Dead Line – Chapter One

"C'mon, Lisa! Whirlybird's leaving!"

Lisa tried not to frown at her older brother as they made their way up the hotel's emergency stairwell.

"I'm coming as fast as I can, Ellis," she told him, but she might as well have been talking to a brick wall.

Lisa followed Ellis up the stairs, aware that there were several other people ahead of them. Lisa gripped the banister and let her fingers slid along the cool metal, wishing that they had installed an escalator instead.

She heard the creak of a metal door ahead, and she sighed in relief.

"C'mon Lisa!" Ellis urged her, becoming more excitable. "We're nearly there!"

Sure enough they saw the bright swath of sunlight streaming from the stairway exit.

Finally, finally we can get away from this nightmare, Lisa thought. Her hopes were dashed when she heard several cries of "Come back!" and "There's still people on the roof!"

"Aw, we didn't make it?" Ellis walked over to the group, seeing the large helicopters pull up into the sky and away from the rooftop.

Five minutes too late, Lisa thought miserably. Five minutes. Maybe if we hadn't stopped...no. Mom and Dad don't deserve to be walking around like one of those things. It was only right.

Ellis and Lisa lived in Savannah. Ellis, was 23 years old, and was an auto-mechanic who ran a repair shop. Lisa was a year younger than her brother, and served as the owner-slash-waitress of the small eatery beside it. The two siblings lived together with Ellis's two friends, Dave and Keith, but they visited their parents every Sunday.

Ellis and Lisa both have blonde hair (except hers was more brownish blonde), blue eyes, and a sturdy, athletic build. They were often mistaken for twins, especially when they were younger. Ellis was the more vocal of the two, while Lisa liked to keep things to herself.

Now she felt like screaming.

"Ya think they saw us?" Ellis wondered out loud.

"They saw us, alright, and they're not coming back," one of the people on the roof said sarcastically. The man who spoke was tall, with slightly curly black hair. He was wearing an expensive-looking white suit and was standing beside a girl a few years older than Lisa.

"Well this puts the kibosh on our plans," the girl replied. "I told you we shouldn't have tried rescuing Anna. We barely escaped your girlfriend's attack."

"She was not my girlfriend," the man snapped, and the girl smirked.

"Yeah, right."

"The choppers looked like they're headin' to the mall," the chubby dark-skinned man said. "It's not far; I can take you there."

Finally. Someone with a plan, Lisa thought, shaking her hair back. Her movement caught the man's eye, who turned towards her and studied her for a moment.

"Ellis, they have some weapons over here," Lisa called, ignoring the fact that the man in the suit was checking her out. She'd dealt with men like him before.

"Aw hell yes!" Ellis hurried over to the table, picking up two P220 pistols and a first aid kit, which he strapped to his back.

Lisa chose a fire axe and took one of the few remaining first aid kits.

"I sure hope you all know how to fight," Suit muttered as they went back down the stairwell. He was holding a crowbar and looking positively negative about the whole situation. "You don't look it."

I've been shooting a gun since I was five, Lisa thought, her expression darkening. I can take you on any time.

In the short time they've spent on the rooftop, a fire had broken out in the hotel. Lisa could hear the flames cracking, and she stepped forward and opened the door.

"Jumpin' Jehosaphat! What are these things?"

Lisa, who had watched countless of zombie movies with her brother, knew what they were. Instead of replying, however, she swung her axe at one of the Infected, the blade sinking into the wooden wall. She wrenched it free and embedded the blade on another Infected's skull, feeling the flesh give way beneath the blade.

"It's zombies!" Ellis exclaimed. "I knew them movies were true!"

"This map does not look good!" Suit called from the next room. Lisa entered and saw a series of maps and drawings spread out over a long table. The largest map was of the entire country, and Lisa noticed that the west coast was almost covered with huge red X's.

"Looks like the only safe place is New Orleans," she said, and Suit's companion turned to look at her.

"Apparently. We need to get to New Orleans! Ugh, I hate creole fashions," the girl said, and Lisa resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Lisa turned and joined her brother in the hallway. The two looked at each other.

"We need to go to New Orleans, Ellis," Lisa whispered. "Should we stick with them, or-?"

"Aw, we should stay together, Lisa." Ellis smiled at her. "Don't worry. I'm sure they're good people."

Lisa doubted it; she certainly didn't like Suit and his companion. But she agreed, turning to see the three other people come up behind them.

"Where's he going?" the girl asked, frowning. Lisa looked over her shoulder and saw Ellis jog over to the elevators.

