Left 4 Dead

All Cast, Original Concept

Chapter I

- I hate the rain.

Makes me feel like the whole world really has completely gone to shit.

It shows the honest emotions that are harbored inside,

creating this terrifying beast at my core.

Like all things are now void, and I all I have left,

are things I don't even have control of...

But that's just me. The rest of the gang is pretty stoked about it all. Like God finally listened to their stupid pleas for a body worthy of these tricks and, BAM, the Infection arose. Who else gets to be the B.A.M.F. they've been working their muscles to become originally? Take Roger, he is the youngest of our group, yet he tells us all the time how he is so much faster and can jump so much further because of his early training. At times I wish he was lying, but again and again, he'll crouch with his pre-toned legs and "kkrRRAAAAAAAA!" shoot off to the roofs. Some of the others like to see how far we can knock objects without touching them. One Lone wolf guy managed to knock a survivor across an entire alley and the human died instantly! It was awesome till he tore his head off and kicked it at the rest of us..

but it was all in fun.

What else have you got to do in a wasteland?

Oh, well there are also experiments, I guess. You know, for us with much more than just testosterone.

When I say experiments though, I'm not talking about seeing how much one can drink now as opposed to before the Infection ( 3 1/2 gallons; straight Vodka with lime) I mean, things like coordinating our jumps to knock back the Horde and establishing a space for the Survivors. Creating the right distractions to move the clusters of mindless away from the humans. Gathering the correct ammo necessary for their current weapons and dropping them along their path. Providing Food, Shelter, Aid packets, rest...Just small things.

Hey, don't seem so surprised! We're on your side! Plus, we also get a share of the profits from helping you live. The more Humans that survive means the more likely chance we can find a cure or some kind of established relationship between our fellow humans and Infected. We're not all idiots looking to kill, some of us enjoy doing normal things like keeping a pet ( never last long though, its a tough job), talking to other intelligent people, playing games, and on occasion...it has been reported and secretly documented..

Some manage to fall in Love.

Now, look, don't be coy and say that's wrong, we need love too. We were once the same humans who now seek to escape our world, so doesn't it make sense that a few of us, every once in a great while, finds a beautiful Survivor? The kind that makes you almost wanna run at her and take her down, just to get close to her? Growling from a distance, wishing your hardest that she would somehow understand your feelings? Or that the only reason you am following her is because you wanted to apologize for ripping her beautiful pink jacket sleeve?

...sorry...

-Shouting in the distance of a broken alleyway. The dark road is littered with varied size debris and tattered horde, all scattering to the empty echoes. I remain hooded and silent beneath the overhang on the far side of the lane, our pack motto. On the roof is another comrade, Roger, who is crouched to better see the happenings below and ready to signal the rest of the crew if something goes awry. This time the Survivors, we decided, would have to die . The clan is running tight on stocks and we've found a few more intelligent Infected, so these fools will have to stock our dwindling supply. Besides, its a smaller group and they've been struggling for a also don't seem to be too "fit" for a new world. Hell, I don't even think Rescue is coming this time, so its either us or the horde get them and to hell if I let THEM eat before me! -

- A light flashes across the far wall, stealing me from my inner rants. A thin figure of a girl sprints ahead of the group, running madly and obviously in a panic. With her heading toward our street, I make a small motion to Roger up top. He makes swift work of leaping down into her path, knocking her beneath him with ease. He begins to finalize her when the rest of her small group of 2 other humans come bolting from where she originally ran. Growling deep, I leap out of my hiding cove and crash into the first guy, knocking him into the empty shop window across the street. This was followed by a chain reaction of head turns from the Horde, who now begin to somber their way off the ground and shamble towards the fight. ' Great, now we have to use backup' Not a moment to soon, a spitter dashes out from inside the same store, shooting her toxic goo at the feet of the horde, who instantly stop just short of. The young hunter tosses the now dead body over his shoulder and leaps off towards the direction of where the other intelligent infected are waiting. The last human guy charges in after me, but a tongue quickly wraps around his waist, dragging him back into the street. The Spitter girl, grabs my catch and motions me to finish the last one. Dashing out towards the smoker, I lunge at the guy hanging under the balcony when-

POW_ssszzZWWIIFFFFTTTTT!

