A/N: Please, guys, this is the last chapter of Left 4 Dead: Lambs 2 Slaughter! Could I get some reviews please? Please? Pretty please? It feels weird having gone through the entire story and to have not gotten a single review :(

Also, I'm still polishing the story off, and Part Eight'll most likely undergo some big changes. Ah well. Enjoy, anyways :D

Part Eight: Auckland City, New Zealand, 4:30 AM, 24th December, 2012

Blaize was awakened by the sound of the red steel door creaking open the following morning.

Getting up immediately, she firstly checked her watch. It was four-thirty in the morning. Four and a half hours before Captain Greg would pick them up. Or so she thought.

She looked at Tiffany, who'd woken up.

'Guys?' Norman's voice came out. He closed the door behind him as he walked over to the both of them. 'You gotta get up. There's been a change in plans.'

At that, Blaize immediately shook Siobhan awake as Tiffany managed to wake Ben up with a simple yet well-placed poke to the sides.

'Wassit?' Ben groaned as he sat up.

'You guys better get ready,' Norman said hurriedly. 'And you'd better get ready now. The Avatar of the Sickness has managed to pinpoint your location.'

Blaize raised an eyebrow at him.

'What?' she blurted out in surprise.

'One of the other Leader Sickened found you guys while you slept. I don't know who dropped watch, but now he's off to tell the Avatar where you guys are. You've got about ten minutes to get out, and half an hour to get there.'

Siobhan's jaw hanged agape in surprise, staring at her brother for a few seconds before she reached out for her stuff.

'But… but what about the evac?' she asked him.

'Don't worry. I got Sergeant Cyrus to send a message over to Captain Greg. He's sending Mike Calhoun and Dr. Livingston to pick you guys up at the evac point as we speak.'

Ben nodded as he gathered up his stuff.

'There's something else, isn't there?' he asked Norman, noticing the uncertain look on his face.

Norman sighed.

'The Avatar of the Sickness also knows where your escape vehicle is going to land to pick you up,' he admitted.

Blaize and Siobhan's jaws dropped.

'How the hell is that possible?' Blaize asked him.

Norman just sighed again.

'You remember Captain Cale, right?' Norman asked them. 'He used to be Captain of the Rough Riders until he became a Leader Sickened. Thing is, he had a handheld radio that still worked with plenty of battery and was tuned in to the Army Command Channel even after his change.'

Things started to make more sense to the teenagers now.

'So that's how he knew we were going to be at St. Heliers,' Siobhan said, the coin dropping. 'The Avatar of the Sickness has the radio now, doesn't he?'

Norman nodded.

'I just found out he that possessed it. I know what this looks like, but I wouldn't betray you guys. Not again. However, the Avatar of the Sickness will most likely be preparing his armies immediately to stop you from escaping. That means I have to be there with them when it marches.'

'But… but you can still help us out, right?' Ben asked him.

'I can. However, the thing is, the Avatar of the Sickness doesn't know I've turned. Also, the Avatar of the Sickness has one flaw – the way I've seen it, he'll probably think that he needs only a few Leader Sickened and a horde of commons to finish you off.'

He sighed.

'If he becomes suspicious or learns that I've turned, he'll gather more Leader Sickened for his assault, which will most likely mean that it'll be far more than the four of you can handle. Also, I'm his champion. I'll be able to do more damage and increase the chances of you guys escaping if I don't reveal my true allegiance until the last moment.'

At that, Siobhan nodded.

'Well, best you get going now,' Siobhan said, breathing deeply and sighing. She gave her brother a tight hug. 'Take care of yourself, Norm.'

After she let go, Norman simply nodded.

'Take care of yourselves. Know that I'll miss all of you when this is over,' he said.

He turned to leave before Blaize stopped him.

'Wait a sec,' she said.

Norman turned towards her and looked at her expectantly as she strode towards him.

'I… I'd just like to say thanks. Thanks for what you've done for us.'

She placed her hands on his shoulders, smiled, raised her eyebrows, and blushed.

'I know you've had a crush on me for quite a long time, and seeing what you've done, I think you're worthy of this.'

She leaned forward and gave Norman an affectionate peck on the cheek.

At this, Norman just smiled back at her.

'Now,' she said, still blushing, 'don't ask for another one. Go. You need to be out there.'

At this, Norman nodded, and with that, he disappeared out the door.

As Blaize watched him go, she heard the sound of a barely muffled laugh from her brother behind her, and she turned around to see the others looking at her.

'What?' she said. 'Don't look at me like that! He deserved it!'

