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

A/N: Hi, guys! I'm sad to say that we're coming to the end of this story now. I hope you've all been enjoying it, and I really appreciate every single one of you that has read, reviewed, followed or favourited the story. It really means a lot to me.

Shin Maxwell: Yeah, I'm the same! I'd hate for my boyfriend to feel terrible for doing the right thing for someone. Nick is very complex. He's been so fun to write and he's been quite the challenge to get right as well. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

~ Not So Forsaken ~

- Chapter Twenty-Seven -

The heat of the bright, golden sun warmed the five survivors as they quickly, but quietly made their way along the hedged passages into Bienville Park.

On point was Coach, who was listening out carefully for any sounds of crying or growling to indicate the presence of the meaner of the mutated infected that he and his friends had encountered over the past few days. Ellis was at the back with Rochelle, trying to keep a lookout for any movement or flashes of colour to indicate what they were walking into. In the middle remained Nick and Julia, with him walking behind her, shielding her and keeping her between himself and Coach to protect her from any oncoming threats.

However, when the grand, beautiful statue of the horse that sat in the centre of the park came into view, their worry, it transpired had been for nothing. There was no Witch and no Tank. There was nothing around. Ellis was the only one who was cheerful about this since the others couldn't help but feel suspicious about the quietness of the area. When had fate ever been so kind as to let them pass through an area unscathed? Passing by some bathrooms, the group found an exit to the park and they actually felt somewhat comforted by the sight of a couple of infected wandering nearby. At least there wasn't anything worse waiting for them at that moment.

"Where the hell do we go from here?" Nick murmured as Rochelle and Ellis took out the zombies nearby.

"There!" Julia gasped, pointing to an open space in a nearby fence, "We can get through that way."

"We're close, guys. I can feel it." Ellis said with a grin, walking away from the zombies he'd just killed to lead the way, "Come on!"

Nick rolled his eyes, Coach bit his lip with a half smile, Rochelle and Julia shared smiles together and Ellis, who was grinning like he wasn't running for his life in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, set off ahead, beckoning the others to follow him. They headed down an alleyway which seemed so normal in the chaos around them with its trash cans and broken cardboard boxes that were scattered around it, and they emerged underneath what looked like part of the freeway which may lead to the bridge they were hoping to reach. A few zombies were wandering nearby, but not so many as to cause the group alarm.

"Can't we just climb up there?" Rochelle asked, pointing at the truck and road sign that were hanging rather precariously over the edge of the freeway.

"If you wanna get crushed to death, we can." Nick said with raised eyebrows, "Come the fuck on, Ro, you know that they're not safe to climb."

"Alright, alright..." Julia said quietly, "Take a breath. We're just gonna have to find another way."

"Let's take out these assholes first." Coach said, looking at the zombies in the distance who were only just starting to realise that the survivors were there.

The second that one of them started running towards the group, the rest began to follow angrily, arms outstretched and flailing, glowing eyes wide and bloodied mouths agape. They were taken out so quickly that it seemed almost pointless for them to have even tried to attack the group of five. Resigning themselves to the fact that they were simply going to have to take the long way around, the weary survivors pressed on, looking for a way out of the area that they were currently standing in so that they could continue to make progress.

As they looked, Nick spotted something lying in the grass near one of the concrete supports of the overpass, only to find a pipe bomb sitting there as though someone else had dropped it. He picked it up warily, not fully trusting that it was safe, but after a few moments of brief inspection, he pocketed the explosive, looking up from his current position to see a way through some more fencing ahead of them.

"This way!" He called to the others, beckoning them over.

They moved quickly, only then to find their way blocked by a large trailer which appeared to be the property of CEDA. The few medical supplies that were left inside made them wonder what exactly its purpose had been, and since no-one had any real medical knowledge, they decided to leave behind any supplies that they didn't know how to use. Realising that they were going to have to open the far door of the trailer to get out of the other side, the group decided to take advantage of their shelter for a moment and get their breath.

"We're in a restricted area." Nick commented, closing the back door behind them, "This perimeter might be alarmed."

"No, it will be alarmed." Rochelle grumbled, "Just our luck."

"So, what's the plan if it is alarmed?" Ellis asked worriedly, "We got some place to get to so we can actually turn off said alarm?"

"Probably..." Nick said quietly, looking out of the window of the trailer, "Looks like there's some equipment on top of that tower of scaffolding out there. Just gotta follow the fences 'til we get there."

