"This is going to hell in a hand basket real fast!" Bill yelled, terrified.
His last living teammate had just died from bleeding out while he killed the remaining infected in the area. A little earlier that evening, as the survivors were traveling through the sewers near Mercy Hospital, a boomer emerged from one of the pipes and puked on all, but one survivor, Bill.
The stench of the boomer bile had attracted a horde of infected. The survivors were low on ammunition for their more powerful weapons, so they had to switch to their pistols. Bill had fought side-by-side with them, but even that wasn't enough to save Francis, Louis, and Zoey. It wasn't enough to save them from their inevitable fate.
Bill didn't have enough ammunition in his assault rifle to defeat the horde nor did he have any explosives. The only way he could assist his teammates was to use his handgun, which was weak compared to a horde of zombies. He wasn't expecting this, even though he had taken two trips to Vietnam during the war. Even if he spent nearly thirty years in the military before retiring, Bill was never prepare to face the death of any comrades.
He also tried to avoid such fate. He tried many times - rather it was during his years in the service or during the zombie apocalypse - to save his teammates, but not all times was he successful. That was one of things the veteran hated. Bill had found himself in another situation where he was unable to save his teammates.
Bill didn't want to believe it, but he couldn't hide the fact that he was now alone in a city infested with the infected. He knew that standing in one spot too long will put him at a high risk of getting attack by another horde, so he decided to move. He looked around as he walked. The smell of the sewerage was foul.
He began wondering how far he was from the hospital, but stopped as a cry was suddenly heard. An all too familiar cry. Bill immediately clicked off his flashlight.
Dammit, a witch. That is the last thing I needed, he thought, walking a little faster.
He then told himself that it could be worse, like encountering a Tank. The witch's cries continued as Bill traveled through the sewers, growing louder with every step he took. A minute later, the veteran spotted a red emergency ladder. He hurried over to it, then climbed it.
A moment later, he made it to the surface. The war veteran looked around. Mercy Hospital was ahead. In front of it was an abandoned paramedic vehicle. A spark of hope appeared inside of him.
There's the hospital! he thought, climbing out of the manhole.
To Bill's luck, no common infected were around. He began making his way toward the hospital's double glass doors.
Cool air blew in his direction, making Bill shiver. He stopped walking and reached a hand toward his jacket to close it, but stopped when he noticed a glowing red light ahead. He narrowed his eyes at it.
The Witch, glowing red, sat in front of the glass doors, crying and sobbing. Her back was to him.
"Shit, witch," Bill said, eyes widening.
She was blocking his only way into the hospital. How was he going to get pass her? Bill decided to resume approaching her. The Witch, upon hearing the sound of his footsteps, immediately stopped crying.
She began letting out low groans as she stood up. Her groans grew louder as she raised her arms with hands that had long, claw-like nails. Bill stopped walking, a few feet from her. The infected woman decided she would look around for the source of the footsteps after outstretching her arms.
She then violently shook them before turning around. When she noticed Bill, the Witch's loud groans suddenly stopped. She stared at him, her arms paused in midair. Bill stared at her, slowly pulling out his pistol from its holster.
As the infected woman stared at him, a memory appeared in her mind. A memory she thought she had forgotten before she'd changed into the creature she was now. In her previous life, this witch used to be a fan of James Bond. She had seen all the movies and had read all the novels.
She was especially a fan of Sean Connery, who played the first Bond. For some reason, the emaciated female thought this old man resembled him. To her, William looked like Sean when he was old - but only in the face. She wasn't sure if he was Scottish like Sean, but despite that, the Witch believed Bill was the closest person to him.
The Witch was considering if she should attack him or not. After she became infected, she would attack anyone who decided to approach her. Bill took a step back, raising his pistol. He was beginning to think he should have went looking for another handgun.
If the infected decided to attack, then he will be as good as dead. Bill stared as the Witch had a thoughtful expression on her face. After a moment, her expression changed. He couldn't really tell, but it appeared that she was now smiling.
What the hell is she planning to do? Bill thought, taking another step back.
Suddenly, the Witch ran toward him with her outstretched arms, letting out a shriek. Bill's eyes widened as he backed up some more. He began firing her with his pistol. Unfortunately for him, it didn't cause enough damage to slow her down.
Next thing he knew, the Witch had reached him. Bill expected her to incapacitate him with one slash of her long nails and kill him, but to his surprise, she did something he didn't even think a witch would do. The Witch wrapped her bony arms around him as if she was giving him a hug. The veteran let out a low cry of surprise as the Witch's smile grew wider.
A hug? he thought, confused.
