Usual disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead 2, it belongs to Valve. Sad, sad. I own the OC's though...except for Keith. That sucks too. Oh well, R&R.
Isabelle was sure she was hearing things.
Hearing a melody in her head was one thing. But hearing it actually coming from around her was another, much less from a man. Well, it was necessarily a melody being sung, but it was rather an entertaining song being preformed by devote fan.
"Every lady's crazy when her daddy's not around!"
The paramedic could count that as the truth, she was crazy without a male authority figure in her life. Jesse didn't quite count, and Granddad was in another state up north.
She slowly opened her lid and the first thing to want to make itself noticeable was a blue cap. She gave a little noise of discomfort after feeling the sting in her arm, from where the Spitter—Janelle had burned her. She also noticed that her back was no longer hurting as much as before, it was still sore to the touch but not as much as it was when she had walked here. Finally, her ear wound seemed to have soothed out into little stings much like her arm. By looking down at herself she noticed someone had taken care of her.
"Ro patched you up," a seemingly familiar southern accent said as she lifted herself carefully into a seated position. "The others…" Ellis trailed off with a small snort of annoyance. "Went to scavenge around ahead for some supplies and food…near Jimmy Gibbs stock car… How are ya feeling Ms. Belle?"
She gave the boy a small smile, "Izzy is fine, remember? But I'm feeling way better than I did before…how long was I out?"
"Oh for 'bout two and half hours, no biggie." Ellis answered.
"Mmm," Isabelle hummed before placing her hands on the floor and preparing to stand up. As she did she felt a sudden rush of dizziness claim her before falling against the wall, getting up head down first seemed to have triggered it.
Alright, I don't have a fever.
She placed two fingers along her jugular feeling her pulse.
Pulse is normal.
Ellis watched with curiosity as she continued to check herself; she then asked him to give her a description of her face. The boy replied with a blush before describing her features in long and clear details.
"No," she stopped him. "Am I pale? Sweaty? Those kinds of things."
"Oh, well no ma'am. You look as healthy as you should be, I gotta say though…Keith sure was worried." Her smile stayed intact as she peeled open the bandage on her arm, upon seeing a red swollen patch of burned flesh she immediately left the bandage alone. "You okay?" Ellis asked suddenly as he saw her sway a bit on her feet.
"Keith was worried?" she questioned with true curiosity as the southerner nodded his head with a small smile. Even though it was small, it managed to make Isabelle feel relaxed and comfortable. Out of the survivors her and her team had met up with, Ellis was the easiest to be around.
"Yes ma'am! He didn't wanna leave with the others…but I promised him I would take care of ya. They should be coming back soon though." His eyes drifted towards the red steel door with a light expression on his face.
"What about…"Isabelle trailed off with hesitance, did she really want to know if he was upset with her? At the sound of her not continuing, the boy turned back to her with a questioning look as he took a seat on the box. "What about Nicolas?"
Ellis's face was still confused for a split second before he shot his eyebrows up in realization, "Oh! Ya mean Nick?" she nodded with a smile of her own. "Yeah he was cool when he left…but um…he didn't really say much more after you both came in. Just grumbled on about how pains in the asses' women were. " he finished with a shrug as he slammed a clip into his pistol.
"Yeah well he's no freakin' Saint."
Ellis chuckled in agreement.
"There's nothing here besides a goddamn car." Nick complained to his fellow survivors as they dug around the abandoned mall. Coach had found some medical kits that would come in handy as Rochelle had come across bottles of pills on the second level; she had heard the conman complaining but had merely shut him out.
Keith glanced at Nick as he rummaged through the carts before turning towards Doc, "What do ya think are our chances Doc?"
"Of getting out of here or surviving?"
"Well…survivin'."
Doc turned to look at the young man before giving a deep sigh, "Now is a fine time to start acting negative Keith."
"Well I can't really help it, I saw one of the guys at the shop get…turned." Nick cocked his head behind him as he continued to eavesdrop on the conversation between the cop and the southerner. He knew it shouldn't have interested him in any way but at the sudden mention of survival, it began to stir Nick's own feelings on the subject.
