After making it down the stairs the group stopped. Coach looked through the fence, noticing a blockade in the distance, a tanker standing right in front of it. "Whitaker's Gun Shop. Heh heh, we made it y'all!" Ellis laughed, holding open the door for the others. Nick pulled away from Ellis and was the first to enter, a wide grin crossing his face. "Candy store for adults." He chuckled, eyes wondering over the many weapons in front of him, heading straight towards the AK-47's mounted on the wall. "I'm not legally allowed to own a gun. Hope everybody's okay with that." He muttered, reloading the rifle as Rochelle walked in next, before deciding on a M-16 assault rifle. Coach kept his combat shotgun, and moved next the ammo cache on top of the counter. Ellis popped a zombie before slamming the door shut behind him, turned around and gawped at the weapons in front of him. He hopped over the counter and lowered a sniper rifle. "Aww hell yeah!" He grinned, before spotting the laser sites on some crates in the corner. "Okay. Where to now guys?" Rochelle looked up from rifle, scanning the room around her. Apart from the door they used to get inside the gun store, there was only one other door. "Ah'm thinkin' this way folks." Ellis pointed towards the door Rochelle was staring at. Walking over he gripped the doorknob tightly in his hand, before nodding Coach who was to his right. Slowly he twisted the handle. Locked. "Dayme! It's locked. Looks like it's back the way we came guys." Sighing, they turned around, preparing to exit the store. "Hey. Wait a minute. There's an intercom here. I swear you guys would be so fucked without me." Nick chuckled, the pain in his chest finally beginning to fade. He straightened up slightly and pushed the button. "Uhhh hello?" Coach sighed, rolling his eyes, his patience running out. "Nick. Y'all ain't gonna get no reply off that thing. Come on. We can find another way to the mall." Nick opened his mouth to reply but before he could, a southern accent interrupted him from the intercom which he still standing in front of.
"Hello there. I've barricaded myself on the roof with ample provisions. But in my haste, I forgot cola. So here's my proposition. If you go find me some cola from the yonder food store, I'll clear the path to the mall for you." Ellis scratched his head as the door unlocked with a click. Nick looked at Coach questioningly, before receiving a nod. "So. Let me get this straight: we get you your shit, and you'll help us get to the mall, right? Okay. You screw with us and I will kill you with your own gun." Ellis smirked at Nick's remark. He truly was a man not to be fucked around with. And Whitaker sensed it too. "I am not a man to weasel out of a deal sir. I'd shake on it with you, but there's no way in hell I'm going back down there." Nick turned to face the rest. "Let's get this shit done. The quicker we get to the mall, the quicker we get outta this." After Coach had checked out the door to the right and grabbing a Molotov, some pills and a pipe bomb, they made their way up the stairs, turning left and heading down more stairs to the ground floor. Cautiously, they walked forwards, turning left into the store's car park, where a few cars and a shopping cart or two lay deserted. "Save 4 less." Ellis read aloud, standing to the side of the doors as Nick had his hand firmly on the handle, gripping so tight his knuckles had turned white. Ellis watched as he swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bouncing up and down. His face however, remained calm and focused. He felt his stomach twinge as Nick turned to face him, swallowing once more and nodding. It was too quiet, and he had a feeling it wasn't going to be as easy as it seemed.
