Chapter 21: Forest

Disclaimer: I do not own Left 4 Dead

The next morning, Sion was looking well enough to begin moving again, and while Chad didn't say he was fully healed, he agreed that they should keep moving. After managing to refuel their escape vehicle, they all piled in. It had taken the better part of the night to convince Ark that he didn't need to go back to the camp to get the xbox, and now he was curled up in the corner, sulking.

" Geez, Ark, it's not like we can use the darn thing in a fight!" Zoey pointed out, sitting with her legs crossed. " All it would do is get in the way." she was trying to reason with the upset Hunter, the rest of the group leaving the task to her.

" But I won it..." Ark whined. He had been very proud of winning the small competition at the camp, one of the few things he had enjoyed there. Chad laughed softly at the sight of Zoey arguing with Ark before looking around the room at everyone. He had his bag slung over his shoulder and secured tightly, the loose flap being toyed with by Zane. Aside from Zoey and Ark's conversation, the rest of the ride was rather quiet, the silence becoming a bit unnerving.

Francis was amusing himself by cleaning out his weapon, Bill having taken over the driver's seat with Louis as his passenger. Zephyr was quietly sitting in her seat, her red eyes softly glowing as she looked everyone over, Sion curled up on one of the seats.

" So, is this forest encampment any good?" Bill called back to Chad, never taking his eyes off the trail. " Because the forest is a lousy place to hide out for a while, if you ask me. Sure there's cover, but what can cover you can also cover them."

Chad picked at his hair, the long bangs flopping over his face. Since he no longer had any access to luxuries like a brush and hair gel, his neatly slicked back hair had returned to how it normally was, long and sometimes unkept. "Well, I heard from the people who were stationed there, that the infected population seems to be very low in that forest. It seems to be mostly commons in those woods, rarely any special types."

Zoey looked away from Ark. " I guess we'll be safe for a little while there then. If there's no lab with crazy people experimenting on infected there that is."

Louis nodded in agreement. " I was thinking about that too. What kind of idiot would capture infected and bring them to a facility with an evacuation camp so close by?"

Chad shrugged. " To be honest, you're asking the wrong guy. I have no idea what the military was thinking, much less of an idea as to why they even put Bianca in charge of all of the infected. I mean, I've heard rumors, but not much else."

Bill stopped the vehicle with a sharp curse, Sion tumbling from his seat and falling to the floor, giving the veteran a startled expression. Bill forced open the door with a grumble, grabbing his gun and getting out. " We're walking from here. It's too dense to go any further." he said darkly, gesturing to the darkened trees.

" I hate camping." Francis grumbled as they all loaded out. " Ain't nothing but trouble." he cocked his shotgun and looked into the trees, searching for signs of the infected. Only a few commons were loitering around, staring blankly at the environment as Zoey looked at them through the scope of the rifle she was now carrying.

" Well, it seems as if they're more interested in the landscape." she said cheerfully. " Plenty of time to pick them off and make our way to the next encampment."

Zane climbed up onto Zephyr's shoulders, his head swiveling to look around. " Is it raining somewhere?" he asked, looking at the group. "I hear rain..." Zephyr shook her head. " It might be something in the forest." she concluded, gesturing with a long claw. "We'll just have to be careful."

Zoey looked through her rifle scope again, watching Ark and Sion checking out the line of trees before checking to make sure the common's hadn't moved, almost dropping her scope at the sight before her. Hidden within the treelines was one of those things they called a Shooter, and it was currently eating the innards of a Hunter, blood dripping down it's jaws as it tore at the body, it's large claws keeping it's now dead prey still. She backed up slowly, trying not to alert it, but warn the others. " Guys... we've got one of those things nearby... " she said warily, Sion picking up on her words and backing away from the trees.

Francis took the scope from Zoey and observed the Shooter next, putting down the rifle. " Well, now we know why there aren't any special zombies around here."

Bill lit his cigarette. " They're strong, but they ain't that strong... no way those things could ever kill a Tank."

Louis called to them from the other side of the vehicle. " But they're more than a match for a lone special... let's find another way."

They regrouped on the other side of the vehicle, giving the Shooter a wide berth as they headed into the forest. For safety, they organized themselves into different groups. Francis, Bill, Sion, and Ark made up the frontal assault, Bill and Francis equipped with a assault rifle and a pump shotgun. Sion was given a second pistol, and Ark was forced to take a pistol as well, though he still preferred his claws.