'Yeah, yeah, sure,' Ben said, squinting at her accusingly in his humorous manner. 'He deserved it, all right. First, you give him a peck on the cheek. Then, you're hugging and all. And then-'

He would've continued if it weren't for Tiffany giving him a friendly nudge in the ribs. Blaize sighed and shook her head, with a smile on her face.

'Come on. Fun's over. I think it's time we began moving,' she said, grabbing her assault rifle from her back and looking at the others.

It was time they got out of this hellhole.

As the survivors departed the safehouse after they'd gathered their things, the surrounding area was suspiciously quiet.

Blaize recognised the unnatural silence, the feeling she was experiencing reminding her of the exact same feeling that she had when the survivors had left the Mission Bay safehouse two days ago, and she knew that this was the precursor to a Sickened swarm.

Tiffany looked around cautiously, and after nodding at Blaize, the teenagers started their journey to their landing zone.

'Blaize?' Siobhan piped up as they walked down the morning moonlight-illuminated ruins of Queen Street.

Blaize's red eyes turned towards her as she brushed aside a few of the long strands of her crimson-red hair away from her face.

'Yeah?' she said.

'Well… whatever happens, just remember that I love you.'

Blaize gave her a smile.

'Love ya too,' she replied. She looked at Ben, who was currently showering Tiffany with cheesy pick-up lines, which, to Blaize's surprise, she seemed to enjoy. 'Speaking of love, it looks like Ben's already smitten with someone.'

Siobhan looked at Ben and Tiffany for a few seconds before turning back towards Blaize and smiling, her long brown hair flowing behind her in the wind.

'She was wondering if he was single, actually,' she replied.

'Really? I'm surprised she's find Ben attractive.'

'So did I.'

A period of silence between the two reigned.

'Just wondering-' Blaize started, but then a familiar bestial roar from down the street interrupted her.

'Oh, shit, RUN!' Ben shouted as everyone took out their weapons. Looking behind her, Blaize saw the large silhouette of the Avatar of the Sickness bounding down the street after them.

And ran the group did. Ben and Siobhan were running as fast as their legs could carry them while Blaize and Tiffany remained again, spraying accurate shots into the Avatar of the Sickness as he shoved and punched wrecked cars and other detritus out of his path, intent on ripping the four of them to shreds.

One of the wrecked cars he punched away sailed through the air towards Ben and Siobhan, and Blaize had to tackle them both out of the way before the car landed in the very spot the both of them were seconds before. Picking themselves up, the three of them knew the Avatar of the Sickness was getting closer.

Suddenly, the radio on Siobhan's trench coat crackled to life.

'This is Rough Rider Gryphon Purifier Bomber A2-28, as well as Angel Purifier A6-13,' a voice came in. 'The Big Boss said that you could use some help. Affirmative?'

'Not just now!' Siobhan yelled back through the radio as they started running, the loud screech of the Avatar of the Sickness following soon after. He was getting closer, and nothing-

Siobhan stopped for a second, noticing the ruined St. Monica's College bus just to their right. It was leaking petrol, probably from the efforts of scavengers earlier on, and an idea popped into her head as she started running again.

'Wait! Purifiers, do you have line of sight on Queen Street?' she asked. Up ahead, in the sky, she could see the two bomber jets circling around wharf.

'Affirmative.'

'Do you see the bus wreck?'

'Copy that.'

'I'm requesting a bombing run on that area – danger close, Priority Target ALPHA!'

'Roger that. God's wrath falls for the heavens.'

Enraged that his prey were getting away, the Avatar of the Sickness started to increase his speed, oblivious to the sound of the bomber jets as they made their pass, their engines screeching as they began their descent.

Blaize turned back towards the bus, and saw the Avatar of the Sickness land on top of it just seconds before Gryphon A2-28 finished its pass, and the bus exploded in a massive fiery cloud that lit up the whole of Queen Street.

'HOLY SHIT!' Ben yelled out loud and stopping in his tracks, looking at the fiery pit that used to be the St. Monica's bus and cheering. 'That was BEAUTIFUL!'

'I think the target's down,' Gryphon A2-28 said. 'Ground team, confirm.'

Siobhan was about to reply when she heard the roar of the Avatar of the Sickness from the ruins of the bus, and it was definitely pissed off now.

'Negative! Negative! The target is still alive, I repeat, the Avatar of the Sickness is alive!' she yelled into the radio before running again.

'Roger that, making in for another pass.'

Blaize immediately looked at Siobhan as they ran.

