"Cindy! Food, Cindy!"

In the dim of the faintly lit storeroom the young boy rapped on the side of an open can, calling out. A second later and nearly soundlessly a lithe, banded form hopped down from the top of a crate. Her slightly luminescent green eyes quickly fixed on him and the food and she trotted over, ears pricked at attention and tail held erect. He laughed as she rubbed up against his side, head raised toward the can until he scooped some out into a small pile on the floor. She quickly bent to start scarfing at the soft meat, settling onto her haunches.

Cindy wasn't Bobby's cat. Not to begin with, anyways. It had just been luck that they'd met, the one day that she'd managed to slip into a window and he'd left a few scraps of food out. She didn't know what happened to her people but she assumed that they were never coming back. Her dish had been left empty and there were too many of those odd, diseased predators wandering around to stay so she'd left. By now both human and feline were scrapped up from running but they'd both made it this far, the skinny tabby sometimes riding along in his pack. He was older than her, more than likely, but still a kitten by his standards. She supposed that there was no one else to look after him.

He gave a little smile as he looked down from taking his own bites, running a hand through her fur and prompting her to let out a purr, lifting her back end as he stroked down the fur over her spine. "You silly kitty," he murmured, "You got Spam on your chin." She gave another purr, licking at the last scraps on the floor. She didn't know the words, but his touch was kind. Eventually she leaned up, tongue flicking out to lick at his fingers, still tasting slightly of the food. The boy smiled, pulling her up into his lap and stroking slowly from her head all the way down to her tail. "Good kitty, Cindy."

They slept there for a few days before the sounds of a pack of the Hunters scared him off and he'd taken off. He stuffed her into the pack on his back and sought out somewhere new to hide, always alert and always scared. They didn't speak the same language and weren't the same species but she knew that much. He had a weapon of some sort but he was a human-kitten with a weapon which wasn't too much better than any other human-kitten.

Eventually, after many scrapes and bruises, the pair came across some place that seemed safe enough to shut themselves into in a deserted library. Bobby let Cindy down and she'd tentatively stalked off between rows of books, her tail swishing nervously as she sniffed about, eyes lighting up in the gloom and alert for any sign of movement. Once she'd determined for herself that they were alone she returned to where the boy had gotten off to. He was already hunkered down in a small corner, his ratty blanket wrapped around himself. The cat sat directly in front of him, her ever-twitching tail finally settling as if to let him know that she'd scouted it out for him and they were okay. He let out a sigh, a smile finally coming over his dirty, weary face. He leaned forward, petting her on the head.

"Good kitty, Cindy."

After a few long hours Bobby settled down to sleep and Cindy curled up right by his side, a low purr resonating from her as she dozed off herself. They were both safe, for now.

Cindy felt good about this place, really. They stayed there for a while, longer than they did in most of their other little temporary homes. Their days were mostly spent with Bobby busying himself with the books, which she didn't quite get, and her wandering to stalk after the mice that she could hear scurrying around. Every once in a while they'd venture out in search of food, mostly without incident except for one time that one of the stupid milling infected had managed to seize her by her tail and nearly take a good bite out of her before Bobby had dispatched it. Maybe, she'd started thinking, maybe this would be something more permanent. She hoped so. She'd spent her days since her kittenhood as a house cat and maybe that peace was starting to return. Somehow she thought that the boy hoped so too.

It was maybe a couple of weeks in that the rumbling from somewhere outside started up. Immediately after she caught the sound Cindy's fur started standing on end, her kinked tail bristling. Her behavior quickly set Bobby on edge and he frowned deeply, petting at her in an attempt to calm her.

"Cindy? What's wrong?" Soon though he could hear it too and his face paled, his shadowed blue eyes going wide. They'd heard that sound before, and knew it came from one of the hulking ones, fueled by only rage and a drive to destroy everything in their paths. Once they'd narrowly escaped, but this time they were in someplace closed. And it was close. The boy quickly picked up the cat, ready to pick her up and put her in his pack. He was going to try to flee, she knew. "Come on, Cindy! Let's-"

Before he could finish there was a horridly loud crashing and the sound of crumbling bricks as somewhere not too far off the beast broke into the library through a wall, roaring. It knew they were there. Cindy hissed, her ears flattened all the way against her head. Bobby took off at a run, trying to find the nearest way out with her held tightly in his arms.

Behind them she could hear the Tank bearing down, bowling over shelves and crunching through their destroyed remains. They weren't the fastest creatures, but Bobby had to weave between them and make his way around obstacles. Relatively quickly, its plodding footfalls were gaining. His breathing grew frantic and Cindy twisted in his arms, her instinct demanding she should run. She was a lithe, agile creature, and stood a good chance of getting away on her own.

