"Ellis! Help me, please!"
The young mechanic tore across the tattered streets with a horde of infected literally nipping at his heels. His breath came in rapid, panting bursts that failed to deliver an adequate supply of air to his lungs. The searing pain in his ankle became impossible to ignore and he was soon overtaken by the zombies as he struggled to reach the man who was crying out to him.
It's all my fault...all my fault...
Try as he might, Ellis could not move beneath the crushing weight of the horde, and he watched in terror when one of the creatures began to approach his fallen friend. He reached desperately for a gun that was no longer there.
I should have told you sooner...
Ellis closed his eyes tightly and winced upon hearing the screams of agonizing pain as the monster began tearing the other man apart.
Before it was too late...
If only he could take that pain away. If only he could just be by the man's side.
Suddenly, Ellis's silent prayer was answered when he opened his eyes to find that the entire horde had vanished. Before he could fully grasp what had happened, he looked down to find himself kneeling over a corpse. Its familiar face was dreadfully pale, and as he reached out to run his fingers gently along the receding hairline, Ellis found himself unable to breathe. His hands were completely drenched in the blood that flowed from the corpse's open chest.
All my fault...
Ellis nearly hit the ceiling as he jolted awake, struggling to remember where he was. He clutched Jimmy Gibbs Jr.'s steering wheel for dear life as he leaned his head against the driver's window.
"I'm so sorry, Keith," the boy whispered as he collected himself.
He could just see Rochelle in the darkness, still asleep in the back seat. Unable to fight his exhaustion, Coach had retired from his watch duty and was sleeping next to her in a seated position. Ellis's brow furrowed as he looked about worriedly for Nick, and popped the door open upon seeing the conman seated on the hood, still partaking in a silent vigil.
Encouraged by the way Nick had treated him in the car, Ellis climbed onto the hood and sat very close to him, placing his hand on the conman's shoulder as he watched the moon's dim halo struggle to break free from the clouds that smothered it.
"Why are you out here by yourself? It ain't safe. Come back in the car an' rest."
Nick shrugged.
"I did go in the car once Coach decided to call it a night, but between his snoring, and you hogging up all the space up front, I couldn't sleep."
"Oh," Ellis rubbed the grit out of his eyes, "You coulda' asked me ta' move over. I was havin' nightmares anyway, so I wouldn't a' minded bein' woken up."
"I wanted some air, and I kind of liked having some privacy for once," Nick looked at Ellis for a moment, hoping the mechanic would take the hint, or at least remove his hand from his shoulder, but continued when he didn't, "It gives me some time to collect my thoughts."
"What'chu been thinkin' about?"
"Lots of things."
"Like what?" Ellis ventured.
Nick ignored the question and for quite some time, nothing but the incessant buzzing of insects and the occasional gust of wind could be heard. However, the boy waited patiently for Nick to answer and his eyes remained glued on the conman.
Nick sighed, looked down at Ellis's injured ankle, and calmly lifted it onto his lap.
"Like how my life has become a lousy shit hole," he relented rather robotically as he untied the laces of the boy's boot.
"I 'been thinkin' about my family a lot, an' my friends..." Ellis's voice trailed off. The slight discomfort from Nick's gentle but firm pressure on his ankle provided a distraction from the emotional pain of missing Keith, Dave, and his mom. He quickly pushed those painful thoughts to the back of his mind, "It ain't all bad, though. All a' this runnin' around an' shootin' zombies an' shit- it's kinda' exitin'. "
"Yeah, and you're kind of sick."
"Do you miss your family an' friends?" The boy was eager to learn more about the conman.
"I don't have any friends," Nick countered quickly.
"None at all?"
"No."
Ellis hunched his shoulders slightly and scratched the back of his neck.
"Not even a new one? You know...somebody that you mighta' met jus' recently..." A look of hope spread across Ellis's face.
"How does your ankle feel?" Nick asked, ignoring the boy.
"It feels kinda' nice," Ellis replied as Nick rolled the joint around gently with his hands, "a lot better than it did this morning."
"Yeah, well it's never gonna heal up if you keep running around on it like an idiot."
