"Tell me everything!" Nick screamed at the mechanic after he had hoisted him onto the bed and pulled out the med kit Rochelle had left him with. He began tending to Ellis's wounds as the young man tried to recant the events that had left him lying in a heap at the foot of the bed.

"Well, I was able ta' convince Whitaker ta' shoot his gun 'afore we gave 'im the cola…but I had ta' get all the zombies away from you guys somehow and- OOOW! HOLY SHIT WHAT ARE YA' DOIN'?"

Nick began wiping alcohol all over Ellis's skin- which was almost as irritated as he was.

"So you intentionally covered yourself in puke and ran right into the path of Whitaker's gun? I figured as much! I can't fucking believe you!"

The boy's face and chest were a bright pink from the heat of the explosion, and his back was covered in tender, peeling lesions. Portions of his overalls had holes burned into them, and his right ankle was swollen. His entire body was covered in dried blood and grime.

"I care about you…that so hard ta' believe? Hey, where's Coach and Rochelle?"

"Gone. They flew away in a helicopter, so I guess they're safe."

Ellis's mouth parted as he stared into Nick's eyes, noting the dark circles lining them, and the pallid, ashen skin on a face both weary and emotionally drained. The man looked like a corpse.

"You…you didn't go with them. You stayed behind…" The boy's voice was a small whisper. As he contemplated Nick's actions, his gaze dropped to the ground.

"Like I said all along, I didn't want to go into the mall," Nick stated defensively, "So then what happened? I looked everywhere for you. Where the fuck did you go?"

"I…I didn't know where I was as first. Didn't know which way was up or down…I was pretty shell-shocked, I guess. I was buried underneath lots a' bodies, and when I finally realized it, I panicked. It was dark out when I crawled inta' that tent over there," Ellis pointed to the tent directly across from the one they were in, " I was scared, so I crawled under one a' the beds and then I guess I fell asleep for a while." Ellis's face lit up, "Then I saw you sleepin' in this bed."

Nick knew the rest of the story, and nervously contemplated how much the mechanic had been aware of after he made his way over and crawled into the bed with him.

"God, Nick. I'm so damn tired…" Ellis leaned back onto the bed and immediately began to nod off, but Nick yanked him once more into a seated position.

"No, this is no place for you to be sleeping, alright?" Nick quickly gathered his belongings, placed the hat on the boy's head, scooped him up, and ran begrudgingly towards the mall's entrance. He was desperate to have a solid, steel door between them and whatever the hell else was lurking in the darkness.

"We was sleepin' jus' fine 'afore…until you pushed me out the bed, that is," Ellis stated groggily.

Nick gritted his teeth.

Once inside, he placed Ellis on the ground and bolted the door shut. He then peered through the bars of the other door, noticing dark shapes shambling about within the mall's interior. He sat down next to Ellis and handed him one of the water bottles along with a small sachet of pain pills. He then examined the other water bottle that Rochelle had left him with, contemplating the apparent faith that the woman had in Ellis's will to survive.

"You should really save some of that water for- well, never mind then."

He watched Ellis chug the entire bottle and toss it to the side.

Nick then began peeling off the boy's boot and sock to inspect his swollen ankle.

"Please be careful…" Ellis murmured, "It's sore."

Nick placed the mechanic's bare foot in his lap and started applying slight pressure to his ankle.

"Ah! Nick, come on, man. I normally like foot massages, but damn."

"Keep quiet. You probably just sprained it. I'm going to rotate your ankle around to keep it loose."

"What? No don't, please! Ah!"

"Relax. Stop being so dramatic, Ellis. I'm being gentle," Nick smirked, "I'm a licensed physical therapist."

"Yeah, and I'm a licensed mental health couns'lor! You ain't foolin' me."

Nick scoffed and continued to gently roll the boy's ankle. The small grunts and whines that occasionally betrayed Ellis's attempt to remain stoic caused a crooked smile to form on the conman's lips.

