AN: This story follows Keith, the friend who Ellis is constantly talking about throughout Left 4 Dead 2. It tells his side of the story from his first encounter with the infection. It will probably have some twists here and there and he will probably meet up with Ellis in some way or form in the future. Here we go..

They say the virus is relentless. That once it has you, it takes you over completely and you become something else entirely. Filled with a rage and hunger that you can't control. Though you have to wonder if what they say is true. Does it erase who you are completely or is the person you once were still in there somewhere?

It's hard not to think about something like that when you're blowing their brains out.

'...that they're saying to stay indoors as much as possible and to seal off your windows with plastic sheeting. The officials state that they are doing their best to contain-"

A groan escaped my throat as I turned off the radio that was giving the same dull report. Again. The news was that some kind of sickness had been spreading in the north eastern parts of the country for about two weeks now. The popular name for it was the Green Flu and it was causing quite a fuss. To some people at least.

"We should probably be listening to that, y'know. It sound dangerous."

I glanced over at the girl who would usually take shop shifts with me with a yawn. "Krista, we got nothin to worry about. That shit's still up in the northern parts. Doubt it'll get here any time soon. It's just some retards getting rabies, anyway. Everyone just makes it out to be somethin it's not. Over exaggeration, y'know?"

"Yeah, and I think you're too unconcerned for your own good."

I laughed, turning the radio back on and switching it to a music station. It is true that I was a very nonchalant kind of guy. I just didn't see the point in worrying over things. Especially in this part of town, nothing very exciting ever happens. I've known some of my friends to say that the weird things that I did was more entertaining than anything else most of the time. I guess you could call me a stunt bug, always getting into trouble and doing things that could get me killed. Maybe danger called to me or something. It certainly left a mark.

'...Can he outrun this crusading mob of men who aim to kill him with the crucifix they'd fished out of...'

"So what's Ellis up to today, anyway?"

"Huh?" I looked at her as she restocked the shelves with ground coffee.

"Ellis. He's not in the shop today. Somethin important come up?"

"I reckon it must've been. That shop's like his baby." I lean on the counter and smile at the thought. I had known Ellis for seventeen years and even way back then, he's wanted to open up a mechanics shop of his own. He was certainly the best in town and for the past two years his dream had been a reality, gaining ownership of the shop, gas station, and this market attached to it. "He said it had to do with some family matter."

'...Could he ever find forgiveness from those gospels he came to preach...'

I yawned, staring out the window. The day was going by at an almost excruciating pace and only a few customers had stopped in since the morning. I wasn't worried about that sickness that had apparently been spreading like wildfire, but it was certainly true that ever since information about it had been released, more and more people were staying inside.

"...Keith. Hey, Keith! Customer."

I turned around to face the front of the store and sure enough there was some guy there, making his way over to the counter. Though there was something not quite right about the way he moved. He dragged his feet and his arms hung limply at his sides. Probably drunk.

"Good afternoon, sir. Is there anything I can do for you?" No answer. The guy just stared at me with his bloodshot eyes. I held back a sigh, making my voice a bit louder. "Sir? How can I help you?" The only response I got was a low, grumbling grunt. Glancing over at Krista, I let out my sigh and got a shrug from her. "Look, man, if you're drunk, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. You listenin-" I cut my sentence short as the man threw his fist in my direction. "Whoa! Hey, what the hell man!?" Scowling, I shoved him across the counter, to move him away. "Leave now." I guess he didn't hear me or didn't care because he gave another grunt and turned, only to head towards Krista at a faster pace. "Hey!" Grabbing the shotgun from underneath the counter, I leapt over and ran in between the two, hitting the guy with the butt of the gun. "Get the hell out!" I grabbed him by his jacket and dragged him towards the door, noticing the dank smell that was coming from him. The guy barely put up a fight as I shoved him out and closed the door behind him, frowning. Then I noticed the group standing beyond.

"What the hell was up with that guy?" Krista sighed, shaking her head. She looked in my direction and paused. "What's wrong?"

I stared out the glass doors, frowning. "Either we got a group of drugged up drunks or somethin is wrong..."

Krista frowned, making her way over to look outside. Maybe ten feet away from the store stood a fairly large group of people swaying and staring off blankly. They all looked incredibly sick. "Keith...this doesn't look good... What if it's that flu things?"

"No way." I frowned, looking out and noticing a few more groups. "There's no way it could spread that quickly, right? There must've been some big, stupid party or something that went wrong. Really bad hangovers and whatnot..." That was when another man from the nearest group broke away and ran at the door and started banging on the glass, causing Krista to jump and lock it.

"That's not a hangover, Keith!" She looked around for anything useful, then went for the side door leading to the garage. "We need to get the others... We gotta get out of here."

Frowning, I reached for the desk phone and put it to my ear only to find it dead. "Shit." I grabbed the rest of the ammunition from behind the counter and went after Krista as she reached for the handle of the side door. "Wait. Be careful."

She nodded slowly, turning the knob and peeking out to the garage beyond. Hesitantly, she pushed it open and went through. "Where is everybody?" The garage was completely empty, everything left as it was and the door hanging wide open.

"Maybe... Maybe they ran. Got the hell outta here. Or maybe..." I glanced out to the bunches of people wandering outside.

"No! There's no way they would leave without us! There's no way Martin would-"

"Shush!" I warned, putting a finger to my lips. "You want those crazies out there to hear you?" She gave a slow nod and I sighed. Martin was Krista's boyfriend; a real cool blackie who knew his way when it came to machines. It was true; there was no way he would leave her willingly. I grabbed a crowbar off the closest workbench and handed it to her, receiving a worried look. "Just in case," I assured her. "We don't know if we'll be attacked again." She gave a helpless sigh and took it from me, hanging her head. I looked back outside to see one of the groups running in our direction. "Back door. Now." Grabbing her wrist, we ran to the back door only to find more sickly looking people wandering about. "Shit. No fucking way. Up to the roof top. Come on."

Krista goes up the latter first and she moved to the center of the roof swiftly, sitting down and letting out a heavy sigh. "This is some crazy rabies..." she mutters.

I climb up on top of the large generator on the roof and look out at the grounds below. All up and down the street are random groups of people wandering aimlessly. "Yeah... Very crazy..."

I had been wrong not to worry. Very wrong. In only three weeks, the infection had spread down the east coast and had now crawled its way into my home town of Savannah, Georgia. It began with disbelief, but then panic began to set in.

Well... Not sure how that went... Haha.