"We won't be havin' ta' do much runin' as long as we've got Jimmy, here." Ellis patted the hood of the car with his hand.
Nick snorted and shook his head.
"I'm thinking I should drive."
"No way, Nick," Ellis folded his arms.
"You're in no position to argue," Nick held the boy's ankle menacingly, "Cuz I can put a whole world of hurt on you right now."
"Aw, come on! That ain't fair," Ellis began to squirm about and tried to pull his foot away, but the conman held it firmly.
"What better way for your ankle to lock up than by pressing down on the accelerator pad for God knows how many miles?"
"Well…can we take turns at least?" Ellis sounded like a child pleading with a parent, "I've jus' gotta drive this thing! You don't know how much it means ta' me!"
"Fine, Christ."
Ellis smiled warmly, "So what else is on your mind?"
"I've been thinking about my ex-wife a lot. Kind of miss the old nag," Nick smirked and punched Ellis lightly on the shoulder.
The boy blinked at him twice.
"Your ex-wife?"
"Yeah. Damn, was that broad a good lay." With Ellis's foot still on his lap, Nick folded his arms behind his head and leaned back onto the windshield.
As Nick spoke, Ellis rubbed at the itchy, peeling skin on his cheeks and arms, exposing small patches of healing skin underneath.
"She was a knock out. Had the biggest pair of-"
"Hey, Nick?" Ellis interrupted rather forcefully.
"Yeah."
"Are you okay?"
The conman scrunched up his brow as he looked at the boy.
"What part of, 'my life has become a lousy shit hole' did you not understand? Of course I'm not okay."
"That's not what I mean. I've been watchin' you, Nick- the way you've been movin' around, the way you've been actin' all strange-"
Nick lifted his upper body off the windshield.
"Ellis, you've known me for all of what? Two days now? So you have no basis to compare your little observations to how I normally act."
"No need ta' eat me alive, Nick," Ellis stated quietly, "I'm jus' worried about you is all. You've been throwin' up a lot too. You can't be feelin' good."
Nick sighed.
"Alright, so I haven't been feeling one hundred percent." Nick wanted to leave it at that, but Ellis continued to stare at him. By the look in the boy's tired eyes, 'worried' was an understatement.
Nick placed his hand on Ellis's shoulder.
"Quit your worries. You and I are unstoppable, remember? You said so yourself."
Ellis attempted to protest, but Nick cut him off.
"Try to get some rest, Overalls," Nick's smile was genuine, "You've got to drive us out of here soon."
The conman noted rather uneasily, that for the first time, Ellis's return smile seemed rather forced.
Zoey brushed the stray strands of rain-soaked hair away from her eyes as she stared down in disbelief at the racecar that pulled up to the raised bridge. She could see the tiny form of a young man exit from the driver's side. He flailed both arms about excitedly upon seeing her.
"Ho-lee-shiiit! I mean, howdy there!"
"Uh, yeah 'howdy'..." the girl replied. The boy's enthusiasm only served to slightly annoy her as she continued to mourn the loss of her fallen comrade.
"My name's Ellis! What's yours?"
"Zoey."
"Hi Zoey! Pleasure ta' meet you!"
"Yeah..."
"Do you think you could lower the bridge for us?"
"No, sorry. Can't do that."
"No?" Ellis scratched the back of his head, "Um...please?"
By this time, Nick had joined Ellis and the conman stared up at the girl with narrowed eyes as she attempted to explain herself.
"Look, the generator we used to raise the bridge is out of power and-"
"So why don't you gas it up for us, toots? Or are you incapable? Incompetent? Both? Is there a man around that I could talk to?" Nick sneered, but he winced upon feeling the swift, vicious kick to his ass that Rochelle provided him.
"Ah! What the fuck?" Nick rubbed his backside- still a little tender from where he had administered the vaccine.
"I don't have the patience for this bullshit right now," Zoey clutched the hunting rifle tightly in her hands, "And I am fully capable of shooting you where you stand!"
"For Christ's sake, lady, I was joking!" Nick produced a crooked smile, "But seriously, is there a man up there?"
