Left 4 Dead 1. Ellis

**So, my family pretty much plays this game religiously and I absolutely _love_ this game! And so late night I decided to do something different. I'm going to write a story based off the game! Like, as close to cannon as possible! There is no pairing planned yet, so if you actually about that and is leaning one way more than the other, let me know! Hope you guys enjoy this! I own nothing **

"Lately, it seems as if the virus has become more vicious. Nothing new about it is known just yet, but will soon be discovered by the team of scientists who are working on it day and night. All that is known is that it's more active in heat, and it attack the host's nervous system. For now, however, you can do your part by washing your hands and staying home if you are suspicious of becoming sick. Please help fight this virus by keeping your illness to yourself."

The lady on the radio show kept talking, but she went off on a different topic, and Ellis found himself losing interest. He was more interested in changing this old woman's oil filter. The poor lady had walked into the auto shop he worked at, asking people to help her with her car. His boss had assigned Ellis to the task, and he readily accepted. Not because the job was easy, which it was, but because he wanted to help the poor lady.

Ellis chuckled to himself; he would say that the elderly woman reminded him of his mother, but if his mother even heard that, she just might handed Ellis' behind to him. She was a strong and fierce woman that no wise man would even dare to challenge. She was also rather tall, standing at a proud six feet and two inches. Her voice was even more daring, quickly calling attention to her. Ellis learned at a young age not to disobey her.

The young male frowned, thinking of the news that had just been reported. It was been going around for months, about how a new virus came out into discovery. Keith and Ellis had always talked about a zombie apocalypse happening, but they never were serious. Now that it's actually happening, Ellis finds it both terrifying and exciting.

The mechanic finally took the filter off and watched in horror as the oil droop from the car. It was supposed to be a lot thinner than this ugly black stuff. Just how long as it been since the oil filter was changed? It was absolutely disgusting. When all the liquid was out, an action that took what felt forever, Ellis scooted the pan of oil out from under the car. His suspicions were right about the oil; it was as black and disgusting as he had suspected, just worse in the sunlight. He grimaced and put it into a milk gallon container for recycle. He never knew just what they did with it, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

He grabbed the new oil and coated the top to the new oil filter before sliding under the car and replacing it. Ellis tightened it down, tight enough that it won't come off, but not so much that it'll break. He smiled at the job well done. Now all he had left is to put in some new oil.

"Ellis!"

Ellis jerked up in surprise and slammed his forehead against the bottom of the car. He swore loudly before scooting out from under the car. Oh, he knew that voice all right. "What?" he asked irritatedly. Why was Keith bothering him? And at work of all places? However, when he saw the man's face expression, all irritation vanished. Keith's face was pale and his eyes had an odd look, almost resembling fear. Ellis furrowed his eyebrows, concerned.

"Keith? What's wrong?"

"The outbreak," Keith said breathlessly; he must have ran the whole way there. "Faster than they expected. Zombies are breaking into town and infecting everyone. We need to go."

"Are you serious?" Ellis asked, his jaw dropping.

Keith huffed, quickly becoming annoyed. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

Ellis quickly stood up from the ground and the two men ran towards their homes. They had figured something like this would happen, so they had planned on what to do, even if it was just joking. Keith ran for his home and Ellis ran for his. They needed supplies. The plan was to spend only 15 minutes getting whatever they can, and then meeting up under the town's old oak tree.

The younger male slammed his door opened and took a minute to take in his surroundings. Everything looked untouched. Ellis sighed, relieved. If no zombies came through here, then that means his Ma is still okay. He ran upstairs to his bedroom, mentally naming all the items he needed. Once in his room, he grabbed his small backpack and stuffed in some first aides, vitamin-drinks, and some off the counter medicine. He glanced at the wardrobe and at his outfit. The overalls was thick enough to help prevent getting bitten, but it would be horribly hot for the Georgia's summer. He shrugged off the top part of the overalls and tied it around his waist. It didn't took him long to find his favorite shirt and throw it on. It was a bull-shifter shirt he had gotten years ago with Keith. Good thing it still fit.

He hesitated before running out of the room, his old wooden bat catching his eye. He has had that thing for years. His father had given it to him, wanting Ellis to use it and play baseball. Shortly after, though, his father left him and his mother and Ellis found all his desire to play quickly faded. Ellis couldn't help but to smirk; looks like it's time to finally use this old thing. He tucked it between his waist and the tied up sleeves, making sure it was snug and wouldn't fall out. Satisfied, he ran back downstairs.

Next place Ellis went was the living room of the house. His Ma always kept guns hidden in the family's chest at the front door. He wasn't sure exactly why she kept them there, the woman always told him that it was there for a good reason. Ellis opened the chest and grabbed the AK-47 from the chest along with some ammunition. He was about to grab the pistol, but an idea came to him that made him hesitated. His mother would need some way to defend herself so he decided to leave it. Closing the chest, Ellis glanced around the house, looking for anything that might help. Nothing came to mind and he decided that he had everything.

Once outside, Ellis could see what Keith had meant when he said that it was spreading faster than anyone had thought. Their little town was already filled with zombies, and once in a while a scream could be heard from some one. Trying his best to ignore them, he ran for his tiny blue pick up truck. He stuffed everything he had into the trunk before sliding into the driver's seat and starting the engine.

He backed up his truck, watching behind him. Once he was on the road, he changed it to drove forward, wanting to get to the tree as fast as possible. The ride was going fine until half way there, some of the zombies were just standing in the road. Ellis slowed to a stop and stared at them in horror. What should he do? He swallowed nervously before reenacting a movie scene he had once saw when he was younger. He backed up a bit, and then pressed the gas pedal, quickly driving forward. The bodies slammed into the truck, leaving a mess and cracking the window. Ellis winced at the crunching noises.

When the road was finally cleared, Ellis took a deep breath and released it, willing his tense fingers to relax. Now all he had to do is wait for Keith. He turned off the engine and sat there, twiddling his fingers and trying to find some way to keep him still. He was just so restless. A zombie apocalypse! Who would have figured! After ten minutes, Ellis sighed loudly and got out of the truck. Where was he? While Ellis didn't had a watch with him, he was pretty sure it has been over twenty minutes. He started fidgeting with his overalls, needing something to keep his hands busy. Why was Keith taking so long?

A growl caught his attention. Ellis turned around sharply, his breathe getting caught in his heart. A zombie was standing behind him, growling at him. She was wearing a floral dress and towered him in height. His heart lodged in his throat; it was his mother.

He knew, logically, he should take out his gun and shoot her down, since she was already dead. That this _thing_ in front of him was just a virus controlling a dead body. But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get himself to move; he could barely breathe. Ellis stood there, watching in horror, as his mother – or rather, a zombie that looked like her – started charging to him. And damned it, he _can't_ move.

A loud gunshot echoed, startling Ellis out of his frozen state. The zombie slumped down to the ground with a bullet hole in her head. Ellis look up from the body to Keith standing there, his gun still aimed to the zombie, and a grim expression. He marched towards Ellis and grabbed him by the forearm, leading him back to the truck. "Drive, Ellis."

In his shocked state, he didn't argued as he got in and started up the Engine. Keith got into the passenger seat and Ellis drove. They drove on for a good ten minutes before anyone of them spoke. Finally Keith sighed and started talking. "There's an evacuation going on in a hotel in the big city a few hours from here," he explained, showing Ellis the paper announcing it. Ellis glanced at it briefly before turning back to the road. He didn't know what to say. There wasn't really anything to say, anyways.

He continued to drive, his mind feeling numb. If a zombie had stepped out in front of them, Ellis would have gone right over it without even blinking. They passed a gas station and he blinked out of his of trance long to looked down to his gas meter to see if they needed any gas or not. The arrow was pointing at full so he kept driving. Who would have thought that it was a blessing that he thought to fill it yesterday.

"Ellis, stop."

It took Ellis a moment to realized that Keith had told him to stop. It took him another moment to actually stop and look at Keith questioning. Keith still had a grim expression, but now it looked almost regretful. He sighed and turned to Ellis. "Ellis, man, I'm sorry. You're going to have to do this alone."

"What?" Ellis asked hoarsely, not quite understanding.

"I need to find my family, Ellis. I can't just up and abandon them."

"But-" Ellis started but Keith stopped him; he already knew what the younger male was going to say.

"No, Ellis. I want you to go ahead, alone. I'll meet you somewhere, alright?" Keith said, giving Ellis one of his trademark smiles. Ellis stared at him, studying him, looking for any signs that the man was lying to him. When he found none, he sighed dejectedly.

"Yeah, alright," he sighed.

"Good lad," Keith chuckled. He took off his hat and plopped it down on Ellis' head, much to the later one's protests. It was sweaty and it disgusted Ellis. He took if off as fast as he could, much to Keith's amusement. "Keep it for me. Don't want it getting ruined or nothing," he joked. Ellis didn't bothered to stop the smile from growing.

"Sure."

Keith hesitated before turning back to Ellis, looking worried. "One more thing?"

"What is it?"

Keith hesitated some more, something that Ellis found disturbing. Keith wasn't known for actually thinking before speaking. Keith sighed, what felt like the hundredth time this hour. "Keep that goofy smile on your face, alright? It's not all that bad."

Ellis furrowed his eyebrows, not understanding Keith's reason for saying this. He watched as Keith got out of his little blue truck and started jogging towards their town. The youngest didn't even bothered to continue driving until he could no longer see the taller man's back. And even then he hesitated before starting up the car again. He sighed and started driving towards the town that Keith had mentioned.

He only drove for a mile or two when the gas station back near the town's outskirts exploded, sending chunks of debris in the air. Ellis watched through his rear view mirror in horror. Keith must have been right next to it. The explosive wasn't that big and it didn't lasted that long, but he knew that it would have smarted if someone was right next to it. Most likely, the road was blocked too.

His lip quivered, a habit he picked up when he was younger and when he felt overwhelmed. He bit his lip to stop it and swallowed hard. He took a deep breathe, held it, and then let it out slowly. He can do this. He opened his eyes and watched the zombies linger around his truck.

A huge grin spread out on his face and he revved his engine. "Let's do this, baby!" he shouted before releasing the break. The truck went racing down the highway, no longer needing to worry about speed limits. Zombie Apocalypse, let's do this.


	2. Rochelle

**I am **_**so**_** sorry for this late update. I would tell you why I didn't post it soon, but all it will be is excuses. So, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter instead ; v ; ALSO Keep in mind of the rating please! This is a rated M game! (if I'm right) Also, to those who are wondering, ALL of the characters live in Savannah. Can you guys tell I don't like Rochelle? oops**

Rochelle was standing there holding the tray and watching the people talk to the camera with envy. She wanted that job and she will get it. She'll get it and prove her father right, that a black woman can be on news. A man interrupted her train of thoughts, however, by grabbing a coffee from her tray and walking past without a thank you. She sighed. She'll get that job someday, just you wait.

She watched as people walked past her doing various jobs and what not, while she sits there and waits for the anchor to be done talking about news. It was her job to provide coffee. Of course, she also helped with technical stuff, but as of right now, there was nothing that needed to be helped with. Rochelle watched in disgust while the anchor speak talked about some rich man. She was smiling all cheerful, looking excited. Unfortunately, though, Rochelle knew exactly what type of person she was.

Before she met this woman, she thought people like this only existed in movies. Unfortunately, she had the unpleasant opportunity of finding out how wrong she was. This woman insults her and mocks her, but once she walks up to her chair and the cameras starts rolling, she then acts all nice and friendly. People like that disgusted Rochelle and she couldn't help but to judge them.

Screams filled the hallway, echoing into the room she was in. Everyone went silent, listening. The silence only seemed to become heavier when the screams stopped abruptly. Chills ran down her spine. What had happened? A cameraman, someone Rochelle never bothered to get to know better, walked to the door and slowly turned the doorknob. However, the second the door knob was turn, the door burst opened, smashing the man between the wall and door. A group of people stumbled in.

It wasn't until one of them growled and the smell got to Rochelle did she realized that there was something very wrong with these people. They were covered in flesh wounds, and some looked as if their innards were barely in them. Their eyes were milky white, and they had no orientation when they walked. Rochelle's stomach lurched to the floor. Was this some sort of trick or prank?

The thought quickly escaped her mind when one of the zombies grabbed the nearest female and bit into her neck, emitting a scream from the poor woman. It seemed like that scream knocked everyone out of their trance, because suddenly everyone started screaming and scrambling to get out of the room. A man crashed into Rochelle, the cups falling from the tray she was holding. It was by miracle alone that she didn't fall with the drinks. If she had, she would have never gotten up again.

A zombie ran towards her and she screamed. Using the closet thing to her, her tray, she slammed it into the zombie's head, quickly ending its movements. She didn't spent too long looking at it before she took off running. Rochelle desperately looked for some place that would be safe for her; she had to call her family. Dodging and weaving through both the living and the dead, she finally found a small closet.

