Disclaimer: Yep, I don't own L4D.
Ok, This is a little joint story between me and Yomar Sonak. We took a bit each and each paragraph is a swapped POV.
Key:
This is the infected character
This is human.
Have fun reading :)
I stalked in through the hallways amongst the shops, attempting to keep my voice at a low growl. I'd smelt my prey, and was going in for the kill. It was being silly really turning on a stereo, in this type of hell, especially when one knows other infected hate any noise. Especially sleeping hunters. I overheard the dull music on the stereo, so I strained my ears and heightened my senses to find any evidence that the human was actually still there. A drift gently carried a much better scent than him though, it smelt more meaty and my mouth salivated at the smell, and of course the mouth, nose and ears are connected so as I smelt it and tasted it. Focus! Focus! I cursed under my breath and in the end I was about to give up on them, then I remembered that if I didn't get him somebody else would. But with that smell...I'd never be able to hunt with it lingering.
"Heyyy-o…listen what I sayyy-o…" I'd taken a seat on a nearby lawn chair as I stared down at my two weapons. A pistol and a rifle…it seemed like a good idea at the time: a long range weapon to keep them all at bay, and an extra one just in case I needed some more time. If only I hadn't misjudged my own ability to survive…I would have brought a weapon that lasts longer…ironically becoming my real downfall. I had never planned on lasting this long in such a hostile environment, monsters (as I call them) all over the place, and no one left to turn to. I should have brought something like an axe…something that wouldn't 'run out of ammo.' I opened the last clips in the rifle, then the pistol…both were empty. I tossed them to the side…they had no use for me now. And now, as I'm sitting in this little outdoorsman shop…I've already realized what my fate will be. So, the way I figure it, I might as well go out in style…turn up the radio a tad, sit back, and relax. Oh, and maybe get a steak cooking on one of the working grills: I was starving. I may be nearing my end…but that doesn't mean I shouldn't enjoy the time I have left.
Simple-minded humans, always unaware of the dangers around them. I overheard a 'clink!' as something was thrown to the murky floor, so I carefully peered around the corner to check what happened. Turns out our little human here is completely disarmed, both ammunition cartages are empty and he's totally unaware of my presence. I inwardly smiled to myself in triumph. Maybe this time I won't fail so hard and catch something without getting distracted, which is a big thing for me as I've never really done anything like that. It was embarrassing for most the time. I'm not exactly the most largest of my kind but I'm still pretty lethal, even if the survivors could just pick me up off them and tell me how cute I was. So embarrassing.
Ah…that steak has such a wonderful scent to it. I couldn't help but feel a sense of irony somehow…me, eating a steak, right before I get eaten by some predator. Yeah…that's probably where I'm getting it from. I sat back down and looked out towards the window, staring directly onto the streets outside. Strange…the road seemed so…bare. Not a single zombie, monster, undead, or whatever they were in sight; remarkable, really. Maybe it's a sign? A sign that maybe…maybe I still have a chance to live through all this? Or perhaps…a terrible joke to make me believe I stand a chance, then thrust those hopes away in the blink of an eye…urgh, enough of that. The last thing I need is to make myself feel even more down than I already am…the situation is doing that well enough as it is. "Ack!" Oh…oh, the steak just hissed. Didn't think it would sound so loud...scared me half to death. Good lord…at this rate, I'll die from a heart attack before those things even get to me. Time to find a new song to listen to…hopefully someone on the radio's singing a happier tune than I am.
Just, a little bit...further! I can reach this, almost...There. GOTCHA! I put the meat in my mouth and was about to crawl away when something fell off it. 'Sssss!' eep! That'll teach me for being on the ceiling and defying so-called gravity. I only came up here to get it, maybe this could be the only meal I have for the week. I wouldn't know, I mean he could have- Waaait a second, he doesn't have a weapon so why the hell am I going for this when I could go for the bigger meal! Well a bit late now I'm already in the cupboard and are those footsteps I hear outside? I've also just noticed, how come there's people singing on the radio when, there's no broadcasting? That's a bit strange. Oh God the doors opening!
