Hello all! I hope you enjoy my story. It's my first time writing for the Left 4 Dead fandom. It centers around the Midnight Riders and a couple of non-game survivors in the early part of the Infection. The immunes are headed to Griffin, Georgia, to score VIP passes to hang with the Riders, but with zombies starting to show up in Fairfield, what will become of them and the Riders?

Chapter 1: Intro

"Killy. Psst, Killy. Wake up."

A low murmur. Killy slept on.

"Killy. Killy. Wake up."

More murmurs. Something that sounded suspiciously like "Go away."

"KILLY OH MY GOD IT'S A ZOMBIE!"

"WHAT!" Killy jumped to her feet and yanked her gun from under the shoddy mattress. Piercing green eyes, dulled from sleep, stared around the tiny, dismal room, to the door, which was ajar in hopes of catching a cooling draft. But besides the sounds of the crowded but dying city outside, there was silence. Killy glared at the dark-haired girl that was her partner. She sat, cross-legged, on the ground, perfectly unperturbed. "Jesus Christ Audrey," she said, disgusted. "What the hell."

Audrey shrugged. "Sorry, I wanted you to wake up." There was no sorrow in Audrey Stone's dark brown eyes. "You need to come see this." Her laptop, with its changeable bright purple cover, was plugged into the wall, seeming too cheerful and normal for this situation. "We have power again, and there's been a new post."

All the anger drained from Killy Denton's face, replaced by curiosity. "Seriously?" She stood and crossed the room in quick and powerful strides. For a second, wariness flashed across Audrey's face, but then she forced herself to relax. The worry-lines in her dark skin smoothed out. She had reason to be frightened, of course. She knew what Killy was capable of. After all, her true name was Katherine, and hadn't it been the late Jules Harter himself who had given her the nickname, Killy Kat? Kat the Killer? Kat the . . . Kat the . . . .

Kat the Witch Hunter, Audrey thought dismally, as Killy sat beside her. The other girl studied the laptop screen, her eyes impassive. Her hand disappeared into her dark blue hoodie, slowly, almost lazily, then came back up with blinding speed. Audrey screamed, covering her face with her arms, as the report gouged her eardrums, instantly deafening her. There was a second shriek, and something plopped to the ground with a wet smack. Audrey's eyes flew open. Killy sat beside her, arm extended, the Glock in her hand. Smoke rose faintly from the barrel. It was pointed at the doorway. Blood and brains stained the pale yellow wallpaper, a sick crimson mess that made Audrey's stomach flip-flop. A body, that of a woman with long dark hair, lay on the floor, her skull shattered. Grayish-red gunk, like oatmeal, leaked between the bone fragments. "What the hell, Killy?" she asked shakily. "What the hell?" She resisted the urge to throw up, knowing she would see more blood before this trip was over.

"Some zombie girl looking for munchies in the form of our skin," said Killy dismissively, blowing feathery blonde hair out of her face. "Got her."

Audrey was still trembling. "You could have warned me," she whined.

Killy shrugged. "No time." She wiped the muzzle of her gun and flicked the safety back on before stowing it in her jacket. "Bitch was tryna attack. I hadta kill her first."

Audrey wiped her mouth with one hand, still shocked to be alive. "You scared the hell outta me. I thought . . . ."

Killy glanced at her. "You thought what, Aud?" Her tone was forbidding.

"I thought you were gonna smack me," finished Audrey weakly. "And then I heard the bang." And I thought you were going to shoot me because you don't trust me, her mind added. Just like you almost did for Will. But she did not dare mention Will. That would only make Killy angry and violent.

Killy shrugged again. "So, lemme read it again. I need to think. But quick, because somebody's gonna have heard that gunshot. Police ain't nice about murder, even if the bitch was infected."

Audrey's laptop lay forgotten on the ground, jarred by the impact of hitting the floor but not damaged. Audrey's leg hadn't been far from the ground when she recoiled away from Killy, so the laptop had only dropped perhaps six inches onto the threadbare carpet. Audrey rescued it and offered it to Killy.

Killy cleared her throat. "Hem. Thursday, October 8, 2009." Her eyes widened. "Just this morning," she said in an awed voice, a smile lightening her pale face. "Look! Posted at 7:04 AM. By Jake." Audrey smiled and blushed. Killy chuckled softly and looked back down at the dim screen. "Well. Let's see what we have: "'You might've heard about a lot of bands cancelling their tours this week because of all the airports shutting down and the government telling people to stay indoors. To that the Riders say: We'll stop touring when we stop breathing. What America needs most right now in its time of trial is MUSIC, and that is one thing the Riders are proud to provide. The airports shutting down don't confront us none. We don't tour in a fancy plane (just the ol' dependable Riders tour bus, and I could tell y'all some stories of what we've gotten up to there over the years).'" Audrey started to giggle, and even Killy had to smile at that little joke. "'And with the No Salvation Tour only halfway done, we're not about to let all our fans down who laid down their hard-earned dollars for tickets (and who might wanna buy our new album besides). Next tour stop's Griffin, Georgia, at the good old Peach Pit Arena at Whispering Oaks Fairgrounds. We've played there before and it's one of our favorite all-time tour stops. You Georgians know how to rock! We'll see you there, Green Flu or no Green Flu. You just bring your own badass self and your old lady, and let the Riders take care of the rest.

