped sarcastically, "Naw. Not Nick!"

I chuckled again. Ro and Alex both realize that I'm not in a bitchy mood at all. In fact, I was quite cheery. My new attitude began to creep them out a little. Whatever happened last night definitely put me in high spirits.

Sheila began to stir from her sleep and almost on cue, Ellis came wondering onto the stern. He yawned as he weakly waved to us, "Hey, y'all. What's goin' on?"

Ro replied, "Nothing much. Just recording Chris, talking about chocolate and shit. Remember Rayford?"

Ellis scratched his bed-ridden hair and yawned again. "Yeah. You liked the biker dude! And the sewer! And the wedding. Yeah. Good times."

I shouted, "Wedding? What wedding? I know about the sewer. Who was the biker dude?"

Ellis grinned at me, realizing that he can fuck up my mind if he wanted to. "Nick's wedding. We came across the wedding at the park and Nick paled so white, he was whiter than his coat…which is on your shoulder." I looked at the coat once more and shrugged. Ellis continued, "His bride really was a witch! Aw man! He took off running faster than Road Runner! Damn! It was so funny!"

Ellis's poker face gave it all away; he was lying. I scoffed as I flashed Nick's ring off, "And this ring is my engagement ring. Nice try, Ellis."

Ellis smirked as he countered, "You do know that Alex is recording you right now, right?"

I snapped my head towards Alex and sure enough, the little red light was on the camcorder. I shouted, "Oh shit! How long has that been on?"

He began giggling, "Shortly before you woke up."

Sheila finally woke up and asked, "What now? What did I miss?"

Alex waved the camera and said triumphantly, "Nothing that can't be replayed."

She stood up and leaned on Ellis's shoulder for support. His face turned bright red, but didn't reject it. Alex rewound the tape and showed her all of the details of the past five minutes. She giggled at the part with me gagging from too much Axe. I huffed, "Laugh it up."

Quickly realizing that the camera was occupied, maybe I can safely return Nick's coat without making a scene. I snuck away from the group, watching the tape and snuck into the cabin. Lazerlemon was awake, but Nick and Coach were still asleep. He looked at me and got all happy. He 'meeped' with joy as he scampered across Nick's back and leaped onto my waiting hand. I shushed him, but it was too late. Nick began to stir.

"Shit", I thought. He rolled onto his back and stretched his stiff limbs. He yawned and sensed my presence. He rubbed his eyes and lazily looked up. He grinned and said, "Hey."

I couldn't help grinning back, "Hey. Thanks for your coat." I walked over to the window seat and placed the coat on his lap. He blushed a little as he grabbed his coat off his lap and sat up. I was about to walk out, but he stopped me.

"Hold up. Where are you going?"

I turned around and smirked. In my best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice, "I'll be back." Nick gave a chuckle. Then the cooler caught my eye. "But the beer won't." I ran over to the cooler and dragged it outside.

Nick threw his arms into the air as he shouted, "Bitch! Bring the beer back! Please?"

I chuckled as I shook my head, "Nope! No more hangovers for you!"

He groaned like a little kid not getting his own way. I only laughed as I dragged the cooler onto the stern. Ellis beamed, "Yeah! Beer!" He ran to the cooler and pulled out a cold one. I shrugged, "Sheila gets to deal with your hangovers. I've had it with them."

He smirked, "Yeah. Remember that '7 minutes in Heaven' game at the Burger Tank?"

I felt my leg and winced at the memory. I grumbled, "More like '7 minutes in Hell'. That's why I dragged the cooler out here. So Nick can't get any of it."

Someone grabbed my shoulder and quipped into my ear, "I can simply get up and come out here for a beer, sweetheart."

I blushed a little for Nick being so close to me and quipped back, "Twelfth time. Nick."

He chuckled, "Don't deny it. You like it when I call you that." He looked over to the cooler and pulled out a beer.

I crossed my arms over my chest and countered, "Then you must love it when I call you 'Nicky' or 'Nicko'."

Our banter made Ellis snicker, thanks to the fact that he knows the truth. His snickering was caught by Nick, who glared at him dangerously. In order to avoid Nick's glaze upon him, he began to chug his beer. Nick's glaze softened a little when he saw how a hard drinker Ellis was. He decided to answer my retort with his own, "That's right. My heart does flips when you call me 'Nicky'. It's so sweet."

I knew he was being sarcastic so I just ruffled his scruffy hair. Annoyed, he tried to straighten it with ice water. I said, "It's weird that this apocalypse doesn't lack Axe, but there's no hair gel in sight."

Sheila fell down laughing, thanks to watching the video. Ellis choked on his beer from laughing, Alex couldn't hold the camera straight and Ro was grinning, but biting the inside of her cheek to avoid laughing. He opened his beer and walked back to me, "My sense of humor must be rubbing off on you. You're becoming a comedian."

Alex spoke his mind, "Bow chicka bow wow!"

Nick spun around to Alex and flipped him off. I had to place my hand over my mouth to avoid bursting out in laughter. "In Alex's defense, that statement did sound dirty, Nick."

Nick cocked his eyebrow at me and asked, "You're defending the hick's little bro? What about me? Con artists remember?"

I casually placed my hand on his shoulder and replied coolly, "Nick, we are con artists, but this little zombie-slaying group is our family now. Hell, if I snapped at Sheila or Ro, you'd back them up in a heartbeat."

Ellis crushed the beer can in his hand with anger. Nick darted his eyes and replied, "Maybe. Hey Ellis, quit being so jealous."

He blushed as Sheila giggled a little. She grabbed his arm and said, "Don't worry about it, Ellis. Nick would never be interested in me. He's right; con artists."

He quickly snapped, "That's not what I meant!"

Everyone began laughing again, while Nick blushed. I decided to quickly get my digital camera and take a picture of Nick. The flash startled him, but surprise was quickly replaced by annoyance. "Great. More blackmail."

I laughed, "Don't worry, nick. I'm going to get everyone!" I walked over to Sheila and Ellis and said, "Get closer. Sheila was happy to oblige, which caused Ellis to blush. "Closer. I can't fit both of you in the frame." Sheila laughed as her body leaned against Ellis's torso, making him turn redder and redder. She decided that she was going to make him sweat, so she took his arms and wrapped them around her body. He began panting as his heart began accelerating.

She smiled at the camera and said, "Smile, Ellis." He grinned awkwardly as the camera went "click!" and stunned them with the flash. Nick began laughing and quipped to Ellis, "What's wrong, Overalls? You finally get the girl in your arms and you're too nervous to do anything."

Ellis snapped, "Shut up, Nick!"

Sheila let go of his arms, but Ellis didn't let go of her. I tried to hold in a snicker, but Sheila just glared at me. I shrugged, "Karma's a bitch. What can I say?"

She only flipped me off. I chuckled as I took a picture of Ro. She smiled as she leaned against the side of the stern. Alex was the next victim, so I looked at Sheila and gave her the 'disarm' signal. It looked like Soulja Boy and the Cotton Eye Joe dance moves. Heel-heel-toe-toe, then 'Superman!", and lastly lasso spin-around. She sighed as she wiggled out of Ellis's arms and snatched the camcorder away from Alex. "Hey! That's YouTube gold!" She ignored him and I snapped a photo of him.

I threatened, "If that video goes on YouTube, I'll just a montage of photos of you. I'm sure Ellis has access to some good ones." Ellis smirked as he nodded his head. Alex's face paled. "Do I make myself clear?" He nodded. "Good."

Coach staggered onto the stern and asked, "Does anyone know where the hell we are?" We all looked at each other and shrugged. Coach groaned, "It's ok. I'll go ask Virgil then. As y'all were."