Sheesh, that steak just sizzled again. That thing has more grease in it than I ever…..huh? Wait…what the? The steak…it's, it's gone! Bu-but how? I haven't even moved! Uh…oh no. Something must have found a way in and taken it…and that means…I'm next! Ohhh god, what do I do? What do I do-okay, okay…calm. Down. Just take a deep breath, and think things through. Now…if I stay here, and hide somewhere...no, no, that won't work. There's no way it won't be able to find me with its heightened senses…as soon as it finishes that steak, it'll just end up finding and eating me next! That steak was the appetizer; I'm the main course! There's nowhere left to run…and I don't even have a weapon anymore! Urrrgh…looks like my luck's finally ran out…I'm a goner. Wait…hey, wait a minute! If that…'thing,' has gone somewhere to eat the steak…then maybe…yes! Yes, I still have a shot! If I hurry and find it while it's eating, then I might get a chance to catch it off guard, surprise it, and knock it senseless before it can do the same to me! Let's see…ah, here's my rifle. I'd prefer an axe or something…but it's still better than nothing. Hmmm…a few drops of grease have fallen onto the ground, leaving a small trail to follow, and it's leading up to…this door. Hm…I can hear a small amount of moaning inside. Better hurry and open it…1…2…3! "Ahhh! Eh...huh?" It…screamed? And now it's…cowering? Wait…is that a human? It's got its hood over its head, I can't really tell…careful, careful, just lean over, but keep the gun ready…"Uh…hello? Are you okay…? Gah, ahhhhh!" Ack, it pounced me! "Augh, let me go! Let…me…huh?" It stopped…it stopped attacking? Wait, what am I doing? Throw it off! "Uh-hurrrgh! Ah ha! Right into the wall! I got you now! Uh…huh?" The hood came off…wait, it's…it's just a young girl. And she's making a light, whining sound...almost like a whimper. Strange…none of the other monsters that attacked me just stopped like that: they would keep fighting until they passed out or I finished them off. Even with their last bit of strength, they would come after me, but this one…this one's different. She's just…lying there. Weird…
Oww that hurrtt...Why the hell would somebody throw you at a bloody wall- Oww...He smelt of something familiar but I can't put my finger on it. He's walking over to me and looking slightly confused, I drooped my head so my muddy blonde hair(or at least I think it's still blonde) fell over my eyes and face to stop him from noticing my expression. The closer he got the more familiar he smelt plus his movement was similar to that other guy- I slapped my forehead. Of course! That's why he was so recognisable! He's the guy who helped me ages ago where he shot my cousin, I mean he WAS trying to kill me whilst I was transforming, he told me there was nothing such as a Feminine kind of his only male, because they were the dominant species and only men could be that not women. Sexist son-of-a-bitch. Makes me want to scream at his dead body and say 'yeah well what about the freaking WITCH?' that might've shut him up, he always was an asshole to me. He's advancing and I really have to stop going off track all the time, maybe if I show him that I'm friendly? I mean yeah sure I stole his mea- that's it! I grabbed the other piece and handed it out to him and made the most innocent smile I could gather. Hopefully he'll see I'm being nice!
