Chapter 51: Turning Point

11.5 HOURS UNTIL FAILSAFE

Smoke rose over the buildings as the city of Newburg burned, its streets choked in the hazy orange glow of the gathering twilight. Four ant-like figures peered cautiously out from the end of an alleyway to see a (sadly) now-common scene of carnage – the headlights of abandoned or overturned cars littered the street in one direction, while the menacing figures of hundreds of Infected could be seen further up the street the other way.

"That must be where we came out from the Harbour View Hotel," Bill whispered. He gripped his rifle and motioned for Francis to lead them across the road. "This way."

The group quickly crossed the street, covering each other, and entered a darkened area, the earthy ground spotted with weedy clumps of grass here and there. Huge pieces of machinery and antennae-looking devices were clustered throughout the area, surrounded by chain-link fences.

"I've always thought these power-plant gizmos look creepy," Francis said, sparing a glance around.

"It's a substation," Zoey chimed in.

"What's that?"

"Well, the power that comes out of a power-plant is too high a voltage for normal household appliances, so substations convert the electricity back down to a useable voltage." Realising how nerdy she sounded, she shrugged. "Or something like that."

"How'd you know that?" Louis asked, sounding impressed.

The young woman smirked. "Just one of many useless tidbits of info I have to offer."

"Maybe you can shed some light on why Louis is so bald or why Bill is so old," Francis cracked from his position, crouched down near one of the fences.

"Quit screwin' around," the gruff voice of the man in question berated the biker as he came over to join them. "A Hunter could've jumped us while you lot were crackin' jokes."

"Calm your farm," Zoey spitefully expressed. "We're just having some fun."

Bill narrowed his steely grey eyes, finding the challenge to his authority highly irritating. Did they all think this was some kind of game? "We got time to have fun, we got time to haul ass." He levelled his Colt M4 forward and moved off into the gloom without another word, Zoey scowling after him.

The grim industrial station was shrouded in a murky darkness, pierced by four flashlights and occasionally broken by the muzzle-flash of a pistol. Blood and gore sprayed into the air as the heads and chests of the occasional straggling Common Infected were assailed by bullets. The tall spires of the substation antennae and machinery, coupled with the chain-link fences, gave rise to a claustrophobic setting, and one which Bill was decidedly not happy with. Claustrophobic was not the way one wanted to feel when faced with the possibility of wall-to-wall Infected between them and the airport. Not to mention a Hunter could jump these fences in a single bound no problem.

As the group was marching toward a row of maintenance shacks, lit up by a large lighting tower which somehow still had power, he held up a palm, signalling for the group to stop. He and Francis took to inspecting the bodies of some army personnel lying in the shadows for anything useful, the argument which had flared up between the two men in the hotel brushed to one side for the moment. There were more important things to worry about right now.

While this was happening, Louis and Zoey kept a vigilant watch back the way they came, SIG-Sauers primed and ready. They did not know that danger lurked not behind, but above.

"For the record," Louis said quietly, "I would've gone with you to see if it was a survivor back in the hotel."

Zoey grimaced, the haunting sound of crying still echoing her mind. A fresh flash of anger flared up inside her, even as she tried to convince herself that they were doing the right thing. "Bill was probably right," she finally offered. "If we'd run into a Witch, we would've been screwed. It's probably better if we keep a low profile."

Her friend quirked an eyebrow at this. "But you don't believe that, do you?"

"Of course not!" she vented quietly, lowering her pistol to look at him directly. "If everyone thought the same way, there wouldn't be a country united against the Infected anymore, just selfish people looking out for themselves."

"Bill ain't selfish. He's just doing what he thinks is right."

"I know. It's just…" Zoey sighed, brushing a strand of dark-brown hair out of her face. "I'm not sure if Bill's heart is in the right place when it comes to outsiders anymore. Not after what happened with the Slaters."

She could see Bill had come to care for their little group, and her in particular, greatly. After everything that had happened in the past few horrible weeks, she had come to depend on him and trust him completely. Her being knocked out, tied up and held hostage by the Slaters had obviously shaken Bill more than she thought. Despite his gruff exterior, there had always been a warmness underneath. Zoey knew it was still there, only it was now boarded up behind a cold, hard drive to get them all to safety, and to hell with anyone else.

She did not like the changes she was seeing in the old man.

"Don't worry, once we get rescued by the army, everything will be better," Louis' voice cut into her thoughts. He shot her a reassuring smile. "I promise."

Zoey returned the smile, once again finding herself appreciating how the man's upbeat attitude could always brighten her mood. "Thanks, Louis. You've always been a good friend in all this. In fact, you're probably my best friend now."

Before he could reply, an awful slurping noise echoed around them.

SHLKT!

Something wrapped tightly around her, and she thought one of the others was grabbing her for some reason. Next thing she knew, she was off her feet and being slammed into the side of one of the surrounding buildings, her senses stunned and dazed. Why was she being dragged up a building…?

"Smoker's got Zoey!" she heard Louis' voice shout out from somewhere down below.

Gunfire rang out, but she was pulled up and over the roof, and still the tentacle-like tongue constricted her tightly, not allowing her to reach for any of her guns.

Oh, god.

