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“So Nick, I hear that you're a gambling man,” the petite woman spoke with venom in her voice.

The conman remained silent, expecting her to continue with the appropriate pause.

Satisfied with Nick’s reaction she continued, “ I was thinking-”

“Ellis isn't a bargaining chip,” Nick interjected with a tone of disgust. His cool demeanor was to remain until the woman left or if he were to remove himself.

“If he isn't a pawn for you, then why do you care if he's with me?”

“I don't give a rat’s ass. Don't flatter yourself cupcake, you're not special. I've had my fair share of the hick long before you came into the picture. As far as I'm concerned, who he sleeps with isn't my problem.”
Just like that, Nick stepped out of the situation and exited the tent, only to find the source of his problem standing before him.

“Hey Nick,” a cheerful voice greeted.

“I'm done with you, have her,” the conman shrugged off Ellis and continued his pace.

Bewildered by Nick’s sudden coldness, Ellis failed to see Natalie sitting on the cot plainly in front of him.

“Nick!”
~
It had always been him to sneak out the next morning. He was the cold hearted con artist that stole the hearts of many and discarded them when they had no further purpose.

“Don't ‘Hey Neek’ me you hick,” Nick harshly imitated Ellis’ southern drawl, “you know damn well what you did so stop acting like it didn't happen.”

Hurt was evident on the mechanic’s face, confusion even, but the demeanor changed in a span of a second with Nick’s mimicking.

“I said I was sorry. I didn't mean to hurt yew,” the younger hollered.

“Yeah? You think sorry is a quick little band-aid that'll just make it all better? It doesn't overalls.”

Ellis winced, “I couldn't help it. I never meant to intentionally hurt yew.”

“Yeah? Well you did. I thought you wanted this future with me and then you go doing this? And here I thought I would consider it,” the older spat with the dismissal of his hand.

“I do want a future with yew! It was an accident. I didn't mean to,” Ellis protested desperately.

Aside from Ellis, Nick’s attention was drawn to a commotion of people squawking.

“That can't be what I think it is-”

“It is,” Nick answered.

“Shit, that ain't good. We gotta do something.”
By instinct, Nick reached for his magnum, but found nothing at his side. He had it tucked away in the tent.

With the knowledge of being unarmed, Ellis nodded, “I’ll get them. You get over there.”

The conman made his way over to the crowd and pushed through.

“Look there's a woman over there.”

“Get her to safety,” another hollered at the tower guard.

A child grabbed at the chain linked fence and observed the scene of the distressed adults.

“I think she's crying,” another interjected, “it'll be okay. You don't need to cry. You're safe now.”
CEDA agents were shuffling about to prepare to take the woman into testing. With everything going on, Nick needed the attention.

“STOP! EVERYONE GET AWAY FROM THE FENCE!”

“But there's a woman out there!”

“SHE’S DANGEROUS!”

The frail woman stumbled a bit as she slowly made the way towards the fence. Coach went for the child at the fence and pulled the child away. The last thing the ex-football player wanted was to see a kid be traumatized by the witch being startled. The guards were making their way down the tower and opened the fence. The attraction of the crying drew a large crowd at this point. Amongst the crowd, Coach and Rochelle were warning people to stay back from the bawling woman.

“EVERYONE GET BACK,” Coach bellowed.

“Hey sweetie you alright,” one of the guards cautiously walked up to the witch. As they crept closer, the woman began to growl.

One guard reached out to touch her arm, “There's no need to be afraid, you're safe now.”

The pale woman screeched louder.

“Get back,” Rochelle yanked one of the guard’s arm.

Weapons in hand, the mechanic hoped to make it back in time before anything devastating happened. Making a mad dash to the witch, a deafening scream caused Ellis to tense up. Usually that indicated she was set off and swiped for the closest person in her approximate area. Shrieks and frightened hollering from the crowd wasn’t a good sign.

Arriving at the scene, to Ellis’ dismay, one of the guards was lying in the crimson pool of blood. He was too late, and if he didn’t act fast to find the witch she could just as easily continue her killing spree.

The snapping of fingers pulled the mechanic’s attention to the person before him, “give me my magnum!”

