Sorry for the long wait, everyone! I ran into a bit of writers block and decided to take a break to work on another story. I haven't abandoned this one! Thank you for your continued support xoxo

Chapter #15: Carnival Carnage

Nevaeh awoke the next morning to find Ajax nowhere in sight. Ellis was passed out beside her, looking peaceful but quite uncomfortable laying on the hard, cold tile floor. It was her guess that Ajax was probably keeping a lookout near the door, as usual.

Standing, she spotted Nick sitting at one of the red leather booths in the diner, arm rested on the chrome railing as he used a pocket knife to dig the dirt out from beneath his nails in a bored fashion. She watched him a moment in silence. He was by far the last person she would have ever expected to stick up for Ajax, never mind ending up the one to save his life. If it hadn't been for him, Ajax would have drowned.

Her eyes fell briefly. Quietly, she made her way over to the small staircase that lead up to the 50's-styled diner and circled around the row of booths. He had looked up as she sat down across from him, and her eyes lowered once more, biting her lip as she fished for the right words.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot." She met his eyes. "I just wanted to say thank you."

He resumed fiddling with his knife. "For what?" he asked offhandedly.

"I saw what you did. You didn't have to help Ajax, but you did."

He said nothing at first... "I just wanted to kill it before it had a chance to get away."

Her lips twitched. "Hardass."

"Guilty."

She chuckled. Shaking her head, she reached across the table and placed her hand over his, smiling when he nearly dropped his knife. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

"Yeah, yeah." He waved a dismissive hand as if to shoo her away, and she smiled as she came to a stand, leaving him be.

Descending the stairs, she spotted Ajax stationed near the door, and she could have sworn she felt Nick's eyes on her as she went. Once she was close enough, she gave Ajax's back an affectionate rub as she came to stand at his side.

"How're you feeling?"

He shrugged.

"Any problems breathing? Feel any rasping in your lungs when you inhale?"

He shook his head.

"Good." She gave his back a gentle pat and jumped up to sit on the table beside him. "You know, I think Nick is starting to warm up to you."

He turned his head to her, frowning in question.

"He shot the Hunter that had you pinned, and I was able to drag you out of the water."

He blinked at her words, expression blank, but then he looked over his shoulder towards the diner where he knew the conman was camped out.

"Have you been doing the exercises I showed you?"

Another nod. Turning to face her, he lifted his hands and proceeded to show her, touching each of his fingertips to his thumbs with little to no effort. It impressed her how quickly his motor skills were improving.

She gave an approving nod. "Not bad." Taking one of his hands in hers, she began the routine massage, kneading his palms with her thumbs and massaging the joints in his fingers. He had relaxed the muscles in his hand completely as she gently cracked his knuckles for him. He loved it when she did this.

"You're a miracle, Ajax. You realize that, right?"

He smiled faintly.

"You're incredible both biologically and in personality. You're alive, but you've maintained the physical benefits of the Hunter strain. To a doctor like me, you're a treasure."

This time, his smile faltered slightly, and when she saw the look on his face she instantly realized what how he had taken her words.

"That's not why I keep you around. You're the most interesting case I've ever come across, but you're also my friend." Reaching forward, she gave his chin a gentle nick. "We're family."

His smile renewed.

"So, about that Hunter... the one that saved us. Weird, huh?"

He nodded, the action distant. It was strange, and he hadn't stopped thinking about it since. If this new Hunter was following them, that was not something he could take lightly—especially with Nevaeh around.

"You think he's another one like you? I mean, he attacked the Tank, not us. Why would he run off, though?"

Again, he shrugged, unable to offer any better of an answer. He was just as lost as she was.

Nevaeh turned her gaze out the door, pensive. "You think he's still out there? Maybe he's been following us this whole time, staying downwind so you wouldn't pick up his scent. It's become clear he harbors a higher intelligence like yourself."

