Mechanical: One
Finally getting back from a trip. Next few days aren't going to be fun, have a big talk coming up with grandma/grandpa that might result in them rejecting me from family. Oh well, such is life, hopefully they won't give mom shit about it.
IN BETTER NEWS, have another chapter. Finally we're getting to some more exciting parts. Arborrelli's done awesome fanart (which some of you have seen already), which can be found ova here http://arborrelli.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2rouh4 . Anyway, hope you enjoy.
L4D2 and characters belong to Valve
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Chapter One
“Hey, everyone. Listen up, your attention, if you please-
We wanna give you a warning, cause I found out this morning,
Bout a dangerous, insidious computer virus.”
-Virus Alert, Weird Al
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Almost as soon as they had pulled out of the parking space the radio was blaring full volume, spitting out an old, over-rated song from 2009. Nick probably would have been able to deal with the bad music and the burst eardrums by themselves if it wasn’t for the kid next to him, singing at the top of his lungs as he banged on the steering wheel with his hands to the beat.
Nick was only able to deal with the migraine-in-the-making for a minute before he leaned over and shut off the radio, abruptly bringing the music to an end, the hick still singing for a few moments until he realized the song was no longer playing. “Don’ like the Midnight Riders?” The hick guessed, as if the only thing that had been bothering Nick was the song and not his own horrendous singing.
“Nope,” Nick leaned back in the seat, watching out the window with his chin on his fist, looking rather bored. The streets were empty, but that seemed normal for this area. Most people were probably still working. Or off getting mauled by alligators. He didn’t know what southerners did in their free time. “They’re an over-played band from when I was a kid that didn’t deserve their fame, and now they’re considered ‘classics’ of that time because of a bunch of fan girls,” He glanced briefly at the redneck, who was watching him closely, as if fascinated by the idea that someone could not enjoy the band. Didn’t he know to keep his eyes on the road? “And fan boys, apparently.”
The kid frowned at the comment. “They’re good though! Ah have all their albums, and ah’ve been plannin’ on goin’ ta one of their concerts with ma bud’, Keith.”
“Concerts? Aren’t they around sixty now?”
“Yah, but it’s one of them ‘come back’ things-” Ellis was interrupted mid-sentence when a figure that had been walking slowly along the sidewalk stumbled into the street, the kid having been too distracted talking to Nick to notice until last minute. “Holy shi-“ There was a screech of brakes as Ellis slammed his foot down, fingers white as they tightened around the steering wheel to attempt to swerve the car to the side.
The seconds didn’t seem to slow, but instead sped up as the man slammed into the front of the truck. There was a ‘bang’ sound as the two collided, the body like a ragdoll as it rolled onto the hood with the force of the hit before finally falling off the side. Nick was able to see the man sail by his window for a second from where his head had slammed into the headrest painfully before he was gone, though the hick managed to bring the car to a stop. When the car was still they both sat there stiffly, and Nick realized that breathing was necessary as he suddenly let out the breath he had been holding.
Finally the mechanic let go of the wheel, hands shaking as he fumbled with the door. After the hick was out of the car, Nick followed him. Obviously the man wasn’t dead, despite the speeds they had been going at when they had hit him… he was struggling to get up as the kid ran over to help. Nick stood next to the open back of the truck, a hand curled around the hot metal of its side, and watched Ellis babble as he reached down and grabbed the man’s arm, asking if he was okay and if he needed help and if they had to call an ambulance.
Then the man lunged at Ellis, starting to beat Ellis and yell incomprehensibly.
The kid didn’t fight back, yelping and attempting to stumble away before being brought down to the ground. Instead of punching the man back he brought up his hands, protecting his face from the blows.
Nick wasn’t thinking when he grabbed the crowbar he had seen earlier from the back of the truck. The man looked up at him when he got close, and Nick could see that both eyes were completely blue, even the whites. He didn’t get much time to pay attention because the next moment he had smashed the crowbar into the man’s head.
The metal cranium gave more resistance than the synthetic skin, but collapsed in on itself after a moment. The sensitive wires and chips on the inside were exposed to the air and sent bright sparks flying and oil splattering across Ellis. The metal body of the cyborg went heavy as the unnatural blue eyes flickered out, before falling to the side and on the pavement, silent.
“What the hell was that about?” Nick growled.
Ellis pushed the metal corpse off of him and stood up shakily. “It’s a bot,” Captain Obvious pointed out. “Mus’ be one of them malfunctionin’ ones… the ones with tha virus.”
Nick’s eyes lingered on the bot before turning away. “Get in the car and turn on the radio,” he ordered, taking over the wheel for the time being. Luckily the hick didn’t protest, climbing in the passenger side and flicking on the old radio as Nick started the vehicle.
