Left 4 Dead (Closed)

[IntriguedLover]

"Francis you need to calm down," I said trying to reason with him. Bill showed up behind me scaring the shit almost out of me. "If we don't let him off, he'll swim to shore and since those things are in the fucking water, you ain't going anywhere," Bill said to the distraught Francis.

Louis came in for more coffee to mix with the caffeine pills, he was losing his buzz, but the fact Francis wanted off made him straighten up. "Look man, you don't need to go. We'll be in Florida within the week or so, we'll find you a hog there."

"Yeah, Lou is right," I said putting my hand on Francis. "Honestly, I don't think we three would have made it without your strength." Francis was finally starting to calm down.

"Fine, but I at least get to get off for a bit and get some decent Community Coffee. I'll fight those pussy bastards to get some for us all," he said in his gruff tone.

I turned to Robert, "So, I'm supposed to cook, unless you want me to do something else to help around here.."

 

[guyloveshotstories]

"If that's what you're good at" I smiled pointing to the kitchen in the back. "The stoves are propane powered and you'll find all the essentials and the food in the ice lockers" showing her the way. We only had one guy on the crew that could 'cook' in that he needed a recipe book and a lot of time in order to prepare something on par with McDonalds, but he was still a good man. "I can say we could use you. We're not looking for a culinary expert like Chef Ramsey, but something to break the monotony would certainly perk up morale up here. I believe it was Napoleon who said, "An Army marches on its stomach" though you had to admire the redundancy of our environment when we're on a ship and not on land. Either way, I wanted to get some distance from Francis. He was stewing with fear and hate. We were all on edge, that was to be expected, but someone could pop and their rage would be directed at anyone within range.

The kitchen was rarely used so it was clean. We put in stainless steel counters with our propane stoves giving the old place a modern feel. It cost us a great deal of money, but it was better than what it originally was when it was a hulk. "If we find a place that appears to be deserted then we'll move in close and send in a landing party, but I don't know about this Francis guy. I feel that if we send him ashore he might try to make a run for it."

 

[IntriguedLover]

"I understand. I know you are not trying to keep us against our will, you're only human and trying to keep others safe," I said understanding him. "Francis won't go far. I think I remind him of someone, that's why he calms down when I get near." I turned on the stove and looked into the refrigerated lockers pulling some things out. "I mostly ate Ramen at college, but my mother taught me enough to get by."

I pulled out a nice flank steak and cut it into smaller strips and put it on the griddle before I found frozen herbs. They were frozen so they were easier to cut. I put some broth together and threw the herbs in, as well as some noodles. It wasn't much but I put it into the steel bowls, with extra left over for the cooler. "I don't know how many will eat this, but it will chase the chill away." I offered him a spoon to taste, to approve. "I hope it's to your liking."

 

[guyloveshotstories]

Taking the whole spoon in and swallowed, "Very nice" nodding. It was hot and soothing. Certainly would fight off the cold. "We have eighteen crew onboard, well, 22 now and we have a half on and half on 8 hour shifts. "Are you sure that you're up to that kind of cooking?" It wouldn't be easy with just two people trying to serve 11 people at a time,but it was better than having a full crew. "The other chef we have is Donovan and he's off watch at the moment. His shift begins at noon and he'll come in to assist you."

Francis was still stewing in the galley, but Louis and Bill were still with him. Louis was more comforting to his friend than Bill was, Bill was more along the lines of 'suck it up, buttercup' but Louis had a brighter outlook, "I got a good feeling that once we get to the Florida Keys we'll make a good life for ourselves there."

The Pigeon continued to putter along the calm ocean. The sun was rising above the mountains at first casting a dark outline of the mountains, but the place became illuminated by the faint glow of fires. It was grim, but deep inside the hull of the ship we didn't get to see it and the lookouts didn't pipe down what they were seeing. Good thing. I don't think we could have stomached much more bloodshed.

 

[IntriguedLover]

"Sure, I'll be sure to help Donovan," I said in response. "I believe tonight though I will have to crash in the bunks," I admitted. The day was going by too fast, noon was fast approaching and the smoke from the fires was showing on the horizon, causing a shadow to be cast over most of the ocean. I walked out to the bow of the ship and looked into the clear water. I saw something move under the waves. "No," I said out loud.

