Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead 2 or its characters. I only own my OCs.
A/N: Hi, everyone! Thanks for continuing to stick with this story! I've noticed an increase in views which is very pleasing, and I'm also happy to see the story getting more feedback. I really do appreciate it.
alovelyrose: Thanks so much for reviewing! Chapter twenty-two is in progress and we still have a good way to go, so there'll be plenty more material to read. Also, there's going to be a sequel to this story, so stay tuned for that too.
Happy reading, everyone!
~ Not So Forsaken ~
- Chapter Sixteen -
The sound of a helicopter flying over their safe room was enough to draw the five survivors out of sleep.
Everyone sat up so quickly that no-one noticed who'd been cuddled up to who and there were two people in particular who were grateful for that. At the realisation that a helicopter was flying overhead, the survivors almost fell over themselves to rush and get their gear. Everyone was rubbing the sleep from their eyes, taking drinks of water, throwing their outer layers on, reloading their weapons and almost barrelling out of the door at the realisation that someone could help them.
"We need to find a way to alert that pilot." Julia said, "We don't know how long he or she is going to search the area before they disappear again."
"I got an idea." Coach said as they set off jogging, "We need to find the stadium. Let's move."
"The stadium?" Nick asked, his brow furrowed, "Why?"
"I'll explain when we get there." Coach replied, "Now, come on..."
They moved quickly, passing through a small area with various food stalls and a Test-Your-Strength game. Ellis wanted to try it out but Nick told him they didn't have time, which was true. Time was of the essence now. Coach led them through the bumper cars, and the other four followed without question, hoping that his plan, whatever that was, wasn't too crazy to work. They then found themselves in an alley-like space, which led to a large, open area which normally would've given them access to the entrance of the Stadium.
In the distance sat the enormous silhouette of a Ferris wheel, hidden slightly behind a blanket of mist which slowly seemed to be descending as the sky had started to darken. The group found it more than a little unsettling, but they were soon distracted by the growls of wandering zombies, which they took out quickly, hurrying past the bodies to look for a way into the stadium. As suspected, it wasn't going to be easy. Large chain link fences with barbed wire tops were blocking them from crawling over a simple railing nearby, meaning they'd have to find another way around.
"Oh, great. Another complicated route." Nick grumbled at the back of the group, "Fan-fucking-tastic."
"Come on, Nick. A little adventure's gonna be fun!" Ellis said happily, galloping after Coach and Rochelle.
Julia turned around to look at Nick, who quickly caught up with her, his eyes focused on the others in front of him. Somehow now, he seemed much more handsome to her, and she almost laughed when the mental image of him surrounded by a golden glow with a choir singing in the background entered her head. She knew he'd love it if he knew she'd just imagined him in such a Godly way.
"You okay, sweetie?" He asked her, glancing down at her with a smirk.
"You usually call me 'Sweetie' when you're being sarcastic." Julia said, smiling sweetly at him, "Is that not the case anymore?"
"Any pet name I give you now has nothing to do with sarcasm." He promised her with a wink, grinning even wider when she seemed to swoon at the action, "Pinkie swear."
"Shut up." She laughed, startling as she heard Coach call to them from the entrance to what looked like a barn.
"Hurry it up, y'all!"
Breaking into another jog, Julia and Nick moved to catch up with the others, while Nick found himself unable to stop his brain from wandering to thoughts of the young woman next to him, questioning why on earth someone like her would want someone like him. He couldn't stop, however, the overpowering feeling of elation that they had some shared feelings for each other. Okay, so he was still freaking out a little, but he felt happy as fuck for the first time in years like he was freer than he'd ever been. He wondered if this was how Ellis felt about Zoey when they'd met on that bridge.
"Oh, God..."
Julia's horrified gasp caught his attention, and he looked in the direction that she was, only to see numerous animals that were laying dead in their pens inside the barn that they'd just entered. The smell was pretty horrific. Zombies, blood and rotting animals... The scents all mixed together created this awful stench that caused everyone to cover their faces with their hands.
"Let's get out of here before someone throws up." Nick said, rushing through the barn with the others in tow to try and find an exit.
Shooting the few zombies that were stumbling around in the barns, Nick quickly found another door leading to an open space with a few tables haphazardly set out in the centre. A Molotov and a pipe bomb sat nearby, both close together as though someone had made them and then forgotten them, so they were left in the capable hands of Nick and Rochelle, who pocketed their finds with relieved looks on their faces that they had at least something to combat a horde with.
