A/N: If anyone's interested, I've started drawing art for this story. It's nothing extraordinary. I'm not good at drawing people or weapons.

But you can find it on my page. I'm Viper-berry on Deviantart; it'll all be in my gallery folder under the name Left 4 Dead: On Our Own. If you want to look.

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A scream echoed from somewhere far off in the city. It was eerily quiet again.

The team was able to find a pawn shop with ammunition; and took some time to check over any injuries from the Dog attack. Jordan looked at where the rottweiler had bit him, making Beth worry when both saw blood trickling from the wound. They took care of it right away, he hissed at the disinfectant and rubbing wipes. The two looked at one another after securely wrapping it up. Jordan smiled and rubbed the back of her neck with assurance when he saw concern clear in her eyes.

"I'm alright." He had said.

The hospital loomed over the buildings and all could see lights slowly swaying side to side from the roof. Bill stared up at it in thought. Wondering if there was a quicker way to get there. It seemed a good distance away. With the distractions and obstacles, it could take them longer than necessary.

Louis gazed at him and might as well have read his mind. "If I'm not mistaking, I think the subway can take us straight to mercy hospital." He suggested.

"Hm…" the veteran turned his head and stared down the road, worn blue orbs shifting in search for danger and the entrance to said subway. "Good thinking. It might not be a bad idea to get off the streets."

Francis growled, but casted his deep feelings of annoyance from being ordered around aside and looked at what was behind the group. He scanned the area quietly after hearing another strange noise before moving along, pushing Beth ahead of him to keep up. They traveled down a set of stairs, squeezed by a car that had crashed next to the entrance and some rubble; then descended a couple of escalators into the station. A light flickered steadily while Bill walked up to a subway map and studied its directions as the others studied their surroundings. Ian, Zoey, and Keirstan hopped down on the tracks and chatted about something as a couple of them kicked some rocks around or chucked them at the wall.

"The red line north will takes us to mercy." Bill finally announced, tracing his finger across the path. Kayla looked at the map from behind. She scanned her eyes curiously around at the tunnels the subway had before gazing to the side. She moved on to hop down on the tracks as well.

"Echo!" Ian hollered down the tunnel.

Echo!...Echo!...Echo!...

"Sh!" Keirstan shushed, "we don't know what's down here."

"Hwaa!" Zoey whooped.

Hwaa!...Hwaa!...Hwaa!...

Louis gave her a discouraging face from where he stood on the platform. Suddenly, they heard something respond, causing all three of them to look towards the darkness. A few commons came charging out of the shadows, they bent down then backed up, chucking the rocks they collected at the attackers. "Alright, quit horseshitting." Bill grunted. So Keirstan and Ian took them down with their melee weapons.

"I hate subways." Francis sighed as he pushed off a wall he leaned against to follow. Amber, Beth and Kayla had made themselves busy throwing rocks in the opposite direction on the tracks, until the biker nudged the three. They wandered behind him until a rock was tossed back at the four, making them pause and turn where it had come from. Nothing could be seen, even when they shined their lights down the path. It sent chills down the girls' spines. They hurried ahead of Francis as he glared into the inky blackness.

"Francis, keep up."

He stared in the dark for some seconds, then continued on his way.

None of them noticed the rock was steaming.

Their flashlights illuminated the dark path until red lights on either side of an open area did the task for them. As they moved closer they could see how ruined the place was. There were bodies, litter and trash cans laying around. Rats raced off for a place to hide, doors were torn off and thrown to the ground, piles of brick and debris blocked some entrances and exits. Smoke and steam hissed from pipes and trains. As for the trains, some laid on their sides dented and smashed up; others sat abandoned either crookedly on the tracks or perfectly enlined. Most still had lights on inside. There were also a couple of fires blazing in debris laying on escalators with fluid and old blood staining the graffiti covered walls.

Jordan pulled his jacket tighter over himself, feeling how cold the underground truly was. "Man it's freezing," he hissed. "Just wait, it's gonna be a whole lot worse once we get to the top of the hospital." Zoey replied while strolling beside him. "I know, who's idea was it to put an evac on the roof of a building that fucking high?"