What…what is she doing? She's…reaching her hand out…? Does she want me to help her up or something? No wait, she has something in her hand…looks like some of the meat she took from me. And now she's grinning…? Hmmm, this is very strange...either she's giving up and trying to make a peace offering…or, the more likely of possibilities, she's trying to trick me. One thing that I've learned in life, especially after the infection began: there are very few people in this world that you can trust. So putting faith into this undead…'monster,' doesn't seem all that intelligent. Lean over to her, she doesn't seem to be getting ready to attack, and slowly close her hand, push it back towards her...okay, good. "No…that's okay, you keep it." She seems a bit…confused. Uh-huh…there she goes, putting her hand out in front of me again. "No, really; take it, I don't want it." Urgh…she's doing it again. "Look, just take it, alright? I don't want it anymore, you can have it." Uh-oh…she's starting to growl. Did I sound too hostile, there? And now she's getting up, too..."Um…ahhhhh!" Gotta move fast! Turn the corner, now sprint…just don't turn around! Don't turn around, don't turn around…okay, I'm going to-"Augh!" For the love of God, why did I turn around? As soon as I did, there she was, flying in mid-air, straight at me. Ugh…I'm done for this time. I can't even defend myself, anymore. She's raising her hand into the air…oh God, this is gonna hurt. "Ahhhh-mmph!"…Huh? Am I dead? I don't feel dead…all I feel is a strange sensation in my mouth…Okay, enough cowardice, open your eyes! There she is…with her hand in front of my mouth, and a wide, rather disturbing smile across her face. Did she…*homph, homph*…yes, she did. She just shoved that leftover piece of steak into my mouth, whether I wanted to or not. I think I better eat it…for my own sake. Hm…tastes like…death.
There, you will eat it whether you like it or not mister! It's my peace offering and therefore you shall eat it, and if you even dare regurgitate it back up again I'll make you eat that too. I stood up off him and held a hand down, it took him a while but he hesitantly grabbed my hand and I hauled him up despite my small figure. He was surprised and I couldn't help making a big grin at him, which scared the human slightly but he's going to get used to it because I have plans. I couldn't be seen with a human though considering my bad luck as a female hunter already and a small female hunter at that. I can't write properly so I can't tell him through writing,I can't speak so I can't tell him through speaking either...However I have actions, so maybe I'll be able to do some form of acting to make him see that I want to travel with him, and carefully. I also want to protect him though, but I'm so small I'd be no use against a Tank- Actually on second thought, I'm so small the Tank wouldn't be able to get me off him! So I was fortunate to be small in most cases, but in others such as territorial and others of my kind plus any other being (apart from commons) I wouldn't be able to face that well, and I wouldn't want to get in the way of his shooting either. Eh? Oh he's giving me a quizzical look, I guess he can tell that I'm thinking pretty hard about something. I pulled up my hood again and sat on all fours like a Dog, hopefully my way of contacting him through actions would work...
Well, alright…she at least appears to be friendly. She's crouching down in front of me, staring…almost like she's waiting on me to give her an order, or something. Why is she acting this way? I've done nothing to make her lose all hostility towards me…have I? Is there something that I'm missing about these undead creatures? Something that I've done without even knowing? I can't come up with a single reason for her to spare my life…and yet…here I am, alive and well. What a strange, strange occurrence this is. "…What have I done to make you so…friendly towards me?" A confused look…yeah, I know the feeling. Not sure why I even asked. Okay, snap out of it, time to jump back to reality: I need a weapon, and fast. "Might as well pick up that rifle…ah, here it is." Urgh…still out of ammo, though. What am I gonna do now…huh? She's tugging on my shirt…what does she want? "What? Look, I'm sorry, but I can't understand what you're doing." …She just keeps staring. "No comprendè? Je ne comprend pas…? No habla 'the undead'?...I have no idea what you're trying to say!" Ugh, I give up. Huh…? She just bolted towards that side door. And there she goes, running right on through. Does she want me to…follow her? Hm…peeking your head around the door, eh? If I had to guess, then I'd say she wants me to follow her. Well…do I have any other options?...No? Well then, guess I have no choice.
