Death or Glory
Here we go, the tenth installment in Death or Glory! And the second installment of "Bertram's paradise" arc. This will be the first of many of my own personal add-ons to the Left 4 Dead universe. Don't worry, I won't leave the other survivors out of it. I have plans for them as well. Hope you guys like this next installment as much as I enjoyed making it.
Nick's head was pounding. A smack to the head'll do that. He looked around, only to find himself in a pitch black room. He couldn't see his hand, which he held right infront of his face. He heard the sound of breathing around him. Two sets of heavy breath greeted him from both sides. He felt around, and felt the brim of a hat.
"Ellis!" Nick whispered. No answer. He nudged his companion, without Ellis showing any sign of even noticing it. Nick sighed, and began feeling around, looking for Coach and Rochelle. he found Coach, who was laying on his side. He nudged him, who, like Ellis, didn't respond. Nick paused after he heard a door open. He saw a small glimmer of light from across the room. Nick fell to the ground and closed his eyes. A door opened, shining light all over the room. The three survivors were in a small cell. A cage with metal bars seperating them from the door. Two figures walked through the door, Nick was unable to see who they were from the light. One was tall and muscular, the other short and skinny.
The tall one began.
"These are the three I was telling you about. They resisted arrest and..."
"Shhh!" The shorter man almost forced out of his mouth.
He walked up to the cage. He looked at the three, and gave Nick a long look.
"Feel free to stand up."
Nick, who was surprised he saw through the ploy, stood up.
"Where the hell are we?" Nick looked around.
"You're in my domain." The short man grinned, "My name is Bertram. This is my house. This cell you'll be staying in, is mine."
Bertram was an odd looking fellow. A weasel-like nose and a sly smirk were his most noteable facial feature. He wore polo shirt with ripped sleeves. His legged were covered by Khaki pants, ripped at the knees.
Nick looked at the tall man. The man looked down to the ground, motionless. Bertram looked at his friend.
"Where are my manners? This is my right hand man, Arthur." Bertram nodded to his accomplice.
Arthur was a tall fellow. A red beard covered his mouth. His hair long and curly. He wore a long sleeved plaid shirt, a black belt, jeans, and black combat boots.
"Wow, your names suck." Nick mused.
Bertram looked at Arthur, who responded with a nod, and walked to the cell. He opened the gate.
"Out..." Arthur order Nick, "Now!"
Nick charged at him, Arthur sidestepped him, Nick running into the celldoor. Nick paused for a second, rubbing his face. Arthur grabbed his collar, and tossed him out of the cell. Nick tripped and hit the ground. Bertram backed away slowly as Arthur closed the door. Nick rose slowly. He rose his fists, knowing a fight was iminent. He swung at Arthur with a left hook. Arthur lifted his large arm and blocked the fist with his wrist. He jabbed at Nick's gut, who let out a breath, the wind being knocked out of him. Nick launched a right swing, hitting Arthur in the left cheek. Not even dazed, he slammed his boot into Nick's chest, as Nick fell back, slamming against the floor. Nick tried to stand, but couldn't. Bertram looked down at him.
"You're first." He grinned. Arthur grabbed his leg, and dragged him out the door, Bertram following from behind. The door slammed, leaving the sleeping Ellis and Coach in the darkness.
The sunset made the sky a bright orange. Rochelle looked up at the sky, as the clouds drifted, almost dancing. She thought back to Kevin taking their weapons. Why didn't she figure out something was wrong from the get-go. All she had was Ellis' extra pistol, she wouldn't stand a chance. She turned to see the guards on higher alert than when they arrived. More on patrol. A few guarded Bertram's house, where they were keeping her friends.
"Ma'am." Ro heard from behind her. A guard looked at her, "I'm afraid your choice of clothes won't be accepted here."
"Whats wrong with the way I dress?" Rochelle cocked her eyebrow.
"The men here cannot be attracted to your body. We can't afford anymore children in this hell. They don't deserve it."
