The last hunter...? [Archive] - Page 3

Fingerfood

11-08-2010, 07:28 PM

Well, I try really hard not to comment or explain myself outside of the story since it usually shuts down further input. "Too unexpected" sounds like I failed to set up something properly.

That was why I removed the first version of Rebirth, part 4, but given what the female hunter does at the end of chapter 5, and the set up of 3 hunters cohabitating together, is that not enough? Have I done enough to allude to the special role hunters play in this interpretation of the L4D universe?

Well, I'd say it's fine, but I think why it seemed so different (Perhaps a better word for how I feel) to me was because it's been mostly human interaction, especially so in the last few parts. I suppose it balances it out though, having a whole part devoted to infected communication after having lots of human interaction.

I will say that part 5 should touch on an important theme I feel I've neglected so far in the story. It should also flesh out the female hunter, but I will ask this--how do you interpret her actions? Why would the hunter pair let her stay with them?

What about the nature of these hunter pairings? How do you feel about this glimpse into hunter "culture"? Where does Buddy fit?

As for those questions, I'm going to give a rather brief answer than what I'd assume you'd want, but I think that infected act a lot like animals. They stay in packs for the benefits--protection, sharing, information, etc. As for leaders between siblings, or pairings, I'd think it would fill the natural necessity for a leader, and since Hunters are so territorial, I'd assume they'd want the least amount of members of their pack as needed, making a simple leader - servant (Different word, perhaps?) relationship.

Shazam

11-08-2010, 09:00 PM

Lol.. what? WHAT!? HunterXhunter??

I mean... I dunno, I guess it ties off that loose end as to wtf was up with the conscious hunters that aren't buddy and all but... what??

Sorta reminds me of A song of Ice and Fire, with the character Jon Snow's predicament in "A storm of swords", now that I think of it.

Quite unexpected though. This'll be tricky for buddy... I doubt hunter breakups go smoothly.

Scars Tropics

11-08-2010, 09:31 PM

I found it to be a good twist. It'll open a lot of avenues for the story to go, so bravo pappa.

SA_ChooChoo

11-08-2010, 09:44 PM

The female hunter wearing a blindfold... could she still have her eyes too?
Does she have a little bit of humanity in her still? Could she sense that Buddy may also have his humanity too?

natedogXVI

11-08-2010, 09:45 PM

Wow.

I hadn't checked back into the story in awhile, but I gotta say, I LOVE where you've taken it. You've got quite an ability to write, I'll give you that. I can't wait for the next part, to find out more about the female hunter, whether she's somewhat mentally human or if she'll come along with Buddy without harming the others, now that he's her dominant.

Also, I'm glad you didn't get crazy detailed what with the whole sex scene and all. And if you do in the next part then so be it, but I'm happy to see that you haven't let your fan (I hate that I have to add that to it) fiction be stereotyped by even momentarily falling into some erotic sub-story.

As for your (now far back) question on how we imagine the characters; Andy, I've always just sort of visualized this basic, non-specific kid. He doesn't have any super-particular accent, or anything. He's a midwest/Northeast kid, probably from a medium sized town or smaller city. Just your basic character type, acting as a stable ground from which the other characters can differ and provide heavier contrast. I picture him being a little rattled up, hair starting to get long as he hasn't had time to cut it any, or is really at the age where he'd care.

Sarah, even since knowing that she's Korean, I still keep visualizing some sudo-Zoey figure. Likely because my internal voice for her is just your typical American young adult female voice. She doesn't have a Korean accent, just physical features.

With Buddy, it's hard to imagine much outside of the typical hunter image. I kind of just give human eyes and an arm to my idea of a hunter, with maybe a slightly different build and outfit for variety.

Travis, for some reason I've been picturing as wearing, idk something black. Not like ALL black, just a black shirt or jacket or something. He and his former cronies gave me the mental image of some cheesy b-movie bad guy organization, with hired goons. Thus the black/dark outfit. Physically, again idk, I guess he gives me some idea based off of the few real Travis' I've known. I know in my mind he's got short-cropped hair, not quite a buzz cut.

As for the other various characters, including Buddy's roommate and anyone else from flashbacks, I just kind of fill them in as I read. His roommate has dark hair though. I also get the feeling that most of "Buddy's" physical appearance in the flashbacks looks drastically different from say, his face in the current time. I just imagine that the main part of his face to remain completely visually human are his eyes.

Just my input :)

EDIT: Just another thing I wanted to add; until you had Buddy and the female getting all touchy post-dominance, I didn't think of the dominant thing as being even partially sexual. Thus, the two male hunters grouped together just seemed more of a status thing, especially with the contest. It made sense, the better of any two gains dominance over a weaker one. Theoretically, if the dominant is itself dominated, then the higher level hunter could instruct it's new....submissive? To kill it's old partner if need be.

Idk, seems like it doesn't HAVE to be a sexual thing, only if the two hunters make it that. Or perhaps, it could end up being because both the female and "Buddy" have some level of humanity, that they turn the dominance towards this factor?

Again, I can't wait to see where it goes. Please don't let anything I or anyone else says change what you already plan to do, at least not much. So far I've loved what you've come up with and I don't want anything to change that.

SA_ChooChoo

11-09-2010, 03:54 PM

I already can't wait for part 5. :D I gotta know what happens.

Does Buddy now control this hunter pack? Can he get Andy and the rest to a safe escape?

Scars Tropics

11-09-2010, 05:57 PM

Its interesting how everyone sees the characters. I pictured andy somewhat like a younger skinnier ellis. Higher voice and more grown out dark curly hair. Abercrombie type of kid with a hat.

I saw sarah as half white half asian, mid to late 30's and 'thick'. I see her hair as wavy and she is dressed like tomb raider. And she's hot, of course

Travis I tend picture as having reddish short hair, buzzed on the sides, wearing a dark mechanic style outfit and having hawklike features. (Eyes are narrow and spaced apart, nose and chin are pointy, thin lips)

Buddy I see as the part 2 hunter except he has black hair combed forward when his hood is down. I see his face as normal for the most part, but his skin color is unnatural and looks rougher than normal skin. His eyes look funny too, but most people wouldn't notice right away.

duffyman01

11-09-2010, 06:58 PM

Solidify the dominance

chazzerman286

11-10-2010, 08:46 AM

My thoughts while reading part 4
'interesting...interesting...interesting...lolwut? '

SA_ChooChoo

11-10-2010, 11:59 AM

And now, we wait for part 5.

Herr Dudelmann

11-10-2010, 12:57 PM

the anticipation is killing me

081XxhephexX180

11-10-2010, 03:12 PM

GOD I CAN'T WAIT FOR PART 5, SOMETHING'S TELLING ME IT'S GONNA BE GREAT :D (you better make it great or I will be very disappointed, :( (5 is my favorite number, (yay for multiple parenthesis :D )))

pappaskurtz

11-10-2010, 08:41 PM

Thanks for the awesome feedback natedog and everyone. I'm in the process of revising part 5 so it should be up soon. :)

Zora-Link

11-10-2010, 08:51 PM

Thanks for the awesome feedback natedog and everyone. I'm in the process of revising part 5 so it should be up soon. :)

As in tonight? :D

SA_ChooChoo

11-10-2010, 09:44 PM

PLEASE BE TONIGHT. :DDDDDD

I'll make sure to stay up late!

crash2004

11-11-2010, 08:22 AM

Thanks for the awesome feedback natedog and everyone. I'm in the process of revising part 5 so it should be up soon. :)

Awesome story so far. Hope that means tonight too. :)

FerociousZombie

11-11-2010, 09:08 AM

love your story!

one suggestion though,
more of Sara's back story

Trout

11-11-2010, 10:37 AM

FerociousZombie

11-11-2010, 11:57 AM

so you want him to redo the story and fix somthing that YOU want.

dont change a thing pappa :D

Scars Tropics

11-11-2010, 01:33 PM

I've been reading through this, and it's pretty good.

However, I think that Buddy shouldn't have started actively traveling with survivors, and instead remained an unseen force. To me, it just seems that Buddy is a regular survivor with a ninja-like jumping ability and a taste for human flesh, who sometimes has animal instincts flow through him.

Well, buddy might wind up back in that role depending on things work out with these new hunters.

It seems like pappa was always more interested in exploring buddy's humanity. Being with the survivors is an effective way to demonstrate this.

pappaskurtz

11-11-2010, 01:54 PM

Fun fact: I originally intended for Buddy to be an "unseen force" as he is in Chapters 1-3 for much longer, but that got boring very quickly. I was going to introduce Sarah much earlier and have her go with Andy to Mercy Hospital and have the confrontation with the two hunters force Buddy's hand, but introducing Andy and Sarah so close together didn't give me enough room to develop either as fully as I wanted too, and hardly left any room for Buddy. So, we have the events that occur in the thread. :)

Sorry, no part 5 yet--there's a lot that happens in this part. I hope it'll be worth the wait.

crash2004

11-11-2010, 02:03 PM

Zora-Link

11-11-2010, 03:54 PM

I was just reading through it again, and noticed near the end of Chapter 6, pt 1, you call Andy "Buddy."

Noticed a couple other minor grammatical errors, but that one is kind of major :o

081XxhephexX180

11-11-2010, 04:02 PM

:o

5char

pappaskurtz

11-11-2010, 06:20 PM

Oh, crap, good catch.

SA_ChooChoo

11-12-2010, 12:12 PM

Must read Part 5! :D We need our fix! <3

081XxhephexX180

11-12-2010, 02:36 PM

:o :( :mad:

pappaskurtz

11-12-2010, 03:01 PM

To be honest, this chapter could have easily been 6 parts given how much happens, but I didn't really want to chop it up any further. I do not think the upcoming chapters will be this long, but we'll see.
___________________________

It was a surreal experience. I had no concept of time; things seemed to last forever, yet the stars shifted much too quickly.

We were both gasping for air when I slid off her onto my back. To my surprise, she nestled close to me. I thought at first it was for warmth, but she was oddly affectionate with all of her gestures, the way she wrapped her arms around me and continued to purr.

Her purrs were soon punctured by phrases that my instincts were slow to interpret; they’d grown lazy—refractory, really.

No speak can’t—I couldn’t speak, could I? she asked; as in, I could not communicate like she could. I shook my head, and something that sounded like a giggle escaped her. I speak for you, she offered tentatively, if you wish. I nodded.

You stronger past him—I was stronger than her past dominant, the one I killed in Mercy Hospital. Rude stupid selfish—he never let her hunt with him.

She reached for my uninfected hand as her expression grew tentative. Forgive cruel self—forgive me? she asked.

Leaves rustled in the distance. I saw the hunters approaching us again through the trees—slowly this time, no doubt to give us a chance to dress. We were hardly naked, but we fastened our clothes quickly and stood when the other two hunters dropped from the trees.

They hunched, bearing their claws, as the dominant snarled and spat utterances rapidly: submit or fight? he demanded.

The female hunter stood behind me, taking my hand gingerly so that her claws wouldn’t scratch me. She moved close to my ear to—whisper?

Partner not honor challenge alone; self help anyway—if I challenged the dominant, his partner would not stand by idly; she would help me, though, if I decided to attack.

I had sensed that challenges for dominance were usually one-on-one endeavors, but I had a feeling these two couldn’t be considered “usual.”

Inhaling deeply, I prodded my instincts for a way to illustrate my—submission. After providing several obscene options, they reluctantly presented a solution. I knelt before the hunter, bowing my head. My new cooperative knelt beside me.

Self honor choice—I honor your choice, she whispered. As crude as their interpretations were, my instincts did not find any scorn in her words.

Sending a few pings, I saw the hunters exchange looks of approval before standing fully. The dominant grasped my shoulder and prodded me to rise.

Sunrise soon, he uttered. Rest; new prey soon.

My stomach knotted. Did they scout near the safe room?

Before I could contemplate the possibilities, the dominant and his partner leapt for the trees. Purring, the female hunter tickled the back of my neck and waved her hand for me to follow. She leapt to the trees.

Sending another ping, I located Sarah’s knife and Andy’s hat a few feet from me amidst the twigs and dirt. I snatched them up before following my new—partner? I did not like the term, but there were far more disturbing synonyms.

While I tree-hopped behind her, the term tonic popped into my head—it was one of Michelle’s random music-theory tidbits. Tonic and dominant, tonic and dominant; she’d always mentioned them together, but I could not remember why.

Perhaps that was what this hunter was now. If I was to be her dominant, then she would be my tonic—regardless of what the word actually meant.

We came to a stop as the trees parted and the river emerged. The water glistened under the moonlight as gentle ripples massaged the surface. I saw the two hunters settle next to the riverbank, the dominant sitting Indian-style to welcome his partner’s head in his lap.

They started cooing and muttering to each other. Primarily, they were complaining about me, but my instincts refused to interpret most of their talk.

My tonic curled into the fetal position atop a patch of leaves. She clicked her tongue at me, willing me closer.

Ignore them, she purred; no change annoy—they’re always like that.

The two seemed to be waiting for the sun to rise, but how they actually watched it, I had no idea. Like what? I wanted to ask my tonic, but let the question drop as I lay across from her, facing her.

She shook her head and snarled impatiently. No no no, you sleep like fish! she hacked.

She spun her back to me and pulled my arm around her. Alas, she wanted to spoon; I had to admit it, though—her warmth was very alluring.

Her breathing steadied long before the first rays of the sunrise peered over the horizon, igniting a familiar, dull ache in my temples. I glanced over at the other two hunters to see them nestled against each other, and, as I listened to their breaths, knew they were fast asleep.

Lifting myself from her as slowly and as gently as I could, I managed to part from my tonic without waking her. I pulled off a silent leap to a tree to avoid stepping on a random twig, and when I looked back to listen, all three hunters were still asleep.

I leapt across the forest as fast as hunterly possible. Along the way, I picked up the paired hunters’ scents lingering in the air—they had definitely backtracked, but why did they avoid the area until now?

When I landed in front of the safe room, I realized it was a stupid question just as I peered inside.

The latch on the floor behind it, the safe room door was unsecured.

An unbelievable sense of dread nearly made my knees buckle. Yanking the door open, I sprang inside to see Trevor asleep on the cot and the couch devoid of Andy—except his smell. I ran across to the back room to see Sarah also asleep on the mattress.

Where was Andy?

I snarled, jolting both Sarah and Trevor awake.

“Buddy!” Sarah cried.

I snarled again, flinging my hands towards the couch. While the two were speechless, I ran to bathroom only to see the door wide open.

And empty.

“Ah, fudge,” Trevor muttered.

I hopped past Sarah back into the main room as Trevor shook himself awake.

pappaskurtz

11-12-2010, 03:02 PM

“I don’t know,” Sarah breathed, “he must have slipped out during the night…”

Growling at them both, I leapt towards the door and sprang from the safe room. Idiot, idiot, idiot—the term looped over and over in my mind as my instincts gloated, but I shut them out as I focused on my sense of smell.

I prayed that Andy did not go towards the river, but as his scent faded when I backtracked past the humvee, the knot in my stomach tightened. I leapt towards the forest again, and, using a pinged image to find a set of fresh tracks leading from the safe room, took a deep breath.

Sarah ran outside, her pistol armed, with Trevor close behind. He tossed me my blindfold and I ripped the plastic wrap from my eyes to put it on.

“Where did he go?” Sarah asked. I pointed towards the forest. “Is the trail fresh?” she went on. I hesitated before nodding slowly, catching a glimpse of Trevor grimacing as he tried to grip his pistol, his hand and fingers bandaged.

“Will you be able to shoot?” she asked Trevor.

“I think so,” he answered.

“Lead on, Buddy—we’ll keep up.”

The blindfold alleviating my headache, I leapt towards the forest and pulled out Sarah’s knife to begin tree hopping. As I latched onto Andy’s scent again, my pings told me that his trail did not head directly for the riverbank but instead veered east. Had he gotten lost?

Would his dumb luck save him?

A whale-like cry interrupted the morning silence; charger! It was faint and also came from the east, but it was very far off in the thick of the forest. The cry doubled in volume before becoming a prolonged wail.

A heavy thud cut the cry short. Climbing higher through the forest canopy, I had to send several extended pings to spot leaves falling from a tree far in the distance. I was so far away—could I make it in time?

My pings picked up another rustling in the trees just as gunfire broke out—Andy’s pistol, no doubt. The rustling in the trees seemed to originate from the riverbank, but the speed of the trail told me all I needed to know.

The two hunters were much, much faster than me, but I shot towards Andy all the same, letting my screams ring through the forest from the exertion. Andy’s scent growing stronger, I caught a glimpse of Sarah and Trevor several yards behind me in full sprint, but they quickly faded from view.

The dominant and his partner were covering ground fast. No doubt they heard me and knew my target, but being upwind from them, I knew they couldn’t know about Sarah and Trevor—yet.

I could almost see them through the forest canopy, but going so fast, I couldn’t be sure—until I spotted their trail in front of me and knew I’d fallen behind.

I screamed at them, but was too winded to project my voice. I heard more gunfire, followed by the dying whale-cries of the charger.

“Buddy…?” Andy whispered.

The blood pounding against my eardrums, I barely heard him, but God damn, it felt like my insides had been ripped out.

I was too late.

I heard the hunter’s feet crack against Andy’s body, a brief cry of pain bursting from him. I was so many trees behind but my pings caught one of the hunters slamming Andy against the ground and sliding on top of him into a tree.

So many damn trees—I was hardly covering any ground with each hop. I saw the hunter raise his claws and slice across Andy’s chest and again across his stomach. Andy screamed as the hunter yelped with joy.

Andy’s agonized scream shattered something within me as I saw the hunter raise his claws again, but finally—too late—I was close enough and screeched as I leapt at the hunter, who was too gleeful to dodge my pounce. We rolled off Andy to crash into another tree.

Stunning him slightly, I felt the other hunter slam into me and knock me off. The dominant back-flip kicked me into a tree before landing atop a patch of twigs, cackling.

Too slow, he gloated, but share later.

Andy was reaching for his gun, but the dominant saw him before I could react and the dominant leapt towards Andy to kick the gun away. I tried to spring towards them only to have the dominant’s partner latch onto me and pin me to the ground, yanking my arms behind my back.

First taste, he snarled into my ear.

I kicked and shrieked, but I was helpless. The dominant clutched Andy’s neck and pinned him against the tree, the hunter’s claws drawing droplets of blood.

The hunter inhaled deeply as Andy grabbed onto his captor’s wrist, but it was no use.

“Buddy…” he whispered, trembling.

My shoulders and arms burning, I cried out again, but my voice crumbled in desperation. I could not help him. I could not save him.

I screamed when I saw the dominant lunge for Andy’s neck, but, with a burst of gunfire, a bullet grazed the hunter’s shoulder and lodged into the tree bark.

The dominant sprung away and his partner released me just as Sarah kept firing again and again, the shots nearly deafening me. Trevor was just behind her, aiming for the one that had pinned me.

The dominant hunter released a deafening shriek that rattled my bones and forced us to cover our ears. Just as the hunters leapt to the trees, a sympathetic cry bellowed in the distance to signal an oncoming onslaught.

I jumped towards Andy. Clutching his stomach, he was gasping for air as he looked up at me, but Sarah cut in before he could speak.

“Go, Buddy,” she cried, “we’ll fight off the horde, but you can’t let those hunters regroup!”

I didn’t want to leave Andy, but she was right, and my instincts were screaming at me to keep the hunters within my sight.

Leaping for the trees, I latched onto the weaker hunter’s scent. His uneven legs made him slower than his dominant, and sure enough, he was trailing behind.

I ascended the canopy where there were fewer trees and room to make farther leaps. My pings let me lock onto the weaker hunter, and though he might have been faster than me, he was making the same mistake I had earlier of staying low and hopping so many trees.

Sprinting footsteps were beginning to flood the forest from all directions, but I ignored them as I found a path to intercept the weaker hunter. As snarls and slobbering cries attempted to distract me, I leapt before visualizing my plan completely.

