Chapter 39: Bonds

Disclaimer: I do not own left 4 Dead 2

Ark sat still as he watched the hustle and bustle of the house, gazing around. After introductions had been made, it seemed as if everyone had gone to their own separate corners to socialize. The group he was currently with acted as if they wanted nothing to do with his older group, and it made him feel uncomfortable. Zoey and Francis clearly hated Nick and weren't exactly shy about making sure the con-artist knew that. It was a bit taxing, wanting to hug your old team and wanting to strangle them at the same time.

Yawning, he stretched out before going into the kitchen, searching for some form of food. It wasn't exactly like he was seeking to prepare anything, but if there was something there to eat, that would be nice.

Turning into the well designed kitchen, he sat and looked at the ceiling, smiling faintly as he looked at the walls. Everything about the home seemed... warm and inviting. He felt as if he was home, and everything was going to be okay. Smiling, he looked up as he saw Zephyr cleaning up some pots and pans, grinning cheerfully. The witch had her hair done up in a ponytail, and she was intent on cleaning the pans despite her disadvantage with her claws, scrubbing gingerly with the sponge. Zoey and the others had done a great job on making the Witch look even better, the sleeveless turtleneck accentuated with form-fitting jeans. She sang softly as she worked, setting a washed plate underneath the faucet, rinsing off the suds as Sion slowly came up behind her. Ark suddenly felt it was wise to go elsewhere, or at least out of sight range.

Sion smiled as he gently poked Zephyr's shoulder, the witch turning to look at him. " Hey there, you look good." he said, smiling faintly at her.

She smiled back, gently tucking a lock of hair behind one ear. " Zoey said something about making sure I looked good for the boys. Dunno what on earth she was referring to, but I think she meant you two."

Sion laughed softly, figuring it was just like Zoey to suggest such a thing. " Yeah... that's Zoey for you. Still looks good though. Light and easy to get around in. So, where's the little ankle-biter? I haven't seen him lately..."

" Being halfway across another state might have something to do with that, you know." Zephyr said, chuckling. " Bill grabbed him earlier. Said something about making him look less like a rag-a-muffin."

Sion covered his face. " Oh god, that poor kid's gonna need therapy after Bill's done with him. He's either gonna give the kid a bowl cut or a crew cut. Maybe even make him wear a helmet."

" I don't think they're allowed to recruit that early, Sion." Zephyr said, an eyebrow raised. " Besides, it's not like there's much to do right now, might as well just teach him a few things. By the way, what on earth was that awful racket earlier? It sounded like a bunch of people arguing..."

Sion covered his face. " The new group we found... there's a guy in there whose ferocity can match a pit bull with a stomach bug. Cranky, rude, and self-centered. He, Zoey, and Francis didn't exactly get along very well."

Zephyr raised her other eyebrow. " Francis, I get. Zoey? How did that come into play?"

Sion covered his face with a groan. " The guy -his name's Nick- more or less suggested that the only reason Zoey managed to survive is that she performs... extra special activities to the others so they'll keep her alive."

Zephyr took a minute to process that, sighing as she put both hands on her face. " Charming, isn't he?"

" Top of his class." Sion agreed dryly. " But, enough of that, I'm glad you're safe. I was worried something had happened to you because you couldn't come into the camp with us."

Zephyr smiled softly. " I don't go down that easily. After everyone had to leave me outside, I made a small shelter nearby the camp and the others came and brought me food once in a while. Actually, when the camp was attacked, I was one of the people helping to defend it until the military got there."

Sion smiled warmly. " What happened afterward?" he asked, interested in hearing what had gone on after they left for the south. " I mean, I heard Colt's here. Why is he here, he's supposed to be living with Solaris..."

Zephyr's smile faded and she sighed softly. " The infected swarmed the entire place. Normally, the river did a good job of protecting us, but someone had placed a multitude of infected drawing traps around the camp. Jars of boomer bile had been thrown around, calling infected from great distances. I wanted to warn everyone, but it was hard, especially with the guard towers... I didn't get there in time. We lost some of the people living there, but the military arrived and took care of most of the situation. They decided to evacuate the area, declaring the place an infected risk zone. Solaris and her mother were among the people evacuated."

