Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead/ Left 4 Dead 2. VALVE does.
Day 13
They were like us once long ago. Brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers, aunties and uncles. They were someone's child. It's been about two weeks since the first initial infection of the rabies-like virus, making people turn into Zombies, commonly known as the "Infected". Somehow, the four of us survived as our loved ones turned on us, trying to rip us apart. CEDA, the Civil Emergency and Defence Agency, is evacuating people out of the city from Safe Havens called "Safe Houses". There are four of us, Francis, a tough, tattooed biker who seems to hate a lot of things, Louis, a junior systems analyst, Bill, a Green Beret and Vietnam Veteran and myself, Zoey, a lowly Collage Student. We are trying to make it to a Safe House to be rescued... Hopefully. Francis and Bill are arguing over which route to take to the city. We've seen signs saying that there is a Safe Haven at the top of the hospital there, and hopefully we'll be able to make it in time. The infected are changing, Bill says. Maybe there are others out there, who have survived like us. Hopefully Mom and Dad have survived. I've given up hope about My brother, I don't think he would have survived. I just wish I told him he was a good brother before I left. Every step we take will be recorded in this journal, Every time we arrive at a Safe Haven, One of us will update this Journal until we arrive wherever CEDA is taking us. I'll be the first one to update the Journal with this entry. We met not that long ago, each one of us with different backgrounds. A Veteran, An Outlaw, A Student, A Professional. But we are all Survivors.
Zoey looked over the first Journal entry in the old book. Behind her, Francis and Bill were arguing over how to get into the city from their perch on top of a low rise apartment building.
'The roads are blocked Francis! We have to go underground, go through the sewer and into the hospital!' Bill grumbled. Francis raised an eyebrow.
'Know what I don't like? Sewers and old people' Francis sneered, looking Bill in the face. Bill frowned before looking at Zoey.
'Come on Collage girl, we need to get going if we want to be there before nightfall. You too, Mr. Computers' He said, looking at the two. Louis looked up, a bottle of health pills in one hand, a pistol in the other. He pocketed the pills before walking towards Francis and Bill, Zoey behind him with the book.
'Zoey, what is that?' Bill asked, eyeing the book. Zoey looked down at the book before smiling a bit.
'Just in case we don't survive, I'd like there to be a record of us. Of our achievements and what we went through to survive. Just in case other survivors come this way... Like a guide'
'Or an instruction book!' Louis piped up. Zoey laughed a bit. Laughter. Something she hadn't done in a while. There had hardly been time for laughter... or joy... or happiness lately. Where would CEDA take them? No one really knew.... Just getting away would be nice.
The first infection was in Lancaster and made its way to Fairfield before spreading South. There were still areas to the south that weren't infected yet. They were the lucky ones, they would get away faster.
'If we don't get a move on, CEDA won't be here to save our asses. Lets go!' Bill grumpily muttered, heading towards the door. Zoey snapped out of her trance, noticing Louis and Francis following Bill. She slowly walked behind them closing the door as they walked towards the stairwell. Bill went down first, using hand signals to tell the other three survivors if it was safe or not. They passed a few of the dead bodies scattered around before Bill raised his hand in a fist, the signal to stop.
'What is it Bill?' Louis asked, looking at the old, grizzly man. Bill looked around before there was a bang on the third floor door.
BANG!
They were getting closer. Francis gripped his Pump Shotgun, looking around. 'What was that Bill?' He asked before hearing another loud bang.
'Do not, move, Do not, make a sound' Bill whispered, leading the pack past the door. The angry sounds of something large came from behind the door. Carefully, the four survivors walked past the door before crowding around it. The stairs had been taken out earlier with an encounter with one of the more... mutated infected. Bill walked towards the door before looking back to everyone. He pointed at the door, aiming his gun at whatever was on the other side of the door. Francis, Louis and Zoey cocked their guns, pointing it at the door. Bill nodded to them before gripping the handle, slowly opening the door.
Darkness came from behind the door. Bill looked inside before turning the flashlight on his gun on and off for a few seconds before leaving it off.
'Is it safe?' Zoey asked quietly. Bill looked at her before hearing the familiar screams. He turned back to see a mass of Infected running towards him.
'FIRE!' He yelled, aiming for the Infected before opening fire onto them.
BOOM! With each shot one more Infected fell defeated to the ground. Making sure the route was safe, Bill led the rest of the survivors into the room. The four walked over the corpses of the fallen Infected before hearing a rumbling sound from above them.
'What is that?' Zoey asked, looking at Bill. Bill looked back to the young girl before running over to a nearby window.