"Francis, get your butt out here!" I shouted, "and bring your gun." He came running with his tac-shotgun. "What's wrong?" he asked looking concerned for once. I pointed down at the water, "A tank is visible even at these depths..You think we could get you a harpoon and you kill it?"

"I don't even know, Zo..That's a ways down but it seems he's following the ship," he continued.

"Robert, you're going to have to tell the helmsman to pick up speed to outrun it or it will learn to swim upwards to kill us.." I told him.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

"Helmsman, all ahead flank!" I shouted up to the bridge.

"All ahead flank, aye!" was the response. The engine began to churn more speed and the screw spun faster giving us more speed. We made it up to 14 knots and we slowly began to lose the tank behind us. We followed him along the rails. We couldn't hit him, the water was a shield that would stop our bullets. Best thing to do was to outrun it.

Watching it through the clear water it could see us and was frantically trying to catch up, but its huge frame was making him sink fast every time it tried to jump up. "Are we going to kill it?" Louis asked.

"Yeah? How are we going to do that?" Francis scoffed, "Give him little arm floaties and let him come to the surface? Fuck 'em"

We continued to watch the Tank slowly slip away to the stern until his image was broken up by the white wake we left behind, but that didn't allow us to stop. We continued on flank speed to put as much distance between us and it as possible. If there was one there was bound to be more. There was also concern for a smoker that could be nesting in the shallow waters.

 

[IntriguedLover]

I finally took a breath that had been caught in my throat. The tank was finally behind us but that wasn't the end. I stood back, "There's only more. They're getting smarter," I said speaking up.

"Yeah, but when they start teaching classes, that's when we need to worry," Bill said making an appearance, smoking as always. "Oh come on old man, don't you think that they'll all disappear by then," Francis said, obviously wanting to pick a fight again.

"No, pretty boy, but I think that before this hell is all over, it will only get a lot worse," Bill admitted.

"You guys need to learn to get along. I'm amazed you even made it through to finding me like you did with the way you hens fight," I chimed in.

"You wouldn't believe it, but they saved me," Louis started. "They were together at some store before they found me, fighting them off at the batting cages."

I looked up to the sky realizing that this hell was not going to be over anytime soon. "It's only going to get worse, huh? Well, we need to conserve ammo and stuff like that.." I admitted.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

"Don't I know it" I replied, "I wish we had the Pigeon's old 3inch deck guns. That'll put a hole through a Tank. No question. We have plenty of rounds for what you're carrying, but i wish we can get something heavier to deal with these new ones."

"Beggars can't be choosers" Bill said tartly.

I didn't want to go into what we needed and wanted, we all knew what we needed and wanted. We wanted to go home and wished this was over, that we could go back to our old lives, but we couldn't go through nostalgia right now.

A few miles further down the coast the engine was reduced to half speed to conserve fuel and we came upon a small rocky peninsula that appeared to have several small buildings clustered at the top. Looking through the binoculars it appeared to be a beach resort. With that swimmer Tank we left behind the people were rather shook up about being in shallow water, but as we looked at the resort there appeared to be a lot to offer. From the bow I could see a small radio station, a lighthouse, many small cabins and vehicles. "I don't see any people and no zombies" that was a good sign. Next to me Louis was nervously leaning over the rails looking down at the water trying to find any signs of that Tank thinking it was still following us.

"I'm thinking that we can sending a landing party ashore and look for supplies" I said turning to our new companions. "We have a couple of launches we can send to the shore and look through the cabins and the other buildings. We'll move the ship closer to shore. If there are zombies then we can immediately bug out." The crew were nervous, so was I, but we couldn't pass up a chance for more supplies. Calling up to the bridge, "Try the radio and see if you can hail anyone on shore".

"Aye!"

Turning to Zoey, "Do you want to head to shore with them? Give you a chance to stretch your legs."

 

[IntriguedLover]

I put my hand on Louis's shoulder and nearly scared the crap out of him. "Well, don't focus on just one, because another one can just pop up over here and take you off," I said to him. "Sure, I'll take my hunting rifle and when we get to shore, I'll cap any of them that I see before we go forth," I reassured him.

