Note: So I shipped this pairing long before the passing came out (because I thought they looked cute together), and I was so excited when I found out they are canon! YAY Ellis/Zoey! Anyway, this story is basically a continuation after the events after L4D2 and the sacrifice. I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with this... so please bear with me.

Disclaimer: Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 belong to Valve and not me. Boo.

Abandon Ship
Chapter 1

Ellis could hear his heart pounding roughly against his chest. It was louder, much louder, than the sound of the tank rumbling behind him. His chest heaved up and down as he sprinted towards the helicopter.

This what he, Nick, Rochelle, and Coach had been fighting so hard for the past few weeks. That helicopter was their only escape from this zombie-infested hell hole, and he wasn't about to let one damn tank stop him from getting to it. Ellis kept running, not daring to look back or slow up for anything. Up ahead, through the tawny-colored dust that was being kicked up by the helicopter's huge, steel blades, he could make out Nick climbing inside the helicopter. Coach and Rochelle were only a few steps behind the ex-conman.

"Come on, come on," Ellis wheezed. He could feel the rumbling under his feet get stronger. His legs were beginning to give out on him, "Come on, come on..."

"Hurry up, Ellis!" Nick shouted from the copter, emptying all his ammunition into the tank. Ellis could hear the beast cry out in pain as the bullets pierced its' tough, pink flesh. That didn't seem to slow it down any.

There was another roar from behind him, but this one didn't sound painful. It was more like a roar of defiance and that was the last thing Ellis heard, before he was knocked off his feet. He was sent hurtling to the ground, like a tiny rag doll. His bare arms scraped against the ground, ripping at his skin. He ignored the painful stinging sensation. Rubble from the boulder that the tank had thrown was crashing down all around him. He tried to push himself up, but the combination of his spinning head and the lost feeling in his legs was keeping him down. He groaned when the vibrations beneath him began to get stronger.

Damn tank! He thought, his mind still whirling around. It was closing in on him and he couldn't move. He could barely make out the sounds of his friends calling for him. He had to do something. He wasn't about to die here. Not after they'd come so far. Not when he needed to see her again.

In that moment, Ellis seemed to forget about the beast that was closing in on him. An image flashed through his mind; a girl standing on a tall metal bridge. Her body was scraped, cut, and bruised; he could make that out even from afar. Her clothes were torn, tattered and she looked exhausted. Even though she looked like she had been to hell and back, Ellis still thought she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. An angel, even.

Zoey. That one word snapped Ellis back into reality and the tank that was bearing down on him. He quickly rolled to the side, avoiding the massive arms that pounded down where he had been laying a second ago. He pointed his pistols and the tanks face, and he fired a round of bullets. The shots hit the tank square in the face, splattering bits of flesh and blood all over. The burly monster cried out in pain and stumbled backwards.

Ellis scrambled to his feet before the tank had time to attack again and started sprinting towards the helicopter. Coach and Rochelle both helped yank Ellis inside, while Nick started screaming at the pilot to go.

Zoey sat at the helm of a tiny sailboat. She gazed out at the ocean that, she, Francis, and Louis had been navigating through for the past day. She thought that looking at water was supposed to be relaxing, but it didn't seem to help the churning in her stomach.

I wish Bill was here... She thought sadly, tucking a stray piece of brown hair behind her ear. It had been Bill's idea for them to commandeer a sail boat and head towards the Florida Keys. They hoped that the islands would be zombie-free and they could finally get some peace.

I can't start thinking about that now. She thought fiercely, her blue eyes narrowing slightly. It had been so hard for them to leave that bridge. She needed to stop thinking about Bill. He wanted them to be safe. He had looked out for his own. No point in dwelling on the past.

She glanced back at her friends. Louis was staring out of the side of the boat, watching the ocean like she was. Francis was navigating, steering the boat through the gentle waves. Zoey was thankful that the water was calm. She didn't think the tiny boat would have been able to handle choppy waters.

With a heavy sigh, she turned back towards the ocean in front of her. There was no land in sight. Zoey scrunched up her nose. They had only been sailing for a day or so, but she wasn't used to sitting this long. After running for so long it felt strange to just be sitting here doing nothing. She rubbed her temples, trying to change her train of thought. She had to focus on something to keep her from going nutty.