Sheila quickly grabbed the camera away from me and said, "You and Nick. In a picture together. Now!"

Nick and I said in unison, "No way!"

Ellis snickered again. "These two belong together, Sheila! What do you think?"

She smirked, "Oh yeah. A match made in heaven!"

"We are not! Damn it! Quit doing that!"

Ro was deeply amused by our banter. "I concur with Sheila on this one. Definitely a match."

Nick and I growled, but Sheila and Ro wasn't fazed. Ellis quipped, "And to think, Chris was in such a cheery mood earlier."

"Thanks to the…" I quickly stopped myself short. I wonder if anyone could pick it up from there. I certainly hope not!

Sheila smirked, "You actually had a good dream last night? Holy fuck! That's a first in weeks! What was it about! Tell me, tell me!" She nearly leaped at me in determination. I backed up into Nick, who was also shocked by the fact that I didn't have one of my nightmares.

Sheila grinned as she instructed, "Nick, wrap your arms around her, like what Ellis did." I truly expected Nick to recoil from this request, but instead, he obeyed. I was the shocked one! He wrapped his arms around my torso, holding me close to his chest. I blushed a little, which made Sheila's grin grow bigger.

I thought to myself, "Oh fuck it. I love the guy." I followed his arms down and gripped his hands, so mine would have something to do. Ever had your arms flop down in a picture? It's not a pretty sight. Trust me. To be more comfortable, Nick took my hands into his and tried to even out his breathing. I guess he was nervous, but bold. Sheila smiled a real happy smile. She knew it; Nick's in love with me.

"Say 'zombies!"" she shouted as she looked through the camera.

We didn't bother, because we laughed instead, showing real, loose smiles. "Click" went the camera and the moment was done. Nick separated from me and opened his beer that was left on the cooler. I don't know why, but my hands began to feel numb. I began rubbing them, trying to get feeling back into them, but it didn't work. Before I got a chance to try something else, Sheila grabbed my arm and dragged me to the bow.

"Alright, girl. Spill about your dream." She was determinate as hell to know what was in my dream that made me so giddy.

I cleared my throat and asked, "Why do you want to know?"

She answered, "Because I'm your best friend. You're like a big sister to me. And I'm sure I'm like a little sister to you. I want you to be happy. I know I haven't been so helpful, especially when it comes to Nick. I'm sorry for acting like a bitch during this adventure. You're all I have now."

I smirked, "What about Ellis?"

She blushed, "I really, really, really like him. But he's more of a boyfriend than a brother. And why are you dodging my request? Tell me your dream."

I sighed, "Fine. The Hunter and I had a dragon fight. I defeated him easily, but the Hunter happened to be Nick and he said that he wanted me." Sheila gasped like a fan girl. "Nick used the Force to get me into his arms and he said 'I love you'. Then he kissed me." She grinned and began giggling. I blushed. "Shut up."

She stopped giggling and replied, "Sorry. But it's been awhile since you had a dream like that. Just admit that you have fallen for Nick."

"Hell no."

"Hell yes."

"Fuck no!"

"Fuck yes! Confess!"

"Fine! Yes! I have! Happy now?"

She grinned, "You have my blessing, Chris. You two will be happy together. I wish you the best of luck."

I cocked my head and chuckled, "You're acting like I accepted his marriage proposal! Nothing's happening right now. Let's survive the next few days before anything big happens, ok?"

She nodded, "Ok. Well, then. You should know that I love Ellis."

I scoffed, "I've known that since Day 1. I think everyone knows that by now."

She shrugged, "Well you know from the source. Come on let's go back to the others. I promise not to say a thing about your dream or about your love for Nick."

I smiled, "Thanks, Sheila. I need to keep this secret under wraps for a while."

We walked back to the stern and Virgil came out with Coach. Coach beamed, "There you guys are! We were waiting for you two."

Both of us were confused. Sheila asked, "Waiting to do what?"

Virgil happily responded, "To get a group photo!"

I countered, "When did we sail to Disney Land? Thousands of pictures. No thanks." Sadly, we didn't have much of a choice. Virgil took my camera and Coach dragged us into the cabin where everyone else was. Virgil took the picture while all of us squeezed in order to fit into the frame. I was practically in Nick's arms again, while Sheila kneeled on the floor with Ellis hovering close above. Lazerlemon was on top of Alex's head. Coach stood behind Alex and next to Ro. So in the bottom row would be Sheila, Ellis, and then Alex with Lazerlemon. In the top would be me, Nick, Ro and lastly Coach.

Virgil smiled and counted, "1…2…3…say 'Big Easy!'"

We all shouted "Big Easy" and the camera flashed, blinding us for a few seconds. The captain grinned as he gave the camera back to me. "Here you go! Treasure this time with each other."

I nodded, "We will, Virgil."

"Good. Now, who wants to go to New Orleans!" Everyone raised their hands in the air, because we want to get saved. We're sick of the fucking zombies! We want to be somewhere safe. No more blood. No more brains. No more killing. No more of this awful apocalypse.

The boat pulled over to a dock and stopped. Alex grabbed the gun bag and hopped out, following everyone off. "So, this is New Orleans, eh? It looks alright."

Virgil called through the P.A, "I ain't going much farther, but y'all can make it to the bridge from here!"

Ellis shouted back to him, "Good luck brother!"

He replied, "Good luck now. I'll see if I can help some other folks." The boat began to sail away, leaving us on the dock.

Coach announced, "We're almost home free people!"

Nick added his own two sense, "Well, seeing the bridge and getting to it are two different things."

Sheila replied, "I'm with Coach on this one. We're in the final stretch! We're almost there!"

I had to calm her down, "Relax, Sheila. Nick's also right. We have to get there first. So, let's quit yapping and start blasting!"

We pulled out our guns from Alex's gun bag and reloaded to a new fresh clip of ammo. I got my beloved AK and Magnum back and I was able to pick up a new guitar. Sheila got her sniper rifle back and her machete. Nick got his Assault rifle back as well. I think aside from Sheila and I, Nick would rather keep his current weapon than to swap it for another. Everyone else changes their guns from time to time.

Once we were ready, we stormed forward into the Big Easy as if we were soldiers. In a way, we were soldiers. Sure, our enemies don't shoot back and are single-minded maggot food, but this is war. Speaking of soldiers, military jets soared over our heads as we shoot the bullet fodder.

Coach beamed, "Alright! The military is still here!"

Nick groaned, "They don't evacuate people in fighter jets."

Alex barked, "Quit being so negative! We have come so far! Someone is bound to save us!"

We continued until we reached a store/safe room. Nick went over to the cash register and opened it up. I quickly intercepted him and took a hundred dollar bill in it. "Mine!" I shouted in victory.

"Hey!" Nick barked as he grabbed my arm, "No fair!"

I chuckled, "You gotta be quicker than that, Nicky!"

He growled as he pushed me into a wall. Ellis smirked over the sight. "Don't call me that. Give me the hundred."

I only smiled as I stuffed it into my bra, "You want it? I dare you to get it without getting smacked." Nick gulped and chuckled nervously. Sheila and Ellis collided into each other, laughing over our situation.

Sheila snorted, "Is that one of your con artist tricks, Chris?"

I shrugged, "Maybe. Like I've said: guys think with the heads between their legs, not with the heads on their shoulders."

Ro and Sheila giggled, because they knew it was true. However, that comment offended the guys. "Come on, Chris! Not all guys are sex-crazed bloodhounds", Coach snapped.

I countered, "But most of the guys I know are."

Nick challenged, "Oh yeah? Name three."

I smirked, "Alex, Ellis, and Nicolas."

Ro and Sheila burst out laughing, while the three boys either blushed or growled. Nick did both. "Not funny", he grumbled.