More of a demand than anything, Nick ended up forcefully ripping it out from Ellis’ hands. The older man booked it in a specific direction, following the blood trail that was likely the witch targeting someone else. Typically the witch targeted once person, but maybe with the congestion of people made her more anxious. Ellis tailed the conman in an attempt to catch up. Without a gun of his own, the only damage Ellis could do to the witch was up close and personal. He gripped the baseball bat tightly at the handle. Screaming from the witch and bystanders made things difficult on finding her with people running every which way. The wailing became louder causing the Georgian to whip his head from one side to the other, no sign of a witch unless it was behind him.

Shots from Nick’s magnum at close range range in the hick’s ears. The deafening sound of a gun was definitely louder than the undead woman. She toppled over, now lifeless, to the ground.

Turning to face his savior, Ellis grinned ear-to-ear.

“Nick you’ve still got it! Thank you for having my back,” the younger chirped.

A friendly expression wasn’t reciprocated, in fact it was the exact opposite of what he had expected. The poker face he hadn’t seen since Savannah.

“Wanna know how you can thank me,” a dark tone was definitely there, but the younger still didn’t get the hint.

“How?”

Roughly brushing past the younger male, purposely bumping into him with a scowl on his face, Nick shared no eye contact when he coldly stated, “by leaving me the fuck alone.”

“Nick wait!”
Not caring the dubious stares and the new threat being the fact that Nick was armed with a weapon in a safety zone was concerning.

A growl emitted from the male storming away at a quickened pace was the response Ellis got.

The chase continued, “what’s got yew so upset?!”

“Stop playing stupid you know exactly what you did!”

“I never meant ta hurt yew in my sleep. Honest.”

That’s what Ellis thought had upset him? It was definitely the wrong answer.

Finally addressing the southern hick by spinning around, Ellis staggered back in order to prevent colliding into the gambler. An index finger jabbed into his chest with each passing word Nick was about to say.

“Shut the hell up!”

Ellis raked his mind in hopes of finding the right thing Nick was so upset about, so he chose another thing that possibly upset him.

“I’m sorry I went to Chester’s place last night,” fighting back the tears he had mustered up his voice ended up wobbling instead, “b-but I felt so bad hurtin’ yew the way I did.”

As if on cue, a swarm of CEDA agents seized Nick and tore the magnum away from his possession. Howling a string of curse words didn’t deter the continuation of taking him away. As if the air had been sucked from Ellis’ being, his gaze had never left the spot Nick was last standing.

How could things have gone horribly wrong? Tears that had been held captive, finally escaped and rolled quickly down Ellis’ flush cheeks. He jumped as he felt something touch his back and arm. Coach had patted the mechanic on the back and Rochelle brushing his arm caringly.

“Come on Ellis, let’s find some place to sit down.”
Half expecting Ellis to jump back into his happy-go-lucky self, Rochelle grinned in hopes he’d share her smile. It was met with more tears and wrapping his arms around her small shoulders. Ellis was going through something fierce and he felt like there wasn’t a soul in the world that could understand him. Rochelle gingerly returned the hug, but gave a reassuring squeeze. Coach settled to hold Rochelle in one arm and Ellis in the other for a group hug.

“We take care of our own. Don’chu worry Ellis. We’re here for you.”

A sharp exhale and quick inhale followed suit, as he somehow gained little composure to say, “I’m… okay. Thank ya.”

Releasing Rochelle from his bear hug, he drug his feet as he walked away from the others and those eavesdropping on their conversation.

He didn’t know what possessed him to do this, but he gripped at the chain link fence and hung his head low. He wasn’t sure what to do anymore. Nick had been on edge ever since stepping foot in the evacuation site.

It’s not like they could continue their conversation now that Nick was locked up. He wanted to make amends, talk things out, and possibly make a decision.

-

Not quarantined, but not outside where the others were, just what was this? It was a simple room with bullet proof glass and a small slit to pass a tray in, a latrine, and a cot. Less comfortable looking that what they had been sleeping on. He shriveled his nose at the smell of the room. It hadn’t appeared to have been cleaned in quite sometime. Is this where the inmates went?

Nick’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a door slamming. He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. The older man was not in the mood to see the succubus from hell herself.

“Well well, I see you somehow snuck in a weapon inside the safe zone.”

“Hey aren’t you forgetting a little something? THERE WAS A FREAKING MURDEROUS ZOMBIE THAT WAS LET IN! WHAT THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO!”

She looked at her nails, more for a distraction to take her eyes off the conman, “I do appreciate you saving Ellie for me.”

Nick wanted to gag from her new nickname for Ellis, it was simply revolting that she was still dead set on making Ellis hers.