With the adrenaline surging through me, my instincts and reflexes acted before I could comprehend them and I found myself rebounding off a tree and crashing into the weaker hunter while he was in mid-leap.

As we tumbled to the ground, I slashed across his side with Sarah’s knife to carve out a surprised squeal and we crashed onto one of the common infected sprinting past us. I took advantage of the soft landing to rip into him again with my claws and bit into his neck.

pappaskurtz

11-12-2010, 03:04 PM

His dominant cried out and knocked me off before I could draw blood. He spat and snarled at me: want him fight self kill—you want him? You’ll have to kill me first!

Gunshots erupted in the distance as I hissed back at him before faking a direct leap towards him—instead, I dropped low and spun my legs to trip him. I connected, and the dominant fell flat on his back before I jumped on top of him and knifed him across his chest and bicep.

Dirty fighter! his partner squealed, and ran into me to dislodge me. Hardly a leap, it was clear he was too exhausted to properly fight. I elbowed him in the chest and clawed across his face before breaking free of him.

Gunfire continued to sound in the distance as bullets smashed against infected flesh. The dominant popped to his feet, but this time I followed through on my leap and smashed him into a tree, a cough erupting from his throat as I winded him.

I sprung back to jump-kick him into the tree, but just as I leapt, he managed to block a direct hit but was still flung past the tree by the force. I poised myself to make another leap when my tonic appeared from the sky in front of me.

What are you doing? her throaty utterances demanded. Prey nearby! Hunt, feast together!

The stench of accumulating infected saturated the air, so maybe she did not yet realize Andy was still alive, but before I could do anything, the dominant sprung towards my tonic and knocked us both to the ground.

Idiot impatient self win die! the dominant moaned, but my tonic righted herself before I even bothered to interpret his words and she leapt towards a tree to rebound-slam the dominant. He dodged, but it freed me to focus on the weaker hunter.

I leapt towards him, but to my surprise, he did not seem interested in fighting me. He dropped to his knees and bowed his head as he gasped for air.

No let kill no let kill please no let kill; the weaker hunter’s utterances were frantic and desperate—don’t let her kill him, please. He was begging me—he was actually begging me.

My tonic was rebounding-slamming with incredible frequency and the dominant was already far too tired to dodge. She landed several successful pounces before she leapt on top of him and began to claw into his stomach.

The weaker hunter ran for her, but I grabbed him and pulled him back as his utterances disintegrated into doglike whimpers. My tonic clawed the dominant’s abdomen one more time before lunging for his throat—and ripping away a chunk of his jugular.

An unsettling cry erupted from the dominant’s partner. My tonic leapt away from the body to hiss and snarl at a new threat.

Trevor trembled as he aimed his pistol at my tonic, but as I released the weaker hunter, it almost seemed like she was taunting Trevor, goading him to shoot.

I rose immediately and stood between Trevor and my tonic. I held out my hand and he seemed to understand, but my tonic snarled behind me.

What are you doing? she demanded. I spun to face her and shook my head frantically. Do not attack them, I tried to say, but while my snarl was incomprehensible to my instincts, my tonic seemed to understand.

Why no attack? she asked.

I shook my head again before the weaker hunter caught my attention. He was whimpering over the corpse of his—former dominant. My instincts told me my tonic was now his dominant, but I sensed he wasn’t going to abide by hunter politics.

No, he wasn’t really whimpering; he was sobbing—whining like an injured dog. Springing to his feet, he hunched and bared his claws at me as a growl crept back into his voice.

Monster, he growled at me, and a chill shot through my body. He jumped on top of me, but I was too dazed to knock him off me.

A gunshot. As a burst of blood sprayed me, I pulled myself from the hunter. He snarled at me, clutching his side, and Trevor fired again. The hunter tried to stand and turned towards Trevor, who fired once more.

As blood started dripping down his lips, the hunter dropped to his knees before collapsing completely. He started to crouch, and as he oriented himself towards his dominant, he used his last leap to cross a mere three feet.

He fell short. He cried out weakly as he reached ahead of him to grasp his dominant’s hand—and with one last touch, his body went limp.

My tonic was bowing her head—in respect?—as Trevor stared at the scene. An explosion rocked the earth, and Trevor shook himself before spinning around and sprinting back towards Andy.

I made to follow Trevor, but as my tonic did the same, I held my hand out to stop her. Stay, I tried to say, and my instincts actually understood my utterance. I gestured towards the trees. My tonic frowned, but nodded.

I sprinted after Trevor as the stench of dead infected intensified. I spotted a corpse pile before too long, and my ears locked onto Andy’s gasping breaths.

pappaskurtz

11-12-2010, 03:05 PM

Sarah was unpacking her health kit as my pings picked up her image. Andy was lying on his side, pistols in both his hands. He picked off the last few infected with unflinching precision.

I chose to leap ahead of Trevor to cross the last yards. As I neared Andy, another chill ran through me as I realized how potent the smell of his blood had become. As I landed near him, I was floored when he somehow managed to smile at me.

“Don’t worry,” he said hoarsely, “it’s not as bad as it looks.”

I couldn’t really see the blood that had to have drenched his shirt, but the way it plopped to the side as Sarah cut across the shirt, I knew it was soaked.

Trevor caught up to us as a peep of terror escaped Andy—Sarah had removed a bottle of rubbing alcohol from her health kit.

“I’m sorry,” she said as she dampened a cloth with it, “this is going to hurt.”

Andy nodded briskly as he clamped his eyes shut. I trotted closer to Andy and knelt beside him, offering my hand, and Andy took it quickly just before Sarah started to clean his wounds.

The agony escaped Andy as he gripped my hand, but Sarah worked quickly and steadily. “I’m sorry,” she said, “you don’t clean it, it gets infected—not in that way, but trust me.”

Andy nodded again as he tried to suppress his cries. There were nine deep cuts—four across his chest and five on his abdomen. Once Sarah cleaned the cuts, she threaded a needle and started to stitch.

“Trevor,” Sarah said, “keep the pressure on the cuts—he’s lost a lot of blood already.”

Trevor obeyed, pressing gauze against the wounds. Andy gave me another small smile as he trembled. “My turn, I guess…”

I shushed him, but as he started to tremble, he became increasingly inconsolable.

“Buddy, try to keep him still!” Sarah ordered. I did my best, but Andy continued to cry.

“I’m so sorry,” he wept, “I’m so sorry, I ruined everything—I’m so sorry…”

I shushed him again, trying to still him, when my tonic burst from the trees and landed before us.

“Keep the hunter off me,” Sarah said without a flinch.

I let go of Andy and immediately leapt in front of my tonic. I hissed at her, but she did not attack. Instead, she snarled at me.

Betrayal, betrayal, betrayal, she uttered repeatedly, shaking her head in disbelief. Fool never accept fool never accept—what a fool I was; they will never accept me!

She backed away, continuing to shake her head as she gestured towards Andy. No share him no share him no share—she was not going to share me with him. Regret soon idiot—I will regret this. Fool never accept, fool never accept…

My tonic leapt into the trees, and at an impossible pace, disappeared through the trees.

“Was—was that a girl hunter?” Andy asked, his voice unsteady.

“Andy,” Sarah scolded, “don’t work yourself up—save your strength!”

“She was—that was a girl hunter!” he went on.

As I watched her trail disappear, my instincts confirmed that she was gone. I knelt beside Andy again and resumed shushing him.

Andy’s breathing had become extremely labored. Sarah was just starting on the cuts on his abdomen.

“Andy, come on,” Trevor encouraged, “hang in there. Almost done.”

He shook his head, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I ruined everything, I ruined everything. I’m so sorry, Buddy! I’m so sorry… Charlie, I’m so, so sorry…”

I grasped his hand and tried to keep shushing him. He continued muttering, but the strength in his voice began to decline rapidly.

Sarah sighed, pulling back abruptly. “We’ve got to get him to the safe room, get him situated and start the IV—he’s losing too much blood here.”

She hastily unrolled more bandages and gauze, and as I lifted Andy, she quickly wrapped it around his stomach.

“Can you get him to the safe room?” she asked me.

I scooped Andy into my arms and broke out into a full sprint. My pings revealed Sarah and Trevor picking up the contents of the health kit behind me, but they started running before they faded from my ping sight.

Andy was barely lucid as he held on to me. He kept murmuring, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

I was quickly running out of breath, and my legs were on fire, but all I could think of was Andy slipping away from me. Not like this…dear God, not like this…

081XxhephexX180

11-12-2010, 03:22 PM

FINALLY!! YAY! \:D/

just found one small typo, you wrote "pray" instead of "prey", in the part where the sun was rising...

Zora-Link

11-12-2010, 03:22 PM

I AM SAD PANDA BUT GOOD SECTION IS GOOD.

And really long, jesus. Lots of goings on.

Neonwarrior

11-12-2010, 03:25 PM

Hmm. Maybe Sarah used to be a doctor or nurse before the infection? She seems to know a lot about medicine. Also, I wonder what would happen if the female hunter became the next "survivor" in the group.

SA_ChooChoo

11-12-2010, 03:27 PM

nUUUUUUU D: Andy!

Also, I'd find it interesting if the female hunter DID join the group.

Zora-Link

11-12-2010, 03:31 PM

nUUUUUUU D: Andy!

Also, I'd find it interesting if the female hunter DID join the group.

I'd like it if she joined the group, gave in to her cravings, killed Trevor, then ran away.

...I don't like Trevor. ;)

Shazam

11-12-2010, 05:46 PM

Andy you NOOB!

Also, I wonder why the "they" the femme-hunter was referring to is...

Interesting twist.

pastastien

11-12-2010, 07:10 PM

really good part. i dont know why but for some reason i like trevor now.

Koolguy807

11-12-2010, 07:12 PM

*Sighs* All right, you got me. I'm hooked and I can't look away. You're now my caffine, I hope your happy, now if I have to go without this story I might split the world in half to find you. ( It's a really good story btw!) :p

chazzerman286

11-13-2010, 02:20 AM

Well, that was an interesting read...
The other two hunters seemed like ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥s so I'm glad they died.
Also I found two typos, one has already been picked out but there is another one: you wrote "'Stay' I tried to stay" when I assume you meant say on the second one

whirlmaster

11-13-2010, 02:28 AM

KoopaEaterLives

11-13-2010, 12:15 PM

Omg, Andy sucks at this.

F1 guys, votekick him, hurp derp. NOOB!

Also, if Andy dies, make him a hunter. He's not immune, right?

pappaskurtz

11-13-2010, 07:04 PM

Ah, thanks for pointing out the typos--good catches. :o

Any reactions to or thoughts on the other hunters, or why Andy did what he did?

081XxhephexX180

11-13-2010, 07:21 PM

Ah, thanks for pointing out the typos--good catches. :o

Any reactions to or thoughts on the other hunters, or why Andy did what he did?

Maybe he didn't trust the others as much as we thought, or maybe he was just scavenging for supplies... IDK, but he was stupid as hell, (teenagers... :rolleyes: (oh god I feel so unproud of myself right now... :()) <---- double parenthesis!

whirlmaster

11-14-2010, 12:57 AM

Ah, thanks for pointing out the typos--good catches. :o

Any reactions to or thoughts on the other hunters, or why Andy did what he did?
I think he finally got sick and tired of waiting for Buddy and just decided to go search the Hunters by himself.

SA_ChooChoo

11-14-2010, 01:15 AM

Andy probably wondered what was taking Buddy so long to return.

Next part!!!!! :D

PureDragon

11-14-2010, 03:26 PM

WOAH

Been away, just read the last three parts now.

...Damn it, now I have story cravings :(

pappaskurtz

11-15-2010, 06:30 PM

Scars Tropics

11-15-2010, 07:04 PM

I felt bad for those hunters too. It had to be that way though. The female hunter felt betrayed so it seems self eplanatory why she left. I thought it was now buddy's decision what she could and coudnt do so I was confused somewhat.

SA_ChooChoo

11-15-2010, 07:06 PM

She doesn't think the others would accept her of course. I am sure we haven't seen the last of her.

pastastien

11-15-2010, 08:12 PM

Did anyone feel bad for the other hunters? I kinda did... :o

I'm also a little surprised some would think the female hunter would stay--why do you think she left? :eek:

Still working out chapter 9. I still have plenty of tricks left up my sleeves. :)

i dont know why but im glad the other hunters are dead. to me buddy is oon the humans side and hunters are enimes and need to die. may seem worng but thats just how i feel.

Herr Dudelmann

11-16-2010, 10:26 AM

I'm on the side of bothering to read through your post for grammatical mistakes before mindlessly posting anything.:mad:

crash2004

11-16-2010, 10:56 AM

I'm on the side of bothering to read through your post for grammatical mistakes before mindlessly posting anything.:mad:

So post your "grammatically perfect" fanfic so we can review it.

If you don't like it, don't read it. Simple enough.

Koga Shiro

11-16-2010, 10:59 AM

So post your "grammatically perfect" fanfic so we can review it.

If you don't like it, don't read it. Simple enough.

I'm just amazed at people who will be very critical while not having anything they've posted. Easy to be so brave from behind an empty online profile huh? :)

Besides, grammar and spelling is nothing compared to style and plot. An automated program or hired editor can fix the former, nothing but talent can create the latter.

crash2004

11-16-2010, 11:03 AM

I'm just amazed at people who will be very critical while not having anything they've posted. Easy to be so brave from behind an empty online profile huh? :)

Besides, grammar and spelling is nothing compared to style and plot. An automated program or hired editor can fix the former, nothing but talent can create the latter.

lol, well put. Look past any grammatical errors and it's easy to see that he's quite talented with his story telling.

chazzerman286

11-16-2010, 12:05 PM

Everyone stop fighting. Can we just accept that this story is awesome and leave the grammar/spelling comments alone?

crash2004

11-16-2010, 12:10 PM

Everyone stop fighting. Can we just accept that this story is awesome and leave the grammar/spelling comments alone?

I don't think anyone was fighting. But yes, the story definitely is awesome. I can't wait for more. :D

pappaskurtz

11-16-2010, 05:19 PM

Ooh, that was unexpected. I guess I'll try posting smaller segments so the amount I have to proofread is more manageable... :p

Actually, I usually just go forward, and after I've been away from the text for a while, go back and revise, but I don't always edit it in the thread.

Scars Tropics

11-16-2010, 05:35 PM

I don't think there are so many errors in the first place. Certainly not enough that it would take someone out of the story.

This story is simply amazing and there's no copy editor or ghost writer on a chapter here and there. The fact that one guy can bang out a story this good on a forum is unusual and the only thing people can attack would be things like a misspelling or run on sentence like this sentence I am writing right now.

City Scanner

11-16-2010, 05:57 PM

Looking at Mr. Dudelmann's post, I think he was referring to the person above him, not to pappaskurtz.

Anyways, I had to register to say that I greatly enjoy your writing. Keep it up!

SA_ChooChoo

11-16-2010, 09:02 PM

NOOOOO! Post MORE segments! I don't care about spelling. :D Chapter 9 please!

pappaskurtz

11-17-2010, 04:07 AM

:eek: I woke up early to try to put the finishing touches on Part 1 before work but I didn't finish in time. Ah well. I'll post it after work today. I'm just uber-excited because I've finally managed to introduce all the SI! :D

And, ah, yes, Herlmann's post makes much more sense in that context, lol.

081XxhephexX180

11-17-2010, 05:37 AM

oh god! :D can't wait!

chazzerman286

11-17-2010, 09:07 AM

I'll post it after work today.
Yay, that means I'll get to read it tomorrow so, for me, it will be a birthday present of sorts!!!

Zora-Link

11-17-2010, 09:12 AM

Herr Dudelmann

11-17-2010, 10:16 AM

crash2004

11-17-2010, 02:51 PM

Yes, I love the story. I was referring to the post above mine, not the author. Some of you guys need to chill out, it was only a sarcastic joke. Sorry if I offended you pappskurtz, but it was intended at the post above.

A sarcastic joke? Maybe English isn't their primary language. Or maybe they're young and still learning proper grammar.

Regardless, I apologize for jumping on you. I didn't realize you were talking about someone else until City Scanner pointed it out.

pappaskurtz

11-17-2010, 08:50 PM

Aww, happy birthday chazzerman. I've made a decision to make this a short chapter. There are a few things I think that are worth fleshing out in the aftermath of the last chapter, so I hope this helps with the pacing a bit.
______________________________

“Run! Get to the library—I’ll hold it off!”

Zach’s distorted voice boomed over the radio before a burst of gunfire exploded through the night, triggering an angry bellow from the monster. Derek and I gaped in awe as the bullets seemed to ricochet off the beast’s skin.

Derek clicked the radio. “Zach, don’t!”

I could almost make out Zach on the Complex roof just up the street beyond the ruined hospital. He fired relentlessly, the barrel of his rifle practically ablaze, but the mutated hulk pounded the street again and dislodged a chunk of asphalt. Dear God, was that thing going to…?

The beast lifted a dumpster-sized chunk of concrete over its head like it was full of helium—and flung the boulder towards the Complex roof.

“What the—crap!” Derek cried.

The boulder flew like a rocket towards the roof, smashing against the side of the building. The earth trembled from the impact and would’ve surely made us stumble if we’d been standing.

Derek clicked the radio again. “Zach! Zach!”

The monster roaring again, it began galloping up street. I shot to my feet and pulled Derek up with me.

“We gotta go—now!” I shouted.

Derek stood, but refused to budge otherwise. “Did you see that thing!” he squealed. “It’s gonna kill him!”

The street beneath us seemed to shudder with the monster’s every step—and it was almost as fast as the zombies. I grabbed Derek’s arm and yanked him forward as we burst into a sprint.

“We’re out in the open,” I said quickly, “we gotta get to shelter!”

“Shelter! With that thing tearing everything apart?”

The juggernaut of a zombie nearly toppled a fully-grown oak like a twig as it barreled past the hospital. Derek stopped and yanked his arm from me as we neared the Candler building; the main library barricade was just a few more yards ahead of us.

Before I could say anything, Derek began sprinting towards the beast as it began to climb the Complex roof.

“Derek!”

Gunfire erupted again as the hulk zombie pulled itself over the roof. My body temperature dropped ten degrees.

“Hey!” Derek screamed, flailing his arms as he ran towards Complex. “Hey!”

“Oh God,” I muttered, and ran after Derek.

The beast bellowed angrily as the gunfire persisted, but I could only make out its shoulders past the roofline. It raised its giant fist as if about to swing…

“No!” Derek shouted.

The gunfire ceased abruptly just as Zach’s cry cut through the monster’s exertions. Dear God, did he dodge?

The monster raised its fist again—and Zach was sent flying from the roof, his body slamming into the business school across the street. The impact cracked a window, but he fell to the sidewalk, lifeless.

My feet stopped. I was utterly floored, and my stomach wrenched, burning the back of my throat with its acid. The monster roared and pounded the roof in frenzied triumph.

Just a few feet from me, Derek had also frozen in place—the horror on his face palpable. He spun his head violently towards the Complex rooftop as he started to tremble.

His knuckles whitening, they seemed ready to burst.

He let out a scream that made me flinch, that echoed through the night and across the entire campus. The beast spun towards us and trotted to the edge of the roof.

“YOU THINK YOU’RE SO BAD?” Derek thundered. “YOU THINK YOU’RE SO STRONG?”

The monster let out another earth-trembling roar, but Derek met its cry with another throat-rending scream that exploded through the campus.

“COME AND GET ME YOU SON OF A ♥♥♥♥♥!”

It dropped off the roof, its landing causing another minor tremor. Belching another growl, it made a beeline towards us.

Derek began sprinting back towards the bridge.

pappaskurtz

11-17-2010, 08:52 PM

The monster followed.

“CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, DUMB ♥♥♥ MOTHER ♥♥♥♥ER!”

“Derek!” I cried after him, but I was breathless, my heart rate dizzying. I looked towards Zach’s body, then past the business school’s towering arch. Derek was going to get himself killed.

Realizing I was close to the Fishburne parking deck, a terrible idea struck me, but it was perhaps my only shot at saving Derek’s stupid ♥♥♥. I ran under the arch and across the quad towards the parking deck.

