Monster
Review Corner-
macabre-fantasies: Yeah, I thought long and hard about it but I decided to make it a dream.
naco26withcheese: That was probably one of the most inspiring reviews I've ever had, thank you so much! You don't need criticism or praise for me, a review is enough to make me know you're there to support me. Thank you so much!
Kiki's-stories-of-awesomeness (Guest): Popcorn and cookies, and a new chapter of Monster. Life is pretty much perfect.
gNatfan: OMG 300 CALORIE COOKIES? Oh, and I'll keep Nick and Francis hating Ellis for the fact that he's a Hunter-hybrid-thingy-blob-whatever, the Infected won't be friends - except for the fact that Ellis can call Hunters and the Huntress for back-up. Otherwise, you don't need to worry. :)
Yay! Another chapter! I'm just repeating what I've already said for several chapters!
I don't own Left 4 Dead 1 or 2.
Sorry for the delays - but expect more. I'm going on holiday on August 9th, and it kinda depends on whether I have wifi there or not... I'll either finish this fic before I go - which is unlikely - or I'll hope there is wifi to update the chapters. Sorry, please be patient.
It's a super-long chapter to make up for the last short one! *happy dance*
Fourteen
I stretched my limbs, which were stiff from the cold air and hard floor. I heard the others waking around me; Francis getting up normally - not injured. I was still shaken from my dream, the vividness had shocked me and I had thought it was real. I gingerly pressed my fingertips against a growing bump on my head, wincing when I felt the raw throbbing of a new bruise. Zoey, waking at my gasp, blinked the sleep from her eyes. She squinted up at me in the harsh dawn light. Rubbing her hands together, her breaths formed clouds in the crisp November air, and I stamped my feet to get the circulation going. I heard the crackling of frost underfoot as the others gathered together. Nick, eyes bloodshot and complexion pale with lack of sleep, joined the group warily. He stood beside Coach, I noticed, but still kept one hand on his gun as if expecting trouble.
"When is he going to realize you aren't hostile, and he is the one stopping the bonds from forming?" I sighed.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll come around eventually. By the looks of his scars and expensive suit, he was a gambler - not a man who found it easy to trust. He needs time." I saw Zoey's fair point, and held in my frustration with the cold conman. I stepped in between Louis and Francis, and Zoey squeezed in beside me, rubbing her numb fingers. Francis avoided my eye.
"I hate the cold," he grumbled, and Louis ignored him as he lit a cigarette. He held out the packet to me.
"Oh, no, I don't smoke," I protested. He gave me a long look, before grunting a reply and stuffing the small card box into a pocket. Zoey shrugged at me.
"He doesn't either," she revealed. "Something to do with keeping some part of Bill with us. He doesn't believe in spirits or afterlife," she added when I looked puzzled. "So he keeps himself happy with the cigarettes and nicotine. Who knows, maybe he smoked before all this started. But he smokes now all the same. All I know is that he only started when Bill died." I nudged her reassuringly, and looked across the loose circle to Nick. He was looking at Francis' pocket where the cigarettes were concealed, and the mixture of disgust and longing on his face gave away his wishes to smoke.
"Actually, Francis," I began, looking up at the older man. He looked awkwardly down at me. "Can I have one of those cigarettes?" He looked surprised, but dug his hand into his pocket and gave me a cigarette. I thanked him, and held it out to Nick. He shook his head, but I persisted, and he took the tube of nicotine from my outstretched palm after a gruff thank-you. Zoey smiled at me, then narrowed her eyes as Nick pulled a lighter from a pocket and lit the cigarette, which was held between his teeth.
"Why am I not surprised?" Her tone was heavy with sarcasm, but her eyes held amusement. Nick, however, looked ready for action. He stepped forward, exhaling smoke purposely over Francis.
"We need a plan," he demanded. "And I don't care if you're injured or whatever. We need to get out of here soon - we need to leave now."
-Monster-Monster-Monster-Monster-
"Why?" I blurted out. He sent me a mutinous look, as if questioning my act over his authority, but answered all the same.
"This place isn't safe," he announced. "I don't feel safe here, and until I know we have a good place to stay, we can't stop. There's no sufficient food supply, and no fresh or running water. This barn's also old - come December, we'll freeze to death. Hay and sacks won't insulate this place any more than it already is - and we're also dangerously low on ammo. How many guns do we have?" He lifted his pistol. Francis put a hand on his shotgun, and there were some murmurs around the group.
"Five guns between seven of us," Coach called after a minute. "Isn't that enough, Nicolas?"
"Five guns!" Nick ignored Coach's plea, and continued, his eyes flashing. He was suddenly furious. "That is not enough to survive! And," he lowered his voice, and turned his gaze to Francis. "I think we should rid ourselves of some members." I felt my blood run to ice as his gaze swept over me, but to my relief his eyes passed me and rested behind me. Turning my head, I realized my relief was short-lived. Ellis was sitting on a hay bale, licking the back of his hand like a cat. When he saw Nick, he crouched lower and growled threateningly, but Nick just raised his gun unflinchingly.
"Look, Nick-" I began desperately.
"Let's start now," Nick cut in coldly, his eyes like shards of ice. I stepped in front of his gun as he squeezed the trigger, and gasped as there was a deafening bang and a searing pain in my chest. The world went gray instantly, and I saw the floor rushing up to meet me for the second time. I almost felt like giggling at the thought, but when I did, I felt blood bubbling up my throat. I saw the red liquid, the only color, flooding the floor beneath me. I heard Zoey scream, and felt her hands pressing on my wound to stop the bleeding. Francis was shorting orders to Coach, who was searching everywhere for bandages, and Louis held my head on his knees. Nick stood stock-still, the gun clutched loosely in one hand. He was staring at me with a look of pure shock and mingled horror; as if he'd never expected to be the one that brought me to my death. I tried to tell him that it was okay - everyone made mistakes. His was that he shot me. Mine was that I wasn't quick enough with my wits to find another way to stop gunfire by stepping before the gun. I was bound to be shot sooner or later. I felt a wrenching pain suddenly, and I shut my eyes tight, tears suddenly streaming down my face. Opening them again, darkness edged my vision, and I saw Zoey's bloodstained hands - one pressed on my chest, one holding a dripping bullet. Louis' shaking hands took it from her as a fresh wave of blood poured the gaping hole near my collarbone. I felt my eyes began to slide close, and I saw Zoey shouting at me, tears on her cheeks startling against the built-up grime from the barn. Dust flared up as Francis dropped down beside her. As soon as I felt his gloved hands close around mine, I knew everything was going to be okay. I shut my eyes, a faint smile across my lips. Then I lost track of time.
"Rochelle! ROCHELLE!"
