I do not own Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, or any of the Infected.

I'm not sure how long I laid their crying.

It could have only been a few minutes, it could have been hours. There was no way to gauge time inside these stagnant walls. Before there had been others, movement, some kind of way for me to tell just how much longer we had. Now I was alone, completely and utterly alone.

The pain in my chest doubled and my aching body once again found the strength to produce more tears. I was ping-ponging back and forth between the subjects of my depression. At first I had cried simply because I was alone but then the realization sank in that I was most likely going to die in the same state of solitude. This room, which had once been a haven, was now my tomb.

My eyes lingered on the newest message on the wall, a message that only five people in the world would understand. I wondered if whoever found me (if anyone ever did) would associate my corpse with this message. There were so may of them it would probably be hard to tell which one I belonged to, if any.

I winced as the deep gashes along my back pulsated, sending pain through every nerve of my body. Now tears welled in my eyes for another reason. These scratches were a few days old but they hurt as much as they had when they were fresh. I began to wonder if I wasn't turning into a Witch. Here I was alone in a room, crying my eyes out. And there was one person who I would certainly love to rip to shreds right now.

It was his damn fault I had been scratched in the first place. There were five of us, half of the original number that had started out. Four had split and gone their own way only a few days in, while the other six of us had continued on a different path.

Our first casualty was Johnny, a young boy of only seventeen. He'd taken his own life one night while we all slept. We'd burned his body, not wanting to leave it as food for the masses. We'd written a brief memorial to him on the wall and hoped it would be good enough. There was nothing more we could do.

The rest of us had learned to work pretty well together. I was a piss poor shot but learned that, if I had a scope and someone to watch my back, I would easily pick off anything ahead of us. Everything except Witches and Tanks. Tanks were just too damn big to be taken down with one shot and Witches, well, we'd learned to avoid them to the best of our ability whenever we could. It killed me a little more to know that this was one of those situations.

We'd been traveling through the city, looking for the next safe house. Someone had been decent enough to map a route on the wall of our last one and we were getting close. We'd slashed and shot our way through the horde, avoided being Boomered, and had only managed to get caught by one Smoker. A Hunter appeared during all the chaos, but Mike had shoved it away before it could pounce. Eliza shot in it in the leg and in the shoulder. The Hunter had sense enough to run away after that. Things had all been relatively easy, all things considering. That's why we'd all been on our guard, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

That's when we'd heard crying. Her sobs broke through the silence that had surrounded us and we all stood on edge, looking for any sign of her. She was close, so close, but we couldn't see her. I'd pulled out my sniper rifle and taken a look around. That's when I'd spotted her, sitting on the path directly in front of the safe house. There was the other shoe.

But, there was a small glimmer of hope. The safe house was surrounded in front by an open area, which left us plenty of room to walk safely around her if we were all very careful. One of the guys, Mike, volunteered to go first and open the safe house door and cover in case anything else showed up. It seemed like a good plan and we all got to moving.

It only took a few more feet for the Witch to come into view. She sat in the middle of the court yard, crying, her hands over her eyes. We all fell quiet and started walking slowly, looking between the Witch and our destination. Hugging the perimeter Mike crept forward toward the metal door. He made it quickly but hesitated at the door. These doors made noises and you never knew exactly how much it was going to take to startle a Witch.

He pushed the knob slowly and we listened to the creak as it fought against the hinges. All of us watch, fingers itching to grab our guns should the Witch move but she didn't so much as flinch. We heaved a collective (and silent) sigh of relief and continued forward. Elizabetha was next and she crept forward just as cautiously as Mike. Eliza was the book worm librarian before the break out. Now she was our strategist who handled her AK-47 pretty damn well. She was damn good and making pipe bombs too, a talent that none of us questioned.

Rowan was next and she had tip-toed along pretty quickly. She'd been the pretty cheerleader in college before hand, the complete opposite of Eliza. She was over dramatic and talked too much, but she was never afraid to hand over her medpack when someone needed it. She feigned optimism pretty well too. I'd started to come around to her, finding it pretty amusing whenever she burst into cheers whenever she took off a zombies head.