“You took my weapon, can you release me now?”

She finally paid him a look, “it’s not quite that simple Nicholas.”

He could definitely feel his blood pressure going up, he loathed being called that, especially from Natalie.

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“I’ve been thinking,” she takes a few daring steps closer to the window, “I don’t like having you around here.”

He could say the same thing. Clearly with her sultry voice and pause, she wasn’t done.

“As much as I hate to break it to you, you played so perfectly into my trap. You see Ellis didn’t spend the night with me, but that’s exactly where your mind went. With the two of you fighting. What would happen if… I dunno… you just left. Just like the others you left behind each and every morning with your one night stands,” a twisted smile spread to her features as she laughed with some demented delight.

Okay, she’s officially crazy in Nick’s book. A broad like this was his worst nightmare.

“Lady this isn’t funny anymore! Clearly you’re sleep deprived from finding a cure, there’s not a lot of good looking dudes out there, and you need some you time to relax,” it was a feeble attempt to be civil, “for god sakes you’re going to toss me out and feed me to the zombies. You’re insane!”

Insane was the perfect word to describe this demented excuse for a woman, but it was not a word she would tolerate. Her eyes narrowed, pulling out a scalpel she delicately dragged it across her skin until she deemed it to be the right place and it stopped. His green eyes stopped watching the silver blade in her possession and momentarily their eyes to connected.

“Goodbye Nicholas,” with that she had precisely produced a shallow cut to herself. The blond cried and yelped for help. Sure enough by the time help had arrived the scalpel was on the floor of his cell.

“What happened,” one of the men hollered.

“Someone get a doctor, she’s bleeding!”

“He-he cut me. He tricked me into giving him my hand and he yanked my arm in and-,” she dramatically paused to heave a sob, “he cut me. He was trying to go for my wrist, but I pulled away just in time.”

It was his word against hers. He eyed the room and didn’t see any sign of cameras. She had planned this entire charade out and the next thing he knew were fully armored persons entering the cell and putting him in a hold that made him unconscious.

“What are your orders miss?”

“Chester,” the woman called in agony.
Sure enough the stout man hobbled in and eyes widened with pure shock.

“Miss Natalie what happened?!”

She hiccuped as she attempted to swallow more air before speaking, “He-he tried to kill me. Please take this degenerate and take care of him. So he won’t hurt anyone else.”

Flabbergast that Natalie had called Chester of all people for the job, left the armored men in confusion. From there, the men did as ordered they tossed the unconscious body of the gambler in the back of the secure vehicle and shut the doors behind him. The heavy metal plated vehicle rode off into the distance once it received clearance to leave.

-

At some point in the rough ride, Nick was jostled from his state. Slowly his eyes opened, it was rather dark, the sound of the humming and the tread of the tires along the terrain was a big giveaway that he was in a vehicle. His mind was completely foggy. Just what had happened before he passed out? Right. That crazy bitch cut herself and blamed it all on him. He managed to shuffle himself into a sitting upright position. He didn’t dare stand with how unsteady the driving was in the first place. He sighed and hated that he fell for her deception. Nick could casually read people, most of the time. Natalie was a different story altogether. Unpredictable, crazy, and smart a recipe for disaster if Nick called for it.

The vehicle stopped, the man attempted to listen to his surroundings to gauge where he was. Nothing. The heavy doors opened up and the next thing Nick saw was a barrel of a pistol pressed against his head.

Tïts.

It was the goofy security man of all people. Slowly exhaling and closing his eyes, Nick waited.

Nothing came.

He opened one eye to discover the offender’s hand was violently shaking as sweat dribbled down his temples. Was this guy nervous?

“Miss Natalie told me to… take care of ya.”

“Whoa, Whoa, Whoa… hold on.”

Just as Nick spoke, the gun was pulled away as if he had scared the man before him. Having the guard’s full attention, the conartist continued.

“Look around you, what do you see?”

Doing as told, the man looked around and just saw miles and miles of the neverending horizon. He had driven about an hour from the site, believing he was far enough to dispose of Nick.

“Shucks, I don’t see much.”

“What else, any zombies?”

Squinting now and looking, “Yeah I see zombies.”

“Okay so let me clue you in on something. Let’s say you let me go. I have nothing to defend myself, no guns, no food, no medical supplies. You’ll have no guilt in killing someone and know I went to the zombies.”