I stop dead as a sniper bullet flew right by my head. Facing my assailant, I hear an oddly familiar noise coming from...inside me..

bu-Bump

My heart leaps as the color of her perfect, pink jacket sinks into my brain, retching me from the darkness I find comfort in. I can hear my heart miss beats,as I wonder why she is standing up there. I can feel my blood pull through my veins as my mind fogs over with her image, memories racing to the front of my mind. I can see nothing but her, standing on that roof top with such a strong persona, all things seeming to melt with her being the only object that remains still..

..until I spot movement on the roof adjacent to her. Roger, finished taking the body to the others, silently leaps closer to her, eager to seek revenge for the lone shot. In a panic, I dash away from the Smoker and rapidly scale the wall hoping to cut Roger off his path. I hear the smoker shout at me just as I manage to approach the young Roger, him just beginning to leap again onto the buildings edge that I was on. In seemingly slow motion,Roger turns his head slowly and gives me a strange and confused look. However, with the girls face imprinted on my brain, I over calculate my momentum and knocked him clean off of the roofs edge. As he tumbles, I smell the distinct Boomer smell, dreading knowing that can only mean one thing.

Before anyone can understand what happened, Roger lands and immediately leaps straight into the path of the disgusting bile, covering himself from head to toe in the sickly vomit. Within seconds, the Horde surrounds him with ferocity never recorded before and violently rip into him. The boomer belches and claws at the nearest ones as I and a team of hunters quickly leap into action. With every hunter pouncing in the same vicinity, they managed to knock the zombies back, giving me time to dash to Roger and quickly strip him of the clothes with bile., He is already profusely bleeding and one may have severed his major thigh artery, but I can only do so much with that little time frame. I wrap him onto my back and make a giant leap out of the pile. The others dive into the nearest dark spot they can find and disappear, as the boomer distracts the majority of the lame infected. I leap onto the balcony where the Smoker had just gathered his kill and suddenly remember the girl in the pink jacket. I turn to where she was and...

There she is. Just staring... at me. at ME, with these eyes of... sympathy?

Did she see the whole thing?

Did I mention I hate the rain?

Chapter II

riIIPPP!

-I tear a strip of cloth from the pile of white gauze gathered on the floor of our mildly-lit, make-shift hospital. Roger is laying on the couch beneath me, sleeping from the rush he got merely hours ago. Using a little anti-biotic cream, I wipe it across Rogers' arm's cut before wrapping the strip tightly around it. I feel him tense automatically under my hand, but I continue to work with ginger, though distracted, fingers. I can hear Oscar, the Boomer from before, being scolded for his 'thoughtless' actions, but we both knew he was taking the rap for me. Some how, I think he understood what happened before I even knew cause he offered to take the fall. Its nothing bad, but none of us like being bitched at by a fellow zombie. and we only appointed a few 'generals' so that it didn't feel so democratic anymore.

I sigh as I finish the last bandage and turn to the wound on his leg. I was right before when I thought they tore his main vein but unfortunately, it wasn't so much the artery as it was his main quad muscle group. This meant that he would have to do some therapy and exercise to be worthy of another battle. It might knock him down a few ego pegs, but at least he'll be on our level now..and maybe he'll think twice before surprisingly attacking my lov-

-I hear him grunt as he turns over and faces me. I do a slight grin, but he doesn't return it. Its a seemingly long awkward pause when..

"Well. What the fuck happened bro?"

He nearly spits the words at me like some kind of jealous ex. He can read my face and knows that it is still at the top of my mind. I growl lightly and stand, moving across the room to shut the door on the distant noise outside. I hesitate before turning around, giving him my best poker face.
"Nothing." I said with little enthusiasm.
"Nothing? You shoved me off the fucking roof for NOthing?" He nearly shouts. Instantly, I was over him, growling threatingly deep in his ear, my teeth showing sharply in close proximity to his exposed neck.
"Listen here, it would have been nothing if you hadn't decided to play Rambo and seek revenge for a missed shot, you prick"

He is a bit more reserved than before, but responds quickly." What the fuck are you on about? I just saw a human from the group we were ORDERED to kill and went to do the job! Until you came out of nowhere and decided to push me into the hordes waiting hands."