"Yeah as if I'm gonna risk my life for just a few supplies that will be gone in no time," Francis chimed in, all gruff and huff, arms crossed.

"Oh come on, just an hour ago you wanted off this damned thing and now you don't want to leave it?" Bill retorted, "Don't tell me the big hog boy is scared of a few dead." Francis walked up to Bill causing Louis to get between them. "Now guys, no need to become enemies," Louis said trying to reason with them.

I knew if they didn't get on board with trying to get supplies, there might not never be another chance. I just shrugged and grabbed my hunter's rifle in hand. "Well see you girls later. Let me know if the hen house needs bullets," I said commenting about their immaturity.

"Just you hold up, I'm coming to back your ass up," Bill said lighting a cigarette to get going. He grabbed an AK-47 and we headed out. The other two pushed each other away before grabbing their weapons together to join us.

We got close to shore and I pulled up my sight to look on the horizon. I saw a few out there and capped them. "Drop goes the zombie," I said taking out the last one. It wasn't too long before we heard this vomiting sound and turned to look. A figure rose up and it was oozing from the mouth with this acidic green stuff, it was burning the ledge behind Bill. "Oh shit," Louis said.

I motioned for him to keep quiet and the figure left and turned the other way. "What the fuck was that?" Francis mouthed to me. I shrugged and told him to keep going but quietly. We got to the one outlet store on the island and went inside knocking out any zombies that were there and took out our lists on what to get.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

The second party followed Zoey and the others to the store. Even though I was captain I felt I had to go even though the others were telling me not to. The ship had twelve people still onboard and they were a mile off shore and the depth was forty feet and they were keeping their eyes both on the sea floor and on the shore. There were a few stragglers lingering about and we dispatched them using our axes so that our weapon fire didn't give us away. Once we were inside the store and linked up with Zoey we followed them about with shopping carts piling in all of the canned stuff we could get. Most of the fresh stuff was rotten, but there were some fresh fruits that survived. Good. We threw them into the pile as a couple of guys found some carts that we could use to haul the supplies.

"We'll gather this stuff up and we'll take it back to the boats," I said to Zoey, "Then we'll move on to the cabins and search them. If we run into more zombies then we'll fall back to the boats and shove off. From the looks of it, we got more supplies here to last us a few more weeks" smiling. It was a good haul. Lots of canned and packaged stuff. Aside from the few stragglers this place appeared to be rather untouched, but looking at Zoey's face it appeared that she saw something that was making her nervous, "What is it?" I asked.

 

[IntriguedLover]

I pointed behind him and when he turned around, "Get down slowly," I told him. There was another one of those things, then we heard crying and an eerie laugh. "No, not here," Francis said shouldering his tactical shotgun. I put my hand up for him to keep calm, "Don't fire unless it's necessary."

Bill walked up to each of the guys that were with shopping carts and told them to keep it down while getting stuff. "I don't know what to call those," Louis said. "And where is that laughing coming from."

I moved by Robert and took aim at the head of the zombie who's mouth was completely gone and nothing but acid leaking from where the lips once were. "You..I will call you Spitter," I said looking through the sight. It saw me and acted like it was inhaling before I fired off the shot blasting it's head away.

The laughing only got closer and one of the guys that had come with us from the crew started to go outside. "No, no! Don't go out there until we fin---" Then this short stubby thing jumped on him, "I can't get a clear shot," I screamed. "Not without killing him!"

 

[guyloveshotstories]

Joesph was screaming, "Get it off!" as these thin arms wrapped around him and started pulling him away. "I can't see!" as he struggled to rip the veil from his eyes. The others lifted up their weapons to fire, but we couldn't get the angle either. It took Joesph outside and then there was a horrid scream followed by a terrific belch. "AUGH!"

We all came scrambling outside to help him and standing right out in front was a fat, ugly looking fucker with huge bubbles on his face. I took aim at him, but Bill called out "Negative!"

"Let me show you how it's done, ladies!" Francis smiled as he lunged forward and tackled the fat one that opened to a green slime covered Joseph still being ridden by this hunchback looking...thing. "If you got the shot, take it!" I called out. It was a tough call because it put Joesph's life in the balance, but we didn't have that kind of luxury. "Better move fast" Bill said. "That shit on him is going to bring every fucker in here."

