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Chapter 33: Stage
Disclaimer: I do not own Left 4 Dead 2
--

" It's been over forty minutes, we'd better go get them." Coach said, hefting his shotgun as he prepared to go outside, Nick giving the bigger man a look.

" What's going on out there?" Chad asked, helping Rochelle to her feet. " It's been painfully quiet. I hope that Matthew person didn't lead them into some sort of hairbrained trap..."

" Knowing them, he probably has." Nick said, ignoring the look Rochelle gave him. " And I get the feeling that we're the ones who have to go get them, right?"

Coach gave him a look as if he thought Nick was somewhat crazy for even suggesting that they leave anyone behind, Nick sighing and walking after them, stopping when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye, tensing when he saw a figure walking their way. " Hold up... we have a guest."

Chad lifted his head, eyes widening in realization when he saw the figure clearly. " You... you're Desert, the one from the the forest..."

Desert tilted his head, shadowed eyes gazing at Chad. " So... we meet again in our travels."

Chad nodded eagerly. " Yeah. Did you ever find your family?" he smiled softly at him, Nick and Coach watching the two men speaking. Rochelle was more curious about the conversation, seeing as how Chad had met this person before.

Desert nodded softly. " I'm on my way to meet him. You look as if you are in a rather large hurry, and the air here is stagnant with anxiety, what is going on?"
" One of our friends got kidnapped, and we're following a lead on him." Chad quickly explained.

Desert lifted his head slightly. " Then I had best leave you to your task..." he got cut short when Chad grabbed his arm.

" Can you help us, just for a bit?" Chad asked, determination in his eyes. "The more people the better."

Rochelle and Coach nodded eagerly, Nick crossing his arms with an irritated look, Desert giving him a soft smile. " Don't worry, I'll be gone once it's over." he said, following after Chad, picking the pace up as they headed for the stadium entrance.

--

Nick ground his teeth after he hurried after Coach, aiming his gun at nearly every shadow that was bigger than a table, on edge. He had meant to tell the others while Chad and Sion searched for Ark, and possibly have negotiated his way into them leaving the group behind, but as usual, the cards weren't in his favor. The more attached the others got to the infected, the harder it would be to leave them behind. Already, Ellis looked like he was ready to defend Ark and Sion to the death, and wouldn't listen to reason, he was stupid that way.

Infected were still infected at the end of the day, Ark and Sion were all smiles, but they still had teeth and claws. It made him think back to the day that their world became this hell-hole, and where he had been. Like usual, he had been hard at "work," conning gullible suckers out of their hard earned cash with his silver tongue. It was a bit easy to trick people in the south, he guessed it was mostly due to their trusting nature. After a rather sucessful morning, he was walking down to the local club to enjoy his victory and possibly gamble a couple of wallets in the process when he heard screaming and the sound of chaos.

Some people had been bitten or somehow came into contact with the infection ahead of time, and were attacking people openly in the streets, though Nick hadn't been quite aware of what was going on at the time, the mass hysteria that suddenly occured had him being more or less shoved in the direction of a hotel for evacuation. It had been hectic to say the least, panicked people everywhere gave him one hell of a headache. On the way up, he had bumped into who he would later know as Coach, who had kindly pointed him in the right direction, the two heading up. On the 15th floor, they bumped into Rochelle, who seemed to be dealing with a small form of shock, just hunched over, muttering softly to herself before jumping in surprise when Coach nudged her shoulder.

She had been crying, Nick vaguely remembered, but he couldn't remember if she had ever told them why, Rochelle following them before they bumped into the lively Ellis. Right away, Nick had pegged Ellis for a gullible sap, the kid seemed to look up to someone like him and smile. He could have murdered someone a minute ago, and the kid would say that the person had done something to him first with the right coercing. Throwing him a bone only served to both amuse and annoy, sometimes one or the other.

