"So, Ellis," Nick said absently as he examined the map. "We can detour a little to Montgomery and spend the night there in a military outpost or we can link up with the I-85 and keep heading to Atlanta. If we do that then we won't be able to stop again until we reach Atlanta city… which is in about," he shrugged slightly, mentally calculating, "another two or three hours…"
"Well… It is gettin' kinda late…" Ellis said, shrugging. Although they had left New Orleans around noon it had taken them almost eight hours to travel a distance that should have taken them almost half that time… But neither one of them were going to complain, considering it was all for worthy reasons. The only downside was they had lost several hours of good daylight. It was dark now—uncomfortably so—especially since there were no other headlights coming or going. It was like a ghost-town and they were the only ones left alive. "Well… I kinda wanna see wha' shape the cities in, ya know? Jus' ta get a read on how things are comin' 'long. Maybe we can get some info on how things are goin' 'round the rest of the country."
"All right," Nick agreed. "I have no idea what sort of accommodations they've got going on, but it's probably better than trying to sleep in this god damn thing." His gaze drifted around to scowl at the very—in his opinion—ugly ass interior. It was amazing that the military had the balls to entrust civilians with all that fancy equipment.
"It ain't so bad," Ellis said defensively. "I kinda like it."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure that this is going to be tons better than whatever piece of shit car they give us at the last checkpoint. I swear to God, if I got stuck in a minivan I'm going to kill someone." Ellis chuckled and Nick looked at him. "You laugh like I'm not being serious."
"Well," Ellis let out a little noise, "here's to hopin' tha' it ain't gonna be a minivan, 'cause Imma be pretty pissed at ya if ya start killin' people over a car."
"Not any car, Ellis. A minivan. I would rather be in jail than be caught driving in one of those."
Ellis rolled his eyes. "It ain't gonna be a minivan, Nick."
Nick snorted. "You never know with these—ELLIS STOP!"
But it was far too late for the mechanic to do anything to stop the monstrous vehicle. The tires screeched as they attempted to come to a halt. Instead of coming to a clean stop, there was a loud sickening crunch as the Humvee caught a figure stumbling into the road. The Humvee jolted to a halt, sending the two jerking forward painfully, making their seatbelts lock annoyingly into place.
Ellis stared wide eyed out into the darkness, fingers gripping the steering wheel in a vice-like hold that left his knuckles white. "Wha'… Wha' jus'… Nick? Wha'd I… I jus'… I di'n't see it… Nick… I di'n't…" Ellis' face twisted with horror and he reached up to tear at his hair. "Oh God, Nick… tha' was a person wasn't it?"
"Stay here," Nick said firmly, unbuckling himself.
"But Nick!" Ellis called—he looked like he was about to burst into tears.
"Just stay here. Don't move." Nick reached into the backseats and pulled out a flashlight before cautiously opening the door. Light leading, the man stepped around the door, focusing the beam towards the ground.
Ah fuck… the first thing the light hit was a pair of legs. Well shit. He moved around quickly, light shining up and down the now-corpse. But then he let out a sigh of relief.
Despite the fact that the body had sustained some pretty serious (obviously fatal) injuries—it was still evident that the sallow, slack-faced and festering-skin all belonged to a very malnourished and ailing Infected. The conman cautiously prodded it with his foot and then rolled the badly disfigured corpse over. Yep… definitely an Infected—and if it wasn't, it mine as well have been. Underneath all the blood from the blunt trauma, it was already sporting decaying flesh that was hanging from its withered skin. Cloudy white eyes were rolled back into its head and a glob of curdled blood and spit dripped down its gaping maw. Well…
Nick gave it one last careful prod before grabbing it by the ankle and dragging it to the side of the ditch. Well, it wasn't exactly like he could do anything for it… and well… It wasn't like he was about to give the thing a ride.
He wiped his hand onto the sun-damaged grass and then climbed back into the Humvee. Ellis stared desperately at him but Nick nonchalantly put the flashlight back and clicked his seatbelt back in without a word. There was a long silence as Ellis continued to stare.
"Nick?" Ellis whispered fearfully.
"Well," Nick finally said. He looked at the other. "Looks like they weren't as 'thorough' as they said they were. I guess we're stopping at Montgomery no matter what."
Ellis face twisted with confusion. "I… wha'?"
"You roadkilled a zombie, Ellis. Good drivin'."
"It's—wha? I did wha'?" He shifted forward in his seat and seemed to try hard to look out into the darkness. "I though'…" He hesitated. "Are ya sure?"
"Yeah, Ellis. It was a zombie—get back in here. Hey. Listen." Ellis reluctantly closed the door again. He hunched forward and gave Nick a miserable stare. "It's fine. Just like old times… except you used a big fucking car to exact your revenge." Ellis let out a shaking breath and tried to smile, but he only managed to make himself look even more despondent. "Do you want me to drive?"
"Yeah, man. I'm shakin' so bad righ' now."
And so they switched places. Nick made sure Ellis climbed over the console instead of trying to go outside and 'confirm' that he had hit an Infected. Zombie or not, it was still a person (once upon a time) and Ellis seemed extremely distraught over that fact.