I stand up straight and breathe deep,calming myself before replying.
"She wasn't part of that group, so she wasn't suppose to die" I turn to gather the needle and string for his leg injury, wanting to put the topic to rest.
"Then what the hell was she doing WITH those other humans?" he throws at me, lifting his torso up into a sitting position. I grab the sterile needle and push his leg apart to reveal the nasty slice. Holding the string out of my way, He flinches when the metal is jabbed through his skin the first time, but remains still afterwards. I sew a few stitches before replying.
" She was watching that group to see if she could be of any use."
-Roger nods silent, before resuming- " Is that why she wasn't mentioned before in our brief meeting? John said there were only three humans on this mission..ya 'know, I don't even think they knew she existed.."
" They've never met before, no"
" So then why was she there to help them out?" He questioned
" Cause that's what she decided to do with her life. She is remaining here to help other humans to make it to the military rescues" -I finish his stitches and rub some more cream on the thread. I face away, tossing the needle into the health case as Roger stands slightly with a bit of a huff. He manages to ignore the pain for some more conversation.

" Pft, why would anyone besides us choose to stay behind? That just sounds dumb..."
" Its not stupid, its bravery!", I turn and spit at him quickly," She has already been to the safe haven and found it to be very tiring with what everyone in a mindless panic. She enjoys the silence this horrible land brings and she has survived very well this long so maybe she isn't so bad at making a living here, huh?" - He gives me a confused expression, like the one from before but it quickly gives way to the dawn of realization over his ugly face.

" Hey, wait a minute, How the hell do YOU know all of this?" As soon as the words are emitted from his mouth, Oscar opens the door. He scans the room with his eyes and, once again, understands the situation before anything is said.
" Oh, hey there you are Roger. Listen, some of the guys downstairs think they can out jump you now..just wanted to make sure yo-" Cutting Oscar off, Roger leaps into the air in rage and begins to shout in utter disbelief.

" WHAAAT? HEll NO, I'm STILL stronger than them, even with a spliced quad! I'll show them I can beat them with one LEG!" He grabs his hoodie and dashes rapidly past the Boomer, across the hall and down the stairs, his prior question having all but disappeared.

Sighing once more, I calm myself down and sit on the couch that Roger was just bandaged on. Oscar quietly enters the room and gently shuts the wooden door behind him. He remains silent as he crosses the floor and rests against a pillar in the center of it, facing me. His face is expressionless, not judging but just waiting for me to say something, but what hell can I say in something like this? 'Hey, so I've been stalking this human girl for the last several months and I know everything about her, but i think that today, she may have recognized me from a time before, and now she is probably running for the hills cause she has a zombie stalker? Oh, and...'

" Thanks for taking the blame..." -was all I could get out. Nothing made sense and it was the only thing that I could say without getting too emotional. Oscar nods, his eyes looking around the room slowly. He shifts a little before speaking further.
" It was no big deal. Honestly, I think I helped John's ego be letting him lash at me. So its not all bad. Besides..." He hesitates in his sentence. I look up to see him staring straight into me, "...I can see when someone nearly has a heart attack because the one they love is doing something that catches you off guard." My eyes grow wide in shock, before I cast them down, sadness and regret taking over.
" Is it that obvious?" I mutter, wondering how many others might have found out by now. Oscar removes himself from the pillar and sits himself next to me, shaking his head in a 'no' fashion.
" Don't worry, its only me that knows. The others couldn't care less what time of day it was, but I've made it a habit to track the coming and goings of our fellow teammates."

Now I'm the one with the confused face." Why would you do that?" I ask with honesty

" What the hell else have I got to do? I'm normally stuck in this building, or out collecting memorabilia from our human days. So, why not do something that might be useful later, like tracking where zombies go?" I smile, knowing that what he says is true. I turn my head to look at the door, before resuming with our conversation.
" So, if you track all of us, then you know that for the past several months, I've been sneaking down to the port?" I tense up when Oscar nods, so I ask a different question." Do you..know why?"
" Cause they opened a new Sushi bar nearby? YES, of course I know. And don't panic, I haven't said a word." I relax a little and my hands unclench from my pants.