Rochelle sighed, and nodded. The guard escorted her to the changing room, which was next to the barracks. There was a men and women's side. Rochelle walked to the women's side, and rummaged through the clothing. She found a man's XXL "Midnight Riders" T-shirt, and put it on. Rochelle didn't like dresses or skirts, but didn't want to ruffel any feathers. She grabbed belt with a dress stiched to it, and placed it on.
She walked back to the guard who smiled.
"Thats better."
Rochelle let out a fake smile, resisting the urge to slap him. Rochelle walked to the barracks, and sat down on the sleeping bag Ellis was placed on when they arrived. She layed back and looked at the ceiling for a while. She could see the other citizens piling in and going to their beds. She heard people whispering of the events of the day. As she heard the slandering of her friends, she couldn't help but feel disgust and loathing. After a short while, the whispering stopped, as the sound of snoring substituted. Rochelle rose from her bed, noticing two guards partolling both sides of the barracks. She crawled around the beds, trying to wake anyone. A patrol was close, but he didn't see her. Her options were to hold him up, or let him ago. She let him walk by, and rose to a croutch, dashing to the door, running through. The guards heard the door, and ran over to investigate. One looked into the distance to see Rochelle.
"We got a runner." One turned to the other. The other nodded.
Nick could barely keep his eyes open. He was strapped to a wooden chair with armrests. Bertram paced infront of him as Arthur sat near the door. The light above lit and blunk. He tried looking around, but it was all blurry. Bertram grabbed his chin and raised his head, causing them to make eye contact.
"Don't fall asleep on me now." Bertram giggled, "Lemme ask you something. Do you like it here?"
"Nawt everrr..." Nick mumbled. He was disoriented.
"Lets change that. Get the screen down Arthur."
Arthur walked over to a hook in the ceiling, pulled it down, causing the projector screen to be exposed. Another guard rolled over a large movie camera being held at level of the projector by a small filing cabinet. The guard started the recording. Nick, though groggy, turned his eyes to the screen, which began flashing. The movie began, opening with Bertram standing infront of the town with a group of armed men.
"Hell there. My name is Bertram, and today, I'm here to show the luxury and safety of my paradise. Me and my men will enter the city, showing you the world around us. Shall we go?"
Bertram began walking, along with the 6 six men and the cameramen. The film skipped ahead, showing Bertram and his men walking through Garden City. This caused Nick to jump up.
"Shhh..." Bertram whispered to his men. The sound of groaning and pain could be heard in the distance. The guard closest to the cameraman began to speak,
"What're we looking for agai-" He was cut off by a Hunter, who landed on his back, letting out a cry. It began clawing him, he let out a spinechilling whail. Two of the men went to help him, but the Hunter slashed at one of the them. The others turned around, many began to scream, including Bertram. The cameraman, who hadn't turned around yet, had managed to record one of the men being hit by a block of cement that was hit offscreen. The man was killed instantly. They heard a large yell, and the tape skipped ahead again. It returns to a bloody Bertram walking back to town with one of his men and the cameraman. He held one of his fallen fighters rifles.
Bertram chuckled, "Thats why we stay in the town."
The tape cuts off there.
"You bastard!" Nick yelled, "You let those men die!"
"Their deaths served a greater purpose, my friend. It showed the danger of the outside world. Hadn't it been for their sacrafice, people would leave this little piece of heaven to look for an evac point that doesn't exist."
"When I get outta this thing-" Nick tried to threaten, but Arthur walked up to him.
"You'll do what?" Arthur looked him in the eye.
"Get him out of here." Bertram commanded.
Rochelle walked through the darkness, trying not to make a noise. She saw a nearby guard with his back turned to her. She moved slowly and stopped right behind him. She gripped the pistol, and grabbed him by the throat. She aimed the gun at his left temple.
"Don't make a sound." Ro hissed.
The man gulped. He dropped his rifle. Rochelle didn't actually know what to do with him, if she killed him, it'd alert the others, if he let him go, he'd tell the others. She inched forward with him, picking up the rifle.
