Chapter 29: The Church: Part I

Francis leaned against the side wall of the train car as the incessant pounding continued on the outside of the caboose. Zoey pulled the medical pack off Bill's back and coaxed him to sit down on the floor to address the scratches all over his arms.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," he insisted.

"You're hurt, Bill."

She tried to ignore the pounding reverberating throughout the caboose as she cleaned the bloodied bite-mark on his hand. It looks pretty painful, and she heard the older man hiss as she applied antiseptic to the wound. However once it was dressed, given time, it would heal. While she tended to his injuries, Louis had taken to exploring the caboose. While there was not much to see, he did find another door at the far end of the train car.

"Hey guys, I think we can get out through here!"

Francis shot one last look at the door they had entered the car from – the only thing separating them from an insane mob of bloodthirsty people – before going over to check out Louis' discovery.

"You see, the train car is blocking the way through the service gantry, so the Infected knocking outside won't be able to follow us," the other man pointed out.

Francis gently eased the door open with his shotgun and looked outside. He could see the dark outlines of trains, workshops, sheds, and some sort of tower against the night sky. "Well, I guess it's better than nothing."

Once Zoey was satisfied that Bill's injuries had been tended to, the group ventured out of the caboose and found themselves at the edge of an abandoned train-yard.

"Not a fan of creepy old train-yards," she commented.

As they moved further into the dark area, they made sure to check behind train cars, dispatching the occasional Common Infected they came across quickly and quietly. Thankfully, there were very few hiding in the area.

"We should check out that tower," Bill said, pointed to the rickety-looking wooden structure that stood watch over the area.

While Louis and Francis kept watch at the bottom, he and Zoey carefully climbed the steps, and came to the cabin room at the top. She shone her flashlight in the door, and what she saw made her blood chill. What was left of a man was lying on the floor, torn to shreds. His rib-cage was exposed, and one of his legs had been torn off. The expression frozen on his face was one of terror and indescribable agony.

Bill carefully stepped past the body toward the window. "Here," he said, throwing a couple of M1911 clips over to her.

"Thanks, she replied, placing them in the holster buckled at her hip.

Something leaning against the wall caught the war veteran's attention. "A sniper rifle!" he exclaimed, handing his shotgun to Zoey and picking up the scoped rifle. "This will definitely come in handy."

"Glad you found a new toy," she teased. "So, do you know which way we have to go to get to Riverside?"

Bill unattached the scope from the sniper rifle and walked up to the window, looking through the scope and surveying the area. "That way," he said, pointing. "I can see a road leading toward the town."

They climbed down from the tower to rejoin Louis and Francis, and then crossed the train-yard toward a dark park. Bill led the way toward the road he had seen earlier, bordered on both sides by thick woods. Zoey looked into the dark trees and shivered. She could not shake the unpleasant feeling that they were being watched.

It's fine. After what happened in the drains, this'll be a walk in the park... A very spooky and sinister park...

"Why'd you have to pick the creepiest route into town, Bill?" Louis asked, looking warily into the withered trees.

"Cut the chatter…"

They walked in silence for several minutes after that, keeping a cautious watch on all sides, fully expecting company to come bursting out of the trees at any minute. It was a very unpleasant walk, and although nothing happened, everyone's nerves were frayed by the time they approached a quaint little stone footbridge crossing over a dried-up creek; the bed of the latter covered with dead leaves.

Rustling came from the woods, causing everyone to stop nervously. They aimed their flashlights toward the sound, but their weak beams could not penetrate very far into the trees, and the noise had stopped anyway. Perhaps it was just leaves being blown in the wind?

What wind…? Zoey pointed out to herself.

However, any reservations they had held about the woods were quickly blotted out by another chilling sound. Crying.

"Aw, hell…" Bill muttered.

"Where's it coming from?" Louis whispered.