"And you think one of us is gonna end up turning next?" Doc questioned as Keith diverted his eyes. "Listen son, we're all immune here every single one of us, so don't start thinking negative now ok? I mean…not everyone is immune but…well…my daughter wasn't immune. And I had to shoot her." Nick was amazed by the bluntness of Doc's tone, but then again his words weren't supposed to affect the gambler like this.
"Come on Doc! You saw how Izzy was-"
"And she's alright," Doc turned on him. "Hell she only got bitten by a Jumping bastard, and besides if she were to turn we would have seen it by now. Isabelle is gonna be okay son, just like us."
Keith gave a curt nod but his face held a different feeling, the gambler couldn't quite decipher it but if he had to choose it would've been hopelessness. Nick turned back to his own agenda as he discarded the zombie he was about to loot; instead he dragged his feet over to his female comrade to see how she was handling.
Rochelle picked up her head as her brown eyes studied the way Nick was looking right about now, a sigh escaped her lips before she placed a hand on her hip. "Well?"
He met eye contact with her briefly before glaring at the stock car, "Nothing."
"Well…" she tossed him a bottle of pills as he caught it in midair. "Those should help. You look like hell."
"You're too kind," he replied sarcastically before catching a glimpse of blonde hair coming up from behind Rochelle.
"Believe it or not, I found a pile of ammunition back there," Mike said before hooking his thumb towards the lone security cart at the far end of the mall near a staircase. "As well as an axe." He gave a pat towards the large weapon that was strapped securely on his back.
The woman gave a smile towards him before grabbing her rifle off the floor, "Let's pack it up and head back up to Ellis and Isabelle."
"Sounds like a good idea," the criminal paid no mind to Nick. Ever since the incident back in the safe room the two acted as if the other didn't exist. To Nick though, it couldn't have been better. He was sick of looking at the guy's face let alone his attitude, but the one thing that made Nick actually want to kill him was for his over protectiveness of Isabelle. He knew he shouldn't have cared, he knew he should just say 'screw it' and let him have her. But it wasn't about that, it was the fact that ultimately deep down…in a small crevice of his heart…he still cared for her.
"Nick," His eyes snapped to over to see that Coach had said his name. "We're gonna go back up now."
"And?" Coach shifted his weight to the other foot. The others made movements of discomfort as well, all except for Mike who remained impassive. Nick sent a dark look to them all and made sure to stop long enough for Mike to have no choice but to look at him, and when he did he mirrored Nick's expression. "So everyone is just gonna be uncomfortable because me and Isabelle had a feud? That's our business and it doesn't involve you."
"Oh I am so sick of hearing that," Mike spat disregarding the silent rule of not talking with him.
"He has a point Michael," Doc said turning to the young man. "It's not our business, so drop it."
Mike opened his mouth to protest against that but Doc had shot him an intense look, one that made him close his mouth reluctantly. With no more words exchanged, Nick turned on his heel and walked over to the staircase.
Isabelle listened with true enthusiasm at the many tall tales that Ellis had of Keith, one from him burning himself or the one of when the cops had bombed him while he was perched on a building. Either way it served to entertain her as they waited for the others to come back.
"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-"
"Wait a sec, this isn't about Keith anymore?"
"Oh it gets much more entertain' I promise."
"Lead on."
The door opened to reveal Rochelle as she sent a gentle smile their way, "We found a way to get out of here…but we need your guys' hand in this."
"What's the plan?"
"We need to fill up-"
"Oh man," Ellis suddenly stood up as the girls watched him. "We are gonna fill up…'s car? This is the best day of ma life!"
"Yeah…" Isabelle started as she got up as well. Slinging her medical pack over her shoulder, she grabbed her shotgun in her other hand. "Let's get going then."
Ellis gave a nod and his mood seemed to be in much higher spirits than before, as he walked past Ro Isabelle followed suit before the woman stopped her. "How are you doing Izzy?"
She blinked before shrugging her shoulder, "I'm doing better than I was two and half hours ago."
Rochelle seemed to take in her words before agreeing to accept her answer, "It's just that…I know you and Nick are in a bind right now…but it's okay. I'm here if you ever need to talk."
Isabelle licked her bottom lip before nodding her head, "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."
The women followed Ellis back over to the elevator where the others were waiting; upon entering she felt the sudden danger lurking in the air. Sapphire eyes shot towards Nicolas and Michael and caught up on the intensity of bitterness around the two dangerous men. In the moment as the elevator descended downwards she caught the shared looks between them; Nicolas's green eyes scanned the criminal from head to toe in quiet disgust as Michael glared at the conman with much stored hatred.
