First Fanfic, doing it from the perspective of an abandoned CEDA squad. I think Valve left it pretty wide open story wise. Doing a "Return to Mercy City"
kinda thing. Yeah, I know the weapons aren't very Left 4 Dead-ish, oh well. Horton and his squad are no longer bound to CEDA's agenda, so now they begin
searching for survivors...
Left 4 Dead, CEDA, and Mercy City/hospital courtesy of Valve, OC's property of author.
Chapter One: City Streets
CEDA had left them behind just like everyone else. They were on their own in the middle of a global meltdown. It was doubtful that they were the last active squad in the city, CEDA cared little for their "grunts".
"What now captain?" asked Nash.
"Our objective is no longer evacuation. This is now search and rescue and exfiltration out of the city. You all know what we're dealing with here so stay quiet and move fast." replied Horton.
"Search and rescue who, sir?"
"Any survivors we can find."
The five of them: Horton, Nash, Evans, Bradley, and Reynolds moved down the street with stunning speed, after all they were in full tactical gear. Mercy city was ravaged and the undead threat was now at its peak. The virus strain anomaly, the "specials" were turning up more frequently. The "common" infected were scarce on this street but it must have been one of a kind.
"We're going to the Mercy public library. Maybe there's some survivors holed up there." Said Horton. The others nodded. The night was very dark over Mercy city but the men had little trouble seeing in it thanks to their night vision goggles. Horton took point armed with an M4 and a Glock 18 followed by Nash wielding the same Rifle and a USP. Evans came next with a P90 and a P30. Bradley followed Evans armed with a G36C and a M9 and lastly came Reynolds with a GOL Sniper Magnum and a MP7. All their weapons, excluding Reynolds' Rifle, bore silencers. They were sticking to the streets unless otherwise necessary to move faster, the infected tended not to notice the men unless they ventured too closely.
They turned the corner onto another street to discover that it was crawling with infected. Horton pointed at an alleyway on the left side of the street, opposite the side on which they stood. They moved swiftly towards it, minding the gap between them and the undead. They reached the alley and put their backs against the wall. The faint sound of weeping could be heard. Horton peaked around the corner and saw that a witch sat in the middle of the alleyway sobbing; its dreadful claws gleamed in the menacing moonlight.
"We've got a witch." Said Horton. He surveyed the area and saw a two story apartment building across the street. "Reynolds, take point in the second story window with a good vantage of the alleyway, Evans go with him. Once you two are set, signal and take out that witch. We will provide support from the alley once she is neutralized, understood?" Horton whispered.
"Understood" they replied collectively. Reynolds and Evans made their way into the apartment building quietly, closing the doors behind them. They were soon seen in the window setting up for the shot. Reynolds signaled and took his shot hitting the witch in the head. The crying ceased. The infected in the street, alerted by the thunderous gunshot, turned towards the building suddenly, as one stirred from deep thought. Presently, they sprinted towards the living.
Horton, Nash, and Bradley filed into the alleyway and, turning to face the apartment building, Horton and Nash readied themselves. Horton kneeled and Nash aimed over him while Bradley covered their six. With short and controlled trigger pulls, they dispatched the undead calmly. In the apartment building room, little went on except for some pounding on the walls of the infected who were still in the building. Evans covered the door which presently still stood strong. The three in the alley burned through a clip fast. They were aiming for the head but it was not necessary to kill them, merely to conserve ammo. Reynolds peered out of the window after the gunfire ceased and signaled "Clear". Just as the two in the window were leaving, Reynolds did a double take and looked through his scope.
"Hold it!" Reynolds voice came through their in-helmet radios
"What do you see, Reynolds?" Asked Horton.
"Incoming tank, about a klick West of us."
"Understood. You two stay put, evade at all costs. Nash, Bradley, on me."
Horton lead the two further into the alley which lead to a bigger alleyway, the one they were in was a sub-alley of sorts. They turned the corner and put their backs against the wall, standard procedure. Horton maintained eyes on Reynolds, peaking around the corner while the other two watched the many branching exits. The ground began rumbling lightly as the hulking, muscle-bound thing approached. It was not apparent where the monster was going or why it even came this way, presumably the gunshot. It went past quickly, not noticing the men to their relief, although they waited for it to be out of sight before moving.
"Clear." Reynolds said over the radio.
Horton then signaled to regroup on him. Upon rejoining the three in the alleyway, the five made their way to the next street, Horton taking point. Presently, they arrived at the library shortly after the alleyway fight. They now stood at the steps of the grand building; the architecture was decidedly Grecian. After a quick sweep of the perimeter, the squad came back to the entrance and prepared to enter.
"Evans, take point. Watch your corners" Ordered Horton. Nash and Bradley opened the doors quietly and Evans crept in, taking slow steps. Horton followed with the rest behind him, Bradley being at the rear. The interior was what one would expect; many rows of books. The path lay clear in front of them with 4 columns on either side of them extending backwards, each pair of bookshelves were divided by a small walkway. The clerk's desk was positioned at their immediate left, the front of the building.
"Evans and Reynolds, you two take the left and sweep right. We'll take the right and sweep left. Meet at the rear of the building and report." Commanded Horton. They nodded and sprang into action.
They moved quickly, sweeping through rooms and bookshelves alike on the sides of the main building. Evans came to a door, Reynolds was busy moving through the bookshelves. He slowly opened the door, peering through into the small space. It appeared to be some sort of study room having desks strewn about the room with books opened and laying atop them. Common infected also resided inside.
"Reynolds, got contact here." Evans said over the radio. Reynolds arrived shortly and, tapping Evans' shoulder, they stormed the room quietly, dispatching the zombies with deadly efficiency. As they cleared the room, a guttural growl was heard followed by a piercing shriek. Evans turned quickly to face the source of the sound to see a hooded figure poised to pounce. He quickly shouldered his weapon but the hideous thing leaped with inhuman agility before he could get a shot off. Evans crouched, pivoted and shot it while it soared through the air. The hunter went limp, crashing into the wall violently and falling to the floor.
"Nice kill." Reynolds said, kneeling to inspect the hunter. "Wow, hold on. Take a look at this."
Evans walked over to the body and knelt down next to Reynolds.
"This guy's CEDA..." Said Evans as he grabbed the ID off the corpse. "I thought all CEDA personnel received the immunization vaccine."
"So did I." Replied Reynolds.
Evans pocketed the ID and they continued sweeping the left area of the library.
"Evans, Reynolds, give me a report." Said Horton.
"All clear except for one room. Several common and one hunter attacked us. They've been neutralized and we recovered this from the hunter's body." Evans pulled out the ID card and handed it to the Captain. He gazed at the card for a long moment.
"What the... What happened to the immunization?" Horton paused, "show me the body."
The two lead the others to the room of their startling discovery and showed the Captain the dead hunter. He knelt and searched it, finding the wallet in the pants pocket. His findings only confirmed it, this man was CEDA.
End of first chapter, got more coming. Let me know what you think and don't be afraid to be honest. (Please note the vaccine will be explained later on)