A/N: Bwahahaha! Ehem…uhhh…here's chapter 2! I'd like to thank those of you who reviewed the last chapter, your comments let me know whether I'm on the right track or not : ) (KMK!! I love you! You 'aninmouse' tipster xD) Glad to know some of you are enjoying this story. Anywho, before I get carried away and just keep yappin', let's get on with the show!

Disclaimer: I do not own Left 4 Dead! Just the game for the Xbox. I also do not own the chapter titles! Those belong to scenes from 28 Days Later. Why must you continue to shove this in my face?!

Before the 4

By: Zhadist

II. Infection

Can it be that there's some sort of error,

Hard to stop the surmounting terror,

Is it really the end, not some crazy dream?

Somebody please tell me that I'm dreaming,

It's not easy to stop from screaming,

But words escape me when I try to speak.

-Hallowed Be Thy Name by Iron Maiden

Riiiiiing!

What is that…?

Riiiiiing!

Where is that noise coming from?

RIIIIIING!

Zoey flinched. Her eyes shot open to the sound of the ringing phone that rested on top of the mini-fridge by her bed. When had she dozed off? Some time during the movie, perhaps? She shook her head as she reluctantly slid off the couch and got up to go answer the call. The thud of the remote falling off the couch was but a soft drone in the distance, just the same as the sound from the television set. As she sat on her bed, she picked up the receiver and grumbled a small "Hello?"

No answer.

"Hello…?"

Silence.

"Kathy, if this is you-"

"Zo? Honey?"

"Dad?!" Surprise, surprise. Maybe he'd gotten a call from one of her professors that she'd flunked out of class. Well, better late than never. She let out a soft sigh but gave no immediate response.

"Hey there, kiddo. Just wanted to check in on you. How're you holding up over there?"

"Uhm…fine. Just fine. You and mom doing fine at Riverside?"

"Yeah, we're great. Well, not sure about your mom exactly, but I'm doing okay. I'm actually working right now, and you'll never guess where I am!"

She could tell he was smiling on the other end of the receiver. Somehow, that brought a smile to her face as well. Okay, so this wasn't about her grades, which was good. The call, however, was still unexpected. He probably had something important to say but was making small talk before he brought it up. Same ol' dad, he never changed. "What are you doing around Fairfield?"

"Peter and I got called in from the No Mercy Hospital that they need some help. They're running out of copters to carry around people who need to be hospitalized immediately from the infection that's hit, so they called us down from Riverside for help. Have you been watching the news lately?"

"Uhh…"

"Haha, figured as much. You never were a news type of person. That's alright. Peter says 'Hi' by the way."

Zoey laughed a little. She remembered Peter from when she was a child. He always struck her as the uncle-type. "Tell him I say 'Hi', too. Dad…why are you really calling me? Is there something you wanna tell me?"

The receiver went silent for a moment.

"Dad…?"

"Sorry, kiddo. I just…I need you to do something, okay? You have to get out of there. Get out of the city and head for an evacuation point."

"Dad?" Her voice sounded slightly panicky.

"Listen to me, Zoey. There are things going on out there. Things that people haven't been able to explain. You have to be careful. Pack up what's important to you and search for one of the military evacuation zones."

"Dad…w-what's going on?"

"Zoey, please. Just do what I ask. Okay? I…I…l-l-"

"D-Dad? You're breaking up. I-I can't hear you…"

"I…" Bzz.

"Dad?"

"I lo-"

"Dad?!"

The phone was dead. No dial tone. Nothing. Zoey put down the receiver then picked it up again and dialed a few numbers.

Silence.

She glanced at the television, but the screen was black. She couldn't even see the light from out in the hallway poking in from underneath her door. The power had gone out. What horror movie didn't have this scene? She was trapped in her room. In the dark. And her bet was that if she stepped out that doorway, she'd have some serial killer waiting just outside with a machete in hand, ready to slice her into tiny bits. Okay, so now wasn't the time to reminisce of Friday the 13th. What else was she supposed to do? She wasn't exactly the 'Bob the Builder' type, so she couldn't just run down to the room with the generators, shouting "Can we fix it? Yes we can!"

Zoey sighed as she got up from her bed and walked over to the window. The streets were surprisingly empty. Not a single person wandering about. Maybe there'd been a report about a storm approaching? Could that have been the reason behind the power outage? She stepped away from the window and walked over to the door. Swallowing a small gulp, she let her hand rest on the doorknob. After taking a deep breath, she twisted the knob ever so slightly and cracked open the door, allowing herself a peek of the hallway. It was dark.

