Set at the end of the passing, Zoey is separated from Francis and an injured Louis while helping another group of survivors. Once separated Zoey desperately tries to get back to her friends.

Edit 1: Changed to tie in with Valve's L4D comic
Edit 2: 11/8/12 – Started to read through it, decided that I didn't like it much. Rewrite in progress.

Warning:I absolutely fail and writing action, romance and suspense – you will see the proof of this while reading…

xXxX

Ellis was exhausted. After the drawn out events of the evening he wanted nothing more than to find a safe house and rest. The maze-like set up of the city left him mentally tired, the flights of stairs that he had had to climb and reclimb made him physically worn down. He wanted to find a way across the bridge, be reunited with his beautiful car and get the hell out of Dodge. Coach led the foursome up a flight of steps with hesitant optimism, telling them that this would be the last of it. The biker loomed on the catwalk above them, tattooed arms crossed and resting on the railing that circled the towering structure that he guarded. When he took note of a second person standing on the walkway above them a jolt of excitement shot through him and with it a wave of energy that boost his heart rate and removed the foggy exhaustion from his mind.

He silently added her to the list. Safe house. Car. Girl.

While the biker glowered at the foursome, the girl had an easy but polite smile but she held a large pistol in her hand. Her posture was similar of that of the biker, leaning over the railing in order to peer down at the ground-dwelling survivors. Ellis took the time to take her in, her posture and body type, the other pistol on her hip and the rifle on her back. It was only when his eyes lingered to her shoes did he notice the dark skinned man in button up shirt and tie, who offered a wave to the group.

"So here's the deal," The biker said. "It was a pain in the ass getting the bridge lifted in the first place. And I don't really feel like lowering the bridge and-"

"Hey man," the seated business man started, passing the biker a quick frown. His ankle appeared to be heavily wrapped and a crutch was resting on the grating beside him. "If you don't want to help them out that's fine – but me and Zoe already decided."

"Fuck that!" The biker yelled, shaking his head. "You can try, gimpy but I doubt that you're going to do a lot of good and Zoey is-"

Coach cleared his throat, "We really appreciate the help!"

"At least someone around here has some sense," Ellis turned his head just enough to see that Nick was standing beside him, holding his shotgun with both hands. It was clear from the beginning that Nick disliked the biker. Sure, the Conman called everyone names at some point but Nick had made it a point to state how much he disliked the man in the midst of all the zombie killing.

"That's one hell of a car that you got down there!" The woman called, then reached out and hit the biker's shoulder. "I told you that we could wire a car."

Ellis fought the smile that made his lips twitch. "Ooh, man I think I'm in love." He reached out and shook Nick's shoulder, knowing that the conman disliked any friendly touching from anyone. Nick visibly grimaced, shaking Ellis' hands from his shoulder. The woman looked like some sort of zombie apocalypse angel, all weapons and sharp eyes and gun power. It was a mere perk that she happened to like his car. "That's, uh… That's Jimmy Gibbs Junior's car!" He called out, adjusting his hat.

"Yeah, I know whose it is."

Rochelle cleared her throat, taking a small step forward. "So are you guys going to lower the bridge?"

"That's just the problem," The business man stated. "We used all of the gas in the generator to raise the bridge. There is probably some gas cans around that you can use to fill it. Since the main source of power was cut, the only source of power is the generator and it… "

"It sucks ass," The biker interrupted. "Fill the generator, and I guess we will take it from there."

Coach gave a nod. "Alright, well let's-"

"Wait, what are your names?"

"Holy shit Zoey, what does it matter?"

"Bite me, Francis," She hissed.

"Well, little lady… I'm Coach, this is Rochelle, Nick and-"

"Ellis! My name is Ellis!"

"Alright well… As soon as that bridge lowers, you all need to get the hell out of here."

XxXX

Coach stopped near the generator, sighing softly as he glanced around the surrounding area. It was clear what he was thinking: It was a pointless cause. They had to find enough cans of fuel to fill up a generator, and with all of the dark corners and dark buildings it was going to be impossible to get out of this mess without running into some sort of infected. Ellis opened the generator's gas tank and peered inside. "It's gonna take a few gallons to fill 'er up…"

"Alright guys, let's get moving then," Rochelle instructed, checking her rifle.

Moving in a tight group, weapons aiming and swiveling in all directions, the survivors set out to search for the much needed gas. There was a long stretch of cautionary silence until they found their first gas can that was tucked in the corner of an abandoned home.

"So Ellis, you like the girl, huh?" Nick teased as they maneuvered their way across the street, Coach lagging behind for a few moments to check if there was another gas can hidden along the side of the home. The man wasn't always very friendly but when he was, he was usually teasing or being a dickhead anyway. All the same, it was best to roll with the punches.

"You kiddin' me? I'm thinkin' that yer gonna hafta lend me that suit 'cause I am gonna marry that girl."

"Just be yourself sweetie," Rochelle chuckled as another gas can was plucked from its hiding place. Talking, even in loud whispers, helped make the time pass a little more quickly as it lessened the stress-filled quiet they had started with.

Nick snorted. "Like hell! You need to be the anti-you." Just like that, Nick's friendliness was gone faster than it had appeared. They returned to the generator with the two gas cans in hand. Ellis opened the first and began pouring the liquid into its designated tank.

"Alright, here goes number two…" The gas gurgled from the canister, sending a familiar tangy scent into the air.

And then hell broke loose.

The collected screams of the infected rose into the air and took away all comforting sounds of the surrounding silence. Within moments, the place would be literally crawling with infected and they still had a number of gas cans to find until the generator was full. "Let's pick it up, ya'll!"

Rapid gun fire echoed from above them, and Nick was the first to point out that their friends from the bridge were standing on a catwalk above them, firing off into the darkness. "They're coming up on your six!" The biker bellowed, lifting the rifle and firing off a couple of rounds.

"Yo Ellis," Nick said on a gasp of air, his shoulders rising and falling as he tried to catch his breath. "Check out your girlfriend."

