First attempt at L4D stories, tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything regarding L4D at all, but I claim the chars in here as mine.
A Year later
It had been a year now since the infection had hit the world, it had spread everywhere and for once the idea of World Peace was strangely accomplished. It didn't matter if you were American, African, German, or from a remote island, everyone lent a helping hand. Even if the survivors couldn't understand each other they made it work, with the world going to hell with the Infected people turned to each other for support.
The Infected slowly changed as well as their bodies adjusted to the Green Flu virus and their senses went from purely animalistic to a higher intelligence. For the common Infected not a whole lot changed other then their tolerance of everything, aggression, and blood lust. They still could not open doors, they still had a habit of cramming themselves into the smallest space as possible together, and they continued to wander around aimlessly with no particular goal. But when a loud sound went off or a bright light lit up they didn't run furiously after it and try and tear it apart, though they did gather as their minds latched onto something different happening in their bleak world. Survivors didn't get swarmed if they walked down the street unless the got too close to a common, then mild curiosity took over and they were batted or bit at with no real enthusiasm like before. The craving for living flesh had died down as well but you could still find the commons munching on an already dead person if fresh blood was available though it wasn't a frenzy anymore.
The Special Infected however took a slightly different approach to things though they shared some similarities to the common's new take on life, there was no place now that you couldn't find a Special Infected and survivors in the same spot. Having no real entertainment they took up to following wherever humans went, each kind doing different things.
The Boomers became paranoid that others would come by just to pop them, so they began to ooze their own bile on themselves to attract the commons to them and keep them like a shield. However they stayed near humans as they had taken a craving to anything that had yeast in it, as such you could always find Boomers with either Alcohol or any baked good with them and consuming it as they hadn't really developed a taste for flesh in the first place. Though of course many would surrender their goods to the nearby Boomer just on the counts that if they didn't they would risk getting thrown up on and the surrounding commons attacking the stinky one, a box of powdered donuts was a small price to pay for staying clean and unharassed.
Chargers continued to have the overwhelming urge to run into and smash things around still, and seeing as how doing so to a survivor would end their life they chose another path. Having also developed a taste for Alcohol they would often be seen competing in bull fights and other animal games that involved charging and smashing their opponent, said animal was then later devoured after being ' tenderized ' and the Charger would get a share of the meat and its choice of Alcoholic beverage. All in all, they had gained a good foot hold in human society.
Spitters had also gained a better foothold but in the Infected community more then the human one, as their acid was put to a more immediate threat. Since the decline of humans and the worsening conditions of things bugs began to become a real problem, more for the Infected as they were reluctant to take a bath and weren't exactly the cleanest. It was often you would find a Hunter clawing at himself and screaming from the fleas that infest his clothing and lice in his hair, then comes the Spitter's new job. As the acid doesn't harm Infected they would spit upon the bug infested creature and let the acid kill all the bugs, thus ending the Hunters constant clawing at his scalp and as a price they would give up any shiny objects they had as the Spitter enjoyed collecting jewelry.
Now The Jockeys hadn't changed much, they still were a menace to society. Though they no longer clawed and bit at your head and tried to rip out any earrings or piercings, it was still hell to have one on your head and have it trying to steer you into anything possibly gross. Garbage cans and muddy puddles had become the new favorite, or down a hill. Survivors finally realized that if they just sat down then they Jockey couldn't really do much other then scream in their ear and laugh like crazy, often they would start digging their knees and heels into the sides of the person like a real horse to try and get them to get up. They were popular however with teenage boys that still loved to do stupid things and idiotic games, such as ' Who can dislodge the Jockey ' and ' Resist the pull '!
The Tanks would no longer fly into a horrible rage and smash everything and everyone around them as much, it took more then a look at you to get one going. Again teenage boys that hadn't grown up didn't seem to live long as pissing off a Tank was never good, a fire bomb wasn't going to stop it immediately and a pissed off flaming Tank was the worst thing to have chasing you down the street. Other then people carefully avoiding them as the Tanks batted or poked at whatever caught their attention seemed to be the norm, like a bull if you don't bother it you should be fine.
Now Witches didn't cry as much anymore as they figured out why they were so upset, you would be too if the world was going to hell and every survivor that came near you reminded you that you were a monster. The Witches would still go crazy and try and kill whoever startled her, but there was an easy remedy for that. Witches loved sugar and just a zip lock or lunch bag full of the raw stuff would calm the Witch immediately, their attention turned to picking up each grain by the tips of their claws and eating it slowly. A Witch couldn't really be disturbed too much during the eating, well unless you tried to take it from her.
Two of the Infected hadn't tried to blend into the new world with the Survivors, outside of the Jockey as all he wanted was to ride someone's head.
The first was The Smokers, one of the two that continued to actively hunt the Survivors. Much like Boa Constrictors they developed the urge to constantly grab and squeeze any person they got within their sights, Survivors were their main target as strangely enough the taste of salt excited them and a lot was present on the human skin. When afraid a Survivor would sweat and thus produce more, enhancing the Smoker's excitement when grabbing. This obviously caused quite a stir as most of the time after the new Smoker attacks many were traumatized by it, having a long and abrasive tongue sliding all across your skin under your clothing was the text book version of sexual harassment. Right after Survivors had just done a food run or had exercised was when Smoker attacks were more frequent, the salty sweat already present on the body attracted the coughing Infected and thus ended in either harassment when alone or from the Smoker's tongue getting cut off. As they didn't exactly try to kill anyone for that would be counter productive, dead bodies didn't produce the coveted salt, they weren't actively killed unless people were pissed (violated) enough.
Lastly was The Hunters, them being the only real danger anymore for Survivors. Hunters began to run in packs no smaller then 4, the largest recorded was a 15 Hunter pack in a city. Hunters became a double edged sword, encounters with them were as unpredictable as Nevada's weather. One day you could have a pack after you trying to rip you apart, the next day they could be attempting to play a game with you. A single Hunter taking an interest in one person was as dangerous as it was thrilling, you didn't know if they were going to try and make you a meal or make you a pet. Hunters were horribly possessive in both cases, killing all that dared attempt to harm a hair on the persons head. Either because you were their prey and only theirs to eat, sharing was not an option unless it was a pack hunting, or you were their possession and thus didn't want anyone messing with their ' toy '. Survivors were advised to avoid all Hunters no matter the case as it could potentially harm both yourself and others, gaining the attention of Hunters was as advised as touching electric wire. Hunter packs always had an Alpha that was normally either a lot bigger then the others or more commonly was around longer. They had multiple names for this kind, Experienced Hunters, Veteran Hunters, or Hardened Hunters, they were easily picked out due to their appearance. Since Hunters were obsessively possessive of their own original hoodies that they wore they were naturally horribly tattered and weather beaten then the normal Hunter, battle-scars and just the all around practiced movements of the Hunters gave it away. Seeing them in motion was a sure fire as each move was executed more fluid then a dance, no move wasn't thought out to the max and a powerful aura was felt when looking at one. Being the most dangerous of the Hunters they naturally were avoided even more and none were without a pack.
As the world learned to handle the Infected and the creatures grew into their new skins things began to once again fall into a kind of order, yet tiny pinpricks into people's lives were the new height of interest it seemed...
Not sure how many parts I'm going to put in this as it will center around Hunters and Smokers, but I'll keep it going. I already have the idea for one encounter with a Hunter, but for the Smoker I am looking for ideas! So R&R and give me what you would like to see!