The first image that came to mind, was the group of motley survivors they'd met while they were camped out on the bridge. She closed her eyes, clinging to that memory. She had to think of something other than Bill. She remembered that she had been standing up there, keeping an eye out for any infected that were trying to sneak up the back side of the bridge. That's when the junky stock car had pulled up below her. Whoever was inside was trying to cross the bridge that they had raised.

She leaned against the railing, watching the car with interest. A man in a dirty white suit was the first one to kick the passenger-side door open. He wore a sky-blue shirt under his suit jacket and his dark hair was slick against the back of his neck. He looked thoroughly annoyed, glaring at his surroundings. A burly, dark-skinned man got out of the back of the car. He was wearing a purple and yellow polo-shirt. His face was thick with stubble. He was followed by a pretty, dark-skinned girl. She was wearing a pink shirt (Zoey couldn't make out the logo on the front), jeans, and gray boots. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail. Zoey breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't the last woman on earth!

Finally, someone got out of the driver-side of the car. His back was to Zoey, but she could see that he was wearing a blue cap on his head and a mustard-colored shirt. She could tell from his body language that he was upset, not angry, but disappointed.

She watched the four of them dive into a heated discussion, the suit occasionally slapping the rusty, blue car. The boy with the cap looked panic-stricken whenever the suit touched the car and Zoey couldn't help but chuckle. That's when she took notice of the rest of the younger boy's outfit. He had coveralls tied around his waist. Maybe he worked on cars.

Finally, she decided she had waited around enough and called out to them, "Hello there! Up here!"

The four of them instantly turned around to look up her. She noticed that the boy's body language instantly shifted. His shoulders picked up a little and a quick smile spread across his face.

"Well hello! Heh..hello... He-howdy, uhh, beautiful weather, huh?..." He called out nervously. Zoey couldn't miss his thick southern accent. "We're having a, uhh... Hubba. Oh God, I'm too nervous to talk to her man, one of you better do this."

Zoey couldn't really make out the last part of what he had said. Her brows furrowed as she watched him pull his cap down over his face and whisper something to his teammates.

The dark-skinned lady quickly spoke up, "Thank God! I thought I was the last woman on earth!"

Zoey smiled, "I know the feeling. My name's Zoey."

"Rochelle," She introduced herself and then motioned to burly man behind her, "This is Coach and that's Nick." She pointed to the man in the white suit, who was simply glaring up at her. Zoey wanted to stick her tongue out at him.

"And the lovestruck one is Ellis," Nick quickly interjected, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. Ellis shot Nick a dirty look, and Zoey's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

She quickly brushed off the comment and changed the subject, "Where are you guys headed?"

"New Orleans," Coach answered. Zoey noticed how gruff and tired he sounded and that he had a southern accent like Ellis, although his wasn't nearly as thick. "We heard there was a hold out there and that people were getting evacuated still."

Zoey bit her lip. She did not want to go into a long story about how they were making a huge mistake. She couldn't worry about them. She had to look out for her own. Like Bill would have wanted.

"Could you lower the bridge for us?" Ellis spoke up finally, but his voice still sounded shaky.

She shook her head, "Sorry! But we can't lower the bridge. You're gonna need to get to the other side of the bridge, we can help you then. And then once you get over here we can fill up the generator. The generator will make a lot of noise, but don't worry Ellis, we can cover you from up here. You got all that?"

Ellis nodded and turned to the rest of his team, who seemed to be disappointed they had to go all the way around. Nick kicked the tire of the car before following Coach and Rochelle. Ellis glanced at Zoey one more time before following his friends. Zoey silently wished them luck and went to the other side of the bridge to tell Francis and Louis what had happened. She had a feeling they would either be really excited or really angry.

Zoey remembered that she had gotten a mixed response from Francis and Louis. Louis had been excited that there were other survivors out there but Francis was upset about having to lower the bridge for them, especially after Bill had sacrificed himself to get it raised in the first place. Zoey and Louis managed to convince him that they could at least help them a bit.

She had breathed a sigh of relief when the four of them had met up with the trio on the other side of the bridge. She could tell Francis was still a little skeptical, but when he laid eyes on Rochelle, he immediately agreed to help. Zoey giggled. Lovestruck Francis.

