Jonah's New Life Begins

A teenage boy, sixteen years of age, plodded his way through the deserted streets. His normally tidy brown hair was now unkempt and greasy, his clothes wrinkled and cut in places. His cargo pants he wore held the only personal items he had managed to grab when escaping from his house, running from his neighbor, who had been covered in blood, grunting, trying to kill him. The jacket he wore was his father's army jacket, now the only thing he had to remember him by, as his father had been the one who stayed behind to protect him. His name was Jonah Valatina and he was thirsty, hungry, and fatigued after dealing with more people that had behaved like his neighbor. He didn't know about the Green Flu virus's sudden outbreak. He didn't know about the categories those infected fell into. The Common Infected, the people who now stumbled about, covered in blood, reacting to him only when he made a quick movement. And then the Special Infected, those infected with the Green Flu that still retain some form of intelligence, perhaps more than they let on, yet their appearances and abilities are unique to each sub category of the Special Infected. One such category would include the Hunter who had its eyes set on Jonah at the moment.

"What's going on?" Jonah mumbled to himself as he forced his legs to move, knowing that if he stopped, then he probably wouldn't get up. He heard a growl behind him and turned around as the Hunter pounced on him, but he didn't bother fighting back. The Hunter was about to begin clawing, but Jonah spoke. "Please…help," he whispered, his eyes slowly starting to close.

Jonah woke up to the sound of crying, confusion holding his muddled mind. He looked around to see he was now indoors, while the only sound he could hear was that of a woman. He slowly stood up, holding his head, gently shaking it as it throbbed. "Is…is someone there?" he called out, walking through an open door into a room, where he saw a woman with very pale skin, her fingers like claws, looking like they were soaked in blood, those same hands held to her face as her shoulders gently moved up and down, her white hair following the movement, seated on the floor in the middle of the room. Her clothes were ragged, torn at the shoulders and thighs. This was another of the Special Infected, a Witch, but again, Jonah knows nothing about what is currently happening. "Um…m-miss?" The Witch stopped crying, looking up at Jonah slowly, Jonah fighting every instinct to not step back as her red eyes looked at him.

The Hunter from earlier walked into the building he had deposited Jonah, dragging a dead deer behind him. He stopped when he realized that he couldn't hear the Witch's crying and dropped the deer's leg, running into the room she had last been. When he arrived, he was dumbstruck as he saw her smiling, Jonah putting on something of a circus act, right now in the middle of juggling four empty beer bottles he had found in a couple of the rooms. The Hunter grabbed onto the door frame, his clawed fingers sinking into the wall and he climbed until he hung upside down from the ceiling just behind Jonah. The Witch looked at the Hunter, Jonah noticing the turning of her head. He turned around, dropping the bottles in surprise and falling backwards onto his butt. "H-hi," he said nervously, the Hunter dropping down. "Um…can you…speak?"

"I can speak just fine, kid," the Hunter said, startling Jonah, who involuntarily scooted back an inch or two.

"Um…thanks," Jonah said meekly, feeling awkward. "I…appreciate you helping me."

"Well," the Hunter said, scratching the back of his head. "Uh…your welcome?"

"I'm Jonah," Jonah said, introducing himself, trying to make some small talk.

"Uh…Ryan," the Hunter replied. "That's Ellie," he said, pointing to the Witch behind Jonah.

"Um…Ryan…if you can speak…then can you tell me what's going?" Jonah asked. Ryan looked at him, his left eyebrow raised under his hood, surprised that this Jonah kid really didn't know what was going on.

"You…don't know…" Ryan looked from Jonah to Ellie, who shrugged her shoulders. "Do you know what the Green Flu is?"

"Um…sorta," Jonah nodded, thinking back to a discussion his biology class had before the Green Flu outbreak. "It's some sort of virus that attacks the brain, right?"

"Er, something like that," Ryan replied. "Uh…well, this is kind of awkward…um, there's been an outbreak of the Green Flu. There are some people, like you, who haven't been infected by it. And then there's the people you passed in the streets. And then…you have those like me and Ellie here."

"I don't get it."

"What he means," Ellie said, speaking for the first time, her voice soft, "is that we're different. There are more people like us who still retain the parts of the brain that allow for speech, understanding language, and better motor control. There are eight different types of people like us. We're only two of those eight…" Ellie got quiet again, as if embarrassed.

"Oh…then…why did you growl at me and…pounce on me?" Jonah asked, addressing Ryan now. Ryan shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothin' personal, kid. It's just that my encounters with Survivors normally involve being shot at. For me, it's kill or be killed, normally," Ryan said.