As the group scattered (something that just sort of happened, despite how bad of an idea that it really was), Ellis shot a glance up at the cat walk the three other survivors stood on. He saw the biker – Francis? – watching over Rochelle and Coach, the business man launching the occasional pipe bomb into the fray, and Zoey training her rifle on him and Nick. With a quick flick of moment, she would swivel her hips, fire and then swivel again as she looked for her next target. When she went to reload it was quick and easy until the magazines were spent, and then she was slipping individual bullets into the chamber and firing.

"Man, oh man, I think I am in love!"

The second woman that he had seen since the beginning of this shit-mess began and she was considered his type within minutes. This had to be some sort of divine intervention, the chances that he would meet such a lady. Now he just to survive the apocalypse, hope she did the same and then hope to all that was holy that he would see her again. As he slipped into a dilapidated diner he weighed his chances of living through this mess and then he weighed hers.

"Got one, got two!" It was Francis, shouting over the din created by the zombies.

"Eyes on three, missing four – inside the diner!" Zoey, shouting just as loudly.

Ellis hobbled out of the diner not a moment later, clutching two gas cans as he ran down the road. The overall weight made sure that he wouldn't be able to draw his gun unless he dropped both canisters of gas and in doing so, he would be chancing spilling some. For a moment he took it all in, zombies exploding, brain matter and blood, entrails spread along the road, the walls. It was a mess of gore and noise and they were smack dab in the middle of it.

"Eyes on four!" Zoey shouted as she took aim and worked on clearing Ellis' path to the generator.

"Get it off of me!" Ellis' head whipped to the side when he heard the woman scream. He saw Rochelle being guided down the street, dropping a gas can as a Jockey straddled her neck, grabbing onto her face, her hair, her ears and steering her off towards more oncoming infected. He ran the rest of the way to the generator, feeling the gasoline slosh out and onto his arms and chest. When he dropped the gas tanks he lifted his gun. Sucking in air through his teeth, he tasted the gas' scent, the sharp tang that tickled his nose and made his mouth water. Rochelle and the offending Jockey were too far away, the zombie crouched far too low over Ro's head to get a clean shot.

Ellis took the beginning steps of a run to reach his friend but the sudden sound of beeping made his steps falter. His head whipped to the side, searching for the source and he caught the sight of all of the infected in the area doing the same. Heads whipped from one side to the other, whirling to pin point that shrill sound, white glossy eyes zeroing in on the source. With a collective scream they charged, infected that had been swarming Nick and Coach whirling to chase the noise. The sound distracted the zombies, parting the sea of gore and offering a clear path to Rochelle.

"Hold on, Rochelle!"

"Fill up the tanks, kid!" Francis yelled. "We got her!"

Again, Ellis faltered, watching as both Zoey and Francis took aim. He wasn't sure if he was comfortable with the idea of both of them trying to get the kill shot while the businessman continued to lob the occasional pipe bomb into the fray. It took only a moment for the shot to be made and it was Francis that took it. In that moment of brief examination, Ellis could tell just how long these people had been together, how tight of a group that they were. The second that the shot was made, Zoey whirled off elsewhere and though he couldn't hear them, their lips were moving. They were constantly talking, spouting off directions and keeping each other in tune to what the other was doing.

As soon as the Jockey was killed, Rochelle crumbled to the ground, her face and neck a mess of blood and dirt. She tried to clean off her face, using the back of her hands and her arms to wipe the mess away though it seemed to be no use. Coach came jogging into view, making his way down the road in order to aid the woman as an explosion rocked the street. Once Coach retrieved Rochelle, he turned his attention back to the generator where Nick was busily working. He held a full fuel tank in his hands, pouring the contents into the generator as four more sat at his feet. The sound of the gas taking up the remaining space let the two men know that the generator was all… most…

Once the generator overflowed, both Nick and Ellis worked to get it started, flipping the starter switches and yanking the chord and the small engine started. The sound was welcoming but it would also lure a whole new wave of infected that would be more than happy to destroy whatever caused it.

"Alright ya'll! We're ready to go!" Ellis shouted.

"Louis! Lower it!"

The bridge began to lower and with the audible creaking and groaning of the apparatus the dinner bell sounded. The ground began to thrum with heavy footfalls, an absolutely enraged yell that made Ellis' stomach coil into a tight knot

"Run, run, run! We got it!" Zoey yelled, and gestured towards the bridge. "Get to the car!"

Nick ran ahead to get to the bridge as Coach did his best to assist Rochelle who was still a bit dazed from her Jockey attack. Ellis, meanwhile, brought up the rear, slowing as he neared Francis and Zoey and peering up at the two with a smile.

"H-hey! I just wanted to say thanks!"

"Get outta here, kid!" the biker ordered as he lobbed a Molotov into the Tank's path. Zoey was shooting at the infected that were beginning to swarm the bridge, her eyes only briefly flickering to him as she reached for another gun.

"Good lu-" Her entire body jerked forward, a long slimy appendage wrapping securely around her feet. With one firm pull, Zoey was yanked from the suspended catwalk. She barely had time to scream as she dropped to the ground, feet first though it didn't prevent the girl from hitting her head with a good amount of force. Ellis' entire body flinched as she fell, he wasn't able to catch her but he was by her side in a second. The girl was curling into a tightly coiled fetal position, arms wrapped around her head and eyes squeezing shut. The sound of gunfire preceded the Smoker's appendage going slack.

"Zoey! Holy shit… Zoey!"

"Ffff..." she whimpered softly. "Oh fuck…Aaaahaaa! Ow, ow, ow!"

The Tank was getting closer, the young woman would be left here and help would be too late. In that moment, Ellis had the choice to leave Zoey to die, or to save her life. He took the roll of hero, slipping his arms around her body. He easily lifted her from the ground, taking note that there was a pistol still at her hip and another that was near where she fell. With careful movements, he grabbed the abandoned weapon and stood, Zoey falling limp in his arms.

"Zoey! Shit, wait… Let me get her!" Francis looked around, seemingly lost as he tried to figure out what he could possibly do in order to get the college student back onto the bridge.