"Well I'm glad- Ah!- one a' us is enjoyin' this!" Ellis huffed.

Nick stifled a laugh and Ellis crossed his arms, furrowed his brow, and stuck out his bottom lip. The pink, irritated skin on his face flushed brighter with anger.

"It's not funny."

"Of course it is. You're a whiny, little bitch and you look like a fucking lobster."

"You're an asshole, Nick!" Ellis forcefully kicked the conman in the chest with his other foot. Nick responded by squeezing the boy's ankle.

"Fuck!" Ellis held his hands over his face and sank down onto his back from the sudden pain.

"Ellis."

"WHAT?"

"I'm so fucking glad you're alive." Nick's voice was low and quiet.

Ellis's anger was dulled as he marveled at the brightness in Nick's eyes. The man no longer looked like a corpse. The boy was suddenly invigorated and he produced a grin so wide, Nick was sure it could be seen from space.

"Come on Nick! Let's fuck up some zombies an' crash this mall like we own the place!"

Again, Nick gave the mechanic's ankle a squeeze, and the boy winced.

"You need to rest, so calm the fuck down. Weren't you tired just two minutes ago?"

"Yeah, but you musta' worked your therapist magic," Ellis winked, "I feel tons better already."

Nick attempted to rub his eyes but hesitated when he remembered he had been handling Ellis's foot.

"Christ, Ellis. Your feet smell like shit! Your everything smells like shit!"

"Ha-ha! Yeah, I'm pretty rank, huh? I mean, daaaamn do I need a shower!"

"The hell you do, now come here and let me finish scrubbing you down."

Ellis's eyes widened when Nick reached for the rubbing alcohol again.

"No, no, no!"

"Ellis…"

The boy sighed and scooted around to expose his back to Nick and braced himself for the wicked sting, but only felt a cool, refreshing flow and the gentle rub of wet gauze padding over his wounds. Ellis turned his head to see Nick using his drinking water to wash his back.

"Nick, you don't have ta'-"

"Quiet. I simply can't associate with someone who smells as horribly as you do." The conman moved on to scrub Ellis's arms, chest, stomach, neck, and face. Although it only made his skin redder, and caused Nick to deplete more than half of his water, Ellis relented and calmly allowed the conman to scrub him down. He closed his eyes as Nick's hands, slick with antibacterial cream, smoothed across his tense, sore muscles. He didn't even protest when Nick commanded him to remove his overalls.

"Well I'll be damned," Nick stated quietly.

"Ya see? No chicken legs here!"

When he had finished tending to Ellis's wounds, Nick took a swig of water while the mechanic devoured his protein bar. Ellis attempted to put his bloodied t-shirt back on but Nick stopped him.

"But, you don't need it anymore, an' it's my favorite shirt."

"It's disgusting, Overalls. You can't put that filthy thing back on when you have open wounds all over your back."

"Well, shouldn't ya' wrap me up in bandages or somethin' then?"

"I should wrap your mouth shut, is what I should do," Nick retorted as he carefully placed the excess supplies back in the med kit, "but actually, tight bandages would keep the puss from draining. I think your skin would benefit from some airflow."

"Ok, so I guess you're a doctor now, too."

"Dr. Nick."

Ellis smiled, neatly folded his overalls and placed them, along with his shirt, in a corner.

"So tell me about yourself, Mr. Badass."

"Go to sleep, Ellis."

"Aw, come on."

"Listen, kid. You might not be tired anymore, but I sure as hell am. This was the worst fucking day of my life." Nick walked over to the opposite corner and curled up on the ground.

"Hey, Nick."

"Yeah."

When Ellis remained quiet, Nick rolled over to see the boy staring at him from across the room.

"Well, what is it?"

Ellis tentatively crawled over and attempted to lie down next to him.

"Stop right there."