Great deliberation was given, Nick could tell by reading the gentleman’s face. If his eyes darted back and forth any faster, Nick would have guessed he was watching a match of ping pong. Crossing his arms, the northerner gave him a hard expecting stare.

“Well gee,” he fidgeted a bit.
It was lucky for the card shark that this guy wasn’t crazy as he was stupid. He actually had a sense of morality from right and wrong. At least if he chose not to kill Nick, his conscience wouldn’t be so heavy.

Finally, after what felt like eternity, the gun was put back into safety and in his holder, “good luck.”

Not expecting a wish of luck, the conman hummed with a small nod. The doors of the back of the truck slammed shut and the security guard climbed his way back into the vehicle. Nick waited until he could no longer see the vehicle in view before he pulled a gun from his back of his pants. Bless Chester’s heart that he didn’t think to look at the other holster with a fully loaded gun. With one pistol, it was better than none in his possession.

The sun threatened to set quickly, not exactly Nick’s ideal situation but he’d manage on his own with little detection if he stayed quiet.

Thoughts poured back into his mind now that he was left alone with them. It was odd not having the other survivors at his side. Coach firing away with his shotgun, Rochelle sniping, and Ellis chattering away as he held great glee in getting his hands on several different weapons at once.

Ellis.

What was his plan now? It’s going to be obvious that the girl would blab her mouth and tell everyone Nick escaped and left the site. Ellis would probably buy it, especially with their last argument. The odds were against his favor the moment he met the blond woman who made his life hell. In a steady jog, Nick had to find some sort of sanctuary for the night.

Smoke rose from the tree line, smoke was a good chance there was someone out there. Other people meant one less crazed zombie and possible ticket to freedom. Keeping in mind what direction the vehicle took off, the gambler headed into the woods and flicked on a flashlight.

The damp woods reminded the northerner a little of the swamps he had previously encountered. Frogs happily communicated amongst each other. The groans of the infected still plagued his mind as he heard them.

In order to take his mind off of the infected around him, he mused to himself that Natalie was like a praying mantis. The female praying mantis would sometimes fake a scent to attract a male that she would just consume for her own benefit, to take his nutrients than to seek food for herself. Poor Ellis would fall victim to her ways once he realized that Nick ‘left’.

Description
“So Nick, I hear that you're a gambling man,” the petite woman spoke with venom in her voice.

The conman remained silent, expecting her to continue with the appropriate pause.

Satisfied with Nick’s reaction she continued, “ I was thinking-”

“Ellis isn't a bargaining chip,” Nick interjected with a tone of disgust. His cool demeanor was to remain until the woman left or if he were to remove himself.

“If he isn't a pawn for you, then why do you care if he's with me?”

“I don't give a rat’s ass. Don't flatter yourself cupcake, you're not special. I've had my fair share of the hick long before you came into the picture. As far as I'm concerned, who he sleeps with isn't my problem.”
Just like that, Nick stepped out of the situation and exited the tent, only to find the source of his problem standing before him.

“Hey Nick,” a cheerful voice greeted.

“I'm done with you, have her,” the conman shrugged off Ellis and continued his pace.

Bewildered by Nick’s sudden coldness, Ellis failed to see Natalie sitting on the cot plainly in front of him.

“Nick!”
~
It had always been him to sneak out the next morning. He was the cold hearted con artist that stole the hearts of many and discarded them when they had no further purpose.

“Don't ‘Hey Neek’ me you hick,” Nick harshly imitated Ellis’ southern drawl, “you know damn well what you did so stop acting like it didn't happen.”

Hurt was evident on the mechanic’s face, confusion even, but the demeanor changed in a span of a second with Nick’s mimicking.

“I said I was sorry. I didn't mean to hurt yew,” the younger hollered.

“Yeah? You think sorry is a quick little band-aid that'll just make it all better? It doesn't overalls.”

Ellis winced, “I couldn't help it. I never meant to intentionally hurt yew.”

“Yeah? Well you did. I thought you wanted this future with me and then you go doing this? And here I thought I would consider it,” the older spat with the dismissal of his hand.

“I do want a future with yew! It was an accident. I didn't mean to,” Ellis protested desperately.

Aside from Ellis, Nick’s attention was drawn to a commotion of people squawking.

“That can't be what I think it is-”

“It is,” Nick answered.

“Shit, that ain't good. We gotta do something.”
By instinct, Nick reached for his magnum, but found nothing at his side. He had it tucked away in the tent.

