100 Theme Challenge: L4D2

Hey, not much to say about this except 25 is related around I thought I have every time I see a fence or a wall in-game :'D

Enjoy! :)

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21. War-

"Hey, Nick?" Drawing one knee to his chest, Ellis rested his chin atop it as he watched Nick who was sitting on a table, reloading his magnum.

Pausing, Nick looked up briefly. "Yes?"

"You know the military folks, when d'you reckon they're gonna get here, and if they ain't, where are they?"

Nick's expression became unreadable for a second, before he shrugged, going back to his work. "I highly doubt they'll rescue us, that's why we're going to New Orleans. As for where they are, either 6 feet under and dead as a doornail, pulled back to a safe zone and can't be fucked to do anything, or they're out there with the rest of those infected bastards." Folding his arms, Nick nodded in the direction of the safe room door to emphasise his point.

"…oh. So it's all up to us really, huh?"

"Exactly."

"…Nick." A silence, so Ellis took that as a cue to continue. "Nick, am I your friend?"

Nick looked slowly up at him. Well, he thought, this certainly hadn't been the question he was expecting.

"Well I don't hate you Ellis, and you're an alright guy I suppose." Ellis's face brightened up like it was Christmas, and Nick felt an incoming headache heading his way as he braced himself for the next thing to spout from Ellis's naïve brain.

"So it hasn't been that bad, the military not saving us and all. 'Cause if you think about it, I'd never have met'chu, and we wouldn't be friends. Besides, I really wouldn't want to have gone through this alone."

And for Ellis's sake – at least he told himself that – he nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, me neither."

22. Mother-

Wiping blood off of his hand onto the grass, Nick's eyes swept the street as he looked for any more infected. It was the middle of the day, and the team had been navigating the city using a map they had found in a tourist information centre. Suddenly, he noticed they were hillbilly-less and looked back at Ellis, who had stopped in front of a bakery. Doubling back, Nick walked over. The kid seemed to be in a daze, so he shook Ellis's shoulder lightly.

"...Ma." Ellis sighed, unable to tear his gaze away from the window. Following his gaze, and expecting to see a zombie, or perhaps a destroyed corpse inside the shop, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he saw neither.

What he did see in the window, however, were - very stale but still recognisable – cookies.

Cookies. Yes, Ellis was staring at cookies.

"We don't have time to stop if we want to make it to the safehouse by nightfall Ellis." The younger man looked like he was bursting to speak, so instead, he steered Ellis away from the bakery by his shoulders, adding: "And whatever it is, you can tell me on the way there."

Ellis's sombre, grave expression became a little happier at this extraordinary opportunity, and immediately he leapt into his tale.

"Well Nick, when I was little, ma used to bake my brothers, sisters and I cookies in the summer 'cause that was when we got to see her most. She was always a real arty, cooky (Nick inwardly cringed at the butchering of the English language) sorta ma, but never really got the time to express herself o'course 'cause she was always busy. Only at Easter and durin' the summer break and Christmas…" Ellis babbled on, cheered up now.

Sigh…Nick really didn't know why he had offered to listen, but he supposed he'd prefer a bubbly Ellis to a depressed one.

23. Cat-

It was just one of those things they had noticed, and at first it had confused and surprised them. There were no animals anywhere at all. One time, they had passed by a farm and saw that all of the livestock, pets and wildlife had keeled over and died, almost exactly where they had been standing. It was like a giant child had grown bored and swept it's toys over with a single hand. It didn't really bother Nick, but he and the others knew they had to move fast because Ellis was bound to get upset over the horses, or-

"Nick!" Nick face palmed, and turned slowly.

"Yes?" He asked through gritted teeth.

Ellis's eyes were wide and wet as he held the stiff and half-eaten body of a cat in his hands.

"SHIT Ellis! Put the cat down and come on, that's disgusting!"

"But this looks like Millie-!"

"Tell me as we're walking."

Shit, he'd done it again, hadn't he!

"Okay well, our neighbour..."

24. Time/ Want-

7:00 am. The team had decided to hole up in an abandoned house that (thankfully) had running water still. The electricity only worked in the kitchen and upstairs bathroom, but the team's flash lights and some candles Rochelle had found were put to good use.

Upstairs in the bathroom, Nick was just finishing his routine of straightening up his appearance in front of the mirror, something he did every day. Although he knew that there was the potential for his suit to be ruined (again), and for him to be in an even worse state then if he'd jumped in a bog, he was determined to keep up with his morning rituals. It made life in this apocalypse seem less…chaotic.

Just as he was checking himself for the final time, Ellis strolled into the bathroom. His clothes were scruffy and he had the biggest bed head going on that Nick had ever seen. Brown, slightly curly locks stuck out in every direction, and Ellis yawned as he ran a hand through them, mussing it further.

"G'mornin' Nick." Leaning back against the doorframe, he looked at his friend through half lidded, sleepy eyes.

"Morning Ellis." Nick replied, still looking at the hick's reflection in the mirror in front of him. He tsked, and turned away from his now 'perfect' self to Ellis's messy figure.

Some things just never changed.

25. Trouble Lurking-

"Shh! I hear a Witch!" Rochelle hissed, switching off her flashlight and proceeding into the dark building cautiously. Coach followed soon after, then Nick, but Ellis remained outside.

"Um, Ro…?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"Should we really be goin' seekin' out Witches 'cause I'd rather let her be…" Gulping, Ellis took a step away from the door.

"We have to get through this building, Ellis. Any better ideas?" Nick folded his arms, and Ellis looked over to the right.

"Well…We could always climb that fence… it's not that high." Staring at the chain link fence, Ellis hummed in his thoughts.

"I'll tell you what, you go that way, and we'll meet you on the other side. Okay? That way you don't have to face the scary Witch." Ellis frowned a little at the sneering tone in Nick's voice, but he grunted in agreement and began to climb the fence. Nick, seeing that Ellis would come to no harm from the barrier, strode back into the dark house, confident on showing the kid that there was no need to be so worried.

With a thud, Ellis landed in the grass on the other side of the fence and made his way to the front door. A few minutes passed as he sat and waited, occasionally taking down the common infected that strayed too close. Eventually the door opened and he saw Rochelle and Coach stride out, followed by a grim faced Nick, his suit leg torn by large claw marks.

"Well Nick, seems-"

"Go away." The older man growled, and Ellis laughed.

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Ta da :D Hope you liked it and I'll see you next time :) xx

- Jen xxx