On the 28th floor, Coach had loudly complained that whoever had thought to make the evacuation center on the roof was an asshole, and Nick soundly agreed with him. By no means was he old, but he was not exactly young either, and those stairs were a bit taxing. Damned if he was going to tell the others though, he made a quick crack about the helicopter possibly being made of chocolate to spur the bigger man into moving, and to this day he was fairly certain Coach wanted to hit him for it. Sadly, his laughter died in his throat when he saw the helicopters flying away, having sighed as he watched the scene, uttering " Looks like there's been a change of plans."

How true.

The words he had said then... it was the same now, there had been a change in plans. Coach and the others were blind to what was going on, and he had to make the dangers known immediately. However, Chad's presence made things difficult, in such a short time, the doctor had managed to become friendly with the others. On a good day, Nick himself could barely get to "tolerable," and regularly scored " begrudgingly tolerated." He could very well end up on his own if he miscalculated, and as much as he hated to admit it, traveling in a group increased his chances of survival.

If it had been possible to travel and survive alone, he would have done so long ago, but it was impossible. The first time he had seen a Tank, he instinctively had moved closer to the others. It was a safety net he had despised, but recognized that it was necessary.
Sighing, he returned to the present day as he saw Chad speaking to Desert about how much time had passed since they last saw him, a somewhat bored look on the man's face, as well as a hint of possible urgency  for the kidnapped individual. Hurrying along took time, and they also had minimal idea as to where they were going, so Chad was just trying to lighten the mood. Nick closed his eyes and rubbed at them to wipe away some of his exhaustion, jolting up when he heard a scream, looking around. " Was that Ellis? Sounded girly enough." he asked, Coach and Rochelle taking off in that direction as fast as they could,Chad already running.

" I hope he's okay." Desert said, running after Chad, Nick groaning as he ran alongside him. " He'd better be, because I'm going to kill him for making me have to run everywhere." the conman added.
--
" OH MY GOD IT'S COTTON CANDY!" Ellis squealed,  Matthew eagerly nodding in agreement, Sion hitting his head on the wall for the fourth time in less than two minutes. " One- fucking-candy-booth... and they're distracted." he moaned, hitting his head several times. " CAN WE FOCUS?!"

" I am!" Ellis said defensively. " M' just remembering where it is so we can come back later."

"Strategic reasons!" Matthew added, Sion glaring at them. I will not kill them, I will not kill them, I will not kill them...

" Ellis, you are a dead man after this." Nick said, panting as the rest of the group caught up, Desert leaning against the wall with an amused smirk. " Once we reach some form of safety, you are dead."

" Why not now?" Ellis asked, curious as to why Nick would refrain from strangling him on the spot.

" Because I still need your gun arm to get me to safety." Nick said with a cocky smirk. " Once we're safe, then I'll kill you."

" At least he's being honest about it." Coach said dryly. " I'd rather y' not kill the boy now anyways, we still have a missing person out there."

In the meantime, Desert had walked over to Matthew, the two smiling at each other. " Nice to see you, little brother." Desert said softly. " I see you've pulled your hair back again, and you still look as goofy as ever."

Matthew rubbed his neck, smiling. " And I see y' still talking with y' new york accent, when y' gonna drop back into what y' grew up with? It's been a few years, but y' still a southerner, through and through."

Desert shrugged his shoulders. " I'm sure it'll snap back sometime, for now, can you tell me what's going on? Chad brought me up to speed, but I'm afraid that there's a few holes in the story."

"One of their friends got kidnapped, and I'm supposed to be taking them to where I saw them last." Matthew replied. " But... it's at the stadium..."

Desert turned his head, looking at the stadium. " Ugh... the last place I wanted to visit." he said with a hint of disgust, Matthew nodding alongside him. " That being said, on a different note, what are you doing here?"

Matthew shook his head. " Lookin' for y', but let's not go through the why's and how's..." he covered his ears as he heard some loud microphone feedback. " We've got some unwanted company."