It crackled to life as they restarted their way to the hotel building, a voice speaking in a tone that Nick recognized all too well as an attempt to stay calm. “-citizens of Savannah, Georgia, are hereby ordered to report to the nearest CEDA station for evacuation. Citizens are warned to stay away from cyborgs that may be infected with the virus as they have been reported to be dangerous. CEDA stations are located at the Vannah hotel, Iberian bank, Savannah police station, and Liberty Mall. While it is urged for citizens to avoid infected cyborgs, CEDA has again said the most important thing people can do is to stay cal-“
And just like the T.V., the radio fizzled into static.
The hick stared at the radio as if trying to absorb what had just happened, while Nick pressed harder on the gas pedal. When he pulled outside the hotel it was dead silent, and he stepped out of the truck.
Ellis, who had been in a dumbfounded stupor since the radio first cut out, snapped to attention at the motion. “Hey- where are you goin’?”
“I need some things from my room,” Nick grabbed the crowbar he had used earlier. “I would suggest coming with me; unless you’d rather stay out here for the bots to find, of course,” He wasn’t surprised to hear footsteps running after him moments later into the hotel, slowing to a walk as Ellis stayed close to him. After all, Nick was the only one with a weapon, and they both knew fists weren’t going to do much damage against metal.
They didn’t run into anybody on the first floor… it was utterly silent except for the creaking of wood as the building settled. Being deserted though didn’t mean no one had been there- there was evidence everywhere of the panicked escapees. Chairs were overturned, tables broken, the windows broken with glass scattered on the floor, and blood. Splatters on the wall and floor.
The single elevator was luckily still working as they travelled to the second story where his room was. As soon as the door opened, the sickly sweet smell of death assaulted them. A bot that had been banging on the elevator doors (having been previously evaded), was easily beat down with the crowbar as they stepped out on the floor.
It would have been easy if there had only been one, but no. Apparently all the carnage and violence that had been absent on the ground floor had just been on this one. Nick didn’t have time to focus on the corpses as what seemed like half a dozen bots let out high-pitched, metallic screeches and raced down the hallway at them.
The crowbar proved a much more useful weapon that he had originally expected. It was strong enough to crack and smash through the metal- though often it took a few hits. And when they got too close. a good slam to the chest proved to be all he needed to make the bots stumble back and falter.
Finally they stepped carefully over the pile of beaten and broken metal bodies, making their way down the hallway much more cautiously. A few doors to various rooms hung on their hinges where they had been smashed open, painted wood splintering and cracked. Their shoes squeaked in the fresh, red blood as they occasionally stepped over one of the face-down bodies. Neither of them tried to see if they were alive.
His own room had been broken into as well, but was silent, the mad cyborg having moved on before they arrived. Ellis watched as Nick pulled out his suitcase and opened it up, then caught the crowbar thrown over to him after Nick retrieved two pistols. “Why do ah get tha feelin’ yer not s’posta legally have those?” Ellis mused, readjusting the metal crowbar so that he had a better grip, glancing back.
“I think we can make an exception,” Nick checked to make sure that the guns were fully loaded, and then loaded his pockets with all of the ammo he had. “And if they get upset, being in jail is better than being dead.”
Unable to argue with that, Ellis left the room and soon they were making their way back downstairs. The bullets proved effective against the few bots that had wandered down to ground floor. Though it usually took a good three or four shots to take them down. For the most part however, the place was empty, of both bots and anybody still alive.
Their hands collided on the handle of the door to the driver’s side of the truck when they were outside again, and they attempted to stare each other down, neither of them willing to be passenger for the moment. “What do you think you’re doing?”
The hick frowned, fingers tightening around the handle. “We’re goin’ back ta get Keith,” Ellis insisted. “He might not know bout’ everythin’ goin on.”
Nick refused to let the southerner yank the door open. “No, actually, we’re not,” The gambler sneered down at him, his other hand holding the pistol tightly. “Your car is the only ride I have; and we’re going to the evac station ASAP. With what we’ve seen so far, CEDA might not be staying for much longer. We have to get there now.”
He made a move to open the door, but before he could he felt a fist slam against the side of his face. The force of the punch knocked him into the side of the car, momentarily stunning him. Momentarily. The gun had been knocked out of his hand and he growled before pushing himself off of the metal vehicle and ignoring the copper taste of blood in his mouth, grabbing the second gun. If he had too, he would knock out the kid and drag him along kicking and screaming. Hell, he was probably just going to leave him behind at this point. There wasn’t any reason for Nick to bring him along.
The kid had youth on his side though, and while Nick prided himself on being fit, he was still fighting against a kid in the prime of his life. And on top of that, well muscled from working on cars day in and day out. Each punch felt like a pile of bricks hitting him full force, and while he gave as many hits as he got, it seemed to barely slow the kid down. Hell, it only made his knuckles scream in pain, and he could swear three of them had bust open judging by the blood and raw throbbing.