"I don't know. Take it slow and easy. We don't wanna piss her off…"

This 'nice and pleasant' walk through the park was going to hell in hand-basket real fast. Bill led the way toward the stone bridge, all the while hearing piercing and tortured sobs echoing all around him. Zoey shuddered – her last encounter with a Witch had practically reduced her to a sobbing mess, but at least she was with the others now. The crying was so loud – they couldn't see the culprit, but she had to be close…

"She's under the bridge!" Louis hissed in a moment of realisation.

"Goddamn it," Francis spat. "It's one of those crazy chicks with the claws, isn't it?"

"Stay quiet…" Bill murmured. "If we don't disturb her, we'll be alright."

The four of them stood in a tense silence for a moment, listening to the Witch as she continued to cry under the stone bridge.

"Are we gonna have to take a detour through the woods then?" Francis scowled.

Bill shook his head. "We'll cross over the bridge and keep following the path on the other side."

"In case you forgot, there's a goddamn bitch under that bridge."

"Yes, but if we go over the bridge, then she won't see us and come after us. We'll cross one at a time. Walk on the sides of your feet, and make as little noise as possible."

"This is a shit plan."

Zoey grimaced for a couple of reasons, one of which being Francis making known his opinion of the proposed course of action, as usual. He was one of the most stubborn and hard-headed guys she had ever met, particularly when dealing with Louis. She had the feeling that if he acknowledged Francis as the best zombie hunter in the world, the burly biker would disagree out of spite.

However, her other reason for grimacing was that she secretly agreed with him. There was a first time for everything right? And she definitely did not like this plan. However, the alternative was walking through the pitch-black woods.

Louis went first, slowly approaching the footbridge with his pistol drawn. The crying steadily grew louder as he approached. Oh yeah, the Witch was definitely down there. He took a deep breath, took his first tentative steps up onto the bridge, and then paused. The infected woman continued to weep, oblivious to his presence. The young man allowed himself to relax slightly, and finished the crossing without incident. Francis went next and joined him on the other side without a hitch.

Zoey followed, her heart pounding in her chest. She so did not want to do this. On the other hand, the other Witch back in the drains hadn't disembowelled her, even after she had discharged a weapon right near her. There should not be a problem out here, right?

The crying stopped, and a viscous growl drifted out from under the bridge.

Zoey immediately stopped walking and gripped the handrail. Oh god, oh god, oh god…

Bill and the others abruptly drew their weapons and pointed them at the bridge, ready to open fire. However, after a nerve-wracking silence, the Witch resumed her crying, which they took as a good sign. Hell, at least she wasn't growling anymore. Bill lowered his pistol slowly, looked up at Zoey and gave her a reassuring nod. She slowly crossed the rest of the bridge and gave a heavy sigh of relief when she came to the bottom of the ramp on the other side.

Bill grimaced as he carefully walked up the ramp and onto the stone footbridge. He had made it just over halfway when the infected woman below him started panting and growling, obviously agitated. He stopped walking, but the growling continued.

Oh, shit. I gotta get off this bridge…

To everyone's surprise, he continued to cross.

"Idiot old man," Francis growled. "He's gonna make her snap."

"That Witch is not happy," Zoey murmured in agreement.

Bill reached the other side and slowly backed away from the bridge, pistol raised. The Witch's furious growls continued for a little while longer. However, the sounds abruptly stopped, and the group saw a dark figure emerging from under the bridge, slinking up and out of the creek-bed, and stalking away into the trees on the other side. No one dared to move or say anything for several minutes.

"That was too close," Louis finally breathed.

The ragtag group followed the pathway through the park for ten more minutes. The Witch fortunately did not come after them, but they did encounter several Common Infected lurking on the path or off to the side. Zoey returned Bill's knife to him, which he used to carefully creep forward and slash their throats before they knew what hit them. The last one saw the old man coming and screeched furiously, but was silenced with a pistol shot to the head.

The trees abruptly thinned out, and a church was visible in the distance. The spire rose up into the air, lit up by two floodlights aimed at it.

Bill looked at the structure in surprise. "There are lights on in that church!"

"Maybe the army is holding out there!" Zoey said hopefully.

