Chapter One – Then There Were Two

When he'd finally dozed off, he felt into a sleep so deep that it could have lasted weeks, for all he knew. It had been a long time indeed since Ellis had slept so heavily and without waking once, which in itself should have struck him as odd. They all took turns in staying up on watch during the night, and no-one had woken him to do his share. What gives? His mind slowly roused itself, his eyes still shut as he pondered whether or not to let his aching body go back to sleep once more, but a combination of a bar of sunlight from the safe room door hitting his face and the unusually still quiet that had settled about him made that near impossible to do so. Gradually, squinting in retaliation to the natural light, he began to open his eyes and pushed his body into a seating position with a heavy groan. He blinked hard a few times to focus his vision, quickly centreing on Nick's form sat a mere foot away or so from him, eyes shut, chin on his chest as his back leant against the wall behind him with his legs flat outstretched and arms folded across him.

Ellis looked around the room.

They were gone.

He had to admit that part of him had almost expected this, and he guessed he wouldn't be too far wrong to assume that Nick had approved Rochelle and Coach to slip away quietly before the youngest in their group came to from his slumber. Half their group medical, food, and ammo supplies had gone with the two deserters, a pit in Ellis's stomach straining uncomfortably at the thought of his two friends out there, battling alone on their journey. He tried to push aside the strong feeling that he'd never see either of them again. He couldn't quite believe that they'd left without even saying goodbye, after all they'd been through. He could never just leave like that. The survivors... well, they were the closest thing Ellis had left in this world to a family right now, and as he gazed at the spots where Coach and Rochelle had sat the night before, his heart ached to know that the last thing he'd said to them was "We'll sort this in the mornin'.

As his eyes miserably travelled the now vacant spaces of floor, his gaze was caught suddenly my a new scrawling on the wall, written in what looked like charcoal (as many messages were: it was easier to get ahold of then a pen). Scrambling across the safe room to it, Ellis knelt down in front of the wall, shoulders hunched, as he read the message a foot from the ground. It was Ro's handwriting.

Ellis, we didn't want to make things hard, so decided to leave before you woke up. We'll see each other again someday. Don't forget to send a chopper back to Ohio if you find one, kay?

Don't you dare fall without us there to cover your butt. Remember when you said your tattoo meant you were a badass zombie killing machine? Make sure you live up to it.

Enjoy Vegas. I think that's where Nick's heading.

And Nick? Keep an eye on the kid.

We love you both.

R & C

He read it again. And again. In fact, Ellis continued reading the words over and over until a light shove to his shoulder told him he wasn't the only one awake. Either he'd been totally engrossed in the message or Nick had been extremely quiet as he got up, as the man was now stood right behind him, stern face firmly in place. "Ready to move out, sport?" he asked, though for once, it was more of a genuine question than a hypothetical one. Ellis's eyes moved back to the wall, looking at the message once more, before nodding.

"Vegas ain't gunna come to us, right?"

"Right."

Nick held out his hand, the mechanic grasping onto it and heaving himself back to his feet, unnecessarily dusting himself down once he was up. Vegas. He'd always wanted to go some day, but hadn't imagined it'd be during the apocalypse. Oh well, better late than never, right? Not saying much, the two men began to prepare for departure, Ellis torn between wanting to carry as much as possible with him, and wanting to travel light. He stuffed his first aid kit with supplies until it was straining at the seams, and checked his Magnum and shotgun once again, slinging the latter onto his back using the strap he'd fashioned by himself from a belt. Straightening up his cap to shield his eyes from the light outside, he turned to the door, where Nick was already waiting.

"Kill all sons-a-bitches..."

"That's our official instructions."

The men shared a rare smile, Ellis nodding. Strap still around his shoulder, he pulled the shotgun around to his front, patting the deep pockets of his overalls to ensure he'd got as many shells as he could carry, also with spare clips for the hand gun. He'd pick up more ammo or replacement weapons on the way.

"Ready?"

He nodded to Nick, and the older male removed the bar from the door, quietly, and set it down before pushing the door open (with some difficulty, due to the corpses piled in front of and near it from his shooting last night) and stepping out first into the daylight, Ellis close behind him. The street was reasonably clear, besides the bodies of course, but that didn't put either man at ease. Nick held his submachine gun up, aiming it forward as he walked, with Ellis ready to raise his own weapon at any moment as he closed the safe room door behind him, leaving Nick to scour the road ahead of them while he kept his own eyes behind them and to the sides. By now, they were already pretty adept in the art of traversing zombie-infected lands...

Progress was slow throughout the day, both men realising some of the downfalls to their halved team-size. Sure, it was less people to look out for and faster to move... but it was a fraction of the firepower, and that made things harder. Whereas they would have taken risks before, Nick was more insistent on using more careful routes and tactics, not leaving anything to chance. Not much of a leader himself, Ellis followed Nick's suggestions and plans, and to his merit, they seemed to pull off just fine. They didn't get through areas as quickly as they used to, but they encountered less trouble in the process. Silver lining, Ellis supposed.