"I beg to differ, my con friend", Ro commented.

"Hey, Nick? Are you going to let me go or do have to do a certain task in order to advance?"

He scoffed as he let go of my arm, "This isn't a video game."

I brushed my arm off and quipped, "Who knows, Nicky?"

He rolled his eyes and groaned out loud. "You're never going to learn, are ya, sweetheart?"

"Thirteenth time, hot shot."

He muttered, "'Hot shot', huh? That's a new one."

Coach said, "Enough you two. Let's rest for an hour."

We all nodded as we went off to do our own thing. Ellis decided to talk to Sheila. Alex began to feed Lazerlemon with a zombie hand. Coach and Ro began talking about being rescued. I went up onto the roof of the store and looked over at the bridge. Nick was right. Getting to the bridge is different than seeing it. I sighed as I watched jets fly over the sky. "The military is bombing us. That's bullshit! We've come so far and when we're finally here, we're going to be bombed to bits."

"What'cha doing up here, sweetheart? Just hoping to get attacked by a Smoker?" a familiar voice quipped behind me.

I chuckled without looking back, "No, Nick. Fourteenth time."

He walked next to me holding a pair of binoculars. He looked over to the bridge and cursed at the distance. "How long do you think it'll take us to get to the bridge?"

I looked over to him and took the binoculars off of his hands. However, the neck strap was around Nick's neck, so when the binoculars went up to my eyes, Nick and I were cheek-to-cheek to each other. Not that I minded. I don't think Nick minded either. I answered, "Half a day. One full day most. We are quite the speedy bunch." I gave the binoculars to Nick.

"Good. One more day in this hell and we'll be home free!" he shouted with newly found enthusiasm.

I chuckled, "Who are you and what have you done with the real Nick?"

He smirked, "Oh funny, Chris. Even I have my moments."

I leaned against the edge and nodded, "You do. Not many, but yes. I can't deny that."

Nick asked, "Why were you up here?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, to be perfectly honest. I went up here and watched the jets fly by."

He scoffed, "I hope the jets go and they send in choppers."

I replied, "I agree with you. Jets leave, choppers come. Hey, Nick? What are you going to do after you get out of here?"

He pondered that question, because he never really thought about it. "I don't know. Go back to Vegas, I guess. Where's there's a roulette table and Texas Hold'em, you can find me there. What about you?"

I looked down at my worn out sneakers. "I'll go home."

He asked, "Where's home for you?"

"Back in Miami, Florida."

He nearly fell to his knees, "Are you crazy! That place is crawling with zombies, last time I heard. You survived one attack by yourself, but can you survive another?"

I scoffed, "I know I can! With my Magnum and AK with me, I'm a terror to zombies everywhere!"

He sighed, "Come on, Chris. Our one chance for salvation is in our grasp and when we get there, you want to dive back into this mess? I don't get it."

I walked up to him and jabbed my finger into his chest, "Miami is the only home I've got. I need to go back. My family still needs a proper burial. I will bury them, even if I have to do it alone."

Nick was about to say something, when we both heard another voice shouted, "I have an idea!" We turned around and saw Sheila grinning at her idea. Sadly, Nick and I feared the worst.

She leaped at me and suggested, "You can live with me! Boston is zombie free! After the burial, you can 'con' a plane ticket to Boston and you can be my roomy!"

Nick smirked, "That solves your problem right there."

I quipped, "I thought Ellis would be your roomy, Sheila."

She giggled at the mere thought of living with Ellis. "Well, since the South is pretty infested with the infected, he is going to have to live up in the big cities."

Nick chuckled, "Can you image? Ellis the country boy in a big city?"

I followed his tone, "That's unthinkable."

Sheila didn't find it so funny. "Come on, guys. He can adapt."

We rolled our eyes at the thought. He wouldn't last five minutes in New York City, especially with his accent. However, I did move from New York to Florida. That's why I didn't gain the Southern accent; at least not as thick as Ellis's.

I finally said, "Ok. I will live with you. But after my family's funeral."

She beamed and hugged me in joy, "Yay! But no conning my boyfriend."

Nick and I went speechless. Boyfriend? Ellis? No fucking way! I struggled to find my voice while I mumbled, "You and Ellis?"

She nodded with the biggest smile on her face. So she wasn't lying about him living with her. I did smile realizing how happy she looked. She and Ellis were opposites, but like the old saying goes: opposites attract. Nick decided to break the silence by saying, "When's the wedding?"

She flipped him off and I laughed. He just shook his head in amusement. I asked, "So, he confessed?"

She swayed her hand and answered, "Yes and no. He got so tongue-tied, that I guessed and he just embraced me. Then I confessed to him and he was so happy! The rest is history."

Ellis came running up the stairs. Nick quipped, "Speak of the Southern devil."

He eyed Nick for a second and then focused on Sheila, "Hey, baby. We should get movin'. And why are you hugging Chris?"

She let go of me and bounced into Ellis's arms. "Because when this mess is over, she's going to be moving in with us!"

I expected him to be pissed, but instead he beamed at me. "No way! Awesome! But I personally thought you would go with Nick."

Both of us blushed uncomfortably and I quickly snapped, "You would think that, Ellis!"

He raised his hands in innocence, "Sorry. I do know Foxwoods is near Boston."

Nick immediately looked up, "Foxwoods? I'm so there!"

We laughed on how easy it was to get aboard the nut boat: a redneck, a city girl, and two con artists. At least I have a plan now. Beat Nick at Foxwoods and stay with my best girlfriend in Boston. Sounds good to me.

Ellis broke the moment, "Come on, guys. Let's get movin'." We nodded as we followed Ellis back down into the safe room.

Coach saw us walking down and commented, "You guys are crazy, going up there in the open."

Nick countered, "I tried to get Chris, and then Sheila followed."

Coach looked at the con man with a smirk on his face, "Yeah right, Nick."

Nick growled defensively, but I grabbed his shoulder, "Enough of this. We have zombies to kill and quick. I estimated that it'll take us a whole day maximum to get to the bridge. If we keep moving and make smaller stops, we should be able to make it by nightfall."

Coach nodded, "Sounds like a plan to me."

Ro added, "Now that we have our game plan, we can survive this last stretch and get the hell out of there."

Alex took Lazerlemon off his head and said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" We all nodded as we reloaded our weapons and grabbed supplies. Nick went back to the register and took everything in there…expect the hundred I "stole" from him. I'm surprised he didn't even try to get it, but he also knows that if I'm pushed too hard, I'm not afraid to shoot him. I giggled at the memory in the swamp. Nick looked at me with a raised eyebrow, so I quickly cleared my throat and held a stern face.

Once the door was opened, we ran out of there, filling the air with lead. Coach led us into a park covered in tall hedges. I shouted, "Stay together. We don't want to get…Spitter!" The Spitter spat an acid patch at us, immediately cutting our team into two groups: on the left were Alex, Nick, Ellis and Ro. On the right side, it was Coach, Sheila, Lazerlemon and I. We planned to just hold up until the acid faded, but a Jockey grabbed a hold of Coach, causing my group to chase him down. A Smoker snagged Alex, causing Nick's group to rescue him.

Once Coach was Jockey free, Sheila turned around and panicked, "Where's everyone else?"

I looked behind as well and gulped. "I have no clue. Don't worry; they'll be fine." Lazerlemon panicked and slipped into my jacket pocket for safety. I felt the little pup shaking inside.

"I'm not worried about them. I'm worried about us!"

Coach swallowed a few pills and asked, "What are you talking about, Sheila? We'll be alright."

A Charger thought otherwise. It bayed as it charged into us and knocked us over like bowling pins. It grabbed Sheila and began pounding her into a pulp with its huge arm. Coach was about to help her, but he got jumped by a Hunter. Two of my friends are getting hurt and I'm left with a choice. Fuck that.

