===Disclaimer: If I ever claim ownership of the Left 4 Dead series, a Hunter will rip out my intestines. At least, that's what I assume. But just to be safe, I will say that I don't own it.===

Chapter 2: Heading Out

"Where did these all come from?!" The four survivors ran down the alley that the newest member had told them he saw a safe house in. But now a horde of infected were attacking from every direction. "I was just down here a few minutes ago! There weren't any more zombies left!"

"They do that," Jack grunted as he slammed his elbow into a snarling face. "Heads up! More coming down!" A mass of infected began to fall from the roofs of the buildings that bordered the alley. Everyone tried to stay out of their way, not wanting to be knocked down by a falling zombie. Then a loud moaning roar sounded. Suddenly, many of the infected were sent into the air as one of the large-armed creatures ran quickly through them. The survivors immediately backed against the wall to avoid the beast, Helen pulling back a hesitating Tony.

"Shoot it!" Christine shouted after it had passed. The bulky infected attempted to turn around, but the gunfire kept causing it to twitch. After enough shooting, the monster finally fell to the ground. "I fucking hate those things," Christine commented once it was dead.

"No need for the language, sweetie," Helen chided the girl. "At least that thing got the rest of 'em out of our way."

"We should decide on a name for those things when we get into some shelter," Jack suggested. "They're too fast to try and describe them every time." The rest reloaded the last of their ammunition into their weapons before they all continued onward.

It wasn't much longer until they spotted the strong metal door that all good saferooms should have. They hurried into the safety of the room and shut the door tight behind them. Helen and Jack pushed a heavy desk in front of the door for extra security, then finally sat down to take a breather.

"Nice! There's a whole pile of ammo over here," Christine pointed out with uncharacteristic excitement as she checked around the room.

"And some guns back here," Tony added.

"Good. We could use more firepower," Jack stated. "Gotta make sure we grab them before we leave." Everyone decided to just relax for the time being. They were all worn out and tired.

"So... some pretty crazy stuff goin' on now, eh guys?" Tony's cheery attitude really seemed out of place in the kind of world they were all currently living in.

"You really aren't fazed much by this virus's effect on the world, are you?" Christine asked him. The slightly older boy just shrugged.

"What's to be scared of? They're just a bunch of rotting corpses." Jack shook his head at the boy's ignorance. "I mean, sure, some of them have big claws or giant arms. But -..."

"They're not undead shufflers from the movies, kid," Jack told him. "They're still living human beings. They were all normal people that you or I would regularly have lived alongside, worked with, or helped out." Tony seemed bothered now.

"I don't know what kind of twisted sickness this is," Helen picked up the explanation, "but whatever it is, it completely changes a person. Maybe not always in a noticeably physical way, but definitely in their mind." She recalled when the virus hit her town, and when she came home to get her family and escape with them. She remembered stepping into the house, shouting for her husband and young son. And she remembered seeing the mutilated corpse of her child being torn apart by her infected husband. "It changes them to a point where they lose all trace of humanity..."

"All of my friends from school got sick," Christine shared. "It was like they were just a bunch of bloodthirsty animals. When my sister and I were hiding out in our house, she even told me that she'd rather die than become like that. And when she turned, I had no choice but to satisfy her request..." She wiped a tear from her eye. She angrily sobbed, "This shit is just plain fucked up."

"I'm sorry...," Tony apologized. "I had no idea what they really were..."

"It's okay, kid," Jack said. "Not a lot do, and not a lot care anyway. They might as well be zombies now. No need to regret killing them."

"That's right," Helen agreed as she patted Christine on the shoulder. "Death would be better for them than allowing their tormented souls to continue living in the horrific state they've been forced into." Everyone was silent as they thought about the nightmare the world has become.

"Let's get some sleep," Jack suggested. The others were just as willing to get some shut-eye, so they all double-checked the doors and went to bed.

