Because Zombies! That's why!

Chapter Eight

The day went by, painstakingly, slowly. The highlight of his whole day was being sent out on a supply run with Austin and Liam that took up half the day. Nick even considered camping out outside the city to avoid Felecia.

Getting closer to the city, Nick decided to speak up and ask for help. Opinions. Anything. He just wasn't sure what to do, or how to tell her that he was a jinx.

"Hey... Guys? I... I kind of need some advice." Nick sighed and slowed his walking. The others slowed and looked to him.

"Wrap it before you tap it." Austin said, jokingly, not knowing what was going on.

"Shut up." Nick said.

"What's up, Nick?" Liam asked as he adjusted the strap for his assault rifle on his shoulder.

"This... This stays outside the city, promise?" He asked, shifting his bright blue eyes between them.

"What? You sleep with 'Lisha after you left last night, or some shit?" Austin asked as he looked around. Seeing the look on Nick's face, he sighed. "Fine, promise, whatever. What?"

"No, I didn't sleep with her... But I told her that I wanted to... Thankfully, she rejected me, but it was only because if we ended up doing it, she wanted us both to remember it..." Nick sighed. "She told me about it this morning... After she cut my hair... After she..." Nick cleared his throat. "After she kissed me." Austin and Liam stopped walking and looked at each other before looking at Nick.

"You serious?" Austin asked.

"Do you need advice on... What? Asking her out?" Liam asked as they kept walking.

"No... The opposite." Nick sighed again. "She wants to stop by my apartment later tonight. She wants me to sleep with her but-"

"But what? Where's the problem in that?! You'd be the only runner who ever got play from a girl like that, or any girl at all as far as I know, and we have ALL tried to hit that, but got shot down! She decides that she wants you, so you take it on behalf of all the dudes who can't!" Austin said.

"Dude, that's not even it." Nick retorted.

"There someone else?" Liam asked.

"Well... Not really, anymore. It's more so of the fact that I'm a jinx." He explained. "Everyone I ever had feelings for, or whatever, dies, or becomes a zombie."

"Uh, that kind of happens these days, dipshit." Austin teased.

"Touché, but..." Nick looked down at the ground as he walked. "It's just... Too soon for me."

"You get laid recently, or you lose someone you cared about?"

"I... Well... Ran into an ex the day I got here. She robbed me of my supplies, but hid on the roof of the big lots I was hiding in... She didn't know that it was me that she robbed. She, Deb, took my camera and recorded a message... Apologizing for everything she did to me... But I didn't even see it until it was too late. Until she and I argued... And she got bitten... And turned. I was so mad at her... I didn't know that she even had my camera until after she turned... I got it back when I pushed her off the roof." Nick explained as he took out a stray zom with his new weapon, taking the arrow back when he passed it. "I just... I don't want Felecia to end up like her."

"Nick, you've got to realize that Felecia is a tough girl. She's been on more missions than anyone in our building. She used to do supply runs before the wall was even finished. Felecia survived a Gollum attack once. You don't have to worry about her." Liam explained. He was one of the original supply runners, but he didn't show up until the day the wall was finished. "If you don't want to do it for personal reasons, however, like yours, just finding out that you meant something to someone and watching them die, then let her know. She won't hold it against you."