Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead 2 or its characters. I only own my OCs.

A/N: Hello again, everyone! Thanks for continuing to read this story. I'm a little disappointed to see a lack of reviews again. They really were encouraging me to continue and I would love to know what you guys think of the story. Anyway, I'm currently writing chapter twenty-six and we're almost at The Parish, so the fic will probably be at its end soon. I'll be making sure to complete the sequel before I upload it so we don't have days between uploads. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

~ Not So Forsaken ~

- Chapter Twenty -

After a few hours of sleep, the group were getting ready to move out again.

Their clothes weren't completely dry, but they were dry enough to put back on, which was better than nothing. They didn't see the point in getting their clean clothes wet and ruined too, so with their clean clothes packed safely back in their bags, they moved to leave the sanctuary of their current location to head on to the plantation house, as the scrawled writing on the walls told them to. Looking through the gap in the safe room door, Nick grimaced at the sight of the watery pathway ahead.

"More water..." He murmured, cursing under his breath, "I fucking hate water now."

"We'll be outta here and on dry land before we know it." Coach said with a smirk, "Come on now. We gotta move."

Opening the safehouse door, the group stepped out into the open air, looking around in the still descending mist for the infected that were stumbling around the area, hidden well in the nearby foliage and the long grass. They started to move carefully but quickly, not wanting to attract any more attention that was necessary. Nick stayed at the back, pulling Julia in front of him so that he could keep an eye on her. Part of her wanted to be angry about that but she really couldn't bring herself to be. She knew he just wanted her to be safe, especially after what had happened with that Hunter.

The area they'd walked into was a small circle of shacks, each one in varying stages of disrepair and near-enough decay. They knew it would be worth searching these houses for supplies, so they split up into two teams, with Coach and Ellis going one way, and Nick and the girls going another. Thankfully, Coach and Ellis ran into no problems, but Nick and the ladies found themselves with a small problem when they came across a shack that had been sealed up to lock a group of infected inside. The second those things came bursting through the windows, the trio found themselves almost overwhelmed.

Nick knew that this sniper rifle wasn't going to be useful for much longer. The hordes they encountered seemed to be getting bigger and it wasn't going to do enough damage. A shotgun or assault rifle of some kind would be a better choice for him, and he agreed with both Julia and Rochelle that as soon as he came across one, it would be better to swap his laser sight and flashlight across to his new gun, and he would have to leave the sniper rifle behind. He'd become somewhat attached to that weapon so he found himself feeling rather sad that he'd have to abandon it.

Slicing the last zombie's head off with her machete, Rochelle let out a sigh of relief, leaning against a nearby wall before bending forwards to catch her breath. Nick was checking Julia over for injury after she'd been cornered by zombies. He was terrified that she'd been bitten, and she could tell that he was too, given the frantic look in his eyes and the way he was babbling at her to stay still while he checked her over. He was halfway to ragging her jacket off when she'd finally had enough of him. She cupped his face to hold him still, staring right into his eyes to get his undivided attention.

"I haven't been bitten." She said sternly, "I promise, Nick. I have not been bitten. I'm fine."

Nick seemed to take that moment to regain his cool, almost as if he was trying to hide his embarrassment at getting so panicked like that. The reaction to Julia being attacked by a Hunter was understandable, he knew that, but freaking out about a potential bite and checking her over so frantically seemed a bit stupid in hindsight. For that short time, though, it had been so damn hectic, and he hadn't been able to keep her out of harm's way... If she'd been bitten...

"Okay. You're fine. Good." He said, smirking at her in an attempt to hide his sudden shame at his overreaction.

"Good." Julia nodded, leaning forward to kiss his cheek, "It was sweet of you to worry though."

She looked across at Rochelle, quickly moving to get her back upright again. The older woman smiled, offering her a thumbs up to let her know that she was okay. They met up with Coach and Ellis outside, who'd found a Molotov cocktail but nothing else useful other than a way out through one of the houses. They wasted no time in heading through said house, only to be confronted with more water, more shacks, and even a trailer. There were no infected to be seen which could only mean one thing.