But her shriek of victory that seemed to echo over the area made me hate her almost instantly. Maybe it was the quiet, tense atmosphere that made her voice seem so loud, or maybe it was a natural echo, but it was just too much. Mike and Eliza instantly shushed her and shoved her further back in the room.

The damage had already been done though. DeRoy (our fearless leader) and I watched with horror as the Witch began to stir from her place. She growled briefly, looking around slightly before getting to her feet. The two of us were frozen in place as we watched the zombie queen start to cry again as she began to walk around the area.

I felt a sharp shove on my back followed by a loud "Run!" as DeRoy grabbed his shot gun. No fucking way!

"De, don't-" I shouted but it was too late, he'd already fired his shot.

I know I swore as I pulled my gun from my back. The Witch cried out in pain as she rushed at DeRoy, her long claws at the ready, thirsting for blood. We unloaded our guns but it wasn't enough, she just kept running.

I grabbed for his wrist and we started running for the safe house, praying to God that we could get there in time. But God hadn't been on our side much lately. I screamed as I felt claws tear at my back, my punishment for getting in her way. With my gun in my hand and no melee weapon the only thing to protect my backside was my flimsy medical pack. So much for keeping me safe.

The force of her hit knocked me to the ground just in front of the safe hose door. I saw Mike and Eliza crouched low with Rowan firing over their heads. All three fired until the Witch gave one last agonizing cry before falling limp over DeRoy. The three instantly began to pull us inside, slamming the safe room door shut.

Somehow I was the one took the most damage, even though I wasn't the one she was after. Thanks to the chainsaw on his back, DeRoy only had relatively minor scratches across his back and arms. They would be easy to mend and heal.

The four long gashes had torn straight through my shirt and shredded the skin from my right shoulder blade to my lower back. I couldn't see it but from the looks on my friend's faces I could tell it was bad.

"Geeze Avery..." Elizabetha said as she examined my back. "We're going to have to clean you up. If we aren't careful these will get infected."

In retrospect that was probably the one word that struck fear into the rest of my group, at least part of them. I knew that Eliza was talking about something else, not the Infection that had turned the world into the walking dead. But still, we couldn't be too careful.

Nevertheless, Eliza and Rowan began to pull my shirt off while DeRoy and Mike looked elsewhere to give me some privacy. The girls cleaned out my wound with a bottle of water and the remainder of my shirt. There was little more that could be done. We had no ointment and there weren't enough bandages left to wrap my back and fill the remainder of our medical packs. It would have to be left open that night.

They helped me into a sleeping bag and gave me some painkillers to help me sleep. It didn't surprise me much when I woke up the next day feeling worse than before. I could tell I was running a fever and the look on Eliza's face told me that the scratches were worse. Everyone agreed to wait around for another day. Rowan, Mike, and DeRoy went to look for some clothes, food, and medicine. Elizabetha stayed to keep me company and to clean out my wounds some more. I drifted off to sleep not long later.

When I woke up again the sun was setting and the three had come back from their scavenging trip. I listened to all of them talking in hushed tones. They were worried but not about my health. They were worried that I had caught the Infection, that I would turn into a Witch or one of the more common zombies. I could make out Eliza scolding all of them for thinking like that, telling them that there were a hundred different things that it could be. That with a gapping wound in my back that couldn't be healed or covered it would be a wonder if I didn't catch something.

I sighed, feeling the fever catching up with me. There was a bundle of clothes and some antibacterial cream sitting in a bag beside me. I was glad they'd found something. I hoped that, in the morning, I would feel better. I drifted in and our a little as they fixed food. Rowan took her turn helping me eat the canned beans that they'd managed to heat up. The fed me more pills and I was asleep again.

That was the last time I saw any of them.

I woke up again this morning, alone in the safe room we'd fought so hard to get in. I was confused when I didn't see any sign of them. Most of the ammo was gone and there weren't any medpacks left. A sinking feeling settled into my stomach as I lifted myself up to look around. That's when I saw the message on the wall.