She looked around her room for a type of weapon. Anything, really, that would give her slight protection should she be attacked on the way out. She noticed a hardcover book resting underneath her couch and made a grab for it. When she lifted it up, she read the title 'Physics' on the front cover and remembered the first day in that class. It had sucked major monkey balls. Sighing she walked over to the doorway, yet again. Taking another deep breath, she stepped out into the hallway and looked from side to side. It was utterly pitch black. No source of light from anywhere except the sign hanging above the stairwell that read 'Exit'. Slowly, she made her way over to the door, listening intently for any sound besides her own quiet breathing.

And there it was. The light squeak of footsteps, besides hers, alerted her of their presence. She froze in mid-step, not daring to make any sudden movement. She waited, but there was no sound whatsoever. Maybe I should head back to my dorm, she thought. Silently, she took a step back. However, when her body made contact with someone, or something, else, she let out a shriek of pure terror.

xXx

"What the fuck is that thing?!" shouted the biker as he looked up at an emergency stairwell connected to the apartment building just outside the bar, in the back. It wasn't the stairwell that had his attention though. It was the creature standing on it. It had a slimy appendage coiled around the barkeep that looked a lot like its tongue. That thing was its tongue! Without further hesitation, Francis dove for the shotgun Gus had dropped in the process of getting dragged up by the monster.

He could hear Bill shouting "Dammit, Francis!" behind him, but he didn't care. Right now, he had to focus on saving this man before he was suffocated to death. Just seeing the male dangling there and kicking about had set the biker in gear. Taking hold of the weapon, he jumped back, aimed, and fired. He popped the thing right in the chest, but it didn't seem to relent on its hold. He then fired another round into its head and, with a sickening pop, its head exploded and released a cloud of smoke. Gus fell to the ground, coughing and hacking from the smoke. Bill approached the bartender to help him up while Francis continued staring at the spot where the creature once stood. The body now lay there, limp. Was it really dead?

"What…was that…thing?" Gus said through a half-choked voice as he limped towards the backdoor of the bar. Bill merely shook his head and Francis shrugged as he turned to re-enter the bar. As the three men walked in, Francis kept a tight hold around the shotgun, not daring to put the thing away just yet. Bill locked the door behind them and set down its metal bar so in case another one of those things showed up, it'd have trouble breaking in. Gus took a seat at one of the booths. "You look pretty banged up. Got any first aid kits?" Bill mentioned while lighting another one of his cancer sticks.

"Eh…I'll live." Gus choked out before having another one of his unnatural cough attacks. "Ack. I got too much of that shit in my lungs, whatever it was."

Francis sat quietly by the counter, not saying a word. What could he say? He'd never seen anything like what had happened back there, and his mind was having a hard time registering whether things like that were even real. Sure, he had his shares of being a witness to a couple of murders. Like the time his father…No. He wasn't even going there. Not now. Not ever again. He let his eyes drift shut as he rubbed a gloved hand over his face. "You feelin' alright there, Francis?" It was the veteran's voice that snapped him out of his thoughts. Letting his hand rest on the countertop, the biker merely shrugged in response.

Gus chuckled softly then grimaced as he got up from the booth. "You don't look so good either, chief. You're hands shakin' ashes all over the place." The barkeep teased as he made his way over to a door on the far left side of the bar. Most likely one that led up to the apartment above. Francis smirked, finding it funny the bartender still had a smart mouth even after his near death experience. Bill shook his head, but still couldn't hold back the smile that formed on his lips. "I'm gonna go get some painkillers. You guys feel free to grab another drink while I'm up there, yeah?" The two men nodded at Gus' statement before watching him disappear behind the door. The two sat there in silence, not making eye contact, but perhaps they already new what the other had in mind. Shit was going down, and fast.

xXx

"You got guts, kid." Bill spoke up after a while. The tattooed male glanced at the veteran with a questioning look.

"That a compliment, ol' man?"

"Nah, it's more so of a warning."

Francis snorted. "What kind of warning is that?"

"The next time you dive into something like that, you're gonna end up getting yourself killed."

Francis gave him an angered look. "What? You expected me to let the man die out there?!"

"What I expected was for you to think before you act. Sure, you saved the man's life, but you risked yours in the process." Bill stated matter-of-factly while crushing the last bit of his cigarette in the ash tray and lighting up another. He inhaled deeply before pegging the biker with a hard stare that told stories of his past experience with life-threatening situations. "Back in Nam, I nearly lost my leg trying to save a comrade. My knee got popped full of shrapnel that day, and all for what? Someone else had gotten to him before I could."