He tried to pull out of her grasp, but the infected woman had a strong grip on him. The Witch let out low moans as she held him in her arms. After a moment, Bill managed to pull away from her. He took another step back, causing his boot to bump into a yellow bumper.
The Witch smiled again before shyly turning away. The elder's eyes repeatedly blinked before shifting from the infected female to the glass doors behind her. He noticed if he could run pass her, then he could reach the hospital's entrance. He was old and not in a very good shape, so how was Bill going to outrace a fast-running witch?
He looked down at his pistol, and remembered that his weapon didn't really affect her. He began to think of what he could do next. Maybe the elder could ignore her and head to the hospital? Nah, that wouldn't work.
What should I do? Bill thought. A horde of those bastards may show up any minute now.
The Witch turned back to him. Bill was ignoring her as he thought. She reached her hand towards his, trying to grab it. She ended up poking his hand with her overgrown nails.
Bill immediately snapped out of his thoughts, as he felt sharp pain in his hand. He cried out, before raising his hand to his face. Red marks were on his palm, fingers and the back of his hand. He narrowed his eyes as he turned toward her.
The veteran grabbed her wrist with his aching hand, then tightened his grip. The infected female let out a low cry. Bill put her arm in between them, then raised it so both of them could look at her nails. He glared at her.
"What the hell was that for?" he demanded, as the cigarette bobbed up and down in his mouth when he spoke.
The senior loosened his grip on her wrist. The Witch pulled her arm out of his grasp, looked down at it for a moment, then looked back at Bill. Tears began to fill her eyes as she frowned. This witch used to be a very emotional woman.
Even fictional stories that had sad moments always brought her to tears. Apparently, that hadn't diminished. The Witch let out a low moan as her eyes sparkled. Bill held his aching hand, staring at her as she made a gesture toward the hand she had poked him with while moving her lips.
The only sounds that came out of her mouth were moans. Bill blinked as he turned his head away. The Witch sat down and began to sob. She looked up at him, tears streaming down her colorless face.
He ignored her. The Witch reached both hands out to grab his combat boot so she can recapture his attention. Remembering what happened when she tried to grab his hand, she immediately pulled her arms back, then stared down at her nails. Her facial features quickly changed from sadness to anger.
Not only she hated being this ugly, emaciated creature, but her deadly nails was the reason why the Vietnam War veteran was mad at her. The Witch wanted to destroy her nails, since she thought it was the only thing preventing her from being with Bill. She began letting out groans, before slamming her nails against the asphalt.
She was hoping they would break off. Bill turned back to the Witch upon hearing her groans and her nails hitting the ground. He watched. As he did, he suddenly felt some guilt, knowing she was doing that because of what he'd said.
Maybe I've been a little harsh on her, Bill realized.
No matter how hard the Witch was hitting her nails on the ground, they wouldn't break off. Not even a small piece chipped off. Realizing that, the emaciated woman began to cry. This time, she cried louder.
Bill repeatedly blinked as a thought suddenly struck him. He can't believe he was thinking about doing this, but if he decided to apologize to the Witch, maybe she'll let him enter the hospital without any harm. That brought another question to him. How do you apologize to a witch, an easily-enraged infected who usually wants to be left alone?
There's only one way to find out. Bill let out a sigh, shook his head, then knelt down in front of her. The Witch immediately stopped crying as she noticed him.
Well, here goes nothin', the veteran thought.
The Witch repeatedly blinked with her wet, glowing eyes, wondering what he was about to do.
"So, uh... what's wrong?" he asked, feeling awkward.
The Witch stared back at him with a confused expression on her face, not responding to his question. Bill went back into his thoughts.
What type of horseshit is this? he scolded himself. Like tryin' to apologize to a damn zombie was a good idea! What frickin' movie had a survivor trying to negotiate with a zombie? None; as far as I can remember.
Despite his thoughts, a moment later, Bill decided to speak to her again.
"If this is about my reaction to when you'd poked my hand with your nails, I just wanna say... sorry," he apologized, still feeling awkward on the fact that he was talking to an infected.
Again, the Witch didn't reply, but her eyes widened as she had a thought. She felt a little better, knowing Bill had the heart to apologize for his reaction. Maybe he realized what she had done to his hand was unintentional. The veteran mistook her silence, though.
Forget this; it ain't worth it, he thought, shaking his head as the veteran rose to feet, deciding that he should leave.
Bill could probably get around her, and get inside of the hospital while she sat and cried her head off. He wasn't going to continue to attend her pity party. He turned, then began heading away from her. The Witch turned her head toward him, realizing he was heading straight for the hospital.
Bill probably thought she didn't forgive him, she realized.