She laughed, "yeah that's-"

Zoey stopped when everyone heard Ian scream at the top of his lungs. Causing both to jolt. He fell backwards and scrambled away from a train. The others ran over with panic written all over their faces as Louis stomped down on a piece of debris, which flew upwards and slammed against his face. Stunned, he fell into a beam.

"Fucking A Kayla!" Ian scowled.

Her laughs were muffled from inside the train as her comrade got up and dusted himself off with Amber brushing his back, giving her the eye. She really lost it when Louis became friends with that piece of rubbish. He stumbled away from the beam with a moan and rubbed his forehead. "Screaming isn't the best thing to do in a place that echoes." Keirstan reminded, as Kayla moved on through the train, visibly shivering from the cold.

"Tell her that and to not scare us!"

Suddenly Jordan screamed when a hollering Beth leaped out from a hole in the wall, followed by Louis' and Zoey's shrieks as one person got scared by another in various places. Someone even roared out of fright and causing laughter to bounce off the walls. "Remember how vacant this place looks to be? That won't be the case if you don't stop playing seek 'n scare!" Bill scowled the crew.

"Quit having your wuss fit old man. We're fine, loosen up for once and save yer bitchin' for another day." Francis grumbled from the back.

Gritting his teeth and narrowing his brow, Bill whirled around and shined his flashlight straight into the biker's eyes. He clamped a hand over them and staggered backwards then tripped and fell rather clumsily over a large chunk of metal. Another piece clattered noisily next to him on the tracks. He groaned where he laid and blinked the dots in his vision away, now finding the veteran looming over him. "So screaming in a subway makes perfect sense to you? You're still thinking about your sisters' safety, right?"

He could hear cackling from behind their leader as he walked away. "Get up and stop your moaning."

Francis sat up and rubbed his lower back as Beth came up to him. "Are you ok?" She asked through her giggles. "I'll live." He answered as he glowered at the dirt in front of him. "Are you two staying warm enough?" He added, glancing up at her.

"Eh, I mean, I've been better. Don't know with Kayla but she looks a little chilled."

He got up and nodded, "ok. We'll find somethin' warmer to wear once we're outta here." He looked at the older sister who was sitting on top of the train now, and she was smirking. "How'd the ground feel?"

"Fabulous."

Air hissed from some pipes above as Kayla rose and walked along the train roof, tapping the pipes as she went. Louis looked around at the ground until he spotted a syringe laying in the dirt. Curious, he bent down to pick it up, until Keirstan saw what he was doing. "No!" She yelled, running over and kicking his hand, cracking his fingers and causing him to squeal. "Really? Do you normally walk around and pick up needles from the ground?"

"Sorry, it kinda looks like an adrenaline needle to me."

"Don't pick it up you lunatic. We don't need it." Keirstan shook her head as they walked away with Louis sticking his lip out and holding his hand.

"The vampires give us enough adrenaline as is Louis." Francis scoffed.

"Again with the 'vampires.'" Zoey said.

"I will not stop calling 'em that 'cause that's what they are."

At his statement he saw Amber, Kayla, Beth, Ian, Keirstan and Jordan all looked at him at once. Making the biker wonder what he looked like to them. Other than the hulking, tattooed, intimidating man he was. Of course, he knew what the sisters saw him as, but sometimes he couldn't help but think what else. Their friends seemed to have grown more trusting towards him in the short time they have been together. Although Amber and Ian still showed a bit of hesitance around him.

Time was the key to trust and respect. They had to get used to each other a little better that was all.

"I hate the infected and such," Amber started, as she kicked some rocks aside. "But I wonder if they remember anything. Mostly the specials. Like, they see something or a survivor they may have known previously, but then the sickness takes over and they attack. I wonder what they think. If they can think."

"Maybe somewhere there's a survivor traveling with a not so insane infected. Like a Hunter. Can you imagine?" Zoey replied with her fantasy, trailing her hand along a train and resting her gun against her shoulder as she walked.

"Hard to. I wouldn't show them mercy either way. I'd still kill them." Bill answered, tossing the butt of his cigarette aside. He went to pull another one out, only to find his packet was empty. He stared into it horrified in a long pause before crumpling and also chucking it away.

Amber looked around, taking in how empty and quiet it was. "It's also kinda unnerving there isn't any infected down here."

"That should be a good thing. Saves us bullets and energy." Louis reminded.

"Yeah but, you'd think a subway would be crawling with them."