Ellis gulped and started to back up but stopped when Nick began removing his jacket. The conman removed his cigars, his deck of cards, and what remained of his money from the pockets and spread the jacket on the ground. He then began unbuttoning his blue shirt.

"Damn, Nick, I take back what I said about them steroids not workin'."

Nick extended the blue shirt to Ellis.

"Here, can't have you putting your bare back on this filthy floor."

"Are you serious?" Ellis handled the shirt as though it were made of fine porcelain, "I'll be gentle with it. I promise."

Nick shrugged.

"My jacket's already ruined, and I'm sure this shirt'll get filthy eventually. You gave me the shirt off your back, now we're even. You can lie next to me if you want, but I better not feel you, understand?" The conman lowered himself onto his jacket and shifted a bit before becoming still.

The young man donned the shirt and settled down so that he was a millimeter away from Nick and watched the man's broad chest rise and fall.

"Hey, Nick?" Ellis whispered.

The older man had already drifted off into sleep.

"You stayed behind, Nick…you…waited for me."

A soft snore escaped from Nick's throat.

"Thank you so much." Ellis fell asleep with a smile on his face as he relived everything that had transpired between them within the CEDA tent.

Rochelle rubbed her eyes at the muted light filtering through the bars of the door from the atrium's windows. Although it was morning, it was still rather dark due to the rain that had not stopped since last evening. As she tied her hair back up, she noticed Jimmy shift uncomfortably in the spot in the corner from which he had not moved throughout the entire night.

"Rough night, Jimmy?"

The man nodded, "Couldn't sleep. I spent the whole night thinkin'…Lost someone very dear to me."

"Sorry to hear that," Rochelle smoothed her hands across her hair, "So what were you doing here? Why weren't you in the atrium?"

"Well that's where I was all yesterday mornin'," Jimmy shook his head at the irony, "I arrived at the mall very early yesterday. I was so excited to meet my fans."

Rochelle gave him a puzzled look.

"Oh, I'm a stock car racer- very well known 'round these parts. Well, anyway, when the first group a' people came rushin' towards me and security had ta' handle 'em, I though nothin' of it," Jimmy rubbed his forehead, "I was used to rabid fans, but I guess they was literally rabid fans cuz they tore my security team to ribbons. Daniel…he and I, hid in my makeshift dressin' room until more a' them monsters busted the door in. They chased us outta' the atrium and then…and then Daniel started to act strange."

Tears began streaming down Jimmy's face.

I told 'im he needed to rest, but he wasn't havin' any of it. He wanted us to keep movin'…I watched helpless as he got sicker 'n sicker. Next thing I knew, there were monsters everywhere an' he-"

It became increasingly difficult for Rochelle to understand Jimmy as he heaved and gasped amidst his heavy sobbing.

"It happened so fast…just like that he was gone…and I didn't even stop to…I didn't even stop his killer…"

Jimmy looked at Rochelle, his sapphire eyes ablaze.

The girl produced a small smile and patted his shoulder.

I lost someone just yesterday, myself. I guess I shouldn't have forced him to come along…"

"Damn it, Ellis. Slow down."

"I'm tellin' ya' Nick, you're a miracle worker! My leg feels pretty good."

The two men were proceeding swiftly through the mall after several hours of rest. Nick had replenished the ammo of his AK-47 and Ellis had retrieved his sniper rifle from the parking lot. Although the mechanic was trying to brush off the pain in his ankle, he made no attempt to disguise his limp. He hopped up the escalator and hobbled along quickly, hoping to find his hero's stock car deeper within the mall. The prospect was driving him wild with bubbling energy and excitement.

"Who the hell is this guy, anyway?" Nick asked as he observed the enormous posters of a sandy-haired man with a moustache standing confidently in a blue and white jumpsuit.

"That's Jimmy Gibbs Jr.! He's a legend, man!"

"What is he wearing? Is he a fucking astronaut or something?"

"Um, that's his racin' suit, duh! Come on, Nick, use your brains. I thought you was smarter 'n that."