The infected woman quickly stood. She had to catch up with him. She knew she may never meet her favorite actor, and his "look-alike" was the closest person she had to him. Once Bill disappears into the building, there's a great chance she'll never see him again.
The Witch raced after him. It wasn't that hard to catch up with him - she runs pretty fast. Bill looked over his shoulder and saw the Witch, who was now a few feet behind him. He immediately looked ahead again as he picked up his speed.
Even then, he wasn't fast enough to get away from her. Next thing the senior knew, the grey female wrapped her arms around his mid-section and had pinned his arms at his sides, giving him a hug from behind. She was also assuring him that he had been forgiven. Bill wasn't thinking about being forgiven, though.
Dammit! I was hoping she didn't notice, he thought.
A smile appeared on the Witch's face as she held the old man in her bony arms, realizing he wasn't trying to escape. Little did she realize that Bill was actually trying to think of a way to get rid of her. Bill took another glimpse over his shoulder, and saw her facial expression.
Looking ahead again, he thought, This Witch sure has some major mood swings.
His hand had stopped throbbing with pain. He began to wonder what his teammates might have said if they were here with him and saw this weird-acting witch, who still had her bony arms wrapped around him.
"W-wow. A witch likes Bill? That's... something you don't see every day," Zoey said.
She turned away, suddenly covering her mouth with her fist, letting out low chuckles.
"What the hell is this? A frickin' witch likes Bill? Who'll love his rotten old ass?" Francis asked. "Then again, she's a vampire and he's nearly dead, so it makes sense - in a freaky kind of way." He made a disgusted face.
"Well... uh... looks like you have a fan girl, Bill," Louis said, staring at them fearfully. He took a few steps back.
Bill turned his head toward Francis, narrowing his eyes at him before turning toward Zoey, then Louis. Zoey took a step toward the duo.
"Well, since she's an infected and very dangerous to the entire group if we let her follow us, I think we should pry the Witch off of Bill, then race inside the hospital," she suggested.
Louis moved a little closer to her. Francis shook his head.
"Nah. She'll try to kill us for taking Bill away from her," he told her. "How about the three of us ditch them and make a run toward the hospital? That way, she won't kill any of us and we can be safe inside of the safe room."
Louis and Zoey turned their heads toward Francis upon hearing his suggestion. Zoey considered if she should go with Francis' suggestion, when Louis spoke up.
"Guys, we can't leave Bill behind! We have to stay together," Louis said. "Remember: we live as a team, we die as a team."
Zoey decided that Louis was right. She nodded her head in agreement. Francis blinked.
"She's got a strong grip on him. How the hell do you think we can free Bill from her?" he demanded.
His two teammates exchanged glances, turned back to him, and then shrugged. Suddenly, Bill felt something on his back.
He snapped out of his thoughts as the Witch began nuzzling his back with her nose. Bill shifted in her arms, trying to move his back away from her face. His cheeks slightly turned pink. The infected, meanwhile, was enjoying his presence.
The veteran decided to try to pull out of her grasp. The Witch, noticing he was trying to pull away, tightened her grip on him, making it harder for him to break free.
Bill grunted, then thought, How should I get rid of this witch? She got me in a strong grip.
The Witch began breathing on Bill's back, making him uncomfortable. He flinched.
"Let go!" he commanded, struggling to break out of her grasp.
When she heard that, the Witch began letting out low groans.
I have a bad feeling about this, he thought as the blood in his cheeks had completely faded.
As Bill moved his lips to form a frown, the cigarette shifted in his mouth. He looked down at it as the Witch's groans continued. Bill suddenly had an idea.
If I take the cigarette out of my mouth and throw it, then maybe the Witch'll go after it.
There was one problem with his idea. How could he do that if his arms were pinned at his sides? Bill moved his arms slightly, hoping the Witch wouldn't notice, but when her groans grew louder, he immediately realized that she did. He let out a long sigh, which blew the cigarette out of his mouth.
"Dammit," Bill swore, watching the cigarette fall.
The Witch's groans suddenly stopped. She immediately peered over his shoulder to see what made him swear. The cigarette landed on the pavement, bobbing up and down a few times before coming to a complete stop. The infected female stared down at the pavement when she caught sight of the fallen cigarette.
She knew the war veteran had accidentally dropped it and probably wanted it back. She pulled her head back, let go of his arms, and then hurried around him to pick up the fallen cigarette. Bill, meanwhile, raised his arms, realizing they were free. Staring down at his arms, he now knew because she had freed him, he has the chance to leave.
The old man looked up, and was about to take a step forward, when he noticed the Witch was in front of him. She had stood back up and was holding the cigarette between her fingers. Bill repeatedly blinked.
