Monster

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Kiki's-stories-of-awesomeness: Yeah! I got cake too! *gives you a slice*

Random Guy: You're confused? I... don't know how to fix that, seeing as you're a guest reviewer. I hope the rest makes sense...

Yay! Another chapter! :D Sorry about the delay!

... I'm running out of stuff to say.

Nyan Cat is a pop tart! THERE! :P

I don't own Left 4 Dead, blah blah blah. I think it's obvious I don't by now.

Oh, and Kitty is an OC belonging to Kiki's-stories-of-awesomeness. I received a request to add her in, and as a thank-you for all the reviews cookies and cake, I have added her in. She won't be superhumanly powerful and amazing like a Mary-Sue, and she won't be a main character over everyone else, don't worry. Shout out to Kiki's-stories-of-awesomeness! Thank-you for the cake!

Ten

I choked out a sob. If he couldn't speak, there was no way he could communicate vital things. And now Nick thought he was even more of a mindless beast, like he did with horses. I remember their conversation... It wasn't long ago, and now Ellis was already lost this far. I felt tears spurt down my cheeks, and I hurriedly wiped them away, but already Ellis was staring at me. His expression was a mixture of sadness and wonder. He crept up to me, and brought his face centimeters away from mine. I stayed stock-still - whether I was too scared to move or I didn't want to, I wasn't sure. Then Ellis reached up, and flicked a tear from my cheek with one claw. It left a cut; I could feel the blood seeping from the shallow opening. Ellis stayed in front of me, and licked the salty drop from his fingertip with a pale tongue. He looked down at his hand, before looking back at me. His eyes were directly staring into my eyes; orange and brown meeting as we both stood. I saw his eyes soften from the predatory frown, and I saw misunderstanding and longing reflected in the deep pools of amber light.

"He doesn't want to be like this." I found myself speaking automatically, and I turned to Coach. I was shocked when I saw his arms wrapped around Nick, who was struggling to break free to reach his gun, which was lying a small distance away on the dirt.

"Let me go, Coach," Nick growled. "It's only going to be a short amount of time before he's as bloodthirsty and disloyal as that rogue!" I opened my mouth to argue, but I was interrupted by a faint howl from the distance. Ellis stopped staring at us, and turned to the trees where the howls were still echoing. A Hunter crept out - but it was no normal Hunter. The hoodie it wore was purple, and the lack of duct tape was noticeable compared to other Hunters. Its bottom half was clothed with skinny jeans, instead of brown trousers, and coveralls in Ellis' case. And the most obvious thing was that it was a female.

"A Huntress!" I gasped. The Huntress crept warily around us, until she was at Ellis' side. He purred, and rubbed his head against her shoulder, and she smiled back at him, but I could tell by her tense stance that she wasn't comfortable around us. With Ellis, she was fine, but around the normal Survivors - Nick especially - she was wary. I walked around her, so I was behind her, and I saw a word printed in white on the back of her hoodie. It read 'Kitty'. Thoughts swirled through my head, and my knees buckled as a wave of nausea washed over me. Darkness was filling my vision in a matter of seconds, and I was on the floor suddenly. Then everything went dark.

-Monster-Monster-Monster-Monster-

I woke up. Unsure for a moment of where I was, I struggled to sit up. A white jacket fell from me, and I saw Coach's kindly face peering down at me. He gave me a grim smile. I realized I was in his arms; being carried as he walked, and Nick - now without a jacket - was walking ahead. For a moment, I thought his gun was aimed at Ellis, then my memories came flooding back and I remembered Kitty.

"I know her!" I burst out. Coach looked down at me again, bemused.

"Know who?" Nick had fallen back to snatch his jacket, and he overheard me.

"Kitty - the Huntress. I know her!"

"Where from, girl?" Coach set me down onto the floor.

"The news," I answered. "She worked with me as a journalist; I was a reporter. I knew her, she was... nice." My voice trailed off feebly. Saying she was 'nice' changed nothing now, when Nick saw her as a bloodthirsty beast, Coach was scared of her and she, herself, didn't understand any of us but Ellis. I looked forwards to see that Ellis had stopped to wait for us, and Kitty was sitting a little way off from him. Her face was a mask of calm, but the tears in her clothes and the blood spattered over her didn't make me feel any better. When I stepped forwards, she growled, creeping back like a caged animal. Ellis swung his head round to face her, and growled something I couldn't understand. Kitty seemed to, though, and nodded before bounding into the forest. I watched her leave, then cautiously approached Ellis. He turned to me, and began heading down the road again. I followed until the moon was low in the sky, and the fiery light of dawn was edging in from the east. I reached a splintered wooden signpost, which read, 'The Barn'. Looking past it, I saw a large, old barn rising up to tower over us and the trees alike.

"Inventive name," Nick remarked sarcastically as he read the sign too, and Coach stopped beside it too. Ellis continued; wary as usual, but his pace was quicker - as if he was starting to be excited about something. Soon, he was bounding along, and we had to run to keep up; Coach puffing resolutely behind Nick and I. We reached the barn, and Ellis stopped abruptly, sniffing the air. Smelling the pungent air myself, I could only pick out the scents of livestock and fertilizer. But, taking a deeper inhale, there was something else there - sharp and tangy. It was the unmistakeable smell of blood.