" Though, you should know, its not too uncommon for a zombie to fall in love with a human..." I turn quickly towards him in surprise. He smiles at me and speaks." Well, maybe in this group, but other traveling infected have recorded such things in the few books they leave behind. So, if John ever did find out about it, we could easily win him over with the notes that will back you up."

I stand up from the couch in excitement, knowing that I wasn't the only fool who falls in love with a survivor. I begin to wonder what the outcome of their loves became, but my mood suddenly dropped when the realization hit me. HARD. Zoey would never fall in love with me! I'm a damn ZOMBIE for god sake!

Depressed, I drop into a crouch and lower my head.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to hug myself.

I wanted to be in a corner and just rot, waste into nothing that surrounds me...

Oscar pulls me from my depression by placing his hand on my shoulder. I turn and see the same look of sympathy from him as I saw from her on the battle field. I shudder and turn away again. Oscar sighs," Come on now, cheer up. What's got you so down? Weren't you just exited by the news that you're not the only infected in love?"
" I was, and I am, but...it won't work." I stop, gathering my thoughts from the bleak inside," She is a living human. She has a future. She has goals and other things to look forward to. But me? I might as well just hang myself till I waste into dust. I have nothing left for me. I'm pointless. Why would she ever go for someone like me?"

Oscar nods and replies" Not to mention that you are a bi-polar psychopath slash College guy zombie. The likes she has trained herself to kill on site."
" That really helps, Oscar, thanks.." I sarcastically mutter.
" What I meant is that both of you would be going against everything that is you. But... isn't that the way love has always been?" I shrug, still tethered to my saddening facts. I don't hear Oscar say anything more, but I do hear him searching for something in his pockets. Suddenly, a beautiful silver chain with a tiny, diamond impressed heart at its end drops in front of my hood. It catches the light enough to twinkle in my eyes, making my heart swell just a little. My hand reaches for it gently as Oscar continues," Now, you have to figure out some way to give this to her that won't freak her out. and without the others seeing. I'll put my head on the block for you once, but I will not be the laughing stock of the century for carrying jewelry in my pocket," He lets the chain drop into my palm as I study it over," Just don't forget that she will most likely be carrying a huge weapon with her, so if you plan on giving it to her, I would try to figure out a way to do it without making her kill you."

" Yeah? How do you suppose I do that?" I retort, edging on sadness.
" Just go at it like you would if you both were human. You know, spur of the moment kind of thing. Just be smart about it, and carry it with you at all times. Never know when the moment will strike" I actually smile at him and join him on the couch again. Holding the chain in my hand, I look at the pendent again and sigh, though happily this time. What he says is true. We are a bit star-crossed, but since when has that stopped anyone? And the others had to start somewhere, so maybe it will work. Maybe it will.

Finally outta my funk, I turn back to Oscar with a slight grin on my face.

" So...you watch everyone, do you?"
" Yep, try my best to."

"... know anything interesting?" Oscar grins, too
" Well...I know Roger secretly leaves during the day to go run down to his mothers old house and cry on her bed."
" Dude, that's depressing..."
" OH, and that spitter chick that was out with ya today?
" yeah?"

" ...she masturbates behind the dumpster on third."

" DUDE, SICK! YOU ASS!" I punch him on the shoulder hard as his entire body ripples with heavy laughter. We both just both sat there, laughing till we couldn't breath.

Been so long since anyone of us has done that.

Chapter III

Its been several weeks since the last time I saw Zoey. I've decided to take Oscars advice and just lay low for now. Really don't want to start getting attention drawn to myself from my clan and especially not when I'm sure Zoey has skipped town due to my creeper effect. I still have the necklace, though, and ever once in a while I'll pull it out and remember who I really am. Nothing sappy, just a quick nudge in the heart to make my steps a little more jolly.
Speaking of jolly steps, you won't believe how much a simple spliced quad would bring an entire team together so quickly! I'm not talking about how we all jumped in to save Roger, I'm talking about everyone wanted to plan a parade cause the little tough shit has finally been beat! Not too long ago, one of our own hunters decided to actually accept a challenge made from Roger, who still believed he owned the world. It had been decided by the rest of the hunters that it would take place the next morning and it would be a difficult task so they both were on even levels.

