Green Means Stop

"Fuckin' ridiculous," Ellis said under his breath. He and Nick were walking home from the conference CEDA had arranged to go over Project Repop. Crumpled in his hand was a piece of paper with the information of a woman he didn't know, but somehow, he'd have to knock her up.

Her name was Juliet Pearson, a down-right gorgeous red-head with wide green eyes and a cute mouth. She matched Ellis at being twenty-four. One of her listed 'special attributes' was combat and survival strategy, which couldn't be uncommon, given the circumstances.

However, Ellis didn't care about how she looked or what she could do. Her cycle started tomorrow, meaning Ellis had some packing to do when he got home. Ellis never asked Nick about his 'partner', so Nick didn't tell him. He still wondered.

Nick grunted in agreement at the hick's comment rubbed the back of his neck.

"When do you leave?" he asked gruffly.

"Tomorruh mornin'," Ellis murmured.

Nick gritted his teeth and scoffed.

"You?"

"One week."

Ellis furrowed his brow as he added things together.

"So I'll come home and you'll leave?"

"Pretty much."

The two men stayed silent the rest of the walk home. Ellis stuffed his hands into his old jeans provided by CEDA, looking down at the ground. Shit, if they couldn't talk now, what would happen after all was said and done? Ellis shook his head, trying to erase that thought like his mind was an Etch a Sketch. Everything would be fine... He just had to trust that his partner would have quick, meaningless sex with a strange woman and move on with his life like normal. Ellis bit his cheek and trudged onward.

After they arrived home, the two men separated into separate areas of the house; Nick went to the bathroom and Ellis went to the bedroom. He grabbed a cloth bag and opened their clothing bin (for they didn't have a dresser, yet). He started packing his clothes with a dim feeing in his stomach, hearing Nick unzip his pants through the silence.

He only had three shirts and three pairs of sweats, along with another pair of jeans and a sweater and many options for underpants. He picked them all up and folded them meticulously like Nick had taught him before. He stuffed everything into his bag in a haze until something caught his interest: his old outfit. Ellis faltered as old memories whizzed in his mind.

He slowly picked up his old overalls and Bull Shifters shirt, feeling the fabric in his fingers. He smiled at the outfit, remembering how he refused to part with it all those months ago. The outfit was pretty much legendary to him. It resembled the beginning of everything; the apocalypse, leaving his home town, and meeting his Nick.

Curious, Ellis peeped into the bin. At the very bottom was Nick's old suit. As if he were in a dream, he grazed his fingertips over the stiff fabric and over the stains that they had failed to wash out. He pulled out the three pieces – the white pants, the white coat, and the blue shirt. Hell, he was going to miss him this next week...

He looked up at the open door to check if the coast was clear. It was. He picked up Nick's blue dress shirt and stuffed it to the bottom of his bag. As Nick opened the door from flushing the toilet and washing his hands, Ellis threw his old clothes on top of Nick's now-incomplete suit and quietly shut the bin, feeling a tinge of guilt.

The next morning, Ellis slid out from under blankets after a sleepless night. Nick snored quietly as the kid rearranged the blankets neatly and pulled on his clothes.

He couldn't believe he was going to do this. He shouldn't be doing this. Hell, he and Nick should just escape and go back to fending for themselves.

'Yeah, and the soldiers in the towers will blow yuh up.'

Ellis sneered against the voice in his head. He walked around the bed and kissed Nick's warm forehead, whispering an "I love you" in his ear. This week would be the longest the two would be apart from each other since that fateful day in Savannah.

The hick proceeded to the door, turned the knob, and picked up his bag from the hallway before leaving the house entirely, heading for quadrant B.

"Ellis?"

Ellis cringed at the feminine voice saturated in a British accent that welcomed him at his temporary house. Julietta was standing in the doorframe, smiling widely.

"Juliet?" Ellis asked.

"Yup! You can call me Jules. Come in!"

Ellis stepped into the house with a strained smile. Jules shut the door firmly behind him and locked the door. Ellis tried to ignore that fact as he set his bags down.

"Ellis or El?" she asked breathlessly through her large smile.

"Ellis."

"Alright, then."

Already, Ellis knew Jules was different from some of the other women he had met – most of them were overly emotionally attached, or completely detached. So coming from a woman surviving a zombie apocalypse, she sounded way too happy. Ellis looked around the house, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Jules was in the kitchen making coffee.

"So how long have been 'ere?" she chirruped after a moment.