She slammed the door behind her and took a few minutes to catch her breathe, her heart racing in her throat. What had happened? Why did everyone suddenly turned into zombies? A laugh forced itself from her throat; did she fall asleep or is she in some sort of horror movie? She pulled out the phone and quickly dialed her mother's phone. Her mother was a busy woman and never had her phone off. Surely she can contact her.

Instead of the phone ringing that she had hoped for, it instantly went to a busy tone. On the second try, a recorded message was given. "Due to the excessive calls, the lines are currently too busy to receive yours. Please try again later. If problem continues, please contact your phone provider."

"Damn!" Rochelle hissed. She shoved her phone back into her pocket.

Rochelle swallowed the lump in her throat that was threatening to get bigger. Okay, now what? She raked her brain, trying to recall anything that her friends had said about a zombie apocalypse. They had all joked about it happening, but Rochelle, being the ever realistic person, never believed them. Oh, if only she had paid attention.

A weapon! Of course! She mentally slapped herself. You would think she would have thought of this earlier. She scanned the small closet, trying to find _anything_ that would help her. There was a bucket and some cleaning solutions, but Rochelle had a feeling that it wouldn't help much. Might help the smell, though. She continued to search when she found a mop. She lift it hesitantly, feeling the weight and strength. It wasn't as good as a metal bat or a gun, but it would have to work. Besides, she thought as she looked around the closet. There's not much else in here that would work.

She took a deep breath before opening the door slowly. She poked her head out and looked both ways. There were only a few stranglers that wouldn't bother her if she didn't get to close. Hopefully it's like this, too, on the lower floors. Rochelle slowly stepped out of the closet and down the hall, watching each and every zombie for a sign that they had interest in her. Fortunately, none did. As long as she didn't get too close to them, she'll be fine.

Unfortunately, she didn't had such good luck by the next floor. The hallway and rooms were full of zombies. Once in a while, she could either see or hear a human running by, being chased. Her heart ached to help them, but she knew if she did, both of them would die. So she tried her best to ignore the sounds and keep going. She turned a corner to find a zombie standing there. She froze, not daring to move. The zombie started growling at her before running. She placed her feet into position, similar of a baseball player, and took a deep breath, readying herself.

Once it was close enough, she released all she had into the blow. The handle of the mop landed into its head with a resounding crack. Rochelle almost gagged as she watched blood and some other fluid that she didn't want to know what seep out of its ears and nose. The zombie slowly sank down and onto the ground. It moved no more. Her shoulders ached from the swing that she had delivered. She hadn't used those muscles in a long time. Not since middle school.

She continued her journey, going down one floor at a time. By the time she reached the stairs that would lead to the last floor, she started feeling a bit hopeful. This wasn't as hard as she had thought it would be! She rounded the corner and her stomach lowered to the floor when she saw what was waiting for her.

Somehow, desks and shelves were stacked in the middle of the hallway, preventing anything from getting through. She stared at the mess with disbelief. Who would do this and why? Rochelle walked up to the pile and gave one of the shelves a tug. It wouldn't move. Nothing in this pile was moving anytime soon. She stepped back with a sigh and looked around. There was a room to her right, one that must have belongs to a low status worker.

Curious, she walked into the room. There were some cold cups of coffee, computers still on, and an overturned chair. A bottle of pain killers caught her eyes. Surely this was something she might need soon. She pocketed the small bottle and continued to look around. There was a window straight across from her. Through this window, she could see the streets below. There were people walking around the streets, but by the way they were walking, Rochelle had a feeling that they were zombies. She looked down and judge the height. It was just one floor up from the ground, surely she can make it.

There was no other way for her. She couldn't climb through that mess. She gulped and look down again. If she can aim right, she could land on that dumpster. Unfortunately, the lid was closed, which meant she would bounce off of it instead of sinking into the garbage. She wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

It took a few tries, but finally Rochelle was able to break the window with her mop. Once the main parts of the window was removed, she used the soft part of the mop to finish removing the little slivers of glass. She knew she wasn't going to be able to remove all of the glass, but she did wanted to lower her risk of cutting herself. Once she deemed it clean enough, she climbed through the window, setting her bottom on the window sill. Suddenly the dropped seemed further.

She dropped her mop and watched as it landed on the dumpster and rolled onto the ground. Rochelle didn't waited any longer before sliding out of the window, following the mop. While falling, her mind raced, trying to think of the proper way of landing, but couldn't remember any. She landed on her feet, and a shot of pain went up her legs, causing her to instantly take her weight off of them. Her bottom hit the garbage can lid and bounced off, sending her to the cement ground. She landed heavy on her hands and front, skinning her palms. She whimpered at the pain, sitting up to look at her injuries. Her hands were bleeding and both of her ankles hurt. However, with a quick look to them, she can tell they weren't broken or sprained. She sighed in relief. "Talk about a bumpy landing," she joked softly.

She stood up, being careful of her poor hands and feet. Surely that noise must have attracted the zombies. She picked of the mop and glanced around. She would have to hurry if she wants to avoid them.

A cabbie in front of her caught her attention. Who ever had driven it originally had left the door wide open. Figuring it was as safe as anything, she quickly jogged over to the vehicle. Rochelle slid into the passenger seat and shut the door behind her, shutting her off from the outside. The inside of the car was a mess. The passenger drawer was wide out, papers spilling everywhere. There were some left over food on the floor and on the driver's seat. Rochelle felt disgusted and wondered how long have they been sitting there. There was a piece of paper tapped to the steering wheel. She grabbed it and tugged, quickly riding it of the tap. Bringing it close, she read what was written on it.

"Take anything you need. Good luck."

Sighing, she sat the note on the driver's seat. What else was in here that she could use? Rochelle searched through the glove-compartment. There was a small thing of ibuprofen, papers, and a pamphlet that caught her attention. She pulled it out and gave it a closer look. It was a pamphlet announcing the 'end of the world'. It was talking about where the planned evacuation was. A small thread of hope grew when she saw that it was close, maybe half an hour from where she currently was. She sat the pamphlet down with the note before continuing her search.

Ibuprofen was pretty important, so she grabbed it and pocketed it. One last search found her a pocket knife. Fully extended, the knife reached almost eight inches. She smiled to herself, this might come in handy. She looked some more, but unfortunately she couldn't find anything else that might have helped. Someone might have searched in this before she did.

Rochelle quietly climbed out of the car and looked around, holding her knife and mop. Well, not much else to do but to drive to that hotel. She walked down the streets, avoiding miscellaneous walkers, as much as she could. She didn't had a proper gun and dreaded the idea of being stuck in a horde. That fear made her walk faster.

Rochelle breathed a sigh of relief when she found her car. She had been in a rush and had parked it in the first spot she had found, even though it was in the sun. Who knew that would help her later in the day. She pulled out her keys and was about to press the button when realization dawned on her. She hesitated, hand still in the air. If she presses this button, the car will beep but it will unlock. If the car beeps, it's attract the zombies. Rochelle groaned. "Great. Just great."

She sprinted to the car, weaving through the trash and dead bodies. It didn't took her long before she got to her small minivan. Rochelle glanced around and swallowed. Now than never. She hesitated before pressing the little green button. Instantly, the beep seemed to echoed through the streets. The click of the door soon followed. Screams could be heard blocks away; they were coming.

Flinging the door open, she threw herself into the driver's seat and slammed the door behind her. Her hand was shaking so bad, it took a few times to get it in the keyhole. At one point, Rochelle shouted in frustration. Why couldn't she do this? When the key finally slid into the hole, she would have cried in relief if she had the time. Unfortunately, she didn't.

Putting the gears into reverse, she pressed the gas pedal, instantly backing up the vehicle. She only backed it up enough to drive forward. Once she deemed herself having enough room, she slammed it into drive and gunned the gas. Her car squealed and protested before shooting forward. Rochelle never released the pedal until she could no longer see or hear the horde.

She sighed and tried to calm herself down. "Well, Rochelle. If you're in an apocalypse now, you're gonna have to get used to this." Of course, that didn't exactly comfort her. Hopefully the CEDA is still there.


	3. Nick

**I'm sorry it's a bit short! I'm establishing their personalities in the first few chapters so far. I hope I got Nick right. For a short chapter, I rather enjoyed writing this! Working on the next chapter already c:  
**

Nick took a huge swallow from his beer before he turned his attention to the cash register machine. He had been driving from Las Vegas and was making his way down the highways. Somehow, he stumbled into this little abandon bar just outside of Savannah, Georgia. It surprised Nick to see it abandon. It looked as if everyone had just left it in a rush. Papers and garbage were everywhere and the doors unlocked. Warning bells sounded in Nick's head, but he decided to ignore it for now. Inside, there were still bottles full of alcohol, chairs and tables either laying on the floor or set up, and a cash register. The cash register seemed out of place in the dump.

Of course, Nick, knowing his priorities, he grabbed the best brand of alcohol he could find before exploring. He popped the lid off the bottle and drank to his hearts content. He was always good at keeping his alcohol down, so he wasn't too worry about drinking too much. He grabbed another bottle before inspecting the machine. Locating the correct button, he press it. The tray of money popped out, revealing at the least a hundred dollars. He smirk at his find. This is just too easy.

He turned his attention to the shelves, under the main counter. From experience, he knew that this was where they kept things that employers don't want the customers to see. He found a bottle of prescribed pain medication, some extra cash, and an old bible. Nick chuckled humorously. Reading the bible and working at the bar?

Nick grabbed the pills and shoved them into his pantsuit's pocket, ignoring the bible. Who knows when he might need them. Besides, something told Nick that the original owner was long gone.

He went to grab another bottle of beer when he heard a growl. Nick shot up, standing, so he could see where the sound came from. Across the room, standing at the door way, was a man. The man was a lot taller than Nick, and had a few more years on him. The light must have been broken in the hallway because Nick couldn't make out much features on the man. Another growl emitted from him.

Nick raised his hands, showing that he meant no harm. Who knows, maybe southerners can't speak proper English. "Hey, man, I meant no offense. I thought this bar was abandon. I'll just head out now."

The man started to bare his teeth, and Nick realizes that something was wrong. The conman only had enough time to take a step back before the man charged. Nick dodged back behind the counter. When the man crashed against it, Nick could feel it vibrate. The man was growling and scratching at the counter, making deep grooves in the surface. An action that Nick had thought was impossible. A horrid stench choked Nick and he realized what this thing was: it was a zombie.

Nick swore and scrambled away from the counter, giving even more space between him and that thing. The zombie – although, Nick hesitates to call it that just yet – continued to try and reached him. Its eyes were glassy, and its neck looks like something had torn it apart. Well, at least there was no doubt that this thing was dead. He pulled out his Desert Eagle from his gun holster and held it up, taking aim. Predicting its movement, Nick pulled the trigger. The bullet hit in the middle of the dead man's eyes, going through the brain, and out of the back. The zombie dropped dead. Nick stared at the still body, waiting to see if it was mimicking death or not. Many times he had killed a man before, so killing this thing didn't even bothered Nick. He was beyond caring about a single man's death now.

The conman slid the gun back into its holder before he walked up to the body, assured that it is now indeed dead. He spent no time patting the body, looking for valuables; fifty bucks in the wallet, and a few bullets in the same pocket. Somehow, the bullets was the same type that would fit his gun. Nick wasn't sure if he should call that luck or not. Perhaps a coincidence. "Thanks, Garry," he said, glancing at the man's license.

The bar was otherwise quiet. There were no more sounds of anything moving in the building besides Nick. Thus, Nick deemed that it was a high chance that this zombie was the only one. But that didn't deceive him. If it was the freaking apocalypse happening, then he needed to high-tail it out of there before more arrived. With a quiet glance through the building, Nick head back towards the doors, where he had come from. Of course, he hesitated before opening the door. Maybe, he thought slowly, turning back to the counter, he should grab another bottle or two of beer. Never know when you're going to find beer again. He spent ten minutes just looking at all the bottles to decide which was the better two out of them.

Once he was happy with his decision, he walked back to the doors. He didn't hesitated this time before opening them. The harsh sun blinded him and it took a few moments before his eyes adjusted. Before, when he first arrived here, the parking lot was completely empty. Now, however, there were zombies walking around, not yet aware of him. Nick stared before shutting the doors. He stood there for a second before he said, "nope."

Nick turned around and headed for the back door. Or, would have if they had one. He gazed at the wall in disbelief when he walked to the back room and found none. There wasn't even a window. Weren't buildings like this have back doors? In case of a fire? Nick growled in annoyance. Okay, so back doors are out of the question and there wasn't any windows. He'll have to go through the front door.

Walking through the main room for the third time now, something caught his eye. It was a bulletin board hanging on the wall to his right. On the bulletin board was a piece of paper that looked a bit old. Looking closer, he could see it was an evacuation notice. Why would they leave it there? Did the owner put it there to warn other people? Nick glanced at the dead body behind him. Looks like it didn't do a lot of good. He tore the paper down and stuffed it in his pocket. He didn't know any addresses around so it would be nice to have it on handy. Good thing someone had put the picture of the hotel on it.