Well, I was kind of hoping he'd follow me or something but he's just stood there like a frozen pole. So I attempted to remember an action of some sort that would make him follow, it was kind of hard when you've been non-human for so long. Well technically I am still human but- Whatever! Right, I need to find some form of action that would make him follow me...My hands come to mind. Maybe if I wafted them towards me, maybe he'd see that as an action. Then again he's so dense he probably wouldn't know any different, I'll try it anyway. Well...Whad'ya know, he's actually coming towards me at least now I know he's not as dense as I thought! So he follows me and- What's that growling coming from my closet? The human seems to notice it as well. He approached it wearily. The human carefully placed his hand on the handle of the door, before gently turning it...A black blurr shot out of the cupboard and landing on my human, I tackled it to the ground and attempted to keep hold. I growled at the human, and almost as if he understood me, he quickly got up ran into the room regardless of danger. I wrestled with the other Hunter, as it smiled menacingly at me before bringing down it's claws and-
Aim…fire! Yeaaah, take that you monstrous monstrosity! "Heh…only 3 shots, eh?" Better approach it to make sure it's really dead, "Thought you would have put up more of a fight than that." Hm…yep, it's down for the count, and not a single bullet wasted, either. Good thing whoever used to own this store had a gun closet. Okay, time to check up on little black jumping hood. "Hey, you alright?" Hm…she's growling. Looks like that other…'thing' messed up her leg a bit. I've seen these zombies take several gunshots and still move at full speed, though, so a little leg wound probably won't do all that much. Well, now that I have some more ammo, I guess I should be heading back outside into the zombie-infested streets. "Well, thanks for everything, zombie girl. I wish I could help, but…I'm not exactly a doctor, let alone one for the undead. I wish you understood my words, but…I'm guessing that you can't, so…bye." She's still focusing on holding her leg; I don't think she got a single bit of what I was conveying. Guess I better head out, then. Grab an extra pistol from the closet…alright. I'm ready to…aw no, she's whimpering again. Urrrgh, it's so painful! And she's looking at me with those sad eyes again. Better go back and try to comfort her…somehow. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? But there's nothing I can do, and I really have to…" Ack, she's not going to stop, is she? God, it's so…so…guilt-inducing! "Okay, okay! I'll go get some bandages or something, just please…please stop making that noise!" Well, she did spare my life, I suppose. And she just saved me from a certain death…so I suppose I owe her enough to at least help her back on her feet. Sigh…let's see if there are any spare bandages lying around.
Oww, my leg. That stupid inconsiderate bast- No, I need to get this sealed up somehow before I bleed to death. The Humans walking away and scouting around, maybe in an attempt to find something? Don't know what he wants to find but it must be pretty important if he's looking that hard for it. His face seemed to lighten up as he looked into a room and so he ran into it, and came back out with a red and white thing then started to walk over to me. He somehow opened it and took out a long white thing from it, it reminded me of a thinned version of a smokers tongue. Maybe he was going to wrap me up in it! Then seal me down so that I couldn't go anywhere and I'd die! Eep!
"It's OK...I-" Huh? He's what? It's OK? I stopped attempting to struggle from him and let him wrap the long white thing around my leg, he then put it in place so it wouldn't come loose...
"See." I gave a short growl of thanks, but I think he didn't really understand it properly. Well, I might as well try and- Oof! Owww, OK don't try and get up, not a good idea. He could see my agony and supposedly started pondering on how to bring me with him, if...He wanted me along I mean, he could always just leave me here like the rest of the humans did...He turned to think. AHA, IDEA! I used whatever insanity was left in me to stand up (and painfully I'll admit) and jumped onto his back.