"Ro, you and Ellis should go first." Julia suggested, "You're faster runners than the rest of us."

"Okay." Ellis nodded, looking across at Rochelle with a grimace, "You okay with that, Ro?"

Rochelle gave him a weak smile, gearing herself up for the task ahead by taking a quick moment to stretch her legs. Everyone made sure their guns had a full magazine and that they were prepared for the short run to the scaffolding. Nick and Julia managed to share a brief squeeze of hands before the conman gave Ellis the go ahead to open the door and breach the perimeter. Julia couldn't help but sense a feeling of desperation in that one touch of their hands, as though Nick was experiencing some kind of internal distress that she wasn't able to help him quell, and the notion was horrid. Nick was indeed experiencing internal distress. He couldn't help but feel as though something was going to punish him for all his past offences... All the lying, the womanising, the violence he'd partaken in, the gambling, the cheating, the conning... All of that was going to bite him on the ass, he could just feel it, and he knew that the punishment would involve Julia. Of course it would. The second he found someone who he deeply cared for, she'd be torn away from him.

"Go!"

Ellis' voice drew him out of his thoughts, and as Julia raced after Rochelle, he pushed Coach in front of him so he could make sure the older man didn't fall behind. These four people were his family now. No-one was getting left behind. As the familiar scream of a horde echoed over the sound of the alarm blaring around them, the five raced on, looking for a way onto the scaffolding. Ellis rounded the corner of the fencing and into the area with the scaffolding first, but stopped as he saw zombies racing towards them, reaching back to tug Rochelle in front of him so she could climb the ladder first. When they saw this, the others grinned warmly. Even in a time of emergency, Ellis was still as chivalrous as ever.

Once Rochelle reached the top of the scaffolding, infected were pouring in from all directions. Thankfully, the packs they were attacking in were small, so one person could manage to take down a group on their own. Nick yelled at Julia to stop shooting and get up and onto the scaffolding, desperate for her to get to safety. He still couldn't shake that feeling that something was going to go wrong, but thankfully, that turned out not to be the case. Rochelle got the alarm turned off, Nick and Coach got up to the level of the scaffolding that the others were on, and they killed the last few groups of zombies that were approaching from the direction that they were going to walk in. They'd managed to open the doors leading to the bus station, which they were planning to pass through to try and make their way to the bridge.

"We all okay?" Julia asked, panting for breath.

Everyone else nodded, and as one last zombie started running towards them, Nick took it out with his combat rifle, staring at it angrily. They were all more than ready for this journey to be over. They'd had enough of running, killing and fighting. They just wanted to be safe. Knowing again that time wasn't on their side, the group headed back down the ladders to the ground and moved towards the doors to the bus station that had opened on the other side. They walked quickly, and Nick and Julia took the opportunity once more to be close together, their hands entwined briefly on the short walk from the scaffolding to the building ahead. The quiet, dark building was ominous, but as Rochelle's flashlight lit up a safehouse marker on the wall in front of them, their feelings of worry were momentarily replaced with the wonderful sensation of relief that soon, they'd be in another safe room.

They reached the yard where some of the city's buses still sat, quiet and still where usually, they'd be full of people going about their daily business. It was silent, except for the warm breeze and the occasional sounds of wildlife, which amazingly, hadn't succumbed to the infection and quite frankly, the atmosphere had become a little eerie. The breaking of the silence caused by a jet soaring past didn't exactly make it any better, but only reminded the five survivors that they were potentially on borrowed time.

"Did I ever tell you guys about the time my grandpa took me on a bus to Memphis to visit Graceland, and we...?"

"Ellis, Ellis... We don't have time for that right now." Nick said, trying not to sound too irritated.

"Okay, but I do love bus rides." Ellis replied, letting out a sigh.

They headed to the right of the building they'd just come out of and walked slowly down a pathway between some fencing and the bus station itself. They soon found themselves confronted with a couple more buses, but ahead of them was the sanctuary of a safehouse. And just as they were about to enter it, just like it had back at the hotel in Savannah, a Charger burst out of the safe room and before anyone could move, they were all barrelled out of the way, each hitting the ground with hard thuds.

"Someone shoot this Goddamn thing!"

The voice that was yelling at them was Nick's, and as Julia turned around, her face laced with horror and anger, she found that indeed, her boyfriend was being pummelled by the Charger they'd just been confronted with, and as Coach, Rochelle and Ellis looked at the redhead, for the first time, they saw just how pissed she could actually get, and she really was fuming that this creature had the nerve to pick on her boyfriend. Racing towards the Charger, she was firing round after round into its back with her M16, her face red and eyes dark with rage.