When he opened the doors again, he was a lot more quiet this time. None of the zombies paid him mind and he took that to advantage. He scanned the parking lot, looking for the newest looking car. Some of the cars looked like it had been there for quite a while. Nick would bet his fancy suit on the fact that it was probably out of gas. He couldn't use the same car that he drove in with because it was also almost out of gas. After a few minutes, he finally found the newest looking car.

The conman sprinted to the car before sliding into the seat, slamming the door shut. Thank whatever holy being there is that the door was unlock. With experienced fingers, Nick easily hot wired the car into starting. Granted, it was harder to do this with newer cars, so fate must like him today. Nervously, he watched as the gas meter bar inched its way up. He sighed in relief when it stopped between half and full. Enough to get him to that hotel.

He didn't bothered to check for zombies when he pressed on the gas pedal. Of course, that didn't stop him from cringing when he hit them; that couldn't be good for the paint. He got on the highway, heading north to Savannah. Nick looked up at the rear-view mirror. It was pointed too low, showing his harsh, grey eyes staring back. He thought nothing about it as he changed it so he could see behind him. Savannah? This should be easy.


	4. Coach

**wow, this is shorter than Nick's! oops. I promise there won't be any more short chapters! Thanks for sticking with me. Action will happen in the next chapter! **

Coach tried to focus on his bible study, but no matter what he did, his mind kept going back to recent occurrences. There has been an outbreak of the flu and the whole high school had to be closed. Coach was baffled by this; never once in his career has there been a flu that closed a school. It was unthinkable. He hoped this wouldn't continued for long. Not long because he needs the income, but also for the health of the children. It must be scary for them to have such a horrible flu. According to scientists, this was worse than the swine flu epidemic that happened a few years ago.

With a sigh, Coach gave up reading the bible. He had the attention span of a little thirteen year old boy. He sat the old, worn book down by the table next to him and reached for the remote. Maybe there was some good news on the TV. He turned the TV on and sat the remote down next to the bible. There was a blond woman talking about the flu. She was a pretty thing, with long, wavy blond hair and green eyes. He smiled; she almost looked like his wife from years ago.

A scream came from the news station, starling Coach from his happy memories. The blond looked around, confused. Coach watched in horror as he saw a swarm of people came marching in the station, attacking the other people. After a few minutes of this, the camera got knocked down, showing him the view of the feet. However, that wasn't any better. His stomach lurched when blood started pouring onto the ground. What was going on? He scrambled for the remote before he finally turned the TV off. He sat there for a few moments in stunned silence. What the hell was that?

It took him a moment to realize that the screaming wasn't just in his head, but outside. He got up from his recliner and walked over to his little window. He opened the blinds just enough so he could peer down at the streets. There were people running around and attacking each other. Coach couldn't believe his eyes. Surely God wouldn't allow this to happen? But the more he watched, the more he started doubting that it wasn't what it looked like. It looked like a zombie apocalypse had started.

Coached turned around and looked at the paper on his fridge. His neurotic neighbor had given him a flier about an upcoming evacuation. She had been preaching about a zombie apocalypse happening, but he never believed her. However, he found himself unable to throw it away; a lingering doubt in his mind wondering, "what if?" It was because of this doubt that he had stock up in supplies.

He walked over to his chest and opened it. He grabbed the pump shotgun and metal golf club. He strap the gun to his back and held the club to make sure he could grab it when needed. Once done, he headed for the kitchen. There were canned food hidden that he could use, along with bottled water. It took him ten minutes top to get everything together and into his little backpack. When Coach was done, he gave one last inspection of his apartment. It was odd for him to think that he may never come back to his home.

After taking a few minutes to get himself together, he headed for the door. A picture caught his eye, one that he had hung by the door. He inspected it closer. It was a picture of him, ten years younger, laughing with a blond woman next to him. Coach smiled sadly. It was his wife, Janet. They had only been married for five years before she developed breast cancer, a malicious form of it. She had passed away shortly. "Ten year, baby, and I still miss you," he whisper softy, touching the photograph. He was inclined to bring it, but decided against it. A picture of her didn't belonged in an apocalypse. It belonged in a nice house like this one. He left the building without it.

A zombie was standing right there in his hall way. He made quick work with it, swinging his golf club into it's head. He continued walking, ignoring his neurotic neighbor screaming from her apartment. It sounded as if she was saying "I told you so!"

He walked down the stairs to the pavement, limping the whole way. Oh, why did his knee chose today to bother him? He glanced around the streets, taking in his surroundings. Coach wasn't sure if he should be glad or not that the people were distracting the zombies, leaving his way clear. It didn't took him long to spot the tall hotel. That was where the evacuation was held at. He looked upwards to the sky and muttered his thanks to God that it was so close to him. Especially since he didn't had any easy way to get to his car. It was in the shop and he doubt it that it was finish. And he didn't want to go out of the way just to get a car that may or may not work.

He glanced at his watch and then glanced back up at the hotel. While it wasn't that far, it would still take him a good hour to walk that distance. He sighed. Hopefully the people will still be there when he finally gets there.


	5. Meet Up

**Grammar fixed. Y'all is a weird word.  
**

Ellis slowed his truck to a stop and looked around slowly in horrified awe. "Holy hell," he whispered to himself. The entire highway was blocked with cars. There was no way he could get this pickup through the maze; there just wasn't enough room. He would have to go on foot. He shut the engine off before jumping out of the vehicle. He grabbed his weapons and backpack and slammed the door. Ellis hesitated, wondering if he should lock it or not, but then decided against it. It's not like anyone can use it. He glanced around again, still awed at just how many cars there were.

Some were the new, top models of cars, some that Ellis have never worked on before. Others were beat up and old, just like his pick up. What disturbed him, though, was all the car had at least one door opened. It looked as if everyone had left in a hurry. But there were no zombies around, so what was it? Could the zombie just move that fast? Or did something came along and killed them all?

Curiosity took control. Ellis climbed onto of his pickup truck to see a better view. And while the view was at a better angle, it wasn't better news. The highway was blocked up for miles. So even if he does get about five to move, he would still be stuck. It was impossible. Ellis took his cap off and scratched his head thoughtfully. How is he going to do this? He could walk, he thought, but that would be miserable. Something caught his eye and he peered at it, trying to figure out what it was. His heart jumped when he realized was it was: people!

Excited, he hoped down from his truck and jogged over to them. The African-American was closest, so he arrived to her first. "Howdy!" He happily called out. He could see her flinch before she turned to him. She must have not seen either him or the others that were a little further ahead. The poor woman looked tired and stressed. But Ellis didn't blamed her; a zombie apocalypse was a stressful thing! He stopped a good yard from her and waited until she replied.

"Hi," she said uncertainly. Ellis didn't recognized her accent. But hey, at least she wasn't giving him the cold shoulder.

"I saw some people other there," he explained, gesturing further down the highway. "Let's go meet them!"

Ellis started jogging to them, and it took a while before he heard the female following. They weaved through the open car doors and trash, and a few dead bodies. It was all surreal. Ellis felt as if he was in an episode of the Walking Dead. When he was within hearing distance, he called out to the other two males. They were both startled to hear someone else with them. Ellis and the woman stopped and Ellis started talking. "Hey! Where y'all heading to?"

The older male, who was also taller than all of them, replied first. "I'm heading to the hotel where the evacuation site is." He glanced at the other three before continuing. "I'd imagine y'all heading that way, too?" he asked. The female looked nervous, the male in the white suit scoffed, and Ellis grinned even wider.

"Yep!"

"Well, why don't we all stick together, then?" the female spoke out loud. The other males turned to look at her. "I mean, it would be safer, right? We can watch each others back."

The older man nodded, thinking on it. "I think little sister here got something. We'll stick together until we get to the evacuation. At that point, we can go our own ways. Sound good?" he asked, looking around to see the others reactions. Ellis and the woman both nodded. When the third male didn't reply right away, everyone looked at him. The man in the white suit glared before snorting. "Fine."

"Cool!" Ellis said, excited. "So, what's your names?" he asked the group.

"My friends call me Coach. I guess y'all can do the same," the older man said.

"Hey. Name's Rochelle."

"My name is Ellis, some people call me El. But I really prefer Ellis 'cause El kinda sounds like a girl's name. But, if you prefer to call me El, I guess you can," Ellis explained.

"Alright, good. Introductions are now done, can we get a move on?" the last male said in annoyance, an eyebrow raised. Ellis shook his head.

"Nah, man. You gotta tell us your name!"

He sighed irritably, as if he was trying to get his point across to a three year old. "I'm Nick. Okay, happy? Now lets go." He turned on his heel and started marching away. The other three glanced at each other and shrugged. No need to argue about that. Maybe he was having a bad day. The group walked down the highway, Nick in the lead. Once in a while, someone would find something that seemed valuable and would grab it. They weren't doing that often, however, because they all felt the stress of the situation. What if they take too long and the people will leave?

Everyone was advised by Coach to use anything except guns. There were alarmed cars, and they didn't want to risk accidentally shooting one. You could never tell which is alarmed or not. The whole scene was depressing. In one of the cars that Ellis had spotted, a lone teddy bear sat on the backseat. He wondered if the child was able to make it alive.

"I wonder what happened to the people," Rochelle said, almost as if she had heard what Ellis was thinking.

"Probably dead," Nick replied with no emotion in his voice. Even the bitter man was effected by the grim atmosphere.

Ellis, paying attention to the cars, forgot to pay attention to his feet. He stepped on an arm, cracking the bone, and throwing off his balance. He tried to catch his balance, flinging his arms, but it did no good. He stumbled back and landed on a car. A shrill noise started, startling them. The four listened in horror as the alarm echoed. In response, a guttural, inhuman noise yelled out.

"Turn it off!" Rochelle yelled, covering her ears.

The mechanic yanked open the car door, glad that he had worked on cars like this before. He looked for a little red button located close to the floor, his heart racing. When he found it, he pressed and held it as fast as he could. The alarm stopped, leaving the silence even louder than it was before. He hesitated before releasing the button. Ellis stepped out of the car and shut the door with a sigh. He looked around to see the other three watching him in disbelief and maybe with a hint of anger. Ellis cringed. "Oops?" he said weakly.

The man in the white suit, Nick, face turned to an impressive shade of scarlet. "Oops? _Oops? _Do you have any idea what you just did?" he yelled, his voice getting louder and louder with each word.

The younger male didn't had the chance to reply before another inhuman scream was heard. The hairs on Ellis' neck rose. Everyone held out their weapons and looked around, trying to find out where the zombies will be coming from. The suspense was bordering on being intolerable. Finally, the first zombie emerge. It crawled over the highway's rails and limped to the living humans as fast as its body would allow. With a loud gunshot, the zombie fell motionless. Ellis stared at Nick in awe, wondering how could someone do that without even blinking. He was standing tall with one hand holding his gun, the other holding a wrench. It looked like the type of wrench one would use to fix a car. Ellis made a mental note to be careful with this man.

The amount of zombies steadily grew, and the four had to work together to prevent themselves from being swarmed. Occasionally, one would call out for help, and the other would help them. Rochelle cried out in horror when everyone heard a loud crack. Ellis glanced over his shoulder to see that her mop had broken in half. Nick quickly handed her his wrench before switching to his gun. Rochelle shouted her thanks as she continued to fight.

Ellis killed another zombie with a triumphant cry. This was easy! If this bat wasn't covered with blood and who knows what else, he would probably kiss it right then and there. A growl caught his attention. He had never heard this growl before, even from a zombie. He turned around on his heal, trying to figure out where it came from before it gets him.

A heavy weight hit him in the back, knocking him down on the ground a few yards away from where he was originally standing. He rolled over to see a huge demented looking man. Or, it was once a man. Ellis wasn't sure what it was now. It had a huge, muscular arm and was wearing baggy, torn overalls. What caught his attention was the limp, small arm. It looked out of place on the muscular thing. The creature grabbed Ellis' sides, pinching him, and easily picked him up. The southerner wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew it wasn't good. "Help!" he cried out.

The creature then slammed Ellis down on the ground, knocking the air from his lungs and giving him whiplash. A series of pops emitted from his back, and if Ellis had any air, he would have groaned. He barely had enough time to suck in a huge gasp before the creature slammed him down again. Stars littered his vision and he hoped dearly that someone had noticed him getting pinned. He pounded him one or two more times until the creature stopped, dropping Ellis on the ground. It soon followed, landing with a dull thud. The next thing Ellis knew, Rochelle was in front of him, looking concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Ellis groaned, sitting up. He felt for any broken bones and was relieved that he found none. He stood up, feeling all of his ribs protest. He was lucky, that he knew for sure. He would have to be careful from now on, because something told him that he wouldn't be as lucky next time. Instinctively, his hand flew to his head to check his hat. When he felt his bare head, he panicked; his hat was missing. Ellis whirled around, looking desperately for the missing item. Where could it have gone? It was nowhere in plain sight.