I tossed a bile jar onto the Charger and knocked the Hunter off Coach. While the Charger got mauled by his own kind, it released Sheila and she quickly crawled away. The Hunter decided to pounce me, but I was ready for it. As it leaped with it's claws out-stretch to me, I used my guitar as a bat. I swung hard and it nailed the Hunter in the head, snapping it's neck and falling to the ground in a dead pile.

Sheila healed herself using her med kit and walked over to the dead carcass. I kneeled before the Hunter and harvested its tooth. "You ok, Sheila? You took a beating there." Coach asked.

She nodded, "I'm ok. Thanks, Coach. Chris that was quick thinking you did. Bile jar and a guitar combo. Still no zombie-kill of the week though."

I snapped my fingers and muttered, "Fuck. Oh well. Let's get out of this park and begin to find our missing comrades." Coach and Sheila nodded as we walked through the park, blasting zombies. We came across a statue of a horse, which Sheila loved.

"Even though I live in the city, I love riding horses. They're awesome!"

I quipped, "Ever ate one? They're awesome for your cholesterol!"

She looked at me and retorted, "You worry me sometimes, Chris. I think you should know that." Coach and I chuckled as we advanced. Once out of the park, Sheila began to worry. "Where are they?"

Coach shrugged, "Maybe they're waiting for us at the next safe room."

I doubted, "I don't they would, because two out of four of them would stop at nothing to find us."

Sheila replied, "That's very true."

All of a sudden, a flare popped into the air. It exploded in a fiery red color. All three of us ran back into the park and fought our way to where the flare was set off. We expected our friends to be there. Instead, we got a nasty surprise. It was the Hunter, who set off the flare gun and was waiting for us. I snarled, "You!"

He looked up and grinned evilly towards me. Coach and Sheila had their guns raised, but I growled, "Don't bother. This one's mine." Lazerlemon poked his head out and saw the older Hunter. He 'meeped' with curiosity as he leaped out of my pocket and stared at the adult. The older creature had no interest in Lazerlemon, so he snarled at the pup. He yelped in pain as he ran to Coach and leaped onto his shoulder.

Sheila asked, "Is that him?" I nodded without taking my eyes off the Hunter. She lowered her sniper and said to Coach, "Listen to her. She's got a score to settle with that Hunter."

He asked, "That's the Hunter that haunts her dreams? I thought he was dead!"

She replied, "So did I. Apparently not."

Coach shouted as a Boomer exploded next to him covering him and Lazerlemon in the bile, "Shit! We're going to have our hands full! I think Chris will be ok…for now." The horde came running towards the bile-caked survivors, leaving me alone.

I gripped the neck of the guitar so tight that the strings began cutting into the skin on my fingers. The Hunter growled challengingly at me, expecting me to attack him. I stubbornly shook my head, waiting for him to attack first. He shrugged his shoulders and pounced me. I rolled forward and he went soaring over my head. He stumbled on the landing and snarled at me.

I stood up and swung my guitar at his head. He ducked and grabbed the base with his claws, trying to pull it away from me. I'll admit, he was pretty strong even for a limber zombie. I struggled to get a firm grip on the neck as he pulled. I dug my heels into the dirt as I stood my ground, pulling with all my might. The Hunter cackled as he said, "Is that the best you can do? I expected more from you, Chris."

I snarled, "You haven't seen anything yet!"

He huffed, "We'll see about that." Using his claw, he slashed the guitar strings and they sliced into my hands. I hissed in pain as I let go of the guitar. I flailed my hands in pain as he pounced me to the ground. Thinking fast, I head-butted his head hard, causing him to hiss in pain as he leaped off my body. He growled as he rubbed his forehead, "I'll admit that I didn't see that one coming."

"Where did you get the fucking flare gun?" I snarled as my hands bled and my head began to throb.

He grinned, "I picked it up from the last band of survivors I attacked."

In rage, I tackled the Hunter, causing him to yelp in surprise. I pinned the creature down and hissed, "If you harmed my friends, I will shoot you now and never ask questions."

Suddenly, he clawed my arms and rolled over onto me, pushing my body into the blood-stained dirt. "It doesn't matter if I live or die! You will become one of us!" He used his left claw to force my head to the side, aiming to bite my neck. "Since you're immune to the infection from the air, I wonder how well you deal with it when you are bitten!" I gasped as his hot and smelly breath hit my neck and the side of my face.

"I won't give up so easily!" I screamed in my head. I quickly kneed him in the balls, causing him to wail fiercely. That wail of his could have wakened the dead! Or it could be a call for help. If that's the case, then I'm fucked!

I closed my eyes and braced myself. My attack didn't knock him off, so he's still ready to sink his infected teeth into my skin. All of a sudden, I felt his weight disappear, so I opened my eyes. I gasped as I saw Nick standing over me, firing his Assault rifle at the Hunter. The Hunter whimpered under fire and fell to the ground.

Nick strapped the rifle to his back and helped me up. "Are you ok, Chris? Did he bite you?"

I replied, "No. He didn't, but he was going to."

Nick noticed that my right hand was covered in blood. In panic, he asked, "What did he do to you!"

I looked down on my hand and flinched when Nick gently grabbed it. "He broke the strings on the guitar and they sliced my hand."

He quipped as he used his med kit on my hand, "I guess they invented leather biker gloves for a reason, eh?"

I chuckled as he wrapped my hand in gauze. "No kidding."

He tied a knot and let my hand hang. Then he looked up into the sky. "I doubt we'll make it in one round. Let's hope we don't have any other mishaps."

I nodded, "I agree. Where's everyone else?"

He pointed behind him and replied, "They're waiting for us back at the horse statue. Let's go." I followed him as he led me back to our friends. They were healing after that chaos. Lazerlemon looked up and 'meeped' with joy.

Sheila saw us approaching and called, "What happened?"

Nick replied, "Nothing I couldn't handle. Let's get to the nearest safe room."

Ellis added, "Let's hope we don't get separated again. I was terrified for Sheila's safety. And Nick, you were just as worried as I was for Chris."

Nick didn't bother retorting, so instead, he flipped him off. Ellis just shrugged it off. Ro barked, "Stop it, Nick. You know he is right."

I said, "We can all argue later, but right now we should keep moving." Lazerlemon hopped back into Alex's pocket as we began to move out.

Nick asked as we walked out of the park, "Don't you still collect Hunter teeth?"

I replied, "Yeah, but I didn't kill him. You did. I only harvest the teeth on the Hunters I kill." He nodded in understanding.

As we fought onto the streets and under the freeway, we ran into a trailer connected to a tower with an alarm. Things are never easy for us. Alex looked out the door window and complained, "That looks like a far run. Who are our fastest runners?"

Coach replied, "I expect Ellis, Sheila, and Ro to be our fastest runners."

Nick nodded, "I agree. You three run ahead, while we cover ya."

Ro said as she grabbed an adrenaline shot, "Ok, guys. Ellis, Sheila, you two grab a shot. We're going to need them." They nodded as they grabbed the 'quick energy in a sting'. Nick opened the door and Ro, Ellis and Sheila booked it out the trailer, activating the alarm. Coach, Nick, Alex, and I jogged behind them, blasting zombies in their way to the best of our ability. Ellis and Sheila treated this task like a race, leaving Ro in the dust. I chuckled at the sight. Lazerlemon thought it looked fun, so he hopped out of Alex's pocket and squeezed through the fence with ease and chased down his human friends. Alex chuckled as his pet had a good time running.