Both competitors had to get from the flat ground up to the 5th story of the cell phone building by taking their biggest leap at it and then racing from where they both landed to the top. Honestly, I was surprised that those stitches hadn't already torn a larger hole in his leg, but I still wasn't going to ruin this kind of fun with a few safety facts. Both of them lined up at the base of the wall as the crowd of other miscreants gathered around. I perched on the next door building roof, looking down at the two excited hunters. Oscar waved at me from the building across the street, who had to make sure that the entire race was without cheating. I nodded back, my hood down to enjoy the early sun. My blonde short hair had lost its way to a new dark, ragged auburn that wasn't much to look at, so I had no fear of the infected making a scene about my hood being down. Plus, who cares? I was in a phenomenal mood.

John came out from inside the building with a few other generals who made sure the race would be completely fair. See how much effort we put into making sure someone lives up to their egos? As John walked to a lamp post, the other members took their place among the spectators for a good view. John leapt onto the top of the post and went over the rules, which both challengers were too busy getting pumped up to care about. Roger was slightly favoring his bad leg, but from everyone else's view, it probably looked like he was just anxious about the race. John's arm flew straight into the air as the Crowd immediately silenced. The two eager Hunters crouched low, holding to their practiced traditions. John's eyes scanned the street quickly, before he grinned and...

!

As soon as John's arm dropped, both Hunters leapt swiftly off of the ground with hardly a dust cloud to show. The crowd still hadn't realized that it had begun, but I could clearly see that something was amiss. When Roger had leapt, he had switched his weight to his bad leg in an effort to even the weight like a normal hunter would do. But looking at his face now in slow motion, I could clearly see the pain wretch across his face, confirming that one of his stitches managed to tear itself out of place. Both hunters had landed on the flat brick wall, but with Roger being in so much pain, he didn't quite stick his claws to the brick facing, which caused him to slide at least 6 feet down before stopping. The whole audience gasped and screamed with horror as they knew that he would have to make up some incredible time to have a chance to save such a loss. I turned to Oscar, who was shaking his head, but smiling at me, us both sharing the equal hilarity. Turning back to the competition, I could only cringe as Roger struggled to leap through the window, his pant leg showing signs of fresh blood. The other hunter was two floors above him by now, so I shrugged and leap off the build onto the street, heading back to the pretend hospital room to prepare a fresh needle and thread for our poor, youngest hunter. Too bad we didn't have much for a broken ego.

Later that night, I finished fixing Roger back up and made sure to wrap his stitches tight to ensure that he wouldn't do this again. The special infected were all outside with barrel fires and headlights, celebrating the defeat of our littlest team member. As Oscar watched I finished patching Roger up, he stood up and walked to the window that Oscar viewed the race in before. I could hear him sigh, regretting everything he had ever said. I thought back to what Oscar had mentioned before, and I would bet anything that Roger wanted to be at his mothers old house right now, crying his eyes out. Unfortunately, someone from the crowd below had spotted his movement and began to shout at the window.

" HEY, ROGER! Why don't you come down here and join us? Or do you think we should fix the elevator for ya?" This got the entire celebration to burst into an uproarious laughter, followed by more hoots and hollars to bring the 'fragile boy' down. Roger stepped back from the window in a huff, clearly feeling depressed and hurt. I walk to him and try to console him." Don't worry about those asses, they're just excited to see you on their level for once." I say evenly. He turns quickly with a face full of anger.

