To tell you the truth, the only reason that this story took so long to get up here was that because I update all of my stories at once, so things got a little clunky along the way. That little road bump has been removed, however, and here is chapter 2, just because. Also, kudos to those who got the reference (I don't expect anyone to though).

Just a note: I still strongly advise you to read "the Sacrifice" comic of L4D by VALVe if you haven't already, since if you only played the game some of the events in the story would not make much sense.

Chapter 2: Cryin'

"Is that a Witch?" The thought raced through Zoey's mind. She could barely comprehend her own explanation as her body stiffened. She hated when it got to that point. Usually she would be able to fight zombies and decapitate heads like nobody's business, but every time she was pulled away from a seemingly solemn scene she would always froze up. It reminded her of the first time she had came across a Witch, when Bill was quick enough to pull her away from its deadly claws. As Zoey had already silenced, the crying, which was mistakenly blended to hers only a minute ago, continued to echo through the cold interior of the abandoned warehouse. She knew that it was a Witch by this point, because there would be no way a mere human was able to survive three consecutive horde attacks and still live to cry about it. That was still a slim possibility, but she wanted to take no chances.

"Can I take it?" Zoey was now forcing her body movements to be silent as she carefully weighed her options. She could try and crawl away from the site and get Francis to come down her to finish that Infected off. However, should her movements be heard and startled up the Witch, then she was going to die for sure. Gulping, Zoey felt like she needed to at least learn about the location of the enemy first. Tugging her flash light away into her inner pocket compartment, hands still holding onto the Assault Rifle, she slowly and noiselessly stuck her head around the steel cold contraption behind in front of her, in order to take a good look at where she thought the crying was coming from.

Not far from her eye sight, rather splendidly kept, was a slim figure hiding itself within the darkness. At this point, there was no doubt to Zoey that the crying was coming from there. Retracting herself back out of sight, she crafted up a plan in her head. The Witch was not too close, but had vision of where she would be going through should she decided to depart from the stockroom. When she came in, she was not noticed though, which she considered as rather odd, taken into account the fact that she was not at all inaudible in her entrance and her flash light was still on at that point. Contemplating on the subject, Zoey realized that she needed to act fast. If she took too long, Francis would go looking for her and might set off the Witch, putting both of them in danger. Looking over to her right, Bill's lifeless body was still there. She felt like doing what he should have done, and nodded.

Clank

Zoey's spare quarter was thrown off to the far edge of the granary, in hope of attracting the Witch. This had worked before, and she hoped it would again. Her Assault Rifle now mounting under her arms, she had a clear shot of where her coin was dispatched to. If she handled this well enough, the Witch would not even know what hit her, and Zoey would be able to take down the fearsome foe from behind without risking herself. Of course the gun fire would tilt some heads later, but those were of lesser concerns. Soon enough, the crying stopped. Rustles could be heard from Zoey's left side, getting closer and closer to where she was. Cold sweat started to drip off her back, as the grip around the gun's trigger tightened.

The dark figure she spotted before was now strolling towards where she had expected it. Now that it was brought into the limelight, it became rather compliant to the surrounding, not acting out as a normal Witch at night would have. Zoey could now see her enemy clearly, being exactly what she had expected. The Witch was, obviously, female, long, dirty claws growing on top the fingers, clothes almost completely torn. However, Zoey could only take a look at the Witch from the back, considering where it was heading. What she noticed, however, was not the usual deadly features that could tear her into pieces in an instant, but rather the figure of the Witch itself. It was slender, curvy, unlike the normal dead-skinny ones that she sees everyday, proportionate and hips swaying while walking. It was unreal, at least to her. There was something oddly distracting about it.

"Eh?"

Zoey's eyes widened, in silent, when she heard the Witch spoke. Witches do not speak, as far she knew. This was impossible. Ever since the first time she saw one, all she ever heard from them were agonizing cries when they sit weeping, and the tormenting scream they let out when they rip through flesh. What if Witches could have spoken all this time? Zoey wondered. However, she was not quite sure whether such trivial thing was worth risking her life over, as she was not firing right now as she should have been. The Witch bended down and picked up the coin in her hands, inspecting it as some outlandish object. At least that was what Zoey could have guessed staring at it from behind.

"Hey," The Witch turned around almost immediately, sensing danger. What she saw was a young girl, around college age, black locks dropping to her shoulders, eyes hazel and hands with her gun dropped to her side. Zoey had taken a big leap in doing what she did, because should the Witch turn frantic now and attack her, she would not be able to react and save herself in time. The reason she did this was unknown even to her, but perhaps it was because of not wanting bloodshed on an unnecessary battle. However, she could not lie to herself that this was a dumb risk. Regardless, as the Witch had not yet tried to claw her guts out, Zoey opted to continue. "You can speak."