"'Much Love,
"'Jake.'"

Silence in the small room. Far off in the distance, the sirens ran on and on, the sound of approaching cops drawn to gunfire. Audrey watched Killy, who seemed to be deep in thought. Finally, Audrey tentatively poked Killy's arm. The blonde girl smiled. "Hey Aud?" she said.

"Yeah?"

"How do you feel about Georgia?"

"Too hot normally," replied Audrey, excitement prickling her skin. "But I'd say for a Midnight Riders concert, it's perfect weather."

"Sweet."

-!-

Any stranger to the town of Callings, Pennsylvania may have found a pair of girls, traveling alone during an epidemic, strange. They may too have matched the look of confusion on the receptionist's face when two teens; one tall, blonde and pale, the other small and dark-skinned, walked into the Shady Motel, claiming to be sisters, needing a room for two nights. The blonde had paid in cash, with a hefty tip. The receptionist, whose name was Sharon, had said nothing at the time, but pocketed the money all the same. Anyone who saw this action may have been shocked by the maturity of the teen, but in all honesty, Katherine Marie Denton was seventeen, hardly a child anymore. It wasn't her fault she looked younger. Except for her eyes. In the last three days, those eyes had seen things no human is ever meant to see. In the last three days, Patient Zero had arrived in America, and things turned all to hell. CEDA insisted that a vaccine was in the works, and everything would be fine, but Kat "Killy" Denton knew better. As far as she was concerned, America was completely FUBAR. Her mother was dead, her brothers missing, her best friends quarantined and shipped off to an outpost God only knows where. Her father was alive, but who cared for the son of a bitch anyway? She would have relished the chance to end his life, but she hadn't been home when the riot occurred. She had been at Callings High School. When the riot came to the school campus, she hadn't listened to the CEDA agents trying to calm everyone down. She had run, hard and fast, down the street, trying to escape the city boundaries. Then the car struck her, and she'd ended up at Mercy Hospital ER in Fairfield, insisting she was fine, trying to convince the cute but tired-looking young doctor to let her go. It's just a broken rib or two, she kept saying. I've had worse.

The medics were unimpressed. They had a bitchy nurse with a fake tan monitor her, in case she tried to check out or run off. But the bitch had turned into a slathering, raging Infected, and Killy had jammed a pair of scissors through her eye. Blinded and shrieking, the Infected crashed into a wall, shoving the scissors deep into her own brain. Killy waited only a moment to see if the woman would rise. But there was no more movement from her. Killy fled from the hospital and came home as fast as possible, with a care to her broken rib. On the way, she had met Audrey, pursued by a half-crazy man succumbing to the infection. Killy had grabbed the girl and hid up in a fire escape until the man started to seize and finally died. And then, Will had come, bearing guns, which made Killy try to return fire. They met, and things were forever changed.

But now was not the time to remember Will. Now was the time to pack up shit and go to the Peach Pit in Georgia to see the Midnight Riders, the most amazing band in the world. They had to leave before anyone came running, but this afternoon, there was no one moving in the hotel. Hurriedly Killy stuffed her clothes into the duffel bag and urged Aud to do the same. They were gone in five minutes, out the bathroom window and away from the hotel before anyone came running. Nowadays the police were slow to respond anyway, caught up as they were in the evac situation. By the time two sick, bewildered cops arrived at the Shady Motel to comfort a hysterical Sharon, the girls had vanished down Front Street, and far away from Callings, Pennsylvania forever.

An entry from Audrey's journal:

October 8, 2009

Haiiiii, journal! I know it's weird to start such a thing, I mean I'm sixteen and it's a little-girl thing, but if I survive this whole "Green Flu" thing I want people to know I existed. My name is Audrey Stone, I am sixteen as I said before, and both of my parents are now dead, along with my baby sister Angela. I'm traveling with a friend, Katherine Denton, who I met when a crazy guy started chasing me around Fairfield. We're holed up in the Shady Motel in Callings, Pennsylvania right now, and I'm looking at the-oh wow, a new post by the Midnight Riders! Katherine and I are both huge fans of them, even some of the stuff that isn't any good. I love Jake, who's called "the lover," and Katherine is obsessed with Ox, the drummer. I guess she loves percussion. We're sitting here in the Shady Motel (what a name! I suppose it was supposed to be Shady Pines or something but it just ended up plain shady. Note to self, remember to ask the receptionist about it!) with duffel bags full of clothes, mostly MR T-shirts and jeans, and my laptop, that Killy (Katherine's nickname is Killy) let me take with me because she knew we'd need to know where the Midnight Riders are so we can cash in our special VIP passes. Next stop is gonna be Griffin, Georgia! I can't wait!

Oh my God dear sweet Jesus Killy just shot a woman we have to go goodbye

So what do you think? Please, leave reviews!
Yes it is indeed short, but the next chapter will be longer.