He looked towards the barred window in the door as well, more disconcerted than thoughtful. The thought unsettled him. The notion of something as dangerous as another Hunter following them around was hardly comforting, especially if he hadn't even noticed it. He didn't want this newcomer sneaking up on them if he decided he wanted to hurt Nevaeh or the others.

He'd have to keep a sharper eye out and make sure to give the air an extra whiff once in awhile.

They reached the park by the time noon rolled around, the first glimpses of the towering waterslides peaking in the distance.

"It's either gonna be packed with zombies, or it's gonna be a ghost town. There will be no in-between," said Nick.

Nevaeh turned her head up to Ajax to see he was patiently awaiting her word from atop a car. "You know what to do."

A single nod, and he was running ahead. Be careful, Ajax.

By the time they reached the front gates, the Hunter was waiting for them atop the archway, and Nevaeh's shoulders slouched in relief at seeing he was unscathed. He looked down at her as she neared and held up six fingers.

Nick looked to her. "What does that mean?"

"It means we're facing a six out of ten danger when it comes to number of infected... but that's just from what he's seen outside."

"And special infected?"

Ajax cast him only a fleeting glance as he made a gesture to his throat.

"He took care of whatever he saw," Nevaeh explained. "That doesn't mean let your guard down." Rounding about, she exchanged a silent message with Ajax, and without so much as an inquiring tilt of the head he was turning and leaping down on the opposite end of the gate.

As the Hunter took the chains wrapped around the iron bars in his hands, Nevaeh had glanced over her shoulder to send the group a cunning smile. "Let the games begin."

The chains fell from the gate with noisy clatter, and Ajax pulled the doors back to allow them passage. Once they were through, he had split from the group to resume picking off the common infected milling about the area as they, too, made quick and silent work with their melee weapons. Bodies of previously gutted infected and citizens alike scattered the ground like human litter, hanging lifelessly over fences and slumped over steps in bloodied heaps.

"Poor sons o' bitches," mused Coach dismally.

"These people came here to have fun with their families... and they got caught in the middle of an apocalypse," added Rochelle in an equally depressive tone.

"We all got caught. Didn't matter where you were." Nick scraped the blood coating his machete off on a railing. "Didn't matter who you were."

Ajax looked down at the body of a deceased Hunter as he passed, pausing only briefly to regard it's gaping mouth and blood-stained teeth. At this angle, with its face towards the sun, the two mutilated eye sockets stared back up at him, lifeless and vacant. His nose scrunched without his consent as the smell of rotting flesh wafted into his nostrils, as a feeling of disdain rose within him.

Deep down, he knew this Hunter had taken part in the terror that plagued this park, but that it had no control over its actions. In spite of how his every instinct encouraged him to hate this monster for terrorizing children, whom had never expected such horror when they came to play in the water park, he knew he couldn't justify it. The virus was a cruel mistress. He should know.

He had been just like that Hunter.

A sudden hand on his shoulder nearly caused him to jump from his skin, head snapping up sharply to where Nevaeh stood at his side.

"Hey." Her eyes expressed momentary concern. "You okay? You spaced out for a minute, there." Upon looking down, however, a spark of realization lit up her eyes. "Ajax..." Returning her attention to him, she saw he was looking away with a darkened gaze. "Hey." Lifting her hand, she gently but firmly grasped his chin and made him look at her. "You aren't them. You're as human as I am. You're just more badass." A good-natured smile graced her lips. "The virus does not define you. If it made you do anything, none of it is your fault. None of it is their fault." She motioned to the deceased Hunter. "What you can do is help people now that you are capable of doing so." Her eyes drilled gently into his. "Okay?"

"Nevaeh, Ajax, let's go," called Nick. "Quit standing around."

Ajax turned away with her, refocusing his attention on their surroundings once again as they walked after the others. Further ahead, Nick and Rochelle were taking down a small group of infected while Coach and Ellis kept their gazes sharp and searching, melees at the ready.

