"Good God, what is that thing?" Rochelle screamed as the Tank took a swing at Coach, who had led the group up the stairs. An arm thicker than the average tree trunk missed the man's face by inches and demolished a section of the shop's wall. Coach lifted his gun and managed to fire once before the beast knocked him off the walkway. He landed on his back onto the hood of an alarmed car, whose siren immediately began to pierce the otherwise tranquil midday air.
Nick had been right behind Coach, so when the Tank lunged at him, Nick jumped onto the railing and dangled over the ledge before dropping down onto the parking lot. Only halfway up the stairs, Rochelle immediately backpedaled into the gun shop, bumped into Ellis, and knocked him off balance. The two of them fell down the remaining steps.
Rochelle jumped to her feet but nearly fell again due to the small earthquake caused by the Tank as it leapt down onto the lot in pursuit of Coach and Nick. Attracted to the alarm, zombies began pouring in from both entrances of the shop as Ellis slowly rose to his feet.
"Shit! Ellis, you hold them off here!" Rochelle quickly ran towards the non-existent front door and began firing her AK-47 as the creatures tried to funnel inside. Ellis obeyed the girl's order and stayed put at the bottom of the staircase. Each bolt of the boy's sniper rifle pierced through several of the zombies as they stampeded towards him. Ellis was forced into the crook of the wall as an alarming number of the ghouls rained down the steps. Unfortunately, their slain corpses became projectile weapons as they careened into the wall and piled up around him.
Rochelle's finger never left the trigger as she mowed down the horde in front of her. Rather than stopping to reload, she threw the gun at the zombies, grabbed another one, and resumed firing. Unfazed by the blood splattering onto her pretty face, the girl's thoughts were focused firmly on the boy behind her- she swore she had heard him grunt in pain- on Nick, Coach…especially Coach, and on the insanely huge monster that had driven them all apart.
Coach rolled off the hood of the car just before the Tank landed on it, crushing the vehicle like an aluminum can from the sheer weight of its berth. Coach looked around quickly for Nick as he gathered his shotgun, but the conman was nowhere to be found. The Tank was blocking the staircase, preventing him from rejoining Rochelle and Ellis, so Coach opened fire as the beast charged him.
"That's right, mother fucker!" Coach yelled, satisfied that the monstrosity was focused on him and that Rochelle was safe inside the shop. As he quickly backed away from the beast, several zombies collided into him from behind. Coach whirled in a circle, bludgeoning the creatures away with the large shotgun before resuming his defense against the Tank. As he approached the convenience store, he caught sight of Nick, who had blasted his way through the glass doors, which triggered another series of high-pitched ringing. Coach scowled in disapproval, but ducked when the Tank began hurling dead bodies at him.
Ellis was nearly buried under the pile of zombies he had killed when Rochelle reached him, and the two of them struggled to climb the corpse-ridden staircase.
"Come on, Ellis! Let's move!"
The girl looked over her shoulder when she realized that Ellis was having a bit too much trouble climbing the stairs.
"What's wrong?"
"I think I hurt my leg when we fell," Ellis said quickly.
"Oh baby, I'm sorry!" Rochelle instantly stopped her ascent, guilty that she had caused the boy to fall, "Maybe you should stay here while I-"
"I ain't a baby Ro, so just forget about my leg, alright? Let's go kill that big ass thing! Nick and Coach need us!"
Rochelle looked into Ellis's eyes for a moment, internalizing the fire burning within them. She nodded and ran out of the shop. The sight before her was not pretty as she scanned the lot. She could see Nick ducking into the convenience store, and her heart sprung to her throat at the sight of the Tank so close to Coach. She began to sprint down the steps and onto the lot when a stifled cry escaped from Ellis.
He was leaning against the railing with his right leg raised off the ground. His eyes were shut tightly as he winced in pain. Rochelle panicked. Ellis needed her, but so did Coach, and she didn't know what she should do.