God damn, my legs couldn’t carry me fast enough, but every utterance from the monster was like a shot of adrenaline. The corpses littering the quad registered in the back of my mind, but I was breathing too heavily to stop and vomit.

I hopped over the pile of bodies by the deck’s gate and climbed over a car to take a shortcut over one of the deck’s medians. I’d forgotten why I had left my car here, but I had my keys, and I prayed repeatedly that I’d make it time.

Finding my Mustang near the edge of the deck, I focused on my breathing to quell the burning in my legs. I keyed into the door and unlocked it—only to have something slam me into the door as it latched onto my back.

I cried out, flinging its arms away as it cried to claw my face. It was laughing maniacally as it slammed me into the car door again. Holy mother of God, what was this thing!

Agony burst through my shoulder as a set of very sharp teeth pierced my skin. I howled but managing to slam whatever was on my back against an adjacent car. A brief yelp interrupted the crazy laughter before the thing hopped from my shoulders, and I turned to see a hunched, monkey-like midget scurry away from me.

Zombie—was it?

My shoulder hurt like hell, but as another deep roar echoed in the distance, I picked up my keys and hopped into my Mustang. The engine purring to life, I backed out of the space and broke the gate as I sped out of the deck.

I circled around the deck to get back to main campus, running over a few zombies too dumb to flee the monster; though, one of the zombies that crashed into my side mirror looked an awful lot like my bio-chem lab partner, her bright pink scarf dulled and stained…

The zombies in the distance took notice of the engine, but I ignored them as I pulled past the business school and Complex to break another gate.

I stopped the car at the top of the hill to see the juggernaut zombie hurling a piece of debris towards the clock tower. “♥♥♥♥,” I sighed. Was Derek already in the tower?

The dashboard radio read 7:34—less than an hour until the bells would start chiming again.

I spotted Derek appear from behind Cox hall. He sprinted past the monster, throwing another taunt as he made for the roundabout.

Taking a deep breath, I floored the gas pedal and descended the hill, but screeched to a stop when I reached the bridge to shift into neutral. As the monster chased Derek, I slammed down the gas pedal to create a roar of my own.

The abomination stopped abruptly—nearly stumbling over itself—before turning towards me. I released the accelerator to rev the engine repeatedly.

The beast struck its chest, bellowing.

“That’s it,” I whispered. I gripped the gear stick and gave the dashboard one last glance.

“Oh girl, I’m so sorry…”

Kicking the clutch, I shifted into first gear and floored the accelerator. The monster ballooned in size as I shot towards it—15 MPH, second gear; 25 MPH, third gear; 46 MPH…

The roar of the engine drowned out all else. A wall slammed into me as I collided against the beast—but we kept going, despite the monster’s shoulders cracking the windshield. I kept my foot pressed against the accelerator until a much harder wall broke itself against my body…

A white haze blinded me, but I felt someone shaking me firmly, trying to bring me to consciousness.

“Oh God, speak to me!”

“Derek?”

“He speaks!”

I felt stiff everywhere, but nothing stung and only a few places throbbed slightly. The whiteness faded, and Derek’s four tearful eyes gradually phased into two.

“Am I alive?” I asked.

“You bet your ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ reckless ♥♥♥ you are!”

I almost laughed, but a sharp twinge in my neck stopped me. I managed a smirk instead. “Me, reckless?”

He started to laugh—or cry; I couldn’t really tell—as he hugged me, pressing his forehead to mine.

“You ♥♥♥♥ing crashed the hulk into Dobbs Hall! I could kiss you right now; seriously…”

I took a deep breath, bracing for another twinge, but there was none. I looked towards the windshield to see it cracked—and through it, the oversized corpse of the juggernaut zombie slumped across the hood of my first love.

“How bad does she look?” I asked.

Derek pulled back from me and undid my seatbelt before cutting away the deflated airbag. He managed to give me a sympathetic smile.

“I’m sorry—I don’t think she’s going to make it…” He stilled me. “Wait—is anything broken? Are you hurt?”

I shook my head. “I’m fine, I think. My shoulder’s a little sore, is all.”

He gave me a worried look before helping me from the Mustang. Somehow, as I kicked away a wooden shard, I managed to stand.

Covered in dark, musty blood and the frame shot to hell, the Mustang was totaled. A dying smoke cloud slipped past the hood as a chunk of the wall crumbled—we were in the parlor of Dobbs Hall, and dusty remnants of glass and foundation covered the bloodstained carpet.

Derek patted my shoulder. “I’d say her sacrifice was worth it, though. I’ve never seen you do anything more badass.”

Sacrifice—I looked at Derek in horror, feeling a rush of guilt surge through my joints as I realized how ♥♥♥♥ing superficial I was being.

“Zach,” I uttered.

Derek’s eyes widened. “The zombies…”

He broke into a full sprint back towards the roundabout. I tried to keep up, but I was still too winded. He turned and stopped me before my dizziness toppled me.

“Whoa, whoa! Take it easy—I’ll take care of Zach. Just go for the library!”

I shook my head emphatically. “No, I’m not leaving you by yourself.”

He hesitated. “Well, fine. Just take it easy, then!”

pappaskurtz

11-17-2010, 08:53 PM

He ran ahead of me. I kept my pace at a steady trot, which seemed manageable enough. Derek trekked up the hill past the broken gate before falling to his knees by Zach’s body. With no zombies in sight, he simply stared at our old friend.

I caught up to Derek and knelt beside him. Zach’s body lay crumpled and face-down against the sidewalk, his left arm twisted unnaturally. As Derek swallowed, I could understand his hesitation—Zach’s body seemed so fragile, like any touch would cause it to disintegrate.

“We can’t leave him like this,” Derek said.

I took a second to think. “We can bring him to Complex and decide from there. We still have to deal with the clock tower…”

He sniffled, his chin beginning to tremble. “I know…”

“I can carry him,” I offered.

“No, no—you just had a car wreck. I can do it.”

He moved to turn the body over when a burst of blood spouted from Zach’s mouth and we both cried out. Zach started gasping for air, but every breath sounded like he was drowning.

“Zach!” Derek screeched, moving immediately to cradle our friend.

“D—Derek…?” Zach breathed.

“I’m here, man—I’m here!”

“Where—where is it?”

“It’s gone. You don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

Zach started convulsing as blood seeped from his mouth.

Derek began sobbing in earnest. “Hang on, dude, just hang on!”

“Oh God!” Zach wailed, cringing. “It hurts, it ♥♥♥♥ing hurts!”

I took Zach’s hand and tried to steady him. “We’re gonna get you some help, OK!”

Zach shook his head as he kept trembling. “Please, please—kill me…”

“What!” Derek cried. “No way!”

“Please!” Zach begged, squeezing my hand. “It hurts too much—I’m in so much… It feels like I’m being ripped apart…” He cried out. “I’m broken—m-m-my body is broken… Please, you can’t help me.” He seized. “Oh God, it hurts!”

My throat started to burn and my vision began to blur. “Zach,” I tried to say.

“How?” Derek blurted. “How?”

Zach tried to look around, but flinched and screamed when he tried to move his neck. “Gun,” he said, “w-w-where’s my gun?”

Blinking tears from my eyes, I looked around us and spotted Zach’s rifle behind a nearby bush. Derek looked up at me and followed my gaze.

“Please, Derek,” Zach sighed. “Promise me—promise me you won’t let the zombies get me…”

Derek sniffled. “I promise.” He looked at me. “Take him.”

I grasped Zach as gingerly as I could and Derek went to retrieve the rifle. Zach gazed up at me, and it became impossible to hold back the tears.

“Take care of him, will you?” he whispered.

I nodded briskly. When Derek returned with the gun, I looked up at him, and he nodded. I set Zach down as gently as possible, his trembling becoming even more pronounced.

Derek shook, too. I held out my hand. “Let me do it,” I said.

He bit his lip. “No, he asked me to do it.”

“I-I p-p-promise…I promise you guys—I’ll look after you,” Zach whispered, shutting his eyes.

“Godspeed,” I said.

“Goodbye, Zach,” Derek sighed, and with a sharp intake of breath, aimed the barrel of the gun at Zach’s forehead.

I looked away, the milliseconds dragging by. Derek cried out in agony and pulled the trigger, the gunshot amplifying his voice across the night.

I looked back to see Derek’s knees on the verge of buckling and caught him before he collapsed, the rifle slipping from his grip. He began wailing in anguish, and I held him as tightly as I could to keep him from drowning in his sobs.

“It’s OK, it’s OK, it’s OK,” I whispered.

“He wasn’t even one of them…”

“What?”

“He wasn’t even a zombie!” he cried, pulling back from me. “He wasn’t even a zombie—and I still had to kill him!”

I brought his head back to my shoulder before he broke down in tears again. “We had to do it. It wasn’t your fault. If you didn’t do it, I would have.”

Derek inhaled a sob. “I had to kill the DUC swiper who always pretended to swipe my card; I had to kill the dude at the package center who’d always call me personally when my packages came; I had to kill the really cute jock in my anthro class…”

“You didn’t kill them—they were already gone.”

“Don’t you get it? Didn’t you see it when were on the roof? I tried not to think about it, but, it’s just—I can’t ignore it anymore. Those zombies, almost all of them, they used to be like us! This campus, this school!”

He pulled back from me again. “What does it all matter, huh? What’s the point?”

“Hey, hey!” I said sharply, grasping his shoulders. “Don’t talk like that, all right? Survival matters. You’ve got to keep it together—you’re the only reason why I’m still alive.”

“And you’ve repaid that debt in kind!”

I shook my head. “No, we’re not out of the woods yet. I need you. The other survivors in the library and Complex—they need us.” I started to sob. “I’m only holding it together because of you, and if you lose it too…”

He managed a small smile. “Buddy…”

SA_ChooChoo

11-18-2010, 03:44 AM

Buddy! :D That name musta stirred up these memories too.

crash2004

11-18-2010, 06:43 AM

I've been putting this story into a word document. 128 pages so far. :eek:

Still quite liking this. Keep up the awesome work pappaskurtz. :)

chazzerman286

11-18-2010, 09:28 AM

You can never have too much backstory...
That explained a lot, and you managed to fit the Jockey in. Well done!

Shazam

11-18-2010, 11:07 AM

So he got bit by the jockey... would be a much different story if that meant he'd go jockey, hahaha.

Scars Tropics

11-18-2010, 11:12 AM

It would be cool to see a mod or spin off made of this in game. Probably wouldn't work as a multiplayer but would still be cool single player with bots.

One campaign is is the college under attack, another is buddy lurking in the shadows protecting andy. A woods battle with the hunters, etc. Would be wicked. I know its too big for modders but a guy can dream.

Zora-Link

11-18-2010, 11:14 AM

And now to find out how long it takes him to turn and/or get to Philadelphia.

pappaskurtz

11-18-2010, 12:36 PM

lol, That's how I feel about jockeys. Can only dead stop a tenth of the time, and as much as I think I'm aware, there's the random jockey that manages to appear out of thin air, ugh. :o

I'd figure the page count was somewhere in the 100s. I actually have the story split between two files and so it's kind of a mess. If I didn't use so many small paragraphs for readability I'm sure it'd be a lot fewer pages.

I actually had some ideas for a campaign based off the story. Since I was making custom survivor models, why not a campaign? Unfortunately, that's a huge amount of work for one person.

Zach dying almost made me as sad as the two hunters. How do you feel about Derek's mercy killing?

FerociousZombie

11-18-2010, 01:25 PM

Derek's mercy killing was ok in my oppion because he probably would have died from loss of blood and he couldnt hold a gun for crap with that arm of his. he would just be dead weight

im so mean :(

chazzerman286

11-18-2010, 01:59 PM

If he hadn't been euthanized, he would have slowed them down too much. Anyway, it would have been delaying the inevitable. If he was coughing up blood he would have been critically injured and you can't hold a rifle with a broken arm so he would have been dead weight as FerociousZombie said.

081XxhephexX180

11-18-2010, 02:31 PM

I actually dropped a couple of tears when Zach died... :(

Dude, You, Are, ♥♥♥♥ing, Amazing!

Nuff said.

Tentacle Soup

11-18-2010, 02:36 PM

I've been lurking around following this story for a while >> I already have a premonition about what is going to happen with Derek and Buddy but I'll just have to wait to see if I'm correct or not~!

I really love it :3

Now, as for Zach. Poor thing D8 I'm glad they had the strength to kill him though. The sort of injuries that were implied would have made his live living hell. If even the slightest movement hurt there would be no real way to transport him without a stretcher or something, and even then he'd be in constant agony. I'm glad he doesn't have to suffer.

Anyway. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK 8D I WILL CONTINUE TO STALK THIS THREAT FOR UPDATES!

pappaskurtz

11-18-2010, 06:52 PM

Hmmm, this thread has an extraordinary amount of views compared to a lot of other threads. I wonder how many people are keeping track of this thread that haven't posted...

Funny story: a co-worker of mine who happened to Google his name found this thread. We both went to Emory, and he was talking about it today. :o Of course, I didn't use his full name together (I split his first and last name between two characters), but Google still picked it up, heh. He was like, "Hey, there's this zombie story online about Emory and stuff, and I think I'm in it..."

Anyone sensing now where Buddy's guilt is coming from?

Zora-Link

11-18-2010, 06:54 PM

pappaskurtz

11-18-2010, 06:57 PM

No, I didn't tell him, yet... I wasn't sure about mentioning I wrote fan fiction. Maybe if I got him on L4D2, lol...

Tentacle Soup

11-18-2010, 07:30 PM

I already mentioned I had a feeling -3- but I refuse to tell you what I think 'cause I'm silly.

That is funny though, about your friend.

SA_ChooChoo

11-18-2010, 07:34 PM

Buddy is feeling guilty... because he killed someone? Hmmmmm

pappaskurtz

11-20-2010, 02:04 PM

This will definitely be a shorter chapter. I will make sure of it!
_________________________________________

I awoke with a start, feeling a firm hand on my shoulder. “Buddy?”

I was in a chair, and I’d fallen asleep with my head and arms against Andy’s cot. I looked up at Sarah as the approaching twilight passed lazily through the safe-room door.

My cheeks were wet, and I had a case of the sniffles. Sarah squeezed my shoulder again.

“You often make noises in your sleep, but this time was different. It—it sounded like you were crying…”

I inhaled deeply, clearing my throat. Andy was on the cot, bandages wrapped around his chest and abdomen. His breathing was steady, but he’d been unconscious since I got him back to the safe room. The portable EKG Trevor managed to find—of all things—beeped steadily beside the cot.

“He’s going to be OK,” she went on. “Just needs time to recover his strength.”

I nodded. Sarah went and pulled one of the weathered lawn chairs beside me.

“Bad dream?” she asked. I nodded again. “Well,” she went on, “it’s not your fault. He’s a teenager. But, to his defense, he was very, very worried about you.”

I sighed, putting my head back down against the cot as I looked at Sarah, who smiled.

“You really care about him, don’t you?”

I smiled back, but then pursed my lips in nonchalance and shrugged. Sarah laughed.

“It’s really quite endearing, I have to say. Especially considering everything around us—so much death and decay—that these relationships endure. That our humanity endures.”

She wrapped her arms around herself as a breeze swept in. “I know we got off on the wrong foot, and I just want to say I was wrong. You—you deserve better than the way I treated you. I’m sorry.”

I really didn’t feel like pulling my marker out, so I mouthed to her, Thank you. She understood.

“You give me hope, actually. The fact that you still hold on, it tells me that we can survive this. You just have the—the unfortunate luck of having to display on the outside what the rest of us go through on the inside.”

I chuckled breathlessly. Sarah grinned. “It’s cheesy, I know, but it’s true. I’ve seen so much ugliness these past few days…has it been weeks?” She sighed. “I’m just grateful that I ran into you and Andy.”

She sat up and cleared her throat. “So, you were an Emory student, were you? What were you studying?”

I pointed at the EKG and mimed the precise threading motion she’d used to stitch Andy’s wounds.

“Ah, so you were studying to become a sewing machine? Interesting…”

I rolled my eyes but nonetheless laughed. Sarah was gracious enough not to laugh at her own joke.

“Oh boy, so you were one of them weren’t you? I remember what that was like. Doubled-up lab sciences, polymers, peptide bonds—the MCAT—ugh…”

When I furrowed my eyebrows at her, she said, “Yes, I know your pain. I was premed back in undergrad. Emory was actually one of the universities I applied to, but my parents thought Johns Hopkins was the better choice; they wanted me to stay close to home.

“Oh, don’t think I was that Asian girl in the dorm that locked herself in her room to study all the time and cried to herself—though I was very good at math and the sciences, I despised it. I got by with as very little studying as possible so I could focus on my theater minor.

“It worked out, I guess. My grades kept my parents off my back, and I was pretty much free to do whatever I wanted even though I was close to home. The thought of getting a C—let alone failing—was horrifying to me, but I don’t think I really knew how to fail something.”

As I smirked at her, she laughed. “Wow, that sounded incredibly arrogant. I just mean, I worked hard all my life—it was a habit ingrained in me. Don’t worry, though—the part where I crash and burn is coming up; unless, of course, you want me to shut up.”

I shook my head, and she paused to think. “Where was I? Oh, right—fast forward a bit: I started hanging out with some potheads senior year. I was really open-minded about a lot of things, but marijuana was one thing I had yet to experience.”

She grinned. “Let me just say it was the perfect way to counterbalance junior year. Ugh, MCAT and med-school applications? It was a living hell, as I’m sure you can imagine, right?”

I vaguely recalled the process, but I nodded anyway. “Gosh,” she sighed, rubbing her face, “is it November yet? October? I don’t even remember.

“Anyway, there’s really no correlation, but that was around the same time I started—experimenting in other ways…”

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued, as I sensed blood rushing to her face. Her cheeks were darkening—she was blushing. “Andy seemed to understand when I said it, but my analogy about vegetarianism was a euphemism in more ways than one.”

As I started grinning, she seemed to lose her resolve. “Have you—delved into such…experimentation?” When I gave her a look, she sighed. “Fine, I’ll continue.

“She was this Dominican girl, Ana… She was more sheltered than I was, even, and I forget how we met exactly, but she was very beautiful and full of contradictions in a lot of ways. Bold, yet bashful; sly, yet innocent… Oh, she was very shy, but also very direct once you asked her opinion.

“We shared a lot of the same interests and things just…went from there. I made it into the graduate medical school at Hopkins, which delighted Ana extremely, but there was some misunderstanding in the course of our relationship. She wanted more than I could give, so I ended things.

“I got through a year of medical school before seeing Ana again. Believe me, it was as bad as it could get—she showed up at my house, trying to convince me of her undying love, when my parents came home in the middle of it.” She sighed. “That didn’t go too well…

“Although, I should say, med school was hell. I absolutely hated it. Not that it was too hard, but I just couldn’t relate to anybody. Everyone was either driven and motivated by idealism or money, but since I cared for neither, I started to become depressed.

pappaskurtz

11-20-2010, 02:05 PM

“It wasn’t undergrad anymore where you could just barely show up to class and goof around the rest of the time and still pass. I was getting into something that I’d be doing for the rest of my life.

“So, in hindsight, Ana ended up being very helpful. Everything just—came out right then and there. I think my parents were more offended by my faux-lesbianism than my hatred of medicine, but either way, they cut me off until I—their words exactly were...”

Sarah began speaking in Korean, which flew over my head entirely.

“—which means, ‘come to your senses, start sucking ♥♥♥♥ and go back to school, or we cut you out of the will!’”

When she burst out laughing, I simply stared at her. Never would I have thought parents could be so crazy.

“Well, I stayed with a friend, and luckily I had started saving up money just for this possibility. Don’t get me wrong—I was saddened by the turn of events, but, looking back on it, I think it was a relief, really. Finally, I was free—free to do my own thing.

“That was when I met Will. We came across each other in a bar, I told him my story, and he made me a concise, simple offer—spend the summer with him road-tripping across the country.”

A nostalgic look transformed her face. “Honestly, I don’t know why I said yes. Maybe I found his flippancy to be utterly refreshing, maybe his eyes had willpower death rays; I don’t know.”

She glanced down at her hand to cradle her wedding ring. “Well, the rest is history, like they say, yes?”

As I smiled at her, she said, “We were really good for each other, I think. When we first met, he told me he was going to med school at Emory. We moved in together as he started school, and I started waitressing. I didn’t mind at all, really—that was how I found the other thing missing in my life: cooking.

“It was a busy time, but we always found time for each other. The same time I started looking at culinary schools, Will was reconsidering his decision to enter medicine.

“We got lucky, I’d say, but as I started taking cooking classes, he transferred from the Emory School of Medicine to their graduate school to start his”—she adjusted imaginary glasses on her face while undoubtedly doing an impression of Will—“PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology.”

She giggled. “Andy mentioned you liked hamburgers. One of my signature dishes happens to be a gourmet burger. We get out of this, I’ll make one just for you, I promise.”

I grinned at her, and she smiled back. Trevor entered the room from the back hallway.

“The toilet should be fixed now,” he said.

Sarah looked towards him. “Thank you, Trevor.”

“Sure,” he said quietly.

Sarah yawned and stood to stretch. “Buddy, you won’t mind taking the night watch, will you?”

I nodded and tilted my head towards the safe-room door, the night fallen. To my surprise, Sarah pulled back my hood and pecked me on the cheek. I looked at her, unable to contain my shock, but she merely smiled at me before leaving the room.

Neonwarrior

11-20-2010, 02:40 PM

Motherly love?

SA_ChooChoo

11-20-2010, 06:35 PM

Yay! :) Now we learned some of Sarah's back story. It's good to know that she trusts Buddy more.

pappaskurtz

11-21-2010, 04:12 AM

Motherly love?

Haha, I'm glad you mentioned that. There was a chunk more to their conversation but decided to trim it down and save it for later. This will be a lighter chapter in terms of action; chapter 10 will have their escape attempt and an encounter with the Slater(s)...

That is, if Andy can make it... :eek:

081XxhephexX180

11-21-2010, 04:45 AM

I knew Sarah was a lesbian! :D

pappaskurtz

11-21-2010, 06:05 AM

Sarah is not still married?

Scars Tropics

11-21-2010, 09:29 AM

It is entirely possible to be a lesbian and still be married...just saying. Don't think that s where the chapter is headed, however. Why is there so much crying? I'm turning into tom hanks: there's no crying in baseball!

It seems like the 4 survivors are a team now, and not so much an aliance anymore.

pappaskurtz

11-21-2010, 11:35 AM

Well, you implied earlier on that Will turned (or at least that was my interpretation of it).

Will turned? When? :confused:

Tentacle Soup

11-21-2010, 11:40 AM

Awww :3 I bet Buddy has a cute shockedomgwhatareyoudoing face.

KoopaEaterLives

11-21-2010, 11:57 AM

Isn't Andy NOT immune?

alsololesbian

Really, that was...odd to hear. This story is so awesome, but seriously, what's with the sudden smexy time?

pappaskurtz

11-21-2010, 03:21 PM

Are you asking--why does Sarah suddenly decide to open up? It'll be more clear when I close the chapter, but I mainly wanted this chapter to "reflect" on the events of Chapter 8.

Zora-Link

11-21-2010, 03:24 PM

I'm enjoying this chapter, I love getting a little backstory. I'm very curious still about the rest of Buddy's backstory though. I hate Trevor marginally less now, I guess cus he hasn't really done anything.

081XxhephexX180

11-21-2010, 03:32 PM

Well, since she was married, I assume she isn't now. Or am I misunderstanding your point.

Yeah, she was married, but she had a secret affair with the housekeeper, and she thought her affair was going to ruin her relationship with Will, so she decided to kill her true love and hide the body inside the freezer... Did you even read? :D ;)

Cноllо

11-21-2010, 05:16 PM

Nice story

Grim Tuesday

11-21-2010, 05:56 PM

I think this is the longest running non-sticky thread on SPUF.

pastastien

11-21-2010, 06:33 PM

oooooo im exicted to hear about the slaters. i wish valve would explain what happened to them.

FerociousZombie

11-22-2010, 08:26 AM

yay! more of Sarah's backstory! :D

anyway... dont kill the Slater's off make them get away one more time :D

SA_ChooChoo

11-22-2010, 03:54 PM

What about Buddy's Tonic? O: Will she be waiting?

081XxhephexX180

11-22-2010, 05:54 PM

Did you even read my comment saying that I made a mistake and that I was basing my opinion on facts that (I then discovered) were completely unsupported and that Buddy actually writes that Will was safe? I think not.

Oh, c'mon, it was just a joke... She actually hid the corpse under the rug... :D

SA_ChooChoo

11-23-2010, 05:45 AM

Yaaay Part 3 :Ddddddd

081XxhephexX180

11-23-2010, 05:54 AM

Yaaay Part 3 :Ddddddd

Where! *looks around* BLASPHEMY!! BURN HIM!! :mad:

You got my hopes up... :(

pappaskurtz

11-23-2010, 09:07 AM

lol...

Any reactions to how Derek responds to the tank?

081XxhephexX180

11-23-2010, 10:34 AM

lol...

Any reactions to how Derek responds to the tank?

I would've just ran away from it, from what I understood, they were out of "tank's range", so there was no need of confronting him, he was pretty busy smashing Zach to pulp to notice they were escaping. So yeah, he looked badass and all that, but he still was stupid.

SA_ChooChoo

11-23-2010, 12:13 PM

lol...

Any reactions to how Derek responds to the tank?

Well, he is glad that it was no match for a mustang.
"GTA!" *WHAM* "10 POINTS!" :)

Herr Dudelmann

11-24-2010, 01:03 PM

I'm still loving this story! Keep up the good work dude.

081XxhephexX180

11-24-2010, 01:29 PM

Mr. Tank are wanting part 3 NAO!!, and he apologize for teh Mustang...

chazzerman286

11-24-2010, 01:31 PM

Not that we'd want you to rush the story and ruin it, but the anticipation is killing us...

pappaskurtz

11-24-2010, 03:57 PM

Ah, trust me, I am so ready to move on from this safe room. I didn't really expect to spend 3 chapters here, but alas.

I just had an awesome realization why Andy did what he did and it greatly expands on my original thought as to why he runs off on his own. I tried to hint at it in this section but I don't know if anyone will ever guess what it is... Will you?

Happy Thanksgiving to those in the US!
__________________________________

Trevor took a seat on the couch. “A bonding moment, I take it?” he asked.

Glancing back at him, I shrugged.

“Well, you’re getting no smooch from me—that’s for sure. Lucky bastard.”

Despite myself, I grinned at him. He had a package of bandages in his lap and started unfurling the old gauze around his hand and fingers. I gestured towards his hand and clasped my hands together.

“No, I don’t need any help. Thank you, though,” he said.

When I continued to look at him, he added, “It’s fine.” He bucked his head towards Andy. “He said he could’ve shot my fingers off if he wanted to, but chose not to. After seeing him down all those zombies while still on the ground—I think I believe him now.”

He bit off a piece of tape to secure the new bandages, then chuckled. “You know, it was pretty damn cool to see you fly through those trees with those other hunters. It was like Crouching Tiger on speed or something.”

I turned back to rest my head on Andy’s cot. Trevor took a deep breath. “I’m not making you feel better, am I?”

I didn’t respond.

“Andy hates me—that’s obvious enough. But what about you?”

I shrugged.

“That’s better than nothing, I guess. The only reason I ask is, well, as strange as it may sound, you’re the one here that I truly relate to.”

I turned my head towards him, furrowing my eyebrows. Trevor inhaled sharply. “That’s not to say that I’m trying to belittle your problems—what I’m trying to say is: we have a lot in common; more than you might think.

“You know how important survival is, and given everything you’ve done for Andy, I think you know the price that survival sometimes demands.”

As I softened my expression, Trevor continued to speak. “I’m afraid of being alone. Literally, this awful chill runs through my body at the very idea; somehow the thought of drowning is a less frightening prospect.”

He took a deep breath. “After the infection hit—it was like reliving a nightmare.”

He finished wrapping his hand and hung his head. “I’ve never told anyone this, but my parents died in a car crash when I was around ten, and my brother and I got put into foster care.

“They were decent enough folk, but we didn’t have anyone else to take us. My brother and I—we ended up getting separated and put into foster care, and when he turned eighteen, he got kicked out of the system.

“He swore to look after me, but he was really in no position to take care of me. As much as I hated hopping from foster home to foster home, I didn’t want to burden him. When I got fed up with everything, I just ran.”

Trevor sighed and looked up at me. “What is it about you that makes people spill their guts?”

Giving him a flat smile, I started inspecting my clawed hand, which made Trevor laugh. “Right, either talk willingly or you’ll do it literally. Funny.”

He lay back against the couch and glanced off into nothingness. For a while, he was silent.

“I spent a year of my life homeless. I only know how long it was because I left shortly after my birthday, and when I returned to a ‘normal’ life, it was almost my birthday again.

“I never, ever thought I’d have to relive what I experienced during that time—I built a new life for myself, tried to get away as far as possible—but here we are.

“There was a fourth member to our crew. His name was Fred. To make a long story short, he died because of me. Whether it was truly my fault, I don’t know anymore. But at the time, if I didn’t toughen up, change my act—Al and Dave would’ve beaten me to a pulp and left me for dead.

“I’m not saying that excuses what I did to you and Andy and Sarah; what I tried to do. I honestly thought those guys were my only hope. When I was on those streets picking through restaurant dumpsters, spending nights under an overpass, I did a lot of ugly things—all in the name of survival.

“Same thing with Al and Dave; being with them, having to work with them and earn their respect—I did a lot of things I’m not proud of. When I managed to turn myself around, I thought I left the streets behind me. I thought I had changed.

“I know it’s not really an excuse, but since this infection hit, I found myself relapsing, so to speak.”

He sighed and rubbed his face. “Frankly—I don’t really know who I am anymore.

“To me, it’s clear you’re going through something very similar—just in a much more drastic way. That’s why I relate to you so strongly; I sympathize—I really do.”

As I continued to look at him, he glanced up at me. “No, I haven’t told Sarah any of this, or Andy; not that he’d listen.

“The only way he’ll warm up to me is you, obviously. I know what it’s like to lose your parents. I know what it’s like to lose a brother. In a lot of ways, I see a lot of myself in him and what I went through when I was his age.

“As stupid as it sounds, I want him to stop hating me so that maybe…I could stop hating myself.”

pappaskurtz

11-24-2010, 03:58 PM

I inhaled deeply. Trevor gave me a brief, forced smile. “I know you’re nocturnal, but I can take over the night watch if you want.” When I shook my head, he asked, “You sure?” I nodded, and so he stretched across the couch. “All right, then.”

As I settled back against the cot, I wondered if my inability to talk made me such an easy person to talk to. Perhaps they thought on some level that my silence meant that I wouldn’t judge them? Well, I didn’t judge them, either way, but even if I did, would they care?

Perhaps they thought that they could talk to me without fear of me spreading their secrets? Despite my limited memory, I had a feeling I was never much of a gossip.

Trevor was right in many ways. This infection had changed everyone, visible or not. Sarah and Andy and I were all trying to find the people we’d lost, but what about Trevor? If this disaster was forcing him to relive a part of his life he’d rather forget, what was fueling his will to survive?

Was this, perhaps, for him, a means of penance?

I took Andy’s hand and felt his pulse despite the beeping of the EKG and the rhythm of his chest. He still did not respond to my touch, so I stood and stretched for a while before stepping to the bathroom.

Unzipping my hoodie, I stretched the collar of my undershirt to examine my left shoulder. I could not make out any bite marks, but the discoloration and scabbing was most concentrated just above my collar bone.

So that was what did me in—a bite. Scabbing was largely limited to only one side of my body, and as I examined myself in the mirror, I realized it did not seem to be spreading.

I pulled out my blindfold to cover the lower part of my face. With just my eyes exposed, I could almost pass as normal…

I zipped up my hoodie and left the bathroom to return to Andy’s cot. The rest of the night passed uneventfully and I felt myself drifting off to sleep before the horizon started to lighten. I awoke to find a set of fingers running themselves through my hair.

The sun hadn’t begun to rise yet, so I opened my eyes to see Andy smiling at me.

“Sorry,” he whispered hoarsely, then cleared his throat, “I didn’t mean to wake you. I couldn’t help it; you looked different this time—peaceful. Maybe ‘cause you had your hood down…”

I gave him a brief smile before indicating his bandages. He yawned and stretched. “I feel all right; not too bad.” He swallowed, dampening his expression. “How mad at me are you?”

Taking a moment to think, I shrugged and held up my thumb and index finger, an inch or so between them. Andy stifled a laugh and shook his head, inhaling deeply.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, biting his lip, “I’m so sorry. I ♥♥♥♥ed everything up.”

I hissed and shook my head. “Still,” he persisted, “I shouldn’t have run off like that. I wasn’t thinking; well, I was—just not very well.” He scrunched his hair. “I know I shoulda trusted you, but I just kept picturing you getting beat up or torn apart or worse… Oh God…”

I backhanded his shoulder gently and stood to get him water. After pulling a water bottle from the cabinet, I returned to my seat beside Andy’s cot and handed him the bottle.

Andy sat up and drank eagerly, downing half the bottle before he spoke again. “When the sun started to come up, I couldn’t take it anymore. I guess I should’ve thought that’s when you’d be back, but I was so convinced something had happened to you.

“I don’t know. I wasn’t really looking for you directly—I was trying to find a way around to the riverbank. I thought I had everything under control, but then that stupid charger showed up.” Andy grunted.

“Do you forgive me?”

As I gave him a look, Sarah entered the room. “Good,” she said quietly, as Trevor was still asleep, “you’re awake.”

Andy drank the rest of the water and wiped his mouth with his wrist. “Yeah, finally. How long was I out?”

“Less than a day or so,” Sarah answered.

“Oh, damn, we better get moving then, huh?”

Sarah and I kept him from getting off the cot. “Hold on,” she said, “not so fast. Just because you’re awake doesn’t mean you’re all better. Take it easy—we still have time.”

“Wait a minute,” Andy said, rubbing his bandages, “what happened to the lady hunter? I didn’t imagine her, did I?”

I exchanged looks with Sarah. “She gone,” she replied.

“Gone? Why?” Andy looked at me. “She was on our side, wasn’t she?” I hesitated, but then decided to nod. “Well, why’d she leave, then?” he pressed.

Trevor stirred on the couch. “She was jealous,” he added groggily.

“Shut up,” Andy snapped. “No one asked you.”

“Just calling it like I see it,” Trevor said. “It was pretty obvious to me, at least.”

“What the hell would she be jealous of, for?”

Sarah cleared her throat. “It doesn’t matter now. She’s gone.”

Andy fixed his gaze on me. “Is that why she left? She was jealous of something?”

When I didn’t answer, Trevor yawned and sat up, rubbing his eyes. “She was probably mistaken.”

“Wait, are you saying…” Andy began to cough. He cleared his throat. “What are you saying, huh?”

Sarah had opened a can of SPAM and started slicing the meat. Trevor went to get a bottle of water.

“Why was it important Buddy convince her you were dead? When hunters pair off, I imagine it means something. When she saw you—trust me, I’d know that look of scorn on any woman.”

Andy tried to laugh, but his face was darkening quite a bit. He was blushing. “Wait, she thought Buddy and I were—what? What the hell? Why would she think that?”

I had to admit that I found Andy’s reaction amusing. It was utterly ridiculous, so I had no idea why he was taking it so seriously.

“Andy, don’t worry,” Sarah chimed. “I’m sure the zombies don’t care if you two are gay incest lovers.”

“Sarah!” he exclaimed. “You, too?” He flushed even more intensely; I could almost sense the heat emanating from his face.

Trevor giggled as she worked to suppress a smile. I grinned anyway.

“Hey, that’s just my interpretation,” Trevor said.

Andy eyed me briefly. “Is that really why?” I shrugged, and he finally managed to laugh. “Well, that just tears it. Can’t you two see the real injustice here? Now Buddy’ll never get to have those hunter babies he’s always wanted.”

I rolled my eyes as Sarah and Trevor burst out laughing. Andy maintained a straight face, but a smile was creeping through his lips.

“Hey now, I’m serious! You don’t think he’d be a good daddy? He’d raise those hunter babies right, teach ‘em to pounce good, not go too high and all…”

pappaskurtz

11-24-2010, 03:59 PM

Shaking my head, I couldn’t help laughing. Sometimes humor is the best answer, right?

“Do you think she’ll be back?” Andy asked me.

Letting my smile fade, I shook my head, but then added a shrug. I couldn’t be sure at this point.

“I’m sorry,” he said meekly.

“Let that be a lesson to you then,” Sarah said, turning off the EKG. “Don’t run off by yourself!”

Sitting around the grill, we had breakfast in cordial silence for the most part. Sarah tried to think of alternatives if there was no boat rescue, but Trevor thought it’d be better to just wait until they got there. Andy seemed to be recovering his appetite and took most of Trevor’s portions.

“There’s something that still gets me, though,” Trevor said, looking up at me as he let Andy take the last slice of SPAM. “Were those hunters really like you?”

When I hesitated, Sarah said, “Why do you ask?”

“I—just… When I saw the hunter die…it was like the other one simply—lost his will to live. I’d never seen that before, I mean, since this all happened. It really got to me.”

As Andy made a derisive grunt, Sarah said, “It’s probably better not to dwell on it. We can’t change the past.” Andy smiled.

“Besides,” she went on, “I think we’ve all had that moment when we realized these ‘zombies’ we’re killing used to be human.” Sarah gave me a sympathetic look. “Even if some of them are, in some way, still—some just can’t be helped.”

We didn’t say much else for a while. I’d grown sick of sleeping, so I put on my blindfold and stepped outside the safe room to perch atop a tree.

I could feel the full brunt of the sun on my clothes; it was one of the sunniest days in a while. Despite my dull headache, I welcomed the warmth of the sunlight. It was a pleasant break from the chilly night breezes.

“Buddy? You out here?” It was Andy. I sent a ping to see him by the hummer looking around for me. He’d donned another shirt and his father’s jacket again.

I leapt from the tree and landed right beside him. He jolted and spun around to face me.

“♥♥♥♥, sorry,” he breathed, “you scared me.”

I realized it was insensitive of me to surprise him like that, but he started to speak before I could try to apologize. “Listen,” he said, rubbing his arm, “I know we were too busy making jokes and stupid stuff like that, but I wanted to ask: are you OK, for real?”

I nodded firmly. “Are you sure?” he persisted, and I nodded again. “Well, I—I just had to ask, too: did…did you and the girl hunter really—‘pair off’ like Trevor said?”

I nodded slowly. When he didn’t say anything, I sent a ping to read his expression only to find that he was staring at his feet.

“I’m sorry I drove her off. We really could’ve used someone else with your skills and…well, a friend—that you could relate to more. I’m sure Michelle would understand…”

He exhaled quickly. “I know I’m still a kid and I still manage to do stupid stuff, but I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you sticking by me through all this. I’ll never be able to repay you for all you’ve done, but that won’t stop me from tryin’.”

I nodded and smiled, but when it sounded like he was going to walk away, he surprised me with hug—a strong, hearty hug. I embraced him back.

“Well,” he said, parting from me, “I’ll let you get back to meditating.”

As he started to walk, I felt his hat in my pocket and clicked my tongue at him. I pulled out his hat and tossed it to him.

“Oh man!” he exclaimed, but his excitement faded quickly. “Eww, what did you do to this thing? Barf on it?”

A few chortles escaped me as he sniffed the hat. “Ugh, man. Maybe before we leave, I’ll get Sarah to wash it.”

I shook my head, laughing to myself. Ah, Andy, good luck with that.