As they ventured deeper into the park, they came across a gruesome sight in the shape of a large wave pool. The once clear, moving water lay still and stagnant, dyed a deep crimson by the dozens of bodies that floated along its surface. All their eyes were locked in solemn unease on the grisly sight as they passed, not a single one speaking a word.

Ellis' eyes scanned over the carnage, all traces of the usual mirth erased from his baby blues as the reality of what had happened here wrapped itself around his conscience. Suddenly, he had wished they'd just taken the long way and walked around the park. It was as he was thinking this that his gaze suddenly fell on a smaller figure floating amongst the bodies, and it took him a second to realize what he was looking at, but when he did he nearly stopped dead in his tracks as he realized he was looking into the dead stare of a boy no older than eight.

He nearly jumped from his skin when he felt a hand clap down on his shoulder, head snapping up to be met with the solemn gaze of Coach. "Come on, boy. Nothing we can do for 'em now." With a little encouragement, the mechanic continued on, but not before casting one last glance over his shoulder. He wasn't the only one moved by the horrific sight. All of them took their fair share of turns gazing upon the sad sight as they passed by. It was hard not to stare.

Perched atop a light post, Ajax's eyes had darkened to black holes as he stared at the young bodies mixed amongst the adults. Without his control, the pressure in his chest had risen from a simmering anger to a white hot rage.

"Ajax," Nevaeh called; though, a frown had come to her face when he did not answer. "Ajax?"

As if cued, a united mass of screeches echoed through the silent air, ripping through it like a dagger and causing all six of their heads to snap around in unified alarm.

"What the hell attracted a horde?" exclaimed Nick.

Already, bodies began creeping in from behind the various tents and stands, the distant sound of running footsteps drawing ever near as the horde closed in.

"They're everywhere..." Rochelle's eyes contained mild horror as she looked around at the infected seeming to seep in through every available exit. "Guys, they're everywhere!"

"The hell do we do?" yelled Ellis.

"Run like Hell!" Lifting his gun, Nick fired and took off running.

The gunshot had snapped Ajax into action, leaping down from the light post and running into the hoard head-on. Nevaeh wasn't far behind, calling to the others to follow the Hunter's lead as he created a passage for them to cut through. Nick narrowly dodged a wad of acid as he passed through, forced to turn around and take a blind shot at the Spitter running hot on his tail. The bullet made lucky connection straight through her stretched out jaw, severing directly through the back of her head and sending her crashing violently to the cement in a puddle of her own glowing slime. He barely had time to reload his shotgun before two more infected came charging at him from his right, and he just managed to shoot one through the head before the other was on top of him, but a quick, carefully-aimed shot from Ellis saved him last second.

"Keep moving!" shouted Nevaeh.

"Where the hell d'we go?" called Ellis. "Sons o' bitches are everywhere!"

"There's a rollercoaster not far from here! It's closed off on all sides but one." She paused to shoot a zombie lunging her way. "We fight from there!"

"Is that such a good idea?" asked Rochelle loudly. "Boxing ourselves in like that?"

"You got a better idea?" Nevaeh looked back at her, but the other woman was silent.

"Aw, hell, she's got my vote!" shouted Nick.

They followed her lead as she ran to cover Ajax, who had taken vicious point. Somewhere amongst the swarm of infected, a thunderous bellow alerted them to a Charger's presence, heads snapping about to see which one of them was the target. Ellis had just barely thrown himself behind the counter of one of the game stands before the beast made brutal contact where he had been standing, the sheer force of the hit nearly splitting the counter through the middle. The mechanic was quick on his feet, however, taking the Charger's momentary incapacitation to jump up onto the cracked countertop to press the nose of his gun right up against its head, and with a single blow the beast fell dead.

"Ellis, keep up!" called Nevaeh from afar.