With the knowledge of being unarmed, Ellis nodded, “I’ll get them. You get over there.”

The conman made his way over to the crowd and pushed through.

“Look there's a woman over there.”

“Get her to safety,” another hollered at the tower guard.

A child grabbed at the chain linked fence and observed the scene of the distressed adults.

“I think she's crying,” another interjected, “it'll be okay. You don't need to cry. You're safe now.”
CEDA agents were shuffling about to prepare to take the woman into testing. With everything going on, Nick needed the attention.

“STOP! EVERYONE GET AWAY FROM THE FENCE!”

“But there's a woman out there!”

“SHE’S DANGEROUS!”

The frail woman stumbled a bit as she slowly made the way towards the fence. Coach went for the child at the fence and pulled the child away. The last thing the ex-football player wanted was to see a kid be traumatized by the witch being startled. The guards were making their way down the tower and opened the fence. The attraction of the crying drew a large crowd at this point. Amongst the crowd, Coach and Rochelle were warning people to stay back from the bawling woman.

“EVERYONE GET BACK,” Coach bellowed.

“Hey sweetie you alright,” one of the guards cautiously walked up to the witch. As they crept closer, the woman began to growl.

One guard reached out to touch her arm, “There's no need to be afraid, you're safe now.”

The pale woman screeched louder.

“Get back,” Rochelle yanked one of the guard’s arm.

Weapons in hand, the mechanic hoped to make it back in time before anything devastating happened. Making a mad dash to the witch, a deafening scream caused Ellis to tense up. Usually that indicated she was set off and swiped for the closest person in her approximate area. Shrieks and frightened hollering from the crowd wasn’t a good sign.

Arriving at the scene, to Ellis’ dismay, one of the guards was lying in the crimson pool of blood. He was too late, and if he didn’t act fast to find the witch she could just as easily continue her killing spree.

The snapping of fingers pulled the mechanic’s attention to the person before him, “give me my magnum!”

More of a demand than anything, Nick ended up forcefully ripping it out from Ellis’ hands. The older man booked it in a specific direction, following the blood trail that was likely the witch targeting someone else. Typically the witch targeted once person, but maybe with the congestion of people made her more anxious. Ellis tailed the conman in an attempt to catch up. Without a gun of his own, the only damage Ellis could do to the witch was up close and personal. He gripped the baseball bat tightly at the handle. Screaming from the witch and bystanders made things difficult on finding her with people running every which way. The wailing became louder causing the Georgian to whip his head from one side to the other, no sign of a witch unless it was behind him.

Shots from Nick’s magnum at close range range in the hick’s ears. The deafening sound of a gun was definitely louder than the undead woman. She toppled over, now lifeless, to the ground.

Turning to face his savior, Ellis grinned ear-to-ear.

“Nick you’ve still got it! Thank you for having my back,” the younger chirped.

A friendly expression wasn’t reciprocated, in fact it was the exact opposite of what he had expected. The poker face he hadn’t seen since Savannah.

“Wanna know how you can thank me,” a dark tone was definitely there, but the younger still didn’t get the hint.

“How?”

Roughly brushing past the younger male, purposely bumping into him with a scowl on his face, Nick shared no eye contact when he coldly stated, “by leaving me the fuck alone.”

“Nick wait!”
Not caring the dubious stares and the new threat being the fact that Nick was armed with a weapon in a safety zone was concerning.

A growl emitted from the male storming away at a quickened pace was the response Ellis got.

The chase continued, “what’s got yew so upset?!”

“Stop playing stupid you know exactly what you did!”

“I never meant ta hurt yew in my sleep. Honest.”

That’s what Ellis thought had upset him? It was definitely the wrong answer.

Finally addressing the southern hick by spinning around, Ellis staggered back in order to prevent colliding into the gambler. An index finger jabbed into his chest with each passing word Nick was about to say.

“Shut the hell up!”

Ellis raked his mind in hopes of finding the right thing Nick was so upset about, so he chose another thing that possibly upset him.

“I’m sorry I went to Chester’s place last night,” fighting back the tears he had mustered up his voice ended up wobbling instead, “b-but I felt so bad hurtin’ yew the way I did.”

As if on cue, a swarm of CEDA agents seized Nick and tore the magnum away from his possession. Howling a string of curse words didn’t deter the continuation of taking him away. As if the air had been sucked from Ellis’ being, his gaze had never left the spot Nick was last standing.