"Ellis," Lisa hissed, pivoting on her heel and going after her brother. It was then when she heard an ungodly howl, and felt something heavy slam on her side. A split second later she was pummeled to the ground. "Ellis!"

"One arm!" Ellis cried, firing his pistols at the Charger. The three others darted forward, with Suit sinking the sharp claw of his crowbar into the Charger's vulnerable neck. It keeled forward, crushing Lisa with its thick body.

Lisa felt someone wrap his (or her) arms over her armpits and yank her out from under the Charger. She looked up to see Suit staring back at her.

"Let's get you on your feet," he told her, smirking.

"Thank you," Lisa answered. Ellis approached her, while Suit's companion shot down several Infected that were loitering in the adjoining hallway.

"I'm sorry Lisa," Ellis mumbled. "I just wanted to check if the elevators were working."

"It's okay. Next time don't wander off, okay?" She smiled at Ellis's face relaxed visibly.

The last and final member of their little group, a dark-skinned female with her hair up in a tightly braided bun, took the lead, along with Suit. They both gave surprised yells when a portion of the ceiling collapsed, blocking their path.

"I guess they don't want us to go this way," the woman said. The two saw a utility door and opened it; Lisa heard several gunshots go off, and then the woman poked her head outside. "We need to get on the ledge."

The others entered the room one by one. Lisa spotted a bottle of pain pills and took it.

"Defib unit here!" Ellis called. When nobody made a move to pick it up, Ellis shrugged. "Alright, fine then. I'll hold it."

Ellis unstrapped his first aid kit and slung the defib unit over his shoulder. He caught Lisa's gaze and grinned; Lisa smiled and shook her head.

Suit smashed the glass window and stepped out onto the ledge. The fire had now spread into the hotel rooms, but the group managed to salvage several items, such as a few adrenaline shots and a bottle of what looked like Boomer puke.

"I am not touching that," Suit's companion said, raising her hands and backing away. Lisa hooked the bottle to her belt and followed the girl back out onto the ledge.

They managed to find a room that wasn't on fire yet, and after killing some Infected hotel guests – or evacuees, they weren't sure which – they ended back in the hallway.

"Back down the stairs, people!" the oldest man called, waving a meaty hand towards the steel door of the stairwell. Just as he rested his hand on the doorknob, something banged against the door, causing him to jump.

Maniacal laughter wafted from behind the door.

"I don't like the sound of that," Suit murmured, but he raised his crowbar anyway. The door withstood a few more powerful knocks before a hunchbacked Infected came hopping into view. Spotting the braided woman, he gave a gleeful cackle and jumped on her shoulders.

"Get this thing off my head!" she shrieked, and Suit's companion slammed the flat side of her fire axe on the Jockey's body, shoving it off of Braids. "Thanks."

"No problem." Suit's companion glanced at Ellis, who was checking the stairwell.

"All clear, y'all," Ellis said, and Lisa walked with her brother down to the next floor. Thankfully there were no fires (yet) on this floor, and the group made their way to the elevator lobby.

"This one's working!" Ellis announced, and after dispatching the usual small population of Infected, the group converged inside the elevator. "This some sorta nightmare? Goddamn zombie apocalypse and shit. Shit, shit, shit. What the hell we gonna do?"

"Settle down, son, we're going to be okay," the oldest man said. "What's your name?"

"Ellis. My name's Ellis," her brother replied. "This here's my baby sister, Lisa."

Lisa raised her hand and smiled thinly at the others. She set the axe down on the ground and leaned against the elevator wall.

"Name's Nick, but don't bother learning it because I don't plan on sticking around long." Suit rubbed his nose and glanced at Lisa, who looked away.

"Alexandra," Suit's companion offered. "But I prefer to be called Erza. I'm Nick's cousin, and yeah, I don't plan on staying with you guys long."

"Name's Rochelle." Braids nodded at the others.

"My friends call me Coach. I guess y'all can do the same." Coach faced the elevator doors again. "All right, enough chat. Get ready."

Lisa found Coach's last statement ironic, considering none of them were even talking to each other. But she raised her axe and watched as Ellis and Coach pried the elevator doors open.

"Ah, shit!" Nick swore from behind her.

The entire first floor was a raging inferno, and they could barely make out a clear path through the flames. But the fire was the least of their problems; the noise caused by the elevator doors had attracted a huge amount of Infected.