What seemed like an eternity later the front door was finally in sight and the boy let out a winded sound of temporary relief. He practically shoved into it and ran out into the street, where hopefully they wouldn't be immediately swarmed. If they had any sort of luck, maybe the behemoth will have lost track of them in the maze-like confines of the building.

That sort of luck was too much to hope for, though. Mere seconds later there was a roar and a deafening splintering as the Tank made quick work of the door. Bobby gasped, for a second stunned enough that his grip loosened. Cindy hissed, swiping her claws out. A few thin red lines appeared on the skin of his arm and in surprise he dropped her, backing up in terror. With the boy in sight the abomination roared again, breaking down the rest of the door. The cat arched her back, hissing and spitting.

"Cindy!" Bobby gasped out, already turning to flee, "Run away, Cindy!"

Cindy could very well run. The creature wasn't as fast as some of the others at a full run, and even the few stupid ones flocking she stood a decent chance of evading. It certainly was an option.

Still though... this was her boy. He might not have started out that way, but since whatever happened to the world she'd known, Bobby was her home.

The little cat stood rigidly in place, growling and making herself as intimidating as she possibly could at the monster. It had about as much effect as it should and the beast started for the human boy, hell-bent on smashing him into a pulp. He gave a frightened scream and started running, but it was on his tail now. The odds were that it would eventually catch up to him and, without a doubt, kill him.

Her fur stood even further if that was possible and she started sprinting toward the Tank. Once she was close enough she sprung with a yowl, latching onto its leg like a hellcat, hissing and scratching. The beast gave a surprised grunt, trying to get a look down at her. Bobby briefly glanced around and then froze, his expression utterly stunned and his face white as a sheet.

"CINDY!"

She continued her attack, her claws slashing at every spot she could reach. She was a six-inch-tall tabby as opposed to the maybe seven foot infected and stood no chance of fighting it, but... After a few moments she dropped to her feet, hissing back at the beast and then darting off. For a bit it seemed confused, looking between the boy and the little creature that had attacked. Eventually it seemed to make up its mind and roared once again, turning its attention from Bobby and starting to plod after the cat.

"Cindy!" he called out again frantically as she ran. Tears were starting to stream down his face but the weak infected were already starting to flock from the commotion. Soon he had no choice but to flee, given the chance by the distraction.

Cindy beelined down the street, evading the reaching arms of the mindlessly shouting infected that ran out every once in a while. The massive one was still in pursuit, occasionally even throwing the weaker ones out of its way. It seemed intent on catching her now, but Bobby... Bobby was long escaped. At least she'd made sure of that. She hardly looked back as she ran, despite the sounds of crashing and thudding footsteps behind her.

After a bit there was a pause in the footsteps and, a few seconds later, a chunk of the pavement came literally flying through the air. Cindy yowled and swerved to the side. The chunk missed but by unnervingly little distance. She didn't count on it missing a second time.

She darted under a parked car and into an alley, hoping to lose the Tank. She'd gotten partway down it already when she heard the creature grunt and then a loud crash and the sound of shattering glass and twisting metal. Only a second after that a steady bleating started and there was a collective screech as the weaker infected rushed toward the now mostly destroyed car, intent on destroying the source of the noise that had disturbed their quiet. Not the Tank, though. If anything, it seemed to gain fury in its pursuit of her.

Cindy, already tired, pushed herself into as much of a sprint as she could. She rounded a corner and tore down it until, very suddenly, coming to a stop. This way... this was was blocked. And the creature was-

The Tank roared and took the corner into her little stretch of the alley. From the narrow fit it literally smashed out the corner of the building wall nearest in a shower of debris. Cindy could do nothing but hiss, her ears flattened back and fur fluffed out to its full length.

Her boy. Her boy was safe.

The monstrosity barreled the rest of the way down the alley and the only thing that Cindy saw was one massive arm reaching down and swiping her small form back against the wall, before her world went black.

Cindy was dying. The little cat didn't know quite what kept her up and moving but she did, at a painfully slow limp. The behemoth had taken her for dead and left, losing interest, but everything felt like it was broken. Tiny trails of blood were around her ears and her mouth and one of her legs was at a slightly odd angle. Everything else just hurt. Eventually, at a covered doorstep, she lost her strength and just collapsed, dragging herself as closely to the corner as she could to hide herself.

She didn't know how long she was out for before something started coming through, some noise sounding like it was coming from very far away.

"Cindy!"