"Oh no. You can't even move with that injured leg, can you?" I really need to get going to make up for all the lost time I spent in here, but…I can't just leave her here to die! "Ugh, what am I gonna do with you? Ack! What the?" She just…she just jumped onto my back! Wait, did she…understand me? I mean, she's shown no sign of understanding me before, so…either we just had the exact same thoughts, or…hey, wait a sec! She's still capable of thought? I never would have guessed that the undead could still use their minds effectively. I thought they were all brain dead…guess not. Well…she wrapped her legs around my stomach, and is hanging onto my shoulders with her arms…is she seriously suggesting…oh my god, she is. I'm standing up, and she's still hanging on. She wants to come along, and riding piggyback, no less! "Do you…really want to come with me?"…She pressed her face against my back. Wow…I guess she really does. Well…why not, right? I mean, it couldn't hurt to have one of these guys with me. This could really work to my advantage: who knows, she might even be able to communicate with some of them so I…oh, wait. That thing that attacked us before…it knew she was here, yet it still attacked. Crap…well, at least she's fairly light and easy to carry, so having her along for the ride shouldn't slow me down all that much. Guess we better get going then. "Alrighty then, uh…um…sheesh, what am I gonna call you?" Guess I'll figure it out later. "Well, whatever you're called…let's be heading out. Gonna grab my gear…okay. Let's get going, then; we got a long road ahead of us before we get to my house."
Your house? Maybe I could help out with directions and ammo for now. I pulled him to the side, he does NOT want to go that way! Witch around the corner...He almost yelled at me but I managed to cover his mouth, and he overheard the very light sobbing echoing in the hall. He mouthed a small 'oh' to me. He's so lucky to have me here considering his obliviousness to just about everything can be fatal, I'll make an attempt at guiding him through the Town. He doesn't have a lot of ammo so we better get to somewhere safe, and fast. I'm sure on my little journeys around the place there was a small shelter on 'Mayway' Road...What? I can still read a little bit. I'm sure it was Mayway. I don't like that street though, it gives me the chills. Like I've been there before and can't remember anything, I've been avoiding that street since I felt that way. Eep! I pulled him away again, he's so careless! Hm, coughing? I growled gently to him, to warn him of the Smokers presence. He simply asked me what was wrong, I twitched my leg to turn him around and thankfully he was getting used to my actions and so he turned, to come (almost) face-to-face with the Smoker I was trying to warn him about. He shot but the Smoker somehow managed to escape with a final coughing word.
"Watching" Well, if that wasn't the creep of the day I don't know what is.
"Augh! Where are all you freaky things coming from?" I don't exactly have a ton of ammo, here! At least let me reload! "Would you just…leave…me…alone!" Okay, okay, gotta make a break for it…ack, what now? Her constant tugging and hitting is really starting to grade on me…uh…oh no. This intersection here…it's chocked full of these things! Uh oh…oh god, they spotted us! Gotta go, now! "Ahhhhh! Crap, they're all over the place! Hurgh, ow!" My right shoulder! That girl just pinched me! "Don't claw me! I'm on your side, remember? Huh?" Oh, she's pointing down the road…"Okay, fine, we'll go that way!" Not like we have much of a choice, here…"God, I wish you could shoot back at these things! Or at least communicate with them!" What's that down the street…? It looks like a…barred steel door, going right into that large building at the end of the road. Wait, is that one of those built-in saferooms I've been hearing so much about? Perfect! Now we just gotta…ohhh no, not one of these things! I've seen them run right on top of you, jump on your back and start hitting you as hard as they can! Oh god, here it comes! Wha…huh? Oh wow, that girl just clawed it right off. "Whew, nice job there!" Come on, come on, we can make it…we're gonna make it…yes! "Whoo hoo! Oh no, they're charging into here!" Close it, close it!...Whew. Ugh…oh my god, that was…that was nuts. "Okay…okay, I'm just gonna…lie down on my stomach for a second." Ahhh, safety…I haven't felt this good in a looong time.
I have never known somebody to be more awkward in my entire, freaking, life. At least we're in the saferoom though, and away from any danger. I'll let him have a rest and then in a couple of hours. We're going to set off again.
