Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Old Friends, New Tricks. I am sorry about the long hiatus, but I had a bit of writer's block about where to go with this story, but I have since gotten past it, at least in regards to this chapter. I was going to write this yesterday, but it was extremely stressful so I decided to do it the next day, aka today. With all of that said, I do not own Left 4 Dead, and let's read!

I woke up blearily, my limbs slowly regaining feeling as I stretched them. I looked through the pile of blankets and pillows to see that Ashley wasn't there, so I looked to the door leading upstairs to see that it was open, then got dressed and walked on all fours up the stairs. I padded forwards to the kitchen, where I saw Ashley wearing jeans and a black band T-shirt, eating some dry cereal out of the bag.

She offered me some, which I accepted, and we ate in silence for a while. Once we were both full, and had gone through three boxes of cereal, she asked me, "What do you think we should do now?" I sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating our situation, and told her, "D-Don't know."

Ashley hummed and sat there thinking for a moment, then told me, "Well, whatever we do, we'll need supplies. Let's see what Bill and the others left in the closet downstairs." I nodded and we went down the stairs to the basement and opened the closet, to see a fully-loaded Magnum pistol with two spare clips and an Uzi with one, along with a few cans of food. I growled and remarked, "So generous."

Ashley giggled and told me, "It's better than nothing. Come on, let's see what we can find around the house. Maybe they missed something." I nodded and we both went back upstairs to try and find some food or guns. We didn't find any of the latter, but did manage to find a sealed package of bologna in the freezer. We put it in a duffle bag along with the cans and spare clips Bill and the others had left and some clothes from the bedroom we had slept in before the others had left, and sat down in the living room to plan ahead.

We both sat on the couch thinking, neither of us coming up with ideas, until Ashley sighed and told me, "Like I said before, we need supplies, and what we have now won't last long. I think we should go through the houses we guys haven't been through and try to scavenge what we can."

I contemplated her words for a moment, then muttered, "I-I've got nothing better. L-Let's go." Ashley nodded and we got the duffel bag and picked up the guns. To be more accurate, Ashley held the Uzi while the Magnum was in its holster on her hip and carried the duffle bag on her back since I needed my hands for walking and needed to jump to fight.

We left the house and started searching houses, taking whatever food and firepower we could, which was disappointingly little. While we were looting, I tried to get used to walking on two legs again. I still struggled, but I was getting a little better when we decided to hunker down for the night. We went up to a house that was mostly intact and tried the door, only to find that it was locked.

Ashley's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, since all of the doors we had come across that weren't broken had been unlocked. She backed up a few feet, then rushed forward and rammed her shoulder into the door. It held fast and she rubbed her shoulder where it had struck the door. We both tried to think of a way to get it open, and as I looked at the glass panes in the door, I got a metaphorical light bulb above my head.

I stripped off my hoody and removed my shirt, then wrapped it around my hand and drove my fist through one of the glass panes in the door. I then cleared the rest of the glass from the edge and reached through and unlocked the door from the inside. The door opened with no problems after that, and we walked in and started looking for the master bedroom. While we were searching, I noticed that the house showed signs of having been recently lived in. The dust on the furniture and floors was minimal, and even though it looked like there was damage and bloodstains from Infected, they had clearly been repaired to some degree.

Curious, I walked into the living room and flipped a light switch, and the ceiling fan started running. I looked to Ashley, who told me, "Someone's been here since the Flu hit." I nodded in agreement and started looking for more signs of life, and once I reached the kitchen I found one. I raspily called out Ashley's name to get her attention, and she walked in and asked me, "What is it?" In response, I pointed to the kitchen counter, where a Crock-Pot was plugged in and running, cooking a meatloaf with a few vegetables floating in the juices, which by the look of it, was almost done.

Ashley and I shared a look, and she asked me, "Does this mean what I think it means?" I nodded and told her, "They s-still here." Ashley's brow furrowed, and she asked me, "Then why haven't they come out?" My ears flattened against my skull in nervousness as I muttered, "Trap." Ashley extended her claws nervously as she told me, "I'll search upstairs, you take down here. Be careful."

