Left 4 Dead/Left 4 Dead 2 One-Shots

L4D/L4D2 ~ My Return

You couldn't stand being around them anymore, so you left. You told them exactly what you thought, explained how you couldn't stand being near them any longer and that you were better off alone. After being so wounded by your words, they didn't try to stop you from leaving.

However, not after a week of being alone, you realized you missed them. For the next month you kept telling yourself the feeling would pass, you just missed the simple pleasures of not having to sleep with one eye open because someone was on watch, and it was nice knowing someone had your back when a horde came. But soon it became obvious that you were just fooling yourself.

You missed Bill's commanding voice, the one in which he gave instructions that kept you alive; you could use some advice.

You missed Louis' optimism, as annoying as it was; you could really use it right now.

You missed Francis' cracks he'd make when he knew the others weren't listening; you could use a little laugh.

You missed Zoey's youth, and the chats you two would have like the world wasn't falling to chaos around you; you could use someone to talk to.

You missed Coach relaying the many games he coached and what he'd learned, the many masterful plays he'd conducted, and the brilliant games you wish you could've seen; you could use some of his wisdom.

You missed Nick's sarcastic comments, as crazy as that sounds, but that ba$tard knew a thing or two about a thing or two; you could use some of his witty humor.

You missed Ellis' stories he used to tell about his buddy Keith, whether they were made up or not you could never tell; you could use some stories around a campfire.

You missed Rochelle and her understandingness, as people who were sympathetic were hard to come by; you could use someone who knew what it was like to live in an apocalyptic world and be ok with showing their wear and tear.

When you were finally able to admit to yourself that you really wanted to be with them once more, you hit yourself in the head and kept walking. Yeah, like they'd want you back after what you pulled. Right. You bet if they passed you bleeding out on the street they'd just keep on walking, not even batting an eye in your direction.

Your legs came to a halt as you hung your head in shame. How could you say such words without even considering how they must've felt hearing them? What kind of monster were you?

You collapsed right there on the street, your vision blurring and clearing then blurring again. You couldn't seem to decide whether to cry or accept your situation and move on. Your brain told you there was a .001% chance you'd even see them again so you might as well forget your past and stop being such a baby, but your heart said you should find them again and apologizeーeven if they don't take you back, you'll at least be at peace with them.

You put your face between your knees and let out a sigh. Getting so caught up with your own problems was going to get you killed. Pulling your face from your knees, you got to your feet and adjusted the hunting rifle strap around your torso.

Nasty gurgling noises came from a shop, making you whip around to see an infected had caught sight of you. You yanked your pistol out of your holster and brought it up to shoot it when someone else beat you to it. You pointed the gun at the person only to freeze when you recognized Zoey was being the trigger.

"(Y/N)," she said. Her voice was completely void of emotion, and that fact alone felt like a knife to the heart. It was a reminder of what you'd done, what you had to make right.

You put your pistol back in your holster. "Zoey, I-"

"We've searched the whole house," a familiar voice stated as he came out of a house. Francis was followed by Louis and Bill, and they all stopped when they caught sight of you. "What are you doing here?" Francis was the first to break the silence.

"Look, I know you don't want to see me-"

"You got that right," Francis scoffed, folding his arms. Louis looked unsure of what to doーlet you talk or walk awayーbut it was clear Bill wanted to shoot you and move on.

"But just let me talk!" You begged.

"I'm not sure if you deserve that, sweetheart." A cold voice came from behind you. You spun around to see Coach, Nick, Ellis, and Rochelle were stood there.

"Guys, please, I know I don't deserve it but can you at least hear what I have to say before you shoot me?" You turned back and forth to look at both groups of survivors. They exchanged looks amongst each other, what their decision was you couldn't tell just based off what you could read in their body language.

"Alright, whatcha gotta say?" Coach asked. You exhaled in relief, glad they were at least going to give you a chance, and started your speech. First you apologized for saying what you did, it was uncalled for and they didn't deserve it. Next you talked about what your experience alone made you realize along with why you wanted to join their group again. Finally, you asked if it was possible for you rejoin.

At first you were met with silence. If you had to guess, you would've said everything you said went in one ear and out the other. And rightfully so. You wouldn't even let the person speak if they'd done what you did. You adjusted the strap around your torso and prepared for the go away.

"O' course ya can!" Ellis shouted, a smile lighting his young face. He walked over to give you a hug and Rochelle followed him, the corner of her lips quirked up. Louis verbally agreed with them and came over to get in on the group hug. Soon enough the others followed suit.

"Just so you know, if you pull that sh!t again, I'm putting a bullet in your brain," Nick grumbled, involuntarily getting pulled into the hug.

"Come on, Bill," Louis called, waving the grumpy old man over. But Bill just stubbornly crossed his arms and looked away.

"He'll come 'round," Coach said, clapping you on the back.

"Welcome back, (Y/N)."

Hey everybody! This was written to be symbolic of my return and my present to you all for taking so long. Thank you for all the nice comments, it means so much to me (and it's also partially why I came back).

I'm not sure if everyone and their mother is going to read this or no one's gonna even know that I updated this book, but I'm not actually coming back full time. I know, I know, but at one time I thought I was and wrote a couple which is what the next few oneshots will be (I wrote them a year ago so they're not that great).

Sorry if I got your hopes up :( but maybe I'll write some more some day?

[Oh, what's that? You want to know who said the last line in the one-shot? That's for you to decide :) ]