She set another dish in the sink, sighing as she started the faucet again. "Colt had been devastated, and was inconsolable for hours. Luckily, we were able to catch up with the unit and talk to them, and we found out that they were pretty nice guys. They weren't evacuating to a big camp like most do, they were taking as many people as they could to other locations and helping them get into small settlements, ones where experimenting wasn't a top priority. Some military officials are getting desperate, Sion. They're doing everything in their power to subdue the infection, even if it means killing innocent people."

Sion leaned against the counter. " I know. I'm just worried that we may be transmitting it to others by traveling around like this. Call me paranoid, but I think someone's behind a lot of things, and they're trying to clean up their mistake."

" There's a lot of mistakes being made." Zephyr finished with the last dish, removing the apron she was wearing and setting it on the table. " Some think it's airborne, some say it's by touch, others are completely insane and avoiding any and all human contact. While on our travels, we found a couple living in a hotel room, they blasted loud music from the roof in an attempt to get us killed. We didn't even go anywhere near them, and they tried to kill us. People are that afraid of this virus."

Sion sighed. " I'm not surprised. Speaking of strange, have you seen anyone named Alexander? I heard Matthew, the guy who brought us here talking about him to his brother. He said something about the four of them getting in the same place again... and bad things happen when it does."

Zephyr hummed faintly. " Well, we did meet a strange man. He was about the same height as Francis, and kindly introduced himself as Anthony... he was looking for his son, who had gotten separated from him. He was kind about talking with us, but I got the feeling he really didn't even want to look at us. It was sort of like... he wanted to kill us all if we didn't have any information for him, but he was too bored to do so. I think his name was also false. He did give us a picture of his son though, and I held onto it." She reached into her pocket and selected a picture from the small wallet she carried, giving it to Sion.

Sion gazed at the picture slowly, seeing two people in the picture. "... I can't really make it out." he said. " I see a older person, with dark hair, but eye color is hard to determine. The younger one... looks kind of like Ark."

" That's why I wanted to find you guys as soon as possible, show you the photograph." She said. " Anthony also said that the older man in the picture is missing too. He's looking for the both of them, but his son is the most important."

" He give you a name to go by?" Sion asked.

Zephyr sighed. " No luck in that department. He said we would know the boy by his face."

" Way to be vague." Sion groaned, covering his face. " I'm gonna go check on Ellis, and then I'll be back, k?" he told her, the witch softly nodding.

" Nick, I swear to god if you don't stop that irritating noise, I will smack you." Coach threatened, starting to become more than just a little annoyed with Nick's current behavior. The con-artist was in a foul mood, having been on the receiving end of Rochelle's glare after he had fought with Zoey and Francis, more than willing to share his good cheer. He was currently sitting in a very comfortable loveseat, unloading and reloading a pistol out of pure frustration.

" Now don't go smacking him for no reason, Coach." Ellis said from where he was laying, the bed he was laying on feeling like a small slice of heaven to the mechanic. " Matthew was kind enough to give us all this space to rest in, I don' think he wants it all bloodied or torn."

Nick snorted softly, his eyes narrowing in fury as Zoey came into the room. " Hey, Coach... Louis wanted to talk to you and..." her voice trailed off as she saw Ellis, who was staring at her with wide eyes. " Uhm..."

" Heh heh... hello ma'am... gosh... wow... erm..." Ellis was a nervous wreck, a scarlet tinge on his face as his eyes flickered every direction, his tongue having trouble with getting its act together.

" Boy, you been killing zombies for how long now? I think you can talk to a girl..." Coach mumbled under his breath.

Ellis shot him a look, fiddling with his hands. " Eh.. er... um... how-how are you today?" he finally got out, Zoey giving him a smile.