Lildaani

11-24-2010, 04:32 PM

I just had an awesome realization why Andy did what he did and it greatly expands on my original thought as to why he runs off on his own. I tried to hint at it in this section but I don't know if anyone will ever guess what it is... Will you?

My guess would be that Andy blames himself for Charlie's death still, and while he was in the safe room imagining all the horrible things that might be happening to Buddy, he was also imagining all the ways that it could be his fault if Buddy died. How Buddy went to confront the Hunters because of him, how Buddy might be dying because he was sitting on his ♥♥♥ in the saferoom...

Anyway, I've been reading this story for awhile now, and I just wanted to say you're doing an excellent job.

SA_ChooChoo

11-24-2010, 05:12 PM

Ah, humor is great medicine. lol :) Nice finish to this chapter.

081XxhephexX180

11-24-2010, 05:33 PM

Awesome!! I laughed my as off reading that gay convesation... :)

Now chapter 10 please? NAO! Nah, just take your time to make it awesome, just not too much ok?

I love you!

^ God, that didn't sound manly did it? :(

Oh well, I'll go back to my corner...

Tentacle Soup

11-25-2010, 12:51 AM

Hunter babies! 8D I can see them nao, little pouncing kittenish critters gnawing on everything that moves.

Also -3- nothing wrong with BuddyxAndy gaytiemz~~~!!!

FerociousZombie

11-25-2010, 08:37 AM

XD I had a laugh riot about the BuddyXAndy conversation

sexitimes

chazzerman286

11-25-2010, 09:22 AM

Hunter babies! 8D I can see them nao, little pouncing kittenish critters gnawing on everything that moves.

Also -3- nothing wrong with BuddyxAndy gaytiemz~~~!!!
Hunter pups exist on DeviantArt Here (http://perpetualfrustration.deviantart.com/art/i-dont-even-know-anymore-146401288?q=&qo=)

Tentacle Soup

11-25-2010, 04:02 PM

Hunter pups exist on DeviantArt Here (http://perpetualfrustration.deviantart.com/art/i-dont-even-know-anymore-146401288?q=&qo=)

OMG this is the cutest thing ;3; I want one~! I will fall it Flufferkins :3 it will fit in nicely with my guard dog/hunter Princess Snugglumz.

pappaskurtz

11-25-2010, 09:51 PM

Eeek, hunter babies! :eek: I wish I could draw, so I could illustrate Buddy being pounced/nibbled on by hunter babies, lol...

KoopaEaterLives

11-25-2010, 11:18 PM

Buddy and Andy together.

Hmm, what do you call it?

Bandy?

I like Bandy. So, therefore, I think Bandy is my favorite pairing. And the convo about it was lol-worthy. Man, pappa, you rule.

Tentacle Soup

11-26-2010, 03:19 AM

Mmmmm Bandy.

pappaskurtz

11-26-2010, 01:51 PM

I, too, do enjoy poking fun at the genre sometimes...

No new opinions of Trevor?

FerociousZombie

11-26-2010, 03:52 PM

it might just be me but i kinda like Trevor because I forgot what he did.

so +10 rep for Trevor :p

Scars Tropics

11-26-2010, 04:21 PM

I, too, do enjoy poking fun at the genre sometimes...

No new opinions of Trevor?

I see trevor in different light now. Maybe this meltdown of society brought out the worst in him and being around these new survivors is snapping him out of it.

081XxhephexX180

11-26-2010, 04:29 PM

I see Trevor as Nick, selfish, egocentric jerk that only cares about himself, but with enough time, you start to see him in a different way... I still hate both of them, just not as much as I did before. :D

duffyman01

11-28-2010, 02:16 PM

I can't wait for the next part.

chazzerman286

11-29-2010, 09:46 AM

It is very sad to see a thread like this get swallowed up by the multitude of complaint threads. Keep the thread alive guise.

081XxhephexX180

11-29-2010, 10:17 AM

:o nex partz pl0x!!!one1

Shazam

11-29-2010, 10:32 AM

Ahhh stop spamming for updates, it makes me think there's been an update!

Zora-Link

11-29-2010, 10:37 AM

Ahhh stop spamming for updates, it makes me think there's been an update!

This post is a trap!

pappaskurtz

11-29-2010, 05:20 PM

Scars Tropics

11-29-2010, 07:39 PM

I haven't asked this yet, but has anyone given thought to the chapter titles?

The titles seem fine how they are. I would have thought a simple date and time would have been cool instead of a traditional chapter.

I know you said you wanted shorter chapters but there is nothing wrong with long chapters, either. I like the pace and even the longer chapters maintain a quick pace.

crash2004

11-30-2010, 05:29 AM

Ah, it's coming along. I kinda wish now that I hadn't said anything about the Slaters because I'm so tempted to shift things around now, but ah well; a new chapter is always tricky. They might be pushed to chapter 11. :p My main obstacle is how I'm going to top the Mercy hospital rescue.

I haven't asked this yet, but has anyone given thought to the chapter titles?

Honestly, I hadn't put much thought into chapter titles. Like Scars Tropics said, even a simple date and time would suffice. To me, it's more about the content of the chapter anyway. However, if chapter titles are used, they should reflect the chapter contents in that it gives the reader a thought on what the chapter entails.

Still loving the story pappaskurtz. Keep up the good work. :)

pappaskurtz

11-30-2010, 10:44 PM

Aww, but I put so much thought into the chapter titles! lol. Well, I at least aim to have the title give a thematic hint as to what's going to happen in the chapter. Given that chapter 10 is titled "Penance," any guesses?

Alas, hooray for slow days and freezing downpours. Here is part 1, and unfortunately, no one guessed the real reason behind Andy's actions. :(
________________________________

Leaving the safe room was turning out to be much more ritualistic than I was expecting. I’d underestimated just how much stuff there was to consider, and that didn’t even include the things Sarah, Andy, and I brought with us from the store in Riverside.

“We were planning on staying here for a very long time,” Trevor said, meaning himself and his former comrades, of course. We were surveying all the extra nonperishable food in the cabinets; most were glorified bars of dried paper to my taste buds.

“Well, we can’t take everything with us,” Sarah responded. “May as well leave them for the people after us.”

For one thing, there was a veritable arsenal of guns in one of the back rooms that I had never bothered to explore. To be fair, the door didn’t really look like a door, but more like a hastily repaired wall. When Trevor revealed it to us—wall-to-wall shelves packed with rifles of all sorts—I would’ve never thought I’d see Andy so happy.

“Oh my God,” Andy sighed.

“Yes, it’s Christmas, I know,” Trevor said.

Andy gave him a sour look, but didn’t say anything as Trevor kept smiling at him. I could sense that, despite himself, Andy was starting to warm up to him.

Somehow, the decision was made to have me carry a few of the guns and ammunition. Andy had repaired the ammo belt I had slashed and insisted that the guns wouldn’t be a huge burden.

“Think of it as—tying weights to your legs,” he said with a grin. “I hear ballerinas do it to jump higher.”

I gave him a look not unlike the one he had given Trevor, but he just kept grinning. I let the ballerina implication slide.

He and Trevor decided to carry three rifles and four pistols each. Sarah opted to carry only two rifles and three pistols to maintain her mobility and range of movement for her machete.

I didn’t want anything on my legs—the ammo was bad enough, and the others were carrying at least twice what I agreed to carry. I carried only two rifles and two pistols, using the ammo belt to fasten the pistols and an adjustable strap to hang the rifles on my back. Of course, out of fairness, I also had to carry a pipe bomb and a Molotov just like everyone else.

Trevor appeared quite proud of his gun collection, a quality Andy and Sarah seemed to respect.

“Personally,” he said as we toured the arsenal, “I’m a fan of the M-16. Easy to maintain, rarely jams, and overall a solid firearm. The desert rifle, or the SCAR as some would call it, though, is a solid contender for accuracy and range; plus it has a huge ammo capacity and a three-round burst to ease the kickback. It’s much more flexible than the sniper rifle.

“Then there’s everyone’s favorite—the classic AK-47. It’s not as reliable in terms of precision or range, but you’ll be able to blast the heads off plenty of zombies with it. It’s got impressive penetrative capabilities, so it’s the next best thing to have for a tank aside from the shotguns.”

He looked to Andy, who had been quiet the whole time. “Did I miss anything?”

Andy glanced up, distracted. “Uh, I guess not.” When he saw me looking at him, he said, “I don’t really know a lot about guns. Our mom didn’t really like us getting into that kinda stuff.”

Sarah smiled at Andy before turning back to Trevor. “How about the sniper rifle?” she asked.

“Ah, now this thing is a true babe,” Trevor said as he pulled the rifle from the shelf. “Semi-automatic, effective up to eight-hundred meters—give or take—accurate in a pinch, and a large magazine capacity—I’ll be pressed to think of a gun more deadly.”

She ended up going with the sniper rifle, naturally, along with the SCAR. Andy and Trevor each took one of the three rifles, while I took the SCAR and the sniper rifle.

Trevor actually gave me a few lessons holding and aiming the rifles to account for my clawed hand; I couldn’t really grip the gun with my claws, but I could stabilize it enough so that the recoil didn’t completely annihilate my aim.

We set off for the riverbank once night fell. Trevor and Sarah put on additional layers, the weather noticeably cooler than previous nights, but the air was different as well. The moon was hidden behind a cloudy sky. Was it going to rain?

Trevor took a moment to part with the hummer before we stepped into the forest. For a long while, we didn’t need to use our weapons at all. I could smell rotting infected, but there were no live ones in our path. It was eerie, really.

Sarah glanced up toward the sky. “Talk about the calm before the storm,” she uttered.

We neared the picnic tables I had spotted while scouting. The lights were out, and the wooden tables were chipped and weathered. We would have passed it entirely if not for an unexpected scent. The others noticed me sniffing and stopped.

“What is it?” Andy asked.

It seemed to originate from one of the picnic tables. There was nothing alive there, so I approached it quickly. The smell reminded me of the other two hunters, the dominant and his partner, but it was—purer. It lacked the coarseness and bitterness that the infection had imposed upon them.

I knelt to pull a ball of clothes from under the table. Yup, this was definitely the source.

“Clothes?” Andy said.

“We can go back to the safe room if you need some more,” Sarah said.

pappaskurtz

12-01-2010, 01:01 PM

The bundle was covered in dead-leaf fragments, dirt, and pine straws, and mostly consisted of a few pants and a handful of T-shirts. As I smelled them more closely, I had no doubt these had belonged to those two hunters. Perhaps they were from before they turned—but why did they stash them here?

I was ready to toss the clothes aside when I caught sight of something in the dirt beside the table. It looked like the edge of a sleeve, so I knelt down to get a closer look. I dug away some of the dirt to reveal more of the sleeve, and it was definitely a dark-colored dress shirt.

“I’m guessing someone did some camping here?” Trevor said, stepping to take a look by the nearby restroom.

Pulling the shirt from the ground, I revealed the shirt in its entirety, shaking off a dust storm of debris. It was damp and heavy, but the way it smelled so strongly of the two hunters confused me. It was only one shirt, and it wasn’t even that wet—how could it be so heavy?

I investigated the collar to reveal—ah hah—another shirt, a lighter-colored one. They’d been layered together, and buried. Why?

“Huh,” Andy said quietly, “how Brokeback…”

A solemn look came across Sarah’s face. “Did these belong to those hunters?” she asked.

I nodded slowly. Unbuttoning the outer shirt slightly, I revealed a name tag pinned on the breast pocket of the inner shirt. It looked like one a retail employee might wear, and it read, LIAM.

Inspecting the outer shirt, there were tiny holes on the breast pocket—but no name tag. I quickly dug up some more dirt and found it before I had to make a very deep hole. The style of the name tag was identical to the first, and it read, GABRIEL.

An uneasy feeling swathed me. Not only did these hunters have names, but they had known each other before they turned. Dear God, did they remember their names? Could they remember who they used to be?

It was difficult to breathe. My throat was burning slightly. Sarah knelt beside me and grasped my shoulder.

“It’s all right,” she whispered.

“Hey guys,” Trevor said, “come take a look at this. I think I found something…”

I dropped the shirts and stood quickly. Sarah followed me, and then Andy. Trevor had opened the door to the restroom—but there was no unpleasant smell coming from it. He stepped inside and pulled out a narrow jar filled with a dark, sludgy substance. A biohazard symbol was etched across the glass, but whatever label had been on it was withered beyond readability.

“Whoa,” Andy said, “is that what I think it is?”

Sarah pulled a bottle from her back pack and matched it up with the jar Trevor presented.

“You know what this is?” Trevor asked her.

“Could it be—boomer vomit?” she answered. “I’ve used this stuff to counteract the spitter’s acid, but…I never thought to use it in other ways…”

The jar looked an awful lot like a grenade. Trevor seemed to agree with me. “Weapon-ized boomer vomit?”

Andy reached for the jar and Trevor handed it to him. Inspecting it, Andy said, “Lemme guess, you toss this at something, and the zombies go after it?”

“It looks a lot less viscous, though, than the regular vomit,” Sarah commented. “It looks like there might be a vaporizing agent mixed in.”

“So, definitely weapon-ized, then?” Trevor said, shrugging. There was another bottle in the restroom, which Trevor grabbed. “Looks like they’ll be useful.”

He and Andy secured the vomit jars to their belts and they started to move on, but I had to linger to rebury the shirts. No one said anything as I did.

My instincts rebuked me for my guilt, but I couldn’t help but wonder—had those two hunters, Liam and Gabriel, really been beyond…beyond what? Saving?

They’d forced our hand—they attacked Andy—but if Andy hadn’t run off…who knows what could’ve happened?

Thicker woods lay ahead, but there was light source in the distance that we started travelling towards. I was absorbed in my thoughts when I caught Andy sneaking glimpses at me. He looked away when I made eye contact, but I could almost smell the guilt running off his shoulders.

Sarah and Trevor walked ahead slightly, giving Andy an opening to speak.

“Do you blame me?” he whispered.

I exhaled a silent laugh and tried to give him a smile, but my lips didn’t take. I shook my head.

“I have to come clean about something,” Andy went on, speaking softly. “I lied to you about why I did what I did.” He inhaled deeply. “Yes, I was worried; yes, I was afraid you were getting ripped up, but—that wasn’t the real reason.”

He was staring at the ground as he walked. “The real reason was: I was afraid that…that you’d be right—that the other hunters would be like you and—and you’d leave us. Maybe with a goodbye or none at all, but you’d leave us and try to make your own way.”

His voice trembled. “It’s—it’s selfish…I know. I just didn’t—I didn’t want you to leave… I thought that, if I put myself in danger, you’d come save me.” He sniffled.

Andy stopped and looked up at me, his eyes glistening. I stopped with him. “I’m sorry,” he breathed, then sniffled again, running his coat sleeve across his nose before walking on.

My instincts were angered by the revelation—they didn’t like being manipulated—but I did not feel the same way. Instead, I swelled with sympathy. Honestly, I felt a little hurt. I would have never thought to leave him, not now. Not after all we’d been through.

Yet I could not help but grieve for Liam and Gabriel in a way. As I resumed walking, I wanted to reassure Andy of my commitment to him and to this group, but I was too distracted to think of a proper way to communicate. I decided to let it drop for now.

chazzerman286

12-01-2010, 02:00 PM

It seemed like you were putting ingame facts into this chapter too much (Boomer bile in the toilets, the whole armory scene). However, that's not really a bad thing.

081XxhephexX180

12-01-2010, 02:09 PM

^ yeah that, I also found it a bit short, the clothes part and the conversation with Andy were pretty cool though...

Scars Tropics

12-01-2010, 05:36 PM

I liked the chapter. Trevors schpeel did seem a little heavy on the game perspective of the guns, like was mentioned. Usually a gun nut talks about the weight, brand, price and type of ammo. Especially the kind of ammunition, actually.

The reason andy took off wasn't what I was thinking. I figured it had something to do with his father.

pappaskurtz

12-01-2010, 07:08 PM

Something to do with his father? How so?

I was interested in fleshing out the weaponry mostly because I'd assumed (at least from Buddy's perspective) that they'd been using a vague conglomerate of tier 1 guns and the way things were headed, the characters really needed an upgrade. I wasn't so sure if Trevor going into minute detail about the guns would've done much for the other three. It certainly would've gone over my head if I were trying to decide which rifle to pick.

More so, like the boomer bile, I wasn't so sure if it'd be obvious what it was supposed to be if it was my first encounter with it. These are seeds and plants, so to speak, because, if you have a lot of firepower at your disposal now, what do you think fate (or the Director :p) has in store?

Given that Buddy, Andy, and Sarah don't know much about guns at all, is Trevor's apparent knowledge of the rifles unconvincing?

Scars Tropics

12-01-2010, 07:57 PM

No pappa, trevor came off properly as a gun enthuisiast. I think it was his wording that was strange. Perhaps him going into a technical gun rant would be comical like police academy or boring to someone that doesn't like guns, so how you have it makes sense.

As far as how I thoguht it was something to do with andys father, not sure really. Maybe andy saw military personel far off and ran after them...doesn't matter it wasn't really what made him run off :)

SA_ChooChoo

12-01-2010, 10:06 PM

looks like its time to summon that boat rescue... if the boat is still nearby...

Herr Dudelmann

12-02-2010, 10:28 AM

Indeed another good chapter. I think perhaps you could have maybe strayed slightly further from canon with regards to weaponry. Perhaps having some different rifles instead of the standard game ones would have been a good idea. It's not unheard of for there to be different weapons, as on some campaign poster (I forget which one)Rochelle has a scoped M4 carbine.

chazzerman286

12-02-2010, 12:08 PM

Maybe later on in the story you should introduce a bazooka. Judging by the fact that recently in Britain at a knife handing-in thing someone handed in an M72 LAAW apparently, I wouldn't be suprised if there was one lying around, maybe left by the military to deal with Tanks (no pun intended)?

TehCoffeeRobber

12-03-2010, 01:09 AM

“Personally,” he said as we toured the arsenal, “I’m a fan of the M-16. Easy to maintain, rarely jams, and overall a solid firearm.

Sorry to break it to you, but the M-16 jams frequently. Other then that, good story so far.

SA_ChooChoo

12-03-2010, 03:36 AM

Can't wait for Part 2 :DDD

pappaskurtz

12-03-2010, 10:42 AM

Sorry to break it to you, but the M-16 jams frequently. Other then that, good story so far.

Interestingly enough, I was astounded by the amount of drama there is out there about this gun series. It felt like people either loved or hated this gun and would go to extraordinary lengths to defend or discredit it. So, I asked a service member I knew and he sided with the M-16, saying the more modern versions (I'm guessing the A3 and A4) are frankly very reliable.

That said, what I discerned was that with proper care, the gun would function fine, and as I really did not want to complicate the story with weapons jams (a la Far Cry 2), I'd figure Trevor was one of those guys who took care of his weapons and just give a short nod to the baggage this gun carries, lol.

Also, it's interesting that this week's mutation lines up with what I had planned... Valve be sappin' my story arc. :o

Herr Dudelmann

12-03-2010, 11:18 AM

Hard eight and your story plan? Cool

KoopaEaterLives

12-03-2010, 11:20 AM

Poop. So next up, all the specials attack? Whoop!

SA_ChooChoo

12-05-2010, 06:26 AM

Tonight is The Walking Dead finale on TV. I NEED A FIX TO HOLD ME OVER. When is Part 2 please? :D

pappaskurtz

12-06-2010, 04:25 PM

I'm going to split up what I was intending to post into two parts. It's just too long to manage currently, and since I got distracted by responding to other topics on this board :o, I don't want it to be forever until the next installment.

Off topic, but does anyone know how to restore the default key bindings for Z and X? I know it's through the console via "bind Z something" but I don't know what the command is to restore the radial dials. They got rebound after playing on an XPMod server... :(
_______________________________________

We cleared the forest and came across a clearing. The source of light was clear now and it was coming from a small house just on the edge of the river. We were further south than where Liam and Gabriel had come to rest the previous morning.

The infected stench, however, intensified. Fast-rotting corpses encircled the house as the grass beneath us lay trampled and kicked up. I gagged loudly as my companions took in the carnage.