'It's a Puma'
'What is a wild cat doing in the middle of Pennsylvania?' Louis asked, looking at Zoey, then Francis and finally Bill. Francis glared at Louis.
'You dumbass, a Puma Helicopter! It means rescue!' Francis sighed, running over to the window and pushing Bill away. He bashed the window open, the glass falling to the ground below. 'HEY! OVER HERE!' He yelled, trying to get the attention of the pilot. The Helicopter seemed to turn, flashing a large searchlight at them.
'Are you Immune?' A voice came over a speaker from the helicopter.
'YES!' Francis yelled back. 'THERE ARE FOUR OF US HERE!'
'Get to Mercy Hospital, I'll meet you there!' The voice over the speaker told them as the Helicopter flew off.
'We need to get to the Hospital as fast as we can' Francis said, looking at Louis and Zoey. Bill shook his head before cocking his gun.
'Lets go then' He nodded.
The Survivors weren't alone. Nearby, He heard the Helicopter fly by. He had heard the orders, Get to the Hospital. He was alone, Not finding anyone like himself. He started walking towards the Hospital, looking around.
Something moved behind him.
He turned quickly, seeing the offender that had made the sound. Another Infected. He turned, looking into the apartment building next to him. He saw movement, He heard gunfire. Immunes. They were rare now, almost as rare as the strain of infection that mutated him. He coughed, his long tongue unrolling. He wanted some... Fun. He moved towards the edge of the building, watching the figures near the open window. He saw the one he wanted, tattooed one with the vest. He prepared himself before he heard something nearby. He turned around, seeing something dodge behind a nearby air conditioning unit. He was being watched.
'Whoth ere?' Smoker asked, looking around. He saw no one, but knew someone was around. He shook his head, looking back towards the window. The survivors were gone.
Something grabbed him from behind and pulled him onto his back, growling. Smoker pushed whatever pinned him to the ground before standing up, stumbling back.
Across from him, a hooded, crouching figure watched him. Most of his face was obscured by the hood he wore over his blood splattered face The blue hoodie had numerous blood stains on it. Duct tape had been wrapped around his wrists and around his elbows, as if he was trying to stop the Infection from getting to him. His pants were dirty and bore the same Duct tape around the shins and up the calf muscle. His fingernails on his hands had grown, resembling claws.
'Wath are youpth?' Smoker asked, looking at the creature in front of him. The figure sniffed the air for a moment before looking towards him.
'You are Infected as well...' A growl came from the Infected's mouth. Smoker slurped a moment, spit falling off his tongue.
'I asphed you a flestion. Wath are youpth?'
'My name... Is Hunter... I hunt... Carriers... Immunes... Survivors...' The figure growled, sniffing the air again.
'Whyth are youpth sniphing teh airpth?' Smoker asked. Hunter stood up straight, coming near Smoker's height of 6'7, whereas Hunter was 6'5. He seemed to look Smoker in the eyes before looking away.
'I cannot see... My eyes have been ripped from my face... But I still see... I see the sound... They bounce back... They vibrate over things... I can see in Waves...' Hunter growled. Smoker looked at him, hearing voices nearby. Hunter ran towards the edge of the building, crouching once again and sniffing the air. Before Smoker could do anything, Hunter let out a loud, piercing scream. What the Hell did he think he was doing!?
'You'llph scare em away! Don'tph Sphcream likepth tphat!' Smoker half-yelled. Hunter ignored him before sniffing the air again.
'They are on the second floor... The sound came back.... Next time.... No talking... After I scream... I won't hear... Won't find them...'
Smoker looked at him before shaking his head. He had more important business to attend to. He slowly started to wander off the side of the building using the fire escape before noticing something. Hunter was crouched down, looking as if he was waiting for something. Smoker watched him before hearing a door below open. He looked down, seeing four people walk near him. He slipped back into the nearby shadows before glancing up to Hunter.
He was gone.
'I don't like the look of this' Francis exclaimed, looking to the bodies littered on the ground. Bill looked over at Francis before moving to one of the bodies, grabbing whatever it was clutching in it's hand.
'What is that Bill?' Zoey asked, walking towards him. Bill looked over at her before looking back at the paper.
'It's a notice from CEDA'
'What does it say?' She asked, trying to see the notice. Bill looked at her before looking to Louis, then Francis.
'Caution: Beware of Boomer. This vile Infected is known to vomit and attract other infected. If shot, will blow up and throw vomit/Bile around, causing more Infected to follow. CEDA recommends avoiding this Infected, as this is the only known Infected beyond the normal Infected found so far. Please run to the nearest Safe House for immediate Evacuation from the City to New Orleans. CEDA,the Civil Emergency and Defence Agency' Bill read aloud.