"Go on without me Ro," the shame was all too apparent on the boy's face, "I'll cover you from up here."
"Just stay put, sweetie! We'll be back for you!" Rochelle tore across the parking lot as she aimed her AK at the Tank. She weaved and jumped over zombies whose heads were blown apart by Ellis's cover fire, but only managed to land a few shots at the Tank before the creature disappeared inside the store.
"What are you boys thinking?" Rochelle could just picture the Tank crushing the two men to death within the small confines of the building, but the rabid screams of an immense crowd of zombies broke her away from her morbid thoughts. She turned around and her eyes widened at the sight. Why hadn't Ellis warned her?
Rochelle looked up at the walkway and squinted her eyes to see Ellis clumsily make his way back into the gun shop.
Nick rummaged through the mostly bare aisles of the store, looking for anything of value as he made his way to the back towards the sliding door fridges. He knew he didn't have much time before something less than favorable made its way in after him. He spotted some soda and grabbed the case when a thunderous impact shook the very foundation of the store. Shelves came crashing down around Nick as he hunkered in a corner to avoid being crushed.
The store's alarm stopped ringing, and except for a dull, distant rumble, everything became eerily quiet for several moments. Dust and debris blanketed the air in a murky, dusky haze. Nick swallowed hard when he heard the deep breathing and the splintering explosions of aisles and shelves as they were hurled about. Deep grunts and roars vibrated through the walls of his chest as the Tank lumbered closer to the back of the store.
Nick crawled tentatively back towards the entrance as he clutched the case of cola under his arm, and muttered curses to Whitaker under his breath. He moved quickly whenever the Tank made a charge through the aisles, and stopped whenever the monster stopped to sniff the air. Nick shuddered at the thought of being stalked by such a terrible beast, which caused the glass bottles under his arm to clatter together. The Tank growled at the sound and shoved the aisle that Nick was hiding behind. The conman dove away before he could be crushed.
Keeping his head down, Nick scrambled towards the entrance, and nearly half way there, he barreled into Coach.
"Nick, what the fuck? We're supposed to stick together," Coach whispered.
"The sooner we can get that asshole his cola, the sooner we can get out of this God damned lot," Nick whispered back, "Besides, you seemed to be holding your own just fine."
The frustrated roar of the Tank dwarfed Coach's annoyed growl, and the two men abandoned all stealth and sprinted the rest of the way towards the doors.
They were greeted to the sight of Rochelle firing desperately into a sea of infected that were rushing towards the store. Coach immediately jumped out to stand beside the girl and was struck by the terrifying number of the ravenous beasts. The horrifically foul odor of their sweat and necrotic flesh mixed with the sour, metallic smell of the river of sticky blood that sloshed down the sloped contours of the parking lot-courtesy of Rochelle's efforts to stave monsters off.
"This doesn't look good, baby girl!" Coach pressed himself as closely as possible to Rochelle, but still had to yell at the top of his lungs to make himself heard above the stupendous screams and roars.
"If we don't make it through this…"
Rochelle didn't look up at him, simply because she couldn't afford to take her eyes away from the monsters. She did, however, briefly lean her head against Coach's strong arm as she continued to fire desperately into the horde.
Directly behind them, Nick simply stood wide-eyed, panting heavily as he clutched the case of cola in his slick, sweat drenched grip. He soaked in the horrible realization that he was trapped- hopelessly, utterly, trapped. The Tank was right behind him, and there was no way he could get around the wall of zombies in front of him. In mere moments, he would be crushed, mutilated-
Buried.
Nick's brows furrowed. Something was missing.
Ellis…Ellis, where are you?
The mechanic had seen the horde approaching Rochelle and knew he had to go down and help her no matter how badly his leg hurt, but as he hobbled across the walkway, a Jockey emerged from within the gun shop and latched onto his shoulders.