The second that it fell down dead, Julia's emotions betrayed her angry exterior, and worry clouded her beautiful brown eyes as she rushed over to Nick, helping him to sit up. She could tell he was hurt. He was coughing, wincing and holding his torso with one arm, struggling to get up again. If she'd been able to react more quickly, this situation would've been avoided and Nick wouldn't be hurt like he was now. She felt terrible.

"Easy, baby..." She murmured, trying to quell the racing of her heart, "I've got you."

"I'm okay, sweetie." He groaned, coughing again as he managed to get up and onto his knees, "Jesus... Those fuckers are strong."

"I know they are." Julia whispered, taking him by the arm as Coach moved to help her get Nick back on his feet, "Come on... The safe room's just ahead of us."

"I can tell you guys now, I've got a broken rib or two." Nick complained, wincing as he took in a deep breath, "Oh, yeah... Definitely..."

"I'm sorry, Nick, we all got taken out by the damn thing." Julia said with a grimace, helping to support Nick as Coach put the conman's arm around his neck.

"Don't sweat it, babe." Nick told her quietly, "Honestly. I'll be fine."

When they got into the safe room, they found Rochelle and Ellis already preparing a cold compress and searching through their medical supplies for some more of that deep heat gel that had proven quite useful to soothe the pains of rib injuries. No doubt, Nick would be happy for some after that Charger attack. Once he was helped into the safe room, Ellis moved to help Coach barricade the door, while Julia got to work on lifting up Nick's polo shirt so that she could apply the gel.

The relief that Nick felt when the gel started to work was exhilarating, despite the little burn that came with it. While he hadn't been seriously hurt by the Charger, rib injuries were never fun. He'd had enough in his lifetime to know how bad they could be, and the last thing he wanted was to slow the group down because of the pain he was in.

"I can't do anything else for you, Nick. I'm sorry." Julia whispered, allowing Rochelle to wash the gel from her hands with a bottle of water lying nearby.

"It's okay, don't worry." Nick promised her with a smile, "I swear, I'll be fine."

"Okay..." Julia said with a nod, as though trying to reassure herself, "Good."

"Let's get moving." Nick said as he stood up, "There any ammo in here?"

Julia was stunned. Nick was moving as though the Charger attack had never happened. He wasn't slowing down or showing any sign of being in pain. It was rather amazing really, and she couldn't help but be taken aback by his strength. It was really remarkable that his pain threshold was so high. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as he reloaded his rifle, but then moved to look through their exit door to see what was going on outside. It was clear that they were going to come out to an area beneath the freeway, which they knew they needed to follow. The bridge couldn't be too far now, surely.

"Come on, come on..." Rochelle whispered urgently, "Let's move."

They opened the door quietly, finding only a few zombies ahead of them. Rochelle and Julia headed in front to eliminate the threats and spotted a way into a residential area, which had been barricaded by CEDA. Once again, their route would be awkward and complicated, but no matter what obstacles they came across, they were going to get to that bridge. It took them climbing up the steps of a house and then jumping down from the top of a bus to get over the first barricade. Their next step was to pass through some decrepit looking backyards to get around a chainlink fence, and as they stepped past a trailer that was almost blocking their path, they heard a very familiar, and very unwelcome growling sound.

"Hunter..." Rochelle whispered, "Be careful... Remember that they're hunting in packs now."

With Nick now at the front, the group slowly moved forward, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of the hooded infected. Just as he stepped out onto the street, Nick spotted the creature crawling a few feet away which suddenly came flying towards him, its arms outstretched and mouth agape, showing off sharp, wolf-like teeth. He managed to side-step it to avoid it, but it came back just as quickly, taking him to the floor and pinning him down by straddling his torso before it proceeded to try and tear into him.

The second that Julia saw Nick go down, she knew she had a decision to make. As an uncomfortable, icy chill of panic and horror ran down her spine, she realised she either had to let her fear consume her or fight the phobia and save her boyfriend. Adrenaline kicked in, and she found herself racing towards the hooded figure, using her M16 to hit it so hard in the head that it fell off of Nick, getting to its feet to hurry out of the way. It came back again, crawling towards her with its teeth bared and face twisted into an angry snarl, but Julia didn't back down. She stood in front of Nick, who was getting to his feet and opened fire, spraying the Hunter with bullets. It landed dead on the road with a sickening yelp, blood pooling around it.