“Looks like someone threw a nice party,” Trevor quipped.

A burst of laughter echoed inside my head, forcing a small shriek from me. Andy and the others froze and stared at me as I cringed.

“What is it?” Sarah whispered.

The laughter clanged against my skull again—intense, maniacal laughter. Andy clicked on his flashlight and aimed it towards the forest behind us.

“Did anyone hear that?” he said.

It was all in my head; it was everywhere and then nowhere, then again right in the center of my brain. Each time the laughter stopped, it would shortly return with a vengeance. I covered my ears in an attempt to drown out the sound, but it did nothing.

Sarah grasped my shoulder. “Buddy, what’s wrong?”

Trevor and Andy readied their rifles and backtracked slowly towards the forest.

“It sounded almost like laughter,” Andy said.

“Yeah,” Trevor agreed.

Sarah raised her rifle. “♥♥♥♥, it can’t be—can it?”

“What?” Andy demanded.

The laughter exploded in volume, making my head nearly split. I fell to my knees, helpless, but with a sudden gap in the torment, I heard the ungodly-fast scurrying of feet too late.

“Jockey!” Sarah screamed.

“What?” Trevor shouted.

He cried out as the tiny devil knocked him to the ground. Before Andy could shoot, it hopped up and knocked him down, too, before running off. Sarah grabbed her pistol to shoot, but the jockey was much too fast. It laughed hysterically while running circles around us, bullets impacting the dirt behind it.

Andy also tried to fire his pistol, but even his impeccable aim fell short.

“Buddy, do something!” Trevor cried.

I was paralyzed. The laughter was inside my head and nearly drowned out all else. I tried to move, but it was agony, yet staying still was unbearable. I began crouching to attempt a leap, but the jockey bumped against me as it sprinted towards Sarah, who narrowly dodged.

She pulled out her machete as the tiny tormenter made another lap around us.

“Come on, come on!” she taunted. “You know you want to, you smug little bastard!”

Before finishing another loop, the jockey made a beeline for Sarah. Just as it hopped, she swung—and with a whip of air and an abrupt yelp of pain, the laughter ceased as the jockey flew lifelessly past her, splattering her with a gush of dark, pungent blood.

The silence returned as the carcass crashed into the earth. I hopped towards Andy to help him up as Sarah did the same for Trevor. The worry on Andy’s face was obvious, but I was too ashamed to look him in the eyes.

“Buddy,” Trevor asked, “what happened?”

Andy glared at him. “Just lay off, will you?”

“Look,” he snapped, “I’m not trying to be rude, but if more of those thing show up during our fight—we’re going to have a problem!”

I sighed and hung my head. Trevor was right—I’d been rendered useless by a laughing gnome. Andy grasped my shoulders, though, and tried to shake me into feeling better.

“Hey, it’s all right,” he insisted, then turned to Sarah and Trevor. “Look, I’ve seen this happen once before…I think.” He turned back to me. “Right, with that crying girl?”

“A witch?” Sarah asked.

“That was definitely not a witch,” Trevor interjected.

I was surprised Andy had noticed; that had been—how long ago?—when I first let him see me…

“Look, the point is,” Andy went on, “whatever you call her, it almost felt like she was inside my head somehow.” He looked at me. “I haven’t seen you freeze up like that since then. Was that it—did it get inside your head somehow?”

I took a deep breath and shook my head, shrugging. The witch had flooded my head with horrible living nightmares and anguished emotions, but the jockey’s laughter had basically shut down my senses; it was impossible to explain at the moment.

“So I’m not the only one who gets creeped out by a witch,” Sarah said.

“But this wasn’t a witch!” Trevor exclaimed, forcing a brief laugh as he kicked the carcass. “I don’t get it!”

“You don’t need to get anything,” Andy sneered. “Buddy would have gotten a grip eventually if Sarah hadn’t taken it down so quickly. What did you call it—a jockey?” Sarah nodded.

“I’ve never seen one of those things before,” Trevor said.

“Well, neither did we,” Andy responded, “until now.”

“I only encountered one before this,” Sarah added, “but I heard a lot of disturbing radio chatter about these things.”

pappaskurtz

12-06-2010, 07:39 PM

Trevor regarded me seriously, his expression more anxious than upset. “How long would you have needed to ‘get a grip’?”

“It doesn’t matter!” Andy exclaimed. “We see another jockey, we take it down, OK? It’s as simple as that.”

Trevor and Sarah exchanged worried looks. I couldn’t fault Andy for trying, but I knew it wouldn’t be that simple. I had to explain to them—show them—why the jockey had such an effect on me. Maybe it wasn’t the real reason—maybe it really did have psychedelic powers—but I had to give them some explanation.

I unzipped my hoodie and pulled my shirt collar to expose my shoulder. They all looked at me in surprise before taking a step closer to inspect me.

“What…what are we looking at?” Trevor asked.

“Is that where you were bit?” Sarah said. I nodded.

Andy inhaled deeply, exchanging comprehending looks with her and Trevor.

“You were bitten by a jockey?” Andy whispered. Letting go of my shirt, I nodded.

Trevor sighed. “Looks like we found your kryptonite.”

Sarah picked up her machete from the ground. “Don’t worry,” she said to me, “you’re not Superman.” She eyed Trevor. “Can’t let him kill all the zombies for us—we have these guns for a reason, no?”

As she started for the boathouse, Trevor quickly followed. Andy squeezed my shoulder.

“Eh, they don’t know any better. I still think you’re awesome, Superman or no.”

Somehow, that made me smile, and Andy grinned back at me before prompting me forward.

We had to negotiate a rough path around the infected corpses, but surprisingly, the house seemed largely untouched. Though most of the doors had been smashed, a turret emplacement sat intact on the balcony while the walls stood devoid of blood splatters.

The real battle, it seemed, took place on the dock. The planks were scorched and bullet holes riddled the side of the house facing the water; I guess that answered that—the infected couldn’t swim.

“This seems like a pretty daring move to make your stand on the docks,” Sarah remarked.

“No,” Trevor said, “I think—I think they used the people on the docks as bait and the ones in the house gunned the zombies down as they came.”

Andy put his finger on his nose. When Sarah saw him, she did the same. I played along, and Trevor saw me. He looked at Sarah, then Andy.

“Oh, come on—seriously?”

Sarah giggled. “Well, if we don’t want to bait, perhaps we can make our stand in the house? Buddy and I can snipe from the roof while you and Andy cover the stairs.”

Trevor let his shoulders slump, but he was smiling at Sarah. “Let’s just see if the radio still works before we go through the trouble of planning our escape.”

We stepped inside the house. The radio was just beside the door, hissing faintly with static. Trevor grasped the microphone tentatively before pushing the transmit button on the receiver.

“Hello, is there anyone out there? My name is Trevor, and I’m with”—Trevor’s eyes flitted briefly towards me—“three other survivors. If you are still running rescues, please—we need help.”

The radio fell silent when Trevor released the transmit button. Andy and Sarah held their breaths, leaving Trevor’s breathing as the only sound in the room.

After a moment, Trevor spoke. “Well, time for a plan—”

The radio sputtered, making Andy jolt as the others gasped. It sounded like—someone was answering the radio in a hurry?

“Uh, hello? Hello? This is John Slater—can you repeat your last transmission?”

Trevor’s shoulders seemed to tighten as he answered, clearing his throat. “My name is Trevor, and I’m with three other survivors at a small boathouse just outside Riverside.”

The radio cut midway into a long sigh of relief. “I can’t believe it; I can’t believe there would still be more…amazing. All right, well, if you’ve gotten this far, I assume you know what you have to face. I presume you’re well-armed? I’m not going to advance unless you’re prepared.”

“We have what we need,” Trevor replied.

“OK.” A pause. “I can get to you in about twenty minutes, but you have to make sure you’re ready. You’re going to get swarmed as I start to advance, so do what you have to do and let me know when you’re ready.”

Sarah stepped forward and gestured for the radio. Trevor hesitated for a split second before handing the microphone to her.

“John, what happened to the other survivors before us? Where did they go?”

A brief pause. “We dropped them off sometime ago; they were heading north, but I can drop you off wherever you like. Please, hurry, it looks like a storm is coming.”

“‘We?’ Who’s ‘we’?”

“My wife Amanda is also with me. Again, please set up quickly but carefully—a storm is coming.”

Sarah set the radio down as Andy looked out into the night. “It’s looking a lot more ominous out there,” he said.

We searched the house for supplies, but there wasn’t much aside from a few pipe bombs upstairs, a handful of Molotovs, and a shotgun with about thirty rounds left. The minigun emplacement on the balcony was still operation with a few hundred precious rounds or so left.

After we regrouped on the bottom floor, Trevor said, “Clearly, the supplies we brought with us are pretty much all we have left. Conserve your ammo.”

He turned to me. “First, though, I want us to iron this out—how are we going to hide your…infection?”

“We can explain it to them, can’t we?” Andy insisted. “It’s not like he can’t control himself!”

“Still,” Trevor said, “it’s their boat, and in the heat of the moment, I’d rather not force a confrontation.”

“Do you still have your blindfold?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah,” Trevor remarked, “that’s not suspicious at all.”

I still had my blindfold, and the gloves I’d used to battle my tonic for dominance, but my hoodie’s sleeve was missing from when I had ripped the barbed wire off that fence in the turnpike. It exposed my infected arm, but the gloves would at least hide my claws.

Wrapping the blindfold over my nose and mouth, I turned to the others and shrugged.

“Here, I have an idea,” Andy said, taking off his jacket. “We can switch. I’ll look like a hunter and you can look normal except for the gloves and the mask. How’s that?”

As he held out his father’s jacket to me, I held out my hand and shook my head. His scent would make the infected come after me. To attempt to tell him this, I sniffed my hoodie.

pappaskurtz

12-06-2010, 07:41 PM

Andy pouted. “Oh, you think I’m smelly. Fine.”

I sighed and shook my head, but Sarah clarified my point for me, grinning. “I think he’s trying to say that the zombies might come after him if he smells like you.”

“Oh, right…oops.” Andy laughed.

“You can switch when the boat arrives.”

Trevor flinched. “During the mad rush to get to the boat alive?”

“We’ll make it work,” Andy spat. “Can we focus on other things now?”

Sarah used a Molotov to burn off the corpses surrounding the house. The bodies turned to ash quickly, nauseating me from the stench, but the fire cleared the ground to give us room to maneuver for when the tank becomes a problem.

Trevor was to station himself on the dock, Andy was to gun down threats from the balcony and to man the turret when necessary, and Sarah was to dig into the house and snipe from the windows.

I was to hop on the roof to snipe and announce danger. I may not have been able to speak, but I was able to articulate distinct cries to make a quick lesson relatively painless.

Trevor made a point to make sure I didn’t lose track of my rifles.

“We need the ammo,” he insisted, and I nodded. “Do what you do best, but those guns are gold—seriously.” I nodded again.

We ran through my cries again as we gathered by the radio.

“Wait, which one was the smoker, again?” Andy asked. I shrieked the smoker cry—which was honestly just me attempting to say the word “smoker”—but his confused expression persisted. “Wait, wasn’t that for the charger?”

I laughed and sighed. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

“Look,” Sarah interjected, “I understand the cries and I’ll translate, OK?”

“Good enough for me,” Trevor said. “I think we’ve spent enough time planning.” He grasped the radio’s microphone. “Are we ready?”

He looked to each of us, Sarah, Andy, and I. When he made eye contact, we each nodded in turn.

Trevor clicked on the radio. “John?”

The answer was near-instant. “Yes?”

“We’re ready.”

“OK, I am on my way. Good luck; ETA twenty minutes.”

When the radio clicked off, rain droplets started to hit the roof just before a low, dissonant harmony of howls thundered through the night.

Trevor took a deep breath. “Battle stations, everyone.”

Zora-Link

12-06-2010, 08:13 PM

Rage face on.

It's Riverside, not view.

And I still haven't figured a way to rebind the keys either.

Interesting, the debillitating effect the jockey has on Buddy though.

PinkPonies48

12-06-2010, 08:15 PM

i dont get it. Why does the horde sound right after they hit the radio? I know it's like that in the game but what's the reasoning in this story?

it's not like the radio made any noise...

Zora-Link

12-06-2010, 08:20 PM

i dont get it. Why does the horde sound right after they hit the radio? I know it's like that in the game but what's the reasoning in this story?

it's not like the radio made any noise...

I swear, it's like they can sense hope...
-Helicopter pilot, L4D1.

pappaskurtz

12-06-2010, 09:06 PM

Slater started the boat's engine, sending vibrations through the water and earth to trigger the horde.

That's probably the only direct answer you'll ever get from me outside of the story. :p

Rage face on.

It's Riverside, not view.

And I still haven't figured a way to rebind the keys either.

Interesting, the debillitating effect the jockey has on Buddy though.

:o Oh my God, how many times have I made this mistake and no one has pointed it out? :eek:

PinkPonies48

12-06-2010, 09:10 PM

yeah but assuming he's 20 minutes away, why doesn't the horde follow the boat and why do they know to storm the house?

pappaskurtz

12-06-2010, 09:21 PM

I think you'll be able to fill in the blanks with part 3, if you can't already...

DoomMagnet

12-07-2010, 04:46 AM

this just gets better and better each chapter.
Keep doing a great work!=D

crash2004

12-07-2010, 05:44 AM

Very good read so far. Curious how the boat rescue is going to go with the onslaught coming.

pappaskurtz, the only way I'm aware of to fix the keys is through the game options. Options, Keyboard/Mouse, Edit Keys/Buttons, click Use Defaults. You'll have to set whatever keys you had changed for your preferences after but that should help. Worked for me when my binds got screwed up. lol, was the z and x keys screwed up on me too.

Edit: The actual binds I think are these,
bind "x" "+mouse_menu QA"
bind "z" "+mouse_menu Orders"

Scars Tropics

12-07-2010, 06:14 AM

yeah but assuming he's 20 minutes away, why doesn't the horde follow the boat and why do they know to storm the house?

Let's take that part out then, since you don't get it maybe it would go something like this: the survivors wait for a while, sarah says its too quiet. Buddy has reminices for a while. Andy tries to make a joke. Trevor tries to contact the boat again. Still no horde. 15 minutes go by, but because the it doesn't make sense, the radio an boat don't trigger a horde. 5 minutes later, the boat arrives, survivors get on. Horde never came. Next chapter.

081XxhephexX180

12-07-2010, 06:43 AM

Maybe they are attracted by microwaves?? You know, somehow, they can "feel" it?

Btw, nice nice part pappa, loved it.

081XxhephexX180

12-07-2010, 06:46 AM

Slater started the boat's engine, sending vibrations through the water and earth to trigger the horde.

That's probably the only direct answer you'll ever get from me outside of the story. :p

:o Oh my God, how many times have I made this mistake and no one has pointed it out? :eek:

I thought you were talking about another city, it doesn't have to be absolutely canon. :)

pappaskurtz

12-07-2010, 04:27 PM

crash2004

12-07-2010, 04:43 PM

Ahh, thanks a bunch crash! (+rep)

I also found a thread that has all the default key bindings (http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1103270) if anyone is curious.

Can anyone infer how the L4D1 survivors got through this rescue? (Was it clear the L4D1 survivors were immediately before them? :eek:)

You're quite welcome. And thank you too. :)

To me it was pretty clear the L4D survivors were rescued just before them. Quite a good story. Although, I'm hoping that since this is the rescue point for them that it doesn't mean the story will be coming to an end quite yet.

natedogXVI

12-07-2010, 08:22 PM

Loving this more and more with each part that comes. Keep up the great work!

Oh, and as for why the horde howled at that time, you could argue that it was in fact from the storm, and not the radio/boat. But that as the boat came closer they heard the noise (since things are mostly silent without all that pesky civilization and life) and were attracted. Just a thought.

And I know you already got a fix, but I'm fairly certain you can just use the "unbind" command to set any keybinds back to their defaults, or it may be "unbind all" or something. I just remember using that before, when I was messing around spawning tanks and witches, and kicking Smoker/Boomer/Hunter and Tanks to make it through a finale with no damage (single player, crash course finale, took like 10 tries still cause I'd get hit by like 1 CI on the way to the rescue).

TehCoffeeRobber

12-08-2010, 04:16 AM

How do they know a tank is going to be coming?
"but the fire cleared the ground to give us room to maneuver for when the tank becomes a problem."

Scars Tropics

12-08-2010, 08:40 AM

How do they know a tank is going to be coming?
"but the fire cleared the ground to give us room to maneuver for when the tank becomes a problem."

They probably played the game before. A tank always shows up there.

081XxhephexX180

12-08-2010, 01:07 PM

How do they know a tank is going to be coming?
"but the fire cleared the ground to give us room to maneuver for when the tank becomes a problem."

Same thing happened before at Mercy Hospital, so I guess they just assumed one would come.

-DarkSide-

12-08-2010, 08:14 PM

natedogXVI

12-08-2010, 08:29 PM

so... your on death toll now? are you going to do all the campaigns? because, the farthest the boat could have taken them is to the sacrifice, because you can see the death toll boat on it's side during the sacrifice.

EDIT: also, I am LOVING this story. I REALLY hope that it doesn't end at part 3 here.

Umm, just in case you don't realize, but I seriously doubt that's the Slater's boat in The Sacrifice. Foremost because that's a long way away from the Philidelphia area, and appears to in fact be on water that at least connects to the ocean. It would take a lot of work to make their way down there. So the more likely fact is that if anything, Valve reused the model for the boat as they've been known to do (they re-used the crashed helicopter from Crash Course in the first map of Swamp Fever, despite it looking nothing like the helicopter that picks you up in Dark Carnival).

Remember, there can be more than one of the same boat in the world, it's not a stretch. And yes, I think papaskurtz is planning on going through the already established areas of the game, though perhaps not following the exact same paths. That, or he'll ditch that string of narrative and take it another way in order to tell a specific storyline, but it seems like a convenience for both him and us to use the already established locales.

Bonzi77

12-08-2010, 09:13 PM

Gotta get the classic TAWCHT "MOAR!!!!!" on.

pappaskurtz

12-08-2010, 11:11 PM

Actually, I've already hinted at a possible direction (http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=18210185#post18210185) for the story. Whether it will come to pass, however, remains to be seen. There are a lot of unanswered questions left, no?

I will say that I'd personally find it tedious to go through every campaign.

081XxhephexX180

12-09-2010, 04:50 AM

^ you think? *laughs* 10 chapters for two campaigns!? Yeah, it would take like 3 books to finish this lol :D

pappaskurtz

12-09-2010, 09:07 PM

And here is the first half (or maybe three-quarters) of the battle. I listen to a lot of music when I write, but I stumbled across a Three Days Grace song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AMWaB-zHYU) that I thought would make a nice theme song for the story.

And I will go ahead and reveal the piece (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb8c61iXTOE) that Andy plays on Charlie's old mp3 player at the end of Chapter 7 since no one guessed it.
___________________________

He, Sarah, and Andy ran to their positions, while I leapt to the rooftop. I felt an extra burn in my legs from the jump due to the weaponry and ammo I was carrying, but I managed to quell my instincts’ biting annoyance at my additional baggage; they hated that I would even consider using guns to fight.

An initial drizzle quickly became a downpour. Lightning flashed across the sky to herald a rumbling of thunder that shook the house. Another cacophony of howls reverberated through the air in sympathy, but whereas the first had been fervent and driven, this one was frustrated and confused. Could this be our saving grace?

I heard Sarah and Andy prep their weapons. So far, though, I could sense nothing, but as the rain drenched me, my instincts reminded me that my senses would be greatly dampened by the storm. They screamed at me to ditch my weapons and maintain my mobility.

The relative calm persisted in spite of the storm. I looked at Trevor down on the docks, the rain soaking his hair and dripping off his hands as he held his rifle. Despite his still demeanor, I could sense his heart racing; tuning my focus to Andy and Sarah below me, I picked up the same anxiety from them both.