It took Nick a moment to adjust to driving the Humvee, but he caught on quickly. They continued towards Montgomery in silence until;
"Nick, are ya sure it was an Infected?"
"Yes, Ellis. I'm very sure," Nick replied patiently. "I think I've seen enough Infected to be able to tell one when I see one."
"…Wha' do ya think tha' means then?" Ellis asked softly. "I mean… like… if there's still Infected 'round an' stuff… ya think they'll be another outbreak?"
Nick would be lying if he said 'no', but at the moment it seemed better to be reassuring than logical. "No, I think that was probably just a straggler." Well, that at least, he thought was true. "And besides only Immunes are allowed access to land right now, so even if there are a few Infected here and there, we can't get Infected ourselves." Assuming it doesn't mutate or it doesn't bypass security and get to the masses.
"Yeah… Yeah yer probably righ' Nick…" Ellis let out a shaking sigh. "Man… Wha' are the chances I'd hit one of them though?" He laughed uneasily. "Like… Tha's jus'…" Ellis shook his head slowly, eyes wide, "Unlucky as shit on my part."
"Well, to be fair we're on the outskirts of a big city. I'm sure whatever Infected that may be left have been wandering for days now." Nick squinted. "Speaking of which, I think I'm starting to see lights up ahead. I think it's the outpost…"
…Now, Nick would have thought that the military would have been grateful to be informed of one less Infected they had to chase down (being as it was now lying dead somewhere off Interstate 65 in a ditch) but as it turned out—they were pissed. Absolutely livid. In fact, Nick was surprised they weren't shot right on the spot.
The second they had uttered the word "Infected" and it was pieced together that they had been in contact with one, a barrage of men in hazmat suits came pouring out of a building while all around them a very unnecessary series of alarms sounded.
"Well, goddamn, all this for us?" Nick asked sarcastically. Ellis gave him a wide-eyed stare before he disappeared in a wave of very pushy men. Nick had half-the mind to not struggle—vaguely recalling the lady back in New Orleans advising them to not disobey any orders else they'd be 'detained'. And it didn't help that they had about a dozen or two guns aimed in their direction. Nick wasn't stupid; he'd play nicely. For now.
About six men shoved him into a quarantine tent. "Get in there and take your clothes off," one of the suited men said—and it was impossible to tell where it had come from.
Nick turned to the general direction of the voice, grinning. "Dear God. Buy me dinner first, you dog." They weren't at all for laughs and instead pushed him more insistently towards the chamber. Nick sighed. "Come on, I got one of these bracelets on," he lifted his wrist, "I'm not going to get Infected—"
"You've had contact with Infected—" That voice came from behind him this time and Nick cautiously turned his head towards the new voice—growing annoyed by how disorienting it was trying to figure out who was talking. "—you could be carrying the Infection on your clothes or skin. Get into that room, take off all your belongings and put them through the slot."
All right, fine. Nick did as he was asked, scowling all the while and grumbling as he removed his rings. Jesus, he had gotten his rings back for what—half a day? Well fuck they should have just kept the goddamn things. He shoved his belongings through the slot and watched in mild amusement as a man carefully placed everything inside a hazardous material bag as though it were about to explode.
And next came the mist. Now call him paranoid, but Nick was fairly certain that this 'mist' was meant to kill him. He jerked back against the wall, unable to do anything but watch as the white smoke-like-cloud lifted up from vents along the ground. It carried a bad smell with it and he choked, eyes watering.
"Hey, what the fuck is this shit?" he asked, coughing helplessly.
"You're fine," one of the suited men responded. "This process will take about five more minutes and then we will move you into another room and you will have your blood drawn and tested—just to be sure. You and your companion will be kept overnight for observation."
"Do we at least get a hot meal and a nice warm bed?" Nick asked, annoyed.
"Assuming your blood work comes back clean, yes." Oh goodie.
After suffering the awful smell of whatever the fuck was 'decontaminating' him, Nick was given a very unfashionable pair of sweatpants and a tank-top that had to be at least two sizes to small for him. But, whatever the fuck got him out of this little room was well worth squeezing into.
Oh, and having his blood drawn was about as pleasant as getting teeth pulled. The asshole that was assigned to Nick missed his vein not once—but three times. And each time they simply laughed it off with a 'oh it's been awhile' that made Nick want to throttle the life out of him. He didn't think having a needle digging into his vein and stabbing about painfully was really 'haha' worthy, but he was too busy grinding his teeth from the pain to really complain. His death glares sent the message that he couldn't verbalize. The man taking his blood eventually grew quiet and finished drawing three vials of blood in silence. When he was done he almost forgot to bandage Nicks arm.
"HEY!" Nick snarled as the man grabbed the vials and about sprinted away. Nick jerked his head towards his upraised arm that was only not sending spurts of blood everywhere because he had enough sense to apply pressure with his fingers. The soldier stuttered incoherently for a moment before grabbing a cotton ball and bandages. He very hastily bandaged the conman. Then, vials in hand, he hurried out of the room.