A hand grabbed his shoulder, halting his search and his train of thoughts. He turned to the owner of the hand to see Rochelle standing there, smiling. She held up the hat, handing it to him. A huge smile of gratitude spread on his face and Ellis happily took it. He put it on, making sure it was keeping his curly hair out of his face. "Thanks, Ro!"

Ellis caught a glimpse of Nick giving him a rather cold glare and Ellis cringed. Coach shook his head in disbelief. "What was that?" he breathed.

"I don't know," Ellis responded, "but I sure as hell don't want to find another one."

Rochelle nodded in agreement to Ellis' statement. "He's right. Let's keep going before more come."


	6. Official Instructions

Nick was still in lead, walking ahead of everyone. Rochelle could see annoyance and who knows what else coming off of his shoulder's. His head was held up high, as if he was afraid someone would injury his pride. Of course, she thought, glancing at Coach, it just might happen. Unlike Nick, Coach had no problem with who was in charged. Instead, he was talking to Ellis about certain parts of the town. They were both excited about the topic, their faces both lit up. She thought it was nice that the older man was talking about something that the younger man knew about. He was the youngest out of the whole group.

The summer heat was baring down on everyone, making the walk seem longer. Coach had assured them that it was only a two mile walk to town, but Rochelle was starting to have her doubts. She missed Ohio, wishing she was back home and not here. Why couldn't the zombie apocalypse happened when she was at home in Ohio? Or even better, not at all. She continued to watch Coach and Ellis, unsure how they can both remain cheerful like that.

Finally they passed a faded green sign announcing that they have officially arrived to Savannah. Unfortunately, the town was just as empty as the streets were. Savannah wasn't as impressive as Coach and Ellis seemed to think, but it sure wasn't a boring place. Apparently there were some historic things in this town, such as museums and whatnot. If the time was better, Rochelle would have loved to gone and looked around. Ellis and Coach were pointing out locations here and there, happily talking about it.

About ten minutes of walking, Rochelle noticed that Ellis was no longer talking to Coach. In fact, he wasn't even around. She froze, looking for him. They couldn't have lost him already, did they? Her heart almost stopped until she found him standing by a store's window. Rochelle almost laughed with relief. "Ellis, honey? What are you doing?"

Ellis glanced at her before turning back to the window he was looking at. She walked closer to him so they could talk without speaking too loud. He waited until she was next to him before he started. "I used to be part of a small garage band," he said with a small laugh. "I played bass, Keith played guitar, and Dave played the drums. I'd come here to buy supplies all the time."

Rochelle never assumed he actually had a history here. Of course, she should have, since he was raised here, but it never occurred to her until now. "Were you guys any good?"

Ellis laughed. "No. We sucked." He turned to her and smiled, back to his regular cheery self. "Let's go." He walked ahead of Rochelle, join with the other two men. Rochelle realized that Coach must have stopped Nick, waiting for them. Coach continued to walk with Ellis, but Nick stayed still for a moment. He scoffed to himself. "Weird kid," he said, not bothering to speak quietly. Ellis showed no signs of hearing him, even though Rochelle knew he did.

As they walked down the streets, a few zombies dared to attack them. Coach, before, had mentioned to use only melee. "Don't want anymore coming," he had said. Rochelle wasn't sure if the few zombies were a result of the hoard they had gotten a few hours before or was the calm before a storm. Shivers crawled up her spine. Oh, she hopes it was just a few stranglers, and that nothing bad will happen. Since when have I become so superstitious, Rochelle wondered to herself.

A loud swear caught her attention. Rochelle looked up to see Nick up ahead staring in disbelief ahead of him. She walked closer to see what he was staring at. A huge school bus was in front of them, turned over on it's back. Rochelle refused to look inside of the bus in fear of finding dead bodies. The men looked around, trying to find a way around the huge vehicle. After a few minute of searching, they all returned together, Coach shaking his head. "Ain't no way around that."

"Now what?" Nick asked, his lack of patience evident in his tone.

"Don't bars have back doors to an alley or something like that?" Ellis asked, pointing to a building to their left. They all turned to see what Ellis was talking about. The windows were cloudy from age, and some of them were boarded up. The sign was dangling and only one letter was lit up: B. It looked as if it had been abandoned long before the apocalypse.

"Well, let's try," Coach decided.

The group followed the older man into the building. The floors creaked and the doors squealed. Rochelle winced at the loud noise, hoping nothing heard it. The shelf was still full with bottles of assorted alcohols, untouched. Rochelle noticed Nick staring at them, a look in his eye that made Rochelle uncomfortable. She glared at him, clearly showing her disapproval. He raised an eyebrow at her and turned around, ignoring both her and the alcohol.

Coach opened the little gate that lead to behind the counter. There was a door hidden in the corner with a little sign saying 'workers only'. Inside the door was a small, long hallway that led to another door. A huge exit sign was on the ceiling in front of the door. To their left was a door leading to the bathrooms. Coach chuckled and glanced at them. "Anyone need to use the toilets?" He was ignored.

The door did indeed lead to a back alley that wounded to the left, leading to the hotel. The only problem was that a huge chain-link gate was in front of them. Ellis stepped forward and tugged at the door. The door didn't budge; it was locked up tight with a huge chain.

"Oh, yeah," scoffed Nick. "Like tugging it helped it any."

"We need to climb over it," Coach interrupted, knowing that if he hadn't, an argument might have started. "Does anyone know how?" he asked, looking at each survival one at a time. Everyone nodded. "Good. Nick, you go first," Coach directed.

Nick muttered something incoherent under his breath before walking to the gate. He tucked his gun in his belt before grabbing the fence and lifting himself up. He quickly climb up and over it, landing on his feet on the other side. Rochelle could see that he had experience climbing fences. Of course, she didn't want to know why he had those experience. Ellis climbed it next, slowly and clumsy. He tried to jump down like Nick did, but he ended up landing on his butt. It was clear he was the opposite of Nick; no experience with climbing fences.

Coach, even with his weight, was able to climb it with no problems. Now all was left was Rochelle. She gulped and looked up; the fence seem so much taller. "C'mon, baby girl. You can do it," Coach encouraged from the other side. With another gulp, Rochelle grasp the metal and pulled herself up. She had no idea how the guys did it. The metal bit into her hands painfully and she could barely get a spot to hold her feet with her shoes. Arms trembling at the effort, Rochelle slowly climbed her way up. She mimic what she saw the guys did, and threw her leg over the fence. Only problem was she couldn't find a spot to tug her foot in. Panic hit her and she lost her grip. Next thing she knew, she was falling towards the hard cement.

She felt two pair of hands catch her before she could hit the ground. She opened her eyes to see Coach and Ellis holding her. "You okay?" Ellis asked, eyebrows furrowed with concern. Rochelle didn't trusted her voice so she gave a weak nod. They sat her down and she gathered her bearings. After a few minutest, when her heart wasn't racing anymore, she said, "Okay. I'm good. Let's go."

There was a small building next to the hotel. Ellis glanced at the hotel building and whistled. "Largest hotel building I've ever seen."

Coach walked to the smaller building and tugged at the door knob. Frowning, he tried again, but the door wouldn't open. Stepping back, Rochelle could see him mentally counting before he slammed into the door. The door burst open, breaking some wood that had been nailed into place. Whoever was inside it must have barricaded themselves in it. She watched as Coach stepped in but then immediately stepped back, covering his nose.

"What's wrong?" Ellis asked before stepping in there. A loud grunt of disgust were heard from him. Nick and Rochelle poked their heads in the room. A now familiar smell was thick and hanging in the air; the smell of a dead body.

"Guess he really did locked himself in here," Nick said, raising an eyebrow. On a chair was a dead body. It looked as it was there for a while. Rochelle wondered why the person would rather sit there and starve instead of fighting their way to safety. A nagging, unpleasant thought tugged at the back of her mind, but she refused to even enlighten it. She watched as the men clear the dead body from the room. Once the body was gone, the smell in the room improved.

Inside the room, there were a huge map on the table, a cabinet full of weapons, and even a cash register machine. Nick made a beeline to the machine and took everything of value it had. Rochelle watching him with mild disgust and curiosity. Why was he even bothering to steal money? It had no value anymore. Ellis opened the cabinet of weapons and whistled to himself, impressed. It had everything. Rochelle had nothing else to do, so she went to study the map. Maybe it'll reveal some deep, dark secrets. Like how the hell do we get out of here. Unfortunately, she learned nothing from studying the map.

A loud ripping noise caught her attention and she looked up to see Coach holding up a sign and eating a small chocolate bar. "'Report unusual behavior'," he started. Rochelle rolled her eyes and turned back to the map. He was reading a CEDA paper. They were everywhere, telling instructions of what they should do.

"'Barricade your homes. Avoid all contact with infected individuals. Wait for official instructions'." Coach laughed before crumbling up the paper and tossing it over his shoulder. "Wait, my ass."

Ellis cocked the gun he was holding before turning to them, a huge smile on his face. "Kill all sons-a-bitches. That's my official instructions."

**Already working on the next chapter o v o**


	7. Maps

**These chapters were REALLY small so I combined 7 and 8. **

**Chapter 7**

Nick was mad. Nick was annoyed. Anything under that word in the thesaurus was how Nick felt at that moment. He was stuck with this group of idiots in the middle of an apocalypse. A freaking apocalypse. Was he placed in a movie without permission or something? Was this just a huge joke to everyone? And he just happened to be the victim? If this was a joke, it was cruel and unfunny, and he will happily punch the man who decided to do this. Maybe even kill him. These people were _crazy_, he thought as he listened to Coach and Ellis talking.

Coach opened the door and allowed everyone to go through first. That man rubs on Nick the wrong way. No one even voted for him to be the leader, so why is he acting like one? Coach was a school teacher! He had no reason or even experience to be a leader. In fact, _Nick_ should be the leader. He had way more experiences in surviving on the streets when everyone wants you dead. He was a pro at that! Not Coach.

"Y'know," Ellis started, thoughtfully. Everyone waited to see if he was going to go off into another story again or not. "I remember seeing a gun shop somewhere around here. It's hard to get to it so I'm sure there's some stuff there still. 'Sides, I'm running out of ammo," Ellis said, shrugging. It was a helpful tip.

"Low ammo? No problem. I'm sure feeding you to the zombies will slow them down enough to get away," Nick said. He wasn't completely serious. Ellis laughed weakly before hurrying to Rochelle and Coach.

It didn't took them long to walk to the hotel building. The doors were unlocked. But even if they were lock, they could still easily climb through the broken windows on the doors. Coach went in first, then Rochelle. Ellis followed and Nick came in last. He wanted to be as far away from them as possible. Even if that meant following last. The lobby was about as empty as the streets were. The front counter was a mess and occasionally a body would be lying in a corner or somewhere. When Nick tripped over an arm for the tenth time, he was ready to burn the whole building down.

Coach lead them to where the elevators were kept, a hall off to the right of the front desk. He hit the button and waited. And they waited some more. The button's light wasn't on. "Maybe the light is burnt out?" Rochelle suggested. Coach pressed it again. Even if the light were burnt out, nothing was happening. Coach sighed. "Guess we take the stairs, people."

"Typical," Nick scoffed.

They wander around the halls, looking for some sign that pointed saying, "stairs here!" Unfortunately, there was no such thing. Most of the rooms were empty. And the ones which wasn't empty, it was easy to tell by the smell coming out. Rochelle raised an eyebrow as they searched the fifth room that found. "Why do these rooms have weapons in it? Isn't it illegal to have weapons in a hotel?" she asked.

"Yeah, if it wasn't the apocalypse," Nick replied, looking pointedly at her. She glared at him and continued walking, giving him the cold shoulder. Nick shrugged, not caring either way what she thought of him.

A loud gun shot echoed down the halls. Nick looked up to see Ellis standing there, his gun held up. On the ground was a zombie. Or, Nick thinks it's a zombie. It had a long neck and was wearing rather skimpy clothing. And is that a thong . . . ? "The hell is that?" Nick asked. His tone came out a lot more accusatory than intended.

"I don't know, man!" Ellis cried out defensively. Nick looked back down to the body to realize it was oozing green stuff. It made bubbling noises and basically didn't look sanitary. He made a mental note not to step in the goo. Unlike Ellis who walked through it without a care. However, within ten seconds, Ellis was crying out. He started hopping up and down and Nick wondered if he was having a fit. Ellis yanked his shoes off and threw them away from him. His socks were eaten through and he had blisters on his feet. Nick's stomach withered, threatening to crawl out of his mouth. The smell was horrible.