I nodded and told her to do the same, and she walked up the stairs to the second floor. While she searched the house, I did the same, using my newly-heightened senses to my advantage, my ears perked up to try and sense the occupant of the house. Suddenly, I heard Ashley quietly call my name from upstairs, and went up to find her in front of a hall closet. Seeing me approach, she pointed at the door and mouthed, 'They're in here. I'll open the door, you be ready.' I nodded in understanding and crouched down, ready to pounce. Ashley retracted the claws on her right hand, leaving the others out, then slowly put her hand on the knob and tugged the door open.

The minute the door opened, a figure a little shorter than me flew out and started swinging wildly with a baseball bat, hysterically shrieking, "Get away from me! Get away, get away, get away!" She sobbed as she yelled, and we both got out of her way, then once she turned away from her, Ashley pounced on her, getting beaned in the head in the process, and pinned her down.

Now that the figure was still, I could identify her. She was an anthro like us, but a mouse instead of a cat, with a slim bald tail that seemed to be the same size as ours, proportionally speaking, and smallish rounded ears on top of her head and a slight overbite. She was a redhead with fair skin and a dusting of freckles across her face and square glasses, which were askew on her face from the struggle, and was wearing jeans and a pink T-shirt with a white heart on the front.

She had B-cup breasts and modest curves, and had a petite figure. The girl sobbed and struggled as she was held down, scared out of her mind, and I admittedly wasn't helping by growling at her for hurting Ashley, which she let me know with a stern look. I stopped and the girl collapsed, telling us, "Please just kill me and get it over with, don't drag it out." Ashley told her, "We're not going to kill you, just calm down."

The girl opened her eyes, revealing emerald green orbs with tears leaking down them, and her body convulsed with sobs for a few more minutes until she asked, "H-How are you talking to me? I know you're Infected, don't try to hide it."

Ashley smiled down at her and told her, "We are Infected, but we're still in control of ourselves. What's your name?" "Annie." The redhead replied, and Ashley asked her, "I'm Ashley. Now Annie, if I let you up, do you promise not to hit us with a baseball bat anymore?" Annie nodded and Ashley moved off of her. Annie sat up slowly, then looked to me warily and asked Ashley, "Is she in control of herself too?" Ashley nodded and Annie breathed a sigh of relief, and I told her, "N-Name's Zoey."

*Timeskip*

Annie, Ashley, and I sat in the dining room eating the meatloaf that Annie had been making before we arrived, and she told us, "Sorry again about before, I was really scared." Ashley nodded and told her, "It's okay." Annie smiled and Ashley asked her, "How have you survived?" Annie put her utensils down and told the two of us, "My dad was a doomsday prepper, and he had a ton of supplies stored up. He taught me all about surviving in the apocalypse. It made me really paranoid, but it's also helped me get by."

Ashley nodded and asked, "What happened to him?" Annie's face fell and she told us, "He left and got turned into a Tank. I think he's still lumbering around the neighborhood, but I don't think he's sentient like you guys." I patted Annie's arm in a comforting manner and she smiled at me, and then asked the both of us, "So, what are you guys doing now?" Ashley explained how we were trying to get supplies from the houses around us, and Annie nodded and remarked, "That's not a bad idea. I was going to do the same pretty soon, since most of the food I haven't eaten has gone bad."

Ashley asked her, "Well then why don't you come with us? If you really are running low on food, then you won't be able to survive here much longer, and we all have a better chance together." Annie looked nervous and started wringing her hands together, then muttered, "I don't know. My-my dad always told me never to trust anyone in the apocalypse." Ashley then told her, "And as a result he's now a Tank. Don't worry, you can trust us." I smiled at Annie in agreement and she said, "Well, o-okay I guess." Ashley smiled and told her, "Great, we can all set out in the morning."

The three of us finished eating and Ashley and I retired to the master bedroom, while Annie went into her own bedroom. Ashley and I disrobed and got into bed together, but it would seem sleep was still a while away as Ashley looked at me with a seductive look on her face. I smiled in anticipation and leaned in for a heated kiss.

*Annie's POV*

I listened to the two Infected women in the master bedroom with a blush on my face as they moaned and sighed as they made love. Despite my embarrassment at hearing their passionate romp, I could feel a tingle between my legs as I became aroused, and slipped my hands into my panties as they continued.

And there's the chapter. Sorry about it being a little short, but I feel that this is a natural stopping point. Until next time, read and review, but no flames!