The Unforgiven
By: esmtz
Ellis had no idea where he was going. All he knew was that he wanted to find a zombie that could easily and very painfully take care of him. He was still having trouble breathing as he walked past a couple of buildings from the city that the zombies had managed to take over. Ellis kept thinking about what he had said to Nick. It was killing him to know that Nick died thinking that he hated him. He stumbled slightly as he felt himself starting to feel dizzy.
"You don't think about anyone but yerself! You would have left us all to die if it wasn't for the fact that you needed us to keep you alive! I don't even know why the fuck I saved you from falling off the bridge considerin you definitely would have done that to any one of us!" Ellis had yelled.
Nick had looked at him obviously hurt by what he had said and remembering the look on his face only made Ellis want to throw up.
'Describes me more then it does him.' Ellis thought remembering how he had been the one abandoning Nick.
"Ellis, Nick wanted me to tell you that he was sorry about what he told you. He didn't mean any of it. He just thought that you hating him would make it easier for you to deal once he was gone. Also, he's not mad at you, sweetie. He really wanted you to know that. He also wanted to tell you how proud he was of you for being able to stand up for yourself the way you did." Rochelle said.
'I don't get it. How the hell was he not mad at me? All I did was yell at him and accuse him of bein a selfish asshole.' Ellis thought to himself sadly.
Ellis started shaking again as the image of Nick's lifeless body came back into his mind. He kept trying to get air into his body, but he was still struggling as he shut his eyes tight and came to a stop next to an old store. He leaned against it for support.
'Well if a zombie doesn't kill me mah body sure will.' Ellis thought while trying to think about something else other then Nick.
He couldn't do it. All he could think about was Nick's dead body and himself kissing him hoping to get some kind of reaction from him. Ellis opened his eyes as he forced himself to keep going as he already started to feel himself break down again.
"I can't do it, Nick. I can't keep goin let alone breathe without you." Ellis said already thinking about what Nick would have told him if he was there with him.
Ellis could almost hear him in his head making him smile slightly.
"I really wanted to tell you how much I loved you instead of sayin the things I said. I just wish you knew that I don't hate you, Nick."
Ellis sighed as his vision started to darken. He could barely make out the sounds of someone crying and he assumed that a witch was nearby. He started walking where he thought he heard the cries coming from. It didn't take long for the others to figure out which way Ellis had went. They had found his hat on the other side of the fence and immediately climbed over it.
"I'm surprised no ones out here like they were when we got here." Rochelle said watching as Nick picked up the hat.
"The only reason all those people were out here earlier was because there was quite a few rescue vehicles makin their way to the station. I suppose now they're not expectin anyone else." Coach told her.
"How the hell does he not notice that he dropped his hat?" Nick whispered to himself.
"Nick?" Rochelle asked.
Nick shook his head.
"I'm just surprised that he left his hat here."
"Maybe he didn't notice." Rochelle said.
"That's what worries me. He wouldn't go anywhere without it." Nick said as he put it inside his jacket pocket.
"At least we know where the boy went. It looks like they sectioned this part off probably because of the zombies." Coach said looking at all the deserted buildings that were ahead of them.
"Why else would they do that?" Rochelle replied.
"Look just check out the first few buildings for guns alright? Catch up to me when you're done. I'm going after Ellis." Nick told them before he started running.
"He's right. We need to make this quick. Let's just stay together you got that baby girl?" Coach asked looking at her.
Rochelle nodded.
"No need to tell me twice."
Lucky enough for them they managed to find an assault rifle and a combat shotgun inside the first house they went in.
"I'm taking the assault rifle." Rochelle said picking it up.
"I'm going with the combat shotgun." Coach replied.
"Ok let's hurry to catch up with Nick."
"It ain't gunna be a problem with all the yellin he's doin." Coach said sighing, "He's gunna alert all the zombies to us."
"I think that might be the least of our problems, Coach." Rochelle told him.
They left the house and made their way to Nick who hadn't gotten very far and instead was standing in the middle of the road calling out Ellis's name.
"Boy, yellin for him ain't gunna help one bit. He's probably not gunna hear you." Coach told him.
"What makes you think that Ellis won't hear me, Coach?" Nick asked angrily.
"Nick, he wasn't hearing us when we tried to talk to him. His only concern was to get you to look and talk to him, but now that he thinks that you're dead he's probably going to think he's imagining it." Rochelle replied.
"So how the fuck are we supposed to find him?"
They heard a noise coming from nearby making them aware of the fact that they were close to a witch. Her cries started to turn into growls and without a second thought they ran inside the building that they thought the witch was in. Nick's eyes went wide with fear when he saw that Ellis was on the floor unconscious and the witch was just about to tear into him.
"ELLIS! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Nick yelled menacingly as he ran towards them.
The witch managed to start tearing into him, blood going everywhere, before Nick kicked her hard enough to make her stumble backwards.
"Nick, move!" Coach yelled.
Nick moved out of the way to let Coach and Rochelle shoot at her. He watched as she gave one last cry and then went towards Ellis and fell to his knees beside him. Nick swallowed.
"Oh god, Ellis…" Nick whispered.
Nick gently lifted Ellis into his arms and cradled him with his left arm while lightly tapping at his face with his right hand.