'What?' she asked. 'Call it off – we got too close on that last one-'

Before Siobhan could do anything else, the roar of the jets could be heard, and more explosions could be heard from the annihilated wreckage of the St. Monica's bus as the Avatar of the Sickness was bombed yet again.

But Blaize knew that right now, the Avatar was the least of their concerns. She instinctively tackled Siobhan to the ground next to a ruined car on its side. It was an action that probably saved both of their lives.

A stray bomb fell from the passing jets and exploded on the other side of the car both girls were on the ground next to. The explosion sent the car flying, just passing over their heads by mere inches, the shrapnel from the blast embedded in its underbelly.

Siobhan gasped in shock at just how close to death she and Blaize just been. A few more steps in any direction and she would've been raked by the shrapnel or hit by the car. She immediately took out her radio as a ringing sound resounded across her ears.

'SHIT! STOP THE BOMBING RUN!' she screamed into the radio. 'I REPEAT, STOP THE GODDAMN BOMBING RUN!'

But it was already too late. As the second jet passed by, Blaize saw one of the bombs descend upon Ben and Tiffany. Her eyes widened in shock as the bomb exploded on a car a few meters away from them.

The force of the impact knocked Ben from his feet and sent him flying into the hood of a car and Tiffany into a wall.

'BEN!' The cry tore itself from Blaize's lips, and she leapt towards where her brother was as Siobhan picked herself up. She landed next to him as he bounced off the car and onto the ground. Tiffany joined her soon after as Siobhan ran up to them. She was going to gnarl those pilots' heads off herself if something bad had happened to her little brother. 'Ben! Say something!' she almost sobbed.

Ben groaned.

'Tha…' he managed to get out at first before slowly pulling himself back up to a sitting position and gasping for air. 'That… was awesome!'

Blaize smirked. If Ben was in the mood to crack jokes he couldn't have been hurt bad. He pulled himself back up to his feet and looked forwards.

'The landing pad's close!' he yelled, probably suffering from a ringing in his ears as well. 'We'd better move!'

To Siobhan's relief, the bomber jets had retreated, and were nowhere to be seen. She turned towards Blaize.

'Look, look, I'm real, real sorry about that,' she started, but Blaize put her index finger to Siobhan's lips.

'We'll talk about this later,' she said sternly her. Siobhan wasn't sure wether or not Blaize was angry at her or not. Nonetheless, she nodded, and the group started to run once more, the enraged screeching of the Avatar of the Sickness echoing across the street as Blaize hoped that Mike Calhoun and Dr. Livingston were waiting for them.

When they arrived at the helipad, however, there was no one there to greet them except for the sight of muzzle flashes and faint sounds of gunfire around Rangitoto Island in the distance told them that the battle for Ash Base was still raging.

However, hope swelled up inside them as they spotted a reasonably large white speck on the helipad, and Blaize's enhanced eyesight let her see two smaller specks run towards the helicopter, which she assumed were Mike and Dr. Livingston.

'They're coming,' she said to the others, as they couldn't see what she saw. 'They should be here in five minutes or so.'

'Blaize?' Tiffany asked her. 'I don't think we've got five minutes…'

Blaize turned around, and to her horror, she saw the Avatar of the Sickness perched on top of a building in front of the wharf's front gates, staring at the survivors hungrily, with five Leader Sickened flanking him on the building, one of them Blaize recognised as Norman.

The Avatar of the Sickness leapt off the building and landed a short distance away from the teenagers, the four Leader Sickened and Norman doing the same.

'You have made a valiant effort to escape, children...' the Avatar said, the heavy damage the jet bombers had laid upon him causing him plenty of pain as now the smell of burnt flesh and boiled away animal fat was added to the disgusting menagerie of gag-reflex-inducing smells that he possessed. 'But it will be all for naught. You may have found a way to regain your powers, Blaize, but this is where yours and Tiffany's luck… ends.'

He seemed to grin at them with what was left of his simian mouth.

'Leave none alive. Rip them apart. Make them suffer. Kill them.'

With that, the Leader Sickened attacked, leaping at the teenagers, with Norman at their head.

But at the last moment, since he landed first, he spun around, and catching his fellow Leader Sickened by surprise, he tripped one up and broke his back on his knee before spinning around, catching another one by the neck and slammed him down onto the ground and snapped his neck.

The other two spun around and stared at their erstwhile brother. The Avatar of the Sickness was instantly taken by surprise.