"Pfft. Ellis, do me a favor and stop talking. Really. Just stop."

"His car's in here somewhere. I was on my way ta' get my picture taken with 'im and the car, damn it! If we can find it, we can drive away from this mess. Just you an' me."

"And where exactly would we go?"

"I don't know. You tell me, man."

The conman thought about the map he had seen back in the hotel and wondered if they could possibly make it to New Orleans on their own.

The further they progressed through the mall, the more posters they came across.

"This guy's face is plastered everywhere," Nick stated, clearly annoyed.

"He's a pretty striking guy though, ain't he? I mean just look at 'im. With his hair all nice, and that moustache…"

"He looks like a tool, Ellis. A giant tool."

The boy huffed and crossed his arms.

"I didn't figure you ta' be the jealous type, Nick. It's pretty sad, actually. Pretty pathetic."

"Ha! You think I'm jealous of this guy?"

"Yeah, cuz he's famous an' everyone loves 'im."

"Now you're just spewing bullshit, Ellis. I'm not even going to acknowledge that with a response."

"I was thinkin' 'bout growin' a moustache a' my own. Just like his," Ellis stated dreamily, clearly getting a kick out of egging Nick on.

"First of all, I would be shocked if a snot-nosed brat like you were even capable of producing that much facial hair. And if you somehow managed to, and you walked past me on the street, I would smack you. I would smack the ridiculous thing right off your face!"

"You're a funny guy, Nick! Wanna have some fun?"

A shudder suddenly caused Nick's shoulders to spasm and he looked about nervously with a sense of uneasiness brewing in the pit of his stomach. Seeing nothing threatening, he turned back to Ellis.

"What, being in a mall full of brain-sucking psychopaths isn't enough of a good time for you?" Nick stopped walking and ventured cautiously, "What kind of fun are we talking about, here?"

"Let's see who can blast the heads off a' the most zombies! We get ten shots each."

"What a fool you are."

"Come on! It'll be great, I promise."

"Fine. If it'll shut you up, even for a second, then it's worth it."

When the pair spotted a group of zombies milling about at the other end of the long stretch of the current floor, Ellis took aim with his rifle.

"I'll go first." He stuck his tongue out as he knelt on his good leg and peered intently through the rifle's scope lens. Nick's expensive dress shirt, which was too large on the boy, clashed blaringly with his worn overalls, and the mechanic had tucked the shirt in to minimize the chances of it getting soiled.

"You look absolutely ridiculous," Nick chuckled.

"Quiet, you! I'm tryin' a' concentrate." Ellis began firing and counted off the bursting heads.

"One. Two…Three. Four. Five…Six. Seven. Aw, shit! Eight. Nine."

"That's it Overalls, ten shots."

"Nine outa' ten, Nick. See if you can do better n' that!" The mechanic beamed.

"Well, I'm glad you're so proud of yourself," Nick crossed his arms, "You have a fucking sniper rifle with fucking laser sights and you still managed to miss a zombie."

Ellis narrowed his eyes and shoved the rifle into Nick's hands.

"Let's see what you got!"

Unlike Ellis, Nick stood tall and fired much more rapidly.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, AAH!"

At the moment that Nick fired his final shot, Ellis snuck up behind him and poked him just below his last rib- a spot where Nick happened to be extremely ticklish. The conman flinched involuntarily and missed his mark completely.

"Ha ha ha ha haaaaaaa! We'll call that one a tie, Nick!"

The conman rushed at the mechanic and tackled him to the ground.

"Uncle! Uncle!" Ellis yelled, but Nick ignored him and began tickling him savagely.

"Oh God! Nick, please! I can't breathe!" Ellis appeared to be suffering from a fit of epilepsy as he writhed about on the floor. Tears streamed down his face from the force of his laughter.

"You're gonna wish you were dead by the time I'm through with you!" Nick hissed, but stopped the torture when the remaining zombies started rushing towards them.