So Zoey, Francis and Louis covered the other survivors while they filled up the generator and lowered the bridge. Zoey couldn't help but take notice of Ellis. His shyness completely disappeared during the fight. He was excited, optimistic, but at the same time, ruthless. He was armed with an axe and didn't hold back when a zombie came at him. He didn't flinch after dismembering an infected body. She remembered blushing when he had said how he liked how she looked with a gun. She guessed he had gotten bolder while running to the other side of the bridge. Maybe it was the accent, but she found him somewhat charming.

When the bridge was finally lowered, the four of them raced across it towards Jimmy Gibbs Jr.'s stock car. Zoey leaned over the railing to yell her goodbyes, while Francis and Louis wished them luck.

Without thinking she shouted, ""Ellis! ELLIS!... Maybe we should have gone with him?"

She ignored the strange look Francis had given her. It would have made sense for all seven of them to stick together. They would have had a better chance to survive. But Zoey, Louis, and Francis didn't want to go to New Orleans. They had seen what the military was doing first hand and wanted no part of it. They were making their own escape.

They were looking our for their own.

"Ellis, wake up."

Ellis could hear someone talking; it sounded like it was coming from up above him. The voice sounded groggy in his ears, like someone had stuffed them with gravel. His eyes opened and he picked himself up off of a cold, metal floor.

"Ugh... Where are we?" He mumbled, holding the side of his head. He had a pounding headache.

"Still in the helicopter. You passed out the second we pulled you in. Been asleep the whole time," Coach explained, extending a hand to help the younger man up. Ellis gratefully took it and Coach pulled him to his feet.

"How long we been flyin' for?" Ellis asked. He figured the reason he felt soar was from sleeping on the cold, metal floor for so long.

"Not sure," Rochelle replied. "Maybe an hour or two? There aren't any clocks back here."

"Where are we now?" Ellis asked, glancing around the pit of the copter. He noticed that they weren't moving but the door was still sealed tightly shut.

"Who the hell knows," Nick muttered from behind Rochelle. He was still sitting down, his hands resting on his knees. "The pilot hasn't told us shit. There's no windows in this god forsaken thing and we were told to wait back here like good little boys and girls while the pilot checks in with the people who tried to bomb us."

"Well, you don't have to sound so bitter," Rochelle muttered. She didn't like the idea of being under military control anymore than Nick did, but what choice did they have?

They were interrupted by the sound of the door crashing open. They all looked over at the opening, and saw five men standing right outside the copter. They were dressed in head-to-toe black, with huge black boots, vests and belts that carried weapons and ammo. Their faces were covered by helmets with plastic masks.

As soon as Coach took a step towards the helicopter's exit, the five men pulled out their massive guns. The guns had been hidden, mounted on their backs. They looked brand-new, still shiny and glossy.

"Whoah, whoah..." Coach backed up and submissively put his hands up.

"Drop any weapons on your person, empty your pockets, keep your hands in the air, and step out of the helicopter," One guard barked.

"Oh great," Nick muttered sarcastically. "They're gonna steal our stuff, line us up against the wall and shoot us."

"Shhh!" Rochelle hissed, tossing her pistols onto the ground. The rest of them threw their weapons down.

Ellis felt a little naked without his guns. After all, he had been carrying them for weeks now. His hands were shaking as he slowly raised them into the air. He was silently praying that Nick was wrong.

The four of them filed out of the helicopter, Coach going first and Nick bringing up the rear. The whole time they were moving, none of the guards flinched or took their aim off them.

Ellis looked around at their new environment. The floor underneath him was a light colored wood and he could see nothing but white pillars and lawn chairs. He felt said floor beneath him slowly rocking back-and-forth. He glanced off to his right and saw a railing that was cutting them off from an endless blue expanse. They were on a boat.

"Stop." One of the army men commanded in a gruff voice.

All four of them came to an abrupt stop, Rochelle bumping into Coach. The guards conferred quietly for a moment, so Ellis quickly looked around again. There was no land in sight. He wondered why the hell the army had brought them out to a boat.

"The infected can't swim," Ellis heard Nick mutter from beside him, as if he was reading Ellis' mind. He glanced up at the older man who was staring straight ahead, his mouth pressed into a thin line. His expression looked ominous. Ellis gulped.

"The woman needs to come with us," A guard spoke up so quickly that it startled them.

