Sorry for the wait. I'm not gonna lie to what readers I have, I lost interest. It's back though. Do I need to say that I don't own anything but Serene? Well… I don't. You wouldn't play Left 4 Dead 1 or 2 if I did.


"There's a safe house on the other side of the coaster," I noted as I dodged a Spitter's ball of acid. I sighed when I noticed there wasn't a clear way around the monstrosity. "We're going have to start it, aren't we?"

"We get to run the coaster?" Ellis asked in disbelief. Cheerily, he exclaimed, "Holy shit, it's Christmas!"

Was this some sort of game to him? Did he think if we died we'd just come back later? Or reappear in some closet down the road?* Why couldn't he act his age and not act like a five-year-old? And people wonder why I have some gray hair at age twenty-two.

"What I'd do for a hard drink about now..." I muttered.

"You an' me both, kid," Coach agreed. He looked to Ellis, "Boy, you are wearin' me out."

Ellis either ignored him or didn't care. He was too involved in shooting a few other zombies. I didn't mind that too much. What I did mind was him being so wound up.

He was like this all the time, you know. You'd think that maybe he got it from Keith, but no, Keith was actually sane before he met Ellis. You'd also probably think that the zombies would wear him down a little. Nooooooo... he had to see it the perfect opportunity to take Jimmy Gibbs Junior's stock car, or to ride every ride in the fairgrounds here at Whispering Oaks. And people think I'm a freak.

Is Ellis even less sane than me? I doubt that's possible!

Oh yeah, one more thing you should probably know. The whole zombie apocalypse thing turns a girl with a dark, haunting past into something that belongs in a straightjacket in a white, padded room.

My thoughts were interrupted by more scared ones. Ones that came with steps so loud, the windows of the nearby buildings rattled, so heavy that the ground shook beneath my very feet.

"Shit!" Coach yelled, "TANK!"

For the life of me... and the others I guess... I couldn't find the damn thing. The beasts are ten feet tall and seven feet wide, and I couldn't understand why I couldn't find it!

Well... I found it. It was coming from behind.

I turned in time to see it send Rochelle flying into the side of a semi-truck with a massive punch. I ran as fast as I could towards her, firing at the Tank the entire way.

I tried to see if Rochelle was okay, but damn Tanks are fast! This one had its sights set on me now, and I was a little busy trying to dodge the blows to help her. The best I could do was keeping it away from her as I let the bullets fly through the air, when...

Click.

Damn it.

I could've sworn the Tank grinned when my M16 ran out of ammunition. It raised its log-like arm to punch me, and I went flying! The wind was knocked out of me, but I think that was it. No broken ribs yet, and the splint was holding up pretty well, so far.

Thank God for Nick and his medical knowledge, however he may have gotten it!

I got up to see the Tank after Ellis and Coach. Determination blazed like a wildfire within me as I reloaded my M16.

And I gave in to one of my... weirder... habits. It's not one I succumb to all the time, just when I'm beyond pissed. It's not one I'm particularly proud of, either. It lost me one of best friends.

I turn into something... uh... slightly like a...

Serial killer.

Yeah, not my shining moments. Maybe that's why the police figured I killed those boys so long ago... though I was at Ellis' the entire time...

According to everyone who's seen me like that, which is Ellis and two friends of mine, you can see the blood-lust in my eyes and I get stronger and faster than it seems I am able.

I held to my katana as the Tank pounded away after my brother. I raced after it, anger burning within me like a wildfire. I gripped my katana and swung as hard as I could.

I looked down at the dead Tank. Blood was still pouring from its neck. It had turned to face me mid-strike, and I damn near beheaded it. Good riddance, Tank.

I wiped my hair and the Tank's blood from my face, trying to clear my vision again as I took deep breaths to calm down. Not that I was scared or anything like that, but because… well…

That was fun.

"Nice one, Serene!" Rochelle called from her spot, "Didn't know you had it in you!"

"There's a lotta things you don't know about me..." Imuttered under my breath. Louder I said, "You alright, Ellis?"

"Yeah, Ah'm good. How 'bout you? Is your splint holdin'?"

"It's doing fine. Nick did a great job making the splint."

That last sentence tasted like vinegar.

I can't stand it when Nick finds the need to make a snide comment about Ellis' Southern heritage (and indirectly, mine, too). I had this feeling that I couldn't trust him, too. Ellis, Rochelle and Coach might've, but something told me that if we weren't in the zombie apocalypse, I wouldn't exactly be hanging around him.

Am I an angel in disguise? Hell no. Some people believed that people who dressed like me were the spawn of Satan, actually. That's stupid. I never have claimed to be a perfect little girl, but I lack the capacity for murder. I may be able to kill zombies and annoy the crap out of my brother, but to kill another human? Out of the question... most of the time... If only the cops thought so.