Avery,

I'm sorry we left. I tried to get them to wait another day but they couldn't wait.

When you feel better get up and head north. There might still be a working evac station there.

I'll try to stall them so you can keep up. God's speed to you my friend.

Mike

I had been crying ever since. They had left me alone in a land of the dead with only my will to keep me going. But now that my friends, the last family I had, had abandoned me, I didn't really feel like I had the strength mentally or physically. There was no way I could tend to the wounds on my back, I couldn't reach that far behind me. Plus it still hurt to move. I was sure that it was infected and, at this rate, I didn't know if it would heal or not.

Finally my desperation gave way and I popped a few more of the pain pills. I was glad that someone had left them for me. It was probably Eliza or Mike. They were the two who seemed the more concerned about my well being and weren't completely paranoid. At least this way I could get some sleep. Maybe dull me up enough to at least try to get out of here. Maybe, just maybe, I could make it on my own.

I fell asleep with a small spark of hope settled in my stomach. I dreamt that I got up and went looking for my family, only to find them not too far away. They had been waiting for me to join them and we made it to the evac just in time. It was the best damn dream I had had since this entire fiasco started.

When I finally awoke I regretted it. I wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep and live out my happy ending. I especially regretted it when I realized what had woken me up in the first place.

A low, animalistic growl vibrated through the room. My blood ran cold and my heart stopped. It was a sound that I knew too well. My eyes opened to see a Hunter crouched in front of me, its lips pulled back in an ugly snarl. He flashed his blood stained teeth at me as he lowered his face toward my back. He sniffed at the ugly stained a few times before pulling back sharply and hissed. I was frozen, terrified to even breathe. What was it doing. How had it even gotten in?

The infected continued to sniff around my wound, hissing softly. Finally it snarled again and stepped back, walking over to the table where my group had repacked their medical bags. They had left a few things behind, the things that weren't completely full. Tape rolls with only a few inches left and packs of bandages that were almost empty. I watched its every move, noticing that it was limping slightly and that it was using one arm more than the other. That's when the realization hit me. I knew this Hunter. This was the one that had run from us two days before.

I gagged, bringing up the beans from the night before. The Hunter turned and looked at me like I had just sprouted another head. Although, all things considered, that probably wasn't too far of a stretch. It shrugged me off and went back to collecting the bandages, including what little had been left for me. I managed to scoot myself away from my mess and watched as the creature sat down and began to wrap the gun shot wounds. I watched in wonder, unable to believe my eyes. This creature was brilliant enough to be able to know that it needed its wounds to be wrapped and had the ability to do it. Maybe they weren't completely brain dead. Maybe.

I laid back down, somehow not so terrified now. I knew what was going to happen. He was going to wrap his injuries and then use her as a meal to make him feel better. I didn't care if it was a slow and painful, at least it would be over. The more I thought about it the more I knew in her heart that I would never be able to catch up with my friends. Even if my back did deal there was no way I would be able to make it alone. It would only take a Smoker or a Jockey to do me in. Or, in this case, a Hunter. It was better to just get it over and done with now then have to drag this out any longer.

So I just closed my eyes and waited for the killing blow. Maybe I'd get lucky and he'd take me out in only a swing or two. Surely I deserved this small mercy, right?

I heard him approaching me again and opened my eyes to watch him. He crouched in front of me and started sniffing at my back. I could feel him growling at it again. Did I really smell that bad?

I must have asked that question aloud because the Hunter turned and looked at me quickly, examining my face. He growled at me a moment later, telling me to shut up. I complied quickly, looking back down. Any any normal situation I would have been upset that there was some strange creature sniffing my bare back, but the world hadn't been normal for quite some time.

He continued to sniff around the room. I guessed he was picking up the scents of the others in the sleeping bags and empty cans of food. I sighed softly and laid back down, wondering how much longer he was going to draw this out. Maybe, after he finished with me, he was going to go after the others. Maybe this wasn't about healing at all, but a case of revenge. For the first time that day I hoped they were far far away from here. Far enough that the Hunter wouldn't bother with trying to track them down.