"Maybe they're at the other side."

Bill eyed them all, "which is why we need to stay quiet." He stressed.

"Hey," Keirstan then pointed to a corpse ahead of them shortly after. She was eying it strangely, "speaking of infected…"

She walked over to and bent down to examine the condition it was in. The others gathered around for a peek. The body was severely burned. The wounds were ugly, bubbled and red, as parts of the corpse looked caved inwards. Exposing ribs and damaged organs. Upon closer look, a hole burned into the ground underneath it. The skin, especially on the face, looked dissolved. Not charred but dissolved. This wasn't from fire. This was from…

"Acid." Bill confirmed.

They looked ahead and around themselves, finding more bodies in the same state. There was also damage to equipment and objects. Beams had fallen down from one section after being struck with the merciless liquid, same with a train cart.

"Hold on," Francis piped up, "isn't there something that spits acid?"

"Oh fuck that's right…"

From behind Amber as they tried to remember the name, A long, lanky arm emerged from the darkness of a room by the tracks. Bony fingers traced through her hair right as Kayla hollered her name and she turned around with a startled yell. All whipped their eyes at what was happening, and see a tall, screeching infected lash into view. Kayla shot a bullet at the same time Amber ran off and it spat a ball of clearish-green liquid in defense. It burned up the bullet, and the survivor rushed away as the strange fluid splashed onto the train, where it rapidly burned through the metal body. She stared at it in surprise.

Louis looked at its horrid appearance, as everyone yelled different things while scattering to avoid being hit by the attack. It had a long neck with an eroded jaw, cheekbones and nose. More of the slime spewed uncontrollably from its skinless, lipless mouth. There were open wounds in different spots on its body, especially on its bloated stomach. It was awkwardly proportioned, including sagging breasts and skin. The red hair was also dirty and knotted into two messy pigtails. It hacked and gagged as it stumbled after the shrieking analyst, who stared at it in disgusted fear.

"Ah!"

"Argha!"

"AH!"

"Eeeee!"

The infected sprayed more fluid right as Louis spat back. He scrambled out of the way and the liquid made contact with the wall behind him. It swiped dirty long nails at whoever it could hit first until a loud boom scared everyone further and made their ears ring.

Beth uncovered her ears, and gazed at who made the shot with Keirstan lifting her head to also look from beside her.

Francis stomped forward, holding his ground and gun shoulder level. Staring at the thing whose head he had partly blasted off with cold eyes. Like he dared it to try to attack again. The others stared in silence as the infected staggered back, the rest of its head had snapped to the side. It groaned and twitched, as it slowly gazed back at them. Slime stuck all over its face and hair, glistening in the red light as brain fell to the dirt in clumps. It swayed and gurgled in its acidic spit and blood until Francis shot again, sending the special into the cement before sliding to the ground unmoving. Leaving a dark stain streaming down the wall behind it.

Louis spat at it again.

"Son, I don't think your saliva will do any damage." Bill shot down.

Next, Zoey and Beth went over to study the body. "Well that's just great, if we're hit by this thing's acid, we're done for. It was nice knowing you guys. We're fucked." Beth sarcastically proclaimed, throwing her hands about.

"We weren't fucked before?" Keirstan glanced at her.

"Ya'll need to stay positive!" Ian exclaimed, "we're heading to an evac center, we're being rescued."

Shrieking sounded from the direction they came from, causing all to look down the tunnel with alarm.

As they did, Ian and Amber glanced at one another with her half-lidding her eyes. "You just jinxed us with positivity."

"I know..."

"Kayla, let's go!" Francis called. She jumped from the train, performing a roll once hitting the ground with ease. She sprung to her feet and shot at the horde they couldn't entirely see yet; but judging the number of frenzied shadows dancing on the walls and because of the limited space, they would be down in a matter of seconds.

Alarmed further by the size, he charged towards her and reached out a hand. "GO!" Francis ordered, roughly grabbing her and pushing her ahead of him. "Get moving! There's too many of them down here!"

And then they were running. They sprinted as fast as they could go, shooting at the overflowing crowd which was now in sight. Bodies that went down were trampled into oblivion as the others' faces twisted in ugly, hellbent detest. Their whoops echoed off the walls and they vaulted over rubble or tripped over themselves as the survivors frantically scrambled around a corner. To their horror, the tunnel was blocked by a train pile up.

