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Description
Chapter 31: Rides

Disclaimer: I do not own Left 4 Dead 2

--

Stressed couldn't even begin to describe the situation, Ark sniffing furiously to follow Rochelle's scent. Nick was following him like a hawk, his gun trained on every little thing, including the Hunter. The tension was stifling, and Ark longed for older times, when he could freely seek scents without someone following him through a scope. If he even dared to stray for a moment, he was screwed. He was far from straying though, Rochelle's scent seemed to be getting further and further. There was also another scent mingled in there, and he was worried. It seemed to be following her.

" Hurry!" he said, picking up the pace. Nick lifted his head and heard the sound of gunfire, also hearing an annoyed bray of the Shooter. " They had better be okay..." he hissed.

Ark gave him a look. " They be fine. Chad and Sion fight Shooter before. Know what to do."

Nick snorted. " It's not them I'm concerned about."

Ark nodded again. " This way." coiling his legs, he leapt to the nearby railing, springing off it to the opposite railing, swinging himself up and onto the catwalk.

" And since when do regular humans jump around like that?!" Nick snapped.

Ark had to mentally slap himself. In the old days, the others would find their own routes, or he would be leaping to lower something to help them reach where he was. Groaning, he looked around and found a bent pipe. " Reach that?" he asked, Nick giving him an incredulous look. " The hell makes you think I can jump that high?!" he retorted.

Ark ground his teeth, resisting the urge to call him a whiny brat, stepping on the pipe and bending it to where Nick could reach it easier. The con-artist leaned back slightly and took a bit of a leap, grabbing onto the pipe after tossing his magnum onto the catwalk with a well-aimed throw. "Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry..." Ark hissed, bouncing in place, becoming impatient every second the scent inched away from him. When Nick finally scrambled onto the catwalk, Ark waited all but two seconds before bolting after the scent.

Nick snatched his gun up from the ground and ran after Ark, his heart pounding fiercely as he struggled to keep the fast moving Hunter in sight. Ark hissed as he leapt through a open door, pausing to sniff the air before scampered down a hallway.

" Damn... how far did she get?" Nick breathed, coughing slightly as Ark froze in front of the door, growling softly. " Is she there?"

Ark nodded. " She is... and someone else." he didn't recognize the scent, and it unnerved him, seeing as how the other person's scent was extremely close. Fearing the worse, Nick slid the door open slightly, aiming his gun around the room. His eye fell upon a dark haired man, and Rochelle resting on a spread out blanket, her shirt dyed red. " Bastard." he hissed, keeping his eye and gun trained on the man. His hair was long, pulled back into a crude ponytail, strands falling over his face as he stood up, brown eyes blinking at the conman. " How rude." the man commented, having to look down somewhat, since he was of a comparable height. Ark mentally swore at the fact that everyone seemed to be taller than him.

The man looked young, but his eyes held one long story, Ark feeling as if this man had encountered life in one of it's worse moods. He snapped out of it as Nick cocked his gun, the sound harsh. " What the hell did you do to her?" he hissed.

" I bandaged her wounds. That is all." The man replied. " You are getting ahead of yourself in your assumptions." Ark was reminded of their stranger that appeared back when he was with Zoey and the others, but there was still significant differences. " She is unharmed, and I have no problem with releasing her to you." the man finished, Nick's eyes narrowing and his hand tightening on the trigger.

" You're a bit too kind, even for a passing survivor." Nick said, clearly wary. " What's your name? How did you get here?"  It was too nice in his mind. Nearly everyone was desperate to escape, so why take the time to tend to an injured person? Unless of course he wanted something.

" Ethan. My name is Ethan." the man said. " I'm traveling to the next encampment, same as everyone else."

Nick clearly wasn't buying whatever this man was saying. " Like hell. You're alone. Practically no one can do it alone, that's why I'm still with these guys." he said, Ark giving an offended but amused look. Ethan looked amused as well, tilting his head to the side slightly.

" Well, I am not completely alone." he said, gesturing to the next room over. " But I do have to move very slowly, for the sake of my crew."Inside the room was a woman and three small children about Zane's age, all of them huddled beside the woman. " My wife, Mary. As well as my three children, Jade, Stephan, and Lance."  All three children were terrified of the arrivals, all clinging to their mother, who was whispering soft words to them and trying to keep them calm, her own eyes trained on the group.