Nick jumped to his feet and began handling them with ease until a Boomer lumbered across his field of view and managed to inexplicably, yet perfectly, conceal its enormous berth behind a support column. The conman strafed to the right as he aimed for the Boomer, but a Hunter's piercing scream distracted him and he backed away towards Ellis.

The boy had risen slowly and retrieved his rifle.

"All right, Nick! If they want ta' try an' work as a team, then let's show 'em how it's done right!"

The Hunter began leaping about wildly, launching itself off the walls.

"It's trying to distract us!" Nick shouted as he remembered the incident back in the streets. His eyes darted back towards the Boomer, who remained patiently tucked behind the column.

"You really think they're smart enough ta' do that?" Ellis shouted as he fired at the Hunter. The creature leapt straight into the air and attached itself to the ceiling, an action so unexpected that both men couldn't help but lift their eyes to meet it. As they both took aim, a Smoker snared Nick and dragged him along a path that ran right past the waiting Boomer.

"Damn, I guess they are!" Ellis exclaimed.

The boy blew a hole through the Hunter's skull, realizing that the creature was waiting for him to aim at the Smoker. He then quickly shot the Smoker's face. As Nick struggled to pry the tongue off of himself, the Boomer took aim.

"Look out Nick, if I shoot 'im from here he'll pop on ya!"

Nick whipped the Smoker's tongue at the Boomer, knocking the creature's head back. The tiniest spray of bile still managed to escape from its mouth and landed on Nick's face. As the Boomer stumbled backwards, Ellis safely destroyed it.

A nearby zombie was attracted to the small amount of bile and charged recklessly towards Nick who beat it to death with his gun. The conman growled in exasperation and unzipped his med kit. He pulled out his mostly empty water bottle and poured the rest into his eyes to rid himself of the irritating bile as Ellis limped over to him.

"See Nick, the two a' us are damn near unstoppable! That was so awesome the way you used the tongue ta'-"

Nick grabbed Ellis by the shirt and pulled him close.

"Stop talking." Nick's voice was unnervingly calm at first as he glared at Ellis, but with his eyes quickly becoming pink and inflamed from the bile's acidic pH, his tone became more irritated and intense, "No more of your fucking games, Overalls! I try to humor you and this is what comes of it! You don't take anything seriously, and that's the problem! We got lucky, ok! Nothing more!"

"I just wanted us ta' have some-"

"Fun! Yeah! An eye infection is a lot of fun, Ellis! A lot of fucking fun!" The skin around Nick's eyes was turning pink and started to swell slightly. The white's of his eyes were now bright red and contrasted alarmingly with his green irises.

"Fuck!" Nick closed his irritated eyes and tears streamed down his face.

"Gosh, Nick," Ellis murmured as he pulled the brim of his hat down, "I'm real sorry. Is there anythin' I can do ta' help?"

"Yeah, just close your mouth and keep it closed. Now let's go find the damn car."

Rochelle nudged Coach gently to rouse him from his rather deep slumber.

"Hey, big guy."

"Hey," Coach produced a broad smile as he rolled onto his back and stretched.

"Jimmy and I have a plan to get us out of here. It involves gassing up his car."

"Mr. Jimmy Gibbs?" Coach shouted in disbelief as he finally got a good look at the other man, "Sounds like as good a plan as any."

The trio proceeded cautiously with Coach in the center, Jimmy to his right, and Rochelle covering his blind side on the left.

"There's some fuel containers in a storage room on the other side of this level," Jimmy explained.

Due to the construction taking place within the atrium's upper level, in order to reach the fuel, the three needed to take the elevator to the bottom floor and climb the spiral staircases back up to the storage room.