Ellis sprinted up the ladder and ran across the boards. Sadly, a Smoker was ready to snare him. As soon as he reached for the button, the long-tongued zombie grabbed him, pulling him towards the edge. "Oh shit!" he screamed. Sheila sniped that Smoker from the ground, but it was able to pull him down to the ground before it exploded in a cloud of green smoke. She was horrified to see Ellis take the fall.

"Ellis! No!" she screamed, running towards his body. Lazerlemon 'meeped' with horror as he hopped towards the elder Bucker and began sniffing his head. Ro was just as concerned for Ellis, but she had to turn off the alarm before we all get swarmed. She ran up the ladder, shooting every zombie in her way.

She pushed the button and shouted, "Alarm's off!"

That was our queue to go after them and to destroy all of the other zombies they missed. Sheila kneeled before Ellis and asked, "Are you ok, baby?"

He looked up and smiled, "I am now." She smiled at him while she helped him up to his feet. Thankfully, he had no broken bones, so he could still walk. "Thanks, Sheila. That was a nasty fall, but not as bad as Chris's fall off the Screamin' Oak."

I grumbled as we ran to the couple, "That hurt like hell, Ellis."

Nick whimpered, "I still feel bad for that."

I placed my hand on his shoulder, "Once again, it wasn't your fault. You shot the Smoker without a second thought and it all fell into place."

Alex quipped as he kneeled down to pick up Lazerlemon, "No pun intended on the 'fell'."

I growled at him, causing him to take a few steps back. "You fall off a coaster, then come talk to me. Come on, let's go."

We ran through a bus depot and found the safe room. We all sighed with relief, since the sun was going down. As soon as we bolted into the safe room and sealed the door, we all sat down on the floor and relaxed.

Coach turned to me and said, "So much for a half a day plan, Chris."

I snapped, "Hey. It would've worked if we didn't get separated. Now we need to bunker down for the night. No stops tomorrow, k?"

Ro asked, "What now?"

Alex asked, "What about another strip poker game?"

Sheila nodded as she pulled out her camera, "Oh hell yeah!"

I sprang to my feet, "Oh hell no!"

Ellis, "I'll agree to it as long as Chris 'unfixes' her deck. I refuse to lose that many times."

Nick smirked, "You're just full of bad luck, Overalls. Poker is a game of luck. Even a fixed deck can turn the tables on its owner. Trust me on that one."

I sighed, "Thank you, Nick. At least someone understands."

Coach replied, "That's because he's just like you!"

Nick shrugged, "Is that a bad thing, Coach?"

Sheila and Ro smirked at me, while I blushed. Coach cleared his throat and answered, "In some respects it is. But in others, it's not."

I added my two sense, "Let's not get into details. No strip poker game."

Everyone groaned. Sheila begged, "Please? You could die tomorrow!"

I scoffed, "You used that excuse last time. And look. I'm still alive!"

Nick said, "That's ok. You don't have to play." He pulled my deck out of his sleeve and flashed it in front of my face.

I gasped, "You sneaky, slimy conartist!"

He laughed, "That's right sweetheart! And I love it!"

I muttered under my breath, "Fifteenth time. You know what? Fine! Let's play another strip poker game. Once again, this tape does not go on YouTube or there'll be hell to pay."

Everyone cheered and we all sat in a circle. Ro didn't really want to play, so she held the video camera and enjoyed the game without the risks. Lazerlemon waddled into the middle of the circle and 'meeped' in amusement. She quipped, "I can't wait to see this."

I was losing this game…badly. I was in my bra and panties. I'm the loser, not Ellis. Nick did not stop grinning and blushing. He too was shirtless, but he wasn't losing as bad. Ellis was winning this game. He only had to remove his hat. Sheila had to remove her wind breaker and boots. Alex was shirtless again, but thank God he had his pants on. Coach just took off his outer shirt. Ro was laughing as I was losing big time.

I growled, "Oh shut up!"

Ro shook her head, "No. I won't. It's too funny."

I blushed as I hid my face behind my hand. "Not funny, guys. Karma hates me."

Sheila nodded, "That's what you get when you cheat, Chris."

I huffed, "I didn't cheat!"

She countered, "You cheated on the last game."

I hissed, "Why did I let you talk me into playing?"

She laughed, "Thank Nick for that, not me."

I turned my head towards Nick, who did his best not to stare at me. "Thank you, Nicolas."

He gritted his teeth at his full first name, but he didn't snap. "How are those witch scratches healing?" he asked.

I retorted, "I died from these scratches. You tell me."

He went wide-eyed, while Sheila and Ro muttered, "Oh shit!"

He grabbed my shoulders and began to shake me, "You died? You bled out? Why didn't you tell me?"

I replied, "I didn't know you'd be so…bent out about it. I was revived. Problem solved."

He growled, "You have no idea how much I…" he cut himself quickly before he finished the sentence.

I pulled out of his grip and snapped, "Let's drop it. It's all in the past now."

Nick cleared his throat as he mumbled, "Yeah."

The game was over when I lost one last time. I tossed my hand onto the floor and said, "Fuck. I'm out." Then I stood up and walked to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, I gently unwrapped the gauze around my chest. The scratches still had the stitches in them and they hardly hurt, so I guess I'll leave them uncovered for a while. If they break open again, I'll wrap them up with more gauze. I put my bra back on and walked out. In my hand was the hundred dollar bill.

I walked to my pants and put it into my pocket. Nick was watching me from a corner. He noticed that I had my second tattoo on my left shoulder blade. It was a dragon. (I'll find a picture of it later. Promise!) He crawled over and looked at it better.

I growled, "What do you want, Nick?"

He was taken aback by my tone, "Nothing. I was just looking at your dragon tattoo. It's very cool."

I huffed, "Thanks."

He asked, "Why are you so snappy all of a sudden? Was it something I said?"

I sighed, "No. I can be a sore loser sometimes. That's all."

"Oh. That makes sense. Hey, didn't you say on the boat, that you loved Xavier Powers?"

I grabbed a hold of my shirt and snapped, "He's a hero to me. I never said I loved him."

He grinned, "I'm Xavier Powers."

I put my shirt back on and replied, "Bullshit."

He sighed, "It's true. I conjured that name so I wouldn't get caught as Nicolas Rowker."

I snorted, "Do you have proof?"

He pulled his wallet out and gave me an old picture. It was of three boys, all in their late-teen years. Two of them had black hair and the third one had his hair dyed blue. All three of them were wearing some sort of dress shirt.

Nick said, "These were my old buddies from high school. The blue-haired guy is Jackson. He loved dying his hair all kinds of colors because he hated his blonde hair."

I looked at Jackson and chuckled. "He's a blonde? I never would have guessed."

He continued, "The guy in the black leather jacket is Trevor. He was a good poker buddy. He would hate it when I beat him."

I pointed to the last guy, "And I take it, that's you."

He nodded, "Yeah. Look familiar?"

I stared at the younger Nick. He did look a lot like Xavier. The only reason I know what Xavier looked like is because I had a picture and the article framed in my apartment. He had the prettiest green eyes I've ever seen on a guy.

I smiled, "It's true. You are Xavier."

He smiled back, "In the flesh."

I asked, "So, how did you escape the casino?"

He replied, "I set the fire alarm off with my lighter and killed a security guard that looked a lot like me. I swapped clothes with him and dumped his body off the roof."

I gasped, "Holy shit! No way!"

He nodded, "Yeah way. It was tricky, but I made it."

I slipped my pants back on and said, "There was one thing I always wanted to do if I ever encountered Xavier."

Nick placed the picture back in his wallet and asked, "Oh yeah? What's that?"

I embraced him, which shocked him. "Give him a hug and tell him that he's my hero."

Nick chuckled as he embraced back. "I didn't know I could influence someone's life like that."