" You're traveling with your family..." Nick said, his eyes holding an unreadable expression.
--

Nick's gaze couldn't be considered jealousy or hate, but it reminded Ark of a more...grudgingly respectful glance. Ethan was doing everything he could to keep his family safe, even in such bleak times. Smiling at the children, Ark waved to them, the little ones still clinging to their mother, the woman giving Ark a soft nod of her head. He smiled goofily at her, despite being barely able to see her, turning to look at Rochelle, who was starting to wake up. Rochelle glanced around before wincing as she felt the bandages on her arm and leg. " Ooo... that hurt." she commented.

Nick chuckled darkly. " Hey, at least you didn't catch the flu."

Rochelle rolled her eyes. " Yay me." she got to her feet with a groan, testing out whether or not she could walk. Though she had a slight limp, she could move, giving a relieved sigh. " I'm not out of the running yet!" she said cheerfully.

" Yeah, but can you run?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow.

" Way to spoil the mood, Nick." she said, her shoulders sagging slightly. Ark sat and watched the exchange, his blue eyes shifting back and forth between them. Ethan was also watching the display, lifting his head as footsteps approached, the others all arriving, Ellis practically flinging himself onto Rochelle.

" Ah'm so sawwry!" he bawled, his accent thick from apparant fear and grief.

Rochelle gently petted his head. "It's all right, Ellis. I'm safe, we're all safe. No need to keep hitting yourself more than necessary." she soothed, Sion returning to Ark's side, both leaning against the wall, out of the conversation. Nick continued to glare at the two, but right now wasn't the time to be passing judgement on anyone, it would have to wait for the moment. Chad and Coach caught up a minute later, both stopping to catch their breath, Ethan bowing his head to them as well. " So, uh, who is this guy?" Ellis asked, stopping to give Ethan a good once over with his eyes, the mechanic full of questions.

" Name's Ethan." Ethan said softly. " I'm traveling with my family."

Ellis looked into the doorway and saw Mary and the children huddled inside. " Wow, she's..." his mouth hung open when she came out, the small children clinging to her side. " Gorgeous..." With long blonde hair comparable to gold, delicately painted red lips and ice-blue eyes, Mary was definitely something to look at. Her choice of tight-fitting clothing also left little to the imagination, shapely curves unmarred by the world around them had several men in the room drooling, a few jealous of Ethan.

" Please close your mouths before I drown in the next great lake." Mary said softly with a smirk, her children all skittering over to Ethan, who lifted one into his arms. Each of the kids looked like one of the two, and all of them were staring at the group with inquisitive eyes. Rochelle simply rolled her eyes at the group. " Men."

"Pretty..." Ark said softly under his breath, Sion chuckling softly.

"You're infected, remember? Down, boy." The smoker said just as quietly, amused.

" I've got looking privileges, don't I?" Ark retorted, stifling a gasp when Nick turned a single eye onto the both of them. True, Nick was giving Mary some less than savory looks as well, but the presence of children seemed to be a turnoff for him. Not to mention Ethan might pound him into a well-dressed paste for attempting anything.

--

" So, where are you guys headed?" Coach asked them once all of the men had more or less snapped to reality, Ethan turning to look at him. " We're headed further south." he replied, pointing which direction he intended to go. " There are several evac centers to go to, it's just a matter of which ones you pick. I'm hoping to find one in my old hometown."

" I don't know if there'll be one for you, but best of luck to you." Coach said. " Thank you for carin' for Rochelle." Nick half expected Coach to extend an invitation to them to travel as one huge group, the soft-hearted man, but Coach knew full well that such a large group would be hard to manage. There was no law that said he couldn't offer up a few prayers for that family to make it to safety though. The ex-football player smiled warmly at the family once more. " Well, I guess we should part ways quickly, but I do have somethin to ask ya. How do you plan to get out of here?"

Ethan gestured towards where the group had come from. " We're going out of the entrance. We came through the stadium, but I don't want to risk something that dangerous with my family here. You guys could do it though, since you all have weapons. Get to the stadium, and you can signal a helicopter out of there. I'm sure there's still a few flying around, we saw one when we passed through there."