Surprisingly, the Witch practically fled at the sight, withdrew into the corner, arms covering her body, as if afraid of being exposed. Zoey sighed. Whatever the reasons, it seemed that the Infected in front of her had not the urge to kill her, at least just yet. For the moment, she used the opportunity to take a good look at the Witch, more specifically her features. For an Infected, she was rather clean looking: her eyes were not as red as the others, her skin not partially torn by random self-injury. If she had lost the clothes and the claws, Zoey might actually think the Witch would have been quite attractive. The Witch took notice of that, nonetheless. She seemed drawn back, rather scared of the sight of the gun. "Are you going to shoot?"

"No." Zoey was not sure if she was still right in the head, but she approached the Witch regardless. For all she knew, it was rather harmless, even though all the past two months of experiences had taught her otherwise. Curiosity was getting to her, no doubt. The Witch seemed to retract even more, which was astonishing. As her hand reached out, the Witch avoided it like the plague. Sighing, she was starting to feel a bit of empathy for this creature. "I'm not here to hurt you."

"Really?" The Witch stared back. Her defences eased up a little, awaiting an answer. Zoey shrugged. She might have had the urge before, but not anymore. As far as she knew, this encounter was not going to turn bloody.

"Well I don't suppose you look like you will harm me either." Smiling, she pulled away temporarily, giving the other some much needed space. The Witch nodded to show her understanding, but she refused to move out of her position. This slightly amused the human girl, as she felt like the Witch in front of her was just like a kid, but a big one. She could possibly have been a teenager before becoming an infected, for all Zoey knew. Most did not retain their sanity of course, which made the Witch such a curious case.

"I won't." The Witch's words eased off the rest of Zoey's worries. If she could take her words for it, then there was nothing to be afraid of anymore. Whoever this Witch was, she was not a threat. "Who are you?"

"I'm Zoey." Zoey extended her hand slowly towards the Witch, hinting of a serene stand between them. The Witch fidgety took her hand, trying its best not to harm Zoey with its claws. That was the best friendly gesture both of them could have hoped for. "What is your name?" The Witch simply shook her head. It could have said something, but it did not. That got Zoey into thinking, and she came to a rather humble solution. "You don't remember your name?"

"No." The Witch said exactly what Zoey expected to hear. It was not so hard to guess, considering what she had heard from the doctor back in Millhaven. The infection obviously does SOMETHING to a person's system to be able to cause them to mutate into a Witch. These people are very much still alive, just very primal and rabid. There was no question that it would affect their minds. Zoey did not know what she was getting at, but the line between humans and infected in her head was starting to blur. She could not point out what she would feel after this, but there was something she needed to do first.

"Would it be alright if I were to give you a name?" Zoey asked with a friendly smile, as much as she could mutter up at this moment. Needless to say there was obviously still something bothering her, but she did not want to show it. What she did not want to, however, was to refer to her as a Witch. She obviously did not know what that even meant, and it could become rather confusing later on. A personal identity was going to be much more helpful.

"Ok." It did what seemed to resemble a shrug. At least it was the answer that was sure to make Zoey happy.

"Alright then, I will call you Cindy!" Zoey cheerfully exclaimed. She was downright thrilled to be able to do such a thing, almost as it was naming a pet. She knew better though, but she could not help it. There was just something about that name that was so Witch did not seem to mind it, as it smiled back at the girl. That was good enough for Zoey, as from now on she had Cindy to be a friend that she could actually reside to. Bill was more of a father, Francis could never get anything serious and Louis was just too much of a corporate man for her to get close to. It would be great if she actually had a same-sex companion from this point onward, even though that companion might be a Witch. Zoey still had certain doubts, of course. If Bill's death had taught her anything, then it would his motto of "we look after our own". She, Francis and Louis had been through so much together. Now that they have lost Bill, they have to look out for each other more so than before. Cindy might be harmless now, but who is to say it would stay that way forever? Even if it did, what would Louis and Francis think about Zoey bringing back "a friggin' Witch", as it would be quoted from Francis. It might tear their team apart, and she would hate that. The only thing she could do now was to take her time to think of a good resolution while figuring out away to hide Cindy from the two males. "Come on Cindy, let's go."

"Where?" The Witch seemed rather dubious of Zoey's plan. Truth be told, she was dubious of everything at this point, so it was perfectly reasonable. Zoey simply smiled as an assurance, and Cindy took that as a well enough indication of good will.

The two skipped through the essentially barren walk way and towards the boat, consciously avoiding the eye sight of the people who might be looking for them on the bridge down. Zoey knew that she was already been gone for a while, and should she not return soon then Francis would surely go down and look for her. Having him meet Cindy at this point would be really bad, considering how it might startle both of them and spark up some very unwanted injuries. Zoey recalled Francis telling her that there was another group of survivors passing through the underground, trying to get to this side of the bridge. It would also be undesirable should they somehow meet up with Cindy along the way, as who was to say whether they would open fire or not. Should they do make it; Zoey would have to find a good way to hide up her new friend. There was only one place that she would be comfortable with putting Cindy into, and that was the sailboat she and Francis just moved. There was nothing against that notion at the moment, so the girl went with that plan. She led Cindy into the boat, yet pondered on where to put the Witch to. After a minute of thought, she decided that the best decision would probably be having Cindy hanging around the back row of the boat, so that people could keep an eye on her general position. No matter how much she hated to admit it, Zoey knew that there was still a chance of Cindy somehow losing her mind somewhere along the way and turn into a real Witch, those that she usually ignore unless have to be shot for them to stay alive.