" SHUT UP, Its because of YOU that I lost, you fucking Bastard!" He bolts from the room, heading to make it secretly out the back door. I glanced at Oscar who said nothing but had a slight look of sorrow on his face for the boy. I grinned and dashed to the window to shout,
" HEY, He's heading out the back Door!" This got the crowd all excited as the made a mad dash for the building. My grin grew wide as I looked back at the boomer, but his expression was not equal to mine. He looked a little pissed that I had no sympathy for him, but I rolled my eyes and turned to the window again. Resting my forearms on the concrete seal, I stared up at the crescent moon, rising from behind the cell phone building to greet the sky. With the silence having fallen,I stared at it for a while, remembering how I use to do the very same thing when I was human.

Before the infection, I was in college. A simple college dude who loved learning about natural remedies and practiced medicine like it was a day job. Every night, however, I would use parkour to get to the top of an old class building and just lay there, staring at the moon for hours. I studied its surface like the face of a clock, but I would never get bored. It was always changing, always different and intriguing every night. I tried to mirror my life around the moon, by letting the things around me just flow like the light of the bright planet on the dark sky. Forever changing, i just learned to embrace what was next with open arms. Little did I know that the very next thing I embraced, would be the thing that would erupt and dysfunction my world forever. Yet, even now, I am still able to cope with the drastic change of pace by helping where I can and remaining true to myself. Just as the moon will always be the moon at heart.

Nearly losing myself down memory lane, I almost didn't notice the sliver of pink that was shining from behind a large vent on the roof across the road. I had to blink a few times before realizing that I wasn't just staring at any pink jacket, I was staring at HER pink jacket! My heart did a leap in my chest as the color soaked into my brain, causing all sorts of emotions to whiz through. The only thing I could manage to grab onto was that this is it. This had to be the sign. She didn't leave and is now perched on that building in all of her true glory. I make a small gasping noise before leaping out of the window and dropping to catch the next ledge. I did this as fast as I could and eventually landed safely on the paved ground. I see her stand with a sort of quickness, so I dash across the street to catch her before she leaves...and to provide a harder target to hit if she was carrying a large gun. I take the alley that goes behind the building, knowing that she will want to get on flat ground to help her run. I wait behind a dumpster, watching the back door for movement. The few seconds that passed seemed like hours and I began to doubt myself.' Maybe she went out the front door cause she saw me coming this way?' Running back down the way I came, I almost missed the distinct sound of the back door closing shut.' SHIT' I shout to myself, cursing my feeble mind for not just staying put. I run around the dumpster and down the back alley. I hear footsteps in the spacing next door, so I follow her swiftly into the next alley. As soon as I turn the corner, I see her shadow shrink rapidly into a dead end alley where she may have trapped herself. 'Perfect! Now may be my only chance!'

I follow the direction and turn into the last alley and see...

Nothing. There wasn't a damn thing here.

The moon was now behind two buildings, so seeing in there was impossible without waiting for my eyes to adjust. I walked in slowly as they did, hoping to see another sign of where she had gone. I managed to get several meters down before I hear a slight foot scuff from behind me. In my excitement, I span around an-

CLAAANNNGGGG!

" Gu-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The horrible sound escaped my lips as a large metal bat was suddenly slammed against my ribcage, allowing the air to race from my lungs. The pain, so unfamiliar to me, forced me to drop hard to my knees, my arms hugging my chest, my sight going black and letting tears fall across my face. The bat was dropped beside me and quickly replaced by a terrifying click, followed by a gun nozzle being pressed to the back of my head.

I was paralyzed, unable to breath or open my eyes, the pain subsiding due to the uprising fear that made my whole body tense. I stayed in this type of hiatus for what seemed to be forever. Trapped in a forever limbo, my mind knowing that it was my time to die. My time to get my final rest. To kick the bucket. Put my spoon in a tree. To disappear...

but then I hear a sniff from behind the gun. A little one, the kind that told someone else that this person was...

crying

I opened my eyes slowly and took a small whiff of the air. I could sense...fear? I could hear the shaking of her body. I could smell the tears drying to her cheeks. That's when I stopped being so scared, and began to feel sick. I had just scared the life out of this girl, and all I wanted to do was show her how much I wanted to be with her. And now, I've made her cry.

I am a monster.

She sniffs again, but this time she is beginning to regain her composure. She presses the gun a little harder into my head, confirming to herself that this is all real. I hear her lips part as the words begin to form in her mind.