Dear God it was as though the only people left alive in the country were a bunch of fucking morons. Well, thanks evolution. You've been kind.
Nick sat in the large and very sparse warehouse like room for what had to of been an hour before someone had the decency to return. That someone looked to have walked out of some medical sitcom—if he were a doctor, he looked about as knowledge as an eight year old. Nick stared.
"Well 00342186," the doctor said, "you are negative for the Infection."
Nicks eyes narrowed. "I have a name, thank you."
"Uh… oh, yeah." The doctor squinted hard down at the paper. "Nicholas J. Gates." Nick continued to glare coldly, even when the doctor finally looked up. "Yeah. Okay, you're going to be moved into the observation area."
"Right." He followed the talkative little man (Nick tuned him out in about 5 seconds flat) outside, through another building and finally to the observation area where not to his surprise, he found Ellis already waiting for him.
"Jesus Christ," Nick huffed. "Why do you always get through this shit before me."
Ellis shrugged slightly, grinning a little but then his tiny grin became a smirk as his eyes wandered up and down the other. "Um… Nick… ya look really funny…" Nick glowered back as if daring the kid to go any further with the comment. Not at all phased by the look, Ellis continued; "Tha' really don' fit ya none. Like… size-wise or like… well, anythin' wise. Ya look really funny."
"Yeah, yeah, ha ha. Get your laughs in while you can." Nick looked at the doctor who was smiling stupidly as he glanced back and forth between them. "You can go," Nick said flatly.
"Oh, okay. Enjoy your stay!" Enjoy your—? Nick snorted and rolled his eyes as the goofy doctor found his way out.
And so it was back to just the two of them. Nick grumbled as he moved to sit next to the mechanic and he looked over at him, eyes narrowed as he took in the very baggy clothing the kid now wore.
"You're kidding me," he growled. "Ellis, switch clothes with me."
"Uh…" Ellis flushed slightly, "Why?"
"Because they're obviously idiots. You're smaller than me."
"Uh…" Ellis flushed a little darker. "Wha' if… they're… watchin'?"
Nick stared. "Ellis, I am not even going to begin to describe how much more uncomfortable it is wearing clothes two sizes too small."
With a little chuckle Ellis nodded. "All right… okay…"
And so they set to the task of exchanging clothes. If Ellis hadn't been so damn convinced that the whole 'observation' room meant that they were being 'observed' constantly he may have actually let Nick turn their clothes exchange into a more interesting task. However, it became very obvious that Ellis was far too aware of prying eyes to begin to exchange even flirty smiles.
"You know," Nick said, adjusting Ellis former tank-top on his body absently (it fit much better, thankyouverymuch). "For them to be thinking we still have a chance at Turning, it's not very nice of them to put us in the same room. I mean, what the hell would they expect us to do if one us Turned?"
"Um…" Ellis frowned. "I think it's jus' an extra precaution… I don' think they really think we're actually gonna Turn…"
"Well… No, probably not. But that's not the point." Nick stretched, glancing about the small rectangular room. There were four beds, all closely pressed together in the tight space. That was ironic—four months ago Nick would have killed to find any place that had four beds considering he had been traveling with four people. But alas, fate had never been kind. They had always been short at least one bed—always.
"So…" Nick gently elbowed the other and Ellis blinked over at him. "Despite the fact that they totally lied about giving us food—I'm sort of all right with it. I'm tired and we've been blessed with beds…" He smirked slightly. "I would offer to make sure you slept well tonight, but I have a feeling you'd decline." Ellis flushed red. "You southerners and your properness. So disappointing." He sighed mockingly, before climbing across the bed they were sitting on and flopping onto it.
"Oh—ah, okay, um…" Ellis quickly followed suit, still red. "Well… um… I'd hate ta disappoint ya…"
"Oh yeah?" Nick mused, one eyebrow raised. "And how do you suppose you'll make it up to me?"
Ellis smiled shyly. "I'll think of somethin'…"
Well, despite the whole being-thrown-into-a-quaratine-room-and-then-forced-to-donate-blood-and-then-shoved-into-an-uncomfortably-small-room-for-overnight-observation Nick had the feeling that it may all work out to his advantage in the very near future.
Nick smirked at that sunny prospect before kissing Ellis' forehead gently. The kid somehow managed to turn a shade darker and Nick couldn't help but grin.
A/N: I totally drama-uped this chapter. Felt like it needed somethin'. –snort- But then my ability to concentrate went like WOOSH right out the window and you ended up with this SHITtastic chapter. I. Am. So. Sorry. LOL I REALLY hate this effing chapter.
And sorry fer missin' an update day. I was busy at work like insane last night and I promised a friend we'd work on beatin' all the L4D2 levels on expert for an achievement right after I got off work. So I had no time to write.
Probably like… a handful of chapters left (isn't that like the 4th time I've said that?) I'll probably spend maybe 1 or 2 chapters of them getting settled in before it's over. I'm actually trying to keep this going as long as I can (I go back to the dorms August 18th and I'd LOVE to be able to have something to occupy my time until then).