"Ungh...no, Nemi, not yet...please, just five more minutes...gah!" Oh…oh man, I just had this crazy dream: I was being chased by hordes of the undead, and had a little infected girl on my back that teamed up with me after she spared my life. Man, what a weird…"Ahhhhh! Oh…oh my god, you're real." No…no, it wasn't a dream after all. That undead girl is sitting right here in front of me…good lord, I think I've finally lost it. "Ack, okay I'm getting up! Sheesh…no need to shove." I guess she feels that we had better leave, soon. Not sure why though…a little more sleep would have been nice. Hm…there are a bunch of infected people reaching through the steel bars of these doors. Guess they really want a meal…too bad they're not going to get one. "Okay, let's see…a first aid kit, that's useful…a bunch more ammo, awesome…okay, I think we're ready. Whoooa there, at least let me get ready before you hop on!" Geez, she's in a hurry. Can she sense something I can't? Oh well, whatever…time to get a move on. Okay, get the door ready…gonna kick this door open. 1…2…3! A ha…down you go, monsters! "Boom, headshot, boom, headshot…you guys really aren't all that tough. Though I'm not exactly complaining..." Hm, I wonder if she actually understands anything I'm saying. Otherwise I'm just talking to myself…oh who cares, I'm doing it anyway.
No human, you're not talking to yourself. I can just about understand you! Eh, yeah just about but that's because I'm not too skilled with the language of people anymore...which sucked on all levels. You silly, silly human. Always ignoring your surroundings, I sighed and got out some clips of 'rifle ammo' I stored from the saferoom (oh I'm sneaky!) and passed it to him. What? I heard him curse under his breath, and found that he was attempting to take out his 'pistol'. Hehe, I've been learning new words from him. I lead him down the road to a small makeshift shelter so he could rest a little bit. I mean after all that running, shooting and dragging. Luckily enough there was a small pile of ammo, I also needed my bandages changing on my leg, they were looking a bit mangled. I jumped off his back and he almost instantly slumped down onto the floor with a content sigh, I giggled to myself. I searched the small shelter and found a bottle of clear liquid, some long round stuff, an ammo pile and two small red packs. I remembered that's was the same design as the one the human used on me. I took some of the clips of the 'ammo' as I heard some people say to call it, that's how I know what it's called, and stored some in my many pockets, then I took over the rest to the human to see if he knew what they were. I noticed my leg was slightly better. Stiff, but much better than what it was. He glanced at them then thanked me. I guess they were of use to him, I felt quite useful at this point. He attempted to get the can open but the little tab-like thing snapped off, he frowned and placed it on the floor. Hm...He wanted to open it? I took the can and used my claw to attempt to pierce the top bit, he gently grabbed my hand and made a circle with my claw. He wanted me to cut the circle on the top open? Guess so, and that's exactly what I did. He lit up instantly as I managed to dig my clawed finger through it and make the same circle he wanted. He lifted his hand up and by reflex I twitched away, only to find out that he put his hand under my hood and was rubbing my head. I started to purr...God that was embarrassing. He laughed. It wasn't the nervous kind I was used to him doing, it was a pure laugh on happiness and in turn that made me smile. Albeit slightly crooked and toothy, I still smiled. He ate half the contents of it then offered the rest to me. I shook my head and pushed it to him he needed the energy more than me, and besides I could just eat some random meat we found. 'Cow' meat was pretty nice after all. Hey, hanging around with humans ain't all that bad when you can learn words. Looks like we were staying here for a bit.
Ah…finally, a break! Found some spare soup to eat, got a bunch of supplies…this dark day seems to be starting out fairly well. Augh…I can't believe I just thought that to myself. I've always been considered a jinx of sorts when it comes to saying positive things like that…oh well, that only comes into play when other people are involved, and no, this infected girl doesn't count. "Whoop, that reminds me…we gotta change your bandages out." We have a few spare sets, so might as well. "Okay, now just hold still…" Huh…she's growling again; looks like she's still cringing a bit at the wound. It's definitely getting better, though…and at a better pace than a normal human probably would have. Hm…now that I'm actually getting a real chance to look at her, there's something about this girl that seems…familiar. Her innocent looking smile, her long, blonde hair…dare I say it, even a seemingly cute face…pretty much everything about her when she's calm and not acting like a normal infected person, it kind of reminds me of…my sister. "Oh, Nemi…I gotta stop thinking about you so often." Huh? The undead girl…she rose her head once I said 'Nemi'. "Heh, what is it? Don't tell me that's your nickname too?" She's grinning again. There's just something about that smile that makes me feel better on the inside…just like how my sis used to make me feel back home. "So…is that what you would like me to call you? Nemi?" A big grin in reply? I'll take that as a yes.
