Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait. School is a real pain right now but I finally found some time to post the next chapter. For people who play Left 4 Dead 2, try the Lone Gunmen mutation before Friday if you want a massive challenge. I played it and had a lot of fun, except for fighting the tanks with only a magnum. Kudos to Valve though for giving me an exhilarating gaming experience I have not had since Last Man on Earth. Anyways back to this story. Please read and review. I could really use the feedback.

Disclaimer: After grueling pains, I own Left 4 Dead now mwhahahaha. *Sniper fire flies in through my house* What the-! *Hiding* Huh. Seemed to stop now. *Phone flies in through window ringing* Weird. What's this? Oh. What? Thats-! Ugh. Never mind. Valve just took Left 4 Dead back. Why do they get highly trained snipers...

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Chapter 8: Passing

"I'm so tired of these goddamn infected fucking us up all the goddamn time." screamed Vincent. He fell into a wild fury as horde after horde of infected poured onto the rage-filled survivor and his silver companion.

Hope screeched and rushed forward to attack, but Vincent was faster. Tossing his gun to the side, Vincent jumped thirty feet into the air and landed into the middle of the hordes. Hope stopped in her tracks, but before she could cry out to Vincent, she saw bodies covered in blood being flung into the air. Vincent remorselessly attacked the infected, knocking them into the air like they weighed nothing and snapping limbs as if they were paper. A smoker stood on higher ground and wrapped its tongue around Vincent. Its attempt to strangle him miserably failed. The furnace of rage pulled the smoker effortlessly off the building, tore off the tongue, then strangled it with its own tongue. A hunter attempted to pounce Vincent, but he simply turned, dodged, and kicked it so hard, Hope heard the snapping of its spine. A tank stood at the back of the hordes and charged towards the relentless survivor, knocking infected out of its way to reach its target. Vincent turned, staring at it with firey eyes. Despite his rage, he managed a small smile. "Alright you big son of a bitch, it's on now."

No sooner than he finished his words, the tank launched a deadly punch at Vincent. Raising his own fist back, the survivor met the blow with his own force. The impact of the two earth-shaking blows sent shockwaves flying through the air. Infected flung off the building like flies. Hope was also raised in the air, but miraculously landed against a wall. She watched at the two powerful beings in amazement. Suddenly, the tank's arm exploded into a shower of blood, sending gore at the triumphant survivor. Vincent did not react as Hope slowly got up, and walked towards him. She gasped slightly when a single tear fell out of Vincent's closed eyes. Slowly, he murmured, "We were so close."

Hope put a hand on his shoulder. "We can't give up now." she insisted. "You are the one who gave me hope, the one who inspired me to keep going no matter what, the one...that I love."

Vincent opened his eyes as Hope kissed him slowly on the lips. "Come on." she whispered. "I can already hear more on the way."

He slowly nodded, but motioned to her to wait. Vincent ran into the building with the radio, unplugged it quickly, and ran outside. He picked up his AK-47 and grabbed Hope by the waist. Jumping high into the air, he landed on the opening to the rooftop. The pair climbed down the ladder, crawled through the small opening, and sprinted down the hallway towards the safe room. Hope went through first, and Vincent went in and shut the door behind him. He sat down in weariness and sweat, exhausted from the earlier battle. Hope sat down next to him. For a long time they sat in silence. Then Vincent broke the silence. "So you can speak normally now?" he asked.

Hope smiled and embraced Vincent. "Yes I can. And there's more. I remember my life before all of this happened."

He stared at her in shock, then asked another question, "Do you remember your name too?"

Hope replied, "It is unimportant, my past that is, but my name before all of this...was Sabrina. You can call me that if you want."

She wrapped an arm around Vincent and fell asleep. The tired survivor felt sleep beginning to engulf him too, but the name was stuck in his head. "Sabrina." he whispered before he was fully asleep.

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Vincent slept dreamlessly until he felt something sharp prodding against him. He woke up drowsily to find Sabrina smiling slightly at him. "Come on. We still need to escape from here. Any ideas?"