And now she can hold the cigarette between her fingers? He shook his head before taking a step back.
The Witch spun toward him, raising the hand that held the cigarette. She smiled as she extended her arm toward him. Bill looked down at it for a second before snatching the cigarette out of her hand with his bad one. Dumb mistake.
The throbbing pain returned to his hand, and now it was covered with more red marks. To make it worse, his palm had been scratched deep enough to puncture the skin. Bill cried out from the pain, nearly dropping the cigarette. He gazed down at his hand.
His eyes widened when he spotted the crimson liquid streaming down his palm. Some of it washed onto the back of the cigarette. The infected's smile faded, and was replaced with a frown as she noticed his expression. The senior gazed back up.
When the Witch caught his eyes, he narrowed them at her. Suddenly, shouts, shrieks and groans filled the air. A horde! His nightmare was coming true.
Bill had done one of the few things he wanted to avoid - standing in one spot for too long. He began to think about what could he do, when he remembered why he had taken the cigarette back in the first place. The veteran whirled around, lifted his bleeding hand, qnd then threw the cigarette as if he was throwing a pipe bomb or a Molotov. The Witch's glowing eyes widened, watching the cigarette fly off into the distance.
Bill turned back around. His beady eyes widened when he noticed the woman hadn't move from her spot. He stared at her, mouth gaping as she turned back to him. The Witch noticed the surprised expression on his aged face.
What the hell? She was supposed to go after it, Bill thought.
Suddenly, the street shook as if an earthquake was taking place. Any moment now, the horde will appear. Bill began to frantically look around the area, thinking of what he can do to escape. The Witch noticed him looking around and wondered what he was looking for.
He stopped looking around as he spotted a few common infected, who were climbing out of the manhole he had climbed out of earlier.
"Shit!" Bill swore under his breath, realizing the horde had arrived sooner than he'd expected.
The zombies lunged at him, their hands balled into tight fists. He immediately removed the handgun from its holster, and then took aim. The Witch knew why the horde had suddenly appeared. They were there to kill Bill, but she wasn't going to allow them to do so.
She quickly moved in front of him, letting out warning groans. Her arms spread out as she shielded the veteran from her oncoming brethren. The other infected ignored her warnings as they continued to charge toward the duo. The Witch's groans grew louder, but that didn't seem to affect the other infected, either.
They continued to charge toward her and the old man behind her. Knowing they were ignoring her warnings, the zombie female decided to attack. She let out a shriek as she lunged at them. Upon reaching them, she slashed them with her nails, killing them in one blow.
Bill watched, amazed on the fact that an infected was protecting him. He was also amazed that she was able to kill the zombies with one blow, even though they easily outnumbered her. It must have taken him a full minute to realize that he could leave, since the female infected was being distracted. He whirled around, then made a dash toward the double glass doors.
Upon reaching them, Bill pushed them open, then entered the hospital. Ahead of him, beyond the reception desk, was a red steel door.
Safe house! he thought happily.
Bill hurried over to the opened doorway. Just then, he heard coughing. He turned. A smoker stood on his left, staring back at him with its only eye.
The war veteran raised his handgun, which shook in his hands since one of them ached and bled. The smoker spat out its tongue. Bill managed to aim his weapon at it, then fired once. He missed his target, but his target didn't miss him.
"No, NO, NOOOOOO!" Bill cried as the tongue wrapped around his torso, which caused him dropped his weapon.
He grabbed the tongue, then struggled to free himself from the smoker's grasp as it reeled him in as if it had caught a fish. Before he could reach the smoker, Bill heard a shriek. His eyes widened in horror when he realized what made that shriek.
A second later, a hunter pounced him. The smoker turned, then fled. Bill tried to push the hunter off, calling for help as it dug its inhuman fingers into his flesh. It was no use.
None of his teammates were around, or any other survivors for that matter. Bill shut his eyes in defeat. He knew he wouldn't survive on his own for very long, especially with a lousy pistol.
Well, at least I tried, he told himself.
The last few things he would ever see were his teammates dying, the smoker that had grabbed him, the hunter that was currently killing him, and that witch... Wait a minute, there was still hope! The Witch could save him. If only she knew that her object of affection was in trouble.
The old man shuddered as he thought about that. Suddenly, the hunter let out a shriek. Bill immediately opened his eyes as the weight of the hunter was lifted, as if someone had shoved it off of him. He looked around, sitting up.
His eyes landed on the hunter's body, which lied beside the safe house's door. Blood was splattered on the wall behind it. The hunter's corpse appeared to have long, deep gashes across its body, as if someone had scratched it.
But with what? Bill wondered.