Nick attention turned to the green goo – acid. It had stopped bubbling. In fact, it seemed to be disappearing. How was that possible? He never studied chemicals, but he was pretty sure it wouldn't just evaporate. Rochelle rushed past him and sat down on the ground next to Ellis. He watched as they fussed over the Southerner's feet. "Poor thing," Rochelle muttered.

Coach came last. "What happened?" he asked, using his leader voice that pisses off Nick.

"She came out of no where, a zombie. So, I shot her without thinking. Pretty good head shot, if you ask me," Ellis said between winces. "But this goo came out of her dead body and did this," he continued, pointing to his blistered feet. Coach blinked at his feet and then looked at where the goo was.

"But, there's no goo?"

Ellis glanced helplessly at Nick for help. He shrugged in response. "It disappeared."

It was easy to tell that Coach didn't believe them about it disappearing, but he kept quiet. Rochelle got up and retrieved Ellis' shoes. One was melted beyond fixing and was unwearable. The other was also badly melted, but Ellis could still wear it. Rochelle quickly wrapped his feet and gave him his socks back. Somehow, the acid was completely gone, leaving his shoes almost clean looking, along with his socks. Ellis put them on and stood up. It was a sad view, but better than nothing. They kept on walking through the hotel.

Nick sighed in relief when they finally found the doorway to the stairway. Finally. Once he gets on that helicopter, he can leave this group and never worry about them again. He was that close to freedom. Coach opened the door and glanced at the sign to the left. They could almost see Coach deflate. "30 floors to the top," he whispered in horror.

"No better time to get in shape than now," Nick said, slapping Coach's shoulder. Coach looked as if he was about to protest, but closed his mouth. They all had a time limit of when the helicopter might take off, so they had to hurry. Everyone kept their complaints to themselves. Even Ellis was quiet, something that Nick enjoyed.

By the time they hit the twentieth, everyone was out of breath and wheezing. They might have been fit enough to survive an apocalypse, but they weren't trained in climbing stairs. Nick noticed Coach had started limping by the tenth floor and it seemed to be getting worse. Sure, the climb was hard and Nick was wondering if he was going to keel over or not, but he wasn't limping. But then, Coach was a bit older.

Coach suddenly stopped, bent over, and started panting. Nick jogged a few steps ahead before stopping to see what was wrong. "Who the hell puts an evac station up thirty flights of stairs...?" Coach wheezed in between breaths.

"Come on, Coach," Nick said, panting. Because who wasn't panting? "Maybe the helicopter, maybe it's made of chocolate?" Nick teased. The glare Coach gave made him smile. Nick kept climbing and he could tell Coach started following him. Ellis let out a whoop when the door came to view. The group of four burst open the door, excited to leave this place. However, the sight was one they won't be forgetting for a long time.

The roof was completely empty and the last helicopter was leaving in the distance. Nick rushed forward, shouting on top of his lungs. Trying everything to get their attention. The rest joined in with his calls. No no no no no. Nick's heart felt frozen. This can't be happening. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Damn it, they were supposed to get him out of here. And way from these people.

"Where is everybody?" Ellis shouted. "Hello?"

"This is not happening," Rochelle muttered, running her hand through her hair.

Ellis wandered around, looking as if he expected someone to jump out and yell "surprise!" Rochelle joined in his search, but the woman looked like she was about to cry. Nick himself couldn't believe it. He walked towards the edge of the building, next to the fence, to get a better view. The helicopter was leaving and the town was in ruins. There were even smoke clouds in the distance. He doubled over, using the disguise of catching his breathe to catch his racing thoughts. Now what?

"Thought they were supposed to be savin' our asses?" Coach said, stepping up next to Nick. It was the first time Nick has heard him sound angry.

Nick shook his head. "Looks like there's been a change of plans."

**Chapter 8**

Ellis hadn't said much of anything recently, which Coach had learned by now that it was rare. Rochelle, the poor baby girl, was off in one of the corners. He could tell she was trying to keep her image strong, but she was so close to tears. He didn't blamed her. Nick was on the other side, as far away as possible from everyone, and saying swears that would have made his mother faint. Coach closed his eyes and muttered a small prayer. "Lord, help us," he whispered. He walked – or rather, limped, since his knee was killing him – to the small table next to the wall. Some stuff was lying on top of it: a water bottle, an ax, and other miscellaneous items.

Ellis walked over and joined him. Coach watched as the younger male searched the table top. His eye suddenly widened and he grabbed a small paper that Coach had missed. The Southerner quickly read it. And then twice. A smile was growing on his face, and Coach could feel a little tiny piece of hope growing.

"Next evacuation center is held at New Orleans!" Ellis said happily. It seemed like everyone suddenly held their breaths.

"New Orleans?" Nick asked, sarcasm dripping off his words like poison. "Oh, that's fantastic! Let's just pack our packs and skip over to New Orleans. Maybe even get some fancy wine since it's so near and we'll have all this free time! Hell, Ellis!" He shouted the last sentence, swiping his arm. Ellis flinched at the sudden movement. "Do you have any idea in your little dense southern head how far that is?"

Coach interrupted before Ellis responded and make it worse. "Actually, the boy has a point. If we had a map and if we work together as a team," he pointed out.

"Yeah!" Ellis agreed excitedly. Rochelle looked hesitant, and Nick looked as if he was about to kill someone. Perhaps all of them. Coach would have to keep a careful eye on this guy.

"I actually have a map in my car," Rochelle piped, trying to be helpful. Nick, however, sent his angry words to her.

"Oh!" Nick exclaimed with a very much fake laugh. "That's helpful! Why don't you go and get it? Oh, whoops! Silly me! You left it hundred of miles away," Nick growled.

"Guys?"

Rochelle stamped her foot, angry and flushed. "At least I'm trying to help, you ass! Why don't you say something actually helpful, huh?"

"Oh! Because pointing out an idiotic, suicidal plan isn't helpful! Well, golly me!"

"Hey, I got a-"

"Damn it, why do you gotta be such a pessimistic? It isn't all that bad!"

"Because the freaking apocalypse isn't something to be pessimistic about!"

"Hey! Shut up for a minute!" Coach yelled, efficiently shutting them up. He glared at them and waited a minute to see if they were done. When no one said anything, Coached nodded. "The young one here found us a map," he said, gesturing towards Ellis.

Ellis laid the map down on the table and everyone gathered around it. Coach felt lightheaded at the idea of the distance. It was so far. How would they be able to do this? According to the map, it was about 650 miles, and that was the average. They would be walking that? He couldn't tell if he was going to be sick or not.

"Looks like we just stick to the US-90 for the majority of the time," Rochelle pointed out. Coach could tell by her tone that she must work with maps a lot. The group stood there for almost an hour talking about which path would be the best to take. And then it took them an extra twenty minutes to make sure they were actually happy with it. Once they decided, Coach slammed his hand on the desk as if signally that the meeting is over.

"Let's do this!" Ellis cheered.

**WOW what happened, am I right? Definitely gonna try and finish the next chapter tomorrow. Don't worry, my little readers, I will never give up on this story ; v ; **


	8. Elevators

Things were finally looking up and Ellis couldn't help but feel excited. Sure, they had some difficulties, such as the choppers leaving and his shoes dissolving. But at least they weren't completely hopeless! They got enough supplies for a while _and_ they know where they had to go. Now it was just a matter of getting there. It shouldn't be too hard, right?

Ellis happily lead the group down the stairs. It was his one bare foot that kept him from running. It would be troublesome if he injured it further. He could hear his teammates grumbling behind him, but he didn't mind. He didn't voiced his opinion, but he was glad they were still a team. That meant he didn't had to be alone again. He swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. No time to think like that.

If he hadn't been paying attention, he would have tripped and fallen on the debris that were blocking their path. Even still he had to grab the railing. He stared at it in awe as the rest came to catch up with him. There was no way that could have happened. It was clear an hour ago, they had walked up this path to the roof. Why is there debris here now?

Nick sighed and Coach shrugged. "Looks like we go around," Coach said. He opened the door to their left.

A huge cloud of smoke rushed in, choking them and burning their eyes. Ellis involuntarily took a step back, waving his hands in front of him as if to clear the air. He felt a hand grab his wrist and pull him down. He opened his burning eyes to see Rochelle pulling the others down. "The building must be on fire," she pointed out. "We need to stay low and get out of here."

Coach nodded, agreeing with her. Nick took the lead and went first, Rochelle and Ellis following. Coach came last. There were some zombies here and there, some that Ellis hadn't seen before. Where do they even come from? Do they just randomly pop up? Or do they hide until later? The idea of zombies having intelligence bothered him. It didn't look like they did, however. That, or the fire simply didn't bothered them. Some even wandered around on fire. That must be how the fire spread so quickly.

Something slimy shot past Ellis and wrapped itself around Rochelle. A cry escaped her before it got cut off. "Ro!" Ellis cried out in hopes of getting the others attention. With a quick tug, Rochelle was sliding back to the source of the appendage. Coach, fortunately, was closest to the zombie. He took his ax he found earlier and used it to try and cut the appendage while Nick and Ellis shot at the zombie itself. Ellis' heart shot up to his throat when Rochelle stopped struggling. It seemed to take forever before the zombie fell over dead. Or, re-dead.

Coach bent down to her level and quickly unwrapped her. With her throat no longer constricted, she gasped in as much air as possible. Coughs shook her frame, coughs that sounded painful. Ellis instinctively touched his own throat and winced. Poor thing.

"Let me see," Coach instructed, gently holding her jaw. He gently lift it up and inspect her throat. He sighed in relief and released her. "It's bruised, but you should be fine."

"What was that?" Rochelle croaked, her voice sounding raspy.

"I don't know, but I'd rather not stay and find out," Nick pointed out.

Ellis turned to look at the body of the dead zombie. However, a sickish green smoke cloud was hovering in the air. It was hard to see through the green cloud. Something told Ellis that he did not want to breath in that stuff. He would rather breathe in smoke. Who knows what it would do to a human body. Maybe that was how the virus spread? Shivers crawled down his spine and he turned away. He wants to get as far away from that as possible.

Occasionally, they would find some more zombies, but never a horde. Ellis didn't think they could survive one with the condition they were at. Most of the time, Ellis had to look down at where he was stepping. There was so much crap on the floor, such as glass and body parts. He was glad Rochelle had wrapped his feet, but was worried at the infections that could happen. Would they have to cut his foot off? Or is there any medications that would take care of an infection from zombie guts?

Ellis must have turned a shade green because Rochelle sent him a concerned smile. He returned a weak one in response.

The group found another set of stairs, this time heading down. It seemed as if the smoke was slowly getting thicker. Ellis wasn't sure if it was just him panicking or the fire was actually getting worse. Maybe both. He coughed and waved the air in front of him, hoping that it would help a little. It didn't, but it made him felt better. He didn't realized he was going so slow until after Coach started speaking. Ellis quickly caught up to hear.

"Another damn blockage," Coach growled. Rochelle chewed her lip nervously and Nick swore.

"Could there be another staircase going down?" Ellis asked, peeking over their shoulders.

"Well, it won't hurt trying," Coach said, trying to sound hopeful. There was a fire burning somewhere below them. They didn't know how quick or close it was. If the fire got bad enough, they would be stuck in the burning building. Ellis swallowed nervously. Hopefully that won't happen.

Through the door, the hallway seemed to look the same as the other floors. Zombies here and there and random supplies. Ellis wondered why there were supplies lying around. Wouldn't someone had grabbed them? Or did they died before they could, Ellis thought as he spotted some dead bodies. He walked past them with his gun pointing at them. How could he tell they were a zombie or not? What if they were all zombies? What if this was just a huge trap for them? He shook his head, interrupting himself. Now, Ellis, you're just getting paranoid.

He perked up when he saw the sign above them. "Elevators ahead! We can use the elevators!"

The small group proceeded down the hallway. True to what the sign said, the elevators were indeed there. Not only that, but they seemed to be in working order. However, the idea of the fire getting caught in the elevator made them hesitate. If the elevator jam and the fire burned upwards, it would be like a smokey oven. The idea wasn't appealing. "Well, folks. What should we do?" Coach asked everyone.

"We'd roast and die," Nick said, ever the optimistic.

"But it's better than just standing here," Rochelle added, raising an eyebrow at Nick. Coach nodded.

"Plus, we don't know if there's another clear staircase going down. It would be a lot faster just going down."

Ellis shifted on his feet. He wasn't exactly sure why they weren't supposed to go on elevators during emergencies, so he couldn't add any wise profound wisdom. Instead, he shrugged when everyone turned to him. "Might as well try it. Better than dying doing something than nothing. My Ma always said that."

Reluctantly, everyone stepped into the elevator. Coach pressed the first floor button and the doors closed. It gave a small lurch before slowly going down. Ellis had never been claustrophobic in his life, but it felt as if the elevator walls were closing in on him. He swallowed nervously. The silence made it even worse.

"So, about riding elevators during fires-"

"I swear, if you don't shut up in three seconds, I will shoot your foot off," Nick snapped. Ellis frowned in reply.