" You're not gonna come with us?" Ellis asked. " I mean, it's safer for everyone to travel together, right?"

Ethan gave Ellis a soft smile. " I know full well that no one is going to watch three children in the heat of battle, so I must decline. I want to keep them safe, so slow and steady will be just fine. I thank you for all of your concerns though."

Ellis scratched his head. " Gee, thanks, Mr. Ethan. Ya know, you talk like how most of the tourists did when they used to visit me and Keith's shop." he said, feeling a lot like a child talking to a new teacher.

" That's a little something called proper English and literacy." Nick said, rolling his eyes.

Rochelle and Coach both wanted to hit Nick for what he said, Ethan making a sound. " Yes, well, we had best be on our way." Mary said swiftly, urging Ethan out the door before he could comment. All of the children followed her quickly, the smallest one, Lance, waving goodbye to everyone before the family left. Ark lifted his head as Ellis waved to the departing family.

" All right people. We got a plan, let's get it in motion." Coach said.

" A stupid plan." Nick grumbled, but no one paid him any mind, too set on getting out of there. The only one who was neutral about all of it was Sion, who was quietly contemplating things. Nick knew of their secret, he wouldn't allow them to board the helicopter with everyone else. He'd shoot them right where they stood if it wasn't for the fact that he would have to explain himself to the others. On the other hand, the rest of the group saw him and Ark as comrades with a united goal... if they were to quietly leave the group in the dark of the night or something, the group might stubbornly look for them and miss the chance for safety.

Sighing, he continued on, as the group slowly made their way to a large fenced area, Ellis the first one to break the silence. " I hope Ethan and his family get out okay..." he said softly.

" I think they'll be fine..." Rochelle said, trying to cheer Ellis up. " We cleared out nearly all the infected on the way in, remember? I'm sure he and his wife can take a few..."

" I don't even recall if he had a weapon." Nick said, Ellis looking a bit upset at him. Coach shot Nick a look as well, and pressed on. " I'm sure they'll be fine. I got a feeling in my gut." he said.

" That's called hunger." Nick shot back.

Chad ignored them all, looking up at the fence. " What's behind this fence?" he asked. Ellis looked up for a brief second, his eyes lighting up. " IT'S THE SCREAMING OAK!" he squealed, dashing for the hole that had been knocked in the fence. " I LOVE this ride!"

Nick looked up at the ride as well. " 'Screaming' certainly suits the situation right now..." he said, following everyone through the fence. Ellis was hopping up and down in place, begging to ride it at least once before they had to leave, Coach evaluating the situation while Rochelle worked to calm Ellis down.

" We're gonna have to start it... this fence looks too dangerous to climb." he finally said said, Ark turning to look at the fence. It looked like an ordinary fence to him, and he was about to say so when Sion spoke for him. " Ever climbed a fence with a Tank on your ass?" he said simply, Ark biting his lip. The Smoker had a point with that one, it would be suicide to get caught climbing fences with a Tank chasing him. The Tank could go through it, but he would have to find a way over or around it. Looking back, he saw the group gathering their supplies before walking over to where Chad was, the man evaluating the area. " What's wrong?"

Chad bit his lip. " It's everyone's injuries... I know they all are helping each other along in their own right, but some of those injuries take time to heal. Nick's shoulder wound for example... he should be properly resting it and not trying to strain his arm. Ellis's injury as well, they should both be near the middle... but since..." he lowered his voice to where only Ark could hear. " Since you two can't fight like how we did with the others... we're limited." he sighed deeply, shaking his head as the ride roared to life, Ellis pulling the switch. " We'll just have to do what we can."

" This is the best day of my life!" the mechanic cheered, running after the rollercoaster car, Rochelle hobbling along with Coach's help. Nick couldn't help but inwardly groan at Ellis, hurrying along. Ark and Sion were left behind with Chad, the soldier sighing quietly. " Let's go...we don't have much choice." he said, hurrying after the others.

Ark nodded and crouched,  judging his distance before leaping, catching a brief glimpse of the group as he passed them by, making sure not to be seen. Grabbing onto the rail, he swung himself over and punched an infected in the face, trying to catch up with the group quickly. Rochelle had taken up shelter behind Ellis, who had taken her axe and was swinging it like a pro, tearing a path through the crowd. Nick and Chad were further ahead, trying to shut off the coaster.  Ark didn't like how the group was stretched every which way, it was just begging for an accident to occur.