The rear group was Louis, Zoey, Zane and Zephyr. Zephyr wanted to be in the front group, but Bill had stated that as a Witch, Zephyr might accidentally be shot at by the team out of reflex, so she agreed to stay behind in the rear group. Zoey was carrying a Hunting rifle and Louis toted a submachine gun. Zane was the only one unarmed, and he was walking along with Zephyr, his little hand tightly clutching hers. Chad was in the middle, armed with all of the special tools and dual pistols of his own, ready to use a molotov if the situation called for it, though he didn't feel like starting a forest fire.

It didn't take too long before the group noticed something wrong with Sion. He was still moving and talking just fine, but it seemed as if his ability to aim had taken a hit from the experiments, it now took several scattered shots to kill a small group of infected where it used to only take a few well aimed shots. Showing concern, Bill made put Sion into the middle with Chad, to better protect him until he had fully recovered. Sion had made a bit of a fuss about it, but reluctantly agreed to remain in the middle.

Ark crept along, sniffing the air as he tried to find any signs of humanity, Bill searching the worn out trail for tracks, looking for any signs that it had been traversed in the last few days. " Someone's used this trail, but I don't know if it's any good." Bill finally reported, standing up. " Signs point to a pair having come through here."

" Don't know if it's any good? Your eyes failing on you again, old man?" Francis teased. " You should get a pair of glasses."

Bill gave him a scathing look before gesturing to the bushes. " There's signs of people having shoved aside the bushes and stepping on the foliage surrounding it. But it's only dented, not smashed, so the person was possibly barefoot. The other person was wearing boots, but walking at a much slower pace behind the first person, as if being led around."

Louis was impressed. " Wow, I bet that came from your training, didn't it?" he said cheerfully, admiration for the older man clear in his voice. " I mean, what you used to do in the military. Did you learn that kind of thing, Chad?" he asked, looking at the combat medic.

Chad shook his head. " No, in the old days, combat medics were non combatants. Bill could tell you more about it." he looked over at the veteran, who nodded, adjusting his hat. " In the days of World War II, field doctors wore a bright band with a red cross on it. It meant that they were exempt from the battlefield under the Geneva convention. If a medic picked up a gun though, they were no longer protected under that law. To kill a medic in those days was a war crime." Bill explained.

Francis lifted a branch. " So you basically chose the job that let you say you were a soldier, but kept you as far away from the battlefield as possible? What a wuss." he snorted, Chad looking offended.

" Uh guys? Less trying to make the other feel bad, more zombie killing. " Zoey piped up, Zane and Zephyr agreeing. " Those zombies aren't going to kill themselves."

Louis picked off an infected and stopped to listen, Zoey doing the same. " So, what's the plan? Does anyone know where we're going? I mean, I know we're going to the forest encampment, but how are we gonna get there?"

Chad gestured at the trees. " There's a trail 'round the other side..." he turned and ran as a Tank came barreling through the trees he was pointing at. It had taken the whole group by surprise, and the group scattered to avoid the swinging fists of the Tank. With the plenty of things to throw around the area, the Tank bellowed in delight as it lifted a massive trunk and tossed it in Bill's direction. Still agile for his age, Bill dodged out of the way, pulling Francis out of the path of the flung lumber, the biker giving a sour but thankful look to the veteran.

" Spread out!" Louis cried as the Tank swung at him. " But don't get too far!"

" Tell that to HIM!" Sion barked as he dodged a flying log.

" Clever bastard... set a trap for us." Bill grumbled, evaluating the situation. With the Shooter on the other side of the area, the Tank had effectively managed to limit them to one area, and had plenty of throwing ammunition. Judging by the way that his foot dug into the soil beneath them, he figured that the surrounding area was damp, and a molotov would have very little effect. One of their carefully coveted pipe bombs would do them no good either, their only tactic was to dodge around and pepper it with gunfire until it fell.

Ducking back, he reloaded his assault rifle and let fly with the bullets as the Tank charged for Louis, the darker-skinned man sprinting away from the Tank, buying some time for the group to shoot at it. Francis grabbed a large branch from the nearest tree and threw it at the Tank's head, the massive infected turning to face him, Zoey taking a turn to aim at it's head and fire repeatedly.

