Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead 2 or its characters. I only own my OCs.
A/N: Hi, guys! Here we are with chapter three. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to everyone who's read this so far! Please feel free to review. It really does help me get an idea of what you guys think of my writing and stuff.
Happy reading!
~ Not So Forsaken ~
- Chapter Three -
The warm afternoon air hit the group of five again as they headed out of their current location and onto a walkway to try and find a way back to ground level.
They hoped that Coach was right and that the gun store was nearby because they didn't have that much ammo to spare and at least in a gun store, if it hadn't already been looted, they could get themselves a decent stockpile of bullets so that they had plenty in case of emergency. However, the concerns about ammo were about to be made worse as they looked out onto the road in front of them. It was packed with infected. There must've easily been fifty or sixty down there, if not more. Ellis gulped audibly.
"What the hell do we do about that?"
Julia looked ahead of her at the crowd and then her eyes trailed until she was leaning over the railing in front of her, looking at the massive gap beneath it. If they threw the bile bomb that Rochelle had under the walkway they were standing on, it would draw all the infected to the smell and give them the chance to escape with only having to kill the few that got in their way, instead of all of them.
"Maybe... If we use this?" She indicated Rochelle's bile bomb with a nervous smile, "We can throw it under this walkway and then make a run for those stairs. I assume that's where we're headed."
"That's not a bad idea at all, honey." Coach said with a small laugh, "We can get up those stairs and out of sight before the zombies know what's hit 'em."
"We might have to kill a few on the way but at least we save some ammo." Julia said softly, keeping her submachine gun held tightly in her hands, "We have to be fast if this is going to work."
"Alright, people, you heard the woman." Coach said quietly, accepting the bile bomb that Rochelle handed to him.
"We need to jump down from this truck and make a beeline for the stairs." Nick's voice was gruff, deep and quiet as he spoke, pointing ahead of himself, "But we'd better give this crowd a few seconds to disperse first. Let them beat the hell out of each other, and only shoot anything that's an imminent threat to you or someone else."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and Coach ushered the girls in front of him so that they could run first. Once he had the nod from the group that they were ready, Coach launched the bile bomb under the walkway, causing it to smash on the ground right next to a group of four infected. Immediately, the crowd ahead broke into a sprint towards the smell, completely ignoring the five survivors who were waiting with baited breath for their opening. A gap came within a few seconds, and Rochelle and Julia were first to leap down from the truck and break into a run. Nick and Coach stayed at the back, while Ellis ran in the middle, their eyes all scanning the area for any infected who hadn't made it to the horde yet.
"Keep moving!" Nick yelled from the back, watching the girls as they rushed up the steps.
They hurried across to head into the next building, suddenly finding themselves more anxious than ever to get out of the area. The second that bile bomb ran out of steam, the infected would probably be able to smell any remains of a scent that the five of them had left behind. Ellis' voice suddenly filled the quiet space, almost startling the two women at the front of the line.
"We're almost at that gun store, guys, I can feel it!" He shouted encouragingly, "Don't stop runnin'!"
Panting for breath, everyone hurried up the stairs, slowing to a jog at the top when it became apparent that Coach was having trouble keeping up. Ellis had overtaken the women by this point and was already sprinting towards the end of the walkway they were currently on. He stopped by the railing, looking down over the small space at the bottom of the next set of steps where he saw the sign for 'Whitaker's Gun Shop'. A huge, proud, yet relieved grin broke out onto his face. He couldn't wait to get a hold of a real weapon so he could show these zombified sons of bitches who was boss.
"We're here!" He yelled, "We found it!"
"Of course we found it, dumbass!" Nick called back, "You and Coach both led us here!"
Ellis pouted, which the girls found rather adorable, and glared at Nick with narrowed eyes, clearly quite offended that Nick had chosen to call him a dumbass. Julia reached Ellis first, stopping to catch her breath as the others arrived. She saw the look on Ellis' face; the dejection, the humiliation, the hint of anger. She'd felt like that numerous times during the course of her life and she knew how awful it was. So, she carefully reached out, trying to quell down the panic she suddenly felt at what Ellis' reaction might be to being suddenly touched by her, and she patted his shoulder awkwardly, smiling up at him with what she hoped was a reassuring expression.
"Don't listen to him." She said kindly, "He's just being a dick."
Another pang of momentary panic filled her at the thought of Nick overhearing her. She didn't know how he'd react to being called out like that. Kevin had never reacted well to being called out like that. She was suddenly blinded by flashes of her boyfriend's face as they filled her head, his angry, venomous, hateful glare and his snarling mouth as his fist pummelled her over... And over... And over. The pain... Oh, God, the pain. The blood, the bruises, the screams...