"Ellis! Come on!"

"Ellis!"

"Alright man, I gotta take her… We will take good care of her!" Ellis began to run across the bridge, blood sliding down Zoey's forehead and flowing down to the tip of her nose, her head leaning forward, bobbing to and fro as Ellis ran.

"Don't run off with her you damn hillbilly!"

"We're headed further South – New Orleans! We will meet you there!"

Ellis continued to run until he neared the car. He opened the driver's side door and slid in, Zoey in his lap. He half expected her to crawl into the back but she didn't move. Coach and Rochelle reached out from the back seat and pulled her further into the car, allowing Ellis to close the door.

"She's out," Coach informed him as the engine kicked to life.

"What was up with that, Ellis? Did you really have to kidnap her?" Nick asked from the passenger seat as he glanced back at the girl. Coach was holding onto her shoulders, keeping her in an upright position while Rochelle checked her over for injuries despite her own grim scenario.

"She's got a pretty good cut on the top of her head, Ellis."

"Then I saved her life," Ellis slapped his hand onto the wheel, a large and boyish smile stretching over his features. "I saved her life!" He hit the gas and cruised over the bridge as more infected began to litter the streets, the flaming Tank making chase.

"Easy there Ellis," Coach said from the back, and Ellis glanced in the mirror to look at the man. Both he and Rochelle were holding the girl upright, trying to let the girl rest as they drove towards their destination. "You may have saved her… But we still have to make it through all of this."

Ellis watched Zoey in the rear view mirror and smiled, nodding his head. "Oh we will. Don't you worry about that none."

xXxX

After only a few hours of driving, Ellis and Nick both decided to pull over for the remainder of the night at an abandoned gas station. They left Coach with the two sleeping – or unconscious – females in the back seat of the race car as they checked the gas station for any lingering infected. Nick looked around the confines of the gas station half-heartedly, toying with the safety of his shotgun. "Looks like the place hasn't been touched," he said, referring to the still stocked shelves.

"Yeah, we otta take a few things when we leave in the mornin'." Ellis was already piling a few first aid kits onto the front counter. He took another glance around the empty store, his eyes drifting over the barred windows, the back storage room door, the bathroom…

"Trying to figure out the best place to get her alone?"

"Eh?"

"Gonna start repopulating?" Nick raised his eyebrows in a devious manner.

For a moment, Ellis smirked. The corner of the right side of his mouth lifted as he crossed his arms. "Maybe a li'l further down the road, bud. After all, we ain't even married yet."

He moved to the door, glancing back at Nick as he gestured to his suit. "And I meant it about that suit, man."

Nick snorted as he stepped past the mechanic, making his way to the car. "We'll see."

He stood by the door and helped Rochelle from the backseat as the woman held her palm over her eye. She had fallen asleep with the injury practically shoved against the back window and by the looks of things, the scratches had reopened, leaving small bits of blood to slip over her cheeks. As she took Nick's hand and crawled out of the car she gave him a small, tired smile. "Thanks Suit."

"C'mon," he replied as he gestured to the convenient store. "Let's go get you cleaned up."

Ellis stepped up next to the car, watching as Coach gently shook the young woman next to him. Slowly, she began to stir, her eyes fluttering open.

"Francis?"

"No baby girl, he's not here."

"Lou…Louis?"

"Sorry," Coach made a small gesture to the door where Ellis was waiting. "Crawl on that way and we will get you fixed up."

Nodding, Zoey began to crawl out of the back seat, allowing Ellis to reach out and take both of her hands to help her out of the vehicle. As her feet touched the ground her legs shook and threatened to give out from under her while her head began to spin. Ellis almost began to smile as Zoey relied on him to gain her footing. "Y'think yer gonna be able to walk?"

Looking slightly dazed, Zoey began to nod her head. "Yeah… I'm fine."

He carefully escorted the woman into the convenient store, his arm wrapped comfortably around her trim waist. "Yer head took a good hit when you fell," Ellis stated. "I'll take a look at it, and then we can get you cleaned up."

Zoey took a soft breath, her head lulling forward and to the side. "You could have left me there."

"Your buddy wouldn't have got to ya in time."

After getting the college student inside he guided her back against the front counter, placing both hands on her hips he easily lifted her from the ground and set her on its surface next to Rochelle. Coach came into the store last, holding whatever guns were left in the vehicle.

"Did you lock 'er up?"

"Yes, Ellis. I locked the damn car."

Coach set the weapons on the far end of the counter top, then returned to the door to make sure it was securely locked. Ellis tore into one of the first aid kits, looking for the necessary supplies to clean up the injury on the back of Zoey's head. Nick stood beside him, holding out a wet compress out to Rochelle. "Hold this over your eye for a couple of minutes," he instructed.

The woman did as she was told, placing her palm over her eye, she glanced at Zoey and smiled. There was still a number of scratches on the visible side of her face though it wasn't as bad as anything that was now hidden beneath the compress. "How's your head, honey?"

Zoey shrugged her shoulders. "Could be worse." Her voice was hoarse and she still seemed to be a bit dazed. "Your eye-"

"No, no… Just got a bit of blood in it. The little bastard cut a good bit of my forehead is all." Rochelle smiled, lowering the compress to allow Nick to start cleaning the laceration. Sure enough, her eye was still intact, a little blood shot but otherwise fine. Her forehead and cheeks were cut up, the deeper cuts spread over her forehead.

"Looked like he ripped out your eye out when I saw it earlier." Zoey admitted, frowning before closing her eyes tightly. Her head was throbbing and she felt a bit dizzy, eyes occasionally feeling fuzzy.

Ellis cleared his throat, calling Zoey's attention back to him. "I'm gonna clean this up for you," he informed her as he made his way around the counter to stand behind her. The blood had matted her hair over the wound – something that he hadn't really thought of – and prevented him from being able to clean the area.

"Hey Coach, what's dinner lookin' like?" Rochelle asked.

While Nick and Ellis had decided to see to the women's wounds the burly man had taken it upon himself to look around the convenient store in search of a suitable meal. There was a low chuckle from within the rows of gas station food, and then the man answered.