'Norman! What the hell are you doing?' one of the Leader Sickened screeched at him as the two victims of Norman's sneak attack struggled to stand up.

Norman ignored him and faced the Avatar of the Sickness, who'd realized what had happened.

'Blaize, Tiffany! Take out the healthy ones! I'll keep the Avatar of the Sickness busy! Go!' he called out to the teenagers.

With that, he leapt at the Avatar of the Sickness, avoiding his blows as the massive creature tried to swat down its erstwhile champion as Tiffany and Blaize charged the two healthy Leader Sickened and Ben and Siobhan took on the injured ones.

Blaize ducked as the healthy Leader Sickened she engaged in combat swung a punch at her, and she retaliated in kind by punching him square in the throat, sending him flying as Tiffany blocked a swipe from her opponent and then followed that up with another punch, which sent him sprawling onto the ground.

As one of the injured Leader Sickened, the one with the broken back, tried to swipe Siobhan, she stepped back and avoided the blow before she kicked him in the chest and fired a howitzer shot at him, leaving a large hole in his chest while Ben sidestepped the one with the broken neck as it tried to kick him away, and the side of his chainsaw-flamer slammed into its head, forcing him to take a few steps back as Ben turned on his flamers, keeping the injured Leader Sickened away from him as he glanced at Norman as he took on the Avatar of the Sickness.

Norman had landed on the left of the Avatar of the Sickness and leapt backwards to avoid a blow that pulverized the concrete ground. Even though it was weakened by the bombing run earlier, it was still quick enough to snatch Norman in mid-air and brought his struggling, erstwhile champion in front of its burnt, ugly face.

'So, you were the one who gave Blaize back her powers,' he spat as Norman pounded on his hand, squirming in the creature's iron grip. 'You ungrateful traitor… I should have never resurrected you.'

He stared at Norman pitifully as he managed to give him the finger.

'For your boss,' Norman spat back, a grin managing to make itself apparent on his face. 'I guess I'll see you in hell.'

At that, the Avatar of the Sickness bellowed in fury, screeching at him and beginning to drain the Sickness out of his system.

As the healthy Leader Sickened that Blaize was fighting picked himself up, she took out her axe and took a swing at his head. The blow missed, as he'd been able to duck in time to avoid the blade. She swung it back, however, and the blunt part of the axe slammed into the top of the Leader Sickened's head, and she would've swung again were it not for Tiffany's opponent snatching it out of her hands to swipe at Tiffany with it.

Undaunted, Blaize kicked the now-concussed Leader Sickened she faced in the chest, sending him sprawling. She landed on top of him, and before he could react, she ripped his head clean off with one hand.

Tiffany ducked as her opponent wildly swung Blaize's axe at her, sidestepping a vertical strike and jumping up as it tried to sweep the blade horizontally towards her ankles, missing the edge by centimetres, and she landed a kick on his head, causing the weapon to fly out of his hands violently and fall onto his back.

As he tried to get up, the last thing his surprised yellow glowing eyes saw was the inside of the barrel of Tiffany's Desert Eagle before her finger tightened on the trigger the instant later.

However, as Ben ducked another blow from the injured Leader Sickened he faced, he was wondering when he'd get a chance to strike back when all of a sudden Blaize's axe flew out of nowhere and embedded itself in his opponent's right shoulder, almost slicing the arm clean off.

As the Sickened screeched in agony, Ben took the opportunity to ram his left chainsaw-flamer up the thing's chest, and with his right chainsaw-flamer, he decapitated the Leader Sickened in one fluid move.

Siobhan, however, had no need for any extra assistance against her target. The large, gaping hole she'd blasted through his midsection with her portable howitzer had already crippled him beyond his ability to fight, and as he looked up at her one more time, she aimed the end of her howitzer at its head as it screamed its last scream before the loud shot echoed across the wharf.

Behind them, the four of them could now hear their helicopter as it arrived, but they weren't watching it arrive.

Norman had been drained of the Sickness, and he had been flung in front of Siobhan, who was now cradling her brother in her arms.

'Norm! Get up! Our rescue helicopter's here!' she cried out at him, tears starting to form on the edges of her eyes.

The Avatar of the Sickness seemed to savour the moment as it looked at Siobhan.

'He was a traitor. He deserved what he got. And now, you're next.'

With that, he drew back a massive arm, with his fingers straightened in a firm palm, his large claws sticking out like an ugly, biological spear as he saw Siobhan staring at him for the last time in her life.

And then, he thrust his arm forward.