That sounded like- She slowly opened her eyes, weakly lifting up her head. Within seconds he was on her, kneeling and petting and whispering. "Oh Cindy- Cindy..."

She panted raggedly as he touched over bruises and broken bones. His touches were gentle, but to her they were a near-agony. She could hear him sniffle, the tears starting to well up.

"You... you saved me." The words didn't really mean anything, but somehow she had the sense of what he wanted to say. She closed her eyes, more or less unable to move by this point. One of his hands slipped underneath her and she gave a low sound like a growl. He hesitated, obviously afraid to try to lift her. After a moment he pulled back, setting down his pack and tugging his blanket out of it. She protested as much as she could but soon she was bundled in it almost baby-like and he stood to cradle her like that. For a bit they just stood there like that, her wheezing and the poor boy starting to cry freely.

"You're... you're going to be okay, Cindy. Please, please be okay."

For a while Bobby walked. He was nearly in a daze and Cindy, wrapped up in the dark confines of his pack, drifted. The cat was slipping, slowly but surely. She could feel it.

Eventually another rumbling started up in the distance, accompanied once it neared by the sound of crunching over gravel. Cindy came partway back into awareness and mustered a weak growl. No. Don't let the beast have come back after she'd given her boy the chance to get away.

Bobby ducked partway into an alley, watching with wide eyes. That sounded like-

Soon it rolled into view: A military Humvee making its way down the abandoned street. The boy could hardly believe it. It had been long weeks since they'd seen another person, and he'd certainly thought that the Army was long gone. After a moment of being frozen in place he stepped out onto the sidewalk, holding his arms over his head and waving them desperately. "Hey! HEY!" he shouted out, praying that they'd notice him. The vehicle had nearly gone past when it abruptly braked, coming to a stop in the middle of the street.

Bobby stood as though paralyzed, not entirely sure what to do. After a minute one of the doors opened and two men climbed out, rifles drawn. He remained still, mouth slightly agape. "Shit," he heard one of them mouth in a stunned tone. The first of them then took a step forward, watching him intently. "Kid," he called out. When he didn't respond quickly enough the man snapped his fingers, trying to call him to attention. "Hey, kid. What's your name?"

Finally his voice returned to him, although weakly. "Bobby," he finally got out meekly.

The men looked at each other and frowned before the taller of them spoke up again, "And you're alone? How old are you, kid?"

"Ten, sir. 'M almost eleven."

There was a long pause in which they were all silent. For one reason or another, Bobby sort of felt like he was going to cry again. Finally the soldier who'd been silent let out a sigh and nodded back toward the Humvee, motioning.

"Get in."

When Cindy was gently taken from Bobby's pack she wasn't in any less pain, not by a long shot, but was much to weak to protest it. This was... this was the inside of a car or something. They were bouncing slightly, and there were other people there. She hated riding in the car, she remembered absently, but didn't even meow.

There were... there were other people. There was someone to look after her boy now. Maybe, just maybe, he was going to be okay. That was her hope, anyways.

He was sniffling again, drawing his fingers through her fur. It hurt, but the motions were comforting. She allowed it, only rasping for breath.

Her boy looked so sad. Cindy would never know his name, and they'd never speak to each other, but in the time that they'd known each other they'd had a bond of trust. They'd protected each other and had spent the days together, and Cindy had loved him. Her own kind of love, not quite like any human kind but tender and unconditional nonetheless. And now it was her time to go. She hoped that he knew that, somehow.

His fingers eventually hesitated and his body started shaking, in the start of sobs. He whimpered and rocked and just sat like that for what felt like a long while, not able to do anything else.

"Cindy," he eventually got out in a voice more distraught and trembling than she remembered ever hearing from him, "You're such a good kitty. Good kitty, Cindy."

That, she thought she might understand. Mustering up an amount of strength that she didn't think she had she managed to curl up into a small ball on his lap. Slowly his fingers started petting at her again and she started up a ragged purr that eventually died away, leaving them both in silence and stillness.

Oh, Bobby. Cindy couldn't have hoped for a better boy, either.

Author's notes:

Alright, so after a long period of dropping off the face of the earth... I return with a brief one-shot. It's not my typical material and I'm not sure how good it is, but it's just an idea that popped into my head so I wanted to try to write it out. It's still Left 4 Dead themed, vaguely, so I guess I'm still being a one-trick pony in that sense even though it's not infected-centric. I got rather lazy on the POV, maybe I'll attempt to improve on something like this at another time. Hopefully my other fics will be updated sometime, but for now I've been taking a short break from most of my internet activity other than Skype.