A squealing sound echoed through the room they were in, and Nick and Rochelle were suddenly confronted with the sight of a Spitter running towards them. Calling out to the others, Nick and Rochelle opened fire, unable to take the Spitter down before she spat some of her acid directly at Ellis and Julia. Ellis grabbed the twenty-one-year-old around the waist and pulled her out of the way, keeping a hold of her as the acid puddle dissolved in front of them. Nick looked worriedly in their direction, watching Julia as her face paled and her eyes closed with relief. Ellis let her go carefully, and her eyes opened to meet Nick's, full of panic and full of fear. He swallowed hard, taking a step closer to her.
"You both alright?" He asked, trying to calm his racing heart.
"I think so." Ellis laughed weakly, "That was pretty darn close though... Jules almost got a face full of that stuff."
"Thanks for saving me there, Ellis." Julia whispered, still not quite recovered from the shock, "I didn't know where to go."
"Alright, y'all, let's keep goin'." Coach said quietly, moving towards the exit of the barns.
Upon the realisation that they couldn't get out this way, Nick let out an irritated curse, not missing the way that Julia carefully touched his back in a soothing manner as she passed him. He liked that about her, he realised. She was always there to offer him a bit of support, no matter how little or how much she was able to give him. He couldn't help but feel a little comforted by her touch, which seemed both weird and wonderful to him all at once. Spotting some boxes stacked by the side of the building, Julia moved to climb them, thankful that they were sturdy, before she stepped onto the roof.
"Let's try up here. See if we can see a way to the stadium, maybe." She said, looking to the others, "Come on."
She heard the others following her as she set off moving across the roof of the barns, being careful not to stumble at the steep declines and inclines that she was having to navigate. As she reached the other side, she was relieved to see the entrance gates to the stadium, which she knew they'd have to open to get through to their destination.
"Guys!" She called out quietly, beckoning them closer, "I found the entrance!"
"Atta girl, Jules." Coach praised her warmly, "Let's take it easy climbin' down here."
While Nick and Rochelle were climbing down from the roof, Julia, Coach and Ellis were hurriedly shooting zombies in the immediate area to clear it while trying to find a way to open the gates nearby. Rochelle had already sensed a change in the atmosphere between Nick and Julia. Something was different. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. She had been noticing some rather lengthy glances being shared between them, or one of them looking at the other with some unusual emotion going on behind their eyes, but... It wasn't what it appeared to be surely? Had something happened between them when they'd been on their own?
"We've gotta hit a switch in there." Ellis said, pointing towards a building nearby, "It'll open the gates, but it's gonna make a lotta noise."
"Coach thinks the stadium entrance is gonna be through these gates, and there's no way we can climb over them carrying all this gear." Julia added, "It's probably gonna be another coaster situation. We fight off the zombies until the gates open, then we run like hell."
"Jesus Christ." Nick groaned, running his hand over his face tiredly, "Fine. Just... Hit the damn button."
"Get on this scaffolding and off the ground." Julia said, approaching the window where the switch for the gates was sitting, "The higher we are, the more time we have to kill the zombies."
"You heard the woman." Coach said sternly, "Let's go."
Once everyone was in position, Julia took a deep breath and hit the switch before making a run for the scaffolding. The gates started to open, and it was immediately obvious from the sound of pounding feet, the angry screams and the growls, that already, infected were starting to approach them. Everyone had their own direction to face, and whenever a zombie emerged in their line of sight, they'd shoot at it. Everything was going better than expected until the gates actually opened, and what could only be described as a sea of infected emerged from the direction of the stadium.
Nick suddenly yelled that he was launching a pipe bomb, and he threw it so hard that he clearly hurt his arm, but the pipe bomb sailed behind the oncoming crowd, who turned on their heels and started to chase it. The five survivors cleared some ground between themselves and the infected, and as the bomb exploded, the entire area around where the crowd had been was covered in blood, limbs and wounded infected. Behind them, another sea of infected came, and Rochelle decided to use the Molotov to create a wall of fire between the team and the zombies, which worked like a charm.
Shooting some of the wounded as they passed them, the group rushed into the stadium, only to find a tiny safe room to their left, which they locked up as soon as they could. Breathing heavily, everyone found their own places to rest, and while Rochelle tiredly began to help Coach stock up on supplies, and Ellis quickly scoured some shelving for anything useful, Nick caught his breath by Julia, cautiously resting his hand against the small of her back before sliding it to her hip, squeezing gently in a reassuring fashion.
Julia looked up at him tiredly. She wanted to kiss him. She needed him to hold her. She felt as though he could be torn from her at any second and it frightened her. She knew she was feeling more for him with every touch and every look, and while she was nowhere near in love with the man, these first feelings of excitement and these rushes of lust and infatuation were very intense and almost overwhelming.
The look in his eyes told her that he could see what she wanted. The squeeze of her hip came again. He was promising her that they could be closer soon. Once they were safe, they could take the time to work at whatever their relationship was now at their own pace, without having to deal with the horrific shit that was all around them. Coach's voice brought the two out of their reveries and the older man took the opportunity to explain his plan to the group while trying to ignore the pounding of the infected coming from the outside of the safe room.
They were going to use the pre-programmed fireworks displays and some of the Midnight Riders' music to alert the helicopter pilot so that they could hopefully be rescued from Whispering Oaks and be airlifted to safety. It sounded stupid, crazy and impossible to pull off given the size of the area that they were going to have to defend until the helicopter arrived, if it came at all, and if it didn't work, they'd all die.
"Okay... Let's do this." Rochelle murmured, lifting the bar from the safe room door, stepping out into the darkness ahead.
They arrived at a pair of bathrooms, and everyone stopped by to take a quick toilet break before then making their way to the main area of the stadium. The second that Ellis saw the large stage, his face lit up with excitement like that of a child's on Christmas morning, and he hurriedly ran through the place, hitting zombies out of the way with his fire axe as he went.
"Let's turn on the lights!" He called to them, "Coach, how about you and Ro come and help me lay out these here fuel cans and stuff?"
"Will you two be okay heading up there to look for the lights?" Coach asked Nick and Julia, who nodded in response, sharing a look with each other that caused the older man to gaze at them with some suspicion.
"Don't worry, Coach. I'll be nice to her." Nick said, putting a hand on Julia's back and ushering her towards some concrete stairs to their right, "Come on, Raggedy-Anne."
Coach and Rochelle looked at each other with puzzled expressions before turning on their heels and going to help Ellis. Indeed, something was different with those two. Coach cast one last look at them as they headed up the stairs before turning his attention to Ellis who was talking about laying the fuel cans and boxes of fireworks he'd found in various locations so that they could shoot them and set a horde on fire if they had any particularly difficult waves of infected to deal with.
Nick and Julia were steadily climbing the concrete steps towards the top, where they planned to cross in the middle and raid the first aid cabinets that were on the walls on either side of the lighting panel in the middle. The redhead turned to the former conman with a nervous look on her face, her hands gripping her M16 as tightly as she could.
"You think they suspect anything?" She asked him, biting her lip as she continued to climb to the top.
"Of course they do." Nick grumbled, "They're like nosey neighbours. You can't keep anything to yourself when you're surrounded by people like that."
"If we make it out of this alive, are we gonna tell them?" Julia asked, pleased to see that they'd finally reached the top of the steps, "I mean, they're gonna find out eventually."
"You're right." Nick murmured, "But... We don't even know what we are yet... So how are they gonna understand it? They're not, are they?"
They opened the first aid cabinet next to them, taking out the few supplies that were nestled safely in there and putting them in Nick's bag. Julia knew he was right. Rochelle would probably go into mother hen mode and start questioning her as to whether or not Nick forced himself on her or something, wondering what the hell Julia saw in him... While Coach would then be pressuring Nick about his intentions with Julia and it would make everything awkward and...
"No, they're not." Julia sighed with a grimace, rubbing her hand across her forehead, "We can't tell them."
"Cheer up, babe... It's not so bad." Nick said as they set off walking across to the other first aid cabinet, "Means we get to sneak off on our own and do bad things to each other while they all sit around wondering what the hell is going on with us."
He chuckled almost evilly.
"That sounds like the best fun we're ever gonna have out here anyway."
Julia felt herself flush at his choice of words. What exactly did he mean when he said he wanted to do bad things to her? She heard him chuckle again next to her as they opened the next first aid cabinet, taking out the supplies in there.