"Ugh!" Zoey threw her hands up in disgust, "He's all yours, Francis!"
The biker made his way over to where Zoey had stood, and the girl moved out of sight to sit next to Louis.
"Nice ride," Francis shouted rather glumly.
"Yeah, ain't 'e a beauty?" Ellis shouted back.
"It is. I'm into motorcycles myself, but I sure do appreciate the fine piece of craftsmanship that is your car."
"Hey, I changed my mind! Could you bring the girl back?" Nick shouted after taking one look at Francis.
"Oh, man!" Ellis was filled nearly to bursting with excitement. He placed his hands on Rochelle's shoulders and whispered rather loudly into her ear, "He thinks the car is mine!"
"Well it kind of does belong to us now, Ellis," the girl replied.
"You're right…" The mechanic became eerily quiet, as though realizing this fact for the first time.
Taking the opportunity, Rochelle called out to Francis.
"Hey there! Is there anything you guys can do to help us cross this thing?"
Francis's mood lifted slightly upon taking a good look at Rochelle.
"We lost a good man, and another of us is pretty badly injured, so Zoey and I really can't risk going down there by ourselves to gas up the generator. Not with all of these God damned vampires running around."
"Vampires?" Ellis questioned under his breath with a smile.
"What's your name, babe?"
"It's Nick," the conman interjected with a smirk, "and don't call me 'babe' you Village People reject!"
Ellis clasped his hands over his mouth and puffed his cheeks in an attempt to suppress his laughter.
"Wasn't talking to you, asswipe!"
"The name's Rochelle."
"Tell you what, Rochelle, If the four of you can make it over to this side, we'll help you lower the bridge," Francis winked at the girl and tossed down a health kit to her.
Rochelle cringed slightly upon hearing Coach clear his throat in apparent annoyance, but thanked Francis and took the med pack.
Francis then turned to Ellis and tossed him an adrenaline shot.
"Here kid, you can have this."
"Oh wow! Uh, what is it?" Ellis looked down at the shot in his hands. It reminded him of the needle he had seen in the package Nick had dropped, except it was much larger.
"Adrenaline. It's your new best friend!" Again Francis winked, "Or at least it can be if you use it properly. It's something that a- a friend- gave to us. Gives you a nice boost!"
"Oh, okay," Ellis placed the shot his pocket.
"What, nothing for me?" Nick shouted, slightly offended.
"Come closer," Francis responded, and when Nick stood beneath him, Francis turned around, bent over and motioned as though he were going to pull down his pants, "Open wide!"
"Ugh, you would do something like that you filthy, assrat bastard!" Nick hastily stepped away from the bridge with an angry, repulsed look on his face.
"Ha! The only reason I didn't do it is because you would probably like it too much!"
"Fuck off!"
"Alright then, the both of you fuck off! Now let's get moving," Coach stated and the four of them turned to face the street, "I've heard of this town before- Rayford- it's supposed to be historically significant.
"Oh yeah? Well how so?" Nick asked absentmindedly.
"Guess we'll find out when we reach the tour." Coach pointed at a dilapidated sign.
"Joy," Nick stated flatly, "We have to go under the damn river, huh?" He fished through his pockets and pulled out his wallet, counting what little money he had left from his earnings at the bar back in Savannah, "Two hundred bucks says this 'tour' is gonna be filthy as fuck."
After Ellis had reassured the racecar that the four of them would return for it, the survivors dropped down from the cobble stone streets onto a tiny riverside park. Although a pervasive, heavy fog shrouded the town in a dreary cloak and completely obscured any hint of their destination beyond the murky green river, it could not conceal the scent of decay that wafted about the unsettled air.
Rochelle stopped and peered beneath one of the benches, nestled beside the park's ornamental shrubbery. The girl was completely unprepared for what she saw.
A corpse, so unimaginably defiled that Rochelle could only guess it was female, lay twisted and broken in a pool of liquid putrescence. The tattered strips of flesh that had once covered her crushed skull, lay strewn across the radius of her stiffened remains.