The three reached the elevator, and before entering, Jimmy picked off several of the infected shambling about below them. What the man lacked in firepower with his single pistol, he made up for with the accuracy of his shots, and the relatively lower firing volume of the weapon. He managed to take several of them down without riling up a horde. They entered the elevator and as it took them slowly to the ground floor, Coach and Rochelle exchanged solemn glances of nervous encouragement while Jimmy seemed lost in his own thoughts- contemplating- as his gaze alternated between the bleu de France stock car and the gleaming barrel of his pistol.

As soon as the doors slid open, the three of them wasted no time making their way swiftly towards the farthest spiral staircase, side by side as they fired at the infected in their path.

"Mr. Gibbs, maybe you should get yourself a better weapon," Coach suggested as they reached the staircase. There were various rifles and shotguns lying about amidst the piles of dead bodies.

"Big gun's are nice, but this pistol is just too damn stylish," Jimmy dismissed him, "We're almost there. Say, perhaps you should protect the car while the girl and I get the gas. We could even toss the gas cans down to ya' to save time. Here, take my keys."

Jimmy tossed the keys to Coach, who caught them, but hesitated.

"I think we should stick together, Mr. Gibbs."

"I agree," Rochelle added.

"Oh, fine then," Jimmy relented, a bit put off.

When they reached the top of the staircase, a flood of infected swarmed them on the top floor. The stopping power of Coach's shotgun and the piercing power of Rochelle's AK-47 prevented most of the zombies from reaching them. Jimmy struggled a bit with his pistol, but he managed to hold his own and shove several of the creatures to their deaths on the bottom floor. The trio reached the storage room and Jimmy kicked his way inside. Coach and Rochelle covered the door as the racecar driver rushed into the room and emerged with two gas cans in his arms.

"Toss these down to the car," he commanded and handed both cans to Coach. He then grabbed two more and handed them to Rochelle. Finally, he emerged with two cans of his own and the three of them made their way back down towards the car.

"Oh shit, Nick! I can't move no faster!"

"Damn, it!" The conman slung Ellis over his shoulder and ran as quickly as he could up an escalator, "It's a good thing you're a pipsqueak! Just keep shooting!"

Ellis aimed as best he could as he bobbed up and down in time with the rhythm of Nick's swift ascent, but it was hard to miss the impossibly immense form of the Tank galloping so closely behind them.

"And here I thought that thing back at the gun store was a one of a kind freak," Nick mumbled breathlessly as he reached the top.

Ellis swung his weight forward to duck his head as the Tank took a swipe at him. Nick groaned and did his best to ignore his burning eyes and to counterbalance Ellis's movements as he gripped the young man's thigh and waist tightly. The conman staggered but managed to keep his feet underneath him as he quickened his pace and headed towards a reinforced door ahead of him.

"Ellis!" he gasped, "there's a safe room ahead! Get ready to hit the dirt, kid!"

The boy braced himself as Nick released his hold on him. Ellis rolled across the hard tiles, carried by the momentum of Nick's frantic sprint. His back hit the wall of the safe room as Nick slammed into the door. With the Tank nearly on top of them, Nick opened the door, grabbed Ellis, and threw the boy inside. As Nick closed the reinforced door, the Tank collided into it, straining the hinges and knocking the man backwards from the force of the impact.

"The door's not gonna hold!" Nick screamed as he clamored onto his feet. Ellis crawled across the floor as Nick unbolted the exit door. Dust rained down from the ceiling and the entire room vibrated from the Tank's repeated assault on the door, its metal surface warping and buckling from the feverish impacts.

"On my back!" Nick commanded as he crouched down in front of Ellis. The boy wrapped his arms and legs around Nick tightly as the conman sprung forward and slammed the door shut as he entered the atrium. Ellis observed the chaos below him as Nick ran over to the elevator. The conman pushed the button and the elevator slowly rose up from the ground floor to meet them. The Tank was now in the safe room attempting to burst through the exit door.

"Come on, damn it! Come on!" Nick gritted his teeth and placed Ellis back on the ground as they waited for the excruciatingly slow elevator.