That's when he shifted his eyes and saw the Witch, who was now standing in front of him. Blood dripped off her nails as the emaciated infected stared down at him, her eyes appearing to glow brighter than before. Bill rose to his feet, still staring at her. He felt relieved for being saved, but he was surprised the Witch wasn't upset, even though he tried to leave her.
He decided to thank her for saving him - even if it seemed awkward to do so.
"Uh... Thanks for savin' me," he said as the awkward feeling washed over him again.
The Witch smiled in response, showing off her rotten teeth. More common infected arrived, breaking through the glass doors. That made the duo turn their attention to them. The infected woman lifted her arms, then lunged at them.
The veteran turned back to the red steel door, re-equipping his pistol. He looked around for any other infected. Bill didn't see any, so he hurried over to the door, climbing over the reception desk along the way. A boomer, he didn't realize, was waiting for him in the safe room.
It moaned louder as the survivor came nearer. Once the survivor came into view, and began entering the safe house, the boomer puked on him.
"Ah! God dammit! Son of a bitch!" Bill cried.
He noticed the shape of the boomer through his blurred vision. Bill aimed his pistol at the boomer as it charged at him, then shot the obese zombie once, causing it to explode on him. BOOM! The boomer's remaining bile rained down onto him. The explosion caused him to stumble out of the safe room.
Bill immediately realized he'd done another thing he wanted to avoid - being bathed in boomer bile after he'd killed it. He ran into the safe house, then slammed the door shut after entering. The zombies he'd attracted charged toward the door, determined to kill him. The Witch whirled around, noticing the infected were heading in a different direction.
She turned back to the spot where the hunter had pounced Bill. To her horror, he wasn't there. The Witch began looking around for him. She spotted the hunter she'd killed near the safe house's door.
Beside the corpse, the horde was in front of the red steel door, banging on it with their fists. The Witch didn't know why, since the man they were after wasn't in sight. Where did Bill go? Why did he leave her?
There was no real reason why he would do so, since she was protecting him. Maybe something happened to him? The infected looked around frantically, then covered her ears with her arms. She began screaming as she took off running.
The war veteran heard her screams as he leaned on the door, wiping the last traces of bile off his jacket. Once he was finished, Bill took his lighter and another cigarette out of his jacket pocket, then placed the cigarette in his mouth. The screams ceased as he tried lighting the cigarette a few times. Nothing happened.
Bill shook the lighter, then peered inside of it. The lighter was out of fluid. He sighed, before discarding the useless lighter. The lighter hit the floor, clattering before coming to a stop.
Bill ventured deeper into the room. Ahead of him was a table that had an assault rifle, automatic shotgun, and a hunting rifle on it. A red cabinet with a white cross on it was on the wall behind them. The cabinet was closed.
A counter that had a sink, a microwave, a pile of ammunition and plastic cups stacked on it were on Bill's left. Wooden cabinets were above the counter, also closed. The elder was relieved, since he'd finally gotten away from the Witch. However, for some strange reason, he felt sorry for leaving her.
Bill opened the red cabinet, revealing the four first aid kits inside. He took one off the shelf, then immediately began addressing his wounds. The horde of infected kept banging on the door, trying to break it down and enter the room to get at the immune inside. After he finished wrapping up his wound and strapping another red pack onto his back, Bill took his M16 off his back.
He collected more ammo for it, then the war veteran turned back to the violently shaking door.
Is she really gone? he asked himself.
Being curious if the Witch had really left and was tired of the horde banging on the door, Bill pushed the door opened... hard. The door slammed into the infected, causing them to stumble back from the impact. Bill immediately opened fire on them. After the last infected's body collapsed, he took a few steps out of the room. He knew if he wandered too far from the safe house, he could lead himself toward danger.
The veteran looked around. The infected woman was nowhere in sight. He suddenly realized why she had left. She didn't know where he was.
How did she not know I was in here, but the other infected did? he thought.
Bill's eyes scanned the area one last time before he went back into the safe room. He thought about the infected woman for a moment longer, before deciding to forget about her. Instead, he told himself he should wonder how he could to get to the rooftop alone. He tried to convince himself as long as he had the assault rifle at his side, he'll be alright.
Although, it would have been better for him if he still had his teammates. Bill sat down on the floor to rest, so he can regain his energy. Little did the Vietnam veteran know that the same Witch was now wandering the halls of the hospital, searching for him.
Author's note: This is another story from my ever growing Left 4 dead one shot collection. I can't remember what inspired me to write something like this, but I'm surprise that I went along with the idea. I usually don't write stories like this. I hope you readers enjoyed this chapter/one-shot. Anyway, reviews are appreciated.