"But-"

"I mean it," Nick said calmly. The look in his eyes told Ellis that he was completely serious and capable of doing just that. "I'd rather you shut up than have you jinx us."

As if the elevator was waiting for just that moment, the elevator gave another lurch. It ran smoothly for a few more seconds before lurching again. It continued for three more times before completely dying. It was stuck. If looks could kill, Ellis would be lying in a puddle of his own blood right then. He gave a nervous chuckle.

"Oops?"

**I know not a lot are actually reviewing this, but know that I appreciate it so much! Also, seriously, I'm still working on the plot, so if you want anything to happen, just send it in. I don't mind. Sorry if this chapter is a bit boring. Going to have a little more action in the next few.  
**


	9. Smoke

**HAHA forgot to post this whoops**

For the first few moments, the silence was thick. Everyone was holding their breaths, listening for anything. After a while, everyone sighed in relief. By some miracle, the power was still on and the elevator wasn't plunging them to their immediate death. However, it was jammed and going nowhere. No one was sure what to do. How often did elevators got stuck now these days?

Rochelle watched as Nick started to feel the ceiling for any hatches. There were none. Coach, meanwhile, was pressing any of the buttons, hoping for a response. That also provided with nothing. Now what? She voiced her question and Coach sighed. "We could pry open the doors?" he suggested.

"And then what? There's two doors there. And, apparently, there's no hatch, either," Nick replied with annoyance.

"Coach can use his ax to hold the doors open," Ellis piped in. Nick glared at him, but Coach ignored the conman. He massaged his chin, thinking.

"He has a point and it's worth a try," Rochelle said, speaking to Coach. He nodded. It took him another moment of thinking before he decided.

"Ellis, help me get these doors open." Ellis stepped to the front, eager to help. Rochelle wasn't sure if it was just him being the nice guy he is, or he felt bad about 'jinxing' them. Maybe both. Rochelle took Coach's ax and held it at the ready. Nick, of course, sat back and watched. After a count of three, both Ellis and Coach started pulling the doors away from each other. Painfully slow, the doors opened. True to Nick's word, there were another set of doors in front of them.

Once the first set of doors were opened, Rochelle laid the ax down on it's side. When it was in place, Coach and Ellis released the doors gratefully. An ominous creak came from the ax, but it held. They sighed. One more door to go. Ellis and Coach massaged the life back into their hands before trying again. "Alright, everyone. Once these doors are open, move."

Again, Ellis and Coach pulled the doors apart. The second there was an inch between the two doors, smoke whooshed in, choking everyone. There was a fire somewhere on this floor. Rochelle coughed before covering her mouth and nose with her shirt in hopes of filtering the air. She waited until the doors were opened before stepping through. Nick followed her, also covering his mouth. The smoke was thick and smelt horrible. Ellis and Coach both stepped through before releasing the doors.

There was only one problem now; an alarm was going off.

Any zombies which was capable of moving was now rushing towards them as fast as their decayed bodies allowed them. Ellis shot at one of them before it could reach Coach and it landed with a disgusting plop. Coach shook his head. "We need to get out of here. Ignore the zombies," Coach yelled before coughing a fit. Nick started running first and the rest followed his example.

It was difficult to navigate their way through the smoke. If they crouched, they could breathe and see easier. However, they couldn't shoot or move quickly while crouching. And at that moment, speed was their friend. They made their way to a door and Nick kicked it open. Even more smoke left the room. As they move through the kitchen, Rochelle couldn't help but notice the stoves that were on fire. Was that how the fire started? Were the burning zombies spreading it?

"Careful, y'all. The counter is hot," Coach warned as he climbed over it. There was no other way to reach the door. A loud crash shook the building, killing the alarm. It was the elevator collapsing, Rochelle realized. The chance of them being stuck in that elevator horrified her. They were so close to dying there. She swallowed nervously and kept up with the men.

Nick kicked open the door on the other side of the room. He had no idea if the fire was on the other side or not. It was much safer to kick it instead of using his hands. The situation would turn bad to worse if he burnt his hands. Of course, he also risked opening a door that would spread the fire.

It was as if someone turned on a fan. The air was much cleaner, and they seemed to be outside. After a closer inspection, however, Rochelle realized that they were in a hallway with a glass ceiling. How did this room manage to stay smoke free? It must have been the door.

"Hey! A safe house!" Ellis shouted with glee. Ahead of them was a red door, trademark of the safe houses. It was wide open and unoccupied. Even better, there were no zombies near and in the room. It was like a gift wrapped especially for them. So, of course, something had to go wrong.

An ominous crack echoed throughout the room. A horrible suspicion crawled into Rochelle's mind, but she did everything possible to keep it buried. Please no, please no, please no. Nothing else was in the room. No other reason for the crack. With her heart in her throat, she looked up as the others did so, too. Her suspicions were confirmed. A huge crack was in the glass above them and a huge, fat zombie was standing on it. "Move!"

Later, she realized that it was Nick who had shouted. But at the moment, panic seized her heart, and she started acting on instinct. She ran back to where they came. The second she was no longer under the glass, it came down. Some glass bounced off and got her, but it wasn't her main concern. Her main concern was the foul, thick liquid covering her and her partners.

It was in her eyes, nose, mouth, _everywhere_. It smelled of vomit and was sticky. It wouldn't come off easily and it got everywhere. Rochelle looked up to see all of her companions were in the same situation. Nick, however, looked the worse. Ellis choke back a laugh, but it wasn't successful. In fact, once the chuckle escaped, they kept coming. Ellis was bent over laughing at Nick. Even Rochelle couldn't help a smile from showing. The once white suit of Nick's was no longer as white. Every spot that the liquid had hit was now a bright green colour. Nick's eyes were closed as if trying to keep himself from snapping.

"Does this wash out?" Ellis gasped out between chuckles, wiping the stuff from his eyes.

"Don't," Nick managed between clenched teeth.

The mirth between everyone was interrupted by a familiar screeching. Zombies. Before anyone could say anything, the doors from the kitchens burst open. Zombies, both on fire and not, barged through, screeching. Some limping, some running, some were even crawling. Nick was the first one unloading a round into them. What alerted them to their presence? Was it the sound of the window breaking? The zombies fell as fast as more came.

"To the safe room!" Coach yelled out as he reloaded his gun. Rochelle knocked the zombie away from her before running backwards and shooting. Somehow, she managed to get free of the zombies quicker than the men could. She took care in helping them escape, being sure to shot only when she knew she wouldn't hit them. Nick came free and soon joined her at the doorway of the safe house. "Come on!" Nick yelled.

Coach cried out as something jumped on him, knocking him down to the ground. His gun flew out of his hand and landed a yard or two away. "Help!" he cried out. Ellis couldn't get to him quick enough, struggling with zombies that had him busy. Nick rushed forward, hitting the zombies back with his sword. Rochelle, meanwhile, shot the zombies around them with the rifle she found in the room. With teamwork and effort, the four finally managed to reach the safe house.

Nick slammed the door shut behind them, sliding the bar in place. He backed up from it as the zombies started pounding on the door. No one wanted to waste the bullets shooting them, so they watched with morbid fascination.

A pained groan caught Rochelle's attention. She looked over her shoulder to see Coach leaning against the wall. "Are you okay?" Rochelle asked, stepping closer to the older male. She peered curiously at his chest. Angry red scratches were on his ribs, but fortunately, none of them looked bad. He nodded, confirming her question.

"Yeah, baby girl. I'm good. No idea what it was."

"Looks like you were next on its dinner plan," Nick said, raising an eyebrow at Coach.

Rochelle pulled out her little bag of medical supplies. There were some alcohol pads that she could use. Something was better than nothing. She took them out and started to take care of Coach's wounds. He would hiss once in a while, but was being cooperative. Never before had she been so grateful that it was shallow cuts. They would heal without complications.

Meanwhile, Ellis was examining the door now that the zombies were less active. He made sure not to have his hands sticking out for too long. He gave the door a sharp tug and knocked on it, ignoring the small squeals from a zombie on the ground. "Looks like the door's fireproof. We should be fine if the fire spreads. We can always cover the vents on it if we have to. We have that door," he said, pointing to the other one that looked just like it, "when the smoke gets too much."

"How do you know all of that?" Rochelle asked curiously. It wasn't something a normal person would know. But then, he was from the country.

Ellis grinned at her, happy to talk. "My pal, Keith, was always concerned – or maybe paranoid would be the better word- about stuff like this. He always figured something bad would happen, so he made himself a safe house. No idea how-"

"Look, no one actually cares about Keith, alright?" Nick snapped. "He's probably dead by now," Nick finished and turned his attention back to his suit.

"Too far, Nick," Coach said, his tone deep and threatening. But the damage was done. Ellis moved faster than anyone expected, and the next thing they knew, Ellis had Nick pinned to the wall. Nick grunted, taken by surprised.

"I can take bull and snark all day long, it doesn't matter to me. But you do not insult my friends in front of me," Ellis hissed, putting empathizes on every word. "Kieth is not dead. He'll probably last longer than y'all." Nick couldn't think of anything to say, still stunned by the sudden reaction he got. He wasn't expecting it.

"Ellis, put the man down. He doesn't deserve your time," Coach said with a patient tone. It felt as if everyone was holding their breath when Ellis seemed to ignore Coach. He kept Nick pinned, glaring right into Nick's grey eyes.

"Ellis-"

The southerner sighed and dropped Nick. He stepped back and walked to the far corner of the room. With a sudden loud curse, he kicked over one of the cabinets. Paper went everywhere, making a huge mess. Ellis sank onto a small bench, facing away from everyone. He took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm down.

Rochelle turned back to Nick with a glare. He tried to give a dismissive shrugged, but she could even tell that he was surprised by Ellis' outburst. Ellis seemed to be the type of guy who was laid back and quiet. But then, they've only known each other for a day. In a way, she didn't know anyone here. Suddenly, she felt much more lonely than before.

"We need to set up watches for tonight so everyone can rest. We'll keep going tomorrow since it's getting too late," Coach said. He was trying to get everything back in order, ignoring the obvious tension in the air. Rochelle mentally congratulate him. It must have been hard.

"I'll do the first," Ellis piped up, peering at them over his shoulder.

"Alright, anyone else?"

"I'll take the second shift," Rochelle said. She knew that Nick and Ellis shouldn't be together right now, and Coach needed rest. Coach started to protest, but after one look from Rochelle, he resigned. With a sigh, he stood up and make himself a spot to sleep.

"We'll start at sunrise."

Everyone silently found a spot and lied down to sleep. Rochelle curled up on the couch and stared at Ellis' back in concern. He was sitting on the stool next to the door, watching outside. A gun rested on his lap. She hoped he was okay. Rochelle thought it would take her a while to fall asleep since she had such a crazy day and she felt like her mind was going to explode. But the last thing she remembered was Ellis putting his hat back on before she was asleep. She dreamed of bodies and death.

**Thank you so much for all the support you guys have given me! Quick question. Do you guys prefer these short chapters or longer ones? If I were to write longer ones, it'll take longer between updates. **


	10. Gun Shop

When someone's hand clamped on his shoulder, panic seized his heart and it took all of his self-control to keep himself from bolting. _They found him_. It wasn't until he looked around and recognized the room as the safe house did he calmed down. Right. Zombie apocalypse. Annoyance replaced the panic. He shrugged Coach's hand off his shoulder and sat up. Nick didn't realized that the man actually meant sunrise. The sky was barely lit. Wordlessly, Nick watched as Coach woke up Ellis, Rochelle already awake. She was going through the shelves of the room, looking for anything edible. They may had food stored, but they wanted to conserve as much as possible.

With disgust, Nick stood up as quick as possible and moved to the middle of the room. Somehow, he manged to roll over closer to the make shift toilet. It reeked horribly, and there was no way any of them were touching it. "So, are we doing the whole buddy system if nature calls?" Nick asked. His mood was already sour this morning. But then, maybe that had something to do with waking up next to a toilet.

Coach nodded in reply as he helped Rochelle search the cabinets. "Yeah, good idea. Ro and I are fine, you can go with Ellis," Coach said, not bothering to look at either of them. Nick saw Rochelle give Coach a look that somehow grated on his nerves.

"Whatever. Let's go," Nick addressed towards Ellis. His bladder was more important than arguing. Ellis stood up and walked over to the door and Nick joined him. Together, the men walked outside and into the bushes about 10 yards away. Far enough that no one can hear them, but close enough that they could be seen if anything happened.

Nick ignored Ellis at first as he took care of business. But after a few moments, the silence was starting to annoy Nick. What was the kid so quiet? What was his problem? Memories of last night came to the surface and he closed his mouth. Oh. Who knew that would affect the kid so much? Nick zipped up his pants and turned to Ellis to find that he was already done. Ellis was looking ahead at the path they were going to take today. There were two huge RVs sitting there, parked. It looked as if it belongs to the CEDA. Looks like it was going to be a crappy day already.