Everyone grimaced as some nasty hard rock started to play, Ellis grinding his teeth. " I swear, some people shouldn't be ALLOWED near guitars..." he said, Nick nodding in agreement.
" I can't even understand what that guy's singing!" Rochelle complained, Sion listening to the unearthly wails echoing through the area, growing paler by the second. " If we're going to get Ark and get rescued... we had better start running." he said, voice trembling.
Chad didn't need to figure out why Sion had gotten even paler than usual, a Screamer's wail was capable of calling all infected within a certain range, but one amplified by a microphone... a LOT of infected were heading their way. Shuddering, he hurried alongside others to go into the stadium, hearing pained yelps and howls. " Is that Ark...?"
The whole team made it inside despite the few staff infected throwing themselves in their way, some not knowing what to make of the sight. Ark was tied to a speaker, screaming in pain as the music continued, the singer belting out another garbled note to make everyone cringe. " Damn, that's loud! Someone turn it off!" Nick complained, covering his ears as Sion winced, trying to make sense of the garbled mess.

" So... the gang's all here." a cold voice said, Ark's kidnapper sitting on a nearby bench, arms crossed. " Not much of a show, is it? But, he's the best I could get on such short notice." he moved his head slightly, a bullet hole appearing beside his head as Nick ground his teeth, reloading. " Careful... as we speak, over a hundred infected are flocking to that guy's song... are you sure you want to waste ammunition now?"

Nick stifled a snarl, clicking the new magazine into place. " If it gets this bullshit situation out of my hair, I'd gladly waste a whole clip on your sorry ass."

The guy laughed heartily. " A feisty one, havent seen one like you in a while..." he curled his lips into a small snarl. " I thought they killed all of the stupid ones."

Nick returned the snarl. " I'd say they missed one, you're still roaming around."

" I'd say you're the stupid one... traveling with infected isn't very bright." the man said, folding his hands together.

" What? What infected...?" Ellis said, Rochelle lowering her weapon curiously. The second the words were out of his mouth, the man let out a short laugh which grew into a long one, practically reveling in the sheer amusement. " Oh, you didn't know... did you? The boy I have tied to the speaker, the one standing in the middle... and the two who led you here, they're all infected." he said, pointing to Ark, Sion, Desert and Matthew. " Carriers of the disease that ruined the world you cherished so."

Rochelle and Coach turned to look at Sion, who hid his face and looked away from them, Desert and Matthew's glares never ceasing. " What a night of comedy this is! I think my sides will split from the dramatic irony in the air, a bunch of survivors relying on the protection of some filthy animals!"

" Hey! We're not animals! We still can think and act for ourselves!" Matthew shouted angrily, wincing when the man gave him a look. " You be quiet, infected. The likes of your kind only serve to ruin our lives, or at least what we've got left. How long will it be before you infect that group with your disease? Kill one of them in a fit of anger? Simply leave him behind to die? You say that you're still human on the inside...your mind is just as sick as your body."

Ellis looked over at Sion, worry etched into his face. " Sion... the guy's just playing us... right? You're not one of the things we've been running from, are ya?"

" He is." Nick said bluntly, eyes still trained on the man, waiting for a good shot, ignoring the others' small gasps. " But... right now we had better prepare ourselves. Stealing your job for a moment, Ro', Today's forecast: Shitstorm." he said, watching the infected crawling over the ledges, snarling and growling.

Desert shoved Matthew in Ark's direction, the two splitting up. Matthew went after the screamer on the stage, Desert was aiming for the man on the bench,  snapping everyone out of their confusion as the horde closed in. Unable to actually believe that Sion and Ark were infected, Ellis ran after Matthew, lifting his tire iron and swinging it into the nearest infected like a golf club, knocking it over with a bloodied skull as Rochelle grabbed Coach's arm.

" Think later, survive now." she said, gesturing to the sound booth at the top of the seats. " Let's pull the curtains on this performance." Coach nodded as well, gathering up a discarded baseball bat and starting to clear the way.  Nick was stuck with Chad and Sion, the two  fighting the horde that was flooding in from the entrances, a clown infected bringing several friends with him, Chad hitting him in the nose with his fist, trying to find his discarded gun. Sion had nothing to say except for the occasional yelps, Nick not speaking to him either. For now, everyone was focused on survival.