A small, rounded object was cradled within the corpse's arms. It was covered in a thin veil of wispy blonde curls, slathered and stained with dark mats of congealed blood. The mass of soiled strands concealed the tiny head of a young child- pressed tightly in an eternal embrace against its mother's eviscerated torso.
"What's the matter, Ro?"
Ellis had fallen back when he noticed Rochelle standing by the bench, and as he approached her, the girl quickly began covering the horrific sight with some soiled sheets that spilled out of the mounds of abandoned, black trash bags littering the ground.
"Nothing's wrong. Let's keep moving."
She pointed at Coach and Nick who had moved further ahead, and were maneuvering around the wreckage of buses and smaller vehicles on their way into a vandalized office building.
"What were ya' lookin' at over there?" The mechanic had noticed a pair of legs protruding from beneath the sheets and moved closer to investigate.
Rochelle grabbed his arm and the young man stopped to look at her. Ever since they had met, the girl had felt a strong urge to look out for Ellis. She didn't know why she had projected such nurturing tendencies onto the young mechanic, but his sweet face and trusting nature had conveyed an innocence, so seemingly fragile and pure, that no human being- not even Ellis himself- could have realistically possessed it. Yet here she was, treating him as though he were three, instead of twenty-three.
As if reading her thoughts, Ellis touched Rochelle's shoulder gently and produced a small smile.
"It's okay. I want ta' see."
Rochelle nodded solemnly and slowly removed the sheets.
"Damn…" Ellis whispered.
They both looked down at the haunting sight and found themselves unable to wrench their eyes from the sickeningly gruesome, yet heartbreakingly moving, display of raw humanity- something that was quickly being snuffed from the face of the earth.
Ellis turned to look at Rochelle when he felt her hand grab his. He remained silent as he watched her slowly place her other hand on her stomach.
"We should check in here for supplies."
Nick wasn't one to stop and smell the zombified roses. He wanted more than anything to get through this God damned city, but unfortunately, the thought of traipsing underneath a bridge, teeming with legions of microscopic horrors, was enough to get his stomach churning. He begrudgingly set aside his AK-47, practically devoid of ammo, in exchange for a silenced submachine gun- a weapon that the conman was intimately familiar with, yet decidedly more modest in power. Likewise, Coach had just acquired a new toy of his own, and he brandished the golf club as though he were standing at the eighteenth hole.
"My drive is gonna be perfect by the time we get to other side of the bridge," the older man chuckled, more to himself than to Nick.
"I'll bet golf is just about the only sport you can still play."
"Well it's one more than you and your manicured ass can play."
Before Nick could counter, he was interrupted by a series of heavy foot falls and the donkey-like braying of a Charger making its way down from the upper floor of the building. They retreated back outside, noticing that Rochelle and Ellis were no longer behind them.
A Hunter was stealthily traversing the roof of a bus that had collided into the office building, and it landed on Nick's back upon seeing him, sending the conman to the ground. Coach unleashed a tremendous line drive, striking the Hunter in the ribs with the substantial head of the golf club. The creature was launched through one of the bus's windows, and it landed in a heap inside of the vehicle.
Nick rose to his feet, but quickly leapt to the side as the Charger barreled out of the office building. The beast struck the bus, rocking the vehicle with the force of its impact. Nick fired his machine gun as he clamored back inside the building.
Alerted by the gunfire, Rochelle and Ellis sprinted as quickly as they could towards Nick and Coach, their efforts slowed by the pile up of cars.
Coach bludgeoned the Charger with his club until the creature recovered from its staggering impact, and he decided to follow Nick when the Hunter re-emerged through the broken bus window. It hopped onto the Charger's back before shrieking with rage and lauching itself at Coach. The older man shoved it back and quickly replaced the golf club with his shogun. He fired several times as he retreated up the stairs, but bumped into Nick. The conman's progress to the second floor had been blocked by the rest of the zombies inhabiting the building.
"Feel free to lend me a hand here!" Nick shouted in annoyance.
"I'll be happy to, as soon as I finish cleanin' up after you down here!" Coach took aim at the Hunter when it landed at the foot of the staircase.
