A/N: Sorry I haven't wrote anything in a while, guys! I'm going to get back into the swing of it. I'm really proud of this story, no matter what the flamers say! Bwaahaha! Yes, there IS time to have a romance. We'll see more love bloom as we go on between my two favorite survivors…and perhaps a bizarre romance between another survivor and…something else? Read on and see! By the way, keep in mind the opening scene from the game Left 4 Dead, where the survivors are first seen. They reference it a lot in this chapter.

"Holy sh-" Francis started, but was cut off by the shriek and cries of the oncoming hoard. Men, women, and children ran down the hallway with their yellow eyes and green skin. Zoey looked down the barrel of her gun and began to fire off rounds into whatever was closest. She felt the comforting wall behind her and was reassured nothing could break it down.

That's when she fell backwards.

"Oh my GOD!" she yelled out, hitting the hard cement floor. As if the concussion she had received wasn't enough, now there were zombies looming above her, kicking and punching her. With each blow she let out a small cry of help, and each cry got quieter and quieter.

"ZOEY!" yelled out Francis, running at her. She watched as he shot off the zombies above her and then took her into his arms. She began to shoot at approaching zombies even in his arms. Blood painted the walls of the hallways and even in the smashed-in wall where Zoey had fallen.

"Thanks, Francis," she said breathlessly. Not only was she in severe pain, she felt the bulge of his muscles under her. They were hard and frighteningly strong as steel. "I gotta…get…a health…pack…"

"Hold on!" he yelled, finally seeing the elevator door open. He was the first to jump in with Louis and Bill close behind. They shut the door as quickly as they could and let out a huge sigh of relief. Francis looked down at Zoey and, realizing how close they actually were, put her gently on the ground, embarrassed.

"Here, I got an extra," Bill said, walking up to her and beginning to patch her up. "You gotta be more careful; that was the last one." Zoey nodded sadly.

"I'm…really sorry."

"Hell, that isn't your fault. We didn't know they could break through drywall," Francis said. Zoey coughed and sighed, enjoying the feeling of being healed. Plus she was still staring at Francis. He was loading his gun and she was mesmerized by the quick movements as he put each bullet into it. He looked up at her and raised an eyebrow.

"See something you like?" he asked. Zoey blushed and shook her head.

"Not you, if that's what you mean," she quickly retorted. She hated being in the spotlight, and now all the survivors were looking at her.

"Now c'mon guys, no fighting," Louis said. "We have to be careful; this top level is gonna be hell and back."

"What do you know, son?" Bill questioned. "It could be quiet as hell up there!"

"You know, hell probably isn't that quiet…," Francis added with a chuckle.

"You know what I mean."

"I'm just saying, we have to watch where we're stepping. Zoey almost got killed back there. No backs to the walls, if anything, backs to each other," Louis said.

"Right," Zoey nodded. She looked around the walls of the elevator, which were surprisingly white and cleanly. Then again, what zombie would have a need for an elevator, really? But still, there was no writing. Her eyes wandered upward towards the open hole in the top, and the steel wire that was guiding them towards the top level. It was scarily rusted, and creaked with each level they raised.

"Geez, how long does it take to get up there?" Francis asked.

"Long enough. Just look at that wire," Zoey answered. He looked up and saw it too.

"Great. We're going to die not by zombies, but by a fucking elevator."

"Well, it's better than being beat to death by a witch," Louis added, recalling his first encounter with the scary monstrous lady.

"Right."

"Now, at this top level there's a radio," Bill said, lighting up another cigar. "I know that because this hospital was built in the 40s and I had to install it back in my technician days."

"Wow, that was a long time ago, huh pops?" Francis asked.

"Shut your fucking mouth," Bill quickly said, shutting up Francis. "Anyways, we may be able to make radio contact with that helicopter that flew by on that building we started from."

"Hopefully," Zoey muttered.

"Back in the day we had a strategy called 'Zombie Nazi'. This is really gonna work, guys. Once we get up…," Bill started to explain, but Zoey tuned herself out quickly. There was enough strategy talk to start their own video game. She sat down in a corner of the elevator, feeling the whirr of the elevator heading upwards. It really was taking it's time; what was the matter with this thing? She looked up again to see the wires covered in vomit. Naturally, zombie vomit.

"That's nasty," she noted. The guys looked upward to see it…and that's when they heard the screeches. The elevator halted to a quick stop, letting out a small 'ding'.

"Don't let those doors open yet," Francis said. Louis reached forward and held down the 'close' button. Zoey's eyes wandered over to Francis, who was looking at her in a strange way. He nodded and even smiled a little. She counted this as a blessing and readied herself, standing directly in front of the metallic hunk of a doorway.

"Here we go….again," Zoey muttered, pointing her pistol to the eminent doom that awaited them.