He had no clue what town they were in anymore, as he'd been too on-edge to pay much attention. Once they had left Savannah, Ellis was just as lost as any of them. In his home town, he knew the place like the back of his hand, whether it be on the roads or off them. Out here, he was a stranger, and despite Nick's confidence he knew that he had no better idea where they were going than the mechanic did. They merely went whichever way seemed safest, looking out for transport as they did so. There were plenty of cars around in decent condition, but most were out of gas. Getting a car, they decided, would be their priority, as getting out of civilisation would be much easier with one, plus it'd help them carry more supplies.

Canned food. Ellis had no problem with eating from tins, but Nick was clearly used to something... a little more classy when he sat down to a meal. However, it was the stuff that preserved best, and so when they found an abandoned grocery store that hadn't been entirely ransacked, Ellis's wide smile at finding twenty or so unopened cans of spaghetti-o's, chilli and soup wasn't one shared by Nick, who wrinkled his nose and made no comment. "Fresh outta caviar, I'm afraid," Ellis teased with a smirk, Nick merely tutting in an unimpressed response. They carried on through the town throughout the day and well into night, the duo now more than accustomed to travelling under little more than moonlight. The infected, it seemed, had no preference for light or dark, so travelling after the sun had set was really no greater threat than doing so in the day. Eventually, however, fatigue began to set in, despite their careful movements in avoiding conflict as much as possible, leaving Nick to finally suggest that they find somewhere to hold out for the night. 'Somewhere' ended up being a small detached bungalow on the edge of town, Nick pointing out that the single storey to the building made it a safer spot with much fewer potential entry points. The area in general seemed reasonably quiet, but they didn't want to take risks. The house was fully scouted out, the pair checking every corner in case of any Infected still lurking inside, but they were thankfully alone. The electricity was down in the area, which surprised neither of them, but cold water still seemed to be running, which was a bonus. Dinner that evening was a few of the cans Ellis had salvaged earlier, eaten cold due to no power with which to heat them. They ate in silence, both with their ears pricked in case of any unwanted visitors, but an hour of perfect silence assured them that, for now, they were safe.

"Wan' me t' take the first watch? Think I slept more than yew last night," Ellis offered as Nick ran a hand over his face, stifling a yawn. Sure the place seemed clear, but they'd gotten into the habit of keeping watch, and they weren't going to get rid of that precaution any time soon. "Sure thing, Overalls," Nick responded with a nod, rolling his shoulders with a slight grunt as the aching muscles stretched themselves in relief, "Shut all the doors. We'll hole up in the bedroom."

Danger really did bring out new traits in people. While Ellis was happy to crash just about anywhere comfortable without much care to who passed out next to him, Nick was far from the kind of guy who would let another man share his bed, no matter how innocent the situation. That had changed since the Infection hit. When their group had been lucky enough to find shelter with proper beds, it wasn't long before Nick was all too accustomed to sharing. As for Ellis, he quite liked sharing with the older man: he didn't move much in his sleep, making for a reasonably uninterrupted nights rest. This house predictably only had the one bedroom, small with a single window and containing one double bed."Pull the shutters down on there, El," the gambler instructed as he shrugged off his jacket, folding it and placing it onto the bedside table on what was now 'his' side of the bed. The mechanic nodded, taking a furtive look out between the shutter slats into the empty street beyond before snapping them closed, throwing the room into almost complete darkness, save for the moonlight that managed to find gaps in the wooden panels of the window shutter. Both their eyes took time to readjust to this, but with the room so small it wasn't hard to feel your way to the bed, Nick climbing on without bothering to get beneath the blanket, sighing in relief as his body finally relaxed. Shotgun still in hand, Ellis laid down beside him, the weapon clutched to his chest. Neither spoke for a few moments, but that was a status that never lasted long with Ellis around.

"Hey, Nick?"

"...Yeah?"

"Reckon we're gunna be doin' this forever?"

He didn't answer. It was a fear both men, and probably all others who were surviving out there, had running through their minds since the outbreak began. The several wordless moments between the pair dragged on for what seemed like an eternity before Nick finally responded.

"Can't honestly say I know. Gotta be others out there, right? If not... Well, then we better hope Coach and Ro' get friendly in their time together, because repopulating the planet is gonna be hard just between you and I."

Ellis chuckled, shaking his head. If that Zoey girl had joined up with them, he'd be more than eager to help kickstart a breeding program... but who knew if she was even alive anymore? Right now, the only thing certain in his life was Nick, and it seemed the city boy wasn't going to go down any time soon. If anything happened to Nick, Ellis had no idea what he'd do. He couldn't carry on alone. If anything, splitting from Coach and Rochelle had made him feel closer to his only remaining friend, and it seemed that Nick perhaps felt the same way. Despite still being sarcastic and standoffish with the mechanic, Nick had definitely warmed to him today. Now down to just the two of them, it hit them with much more realism that, despite how highly possible it was to happen, neither of them wanted to be dealing with this solo. Neither spoke again, Nick dozing off into a light sleep as Ellis lay staring up at the black ceiling, still clutching the shotgun close to his body, mind full of non-stop thoughts about what lay ahead of them.

Things were going to change a lot now they only had eachother to depend on.