"Where are you going?" Zoey wanted to pay no head to Cindy's inquiry, but she could do no such thing. Time was of the essence, but if she wanted to trust Cindy in the future, she would have to earn her trust first.

"You are to stay with the boat, alright?" Zoey's face and voice turned serious, as it was also what the Witch picked up. She was vaguely aware of the magnitude of importance which the human girl was speaking of. Cindy just wanted to stay safe nevertheless. "I have to go back to my friends to do something. When we're done, I will come back with them, and then we'll get away from here, is that alright?"

"I… you're going to leave me here?" Zoey sighed. She did not want to deal with this, but she had to. Whatever had affected Cindy's perception of the world, it had done a damn good job. She wanted to wrap things up, at least as far as she could before Francis turn up.

"I have to go back and do a job. If you wanted to help me, just stay here and be quiet alright?" Zoey was trying her best to get Cindy to understand the point. It was getting to the Witch, ever so slowly. It looked less insecure now, even if just by a little bit. "I WILL come back. Wait for me, ok?"

"Ok…"

Zoey had no more time to wave goodbye to Cindy after leaving the Witch in the back compartment of the ship. She hoped that it would at least be able to take care of itself. Furthermore, gun shots could already be heard from the distance, which means that the other survival group must had already been able to get themselves through the sewers and would approach here soon. They would predictable have to get themselves into a fight with the infected, so she must get ready.

"Hey Francis!" She quickly spotted the biker walking around nearby, obviously trying to find her. He turned his head, and smiled his worries away after seeing her. There was something about Zoey's attitude right now that simply lit up the mood. "Man, am I glad to see you."

"Did you run into troubles or something?" Francis grinned up to his ears. He did not want to admit that he was troubled by her absence, but of course Zoey could figure that out by herself, considering he was here looking for her now. It was more than empty words and broken promises. They were a family now.

"Something like that, but it is fine now." Zoey shrugged, her hand still holding the Assault Rifle. Her encounter was Cindy was rather frightening at first, but there was no way she could tell Francis that. There was of course, other priorities that they needed to take care of at the moment. "You heard that right?"

"Yeah, Rochelle and the others are coming here." Francs nodded in understanding. He was at least very aware of the scope of the situation. "If they were to lower the bridge then we are going to have quite a fight on our hands."

"No kidding." Zoey's grumble was clear of meaning to the biker's ears. The last time they tried to move the bridge; it took a man off their squad and a significant amount of effort for them to be able to survive until now. It was going to be hard to do that again, even with the help of the newcomers.

"I think they may need our help." Francis was not sure who he meant that to when he said so, but rather apparent his concerns were. Zoey understood perfectly what he was talking about. "If we did, maybe they don't have to… your call, Zoey."

"I say they will need our help." The girl led the two up on to the ladder up the raised bridge, where Louis was waiting for them. She seemed to be lost in thoughts for a few moments. Either that or she intended to explain her plans when the three of them meet up.

"Good to see you again Zoey." Louis' smile was most welcoming, as the other two had expected it to be. Francis might hate to admit it, but the man's optimism was already starting to grow on him. "So, what now?"

"I say we'll help them lower the bridge." Zoey stated, and Francis nodded in agreement. Louis was not sure of what his thoughts on the decision was, but he was for whatever the other two was with regardless.

"Well, I'm fine with that." He shrugged as to ease off the tension. "You know though, I'm kinda unable to move at the moment, and I'm not too sure how much of a help I would be able to be."

"Actually, we would not join the fight directly." Zoey's reply was rather unexpectedly cold, which caught the two men off guard. They said nothing however, waiting for her to finish. "We are not going to risk our lives for this group, not to mention how we couldn't even know how much we can trust them. We will provide cover fire and some supplies, but that's it."

"Sounds like a plan." Francis nodded. It sounded reasonable enough to him. "I just gotta ask: where are we providing cover fire FROM? This bridge is going to be lowered soon, and Louis ain't actually too bright and sun shine on running at this point."

"Rub it in, will ya?" The black male shot the biker a glance, but they all knew that it was just genuine concern hidden under all that teasing.

"Actually, do you remember that balcony where the mounted machinegun is located?" The two male nodded to show their following what Zoey was talking about. "We would be there, close enough to the scene to help, and far enough from the reach of any stray zombies trying to get to us. Louis would be in charge of the gun, if you don't mind."

"Not to worries." Louis gave her a thumb up to show his agreement.

"Alright, Francis, you help Louis get there. I'm going to get some supplies up to the vantage point. We're in for a real fight!"