'I'll teach you to call me out in front of company, you pathetic, ugly little bitch!'
She suddenly took in a sharp, shaky breath, startling not only herself but Ellis as well as she brought herself back to the present day. Ellis didn't even have time to question if she was alright or not because the others had caught up already, and moved straight past them to head down the next set of stairs to get to the gun store. He watched worriedly as the redhead took another harsh breath before she set off after the others, not even pausing to explain what had just happened. She'd just completely zoned out right in front of him, if only for a few seconds, and she'd come back to reality like she was waking up from a nightmare or something. Ellis chewed his lower lip as he tried to think about what could have been going on with her, and joined the others as they quietly entered the gun store.
"Oh, sweet Jesus!" Rochelle exclaimed, gazing at the display of weaponry behind the counter in pure awe, "Look at all these guns!"
"I'm not legally allowed to own a gun..." Nick said, eyeing everyone else warily, "Hope everyone's okay with that..."
"Oh, shit, it's Christmas!" Ellis laughed excitedly, completely ignoring Nick's statement while running around the counter to look at the various weapons.
"Julia, I'm gonna load up this bag with lots and lots of ammo." Coach said, approaching the redhead who removed the bag to give it to him, "It's gonna be very heavy to carry, so do you mind if I take it?"
"Not at all." Julia replied softly, placing her crowbar on the counter, "Does someone else want that?"
"Hell, I'll take it." Ellis said with a grin, placing his pistols in their holsters, "Save us some handgun ammo."
Coach had chosen to take a combat shotgun, which was one of the most badass looking weapons that Julia had ever seen. Ellis grabbed himself a tactical shotgun, while Nick went for a very impressive looking sniper rifle. Rochelle and Julia were focussing at that time on the combat rifle that sat between two other assault rifles, the AK-47 and the M16, the two of those quickly becoming more appealing to them. Rochelle took an AK-47, and Julia, now the only one without a big gun, stepped forward and raised her hand to grab the M16.
"Hey, look! Laser sights!" Ellis laughed, pointing to a stack of the attachable items which sat on a crate nearby, "Oh, yeah!"
Everyone else moved to get a laser sight for their weapon, while Julia went back to studying the rack of weapons. She decided to go with her instinct and take the M16. It wasn't particularly heavy for her to carry, but then again, she wasn't that strong. Would she be able to cope with carrying this for long distances? Well. It wouldn't matter if she could. She'd have to. She'd simply have to learn to cope with it.
"Damn, Jules! Look at you with the assault rifle!" Ellis said brightly, "Here! I saved you a laser sight."
"Thanks, Ellis." Julia said quietly, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear, "Are we ready to move?"
"Yeah, let's go." Coach said, adjusting the bag on his shoulder before moving towards the door that would lead out of the back of the store.
Suddenly, however, all five of them were stopped in their tracks as the intercom by the door kicked into life, and an unfamiliar voice came through to them. Another survivor, of all things.
"Hello there. My name's Whitaker. I own this establishment." The voice said darkly, "Now, normally, when five bloodstained looters break into my store, I would shoot them where they stand."
At this threat, the group all looked at one another. The women looked somewhat nervous, Coach looked as calm and collected as could be expected given the threat they'd just heard, Ellis bit his lip with a hint of anxiety present on his youthful face, and Nick stood there with narrowed, focused eyes, almost as if he was ready to shoot this person as soon as he arrived to shoot them.
"But, you happen to have caught me at an opportune time..." Whitaker told them, instantly calming their nerves, "Take what weapons you need and come upstairs. I reckon we can come to an accordance."
With that, there was a buzzing sound followed by a click, which told them that the door had been unlocked remotely for them. They carefully opened the door and climbed the stairs, where they were met with another door and a loudspeaker, which suddenly blared out, causing Julia in particular to almost jump out of her skin.
"I'm guessing you five'd be heading to the mall for rescue. And I further guess you won't get there, as the road is blocked. I know because I watched CEDA block it." Whitaker told them, clearing his throat, "Now, I've barricaded myself on the roof with ample provisions. But in my haste, I forgot cola. So, here is my proposition... If you go find me some cola at yonder food store, I'll clear a path to the mall for you."
The five of them cast a brief glance across the way, spotting the store in question just on the other side of the parking lot they were looking over. The chances were that they were going to be walking into an alarmed building, which would, no doubt, bring them a hell of a lot of unwanted attention.