Without warning, the horde seemed to intensify, clambering up the side of the rollercoaster to try and get at the struggling survivors. The horde's cry also seemed to be magnified, the roars drowning out any cries the survivors may have made. Ark let out a scared noise, worried that someone would take serious damage in that scuffle, scrambling to reach them. He failed to see the hand reaching for his leg, getting yanked off the rollercoaster with a yelp, landing gracefully despite the sudden surprise. Growling, he turned to face the infected that dared to pull him under, receiving a sharp blow to the back of the head, tumbling to the ground.  Once he was on the ground, whoever had hit him dealt him another blow, this time to his ribcage, a sharp gasp escaping his lips.

Whining, he wasn't able to do much as his leg was grabbed forcefully, the Hunter being slowly dragged along after his hands were bound with rope. His head spun into darkness as a cold yet cocky voice reached his ears, leaving him with a deep chill before everything went dark.

" 'Bout time I caught the kid... now time to get the father..."

--

" If someone had told me a week ago that I would be running a rollercoaster track in a hillbilly area after traversing the longest damn tunnel of love ride in a zombie apocalypse... I would have said they were on some drugs that should be illegal worldwide." Nick grunted, reloading his gun.

" Preaching to the choir." Chad said, glumly agreeing. " Military training never covers anything you actually need."

" You're an active soldier? You don't look it at all, what with the medical bag and...air-headed attitude." Nick said, raising an eyebrow as he shot an infected in the head. " I half expected the first soldier we came across would be ordering us around and telling us to safely evacuate somewhere to be quarantined."

" You have got to be joking." Chad said with a raised eyebrow as well. " I can barely keep my head together half the time with all this mayhem. I don't take orders or give them."

The conversation ended as the two continued hurrying to the ride, Chad dropping his gun as a Jockey leapt on him, screaming as he tried to get it off him. His eyes were being covered by the beast's clawed hands, his legs not cooperating with him in the slightest. "GET IT OFF GET IT OFF-" he shouted, swinging his weapon around, trying to hit the madly giggling creature. More often than not he missed and hit himself. Nick was somewhere nearby, but from the sound of fleeting footsteps, it seemed as if Nick left him to fend for himself and was rushing to turn the ride off.

He let out a pained yelp as he crashed into the wall of the tunnel he was in, the Jockey forcing him away from it and into another one, another yelp escaping him. This continued on for a minute before he heard a swift crack, and the Jockey fell from his face. " Thank you..." he said, breathing a sigh of relief before smiling at his savior, Sion grinning back at him. " No problem."

" I hate how they jump on you." Chad said, sighing deeply. " It almost feels like you're being ridden around like a horse, and it's hands are the reigns."

Sion shuddered, thinking back to his encounter with a Jockey. " That's... one way of putting it." he said softly. " Violations on every personal level of comfort is another."

Chad shrugged. " I hear ya. How's Ark?" he asked.

Sion shook his head. " Nervous. We both are, really. There's no telling when Nick will blow our cover and then try to execute us. He's a time bomb, and the longer he sits, the worse the explosion will be."

Chad crossed his arms, hearing the ride come to a halt, signaling the end of the infected rush. " We'll talk later." he said, hurrying along. Sion nodded and hurried after him, eyes scanning the remaining infected and picking his targets, sighing as he mentally counted his ammunition. Not a lot of ammunition remaining, but he should be able to remedy that at the safehouse. Hurrying, he caught up with Nick, who was already inside, Chad glaring at him for leaving him behind with a Jockey.

" You got rid of it, didn't you?" Nick said nonchalantly, clearly blowing off any argument Chad could have made, the soldier balling his fists as Coach and Rochelle came in, the bigger man helping her sit on the floor. Ellis was the last one in, sighing deeply and then whooping as he closed the door. " That was all right, gang!" he said proudly, Nick rolling his eyes.

Sion rolled his eyes as well, that was hardly a fun event, he had gotten bitten and clawed so many times  it wasn't funny. Rather than groan loudly like Nick was, he scanned the room, taking in the sight before freezing. A certain fixture of the group was nowhere to be found, not even resting against the corner of the room.

" Where's Ark?"