Lisa spotted a silenced submachine gun on the floor and grabbed it. The horde flowed down the hallway, their arms outstretched and their lips pulled away from their mouths in a permanent grimace. Some were frothing up copious amounts of blood, while others were sporting wounds and had several missing limbs.

Lisa, Ellis, Erza, and Nick all fired at the horde, while Rochelle and Coach cut down any Infected that managed to slip past the hail of bullets.

"Great, zombies in hazmat suits," Rochelle muttered darkly, kicking at the corpse of a CEDA worker in a bright yellow hazmat suit.

"There's a security room here," Erza called.

"Check it for supplies, we might find something useful in there," Coach said.

Lisa felt uneasy using the silenced submachine gun, so she followed Erza inside, hoping to find a shotgun. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw three chrome shotguns inside the small metal cabinet. She grabbed one, plus several shells.

Erza raised her eyebrow. "You sure know how to wield a gun."

"I'm a Southerner," Lisa answered, as if that explained everything. Apparently it did, because Erza smirked and went out of the room.

Once the two women had rejoined the group, they set out down the hallway. Ellis kicked open the door that led to the kitchens, and they saw that they could jump over the metal preparation table. Coach went first, followed by Nick, Erza, Ellis, Rochelle, and finally, Lisa.

"This place is burning up fast!" Nick cried, and Lisa nearly bumped into him as she made her way towards her brother.

"Well, let's find a way out!" Coach called back.

"Door!" Ellis announced, and he and Lisa were the first ones out of the kitchen. The entire lobby was aflame, and Lisa coughed as she inhaled the acrid smoke. Several Infected rushed at the siblings, and their guns barked continuously.

"Nice job!" Coach praised, as he walked past the two.

Ellis grinned, and Lisa gave a small smile. Coach managed to find a clear path through the lobby. They reached a side room that had a table with several items, which the others snagged. Lisa unhooked the bottle of Boomer bile and flung it into the check-in area, causing the Infected that were milling about to chase after it, no doubt attracted by the liquid.

The group fired at the small group of zombies, which were too busy clawing at the green smoke to notice their presence. Once the last Infected fell to the ground, the Survivors filed into the room; Nick and Ellis scanned the area while Coach and the three females hurried inside the safe room, which was on the other end.

"Ellis!" Lisa called. "Get in here, now!"

Ellis and Nick turned at the sound of her voice and made a beeline for the safe room. Nick entered the room first, but just as Ellis reached the door, something slimy and gray wound around his waist.

"Noooooo!" Ellis cried, as he was thrown on his back and dragged across the floor. Lisa gave a sharp cry and darted past Nick, who looked startled by this sudden turn of events.

Lisa raised the shotgun and fired at the Smoker, which was about to claw at her brother's head. It exploded with a hacking cough and a puff of disgusting green smoke.

"Ellis," Lisa said, going over to her brother. "Get up!"

Ellis coughed and slowly went on his feet. "Man, what was that thing?"

"Smoker," Nick answered, coming up behind Lisa. "Let's go."

Lisa shot a glance at Nick, who just shrugged. It was then when they heard the others' agitated voices.

"There's still people in here!"

"Don't you even think of fucking leaving us in here!"

"What the hell?" Nick muttered, and they raced back inside the safe room. Ellis and Lisa slammed a metal bar over the door, bracing it, while Nick joined the others.

"They did not just leave us here!" Rochelle put her hands on her hips, exasperated.

"Well they did. Again," Nick frowned.

"What's goin' on?" Ellis asked. "What just happened?"

Erza turned to look at him. "CEDA was evacuating people while we were on the damn rooftop. We just missed the military truck!"

Coach sighed. "All right, let's just get to the mall."

"Ooh, I know a gun store nearby where we can go, get us some real weapons," Ellis offered.

"I guess living here is finally paying off," Nick drawled, while Erza smirked.

"Mister, I don't think I like your attitude," Coach said, frowning at Nick.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Author's Note: If you've read "Left 4 Dead: Patient Zero", then you know how this story's going to be set up. If you haven't, then I suggest you read it first (haha, blatant advertising at its finest). So each campaign is going to be told within several chapters (the last Left 4 Dead fanfic I did was over 10 thousand words long for each campaign, and you might not like reading huge chunks of text at a time), as indicated by the *Name of Campaign: Chapter Number*. Unlike before, I'll be updating each set as soon as I finish, since I'm working on fanfics for Resident Evil, Thor, and The Avengers. Feedback and constructive criticism is appreciated, of course. Hopefully this will be the only AN within this story. ;)