The four of us banded together for a common purpose: to survive.

The horrors we faced were insurmountable: hordes of the undead that rush from every direction, bloated monsters that belched putrid vomit, savages that crawl and leap and tear at your flesh, freaks that ensare you with their tongues to drag you to your doom, mutant women whose eerie crying remind the haunted of her unforgiving leathal strikes, and devilish brutes that can crush you with their monstrous strength. We were alone against this army of hundreds… thousands! Trapped in a city infested, we quickly learned to trust each other without hesitation. Our lives depended on it.

Armed to the teeth with firearms to punish the wicked savages, we blasted our way through to each safe room to catch our breath. We couldn’t stay for long; the extraction helicopter at the hospital couldn’t wait forever. We made it through abandoned apartments, the demolished subway, the cramped sewers… all the way to Mercy Hospital. There were plenty of close calls. We almost thought we would be overrun several times, but we kept our heads and kept putting bullets in every undead body.

We had finally made it to the roof. The trek up each floor was daunting, but we managed. The rescue was almost close. However, before they could arrive, we had to make a final stand against waves of the infected. More than ever before, they were climbing up the walls and structures to get at us. Our teamwork now had to be in total sync. Alone we could never endure this nightmare, but together we had the slimmest of chances.

Each minute passed by… each minute closer to salvation. We threw everything we had at them. We blew them up. We lit them on fire. We riddled them with bullet holes. Every one that fell, five more were coming from the horizon. At then at long last… one of us was overwhelmed. He couldn’t shove enough of them away to reload his gun. They swarmed all around him. The rest of us were helpless, busy fighting off our own aggressors, as he was ripped to pieces. We had to fight on. We needed to live. There was no time to mourn.

The battle became more intense as it went. Soon the giant monster came, tearing apart the roof. Our bullets seemed to bounce off its bulging skin. Our molotovs lit him on fire, but the burning flames didn’t slow him down. We had to scatter to avoid his crushing fists. It’s never a good idea to separate. And we paid for it. The monster closed in on one of us and landed a devastating blow. He flew across the roof and hit a concrete wall. He tried to limp away, but it was soon too late. The monster lunged at him and continued its barrage of pounding our ally’s flesh. We unloaded everything we had to try and lure him away. Then after what seemed like an eternity, the brute finally fell.

And then we heard it on the radio. The helicopter had arrived! We were going to make it! At long last, deliverance. The hosts of attackers had dwindled. We made our way to the helipad unhindered.

I relished the sound of the blades whipping in the air. It sounded like my wings were flapping, lifting me to freedom. I walked onto the platform, and in what seemed like slow motion, turned around to look at my teammate. He was also my savior. He and I made it through hell and back. We fought bravely and without remorse. I could see it in his eyes and then…

I pointed my shotgun.

I pulled the trigger.

I heard the loud bang.

I saw him blasted back onto the ground.

I turned around and jumped into the chopper and flew off.

I never looked back.

She was Left 4 Dead.

Tags: Left 4 Dead, Video Games, zombies