"There might be a Tank nearby." Nick murmured with a grimace, "It always seems to go quiet when those assholes are around."

"Great." Rochelle grumbled, running a hand over her hair.

"Stay alert, for God's sake." Nick said, easing Julia forward, "Go."

They eased forward quietly, only to come to a sudden halt as a growl came from ahead, followed by a roar. So much for staying alert. The Tank emerged from a nearby shack, tearing part of the porch off before launching it towards the group. Nick didn't hesitate before grabbing his girl and diving behind the trailer they were to the right of, causing them to land hard on the ground. Thankfully, they had a chance to get back on their feet as the beast headed after their friends, but they were quick to chase them down and start shooting the large zombie in the back.

They were horrified to see Coach suddenly flying through the air with a horrified cry as the Tank swung its arm at him, wincing at the slap that his body made as he landed in water about ten feet away. Everyone seemed to momentarily still. It was for the briefest of seconds, but they all were suddenly filled with the same unbelievable anger that something had dared to harm their oldest teammate. Astoundingly, Julia was the first to scream at the gigantic infected, firing rounds into it as if there was no tomorrow.

"FUCK YOU!" Her voice was so loud that it was almost startling, but she was soon joined by the angry cries of everyone else.

That Tank didn't stand a chance. They would've beaten it to death if necessary, and all of them knew they would since it'd had the audacity to injure their most respected teammate. The second she saw it falling down dead, Julia threw her weapon the floor and sprinted towards Coach, who was now crawling out of the water, clearly hurt. Rochelle was with them in an instant, and Ellis and Nick were quick to follow them, picking up the girls' weapons as they went.

"Easy does it, Coach." Rochelle said soothingly, "How bad are you?"

"I'm alright." Coach coughed, "Just knocked the wind outta me."

"Okay, let's just take a second to rest." Nick said with a frown, "We didn't exactly have much time to react back there."

While Coach caught his breath, Ellis and Nick did a quick ammo count. Things looked okay for now, but it still didn't seem to be a good idea to waste ammo. Trying to avoid shooting the infected seemed to be the best course of action and they decided to only shoot any imminent threats to keep a decent stock of ammo. Once Coach felt okay to be back on his feet, the five survivors headed through the water, climbing up onto a nearby shack's porch to try and make their way across between the small, raised houses. It seemed like a bit of an obstacle course for them, but wasn't everything they were coming across these days?

There were a few zombies lingering around some of the shacks but it wasn't anything the group of five couldn't handle. Crossing the unusual boardwalk that they found themselves on, they were headed back into swampland again. Coach was moving slowly, but he seemed okay after his encounter with the Tank since Rochelle had given him some pain pills. He'd taken a pretty nasty hit, and since he was moving slowly, his four friends were also moving slowly to ensure that he didn't get left behind.

"Let's see what's up here." Nick said in a low voice, turning to Ellis and Rochelle, "You guys stay with Coach and we'll scout a little further in front."

"Don't go too far." Coach said with a sigh, "I'll be okay in a minute."

Nick nodded, taking Julia's arm to carefully lead her away, and they headed slowly into the swampland ahead, stopping at what was once someone's campsite, Nick was astounded to see a combat rifle sitting there on the floor, with a pile of magazines next to it. Grimacing, he picked up the magazines and then the gun, swapping his laser sight and flashlight over to it before placing the sniper rifle next to the body that was crumpled at the base of a tree trunk. He looked over his shoulder at Julia, who was clearly uncomfortable being so close to a corpse that he was looting.

"I know you don't like this, darlin', but this poor son of a bitch can't use this gun anymore."

"It's not just that." Julia whispered, biting her lip, "These people came out here to escape the infection and they all succumbed one way or another... It's awful."

"I know it is, sweetie." Nick said with a nod.

He didn't give two shits about the people out here, but he knew that Julia was an empathetic, sympathetic and caring person, who did give two shits about what these people had been through, so he was trying to be understanding for her sake. She was clearly upset about the whole situation they were in. The sound of footsteps behind them caused them to spin around with their weapons aimed, only for the beams of their laser sights to land on the others, who were startled by the sudden threat.