Rochelle reached the office building first, and was greeted with the Charger as it turned its attention to her. It swiped at her with its arm and Rochelle ducked. Making use of her small frame, the girl dove between the creatures legs. The frustrated Charger began slamming its fist wildly into the cars as it turned around awkwardly. It hunkered down slightly before rushing towards her.
With little room to maneuver, Rochelle jumped backwards, landing on her back on the hood of a car. She rolled off the vehicle just before the Charger slammed into it with the force of a freight train. The car lurched forward, knocking Rochelle's breath away when it hit her. She fell beneath the vehicle as it continued to roll across the small lot before coming to a stop near the water's edge.
Ellis grabbed the unconscious young woman by the arms and dragged her back towards the small park as the now exasperated Charger recovered from its latest impact. Noticing more zombies approaching them, Ellis adjusted his course, quickly opened the badly damaged car, and placed Rochelle inside of it. The boy readied his sniper rifle as the newly formed horde attacked.
"Am I gettin' weaker, or are these mother fuckers gettin' stronger?" Coach shouted as he blasted the wounded Hunter with his shotgun.
"Both," Nick managed to gain some ground and proceeded up the stairs, stepping carefully on the fallen corpses. More infected began filing into the building and onto the bottom of the staircase, forcing Coach to follow Nick up the stairs.
"Hey, slow down!" The infected were forcing the two men further away from Rochelle and Ellis. Coach was having a hard time staving them off, and the conman had stopped helping him and was stumbling towards the rear exit with a Jockey on his back.
"Son of a fucking-" The Jockey cut Nick off as it wrapped its arms around his mouth. It led him outside, over the metal porch railing, and onto the hood of an alarmed SUV.
Ellis began to realize what a horrible mistake it was to place Rochelle inside the car. It was so close to the water that if the Charger hit it again, it would surely send the vehicle- along with the unconscious girl- into the depths of the river. With the horde surrounding him, Ellis couldn't pull her back out of the car.
The Charger pawed the earth with its fist, bracing itself for one more impact.
Ellis allowed the zombies to strike him as he turned around to face Rochelle. He pounded his fist on the hood and pressed his forehead against the glass of the driver's window.
The girl was lying still in the front seats.
I'm so sorry, Ro...
The Charger began its final rush, splitting the remainder of the horde in half on its way towards the mechanic.
Ellis wondered if it was worth waking her up at this point.
His mind began racing in those final moments as the Charger seemed to move towards him in slow motion. Ellis pressed his back firmly against the side of the car, wondering if he should hold his breath as he continued firing at the beast- after all, he would be underwater in moments. Ellis knew this because whether or not he managed to kill the Charger, its momentum would still carry it forward. It would still slam into the car.
But it would have to crush Ellis first, because the boy had vehemently decided that he was not going to move. Jumping out of the way while Rochelle drowned in a metal tomb was simply unthinkable.
I ain't gonna let you die all alone...
Apparently Rochelle did not agree with Ellis's sentiments. Upon waking up, she forcefully shoved the door open, pushing Ellis out of the way. Suddenly the car was airborne, and Rochelle scrambled as far away from the Charger- whose head and shoulders were now wedged through the open door- as the small confines of the vehicle would allow. The car hit the water and began bobbing on the surface. Oblivious to the danger, the Charger attempted to climb the rest of the way into the vehicle, but it could not fit its hulking shoulders completely inside, and its massive arm pounded against the car's rear door. Its feverish struggles causes the car to rock back and forth until it finally tipped over and began sinking below the surface.
The rotation of the car caused Rochelle to fall on top of the Charger, and her back was pressed tightly against its disgusting face. Although the beast's skull was too caved in for it to bite her, the mere thought of being so close to the monster revolted her. Rochelle desperately tried to support herself by grabbing onto the front passenger seat, and managed to pull herself away from the Charger's head. The monster's weight was swiftly dragging the vehicle down to the bottom of the river, but the beast's large size filled much of the door frame, and was keeping the water from filling the interior too quickly.
