Dislcaimer: Left 4 Dead 2 belongs to it's respective creators. The OC, Gina, and this particular plot belong to me. This story was HEAVILY influenced by Separated, by Leapingspirit. I highly recommend you read it; it's an amazing story. If you don't like OC's, good Infected, or SurvivorxInfected, then I highly advise you DON'T read this. Otherwise, enjoy~

When she awoke, the sun's rays were shining through the window. Her chest hurt more than anything – she had been curled up sleeping all night and refused to move in fear that the strange Hunter would return. It was excruciatingly painful to breathe. After making sure that no one had come into the safe-room without her realizing it, she slipped out of her blue jacket, lifting up her shirt and removing her bra only long enough to wrap her ribs with the bandages the Hunter had left her. As soon as she was finished, she put her bra back on, replacing the shirt, and put the jacket back on. Popping a few pain pills, she reloaded her pistols and packed the remaining medical supplies before stepping out into the morning light.

As she had expected, there wasn't much in the way of opposition. She was most certainly going in the right direction. She kept her eyes peeled; it was slightly nerve-wracking that there weren't any hordes randomly attacking her. After having hordes randomly and constantly attacking them left and right, and having Special Infected ambush them when all seemed well, she'd grown accustomed to constantly being on edge. She had the nagging feeling that the swamps were too quiet; that there was something big and bad lurking around. And it didn't help that she felt like she was being watched.

The majority of the day went by uneventfully; every now and then, she'd come across a straggling common Infected, and made quick work of it. However, the feeling of eyes on her back had yet to even do so much as fade, which led her to believe that she really was being followed.

The sun wasn't setting quite yet, but it was nearing the western horizon. She wasn't entirely sure how much ground she had covered, but she was pretty sure that a safe-house wasn't too far away.

As she glanced around her surroundings warily, a noise caught her attention, and she stopped in her tracks. The hysterical laughter was very easy to recognize – a Jockey was somewhere nearby. And judging from the increase in volume, it was making its way toward her.

She stepped backwards, pressing herself up against a large tree and crouching down to better hide herself, evening out her breath to try and silence the air around her even though her heart was racing. Her eyes darted around her cautiously. Special Infected were never fun to deal with, but with the exception of the Spitter and maybe the Boomer, they were impossible to take care of alone, especially if said Special Infected pinned you. The Jockey would leap onto your back, pulling you towards a horde of common Infected that would pummel you to death if no one was around to save you from its grasp.

The laughter started up again, and Gina's muscles tensed, head whipping in the direction of the sound. But at least now she knew where it was coming from. Turning more to face the origin of the sound, she quietly drew a pistol, reloading the clip. She would catch the Jockey off-guard by being ready for it when it emerged from the undergrowth. Suddenly, she heard a loud screech, followed by a pained shriek. Then, a dead silence fell over the area.

Her brows furrowed, eyes narrowing slightly. What just happened? Slowly, she crept forward; remaining crouched with her pistol at the ready. That scream just now sounded like a Hunter. Perhaps if she stayed hidden, she would be able to surprise him before it surprised her.

Of all the Special Infected, she hated dealing with the Hunter the most. They lived up to their name, the ultimate predator, and usually it was near impossible to see one coming until they were leaping at you and pinning you to the ground to rip you limb from limb. Much like a panther, the Hunter would stay hidden, creeping up and waiting patiently for the perfect moment to strike, which they would. You wouldn't see them, but they would most certainly see you.

These were the thoughts running through Gina's head as she hesitated in front of the thick foliage she was about to immerse herself in. It was a catch twenty-two; she may very well be able to hide herself from the Hunter, but at the same time, it would be tricky trying to find him in return, at least, before he found her. At this point, it was a 50-50 chance.

She took a deep calming breath before she started forward again, brushing aside a clump of reeds in her path. She didn't expect to suddenly find herself staring into a pair of almost glowing, gold-green eyes. In the back of her mind, they reminded her of a cat.

She gasped, startled out of her wits, and fell backwards, quickly scrambling to her feet and tearing through the swamp. Hunter! Run away! She needed to get to safety before it caught her and tore her to pieces.