Ark had never felt this useless before, unable to do anything. He could leap at the Tank, but all that would result in would be another bruise to add to his collection, not to mention having to be rescued from the Tank. Zephyr was feeling the same way, her long claws flexing as she had no choice but to retreat with Zane in tow. Despite being another infected that survivors didn't want to tangle with, she too was not much of a match for the deadly Tank. Only Sion was able to help the survivors, and even then, only a little bit because of the dual pistols.

" We're useless here..." Ark said sadly. " Can't protect them..."

The situation turned worse when the Tank slugged the vehicle that they had been driving in, cutting Zoey and Louis away from Bill and Francis, Zephyr leaping into action. Screeching, she slashed at the Tank's leg, ducking when the fist was swung her way, returning to attack his vunerable leg as Ark leapt to where Zoey and Louis was, Zane riding on his back. The Tank bellowed and punched the vehicle again, the vehicle smashing into the trees, Zephyr crawling out from behind it, dazed. She hadn't recieved the full blow of the car's impact, but it was still enough to disorient her, the Tank grabbing her and tossing her away as an angry screech and rattling sounds could be heard, the aggravated Shooter charging through the trees towards Bill and Francis.

" You've got to be SHITTING me!" Francis roared, turning his attention to the Shooter as the Tank began to stagger. Sion drew back before opening his mouth and shooting his tongue out, wrapping it around the Tank's meaty fist, throwing off it's attack for a second. Bill was limping from getting hit by a chunk of debris but still firing at the Tank, Louis managing to get back over the vehicle to fire at the Shooter, which was clawing at Francis, the biker using the trees as cover from it's spine attack.

Ark helped Zephyr back up, the Witch giving him a grateful smile before motioning that he should go find Zoey before something else shows up. Getting to his feet, Ark sniffed the air, searching for her and yelping when a spine pierced his arm, the Shooter bellowing before charging at him. While it was not the fastest of the infected, the paralyzing effects of it's spines was next to immediate, Ark clutching his arm before crouching, leaping awkwardly into a tree branch. He was forced to climb higher when the Shooter dug it's claws into the tree and started to climb after him.

Zane scrambled over the tree, looking for Zoey. " Miss Zoey!" he called. " Where are you?"

" I'm over here, I need some help!" Zoey called from behind the vehicle. Part of the vehicle was sitting on her leg and she was trying to remove her leg from the twisted metal. " It's not going well." she said sadly. Zane climbed down and tried to help move the metal, pushing on it but stopping when Zoey hissed. " Damn it!" she said, gritting her teeth. " It hurts like hell! Zane, go get the others, I'll defend myself here."

Zane looked back at her with hesitant eyes, Zoey waving her hand. " Go!" she ordered, the child screamer scrambling back over the vehicle, scanning the scene. Bill and Francis were firing at the Shooter, the upset infected turning to face them and clawing at them, their bullets tearing spines off it's body. While it wasn't nearly as strong as the Tank, it was certainly persistent, swiping at the air while chasing Bill, Louis stepping over the body of the dead Tank to join the fight.

Sion dared not use his tongue on the Shooter's arms, reloading his pistols and aiming again. He noticed that Chad seemed to be nowhwere nearby, he guessed that the sight of the Tank at such close range had spooked him pretty badly. Returning to the fight, he shouted up to Ark to get down the tree and help, noting Zane looking all over the place, frightened.

Chad was actually having a rough time of himself, kicking a Hunter that had pounced on him away, swinging his knife at it with a growl. He had indeed been startled when the Tank attacked, running to the vehicle for cover, but was pounced on by a Hunter that had been lying in wait for someone to return. He had no idea as to where his gun had gone, having had it torn out of his hands by said Hunter and was using the knife as his only means of defense. Looking at the Hunter's sharp claws as it tried again to pounce on him, he looked at his knife and sighed. " Like bringing a knife to a gunfight."

Looking around, he managed to find his gun and picked it back up, dodging the Hunter again before shouting his thanks to Louis, who nailed the Hunter with some well aimed shots. Breathing a sigh of relief, he slumped against the tree. He jumped a foot when Zane came running at him, looking panicked. " Don't do that, Zane! I could have shot you!" he shouted, exasperated.

Zane pointed back at the smashed vehicle. " Zoey's behind the vehicle, and she needs help!" the young screamer cried. Chad looked up at the vehicle and nodded, sprinting for the vehicle and wishing it wasn't so far away from the others, searching for Zoey.