"Sorry!" Julia gasped, lowering her weapon, "We didn't know what was coming at us."

"That's alright, young 'un." Coach said with a shocked laugh, "We ready to move?"

With that, they set off moving again, carefully crossing the planks that had been laid out as stupidly narrow walkways. Ellis almost toppled off into a deep looking pool of water but he was saved when Nick and Julia both grabbed his shirt to pull him back, which he thanked them for gratefully with a somewhat embarrassed laugh. Finding themselves back in the water again, the group quickly waded across to the shacks ahead, climbing up a wooden ramp which became rather slippery once Rochelle and Ellis had climbed to the top.

Coach almost fell on the way up, but he was grabbed by Rochelle and Ellis and then pushed up the ramp by Nick and Julia, who both then ended up slipping back towards the water. Thankfully, the couple took their near fall in good humour and found themselves chuckling as they staggered up the ramp after their friends. Rochelle couldn't help but find it cute that they were sharing that kind of interaction, and to see Nick smiling so genuinely and so warmly at Julia was rather endearing. Maybe the redhead was doing the conman some good, and vice versa. She seemed to be rather happy with him too. Within a few seconds, they came across a small plank bridge, which needed lowering in order for them to make progress through the raised shacks.

"Oh, for the love of God..." Nick grumbled.

"Just set it goin', boy." Coach said with a roll of his eyes, "We're all as sick of jumpin' through hoops as you are."

"The second we get outta this shack, I'm gonna set it on fire." Ellis said, taking his Molotov out of his bag, "Nick, you still got your lighter?"

Nick handed his lighter across to the mechanic, who took it with a grateful nod. Rochelle pulled the lever to set the bridge lowering, and the formerly quiet swamp suddenly became filled with the sounds of infected sprinting through the water towards the five survivors, their screams cutting through the air like scissors slicing through a sheet of paper. Thankfully, the bridge fell relatively quickly, and the group decided to split into teams, with Rochelle and Ellis at the back, Coach and Julia at the front, and Nick in the middle taking out whatever the others couldn't.

As soon as they were out of the first shack and halfway through the second, Ellis yelled that he was throwing his Molotov and set the house, as well as a lot of infected on fire. The group sprinted for their lives, their eyes scanning the mist-shrouded swampland for what could be coming their way. They heard the familiar squealing of a Spitter, which Nick was able to take out within seconds of spotting her. Julia and Coach found themselves confronted with a female Boomer, who they had to try and force backwards since they were quickly becoming overwhelmed with infected. Nick moved to try to get a shot in at her, but before he could, he saw her throw up all over Julia and Coach. Before both of them knew what had hit them, they were covered in green, disgusting, sticky bile, which temporarily blinded both of them and caused Julia to scream in pure horror.

Coach threw his bag and weapons to the dock, while Julia managed to kill the Boomer, joining him in dropping her supplies. Without hesitation, both of them jumped into the water, rolling around in it to try and rid themselves of the disgusting fluid, while Nick, Rochelle and Ellis rushed to offer them cover. They emerged soaking wet but clean, and the zombies were now running into the water, presumably chasing whatever traces of the smell that the Boomer's vomit had left behind. Swimming to land, the two were relieved to see the others grabbing their weapons.

Upon reaching a bank to climb up, they were greeted by Nick, who pulled both of them out of the water without hesitation. Since the zombies weren't letting up, Rochelle suggested they just make a run for it, and as Coach and Julia were given their weapons and belongings back, they broke into a run with the others, shooting anything that got too close.

"I'm sick to death of running!" Nick shouted over the sounds of the horde.

"We all are!" Rochelle yelled, "Now, move your ass!"