Ellis stumbled from the impact of the door as the few remaining zombies surrounded him. He cursed loudly and ignored them as he shoved his way over to the edge of the river. He was horrified when he looked out to see that the car had already gone under, and with several zombies latched onto him, Ellis dove into the water. The zombies eventually released their grip on him the further down he swam. Ellis could barely see as he pushed through the filthy water as quickly as his arms and legs could propel him. The mechanic was a strong swimmer, but in his desperation to reach Rochelle, he was pushing himself beyond his limits rather than calmly pacing himself. Ellis had only made it half way to the bottom before his lungs began screaming for air.
The Charger was completely submerged now, and Rochelle inhaled her last couple of breaths via the tiny diminishing pocket of air. She was preparing to open the door, dreading the prospect of swimming such a great distance to the surface when the Charger backed out of the car. The sudden movement caused the vehicle to lurch, flip over, and completely fill with water. Rochelle panicked at the sudden loss of oxygen, and found herself unable to escape through the open door. She quickly grabbed the crowbar tied to her hip, thankful that she had kept it when they left the mall, and used it to break through the glass of the passenger side window. She pushed her slender body through the opening and began swimming as best she could to the surface.
Ellis caught sight of the Charger surging up from the black depths like an enormous shark. Apparently the beast had enough sense to realize that it could no longer breathe and was making its way back to the surface. However, it became torn when it noticed Ellis. Its desire for blood rivaled its desire for air, so the monster decided to partake in both. It adjusted its course and headed towards the boy.
Because it could only make use of one arm, the Charger's path through the water was as awkward and ungainly as it was swift. Ellis found it impossible to predict which way he should move to dodge the monster, and was ultimately unable to do so. It struck him in the chest, releasing what little air remained in his lungs. Ellis slipped from the Charger's grasp and he tumbled helplessly through the water. Out of instinct, he breathed in heavily and was greeted to the horrible sensation of water filling his lungs.
By the time Coach made it outside, the alarmed SUV had been swarmed by a newly formed horde. The man could barely see the vehicle beneath the writhing layer of infected bodies, let alone the conman. As Coach stopped to catch his breath, the zombies that had been following him began racing towards the shrieking car, piling on top of one another as they leapt onto the vehicle. So great was the mass of infected that the car began to cave under the weight.
Coach averted his undamaged eye to the dismally gray clouds above.
"Lord...what have we done to deserve this?"
As a bolt of lightning ripped through the sky, Coach pumped his shotgun and began firing into the legion of zombies.
Slowly but surely, Rochelle was making her way towards the surface. Her lungs were aching, and she nearly lost control of her concerted effort to hold her breath when she spotted Ellis above her, bobbing at the surface on his stomach. As small amount of blood swirled slowly around his mouth before dissipating into the surrounding water. His eyes were open, but unseeing.
His face was so devastatingly close to the surface that the back of his head occasionally broke free of the water as he continued to slowly bob up an down. The ever increasing wind stirred up the currents and caused his fallen, waterlogged hat to repeatedly brush against his side.
Rochelle wanted nothing more than to hold the boy- to wrap him in an eternal embrace. Despite still being completely submerged under water, Rochelle could no longer suppress the urge to cry out, and she released a scream so powerful that even the dark, ravenous water could barely suppress it. A plume of bubbles surged from her mouth, carrying her cries ahead of her. They rushed and swirled around Ellis's body before bursting at the surface.
As she reached out to grab him, the accursed Charger slammed into Rochelle's back, sending her down into the abyss once more. The girl plunged her crowbar into the Charger's face before blacking out completely.
Rochelle and Ellis lay on their backs on the hard surface of the tiny waterside park as the now steady rain pelted their motionless faces. A pair of muscular, tatooed arms shakily held the gleaming twin paddles of a defibrillator. The biker had contemplated using the carefully horded machine to resuscitate Bill, but the soldier had been too badly damaged by the Tank to be revived. The defibrillator had enough charge for one use, and with a boy on his left and a girl on his right- their skin blanching paler with each passing moment, Francis pondered the gravity of the decision he was about to make.
Francis shuddered as he pressed the paddles against an unmoving chest and could swear he felt the electricity surging through his own body as he used the device.