Author Note: Well, hello there everybody. Before we get started, I would like to tell you some things... don't worry, it's not that much. This is the very first fanfic completely written in English I'm making, and due to me not being a native speaker in such language it might not be perfect in terms of grammar or redaction (if you find errors, please report them in the reviews section or via PM so I can fix them as soon as possible, as I have no beta readers for now), although I'll do my best. It's not meant to be very long, I just want to test how well I can do here, writing a story set in one of my favorite games: Left 4 Dead.
The story will be written in first-person, narrated by the protagonist, and will show what he is going to have to pass through since the first confirmed case of infection in the town where he lives; in a trip that may take even more than one life to complete.
With nothing more to say, here we go.
Edition Note [01/09/2015]: Special thanks to "I've no clue what I am doing" (ID: 7011534) for his assistance in the reviewing of this and the following chapters!
Half Dead, Still Alive
A fiction series by DragShot
Prologue: Where it all begins
- ¡You're going to be late again! ¡Come down here NOW! - is heard from a certain distance, like downstairs to be more accurate. It is a female voice.
- Hmm... - Suddenly wakes up - Oh, crap.
Late. Again. With the alarm set to sound not just once, but twice, with a reasonable interval of one minute considering how hard it is for me to get up early. Why does this stuff happen to me when it's something really important? Dammit! Well, I better not loose more time.
At least mom was there as a reliable backup option, but she can get really annoying when I get late for something. Just like, anything I get to tell her I'm into, no matter how important it is or isn't. Who cares anyway? University is first.
After a quick clothes change, I rushed downstairs to have breakfast, then I went out to find a bus with a tiny hope of at least not arriving that late this time. A kinda false hope, I have to admit, but it's enough to keep me focused on what I have to do.
Yeah, my life before the infection was pretty normal for a 19-year-old guy. Except for the fact I hated it. I don't know why, but I was more or less like the kind of person that hated most of the stuff in their life due to some childhood problems they never got to overcome with time, which were just left to be forgotten, but somehow they never faded out completely.
Back to what happened that day, when I finally arrived to the classroom, I didn't found nothing else than the usual: the class had begun some minutes ago and the teacher had ended the introductory part. That one that makes the whole session a bit interesting, and the difference between a worthy class and a unproductive, wasted day for me. Ok, ok, I don't arrive late to class everytime (otherwise I would have lost lots of courses) but I do, let's see... like 60% of times. That's enough to find myself in a complicated situation in what respects to attendance, and make people look me as a man that will be tardy for almost anything.
The only thing that really called my attention that morning happened during the break. Some classmates were hanging around together, forming a circle, and seemed to be talking about something they were worried about. I sneaked in to hear what is was all about. It's not like I usually do that, but this seemed serious enough.
- What you heard. It was on the news this morning. - said a tall tough guy with a yellow t-shirt, jeans and a brown cap.
Something on the news? That means I could have found out of that before if I had time to turn on the TV this morning.
- Well, this certainly begins to seem less bullshit and more real. - replied a white-skinned girl, she was medium-sized and had red hair. - First the case of that man whose face was eaten on a highway, and now we got crazed man trying to kill everybody with a baseball bat and bites, who supposedly was dead since days ago. And those are only nearby cases.
- You guys think this may be some sort of new mental illness? - asked a short boy with dark hair, wearing shorts and a squared dark green shirt - I don't think that last man was really dead. He could have been just fake dead, you know. Like those people that fall in a very deep comma that seems like a brain death, and then somehow come back all of sudden.
- Only God knows for sure, Carl. - concluded the first guy - Although, I've been thinking... not to take it very serious, but... - the rest looked at him intrigued - what if all of this is the... start of a zombie apocalypse?
- Ah, there you go again, Kevin - said the redhead, facepalming at the same time.
- To be honest, it kinda looks like the beginning of one, but I don't think so brodah. - added Carl.
- All that stuff of zombies are bullcrap, boy. Get it over with already. - said someone else. He looked as tall as Kevin, but thinner. He was wearing a dark purple hood and some sort of sport pants that looked too old to be worn in public.
- Shut the fuck up, Fergus. - Kevin replied immediately in a monotone voice. It seemed like being annoying was quite the norm for the mentioned Fergus.
- Hey there, Zeck. - greeted the redhead girl to me, making me the focus of attention for a few seconds.
- Oh, hi Ellie. - I replied. Being called out all of sudden felt pretty annoying, but I don't get mad with friends.
- So, worried about the news too? - she asked.
- Well, whatever this is, we couldn't be more screwed I guess. - I said while scratching my head.
- Come on, Zeck. - said Carl in a friendly tone - Don't mess with our luck again, dude.
- Yeah, there's no need to, bro. - we laughed a bit, as we didn't know yet what was incoming.
- You guys are all freaks. - muttered Fergus.
- That's fine. Nobody really cares though. - I shot back. He sighed and went away, murmuring something. He used to be a problem during elementary school, but now he doesn't seem to be more than a loser. Considering that was how he used to call me back then, I find it sort of ironic.
We went back to the classroom. Yet again, nothing interesting happened until late in the night.
I had gone out to buy some bread for tomorrow's breakfast. Then I saw a short man with clothes that seemed to have been ripped apart, covered in dirt and blood. He walked, limped... or something, slowly, growling a bit.
- [Is this one of those YouTube jokes?] - I asked to myself.
The growls became louder, and the man charged towards me. I still suspected that it was a joke, but I was not going to be part of it, so I pretended to look scared until the last second. I quickly moved away and punched him straight in the face, sending him back to kiss the ground.
- Fair try, mate. - I taunted.
The man tried to get up, but I hadn't finished with him yet. I always wanted to return a joke to one of those geniuses, and this was my chance so...
- Ok, now I'm gonna beat the hell out of you, Mr. Zombie.
I grabbed a wooden stick lying nearby and landed a pair of hits on him. He grabbed my leg in response.
- So, you're going serious? Bad decision.
The next hit went to his head. That knocked him down and the growling stopped.
- Best luck next time, mate. Nice disguise by the way.
When I got home, my mother was at the door, looking everywhere outside. She seemed really worried.
- Oh thanks God, you're safe! - she exclaimed and received me with a hug. That was unusual.
- Well, of course I'm fine. I just went for some bread, remember? I do it almost everyday. What's the worst thing that could have happened to me?
- You have no idea what's going on, son. - she sounded deadly serious this time.
That day was my very first encounter with a common zombie, and I wasn't aware of it. I would have hit him harder if I knew. It all started on a street, but well, that happened a while ago, you know.
We are now in hell, trapped in a giant nightmare while we try in vain to come out alive, to survive. Most of the people I once knew are missing or dead. Zombies of all forms and shapes are out there, trying to hunt and eat us. Everything past is forgotten, buried unlike those undead walkers. We are now just scattered people trying to join together to be able to resist, but soon more people will fall under the infection. Maybe this is really the end of the world. To be honest, I have no idea.
I'm here. That's all you need to know.
AN: Thanks for reading. Comments, corrections and reviews are very welcome.
