They were all extremely tired and none of them had anything to look forward to. Nick, Ellis, Coach, and Rochelle held their weapons tightly as they slowly moved through a thick forest. Above the four the moon shined, their only source of light in their time of darkness. Nick looked to the starry sky for one second, seeing the stars as coins falling from the sky. Not too long ago Nick was in casinos, gambling away, winning and losing his money. He would sit at a poker table, a smug grin upon his face as he looked to each opponent. One hand held his cards close to his body and the other hand held a shot glass filled with his favorite: straight vodka. One by one his opponents folded, placing their cards face down on the table, and like a big head Nick was, with pride he showed his hand and took all their winnings. 'Those were the good times,' Nick thought, shifting his eyes away from the stars to the area in front of him. Even if Nick had no home, lover, family, and he traveled the country unwanted...anything was better than always being on guard when death was around the corner.

A growl caught their attention, a hungry growl; they all tensed up, whispering to each other to stay alert. Nick rolled his shoulders, tightening his grip upon the frying pan within his hand. The four soon heard pattered footsteps coming from all directions; rustling leaves and snapping of twigs. Nick's heart started the race, panting heavily, eyes and ears opened to his surroundings. Beyond the growling moans and hissing sounds of the undead, Nick heard something else...flowing water. "A river! This way!" Nick shouted, following his instincts and his ears towards the north. He glanced over his shoulder once, making sure no one was falling behind; Nick used his hand and the frying pan to knock branches out of his way. The reflection of the moon was peaking through the leaves, the water...the river. As the four exited from the lush, Nick immediately took notice of the large log, crossing over towards the other side of the rapid river. "Across the river! Move, move, move!" Nick shouted, motioning for his comrades to hurry across the river. Rochelle moved upon the log first, then Coach who was holding upon her shoulders to keep from his bad knee from giving out with a rapid river under them.

Nick started to move upon the log quickly, as he made it to the middle he heard a shriek of terror from Ellis behind him. Nick spun around to find a Jockey cackling as the disgusting figure clung to Ellis' back. "Ellis!" Nick rushed from the log towards Ellis, who was tumbling from the weight of the infected. Nick had used the frying pan to knock the Jockey off and continued to slam the frying pan into the Jockey's head...breaking the zombie's skull open. Blood had soaked his white suit, staining the $3000 suit immediately. As Nick pulled away from the mangled zombie, he heard another shrill from Ellis; Nick spun around on reaction to find the youngest had fallen into the rapid river. Nick heard Coach and Rochelle scream out Ellis' name as the kid thrashed about to keep his head above the surface. Nick's body moved without his mind telling him too; frankly, he was cursing himself as he made the leap into the rapid rivers. Once Nick broke the surface of the water, he had no choice but to continue to swim on ward and after Ellis. The zombies attempted to follow them into the water, but they were soon pulled under and drowned. Nick had grabbed Ellis' arm and wrapped it around his neck, forcing the two to stay afloat. He heard Coach and Rochelle screaming for them, notifying them they will meet up later, at the next safe house. Nick couldn't agree upon the suggestion, yet he knew that was the only to become a larger group again.

After the river came into a slow stride, Nick swam his way to the shore of the river. He pushed Ellis upon solid ground before pulling himself upon the ground; he coughed out water, dropping on to his back in heavy pants. "God damn you, red neck..." Nick whispered through his pants. He sat up, looking over his suit with a groan. "3,000 dollars...all went to waste. Jesus Christ, now we're far away from the others because you had to fall into the god damn river." He looked at his hands for his frying pan, "And my damn skillet is gone." Nick's hands cradled his face, bringing his knees up, "I can't believe this just happened..."

[OOC: Private for Mare-bear]