Francis, having tackled the fat one rolled away and rose to his feet and scampered away leaving the zombie frantically trying to get back onto its feet, looked like a turtle trying to right himself.

 

[IntriguedLover]

I took aim and was shaking slightly, "I'm so sorry Joseph," I said hesitating pulling the trigger. Francis had backed off and took aim at the boomer, making it explode everywhere before it could vomit on us all. "Shoot it, god dammit!" Francis said screaming at me. I pulled the trigger and the round went through Joseph into the thing that was holding onto him, killing them both.

A tear fell from my eye as I pulled my face away from the sight. "Let's hurry up and get out of here, more are to come when a few are killed," I said helping push the one cart that Joseph had been pushing. Bill came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder, "Kid, it's only going to happen more, so don't beat yourself up about it." I looked to Robert, "I'm so sorry we lost one of your crew."

A loud roar came from about a mile away and I looked behind us. Louis started running, "Tank coming with about a hundred fuckers!" The horde was coming with big man leading the way. "Get back to the ship, you pansies!" Francis said screaming, taking shots when he could get aim.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

"Haul ass!" I shouted as we ran down towards the shore where the boats were waiting. When we reached them there was a flurry to get everything onboard by throwing cans and everything in haphazardly as the motors were waiting on idle. I lifted up my rifle and aimed at two runners heading towards us along the shore. Two quick shots I took them down. It wouldn't replace or justify Joseph, but I did feel better in taking two more down, it meant two less that are in the world. The other crew threw the stuff onboard as the roar became louder.

"Hurry up, ladies!" Francis shouted as he blasted another infected that came running on the left.

Louis and a couple other sailors lifted an entire cart and dumped it into one launch. There would be time to sort it out later then they cast the cart aside and helped the others.

Bill joined me and Francis on the firing line. Taking a drag on his cigarette he huffed, "Oh, this is going to get bad" as his eyes locked on to the tank running full tilt towards us. He was less than a half mile away and then a quarter of a mile. He was hauling ass! I wanted to say 'fuck the stuff. Get onboard!' but we were nearly done. The Tank knocked many infected out of its way to clear a path, one unfortunate soul was hefted into the air and slammed into the ground. It reminded me of the Hulk. It came closer, the roar ringing in our ears.

"Get ready, ladies!" Francis smiled as he loaded his tac-shotgun.

 

[IntriguedLover]

I got to the shore and left the crew that had come with us to get the supplies into the launch boats. I turned around and pulled my pistol out firing at a few zombies before pulling the rifle around and taking aim at the tank's head. "Go to hell, motherfucker!" I screamed as I unloaded the whole clip into the mutant's head, barely causing damage to him.

"The boats are full, get in now!" one of the members screamed. Bill and Louis got in first, followed by me. "Francis, come on!" I hollered at him. "No, damn it..I'm going to kill this thing so it can't follow us!" With one final shot from the tactical shotgun, it dropped, but because of the speed, it kept sliding, knocking into a few of the dead along the way.

I grabbed the neck of his leather vest and pulled him back because it was coming straight for us. There were propane tanks on the shore and we had to book it. "Come on you hard head!" I screamed at him pushing him into the boat before the tank's corpse crashed into the propane tanks, causing them to explode as we made our way back to the Pigeon.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

The heat from the brilliant explosion splashed against our faces as we put all power to the small engines and propelled us away from the shore. "Son of a bitch!" I was cursing up a storm over this. We got a lot of supplies, two whole launches full, but we lost a good man for the effort and we nearly lost everything else because we were surprised by the special infected. It was my fault. I was captain and I made the decision to send the party on shore. It wasn't Zoey's or Bill's or even Francis'. It was mine and it weighed on me as we came up alongside the Pigeon and we were hauled up.

There weren't many words spoke after I ordered that all of the supplies be sorted through and stowed away and an ammo count made. I stood on deck running my hands through my hair and looking at the burning shoreline. "Set a course for the open sea. All ahead half" growling to another sailor who relayed it to the helmsman. I didn't know what else to do as the site slowly faded away. God damn it. We lost our first man and it had to be now. Donovan came and clapped a hand on my back saying that it wasn't my fault, but I felt that it was. I felt helpless even after we had to leave his body behind. There had to be a memorial service for him, even without the body.