"Well I definitely know what we're havin' for dessert!"

Walking back to the front of the front of the counter to stand next to Zoey, Ellis offered his hand. "Zoey, yer gonna hafta go to the bathroom and wet your hair down. The blood kinda matted yer hair..." She nodded, taking his hand and sliding off of the counter. This time, she was able to find her footing so that she was able to walk herself to the bathroom, removing the pink hoodie as the door closed behind her.

Ellis stared at the door for several seconds, almost wishing that he could see the girl through the cheap wood. There was only a few minutes that passed before Zoey stepped from the bathroom, her hair down and wet, the hoodie draped over her shoulder. The singlet that now covered her torso was blood stained and appeared to have had holes in several places before being roughly sewn back together with different colors of thread.

Without a word to the curious on lookers, she walked to the counter and leaned forward on her elbows, her forehead resting on the surface. Ellis blinked, looking at the long rows of multicolored thread that stretched across her back, the faded but still prominent blood stains… He frowned but bit his tongue as he parted her wet hair away from the cut, the mechanic set to work.

"So where are you guys headed?"

"New Orleans," Rochelle replied. "They are still running evacuations there." Nick was inspecting his work on her face, two butterfly bandages residing on a cut above her eye. He slapped his hands on the outside of the woman's thighs.

He mumbled, "Would be better if we could find some super glue, but it's good enough."

"Thanks, Suit."

After getting her eye cleaned up and her cuts seen to Rochelle joined Coach in search for an appetizing meal. Coach, who had decided that he couldn't wait for finding and cooking what he wanted, had went ahead and pulled open a Hershey chocolate bar. Nick was doing his best to clean off something that looked like blood from the collar of his suit, mumbling about how expensive the ensemble had been. Once Ellis finished he pushed two small paper packages of Advil towards the group's new comrade.

"Might wanna take these," he mumbled.

Zoey lifted her head from the counter, almost squinting for a moment before she gave a thankful smile. Tearing open both packets she took four pills, swallowing them dry. "Thanks, Ellis."

The mechanic nearly blushed. "It's no problem… Zoey."

xXxX

It seemed like hours before Ellis could find something that he actually wanted to eat – and even then, he wasn't too sure if he truly wanted to eat it. There were a number of soups on the shelves, some packages of hotdogs, breads, sandwich meats and condiments, but nothing really sounded good. He wanted a big, greasy cheese burger, fresh home style fries, or a steak. Medium rare, with mashed potatoes.

"This sucks," He whined, staring at the package of hotdogs with a dull and bitter look.

Rochelle smiled, opening a bag of plastic utensils. "Just be happy that we have something to eat, sweetie."

"But I want a cheese burger, or a steak, or a pulled pork sandwich – Oh, pulled pork."

Nick chuckled as he passed the mechanic, shoving a cold beer against his chest. "At least we got beer," was all the Conman said before he was setting the remainder of the cans on the counter. Ellis smiled, cracking the tab and taking a couple of swigs. Deciding that he was going to start his meal off with some chips while his hot dogs cooked on the slow gas station rotisserie, he turned and set the bag on the counter as well. In doing so, he was able to see Zoey pull out a small pocket knife from out of one of her front pockets. She fiddled with the blade for a few moments before the knife swung open from its secured place… And then with a swift motion she was raising her fist and stabbing the blade down into the top of a can of Spaghetti-O's.

With jerky movements, Zoey began to cut through the top of the can, the knife occasionally lodging itself into a secure position before she was wiggling it loose. Rochelle, who was standing beside the young woman, raised her eyebrow as she unscrewed a lid of peanut butter. "You know honey… I am sure there is a can opener around here."

Zoey gave an apologetic smile as she set the knife down and began to pry the can open with her bare fingers. "I didn't see one." She paused a couple of times to lick the tomato sauce from her digits before tossing the lid into the designated trash bag.

"How in the hell are you going to cook that?" Nick raised his eyebrows, sipping at his beer as he came to stand next to her. The man's lips were too thin and he looked as though he was constantly glowering unless he was outright smiling – which was incredibly rare.

Zoey looked up, seeming almost lost. "I'm not."

The conman stared for a few good seconds and then shook his head, making a face. "Yeah… That's disgusting."

Coach laughed as he joined in on the conversation, a packaged breakfast pastry in his hand. "Don't knock it 'til you try it, Suit." Fiddling with the package he eventually opened it and took a bite, chewing silently and eventually swallowing before asking, "What are you eating anyway?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders. "Haven't decided." There was a moment of silence where he watched Zoey dip a plastic spoon into the opened can, and then she took a bite. "How can you just eat them cold!" He set his can of beer down onto the counter, openly grimacing.

Zoey laughed though it was strained and accompanied by a twinge of her eyes. Her hand went over her mouth as she laughed, hiding the partially chewed food from view. Ellis smiled, watching as she held the can out towards him, giving it a small shake from side to side. Dropping her hand she licked her lips. "Try it."

"No chance."

"Come on."

Nick shook his head. "No."

"C'mon bro, we can reach a whole new friendship plateau."

"What - No."

Ellis raised his hand, chuckling. "I'll even try it – it can't be that bad." If Nick wasn't willing to be on that "friendship plateau", he would gladly take his place.

The can was then extended out towards him, and Ellis reached out and took the spoon from the saucy mixture. Without so much as a second thought he scooped a good spoonful of Spaghetti-O's out of the can and into his mouth. It wasn't a completely pleasant experience but Ellis would have to admit that it wasn't the worst thing that he had ever eaten. Soft fingers brushed over his as the spoon was retrieved "See? It's not horrible."

Ellis licked his lips. "No, not horrible."

Nick shook his head yet again. "No way, that's disgusting. You can keep your weird friendship plateau."

XxxX

Eventually the five survivors had eaten their fill of their desired dinner choice, and had moved on to dessert, which fell to a combination of ice creams and chocolate bars. They sat on the floor of the convenient store, talking quietly amongst themselves and Ellis found that sitting next to the most prettiest girl in the world while talking with people that he could consider best friends wasn't a horrible way to spend the evening.