I pulled out of his arms and replied, "Yeah. I never thought so either. I was a hero to my little brother." I sighed in sorrow, remembering that day. Nick began rubbing my back for support.

He soothed, "I'm sure you did your best. And I'm sure he's watching over you along with the rest of your family."

I smiled, "Thanks, Nick." I kissed him on the cheek and grabbed my jacket. I crawled over to a corner and fell asleep.

Nick touched his cheek and went speechless. He smiled and blushed, hoping no one saw that moment. Coach saw it and so did Ro. Ellis and Sheila completely oblivious to the moment because they were too busy being together. Alex and Lazerlemon were already asleep.

Coach walked behind Nick and said, "Go to her."

Nick leaped out of his skin when Coach broke the silence. Coach laughed, "Sorry, Nick. I didn't mean to startle ya."

He asked, "What did you say?"

Coach repeated, "Sorry, Nick?"

He shook his head, "No. Before that."

"Oh! I said 'Go to her'. Don't bother denying it. You're in love with Chris."

He growled, "Maybe. None of your business, Coach."

The older man shrugged, "Whatever, Nick. Just remember, she's tripping over you too. I saw that kiss she gave you."

Nick paled, "You saw that?"

"Uh-huh. Ro did too."

He exhaled sharply through his teeth. "Oh shit. Well, glad it missed the camera. That's blackmail I don't need."

Coach hit Nick's shoulder and snapped, "Black mail? You love the girl. How's that blackmail?"

Nick growled, "Never mind. Forget I brought it up. I need to get some shut eye."

Coach slapped Nick's back and replied, "Alright Nick. Night."

"Night, Coach."

Coach walked away and curled up with a med kit. Nick rolled his eyes. Ro nodded towards Nick, who nodded back. She was asleep within seconds. Ellis and Sheila cuddled in their sleep, making Nick a tad jealous. He sighed and muttered to himself, "Oh fuck this. I love the girl." He waited in the dark for an hour before he felt tired himself. Plus, he wanted to be on the safe side.

He snuck over to my corner and lay down beside me. I began to sing softly in my sleep. The song was "Someone" by Nickleback. Nick smiled as he heard me sing. He hummed along as he scooched over closer to me. He used his jacket as a pillow and laid his head down. Unexpectedly, I rolled over and snuggled into his chest. Nick was shocked at first, but he grinned and whispered, "Night, Christina." I only muttered in response. He closed his eyes, wrapped his arm around my body, and let sleep overcome him.

~ I was standing on the bow of a ship (Three guesses what ship it is!) while Nick approached from behind. "Hey, sweetheart."

I smiled as I let him pull me closer, "Hey, hot shot. How's it going?"

He whispered, "Great now that I'm with you."

I blushed as I melted in his arms. He began kissing my neck, when I heard someone else. "Not now, boy! I need to talk to your girl!"

Suddenly, Nick vanished, leaving me alone on the bow. I looked behind me and saw Bill walking up to me. I scowled, "What a mood-killer. Thanks Bill."

Bill scoffed, "Why are you dreaming about it while you can be in Nick's arms right now!"

I scratched my neck and snapped, "Because we're in a zombie apocalypse! That's why! Besides, why are you here? Shouldn't you be in heaven?"

He replied, "I'm an angel. I can appear to you in your dreams as well."

I huffed, "Nice. You couldn't appear in one of my Hunter nightmares? I was enjoying this one."

Bill lit up a cigarette and responded, "No. I let you have your kissing dream. You should be thanking me for that."

I sighed, "Fine. Thank you. Now, why are you here?"

He sighed sadly, "I fear your time is almost up. I looked into your future and saw that tomorrow that you will die!"

I took a step back, "Are you fucking serious?"

He snapped, "Hey! Watch your language, Christina!"

I groaned, "Sorry, Bill. Are you serious?"

He nodded, "As serious as my general in 'Nam. Now, there's no way to avoid it, so I think you should…"

I interrupted, "In the words of Yoda 'Always in motion the future is.' I won't die tomorrow. I'll survive and I'll make it to the bridge."

Bill sighed again, "Very well. I hope you do survive. And please, please kiss your boy tomorrow?"

I replied, "My boy? Oh Nick. I don't know. Maybe. Why?"

Bill placed a ghostly hand on my shoulder and said, "You have no idea how much he loves you."

I gasped, "He stopped himself from completing that same sentence! Is it true?"

He nodded, "Very true. And you love him too. Quit lying to yourself about it. Besides, I saw you kiss him on the cheek."

I blushed while Bill laughed. "It's not funny, Bill."

He snickered, "Yes it is. Anyway, I'll give you your dream back. Remember, I'm watching you like a hawk."

I rolled my eyes, "Nice to know that I'm being haunted by a NamVet."

He huffed, "Consider yourself lucky. I'll be gone. Bye, Christina."

"Call me Chris."

He nodded, "Very well, Chris. I hope not to see you among the clouds."

He disappeared in a mist, while Nick reappeared. "Are you ok, baby?"

I replied, "I'm fine, hot stuff. Just a little spooked. That's all."~

I was the first to open my eyes. I felt my body being held down, so I looked down along my waist and saw a blue arm wrapped around my body. I looked behind me and saw Nick asleep beside me. I quickly looked up and realized everyone else was asleep. I sighed quietly and gently brushed a few strands of hair out of his face. He smiled in his sleep, making me melt a little. My heart was leaping like a kangaroo on steroids for Nick. However, no romance until we get out of this hellhole.

I gently pried his arm off my waist and I crawled away from his snoozing form. I stood up and stretched my aching limbs. Sleeping on a stone hard floor was never fun. Even a very thin blanket or rug would make the floor feel more comfortable. I shrugged as I looked outside the safe room door's window. It was dawn. I sighed and whispered, "Today's the day. It's 'do or die' today."

I paled when I remembered what Bill told me. I'm going to die today? That's bullshit. I'm in good health, strong, and determined to get out of here. I can swim if I fall off the bridge (If that even happens!). Plus, my friends will back me up if things go wrong. And I promise not to let my 'Hunter rage' get the better of me. Besides, that fucker's dead. Nick killed him. And just wait. In every slasher movie, when the killer dies and someone says, "He's dead!" or "It's over!", the killer appears anyway. We're in a horror movie. I knew that ever since I saw the zombies.

Sheila yawned as she stood up out of Ellis's arms. She saw me awake and walked behind me. "Are you ok? Another nightmare?"

I shook my head, "More like a Titanic montage with a flash of the future."

She asked, "What was the flash?"

I answered, "My guardian soldier told me I was going to die today."

Sheila scoffed, "That's bullshit! We will all make it to the bridge, get rescued, Ellis, Nick, you, and I move in together and raise Hell at night."

I stared at her and retorted, "You think way too much. But I will raise Hell. That's a promise."

She grinned, "With Nick?"

I growled softly, but then said, "Maybe. If he wants to. He's a roamer. I can't do anything to stop him. If he wants to go to Vegas, then he can go to Vegas! I can't stop a full grown, 35-year-old man from doing something. I'm not his mother."

She quipped, "No, but you do want to be his…"

"One more word and I'll have to explain to Ellis why you have a stomach full of lead. 'The safety was off. Sorry, buddy.'"

She giggled at the line. "Ok. I'll shut up. But still."

I replied, "You do know he may be asleep, but he can probably hear every word we're saying, right?"

She giggled, "So he heard your raising Hell with him comment?"

I blushed, "I sure hell hope not!"

She waved it off, "Whatever. Eventually, you two will confess, like what I did to Ellis."

I scoffed, "Maybe when this horror movie is over."

She gasped, "You know, for a horror movie, there isn't a lot of sexuality or nudity."