Siobhan tried to comprehend what was happening as everything seemed to move in slow motion as the claws sped towards her stomach. And then, something pushed her out of the way.

As she landed, she looked at where she had been standing mere seconds ago, and to her horror, Norman had taken her place. He'd pushed her aside and taken the wound for her.

'NORMAN!'

The words ripped themselves from her lips as Norman screamed in agony, the ends of the Avatar's claws sticking out of his back. As the survivors watched in horror, the Avatar brought Norman before his ugly face once again, and examined him like a fly on the end of a skewer before flinging him onto the ground next to Siobhan, leaving a large, gaping hole through his chest.

The survivors were dumbstruck as the door to the helicopter door opened, and Mike and Dr. Livingston came out.

'Get in! Hurry!' Mike yelled, unawares of what had just happened.

Siobhan just kept staring at her dying brother, tears forcing themselves out from her eyes, and then she ripped her gaze toward the Avatar of the Sickness as he drew back his arm once again, and snarled at him in fury as she raised her portable howitzer at him, and fired.

The first shot hit him on the arm, interrupting his strike. The next one, however, managed to hit his remaining eye, rendering the monster almost blind as it roared in pain.

She would've fired more shots were it not for Blaize landing next to her, grabbing the mortally-wounded Norman and scooping her up in her free arm and taking her away from the Avatar of the Sickness before it could strike back, landing near the helicopter.

Blaize set Siobhan back onto her feet, and put the injured Norman in her arms.

'Siob! That'll do. That'll do,' she soothed as she sobbed. 'Ben, get Siobhan and Norman inside.'

Ben nodded grimly before doing so as Tiffany and Blaize ran over to Dr. Livingston, who was carrying a black device that looked like a house coffee machine.

'Quickly, put the syringes in!' Dr. Livingston ordered them as they grabbed both syringes and inserted them into each of their forearms. The blood quickly flowed into the grenade, and in the span of a few seconds, the process was complete as Dr. Livingston grabbed the grenade, sealed it off and handed it to Blaize. 'Go. You know what to do with this,' he said.

'Tiffany, get in the helicopter. I'll do this myself,' Blaize said to Tiffany as she took the grenade. Her counterpart shook her head in reply.

'The Avatar may be blinded and weakened, but his senses and strength will still make him an extremely dangerous opponent,' she replied. 'You're going to need a distraction, or else you're screwed this time.'

Blaize nodded, knowing that she wouldn't be able to talk Tiffany out of this.

'Okay. You go right, I'll go left,' she said, and at that, the both of them charged the Avatar of the Sickness.

Leaping from the ground, onto the cranes, and then back onto the ground confuse him, Tiffany took out her Desert Eagle and began to strafe in front of the Avatar of the Sickness, firing shots into his head as Blaize leapt onto the cranes to sneak up on him.

'GNAAAAAAH! I will NOT be treated like a WEAKLING!' the blinded Avatar screeched, and he brought his large, clawed hand down upon Tiffany, who managed to leap aside at the last moment. She bounded from the ground, towards a crane, leapt off the crane and she landed on the creature's massive arm and kept shooting as Blaize started to fire at him with her assault rifle as she leapt from the tops of the cranes.

The Avatar of the Sickness raised a hand and tried to swat at Tiffany, who jumped off, firing a few more shots at him. It was then Blaize dropped down upon him, landing on his head and delivering a quick punch to the area that could've been considered the Avatar's forehead.

'This one's for Auckland City!' she screamed, punching again. 'This one's for Ben and Siobhan!' She punched again, and then wrenched the Avatar's maw open and sticking her assault rifle in between its teeth to stop him from closing his mouth as she took out the grenade and pulled the pin. 'And this one's for NORMAN!'

And at that, with all her might, she threw the grenade down the Avatar's throat and retrieved her assault rifle before leaping off the Avatar's head and next to Tiffany as they watched him try to pick himself up.

'No… the Sickness won't be stopped…' the Avatar snarled. 'You think that Auckland's the only place being… affected? There are numerous outbreaks happening… around… the world… as I speak. Your efforts here will… have been in vain…'

At that, he lunged towards both girls with what strength he had left, but fell short by a few meters as the sound of an explosion from inside of him could be heard.

'No…. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!'

He screeched his last as the effects of the grenade rapidly turned him into an ugly ice statue, and then, the grenade's other effect kicked in, annihilating the statue into millions of miniscule pieces, scattered to the wind like mist.

Blaize turned towards Tiffany, and she nodded before they made their way back to the helicopter as it lifted off and began its journey back to Ash Base, victorious.