Leaping from the counter, he rushed to catch up with the rest of the group, but it was proving a challenge as the number of infected gaining on him took a toll on his pace. They seemed to come from every direction, and he was having trouble finding the time to reload before another was pouncing him. So, he resorted to using his machete, but even then he could barely gain a progressive foot forward, and with a glance over his shoulder he saw the group growing farther and farther away despite their efforts to aid him.

That was when he suddenly felt a hand seize the back of his shirt, but before he could so much as attempt to turn and face his assailant he was being vaulted a good twenty feet into the air. A startled yelp had escaped him before he could stop it, and the next thing he knew he was landing atop the roof of a small building. Then, all in the same second, he was being thrown over a shoulder, and they were taking flight once more.

"WHAT THE F—AAHHHHH!" He screamed as he saw the ground leave them for the second time, and they plummeted downwards yet again—this time landing smack in the middle of the group.

Ajax threw him off his shoulder, earning a small "oof" from Ellis as he made clumsy contact with the ground, hand flying up to hold his hat on his head, and the Hunter was leaping off the same second. Ellis' head had snapped over both shoulders from the floor as he watched Ajax go, eyes widened and flustered as he tried to absorb what had just happened.

A small laugh made him look up as Nevaeh appeared at his side, light amusement in her eyes as she extended her hand down to him. "You get used to it."

"Let's go!" shouted Nick.

Managing to regain himself enough to take her hand, Ellis got back to his feet and ran with them as Nick tossed a pipe bomb into the horde gaining behind them. Briefly, they were relieved of constant berating as a good chunk of the undead chased after the bomb, and they were able to gain some ground.

"Move! Move!"

"Hell, I feel like we're back at Screamin' Oaks!" exclaimed Ellis.

"Yeah, good times!" snapped Nick bitterly.

Ajax cleared a good ten foot jump up to the boarding ramp, while Nevaeh vaulted herself over the bars in the line area.

"Turn on the coaster!" called Nick. "If we run behind it, it'll blow anything over in its path!"

"Ajax, get that coaster running!" shouted Nevaeh.

The Hunter leapt over the currently parked train to where the control panel stood on the opposite side, where he waited as the others caught up. His hand hovered over the green button as they all gathered behind the train, aside from Nevaeh, who came to stand on the platform Ajax was on.

"What are you doing?" asked Coach.

"Ground coverage. I'll make my way up."

Ellis' face clearly expressed he was against the idea. "You sure it's such a good idea hangin' back by yerself?"

"Don't worry about me. I can handle myself, and I have Ajax." She checked to ensure her guns were fully loaded. "You just focus on taking out that hoard."

"They're coming!" announced Nick as he watched the approaching hoard stampede towards them.

Looking over her shoulder, she nodded to Ajax. "You ready?"

A single nod was his response, and with a silent command from her he slammed his hand down on the activation button. The coaster rolled forward, and the four survivors ran after is as Nevaeh climbed down the ladder leading to the clearing within the ride's gates, Ajax right behind her. Within seconds, the hoard had stampeded onto the premises, and gunshots pierced the air.

A cry of glee escaped Ellis as he fired upon the zombies on his tail, sending one over the side of the tracks with a solid kick to the chest. "Man, I love rollercoasters!"

Nick turned. "Ellis, twelve o' clock!"

Ellis' body snapped about, eyes locking on the source of the conman's alarm in an instant. Raising his rifle, he pulled back on the trigger just in the nick of time, sending a Spitter plummeting off the tracks on the opposite end of the coaster.

"Shit!" Nick cursed as an infected jumped him from behind. Bucking violently, he managed to throw the infected back before making a sharp turn and sending the butt of his gun into its face, knocking it to the tracks. More quickly gained in its wake, however, and in the end he chose to run and shoot, quickly growing outnumbered. "A little help over here—what the—!" A sharp "no" left his lips as he found himself being dragged backwards by the tongue of a Smoker, but before he could begin to panic there was a huge burst of green smoke, and the tongue fell limp around his body.