"Ow!" Tony shouted as he rubbed his knee after banging it into a table. A single infected ran out of a nearby doorway and lunged at him. It was hit between the eyes with a bullet and fell to the floor.

"Do you have to make so much noise?" Jack whispered as he lowered his pistol.

"Sorry," Tony quietly apologized, "but it's just so dark in here. Can't we tear off some of these boards, let some light in?"

"We don't have time to uncover the windows," Jack responded.

"Besides, that Witch is still out there somewhere," Christine pointed out. They all listened and heard the distinct sobbing of the fearful creature through the walls of the building. "Unless you got a death wish, I don't think we should let her know we're here."

"If we can find roof access, we can probably stick up high for a while," Jack said. "I caught a glimpse of a few makeshift bridges up there last night; looks like somebody else had the same idea."

The four survivors cautiously opened the apartment door and checked outside. Much to their relief, the hallway was clear of zombies. Tony stepped over to another apartment and looked at the door.

"You guys notice that there isn't any of those CEDA posters in this place?"

"So they didn't get to this building before they had to pull out," Christine said. "So what?"

"No, I mean the whole city. I've been wandering around for a couple'a days, and I haven't seen any posters."

"CEDA stinks at doing their job," Jack criticized. "It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of towns got hit without being prepared. ...Dammit, elevator's busted."

"Yeah, I guess," Tony admitted as they all moved toward the stairwell. "Just seems kinda strange is all..."

----

Soon, the four of them were up on the roof. A small group of infected stumbled around in the daylight, but they were quickly taken care of.

"See? I told you I saw some bridges." Jack climbed up and took a step onto one of the planks. It felt sturdy enough, so he carefully walked across to the other rooftop. Helen tossed her shotgun over and Jack caught it. She climbed up as well and inched her way over.

"Phew," she sighed with relief once she was across. "Me and heights do not mix well."

"Then you're in luck," Jack teased. "Only a dozen or so more to go." Helen retrieved her weapon and butted him with it lightly.

"Ladies first," Tony offered, to which Christine rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she muttered as she prepared to cross the gap. When she had only gotten halfway, a raspy shriek rang out from the roof of another building. She soon found herself ensnared by a disgusting, slimy appendage. A quick tug pulled her off the bridge and left her dangling over the alley below.

"Christine!" the others all shouted. Tony raised his hunting rifle and took aim at the head of the smoking zombie that had grabbed her. He squeezed the trigger, but his shot went askew as his arm was bumped by something. He immediately looked down and spotted a shoe lying on the ground at his feet. He looked to the other roof and saw that Jack had just thrown it.

"Don't shoot it! She'll drop!" he warned. Tony lowered his weapon.

"Then what do we do?" Jack couldn't find an answer, but Helen was already on the move. She climbed onto another wooden bridge and ran to another rooftop. And from there, she did the same, and then again until she was on the roof with the coughing creature. She wrapped her strong arms around the infected's waist and pulled hard on it. The long-tongued monstrosity flailed its arms as it began to move backward, but it refused to let go of its prey. Jack came up behind Helen and helped her pull.

"Ungh... I... I got the ledge," Christine uttered as she struggled to keep her grip on the roof. Tony lifted his gun again and aimed carefully, then took another shot. This time it hit its mark: the tongue that extended from the creature's mouth. It broke and Christine managed to pull herself up with Jack's assistance. When she was safe, Helen lifted her arms up to the thing's head and twisted as hard as she could. The zombie coughed up a cloud of thick smoke as its neck snapped, leaving everyone on that rooftop coughing themselves.

The other three regrouped with Tony and made sure that Christine was alright. She had dropped her submachine gun when she got snatched, but other than a few aches, she was fine.

"Then let's get going," Jack said. "The sooner we can get off these roofs, the better."

A/N: Not really sure if anyone's reading this or not. But if there are readers, then I apologize for taking so long to update. Working on more than one story at a time results in me getting more ideas for one than the other. I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner.