AN: So, I've been thinking about this a lot and I've decided to type up WHEN FORCES COLLIDE as a whole new story rather than rewriting the other one. So not much will change, mainly it will be the aspect of their relationship that takes a turn but if you've read WHEN FORCES COLLIDE then you'll know all the twists and stuff that'll happen...

Thanks to everyone who's been reading the other story, I hope you still do even after my many-months brain fart :P And thanks to my new Beta RulerofFire cus you rock :D

Disclaimer: Characters are Valve's, ideas are mine, blah blah blah...

PROLOGUE

Looking at all the writing on the safe house walls always made me sad. I mean, seein' all those scribbles bout meetin' someone at this place, or havin ta leave 'em behind, 'n all those "extraction points" that were done for...it hurt. Cus when ya think bout it, how many of them were really gonna see each other again? I'd bet anything half'a these people are dead. 'N the other half... I didn't wanna think bout that.

Any time I saw someone writin' in more places than one though, it always made me happy. I didn't know where they were or if they made it out, but it was always nice to know that someone was still out there fightin'.

But there was one in particular I always looked for. I didn't know the girl's name, but I knew her story. And damn if it wasn't a good one.

Her notes were always to "Louis & Francis" and they were at near every place we saw them at. People like her were ones worth lookin' up to.

For a while she was travelin' with this one guy, Bill. Then a Tank came, 'n well, she didn't seem so happy no more. That time she wrote 'bout when he died, it was all shakey 'n wiggly. Like she couldn't keep still. Like she was sobbin. But after that she seemed so... solid. Like a rock - no, a boulder. Somethin' even this damned zombie apocalypse couldn't shake.

She seemed to be movin' real slow-like. Always sayin' she waited a day or so for her buddies 'n had to go on. 'N "I'm so sorry". She always said that.

I was surprised we hadn't run into her yet. But I didn't wanna think 'bout that 'cus then I'd get ta thinkin' why not 'n not all a them ended with gumdrops 'n rainbows.

Of course, I didn't really know fer sure she was a girl. But after her notes she would put a li'l heart at the bottom 'n sign it with a nice 'n neat "Z." Then when I'd look around at all the other directions 'n stuff 'bout extraction points she'd have written at the bottom the places not to go with things like "overrun" 'n always helpful li'l notes like that. We got the idea of goin' toward New Orleans cus a her sayin' there was a buncha boats all along the shores on the East Coast 'n that was the closest on still hangin' 'round.

So while Ro 'n Coach 'n Nick were followin' her advice I was followin' her. Every safe-house I saw my heart kinda jumped a li'l bit 'cus I was always hopin' for another note from her on the wall.

Ro, bein' the crazy detective she was, would catch me readin' all them notes lookin' fer Z's 'n start teasin' me 'bout lookin' fer my "girlfriend."

Ro kept tellin' me I shouldn't get my hopes up on findin' her 'cus the chances were pretty slim, but I knew she had gotten out. She had to. 'N like Nick says, we ain't come this far jus' ta die now. 'N it's not ta get my hopes up when I know there's someone like her nice 'n safe somewhere.

But I know we're gonna find her safe 'n sound 'n she's gonna be our way out cus she said she'd push the damned boat to shore if Francis 'n Louis weren't on it when it left.

So headin' out into the muck I felt better 'n ever 'cause I knew if she wasn't somewhere out way ahead a us she was somewhere safe jus' waitin' fer me ta find her.