"A year since las' week." Ellis swallowed and shuffled his feet. He heard the clinking of china mugs connecting with the wooden counter. "You?"

"Ten months this Thursday."

"That's... amazing," Ellis breathed. Hell, he thought the apocalypse was at its peak twelve months ago. How could she have survived another two months out there?

"Well, I don't mean to brag or anythin'," Jules replied with a cheery laugh. She rounded the corner of the counter with two coffees in her slender hands. She reached out to her new companion with one cup. Ellis stared at it.

"I don't bite, Love," she cooed.

"That's a relief," Ellis laughed. He took the cup of coffee and followed Jules to the living room couch. Jules sat down and sighed. Ellis smiled forcefully and cleared his throat as he sat stiffly beside her.

Jules sipped at her coffee daintily, looking over Ellis with amusement. "Did you come 'ere by yourself?"

"No, I was rescued with three others: Coach, Rochelle, ... and Nick."

Ellis swallowed at the sound of his lover's name. Luckily, Jules was thinking of something else.

"Rochelle? I met her! She's so sweet, she and I used to get together for coffee like this!" Jules laughed. "What are the chances of that?"

"Very good, if yuh think 'bout it."

Jules' smile wavered at the comment. She closed her mouth and looked down into her cup. Ellis was quick to change the subject, asking about who she was accompanied with.

"Oh, no one," she said with a flick of her hair. "I came here from Wales by myself for a vacation. When the infection hit, I built a safe house in Poydras. It's a district-thing in the northwest from 'ere."

Ellis smiled at Jules admirably. "By yourself?"

"Yeah. I know I don't look it, but I used to be in the artillery back home. Technically, I could be one of them soldiers outside. Anyway, I just waited for a while, occasionally went out for food with my M-16, and held out until CEDA was plundering the streets for this camp."

Ellis stared at Jules. At least she wasn't some ugly heifer... maybe this would be easier than he thought. And it's not like it would mean anything; he'd just be following rules. At least she wasn't some thirty-year-old Texan or something...

"How about you, Ellis?"

"Well, I actually came from Savannah with the others. We all met there."

"Georgia!" she gasped. "You walked all the way here?"

"Not quite. I mean, we did walk a little, but we found this stock car at the mall in town, an' you'd never believe it, but..."

Jules listened intently at Ellis' description of his journey, laughing at the story of the Tunnel of Love and gripping her empty cup whenever Ellis described a witch or tank encounter. And in between every detail, Ellis unknowingly wiggled a Keith story in, making her laugh more.

"...So there we were jus' tearing it over this bridge, right, an' it was rigged with all these bombs an' shit an' there was this chopper that got us outta there an' they took us 'ere. Coach and Rochelle were taken somewhere else, so I live with my buddy Nick back in quadrant C."

Jules seemed to relax at the end of his story. "Gee, you make me seem lazy!" she giggled. "But I work out everyday anyway. My whole family's served in the military, so they were adamant on keeping fit."

"I used tuh be a mechanic, and the zombies an' all was enough to las' me for a while," he chuckled. Ellis flexed his bicep, showing off innocently.

Jules eyed the bulging muscle and nibbled on her bottom lip. She reached out with a hand and grasped his arm. She smiled, exasperated.

"My, my!"

Jules pulled back her arm and flexed like Ellis. Ellis reached out and grabbed her arm, squeezed it, and let go. "Not too bad, yerself!"

Jules looked away from Ellis, giggling. Her face went red as her eyelashes masked her eyes. She occupied herself with her plaid sleeve to look at her watch.

"You wouldn't know it, but we have been talking for four hours already! Hungry?"

"A little."

Jules smiled again before standing and walking into the kitchen. Ellis' eyes followed her figure warily. He took a deep breath, reassuring himself that this was only the first day. He had time to get used to it. That is, if he could get used to the idea of fucking another person besides Nick.

'Stop thinkin' 'bout Nick!' he told himself. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, yawning.

"Right," Jules stated as she ducked into the fridge. "CEDA has given us some sardines, cola, beans, apples, and other fruit. What takes your fancy?"

"Y'know what –"

"Oh! And a bottle of wine! How generous!" Jules grabbed the bottle by the neck and pulled it out of the fridge. "I prefer white wine, but red is better than nothing. Want a glass?"

"No, thanks." Wine was Nick's thing, anyway. Ellis didn't like the taste. He pressed his fingers into his temples.