If the zombie apocalypse hadn't occurred, the situation would have been more relaxing in nature. Him and a few friends would take a road trip down for a few nights on the beautiful Georgia beach. With his truck parked out on the sand there would be no real need for a tent as sleeping in the bed of the truck would offer the opportunity to sleep under the stars. There would be bon fires, and entertaining stories. Ellis pictured him and Zoey sitting on a blanket next to the fire, his arm wrapped around her shoulders as they talked and laughed.

"We only had two games to win before we went to state," Coach was saying. There was a fondness in his voice and sadness in his eyes. "Went to practice one day and everyone was sick, the ladies that were on the cheerleading team weren't there and then… It was like hell broke loose. The boys started attacking each other and all that…"

Rochelle leaned over and placed her head on Coach's shoulder, sighing. "I bet they would have been great, Coach."

"You know, me and my friend Keith went to this football game once, and he heard this guy behind us saying how cool it would be if someone went streaking during the half time show… So Keith decided-"

"Ell, pass me that can of Pringles," Nick said as he gestured to the shelf behind him.

"Yeah, okay." Ellis reached behind him and tossed the canister towards the man.

"Zoey," Ro said hesitantly, "You really ought to eat a bit more. Who knows when the chance to eat like this will be back again."

Instead of a verbal reply, Zoey gave a polite smile and took a chocolate square, popping it into her mouth and sucking on it as opposed to chewing.

Clearing her throat, Rochelle lifted her head from Coach's shoulder, sighing wistfully before smiling politely. "So how did you meet your friends?" When group sharing time started, Zoey had gone silent, no more witty comments or talk of friendship plateaus. She just sat and listened, much like Nick usually did.

The college student tilted her head. "Well how did you guys meet?"

"Fuckin' empty helicopter flew off from the evac point and abandoned us."

Ellis turned his head to watch his wife-to-be as a small smile curved its way on to her lips. She leaned back on her hands and sighed softly. The way she moved her head made it clear that her head was still aching. Very slow, very calculated movements that were accompanied by soft exhales of breath and a barely-there grimace.

"Bill found me locked in a closet at the gun store," she said distantly. "The guy running the place pushed me in the closet after he got bit. We later found Francis in the back of a crashed police car and Louis was hiding out in an abandoned town house."

Nick smirked. "I knew that bridge monkey was a convict."

Zoey laughed softly, "Yeah well his story was that he was attacked by one of the infected at the bar, and it broke out into a fight and the police came and it went downhill from there." There was a short silence before Zoey was pushing herself to her feet. "I'm going to go sleep…" she wondered away from the circle and towards the back of the store.

"Notice she mentioned three men, and there were only two at the bridge?" Rochelle asked, her voice just above a whisper.

Nick sighed as if deciding that the topic was suddenly boring. "Is anyone keeping watch or is everyone just going to go to sleep?"

"I'll get it first," Coach huffed, glancing towards the windows. "Just shut things down and I will wake one of you in a few hours."

The remaining three decided to join Zoey in her attempts to get some sleep. Ellis got to his feet and lingered to the back of the store as well to check on the young woman. He saw her lying on the ground, her hoodie tucked under her head, legs bent and eyes closed. Clearing his throat to announce his presence, Ellis lowered to the ground a couple of feet away from the college student. Her eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head to look in his direction.

"Uh, Coach is keepin' watch first 'n' I thought I would come back to check on ya t-"

She lowered her head again, closing her eyes. "I never really thanked you, did I?"

This would be it – the perfect moment to sweep his potential wife into his arms and kiss her… Then, maybe after everyone went to sleep things would get a little more intimate. All he had to do was play his cards right, and he would have that body flush against his. But instead of taking the kill, so to speak, Ellis remained silent after uttering his short and negative response. As much as he wanted to move in on this girl, pull her close and take her, he knew how wrong it would be. No matter the circumstances women should never be treated in such a thoughtless manner. His Mama made sure of that.

"I suppose that I just got used to not saying thank you since Francis got so irritated about it," the girl continued. "He patched up a good cut that I got from a broken window and after I said 'thank you' he just exploded," she smiled fondly. "After that, I just stopped saying it." Pushing herself back into a sitting position, Zoey sighed giving Ellis a warm smile. "So… Thank you, for uh, you know. Saving me. You could have just left."

"Nah, I wouldn' be able to somethin' like that," Ellis shook his head.

"I'm a stranger."

The mechanic frowned, drawing his legs up towards his chest and resting his elbows onto his knees. "No yer not. Yer Zoey."

"But…"

"But nothin'," Ellis said with a shake of his head. "You helped a bunch of strangers, didn't you? Let's just say I returned the favor, 'kay?" He gradually began to stretch out, resting on his stomach. "Now lay down and get some sleep."

Slowly getting herself onto her back, she sighed and closed her eyes. "Good night, Ellis."

Ellis smiled, glancing around their chosen stretch of gas station floor and noticing that Nick and Rochelle had selected a different venue entirely. He was thankful.

"G'night Zoey… G'night Ro, G'night Nick!"

"Yeah, G'night Hillbilly," Ro called out.

xXxX

At some point during the night, Zoey found herself shaken awake and when she opened her eyes she saw Nick crouched beside her. He looked tired and at some point he decided to remove his suit jacket. "Hey, you're up until morning."

Zoey pushed herself into sitting position, nodding her head. "M'kay," she mumbled. Grabbing her sweater from its place on the floor, Zoey got to her feet and stretched tired and sore limbs. It seemed that sometime during the night Ellis had moved a little closer, probably between his own shifts. He was curled on his side, hand maybe three inches from her personal space. Walking to the front of the store as silently as she could, she removed one of the pistols from the holsters at her thighs. For a brief moment she reminisced about how uncomfortable sleeping with a gun had been. In order to sleep, she had to move them a good ways from her person, and now it felt strange and foreign to not have the weapons on her person at all times.