It didn't take long at all for her lungs to begin burning. She grabbed her adrenaline shot, sticking it in her arm and injecting the liquid. The pain soon faded away, and the only thing she could hear was the thudding of her accelerated heartbeat in her ears.

A series of building came into view which appeared to be a small village. Thank goodness; there had to be a safe-house there somewhere. The effects of the adrenaline were beginning to wear off, and the pain came back with such a vengeance, it was almost blinding. She tripped on her own feet, slamming into the ground. She was wheezing now, and her head felt like it weighed a ton. Still, she scrambled clumsily to her feet, one hand wrapped around her side to clutch at her ribs. The other was gripping her pistol so tightly, the knuckles were white.

The safe-house came into view as she staggered down the dirt path, and she dashed to it, throwing herself inside and slamming the door shut. She was barely able to place the metal pipe against the door before collapsing against it, desperately trying to breathe while her heaving chest throbbed. Her head was spinning so badly, she could feel her entire body swaying, and she fell to the floor. She weakly crawled towards a corner in the room where she noticed a sleeping bag and some blankets. Unable to move any further, Gina just focused on trying to calm her breathing, and failing miserably. Her vision began to swim in and out of focus, and she knew she needed to do something, but she couldn't move, and oh God, she couldn't breathe and it hurt so much.

She didn't hear the metal pipe shift as a sleeved, clawed hand reached through the bars and moved it, and she didn't hear the door creak slightly as it opened and shut. The next thing she knew, there was a low growl near her. The sun hadn't quite set behind the mountain, so there was enough light to see the Hunter that was approaching her. Whimpering in pain, she tried to roll over so she could at least try and kick him away, but she felt so dizzy and weak. There wasn't any hope for her, and since when was a Hunter smart enough to let himself into the safe-room?!

Her body jolted when she felt a clawed hand slide under her jacket and shirt, carefully unclasping her bra. She didn't think her hyperventilating could get any worse, but an all-new wave of panic washed over her as she re-considered the Hunter's motives.

The Hunter rolled her over on her back, and Gina weakly raised her hands in a feeble attempt to push him away, shaking her head slowly. "N-no…" she gasped out as the Hunter growled, pushing her arms out of the way, "Don't."

The Hunter unzipped her jacket, moving the lapels out of the way, and rolled up her shirt, being careful to keep the bra in place. Then, he cautiously used his claws to rip the bandages away from her ribs. As she stared on in shock and growing confusion, he grabbed a nearby blanket and draped it over her trembling form. The release of the constraining fabric on her chest lessened the pain quite a bit, and it relaxed her chest slightly. And although it was only slight, it was making a difference in her ability to breathe.

While she was too breathless to ask aloud, she knew her eyes were screaming "What are you doing?!" at the Special Infected, who leaned in close to her face. She briefly caught a hint of gold under his dark grey hood before he leaned passed her face, brushing his cheek with hers and nuzzling her neck. She stiffened, expecting him to rip out her throat. But then, unexpectedly, he began to purr. She could feel his rumbling against her shoulder, as if he were trying to soothe her. And, to her surprise, slowly, her body relaxed. The wheezing quieted down, and her breaths were evening out, filling her lungs with air, albeit a bit painfully.

When she felt she could use her voice again, she asked, "Aren't you going to… kill me?"

The Hunter merely nuzzled her more in response, his purring as steady as ever. It was almost comforting, in a strange way. It shouldn't have been so relaxing, but it was. He was more than capable of killing her, and she knew it. And yet, her eyelids were beginning to droop as her exhaustion caught up to her. It wasn't long before the purring and nuzzling lulled her into a deep sleep.

The next time she opened her eyes, the sun had risen and was starting to burn through the morning's fog. She sat up slowly, feeling surprisingly well-rested – more than she had in a long while. The Hunter was gone, but she noticed a roll of bandages, an adrenaline shot, and pills by her side. At this point, she knew that this Hunter was the same Hunter who had brought her supplies the first night she was on her own. Of course, that meant that he had been following her since then. The question that bothered her was, why exactly was he helping her? He had so many opportunities to kill her, and he was certainly more than able. And yet… he was the one who calmed her panic and put her to sleep. But why?