--

Description
Chapter 31: Rides

Disclaimer: I do not own Left 4 Dead 2

--

Stressed couldn't even begin to describe the situation, Ark sniffing furiously to follow Rochelle's scent. Nick was following him like a hawk, his gun trained on every little thing, including the Hunter. The tension was stifling, and Ark longed for older times, when he could freely seek scents without someone following him through a scope. If he even dared to stray for a moment, he was screwed. He was far from straying though, Rochelle's scent seemed to be getting further and further. There was also another scent mingled in there, and he was worried. It seemed to be following her.

" Hurry!" he said, picking up the pace. Nick lifted his head and heard the sound of gunfire, also hearing an annoyed bray of the Shooter. " They had better be okay..." he hissed.

Ark gave him a look. " They be fine. Chad and Sion fight Shooter before. Know what to do."

Nick snorted. " It's not them I'm concerned about."

Ark nodded again. " This way." coiling his legs, he leapt to the nearby railing, springing off it to the opposite railing, swinging himself up and onto the catwalk.

" And since when do regular humans jump around like that?!" Nick snapped.

Ark had to mentally slap himself. In the old days, the others would find their own routes, or he would be leaping to lower something to help them reach where he was. Groaning, he looked around and found a bent pipe. " Reach that?" he asked, Nick giving him an incredulous look. " The hell makes you think I can jump that high?!" he retorted.

Ark ground his teeth, resisting the urge to call him a whiny brat, stepping on the pipe and bending it to where Nick could reach it easier. The con-artist leaned back slightly and took a bit of a leap, grabbing onto the pipe after tossing his magnum onto the catwalk with a well-aimed throw. "Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry..." Ark hissed, bouncing in place, becoming impatient every second the scent inched away from him. When Nick finally scrambled onto the catwalk, Ark waited all but two seconds before bolting after the scent.

Nick snatched his gun up from the ground and ran after Ark, his heart pounding fiercely as he struggled to keep the fast moving Hunter in sight. Ark hissed as he leapt through a open door, pausing to sniff the air before scampered down a hallway.

" Damn... how far did she get?" Nick breathed, coughing slightly as Ark froze in front of the door, growling softly. " Is she there?"

Ark nodded. " She is... and someone else." he didn't recognize the scent, and it unnerved him, seeing as how the other person's scent was extremely close. Fearing the worse, Nick slid the door open slightly, aiming his gun around the room. His eye fell upon a dark haired man, and Rochelle resting on a spread out blanket, her shirt dyed red. " Bastard." he hissed, keeping his eye and gun trained on the man. His hair was long, pulled back into a crude ponytail, strands falling over his face as he stood up, brown eyes blinking at the conman. " How rude." the man commented, having to look down somewhat, since he was of a comparable height. Ark mentally swore at the fact that everyone seemed to be taller than him.

The man looked young, but his eyes held one long story, Ark feeling as if this man had encountered life in one of it's worse moods. He snapped out of it as Nick cocked his gun, the sound harsh. " What the hell did you do to her?" he hissed.

" I bandaged her wounds. That is all." The man replied. " You are getting ahead of yourself in your assumptions." Ark was reminded of their stranger that appeared back when he was with Zoey and the others, but there was still significant differences. " She is unharmed, and I have no problem with releasing her to you." the man finished, Nick's eyes narrowing and his hand tightening on the trigger.

" You're a bit too kind, even for a passing survivor." Nick said, clearly wary. " What's your name? How did you get here?"  It was too nice in his mind. Nearly everyone was desperate to escape, so why take the time to tend to an injured person? Unless of course he wanted something.

" Ethan. My name is Ethan." the man said. " I'm traveling to the next encampment, same as everyone else."

Nick clearly wasn't buying whatever this man was saying. " Like hell. You're alone. Practically no one can do it alone, that's why I'm still with these guys." he said, Ark giving an offended but amused look. Ethan looked amused as well, tilting his head to the side slightly.

" Well, I am not completely alone." he said, gesturing to the next room over. " But I do have to move very slowly, for the sake of my crew."Inside the room was a woman and three small children about Zane's age, all of them huddled beside the woman. " My wife, Mary. As well as my three children, Jade, Stephan, and Lance."  All three children were terrified of the arrivals, all clinging to their mother, who was whispering soft words to them and trying to keep them calm, her own eyes trained on the group.