Sitting on the counter and gazing out the window, Zoey frowned. Not only had she lost one of her close friends but now she was effectively separated from the people that she considered family. Of course she was more than happy to be alive, and she was truly thankful to Ellis for saving her life but…

She hoped that Louis and Francis would follow them South, just so she could regain the feeling of familiarity.

Having Francis pick on her…

Louis making nerdy jokes for her sake…

She missed them both already.

Looking out of the window she would occasionally see an infected shamble by, lingering around the entrance for only a few moments before they would continue walking on. There would be a loud shriek or a snarl but soon the sounds would pass. At one point a hunter crouched outside of the window, pacing slowly.

As if he knew about the people inside the building.

Zoey slipped from the counter and stayed low, watching the figure stalk back and forth hissing and snarling against the glass.

"I saw 'im too."

The sound of the Southern drawl being so close to her ear made Zoey jump and twist her body enough to see Ellis kneeling down beside her, resting close enough for her to feel his breath when he exhaled. Her startled nerves calmed significantly and her shoulders slouched.

"You mean he's been here for a while…?"

Ellis nodded, making himself comfortable beside her.

Zoey frowned, letting her eyes drop from his and to her lap. It was a little unnerving, knowing that the Hunter was staying outside of the store. It made Zoey wonder if the infected were aware. It's opportune moment of attack had been the night before when the group had been crawling out of the vehicle. It could have taken everyone out, one by one.

"Rochelle mentioned 'im when she woke me up," he murmured before stifling a yawn.

Sighing, the college student nodded. She knew that they would deal with the problem later on when they were getting ready to leave. Similar things had happened in the past and things had gone just fine. Closing her eyes, her fingers clicked over the safety of her drawn pistol.

Ellis sighed gently from beside her, "How's yer head doin'?"

"A little sore. Shouldn't you be sleeping?" She opened her eyes and peered at him through the dark.

The mechanic shook his head. "Floor is uncomfortable. I might take a nap or somethin' after we hit the road."

Zoey silently agreed. The floor was uncomfortable and cold and after a while of resting on the ground the surface would stick to the exposed skin and made it difficult to move. The silence that elapsed between the two was comfortable and Zoey was finding she enjoyed the presence of the mechanic. He had a contagious carefree disposition and it was comforting.

"So tell me 'bout yerself, Zoey."

Usually the nostalgic and reminiscent 'tell me about yourself' conversations were often the results of a long and hard trek from safe house to safe house but Ellis was bringing up such things on his own, not opening with a sad and semi-heartbreaking story and allowing Zoey to follow up with another.

"What do you want to know…?"

"Where didja come from? What were you doin' before all this?"

Zoey was silent for a couple of moments before she took a breath. "I came down here from Pennsylvania. I was attending college when all of this happened," she sighed heavily. "Um, I used to run track and I used to have a 4.0 and as soon as I got to school everything just fell apart. I guess I got scared. I didn't know what I wanted, stopped going to classes. I hung around my dad's apartment and watched movies… Argued with my parents."

"Really?"

"My mom kept telling me how expensive college was, how what I chose to do was…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "Dad wanted me to become an officer like him. I wasn't all for the idea, but I wasn't against it either." She was frowning, eyes beginning to water so she closed them for a few moments, getting a hold of her emotions before daring to open them again. Outside, the Hunter continued to pace the entire length of the store window, occasionally standing straight and pressing his grimy hands to the windows, breath fogging up small patches of the windows where his mouth hovered.

"I'm sorry to hear about all that, darlin'," Ellis said gently. She rather liked the term of endearment. "I went to Mama's house every Sunday and had dinner with her."

"Yeah?"

Ellis nodded. "Every Sunday."

Zoey smiled, drawing her legs up to her chest. "That sounds nice."

"No one made Sunday dinner like Mama," Ellis' full lips lifted in to a smile. "I was a mechanic in Savannah, lived there all my life and me and my buddy Keith still hung out on the weekends…" Zoey enjoyed hearing the happiness in his voice. Remembering such memories wasn't hurting Ellis in the slightest, but he was looking back with a fondness that Zoey wish that she had. "We'd go to the beach and have bon fires."

"Sounds like a pretty good time."

He nodded enthusiastically. "I bet you'd love it." As he spoke Zoey found herself reaching out for his shirt sleeve, pushing the clothing up over his shoulder to examine the tattoo that was there. "When did you get this?"

"When I was yer age."

"Well how old are you?"

"Twen'y-three."

Zoey nodded her head in an idle manner, looking at the somewhat intricate design that worked its way around his shoulder. Her fingers brushed over his skin as she pulled his sleeve back into place and when she looked up Ellis was watching her with a gaze that could only be labled as intense. Her body froze, her breath hitched. It had been a while since she had interacted with a male that was close to her age. Sure, Louis was in his twenties, but he was in his late twenties. And though Francis could act like a teenager, he was a good bit older as well. A soft thud from the window made Zoey's head whip around – effectively making her quite dizzy – to stare at the Hunter who was finally moving away from the window and into the shadows. Things could have easily gone awkward – she was surprised how easily she was drawn in by those eyes.

"Tell me more."

This time, Zoey continued to look towards the window, crossing her arms. "What do you want to know?"

Ellis was silent for a moment before nudging her. "Had any boyfriends before all this shit happened?"

Grinning, Zoey shook her head. "'fraid not. I kinda reverted to a hermit."

"Well I would say that that's a shame, but I'd be lyin'…"

Zoey's smile stretched a bit further. She was going to be in trouble with this one. It would seem that Ellis, the Mechanic from Savannah, Georgia, was a bit of a charmer.

xXxX

"G'morning kids," Rochelle greeted as she lingered off towards the front of the store. She was rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The cuts around her forehead were significantly less swollen, which was nice to see. The sun had been up for a couple of hours and two of the survivors were still sleeping in their selected area of the store. She plopped down beside Zoey, sighing as she directed her gaze out the window.