Rochelle greeted the two men with a can of beans already opened and heated. It tasted horrible, and Nick wondered if he was going to become sick after eating this. Surely it was past the expiration date. It took all his will not to throw it back up. He needed the nutrition, no matter how horrible it was.

"Nick and I saw two CEDA RVs outside," Ellis mentioned between bites of beans. Nick watched him in disgust. How is he eating that stuff?

"There might be some useful supplies in there," Rochelle mentioned with a smile as she threw her own can away.

"Anything helps," Coach agreed.

The group of four grabbed their stuff and left the safe house an hour later. It had taken them some time to scrap together any ammo they had left. A small swarm of ten zombies came at them, but were easily disposed of. Rochelle made a beeline to one of the RVs and gave the door a tug. It didn't budged even an inch. Coach tried the other one only to have the same results. "Looks like they didn't want to share," Nick said, raising an eyebrow.

Past the two RVs were a line of used port-a-potties against a wall. Trees and Palm trees were here and there, giving the appearance that this was once a nice looking area. However, the bodies lying on the ground ruined the image. To the left, there were grate blockades preventing anything from getting across. Nick looked up at the zombie stuck on top of the blockade, struggling and making noises. There was something pleasing about seeing a zombie struggle.

There were a huge tent past the line of police cars and a bus. With a quick observation, they realized that it was completely empty expect for the pile of trash bags in the corner. Coach turned green at the smell and left before anyone else could. They all silently agreed that it was best not knowing what was in those red bags.

"Hey! I know where we are!" Ellis exclaimed happily. "I know a gun store we can stop at along the way. Get ourselves some _real_ weapons!"

"Hey! Finally you're of use!" Nick said.

"Boy, I don't like your attitude."

"Whatever."

"Guys? Come check this out," Rochelle called out from ahead. She was standing under a huge electric sign that you would see on the side of the road. The three males gathered around it, waiting for the sign to reveal its whole message. "CEDA EVAC. LIBERTY MALL." There was another slide, but the lights were broken, revealing only a few dots. They weren't sure if it was the date or time or both.

"If they're still there, we can get evacuated here instead of going all the way to New Orleans," Coach said. The others nodded and continued walking down the slopped road.

There was an odd blockade in the middle of the road, but Nick wasn't quite sure what the original use for it was. It seemed odd just sitting there. Did someone placed it there? The small group kept walking until they got to another gated blockage. There was no way to climb it and it had no openings. Nick glanced over to the building on their right and noticed a door. "We can go through that building. I'm sure it has another door on the other side." The group walked to the said door.

"I've never been in a 'no trespassing' door before," Ellis whispered with contained excitement. "Are you sure it will go through? What if we get trapped in there cause there's no other exits?" Ellis asked, growing more and more concern with each word. Nick shot him an odd look.

"I thought I was supposed to be the pessimistic person," Nick muttered, ignoring the seed of doubt that Ellis planted. He opened the door to see a face right into his. Swearing, he stumbled into Ellis, causing both of them to fall down. The crouched old thing that surprised Nick gave out a screechy chuckled before lunging at Rochelle. It grabbed the sides of her neck and yanked her head to the left. She lost her balance and stumbled to the left, trying to make up for it. "Get it off!" she yelled.

While Nick and Ellis fumbled with each other, trying to get up, Coach grabbed his rifle and knelt down. He aimed carefully towards Rochelle; one wrong shot could injure if not kill her. At the last second, before the monster took her away, he squeezed the trigger. A loud bang echoed through the alleys and the monster fell dead. Rochelle heaved and bent over, hands to her knees. Coach ran to her and placed a hand on her should. "Are you alright."

Rochelle swallowed a few times before speaking, "I will be."

"What was that?" Ellis asked, finally free from Nick.

"Nothing we've seen before. Let's keep going before something like that comes again." Coach lead the group this time.

Inside the building was dark. Nick wasn't sure if the darkness was caused by the bad bulbs, or the owner of the building was stingy with their money. It made the whole place seem creeper, especially with the brick walls. Coach grabbed the ax to replace the one he had previously. The handle was cracking, causing him discomfort. The group walked down a set of stairs that wrapped around onto the bottom floor.

Ellis walked ahead and walked down the last set of stairs and swung open the door. He poked his head in it and looked around before stepping back. He closed the door with a confused expression. "Nothing was in there." He walked back up the stairs and joined the group. Outside of the door was a highway. To the right was block from debris. They had no choice but to go left.

"There's the gun store sign I told you guys about," Ellis said, pointing upwards to a billboard sign. Indeed, there was an ad for the gun store. They were heading the right direction. They slowly made their way across the island and onto the other side of the highway. With a quick inspection, they climbed over a train car and jumped down on the other side.

A loud sob interrupted the silence. Everyone froze, holding their breath. "Is someone alive?" Ellis asked, eyes wide.

"Even if they are, I don't think we should help them," Nick said. It sounded horrible, but something didn't felt right. Rochelle shot him a 'typical' look with an eyebrow raised. He was going to reply with something not quite G rated when Ellis interrupted them.

"Come on, guys! Let's figure out who it is. I think they're in the bushes."

"Wait!" Coach hissed, trying to stop him. The youngest jog over to the bushes and turned on his flashlight. He slowly looked around, trying to find the owner of the crying. The sobbing quickly turn into snarls and growls. It took a second for Ellis to realize what that meant. When he did realized, he stumbled back and dropped his flashlight, nearly tripping over himself. A loud screech came from the bushes and Ellis hightailed away from there.

Nick wondered if the thing that stepped out of the bushes has once been human. It was female, judging by its anatomy. She was completely bone and skin. There was no obvious mortal wounds and she looked fairly human except for the colour and her hands. She looked immensely malnourished and her fingers reached almost a foot long, giving the image of her having claws. Or, maybe, they were claws.

She screamed again and ran towards Ellis with a surprisingly amount of speed. "Shoot it!" Ellis cried, trying to stay away from her claws. The shout woke Nick from his shock and he raised his gun, releasing a clip into the dead female. Or, re-dead. Whatever. The other three fellow suit.

Ellis tripped with a cry. He landed hard on his back that knocked the air from his lungs, stunning him for a few moments. Those few moments was all the female needed to get to him. She stood over him and slashed one of her claws down towards him. Her fingers racked across his chest, ripping his shirt and tearing into his flesh. He cried out with pain before shooting it some more, using his other arm to protect his already injured chest. After another clip from Nick's gun, the thing finally fell over dead.

Rochelle ran to Ellis, crying out his name. He sat up with a groaned and looked down. Cuts were on his chest and on his left forearm from when he protected himself. Nick grimaced; they looked painful. He watched as Rochelle helped Ellis up.

"I'm sorry for interrupting this sweet moment, but we gotta keep moving," Nick said. Rochelle turned to him with a glare and opened her mouth to argue when Coach spoke up.

"I hate to say this, but he's right. More will come. We need to find the next safe house before we can stop and rest."

Rochelle closed her mouth with an audible snap before turning on her heel and continuing on. Nick watched as Ellis ran up to Rochelle. "It's fine, Ro. I'll wait," Ellis said with a smile. Something about that irked Nick to no end.

Coach lead and Nick took the rear. Ellis was walking with a limp, and Rochelle kept checking on him. As far as Nick was concerned, the boy won't bleed to death anytime soon, so he was fine. This building was also dark and made of bricks. There was nothing in the room worth value, so everyone took the stairs. It lead up to a small room that had a door leading out. Coach and Nick took care of the zombie stragglers before everyone grabbed the supplies. Nick wasn't sure who was leaving out supplies like this, but he was sure grateful towards them.

"Hey, Coach?" Ellis asked suddenly. Coach stopped loading his gun and glanced up at Ellis with a questioning look. "Why are you limping?"

That caught Nick's attention. Coach was limping? Why? He wasn't so much as concerned about the 'why' but more of the, is it going to get in the way and slow them down? Survival of the fittest. And if they were going to survive through this, then they need to be fast. He watched the two men closely, waiting for the answer.

Coach sat the gun on the table before turning completely to Ellis. "It was a sport injury years ago. Never healed quite right and never had the money to fix it. If you're concerned about it slowing me down, then don't be." Coach said, addressing the last part to Nick. Nick scoffed and looked away. He could hear Ellis shifting nervously.

The group walked out of the miniature safe room. They were standing on a bridge like path, one side looking over the highway. Unfortunately, but not surprising, in front of them was another block. "What's with all the blockades," Rochelle muttered to herself. Rochelle and Coach started snipping the zombies on the highway, and Nick and Ellis took care of the ones that were climbing up on the highway. One section of the bridge's rails were broken. Rows of port-a-potties were sitting underneath them, next to another CEDA RV. "Of course, the only way down is climbing," Rochelle sighed. Even Nick felt a little bit sympathetic. What a time to be afraid of heights.

"Hey! There's that one guy!" Ellis suddenly pointed out. There was another billboard sign a little away, but visible from where they stood. "Jimmy Gibbs JR.!"

"Who?" Rochelle and Nick asked at the same time.

"Why, one of the most famous racing car guys!" Coach said, also getting excited. "Very nice car _and_ guy."

"Maybe he's still at the mall!" Ellis said with a huge smile before marching off down the highway. Nick raised an eyebrow but kept quiet. After last night episode, he had a feeling that maybe it would be best to keep it to himself.

They walked down the highway for about a block before they switched to the sidewalk. It wrapped around, following the highway until it reached the far building. At that point, the group opened the door – albeit hesitantly – and climbed up the stairs. It seemed as if few zombies were able to make it through the door. Nick got an idea and closed the door behind them. Who knows how much time that could buy them. They got to another bridge, but this time, they could see the mall even closer in the distance. Maybe they can make this.

"It's one of those spitting things!" Rochelle called out. She quickly shot it, somehow managing to get a perfect head shot. The head fell back, no longer supported by the decaying neck. The body slumped down to the ground. Green goo, much like the stuff Ellis stepped in before, oozed out of the body and onto the floor. They were stuck until the goo dissolved.

A loud screech echoed as a horde ran up the stairs. "Perfect," Nick said sarcastically. It was difficult fighting a group this big with people you barely know. They weren't able to get into sync and sometimes they kept missing. At one point, Ellis turned around to swing his bat to realize too late that it was Coach and not a zombie. Ellis tried to change the aim, but there was only so much he could do at the last moment. The bat slammed into Coach's forearm. Coach shouted in pain. "Boy! Do I look like one of _them_?" he shouted, still paying attention to the other zombies.

Ellis cringed and muttered sorry.

Finally, the goop was gone and they could continue on their way. They climbed back down the stairs and onto the road. Everywhere around them was blocked except a store. A huge, yellow sign was hanging in front. 'Whitaker Gun Shop'.

"Huh. I'll be damned, there really is a gun shop here," Nick said softly, eyes wide in surprised. The windows were intact and boarded. The doors were closed and they could see everything in there. Nothing has been stolen or damaged. It almost seemed too go to be true. He noticed Ellis smirking at him.

"Told ya."

**apparently the universe was against me posting this. This is probably one of the more difficult ones uuuugh. Hope you guys enjoy it otherwise! And Happy Holidays!  
**


	11. Cola

Coach ignored the throbbing ache in his arm as he loaded his new military rifle. He knew the boy hadn't meant to hit him like that, but a move like that was dangerous. If it had crippled Coach, he would be out of commission. And during a zombie apocalypse, out of commission is a good way of saying 'dead'. If he got after Ellis, there was a chance of scaring the boy and ruining their new friendship. But if he didn't, it could happen again. And next time, the victim may not be so lucky. He sighed as he clicked the safety on. Being the leader is hard. How did he ended up as the leader?

He turned to the rest of the group. Rochelle had grabbed the hunting rifle. The small rifle seemed to suit her and she looked comfortable in it. Maybe she had some experience with it? Nick was shifting the weight of a semi-automatic shotgun, and Ellis had an AK47 strapped in on his back. Examples of how everyone was different from the other.

Once everyone was ready, he walked to the door at the back of the shop. It was locked and there was a speaker with a button. He held the button and said, "Hello?" before releasing it. It was quiet for a few moments before a crackling noise could be heard.

"Hello there."

Coach glanced at everyone else before pressing the button again. "We need to get through this door and continue on our way to the mall," he explained.

"I've barricaded myself on the roof with ample provisions." Before Coach could ask how did that have to do with anything he just said, the man continued. "But in my haste, I forgot cola. So, here is my proposition: If you go find me some cola at the Yonder Food store, I'll clear a path to the mall for you."

"What," Nick deadpanned. Ellis and Rochelle shared a look of disbelief. Rochelle walked to the speaker and glanced at Coach for permission. He nodded and watched. She pressed the button and said, "All right, sir. We'll go get your cola. But you better not try to weasel out of this," Rochelle threatened. Her eyes narrowed in distrust.

