It was not apparent to Nicholas that he was clutching his chest as if he were having a heart attack. He looked at Mattie with a confused expression, then down at his own hand with the same expression, and removed it from his chest, letting it hang by his side as he spoke.

"Oh, no, no, I'm fine. I'm sorry, I was just thinking about...stuff."

He shook his head, filthy hair bouncing to the sides. Suddenly, his legs were feeling like a lead, and a dreaded thought entered his brain - what if he'd contracted something from Alissa? No, that couldn't be. Was it spread through the air? It seemed to be at first, until everyone started rising from their graves. Now it only seemed to be spread through body fluids. Wait. That didn't make any sense.

"I'm fine," he repeated with a bark, as if she'd asked again. "Let's just - hey, look," he pointed in front of him at a small, abandoned restaraunt. He doubted there was anything of use in there, but it would be good to have the distraction. They could salvage whatever was left. "Let's check it out."