'They named them? And why are they named Boomer?' Louis asked. Francis looked back at the smaller, tan man before shaking his head.
'Because if you shoot them, they go Boom!' He yelled. Bill glared at Francis as if to shut him up before Zoey looked around.
The faint cries came from behind a door nearby.
'It sounds like someone is still alive in there' Zoey nodded, walking over to the door before looking over at the others. Louis was looking up, as if he saw something. Francis was watching Bill, who was watching the front of them. Slowly, Zoey went to open the door before stopping.
'That crying girl is behind the door... Isn't she?' She asked, looking over at Bill. Bill looked at her before walking over, opening the door and looking inside. Zoey stepped back behind him, letting the old veteran go in first, just in case. Bill walked inside, noticing the familiar cry in a nearby corner. He shut off his flashlight, watching the sulking figure.
The white and red figure seemed to be crying, large claws coming from her hands, which were covering her face.
'I think we're better off to leave this one alone' He said quietly, slowly walking back out of the room. He tried to gently close the door before Francis cocked his gun.
'There's somethin' on that stairwell' He nodded, pointing the shotgun up towards the Fire Escape stairs. Zoey moved back behind Francis, pointing her pistol up at the Stairwell. Whatever was up there stood no chance against the four of them. Louis scrambled, taking out his pistol as well, shakily pointing it up at the stairwell.
'What is it?' He asked, looking at Bill, then Francis. Francis smirked, looking back to him.
'What do you think it is?' Francis asked before sending a shot towards the stairwell. There was a puff of green smoke before something wrapped around Francis's torso, pulling him back. 'AHH SHIT HELP ME!' He yelled loudly, trying to get away. Bill immediately started shooting into the darkness, trying to find whatever was constricting Francis.
'SHOOT THE TONGUE! SHOOT THE TONGUE!' Francis cried out, trying to get away. He could feel his ribs starting to close in, close to snapping. It was like a Boa Constrictor had wrapped itself around his tattooed body and was now trying to kill him. Louis, his shaky hands making the pistol shake violently. He tried to steady it before looking at Francis. He only had one chance to make the shot.
BANG!
There was a scream before Francis fell to the ground, and whatever got him ran off.
'What the hell was that?!' Francis asked, looking up the emergency route, watching the Infected run up it.
'I'm not sure. I just want to get to the hospital in one piece, thank you very much' Bill nodded, heading in the direction of the Hospital. Overhead, Louis heard something. He turned back, seeing the Helicopter from before. It must have circled, maybe it could pick them up in the street!
'Hey!' He called out to the Helicopter. 'Over here! It's us! Pick us up!' He yelled, running after it.
'Louis! Don't go alone!' Bill yelled, but Louis was already following the helicopter to the streets. As it flew off towards the hospital, Louis sighed.
'He could have just picked us up here...'
Louis hadn't noticed that he had been followed.
On the rooftop above him, Something watched him. It looked down, seeing the sound waves bounce back off Louis. He climbed into a stance, ready to pounce like a wild Lion. Louis seemed pre-occupied with cursing about the flying Helicopter.
A loud scream that echoed through the street caught Louis's attention... But it was too late. He was pinned against a car, something ripping at him.
'HELP! SHIT HELP ME! GET THIS THING OFF ME!!!' Louis yelled, trying to knock his attacker off of him. Gunshots nearly hit him as Zoey ran towards him, punching his attacker off Louis. The attacker stumbled for a moment before letting out another loud-pitched scream. Zoey covered her hears, the shrieks causing her ears to ring.
'WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?' Louis yelled over the loud shrieks and screams coming from the Infected. Zoey shook her head, trying to get a good look at the screaming Infected. When she did manage to look at the infected, it seemed... familiar. As if it reminded her of home. She closed her eyes, her mind scraping through the different names before she yelled out a name, the first name she could think of.
'HUNTER!' She cried, looking at the Infected. Hunter stopped screaming for a moment, turning his head as if to look at her. He made a low growl before turning his head to Louis. Suddenly, something shot him in the arm. He put his hand over the wound before screaming once again, jumping onto a nearby car.
'This is not good...' Louis said quietly. Zoey watched Hunter before noticing something.
'It looks like he almost wants us to follow him' She nodded. Louis looked at Zoey as if something had thrown a car at her and she had become dumb.
'Are you stupid woman?! Follow that?! It's just morally screwed us!'