"I've been on this world for sixty years, ma'am, and I've weasled _nothing_ from nobody." The man, Whitaker, replied sounding indignant. "You got my word as a gentleman."

Coach stepped back as the door swung open revealing a set of stairs leading up to a balcony. One by one, they walked up the stairs, the hallway being too small to walk next to someone. The balcony had a nice view of the parking lot, a shop, and in the distance, they could see the mall. They were so close. Hope started to grow but Coach quietly squished it. If he let confidence get to his head for just one second, it could screw up their whole plan. Better to be realistic than hopeful. He leaned forward on the rail, trying to get a better look of the shop. The sign read Yonder Food Store, and some of the letters were burnt out.

"If that store is locked, there's a good chance there will be an alarm," Nick pointed out. Coach didn't want to know how the man would know this.

"Someone is going to be too busy holding the cola to shoot," Rochelle added. Coach hesitated, wondering if Ellis had something else to add, but nothing came. With a sigh he turned back to his group. "Nick and Ro, I want you two to go get the cola. Watch each others' backs," he said, searching for any disagreements. When he saw none, he continued. "Ellis and I will be up here, helping you guys out. Better to have an eagle view than getting swarmed."

"Hope you're a good runner," Rochelle said to Nick, raising an eyebrow. He scoffed in reply and started walking down the stairs ahead of her.

Coach and Ellis watched as the two walked down the stairs and through the parking lot to the store. For some reason, there weren't many zombies around. Maybe that guy has been taking care of them, Coach wondered as he glanced at the door to his right. He quickly diminished the thought; that guy only cares about his soda.

He couldn't hear Rochelle or Nick talking if they were. They were too far away. He would only be able to hear them if they were to yell. Coach watched at the two looked at each other, nodded, and then grabbed the door handle. Nick tugged and . . . nothing happened. He watched as Nick tugged at the door again and having the same results. The door was locked.

Rochelle turned to them and was about to yell to them when an alarm was sounded. A quick look told Coach that Nick had broken the glass doors instead. Whatever works.

It was five minutes before Nick and Rochelle left the store building, cola in hand. Coach breathed out in relief before focusing on the zombies swarming them. Rochelle was staying by Nick's side, bashing the heads of any zombie that comes near. Occasionally Nick had to use the container of cola to fight them back. Coach kept an eye on them while Ellis watched Coach's back. It was important to work as a team because everyone was relying on each other.

When Nick and Rochelle was almost to the stairs, when everything was working out, Nick tripped. He landed hard on his knees and rolled, the soda flying from his hands. Rochelle skidded to a stop and turned to assist Nick. However, Nick shouted at her, shooing her. "Grab the soda and go, I'm fine!"

Coach carefully sniped any zombies near Nick while he pulled himself up. Meanwhile, Ellis ran down the stairs to help Rochelle as she grabbed the soda and ran. She ran to the door and dropped it in the slot that was sitting out of the door. The second the cola was in, it shut. She turned and pulled out her gun. Nick was limping up the stairs while Ellis protected him. She shot at the zombies that were swarming around Coach.

After a good solid ten minutes of doing this, the wave of zombies was killed, leaving the area. Coach checked up on everyone before walking to the door and pounding at it. "You got your soda! Now keep your side of the bargain!" Coach demanded.

Before Nick could make a hurtful comment about Whitaker, a loud boom was heard, shaking the whole building. Everyone stumbled, trying to catch their balance. "What was that?" Ellis asked, eyes wide in shock.

"Guys! Look!" Rochelle said, pointing over the balcony. The three men gathered around her.

True to his word, Whitaker had shot at the gas truck that had been blocking their way. A huge hole was gaping in the middle of the truck and burning debris were scattered here and there. The group stared at the mess in stunned silence.

"Well. He sure knows how to make a path," Nick commented. Coach shook his head in disbelief and a short laugh escaped from Rochelle.

"Let's go, we're almost there," Coach said.

Coach lead, Rochelle next, and then Ellis and Nick. They walked down the stairs and towards the wreckage. There were occasional zombies here and there, attracted from the loud sound. But after the event with the cola, it seemed peaceful and quiet. Nick and Rochelle still had adrenaline running through them, and they were paying attention to any tiny sound they could hear.

A sign was ahead of them, similar to the one they had seen before. It pointed to the parking lot where the evacuation was going to be. The sight that greeted them, however, was not what they expected. Tents were to their left and right, but there was no movement. Full trash bags were everywhere, oozing liquids that Coach was afraid to identify. "Where is everyone?" Rochelle asked quietly. Coach's stomach sank to his feet. Were they too late?

"Maybe- Maybe they went inside?" Ellis spoke softly. "Maybe they decided that out here was too risky? Maybe they thought it'd be safer inside . . . " His voice slowly got quieter and quieter until he stopped speaking. No one believed what he said, however, and couldn't agree with him.

Nick swore loud and violently, kicking an empty bin. "This was a waste of our time and we should have never come here." Anger dripped off his every word. Coach noticed Ellis wincing at what he was saying. Wasn't this Ellis' idea? It felt too long ago and Coach couldn't remember.

"We should still go in the mall, though." Rochelle spoke up.

"Why the hell should we?" Nick snarled at her.

"Because we can still get supplies there. Better than nothing," Coach intervened. Nick gave him a look that was hard to read before sighing and wiping his face.

"Fine. Let's go."

The group, feeling disheartened, walked to the back doors and opened it. It lead into a small safe room. No one was in there, not even bodies, but it didn't cheer them up. At least it was warmer in here and there was food.

"Y'all go to sleep," Coach spoke up, eyeing everyone. "I'll wake Ro when it's her turn. Rest up."

Everyone silently agreed, choosing a corner and falling asleep there. Coach seated himself on a stool by the door and glanced outside at the setting sun. He ran a hand down his face and sighed. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

**The excuse I have for not writing is ridiculous. Since the last chapter, I have had three flues that lasted for two weeks each, two general colds, and a bad sinus infection. And on top of that, I visited my cousin in February, and I JUST finished moving yesterday. But I AM BACK. Thank you for your patience! This chapter was hard to write and I'm sure there's more mistakes in here than usual. I apologize and will do better next time. **


	12. Dreaded Noises and Dreaded News

**I have lost all motivation for this story, and almost writing in general. I'm leaving the country to live abroad in two months and I'm just frankly too busy and stressed to write. I'm really sorry for the wait guys. I'm putting this on hiatus right now. Maybe in the future when I come back, I'll finish this. But until then, have this. It's been sitting on my hard drive for months. Anyways. So sorry guys. Hope you enjoy this little bit **

"Ellis!"

Ellis woke with a start. The urgency in her voice snapped him into full alert. He looked at the door and around the room for anything that was out of place. When he found nothing, not even anyone else awake, he grew confused. He turned his attention back to the woman over him. Her face seemed pale and her eyes were wide. Something was bothering her, but he couldn't tell what.

"What?" he asked with concern. "What is it?"

She bit her lip and glanced at the other guys before she looked back at him. "I need to use the restrooms and I need and a partner."

Ellis furrowed his eyebrows. "We all went before we locked up. Why do you-"

"Now," Rochelle stressed the word. It looked as if she was hinting something to him, but he had no idea what it was.

"Fine, fine," Ellis said with a sleepy mumble. He rolled out of his bed and grabbed his shotgun. Rochelle was already at the door, waiting for him. He wished he knew what was bothering her so much. Maybe she just really had to go? The two opened the door and moved the shelf out of the way. It was working as their makeshift door lock. Once Rochelle and Ellis were out of the door way, Ellis moved the shelf back.

They ventured to the restrooms that were close to their safe house. However, instead of going straight to the bathroom like Ellis had expected, Rochelle took a sudden turn to her left down an aisle.

"Ro? What are you doing?" Ellis hissed at her, afraid to speak any louder. They do not need any zombies chasing them right now. Less than five minutes later, Rochelle stepped out of the aisle holding something close to her chest and avoiding eye contact. What- oh. Oooh. Suddenly it made sense to Ellis. He didn't comment as she walked past him and into the women's room. She was on her menstrual cycle. He cringed in sympathy. What a time to have one.

Five more minutes and she was out, still holding the bag of . . . whatever females used. She was still avoiding his eyes, obviously embarrassed about the whole thing. They walked back to the room in silence. Not a word was spoken until they were back inside of the safe house and Ellis was about to go back to bed.

"Thanks, Ellis," Rochelle whispered. Ellis hummed in reply before falling asleep.

Ellis woke up to the sounds of Nick complaining about a smell. It was then that Ellis smelled it. He sat up with a grunt of disgust. Coach glanced at him. It smelled like all the dead bodies were starting to decay. Or, maybe it just reached that point of decay where the smell was the strongest. Either way, it was disgusting.

Rochelle sat down next to him and handed him a can. "Think you can eat?" she asked with a smile. He gave her a weak smile back before taking the can from her. The contents were refried beans that were more chunky beans than the smooth bean paste. It was tasteless and disgusting. He was sure that once this was all over, he'll never touch another can of beans. If, that is, they make it. Ellis swallowed the lump of bean paste. It suddenly felt much heavier, like a weight sliding down his stomach.

"Hurry up, y'all. I wanna get a move on while it's still early," Coach called out.

Ellis swallowed the last chunk before throwing it in their little trash can. Even in the end of the world he still couldn't bring himself to litter. His Ma would be so proud. The group stepped out and took in their surroundings. The mall was a dump, but it was otherwise surprisingly clean. There were dead bodies and blood everywhere, furniture was out of place and broken, but there were no trash. It was weird, especially comparing it to the streets outside. Most of the lights were broken, giving the mall a creepy atmosphere.

He watched as Coach stepped in front and Nick lingered in the back. It seemed the men had finally accepted their positions. That was good, that meant less arguments. Nick stopped suddenly and shined his flashlight on a shelf that was next to them. "Hey, Ellis. What size shoes do you have?"

Ellis instinctively looked down at his socked feet before answering. "'Bout 7 and a half. Why?"

Instead of replying, Nick tossed a box to Ellis. Ellis fumbled with it a bit before he finally managed to get a solid hold on it. Inside of the box were brand new tennis shoes. With a huge grin Ellis sat on the ground with the box down and quickly laced the shoes on. They were new and bound to give him blisters, but he finally had a pair of shoes. "Thanks, man!" Ellis happily said to Nick. The old man scoffed and looked away with a 'whatever'. Ellis didn't care. His poor feet finally had shoes again.

For the first ten minutes, he tried his best not to step on anything that would stain his shoes. It was about the time he saw all the different dead bodies littering the floor that he gave up. There was no physical way for him not to stain his shoes. He gave a defeated sigh before following the rest of the group.

"Coach? Maybe should lay off the doughnuts?" Nick called out to the older man ahead. Coach stopped and turned to Nick, eyebrows furrowed.

"What are you talking about, boy?"

Nick's face of disgust quickly changed to confusion. "I thought it was you huffing. . . " he said, unsure. He looked at everyone of the group. No one was huffing.

"That's not me," Coach said."

"If it isn't, then who is?"

"Or what," Ellis piped up. Nick glared at him.

"This isn't a game-"

A loud roar interrupted them. Something heavy was running on the floor above them, vibrating the floor they were standing on. It roared again. It was coming downstairs. The group ran to the bottom of to see what it is.

Ellis don't think it was ever originally human. And if it was, then they were originally taking steroids. There was no possible way a human body could ever become that large and disproportionate. Even boomers made more sense than this time. Its legs and head were so tiny while the chest and arms were broad. Its arms were larger than Ellis' body. A joke about skipping leg day came to mind, and he filed it for later. It paused at the midway of the stairs when it saw them. It squinted its beady eyes, studying them. Maybe it was blind.

"What the hell is that," Nick breathed silently.

It let out a loud roar and ran down the stairs at them. "Run!" yelled Rochelle. The group scattered, all shooting at the monster. Ellis watched in disgust as the bullets either bounced off of it, or only went in by an inch. Not enough to hurt the monster.

Ellis' heart jumped to his throat when the monster focused on him. He lumped to him, easily catching up. Ellis ran backwards, tripping over his feet and shooting the thing. The next thing he knew, a heavy weight slammed into his side and he was sent flying. It didn't last long before he slammed into the wall and fell on the ground. He was sure his head had slammed into the wall, but at the moment, he wasn't sure. Air didn't seemed to be going into his lungs and everything was swimming. When he finally could breathe, he was gasping in air like a fish. He used the counter in front of him to help him stand up.

He stood up just in time to see Nick flying towards the shelves. He crashed into the shelves and they fell on top of him. He wasn't moving anymore. Angry and very much afraid, Ellis switched his attention to the monster. It was chasing Coach at the moment while Rochelle shot it. They must have been doing damage to the thing because it was bleeding.

Ellis got a really dumb idea. But it might just work. He swallowed nervously and watched it. He waited until its back was to him before he start running.


End file.

Left 4 Dead, Horror, Hurt-Comfort