Ellis howled in agony as the creature not only forced him back into the shop, but also caused him to apply the combined weight of both their bodies onto his rapidly swelling leg. Again he stumbled down the staircase. Denied the joy of riding its victim, the Jockey's giggles were laced with frustration as the wretched little beast swiped at the boy. Ellis began brutally beating the Jockey with his long, elegant, sniper rifle. His anger intensified as the creature continued to cackle maniacally. As the dazed, little creature stumbled against the wall; Ellis skewered its windpipe with the tip of the weapon before blasting chunks of its esophagus through a clean hole in the back of its neck from the force of the shot. The boy almost smiled at the fact that this Jockey would laugh no more.
Ellis trembled violently as he struggled to rise from the floor. He was well aware of the screams emanating from the convenience store and knew he would get there even if he had to slither across the god damned parking lot on his belly, but if he wanted to get there in time to help the others, he would have to fight the pain in his ankle. He used the rifle as a crutch to support himself as he stood up. A gurgling sound caused him to look towards the back of the shop, and he gritted his teeth as he witnessed a Boomer struggling to fit into the doorway. He lifted his rifle, but staggered.
Come on, man, just fight it! Why can't you fight it?
Ellis hobbled over to the loudspeaker.
Fight the pain. Fight the pain.
"Whitaker! I need a favor, man!"
Think about Rochelle and…
"What? Hah! Alright, but it's your funeral, boy! As long as I still get my cola!"
"Yeah, you'll still get the cola…"
Think about Coach and…
The Boomer belched loudly as it managed to squeeze inside the shop.
Nick….Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick, NICK!
Ellis slammed his injured foot against the ground. He no longer felt any pain as he rushed headlong at the Boomer.
Nick suddenly doubled over, shattering several of the soda bottles as the case slipped from his grip. He clutched his sides in pain as the sound of the exploding glass rang far louder than it should have. The screams of the horde, the roar of Coach's defiant battle cry, the thunderous footsteps of the Tank behind him, and the deafening throb of his own pulse all increased tenfold in intensity. Nick closed his eyes, trying desperately to shut everything out.
Where are you?
Nick opened his eyes and everything suddenly looked different. Nick couldn't wrap his mind around the difference because he could no longer think clearly. He found himself reaching for his gun. He found himself rising to his feet.
He found himself running straight towards the Tank.
Nick leapt to the side at the last second, firing his AK-47 in mid flight as the Tank slammed its arms into the spot on the floor where he had been. The soles of the conman's sleek dress shoes barely grazed the top of the checkout counter before he was airborne once more. He never stopped firing the gun as he landed amidst the destroyed shelves and aisles. The Tank turned to pursue Nick, who led the beast back into the store and away from the others now struggling fervently against the oppressive horde.
Rochelle fell to ground as an infected man twice her size slammed into her. Coach immediately blasted the creature off her and stood over the girl as she caught her breath. The zombies were enveloping them now, and from Rochelle's position on the ground, the bright day turned to dusk as their bodies blotted out the sun. Her eyes began to well up with tears upon hearing the furious, nearly inhuman bellows that ripped through the air more loudly than any other sound around her.
They were coming from Coach.
The girl gripped the man's muscular calf with her small hand and managed to lift herself off the ground. Coach focused on Rochelle's touch, ignoring the more painful sensations that the zombies were causing him. The sound of her voice, rising above the chaos, filled his heart nearly to bursting.
"We are gonna make it through this! All of us!"
Seemingly in response to the girl's defiant confidence, the horde suddenly veered off as if gripped by the force of a powerful magnet, leaving the pair dumbfounded as they watched in disbelief.
"Are you ok?" Coach asked breathlessly.
Rochelle nodded her head quickly and the two of them made their way into the store after Nick.
The conman had his back to the wall, with absolutely nowhere left to go. This fucking monster simply wasn't going down, no matter how many times he shot it. The bizarre sensation that had gripped him was fading, and his head was pounding yet again.