--

" Damn, where are they all coming from?!" Ellis snapped, swinging his tire iron like a pro, caving in another infected's head before sweeping the legs out from another, bringing his favorite weapon down on it's head.

" I really don' know!" Matthew replied from somewhere nearby, kicking one infected in the gut, wincing as another clawed at his arm, grabbing it and swinging it onto the ground. " Must've been on the other side of th' place." he said, gritting his teeth as he punched one in the face. " Y' got another weapon on y' somewhere? This punching them till they keel over ain' workin'."

Ellis fumbled around until he found a regular pistol, tossing it over to him, Matthew scooping it up and checking the ammunition on it before firing it into an infected's head, grimacing. " I hate pistols..." he grumbled, firing again. " Ain't a hell of a lotta shots an' not much power neither." Ellis sadly had to agree, swinging his weapon again, managing to scramble on the stage. His eyes widened as he came face to face with a badly mutated one, followed by a messy belch and a wave of green.

" AWW HELL NO!" Ellis screeched, covered in the foul smelling vomit. " I HATE BOOMERS!" he struggled to wipe off the putrid liquid, shaking his head as he got quickly pulled into the horde, Matthew running to help him. In all the confusion, Ellis slapped Matthew's hand away, but the man was undeterred, reaching into the horde again and wrenched an infected away from Ellis, tugging sharply.

Once he had managed to pull Ellis from the horde, he closed his mouth, making a hacking noise before spitting what looked like a ball of liquid at the horde, those covered and those standing in the liquid screeching and trying to either keep reaching them or roll around in regular dirt. Matthew winced and wiped at his lips quickly, spitting some excess bile into the dirt, hacking softly.

" Yer a Spitter?! But... bu... all the ones we seen before are female!" Ellis said, stunned. Matthew grimaced as he looked at Ellis.  " Acid reflux." he said simply, pulling Ellis to his feet. Ellis silently nodded, shaking off the last residual bile. He picked up his fallen weapon again and lunged for the stage again, scrambling onto it and finding a discarded guitar, picking it up and swinging it into the nearest speaker, damaging it as Matthew pulled another one loose, the screamer up on stage sounding irate.

" Hey man, you don't ruin the show jus' cause you don' like it!" he snapped, dyed electric blue hair flopping around in a mohawk, his pierced tongue and ears gleaming in the light of the stage. " Now get off, I'm about to sing my biggest hit!"

" Concerts canceled, neighbors are complainin'." Ellis growled, balling up his fist and swinging it, eyes widening when the Screamer blocked it, throwing his own punch. No stranger to fighting though, Ellis started to fight with the Screamer on stage, the two brawling as Matthew moved past them, tearing at the cabling keeping Ark tied to the speaker. The Hunter was unconscious, having passed out a while ago, slumping forward when he was freed, Matthew gently catching him and setting him down. " There y' go... we're gonna get y' outta here."

" Go to hell!" the Screamer screeched, swiping at Ellis. " Show me how it's done!" Ellis snapped right back, tackling him to the ground, grunting when he got kicked to the side, the two rolling on the stage as Matthew looked up at the sky, grimacing at how gloomy it was before leaving Ellis to his own devices, needing to get Ark to a more secure spot. Setting Ark down, he called up to the booth where Rochelle and Coach were fighting off the horde.

" Set up the concert, it'll call th' heli to come t' us!"

--

" Set up the concert, he said." Rochelle relayed the message to Coach, who hadn't been paying that much attention, swinging her axe into an infected's head. Coach tilted his head, looking at the sound studio. " They took out some of the equipment on the stage, it won't be enough to call the helicopter, won't be loud enough." he said, shaking his head.

" C'mon Coach, you're doubting the Midnight Riders? Largest lightshow in the business? Don't give up just yet!" Rochelle encouraged. " They took out some of the sound set, doesn't mean the fireworks won't still light!"

Coach cheered up upon thinking of that. " You're right, baby girl... come on, we've got a concert to throw, let's get out of here and make the Midnight Riders proud!"
--

Ellis had broken free of the Screamer after punching his lights out, scrambling over to where Ark had been put, trying to wake him, the Screamer getting to his feet, stumbling around with one hand on his head, pointing accusingly at Matthew. " I don't get it, how come you're on the humans side?! They want all of us dead, why are you trying to help scum like them?