Personally, I like the term "Angel of Darkness" as a description for myself.

"Good. If somethin' happens to it, lemme know. Can't have ya stayin' behind, now can we?" Ellis said, wearing that cheesy grin of his.

So we ran onto the tracks of the roller coaster. I did my best to keep up, but that last punch from the Tank did quite a number. Having the wind knocked out of you takes a toll, you know. I started panting after going down the first few hills, but I still managed to keep up.

The next thing I know, I hear Rochelle call out for help. A Jockey had a hold of her and started dragging her off the tracks. She managed to grab hold of the edge before she fell, and I was right there to help her back up.

The horde was right behind me however, and trying to fight them off while helping Rochelle up seemed impossible. I looked down to check the height, she would probably die if she let go.

"Can you hold on for a little bit longer?" I asked her as I reached into my backpack.

"Make it quick!" she called.

I grabbed the glass jar with the biohazard warning on it and a green liquid inside. I threw it down the track, from where the zombies were coming from. The glass shattered, releasing the Boomer bile. It covered a lot of them, and they soon began attacking each other.

With panic acting as a natural adrenaline shot, I began getting Rochelle back on the tracks. She isn't heavy, but she couldn't get a decent hold and I had to pull her entire weight. No, she isn't heavy at all, but I'm not exactly strong. I did, however, manage to pull her up without dislocating anything, which had to be my proudest achievement in a while.

We ran to catch up, which was no problem. A Spitter blocked the path ahead of us with a puddle of sizzling, green goo and her body was about five feet farther down the track.

Some of us fired at the Infected coming from behind, some cleared out down the tracks. It was hectic, but none of the zombies actually made it closer to us. Nothing we couldn't handle, really.

Of course, all good things must come to an end.

Before I could call out, the battle cry of a Charger sounded. I looked around for it, but I saw it just as it came running towards me.

I think I had time to say, "Oh, shit." Before it charged me up the tracks, bowling over everyone else, and rammed me into what I think was fencing.

It held me with its oversized hand around my waist and lifted me up as if I were a paper weight. It pushed me into the tracks of the coaster, giving off an indistinct grunt while doing so. I was only able to call for help as it tried to kill me.

"LEMME GO! GUYS! HELP!"

I heard a couple rounds of gunshot getting farther and farther away, but I couldn't tell if that was really because they were actually leaving me, or if it was because I was dying.

Before I completely lost hope, I got a glimpse of Ellis with his axe. As the Charger bashed me into the ground for the third time, he buried the axe head into it. The Charger was dead, thank God for that, but I couldn't get up.

The splint on my leg was destroyed. Nick was going to hate me for that.

"Help me!" I begged Ellis.

"Like Ah was gonna leave ya in the first place?"

Ellis got me back on my feet... foot... whatever... but he knew I wasn't gonna get far with only one leg.

"Ah'm gonna have ta carry ya. You gotta cover us, okay?" Ellis said as he picked me up.

"Sure thing," I said, taking the one magnum I'd saved from my backpack and switching the safety off.

Ellis ran along the tracks, unhindered by my weight. I cleared out the zombies in the way, hitting most with a head shot. It was easy, actually. The hard thing was not focusing on how awkward Ellis carrying me was and remembering my splint was in shambles.

Suddenly, the alarm that sounded with the start of the coaster was turned off. I guessed the others turned it off and were waiting on us. I caught a glimpse of Rochelle heading our way.

"You got him to carry you?" Rochelle questioned.

"No. A Charger did. Broke my splint," I explained.

Ellis added, "She can't walk and Ah ain't leavin' her."

Rochelle winced, "Ouch. You okay?"

I shrugged her off. "Will be when we get to the safe house."

This pleasant conversation was interrupted by Coach's call, "GETCHA ASSES IN HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"How about you come out here..." I muttered under my breath.

"Let's hurry up before something finds us," Rochelle suggested.

Ellis followed Rochelle the rest of the way to the safe house Coach and Nick were waiting in. It was built into the place where the lines were supposed to start with the metal dividers.


*Sorry, couldn't help myself, had to reference the video game directly. :D

Serene: I. Hate. You.

Dawn: Well, get over it. The worst is yet to come… *evil laugh* Oh, and please review. It could be a question for Serene – (dodges knife) – what? I'm sure they'll think of something to ask. Hell. I have questions about you I've yet to dream up answers to yet.

Serene: Whatever. Did VALVe learn to count yet?

Dawn: I'm not going to answer that for fear of being thrown into the asylum because of something a character I dreamt up wants me to do. As always, reviews are nice! Come on guys, I just want to know how I'm doing! PLEEEAAASE!