"Me?" Rochelle's eyes went wide and she shot her teammates a pleading look. Before Nick, Ellis, or Coach could protest, four of the guards had surrounded Rochelle and started leading her towards a secluded area on the ship. One of the guards had stayed behind to guard Ellis, Nick, and Coach. He still had his gun pointed at them, but Nick noticed that his hands were shaking.

Must be a rookie. Nick thought with a chuckle.

Ellis could feel a cool breeze blow through the silent ship. It was a little bit of relief, considering his shirt was clinging to his back. He was sweating like mad. Where had they taken Rochelle? What were they doing to her? He looked over at Nick and Coach, who were trying to stay calm too.

The tension in the air was cut short by the sound of a loud crash, followed by a scream, "They're on here too! Out of my way!"

Ellis watched as a few people came running around the corner, screaming and knocking anything in their way to the wayside. The guard quickly turned to them and demanded, "Where are you going?"

"They're here! The infected are on the boat!"

"Shit," Ellis cursed under his breath. He reached for his pistols but found his belt was empty. He had forgotten they'd given up their weapons. Someone that was infected must've slipped onto the ship.

"We need to find Rochelle and get the hell off this godforsaken boat," Nick ordered in a low voice. Coach and Ellis nodded in agreement.

They glanced over when a walkie-talkie on the guard's belt went off. The fuzzy voice on the other line reported, "Code WD. Someone on board is a carrier. Dispose of everyone."

Without a second though the guard whipped back around and pointed his gun at the trio. It was then that Nick suddenly realised why they had loaded everyone onto the ship. There was no where to run to; no way to escape. They could just dump the bodies in the ocean when they were done with them. He glanced over at the lawn chairs that had been resting a few feet away from them. The people that had just come running threw had knocked them a little closer. He only had a few more seconds before the newbie guard got up enough nerve to shoot them.

Nick dove for the folding chair and, faster than Ellis and Coach could blink, whacked the guard in the head with it. Before the guard could react, Nick smacked him again in the stomach, sending him hurtling to the ground. The soldier dropped his gun on the way down. Ellis quickly scooped it up and shoved into Coaches arms.

"Nice move, Nick," Ellis praised, a huge grin spreading across his face.

"No time for compliments, Ellis," Nick replied bluntly. "We need to get to Rochelle and find away off this boat before they kill us all."

Ellis grabbed another deck chair and then turned back to Nick and Coach, "Y'all go find, Ro'. I'll try to find a way off the boat."

There wasn't really much time to argue with him. Coach nodded, gripped the gun Ellis had handed him even harder and ran off in the direction they had taken Rochelle. Nick was right behind him.

When they were out of sight Ellis ran to the railing. Maybe there was some kind of smaller boat they could escape on. He gripped the cold metal and leaned over to peer down. He was horrified to see people had jumped ship and were trying to swim to safety. He guessed there was no escape boat, or if there was, it was long gone by now.

His heart was beating so bad that he barely noticed the huge gust of wind that whipped against his back and sent his trucker cap flying off his head. He watched the wind carry it out into the ocean.

Damn it.

Could things get any worse?

Zoey was still sitting in the same spot she had been an hour ago. She was still at the helm of the ship, staring out at the vast blue ocean. She let her mind wander to keep her from going mad with boredom. She hoped that they reached the Keys soon so she could stop trying to entertain herself.

She glanced out at the ocean once more, finally noticing something of interest. There was a ship, although it was pretty far out of their way. She scoffed. Probably one of the government ships she had read about on the saferoom walls before they left for the Florida Keys. One message had said that the government was now shipping survivors out to huge ships. They were scanning for carriers of the virus and killing any that they found. It was much harder for people to escape from the ships instead of the military bases, and anyone that did manage to get off the ship, would most likely drown.

But there was no point in worrying about that ship now. She couldn't worry about it. They'd just have to avoid it. She casted a glance back at Francis, who was staring at the ship with disgust.

Guess he must know too...

She reached down and stuck her fingers in the water. It was warm against her fingertips. She swished her hand around, watching the way the water danced around her pale skin. Maybe she was wrong about the ocean not being able to calm her down. She did feel very relaxed.

She shifted positions to make herself more comfortable and caught something out of the corner of her eye. They were sailing right towards a tiny object that was floating in the massive waves.