The still-tired survivor realized he still had the radio and picked it up. "When we get to the bottom floor and into that safe room, I'll see if I can find help with this." he explained. "Our chances are low, but it's our best bet."

Sabrina nodded then helped him up. Vincent picked up his backpack and AK-47, then opened the safe room door. He quickly scanned the maze of unfinished walls he, Sabrina and the other four survivors passed through earlier. "Okay, let's see if I can remember where to go." he thought. Slowly, the duo walked into the maze while staying wary of any lingering infected. After about ten minutes, Vincent spotted the elevator. "Come on, we're almo-" he began before Sabrina grabbed him and held a claw over his mouth. The startled survivor struggled in her strong grip, but stopped when she pointed out the waving arm of a waiting tank. He realized that she had saved both of their lives with her keen eye. The tank could have knocked them both off the building if they were not careful. Sabrina let go of the careless survivor, and gave him a "I'll be right back" look. To his surprise, she began to cry then walk slowly towards the tank's hiding spot. When she disappeared from Vincent's view, he heard a screech, then a roar, then the sound of pounding and the shredding of claws. Blood sprayed out of the hiding place as well as the tank's body. Sabrina stepped over the body, covered in blood and grinned.

Vincent had to chuckle at the move. They entered the elevator and Vincent pressed the button for the fourth floor. As the elevator descended, the survivor began to think about all that has happened. Before he could get very far, the elevator abruptly stopped on the sixteenth floor and the lights flashed and blinked out. "Great." muttered Vincent. "Do you think you could cut us a way out of here, Sabrina?"

She shook her head. "My claws are sharp, but not sharp enough to cut through that." she pointed at the door with amusement.

"Okay then, stand back." motioned Vincent.

He took a deep breath, then pounded on the door. The blow left a huge mark on it. Vincent pounded again and again. His final blow sent the door flying through a hallway of infected and hit a wall far away. "Ha, that knocked out all the infected in this hallway."

They stepped into the hallway full of bodies. Vincent noticed a red door to the side that attracted his attention. "Hey look, another safe room." he smiled. He took one of Sabrina's claws and they walked towards it together. The survivor tried to open it, but it was locked. "Is someone there?" asked a scared little voice.

Vincent's heart nearly leaped out of him when he heard the little voice. Clearing his throat, he replied, "Yes. I'm not infected. I'm human like you. Trust me. Me and my friend here are tired and we would apreciate it if we could come in and rest."

There was no response and for a second, Vincent thought of leaving. But the door slowly creaked open and the hand of a little girl motioned at them to come in. Vincent was the first one in, and then Sabrina also came in. He saw a little girl standing in the corner. Suddenly, he heard a familiar growl. "A hunter!" exclaimed Vincent. Before he could react, the hunter leaped onto Sabrina. The battle-ready survivor moved to help her, but was stopped when familiar claws grasped his throat and he heard a hiss, "Move, and you both die. Now I will ask, and you will answer. Who are you?"

Vincent gulped, and felt the claws squeezing him a bit harder. "Okay okay, loosen your grip a bit first though." he requested. Vincent felt the claws loosen their grip slightly. Taking a breath, he began to explain, "My name is Vincent. The witch on the ground is Sabrina. We are survivors trying to find our way through this hellhole. We were with a group of four and we were all about to escape, but me and her had to sacrifice ourselves to save the others. We were coming back down when the elevator stopped and we got the door open."

There was a long pause. Then there was the hiss, "You're lying."

The survivor felt himself grow hot with anger. "Why the fuck would we need to lie!" he exploded. Vincent didn't wait for a response. Instead, he ducked under and elbowed his kidnapper squarely in the stomach. He aimed his AK-47 at his downed would-be killer. He gasped slightly. His holder was a witch. However, she did not look like the typical witch. She wore a tattered doctor's coat and a long skirt. She had the familiar claws of a witch and glared angrily at Vincent. The survivor heard the hunter behind him scream. Then to his surprise, it began to speak, "Let her go and I'll release your friend here."