It was true. Everyone was sick of running. They were sick of everything. Having to complete the most stupid tasks just to get by some dumb obstacle, having to run for their lives every so often because the zombies just didn't want to give up, having to search every damn building they came across just in case they missed any important supplies... They all just wanted a permanent base to set up for the rest of their lives. They wanted proper beds, working bathrooms, decent food. Safety. It was all they wanted, and it all seemed to be so far out of reach that they were all getting more and more depressed each time they came across some new difficulty.

"Is that a safehouse?!" Ellis cried out, pointing to a building ahead of them.

"I dunno!" Coach panted, "Just haul ass! If it ain't a designated safehouse, we'll make it safe ourselves!"

They could see the building they were heading for getting clearer and clearer and the infected seemed to be too far behind them to catch up now. But, just as they thought they were home free, a snarl sounded from the right of them in the foliage nearby. Before anyone had a chance to react, a Hunter dove out from the bushes, hitting Julia right on the side and sending her barrelling to the floor, a horrified scream leaving her lips at the impact. Nick spun around in shock and horror, and without a second thought, he opened fire on the Hunter, thankfully not hitting Julia as it suddenly leapt away from her.

Throwing his rifle to Ellis, who caught it with ease much to everyone's surprise, Nick raced to Julia's side, dragged her to her feet and started to run with her. Fuck that Hunter. He wasn't even going to give it another chance to attack. They realised quickly that they had indeed found a prepared safehouse and as Nick and Julia rushed inside, Coach slammed the door shut, and he beckoned Ellis to help him get it barricaded while Rochelle and Nick sat a shaken Julia down to check her over.

"I'm fine." She breathed out, "It didn't get me."

"Good." Nick said, panting for breath, "I'm sorry I shot at you, Julia. I just didn't see any quicker way of getting that thing off of you."

"Don't worry..." Julia said quietly, "I'm just grateful you were there to save me."

Nick offered her a small, weak smile, feeling beyond relieved that he hadn't accidentally shot her. It worried him that he hadn't even considered the danger he'd put her in by doing that, but he was more relieved that she wasn't angry at him for his irresponsible decision. He knew that Rochelle, who was now gazing up at him with a sad smile, could see why he was worried and why he wasn't too pleased with himself. The look she was giving him told him, however, that he made the right call, and that at least gave him a little comfort. If he'd shot Julia though...

"Let's sit our asses down for a few minutes to catch our breath." Coach said, drawing Nick out of his thoughts.

There was nothing in the damn place now, since the two tables that had been against one of the wooden walls were now being used to barricade the door. The group decided to sit and wait in their bland, all-wood safehouse until the horde had gone. Coach and Julia were both soaking wet still, and Julia was clearly uncomfortable as hell, but there was nowhere for her to change her clothes to have some privacy, so she was going to have to deal with it for now.

Nick was surprised when he felt Julia pressing against his side, but when he could feel her shivering from the cold of the water, he put his arm around her carefully, allowing her to burrow closer for body heat.

"I'm cold." She complained quietly, "I'm really cold."

"There's nothing we can do about that right now, sweetie." He muttered into her hair, burying his face a little further into it to hide his mouth as he pressed a kiss to her head.

"I hate this..." She whispered, biting her lip.

"Me too." He said softly, brushing some of her wet hair out of her face as she continued to shiver.

Rochelle, Ellis and Coach were all quietly watching the exchange, feeling quite pleased that somebody had found some kind of happiness in this mess, and they all knew that no matter how Nick protested, Julia made him happy. He cared for her, worried about her, desperately wanted to protect her and from what they'd all seen, she felt the same things for him. They watched him pull her a little closer despite the fact that she was wet, clearly trying to give her some body heat.

The zombies continued to pound against the door for several more minutes until finally, they gave up on trying to get their food. Everyone seemed relieved that the bangs against the door had stopped, and as they relaxed against the walls of the safe room, enjoying the brief quiet they were now met with. After a few more minutes, Julia stood up, still shivering, and started to gather her things together.

"We need to move..." She murmured, "I thought the water would've been warmer."

"Nah, Jules. The weather's gettin' colder." Coach said quietly, "Ya gonna be warm again soon enough. It might feel pretty hot out here compared the weather ya get back home in Illinois, but don't be fooled. We're not that far from winter."

