I do not own Left4Dead or any of the characters.
Reintroductions
Zoey finished preparing the last of the ammo for their inevitable journey to whatever safe house they went to next, then turned to Anna just as Anna finished sorting the food into what was being taken and what was going to be eaten in the last twenty four hours or so they had to rest. Zoey also saw the cake Anna had left off to the side on its own. She smiled knowingly.
"Anna, are you keeping a snack to yourself?" Zoey asked.
Anna smiled at her and she walked over, cupping her face and pulling her in for a gentle kiss. Anna began to kiss her back, hands resting on the small of Zoey's back. However, after a few seconds, a shout of surprise interrupted them.
"Jesus fucking Christ!" Francis's voice shouted. "What the fuck!?"
"Good morning to you too, Francis," Zoey sighed, giving Anna one last quick peck before turning to Francis.
"Choosing to travel with it for survival is one thing, but this is just fucking disgusting!" Francis spat. "That fucking thing ain't even human! Of all fucking things to choose to fuck, a fucking dog would be less disgusting and immoral than that fucking thing!"
"Francis, shut the fuck up before I beat the shit out of you," Zoey said. "Whether you like it or not, I love Anna, and I'm not going to change how I feel about her to make you happy. You're free to leave, if you would prefer, you know, if you think you can make it past the witch that carved my name into your chest and let you live."
"Yeah, thanks for that, by the way," Francis said.
"Not...Z...Zoey...fault," Anna said.
"What the fuck!?" Francis shouted. "That thing fucking talks!?"
"Yes," Zoey said. "Anna can talk. She's also just as capable of doing almost everything as any human. Speech is about the only thing we're struggling with."
"Probably because that thing shouldn't be speaking!" Francis spat.
"What the fuck are you yelling about, Francis?" Bill grumbled, limping into the kitchen, one hand resting against his injured chest, the other using an M16 like a cane.
"Zoey's fucking that...that thing!" Francis spat.
Bill turned, staring at Zoey and Anna in silence for a moment. Finally he grunted. "After nearly dying the other day trying to get here, I really don't give a shit what she and that witch do in their free time. If that witch can get us to the safe zone alive, I can probably ignore everything else."
Zoey smiled. "Thank you Bill. Her name's Anna, by the way. She can talk now. Though she still struggles some."
"You're kidding," Bill said.
"N...Nice...s-see...a...again," Anna said.
"Well shit," Bill said. "I suppose I owe you both an apology. You were right about her learning and being special. And...Anna, was it? I'm sorry for being an ass last time."
Anna smiled and nodded and used a claw to cut a slice of cake off, setting it on a plate and offering it to him. Bill chuckled.
"No thank you," Bill said. "I'm too old for cake. You go ahead."
Anna smiled and offered it to Francis instead, only for Francis to slap the plate out of her hand, the plate shattering on the floor, the cake splattering on what was left. Anna hissed at him and Francis grabbed the handle of his pistol, only for Zoey to beat him to the draw, leveling hers at his manhood.
"Put it away, Francis," Zoey said. "You started it. She was trying to be nice, and your slapped it out of her hand. I'd be mad too."
"It fucking hissed at me!" Francis snapped.
"She's a witch!" Zoey snapped. "She's as intelligent as any human, and she can talk, but she's still a witch! Yes she fucking hissed at you! She can't talk well enough to yell at you!"
"I'm fucking killing that thing!" Francis snapped.
"Francis, if you don't put that goddamn pistol away, I'm going to shoot your dick off!" Zoey snarled.
"Francis, put it away!" Bill thundered. "Now!"
Francis stared at him incredulously for a moment before holstering his pistol, Zoey lowering her own as Louis stepped into the room cautiously.
"I guess you guys have already got re-introductions out of the way," Louis said.
"Did you know she was fucking that thing?" Francis demanded.
"Yeah," Louis said. "Their personal lives aren't my business. And neither is who they fall in love with."
"You're just as bad as she is!" Francis spat. "Both of you! I'm the only sane one left!"
"Enough," Bill said. "Either leave or shut the fuck up and keep your opinion to yourself. We need Anna to protect us. Especially if we meet that witch again."
"If we meet that witch again, we're running away," Zoey said. "It's stronger and faster, and so far it seems to be damn near unkillable."
"What do you mean?" Bill asked.
"It almost killed both of us in a fight," Zoey said. "Not that hard for me, but it beat Anna too. Then I damn near blew the bitch's head off. A few minutes later, after I had finished barricading the door, I looked out the window and it was just standing there watching me. Then it left and since then it hasn't interfered with anything, including Anna going out hunting, until you three got attacked.
"Oh so the bitches are working together!" Francis spat.
"No," Zoey said. "It's me she wants, for whatever reason. And the reason for her not attacking Anna is that she's trying to trap me."