" W-What are you doing?" She asks with a bit of weakness. She shakes her head and tries again. " I mean, Why are you following me? Who are you?"

I sit there motionless, still not wanting to startle the gun that is the rope that has me hanging near death. She musters enough courage to speak again, but a little more demanding this time.

" I know its you who has been following my for the past month, but I want to know why! All of the other zombies out here want to eat my alive, but you are the only reoccurring face I continue to see." She pauses, hoping I might answer. " And what was going on just a few moments ago, huh? I saw a party, what looked like, and-and I saw a huge number of you specials all shouting and growling at each other. I thought I heard survivors, but I could only see you guys. Was it some kind of party? huh?" She begins to shake again, losing all of the questions that she wanted to ask. She wipes the tears out of her eyes with the other hand, and puts both of them on the handle of the pistol, forcing it harder against my skull. I begin to cry a little, too, wishing that this was happening a different way, that I could be talking to her face to face. I decided to give it a chance and actually start talking to her. I cleared my throat, and just as I open my mouth, Oscar appears on the other end of the alley. Zoey, just seeing him appear, panics and removes the barrel from my head to aim it straight at Oscar. His eyes grow wide as I take my leave and dash for the corner. I barely make it in time to hear another bullet whiz by my head, sinking into the pavement a few feet next to me. I scale the building with quick precision and manage to get to the roof with ease. I see Oscar duck from the opening and make a mad dash into the building, planning on taking the underground escape route to safety.

But when I look down at where I was, I could see that Oscar need not have run. Zoey was still standing there, her hands having dropped to her side, the pistol hanging like a useless leaf from her hands. She was motionless, just staring down the alley where Oscar had escaped from. I could sense that she had started to tear up again, and i wanted to just go down and comfort her. I wanted to let her know that I wasn't a monster all of the time and that I really cared for her. and always will.

As I leaned over the roof a bit, my rib let out a sharp pain that echoed around my chest. When I wrapped my hand around my waist, I saw a slight twinkle that caught my eye. They grew wide as I realized that the diamond heart necklace fell out of my hoodie and was now tumbling towards the ground where I nearly died. Helpless, I could do nothing but watch it fall in a antagonizingly slow fashion. The pendent circled and tumbled over itself, catch and throwing the small light around like a miniature star. I gasped as it hit the ground and bounced back up...

before hitting her shoe. Zoey, slightly startled, looked down and did a surprised twitch. She crouched down slowly, retrieving the tiny heart star. Standing up, she held it out to the light as she studied it over in her hand. Her mind able to connect the dots fairly fast, she tosses her head up suddenly and spots me with the look of surprise on my face. We both, in this moment of connection, manage to make the whole world stop.

This was it.

This was the moment that our hearts began to beat at the same times.

We began to breath in the same rhythm as one another.

Our thoughts were simultaneously linked forever.

I felt her emotions flood with mine as we stayed in this connection.

This was our time.

Our bubble of peace.

Our breaking of rules.

Our changing of stars.

Our beginning to the story...

A flash of lightning from over head broke the link between us, quickly followed by a deep rumble. I felt a drop of wetness smack onto my hood and saw a few drops fall to Zoey below. She turned from me and looked at the darkened sky. I followed her gaze up and watched as the sudden shower began to drench us both. I looked back down into the alley and found Zoey, staring right at me. Our eyes locked for just a moment more, before she wrapped her hand around the necklace and sprinted off to her shelter from the rain.

I turned from the alley in a kind of numbness and found my way home on autopilot. The infected, having all deserted the party, drifted off into the night as I blankly made my way slowly up the stairs to the room I claimed. As I get to the correct landing, I see Oscar sitting in his room across the hall, looking out at the rain. He turns to me, and gives me a silent nod. It was like he knew that I wanted to have sometime to review what had happened. I slipped into my room and locked the door behind me. Without bothering with the light, I fell face first onto my bed, too numb to think or move further. After several minutes, I rolled over properly, lying wet on my simple cot. But as I started to thaw from the numb feeling, I could really only focus on one thing that I could remember readily...

I wasn't the only one who hated the rain.