Hah, he actually called me something and now that I ponder it, it's quite a nice name for me...'Nemi'. I wonder if that's what he'll start calling me that, and of course I want you to call me Nemi! Makes me feel a little fuzzy inside...Not sure what that feeling is. Acceptance maybe? I don't know, I've never really felt this way. It's not what the humans call love, but rather a liking of this human. I think I'll stick around him, at least until he gets out of here. This human's actually interesting, plus he's not trying to shoot me and he's helping me out- owtch...Albeit hurting me slightly, but I guess that's what I get for defending him. I suppose he could use me, I could help him out of here with no problem. What have I got to lose! That and I'll probably get my courage back as well, not that I'm a scaredy cat but it's still nice to get some more courage than what I had. "Nemi?" I looked up, he was concerned. I could tell by the look in his green eyes, they were flickering slightly. His determination was strong, mainly to get out of here. I had the biggest urge to wrap my arms around him and squeeze slightly, I've forgotten what one of those was called... So I opened my arms to him, to see if he'd notice what I was on about. He smiled and another flicker of the emerald fire lit up in his eyes, he came a bit closer and wrapped his arms around me. It was warm and secure. I've felt this before... From one of my family...My brother used to do it all the time, and this human gives the same hugs. We could've been distant relatives, I know that he's not related to me though, his scent is different to those of my actual human family. A shame really, it would've been nice to have him in the family. Reluctantly, I pulled away from his warmth compared to my cold skin.
Awww…I can't believe she knows what a hug is. It's amazing, really, just how much humanity this girl has left in her. I'm starting to see her in a different light; she isn't an infected with human-like qualities, rather she's a young girl that's just been physically altered into an undead. I'm starting to see just how right I was about her back at the outdoorsman store…she's so much different than these other monsters that I can't even place her into the same category. Well…it's time to get back to the situation at hand. "Okay then, I'd say we-" What the…what is she growling at? Wait…I'm hearing it too. "Is there something coming? Whoooa…" She hopped on my back, so…I guess it's time to head out. Got my guns? Okay, let's go outside and see what's go-oh my god, it's another human! And he's down! Gotta shoot 'em off him! Shoot 'em off! "Ugh…okay, got 'em." Wow…fighting four infected alone, at the same time? Not a situation I'd want to be in…uh oh, he's not moving! Come on, man, be alright! Be alright! "Hey! Hey dude, are you okay?"
"Ack…no, I'm…I'm not. Ungh…please, help…" "Hey, hey, don't worry, it's gonna be alright. I got some first aid back in the-", "No! No, help my…grrrn, my friend…he's somewhere…in this town." He's handing me something…a walkie-talkie? "Please…help…unnngh..." Oh my god, I hope he's just unconscious…oh no, he's not breathing…no pulse, neither. "Augh…god…son of a…urrrrgh! Just a few more seconds…a few more seconds, and we could have saved him! God…augh." Nemi's grabbing me tighter around the neck…I hope I didn't upset her with anything I just said.