"I really hope he's not screwing with us." Julia muttered with a sigh, looking up in shock as she heard the loudspeaker kick into life again.
"I am a man of my word, ma'am. Procure my colas and I'll clear a path to the mall for you. The guns are on the house."
"Oh, God..." Julia murmured anxiously as the group set off walking, "How do you guys wanna do this? 'Cause I'll bet that this store is gonna have an alarm..."
"Well, how do you think we should do it, young 'un?" Coach asked, looking at her with those warm eyes of his, "I can see you got an idea goin' on in that smart little head of yours."
"I think... I think we should split into a team of two and a team of three." Julia began, feeling herself becoming a little more confident as she spoke, "Ellis and Rochelle are faster runners than the rest of us, so Ellis can cover Rochelle while she gets the cola. We wait out here and fend off the zombies until they can get past us and head towards Whitaker."
They broke into a jog, hurrying across the large parking lot towards the store entrance. It was eerily quiet out there at the point in time, but the five of them were all damn near certain that it wasn't going to stay that way for much longer, and God only knew how many zombies they were going to have to contend with if this place was indeed alarmed.
"Then, you, me and Nick are gonna follow them and between us, we'll all box Rochelle in so that she's protected." Julia continued, stopping outside the store doors, "That way, we can get both her and the cola to Whitaker in one piece. Ellis, you might wanna give Nick your Molotov. We can create a wall of fire between us and the zombies."
Ellis handed the conman his Molotov cocktail, and Nick pocketed it, looking to the group as they caught their breath. The girl's plan made a lot of sense, especially the part about forming a protective wall around Rochelle, who would be more vulnerable because she'd only have, at the most, one hand free to shoot with. It was actually a very good plan for one that had been thought up in a matter of minutes, not that Nick would ever say so.
"We all agree with Julia's plan?" He asked, and as the group nodded in response to his question, he got out his lighter, and prepared to light the Molotov, "Go."
Ellis and Rochelle shoved the doors to the store open, and sure enough, an alarm started blaring loudly across the empty space in front of them. They headed into the dark store with the ringing of the alarm in their ears, and high above Nick, Coach and Julia, an inhuman scream echoed through the air, which Nick took as a signal to light the Molotov. Seconds later, Ellis and Rochelle returned as zombies started to pour in from the group's right.
"Alright! We got the dude's cola!" Ellis yelled, "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!"
Nick launched the Molotov towards the oncoming zombies and turned to join the others in the run towards Whitaker. He moved to Rochelle's right, as every other position was taken, and then joined in with the others as they started to shoot the infected that were running towards them from the direction from the store. The zombies that had been coming from the right of the store were currently burning to death, but now, the group had nothing to use that could distract any others that might come their way.
A sudden squealing noise caught their attention, and within seconds, the five of them were confronted with a tall female infected, who was frothing luminous green liquid from her horrifically sore-looking, malformed mouth. Her build was unusual, thin in some areas and rounder in others, her grey skin clad in leggings and a disgustingly filthy bra.
"What the hell is that?!" Julia shrieked, opening fire at the running zombie.
"SPITTER!" Nick yelled, his eyes widening as he heard the familiar hacking sound, followed by the sound of her spitting.
He grabbed Rochelle by the arm and tugged her out of the way, Ellis managed to run past the point where the pool of liquid was going to land, and Coach quickly scooped Julia around her midsection and hauled her back to avoid the goo-like substance which splattered on the floor and pooled out in front of them. The Spitter screamed as Ellis shot her in the head with his tactical shotgun, and she fell into a heap on the ground, the remainder of the substance spilling around her.
"Bitch spits this acid stuff that burns. A lot." Coach said to the young woman still in his arms, who was panting from the shock of being hauled backwards, "Sorry for grabbin' you like that, Julia."
"No, really, thanks for getting me out of the way." Julia said with a soft laugh, "You can put me down now, though."
Coach chuckled and set the young woman down on her sneaker-clad feet, ruffling her short hair playfully. The pool of acid melted away, leaving nothing but a wet patch on the concrete where it had just been, which Julia still decided to avoid since she didn't know if there were still traces of the acid stuff left. The last thing she wanted was to ruin her shoes. Ellis yelled at them to move, and Rochelle took the lead this time, rushing towards Whitaker's door with the cola still held in her hands. As a zombie ran at her from the downstairs part of Whitaker's store, she swung the boxed up cola at its head, knocking it to the floor so that Ellis could shoot it dead.
"There's my cola!" Whitaker cried through the loudspeaker, "Quick! Put it in the box!"