She was still undressed; obviously, the Hunter left her alone after she fell asleep. After re-wrapping her ribs and downing a few more pain pills, she put herself back together, packing the fresh supplies in her medkit and letting herself out.

The corpses around her were freshly shot. It was clear that she was much closer than she expected. As she walked through the village, she noticed a second safe-house. A flutter of hope sprang forth. Had the others been staying in that house? They were only several hundred yards away! She'd catch up after all, for sure! Hopefully, they didn't have too much of a head start.

As she made her way down the dirt road, she came across a plantation house. It was massive. And as she was approaching the door, she heard an explosion, making her jump out of her skin. But she knew that the explosion wasn't caused by Infected; Ellis and the others were on the other side of that house!

She took off, thankful that she had taken the painkillers earlier. Sprinting up the stairs, she found to her dismay that the back door had been boarded over. She glanced around wildly, trying to find another way through. She was so focused on getting to the others that she was completely oblivious to the coughing in the near distance.

Some scaffolding caught her eye – she quickly discovered that there was an open window she could climb into at the top. Running over, she didn't hesitate to climb up the ladder. She was halfway up when she finally heard the cough, and by the time she realized what it was, the Smoker's long tongue had wrapped tightly around her waist, wrenching her backwards off the ladder. Hitting the ground on her back, she was stunned, having the wind painfully knocked out of her. She thrashed, kicking out in a frantic attempt to loosen his grip long enough to free herself.

A screech pierced the air, and the next thing she knew, a Hunter had landed on top of her, pinning her to the ground. The Hunter seemed furious, as he let out an ear-piercing shriek that frightened Gina into screaming and trying to cover her ears, even if her arms were pinned at her sides. She could see a flash of gold under his hood – as if his eyes were glowing with rage. The Smoker was most likely trying to pull her away from the newcomer, as the tongue binding her grew even tighter, turning her scream into a strangled yelp. The Hunter noticed this, and he seemed to grow even angrier, crouching even lower and letting out another shriek before he sprang forward. Gina couldn't see him, but just a few seconds later, she heard the telltale "poof" noise of the Smoker exploding, and the tongue slackened around her, though it was still tangled to the point where she could barely move her hands to free herself.

Managing to pull herself up into a seated position, the first thing Gina found herself staring at was the Hunter, who was now stalking towards her. Eyes widening in fear, she began scooting backward. This Hunter could've been the same Hunter that had been following her, but she didn't know how to differentiate him from the others. Sure he may have rescued her from the Smoker, but what if that was because he merely wanted to prey on her himself?

As he raised a clawed hand, she flinched, squeezing her eyes shut and bracing herself for a world of pain. She heard a grunt, a sick slicing noise, and the tongue was suddenly falling off of her. Opening her eyes cautiously, she found that the tongue was in pieces around her.

"You… You're not going to kill me?" The Hunter growled softly as a response, possibly acknowledging her deduction. "But why are you helping me?"

He didn't answer, instead pulling her to her feet and lightly pushing her in the direction of the scaffolding.

"R-right… the others… thanks…" She ran back over, climbed up the ladder, and jumped through the window.

She dropped down through a hole in the floor after finding the doors were locked. There was a corridor leading out into a main hall with a set of stairs. She took them two at a time, noticing that the second floor seemed brighter than the first. She quickly found out why – there was an open balcony that looked out at a maze of bushes. As she quickly surveyed the scene, she caught sight of Ellis and the rest of the group. They were heading over a broken dock to what looked like a boat. It was the escape out of this hellish swamp!

Hurry, run, go… she needed to catch up to them, and she still had a chance at just that. It took her only a second to find the platform just to the side of the balcony, and she hastily jumped down, wincing at the pain only briefly before she was sprinting through the yard as fast as she could go. But the boat had been pulling away from the dock as she took off through the yard, and by the time she had reached the gate, the boat was too far for her to swim to it safely.