Coughing, he threw the slimy appendage from himself in disgust, arm coming up to shield his mouth and nose from the smoke, when his head jerked up as the infected in his pursuit burst through the thick cloud in a rabid frenzy. A gunshot rang through the air, and then another, and with each bang one of them fell dead in their tracks. Peering over the tracks, he realized Nevaeh was the source of the gunshots, her eyes locked intently on the small herd advancing on him as she took them out with expert aim. Not wasting any time, he snatched his shotgun from the tracks where he'd dropped it, backing up hastily as he reloaded the shells.

Down below, Nevaeh picked off infected from ground level, aiming with skilled precision whilst wielding her katana in her other hand to take out anything that came at her from the sides. Turning at a shout from Ellis, she saw he had tripped and was scrambling for his gun whilst a Hunter stalked towards him on all fours. He scrambled backwards as he fumbled to reload his rifle, eyes widened as he watched the hooded infected stalking him, mouth and hands stained with blood.

"Shit." Raising her gun, Nevaeh took careful aim, but before she could pull the trigger a rather unexpected surprise stopped her short.

Ellis had emitted a startled yelp as yet another Hunter climbed up onto the tracks from over the side, but rather than targeting him he seemed more interested with the Hunter about to pounce him, snarling in its face. In response, the other pounced, and they collided viciously. Ellis jumped, and he scrambled to his feet, taking a few, quick steps backwards to avoid the mess of teeth and claws.

Nevaeh's eyes had widened as she realized who exactly the other Hunter was. "Ellis!" she called, and he looked down at her sharply. "Don't shoot the one in black!"

"The hell not?!"

"Just trust me!"

Before he had time to reply, his attention was brought back to the two Hunters as the one clad in black snapped the neck of the Hunter who had been stalking him. He tensed, finger pressing against the trigger as the other Hunter rose to its feet, head turning to glare at him ominously from within the blackened shadow of its hood. The mechanic swallowed, tensing again when the Hunter moved, but instead of attacking him it simply turned away and took off running in the opposite direction, but not to the ignorance of Ajax. He moved to pursue him, but Nevaeh's voice was stopping him in the same instant.

"Leave him, Ajax!"

Looking down at her briefly, his head turned back to the Hunter just in time to see him look over his shoulder only for a second before bounding off once again. A low, begrudging growl rumbled in the back of his throat, but he relented, returning to the fight with an impressive leap.

Down below, Nevaeh suddenly whirled about at the strident bellow of a Charger; though, she only caught a glimpse of the incoming infected before she was being tackled to the side by a solid but smaller form. Through the slap of whiplash and shock of hitting the ground hard, she saw the Charger fly past in a dark blur, and she was looking up at the figure on top of her, expecting to see Ajax, but instead she was greeted with another face. Their new teammate, barely visibly against the dark of night, moved backwards off of her swiftly in what appeared to be alarm, and it quickly became apparent to her what had him spooked when she spotted Nick with his gun aimed between his eyes.

"NO, NICK—!"

At that moment, a furious shriek rang through the air, and before she could react Ajax was landing between them, rising to full height and releasing another impressive screech in the other Hunter's face. The black-clad Hunter's lips curled into a snarl, shoving Ajax by the chest with an equally deafening shriek of his own, the sound seeming to echo for miles.

"Ajax, don't! I'm okay!" Nevaeh tried to intervene, but her words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Just as they were going to tear into each other, however, was when the ground began to shake, faint at first, but it was enough to make both Hunters freeze in their tracks. They all knew what was approaching before it came, and the next second a Tank came bursting through fence with the force of a wrecking ball, startling them both.

