Disclaimer: Left 4 Dead is not mine.
A/N: This is my first fic ever. I never expected it to be slash, either. If you don't like the idea of two guys together, then uh, why did you click here...?
Starting today, it would be two weeks after the infection hit.
Hunter gasped at the pain lacing his body. Rescue still hadn't come to his neighborhood's aid, and as far as he knew, he could possibly be the only one alive. He had hoped the squirrel that attacked him when he opened his window for fresh air wasn't infected with god-knows-what, but unfortunately, his prayers were not answered. Hunter eyed the lone pistol on his bedroom nightstand, suicide briefly crossing his mind. But he wanted to fight it. He wanted to prove he was strong and that some pathetic infection wouldn't stop him (although it stopped the majority of the US population).
He sighed and cursed his arrogance.
"Damn squirrel, I hate squirrels," he muttered.
Once again, pain wracked the 18 year old's body, causing a scream to rip through him. He clutched at his chest and began to sweat profusely. Hunter sat up and stumbled out of bed, leaning on the wall for support. He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. His family gave most of his clothes to charity about a month ago and hadn't bothered to buy him new clothes. Grabbing a roll of duct tape, he secured the sleeves of his dull navy hoodie and baggy brown pants to help conserve heat.
He felt slightly better until he felt himself hit the ground before losing consciousness.
Hunter awoke to darkness. He sat up and observed his surroundings, noting a slightly visible figure sitting hunched over a couple of yards away. He noticed it was wearing the same clothes as him.
"Hello? Who's there and where the hell am I?!" Hunter cried desperately.
The form stirred and turned its head towards Hunter. The hood cast a shadow over the figure's eyes, but what made Hunter do a double-take was the blood smeared across its face and the row of razor sharp teeth.
"Wh-what… are you?!" Hunter yelled while stumbling backwards, suddenly wanting to get very far away. The thing, whatever it was, jumped to its feet, a guttural snarl coming from it.
"No, stay away!" Hunter shrieked as he began to run away. He turned to look behind him as he fled and was met with the sight of the monster launching itself at an incredible speed towards him, uttering an ear-piercing scream.
Hunter was slammed into the ground and promptly torn at by the monster. Blood filled his vision and he fell unconscious.
Hunter gasped and fell out of bed, hitting his head on the nightstand, causing several choice words to fly from his mouth. He ran a hand through his short, pale blonde hair and got to his feet.
"Just a dream," he mumbled while making his way to the bathroom for a drink to ease the burning in his throat. Ducking his head near the faucet, he took in a few gulps of water. Not feeling very satisfied, as the burning remained, he drank more for good measure. The sensation still remained.
"Great, I must be getting even sicker… stupid squirrel probably wasn't infected… just had some stupid rabies or something…" he complained quietly.
The sound of breaking glass could be heard throughout the house. Blood slowly dripped from Hunter's hand onto the tile, bits of glass embedded in his hand. He stared at where the ruined mirror lay, still catching glimpses of his reflection.
"That's not right," he whispered, backing out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. He sat down on his bed, holding a small pocket mirror. Taking a deep breath, he opened it and gazed at his reflection. Dull, seemingly dead eyes stared back at him, his skin an unhealthy pale color. A row of pointed teeth gleamed back at him. Hunter ran his tongue lightly over them. Yep, they were real, alright.
Hunter placed the mirror back on the bed and soaked in what he just saw.
"Surely I'm not infected… even if I do look like one of them," Hunter mumbled. "And I still have control over myself… I can still talk…"
"That will change momentarily."
Hunter whipped around at the new voice and laid eyes on a scruffy-looking man. He looked like one of them. The intruder held no expression, just a blank stare, at least, as far as he cold tell from the part of his face that wasn't shielded by shaggy dark hair.
Hunter gritted his teeth and grabbed the gun off his nightstand. Before he had a chance to even lift the gun up, something wet smacked it out of his hand and wrapped around his torso, jerking him across the room, mere centimeters away from the stranger. The appendage was that guy's tongue!
"Holy crap, sucks to be you," Hunter blurted out, ignoring the danger of the situation.
The grip around his chest tightened, causing Hunter to gasp out in pain.
"Okay, okay…! I'm sorry!" he wheezed. The hold loosened a fraction. Hunter let out a sigh of relief, itching to get away from the thing. He paused and sniffed out a faint musky scent.
"Dude, you stink!"
Hurt flashed across the infected's face then disappeared as quickly as it came. He let go of Hunter, retracting the tongue and licking his lips.
"No, not really, it's just an odd smell… and that was very disturbing, by the way," Hunter added while putting space between them.
"You talk too much," the stranger said quietly.
Hunter flashed him a grin and opened his mouth to speak. His eyes widened as he found out he couldn't say a word. Hunter growled and managed to ground out with some effort:
"How can you still talk…? And do you… even have a name?"
"I'm not speaking like a human, like you're trying to do. I'm merely making a series of hisses and growls that infected understand. As for a name, you can call me… Demetri."
Hunter stifled a snicker. Demetri shot him a glare and jumped out the window.
"W-… wait!" Hunter grunted out and jumped out the window without thinking.
'Oh shit,' he thought.
He felt something take over, something he might call instinct even if it wasn't his, and he landed gracefully on all fours.
'Oh God… that did not feel right…'
Hunter shuddered and ran off after the one person that might hold some answers for him.
A/N: I'll get into Hunter's life before the infection, his family, etc., later. Same with Demetri.