As soon as Nick pushed the double doors open in front of him, the loud ring of an alarm bell was heard, followed by the roar of the undead. Still looking at Ellis, Nick chuckled. "Goddamnit, it's gettin' good." He grinned before running inside, leaving Ellis standing outside, mouth slightly agape. "Boy! You better watch yo' ass!" Coach shouted, punching a zombie square in the face, who was inches away from chowing down on Ellis's shoulder. Startled, he spun around to rejoin the rest of his team mates, who had formed an effective blockade around the door, while Nick frantically searched inside the store for Whitaker's beloved cola. Wave after wave of infected came at them from all angles, each one getting a little closer to them than the last. "Nick! You better hurry your ass up! We can't do this much longer, they won't stop coming!" Rochelle cried out over the howls and screams that were coming from all around them. Nick responded seconds later, the group relifed to hear his voice."Okay! I got the cola! Let's g-" Ellis glanced behind him, scanning the dark store for Nick. "Hey, Nick? Nick!" He shouted, his ears straining to hear a reply. "Shit man, ah'm goin' tah see what he's doin'!" He shouted to Coach as he fired one last bullet into the crowd of never ending zombies coming towards him. "Hurry it up boy!" Coach shouted after him as he disappeared inside. Walking past the shelves there was no sign of Nick. That was until he got around the corner and saw him desperately wrestling with a smoker's tongue that had coiled around his mid section, trying to pull him out of the window. Ellis's eyes went wide with panic as he searched for something he could use to help him. Eventually he saw a fire axe hanging on the wall, and in one swift movement had lifted it from its holder and slashed through the vile slimy tongue that held Nick. They heard the smoker let out a howl of pain, before jumping off the roof nearby and retreated around the corner. "Guys we can't hold on anymore!" Rochelle hollered from outside, her voice trembling with fear and desperation. Ellis stood panting as Nick ran around the counter towards Rochelle and Coach, gripping the cola in one hand, raising his gun with the other, shouting for Ellis to follow. Eventually the alarm silenced and the four of them killed the remaining zombies that were lurking around the car park. "There's ammo in there, I think you'll need it." Nick pointed inside the store, Rochelle and Coach nodding, entering the store and disappearing around the corner, leaving Nick and Ellis alone, hearts still racing and panting for breath.
"Man! That was wayy too close. They almost had yah there, ey Nick? Until super Ellis came along, ahn' saved the day that is." Ellis chuckled, leaning against the wall and bending over, hands on his knees, letting his head fall forward. He froze as he felt a hand on his back. Looking up through squinted eyes, he saw Nick, hand placed on his shoulder. He could feel the warmth from his hand radiating through his thin t-shirt as his body stiffened under his firm but gentle touch. "Thanks. You've saved my ass more than enough times now kid." Ellis stood upright, eyes locking onto Nicks'. He could feel his bottom lip begin to quiver as he stared at him, still feeling his hand on his shoulder. "Uhh, it wasn't, ah mean, it ain't nuthin'." Ellis managed to stammer out, smiling weakly, losing sense of his surroundings as he continued to stare at Nick, who was now smirking, driving Ellis crazy in the process. He threw back his head and nodded, as if thinking to himself, before starting to gently squeeze Ellis's shoulder, applying a little more pressure each time he did so. Slowly he leaned in, face to face with Ellis. "No, I think...I think I'm gonna have to find a way to repay you, Ellis." He spoke slowly, quietly, almost whispering his name, sending an army of chills down his spine, his knees began shaking uncontrollably as he tried to steady himself against the wall behind him. Nick moved closer, placing a hand at either side of his head on the wall, that same smirk still across his face, his eyes darting from his shaking knees to him quivering lip. "Do you uh, do you have anything in mind, Ellis? Anything...You want me to do? Huh? Anything at all...?" His eyes were fixed onto Ellis's now, staring intensely as he tilted his head to the side, the grin disappearing from his face. Ellis gasped as he felt Nick step closer, their bodies touching as Nick placed his mouth next to his ear and breathed softly, making every hair on Ellis's body stand on end. "I think I have an idea of what I could do to repay you. Quite a few ideas in fact. The question is Ellis, you still think it was nothing? Or, do you...want me to repay you?" he whispered into his ear, emphasizing each word, hearing Ellis's panting becoming more rapid. "Well?" Nick teased, slowly grinding his thigh against Ellis's crotch, causing him to inhale deeply, arching his back hard and squeezing his eyes shut tight. Hearing the others returning from replenishing their ammo, Nick slowly moved back, grinning, almost admiring what he'd caused Ellis to feel. Ellis opened his eyes and stared at Nick, breathing hard, trying to stop his heart from pounding against his chest, and the tent that had began to form in his pants. He chewed his bottom lip, glancing towards the store doors, knowing it was only a few seconds before Coach and Rochelle were with them again. Turning to face Nick, he nodded hard. "Yeah Nick. Ah do."