How could things have gone horribly wrong? Tears that had been held captive, finally escaped and rolled quickly down Ellis’ flush cheeks. He jumped as he felt something touch his back and arm. Coach had patted the mechanic on the back and Rochelle brushing his arm caringly.

“Come on Ellis, let’s find some place to sit down.”
Half expecting Ellis to jump back into his happy-go-lucky self, Rochelle grinned in hopes he’d share her smile. It was met with more tears and wrapping his arms around her small shoulders. Ellis was going through something fierce and he felt like there wasn’t a soul in the world that could understand him. Rochelle gingerly returned the hug, but gave a reassuring squeeze. Coach settled to hold Rochelle in one arm and Ellis in the other for a group hug.

“We take care of our own. Don’chu worry Ellis. We’re here for you.”

A sharp exhale and quick inhale followed suit, as he somehow gained little composure to say, “I’m… okay. Thank ya.”

Releasing Rochelle from his bear hug, he drug his feet as he walked away from the others and those eavesdropping on their conversation.

He didn’t know what possessed him to do this, but he gripped at the chain link fence and hung his head low. He wasn’t sure what to do anymore. Nick had been on edge ever since stepping foot in the evacuation site.

It’s not like they could continue their conversation now that Nick was locked up. He wanted to make amends, talk things out, and possibly make a decision.

-

Not quarantined, but not outside where the others were, just what was this? It was a simple room with bullet proof glass and a small slit to pass a tray in, a latrine, and a cot. Less comfortable looking that what they had been sleeping on. He shriveled his nose at the smell of the room. It hadn’t appeared to have been cleaned in quite sometime. Is this where the inmates went?

Nick’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a door slamming. He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. The older man was not in the mood to see the succubus from hell herself.

“Well well, I see you somehow snuck in a weapon inside the safe zone.”

“Hey aren’t you forgetting a little something? THERE WAS A FREAKING MURDEROUS ZOMBIE THAT WAS LET IN! WHAT THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO!”

She looked at her nails, more for a distraction to take her eyes off the conman, “I do appreciate you saving Ellie for me.”

Nick wanted to gag from her new nickname for Ellis, it was simply revolting that she was still dead set on making Ellis hers.

“You took my weapon, can you release me now?”

She finally paid him a look, “it’s not quite that simple Nicholas.”

He could definitely feel his blood pressure going up, he loathed being called that, especially from Natalie.

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“I’ve been thinking,” she takes a few daring steps closer to the window, “I don’t like having you around here.”

He could say the same thing. Clearly with her sultry voice and pause, she wasn’t done.

“As much as I hate to break it to you, you played so perfectly into my trap. You see Ellis didn’t spend the night with me, but that’s exactly where your mind went. With the two of you fighting. What would happen if… I dunno… you just left. Just like the others you left behind each and every morning with your one night stands,” a twisted smile spread to her features as she laughed with some demented delight.

Okay, she’s officially crazy in Nick’s book. A broad like this was his worst nightmare.

“Lady this isn’t funny anymore! Clearly you’re sleep deprived from finding a cure, there’s not a lot of good looking dudes out there, and you need some you time to relax,” it was a feeble attempt to be civil, “for god sakes you’re going to toss me out and feed me to the zombies. You’re insane!”

Insane was the perfect word to describe this demented excuse for a woman, but it was not a word she would tolerate. Her eyes narrowed, pulling out a scalpel she delicately dragged it across her skin until she deemed it to be the right place and it stopped. His green eyes stopped watching the silver blade in her possession and momentarily their eyes to connected.

“Goodbye Nicholas,” with that she had precisely produced a shallow cut to herself. The blond cried and yelped for help. Sure enough by the time help had arrived the scalpel was on the floor of his cell.

“What happened,” one of the men hollered.

“Someone get a doctor, she’s bleeding!”

“He-he cut me. He tricked me into giving him my hand and he yanked my arm in and-,” she dramatically paused to heave a sob, “he cut me. He was trying to go for my wrist, but I pulled away just in time.”

It was his word against hers. He eyed the room and didn’t see any sign of cameras. She had planned this entire charade out and the next thing he knew were fully armored persons entering the cell and putting him in a hold that made him unconscious.

“What are your orders miss?”

“Chester,” the woman called in agony.
Sure enough the stout man hobbled in and eyes widened with pure shock.

“Miss Natalie what happened?!”