" You're traveling with your family..." Nick said, his eyes holding an unreadable expression.
--

Nick's gaze couldn't be considered jealousy or hate, but it reminded Ark of a more...grudgingly respectful glance. Ethan was doing everything he could to keep his family safe, even in such bleak times. Smiling at the children, Ark waved to them, the little ones still clinging to their mother, the woman giving Ark a soft nod of her head. He smiled goofily at her, despite being barely able to see her, turning to look at Rochelle, who was starting to wake up. Rochelle glanced around before wincing as she felt the bandages on her arm and leg. " Ooo... that hurt." she commented.

Nick chuckled darkly. " Hey, at least you didn't catch the flu."

Rochelle rolled her eyes. " Yay me." she got to her feet with a groan, testing out whether or not she could walk. Though she had a slight limp, she could move, giving a relieved sigh. " I'm not out of the running yet!" she said cheerfully.

" Yeah, but can you run?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow.

" Way to spoil the mood, Nick." she said, her shoulders sagging slightly. Ark sat and watched the exchange, his blue eyes shifting back and forth between them. Ethan was also watching the display, lifting his head as footsteps approached, the others all arriving, Ellis practically flinging himself onto Rochelle.

" Ah'm so sawwry!" he bawled, his accent thick from apparant fear and grief.

Rochelle gently petted his head. "It's all right, Ellis. I'm safe, we're all safe. No need to keep hitting yourself more than necessary." she soothed, Sion returning to Ark's side, both leaning against the wall, out of the conversation. Nick continued to glare at the two, but right now wasn't the time to be passing judgement on anyone, it would have to wait for the moment. Chad and Coach caught up a minute later, both stopping to catch their breath, Ethan bowing his head to them as well. " So, uh, who is this guy?" Ellis asked, stopping to give Ethan a good once over with his eyes, the mechanic full of questions.

" Name's Ethan." Ethan said softly. " I'm traveling with my family."

Ellis looked into the doorway and saw Mary and the children huddled inside. " Wow, she's..." his mouth hung open when she came out, the small children clinging to her side. " Gorgeous..." With long blonde hair comparable to gold, delicately painted red lips and ice-blue eyes, Mary was definitely something to look at. Her choice of tight-fitting clothing also left little to the imagination, shapely curves unmarred by the world around them had several men in the room drooling, a few jealous of Ethan.

" Please close your mouths before I drown in the next great lake." Mary said softly with a smirk, her children all skittering over to Ethan, who lifted one into his arms. Each of the kids looked like one of the two, and all of them were staring at the group with inquisitive eyes. Rochelle simply rolled her eyes at the group. " Men."

"Pretty..." Ark said softly under his breath, Sion chuckling softly.

"You're infected, remember? Down, boy." The smoker said just as quietly, amused.

" I've got looking privileges, don't I?" Ark retorted, stifling a gasp when Nick turned a single eye onto the both of them. True, Nick was giving Mary some less than savory looks as well, but the presence of children seemed to be a turnoff for him. Not to mention Ethan might pound him into a well-dressed paste for attempting anything.

--

" So, where are you guys headed?" Coach asked them once all of the men had more or less snapped to reality, Ethan turning to look at him. " We're headed further south." he replied, pointing which direction he intended to go. " There are several evac centers to go to, it's just a matter of which ones you pick. I'm hoping to find one in my old hometown."

" I don't know if there'll be one for you, but best of luck to you." Coach said. " Thank you for carin' for Rochelle." Nick half expected Coach to extend an invitation to them to travel as one huge group, the soft-hearted man, but Coach knew full well that such a large group would be hard to manage. There was no law that said he couldn't offer up a few prayers for that family to make it to safety though. The ex-football player smiled warmly at the family once more. " Well, I guess we should part ways quickly, but I do have somethin to ask ya. How do you plan to get out of here?"

Ethan gestured towards where the group had come from. " We're going out of the entrance. We came through the stadium, but I don't want to risk something that dangerous with my family here. You guys could do it though, since you all have weapons. Get to the stadium, and you can signal a helicopter out of there. I'm sure there's still a few flying around, we saw one when we passed through there."