Nick got to his feet after that, as did Ellis, leaving Rochelle and Coach to slowly stand with them, preparing to move out again. They knew they had to be close to the plantation house now, and they were hoping to find some form of rescue there or at least some information as to how to escape from the swamp and to get on track to New Orleans. Watching Julia trying to hold her gun still as she shivered, Nick shook his head with an amused smile.

"You feeling any warmer yet, babe?" He asked her with a smirk.

"Very funny." She glared at him, "I'm so gonna shove you into the next pool of water we come across and see how you like it."

Normally, she wouldn't have said a statement so bold for fear of reprisals, such as a punch in the face, but she knew that Nick wouldn't do that to her. She knew that, of course, he could hurt her if he wished to, whether that be emotionally or verbally, but she knew he'd never lay a finger on her. He actually found the fiery side of her to be rather entertaining and even a little arousing, which he actually hadn't admitted to her yet.

"Oh, you want me wet too, huh?" He asked with a grin, letting out a gruff little chuckle when he saw her start to blush bright red, "Didn't know you were thinking about that side of things yet."

Julia didn't answer him this time. Instead, she threw the bar off the safe room door, sick and tired of being stuck in this swamp, sick of being cold and wet, sick of being on the run all the damn time, and sick of Nick now making fun of her and accusing her of having her head in the gutter. She knew it wasn't meant to upset her and she wasn't upset with what he was saying, not really. She was just really fed up with the whole damn situation. She shoved open the safe room door, took a deep breath and set off walking, rolling her eyes so much that it was painful as she heard Ellis whispering to Nick.

"You shouldn't tease your girlfriend like that, Nick. It ain't nice."

"Shut the fuck up, Overalls." Nick hissed, "It was just a joke!"

"Yeah, well clearly it ain't funny to her." Ellis replied, walking in front to go and catch up with Julia, who was now rubbing her forehead with irritation as he approached her.

"Ellis, you don't need to be giving Nick a talking to about anything." She said softly, "He's just playing, that's all."

"I'm sorry... Ya looked pretty mad is all." Ellis replied, "I hate bein' teased sometimes and..."

"Don't apologise." Julia cut him off but not in an angry manner, "Really, don't apologise. It's okay, and I am very grateful that you want to stick up for me. I hate being teased sometimes too, but that's all it is. Teasing. It's nothing to worry about."

"Okay." Ellis said with a nod, "I won't ever let anyone get away with hurtin' ya, Jules. I wanna promise ya that."

Julia knew the mechanic meant well, and she appreciated his protectiveness and kindness, so she didn't have the heart to tell him that it wasn't necessary. She wanted to keep the faith that Nick wouldn't hurt her, although, given his clear love for the ladies, which she'd deduced from the lipstick on his shirt collar and the hickey on his neck, she did realise that she was getting involved with someone who wasn't used to having a more permanent partner.

"Thanks." She said sweetly, "Really, thank you. It means a lot to me."

Now that the sun had finally risen, giving the group a good amount of daylight to be able to see the potential threats ahead of them. Sitting to their left was a lovely, dirty pool of water, which brought a frankly evil smile to Julia's lips. If karma was kind to her, somehow he'd end up in it. Unfortunately, in this instance, karma wasn't kind to her, and they made their way around the pool of water without Nick accidentally falling into it.

After killing some roaming zombies in the small collection of houses that they came across, they found themselves wandering up a dirt track towards a rather broken looking fence. Turning his head to the left, Coach's eyes brightened when he realised that they'd reached their destination. The house, shrouded in the glow of the mist mixed with the bright sunlight, stood menacing and tall in front of them. The scaffolding that stood against the right side of the building let the group know that they had a way in, but they couldn't help feeling apprehensive about what could lay ahead of them in that building.

"It's now or never." Rochelle murmured, "Let's go."

With that, the five of them set off towards the plantation house, trying to ready themselves for anything that could be inside.

~ To Be Continued ~

I hope you're enjoying this so far!

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