It wasn't because he had hit his baseball into the neighbors yard that he was so upset—but because of which backyard it had gone into. There was no way, no possible way that he was going to make it out alive if he went back there. If the dogs didn't kill him, the old guy who lived there would.

"Don' worry, El! We'll get it!" Eleven-year old Keith announced confidently. "Jus' give me a lift up thar!"

"I don' know 'bout this Keith… maybe we should jus' get my Ma…"

"Don' be such a sissy, El! Come on! I can get it~!"

A little more convincing and name-calling caused Ellis to finally give his friend that boost he needed to clear the fence. He heard Keith land on the other side and Ellis quickly pressed his eye to the small cracks in the wood fence.

The dogs barked instantly—two viciously angry Dobermans that came snapping and snarling out of their doghouses. Ellis was sure he was about to witness his best friend being eaten alive. He almost couldn't watch.

But then somehow—somehow Keith dodged them. He moved like some action hero, springing on top of the first doghouse then to the next and then he landed on the grass beside the ball. He scooped it up into one hand, turned and bounded back up onto the closest doghouse and then he launched himself forward onto a pile of wood. The dogs snapped at his heels the entire way as he ran along the shifting logs—but despite the immediate danger he was in, Keith was laughing. The next leap he took sent him high enough to catch his arms on the top of the fence and with a little scrambling he managed to heave the rest of his body over the fence. He landed, straightened and then held out the ball to his friend, looking very satistifed.

Ellis stared, amazed. Keith had to be the coolest kid in all Savannah!

Ellis drew in a long breath that made his chest hurt. When he released it he could still feel a painful ache. God… he didn't want to do this… but at the same time he knew he had to. He looked to Nick who gave him a slight encouraging nod. Ellis continued to hesitate.

"Ah, man I can't wait ta see the Midnight Riders!" Ellis cheered, practically exploding with anticipation. "Man, Keith, I can't believe ya got us tickets! YER AWESOME, MAN!" He probably would have hugged his best friend had his seatbelt not locked down on him at his jerky movement. Ellis choked on it and sat back, still grinning despite his sore shoulder. "Ah, shit, man. This is gunna be AWESOME!"

"FRONT ROW!" Keith cheered. The song on the radio switched to a familiar tune and Keith quickly turned it up, drumming his hands on the steering wheel to the beat while Ellis air guitar-ed enthusiastically.

Together they began to sing; "Well I'm a half-tone son of a gun with a suitcase full of pistols an' money! Come dawn, woman, I'm gone but tonight can be your lifetime honey! God damn girl, I'm your man girl. I'll get your engine singin'~"

Ah shit man, tonight was just going to be the greatest night of their lives.

What exactly did he think he was going to accomplish subjecting himself to this torture? He knew that Keith was lost—absolutely gone. There was nothing, nothing left of the person Ellis had once known. And he knew that. When he had looked Keith in the eyes all those days ago he hadn't seen even a glimmer of the once clumsy optimist that he had enjoyed so many pointless endeavors with. There had been no joy behind those eyes—nothing. There had been just nothing.

Ellis shifted uncomfortably. "Nick, I don' wan' ya ta see 'em like this… I can go alone…"

Nick's face softened and he reached out to gently brush his hand down Ellis' wrist until he found his hand. "Are you sure…?"

"Ya…" No. "I'll be okay." I hope. He gave the conman one last faltering smile before he allowed the military man to lead him back into the holding cells.

Together they had bought a pair of badly neglected and seemingly impossible-to-fix dirt-bikes. Pooling their money together had brought them to fifty-six dollars and sixteen cents. The man had willing shoveled the useless things over to them—more happy to get the free space and a little cash out of it… He probably would have shit himself had he known that not even three days later the two kids had both of them running like brand new.

They had to of been riding for hours—but neither one of them were ready to turn back. It was dusk now and they probably would end up getting lost—or maybe even running out of gas, but that was where all the fun lay. There was something just too thrilling as they rode out into nothing, with nowhere to go, with no destination, no reason to be heading anywhere. They were just riding and riding, chasing that falling sun sinking into the horizon. If they rode longer, maybe they would find where the sun hid at night.

They were just kids, but they were already convinced that they were going to open a shop together. A mechanic shop. They were going to start saving their money and they were gonna own their own shop. Dave wanted in on it too—and that was just better. More the merrier? That's right. They were gonna do it. And why not? It was a flawless plan. Flawless! It was only because their parents had insisted that they finished high school that they were going to wait a few years. Who needs college? Not these guys. They could fix anything and you don't need no college degree to do that.