"Then why not use Anna as a hostage?" Francis asked.
"Either she's not smart enough, or she's too smart," Zoey said. "I don't know where Anna goes when she hunts. I don't know exactly where the infected are. That's why it's hunting. So her catching Anna wouldn't be a way to trap me because I wouldn't know where to look. And even if she did try, Anna would never be captured alive, especially as bait to catch me, so she wouldn't be able to use her as bait against me anyway."
"Oh how fucking noble," Francis snarled, rolling her eyes. "The slut and her undead lesbian whore in shining bra and panties."
Anna shot forward, yanking Francis's pistol out of its holster and tossing it away as she lifted him by the throat, free hand holding its claws to his manhood. "Zoey...is...not...slut!"
"Anna, it's alright," Zoey said, setting a hand on her shoulder. "Put him down. Nothing he says about us matters."
Anna held him there for another moment before dropping him to the floor.
"Oh yeah," Francis growled, rubbing his throat. "I feel so safe with the bitch around. This is a great idea."
Zoey turned, slamming her foot into his groin and dropping him. "If you would just shut the fuck up about us, you'd stop pissing us off. Then maybe you'd make it to the safe zone alive."
Francis growled a string of curses, but didn't really say anything, so Zoey turned away, walking over to Anna.
"You okay?" Zoey asked.
Anna nodded and Zoey hugged her, pulling back after a moment and slipping her hand into Anna's.
"We're not leaving until tomorrow," Zoey said. "For today, Francis, Bill, try to rest as much as you can. You'll probably both need it."
"That's reassuring," Francis grumbled.
Anna picked up the remaining cake and she and Zoey walked out of the room, back to their bedroom and closing the door, enjoying the cake in peace. After a while, a knock sounded on the door.
"It's open," Zoey said, Bill stepping in after a moment. "What's up?"
"I figured we should discuss where we're heading to next," Bill said, unrolling a map on the bed in front of Zoey and Anna. "We're here, and the safe zone's here. Obviously, since it's two states away, we can't walk there. Or, at least, I hope we don't have to. We found a survivor in a safe house while we were separated that say there's a radio here, about twenty miles from here, that we might be able to use to call the safe zone for help. These are the safe houses between us and the radio." He marked a few locations with a pen.
"I'd like it to be some place with a shower," Zoey said. "And running water. Anna tends to get a little messy when she fights and hunts."
"I can imagine she would, yeah," Bill nodded. "Well, there's not a whole lot of options. This one's in the sewer, so no shower there. This one's a mall. Maybe a couple of the bathrooms still works, but then there's a chance of getting attacked on the way there or back. This one's a hospital. There's probably a lot of medical supplies there."
"That could be important," Zoey said. "What's this?"
"That's an old church, I think," Bill said. "Suppose you could use the pool thing they baptize people in for a bath."
"That is so sacrilegious I think I might spontaneously combust if I tried," Zoey said.
"W...What...here?" Anna asked, pointing to one of the spots, this one a building surrounded by green and with a river running past it, then up toward the safe zone, reaching about five miles away at the closest.
"Uh..." Bill stared at the map for a moment. "I think that's an estate. One of them rich people ones. Good eye. They might have a boat."
"If not, it's pretty close to the radio," Zoey said. "Plus, since they were rich, their water might still work. They could have been on their own system. Hell, maybe their power's still on."
"Let's not get our hopes up," Bill said. "It's still fifteen miles away."
"Better fifteen than twenty," Zoey said. "Assuming we're right about the boat. Anna, do you know if there are any water infected?"
Anna shook her head. "Never...been...to...water."
Zoey nodded. "So, looks like the best path would be church, hospital, estate."
"Might have to go to the sewer," Bill said. "Depending on the conditions up top. And that other witch."
"Might have to run the entire way to the estate, depending on the conditions and that other witch," Zoey said. "For right now, we'll just plan for those three and be ready to change tactics if necessary."
Bill nodded, standing and turning to the door before pausing. "For the record, I glad you were able to find happiness in this hell, whatever the form. And I'm sorry for being a stubborn old man."
"Thank you," Zoey smiled. "Thank you so much."
Bill managed a small smile and walked away. Zoey turned back to Anna, seeing her staring at the bed sadly.
"What's wrong?" Zoey asked.
"C...Could...be happy...with...Cassy...if...not...me," Anna said.
Zoey stared at the bed for a moment before sighing and pulling Anna into a hug. "I love you, Anna. Don't ever believe that I don't. yes, Cassy's death hurt me, but I've made peace with it. I've moved on from her. You're the one I love now. And I wouldn't trade a second with you for anything. Even Cassy."
Anna wrapped her arms around Zoey, beginning to tremble slightly. Zoey smiled, kissing the top of her head before laying down, gently running her hand through Anna's hair as Anna cried silently.
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