Where are you?
His finger still held the trigger down. If he was going to die, he was determined to bring the Tank to hell with him. As the monster made its final lunge, an earth-shattering explosion caused a portion of the store to collapse. Both the conman and the Tank lost their balance and the lights flickered off, sending portions of the interior into blackness.
The Tank barreled across the room, its flailing arms destroying everything they came into contact with as it tumbled head over heels. Nick curled into a ball in the darkness, his every muscle tense as he braced himself for the probability of being crushed by the beast. He gritted his teeth as shards of glass rained down on him.
Everything became utterly silent, and Nick breathed in the heavy feeling of death that began to invade the very air around him. One of the enormous arms plopped lifelessly down onto Nick's side, and he immediately shoved it off and jumped to his feet. He became aware of footsteps crunching through the debris towards him.
"Nick?"
The conman never thought he would be glad to hear Coach's voice.
"Yeah, I'm here."
As the three made their way outside, they were greeted to the sight of a ravaged parking lot, overflowing with corpses. The vestiges of the explosion simmered and broiled as an oil tanker and various other vehicles lay strewn about- several of them partially melted by the heat.
"Where the fuck is Ellis?" Nick didn't even try to conceal his concern as he picked up the few remaining, undamaged bottles of cola.
"I saw him go back inside the gun store," Rochelle stated softly as they made their way back up the stairs.
"Little bastard," Nick huffed in annoyance, although he was immensely relieved.
"Don't be hard on him, he's injured."
Nick slammed on the door to Whitaker's safe haven as Coach and Rochelle made their way into the shop to retrieve Ellis.
"We have the cola, now give us some supplies!"
"I shouldn't give you shit! I already blew up your roadblock!"
"Yeah, I can see that, but that wasn't the full agreement, remember?" Nick began slathering the bottles with the blood and viscera on his jacket in annoyance. He even spat on the caps for good measure, "Now hurry up before I blast my way in there, shove these bottles up your ass, and take your stuff myself!"
A mail slot opened up at the bottom of the door, and Nick placed the remaining bottles inside.
"Three measly bottles…one from each a' yous' I suppose."
Nick's eyes narrowed at Whitaker's cryptic words, and when the slot opened again, revealing three med kits, three bottles of water, and three protein bars, the conman scowled.
"What gives? You're missing-"
Rochelle and Coach practically flew back up the stairs.
"Ellis is gone!"
"What?"
"He's not in the store!"
"Well then where the fuck is he?"
Nick tore across the parking lot, looking everywhere for young man. He hadn't seen him since the Tank attacked. He hadn't even seen him leave the store, so he had no idea where to look.
"Ellis! This isn't funny!"
Nick stopped yelling, and his heart skipped a beat when Coach and Rochelle ran past him, straight towards the wreckage caused by Whitaker's turret gun. Nick stood still as he watched them run, his mouth open slightly as he struggled to gather his thoughts- to catch his breath. As he brought one foot slowly in front of the other, a realization- that horrible feeling of death he had felt as he lay in the dark within the store- began to smother him once more. Although he wanted to run towards the wreckage, he could not will his body to move faster than its current, sluggish pace.
By the time he joined the other two, Rochelle was already on the ground bawling uncontrollably. Coach stood next to her, his head bowed; his eyes shut tightly. Nick tried to swallow the lump in his throat as he caught sight of a chainsaw, its serrated edge gleaming with a layer of crimson blood.
Nick clasped a hand over his mouth- his eyes, huge.
A few paces away lay a blue and white cap, smeared with Boomer bile.
Nick staggered over to it on stiff legs and as he reached to grab it, the heartless wind sent it tumbling away from him. Nick snarled and lunged at the hat, clutching it fiercely as he lay with it on the ground. He then began to crawl amongst the corpses, looking- searching.
Where are you?
No zombies intruded upon their silent wake.