Yeah, start savin' guys, 'cause we're gonna be the Kings of Savannah come here in two years.

Ellis couldn't really see anything as he moved. He felt rather faint, his eyes were swimming and he felt like at any moment he was just going to black out. But he refused to give into the blankness. Refused to leave this nightmare unaddressed. He had to know… Had to know… Had to…

Keith had become all tangled up in his fishing line. He was cussing like a sailor, stumbling all over himself before he tripped over one of the seats and fell right into the tackle box. Every lure they owned seemed to latch onto his skin. Ellis howled with laughter as his friend flailed and shot back to his feet.

Although in pain, Keith started to grin. "Maybe if I jump in righ' now I can get my limit?" And did he? You bet he did. He just dove right into the water—Ellis laughed harder. God damn it, Keith.

A new hallway lead to a new long corridor that needed to be walked. Funeral march? Sort of. Reminded him a little of it. He put his hands in his pockets as he moved, reminding himself that he had no one but himself. He had to do this by himself. Had to face this terrible realization. Had to confront it. Had to accept it. He had to be sure… but… maybe Keith was still in there? Maybe he was still that smiling, joking, obnoxious and accident-prone idiot that he had grown up with? Maybe… maybe, just maybe… Couldn't help to pray. Couldn't help… Couldn't help himself but to…

He couldn't have been any happier. Twenty-three, two years into co-owning his own mechanic shop along side his two best friends. God damn, life couldn't have been any better. Couldn't have possibly gone any better for him.

"Hey, El?" Keith called. Ellis glanced about, unsure of where he was, but then Keith rolled out from underneath a car he was working on. He was covered from head to foot in grease. "Someone uptown needs ta have their car picked up for 'em. Can ya do it? I gatta get this shit figured out by five an' I still ain't got a clue whas wrong with it. The address is in the office."

"Yeah, okay. I'll do tha'."

"Yer a life-saver, El!" Keith called before grabbing underneath the car and wheeling himself back under. Ellis rolled his eyes and moved into the office. He grabbed the tow-truck keys and the messily scribbled address.

"Ya owe me one, Keith."

"I'll buy you a twelve pack!" Keith called.

"Cheap ass!" Ellis laughed back.

"Twenty-four?"

"Gettin' there."

"Twenty four and a handshake?"

"Make tha' twenty-four an' a big man hug."

Keith laughed obnoxiously, "Yer a riot, El. A real riot." Ellis responded with a hearty laugh before climbing into the tow truck. He waved absently as he pulled out, not really bothering to even say a real goodbye..

And that was the last time Ellis ever saw Keith before the Infection.

"All right, sir. Right here…" The military man tapped at the large yellow sign plastered on the door, "He's a level 3 danger. You can't go in there."

Ellis felt his heart sink. "…Then wha' am I supposed ta do?"

"There isn't much you can do…" The soldier glanced through the one-way window, frowning. "Not much anyone can do."

Ellis glanced in too. His breath hitched. "…Ya sure I can't go in there?"

"Nah, sorry. Last person that went in there got bit. He's one of the bad ones. No matter how many times we draw his blood and test it, he always comes back negative for the Infection. It's all in his head… Sad thing is, he's not the only one." The soldier stepped back, waving his hand almost nonchalantly towards the rest of the hallway/ "All these are level 3."

Ellis followed the mans gestures. The hallway was long—maybe even endless. Ellis swallowed thickly. "Whas gunna happen ta 'em…?"

The solider shrugged slightly. "When we get back to shore they're going to be put into a proper asylum where they can get better treatment."

"Better treatment?" His heart lifted. "Will tha' make 'em better?"

The soldier snorted, "I wouldn't get your hopes up… He's far gone." Ellis nodded mutely and, as instructed, he let his heart sink painfully low.

Maybe it was because they were talking so close to the door that Keith had become fixated on covering his ears and gnawing at his upraised knees. He was rocking back and forth, muttering and biting at himself. Ellis' throat tightened painfully and it hurt to breathe.

"Ain't nothin'..." He drew in a shuddering breath, "Ain't nothin' I can do fer 'em?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Can I talk ta 'em?"

"I wouldn't recommend it…"

"…Please?"

The soldier let out a low sigh. "I'm not supposed to do this… So don't tell anyone." He moved forward and flicked open a box on the wall. "Press the button to talk… He hasn't ever responded much to anything anyways, so I can't see this being a huge problem…" The soldier covered the button with his hand before Ellis could press it and very seriously continued, "He's really gone, kid. I'd really rather you didn't do this."

"…I gatta."

"All right…" The soldier dropped his hand and stepped away.