" You're not gonna come with us?" Ellis asked. " I mean, it's safer for everyone to travel together, right?"

Ethan gave Ellis a soft smile. " I know full well that no one is going to watch three children in the heat of battle, so I must decline. I want to keep them safe, so slow and steady will be just fine. I thank you for all of your concerns though."

Ellis scratched his head. " Gee, thanks, Mr. Ethan. Ya know, you talk like how most of the tourists did when they used to visit me and Keith's shop." he said, feeling a lot like a child talking to a new teacher.

" That's a little something called proper English and literacy." Nick said, rolling his eyes.

Rochelle and Coach both wanted to hit Nick for what he said, Ethan making a sound. " Yes, well, we had best be on our way." Mary said swiftly, urging Ethan out the door before he could comment. All of the children followed her quickly, the smallest one, Lance, waving goodbye to everyone before the family left. Ark lifted his head as Ellis waved to the departing family.

" All right people. We got a plan, let's get it in motion." Coach said.

" A stupid plan." Nick grumbled, but no one paid him any mind, too set on getting out of there. The only one who was neutral about all of it was Sion, who was quietly contemplating things. Nick knew of their secret, he wouldn't allow them to board the helicopter with everyone else. He'd shoot them right where they stood if it wasn't for the fact that he would have to explain himself to the others. On the other hand, the rest of the group saw him and Ark as comrades with a united goal... if they were to quietly leave the group in the dark of the night or something, the group might stubbornly look for them and miss the chance for safety.

Sighing, he continued on, as the group slowly made their way to a large fenced area, Ellis the first one to break the silence. " I hope Ethan and his family get out okay..." he said softly.

" I think they'll be fine..." Rochelle said, trying to cheer Ellis up. " We cleared out nearly all the infected on the way in, remember? I'm sure he and his wife can take a few..."

" I don't even recall if he had a weapon." Nick said, Ellis looking a bit upset at him. Coach shot Nick a look as well, and pressed on. " I'm sure they'll be fine. I got a feeling in my gut." he said.

" That's called hunger." Nick shot back.

Chad ignored them all, looking up at the fence. " What's behind this fence?" he asked. Ellis looked up for a brief second, his eyes lighting up. " IT'S THE SCREAMING OAK!" he squealed, dashing for the hole that had been knocked in the fence. " I LOVE this ride!"

Nick looked up at the ride as well. " 'Screaming' certainly suits the situation right now..." he said, following everyone through the fence. Ellis was hopping up and down in place, begging to ride it at least once before they had to leave, Coach evaluating the situation while Rochelle worked to calm Ellis down.

" We're gonna have to start it... this fence looks too dangerous to climb." he finally said said, Ark turning to look at the fence. It looked like an ordinary fence to him, and he was about to say so when Sion spoke for him. " Ever climbed a fence with a Tank on your ass?" he said simply, Ark biting his lip. The Smoker had a point with that one, it would be suicide to get caught climbing fences with a Tank chasing him. The Tank could go through it, but he would have to find a way over or around it. Looking back, he saw the group gathering their supplies before walking over to where Chad was, the man evaluating the area. " What's wrong?"

Chad bit his lip. " It's everyone's injuries... I know they all are helping each other along in their own right, but some of those injuries take time to heal. Nick's shoulder wound for example... he should be properly resting it and not trying to strain his arm. Ellis's injury as well, they should both be near the middle... but since..." he lowered his voice to where only Ark could hear. " Since you two can't fight like how we did with the others... we're limited." he sighed deeply, shaking his head as the ride roared to life, Ellis pulling the switch. " We'll just have to do what we can."

" This is the best day of my life!" the mechanic cheered, running after the rollercoaster car, Rochelle hobbling along with Coach's help. Nick couldn't help but inwardly groan at Ellis, hurrying along. Ark and Sion were left behind with Chad, the soldier sighing quietly. " Let's go...we don't have much choice." he said, hurrying after the others.

Ark nodded and crouched,  judging his distance before leaping, catching a brief glimpse of the group as he passed them by, making sure not to be seen. Grabbing onto the rail, he swung himself over and punched an infected in the face, trying to catch up with the group quickly. Rochelle had taken up shelter behind Ellis, who had taken her axe and was swinging it like a pro, tearing a path through the crowd. Nick and Chad were further ahead, trying to shut off the coaster.  Ark didn't like how the group was stretched every which way, it was just begging for an accident to occur.