"Ellis, wake up. It's me Nick. I'm right here." Nick said.
To his relief Ellis groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He looked up at him and a huge smile spread across his face.
"Nick."
Nick laughed.
"Yeah, overalls it's me."
Ellis's smile didn't last long as he instead looked at him with sadness in his eyes.
"I'm sorry…" Ellis whispered.
"For what, Ellis?" Nick asked looking at him worriedly.
"For sayin all that stuff that I said about you. Yer not selfish and I know you never would have left any of us to die. Nick, I didn't want you to…" Ellis's eyes were filling up with tears.
"Overalls, hey I already know all that." Nick told him giving him a small smile.
"Y-Yer not mad?"
"Why would I be? I was the one who was trying to get you mad at me not the other way around."
"Still I shouldn't have said what I said. If anyone deserves that accusation it should've been me. I was the one who almost left you to die, Nick and I also know that I never really helped out when y'all needed it especially you." Ellis said wincing in pain as he felt himself grow tired.
Nick shook him slightly as he put his right hand over Ellis's wound.
"Stay with me, Ellis. First off Coach was the one who wanted to leave me behind. Second you did help us out, man. With all the pain pills and helping us when we were getting attacked you helped us out a lot." Nick told him.
"It didn't feel like it. It felt a lot more like I was being a burden." Ellis replied sadly.
"You were never a burden."
"But you always had to look after me. I was always gettin mahself into trouble."
"You want to know why, Ellis? It's because I wanted to. Normally I hate kids, but you're different." Nick said.
"I ain't no kid, Nick!" Ellis said turning red.
"Yes you are, overalls considering you don't know how to take care of yourself." Nick replied half joking and half serious.
Ellis didn't reply as he felt himself grow more tired. He started to close his eyes as he felt Nick shaking him again.
"Ellis, don't." Nick said as he slightly started to panic.
"Don't what, Nick?" Ellis whispered.
Nick hesitated.
"Nick?"
"Don't you fucking dare die on me!" Nick replied his voice quivering.
Ellis frowned.
"What are you talkin about? Aren't we already…"
"No, overalls. Rochelle and Coach brought me back with the defibrillator. We barely got here just in time before that fucking bitch could really hurt you. What the fuck were you thinking, Ellis?" Nick asked.
Ellis looked up at him wide eyed.
"Really yer alive?" Ellis asked.
Nick sighed.
"Yes I'm…"
Ellis had suddenly sat up, turned around, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. Nick pulled back and looked at him in horror.
"Ellis, your wound!"
Blood was starting to come out again pretty fast as Nick tried to get Ellis to lie down again.
"Lie back down, Ellis or you're going to bleed out!" Nick told him before turning to see where Coach and Rochelle went, "Coach!"
"I don't care, Nick. I'm just so happy to see that yer alive!" Ellis smiled tears running down his face from both the pain and how happy he was feeling.
"Well I do otherwise bringing me back would have been totally pointless!" Nick told him.
Ellis frowned.
"Why would you say that, Nick?"
"Because I have no reason to be here if you're gone, Ellis!" Nick replied.
"Well sure you do. You've got Ro. Sorry I guess I was just so excited I didn't think before I kissed you." Ellis blushed, "I just…needed you to be with me, Nick. I couldn't breathe without you here and I ended up passin out right here just as I saw the witch."
"Ellis, if that fucking witch had killed you I don't…" Nick sighed, "I don't know what I would have done."
"Well, nuthin. Ro would have…"
"You don't get it do you? I don't care about her like the way I do about you. Please just lie back down."
Ellis looked at him worried and nodded.
"Ok. Nick?"
Nick sighed.
"Yeah?"
"I love you. I just wanted you to know that so please…don't leave me like that again." Ellis said turning red as he started to lie back down on the floor.
Before he could completely lie back down Nick grabbed him, held him in his arms, and kissed him.
"As long as you stay with me, overalls." Nick replied smiling at Ellis's flushed face.
Ellis nodded before Nick gently laid him back down on the floor. They continued kissing just as Coach and Rochelle re-entered the room both of them carrying a health kit. Rochelle smiled at them as she left her health kit in the room before both her and Coach left again. Nick pulled away from him and smiled at him.
"Don't get used to me saying this all the time, but I love you too." Nick said.
Ellis smiled at him.
"Hey, uh are you gunna get that?" Ellis asked nodding in the direction of the health kit.
"Yeah and as soon as you're feeling better and once we find an actual place to stay in without all the zombies attacking us…"
"Hell yeah! Let's do it!"
Nick laughed as he got up and went to get the health kit.
"Easy there, overalls. I said once you're feeling better."
"I'm feelin better already!" Ellis replied.
Nick snorted.
"Yeah right. Now keep still while I fix you up."
"I'm serious, Nick!"
"Ellis."
"Ok." Ellis sighed.
"By the way, overalls I'm not letting you out of my sight while we're still out here." Nick told him.
"Well I'm gunna be the one to heal you from now on too." Ellis replied.
"I don't have a problem with that."
The End
Author's note: The story is finally over. I pretty much already said what I wanted to say in my last chapter so I guess this is goodbye. Unless I can't come up with anything for a different game, TV show, movie, etc I'll probably do another l4d story. Anyway bye.
esmtz aka Sarah