The tussle was over quickly, ending as suddenly as it had started when Nick’s face was slammed into the ground. The kid had him pinned on the ground, the hick heavier than he looked, knee on his back. His hands were held in a vice grip behind his back and when he tried to pull them away they didn’t budge. “M’sorry Nick,” The voice was gruff, and before Nick could yell at him he felt something crack against the back of his head. The pain lasted for all of a second before it went black.
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When Nick woke again, the sky was dark, contrasting sharply with the mid-day, late-afternoon sun he had seen earlier. He didn’t get up right away, his head swimming as he stared up and out the window blankly… what had happened? He had the headache from hell and each throb felt like a jackhammer to his skull.
“Are ya awake?”
The sickly light of the moon was blocked out as a familiar face leaned over him, only enough light for him to be able to make out the barest of details. That was all he needed though for him to remember.
The hick pulled back abruptly, holding his cheek and staring at Nick like he couldn’t imagine why the conman would have hit him. “Wha’ was tha’ for?”
“Oh, maybe for knocking me out earlier?” Nick snapped, forcing himself to sit up despite his bodies protests. “God damnit, what time is it? Why aren’t we in the car?”Now that he was starting to become aware, he could more easily make out his surroundings despite the fact that there weren’t any lights on. He was lying in a bed that certainly wasn’t his. In fact, it looked like some families. He could see pictures of a couple on the nightstand next to him- though the picture frame was broken.
Ellis bit his bottom lip, obviously not too excited to answer Nick’s questions. “Ah dunno the ‘xact time… prob’ly round one in the mornin’ or so,” And that would explain why the moon seemed high in the sky. “Ah- mah truck ran outta gas… we’re still a good fourteen miles away from Keith-“
“Your truck ran out of gas?!”
The hick bristled at the yelling, snapping back at him. “Ah was s’posta fill it up afta ah was done droppin you off,” The pistols Nick had had earlier were sitting on the nightstand as well, the crowbar in the kids lap, obviously prepared in case of any unexpected surprises. “Ya were still out an’ all, so ah carried ya inta tha nearest house so we didn’t camp out the night in the open. Yer welcome.”
Nick took a deep breath, doing his best to keep from attacking the kid again. He was already sore enough from last time. His knuckles had been bandaged, and the blood cleaned away from the cuts on his face and the split lip. The hick must have done it while he had been sleeping. “Ya, thanks. I mean, it would have only taken five minutes to get to the bank evacuation center over your half hour drive to save your friend. But hey, who am I to judge, right? I guess we can hope they’ll be there in the morning!”
Ellis’s frown deepened at the bitter and sarcastic voice, but Nick couldn’t care less. Right now he wanted to strangle the retard southerner. If he hadn’t insisted on acting like an idiot, then they wouldn’t have been there. Most likely Nick would have been on a helicopter out of there already, and no more worrying about manic bots. But no. Now he had to wait and hope. Nick had never been one for hope.
“Whatever, man,” Ellis stood up. “Ah need ta get some rest since, y’know, ah’ve been on watch duty this entire time. Las’ thing we need is some bot sneakin’ up on us.”
As much as he wanted to argue simply for the sake of arguing, he reluctantly forced himself out of the bed. He may have been pissed at the kid, but even he knew that watch duty was important now. Even through the window he could see the occasional lumbering and lurching figure, though they didn’t take notice of the two men. Most likely because they had kept the light off… from the outside the place must have looked abandoned.
They switched spots, Nick taking over the seat Ellis had been in, while the kid took the bed. “Night, Nick,” Ellis murmured, turning his back to the conman and pulling the blanket over him. After a few seconds the kid was out cold, barely even moving and simply become a still figure underneath the blanket. If Nick hadn’t been such a pessimist, he would have been hoping that the kid had died.
He watched for maybe a good twenty minutes before looking out the window again. There were still the slow moving and clumsy figures, but now he could see two of them fighting. After a good hour of the bot showdown one of them fell to the ground, and the other immediately took advantage.
Nick squinted his eyes, trying to better see what was going on. But even with the light of the half moon focused on the figures, he could only make out the basics. There was some skin ripped off of the victor’s face, revealing the shining metal and gears underneath. But what was he doing to the losing bot? Nick watched for a while as the victor bot seemingly tore apart the other, ripping out what looked like wires, cords, chips, pipes, unsure of what was going on… before noticing that the ‘alive’ bot wasn’t just throwing away the parts he was ripping out, he was using the parts on himself. He could see what he thought were wires being attached to new spots, new metal being attached…
Nick’s hand tightened around the pistol, unconsciously cocking it as he watched the dimly lit scene, before the new and improved bot wandered off. He could feel dread coiling at the bottom of his stomach as he wondered just what they were going to be going up against in the morning when they left.