" Fine, thanks for asking!" she smiled. " How about you, those wounds look pretty bad..."

Ellis puffed up proudly. " What, these? Hell, I've had worse. Y'see, I got them holdin' my ground against them zombies, can't let them get to my friends!"

Nick rolled his eyes and walked past Zoey to get out of the room. " Going to go check on Ro'." he mumbled as his excuse for a hasty retreat from Ellis attempting to look like a tough guy.

Coach looked at the two, lifting an eyebrow. " Well, Zoey, do you think you can help me look after Ellis a moment? I need to go check with Chad about some painkillers for my knee..." he said, getting up and smiling, patting her shoulder gently. He of course needed no such thing at the moment, but anything to get out of the room and let Ellis have a moment with one of the new group.

Nick exhaled softly as he rested on the balcony of the house, staring out at the scenery. Everyone else in the building were either resting, seeking to fill their stomach, or chatting with someone. He wasn't that interested in trying to bond with these people, he was more interested in escaping.

It was a harsh lesson to learn after leading such a solo life. After all, it was easier to convince people he had a unbelievable sum of money, and they would get some if they helped him out. Now, practical skills were worth far more than money, and it would take some getting used to.

Sighing, he leaned back against a wall, massaging his forehead, feeling a headache creeping on. It was a lot to deal with in the last... shit, he had forgotten how long it had been since he had anything close to a normal day. He felt as if the whole world was crashing down on him in a painful manner, his whole body ached and his shoulder stung from constant use. Groaning faintly, he stretched out while rolling his shoulder slightly as he watched Sion and Chad walk out towards the treeline to look around, watching them curiously before looking up as Rochelle settled beside him.

" Nick, did you have to fight with the others...?" she asked softly, tucking her knees to her chest. " I mean, I know we're all stressed from fighting for our lives, but you didn't have to bite their heads off."

" I'm not interested in staying long. You of all people should know that." Nick said. " Only reason I'm staying is because we all need some rest before trying to call that boat owner." he looked at his hand, looking at all the scratches decorating his skin. " You should head back inside... try and get some rest without that biker gawking at you for a hour or so." He didn't want to acknowledge the fact that he knew if he went back inside and spotted the other team right now, another ball of anger would settle in the pit of his stomach and he'd go off again. However, with Ellis resting and Coach keeping a vigilant watch over him, Nick knew he'd have no form of backup whatsoever. For now, his solution to his obvious problem was to ignore it for a while, his attention being grabbed as Rochelle settled beside him.

" It's quiet here." Rochelle said softly, her shoulder resting against Nick's. " I'd rather rest here than where it's noisy." she closed her eyes gently and leaned against him, Nick blinking slowly as she yawned softly. " Don't make too much noise, ok?" she asked him before falling silent, Nick studying her features for a few moments and then returning his gaze to the yard.

"...Sure thing, sweetheart."

Sion yawned and stretched his arms until he heard a pop, licking his lips slightly as he looked out at the area. Chad was somewhere nearby, and would most likely call for him if he needed it, so for now, he was on guard duty. He didn't mind though, it was quiet and peaceful here. Desert and Matthew had done a spectacular job on keeping the infected population around their home down, there was actually time to stop and enjoy the scenery for once.

Sitting back, he gazed out at the trees with a sort of a serene gaze, only to have it shattered when a large Hunter jumped on him. The Hunter was wearing a dark sweatshirt, growling as it lifted it's hand to claw at the fabric of his shirt, the Smoker wheezing and raking his short claws against the Hunter's chest, startling it enough to where he could bring both legs up and kick it off. The Hunter landed in a simple roll, crouching before lunging again as Sion brought up his acquired shotgun, biting onto the barrel and tugging it like a dog, Sion yelping as he tugged back. " Chad! Help!" he cried, the Hunter tugging on the gun again before lunging forward, knocking Sion to the ground, the Smoker grimacing as a stick poked into his back uncomfortably.

The Hunter growled again, lifting his clawed hand again before looking at Sion carefully. "...Kevan...?"