Ellis and Zoey had been looking out the window as well, watching as the hunter continued to pace. Zoey was stretched out on her stomach, using her elbows to prop herself up as she stared at the creature while Ellis was stretched out on his back beside her, looking up at the ceiling.

"Mornin' Ro," Ellis greeted.

Rochelle crossed her arms as she sat on her knees. "He's still there, huh?"

Zoey yawned, both of her pistols resting on the tile in front of her. "He's been coming and going since I started watch. Ellis said he was here when you were up too?"

"Mm-hmm," Rochelle hummed.

Ellis turned his head to watch as Zoey lifted herself to her knees. "It's obvious he's waiting for us to come out then," she said distantly, grabbing both of her guns. The hunter turned to face the window again, growling as stared in through the glass. His sweater was bloody and torn and his teeth were grimy and stained. Zoey aimed one of her pistols towards the waiting Hunter and sneered. "Yeah, I see you too, fucker."

"So how do we get out?"

"We kill the sonnova bitch, c'mon now Ro!" Ellis tsked, tilting his head as he gave her a smile. "Jus' blow his damn brains out."

"Unless he's got some friends," Nick grumbled.

Ellis lifted his torso enough to see Nick standing a couple of feet away, looking tired and rather grumpy – which was normal. Nick seemed to have a natural scowl but in the morning he seemed downright pissed off. He was holding his jacket in his hand, his shotgun in the other as he gave the Hunter on the other side of the glass a death stare. Craning his head back, Ellis looked out the window for a moment. "So why don't we get some breakfast before we decide to go and kill 'im? Ro, you wanna go wake up Coach while I crack open a box of donuts?" Ellis pushed himself into sitting position before he was on his feet and searching for the biggest box of donuts that he could.

Despite the current issue with the Hunter, who had wondered dangerously close to Jimmy Gibbs Junior's car, Ellis found that he was thoroughly enjoying his morning. He had spent a number of hours talking with Zoey, simply asking her random questions at the top of his head…

He knew that her favorite color was green, that she had her ears pierced twice but no longer wore any earrings, that she had a golden retriever named Bo that died when she was a kid, that she disliked most bugs, that her favorite cereal was Cinnamon Life. He had also learned that she had a mild infatuation with horror movies and video games and how her father would take her to the shooting range before the infection spread…

Walking back to the front of the store with a gallon of milk and a box of large assorted donuts, Ellis decided that he was going to proceed to question the girl until he knew all about her and as he questioned her, she would get similar information from him… and soon it would be like they had known each other for years. Setting the breakfast selection on to the counter, Ellis opened the donuts and selected one of the first chocolate donuts from the box. "Coach, c'mon now yer missin' out on breakfast!"

"I'm comin' youngin'," the deep voice groused from somewhere in the lines of shelves.

"Bring a pack of cups while yer at it."

Nick snatched a glazed donut and ate, glancing at Zoey who was slowly walking towards the window in order to stand in front of the Hunter as it straightened into standing position. Ellis licked his lips, taking another bite as he looked on as well.

"Thinkin' about scaring him off like that, baby girl?"

Zoey turned her head as Coach finally joined the group, Rochelle at his side with a package of Dixie cups. The college student grinned, placing her hands on her hips as she proceeded to glare out into the beautiful Georgia morning…

Or at the Hunter, more specifically.

"Sleep alright Coach?"

"Like a baby," The burly man mumbled, grabbing a powdered donut from the stack.

Rochelle chuckled, opening the cups in order to pour everyone a good glass of milk to go with their morning meal. "So what's the plan?" she requested, grabbing a glazed donut and taking a decent sized bite.

"Well… First we need to kill this kid here," Nick stated. "And then-"

"Then we drive to New Orleans in the Jimmy Gibbs and get the hell out of here!" Ellis cheered, half of a donut still in his hand.

Rochelle smiled. "That would be awesome if it was that easy," she said almost distantly.

"That's no way to be thinkin', Ro… Be positive!" Coach said gently as his donut vanished into his mouth, followed by his cup of milk.

Breakfast went by smoothly, and collectively the survivors went and picked up a number of food items and first aid kits and water and beer and shoved them into a number of plastic bags while Zoey opened a large sharpie marker and approached the far wall. Ellis watched, holding his shotgun, as Zoey scrolled a message onto the wall…

Francis & Louis,

Headed to New Orleans for evac.
You guys better be there…

- Zoey

Ellis approached a few moments later as Coach and Rochelle gathered the sacks of supplies and piled them by the door. Nick was using the bathroom, the door closed and locked. He had been in there for what seemed like several minutes and Ellis had overheard Rochelle and Coach – both of them thinking that the conman was trying to clean up his mechanic reached out and nudged the college student, gesturing to the sharpie marker in her hand.

"May I?"

Zoey looked confused for a moment and then nodded, passing Ellis the writing utensil. Stepping towards the wall, he began to write his message a little distance under hers.

Francis and Louis,

Sorry about kidnapping your friend.
I'm sure you would have done the same.

- Ellis

His hand writing was rather neat as it bordered on cursive and standard hand writing - his signature starting with a big E that twisted into the double loops of his L's and eventually ended with the tail of is S trailing over to dot the I that preceded it. Zoey's writing, mean while was blocky and clear, her signature remaining in lower case lettering. After capping the sharpie marker, Ellis passed it back to Zoey, who slid the marker into her pocket along with her pocket knife.

Eventually, Nick exited the bathroom with a whiter, cleaner looking jacket and pants and as the collective gaze of the four landed on him, he simply adjusted the collar and went to retrieve his shot gun from the counter. Coach and Rochelle both shared a look, Rochelle beginning to laugh as Coach shook his head – almost shamefully. "Alright," Suit said, ignoring the banter. "Let's go." He positioned himself at the door, shotgun aimed at the Hunter who was crouched just outside.

Ellis stood a little ways off to his side, holding his own shotgun while Coach and Rochelle aimed their rifles, the light hearted and optimistic words that were offered during breakfast vanishing instantly. Zoey moved next to the door, reaching for the lock as she flicked the safety off of her pistol, the second hand gun remaining in its holster on her outer thigh while her rifle was mounted on her back.

