Monster

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gagoze: It might be... ;D Actually, I had no idea. But now I sparked one! Thanks!

Kiki's-stories-of-awesomeness: Whoa! Cake, cookies and now Popsicles? I'm gonna be a Boomer before I finish this!

Thanks for all the support, guys, and thanks if you review after reading!

I don't know how much longer this'll be... Maybe 5 chapters more? I don't know yet. Sorry.

I don't own Left 4 Dead 1 or 2!

Eleven

I wrinkled my nose in disgust as the metallic stench of blood got stronger, as we neared the barn. Ellis continued unfazed; in fact he seemed excited by the prospect of dead bodies and blood. He disappeared into the barn. I followed quickly, and through the hay stacked to the tall ceiling, I could see three people standing in a circle, surrounded by Infected bodies. I heard Ellis snarl, and their heads swung round. One was a dark-skinned man, rather like Coach, but slimmer and younger. The other man was thickly muscled, tattoos covering his beefy arms and neck. He was scowling darkly. The last was a girl, younger than me, maybe a student? She looked tired, but the hard look in her eyes told me that she was no novice when it came to killing Infected. I thought about stepping out to speak to them, but I froze when I saw Ellis pounce. I opened my mouth in a silent scream of warning, and I saw alarm flash in the tattooed-man's eyes before he was knocked to the floor. Ellis snarled and spat, teeth and claws flashing as he raised his hands to strike. Immediately the other two members of the small group ran forwards and hit him off. He stumbled back.

"Francis, are you okay?" The girl was the first to speak. The muscled man, who I now knew was called Francis, brushed himself down before glaring at Ellis with a curled lip.

"Yeah," he growled. "I hate Hunters."

"But look, Francis, Zoey!" It was the dark-skinned man's turn to speak. He had lowered his gun. "This Hunter looks different... it still has eyes, and look - it's not wearing a hoodie." Francis rolled his eyes.

"Louis, just because it looks different, it doesn't mean it's not gonna rip our throats out," he retorted cynically. I was reminded strongly of Nick.

"But-" Louis began.

"Louis, please just shoot it," the young girl, Zoey, spoke. She was bandaging Francis' forearm, which had a bite on it. Cringing, I looked at Ellis. Sure enough, there was blood on his lips. Louis sighed, before raising his gun to aim at Ellis. I felt the breath catch in my throat, and I jumped out from where I had been hiding.

"Wait! Don't shoot!" I screamed. Louis' gun swerved to aim at me as he turned in surprise. Zoey spun to face me, her ponytail bobbing, and Francis' features darkened again. Ellis growled, seeing his chance to strike again, but I quickly went to his side and wrapped my arms around him. As I pulled him into the embrace, I saw shock materialize onto the others' faces.

"What are you-" Louis began, confused. "Who are you people?" I heard Nick and Coach push their way into the barn behind me, and Nick swore when he saw the other people. He raised his gun to aim at them, and Francis mirrored his action with his shotgun. They aimed at each other, looks of instant hatred on their chiseled features. My blood ran as cold as ice as I imagined what would happen if one of them opened fire. They would kill each other for sure, and this open hostility would cause more conflict between Coach, Ellis and I, and the other two people. I couldn't let that happen.

-Monster-Monster-Monster-Monster-

"They're not CEDA," I spoke quickly, stepping between them. Nick scowled.

"Then who are they?" he asked, leaning round me to scrutinize the three strangers.

"They-" I broke off as I remembered Ellis, and I spun on the spot. Seeing him crouching to attack, I reached out to grab his coverall sleeve. Pulling him back towards me, I wrapped my arms back round him again. He bared his teeth, but didn't attack me like he would with anyone else. I looked up, to see Zoey watching me with wide eyes.

"How do you control him?" Her eyes were alight with fear and wonder. I shrugged, holding Ellis' warm body tight against me, ignoring the blood that stained my arms. He snarled, and struggled ferociously to free himself. It didn't go unnoticed that he didn't bite me, though, and I looked down at him. He returned the look unblinkingly.

"So, Rochelle, who are they?" Nick snapped irritably. I looked back at the small gathering, and I felt my cheeks flush when I saw Francis gazing at me with mixed expressions. His eyes were softer than when he looked at Nick or Zoey, and I looked down at the floor. All I knew about this man was his name and appearance, and he had already attacked one of my companions. Then again, Ellis had attacked him. There was something about his rough, rugged exterior made me feel curious about the kindness underneath. But I pushed away the thoughts. A zombie apocalypse was the worst time for romance or relationships.

"They're not CEDA," I repeated what I said before, but Nick still seemed unsatisfied.

"What if they're just bandits? People who'll just cut our throats while we sleep?" Nick continued. I scowled as he thought up even more deaths we could go through with these people. He kept on talking until I couldn't bear it any longer. I turned to him, my eyes flashing with anger.

"Or they could use one of our molotovs to burn us all, or-"

"Stop it, Nick!" I snapped. He stopped ranting, and looked at me with shock in his eyes. Then he looked at the floor.

"Sorry," he grumbled. I nodded angrily, them realized that Ellis had stopped struggling to free himself from my grip. His eyes were wide, trained on Zoey. She glanced at him, and looked away, but her gaze darted back when she saw him staring at her. A blush started on his cheeks, and her face went pink. Ellis looked at me, then at Zoey, and opened his mouth to speak, and I waited for a growl. But I didn't hear what I expected to hear.

"Ah lurve her."