A hatch on the bottom half of the door opened up, and Rochelle quickly fed the cola into it, taking her AK-47 back into her hands to attack any oncoming infected. The whooshing sound that caught the group's ears caused them all to look towards the barricade that was blocking them from reaching the mall, and it suddenly exploded which brought smiles to each of their faces. Indeed, Whitaker had kept his word. Coach let out a celebratory laugh and called out to Whitaker, hoping that the store owner could hear him.
"Enjoy that cola, man! Thanks for the guns!"
"Good luck to ya, gang! God watch over ya!" Whitaker replied, and with that, the five survivors turned on their heels and set off walking back in the direction they'd just come to cross over that destroyed barricade, which was now just a smoking pile of rubble.
As they headed down the stairs, the group walked silently, with Coach at the front again, Rochelle and Ellis in the middle and Nick and Julia at the back. Nick studied Julia once more, for the third time since they'd met. Her open green hoodie and her white t-shirt were now splattered with blood and dirt, her curled hair was messy, her forehead was coated with a sheen of sweat, and her face seemed to have gained a small bruise under her right eye at some point. She was tougher than he gave her credit for, and she'd done well. Much better than he'd ever thought she would anyway. Her plan had worked, no-one had gotten hurt except the zombies, and they'd managed to keep Rochelle and Whitaker's cola safe too.
"Thanks for having faith in my plan, Nick."
He wasn't prepared for her to talk to him. She seemed so jumpy that he'd hoped his cold demeanour would've put her off trying to start any kind of conversation with him. He didn't even really know how to respond to her thanking him like that, and it freaked him out that she'd just happened to bring this up when he'd been thinking about it. Regardless, he'd already thought of an answer to shut her up. The last thing he wanted was any of the people he was currently with starting to think of him as a friend, or something ridiculous like that.
"Well. It seemed logical enough." He answered, clearing his throat, "We didn't really have time to come up with anything better."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her look away with... Was that dejection? Good. Might stop her from trying to talk to him again. He didn't want to get into any kind of conversations with any of them since he was hoping to leave them soon. He took the opportunity to walk in front, leaving Julia to walk on her own at the back of the group. Rochelle looked over her shoulder as she saw Nick striding away, wondering what had just transpired between him and Julia. She waited patiently for Julia to catch up, and when Nick got far enough ahead, Rochelle turned to the young woman with concern.
"Are you okay?" She asked quietly, "What did he just say to you?"
"Oh, nothing." Julia replied, smiling weakly at Rochelle, "I was just thinking about how nice it's gonna be to get outta here."
"Amen to that, sister." Rochelle chuckled, "CEDA had better be in that mall. I don't wanna be stuck here for another minute."
They found themselves walking into the mall's parking lot, and as Coach announced that he could see the mall, Ellis suddenly broke into an excited babble, which earned a very loud groan of irritation from Nick, and Julia couldn't help but notice Rochelle rolling her eyes too as Ellis started to tell his story. She realised that he must've done this a few times already and that the others didn't want to listen to him.
"Oh, man, I love malls! I do. Once, I was in this mall, up in Atlanta, and these guys were dancing for like money and stuff and my friend Dave and I was all..."
"Ellis, we don't have time for this!" Nick snapped, causing Ellis to shrink back slightly.
"O-Okay..."
Julia bit her lip, an awful feeling of pity and embarrassment for the young man welling in her stomach as she watched his face turn pink. She looked at Rochelle and nodded for her to walk in front, and thankfully, the older woman understood what she was intending to do.
"Hey, Ellis?" Julia said softly, "Come and tell me... I wanna hear what happened to you and your buddy."
Ellis slowed down to walk with her, offering her a weak, but grateful smile. None of the others seemed to want him to finish anything he was saying and it felt almost like he was just some outsider... A kid amongst the adults. Yeah, he knew he was somewhat immature and childish, but he just wanted to have a bit of conversation so he could take his mind off the shit that was going on around them. He didn't want to think about what had actually happened to the people he loved and cared about thanks to this Green Flu, and talking ensured that he didn't.
"Nah, it's okay... I know you're just tryin' to be nice." He said, "Oh, I wanted to ask... How old are ya?"
Rochelle spun around at the question with a shocked and somewhat offended look on her face, staring back at Ellis in disbelief. She had to wonder how that boy had been raised if he thought it was in any way polite to ask a question like that.
"Ellis!" She scolded him harshly, "You can't ask a lady that!"
Poor Ellis. He looked so helpless and so awkward like he just couldn't do anything right to please anybody. Julia rolled her eyes and shook her head before protesting to Rochelle that she was perfectly fine with Ellis asking that question. She felt so sorry for him. Everyone seemed to have gotten at him at some point over the past thirty minutes.