"I hate your British accent."
"I hate your suit."
"I hate your blonde hair!"
"I hate your slicked back hair style! Trying to copy Uncle Jesse from Full House are ya?"
"Aw, you like that show? What else do you like? How about the Golden Girls?"
"Fuck you suit."
"Yeah? Fuck you leather, go join the parade."
"Boys!" Rochelle snapped. "Enough! Quit your bullshit!" the young woman's voice seized their taunts as they turned away from each other. Isabelle smiled at their antics, realizing that they were the same in personality as well as everything else.
Score one for me Isabelle, you lose again.
Closed eyes and regulated breathing causes Isabelle to bite her lip from reaching her breaking point, how could her cousin affect her in such a way?
Remember Izzy, your better than her in every way. She gave up her dignity, you didn't.
Jesse's voice lingered in her mind as she felt grief begin to overwhelm her; he was gone just like that. Warned her about the—
Isabelle! I don't have time to explain! Just get out of the city! Now!
--the infection. No explanation, no time for concern, just a quick command to get out of the city. Everyone in her life seemed to be giving her commands; her parents, Jesse, Granddad, Janelle…and even Nicolas. She cocked her head to the side watching him peer out of the glass windows of the elevator, she knew that Coach was talking but she wasn't listening.
Everything about him seemed to egg her on to want to do something, now she was berating herself for thinking that they could've reconciled their problems. Not anymore. Isabelle folded her arms and pretended to pay Coach some mind, but deep down her heart was beginning to make her feel what she didn't want to. What she had closed herself off to prevent from feeling. For two years now she had closed off her feelings for that sole purpose of never experiencing any emotion ever again.
But somehow during those 24 months it was hard too, especially on the job.
The elevator ride seemed to slow down and somehow it became stuck before landing on the first floor, Coach gave a loud curse as Doc moved towards the control panel at the corner. Rochelle watched while Ellis and Keith began talking in hushed voices about the whereabouts of Jimmy Gibbs Jr. Mike and Nick however continued to ignore each other; this was the perfect time for her to reminisce on the dark past.
Isabelle remembered the little girl that had dialed 911; she had remembered her pink floral dress stained with blotches of blood as well as her face. When she and Spencer (her partner at the time) had driven up to the house, Isabelle found the girl sitting on the steps outside. Her hair a disarray of matted golden locks pressed firmly to her forehead…then she had doubled over and landed on her belly. The wife of Nicolas had rushed over to her in a furry of a blue as she picked her up and cradled the young girl in her arms…from there her body began jerking and pulling off into painful directions.
"Spencer! She's going through cardiac arrest!"
Isabelle's fingers curled around her shotgun tightly as those deadly emotions began rising to the surface, her lower lip trembled as she fought the tears. But the memories pushed through with much force, and brutally they began to assault her mind and heart. She remembered how her hands automatically pumped the little girl's chest and she didn't slow her movements until she began breathing again. She had left the defib unit in the ambulance but Isabelle didn't want to leave her.
"Come on…come on!"
Only when Spencer had placed a gentle but firm hand on Isabelle's shoulder, did she know she had failed. The young girl had died. Isabelle didn't know it at the time, but she had been crying and after this she decided that those weaknesses weren't going to tie her down. This was when Isabelle had slowly begun to change to the woman that Nicolas had unknowingly molded.
Cold, detached, and spared no sympathy.
"Alright," Doc announced before pressing the button again. The elevator moved with life as it finally descended down towards it pathway again. When Nick had torn his eyes away from the glass, they automatically landed on Isabelle. The metal doors opened and all but she and him stepped out, as Nick moved towards the exit he turned to look at her with narrowed unwavering cold eyes.
"You coming or not?"
Isabelle's own bitter blue eyes turned to him slowly as did her head, her firm grip on the shotgun kept her knuckles as white as his suit. She stepped forward and gave him the impression that she was going to talk back, but what she did was unexpected.
The ex-wife balled her left hand into a fist and gave him a swift punch in the abdomen. The blow itself caused her ex-husband to double over and intake a much needed breath as Isabelle smiled in satisfaction before stepping off the elevator and disregarded him.