"I bet they're watching us right now wondering what the fuck we're talking about." He said, putting some of the supplies in Julia's bag this time, "They've probably never seen us both so chatty with each other."
They moved quietly towards the panel in the centre of the seating area, and Julia leant over it to inspect it, leaving Nick with a wonderful view of her backside which he was sorely tempted to squeeze. She brushed her hair behind her ear before carefully easing her hand over the button labelled 'Lights', quickly pressing it which lit the stage up brightly, revealing that indeed Coach, Rochelle and Ellis had been watching them.
"Told you." Nick smirked as Julia stood up, "Let's get back down there."
Once they were back at the stage, they found Ellis looking at the sound panel to the right of them, while Rochelle was laying out another box of fireworks next to a gas canister nearby. Coach relayed the plan to Nick and Julia, which was that they'd each cover a part of the stage, and they'd each have a pipe bomb or a Molotov, as they'd found several nearby. Julia was assigned as the person who'd save her pipe bomb until the helicopter arrived... If it arrived. She'd use it to distract the horde away from them and the chopper to allow them the time they needed to escape.
"We all ready to go?" Rochelle asked, earning a nod from the others before signalling Ellis, who started the finale sequence on the sound equipment nearby.
The sound of the Midnight Riders started to blare through the stadium and a stream of fireworks emerged from the edges of the stage, causing Rochelle to quickly step back away from them. The first infected came from the right, where Julia and Nick were standing. Being careful not to waste their ammo, the group were aiming for the fuel cans and fireworks that had been set in place to keep the infected at bay. Nick used the scope on his rifle to shoot a fuel canister near the entrance that they'd just come from, and the fire immediately spread to the box of fireworks which immediately exploded in an array of colours, taking out several infected trying to get around the flames.
The high pitched gibbering of a Charger came from the left, which Coach and Ellis quickly turned their attention to. It ran at the group of five, bowling over Coach and Ellis before latching onto Rochelle and sprinting off the stage and towards the concrete stairs with her. Julia was off the stage in a flash to go and help her friend, unloading round after round into the Charger's back before it fell dead, releasing Rochelle from its clutches.
"Ro!" Julia gasped, moving to help the injured woman to her feet, "Get up! Come on!"
Struggling to her feet, Rochelle watched as Julia hit zombies away with her gun before opening fire on them, shredding them with her M16. Once Rochelle was up, she was able to help shoot, but the Charger had winded her, and she felt pretty desperate to have a moment to rest. Julia led her back towards the stage as Nick tried to offer them some cover, and she sat Rochelle down, rummaging around in her bag for some painkillers.
"In case you need them." She said, panting for breath, "Rest a minute."
Standing close to the producer, Julia tried to protect her from any oncoming infected while Rochelle recovered, and thankfully, the older woman was back on her feet within a few minutes. It was obvious that she was hurting, and that the Charger had done some damage to her, but it was thankfully very clear that it wasn't anything serious. Infected now started to come from the left near Ellis and Coach, and the front as well, rushing down the concrete stairs towards them and even falling over themselves in an attempt to get to their prey.
Julia decided to aim for each gas canister, and after a few misses with each one, she managed to set all three of the remaining canisters on fire. The area was now completely aflame with fireworks going off all over the place. If that chopper pilot missed this, he or she had to be blind or stupid. The smell of blood, burning flesh and smoke was overwhelming and sickening, but the group pressed on, trying to ignore the stomach-churning scents as they became desperate to defend themselves.
The horde seemed to die down for a few moments, and as the group looked into the sky, they saw the helicopter pass over them, hoping to God that the pilot had seen them. Their moments of calm as the music still played were suddenly interrupted by a roar, and to the upper right of the stadium's seating, a Tank landed on the ground, beating its chest and screaming into the night air.
It started to hurtle towards the group, who were already trying to shoot at it, while Ellis launched a Molotov at it, setting it alight. The Tank suddenly tore up a slab of concrete from the seating area and launched it right at the survivors on the stage. Everyone managed to duck out of the way, except Julia, who was suddenly hit by the concrete and thrown back so hard that she flew off of the stage, the concrete landing on top of her. The pained cry that she released upon impact came out hoarse and panicked, and it was followed by small whimpers and groans of pain. Now, they had two injured teammates, and this Tank wasn't letting up.