"I'm twenty-one."
"Damn, you don't say!" Ellis smiled cheerfully at her, his prior upset seemingly forgotten, "I thought you were younger than that. Eighteen at the most."
"Aww, that's sweet, Ellis. Thanks." Julia replied warmly, "And what about you? I'd put you at my age."
"Aww, shucks..." Ellis said, rubbing the back of his neck shyly, "I-I'm twenty-three."
"Damn, twenty-one and twenty-three." Coach laughed loudly as they moved through the mall's parking lot, "What I wouldn't give to be that age again."
"Why, Coach, how old are you?" Ellis asked innocently.
"Forty-four." Coach answered, looking across slyly at Nick, "What about you, Nicolas?"
"Thirty-five." Nick replied, clearing his throat and looking in another direction, "Rochelle?"
Rochelle was silent for a moment, but after considering that everyone else had just revealed their ages, she saw no reason why she should keep hers a secret. She wasn't as young as Ellis but she wasn't as old as Nick, and what did it matter in the end anyway? The world had fallen apart around them, they were more focused on trying to stay alive and be rescued than anything else, and the only person who'd probably tease her about her age in this group had no place to do so.
"Twenty-nine." She finally said, hearing Coach let out another reminiscent sigh.
"Oh, little sister, what I wouldn't give to be twenty-nine again." He laughed, "You don't look a day past twenty-four."
She found herself blushing at that comment.
"Why, thank you, Coach."
The sound of pounding feet and growls suddenly brought the slightly jovial exchange to an end. Ellis and Julia looked behind themselves, only to find a horde of what had to be at least a hundred infected pouring towards them from all directions. Without a word exchanged between them, the five survivors sprinted like hell towards the waiting mall. Ellis and Julia turned around, running backwards and shooting to try and eliminate some of the oncoming horde. The bullets started to shred through some of the infected, but it just didn't seem to be doing much good.
"Safe room in the mall!" Nick yelled, "Keep running!"
He and Coach got inside first, and they immediately went to remove the items blocking the opposite door so that they could barricade this one as soon as the others were inside. Rochelle came in next, followed by Julia, and then Ellis, who slammed the door behind him and held it shut, reaching to the left of it to grab the metal bar that sat there before slotting it into place. Julia and Rochelle moved to help barricade the door they'd just come through and within a few minutes, the door was completely hidden from their view. The zombies outside were pounding on the door, desperately trying to get in, but the steel door and the mountain of items piled up against it were more than enough to keep them out. Julia found herself moving closer to Ellis out of instinct when the pounding and growling seemed to grow louder, so, sensing her anxiety, the young man placed a calloused hand on her hoodie-covered back, trying to be reassuring.
"Don't worry none..." He said quietly, "They ain't gonna be able to get in."
Julia actually found that Ellis made her feel a little more comfortable than she had been around men in a long time. Perhaps it was his sweet, innocent manner that eased her fears. She could just tell that he'd have trouble raising his hand to anyone unless his own life or someone else's was in danger. After a quick reload of everyone's weapons, they gathered in the centre of the safe room to discuss what to do next.
"Everybody, gather 'round. Let's pray." Coach said, placing his hands together.
Rochelle, Ellis and Julia all looked at each other, trying to decide whether or not to join Coach in a prayer. Rochelle wasn't religious, and even though Julia's mother had been, she herself wasn't. Ellis' mother was also religious and Ellis had gone to church a lot as a young boy, but he hadn't prayed for a long time. He didn't think it'd hurt to join in out of respect for Coach, and neither did Julia or Rochelle. Nick, on the other hand, was standing with his back to the wall of the safe room near the exit door, his arms folded, his foot resting against the wall and his expression cold. As Rochelle, Ellis and Julia gathered around the larger man, they placed their hands together, bowed their heads respectfully and closed their eyes, while Nick simply rolled his eyes for what must've been the fiftieth time that day and shook his head in amusement.
"Dear Lord, see us safely through our time of trial in this mall. And please, Lord... let the food court be okay."
"Amen." Ellis, Rochelle and Julia all ended the prayer in unison, hoping to move on and to the evacuation centre as soon as possible.
"Alright, can we get moving?" Nick asked, lifting the bar off the safe room exit door.
And with that, everyone readied their weapons and headed out of the safe room into the creepily dark mall, where God only knew what was waiting for them...
~ To Be Continued ~
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please don't forget to review!
Thanks for reading so far.