'Stop. Thinking. About. Nick.'

Jules popped open the bottle and poured herself a glass. She also returned to the fridge and grabbed an apple, which she tossed to the kid. She skipped to the couch with a sly grin. Ellis yawned again as he chomped into the green apple, zoning out. Jules' was saying something about 'stop' and 'too much', but Ellis wasn't paying attention.

"Tired?" she asked. She swallowed down some of her alcohol, keeping an eye on the hick.

"Yeah. I didn't git much sleep las' night."

"Me neither! I was so nervous about meeting you, you know?"

"Yeah, I do," Ellis murmured. Truth be told, he wasn't worried about meeting Jules. He was worried about what would happen when the sun went down. And he had about five hours before that happened.

"I managed to bring something with me to entertain us," she said after she gulped down more wine. "I grabbed it when I was in Poydras."

Jules stretched over the edge of the couch and grabbed her pack. She opened it with her free hand, the other holding the wine glass rather steady, and she pulled out what seemed to be a small laptop. She pulled out a DVD and opened the machine.

"It's a portable DVD player. We can plug it in because of the generator. The only DVD I have is Alexander. Is that okay?"

"Erm, sure?"

"Trust me, you'll love it."

And so they were occupied for another three hours as they watched the Director's Edition of Alexander. Ellis squirmed uncomfortably as Jules shimmied her way closer to him to snuggle against his chest. Ellis didn't want to be rude, so he left his arm limp around her, hoping she wouldn't hear his heart hammering. Every so often, he would be relieved whenever Jules ran out of wine, in which she'd refill promptly. Ellis blinked his eyes hard as his vision started to shift and blur. His head dipped forward as his eyes shut lazily. He rubbed his eyes again to keep himself awake. Soon, all he could do was shut his eyes and lay his head atop of Jules', falling down into a pit of darkness, dreaming.

Ellis woke because it was silent. He was staring up at the ceiling, feeling a blanket draped over him. He looked out the window. It was pitch black. How long had he been asleep? Where was Jules? In bed?

Ellis pushed himself off the smelly couch and stumbled into the kitchen to get some water. He noticed the green glass bottle of wine on the counter, almost empty. He furrowed his brow and looked around the room.

Jules had put away the DVD player and the DVD, and the house was still perfectly clean. The bathroom door was shut and light shone through the bottom.

"Jules?"

"You're awake!" she replied from the bathroom. "I'll be right out. Why don't you take a seat on the bed?" Her last comment was marinated in sensuality and seduction.

Time came crashing to a halt. Shit, was this it? Was this going to happen? Already? Ellis painfully obeyed Jules' request and entered the bedroom.

There were two large candles set on the bed table, replacing the light that had been turned off. He could smell the faint aroma of cherries in the air. The blankets were stuffed around the mattress, as if Jules had no intention of using them.

Ellis sat on the bed and calmed himself; he could trust Jules. And there was no commitment, anyway, right? It would be quick and simple and they'd both go on their ways.

The bathroom light flicked off and the door slowly creaked open from the hall. Ellis cleared his throat and waited. It was too dark for him to see her immediately, but her silhouette caught Ellis' eye. She slowly walked into the room, her body illuminated by the two candles. Ellis' eyes widened as she posed for him.

Her blood-red hair was messily tied up, allowing her sexy curls to bounce behind her head. Her lips were highlighted with gloss. Her legs were bare and shiny. None of this, however, caught Ellis' attention. It was what she was wearing

"Where did yuh git that shirt?" he asked hoarsely. Jules rubbed the soft blue sleeve of Nick's dress shirt on her cheek, stumbling towards Ellis. She had buttoned it up in such a way that it covered some of her breasts and her groin, but showed enough leg and cleavage to drive any other man crazy.

"I did some sneaking about," she replied seductively. Her eyes were droopy and her speech was slurred. She placed her hands on Ellis' shoulders and sat herself on his lap, looking down at him.

"Do yuh think you can... take it off?" he asked angrily. Jealousy swelled in his chest. Jules didn't see the anger and unbuttoned the shirt slowly, licking her lips.

"Of course, I can take it off," she cooed. She giggled and hiccupped, swaying violently. Ellis held her steady. She slightly moaned at the contact.

"No, I mean, it ain't mine, see, and –"

"Ellis, is now the best time?"

Ellis stared at Jules, bewildered at her comment. Did she just say what he thought she said?