Nick wanted to go to Julia, but he knew that with Rochelle hurt, he'd need to help kill the Tank before anything else could go wrong. Thankfully, it collapsed dead within about thirty seconds of this, and Nick was free to go and help Julia, who was lying on the ground, her right arm clutching at her middle with her face buried in her left arm, the concrete still partially on top of her. Jumping down to help her, he carefully placed a hand on the exposed part of her back, which caused her to let out a shocked gasp. The sound of the helicopter came again, this time much closer, and Nick looked up to see the chopper pilot coming into land close to the stairs they'd passed under when they'd first arrived in the stadium. Their plan had worked.
"Coach!" Nick yelled desperately, "Help me get this concrete off of her!"
Coach turned to Ellis who was trying to support Rochelle, his eyes full of concern as he handed the young man the pipe bomb that he had in his pocket. Ellis knew that it was now his job to distract the zombies and give them a chance to get Julia to safety. Ellis nodded without needing any instruction and started to help Rochelle from the stage, jogging with her across to where the helicopter was now waiting. Coach moved to help Nick, and between them, they lifted the concrete from Julia's body, hearing her groaning in pain. Nick didn't even wait for Coach to volunteer himself. He picked her up, holding her close to his chest while Coach took the young woman's bag and rifle, adding to his own load before breaking into a run, trying to offer Nick and Julia some cover.
"It's okay, sweetheart." Nick murmured in her ear, "We've got you."
"Guys, come on!" Ellis yelled, trying to offer some more covering fire as zombies started pouring in from the area above him, "Oh, shit..."
"Ellis!" Coach shouted, "Use that damn pipe bomb!"
Ellis did as asked, and as Nick and Coach finally reached the chopper with Julia still tightly held in Nick's arms, Ellis helped them inside, where Rochelle was now resting in one of the seats with her arm held across her midriff. It was likely that the attack from the Charger had caused her some damage to her ribs, and once everyone was on board, they closed the door of the chopper and Ellis moved to sit with her, while Coach tried to check her over.
Julia was still with Nick, her brow creased with her beautiful face twisted in pain as he sat down in one of the seats with her. While the others were busy with Rochelle, Nick took the opportunity to press a kiss to Julia's forehead, which now had gained a small bruise that sat above her left eyebrow. He told her that they'd been saved and that the helicopter was flying them out of there, and he saw her smile weakly in response, only to then bury her head further into his jacket and polo shirt, her eyes still closed.
Coach took a seat next to him, moving to carefully lift Julia's shirt to check her injuries. Nick was watching him like a hawk to make sure he didn't lift the shirt any higher than the underwire of her bra, and thankfully, he didn't. Nick felt himself sag a little with relief that she was still able to maintain some dignity. Coach was just pressing his fingers against Julia's ribs to try and inspect the damage, causing her to let out a pained groan, her fingers tightening as she gripped onto Nick's jacket.
"I'm sorry, honey." Coach's voice was loud as he tried to make himself heard over the roar of the helicopter, "I just need to make sure you're not seriously hurt."
After a few more minutes of inspection, Coach leant towards Nick, easing Julia's shirt back over her torso.
"Both girls have bruised or broken ribs. They're gonna need to be popping pills for the next few days to cope with the pain." He said, "Let's hope that CEDA's stocked up with some good painkillers."
Turning his head to look out of the helicopter's window, Nick tried to focus on the clouds, keeping a hold of Julia, whose hand had fallen from his polo and now rested against his stomach, her breathing evening out as though she'd fallen asleep. Nick didn't want to disturb her, but he noticed Coach carefully lifting her legs to sit on his so that they weren't awkwardly dangling as they had been. Nick could now hold her properly and securely, and as he did so, he looked up at Rochelle and Ellis who were both falling asleep as well.
"Get some shut-eye, Nick." Coach told him, "It's gonna be a few hours between here and New Orleans at the very least."
With that, the older man leant back in his seat, closing his eyes to let the exhaustion take over to hopefully get some sleep. With everyone else's eyes closed and not on him, Nick took a second opportunity to kiss Julia's forehead once more, running his fingers gently through her hair before leaning back himself to hopefully get some rest before they arrived in New Orleans.
~ To Be Continued ~
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Thanks so much for continuing to read this!