"How is that related to this?! Who else was gonna save him from…from that thing?!" Francis retaliated. The male had slammed his fist down on the counter, knocking over the bottle of scotch and making the ice inside the glass Bill had used to drink from rattle. Bill remained unfazed.

"You think this is some sort of joke, kid?"

"Course not…I just…how can you be so damn cold?"

"You didn't let me finish. Rather than risking your life, I could have gotten to him before you jumped after the shotty." With that said, Bill showed the holster, carrying two pistols, he had attached to his waist which had been hidden by his green jacket this whole time. Francis gawked for a second before blubbering, "Who knew you'd be packing? Then again, you are a vet. Paranoid or somethin'?"

"No, I'm just very attentive to what goes on around the world. Now see, if you hadn't rushed into the situation, I wouldn't have had to worry about you. I wasn't sure if you'd jump up and get in my line of fire. Didn't wanna risk accidentally shootin' ya up the ass…literally."

Francis snorted. However, the biker didn't make eye contact after that. They sat there again, in awkward silence. Just when Francis was about to speak up, a loud shriek outside stopped whatever was going to be said. Bill frowned as he got up from his stool and walked over to one of the large windows. The lighting of the lamp posts outside flickered dangerously, and he barely caught sight of people running. But from what? He was then startled by Francis, who hollered in anger when a car veered into his motorcycle and stopped. Any other time, the veteran would have laughed at this, but now was not that time.

As the biker flung open the door and rushed outside, Bill muttered "Shit." before chasing after him. Francis punched the car's driver-side window, shattering it into many pieces and frightening the male inside the vehicle, then unlocked the door and pulled it open. The biker forced the businessman out of his car and shoved him against the wall outside the bar.

"You better have a good fucking explanation for…" The biker didn't get to finish his statement. There was a loud howling sound followed by a roar in the distance. Both Bill and Francis turned their heads in the direction it came from, the black man pinned to the wall had already been staring that way this whole time. "What the hell…"

"Get inside," Bill muttered, before shouting out more loudly. "Get inside!"

xXx

This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real. So many thoughts were rushing through Louis' head as he drove away from the gory scene he'd just witnessed. He swallowed back the lump in his throat. Thing's like that just never happened. Never. He could have sworn he'd hit the woman that had been sitting in the middle of the street. He heard the loud thud which had left a rather large dent on the front of his car. How could she still be alive? Why did Henry have to be the first to exit the car? Why couldn't it have been him? And even if it had been him, would Henry have gotten back in the car fast enough to drive away like he just had? This wasn't real!

He shuddered as he remembered the woman's glowing red eyes, her claw-like hands that had torn his friend apart, and her enraged witch-like howl that still rang through his ears. He felt as though his breath pattern was shortening and he reached up to loosen his red tie. God, his hands were shaking. He was surprised he hadn't been swerving this whole time. If Henry were still here he'd be-

If Henry were still here…

"Oh fuck…y-you hit her." Henry whispered, his breath short. Louis could only stare wide-eyed out the windshield. "I-I didn't see her. She was…she was kneeling…" Louis muttered quietly. He still couldn't believe he'd just run over another living being. Shouldn't the headlights have warned her of an approaching vehicle? Come to think of it, why hadn't he noticed the street was in total darkness? Not a single lamp post was shining, standing even. As Louis rubbed his hands over his face, Henry got out the car. That's when it all happened. He wasn't quite sure what it was at first, the sound was very similar to an animal's growl. As Henry stepped in front of one of the beams, completely obscuring the light's path, he heard the male shout, "Hey! She's still alive!"

Louis frowned as he stepped out of the car to walk over to Henry's side. He stopped, however, when he caught sight of the pale gray-skinned woman who was slowly lifting herself up from the ground. He gaped when he realized the growling was coming from her. Her eyes flashed a vibrant red, like those of a demon or someone possessed. As she growled menacingly at the men, Louis began to slowly back away, trying to get back into the car, which now seemed like a safe haven. Henry remained put, staring bewilderedly at the woman who snarled viciously at him.

"…Ma'am?" he asked.

"H-Henry...get back in the car…" Louis whispered.

The woman was nearly finished with her ascent when Henry reached a hand forward, cautiously, and asked again, "Ma'am…a-are you alright?"

"Henry…get back in the car…now." Louis warned a bit more loudly for him to hear.

"Just…hold on." Henry answered as he stepped away from the headlight, completely flooding the woman with its bright beam. She let out a howl of rage as her eyes flashed a vibrant red, and that was it. She was on him within seconds, knocking the male down with one blow as he let out a shriek of fear and pain.