"Oh, hell!" Ellis shouted as the safe room door relented to the overwhelming pressure. Finally the elevator opened up and the two men clamored inside. Nick slammed on the console and they both fired at the Tank until the doors closed, but as the elevator began its descent, it jolted to a stop.

"Fuck!" Nick shouted as they braced themselves on either side of the elevator doors. Flimsy by comparison to the those of the safe room, the doors provided so little resistance that when the Tank annihilated them, the monster careened through the tiny space and flew straight through the glass wall and onto the floor below.

Jimmy let out an excited whoop as he filled the car's tank to the brim and Coach put the key in the ignition.

"There, that oughta'- OH SHIT!" Jimmy leapt out of the way as the Tank nearly landed on top of him.

"You've got to be kidding me! Another one?" Rochelle yelled. She and Coach immediately opened fire as the Tank collected itself and rose from the floor.

"What the fuck? Seriously, what the fuck?" Jimmy screamed in a pitch almost a high as Rochelle's, "Whatever you do, God damn it, just keep it away from my car!"

Attracted to his screams, the Tank charged Jimmy, and the racer backpedaled up the staircase, firing his pistol all the while. Rochelle sprinted after the Tank, firing all of her shots at the back of the monster's skull. The Tank stopped halfway up the stairs and abandoned its pursuit of Jimmy and it swung its body around to swipe at Rochelle. The girl led the creature back down the stairs and around a convenience stand. Coach blasted away at its backside the entire time.

"My suit's ruined!"

For a second, Rochelle thought it was Nick shouting as she looked up, but saw Jimmy instead, covered in Boomer bile. She and Coach ran up the stairs with the Tank and a newly formed horde in hot pursuit. As she reached the top, Rochelle immediately turned to the right to support Jimmy who had destroyed the Boomer and knocked a Spitter down to the bottom floor before it could douse him with goo.

Jimmy retreated back into the storage room and emerged with one final can of gas as Rochelle joined him.

"You said we already had enough gas in the tank! Put that thing down and get ready because those zombies want your slime covered ass!"

"Well they ain't gonna get it!" Jimmy shouted defiantly.

Rochelle watched in horror as Coach turned to the left upon reaching the top of the staircase, leading the Tank away from them.

"God damn, Nick! Tell me your drawers are still dry after that one!" Ellis shouted, the near death experience causing him to overflow with nervous excitement. Both men watched as the Tank climbed the spiral staircase in pursuit of three, small figures- one of them wearing a bright pink shirt. A group of zombies were following in the monster's wake.

"Coach and Rochelle!" Ellis screamed, "You said they flew away ta' safety!"

"Well, I thought they did," Nick replied, half to himself as he looked down at the racecar, taking in the sight of several gas containers strewn about beside it. He tried the button again, but the elevator refused to budge, "Were gonna have to jump down, Ellis.

"Oh God…" the boy groaned as he cupped his head in his hands. He then shook himself, "Alright, the others are in trouble. Let's do it."

Nick sat on the ledge and let his feet dangle over the side. He then scooted himself off while gripping the edge as best he could with his fingers. He stretched himself out as much as possible. The length of Nick's body combined with the span of his arms decreased the height of the drop considerably and he was able to land safely on the floor. He immediately unstrapped his gun and fired at a rush of infected.

Ellis sat on the ledge and provided cover fire until the small horde was destroyed. He then slung his rifle onto his back and prepared to drop down. His breathing became increasingly labored the longer he hesitated.

"Come on Ellis!"

The ground seemed to warp and spin below him as the boy though about landing messily on his sprained ankle. If he dropped down the way Nick did, he wouldn't see the ground coming. His hands were drenched in sweat, so he doubted he could grip the ledge long enough to steady himself.

"Hurry up, Overalls!"

Ellis began to panic and he closed his eyes and lifted his head as he gasped for air. He thought he was stronger than this. He thought he could overcome this crippling fear. But even now, with his friends in trouble, Ellis was frozen.