Coach helped Rochelle onto her feet. The girl had stopped crying, her eyes unable to produce any more moisture. Nick sat on the ground with his legs crossed. His knuckles blazed even whiter than his pale face as he refused to ease his grip on the hat. He had stopped looking for Ellis. A large part of him didn't want to see the boy out of fear of what he might look like. As Nick's eyes drifted over the tangled piles of mutilated corpses- some of them blown apart, others partially vaporized- chances were he wouldn't be able to handle the sight.
Why was he feeling this way? Sure, the kid was nice…both to look at, and in his pleasant demeanor. But they had only just met.
Coach cleared his throat.
"I'm gonna lead us in prayer before we move on."
Nick winced.
Move on? Without him?
"Father God, we thank you for this day."
Nick snarled. Hearing those words nearly drove him over the edge, and it took every ounce of his willpower to keep from lunging at Coach and tearing his throat out.
"Please be with us, Lord. Bless us and protect us as we continue our daily struggles…"
This can't really be it, can it?
"…Please keep us safe from these…trials and tribulations."
He can't really be gone…
"Lord, we thank you for Ellis."
Again, Nick winced.
What was the last thing I said to him?"
Nick couldn't remember, but he was sure it wasn't something good.
"Although he was only with us for a short time, he filled our lives with joy. He made things a little more bearable. He sacrificed himself…for us…there…was a little bit of You….in..in him," Coach's voice began to crack and rose considerably in pitch as he struggled to maintain his composure. Rochelle buried her face in her hands.
Nick was dying.
"We know, without a doubt that his spirit has found peace. We know that he is with You now. We pray that some day we will see his smiling face again. Only You know when that day shall come. Thank you Lord. Amen."
Coach and Rochelle embraced one another. The girl then reached down and hugged Nick. The conman did not return the gesture. He just stared hollowly at the ground.
"Alright, come on Nick, we should move on now," Coach stated awkwardly.
Nick didn't respond.
"Nick."
"No."
"Nick!"
"I'm not setting foot inside that mall," Nick's voice was calm, monotone- eerie.
"Then just were are you gonna go?"
"Don't know. I'm gonna stay here for a while and then…just go off on my own."
"That's insanity, Nick! It's bullshit! We're all hurtin'. I know how you feel-"
Nick suddenly looked up at Coach, his eyes filled with a terrifying, inhuman light. It took the older man's breath away and he stepped back.
"Let's go, Ro."
"But-" Coach didn't allow Rochelle to respond. He took her arm and began walking down the empty mall parking lot after taking one last wary look at Nick.
The girl released herself from Coach's grip and the two exchanged words. She then walked slowly over to Nick and placed one of the med kits on the ground next to him. After hesitating for a moment, she then placed two water bottles and two protein bars next to it.
Nick looked up at her, his eyes now soft.
The girl then turned and rejoined Coach. Soon they had disappeared into the building.
An hour later, a helicopter rose up from behind the mall.
Nick hovered amidst the corpses like a wandering spirit, his suit gleaming silver under the light of the moon. After hours of sitting idly, he had decided to try and find the boy. Whether mutilated or unmarred, he just had to see that face one last time. But he was growing weary, and all of the incessant symptoms he had suffered throughout the day were becoming too much to handle. He drifted over to one of CEDA's ward tents and sat down on a bed that just hours ago would have repulsed him. It was filthy, but so was he, in so many ways. He really didn't care anymore. He carefully unwrapped Ellis's shirt from his leg. It too was filthy, covered in his own blood. It made him sick. He wretched, but nothing came up. He was empty inside. He placed the young man's cap beside him, rested his head on the pillow, and closed his heavy eyes. Then he saw something that he had been dreading. Once again, Ellis had materialized before him. Once again, his face was inches away. Why did he have to suffer this nightmare? Would Ellis haunt him every night? The warm breath flowed over his face. It felt so real.
So real.