The four survivors left the path and passed through a gate in a stone wall, finding themselves at the south-east edge of an old cemetery in the church yard. The moon was obscured by a pall of clouds, but its pale light still filtered through, illuminating the old tombstones and leafless, withered trees that ran along the perimeter of the area.

However, despite the grim situation, Zoey could not help but giggle. "Dunn-dunnn-dunnnn!" She looked around to see the others looking at her like she had grown a second head.

"Got a screw loose, kid?" Bill remarked.

"Well, I mean, come on, guys! We're standing at the edge of a creepy old cemetery in the middle of the night? Talk about cliché!"

Before anyone could answer, a bloodthirsty scream cut through the air. They looked back in alarm to see several Common Infected come tearing out of the woods toward them, snarling viscously.

"Into the graveyard!" Louis yelled, motioning the others forward with a wave of his arm. I can't believe I just said that!

Muzzle-flashes lit up the cemetery as the four survivors ran headlong into the tombstones. They cut toward the church, firing back at their pursuers, several of which caught bullets and went down. However, the others began to weave throughout the tombstones, causing the shots to go wide.

Bill cursed and slung his sniper rifle over his back in favour of his M1911, the far better option for a fight of this nature. He raised his pistol arm to fire a shot at a dark figure, only to feel himself tackled from the side. He crashed to the dirt, struggling desperately with his attacker. With one swift movement, he drew his knife and slashed the man on top of him, feeling blood spurt into his face. He snarled and climbed to his feet, stabbing the second figure bearing down on him through the heart.

Scattered pistol shots and shotgun blasts echoed throughout the cemetery, amid animalistic cries of pain and anger. Francis swung the butt of his shotgun, knocking an infected man to the ground. He stooped over him and then proceeded to bring the butt of his gun down repeatedly, unceremoniously clubbing the man to death. The brief skirmish was over quickly, and the graveyard fell silent once more. It was now the host to several new bodies.

Zoey shivered. "Let's get the hell out of here." She ran toward the church, excited at the prospect of being rescued at last.

Meanwhile, in a small room inside the church, a man trembled uncontrollably, almost dropping the marker in his hand. He had let her in, shown her great kindness. And how had he been repaid? He looked down at the bite mark on his hand and whimpered softly.

That was what you get for considering the safety of others before your own. If you wanted to survive this apocalypse, you had to play it safe. Safe, and not sorry. Well, now he was looking out for himself! He had to be safe! And never sorry!

He had no idea how long he had been writing on the wall in front of him, but before he realised it, the entire surface was covered in his righteous message.

BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY…

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Thank you all for the fantastic support and kind words so far. I'm having a blast writing this story, so I guess everyone wins!

FEEDBACK:

RxSniper007:

C: it's like reading a book from the game itself, i feel if valve wanted to make a movie like the resident evil game, Has a 3d movie. I think if l4d was a animated movie, it would be a SUCCESS :) your story could be a great script in a l4d movie.

A: First of all, thanks, it's always nice to hear positive comments.

Secondly, I have no idea what Valve is DOING by not making a full-length animated movie (like the intro movie for the game). It could be a HUGE success, especially with all the crap that's making it to the big screens lately. And aside from the rare one here and there, there hasn't been a good zombie movie in years either. [/end rant]

Thirdly, thank you, I'm flattered that you think my story would make a good movie script. There are all sorts of L4D fan-made films and the like all over the internet, and it's quite amazing what people can do.

If anyone DOES have that sort of skill, wants to make a L4D movie, and needs a script-writer, let me know. I could definitely get on board with that.

LynxbyLynx:

C: everyone has been bitten except for zoey...I'd imagine shed be immune...but whose to say you don't get a little sick...like...a bug I guess?... +shrugs+ it's likely right? But then again...she might not be immune...and you'd be accused of being sexist... lol... not having her bit could lead to the same thing of 'oh no. All the boys are protecting the weak little female'. At least you've allowed her character to be built up so she's not completely dependant on the others

A: Heh, believe me, I'm anything but sexist. Zoey is my favourite character.