Finally another chapter! Please review and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Left 4 Dead

Chapter 9: Reunited

Two eyes peered out of a barred window into the rainy night. Stepping away from the window the man gave a tired sigh. He couldn't believe she was gone. The one he wanted to save the most, perished without him even getting a chance to try and change her mind.

"Does it get easier, old man?" Bill turned away from the window to peer at Francis.

"I've seen friends and comrades die countless times, son…No. It never gets easier, each time it gets a little harder." He removed his hat and ran a hand through his thinning, white hair.

A slam to their left brought Bill and Francis' head warily turning that way. Louis stood with his hands in fists against an old kitchen table. His eyes were clenched and tears had found their way down his cheeks.

"I should've stopped her! I SHOULD HAVE NOTICED SOMETHING WAS WRONG!" His yells dissipated into hard sobs as he sank into the kitchen chair.

"Come on man…It ain't your fault. None of us knew or expected her to do some stupid shit like that." Francis looked away from Louis' sobbing figure and picked up his warm beer.

"Cryin' isn't going to bring her back, kid." Bill moved to rest his hand on Louis' shoulder. "But if that's what you need to do, I'm not going to judge you. I shed all the tears I had in me years ago, but my heart still weeps inside."

Francis gave a chuckle from the floor, "You get that from a play, old man?"

Smiling Bill removed his hand from Louis' shoulder and took a seat on the floor next to Francis. Taking a cigarette from his breast pocket, he lit it and took a long drag.

"Too bad you and Zoey couldn't have traded places."

A laugh broke out from Francis and he swigged back another drink of beer.

It had been hell trying to finish making their way through the rest of the airport. After losing Zoey they had continued on through the bagging terminal. Sliding through the small space the bags passed through into the backroom, they had managed to escape the massive horde.

The baggage claim area brought a Tank with it and the group barely managed to escape serious injury. Pure adrenaline had carried them straight through the next safe house and out to the landing strip.

There was nothing for them there.

Rubble and debris lined the airway from destroyed planes. Not one part of the strip was clear for a plane to even take off from. Some infected crawled, crippled, across the ground from injuries sustained in the crash, while others were still strapped into their seats, struggling to get out.

With heavy hearts the trio turned around and made their way back to the safe house.

"So do we have a Plan B?" Louis asked quietly from the rickety table he was sitting on.

"Well, the hospital is overrun and the plane idea was a bust. What about a boat?"

Bill rolled his eyes at Francis' suggestion. "I'd rather be killed by those damn things outside, than starve on some boat. That's a terrible idea."

"I don't see you comin' up with anything, grandpa!" Francis pushed himself off the ground and headed toward the door. "There's no point sitting around here; we'll walk until we think of something."

"Now, hold on. We're not going to wander around aimlessly and go getting ourselves killed," Bill gripped Francis' shoulder tightly and led him away from the door.

"The last safe house we're at had a message on the wall about the military evacuating survivors out of Greenville. It's not far, maybe a week walk by foot and its right next to the coast. If the army isn't there, then we look for a boat, deal?"

"Just admit it, geezer, you think the boats a good idea." Francis voice echoed through the room as he once again made his way to the safe house door.

They didn't travel back through the terminal.

Parts of the fences surrounding the landing strip had been torn down and now made an easy exit back to the streets.

"It seemed kind of stupid to travel through the building now that I see this…" Lifting his hand, Louis scratched the back of his head staring at the downed fences.

A laugh came from the front of the group. "I was just thinking that."

None of them spoke the thought of Zoey possibly being alive had they checked the surrounding area before they went in the building. It weighed on them though.

Making their way across the treacherous fence they began heading toward the streets.

Louis' eyes travelled up to the cloudy sky. A light drizzle still poured down, but the worst part of the storm had passed. It had been at least a week since he had seen the moonlight shining down and it looked like tonight would be no different.

Everything was always so gloomy and gray now. Not just the sky, but the buildings, the atmosphere; the corpses.

A war was being waged in his mind at the decision he had made in the terminal. Maybe he should have stayed with her…was it fair that she had been alone in her final moments? What did she think about them as they ran away from her and left her to the infected? He didn't know. He didn't want to blame himself for what happened to her, but he felt maybe if he had tried harder she would have come with.

He remembered when they had first found her in that abandoned apartment.

Flashback:

The apartment complex had seen better days. The lights dimly flickered as the three males ran down the hallway, searching rooms for food and supplies.

A Smoker had been stalking them for a couple of blocks now and they had decided to move inside, until it showed itself. There wasn't much left in any of the rooms they searched. Any medical supplies or food had already been ransacked or taken with the families that left.