"Whats the plan Ro?" She thought to herself.
"Hey!" She heard out of the blue.
Footsteps. Inbound. They fired at her. She let go of the man and ran. Bullets flew past her, one hitting a nearby wall. She heard the goons talking to one another.
"It's a woman!"
"She's armed, take her down!"
"Move move move!"
She fired into the night, not expecting to hit anything, until she heard a nearby cry of pain. She actually hit something. She kept moving, she needed to get ot the hut. She dashed to the door. It wouldn't budge. She tried kicking the door, but to no avil. Bullets began hitting the walls, and the door itself. Rochelle fired a few rounds at them. Not sure if she hit anything, she went back to the door. She aimed her rifle the doorknob, and fired. The knob flew off the door. She kicked the door, it opened halfway. Rochelle rammed it, opening the door all the way, she quickly turned around and shut the door again. She pushed it into the frame with all her strength. The hut itself was small. A bed with a few old movie posters. The only other noticable thing was the staircase. She could hear screams from down there. She went down slowly. She noticed that no guards were trying to open the door. Had they lost sight of her? It didn't matter. It was time to find the others. At the end of the staircase, she found a door. She opened it slowly. That door lead to two other doors. She turned to the one on her right, and reached for it slowly.
Ellis and Coach sat in the cell quietly, neither making a sound, but both were awake. They could hear someone coming. Coach braced himself. Ellis looked into the darkness. The bullet wound had stopped bleeding at this point, but he found it very hard to move his right arm. The door beyond the cell opened. A figure walked through.
"You guys! I found you!" The figure said. They knew that voice.
"Rochelle!" They both said happily. She looked around the cell and found the lock.
"Stand back!" She yelled, both back away and she fired at the cell lock three times. The first shot dented the lock, the second missed, the third caused it to break. She opened the door and let the others out.
Ellis gave Ro the biggest hug he could muster. He returned the hug.
"Wheres Nick?" She asked.
"Dunno. We were both out when they took 'em." Ellis answered.
Rochelle figured he was being held in the other room.
"C'mon guys. Follow me." Rochelle told her companions. They complied. She lead them to the other door. Before she walked in, she looked at her companions. Ellis was holding his right shoulder, looking like he was holding back tears. Coach looked tired. She handed Coach Ellis' extra pistol.
"Watch my back." Rochelle nodded. Coach grinned, "Ellis sweetie. You should stay back. You're hurt."
Ellis gave a dissapointed look, but agreed. Coach opened the door, aiming his pistol in front of him. He saw Nick in the chair and Bertram scolding him. He walked through the door, aiming his weapon at the mastermind of the town.
"You must be the one in charge around here. Let my friend go right now." Coach barked. He and the others didn't notice Arthur behind the door, who snuck up behind Rochelle.
"Ro!' Nick yelled. But it was too late. He slammed her against the ground, causing her to drop her weapon. He reached for it, but Ellis jumped on his back.
"That ain't no way to treat a lady!" Ellis yelled, punching him repeatadly in the neck. Arthur grunted, and ran backwards, crashing into the wall. Ellis released his grip, and was almost glued to the wall. Before Ellis could even slide down, he was brutally kicked in the chest by Arthur and his combat boots. Coach aimed his gun at Arthur. Arthur looked at him with his cold eyes. Bertram stomped the back of Coach's left leg, causing him to grunt and lose focus. Arthur dashed to the man and fired a left hook into Coach's eye. Coach yelled and feel to the floor. Bertram couldn't help but laugh. Rochelle shook and moved her arm towards the rifle. She grabbed it, and slowly dragged it torwards herself. She gripped it and aimed at the brute.
"Arthur!" Bertram cried. Arthur turned. He saw the rifle, aimed directly at him. Rochelle pulled the trigger. The bullet flew through his neck, causing him to let a loud gurgle and fell to his death. Arthur's blood sprinkled Bertram and Nick. Coach got up, as Rochelle aimed her weapon at their attacker's boss. For once, he wasn't grinning. Ellis rose up, and walked over to Nick. He undid the straps, and Nick got out of the chair. He looked at Bertram for a few seconds, then punched him in the face with all his might.