Trevor glanced up at me, so I resumed my lookout. Minutes passed. Rain continued to pour, and it was all I could hear.

“I’m running into a little resistance!” John said quickly over the radio. “ETA fifteen minutes.”

Five minutes gone already? No—it couldn’t have been. The seconds were dragging by at an agonizing pace, and even I was beginning to become unnerved by the quiet.

“Hey Buddy, think we should turn on the spotlight for them?” Andy called.

I would have chuckled if not for the lone infected that burst from the woods. He sprinted across the clearing—not towards us directly—but he was running parallel to the river.

He was clearly in Andy’s line of sight, but Andy did not shoot. With a brief ping, I saw that he was tracking the zombie all right, but like me, Andy was obviously waiting for him to make the first move.

The zombie stumbled to a stop as he neared the ashes from the cremated infected. Snarling and shaking his head, he looked straight at me, I could almost swear. As the unsettling glow in his eyes intensified, the lone infected broke into a full sprint towards us.

Andy shattered the zombie’s skull with a single gunshot. Aside from the rain and occasional thunder, the shot had been the loudest sound in the area and echoed through the hills.

I held my breath. Sure enough, the zombie Andy took down was only the shepherd. As a sizeable flock of thirty or forty infected erupted from the woods, I heard Sarah run across the house to the balcony as Andy started to fire.

I removed the sniper rifle from my back and prepped it as Trevor had shown me. After lying across the roof to look through the scope, I chose my target, shot—and missed.

Damn it; I didn’t aim ahead. Andy and Sarah had already taken down five or so of the infected as they sprinted towards the house.

Attempting another shot, I fired again, and the bullet ripped into the shoulder of one of the zombies, quelling the haughty chagrin from my instincts. I fired again, and again, drastically improving with each shot. After another handful of infected collapsed to the ground, I grew confident in my aim.

Though we dispatched most of the first horde, more common infected began to trickle from the woods all around us. With Andy covering the south, Sarah resumed the north flank while I turned towards the east.

Like the rain had done, the trickle of infected became a stream. Gunfire began to pound the landscape almost as incessantly as the rain, and with the zombies coming much too quickly, I switched to the SCAR as precise aim became less of an issue.

We couldn’t gun down every zombie that emerged from the woods, but those that slipped past us seemed to act as predicted and ran straight for the docks—bypassing the house. They funneled and sometimes tripped over each other to get to Trevor, who gunned them down easily.

The rain was minimizing the stench of dying infected, but the horde of zombies coming from the forest was far from unmanageable. We had so much ammunition, but it wasn’t limitless. Would it run out before the zombies did?

“I’m running into more turbulent waters from the storm!” John announced over the radio. “Still looks like fifteen minutes or so! Hang tight!”

“Save your ammo!” Trevor called, and I turned to see him unclip a pipe bomb from his belt. After activating the alarm, he flung it towards the clearing, shouting, “Pipe bomb out!”

As the gunfire stopped, the high-pitched beep of the pipe bomb cut through the frantic snarls of the sprinting infected. The bomb arced towards the clearing before its bright-white LED rolled to a stop beside an infected corpse.

With every piercing beep, more infected shifted course towards the bomb and practically trampled each other as they gathered around it. As the alarm reached a fever pitch, I shut my eyes and covered my ears just before the bomb exploded, shaking the house and turning the infected into fleshy shrapnel that showered the hillside.

My ears were grateful for the ceasefire, but the explosion still left them ringing as relative quiet returned to the night. The infected kept emerging from the forest, but their numbers were far fewer.

The rain, however, was getting thicker, and another rumble of thunder made the house tremble. Sarah and Andy resumed firing when a violent splash of water penetrated the gunfire—followed by an angry, raspy scream. Something hard latched onto my leg and yanked me from the roof.

“Smoker!” Trevor cried out. “Smoke—”

I crashed into the rear balcony, the railing shattering with the impact and rending my side, before I was pulled into the water. Just before landing, I managed to hear Trevor’s screams of pain.

“Oh—God—HELP! Smoke—smoker has us!”

My ribcage burned in agony and I was winded from the fall, but I managed to hold my breath as my instincts shot into overdrive. They forced me to claw at the tongue encased around my leg, but the grotesquely elongated muscle was stronger than I expected.

It was slithering up my body, but though I managed to slow it a little, it had wrapped itself around my clawed hand before I could completely sever it.

I was helpless.

pappaskurtz

12-09-2010, 09:08 PM

I caught a glimpse of the smoker, his tumor-ridden head barely above the water. He was pulling me under, trying to drown me, but I managed to execute a half-leap and caught the edge of the docks with my free hand.

Trevor was across the dock, but another smoker had pulled him to the very edge and was clawing into his back. His agonized screams were muffled by the tongue crushing the air from his chest—and he was barely keeping the mutated muscle from clamping completely around his neck.

A scream escaped me as the pressure on my body tightened, making my muscles burn as if I were on fire. There was no way I could hold on for long.

As mini-gun fire erupted, Sarah jumped from the house and sprinted towards the dock, firing a shot at the smoker constricting me before pulling out her machete to free Trevor.

The smoker trapping me ruptured into a caustic cloud of smoke, easing the pressure on my body immediately. Letting myself fall into the water, I ripped the tongue off me before leaping onto the dock.

The mini-gun fire stopped. “You like noise? I’ll give you noise!” Andy shouted. “Eat this!” Another piercing set of beeps flew out into the night.

Sarah was helping Trevor free himself from the smoker’s tongue; both were coughing intensely.

“Are you all right?” she managed between coughs.

“I—I think I’ll live…”

As she helped him out of the smoke, she gasped as she eyed his back. “Oh, God! You’re bleeding!”

Somehow, I still had all the equipment I was supposed to carry save a Molotov, which had broken uselessly into the water, and my two rifles, which were still on the roof of the boathouse. I pulled out my pistol to suppress the zombies funneling into the dock as another explosion shook the earth.

“Take your shirt off!” Sarah ordered Trevor while firing on the zombies as well.

“It can wait,” he insisted, loading his rifle.

“You might be immune, but trust me—you will regret not taking care of those scratches right away!”

Trevor sighed and set down his rifle before peeling off his shirt, grunting with the effort.

“Unpack your health kit,” Sarah instructed, continuing to lay fire on the zombies. “Buddy, get back to the roof! You can cover us better from there!”

I nodded and secured my pistol before leaping back to the roof. I grabbed my SCAR and sprayed bullets on the infected sprinting for the docks. With their numbers picking up significantly, I heard Andy firing up the mini-gun again.

“Just couldn’t wait to see me without my shirt on, huh?” Trevor remarked.

“Oh please,” Sarah scoffed, “even Andy has more of a six pack than you do.”

“Ouch—cougar, much?”

Trevor shrieked and stuffed his fist into his mouth when Sarah poured the rubbing alcohol across his cuts. She was chuckling.

“You enjoyed that, didn’t you?” Trevor said.

“Maybe.”

“I probably deserved that.”

I had to reload, but Sarah seemed to notice and paused to fire on the zombies until I had another magazine in my gun. When I resumed firing, Sarah began to wrap bandages around Trevor’s torso.

“Would you mind not staring at me and kill the zombies, please?” Sarah said; though her tone was firm, I caught a glimpse of her lips curving into a smile.

Trevor obeyed without a quip and began firing on the zombies with his pistol. He was fairly accurate despite using only one arm, but Sarah patched him up quickly.

A low, mournful cry sounded above the raucous of common infected. I turned quickly towards the source of the cry, but another one sounded in a completely different direction. Could it be?

As I sent a ping, I spotted a tall, husky figure rushing through the common infected near the source of the first cry.

Charger! I shrieked, causing Sarah and Trevor to perk up immediately.

“Is that for the charger?” Andy shouted.

The charger ran at an alarming pace, closing the gap between the forest and dock in mere seconds. I tried to shoot it, but the bullets only seemed to embed themselves in its thick hide. It knocked over several zombies in its path before releasing a determined, angry bellow.

It became a blur as it shot across the dock directly towards Sarah and Trevor. She shoved Trevor off the dock but had no time to dodge the charger herself—and it plunged her into the water with a violent splash.

Trevor was barely keeping afloat as he screamed, “SARAH! SARAH!”

Another whale-like cry permeated the chaos and I spotted the second charger. It emerged from the forest in Andy’s blind spot, but I trained my sniper rifle towards the water as I sounded another cry to warn Andy.

I could not find Sarah, but the charger that had knocked her off was swimming towards Trevor. I knew firsthand the awful punch its giant arm was capable of, but I took my time to aim carefully, lest the bullet hit Sarah somewhere in that water.

I pulled the trigger only when I was sure—and my shot exploded the charger’s tiny, asymmetrical head.

As the charger floated lifelessly past Trevor, he threw his equipment and guns up on the dock before diving under the water.

Andy was firing from his rifle now, letting the minigun rest, but the common infected were not letting up. I retrained my focus towards the second charger, but this one was much slower than the first.

Despite that, however, my aim with the sniper rifle failed me, my shots hitting common infected beside the charger as I tried to snipe its head.

I switched to the SCAR, but as it approached the house out of Andy’s line of sight, it was just as resistant to my bullets as the first charger. I shrieked another warning cry as it picked up speed and entered the house.

Andy ran inside, undoubtedly hearing the charger’s impatient moans. “Buddy, where is it? Where is it? I don’t see it!”

I leapt from the roof onto the balcony just in time to see the charger ascend the stairs. I crouched to intercept the charger, but it sounded its warning cry as soon as it spotted Andy.

I jumped as soon as it charged, but I underestimated its speed and crashed through a window while the charger slammed Andy into the wall, making the whole structure shake.

Tumbling across the ground, I managed to right myself quickly despite the dizzying numbness in my head. I crouched to leap—when a terrible burst of laughter rattled my skull. Oh dear God, not now—not now…

A cry escaped me, but through the laughter, Andy’s screams kept my senses from shutting down entirely.

“It’s—crushing—me! Help! Oh God it’s—crushing me!”

pappaskurtz

12-09-2010, 09:10 PM

The laughter stopped, and without waiting I leapt up back through the window. I stumbled my landing, but regained my composure just as the charger slammed Andy into the floor with its monstrous arm.

I knocked the charger off him with a direct leap and jumped onto its back to claw at its face. As it stumbled around and struggled to free itself, I bit into its jugular to release a spray of infected blood.

The gush defiled the virgin walls as the charger tried to punch me off, but its arm was too unwieldy to perform such a nimble move. After gouging out its eye, I sliced across its throat with my knife before twisting its head and snapping its neck for good measure.

I leapt off the corpse before it collapsed to the floor. Andy was trying to sit up, but he was gasping in pain from the effort. After rushing to his side, I couldn’t help whining in anxious remorse. I should have stopped that damn charger earlier!

Despite clutching his abdomen, he reached to grasp my shoulder and grinned at me. “I’m OK, really,” he whispered.

Oh God, could his ribs be fractured? A zombie found its way up the stairs, but Andy grabbed his pistol and shot it before it could do any harm.

“Andy! Buddy!” Trevor yelled. “Clear the dock!”

Andy looked in no shape to stand just yet, so I ran towards the window to see the dock overflowing with common infected. Trevor was holding Sarah afloat and slashing at the zombies splashing towards him.

I unclipped the pipe bomb on my belt and activated it before brandishing it out the window. I screeched to get the zombies’ attention, and when their collective gazes fixed themselves on me and my shiny, beeping toy, I flung it towards the hillside.

The infected began sprinting from the docks to follow the pipe bomb, but many had been trampled and most were too uncoordinated and flailing about wildly to escape the water. I turned back to Andy, who was dispatching zombies that ran up the stairs as he rested against the wall.

“Go, go!” he insisted, flinging his hand towards me. “They need you! I’ll be fine.” When I hesitated, he shouted, “GO!”

I dropped from the window and leapt towards the dock. As most of the zombies ran past me, I killed the lingering infected before shoving them off the dock, then fired on the stray zombies who were managing to swim towards Trevor.

The pipe bomb exploded shortly before I cleared off enough room on the dock. I helped pull Sarah up from the water and laid her on her back, but I was unnerved by her still form. When I noticed her lips had tinted—they had to have turned blue—I started to panic.

I helped Trevor up and he immediately began CPR on Sarah. While I suppressed the zombies sprinting for the docks, I heard Andy rev up the minigun once more.

“Come on, come on, Sarah,” Trevor pleaded, pumping his hands above her chest, “you’re too strong to go out like this!”

He breathed more air through her lips and began pumping once more when she coughed and squirted water from her mouth. Trevor cried out in relief as she worked to regain her breath.

“Oh, thank you, Jesus!” Trevor exclaimed, helping Sarah sit up.

I stopped to reload when the maniacal laughter exploded inside my head again. As I dropped my gun, paralyzed, a bloated gurgle invaded the all-too-brief reprieve between fits of laughter. I saw the boomer appear from behind the house, but I could do nothing to stop it.

“♥♥♥♥—boomer, boomer!” Trevor shouted. He ran up to me to grab my gun, but cursed when he found it wasn’t loaded.

Laughter continued to pin me as the boomer steadily approached us, so Trevor grabbed the second pistol from my leg and shot the boomer. We were knocked back by the resulting explosion, but not without the entrails soaking us in putrid bile.

“Ugh, oh, this ♥♥♥♥!” Trevor cried out.

The laughter persisted in my head, so I was barely able to wipe the vomit from my eyes. Luckily, however, the boomer’s explosion seemed to spare Sarah, and she was loading her rifle as the infected made a beeline towards us. As I felt the earth jolt with another explosion, I realized Andy must have popped a second boomer.

“Get into the water!” Sarah shouted. “Wash it off!”

Though Trevor obeyed, I couldn’t move. The jockey was somewhere close, filling my head with its unholy tittering, but it didn’t matter—I started screaming in pain as common infected began kicking and trampling me.

“Oh God,” Sarah cried out, knocking the zombies off me. “Where’s my machete?”

She kept the zombies from beating me to death, and somehow managed to find her machete, but the laughter would not stop.

“Andy,” Trevor shouted, “kill the jockey!”

With a pause in the laughter, I caught sight of Andy limping around the balcony to get in range of the jockey, which was running up and down the docks; it was all I took in before the laughter resumed.

“Spitter!” Sarah yelled, and though I barely heard its high-pitched squeal, the gunshot that must have killed the spitter overpowered the laughter. Sarah yanked me from the ground and pulled me into the water.

As the laughter abruptly stopped, I freed myself from Sarah’s grasp and started floating on my own.

“Hell yeah,” Andy boasted, “eat that, you sniveling butt ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.”

I looked to see the jockey’s corpse on the edge of the dock just before my ears picked up the throaty, hacking sound of another spitter launching its acid.

“Andy, look out!” Trevor warned.

Andy turned just in time for the acid to land on the balcony, and it sizzled harshly while spreading with unfathomable speed. Andy jumped up on the railing, only to have it buckle under his weight; it had already been broken by my previous fall.

I shrieked when he hit the water and jetted towards him, but he was still conscious and managed to float on his own.

The infected had swarmed the dock again. Although Trevor and Sarah managed to shoot and kill the zombies that stumbled into the water, my instincts tried to extinguish any hope I had left.

With all four of us in the water, the situation couldn’t appear any direr. Yet, it was clear that the cruel, invisible hand directing these monsters wasn’t finished quite yet.

An unseen presence silenced the zombies nearly all at once. As I tasted their rage transform into fear, a crack of lightning seemed to split the sky before the common infected all turned from us and hightailed back towards the forest.

“I hope you guys are all right,” John called over the radio. “I’ll be there within ten minutes!”

“Did they finally figure out they can’t swim?” Trevor asked.

Despite the downpour, I caught the unmistakable leathery scent that made my instincts cower. Harsh and grating, it was strong enough to penetrate the washed-out stench of rotting infected.

I heard the rhythmic thudding as I helped Andy onto the docks; Trevor climbed onto the planks and helped Sarah clear the water.

“No,” Sarah sighed, “it’s much worse…”

As I hopped onto the docks, a low roar shook the air as the last of the zombies fled into the forest. But there was something else—the rhythmic pattern of the tank’s footsteps didn’t make sense unless…

Unless there was more than one…

Two smokers, two chargers, two jockeys—could there really be two tanks?

“Oh God,” Andy whispered.

A tank knocked over a tree as it exploded from the forest—while another followed just a few feet behind it.

Unable to believe my eyes, I turned and stared back at my three companions. On each of their faces, they reflected back at me the crushing defeat I felt clamping down on my stomach. With Andy and Sarah injured, and Trevor utterly exhausted, we were in no position to fight a tank—let alone two.

My muscles ached, my bones hurt, and my head throbbed, but I knew the awful truth even without their eyes telling me.

I was the only one who could save them.

Zora-Link

12-09-2010, 09:22 PM

Ohohoho. Hard Eight in mah story?

And "deliberate downpour" threw me off. Alliteration is nice, but that's kind of awkward and doesn't make much sense.

pastastien

12-09-2010, 09:31 PM

haha without even thinking i started humming the tank theme when the tanks.
really good part.

Cybercybex

12-10-2010, 06:28 AM

Im sensing buddy's tunic will somehow gonna be involved in this tank fight.....

Meh just me thinking lol.

Scars Tropics

12-10-2010, 08:34 AM

Are they all in the water by the end? How are they using the radio? Either way its time to start swimming!

I liked the sentence where it said something like 'andy popped a 2nd boomer'. Heh heh. Popped a boomer. Heh heh.

Herr Dudelmann

12-10-2010, 09:39 AM

OMG, one of the best chapters yet. Can you actually have 2 tanks in hard Eight, just as an unrelated question? Ooh I wonder how Buddy will save them, unless it ends here with them all being killed. (Which I hope doesn't happen)

PinkPonies48

12-10-2010, 02:03 PM

i think they'll just use their boomer biles. 1 for each tank. let the horde finish them off

crash2004

12-10-2010, 02:17 PM

Oh man, the group tries out the Hard Eight mode. :eek:

Very entertaining. :)

pappaskurtz

12-10-2010, 04:58 PM

BlackHeartBeto

12-10-2010, 06:17 PM

John is just announcing his progress as he nears the dock; they're not using the radio per se. I will say that I did plan for this before Valve switched the mutation. Didn't I spend enough time foreshadowing the theme of twos in the earlier chapters? :D

How do you feel about the jockey being the one SI Buddy can't take down?

I find it quite odd, but I suppose it's a good choice. The jockey has that evil crazy laugh, and I don't think the charger's horse calls or the boomer's burping could do that to a person.

By the way, just thought I'd bring up the fact that once I get my PC built and running (Should be done by sunday) I wanna take up some custom mutations and maps, so I'm thinking that my first mutation will be based on this :D

Scars Tropics

12-10-2010, 06:22 PM

John is just announcing his progress as he nears the dock; they're not using the radio per se. I will say that I did plan for this before Valve switched the mutation. Didn't I spend enough time foreshadowing the theme of twos in the earlier chapters? :D

How do you feel about the jockey being the one SI Buddy can't take down?

In regards to the jockey,let's say you captured his essence in game quite well. Though his method of incapacitation differs with buddy in the story, the frustration and helplessness is there. Every good hero has a fatal flaw...why not a damn jockey.

KoopaEaterLives

12-10-2010, 09:08 PM

I want more Bandy moments. (BuddyxAndy)

Wish Part 2 did well.

Anyways, great chapter, but they need to start swimming, dammit!

Herr Dudelmann

12-11-2010, 03:27 AM

Don't you know dude? According to l4d canon, if you are a survivor you have a deadly allergy to swimming, lol.

pappaskurtz

12-11-2010, 05:20 AM

Well, Sarah and Andy were already injured by the chargers. Plus, did you see those smokers attack from underwater? :eek:

Speaking of which, why do you think the smoker attacked Buddy? :confused:

By the way, just thought I'd bring up the fact that once I get my PC built and running (Should be done by sunday) I wanna take up some custom mutations and maps, so I'm thinking that my first mutation will be based on this :D

Cool, keep me posted!