As if God telling met hat he had heard my prayers a clap of thunder shook the small safe room, causing both the Hunter and me to jump. A minute later the bottom fell out and rain began peppering the ground around us. Good, at least this meant that the scent of my friends would be washed away. The Hunter wouldn't be able to follow them even if he left now.

I looked back to see the Hunter glaring out of the small window in the safe house door. Apparently he didn't like the sudden storm that had snuck up on him. He growled and paced on his haunches for a brief moment, as if agitated. Well, I wouldn't really be too happy either if I got rained in with some dying human. I listened to him growl and whine at the door as if cursing the weather. It was obvious he wasn't happy.

Much to my dismay I watched him as he gathered the left over sleeping bags and hurled them into a corner. At first I thought he was cleaning the area to prepare to rip into me but was surprised when he curled onto the cloth, just like a cat would. He rested his head in his hands and seemed to settle in to wait out the rain.

What the hell was going on?

I could feel my anger rising as I sat and watched and waited for him to leap on me and shred me to pieces. I was angry that I was still here when my friends had moved on. I was angry that DeRoy had been stupid enough to shoot the Witch. I was angry at Rowan for being stupid enough to shout. I was angry at the world for this entire damn thing happening!

"What are you waiting on?" I cried at him. "Aren't you going to kill me?"

The Hunter looked up at me as I yelled at him. I couldn't see his eyes too well but I could tell that he was surprised. I doubted his prey ever stopped and screamed at him to kill them. But it didn't seem to phase him too much since he just shrugged and went back to sleep. Typical man.

Hot tears started flowing down my cheeks again. After this was over I doubted I would ever have the ability to cry again. I cried myself asleep, listening to my tears and the rain fall.

I woke up briefly in the night but could barely see. A light from outside flooded into the room but it was dim and I still couldn't see much. I could barely make out the outline of the Hunter resting in his bed. Although I couldn't see well I had the sense that he was watching me too. I blamed the fever and went back to sleep.

The next time I woke up screaming. Searing pain spread from my back to ever end of my body. I felt like I was dying over and over and over again. Almost as quickly a hand flew over my mouth, muffling my screams. A hooded face came into the view, the Hunter. He looked at me and held a hand over his mouth for a second before removing it and doing it again. Then he motioned to the safe house door. It took me a minute to understand his meaning. If I screamed it would alert the other zombies. He kept his hand over my mouth until I nodded my understanding. He looked at me for a second longer before moving back behind me.

I didn't know what he was doing until I felt something warm and sticky on my back. He was licking me. He was fucking licking me! What was he doing getting a taste of me before he bit in? Did he not want to have to share his kill? I began to panic.

Suddenly there was another sharp pain and I had to bite my hand to keep myself from screaming. Killing me or not, I didn't want any other undead helping him out. Not concentrating on screaming gave me time to concentrate on what he was doing. He wasn't just licking me, he was licking the scratches on my back. He was trying to clean them. I gasped from surprise and pain as he started licking again. He stopped briefly to growl a warning at me before he continued. Once again I wondered how my body was able to produce tears.

After a few more minutes of torture my caretaker seemed to take pity on me and gave me a break. I could hear him moving around the room and a minute later there was a water bottle pressed against my lips. I looked up to see him looking down at me expectantly. Slowly I parted my lips and allowed him to pour the cool liquid into my mouth. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't grateful. It soothed my raw throat and woke me up every so slightly. He held it up for me a few more minutes before pulling it away. Then he pulled forward a cloth and pressed his fingers against my lips, trying to pry my jaws apart.

Instantly I opened my mouth to yell at him but he stuffed the towel into my mouth too quick for me to respond. I started to spit it out but he covered my mouth and motioned to the hand I had been using as a gag. Now it made sense. He didn't want me to bite myself so he'd brought me this to bite on instead. I looked up at him in confusion. I couldn't understand why he was doing this.