 

[IntriguedLover]

I was still trying to catch my breath when we made it out to sea back to the Pigeon. The place we just left still needed to be searched for more supplies but we didn't have time and it wasn't worth losing more men over. There would be more times that we would come across more places, but only if Robert agreed to, which right now having lost one of his best men, it would be tough to get anyone to go back out there again.

I walked up behind him after making sure the guys were alright and giving Bill back his pack of smokes that he had dropped, I went up to Robert who was beside himself. "It wasn't your fault. We were ambushed, it was as if they were waiting for us.." I said trying to reassure him.

"I'll go get the crew together and tell them there will be a memorial service for Joseph.." I turned to walk away and looked back to see him holding onto the railing.

"What's his deal?" Francis said, which made me mad. "Get a heart, why don't you?" I said confronting his attitude. "People die, you gotta get ove---" he started before I stopped him, "Shut up before he decides to throw you overboard." I kept walking on my way to the galley.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

I wanted to be alone for a moment. Joseph worked for the ship building company where we got the Pigeon. He was the one that worked on the hull to get her seaworthy and he was popular with the men. With him gone the other crew were silent as they went about their duties. The only noise I could hear the swish of the water as the bow cut through the salt water and the salt spray against my face. Joseph liked the sea. That's why he got into ship building. He couldn't join the military because of a bad heart so he decided to try to serve in one capacity or another and took up building.

After ten minutes or so I put away my despair and went to Joseph's bunk to gather up his personal effects and have something made for his memorial service on the fantail of the ship. I met with the others in the galley and the kitchen telling them, "In fifteen minutes we'll have service for Joseph on the fantail" before heading for the bunk. My tone was curt as I went to the bunk and began stuffing his things into a green duffel bag that would be put into storage. We weren't going to throw it all away.

 

[IntriguedLover]

I looked at him and followed him into the bunk. "I know, you just want to be left alone, any of us understand..." I started, "I just wanted to check to see if you were okay." I know he wasn't, but it's the thought that matters.

The guys back in the galley were getting together supplies and sorting through them, while Donovan was getting the memorial together. "What is it about this guy that has the captain so upset," Bill questioned. "He's one of the originals that started this thing, getting the Pigeon together and so on," one of the crew members said. "That's why he's so torn up, he was close to the poor bastard," Francis said, taking into account he was not really welcome by saying 'poor bastard'.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

"Thanks," I said to her after finishing stuffing the duffel bag full. Closing the flaps and putting on the hook and setting it on the floor. "Just hard to fathom at the moment. He was a good man. We probably wouldn't have gotten this ship together if it wasn't for him," looking her up and down. "I just feel guilty because it was my call. He wasn't trained for combat. That's why he moved. He wasn't prepared for the strain," then I threw up a hand. "Oh well. There's nothing we can do about it now. I'm going to take his things down to storage. I'll meet you at the fantail." I did not want to be curt to her, but I wasn't in the best of moods. It would fade with time.

On the fantail there was a vertical pole set up on a plate and on it Joseph's welding hat was placed along with a picture we had of him. It was small, wallet sized, but that was all that we had at the moment.

After putting away the duffel I headed out there to join the others. The Pigeon was put to a stop in the gentle see so that everyone else in the crew could join the memorial. The others were saddened, fighting back their tears as they looked at the small picture. He was a good man, well liked, they didn't hold malice towards the newscomers; Zoey, Francis, Bill, and Louis, but it was a personal loss as I clapped a gentle hand on Zoey's shoulder.

 

[IntriguedLover]

When he touched my shoulder, I felt a chill go through my entire body. I had been the one to pull the trigger killing Joseph. There was no way we could have saved him. It was either that or watch him turn then kill him. Either way was hard on all. I looked over to Bill, who for once was not smoking. He had his hat off, holding it in his hand. Francis and Louis were standing there looking somber. I could have swore I saw a tear in Louis's eye, before he wiped it away.