'How do we get to the hospital?' Zoey asked, hearing the horde approaching. Hunter sniffed the air before pointing in the direction of the scent of Sterilization. Louis looked at Zoey for a moment. One free ride, that's all these two would get.
'Infected tamer' He joked before Hunter let out a piercing cry, jumping into the air. Louis and Zoey watched as he climbed up a nearby building and out of danger as the horde appeared.
'SHIT!' Louis yelled, starting to blast Infected after Infected. No matter how many he shot down, two took its place. Zoey grabbed something near by, about to bash one of the zombies attacking Louis before she noticed something. A flashing light, a wick.
'A Pipe Bomb?' She asked before lighting the wick, throwing it into the horde. Suddenly, every Infected started running to the bright light. Zoey stepped back, looking to Louis before hearing the beeping from the pipe bomb quicken. Faster, Faster... the individual beeping became one long stream before an explosion sent Infected rag-dolling in all directions before plummeting back to earth. Zoey and Louis looked to each other before laughing.
'Now that's one way to handle some Zombies!' Louis laughed, walking towards a flickering streetlamp.
'Why did youpth helph hem?' Smoker asked, looking over to the other side of the street, watching the Immune walk down, shooting Infected as they went by. Hunter sniffed the air for a moment, emitting a low growl.
'They needed the help... They don't know the Directions... The big one is down there...' He growled, watching the pulses of sound come back to him. Smoker looked at him for a moment before looking towards the hospital.
'Comethin has to be done about that Helicopther as well...' He said, looking to Hunter. Hunter sniffed the air for a moment before turning his head upwards, sending out a loud shriek into the sky.
'I see it... Heading towards the Hospital... We need to Intercept it...'
'Letpht go' Smoker nodded, jumping down to the fire escape once again, climbing down to the road below. Hunter watched him before leaping down, landing on all fours.
'Spow Offth'
'What did I tell you... about the talking?' Hunter asked, smiling a bit before heading towards the hospital with Smoker in tow.
'How much farther?' Louis asked, looking around. They had boarded themselves in a Subway station not far from the apartments and about halfway towards the hospital. The walls were lined with Graffiti, signs that others had been through here. Zoey had taken out the Journal again, scribbling something down. Louis looked at her for a moment before shaking his head. Francis had found a large ammo stash under a nearby table and was restocking the necessities. Bill was reading over the graffiti, shaking his head.
'Some people... Total idiots' The old man shook his head, looking back. 'Zoey, what are you writing there?'
'Huh?' Zoey asked, looking up from the journal. Francis had taken notice as well, but seemed not to really care. He was too busy drawing something on the wall.
'What is it that you're writing?' Bill asked again. Louis looked to Zoey again before Zoey looked up at Bill.
'It's a Journal... Like, a guide to what to do in certain situations like this'
'Sounds interesting. What is it that you're writing down now?'
'...I thought I saw someone I knew as an Infected... So I'll t ell them to keep an eye out for him'
'Which guy? We saw a lot of Infected today' Louis asked.
'The one... The one on the car that led us here' Zoey said, looking down for a moment.
'What was his name?' Bill asked, putting a hand on the young girl's shoulder. Zoey looked back up to her elder before shaking her head.
'His name was Hunter. I swear it was him... Same hoodie, Same pants, boots... I noticed something on his wrist too, near the tape. He was wearing the same bracelet I gave to Hunter before I left for Collage'
'So you think it's him?'
'Positive.'
'Then we will call him Hunter. What about the one with the long tongue? What shall we call him in case we ever see him again?' Bill asked. Zoey shrugged, looking to everyone else. Francis looked at them, taking his attention off his drawing.
'How about Smoker. He gave off that really gross smoke gas stuff, something someone who smokes does' He said, eyeing Bill for a moment. Zoey nodded.
'Fits right in'
'I'll smack you upside the head later for that remark, Francis' Bill sighed, looking over to Louis before Zoey looked up again.
'And that crying girl...'
'The Wicked Witch of the West' Francis mumbled.
'Just call her The Witch' Bill nodded. 'I've seen something like her Infection before.... drives you mad, you attack anything around you that you are unaware of...'
'That's... Horrible. What usually happens to them?' Zoey asked.
'Most likely, they mutated and killed their family members... then live in isolation' Bill sighed. 'That's why we're calling them Witches, they will always be alone, crying and have no sense of direction'
'That's so sad...'
'So are dead puppies. Can we please get a move on?' Francis asked, cocking his gun. Bill looked over at him and shook his head before looking to Louis.
'Let's go then'