The group struggled to stop by the blockade where Zoey was already quickly looking around for an escape. She laid her eyes on a back door to a train that sat perfectly on the tracks. She raced over and fought to get the door open. Seeing this, Beth ran over to help. With some effort, the girls were able to pry it open.

"All aboard you fucks!" Zoey shouted.

The survivors look at what she was yelling about, then raced over to wildly climb inside. Francis shoved the sisters in despite they were going as fast as they could. Beth yelled in pain when her leg bashed off the ledge, as Zoey and Bill stood back to try to keep the sick away. Next more acid came hurling out of nowhere, barely missing them by mere feet and melting the tracks. Some sprayed onto the college student's jacket and it burned the fabric away quickly, she gazed down and hastily unzipped then tossed her coat aside before Bill yanked her in and the door was slammed shut.

Immediately, the infected were all over the back and sides of the train, rocking and bashing it until they broke bones in their hands and other limbs. But continued to assault the metal barrier. Sweat, saliva, blood and fluid streamed all over the windows as some tried to climb on the roof while the terrified survivors backed further to the front of the cart, firing while doing so. Amber covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut trying to block out all the screaming. Then she opened her eyes in terror at the sound of breaking glass, although sees many of the infected screaming out in pain as another ball of the liquid made contact with their bodies; causing them to flail even more violently from the agony as their clothes and skin burned and bubbled away. Consuming them in steam until they sunk out of sight.

"It's going to burn the door down," Bill grimly observed.

The special infected ran in view, clawing down commons in its way. It once again shot another round of acid as most of the group hypersalivate and profusely spat back at it, and the veteran looked at them strangely before he raised his weapon as it attempted to jump straight through the window. He fired a bullet through its head, and it dangled through the partially broken glass. Acid sprayed from its body which made them all yell and scramble back further while it burned through the floor.

"They're gonna get in!" Keirstan screamed in fear.

But that was not what happened like she thought. Suddenly and unexpectingly, the team felt the train cart shift. To their surprise and confusion, they looked around as the wheels screeched while it moved forward.

"Are they pushing the fucking train?!" Louis yelled, his eyes narrowed in shock.

"No, they're pulling it backwards." Beth remarked, earning herself an exasperated look from him.

The infected roared as they continued beating on and pushing the train, unknowingly accelerating it in speed. Everybody watched on while this happened until Louis hollered out again.

"I never thought this day would come! But everything changed when the fire nation attacked!"

"Yes!" Amber exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"You mean when the zombies actually attacked!" Jordan corrected.

The train raced down the tracks from the large horde's efforts. They pushed the special infected's body in the cart and making it burn through the floor at a quicker rate.

"You know, those mutations have got to hurt." Ian sighed as the body eventually melted into itself and dropped through the floor. "I'd say…wait!" Zoey gasped, "I remember what they're called. Spitters!" She exclaimed, grabbing Ian's coat. He blinked in silence, then snickered, "still want to bathe in their acid?"

"What? No!"

"Uh…" Bill traveled up to the cabin of the train, examining the gears nervously. He glanced up as bullets were fired in the background and saw they were about to hit a turn. "Do you have any clue how to steer this?" Francis asked who was suddenly beside him.

"Nope. But I'll damn well guess." He grabbed a gear by random and twisted it, causing the train to screech to the left where the were about to go. Surprising them again.

"Now I know."

Loud shattering glass caused them both to jump. They shifted their eyes and heads to the side hearing more commotion.

Commons tried to leap in through the broken windows as most kept on pushing. The train veered around multiple turns as one of them ran at the group, however it was cut down by Ian's hatchet. Who spat on it afterwards.

"Where are we going, anyway?!" Keirstan shouted over her shoulder.

"I don't know!" Bill grunted as the train rocketed noisily down the path.

"~Aahhyyeeeeeee!...Leedle leedle leedle leeeeee!~" Jordan yodeled at the ceiling, holding his axe close.

"When I was in New York City during a class trip," Kayla started casually, as if the chaos around them wasn't happening. "We were about to board a subway train. I saw a Rat scurrying down the tracks. All I thought of was Final Destination. I thought 'this is how I die.' Before we left, a Mexican guitarist hopped on and started singing and yodeling in Spanish."