"Damn, babe..." Nick let out a soft laugh both of amusement and relief, "Good shot."

Julia didn't respond. Instead, she made sure that Nick was on his feet again, offering him a weak smile before quickly checking him over to ensure that he wasn't injured. He knew she was worried. That was twice now that he'd been caught by a mutated infected in the space of as little as five to ten minutes, and he knew that Julia would feel the need to be more on her guard to look out for him. That nagging fear he'd been having of something happening to bite him in the ass for his past indiscretions was coming back again. He didn't want anything to happen to her because she was busy looking out for him.

"I'm fine, Jules." He promised her gently, "Come on."

Finding themselves at another dead end, Coach beckoned his fellow survivors to follow him towards a flight of stairs that led them up and into another house. There was nowhere else to go, and they didn't exactly have time to question their options. A squealing came from up ahead, and everyone slowly turned their gazes to the house in front of them. At the top of the stairs, a Spitter appeared with that horrifically mutated stomach acid dripping from her malformed mouth, already burning holes in the wooden floor she was standing on. Coach fired one shot and she collapsed to the floor dead, the acid pooling around her which started to burn through the wooden floor and the stairs they were standing on.

"Jump!" Coach ordered loudly, leaping over the pool of green, burning liquid before immediately stepping back to allow everyone else room to jump.

Ellis sent Rochelle first, then Julia and then he and Nick came last, with Nick having to then drag him forward to stop him from stumbling backwards into the acid. Leaving the liquid to continue bubbling and burning away, Coach moved across the building to try and find a way back to street level. As he reached an opening in the side of the house, he spotted a trailer that they could jump onto in order to get back to the ground. Coach went first, followed by Nick, then Rochelle, then Julia and then Ellis, and once everyone was back on ground level, they found themselves in a collection of fire-damaged houses. They entered the house in the middle of the cluster and decided very quickly to separate and search for supplies.

"Ellis and I can check upstairs." Coach said quietly, "Nick, take the ladies through here, and we'll meet you out back."

Nick nodded in response to Coach's request and as the older man and Ellis went upstairs, the conman led Julia and Rochelle further into the house, shining their flashlights around to see if there were any useful supplies on their floor. In a cupboard, Rochelle found some painkillers and a fresh tube of deep heat gel, which she quickly pocketed before deciding to rummage through the other cabinets. Nick and Julia decided to check the outer area, and upon spotting only a couple of wandering infected, they quickly shot them dead, leaving the place silent once more. For a brief moment, the couple stood quietly, each of them deep in thought. Nick was still worried about Julia being torn away from him while Julia was worrying about what was going to happen after they reached safety. Would they be taken in by the military, and if so, would she and Nick stay together? What if he wanted to return to his old lifestyle once things were brought back under control? She didn't know if she could deal with losing him like that.

"Nick?" She asked softly, "What are we gonna do when all this is over?"

"What do you mean, sweetie?" He asked her in return.

"Where do we stand? I mean... I know you were really a lone ranger before all this, and..."

Nick almost sighed. He knew what she was asking him and he understood why she was doing so. She was right. He'd never really stayed in one place for long, not even with his ex-wife, and while he still wanted to travel and see the sights, it had occurred to him that he wasn't exactly that young anymore. Yes, he wasn't old either, but he knew it was probably time to be looking for a more stable sort of life, rather than spending it cheating and lying to people. As for where the two of them stood, as far as he was concerned, the only woman he wanted to spend his time with, in a more romantic sense, was her. She was all he needed for the time being.

"You don't need to ask where we stand, Jules." He said, looking at her with a small smile, "You're my girlfriend, and... I think it's time I stopped being a lone ranger."

She didn't need to press him any further as to what he meant. The look in his eyes had told her all she needed to know, and the fact that he'd called her his girlfriend meant the world to her. He didn't want to leave her behind, and he wasn't just thinking of her either. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he'd almost certainly become attached to the others. Julia definitely had. Before she could answer him, Rochelle returned with Coach and Ellis in tow, all of them empty-handed apart from Rochelle, who was putting the painkillers and first aid supplies she'd found into her bag.

"There was nothin' useful up there." Ellis complained, adjusting his cap briefly, "Where do we go from here?"

Nick looked around quickly, spotting another hole in a building to their right. The fact that so many of these buildings had large openings in their walls was worrying. It was almost as if something had broken through them. Something big. And the only thing that was currently big enough to do that was one of the biggest threats the group had come to face so far.

