I have found some mistakes, just be patient when you've told me any and I'll fix them as soon as possible. I have terrible wifi, so it takes much longer than it should to update stuff, but yeah... I try hard, okay?
Please review to keep me fueled!
Review Corner-
Kiki's-stories-of-awesomeness: Don't worry about missing the seventh chapter release, I posted it a minute before the eighth. *shares cookies with you* And don't worry about me killing Ellis, it may be a spoiler for the chapter ahead but I'd never kill him!
I don't own Left 4 Dead 2, and I thank GNatfan for the ideas of this chapter.
Nine
I was so shocked I did nothing as Nick walked past me. Turning sluggishly, as if in slow-motion, I watched helplessly as Nick lifted his gun and aimed at Ellis. For a heartbeat, Ellis just stared down the barrel of the gun, before he raised his head to the sky and howled. Nick gasped audibly, but soon his voice was drowned out by a chorus of howls and snarls in reply. Then, from the shadowy depths of the trees around us, crept Hunters. I stayed on the same spot, but turned my head, and I could see dozens of the Infected creeping from the trees. Their teeth were bared and they were all growling ominously. Nick was frozen, eyes wide with shock and confusion. Ellis turned his head back to the conman, and bared his teeth as if smiling.
"Changed your mind, Nick?" I found my voice, and stepped out in front of him, one hand in front of Ellis. The Hunters surrounding us growled loudly when Nick seemed to consider his answer, and he stopped to look properly at how many there really were. After a good glance at the many Infected, he didn't hesitate to answer.
"Yeah, whatever." Ellis remained still. Nick stared defiantly back at him, but there was a glint of fear in his dark eyes. Ellis turned his head and growled, and the Hunters, after a brief pause, began to retreat back into the trees. Soon, only two Hunters remained: Ellis, and another, a rogue, who seemed to be sizing Nick up. Nick saw it creeping closer, and raised his gun as Ellis snarled a quick warning to the rogue. The disloyal Hunter paid him no heed, and leapt at Nick, it's mouth twisting into a malicious maw as it screeched. I found myself being pushed aside, and Nick wasted no time in hesitating to shoot; his gun flashed as bullets spun from the barrel. They embedded themselves into the Hunter, who rolled to one side, claws flashing. Then a blur of yellow and blue crashed into it, and Ellis was there, tearing his claws into the rogue's sides.
He snapped and clawed wildly, and the rogue mirrored his moves, scoring deep scratches down the mechanic's sides. Ellis snarled in pain, and darted to one side, launching himself forwards to embed his teeth in the other Hunter's arm. The rogue screeched, and copied again; biting down savagely into Ellis's neck. It jerked its head away, tearing flesh with it, and I saw Ellis' eyes widen with shock. It was his turn to copy, however, so he tore his head back, pulling navy material with the gray flesh and blood. The rogue staggered back, then crouched, leaping with a screech to land on its opponent. Ellis rolled as it landed; knocking it off, and they began wrestling again. Soon, they were both pacing in a circle, chest heaving, limbs and faces covered with blood. Then they leapt, and they were colliding with each other, claws stabbing and ruthlessly scratching. I covered my mouth with nausea. Coach looked horrified, and even Nick's eyes were alight with fear. Ellis snarled and ducked, and his hat was knocked off by a potentially lethal swipe from the rogue. His slashed his hand forwards, opening a gash on the rogue's cheek, and the rogue retaliated by planting a firm blow on Ellis's shoulder. Seeing him struggling to stay upright, I noticed that the ground was damp. The mud was slick, and holding out a palm, I felt cool raindrops, falling from the gray sky.
A flash of lightning made both fighters freeze, but the following rumble of thunder only seemed to make them more furious. The rain fueled and dampened their spirits; Ellis was clearly tiring with the effort of fighting and not falling in the sodden ground. The rogue was like lightning itself. Its claws flashed in the dim light, and the snarls from both fighters matched the thunder in ferocity. The rain fell down torrentially; soaking everyone in seconds and making the ground dangerous to stand on. Ellis was bleeding heavily from multiple cuts, and I found myself doubting - not for the first time since the fight had begun - whether Ellis would come out from this alive.
-Monster-Monster-Monster-Monster-
I wasn't sure what happened. One moment, Ellis and the rogue were fighting as equals, and the next, Ellis was standing triumphantly over the cold body of his opponent. His face was dark with bloodlust and malignant wonder. The rain lashed down, sending sprays of mud up the back of my calves as I ran to Ellis' side. I embraced him, and he watched me silently, face wet with rain, sweat and blood. Then he smiled, and I continued hugging him although my heart was racing at the sight of the neat fangs lined up. The same fangs that had pierced the heart of the rogue. The same fangs... that could kill all of us. I shook my head to clear the images of our broken corpses. Ellis wasn't like that. He was trustworthy, loyal, and most of all, friendly. He wouldn't kill his own companions, Infected or not. Right? I screwed my eyes shut.
"This is so confusing!" I groaned out loud, and opened my eyes again when I realized. Coach and Nick were staring at me, confusion spread over their features. I blushed; embarrassed.
"You wanna tell us what that was, Rochelle?" Nick asked, bemused. I shook my vigorously, biting my lip.
"It's-" I stopped when voice came out as a guilty squeak, "It's okay." Nick looked like he didn't believe me, but to my relief, he didn't question me any more. Coach still looked worried.
"If there's something bugging you, girl, just say, alright?"
"Okay," I replied, half truthfully. I couldn't voice my fears of Ellis killing us; this would only cause more distance between Ellis and Nick, and Coach would be worried too. I could tell him about anything else, just not that. His gaze lingered on me for a second, but he turned without a word to face Nick.
"Shall we go?" he suggested.
"It's raining," Nick stated, motioning at the drops still pattering on the ground around us. "We should find a camp soon." I nodded, and extracted myself from Ellis' grip.
"How far away is the camp?" I asked the young mechanic. He stared back at me, eyes wide and imploring. I frowned when he made no attempt to reply.
"Ellis? Boy, are you alright?" Coach had obviously noticed too.
"Hey! Overalls!" Nick barked, and I saw Ellis visibly flinch as Nick stormed up to him. "Cat got your tongue? Or should I say, claw got your tongue? Spit it out!" When Ellis still remained silent, I knew something was really wrong.
"Ellis? Ellis, sweetie?" I pushed Nick to one side, and crouched down beside Ellis, who was squatting quietly in the mud.
"Rochelle-" Nick began, but I quelled him with a glance. He fell into a huffy silence. I looked back at Ellis.
"Can you..." I paused, at looked despairingly at Coach. "Can you speak?" I heard Coach exhale sharply as I voiced our worries aloud. Then, slowly, Ellis...
... Shook his head.