Ellis sucked in a long breath before pressing the button. He leaned in probably further than he needed. "Keith…? Keith, it's me… It's Ellis." Keith did not respond at all—except his rocking became more violent and he was starting to sob. Ellis felt is body starting to shake. "Keith, man… It's all right… It's Ellis… Do ya remember me?"

More crying, more rocking. But no answer. Nothing more indicated that underneath all that psychosis was a man he had once known. Ellis' finger left the button but his eyes never left Keith's rocking, sobbing body. He stared for along time.

"Sorry, kid…" The soldier said slowly. He tried to smile sympathetically, but it was obvious that his job had caused him to lose a good majority of his empathy. His smile was almost mocking. "Say your goodbyes. I've got stuff to do." He probably hadn't meant to be so insensitive, but it still made Ellis flinch.

"How do ya say goodbye ta someone tha' ya knew since ya were a lil' kid?" Ellis snapped back. He gave the soldier a withering stare and the man frowned worriedly. "Sorry… I jus'…" Ellis sighed again, steeling his will. He leaned forward and pressed the button again. When he spoke, his voice was strained, guilty. "I'm sorry, Keith. I'm sorry 'bout wha' happened. I'm sorry I wasn't there fer ya… I'm sorry… I… I guess… I guess this is… this is goodbye… All righ'? I'm sorry… I'm really… really really sorry…" Did his apology even matter? Did Keith even hear it? Acknowledge it? It seemed unlikely. Keith had curled up and it looked like he may have fallen asleep.

Feeling hollow inside, Ellis allowed the soldier to escort him back down the hall, back down the lonely white hall, the place where he kept his hands in his pockets, kept himself isolated, alone. Reminded himself that everyone was gone… Everyone was—

"Ellis?" Nick called gently. The mechanic jerked back to reality, blinking widely. Nick was sitting against the wall, legs drawn up and his wrists resting on his knees. He moved to get up but Ellis silently sat himself next to him before he even got the chance to stand.

Nick didn't know how long they sat there, side by side, but when the southerner finally did speak, he sounded full of hurt. "He's gone, Nick. Ain't nothin' there no more. It ain't Keith in there… I don' know wha' ta do."

Nick didn't know what to say. His lips parted to speak, but he ended up just letting in a breath that soon released into a soft sigh. What could he tell the kid? What words could comfort him? What could he possibly say?

When he looked at the young man again, it was obvious that Ellis was fighting to keep himself from crying. Nick had never seen Ellis look so miserable before.

"Do you want to go back to the room...?" Nick suggested gently. Ellis nodded before getting to his feet and Nick followed suit. It wasn't until they had returned to the safety of their room that Nick finally worked up the courage to speak again. "Ellis… if you need to grieve for what you've lost, do it. Don't torture yourself with what if's and should have's. You did what you needed to do to survive."

Ellis shook his head, sitting down heavily on the edge of their bed. "I coulda been there though, Nick. If I had been there with 'em… Maybe if I—"

"Enough, Ellis. Wishing hard isn't going to change anything." He knelt before the young man and gently took his hands. Ellis' gaze lifted to meet his. "You can grieve for what you have lost, Ellis. You have every reason to. Cry if you need to, but shit, don't dwell on it. Don't fucking confine yourself to a world of heart-ache and suffering. You don't deserve it."

Ellis' breath hiccuped painfully in his throat. "So I can cry?"

"Yeah, Ellis. You can cry."

Ellis took a few more shaky breaths before he slid off the bed onto his knees and reached forward to bury himself into the others arms. Nick pulled him close. He could feel each shuddering sob the young man took. It made his stomach twist painfully, but he only held on tighter.

And he would never let go—not, at least, until Ellis was ready for him to.

A/N: This did not transition how I planned. D': (I don't think it came across with as much strong emotion as I intended either. Goddamnit.)

Ellis can have his bad days too, but unlike Nick I don't see him as someone that can stay in such a depressive mood for very long. He's got in indomitable spirit. He'll be okay soon. I thought this would give Nick an opportune time to explore his more sensitive side. :'D

A lot of this chapter's content was inspired by the song Willow Wood by Bright Eyes (Conor Oberst). Haven't been able to get the song out of my head. (Not sure if that's the right title for it, but it's what it's called on my iTunes).

Making memories for Ellis and Keith wasn't nearly as hard as I initially thought it was going to be… Although, whether they were significant is debatable lol Significant to Ellis, at least. For some reason, I just got this impression that Keith called Ellis "El" which is why Ellis bothers to introduce himself as "Ellis or El" but prefers Ellis since El sounds-like-a-gurls-name.