"We might have a Tank nearby." Nick said darkly, "I think one's been moving through here. It's probably why so many of these houses have these large openings in them."

"Sounds about right." Coach commented from his place at the back of the group, "Keep your eyes and ears open, folks."

They proceeded slowly, stepping into the building in front of them before making their way through the various rooms on the lower floor and into a corridor. There was a growl, deep and menacing, coming from the outside area of this particular house. Rochelle, just as luck would have it, spotted a Molotov sitting on the floor in a nearby bathroom, and she quickly grabbed it, handing it to Nick who was still at the front of the group. A snort suddenly followed the growling, and the group knew at that point that they were going to be confronted with the Tank that had probably caused all the damage to these buildings, and soon. Cautiously lighting the Molotov, Nick peered out onto the street ahead, spotting the Tank to their left at the far end of the road.

"It's that way..." He said quietly, "Jules, I want you and Ro back towards the right of the street with Coach, and for God's sake, take it slow when you get out of here. Ellis, you're with me."

"Sure thing, Nick." Ellis whispered with a determined nod.

Watching like hawks as Coach led Rochelle and Julia to the right side of the street, using a parked van for cover, Nick and Ellis carefully made their way towards the Tank, who was busy growling to itself and taking the odd few seconds to hammer at its own chest like a territorial gorilla. Their hearts were in their throats, but they knew they had to press on and get this thing taken out, rather than end up with it chasing them.

"Ready?" Nick asked, his voice so low that Ellis almost didn't hear him.

"Yeah." Ellis replied, letting out a quaking breath, "Do it."

Nick took a few running steps and then launched the Molotov at the Tank, who still hadn't noticed their presence until it actually caught on fire. The scream that it let out as it burst into flames was so loud that it reverberated around the buildings nearby, seeming to make it sound even louder. Immediately, Ellis started to open fire on it as Nick got his rifle ready, and the others also joined in, firing round after round into the Tank as it hurtled towards them. When it started to approach Nick and Ellis, they moved behind it to shoot at it while it raced towards the others. With one mighty sweep of its arm, it hit the parked van that Coach and the ladies had used for cover, sending it bouncing towards them. Rochelle and Julia rushed out of the way, both of them grabbing Coach and hauling him with them. The van crashed into a garage nearby, thankfully leaving everyone unharmed.

After a few seconds more, finally, the Tank collapsed to the floor with a wail of agony, its body still on fire. The survivors quickly regrouped, and after a rapid search of the area, the only way forward that they could find was to climb down into a manhole. Nick was far from impressed, but Julia reminded him that he had his hand sanitiser, not that he appreciated it since the prospect of the sewer was so horrid to him. The sewer itself was pitch black. As Nick was the last to jump in, the feeling of him bumping into Rochelle caused her to gasp, and the sound echoed around them quite loudly, making them realise how vulnerable they actually were down there.

A zombie wandering around ahead of them was startled by the noise, and as Coach turned on his flashlight, he found himself face to face with the zombie in question. He knocked the male zombie back harshly and then blew its head off, grimacing at the colour that the water turned as the blood from its corpse mingled with the disgusting brown-yellow colour that the water already was. Leading his group forward, Coach exited the tunnel, thankfully able to see a bright yellow stepladder ahead of them thanks to his flashlight, which would, fingers crossed, lead them back to the surface and out of the dark, disgusting pit they were standing in.

"Let's get up that ladder..."

Once Coach reached the surface again, he stepped away from the manhole cover, his face a portrait of shock and horror. Ahead of him were what must've been at least twenty to thirty vehicles, and about eighty percent of them were alarmed. Everyone else's faces wore equal expressions of shock and horror as they each climbed out of the manhole, their eyes fixed on the route ahead. There were zombies wandering around amongst the cars, so the group knew they desperately had to watch their fire. Thankfully, the alarmed cars had flashing lights, so at the very least, they could distinguish which vehicles were safe to touch and which weren't.

"Be careful... For the love of God, be careful..." Coach breathed out, "We can't be takin' any stupid chances. Just get through the cars and to the other side. Don't touch nothin', don't shoot nothin', not unless ya know ya can't hit an alarmed car at the same time."

"Let's take it slow." Rochelle said with a nod, "Come on..."

Bracing themselves for the rather horrid and nerve-racking journey, the group of five began to carefully make their way through the maze of alarmed cars, hoping to God that they could get through it unscathed...

~ To Be Continued ~

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I hope you're continuing to enjoy the fic!