Nick sways an open chocolate bar above Coach's sleeping face.
"Hey Coach, there's candy right in front of ya', wake up." he commands.
As if on cue, Coach's eyes open and he takes the chocolate from Nick.
"Thanks." Coach says groggily.
Rochelle is talking to Ellis about last night and he gives her a quick hug. It was all a huge misunderstanding.
The survivors reload their weapons and take an extra melee weapon with them. They start on their way to the plantation house.
"Heard there was rescue up there." Coach had said.
Many undead roam this plank country which freaked Nick out a little. He wasn't a country boy and wasn't a fan of it either. Only encountering a couple of Hunters, one Spitter, one Boomer, and one Charger had left them feeling lucky.
"Plantation house up ahead!" Rochelle informs.
Coach takes the lead and Nick is watching the back. They get some supplies from the plantation house and take a quick breather. Suddenly, a loud crash from outside makes the four run outside. A hungry growl and viscous roar comes from behind them. Nick is sent flying and slams into a fence. He screams out in pain.
"TANK!" Coach yells.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Ellis repeats. They all start shooting the Tank with all they got.
"Molotov!" Rochelle warns, throwing it and setting the Tank on fire. It chases after the three and they keep running and shooting until the Tank falls over, dead.
"Nick!" Ellis cries out and runs over to Nick.
"Shit." Nick says holding his shoulder and leaning over in pain.
"Is it your arm?" Ellis asks desperately.
He nods. Ellis pulls Nick's suit coat off carefully and unbuttons his other shirt. Where a bruise already was from the recoil of his gun, Nick's shoulder is bloody and freshly bruised.
"The fence must've scratched you bad." Coach says, appearing behind Ellis.
Ellis takes the cloth from his back pocket and wraps up Nick's shoulder.
"I'll patch him up." Ellis offers, helping Nick up.
"Damn Tank made me get my shirt bloody. Shit stains." Nick complains.
Ellis smiles. Even when Nick is wounded, he's still the same Nick. The hick takes off his first-aid kit and wraps Nick's arm better. The conman tries to pull himself from the ground to sit up but winces and grabs his, now-bandaged, shoulder.
Ellis' eyes fill with worry as he helps Nick up and puts the conman's good arm around his shoulders. Nick's head dangles down in pain and exhaustion as he limps to the back stairs leading up to the plantation house with Ellis.
"You guys have gotta leave me here. I'm way too jacked up to hold you guys behind." Nick comments, sitting down on the stairs and leaning against the rail.
"No. We're not leaving you behind." Ro replies, rubbing Nick's good shoulder. A faded radio sound comes from the back of the garden.
"Did you hear that?" Coach asks.
"Yeah…" Ro says, "Cover me, Coach." Rochelle adds, jogging to the back of the yard and disappearing in the bushes. Coach follows.
"Ellis." A whimper comes from Nick.
Ellis' ears perk up, he looks at Nick and sits next to him.
"Yeah?" Ellis asks.
A long pause and a sniffle comes from the conman. Ellis never saw Nick cry. He hardly believed he could cry.
"Please don't...don't leave me like my wife did." The conman squeaks out.
He wipes his nose with his hand and, even though Nick was looking down at his feet, Ellis could just tell their was sincerity in his eyes and voice.
The hick places his hand over the conman's.
"I promise I won't." The hick says, a thick Southern accent masking his words as usual.
Nick wouldn't look up, but from the sideway glance that Ellis had, he could detect a smile spread across the conman's face.
"The boats here!" Rochelle calls out. Ellis helps Nick through the mucky water and into the boat. Coach and Ro work together to shoot at the horde as they speed to the boat.
"Go go go!" Coach orders out as they all reach the boat and float away.
Nick and Ellis drop to their butts and relax on the boat.
"Finally." Ellis whispers, setting down his gun.
Coach leans over, his hands set on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
"Hopefully I don't have to shoot Virgil too." Nick says, trying to lighten the mood. Nick had shot the pilot earlier because he turned into a zombie.
Rochelle checks Nick's bandaged shoulder and gives him some pills.
"Just in case." She states.
The conman nods and places them in his pocket.
"I think I'm gonna get some sleep." Rochelle says, rubbing her eyes.
"Me too. How 'bout you guys?" Coach asks the two younger men.
"I'm fine." Nick says.
"Same." Ellis adds.
Coach shrugs as he follows Ro into the inside of the boat.
Ellis looks up at the red sky. The sun was setting and it had been such a long day. The only sound was the water being interfered with by the motor of the boat. No moans or groans of those undead bitches that haunted every survivor. Nick glances at Ellis. The hick's blue eyes reflected the sky, a smear of red, orange, and gold. The conman examines his suit. There was no point in trying to get the damn mud out. As the sky was quickly getting darker, the moon glowed brighter. Ellis stands up and yawns.
"Tired?" Nick asks the hick, yawning himself.
"Yeah, guessin' you are too." he replies. Nick nods in response. Ellis helps him up and they go inside the boat as well.