I wasn't able to get a reply as he went back to work. The gagged work. I could bite down and scream as much as I wanted to and it was muffled well enough. He seemed to work quicker knowing I couldn't attract attention. He licked all four scratches thoroughly until he was certain that they were cleaned. I was begging for him to stop by the time he finally did.

He moved in front of me and held out his hand to take the gag from my mouth. I spat it out slowly and looked up at him. "Why are you doing this?" I asked. He didn't answer and I wasn't surprised. He held his hand out to me and I took it hesitantly. If he wasn't going to kill me now I didn't see where the harm in trusting him now. Slowly he pulled me into a sitting position and I cringed at the pain. I pulled my sleeping bag with me to keep myself covered. I wish I knew what Elizabetha had done with my bra. I really needed the support right now.

Seeing that I was up the hunter started to dig through the bag of clothes my friends had brought me. He pulled out a large hoodie with some local school logo on the front. He held it up over my head and nodded his head. He wanted me to get dressed. Now it was my turn to stare at him like he'd been the one who had grown another head. His only response was to grunt and I held out my arm.

"I'm not completely useless. I can dress myself." I said as I snatched the hoodie from him. He stood and watched me, waiting for me to put it on. I just stared at him. "I don't think so. Turn around."

He growled at me but turned around nonetheless. I waited a moment to make sure he was turned around before I pulled the sweater over my head. It definitely was loose which was a relief. It probably wasn't wise to have anything pressed against my back for a while. Not until the wounds were closed anyway.

"Okay, you can turn around." I said once I was comfortable. He looked back at me and gave a satisfied nod before crouching down in front of me. Before I knew what was happening he grabbed my wrist and pulled me against my back. Next thing I knew I was riding piggy back as he grabbed a few things from the room before kicking the door open. He lept out onto the nearest room and continued to carry us through the city via rooftop.

I screamed. I know I did and there was nothing either one of us could do about it. I heard him growling at me to shut up but I didn't listen. I didn't stop screaming until we finally came to a stop on a balcony at least five stories in the air. The sliding door was boarded up but the hunter slid it open with no problem.

Once we were inside he shut the door before crouching low so I could slide off his back. I looked around in shock. We were in some sort of hotel room, or what remained of it. By the disarray I guessed that the hunter had been living here for a while. The bed frame was thrown against the door while the mattress had been thrown into a corner. The sheets on it were ripped to shreds and the blanket was almost as dirty as the hunter himself.

"This is where you live?" I asked as I watched the hunter walk around the room, sniffing around. He seemed much more comfortable now that he was in his own environment. That was all the answer I needed. I walked around slowly, looking around. This was one of the nicer rooms, with its own kitchenette and a much larger bathroom than your average hotel room. Not that that did any good now. With no electricity there wasn't much point in all of this.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked him again. He looked back at me for a moment and scratched his head. Then he looked at the door. I followed his gaze and walked to the blocked exit. Over the bed frame the door was still jammed. I shook the handle but it didn't budge. Finally I ventured a look through the peep hole to see what the state of the hallway looked like. I was surprised to find nothing but pitch black. It was only now that I noticed the nails and screws digging through the door from the other side. To the right of the wall a single message was written.

Sorry.

It made sense now. This was one of the hotels that was used as an evac station. Obviously he hadn't gotten out in time. Or, rather, not early enough.

"You were bitten before the evacuation? So they sealed you in here?" I asked as I looked back at him. He'd been watching me the entire time. The hunter growled angrily and I knew that it wasn't aimed at me. He was as angry as I was.

"So you were abandoned too. Is that why you helped me?"

He nodded and turned back, disappearing into the kitchen. Now it all made sense, we were alone together.

So this idea has been floating around my head for the past few days. I'm not really sure if I'll go anywhere with it, I just needed to get it out of my system. I wrote all of this today and I think I'll finally be able to get it out. I know its not original at all but, what the hey, there is nothing wrong with a little self indulgence.