She furiously struggled through the knee-deep water, stumbling up onto the dock. Looking on despairingly, she screamed, "No! Wait… Ellis!"

The mechanic must have heard her because he turned around and waved back. But the ship was clearly not going to stop, let alone turn around for her, and it was moving far too quickly for her to even fathom catching up to it should she try to swim after it.

"Gina!" she perked as she heard his voice, and she raced over to the edge of the dock, trying to close the distance between them while she could still hear his voice.

"Please!" she shouted back, "Come back!"

"I'm sorry!" was his reply, and she noticed he was pointing to the riverside, "Follow the river! I'll see you at New Orleans!"

Helpless, she could only watch as the only way out, as well as her friends, disappeared into the murky swamp mist. And as they faded away, it felt as if a part of her chest was sucked away into a void. She was alone, once again, in a world where survival was determined by numbers.

A soft growl wrenched her back to the present, and she whirled around, pistol drawn and ready. But she relaxed slightly when she recognized the Hunter that had rescued her from the Smoker, letting out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding and lowering her gun. While he wasn't completely at ease, his body language told her that he wasn't planning on attacking her anytime soon.

She gave him a small, apologetic smile. "I wasn't fast enough," she explained, wondering if the Hunter even cared or not. He clearly knew she was in a hurry when he killed the Smoker and sent her on her way. She almost felt like she let him down.

Sighing heavily, she ran a shaky hand through her hair. "They're on their way to New Orleans…" It was about that point when reality slammed into her like a ton of bricks.

She didn't even know where she was; let alone where New Orleans was. Sure, the river might head right for the city, but how long would it take before she got there? And how was she supposed to catch up to a boat, especially one that was traveling as fast as that one? Furthermore, she was probably the only human alive in the southern area of the United States. She was lucky enough to be immune, but that wouldn't help her much if she was beaten to death by a horde or something.

She rubbed her eyes briefly, trying to ignore the stinging as frustrated tears sprang to her eyes. Really, as if the odds weren't stacked up high enough…

Taking a slightly shaky breath, she glanced back over at the Hunter, who had tilted his head curiously.

"Sorry," she said thickly, trying to smile while fighting back tears, "I'm trying to avoid a breakdown…"

The Hunter approached her slowly, making sure that she knew he wouldn't hurt her. Once he was by her side, he patted her shoulder a couple of times, causing her to chuckle slightly in amusement. The last person she'd expect comfort from was a Hunter. But considering said Hunter put her to sleep, it was probably best to abandon any form of expectation for the norm, what little norms there were these days. Taking a step back, she now took the opportunity to study her savior.

At passing glance, he would resemble any Hunter she had run into during her travels with the group. This Hunter in particular was wearing a dark grey hoodie with chocolate-brown pants, and he looked to be wearing a pair of indoor soccer shoes. The pant legs and sleeves were taped down with duct tape at the calf, thigh, forearm, and around the biceps. From what she could see of it, his skin wasn't deformed and covered in tumors and boils like his evil counterparts, though it was still a deathly pale. He seemed to stand up a bit straighter too, though he still had a slight hunch when he stood up, most likely from crouching all the time. That didn't prevent him from being taller than her. Gina suspected a part of it had something to do with the fact that he was male.

She couldn't really see his face; the hood kept it well-shadowed, and she wasn't about to try and find out what he looked like underneath. She had the feeling that his eye color was a green-gold, like a cat's.

The Hunter didn't seem to be affected by her scrutinizing gaze – Gina wouldn't have been surprised if he was studying her features just as intensely as she was studying his.

Deciding to break the silence, she spoke up. "Thanks again, by the way." The Hunter piqued at the sudden start in conversation, "You've helped out a ton, probably more than I know. I was just wondering though… why have you been helping me?"

The Hunter took a moment to think, most likely, before he glanced at her, pointing towards himself. Gina could only stare at him in confusion, so he tried again, this time crouching low to the ground, as if preparing to pounce. The girl stiffened in response, until she noticed that he seemed to be staring at her expectantly.

"What do you want me to do…?" she asked slowly, still trying to figure out his sign language, if it could be called that. The Hunter sighed in what sounded like exasperation, standing up and pointing at her once more before crouching back down and staring at her expectantly.