Vincent stared at the hunter, then at the downed witch. Slowly, he dropped his gun to the floor. He heard Sabrina gasp slightly as the hunter released her. The witch got up and brushed herself off with her claws. She actually smiled slightly at Vincent. "So you got a radio eh?" the witch remarked. "My name is Sarah, this is my friend Josh here," she motioned to the hunter. "And poor little Alice here," she pointed at the little girl still huddled in the corner. "We've been trying to find a way out for awhile, but it's been hard since we need to protect her. She's all I have left. She's my little sister."

The survivor listened to her, and pitied her. This motley group reminded him alot of him and Sabrina. Continuing explanations from the witch broke him from his thoughts. "Josh here is a good friend of mine. He took Alice here to get checked up while it was my shift. That's when the infection hit. I felt rage and fire consume me. When I woke up, Alice was standing in a corner, clutching her head in fear. I recognized her, but she didn't recognize me since I changed. I looked in a mirror, and well, you know what I saw. Josh also changed, but he must have also recognized us because he didn't attack us. We found this safe room and we've been surviving ever since. We just ran out of food yesterday though. Alice is hungry and scared."

Vincent unzipped his backpack. "Well your in luck." he grinned. "I have a shitload of food in here and ever since I've gotten...well...believe it or not...superpowers," he grinned sheepishly. "I think I don't ever need to eat again for some reason. I don't feel any hunger anymore."

Alice gasped at Vincent's food offerings and walked up to him. The generous survivor set the backpack down and ruffled her hair a bit. "Eat while you can. You'll find a lot of things you'll like. I'm going to see if I can find a means of escape." he smiled. He nodded to Sarah who nodded back, then to Sabrina, then to Josh, who merely snorted in contempt. The determined survivor hooked up the radio to a nearby outlet and began broadcasting for help. "Sit tight." he said to the others. "This will probably take awhile."

Indeed it did. Five hours passed. Alice was happily curled up sleeping with Sabrina. She had taken a liking to the witch and they were both snoring soundly. Sarah simply sat on the floor, watching Vincent as he broadcasted for help. Josh was curled up like a cat, snoring as loud as a tornado. Vincent felt his eyes also flutter in exhaustion, but he kept going. "My name is Vincent. I am a survivor in Mercy Hospital. It has been overrun and my group and I need transportation out of there. Is anyone there? Please respond." he pleaded.

After another hour of repeating, Vincent impatiently threw down the headset. Groaning, he was about to go to sleep until he heard a voice from the radio. "Hello? I heard your call and I can get over there in about an hour. Your going to have to clear the area at the bottom though. They're going to swarm as I come in."

Almost instantaneously, Vincent rushed forward and quickly responded, "Okay. My group and I are on the sixteenth floor of Mercy Hospital. We will hold out at the bottom floor until you can come."

The revigoured survivor quickly woke up Sabrina, who rubbed her eyes sluggishly. He was about to wake Josh until Sarah lightly shoved past him and woke Josh up. "He doesn't like you." she explained. Vincent thought he heard a glimmer of amusement in her voice. He put on his backpack and threw the leftovers of the food Alice had eaten into a nearby trash bin. Sabrina gently woke up Alice while Vincent put the radio into his backpack. "Okay. I found help. Transportation will arrive in an hour. We just need to find a way down." he explained.

"Well the elevator you guys came from is busted." pointed out Sarah. "But I found another one while me, Josh and Alice hung here. Should we take that one?"

Vincent gave a nod of agreement, and opened the safe room door. Sarah stepped in front of him and led the way. Vincent held his AK-47, wary for any infected. Alice rode on Sabrina's shoulders, still sleeping lightly while Josh walked at the rear. The trip was short and held very few infected which were cut down easily by Sarah. They reached the elevator and bunched up. "When I press this button, they're going to swarm at us." cautioned Sarah.

Vincent chuckled, and the survivor reassured her, "I already know. Besides, I've fought loads of infected before by myself. We'll be fine."

"Well I hope you can back up your words, because here they come." retorted Sarah.

No sooner than she pressed the button, a horde of infected ran down the hallway towards them. Vincent opened fire with his AK-47, tearing off limbs and spraying blood all over the walls. No sooner than the last one dropped his gun made a click. The survivor jammed a clip into it as fast as he could, but a wall burst open nearby to reveal a fresh horde of infected. They rushed at Sabrina who fended them off with a claw. "She can't fight that well while holding Alice." Vincent realized.