081XxhephexX180

12-11-2010, 05:31 AM

Amazing part! You know you're great, I don't have to say it twice :)

081XxhephexX180

12-11-2010, 05:35 AM

JohannasGarden

12-11-2010, 06:26 AM

Awesome! I still haven't read Chapter 10, and I may see if I can hold off until I get word that more is coming soon ;)

I wanted to point out this part:

“It’s really quite endearing, I have to say. Especially considering everything around us—so much death and decay—that these relationships endure. That our humanity endures.”

...(some snipped)
“You give me hope, actually. The fact that you still hold on, it tells me that we can survive this. You just have the—the unfortunate luck of having to display on the outside what the rest of us go through on the inside.”

I see that as really the theme of the story. Like, if a class were reading this, the teacher would ask who could find the part that reveals the main theme of the story, hoping someone would point out this passage.

Most people seemed to accept the death of the two hunters and the Derek shooting Zach as pretty easy, clearcut, decisions. I think that's because, on some level, we accept these ideas 1) zombies aren't human anymore and 2) there are times (war, zombie apocalypse) when people have to make tremendous sacrifices and sometimes do things otherwise considered horrible in order to survive/work towards some greater good.

The story really challenges both of these ideas. The "other two" hunters had a deep love for one another, Sarah is constantly bringing up the need to draw the line at what you absolutely will not do or allow--but since she opposes Buddy feeding on a corpse, but includes Trevor after he had been intending to ♥♥♥♥ her and Andy (along with his companions according to their "interests").

And I <3 Sarah's backstory--I'm a bisexual woman who came out in college, identified as lesbian, became closer and closer to a male friend during a difficult time, and have now been married to him for 14 years. So...that was just really cool to find a character like that.

You're making me want to start a story with some female SI now.

I love this on so many levels! And Buddy thinking about why everyone talks to him is reminding me of _The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter_ although the characters in that book take it much farther--not that it's the same, but contrasting the two is interesting.

pappaskurtz

12-11-2010, 07:18 PM

Thanks for the wonderful feedback, Johanna. <3 It's comments like yours and a handful of the others before that make me hope I can do the story justice... :)

Cybercybex

12-12-2010, 08:11 AM

pappa eta plox?

pappaskurtz

12-13-2010, 09:57 AM

It will come soon. I have a fair bit to work out this chapter, so I need to sit on it for a short while.

-DarkSide-

12-14-2010, 03:51 PM

I'd laugh if he pounced at one of the Tanks, and then got punched away like nothing.

And died. A horrible death. By Tank teabag.

081XxhephexX180

12-15-2010, 04:53 AM

^ And a lame death for sure. There he goes, heroic and all that, pounces the Tank *punch* his poor body goes flying away into the sky. THE END :D

edit: damit!! Part 4 isn't up yet :o

pappaskurtz

12-16-2010, 04:35 AM

081XxhephexX180

12-16-2010, 04:52 AM

what the hell is the guy from the walking dead doing there!!?? :eek:

just kidding, amazing models you got there! Trevor is the guy in a police officer outfit? :confused: Can't wait to see how Sarah looks like!

You should add more infected parts to Buddy's uninfected parts. I mean, he's infected right? He still should have some bruises, scars, etc. on his arms, legs and face, he looks too clean. Just trying to help. :)

-DarkSide-

12-16-2010, 07:22 PM

Well, I still have quite a bit of work to do to finish the chapter, but if you can't wait, I have a minor (http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/373/c2m2fairgrounds0003.jpg) spoiler (http://img703.imageshack.us/i/c2m2fairgrounds0004.jpg/) for the rest of the chapter; an update on my pet project.

Buddy looks... not like the story describes. Like, his lower face is infected in the story, only a piece of the arm of the hoodie was ripped off, he wears a blindfold, etc....

EDIT: and yes, he looks WAY too clean.

EDIT 2: oh, and he wears camo cargo pants.

081XxhephexX180

12-16-2010, 07:52 PM

here goes your second cookie, for paying attention. :)

Chippermonkey

12-17-2010, 02:21 AM

Buddy looks... not like the story describes. Like, his lower face is infected in the story, only a piece of the arm of the hoodie was ripped off, he wears a blindfold, etc....

EDIT: and yes, he looks WAY too clean.

EDIT 2: oh, and he wears camo cargo pants.
I'm 100% certain that in the first preview image that was shown OP explicitly stated that he was making Buddy at an earlier point in his infection.

pappaskurtz

12-17-2010, 09:19 AM

Buddy looks... not like the story describes. Like, his lower face is infected in the story, only a piece of the arm of the hoodie was ripped off, he wears a blindfold, etc....

EDIT: and yes, he looks WAY too clean.

EDIT 2: oh, and he wears camo cargo pants.

Nice attention to detail! :) When designing him, I felt more interested in how he looked before he was infected, so, as I've said, the result was a compromise of sorts since I'm not as much of a graphic artist as I'd like to be. It is supposed to be him as he looked before he turned, and the arm and leg are supposed to be a symbolic representation of sorts.

The problem I initially had with his model was that he looked too much like a regular hunter. The changes were too subtle, and since I spent the most time on his face, I wanted to make sure it wasn't obstructed. I am going to look about recoloring some of his outfit, though.

Also, I hope to have part 4 up by the weekend sometime.

081XxhephexX180

12-17-2010, 10:42 AM

Oh thank god!

Bonzi77

12-17-2010, 11:34 AM

I can only assume this story is a take on the griefing practice where Player SI don't attack the survivors and chill with them instead.

-DarkSide-

12-17-2010, 01:24 PM

pappaskurtz

12-19-2010, 02:22 PM

Uggh, I wanted to surprise people and post parts 4 and 5 simultaneously, but I got sick this weekend. Too much eggnog, lol; seriously, food poisoning sucks. Anyway, part 5 will have to come later.

Hmm, Darkside, you or others might get more rep as well if you point out interesting things I've mentioned in the story! :D
______________________________

The tanks paused to roar and pound the ground. One beat its chest while the other began galloping towards the dock.

Spotting the pipe bomb on Sarah’s belt, I had an idea that transformed into an epiphany when I noticed Trevor still had the vomit jar. I yanked it from his belt and gestured for Sarah to hand me her pipe bomb.

“Do you really think that will work?” Andy squeaked, the planks starting to tremble.

I grunted a response as Sarah gave me her pipe bomb. After securing the grenades to my belt, I crouched to leap.

“Wait!” Trevor cried. He moaned as he tried to stand, but forced himself up nonetheless. “You’re not fighting those tanks by yourself.” He turned to Sarah and Andy. “You can cover us from the house.”

I shook my head frantically, but Trevor began loading his AK. “I can still run, damn it,” he shouted, “let me help you.”

He started sprinting towards the tanks. “I have a score to settle, anyway,” I heard him mutter.

As Sarah and Andy helped each other towards the house, I leapt ahead of Trevor, screaming freely to catch the attention of both tanks. But Trevor screamed, too, and opened fire on the tank that had run ahead of its partner.

It bellowed angrily and started homing in on Trevor. Yanking the vomit jar from my belt, I flung it towards the tank and the glass shattered against one of its fists, unleashing a thick, rank cloud as a bubble of vomit burst and soaked it in bile.

The tank let out a disgusted cry as it stumbled. A dissonance of furious howls responded to the bile as if a genuine boomer had exploded, and the infected common that had fled earlier sprung from the forest—as if waiting for their cue.

Panic swept me as they appeared in all directions—hundreds of them, maybe—but relief absorbed the nausea in my stomach as the common all made straight for the tank.

It roared as they swarmed it, punching a few away like dolls, but the common were relentless, beating, gnawing, and climbing whatever piece of the tank they could reach.

Trevor opened fire on the swarmed tank while the other one continued to howl and pound the ground as if to scare the common away, but when that failed, it started to run towards its partner.

As I heard sniper fire erupt (and used a ping to spot Sarah and Andy blasting the swarmed tank like they had machine guns), I leapt towards the other tank and swung my legs ahead to kick it square in its tiny face.

Satisfaction coupled with the adrenaline in my veins as my boots met soft flesh and as a low, pained cry filled my ears. I flipped and landed just in time to see the tank stumble backwards.

Seizing the opening, I leapt onto its shoulders and dug my claws into its skin to anchor myself. As it was still too dazed to properly fend me off, I activated Sarah’s pipe bomb and reached to shove it in its mouth—when I realized it seemed to lack a proper mouth to begin with.

I jammed the bomb in its face and let go too fast to think about it, and to my horror, the bomb fell to the ground as its beeps began to deafen me. As the tank narrowly missed crushing my arm, I leapt off it and jumped away from the bomb.

I sent a ping to see that the tank had no jaw, and its tongue was dangling uselessly from what should have been a mouth. Belching at me, it began to move towards me, so I leapt straight at it; though it seemed ready for me, I was faster than its ungainly fist and managed to stumble it again despite its arm grazing my shoulder.

Though I didn’t get a direct hit on its face, I did buy enough time to land and spring-kick it again before it tried to block me. I had to keep it near the pipe bomb, and for once, its timer couldn’t run out fast enough. The beeps were like rocks against my head, but they were drawing common towards the tank, giving me a window to distance myself.

Dread gripped my stomach again as I realized, in dismay, that the pipe bomb was giving the other tank room to free itself. Punching another handful of common away into the hillsides, the tank fueled a shocking burst of speed with rage to close in on Trevor.

With the common crowding all around him—stumbling over each other to try to get to the tank—there was no way he could outrun it. He kicked and beat his way to free himself, but he was using seconds he didn’t have to spare.

“RUN!” Sarah screamed.

She and Andy were busy trying to gun down the tank, so there was no way I could approach it. The gunfire was slowing it down, but not enough to save Trevor. I crouched to do the next best thing and pull him from danger when I caught another familiar scent—just before a distinct shriek echoed through the hillside.

A chill rushed down my back as my tonic landed beside Trevor, making him cry out, and she grabbed him by the shoulder before leaping out of the huddle of disoriented common and out of the tank’s path.

The pipe bomb exploded, hurling a blast of infected entrails into the rain. I turned to see the other tank flat on its back—only to roar in fury as it pounded its fists into the muddy earth to spring itself upwards.

A bitter sting of disappointment gnawed at my throat as I leapt towards Trevor and my tonic. I landed before them just as she released her claws from his shoulder, Trevor screaming with the act.

“Oh, God!” he groaned, clutching his shoulder, but as he reached for his pistol, I jumped between him and my tonic.

Don’t hurt them! I snarled.

Her expression soured; she understood me! I’m not, she gurgled indignantly.

What are you doing here? I demanded.

The edges of her lips curved upwards. Cannot learn if dead, her throat uttered, and she leapt towards the tank not being fired on by Sarah and Andy.

pappaskurtz

12-19-2010, 02:24 PM

Learn, she said? I questioned if my instincts had interpreted her correctly as I helped Trevor to his feet.

“I’m fine,” he coughed, reloading his rifle, and started backpedaling.

I leapt after my tonic and saw that the tank chasing Trevor had shifted its attention to the house. It dislodged a boulder of mud from the ground and hurled it towards the house. Andy and Sarah ran inside to duck, but the muddy projectile splashed harmlessly against the side of the house. The tank pounded the earth as its cries thundered frustration.

“Hey!” Trevor shouted, unloading another round of bullets on the tank. “Not them, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥! Me, me!”

As I noticed the infected common fleeing, I realized the bile had to have been wearing off. Though Trevor still had to navigate around the bodies, he’d at least have room to run.

I turned towards the other tank my tonic was pursuing. Somehow, she had gotten its complete attention and it was chasing after her while she danced near-effortlessly around it.

She’d let it get close—terrifying close—before leaping away just as the tank punched air. The audacity, I thought, but my instincts were stirring lasciviously, trying to remind me of our dominance play and rebuking me for letting her go.

The tank was limping slightly—it had to have been from the pipe bomb—but running it around until it was exhausted was no way to kill it. It was impossible to exhaust a tank, my instincts reminded me.

As the monster chased my tonic, I jumped behind the tank and crouched, aiming low, before I sprung at it, directing my feet towards its legs. I missed its knees but managed to trip it. When it fell flat, I leapt atop it to claw at its back.

Its skin was no less taut there, and when it resisted my claws and teeth, I pulled out my knife to slash at its spine. The tank screamed into the mud as I sliced the muscles surrounding its spine.

There was a lot to cut through, but as I saw the tank raise its fists, my tonic leapt atop me and we stumbled off the tank just before it pounded the earth and flipped itself onto its back.

Too slow! my tonic hissed, but I shoved her out of the way as the tank smashed its giant fist on the ground between us, launching mud several feet into the air. We both leapt away before it freed its fist and slammed the ground again with both arms; for mostly lying on the ground, it was surprisingly nimble.

Trevor was able to stay ahead of the tank chasing him as he and the others pelted it with bullets. Andy was using the minigun, the barrel blazing white, while Sarah continued blasting it with sniper fire. How many damn bullets could these monsters eat?

The tank I attacked was focused on me, now. As it stood and came rumbling towards me, I assumed the role of bait as my tonic circled around to get a good vantage point.

Trevor was approaching the dock as he stuck another magazine into his rifle. While I leapt out of the path of a frenzied tank punch, I heard a splash and a raspy scream before a ping revealed a smoker tongue whipping towards Trevor to ensnare him.

He cried out when the tongue wrapped around his waist and his rifle fell as the smoker yanked him towards the water.

“TREVOR!” Sarah screamed.

I sprang towards him as my tonic jump-kicked the tank chasing me, making it stumble. I leapt over the tank, raindrops socking me, and spun myself so I could land on my feet and sever the tongue with my knife.

I’d never tried to land without my hands before, but before my instincts could wail against the thought, I managed to land like a gymnast and sliced the smoker’s tongue, splashing my hoodie with a gush of blood.

I flung Trevor over my shoulder and hopped away, my legs screeching in protest, right before the tank swung. With a burst of sniper fire, I heard the smoker explode with one last dying gasp.

“♥♥♥♥er,” Sarah breathed.

“Nice,” Andy said.

My tonic hopped before me, a satisfied grin nudging her blindfold up; she was clearly impressed. I set Trevor down and my tonic leapt towards the tanks just as they began to pursue us. Once they were far enough from the house, Andy and Sarah opened fire again as Trevor started running.

The two tanks, however, were staying close to each other, and with the cover fire, neither my tonic or I had a clear opening to attack. The larger tank, the one that had been injured by the pipe bomb, abruptly stopped chasing Trevor and roared at the house.

Andy flinched, and the minigun clicked, its ammo spent. The larger tank grabbed its partner by the arm, stopping the smaller tank, and started to swing him.

“Holy ♥♥♥♥…” Trevor sighed.

Even my tonic regarded me with an anxious moue—the first time I’d ever seen her anxious. Chills engulfing my shoulders, the larger tank was swinging the other like it was winding up a discus throw.

pappaskurtz

12-19-2010, 02:25 PM

“Get out of the house!” Trevor screamed.

The tank let go as Sarah and Andy dropped from the balcony, narrowly clearing the house when the tank-turned-bazooka smashed through the house—shattering its walls and collapsing the roof. Sarah clutched Andy when they hit the ground, shielding him as dusty wooden debris sleeted down on them.

I immediately leapt at the larger tank before it could steady itself and I knocked it forward while Trevor ran to Sarah and Andy. I jumped off to pounce again only to have the tank right itself with an ungodly burst of energy. It spun and swung at me, but I managed to dodge with milliseconds to spare.

I inadvertently back-flipped towards my tonic; where did this stroke of agility come from?

Holding back, before? she asked. Before I could answer, she grabbed my arm and hissed a more urgent question: dance?

Dance? I repeated, but we both jumped out of the way as the tank barreled towards us. When my tonic leapt and rebounded off the tank’s shoulders to get higher and higher, my mind clicked as to exactly what she was asking.

I crouched, letting the restless energy in my legs reach a boil, before springing towards my tonic when her arc neared its apex. We caught each other and she used the momentum to swing herself higher, the air and rain sweeping past us as the tank roared at us from below.

As I shot back towards the ground, I rebounded off the mud and then off a tree to catch her again in mid-flight. My momentum spun us up even higher, and as we tumbled towards the sky, an immense swirl of exhilaration and terror ignited my skin; I’d never been so high before—my pings fell short of the ground below us, and if it weren’t for my eyes, I wouldn’t have seen the tank below us as a speck of infected muscle.

So this was what it was like to fly.

My tonic grasped my face. Trust, she uttered, and after a moment of feeling the wet air flow past us, she kicked her legs against my chest, sending her towards the earth—while I was launched towards the moon. I caught a glimpse of her swinging her legs ahead of her before I lost sight of her.

The exhilaration only lasted until I reached the peak of my climb. Mortal panic then snuffed it out like a monsoon. I was falling. My pings failed me, and any control I had over my body shattered as my instincts shut down from sheer fright.

Too high, too high! they screamed, and my throat clamped shut despite an overwhelming impulse to scream. I flailed about uselessly to catch the air, rain—anything that would slow me down…

I was going to die.

For the first time that I could remember, I felt cold. The rain became ice against my skin. I saw nothing but black sky and heard nothing but wind scraping past my hood.

A tank’s roar was cut short by a sharp crack, but even that was muffled by the wind. A shriek filled my ears before something warm crashed into me—and I was no longer falling at terminal velocity. We tumbled around several times before we hit the ground, a twinge striking my torso and deflating my lungs, before rolling to an uneasy stop just before a tree.

She was on top of me, the both of us gasping for air. As I could only stare at my tonic, she started to smile, a purr escaping her throat.

Self good for you, she hummed, caressing my neck, self help you—think of us all we can do together.

I could only swallow; though I was no longer cold, my lungs just couldn’t get enough air…

“Buddy!” Andy called.

Gunfire had erupted again, but I caught a glimpse of Andy sprinting jerkily towards us. The tank that had crashed into the house was stumbling towards Trevor and Sarah as they fired upon it, but it no longer seemed capable of running.

Andy tumbled to his knees beside me. “Are you OK?”

My tonic’s expression soured greatly as she turned to Andy. When her purrs swelled into a growl, she jumped atop Andy, pinning him to the ground.

“Hey—hey!”

My own burst of anger made my muscles twitch and I knocked her off him. She lay on the ground as I growled at her, but her scowl softened into another smirk.

She sprung to her feet. I will teach you, she vocalized softly, and you will learn, soon.

Her use of I startled me (did my instincts translate correctly?), since it was her first use of it, but that was nothing compared to the jolt that hit me when she slipped down her blindfold—and winked at me.

She winked at me.

I only caught a glimpse of her eyes before she slid up her blindfold and kissed me. It was a brief act but intense, and it melted the cold from my body. When she drew back, there was an infinitesimal moment of hesitation before she leapt into the forest.

I was cold again. Her eyes had looked silvery and unscarred, but I couldn’t be sure. Sight was the least reliable sense—could I have seen wrong?

A grunt escaped Andy, springing me from my shock. He was still on his back and clutching his side. Anger shot through me again—had she hurt him?

I dropped to my knees to help him up, a whine escaping me. “I saw that,” he said. Andy tried to smile at me, but he hissed instead; every breath seemed painful. “Oh, I think I really hurt something,” he uttered.

My anger flared again and I looked towards the forest, but Andy took my arm. “Nah, don’t—it wasn’t her.”

The tank was crying out at Trevor and Sarah as they circled around it, but its roars were fast losing their potency. It trotted towards them in vain as another distant rumbling piqued my ears—an engine.

The boat was coming!

An ensuing entourage of rabid snarls confirmed my guess. I pulled Andy to his feet and wrapped his arm over my shoulder as we started running for the docks. As the remaining tank stumbled for the last time, Trevor and Sarah emptied their magazines on it while the dying monster collapsed into the mud, finally silent.

A bright search light blinded me as Andy and I neared the tank’s corpse. Simultaneously, a fresh horde of infected exploded from the forest—almost like they could hear the tank’s breath stop and were just waiting for their chance to act.

“The boat’s here!” Andy cried. “It’s here!”