"Ready?"

The group nodded and then the lock was flicked. The survivors visibly tensed, expecting the Hunter to promptly dive through the door and attack but the creature waited…

"I'm going to push open-"

"Don't you think about it," Rochelle nearly snapped.

"the door and duck. Please don't blow my head off," Zoey finished.

Nick looked down at his shotgun and then up at the young college student seeming to ponder his choice. "And if I do?"

Ellis threw a scowl in the conman's direction, finding that such conversation topics didn't improve his mood in the slightest. Due to his current placement of anger, he hadn't expected for Zoey to move so suddenly, pushing the door open and dropping to her knee in a smooth and practiced motion. In that instant there was a loud snarl and the Hunter leaned back on its haunches and then launched itself forward while Nick aimed his shotgun and fired.

The buck shot hit the Hunter in the face, causing his head to snap backwards and his leap to be canceled mid way. Blood shot in all directions as the bullets carved into the zombie's nose, exposing the cartilage structure beneath and leaving bits of hanging skin and destroyed tissue. Zoey pivoted on her knee and glanced Nick's way. "Nice shot," she commented.

The conman shrugged, a smug smile on his face before he was reaching out and helping Rochelle and Coach pick up the supplies they had packed into the several different bags. Zoey, meanwhile had stepped a little further outside, checking the roof of the convenient store before she was lowering her guns. Ellis approached the vehicle, glancing her way as he unlocked the passenger door. There was a moment of silence before the engine revved and Ellis was maneuvering the car next to the gas pump.

Coach sighed heavily as he bypassed the college student. "Everybody better use the bathroom 'cause we aren't stopping for bathroom breaks," he called to everyone as he piled the supplies into the floor boards of the passenger seat. Ellis leaned back against the stock car as the tank was filled with gas. He crossed his arms and watched as both Rochelle and Zoey turned and made their way back inside.

Nick came to stand besides Ellis, the barrel of his shotgun resting on his shoulder. "So? How was last night?"

Ellis grinned, lifting his head to look at the conman. " We just talked."

"Just talked?"

Coach joined the two, watching as Zoey stood outside of the bathroom. "Don't you be goin' and causin' problems, Ellis."

"Nah, don't worry 'bout that Coach, I have no intension of causing those kind of problems."

"Yeah Coach, remember?" Nick gestured towards the younger male. "He's gonna marry her."

Ellis nodded his head. He was definitely going to marry her and there was going to be no way around it. They had talked a good bit while the rest were asleep and as the moments passed Ellis was discovering just how beautiful the girl really was. She was funny, she was smart… "Yeah, Coach… I am gonna marry this one. Zombie apocalypse be damned."

"Whatever you say, youngin'…"

The gas pump clicked audibly and Ellis reached out to replaced the nozzle to its cradle just as the ladies lingered out from the bathroom. Ellis opened the driver's side door. "Let's get this show on the road then!"

Ellis helped Rochelle climb into the back, who was followed by Coach and then after a few moments Nick nudged the Mechanic then climbed into the back as well, leaving Rochelle sitting in between the two men, each of them resting their weapons between their legs with the barrel down. Closing the driver's side door, Ellis smiled as he watched Zoey walk around the front of the car.

"Thanks Nick," was all the mechanic had time to say before Zoey was climbing in, her rifle in her hands as she plopped into the seat. Starting the engine with one good crank of the key, Ellis smiled as he shifted the car into gear and took off, leaving the gas station behind.

xXxX

Ellis drove for the majority of the day, his posture relaxed and comfortable. One leg was stretched out towards the peddles while the other was bent up towards him, his elbow using his knee as a resting place while he kept one hand near the bottom of the wheel. Zoey, meanwhile, was stretched out in the front seat, staring out the window, her chin resting in her hand as she stared out into the scenery. Nick, Rochelle, and Coach had taken the opportunity to relax and drift in and out of sleep…

Considering the fact that the Jimmy Gibbs Junior was a stock car the vehicle didn't have any use for a functional radio, and thus it didn't carry one. At the moment, Ellis found this mildly saddening, as the silence in the car was getting a little over bearing…

"So what kinda music do you like, Zoey?"

The college student turned her head so she was facing the front of the car, her weight shifting into the center of the seat. She bit her lip in thought and then exhaled. "Um, anything really… Except for rap… and hip hop. And Bluegrass."

Ellis cast her a sideways glance. "What's wrong with bluegrass?"

"Banjos? Have you ever seen Deliverance?"

He snorted. Of course that was her answer, and it was justifiable. That movie scared him out of camping for a good couple of months…

"Alright, what's wrong with Rap?"

Zoey lifted her hands from her lap, moving them as if she were a DJ, her fingers touching invisible discs. "I wanna beep-beep your beep-beep-beep-beep!" She shook her head, letting her hands plop back into her lap. "That… is not music."

"Hip hop?"

Zoey adjusted her posture, pushing herself up and crossing her legs. "Have you seen music videos to stuff like that? It's all…" she made a brief hand motion. "It's all 'I'm going to sex you up' and all. There is enough of that in the media, I don't want to be listening to it."

Ellis smiled. The girl definitely had her mind made and it was that sure-mindedness that Ellis always enjoyed. There were too many young ladies following trends – buying that one set of fuzzy boots because every other girl owned that same pair of fuzzy boots… It was almost infuriating, the mindlessness of it all. "How about you? What kind of music do you like?"

"I like country, classic rock, some of the newer stuff… "

"Country," Zoey commented, and sent him a side-ways glance. "Does that include Bluegrass?"

Ellis sent her the same glance. "Maybe."

"Okay, okay," she chuckled and lifted her hands in mock surrender.

He laughed, shaking his head as he looked to the road. He definitely found himself a good one.

xXxX

So what I am going to do for this chapter – or possibly the next few… Is do little blips of the L4D2 Campaign so I am not writing out every level with Zoey just thrown in there at random. So I am going to do bits and pieces of the campaign… And then see if I can't get creative enough to make my own.