Left 4 Dead: Gemini Strain.

Chapter XXIII: Sheep in the Grasp of the Hunter – Adam

His words to me were not reassuring in the least, if anything it only made me weep harder. I felt that even though I was not dead I might as well be standing at its door. How cruel a fate for me.
"Imagine the surprise I had when I noticed that you were not breathing anymore!" Cassius said all too happily as he continued to rub my head as if I were a dog. "After CPR and getting you down to a room I'm awfully tired from having to take care of you."
I brushed his hand aside as harshly as I could manage and gave him a scowl through the stemming flow of my tears. I pushed aside the pain that flared up in my arm and thought about the predicament I was in. My pants were awash in blood and the metallic smell lingered in my nostrils. My body seemed fine other than the pain in my arm and the throbbing of my side which brought into thought the source of the blood.
Cassius continued to stare at me with that grin of his that unnerved me. I felt like nothing more than something for him to give amusement to. I weighed my options as carefully as I could. Killing him would require me to reach for my gun with his eyes on me. There was no way I could incapacitate him and make my escape without putting myself at my own risk. What could I do?
"Thinking of ways to escape from me I see." Cassius said with that same grin and amusement in his voice. God forbid he could actually read minds.
"Yes, know of any that do not involve killing you?" I said with a glare, my words as cold as ice.
His expression changed and now looked at me with a blank stare. To my surprise he began to laugh, slow at first but it became that same deep boom that unsettled me.
"Funny, huh?" I asked him as I reached for the SIG 226 strapped to my waist and brought it out as I pointed to his skull. He stopped his laughter quickly and gave me that blasted smirk. I did not care anymore at my repercussions and pulled the trigger of my gun in expectancy of a satisfying blast. Nothing. His laugh this time was on an epic scale, his eyes began to water and his voice echoed into my soul.
"You honestly believe that I would leave you with a loaded weapon?" He asked me between laughs as he mocked my action with an imaginary gun.
I said nothing to him. I was at a loss for words. My gun went back into its holster and my face had lost its facade of strength.
"Thing is..." he began as a handgun appeared out of seemingly nowhere as he pointed it at my head. "This gun is loaded and would have no problem ending your life."
"I don't think that you would." I told him as he stood up, his gun still pointed at me.
"Oh, why not?" Cassius asked playfully to me.
"Because that would mean a lot of effort on your part to just end quickly. I think that you want to enjoy this power much longer than I would at first believe."
"I take it that you believe that you do no fear death?"
"No, that's not true at all." I answered him as I painfully made my way up from the floor, grimacing at the pain in my side. I noticed vaguely that my backpack was still on my shoulders. "I fear death every damn day."
I could not tell if my words unsettled or humored him as that blank expression returned again. He never made it clear either to me as he grabbed my chin lightly with his rough hands and stared at my own eyes.
"You're an odd one, Adam." He told me softly with a lingering breath.
"Is that a compliment?"
"More of an insult, really." He told me just as softly. His hand had not left my chin which in its own began to bother me.
"What are you getting at? What is your purpose for all of this? All of this death, destruction and loss?" I asked angrily.
"Simply because I can." He answered softly yet again, wrapping his hand around my hip and bringing me closer to him. I began to struggle and attempt to escape his hold but he was a lot stronger than he appeared. His hold on my side was like a vise and instead of a light hold of my chin it was a fierce grab.
"Let me go..." I muttered, feeling weaker and weaker the more I struggled.
"Why do you pretend with them?" He asked me in that same voice which contradicted his hold.
"What do you mean?"
"Your friends, Adam. Don't be a fool."
"I'm not pretending in the least." this angered him. His eyes glowed and his lips curled into a sneer and yet his tone did not change to me.
"Oh yes you are. I see how you treat them. I see how you distance yourself. I see how you lead them to believe that you care."
"That is a lie you bastard, I treat them in a way they have always known. Sure I may seem cold and uncaring but it is all to cover up the cowardice and fear of my own."
"Really now?" He asked me. My response seemed to hover in the air around him. I could not read his actions at all as his face relaxed and his eyes were cold wells. Looking at him straight in the eye made my mind run away and my body heavy. This was indeed a terrifying man.
"Adam, what do you want more than anything?" He asked me as his hold on me loosened enough for me to break free and shake off his touch.
"You have no reason at all for wondering that." I told him as I made my way to the door out of the room.
"Planning on getting back to your friends?" Cassius asked me with a hint of amusement. I did not answer him. "It seems that at the station there is a lot of activity from every one there Mr. Hero of the survivors. It is only as far as the tower was from the station. We are at City hall you know."
I said nothing in response to that either and shut the door behind me with a sigh. He would have to be careful next time I see him. I would have a loaded gun with a bullet in his name.
The others could not know of what happened between us in that room. This man would be my own personal demon; they should not have to suffer again because of his affiliation with me.