"Um…so, if I'm understanding all this correctly, there's been a Green Flu epidemic, I might be immune, and there are two different kinds of people who have been infected?"

"Pretty much."

"...My life has just been shot to hell, hasn't it?"

"Do you want the truth or the lie?" Ryan asked.

Later, Ryan and Ellie were seated, talking softly, while Jonah explored around the building, looking for something to eat and drink. "Um, sorry to interrupt, but is there anything to eat or drink?" Jonah asked as he walked into the room.

"Well, if you know how to start a fire and cook, there's the deer I brought back with me," Ryan said, jerking his thumb at the carcass.

"Er…why is it missing…chunks?"

"Well, we had to eat something," Ryan said. "We can't eat each other or you."

"You…ate it raw…" Jonah said.

"Yes, we did," Ryan replied. "Look, we've been infected. From what I've seen, it doesn't matter what kind of food we eat now. Cooked or raw, food is food."

"Okay then…well, what about drinks?"

"I think the sink still works. There's probably some glasses around you could use."

"Okay…thanks," Jonah said, walking out of the room. Ryan shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Ellie asked, her voice soft. Ryan was used to this, as her voice rarely, if ever, was raised.

"I just…I don't know why I brought that kid here," Ryan said. "This isn't like me…this isn't normal behavior for someone infected."

"Maybe it is," Ellie replied. "Maybe we've just been getting used to being shot at first."

"Hey, in my defense, I don't freak out when I suddenly get a light shined on me," Ryan said.

"I…know," Ellie said. "I just…I'm sorry. I can't help it. Sudden changes…when you're not here…well, they just…set something off in me." Ryan sighed, letting his head droop.

"Um…do you guys care that there aren't any utensils?" Jonah asked, startling Ryan as Jonah set a plate on the floor in front of him, a plate already in front of Ellie. On it was some of the deer meat, now cooked.

"What are you doing?" Ryan asked, looking up at Jonah.

"Well…it's kind of a thank you for letting me stay here," Jonah said. "I can cook pretty well and my dad taught me about hunting and skinning game. If…I can stay here for a while longer, I'd appreciate it…"

"Kid," Ryan said. "Listen, we don't actually live here. We keep moving around. I'm not sure it'd be safe for you. And then…well, you know those unique people like us? If we run into them, it'd be kind of hard to keep them off of you. I have a hard enough time making sure some of them don't hurt Ellie."

"Well…it'd be worse if you just left me alone," Jonah pointed out, Ellie nodding her head in agreement. "I mean…well, look at me. I'm not exactly what you would call intimidating. I can't protect myself very well. I don't know where I am. And…well, I just…"

"Don't want to be alone," Ellie finished, Jonah nodding, his head hung as if he were ashamed. Ryan sighed, picking up a strip of deer meat.

"Alright, fine," Ryan said. "But, you have to understand, if we run into other Survivors, you're going with them. You will not tell them about us, you will not tell them about the others like us, who can still speak and think clearly. You won't try to find us if you get separated from them. And you have to be able to pull your own weight somehow. Is that clear?" Jonah nodded.

"Yes, sir, it's clear," Jonah replied. "Um…I have one more question…" Ryan sighed again.

"Alright."

"Um…why would others want to hurt Ellie?"

"Well…others like her aren't exactly…liked. Few can tolerate them, because often, they start crying. They're easily startled when crying, I guess because they're caught up in some memory. They attack when startled, screaming. Now, there are some who will keep those like Ellie company, but only because they actually have the patience to do so." Ryan looked up as he placed the strip of meat in his mouth, chewing. "Anything else?"

"Er…is there a bathroom in this building?"

Why do I get the feeling I've just lost what relative little routine I had?, Ryan thought to himself as Ellie pointed down hall.

Okay, so, not exactly something one would expect. But it is something different. I got this from the idea that maybe the Special Infected are more than they appear to be. Perhaps they do still have the ability to speak. Maybe they only attack because they're used to being shot at. Yeah, yeah, a load of crap, I know, but this is a fanfiction, so I think I'm entitled to throwing that random theory out there. Please review and let me know what you think. I might continue this, I might not. Also, Jonah Valatina, Ryan, and Ellie are OC's of mine. But Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 is owned by Valve, as well as the characters of the games, including the Common Infected, Special Infected, and the Survivors, who will be making an appearance if I do continue this story. Also, I'm still not sure how to classify this, so if someone has an idea, feel free to tell me. For now, it's just going to be humor.