Amber laughed, "I think you told me about that."

"Now you're on a train operated by murderous infected." Zoey said with all three of them sitting down like this was normal.

She received an unfriendly side glance. So Amber replied for her, "she probably didn't think this would happen."

"Oh shit!" Everybody heard Francis and Bill holler in unison. Beth, Ian and Jordan paused their infected slaying; who were still trying to get through the windows.

"What?"

"Brace yourselves!" The veteran shouted.

There was a loud screech. Next a bang, followed by crashing and the sounds of rubble falling on the roof. Some debris crushed the attackers and blocked the back door, while others were painfully smashed between the train and walls the cart was now lodged in between. They all stumbled as some fell before regaining their balance, although didn't have much time to think about what just happened. Because they were now being yelled at to get out. They smashed some windows and did as told, hopping onto a platform and looking at the train to see what happened. It was lodged into an area that was much too narrow for it to squeeze through. At least it was blocking the screaming infected from getting to them. Which they could still hear clawing and bashing at the cart.

"Through here!"

The team fled through a doorway, readying their weapons as they did not know what could be waiting for them while climbing up a set of stairs. They came upon another open area, which was illuminated by more red lights; from what they could see there was an exit on the other side. The infected that charged were quickly taken care of as the group continued their trek. "What did you say those things were?" Francis asked.

"Spitters!" Zoey exclaimed, looking ahead from him and firing a bullet. He followed her gaze, seeing yet another ball of acid soaring their way. The body laid on the ground as its fluid burned down through the dirt behind them.

Everyone moved passed the corpse, some loudly spat onto it while they walked by.

"Seriously you guys?" Keirstan snarked.

The biker narrowed his eyes at it oddly. "God, they're ugly."

He continued to look it over, noticing this one looked like a male. Other than the female-like counterparts they got away from.

The group ventured through the exit and up another flight of stairs leading into a generating station. Where some bombs were found and confiscated. After passing through the turbines and ruined equipment, everyone traveled a third set of stairs before making multiple guesses and arguments on where to go once on the second floor. Settling on a doorway to their left, the survivors passed through a suite of offices, picking off some staggering infected as they went. Kayla laughed at one after shoving it through a window until Francis pulled her back to keep up.

Finally, but much to their dismay, the team was back on the streets.

Although the hospital was much closer.

But there was a problem.

Everywhere they looked, all paths were either ruined and blocked off by debris and vehicles.

A metal lid was soon pried open by a discarded crowbar. It scratches across the bloodied road when pushed to the side.

"I'm not going down there." Keirstan immediately protested as they all looked down in disgust.

"I think you'll be alright kid, you've lived through worse." Bill said, tossing the crowbar aside. It clattered on the pavement as he spoke.

Francis released a glob of spit into the manhole.

"No."

"It's the only way."

"Repeat. I am not going down there. And I'm sure everyone agrees."

Bill shook his head, "will one of you-"

He stopped wide eyed as together the others all hurriedly lunged themselves backwards. They stopped a good distance away and watched judgingly; leaving him fuming in annoyance.

"Christ Bill why do we have to go through the sewer?" Amber questioned, with her nose still plugged.

"Do you see any other way?" He asked, gesturing to their surroundings.

"I see an apartment complex." Louis pointed over to a building.

Bill blinked as he looked at it, "o-oh."

"Bye," Keirstan made way for it, like everyone else had.

The veteran watched them go for a moment and sighed. He gazed at the hospital behind him. Cold rain sprinkled from the clouds. He could hear Francis whining about something and giggles among the young survivors. He then said how whatever was said kind of hurt before Bill heard rabid gurgling drawing near. His old eyes laid on a charging common and he rolled them. "Oh fuck off." He snorted, tripping it and shoving it into the manhole. It splashed around in the nasty mess below as he walked off towards the apartments.

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A/N: I hope this chapter wasn't too boring or stupid. I've been so busy and really wanted to work on my story, I wasn't thinking where this one would go. Yay! Midterms and constant work! Not haha. The little NYC tale Kayla told is true. It happened last year on one of my art class trips. Simple and short, but silly I hope. I hate subways, especially those trains! They're always way too crowded and go way too fast I swear at one point, one of them I was one caught air.

Ok. See you all later.

-Viperberry.