(Bill and Louis had run into each other on the street after Louis had come finally come out of his apartment to face the new world. While, Francis they had found in the bar downtown getting drunk off his ass, shooting zombies as they came through the door. Honestly, Bill and Louis were both hoping he wouldn't come with, but he had insisted they needed him and his shotgun.)

A final apartment at the end of the hall seemed to have screaming coming through the door. With a quick nod from Bill, Francis lifted his heavy boot and kicked the door in.

What they saw inside painted a morbid picture in their minds.

A young woman, with brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, sat on the bloodstained couch in the small living room. The TV was on in front of her, but they couldn't see what was playing; only the screams that sounded from it. Two bodies lay in front of her between the TV and the couch.

The woman's head was half blown away, the shotgun laying on the floor the likely culprit, while the man had a single bullet through the middle of his forehead. Their hands were clasped together between them and their heads slightly turned to face one another. The scene was sweet, in a twisted kind of way.

The girl had raised her pistol when they entered and narrowed her eyes at them. Her hand slightly trembled as she switched aiming the gun back and forth between them.

It had been Bill who had taken a step toward her and reached his hand out to her.

"We're getting out of here, if you liked to come with us, you can."

She hesitated and stared at his hand. Her eyes came up to roam over Louis and Francis. A small smile came to Louis' face as he awkwardly waved at her, while Francis gave a snort and leaned against the doorframe.

Turning her eyes back to Bill, he gave her one of his rare smiles. She smiled back, but it quickly disappeared as she placed her hand in his and glanced down at the bodies.

"Why not, there's nothing left for me here."

It had been a surprise to all of them at the time that the young woman hadn't seemed to be affected at all by the death of her parents. After traveling with them for a few days she had fully opened up and began joking and acting like they had known each other for years. Not once had she even mentioned her parents. Now Louis realized how much she had hidden it weighing on her.

That moment when she had refused to come with him in the terminal was a complete shock to him. He had no idea what to say to her in that life changing moment. Instead he had left her there while he ran away to safety. He could never forgive himself for letting that happen. None of them could.

They all knew now though that it was best to move on and that if they wanted to live they couldn't let this break them.

So back through the city they would travel and attempt to find this evacuation point in Greenville. They could mourn Zoey when they were all safe.

"Hey, there's a sign for a safe house over there, think we should check it for supplies?" Louis' pointed to a hastily painted arrow and house across the street on a convenient store.

"It couldn't hurt to look. We'll need all the supplies we can get on our trip to Greenville. There's only a small town between here and there." Waving them forward Bill started across the street.

There wasn't any sign of infected activity right now, but they knew that could change in an instant. Last time it had been quiet like this that mutated freak had started screaming and attracted every infected within a few miles. Their nerves were on end as the quiet and stillness surrounded them.

Francis almost slammed into Bill as he suddenly came to a halt in front of him. "Jesus! Warn somebody when you're going to stop!"

Bill looking surprised turned to face Francis, "Why were you walking so close to me, son? You scared?" With a growl of irritation Francis shoved past Bill and continued on.

"I was just gonna say the safe house is around this corner we should be car-" A loud yell from Francis cut Bill off, followed by a boom from his shotgun.

"I hate sweatshirt boys!" A snarl came from around the corner that Francis had been shooting at and they all paused.

What they weren't expecting was a ghost to come running around the corner with a huge grin plastered on their face. Francis gave a dramatic scream as Zoey crashed into him and through her arms around him in a hug.

"AH! Shit!" Louis and Bill were in shock as they stared at the scene in front of them. Francis looked terrified of the girl hugging him, like she was about to start munching down on him. While the young woman was laughing as she buried her face into his chest.

"FRANCIS! I didn't think I'd ever hear your annoying voice again!" Zoey laughed as she pulled back away from him with tears in her eyes. It had only been two days since they saw each other, but it had felt like a lifetime.

"Well I'll be damned." Bill lowered his raised gun and moved toward Zoey and Francis. Louis followed close behind; shock still written on his face, but a small smile began to make its way onto his lips.

Zoey released Francis and smiled at Bill and Louis as they approached her. There was a moment of silence as they all just stood smiling at each other and trying to absorb the situation. Finally Zoey took a step toward the two of them and they both enveloped her in a hug. She started laughing, crying, and apologizing all at once to the both of them. As they pulled away they smiled at her and said it was okay.

They didn't want to bring up what had happened. For now it would be best to let it be and move on. None of them wanted to ruin this heartwarming moment, after all it might be the last they ever had.

"So kid, how'd you manage to get out of that terminal? Last time we saw you, it didn't look good." Zoey smiled at Bill and rubbed her arm as she glanced behind her to the corner she had come around.

"Well, I had some help…" A growl emitted from around the corner of the building and three men quickly raised their guns. A hooded head cautiously poked around the edge of the wall and two red eyes peered at them. Francis pumped his shotgun and the Hunter immediately poked his head out of sight again.