Suddenly Ellis saw the blue fabric tumble away from her pale skin. She breathed hot breath in his face, panting as her bare crotch touched the rough fabric of Ellis' fly. He froze as she pulled Ellis' shirt over his head.

"Ok, Jules, I think we should – mmnhhh!" Jules crushed Ellis moving lips with her own, sloppily kissing his mouth. She pried his mouth open with her dripping tongue, invading his mouth. Ellis gasped and firmly grabbed the drunken woman's shoulders, gagging at the taste of old wine on his tongue. He was going to push her head away, but she was faster, moving her mouth to his neck.

"Ah!" Ellis gasped. Jules giggled again, followed by a moan. She dragged her fingernails over his chest, down to his belt, which she undid. The sound of the metal lightly clinking together made Ellis react. He pulled Jules away from his body.

"Jules, we can't do this. Not when you're like this. It ain't right."

Jules' kind eyes flickered, being replaced by furious orbs of gray. Her face contorted into rage. She drew her hands back and slammed them into the kid's chest, sending him sprawling on the bed. He didn't realize her whipping off his belt as he tried to catch his breath and sit back up. She grabbed his hands and held them together with her knees, using the belt as a restraint. She pulled the bind tight, biting the hide with her teeth.

"Jules, what the hell?" Ellis yelled. He wiggled his hands in an attempt to free himself from his belt around his wrists. Jules stooped over and snarled in his face as she held a firm grip on the belt.

"Listen 'ere, I dun' wanna sleep with some forty-year-old creep!" she slurred. "Either you give me this, or I'll take it. Got it?"

"W-what?" Ellis' breathing quickened as the scenario started to unfold. Jules, crazy and manic from her wine consumption, unzipped Ellis' pants. Her bicep swelled as she pulled the belt around Ellis' throbbing wrists tighter. Ellis forgot all etiquette and moral as Jules wrapped her hand around his member under his boxers. He shot upright, shoving Jules off him. She gasped and smashed into the floor. Ellis jumped off the bed on the other side, zipping his pants.

"DON'T FUCKIN' TOUCH ME," Ellis screamed. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He sucked in deep breaths as he pulled his hands free. "I didn't mean tuh push yah, I'm sorry."

Jules emerged from the side of the bed, moaning from pain, sobbing, holding her head. Her back was turned to the panting man. She leaned against the bed table.

"Jules?"

The sobs turned to growls that grew in volume. Ellis' eyes grew wide at the familiar sound. He reflexively stepped back into the shadow of the corner.

Jules' growls turned into a blood-curdling shriek. She snatched one of the large candles and whirled around. She hurled it at Ellis. Thankfully, her aim was off.

"The hell?"

Just as fast as it had happened, Jules was running up to Ellis with the other candle in her hand. She screamed uncontrollably, her face contorted into fury. She grabbed Ellis' throat and pulled back the candle. Ellis ducked right before impact.

The candle smashed into the wall right beside the hick's face. He stared, terrified, into Jules' eyes as they flashed into pain. Ellis gasped at the feeling of hot wax pouring onto his shoulder. Jules clutched her hand close to her body, screaming at the sight of glass protruding from her hand and wrist.

Ellis heard a hard knock on the front door.

"In here! Help!" he yelled.

Jules' face went from pain to anger in a flash as the door got kicked off its hinges. A soldier came racing in, gun raised. He flicked on the light.

Jules turned to the soldier, blood trails webbing her arm. The soldier's eyes widened as she screeched at him. He aimed.

"NO!" Ellis screamed. Suddenly the screams went silent. Jules swayed on the spot for a moment before her knees buckled. She fell to the ground, unconscious.

The soldier was shaking. "S-shit!" he choked. "I thought she was one of th-those crying –"

Ellis panted, thinking of how much Jules resembled a witch at that moment.

"You okay?" the soldier asked. Ellis nodded shakily. He fought for breath, now coming in fragmented waves.

Jules moaned, still unconscious. The soldier pulled out a pair of handcuffs and fastened her arms behind her back. He turned to the bed and yanked off the blanket. He threw it over Jules' naked figure and replaced his gun. He wrapped Jules in the blanket and picked her up. Ellis remained still.

"C'mon, kid," the soldier murmured. He walked out of the room and out of the house.

Ellis didn't move, panting shallow and uneven breaths. He looked over to Nick's dishevelled shirt at the foot of the bed. He slowly stalked over the clothing and picked it up. He pulled it around his shoulders and staggered out of the room.