She could not twist around to see what had her, but she could hear it breathing, rasping, right behind her. As she regained her senses, she struggled desperately against the beast's hold, but shrieked when she felt a ragged claw slash across her face, and the warm sensation of blood trickling down her cheek.

Her blood.

That was nothing compared to what happened next. Zoey screamed in pain when she felt the sharp stabbing of teeth sinking into her skin. It was utter agony, and she struggled more violently, but that only increased the terrible pain at the base of her neck. The tentacle snaked tighter around her throat, cutting off her oxygen. She started to gag, and for the second time in two days, the edges of her vision faded to black.

This was it. She was going to die. That was the only coherent thought she could manage in her current state of mind, her lungs failing her.

The next thing she knew, she slumped over, her head hitting the rooftop hard, but she barely registered the shock. The former college student's focus was completely muddled, hazed and racked with pain. The air was filled with smoke, and she was vaguely aware of four fits of coughing somewhere nearby. It took her a moment to comprehend that one of them was her own. Her lungs – previously starved of oxygen – were now filled with the acrid green smoke, and the sudden shift made her feel sick.

Bill led the way out onto the rooftop of the maintenance building, his pistol held forward in case there were any more of the long-tongued bastards around. The hazy smoke clouded the air, obscuring his vision, which only added to his panic when he could not see Zoey right away.

When she had been snatched, the wily old man charged right into the building and up two flights of stairs while horrible screams erupted above him. He cursed the whole time – the damn Smoker, the bloody stairs, Louis for not paying attention. He was not going to lose anyone. Not on his watch.

His heart leapt into his mouth when Louis' voice rang out, "She's over here!"

The prone form of the girl stirred when she heard the vaguely familiar voice, and looked up, her vision blurred and bleary. Why did everything hurt so much?

"Hey, Zoey," Louis' anxious face appeared through the smoke, a hand held over his mouth.

"She's bleeding," Bill said worriedly. He nodded to Francis. "You carry her. We gotta find some shelter while we patch her up."

The biker scooped her up in his arms without a word, and then they made their way over the roof and back inside the building. Zoey's vision was swimming. She opened her mouth to try and warn them what had happened, but was hit with a sudden wave of nausea.

"Hey." Francis gave her a rough shake, jarring her. "Stay awake."

Ohhhhhh, she was going to puke if he kept jostling her like that. Her head was throbbing like hell, she felt dizzy and disoriented, and ready to throw up. Were these the symptoms someone felt right before they turned…?

"Through here!" Bill said, leading them into a small and cluttered storage room. "How's she doing, Francis?"

"She's not lookin' so hot," came the gruff reply. "Come on, Zoey, stay with me," he growled, giving her another shake.

"Stop it…" she muttered, squinting her eyes open. Why was she even being carried? What happened…? Her vision was blurred and she couldn't really see anything anyway, so she closed her eyes, only to be jostled again. The asshole really needed to stop shaking her like that.

"Set her down over here," Bill instructed, sweeping aside the clutter on a wooden table against one wall while Louis closed and barricaded the door.

Francis quickly made his way across the room, ignoring the low groans of protest coming from the limp form in his arms. As soon as he set her down on the table, her eyelids drooped, but he snapped his fingers in her face, startling her awake again.

"That Smoker gave off a lot of gas," Bill said, opening the medical pack. "I hope that stuff ain't poisonous."

Wait… Smoker…? In a rush of recollection, Zoey remembered what happened. She had to warn them! "Guys," she said in a thick voice. "I've been bitten – " The rest of her sentence was cut off as she leaned over the side of the table and vomited on the floor.

"Oh, shit," Louis breathed.

Bill surveyed her grimly. She had a nasty bump on her head where she had fallen… and there was a scratch across her cheek, as well as a nasty-looking bite on her shoulder, near the base of her neck. The wound was bleeding considerably…

Oh, no…

"She's been bit," Francis growled, instantly alert. "And scratched."

The war veteran took a deep breath in an attempt regain his composure. He had almost lost her when she nearly drowned, but now she had been bitten by an infected man. And she was displaying some very worrying symptoms…

"She's going to be okay…" Louis murmured, although he certainly did not believe his own words.

"Keep an eye on her," Bill said, bringing the first-aid pack toward the table.

The younger man nodded unhappily. Why was he always being put on 'Watch Friends In Case They Turn and Shoot Them If They Do' duty?

"Zoey, I'm going to patch up you up. You hang in there, kid."

Everything that was being said to her was lost in the haze, drowned out by a shrill ringing in her ears.

She could not believe it. After how far they had come, after everything they had been through together, it was going to end like this?

Well… it could be worse… I could have been ripped apart by that Smoker. At least now I'll die surrounded by friends…

Not die… Driven mad by the Infection, only to be shot by the people who used to be my friends a few seconds later…

Those were her last thoughts before she lost consciousness.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Apologies for the delay in updating this story. My mind has been focused on work and other stuff lately, and the amount of time I get to just sit down and write has been dwindling lately.

It's a shame that this archive has been a bit less lively. Although I've seen a few interesting-looking L4D fics which I look forward to getting stuck into.

And yes, there are a few fan-made L4D movies out there. These are ones I'd suggest looking into:

www DOT youtube DOT com/watch?v=sEnMN02d1E8

www DOT facebook DOT com/Left4DeadMovie?ref=ts&fref=ts