The crew were taking it rough. I felt as if it wasn't right for me to be here, seeing as I was the one that had put the bullet through his head, watching his brains mixing with the zombie's on his back. It was a scene I will never forget. There was absolute silence. No noise from shore or anywhere around. No birds flying, nothing at all. The ship was stopped dead still in the water while we stood there to remember a man taken before his time.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

Going up towards the pole and the helmet I stood there, hands clasped before me down low, "Would anyone like to say anything?" looking at all of the faces. There was silence at first so I got the ball rolling, "Joseph was a good man. He was a welder in the shipyards. He got the Pigeon put back together. He has a sister in New York City" deliberately putting in 'has' so that there was a hope that she would survive to carry on their name, "and has a nephew with her. He worked for ten years at the docks, patching up ships. We all know him as a hard worker. Dedicated."

A momentary pause before Donovan stepped forward, "I remember the first time he saw this rust bucket. He looked at it and said, "I can fix it. Give me a week. And he got it back together in a week. He was incredible" stepping back in the ranks there wasn't another word from them, just their heads dipped, fighting back tears.

Looking over at Zoey and the others I asked, "Do you guys want to say anything?" even though they were knew, and I knew that Zoey took the shot, I didn't hold it against her. It was a tough choice and it was the right call, but I wish it wasn't her that took it.

 

[IntriguedLover]

When he turned to me to give a few words, I didn't know how to respond. Donovan and the rest of the crew looked at me with different looks. Half of them were looking down at me while the other half looked at me to give some sort of kind words. Louis placed his hand on my shoulder and nodded, "I would like to say that I didn't know Joseph very well, hell we just met him. But from what we knew of him, he was a nice gentleman.." Louis said.

I took a sigh of relief not having to say anything. Louis had spoken for us. "Yeah, he was a nice kid from what I knew by talking to him.." Bill spoke up.

"If it hadn't been for that damned jockey, he'd be with us," Francis said. "Wait, what did you just call it?" I asked him.
"A Jockey..You know, the little guys that ride horses.."

I was a bit in shock by him naming it that, but it was right on spot for once. "And that acid thing, I dubbed it a 'spitter'. There's only more hell rising from the ashes on land, Robert," I said looking to him.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

Jockeys and Spitters...more threats we had to worry about. Turning to the crew I said, "Now we have other things to deal with, boys. Acid spitters and riders. No one is to go anywhere alone when we get back to shore." I said that not with an 'if' because that would leave the likelihood of dread that they would never get off this ship. "I don't want any more names being added. Everyone, including Zoey and the others are key to our survival. We have a long ways to go to reach the Florida Keys and we need everyone to do their duty because if there is one slacking then this all falls apart. We're only as strong as our weakest link. Now, with Joseph gone we need someone to help with the engines and maintain the hull," looking at the new arrivals, "Do any one of you know about engines."

Francis smiled, "Boy, you're lookin' at a hog master. I've built my own babies from scratch. I can work your little engines and keep them purring."

"I'll keep being the lookout" Louis smiled.

"Just put me where you need me" Bill growled.

"Detail, dismissed" I said and the rest of the people departed as I took apart the display stand and pocketed the small picture of Joseph. Francis, Bill, and Louis headed away to join the others leaving me and Zoey alone on the fantail. "You can continue being our cook," I said, "If you wish."

 

[IntriguedLover]

The crew dispersed and went back to their own duties. I was left alone with Robert. "Well, I could do the cooking now and again, but I'd rather be on the front lines," I admitted. "I've got military in my blood and even though I'm a woman, I would not mind being out there handling things, protecting the crew.." I stopped short before I continued speaking more.

My mind was still shooting back to pulling the trigger on Joseph. It would haunt me. Having to pull the trigger on a human being that was still alive and not turned. Robert noticed this and put his hand on my shoulder. "I know, I shouldn't be worried or concerned with it -- I didn't even know him that well.." I started talking.

"But I can't help but have regret that I still killed a human being that was still worthy of saving.." I turned to go inside the galley to get ready to help the other cook with lunch. I stood by the doorway and looked back, "The haul was good, but we need to find some sort of fields that are untouched and the food still fresh in the ground... We can't live on broth forever."

I continued on my way inside pulling my hair back as I headed towards the kitchen. The cook was already in there -- the majority of the things gotten from the warehouse store were sorted for us to put away in the right places. "Well, let's get started," I said as I took some of the cans and opened them to see how well they had fared.