"You're the bravest kid I know, Ellis!"

The boy's eyes snapped open at the sound.

"You made your way through a burning building, tackled a Hunter to the ground, and led a horde right into a fucking explosion, but you're gonna let a little jump stop you?"

"This is different, Nick!" the boy shouted through chattering teeth.

"Damn it, Ellis! I'll…I'll catch you, alright? Just jump!"

Ellis's eyes widened and he bit his lip as Nick extended his arms.

"You trust me, don't you?"

A lump the size of a baseball formed in Ellis's throat.

"I trust you, Nick."

The boy wiped his sweaty palms on his overalls and dangled over the side, his arms shaking as he hung from his fingertips, but before Ellis let go, a Spitter drenched the ground beneath Nick's feet in acidic goo.

Nick screamed in agony as the acid permeated the soles of his shoes and began assaulting his feet, but he fought the commands of his mind and body and did not move from the spot.

"LET GO, ELLIS! JUST LET GO!"

You stayed behind, Nick…you…waited for me.

Even now, as he wallowed in a lake of liquid fire-

Nick waited.

Ellis let go. The momentary terror that enveloped him as he fell through the empty void was replaced by the sensation of Nick's strong arms cradling him tightly. The conman sloshed through the corrosive liquid and made his way over to the racecar. He threw Ellis into the passenger seat and kicked off his tattered shoes before running over to the driver's seat.

He caught a flurry of movement on the second floor and looked up to see Coach, who was staring right back down at him. The older man waved his arms frantically but Nick ignored him and entered the vehicle. To his relief, a set of keys dangled from the ignition.

"Nick, what are you doin'? What about Coach and Ro?"

"Fuck them, Ellis! We're getting the hell out of here! Just you and me, remember!"

The boy stared, horrified, at the conman.

"That was 'afore I knew they were still here! You can't be serious, Nick!"

But Nick had already started the car. They were already moving.

Ellis scrambled for the door handle, but Nick gripped him fiercely by the arm.

"Let me go, Nick! I've gotta help them!" the boy screamed as the car burst through the mall's glass doors.

"You're not going anywhere!" Nick's visage became monstrous as his face contorted into a wrathful snarl. Drops of blood leeched from the corners of his eyes and his nails pierced Ellis's skin from the force of his grip.

Jimmy launched the gas can at the top of the staircase and shot it with his pistol. The resulting spark set the liquid ablaze as it spread out, catching the Tank and engulfing the entire horde as they rushed into it in pursuit of him.

With the Tank now on fire, it moved with more fury as it closed the distance between itself and Coach.

Jimmy hesitated for a moment and looked at Rochelle. The pistol trembled in his hand. He then sighed and wiped his forehead before charging straight into the fire, his Kevlar suit rendering him impervious to the flames. He rushed down the stairs in time to see his car drive away.

"Why, God? Why?" he shouted as he tugged savagely at his hair. He let out a frustrated roar and ran back up the stairs in a fit of rage.

Coach watched the car drive away in disbelief as he delivered the finishing blow to the Tank. Nick had seen him, he was damn sure of that, but the conman had driven away regardless. He rushed over to the stairs, but they and a large portion of the floor were still engulfed in flames. He couldn't see a thing beyond the dazzling inferno and the dark, billowing smoke.

Rochelle's first instinct was to shoot through the windows on the ceiling to allow the rain to extinguish the flames, but remembered that water would only make a gas fire worse. She waited impatiently for the fire to burn itself out, but squinted as she saw a figure emerge from the flames.

"As ridiculous as it looks, Jimmy, I wish I had one of those suits," the girl joked.

The racer smiled, tore Rochelle's gun from her hands, tossed it down to the ground floor, and aimed his pistol at her face.

"What the hell?" Rochelle gasped as she stood frozen and wide eyed.

"This is for Daniel," Jimmy whispered.