"What's that?" She whispered quietly, but Louis and Francis still heard her. Their eyes followed hers and they saw what she was talking about. Francis tried to steer the boat close enough to the floating object, so Zoey could reach out and grab it.

Zoey carefully leaned over the edge of the boat; she could feel Louis' presence behind her, ready to grab her if she leaned over too far. She reached out and grabbed the sopping wet object.

"What is it, Zoey?" Francis asked from the other side of the boat.

Zoey turned the object over, examining it. It was a white and blue cap. The white part was made of a mesh-looking material, while the blue part on the front of the cap had a little white tow-truck on it, surrounded by a white square.

"It's a hat," Zoey said, as it that wasn't already obvious. Francis immediately lost interest and went back to steering the boat.

Louis still stayed close to her, "Where do you think it came from?"

Zoey turned the hat over again, tracing the truck with her fingertip, "Not sure... Maybe-"

She stopped mid-sentence, staring at the hat with wide eyes. Her whole body went numb, except for the chills rolling up and down her spine. She knew whose hat this was. Why hadn't she recognized it immediately?

For a second, she was back on that steel bridge, staring down at Ellis and the others. She closed her eyes, remembering that Ellis wore a blue and white hat. The very hat that she was now holding in her hands. It couldn't just be a coincicence.

"Zoey?"

Zoey snapped back to the present when she felt Louis' hand on her shoulder. She looked over at him and saw that his brows were furrowed with concern. She murmured a quick apology and then explained that she had remembered something.

"What is it?" He asked, leaning forward a bit more.

Zoey held the hat up, "This hat belongs to Ellis. Remember? From the bridge?"

Realization flashed across his face as he stared at the hat more closely, "Oh shit! Are you sure?"

Zoey nodded, "Pretty sure."

"Where do you think it came from?" Louis asked, taking the hat from her hands and looking at it even more closely. It really looked like the hat Ellis had been wearing. He noticed a few splotches of dried blood here and there.

"I'm not sure..." Zoey mumbled. A gust of wind blew through the area, whipping her hair around her face. The sudden burst wind sparked an idea. She looked over at the distant military ship, "Maybe it came from the boat. The wind is blowing in the right direction for it to have come from over there. They did say they were going to find the military."

"Well then, they're screwed." Francis grumbled from behind them.

Zoey glared at him, "Francis! What about Rochelle?"

The biker frowned and didn't answer her. Zoey decided to ignore him and continued talking to Louis, "If they are on that ship, then we need to help them. The military's no good. I can't help but feel like we should have told them that. I'll feel so guilty if something happened to them..."

Louis noticed the way that Zoey was looking at the hat. She felt guilty for letting Ellis and the others (but mostly Ellis) run straight into danger like that. He could tell that she really liked Ellis, even though they had only met for a short period of time. But, they were around the same age and Ellis had that sort of optimistic personality that could uplift anyone. Considering what they all just been through, he thought it was natural for Zoey (who took Bill's death harder then any of them) to gravitate towards someone like that.

"So we're gonna throw away everything Bill sacrificed to go check on some people we barely know? Forget that." Francis argued. As much as he liked Rochelle, he didn't want to make Bill's sacrifice in vain. If the military found them, they'd surely kill them.

Zoey flinched. Francis had a point. She didn't want everything Bill had sacrificed to be for nothing. They had to live and get to the islands... but she couldn't let Ellis and the others die. They had to be in trouble.

"Come on, Francis... I can't go on knowing more people were sacrificed. We can help them. Please? We helped them once before." She begged him, her eyes pleading.

"Yeah, come on, Francis," Louis added.

Francis faltered and mumbled some obscenities under his breath. He quickly turned the sailboat towards the massive white ship, silently hoping that they wouldn't be too late.

Zoey and Louis grinned. Zoey pulled Ellis' hat onto her head and put one hand on her pistol, just in case. She wasn't quite sure how Bill would've reacted to their decision. She liked to think he would have made the same choice, but after that train fiasco where he had sacrificed innocent people so they could escape, she wasn't quite sure. Although he may have not agreed with her choice, she knew Bill would have understood it.

We're just looking out for out own. She thought with a small smile as they sailed towards the huge ship.

Sooo what did you guys think? Please leave me a review and let me knoww :) Next chapter will be up ASAP.