"HELP!! SOMEONE HELP MEEE!!" Henry shouted, his voice having gone up a few octaves as he screamed in agony. He couldn't shield himself from her as she clawed at him relentlessly. Louis had run towards them, trying to knock the woman aside, but she merely shoved him away, forcing him to stumble back and fall flat on his ass. Louis stared in horror as his friend died before his own eyes. All he could do was stare. The woman stood there, still growling in rage, until she finally lifted her hands to her face and ran away, crying. She was gone.

Louis was uncertain on whether to approach the limp body, a pool of blood having already gathered around it. After a few seconds, or what felt like years really, he crawled over to Henry's body. His eyes widened further, if possible, as he stared in shock at how the male had been torn to shreds, quite literally. He swallowed back the urge to vomit when he saw the male's insides spilt along the road, some of his guts having splattered onto the hood of his car. Louis reached a trembling hand to Henry's face and closed the man's eyes. He wanted to cry. But that thought vanished when he heard another growl, this time different from what he previously heard. He saw something crouched down nearby, and it was getting closer. Something inside him told him to get away from there, now, before it was too late. Following his impulse, he quickly got up and dove inside his car. He slammed his door shut and hurriedly closed the passenger side door as well. Not bothering to lock the doors, he slammed down on the accelerator and drove away from there as fast as he could. He heard a blood-curdling screech, but dared not to look back.

Here he was, still alive, and his friend very much dead and long gone by now. He had this deep feeling that he was guilty for Henry's death. He should have been more attentive to the road rather than having gotten distracted by a phone call. The phone call! His wife! Just then, his phone started vibrating, but he didn't reach down for it. He couldn't. He was too distracted by the police barricade in front of him. That wasn't what struck him as odd though. No. It was the fact that the policemen weren't there. Many of the squad cars had been flipped over, and there were bodies splayed about every where. It was a bloodbath. Maybe the riots had gotten completely out of hand?

Whatever it was, he wasn't going to stick around to find out. There was lighting to the left road, so his best bet was to take that one. However, before he could react, his phone went off. He'd forgotten he left it on 'Vibration then melody'. He was about to reach down and grab it when he heard the all too familiar howling sound. This time, however, the howling seemed to have been multiplied and accompanied by a resounding roar. Suddenly, he felt the entire world shaking. Drive away, now! Pushing the petal-to-the-metal, he made the left turn onto the lit street and raced away from the blockade as fast as he could. When he glanced at the rearview mirror, he noticed people spilling into the lit road from the darkness, chasing after him. He prayed for the vehicle to move faster, but it felt as though it were slowing down instead.

His eyes glanced down at the dashboard and he noticed the meter for gas was blinking. He was running low. He'd forgotten to stop by the gas station in the morning and now he was going to pay the price. He was going to join Henry sooner than he expected. He quickly veered into a right turn, hoping he'd have a chance to lose his pursuers, and was surprised to find normal people walking about. Mothers with their children walking home from grocery shopping, groups of teens laughing as they made their way to the mall to hangout, and a few men getting into their cars and heading for the late shift at work. None of them were aware of what was going on. None of them were aware of the blockade that had gone to ruins just a few blocks away. They were all in danger.

CRASH!

He was pulled out of his thoughts when his car had rammed into a motorcycle. Luckily, it was parked and no one was on it. He couldn't stop the uncontrollable shaking of his body though, because the scene from earlier was replaying in his mind. The woman with the demon eyes, his friend being torn apart, the remains of the male's body. He flinched when the window to his side was shattered and his car door was opened. He yelped in surprised when he was forcefully pulled out of his car and slammed against a wall of a bar. Louis paid no attention to the heavily tattooed male who was hollering at him. He was too busy looking towards where he came from. The rumbling of the earth beneath him had returned. The howling and screeching sounds were back. The male wearing the green beret, with a golden insignia embedded in its center, soon spoke up and shouted, "Get inside!"

xXx

A/N: Bum bum buuuum! And thus ends chapter 2! I'd like to thank my Beta Reader "aninmouse" because he lets me know whether my chapter is good or not, heh. Yeah, I'm not one who likes to read my own work until I know I'm finished. Why? Well, let me just say that it'd take me forever to post up anything at all because I'd always want to change one thing or another. And so, I'd never be 'finished'. Anywho, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as the last, enjoyed it more than the last, or even hated it completely. I would love to hear what you think of the story though. Whether you like it or not, so yonder! Review, fools! I mean…please. (I gotta stop doing that…) For the meantime, I guess I'll be working on chapter 3?