"You want me to…?" she slowly crouched down until she was at his level. The Hunter nodded, pointing at her, then at himself. He repeated the gesture several more times before Gina raised an eyebrow, looking at his position on the ground, and then looking at herself. To her surprise, they were crouched in nearly identical positions.

She was actually taken aback. What in the world? She glanced back at the Hunter before looking down at herself. That had to have been a fluke, right? Why was she crouching like a Hunter?

Shaking her head to straighten out her thoughts, she asked "So, wait… you've been helping me because I'm like you?"

Grinning, he nodded, and she looked back down at herself, eyebrows furrowing. "I… don't really see it…"

She stood back up, looking out at the river and letting out a sigh. "So what am I supposed to do now?" she glanced back over at the Hunter, who had, once again, tilted his head, "They're going to New Orleans. I don't even know where that is. And I don't know how I'm supposed to get there by myself."

The Hunter had stood up as well, and crossed his arms over his chest. If she could see his face, she wouldn't have been surprised if he was giving her a "look." She regarded him thoughtfully.

"Well, you have been following me this whole time… when did you start?"

The Hunter thought for another moment, before placing a hand on her head, the other on her left shoulder. It didn't take long to realize he was referring to her injuries. It shouldn't have been surprising – Tanks were quite good at alerting anyone within a one mile radius of his presence, and anyone's presence he was trying to kill.

"And so you're going to keep following me?" the Hunter nodded. Thinking about it, it couldn't be too bad having a Hunter around, especially if said Hunter wasn't trying to kill her. This would be the start of the third day she was traveling on her own; if the Hunter had said it right, he had been following and taking care of her since she was separated from the others. It would be a bit difficult getting used to his presence, but she didn't feel a need to not trust him.

She smiled at him. "I think it'd be better if you followed me where I could see you. I don't want to scare myself and accidentally shoot you."

The Hunter chuckled at this, his raspy voice making it sound like a cackle more than anything. So, she continued. "You wouldn't mind just staying with me instead of stalking me in the shadows, right?"

Her new ally grinned in response, lightly punching her shoulder. That was good enough to win her over, so she gave him a thumbs-up in response.

"So, what's your name anyway?" she asked. The Hunter paused for a moment before a series of growls and snarls came from his mouth. It took all of her willpower to not snicker at his attempts to speak – she even had to cough a bit to stifle a giggle, and even then she didn't know how long she would hold out before she busted out laughing. Finally, he huffed, walking over to a tree and scratching something into the bark. Gina followed him over, looking over his shoulder. It just looked like a bunch of lines to her.

"Maybe you should try writing in bigger letters…" she suggested, thinking more about his condition. The newscasters were saying that the outbreak was some sort of mutated form of Rabies. He kept his gross motor movement, that much was obvious, but since it was a disease of the central nervous system, would it make sense for him to lose his finer motor skills? It explained his inability to write and speak.

"Here, I have an idea…" in the end, Gina had written out all the letters of the alphabet, and had him point to the letters in order while she spelled out his name for him.

"So, your name is Aaren?" she asked, glancing up at him to make sure she spelled it right. He nodded, humming in approval, and she grinned. "It's a different way of spelling it, but I've always liked names that were exotically spelled. I'll come up with a nickname for you eventually."

Aaren snorted in amusement as Gina stood up, brushing her knees off and smirking at him with newly-found confidence. "Shall we get going then?"

The Hunter grinned in response, abruptly grabbing her wrist and half-throwing her onto his back.

"Wait, what the hell are you doing…? OH MY GOD!" her voice trailed off into a long scream of surprise as he took off into the swamp.

She would surely get used to Aaren… eventually.

A/N: I believe I did a good job steering this into another direction. Hopefully it'll become more original as time goes on. I enjoyed writing this chapter, though it was frustrating when I got stuck. My wonderful mom (a professional writer) helped me out, blessed her heart. Don't ask me when the next update will be, because I've been literally losing sleep working on this. Not to mention my work schedule sucks. But I'll work hard!