I don't like where this is going...I gripped more onto him in hope he'd see that I was a bit uncomfortable with what he was doing, but like always he thought I was just being hurt. He'd never upset me with his words unless he told me to go away, that would hurt but other than that he could never hurt me. He's attempting to talk to somebody over the radio and as the other person replies from the other end, I couldn't help but growl a little at his voice. The human told me to keep it down in case the other person at the other end of the radio could hear me, and in that turn wouldn't want help. After all, some of the infected were growing smarter. He didn't exactly know that they were, I say 'they' because I don't think of myself as an infected, or an undead, or a zombie but rather somebody that's unfortunate enough to get a cold, and it's made me unable to do normal things. Yeah, it's like a false hope of some sorts but it keeps me sane. If you want to call me sane, I'm practically anything but sane and yet I can still keep my cool around a human. I gently growled to my human...He looked at me in a bit of wonder, and then started saying something about hearing me? Oh, he wished he could hear me? Understand me? Yeah, he wanted to understand me...I wonder if I could try and say 'no' to him...It's been a while since I managed to actually speak anything but I could always try and do it, no harm in trying right? Well we'll just have to see. I growled a little more to myself trying to pronounce the word, all that came out though was growls. That didn't help. Guess I'd be needing a bit of teaching considering it's been a while since I've heard that word spoken to me in human language.
Eventually we came to a small field-like area that was packed with infected. Arg, whyyy me? I buried my head in my humans shoulder... To symbolize that I really didn't want to be here, hell I even made a little bit of a whimper to him. He simply told me we wouldn't be here long and that we were only staying for a bit. Hah...I've really been learning these past few weeks with humans around, I can just about understand full sentences. I clawed off yet another infected off him, and after about 5mins of doing this we managed to find somebody. Something about this guy wasn't right though...I clung on a bit tighter and growled gently again. Hopefully he'd know what I was saying.
Finally…we made it! Man, that took forever; I never would have guessed that this guy lodged himself near an old farmhouse, but here we are. Some say this might have been the stupid thing to do, but I would argue nonstop that this is undoubtedly the right thing to do. Especially after we couldn't save his friend…there's just no way that I could stand the guilt. I can only hope that this guy hasn't met the same fate…"Alright, Nemi, not a single infected is left standing in this field. Well…except you, of course. So…where is this shed that this guy told us about?" This man, apparently known as Zambaldi, spoke to me over the walkie-talkie earlier; sounds like he couldn't make it out of town in time. Huh? Nemi's nudging me on my right side. "What's up? Oh, there it is!" Man, I hope this Zambaldi character is alright: he sounded kind of paranoid over the walkie-talkie. Even Nemi's growls seemed to frighten him…hm, better knock on the shed door before I try and open it. "Uh…hello? Zambaldi?"
"Huh! Who's there?" "It's me, the guy that spoke with you over the radio." "Oh…so ya made it, huh?" Hmph…he doesn't sound all that grateful for what we did. He's opening the door…man, this guy's a mess. His eyes are beating red and his clothes are practically torn to shreds. "Well, glad you're okay, but we better get goin'." "Hey…hey, what's that on your shoulder?" "What? Oh, you mean Nemi?" "That…that thing's a hunter!" "A…a what?" "An infected, ya moron! She's one a' them, ain't she?" "Well…technically, yes. But she's not like that! She wouldn't hurt anyone!" "Bullshit! I've seen what these things can do…they took out this entire family in their own home!" Oh no…he's pulling out his shotgun. "Listen…please, listen to me! Put your gun away, she's not like that!" "Liar! I'll…I'll bet that yer the ones who killed my bud, too!" "What? Why would you say-" "Just look at ya! She probably killed 'im just 'cause she was hungry, and now yer both after me, too!" "No, no! Why would we come all this way just to kill you?" He's pointing his gun point blank at Nemi…run, Nemi! "Run!" She just bolted...ack, he's shooting at her! "Stop it! Please, stop!" "I'm not lettin' you escape, ya damn infected!" God, he's frickin' insane! Oh no…her leg! She can't move as fast with her injury…she'll never make it! He's chasing after her…I gotta catch him before he catches her! No…no, she fell! "Please, don't!" "Heh heh…I gotcha now, ya monster…" BAM!
MUAHAHAHA ENDING OF CLIFFFHANGERS! Tell me whatcha think of the story. If it's any good, might think about pulling up more chapters.
Nemi the Hunter © to me.
HumanChar © Yomar Sonak