Josh leaped into the middle of the horde and began clawing at each infected, ripping out their guts. The infected ignored him and continued clawing at Sabrina with their cold gray hands. Sarah also rushed into the fray, shredding them much more easily than Josh. Vincent quickly looked around and found a Molotov on the ground. As another horde of infected rushed down the hallway, Vincent threw the molotov. The flames ignited, blocking off their passageway and burned every single infected. However, the fires slowly inched closer to the group. "Any more bright ideas?" mocked Josh.

Vincent barely had time to glare at him before the doors opened. They rushed in and Sarah quickly pressed the button to the first floor as the fire reached the door. As the elevator descended, no one said a word. Then Alice suddenly woke up and sneezed. Everyone turned and looked at her. Vincent then laughed. Laughed at the fact that he met another group of people. Laughed at how he had defied death over and over. And then to his surprise, Sarah began to laugh. Then Sabrina, and finally even Josh did. Their laughter filled the elevator. Alice simply gave a small smile and hugged onto Sabrina. The door opened as they coughed and wipe a few tears from their eyes. "Okay, this looks familiar. I think the safe room me and Sabrina slept in when we first got here is to the left." guessed Vincent.

Indeed he was right. The safe room where Vincent and Sabrina had met Bill, Francis, Louis, and Zoey was right there. They went in and locked the door behind them. Wasting no time, they opened the other door and went outside of Mercy Hospital. They stood by themselves in the middle of the empty plaza. "Well, they're going to come in about three...two...one." joked Vincent as he looked at his blood-stained watch.

They had used fifteen minutes to get here and now have to hold out for fourty five. The survivor heard the familiar screech of the infected. Suddenly, hundreds of infected descended upon them. "Screw my gun. I can't mow down this much infected with it." mumbled Vincent.

He threw his AK-47 to the side. Ignoring the shock of Josh and Sarah, he leaped high into the air and landed in the middle of the infected with a ground-shaking thud. "Told you I have superpowers." grinned Vincent. He began tearing the horde apart as they changed targets to only him. The majority was targeting him, but several hordes still rushed at Sabrina, Alice, Josh, and Sarah. The two witches and hunter clawed at any that rushed at them. "As long as there's no tank, they should be fine." thought Vincent as he pummeled more infected into little more than blood piles.

No sooner than he thought that, the super survivor heard the roar of a tank. "Motherfucker." he cursed. A car hurled through the air at Vincent. He tried to dodge, but there were too many infected for him to move. Realizing he had no choice, he caught it. "Damn... this shit... is... heavy." grunted Vincent. He felt cold dead hands pound at him and the broken teeth of several infected sink into him. Gasping at the fresh pain, he managed to throw the car back at the tank. It landed squarely on its chest and knocked it to the ground, dead from the force of impact. He glanced back at his friends, but there were too many infected around him to see. Fighting ferociously for his life, he still had time to see how much longer they had to hold out. "Thirty goddamn minutes." he sighed.

Suddenly, there was an explosion near him. Vincent turned towards the direction it had came from and saw the familiar figure of Chicago Ted. "Ted!" he managed to cry out.

"Hey kid," he chuckled. "Looks like you could use some help. I see you discovered what I gave you. My turn to show off."

Chicago Ted threw aside a grenade launcher and leaped even higher into the air than Vincent and unleashed a blood-curdling cry. The infected looked up as he landed and all infected that was beneath him turned into blood. If Vincent was efficient at using his powers, Chicago Ted was far better. He delivered faster and stronger blows than the younger survivor and also had the advantage of freshness, compared to Vincent's sluggish and weary form. The two super survivors fought back to back, seemingly unstoppable. Another tank appeared and rushed at Ted. It aimed a punch, but Chicago Ted simply intercepted it, grabbed the meaty fist, then slammed the tank into the ground hard enough to shake it. Slowly, they inched towards Vincent's friends and they stood in the middle of the two survivors. "Nice to meet you, pretty lady." grinned Ted.