"Grab him." Coach said. Ellis and Nick picked him. Nick went through his pockets, finding a key.
"Damn!" Ellis cried in glee, "That must be the armory key."
"Just what we needed." Nick grinned. They walked through the hut door. Gunmen. At least a dozen. They pointed their guns until they caught sight of their hostage. The men all lowered their weapons.
"Alright." Nick grinned, "Good to see you all... were just going to armory of yours... steal some weapons... and stuff like that... and if you try to stop us... we'll kill your manchild of a leader. OK?"
Not even sticking around for a yes or a no, the team went over to the armory and unlocked the door with Bertram's key. As Coach kept watch of the gunmen, Ro, Nick and Ellis began raiding the place. And it was stocked. Rifles, shotguns, pistols, mollies, pipebombs, everything someone would need to survive.
"What are you idiots doing?" They heard a yell. It was Kevin, "Kill them!"
"Oh for fucks sake..." Nick groaned as he picked up an M-16. Coach ran inside and closed the door as they began firing at the armory. Ellis smashed the window open with his shoe and began firing at them with his new Scar-H. He hit two, killing one, sending one to his knees after a shot at the leg.
"Woohoo!" Ellis said happily, "This is like killin' zombies, but they got guns!"
"Thank you for the words of wisdom Ellis!" Nick replied as he kicked the unconsious Bertram. Rochelle tossed Coach a combat shotgun, who then charged at the window and shot a gunmen who was trying to rush the building.
"Nick!" Coach yelled, "Hand me a mollie!"
Nick lit it with his lighter, and handed it to Coach, who tossed it into the crowd, sending most of the men ablaze.
"If were gonna move, now would be a good time!" Rochelle pointed out. Nick grabbed Bertram, who was waking up. Once he caught wind of his captors and where he was, he let out a cry.
"Please don't kill me!" He pleaded, "I'll give you whatever you want, food, weapons, I'll send some of my men to clear Garden City!"
Nick looked at him with disgust. He walked over to him, gripping his rifle.
"No no no! If this is about the video I showed you, I'm sorry! Throw me in the cell! Just please! Please please please!" He was beginning to cry. Liquid pouring from his nose. He looked like a scared child.
"You gutless coward..." Nick hissed. He aimed the gun at Bertram's forehead.
"Please! Don't! Throw me in the cell for the rest of my days! Take whatever you want!"
"You sent your men to a slaughter so you could prove a point, and you terrorize and assimilate everyone who enters this town... and you want us to throw you in a cell? Let me tell you something, you little chickenshit... MEN are put in cells..."
Nick pulled the trigger.
Bang!
"... DOGS are put down!"
The others looked at Nick in disbelief. He simply turned around and walked out the door, to see the havoc he and his comrades had caused. He saw Kevin rolling on the floor while his leg was burning. He saw the child who bothered him running away with a few kids and some women. No one was firing at them anymore. This place was Hell before they got there though. Admission to Bertram's Paradise came at a price. Men would go out to Garden City with him and lead them to hordes, having many of them killed. In return, he let their family and friends continue to reside in his town. Those who resisted were beaten by Arthur and shown "The video". Ellis and the others followed him as he walked past the fire and the bodies they created. Before they left the city forever, they all took one last look at the place. The fire was growing, citizens were fleeing.
Rochelle let out a sigh.
"Good riddance..." Nick muttered.
"Hows your would Ellis?" Coach asked the boy.
"Better. It don't burn no more. Maybe cuz we did what we did?" Ellis pondered.
The four walked away from Bertram's paradise... and never looked back.
Woo! That was fun! I had a blast writing this! I hope you guys like it, I think the ending was a bit aburpt. But fell free to comment and tell me what you think. Until next time!