Without warning, the horde seemed to intensify, clambering up the side of the rollercoaster to try and get at the struggling survivors. The horde's cry also seemed to be magnified, the roars drowning out any cries the survivors may have made. Ark let out a scared noise, worried that someone would take serious damage in that scuffle, scrambling to reach them. He failed to see the hand reaching for his leg, getting yanked off the rollercoaster with a yelp, landing gracefully despite the sudden surprise. Growling, he turned to face the infected that dared to pull him under, receiving a sharp blow to the back of the head, tumbling to the ground.  Once he was on the ground, whoever had hit him dealt him another blow, this time to his ribcage, a sharp gasp escaping his lips.

Whining, he wasn't able to do much as his leg was grabbed forcefully, the Hunter being slowly dragged along after his hands were bound with rope. His head spun into darkness as a cold yet cocky voice reached his ears, leaving him with a deep chill before everything went dark.

" 'Bout time I caught the kid... now time to get the father..."

--

" If someone had told me a week ago that I would be running a rollercoaster track in a hillbilly area after traversing the longest damn tunnel of love ride in a zombie apocalypse... I would have said they were on some drugs that should be illegal worldwide." Nick grunted, reloading his gun.

" Preaching to the choir." Chad said, glumly agreeing. " Military training never covers anything you actually need."

" You're an active soldier? You don't look it at all, what with the medical bag and...air-headed attitude." Nick said, raising an eyebrow as he shot an infected in the head. " I half expected the first soldier we came across would be ordering us around and telling us to safely evacuate somewhere to be quarantined."

" You have got to be joking." Chad said with a raised eyebrow as well. " I can barely keep my head together half the time with all this mayhem. I don't take orders or give them."

The conversation ended as the two continued hurrying to the ride, Chad dropping his gun as a Jockey leapt on him, screaming as he tried to get it off him. His eyes were being covered by the beast's clawed hands, his legs not cooperating with him in the slightest. "GET IT OFF GET IT OFF-" he shouted, swinging his weapon around, trying to hit the madly giggling creature. More often than not he missed and hit himself. Nick was somewhere nearby, but from the sound of fleeting footsteps, it seemed as if Nick left him to fend for himself and was rushing to turn the ride off.

He let out a pained yelp as he crashed into the wall of the tunnel he was in, the Jockey forcing him away from it and into another one, another yelp escaping him. This continued on for a minute before he heard a swift crack, and the Jockey fell from his face. " Thank you..." he said, breathing a sigh of relief before smiling at his savior, Sion grinning back at him. " No problem."

" I hate how they jump on you." Chad said, sighing deeply. " It almost feels like you're being ridden around like a horse, and it's hands are the reigns."

Sion shuddered, thinking back to his encounter with a Jockey. " That's... one way of putting it." he said softly. " Violations on every personal level of comfort is another."

Chad shrugged. " I hear ya. How's Ark?" he asked.

Sion shook his head. " Nervous. We both are, really. There's no telling when Nick will blow our cover and then try to execute us. He's a time bomb, and the longer he sits, the worse the explosion will be."

Chad crossed his arms, hearing the ride come to a halt, signaling the end of the infected rush. " We'll talk later." he said, hurrying along. Sion nodded and hurried after him, eyes scanning the remaining infected and picking his targets, sighing as he mentally counted his ammunition. Not a lot of ammunition remaining, but he should be able to remedy that at the safehouse. Hurrying, he caught up with Nick, who was already inside, Chad glaring at him for leaving him behind with a Jockey.

" You got rid of it, didn't you?" Nick said nonchalantly, clearly blowing off any argument Chad could have made, the soldier balling his fists as Coach and Rochelle came in, the bigger man helping her sit on the floor. Ellis was the last one in, sighing deeply and then whooping as he closed the door. " That was all right, gang!" he said proudly, Nick rolling his eyes.

Sion rolled his eyes as well, that was hardly a fun event, he had gotten bitten and clawed so many times  it wasn't funny. Rather than groan loudly like Nick was, he scanned the room, taking in the sight before freezing. A certain fixture of the group was nowhere to be found, not even resting against the corner of the room.

" Where's Ark?"

--