Sarah flashed a smile before focusing back on shredding the infected. A hunter leaped at Alice, but Josh quickly intercepted it with a pounce. The two hunters tore each other up, but Josh had the element of surprise. Ripping its guts out, Josh picked up its body and swung it like a club at the infected. Even with them fighting valiantly, the infected continued to pour onto them. Time was passing and Vincent wondered where their evacuation was.

As if an answer to his prayers, an even bigger explosion landed near the group and killed dozens of infected at once. They all turned to see a huge army tank rumbling towards them. A voice began to broadcast from it, "Goddamn y'all. Am I late for the party?"

Ted and Vincent laughed, but at the same time, a colossal figure appeared from across the plaza. It looked like a combination of all the current special infected they had fought. It was a tank about thirty feet high. Long claws were at the end of its meaty arms. A long tounge hung out from its mouth with boomer bile dripping off of it. The hybrid gave a chilling roar and rushed at the group. Vincent looked at Ted and immediately recognized the look. "Sorry kid. But you and the others have to keep on going without me. That is one big son of a bitch even for you. Only I can stop it." smiled Ted sadly.

Vincent didn't react as Chicago Ted begin to push the group up the tank and into the hatch. "I promise you'll see me again." said Ted solemnly.

Alice attempted to reach out to him, but Sabrina held her tight. They quickly knocked off the infected attempting to climb up the army tank as the hybrid tank rushed at them. Climbing into the hatch, Vincent finally reacted. "Give it hell." was his last words to Ted. Chicago Ted quickly nodded, closed the hatch and leaped at the hybrid tank. Inside the tank, Vincent saw Josh, Sarah, Sabrina and Alice already settled down. Alice was crying, with Sabrina and Sarah attempting to comfort her. Josh simply stood silently. A voice from the driver's area reached their ears, "My name is Jeff. Sorry about your loss but we have to get out of here NOW."

The tank lurched forward and rumbled down a nearby street with the infected giving chase. A barricade blocked off any further access, but the tank's cannon boomed and blew it to smithereens. Driving through the fire and metal, the infected giving chase were lit on fire. Once they were safely away from Mercy Hospital, the sounds of the fighting between Ted and the hybrid still heavy, Vincent finally began to speak, "We got away, but only after losing another friend, this time the one who gave me the power to survive. How many more will I have to see fade away?"

He felt tears drip down his eyes, but he quickly covered them up. Sabrina sat down next to him and hugged the survivor tightly.

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Chicago Ted knelt down on the ground, exhausted and wounded. Age had taken its toll on him, and the hybrid tank still stood strong with energy. It roared and launched a deadly clawed fist at Ted. Too tired to retaliate, he only managed to dodge it in time. The infected held back, as if afraid of the tank's presence. Ted spit out some blood and smiled. 'I can't die yet," he thought. "I made a promise to a friend after all."

The tank shot out its long tongue, attempting to wrap Ted in its strong grip, but the wily survivor quickly side-stepped and grabbed it. Moving quickly, he leaped behind it and attempted to strangle it with its own tongue. The attempt failed miserably. The tank cut it off then turned and vomited on Ted. "Agh no!" he gasped.

The infected that had been watching ran towards Ted. But he had other ideas. Leaping onto the tank's head, he hung on tight. The infected began to climb up on the tank to reach the old man. The hybrid swung its fists wildly, attempting to get the infected off of it. During the process, it wounded itself with its own deadly claws and was now bleeding heavily.

Ted backflipped off of it and the two stood still for awhile. The tank then roared and charged at him. The exhausted survivor made one final effort and leaped at it. Using his last reserves of stanima, he aimed a precise blow to its head. The survivor's fists hit its mark. The blow of it shattered the head of the tank. It flailed around wildy, headless. But before he could get away, the tank also made a final effort and stabbed its claws through Chicago Ted. Blood splattered to the ground and dripped down the claws as Ted looked down at the wound in shock. Then he smiled sadly. "I'm...dead?" he managed to gasp. "Oh well...This is a good way for me to go out. I'm sorry...my friend...I won't be able to...keep...my promise." The survivor let out a final breath then fell over and passed away.