Zoey threw her arms up and walked toward where the Hunter had disappeared. "Don't shoot him! He saved me…more than once. He's not like the rest of them."

"What are you talking about, Zoey? He's an infected. He'll kill you." Louis walked toward her with his gun raised as she continued around the bend toward the Hunter. He sat patiently waiting just around the turn and stared up at her expectantly.

"Maybe you should stand up, you look like you're about to pounce on them." Zoey chuckled as the Hunter obeyed her and rose to his two legs. It was slightly uncomfortable to stand straight, as his spine had been reformed to be crouched or hunched down.

Bill stood watching the scene behind Zoey shocked. Louis and Francis came up behind him and stared at the hooded infected, slightly hunched standing in front of them. His eyes were darting around the area, probably looking for escape routes in case they attacked him.

Zoey turned around to face them and smiled, "See, he's harmle-" A snarl interrupted Zoey's words and she whipped around to look at Damion. Francis, Bill, and Louis immediately pointed their guns at him. When she looked at him though, his eyes were looking past all of them out into the street, more specifically into one of the apartment buildings.

She turned to peer at what he was looking at and her eyes widened in terror.

"We need to move."

Bill lowered his gun and looked where her and Damion were looking, "Why?"

"NOW." She turned away from them and began moving back toward the safe house door.

A slamming sound behind them had the three men turning their heads to see the source of the noise. A creature unlike anything they had yet to see stood in a now destroyed doorway staring at them. One black eye, with a white pupil stared directly at them, or so they thought. They quickly turned around and moved toward Zoey.

"Be as quiet as possible. I'm pretty sure it's blind." She whispered harshly to them as she attempted to open the metal door as quietly as possible. Once the door was opened she turned to let Bill, Louis, and Francis go through first. Pausing before she followed, she noticed her companion was missing. Looking up toward the roof of the building to her right, she saw a flash of movement and then a hooded face staring down at her. With a small smile she turned away and headed through the door to catch up with the three men.

Hunter POV:

He needed to stop at that meat store Zoey had mentioned before he could continue following them. His hunger was driving him crazy and he swore he could hear those voices in his head again.

That thing that was now standing across the street from him hadn't moved since it busted down the door. He wasn't sure if it would attack its own kind or not, so he stayed as quiet as possible while he moved across the roofs. The butcher shop was only a few buildings and looked like it hadn't been touched by any scavengers yet.

Scaling his way down the wall he moved to the back door first. Pulling on the handle, his was met with a dull thud of a lock securing it in place.

"Great, now I have to get closer to that thing."

Making his way quietly down the small alley, he came out onto the street and quickly snapped his head in the direction of the creature down the road. He was still standing in the same spot, but his head was slightly angled toward Damion. The Hunter couldn't help the nervous gulp he gave as he tried to reassure himself it couldn't see him.

With quiet steps he walked to the front doors of the shop and pushed one open. The smell that greeted him almost made him hightail it right back outside. Rancid meat sat out in the coolers that were no longer working and flies and maggots infested each piece. A few strips of something still sat on the counter with a butcher knife next to them and the cash register was wide open beside it.

Even through the horrible stench, he smelt one that sent his taste buds reeling; a smell that he was all too familiar with and had been smelling every day for weeks. Clenching his jaw he made his way around the counter into the backroom. There leaning against the back wall was the body of a young man looking to be in his twenties. His eyes were closed and his head slumped down toward his shoulder. You would almost think he was sleeping, until you saw the gun resting in his hand and the blood staining his temples.

It was a sad sight that Damion had seen more than once in the past few weeks. However, this time was a lot different for him. As he took in the body and the blood smeared on the wall and the man's face, he felt his tongue salivating. He had done everything in his power to avoid the humans and find other things to eat and satisfy him. Nothing called to him like the fresh meat of a human though.

Hesitantly, he approached the body and touched the skin. It was cold to the touch and not warm and inviting like it should have been. The blood had long since stopped moving through the man's body and now his limbs were beginning to become stiff and hard. He must have been dead a couple of days.

He knew he could scrounge up something else to eat that could keep himself in check, but the opportunity he had in front of him was too much to pass up. The thought of feasting on human flesh disgusted him in his mind and he tried to make his mind go blank as his claws ripped into the man's abdomen. His physical self was reacting differently than his emotional self though. His whole body was slightly trembling in anticipation, his skin had broken out in a cold sweat, his nostrils flared as he took in the scent of flesh, and his mouth salivated as he tore out a piece of intestine.

As the meat came closer to his mouth his instincts took over and he began devouring the man's insides with greed. A snarling, gurgling sound emitted from his throat as he feasted and his eyes turned a deep crimson.