She hiccuped as she attempted to swallow more air before speaking, “He-he tried to kill me. Please take this degenerate and take care of him. So he won’t hurt anyone else.”

Flabbergast that Natalie had called Chester of all people for the job, left the armored men in confusion. From there, the men did as ordered they tossed the unconscious body of the gambler in the back of the secure vehicle and shut the doors behind him. The heavy metal plated vehicle rode off into the distance once it received clearance to leave.

-

At some point in the rough ride, Nick was jostled from his state. Slowly his eyes opened, it was rather dark, the sound of the humming and the tread of the tires along the terrain was a big giveaway that he was in a vehicle. His mind was completely foggy. Just what had happened before he passed out? Right. That crazy bitch cut herself and blamed it all on him. He managed to shuffle himself into a sitting upright position. He didn’t dare stand with how unsteady the driving was in the first place. He sighed and hated that he fell for her deception. Nick could casually read people, most of the time. Natalie was a different story altogether. Unpredictable, crazy, and smart a recipe for disaster if Nick called for it.

The vehicle stopped, the man attempted to listen to his surroundings to gauge where he was. Nothing. The heavy doors opened up and the next thing Nick saw was a barrel of a pistol pressed against his head.

Tïts.

It was the goofy security man of all people. Slowly exhaling and closing his eyes, Nick waited.

Nothing came.

He opened one eye to discover the offender’s hand was violently shaking as sweat dribbled down his temples. Was this guy nervous?

“Miss Natalie told me to… take care of ya.”

“Whoa, Whoa, Whoa… hold on.”

Just as Nick spoke, the gun was pulled away as if he had scared the man before him. Having the guard’s full attention, the conartist continued.

“Look around you, what do you see?”

Doing as told, the man looked around and just saw miles and miles of the neverending horizon. He had driven about an hour from the site, believing he was far enough to dispose of Nick.

“Shucks, I don’t see much.”

“What else, any zombies?”

Squinting now and looking, “Yeah I see zombies.”

“Okay so let me clue you in on something. Let’s say you let me go. I have nothing to defend myself, no guns, no food, no medical supplies. You’ll have no guilt in killing someone and know I went to the zombies.”

Great deliberation was given, Nick could tell by reading the gentleman’s face. If his eyes darted back and forth any faster, Nick would have guessed he was watching a match of ping pong. Crossing his arms, the northerner gave him a hard expecting stare.

“Well gee,” he fidgeted a bit.
It was lucky for the card shark that this guy wasn’t crazy as he was stupid. He actually had a sense of morality from right and wrong. At least if he chose not to kill Nick, his conscience wouldn’t be so heavy.

Finally, after what felt like eternity, the gun was put back into safety and in his holder, “good luck.”

Not expecting a wish of luck, the conman hummed with a small nod. The doors of the back of the truck slammed shut and the security guard climbed his way back into the vehicle. Nick waited until he could no longer see the vehicle in view before he pulled a gun from his back of his pants. Bless Chester’s heart that he didn’t think to look at the other holster with a fully loaded gun. With one pistol, it was better than none in his possession.

The sun threatened to set quickly, not exactly Nick’s ideal situation but he’d manage on his own with little detection if he stayed quiet.

Thoughts poured back into his mind now that he was left alone with them. It was odd not having the other survivors at his side. Coach firing away with his shotgun, Rochelle sniping, and Ellis chattering away as he held great glee in getting his hands on several different weapons at once.

Ellis.

What was his plan now? It’s going to be obvious that the girl would blab her mouth and tell everyone Nick escaped and left the site. Ellis would probably buy it, especially with their last argument. The odds were against his favor the moment he met the blond woman who made his life hell. In a steady jog, Nick had to find some sort of sanctuary for the night.

Smoke rose from the tree line, smoke was a good chance there was someone out there. Other people meant one less crazed zombie and possible ticket to freedom. Keeping in mind what direction the vehicle took off, the gambler headed into the woods and flicked on a flashlight.

The damp woods reminded the northerner a little of the swamps he had previously encountered. Frogs happily communicated amongst each other. The groans of the infected still plagued his mind as he heard them.

In order to take his mind off of the infected around him, he mused to himself that Natalie was like a praying mantis. The female praying mantis would sometimes fake a scent to attract a male that she would just consume for her own benefit, to take his nutrients than to seek food for herself. Poor Ellis would fall victim to her ways once he realized that Nick ‘left’.