Zoey grimaced as she tried again to pull part of the vehicle off her leg. By now, she figured out her leg was pinned by what she thought was a part of the vehicle, and it was leaving her vulnerable. If a horde came along now... she would get hurt something terrible. " I need some help here!" she called out, the bushes crunching behind her. Turning her head, she looked up into the eyes of a man, who was giving her the most violent glare she had ever seen. Even the stranger that had visited them a day before didn't cast this much of a shadow. Walking around to face her, he placed one steel-toed boot on the tangled mess of rubber and metal and stepped on it, Zoey yelping in pain as he leaned over to look at her.

Dark brown eyes that appeared almost black gave her a cold stare as the man rubbed one gloved hand over his black shirt, smoothing it out over his blue denim jeans. Guns were firmly strapped to the man's sides and back, a hat covering up his brown hair. " Another survivor..." Zoey whispered, the man glaring and pressing his foot deeper into the tangled mess.

" You look like you've been all around..." the man said, his voice deep and devoid of feeling except for hate. " Seen any of those Hunters around here?"

Zoey grimaced as she tried to pull her leg free again. " We've killed a few..." she told him through clenched teeth.

The man gritted his teeth before giving her a smile she didn't like in the slightest. " Seen a big one? Piece of crap stole something from me."

" And you want it back?" Zoey finished, knowing this particular line already.

" No, not really. Damned thing can keep it if he wants. I'm just going to kill him for managing to get it from me." the man said, pulling one of his guns loose. He kicked the metal aside, freeing Zoey's leg, putting his foot back on the ground. "Red's a nice color on you, girl... You should wear more of it." with that, he grazed her leg with a bullet, kneeling as she yelped and clutched at her leg.

" So... now that I have your undivided attention, my dear, do you recall seeing a really big Hunter? Answer me truthfully, and I won't give you a nice red hat to go with your outfit, if you catch my drift." he smiled. " I'd hate for your friends to have to find your mangled corpse somewhere because you decided to not answer me. I'd also hate to have to strangle the Hunter you've been dragging around as a pet. But I guess I can give you a deal. Either you help point me in the right direction of my target, or I take your little Hunter with me to lure his daddy out."

Zoey let out a muffled yelp of surprise, the man kicking her to the ground with a snarl as the fighting continued on in the background.

" So, which will it be?"

Mini-sode: What happened during the time Sion was sick and couldn't be moved?

Zoey smiled as she walked into the bunker, observing Ark. From the little curious Hunter she found bleeding in the rain, he had grown into a capable fighter and a good friend. Watching him taking vigilance beside his friend's side reminded her that Hunters were good fighting partners with Smokers, and despite the differences between the two, Ark and Sion had become good friends.

Ark loved the thrill of the hunt, and immersed himself head first into battles with the horde to satisfy his lust to hunt. Sometimes, it was a bit horrifying to see him trotting back covered in random parts, but it saved ammunition, which was very important when ammo was running low in some areas. Sion preffered longer ranged battles, and was as effecient with a gun as Louis was with a piece of electronics. His nature also helped to provide a bit of logic to situations where Ark usually preffered to rushing in, no plan whatsoever. He was the more level headed of the two as well, often calming Ark down in dire situations when she couldn't do it.

But now wasn't the time for reflections, now was time for a little of the silver lining to the cloud of depression hanging over them all. " Oh Ark..." she called, waving a bag in front of her. " I have something I want you to try..." she smiled sweetly. Sure, it would cost a little of the things they had snagged from the camp, but anything for a bit of entertainment.

Ark obidently came to her, looking at her with curious eyes as she held up a drink. " Here, you must be thirsty." she said, handing him the energy drink. " We have more, and I already had one." Ark gave her a big smile and eagerly popped the drink open with his claws, guzzling it down.

-one hour later...-

Francis looked at Zoey. " You get all sorts of pissed if I mess with him, but if you mess with him, it's fair game?" he asked, watching Ark go crazy in the tree line, buzzed by the energy drink. Zoey leaned back in her chair, gingerly sipping a drink of her own.

" Sometimes, you have to create your own entertainment, Francis."

Chapter 21 and yet anothe bastard on the loose. This guy doesn't seem to play though, and surviving... every man for himself, I guess. Ciao for now!