Their heads snapped up in united surprise as the Tank charged straight through the supportive beams holding up the roller coaster, causing it to creak and groan as it gave way beneath the tracks' weight. Ellis, who was standing on the compromised section of the track, released a startled shout as he nearly lost his footing, arms flailing as the tracks shook precariously beneath him. To his luck, Nick managed to reach out and yank him to safety mere seconds before the beams gave way, and the tracks collapsed with an earsplitting crash. The second they were on stable ground, the two men turned their attentions down to the Tank with widened eyes as it charged straight towards Nevaeh, Ajax, and the mysterious Hunter.

"Nevaeh, get out of there!" Nick shouted.

Ajax immediately charged at the Tank, leaping up and lashing his claws directly across its face. It released a piercing bellow as four deep gashes were left as a result, as Ajax swung around to its back when it made a blind grab for him. It was as he was going in for another attack that his head snapped up at a snarl just in time to see other Hunter charge in, jumping up and sending both his feet into the Tank's right knee with all the strength in his legs. There was a sickening crack, the Tank bellowed, and Ajax was forced to hold fast when it lurched sharply forwards. Bracing himself, he jumped off just before the beast hit the floor, landing in a polished roll a few feet in front of it.

"Ajax, get out of the way!" shouted Ellis from above, where both he and Nick stood with their weapons poised.

Ajax quickly sprinted out of the line of fire, the other Hunter following in his wake, and the group opened fire. The Tank roared, pounding its fists to the ground as it turned towards the onslaught of bullets. Charging forward, it rammed its huge mass against the support beams, causing Nick and Ellis to release conjoined exclamations of alarm as the rails shook hazardously beneath their feet, nearly causing them to take a fatal plunge.

"Go! Go, go!" Nick shoved Ellis forward, scrambling to get off the collapsing tracks as the Tank continued to tear the beams apart, in spite of the others' efforts to draw its attention away.

That was when Nevaeh both felt and heard one of her swords being unsheathed from her back, her head snapping behind her just as a black blur flew past. "Hey!" Her eyes widened when she saw the strange Hunter running straight for the Tank, twirling the blade in his right hand so it was pointing backwards. "CEASE FIRE!" she shouted.

With a great leap, he vaulted his body into the air, both hands gripping the katana at its hilt as he descended, and as his feet made contact with the Tank's back, the blade buried its full length into the beast's body via impalement through the head. As the Tank's body jerked, the Hunter gave the blade one last twist, and the huge infected was teetering forwards. With a grace to match Ajax's, he leapt off just seconds before ground impact, and all fell quiet once more save for a the stragglers of the hoard, which were picked off easily with a few clean shots from the others.

"Holy shit," muttered Ellis.

Nevaeh stepped forward, looking down at the katana's handle, which was the only part of the sword that still showed. Glancing briefly to the Hunter, she bent down and retrieved the blade, pressing her boot to the Tank's shoulder as she pulled the weapon from its body.

"Not bad, new guy." Turning, she went to address the Hunter, but was presented with an empty spot where he had been standing behind Ajax. Blinking, she glanced around as Ajax looked behind him, but he was nowhere in sight.

"The hell did he go?" muttered Nick.

"I don't know. I didn't see him leave," said Rochelle.

Nevaeh frowned. "Why does he keep helping us out, and then disappearing?" she mused, speaking indirectly to Ajax. His only response was to shrug.

"Reminds me o' Batman," piped in Ellis. "And 'e wears black, which makes 'im even harder to see. Wonder why 'e keeps takin' off, though. We could use the numbers."

"We don't need any more Hunters added to the group." Nick rolled his eyes. "I'm still getting used to Ajax. Let's not push our luck."

Ajax flicked his fingers under his chin in a very clear "fuck you", to which the conman punctually replied with the middle finger, but it wasn't as spiteful as it could have been.

"We should keep movin' while the movin's good," said Coach. "Let's check the safehouse for extra ammo and get the hell outta this place."

Nevaeh walked up to join Ajax's side as they walked, noting the vague resentment etched into his features with knowing eyes. "It's only for a little while longer."

The look he sent her hardly screamed encouragement. She placed a hand on his shoulder.