I laughed, "This isn't 'Scary Movie 2' or 'The Friday the 13th' remake, Sheila. This is like '28 Days Later' or 'Zombie land.'"

She replied, "I know but almost every horror movie has a titty shot or some nudity in it."

I giggled, "I don't know why, but the word 'titty' makes me giggle. It's too funny to me."

She giggled with me and nodded, "I agree with you on that one. It's a funny word."

Nick heard us giggling, so he groaned, "What are you two laughing it?"

I replied, "Nothing that concerns you, Nick. Did you have a nice sleep?"

He rubbed his eyes and looked up at me. He smirked, "It was alright. I wouldn't mind it again."

I laughed, "Don't count on it until we're out of this mess."

He nodded as he stood up and cracked his back. Sheila whispered in my ear, "What did he do?"

I whispered back, "He cuddled with me in his sleep."

She giggled as Nick cocked his head. "What now?"

I replied, "I just told her that I woke up with your arm around my waist."

He blushed and retorted, "Not my fault. It was a tad bit chilly last night, so my body went to the nearest source of heat."

Sheila replied slyly, "Right, Nick."

He growled slightly, and then he tripped over Alex's out-stretched leg. "Oh shit!" he shouted as he fell onto the floor.

His curse woke everyone up. Ellis sprang to his feet and walked to Sheila, who greeted him with open arms. "Mornin', my darlin'."

She replied sweetly, "Morning, hot shot."

I growled lowly, "You stole that."

Ellis looked up and grinned, "Confessed yet?'

I scoffed, "What? No!"

He shrugged, "Then that pet name isn't technically yours."

Coach stood up and announced, "Time to get moving. We want to get out of this war zone before noon."

Alex asked as Lazerlemon leaped onto his head, "Why so damn early?"

Ro answered, "You can stay here while we get rescued, Alex. Your choice."

He replied, "I get it. Forget I mentioned it."

Nick growled as I helped him up, "We already have. Ready for one last zombie run, Chris?"

I took a hold of my AK and grinned evilly, "Ready as I'll ever be!"

He chuckled as he picked up his Assault rifle. "Alright then. Let's hit it."

We opened the door and ran underneath the overpass, blasting zombies along the way. We trekked through the infected-filled streets without too much hassle, until we jumped over the truck and saw a Tank running straight at us. We split up, running from the monster. I reloaded and pelted that beast with every bullet I had in my AK chamber. Nick was the closest to it, doing his best to avoid it, despite the lack of space. The Tank swung his mighty arm and Nick went flying into a shrubbery.

"Nick!" I shouted. The Tank heard me and went after me. I growled as I swapped my AK out for my Magnum. I aimed for the head and fired. It hit him, but it wasn't enough to stop him. Alex decided to play hero and took his butterfly knife and stabbed the tank in the arm. He screamed and knocked Alex away. The knife bent to the side and snapped.

The only thing Alex had was the hilt in his hand. "Shit! Why my knife!" Lazerlemon loudly 'meeped' in agreement. However, the tank had no beef with Alex; he was still after me.

He charged at me and I was smart enough to actually run. Sheila and Ellis did their best to try to get the Tank off my tail, but it didn't seem to be working. "Holy shit! Tank on my tail!"

Nick looked up with leaves and branches in his hair. He saw that I was in trouble, so mustered every bit of strength he had, whispering, "I have not…come this far…to die now." He got out of the shrubbery and began shouting at the Tank, "You wanta piece of me! Come and get me!" The tank stopped chasing me and went after Nick instead.

I yelled, "Nick, are you fucking crazy!"

He quipped, "I've been hanging around you too long, sweetheart!"

Sheila laughed, "He's got you pegged."

I muttered, "Sixteenth time."

The tank ran at Nick, who held a flaming Molotov in his hands. He tossed it onto the hulking monster and rolled out of the way. He crouched as he watched the beast flail in dying pain as the fire toasted it. It finally fell to the ground, burning like an over done marshmallow.

I ran to Nick and helped brush him off of his shrubbery look. "That was daring and bold, Nick. What were you thinking?"

He rolled his eyes, "You're welcome."

I plucked the leaves and branches out of his hair and gave a small ruffle. He shook his head and muttered, "I wish I had some gel."

I shrugged, "Oh well. Come on. Let's get moving again. The military can't wait forever." He nodded and gave himself a shot to build up his strength again.

We continued on and sadly, we came across a sewer. It was our only option. Nick growled, "Sewers? Again? Fuck no!"

Ellis quipped, "Take for your bath Nick!"

I glared at the redneck, which quickly looked down. Even Lazerlemon didn't love the looks of the sewer. The fuses made the Hunter pup dizzy and he almost fell out of Alex's pocket. Alex took a deep breath and he leaped down the hole. He retched, "Oh God! It's awful down here! Come on, you guys!"

Coach shrugged, "Last one in is a rotten zombie!" He jumped in, which caused Alex to yelp in surprise.

"Shit, Coach. You scared me for a second."

He chuckled, "Sorry, young'un. I didn't mean to. Damn, it does stink down here. But this isn't my first time."

Ro followed closely behind and growled, "Great. There goes my boots…again."

Ellis said to Sheila, "I'll jump down first and I'll catch you when you come down."

She nodded, "Ok."

Ellis shouted, "Coming down! Make way!" Coach, Ro, and Alex quickly moved out of the way as Ellis hopped down into the sewer. Then he looked up and ushered Sheila to come down. "Come on, baby. I'll catch ya!"

Sheila hesitated, until I shoved her down. Ellis caught her anyway. Nick hit me and said, "That wasn't very nice."

I quipped, "You know what else isn't very nice?" My answer was pushing Nick down.

He yelled at me, "Bitch!"

I chuckled as I dropped down. "Sorry, buddy. I had to do it."

He mocked my voice, "I had to do it."

I rolled my eyes and shoved him forward to the end of the tunnel. We found a ladder and Nick was the first to climb up. Ellis and I fought off zombies while everyone else climbed up.

"Ellis! Go! I've got them!" I shouted over our fire and the zombie screams.

"You sure, Chris?" he shouted back.

I nodded, "Yeah! Go, go!"

He scaled up the ladder and tossed a pipe bomb away from the ladder. The remaining zombies went after it like a pack of dogs running after a bunch of cats. I bolted up the ladder and closed the lid. I looked up and saw everyone staring at an impound full of alarmed cars. Ellis whispered, "Holy shit. We're in trouble now."

I prayed, "Please, Bill. Give us a sign."

All of a sudden, a strong wind whipped a flyer in my face. I pulled it off and it read: "White is alright. Red will involve lead." I smiled, "Hey guys. Avoid the red cars. Jump on the white ones."

Alex snapped, "How would you know?"

I growled, "Just trust me, ok? I have a good feeling about this. Watch." I walked over to a white car and jumped onto the hood. Everyone froze with panic, thinking the alarm will go off and summon the horde. To their surprise, no alarm and no horde were present. I grinned as I grabbed a nearby machete. "Believe me, now, Alex?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

Lazerlemon hopped out of his pocket and 'meeped' to lead the way. He hopped onto the car I was on and hopped to the next white car. I shrugged, "Follow the hopping fluff ball."

Coach replied, "Ok, but everyone gets a melee weapon. No shooting the cars people."

Ellis replied, "Why would we want to shoot cars?"

Sheila answered, "Ellis, it's just a statement. Relax, ok?"

He nodded and allowed Sheila to go in front of him in this line of car hoppers. Lazerlemon safely navigated me to the other side. I crouched down and picked him up. "Good boy, Lazerlemon." He began purring. I looked back and saw Coach and Ro follow my path, followed closely by Nick and Alex. Ellis and Sheila were the farthest away from the end.