" No coincidence!" Sion barked, kicking the Hunter off again, scrambling to find his gun. Upon seeing it out of his arm's reach, he shot his tongue out, wrapping it around the barrel quickly and pulling it to him, securing it in his hands and whirling to face the Hunter, only to find the area empty.

" … Who was that...?" he asked as Chad finally came into the clearing, huffing and puffing.

The large Hunter hopped from tree to tree, stopping only to nurse his bruised ribs before stopping at a house, grimacing as he looked at the bruise forming. " Damn asshole and his kicks..." he hissed, a low voice making him whirl around.

" Perhaps you shouldn't have been so hasty?" Ethan asked, walking forward. " I understand you want to find your child, but to so zealously attack someone for no good reason..."

" You DON'T understand." Alexander hissed. " I fucked up, got it? I let my son go on a sour note. I wanted him to take up the same job profession I had, but he didn't want to and we clashed. We both said stupid shit and I let him go. The one time in my life I was happy and I fucked it up." he sat down against the tree trunk, slamming his head against it with a sigh. " And then life really went to hell with this virus. If I'm ever going to make anything right again, I have to find that kid of mine." His eyes looked downcast and he exhaled again, looking depressed.

Ethan sighed, rubbing his head softly. " Before you even start, you're not the world's crappiest parent. You've seen other horrible examples."

Alexander glared at him. " If you're trying to cheer me up, you're doing a really bad job of it."

" Wasn't trying to cheer you up." Ethan replied, getting up to check on his wife.

" So where's the brats?" Alexander asked. " You know, the three little tag-alongs?"

Ethan laughed softly, placing a blanket on Mary. " I left them in good hands. It's safer than traveling with me. It can get a bit crazy in fights sometimes."

" Do you mean you left them with those soldiers?" Alexander said, a disgruntled tone entering his voice. " I don't trust soldiers, least of all goofball soldiers."

The charger rolled his eyes slowly. " They're a hell of a lot better than leaving them with an encampment. The soldiers often stationed there are... useless."

Alexander let out a harsh laugh. " Useless? Try unable to fight their way out a fucking paperbag even when armed with an airstrike and tank. One Tank or Shooter, and they scatter like petals off a flower in the hands of a hormonal girl."

" Never heard it put that way before..." Ethan chuckled. " But I'd be lying if I didn't say at least half of it was accurate."

" Which half?" Alexander said, raising one eyebrow underneath the hood of his sweatshirt.

" I'll let you decide which half." Ethan trailed off. " So, did you learn anything from your little trip to the twins besides how much kicks hurt?"

Alexander snorted, rubbing his ribs again. " I think I found Kevan... you remember him, little rebel wannabe before all this shit went down?"

Ethan thought for a moment. " Mmm... the Smoker, if I remember correctly? I thought there was a similarity, but that one's named Sion. Close appearance though, but his personality... well if he once was Kevan, his personality's done a complete 180."

Alexander growled. " I'll beat the memory into him if I have to."

Ethan gave him a stern look, looming over the Hunter. " Do you need me to re-school you about attacking random people for no good reason?"

Alexander stood up, staring Ethan in the eye. " I don't care what you think. I WILL find my son, no matter how many bodies I have to step over to find him. Get in my way, and there will be consequences." Turning, he crouched slightly before leaping away, grabbing onto a drainage pipe and neatly flipping onto a roof, running along the roof and leaping gracefully to the next one, soon vanishing from sight.

Ethan sighed once Alexander was gone, going over to Mary's side and gently covering her with a blanket. " Alexander, what will you do with yourself if, in the midst of searching for your son, you lose sight of what matters?" he whispered to no one, grabbing his weapon and sitting to take guard.

End chapter 39

... Has it really almost reached 40 chapters...?

You know, I only expected this to reach 10, at best 20. What was once a little lighthearted story has turned into such a tale... I've made so many roleplaying friends and best friends from this, and it just keeps getting better and better.

Wow.