Coach and Ro jumped to the ground and walked to my side. "I'm no jumper, so let's not jump cars anymore, ok?" Ro whined.

Coach laughed, "I'm with you, little sister."

I chuckled, "Come on, guys. Jumping cars is fun. Especially when you have adrenaline rushing through your veins while running from the cops. Don't ask me how I know that."

Coach quipped, "You're so Nick's type."

Alex lost his balance and almost slipped into a red car. Coach, Ro, Lazerlemon and I watched in horror, but thankfully, Nick grabbed a hold of his shirt before he touched it. "Come on, Alex. Don't lose your footing now!" he snapped.

Alex sighed with relief as Nick pulled him back onto the white car they were standing on. "Thanks Nick. You saved my hide. I owe you."

Nick ignored him until they made it safely to the other side with us. "Don't mention it."

Ellis and Sheila were the speediest pair as they leaped across car to car. As they made it to the rest of the group, Sheila squealed excitedly, "You were right Chris! Jumping cars is soooo fun!"

I chuckled as we quickly climbed up the ladder and onto the freeway. We were so excited to finally be here, so we began shouting and jumping up and down like a bunch of crazed fans at a rock n' roll concert. Nick screamed, "That's it! We're really here! We're on the bridge! We're here! We're here!"

I howled like a wolf as I yelled, "Victory is ours!"

However, our joy turned to disappointment when a jet soared over us and bombed the bridge. Nick bellowed, "Oh come on!"

I screamed, "Noooooooooooooooo! You monsters!"

Coach yelled at us, "No need to panic!"

Nick snapped, "You sure we shouldn't just panic? I mean, I think panic was invented for just this sort of situation!"

Sheila hit me to snap me out of my panic state and yelled in my ear, "Chill the fuck out!"

I shook my head and popped my eardrums, "Thanks. I needed that. Coach is right. We shouldn't panic. Let's climb down and advance."

Ellis snapped, "Climb down into the hole that nearly destroyed us? Advance to where?"

I growled, "Don't make me hit you! Let's go down that graveyard."

We all looked down and gulped. A graveyard. Great, that's what we need right now. Seeing that there was no other option, we carefully scaled down the crater on the bridge and blasted our way into the graveyard. Nick finally calmed down and said, "They're bombing the place to cover a retreat. We better hurry if we have any chance of getting out of here."

Sheila replied, "Nick's right. I saw this maneuver on the Military Channel. Let's run through this graveyard."

I couldn't help myself. "I don't wanna be buried in a pet sematary. I don't want to live my life again!" Everyone looked at me funny, so I threw my arms in the air and asked, "What? It's a horror movie. One of my favorites, aside from 'Aliens' and the 'Friday the 13th' series." Everyone decided to drop it. I shrugged.

Our cautious jog through the cemetery became a rushing sprint to the next safe room. Running past all of these tombstones made us uneasy, but at least these people didn't endure the hell we are dealing with right now. The zombies were coming at us at all directions, forcing us to slow down and actually shoot a few waves. Sheila and Coach lead the way out of the cemetery while we tailed behind them, filling the flesh-eaters with lead. Nick found a chainsaw and grinned evilly. Sheila and Coach need help, so Nick pulled the rip cord and charged towards the zombies. He yelled over the massacre, "Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh! Die! Die!" His chainsaw ripped through the horde like a pair of scissors against paper. Blood splattered everywhere, but mostly on his suit. He didn't stop until every zombie within eyesight was dismembered and bleeding from more than two places.

I pulled him into the safe room and closed the door. I had to pry the chainsaw out of his hands and whistled, "Damn, Nick. I'm glad you're not a serial killer or we're all in trouble."

The vibrations from the chainsaw make Nick's hands and arms shaky. "Yeah. No kidding."

I quipped, "I think there's a working hose out there, so we can give your suit a good hose-down."

He looked down at his bloody suit. "Much obliged, Chris."

I opened the door and asked Sheila, "Cover us?"

She smiled, "Sure. Go ahead."

Nick and I snuck outside the safe room and I turned the hose on. I picked up the hose and commanded to Nick, "Brace yourself."

He nodded as he spread his arms open and closed his eyes. I squeezed the nuzzle and icy cold water came out, soaking Nick. He yelped, "That's freezing! Jesus!"

I laughed, "Sorry, Nick. I can't control the temperature." He began shivering, but I kept on spraying him until his suit was shiny and new, as if he bought it yesterday. I finally turned the water off and laughed as Nick dripped of water. He was soaked. He was Hard Rain soaked. He's 'Kali River Rapids' soaked.

He playfully flipped me off as he shook the excess water out of his hair. "Laugh it up, bitch." He took his jacket and rung it out. He didn't bother ringing out his under shirt, because I was standing right there watching him.

I replied, "At least your suit is officially white again."

He nodded, "That's true. Like I said: brains come out."

I quipped, "Apparently, so does swamp water."

He laughed as he ushered me back into the safe room. I reloaded my AK while Ellis couldn't stop saying how white Nick's suit looks. Sheila laughed at her boyfriend. Coach grabbed an SPAS shotgun and ushered us out into the battle again.

We ran through a jazz club and ran into a parade float being pulled by a tractor. Nick couldn't help himself. "Look, Ellis! A tractor."

I was about to hit him, but Alex beat me to it. However, Nick glared at him with his emerald eyes and Alex quickly regretted hitting him. Lazerlemon 'meeped' in fear for his "master's" safety. To break up the tension, I pulled the lever and shouted, "Here they come!"

The horde swarmed us, so Ro used a pipe bomb to thin the waves out a little more. She quipped to me, "Where's the nearest chainsaw? Nick needs to go crazy on them again!"

I laughed as I sprayed my AK at anything that moved in my sight, "I don't think he can go all Leatherface on them again. Maybe if he picks up a machete, then he can go…"

Ro finished, "…Jason? Damn, he's the man!"

I beamed, "Hell yeah, he is!"

Coach barked, "Again with the boy talk, ladies? Keep firing!"

We shut up and began firing again. Once the tractor stopped moving, Alex cried over the fight, "Let's go! It's here!"

We followed his lead and ran across the float's board and into another house. "Jeez. If I had a dollar for every building we went through, then I wouldn't need to swipe that hundred dollar bill out of the register", I groaned.

Nick groaned with me, "I know. Come on. We're almost there."

Damn, he was right. After navigating through the streets and a few more homes, we saw the safe room…it's the bridge! We sprinted for it, but a Hunter seized this opportunity and pounced Ro. "Hunter on Ro!" Coach yelled while Alex, Ellis, Nick, Lazerlemon and Sheila ran into the safe room. I bolted towards the creature and tackled him off her. Coach helped Ro up while I took care of the Hunter. I stabbed it in the heart with my machete that I grabbed in the impound. It gurgled on its blood and I kicked it off my weapon. Its body fell dead and I quickly harvested his tooth.

I looked at it and smiled, "This might be my last Hunter tooth I'll ever harvest." I ran into the safe room and Sheila closed the door. I looked over at Ro and she wasn't in bad shape. The Hunter gave her about one and a half swipes of his claws before I tackled it. "Are you ok, Ro?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Thanks, Chris."

I grinned as I sat down on one of the oil drums. I took the two teeth (one from Coach's Hunter and one from Ro's Hunter) and began to add them to my collection. As I untied my necklace, it got caught with Nick's emblem. I did my best to avoid damaging both of them, which I was successful. After twisting the holes in the roots and slipping them through the thread, I stared at my collection. I grinned with pride as I shook them, causing them to chatter against each other. Once we're rescued, I'll put this collection somewhere safe for all eternity. My Hunter hunter days are officially over.

I tied the necklace back around my neck and climbed up the ladder, not expecting the events that will unfold in our final zombie showdown.