Matthew stood up, glaring at the Screamer. " Cause I was a human too, why shouldn't I help them find a cure so I can go back to m' old life?" his glare darkened when the Screamer laughed at him. " Hah! You think they'll do that for you if you help them? You're stupider than I thought! They'll be friendly to you as  long as you earn your keep, but you aren't their friend, you're just a tool that they'll pitch away in a heartbeat once they don't need it or if you become a liability!" he barked.

Matthew growled and grabbed his throat, lifting him off the ground, the Screamer's short legs dangling in place, studded boots kicking about. " Gugh... you really do earn your name...you and your brother." he gasped, Matthew slamming him against the wall. The Screamer winced before opening his mouth and screeching right in Matthew's ears, the male Spitter dropping him as he covered his ears, trying to stop the ringing in his head, the punk screamer scampering away, Ellis's shots missing it completely.

" Let him go... we have more important things to worry about." Matthew spat, kneeling to try and wake Ark. " We took out so much of the sound equipment... we may not be able to make enough noise to bring the pilot here..."

" No, but we got one hell of a light show." Coach's voice came over the loudspeakers. " Ya'll set up down there, we got a concert to throw!"

" Let's get this party started!" Ellis cheered, Matthew nodding eagerly as the two ran about, setting up fireworks, a rather annoyed Nick climbing up onto the stage. " Hey, Nick! Where ya been?" Ellis said cheerfully. " Man, ya shoulda seen it, first I got into a fist fight with that guy wailin on stage, and then he-"

"He got away." Nick hissed, picking up a guitar and testing the swing, Chad and Sion coming up behind him, Sion moving to try and wake up Ark. " Don't bother, he won't be up for an hour at the least." Nick said, feeling somewhat satisfied with the guitar.

" Who got away?" Matthew asked, having been too into his own battle to remember what everyone else was doing. " The man who started all of this mess." Desert sighed, shaking his head. " He had a female companion with a motorcycle waiting. I'm amazed she still had gas that was good, but the two drove off after she threw a molotov to keep us from getting close." Chad let out an annoyed huff, sighing as he knelt beside Ark, checking his ears to make sure he was okay. " The Screamer?" he asked softly.

" Injured, but got away." Ellis reported, then trying to recount his epic battle with it, starting up into the prologue as Nick tapped the microphone. " Think we can still make this work?" he said, looking back at the others. Ellis nodded eagerly, dancing in place. " Yeah, and you can sing to the music and everythin', Nick!"

Nick glared at him. " Who do you think I am, Hugh Dillon? Not a chance."
--
End Chapter 33

Description
Chapter 33: Stage
Disclaimer: I do not own Left 4 Dead 2
--

" It's been over forty minutes, we'd better go get them." Coach said, hefting his shotgun as he prepared to go outside, Nick giving the bigger man a look.

" What's going on out there?" Chad asked, helping Rochelle to her feet. " It's been painfully quiet. I hope that Matthew person didn't lead them into some sort of hairbrained trap..."

" Knowing them, he probably has." Nick said, ignoring the look Rochelle gave him. " And I get the feeling that we're the ones who have to go get them, right?"

Coach gave him a look as if he thought Nick was somewhat crazy for even suggesting that they leave anyone behind, Nick sighing and walking after them, stopping when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye, tensing when he saw a figure walking their way. " Hold up... we have a guest."

Chad lifted his head, eyes widening in realization when he saw the figure clearly. " You... you're Desert, the one from the the forest..."

Desert tilted his head, shadowed eyes gazing at Chad. " So... we meet again in our travels."

Chad nodded eagerly. " Yeah. Did you ever find your family?" he smiled softly at him, Nick and Coach watching the two men speaking. Rochelle was more curious about the conversation, seeing as how Chad had met this person before.

Desert nodded softly. " I'm on my way to meet him. You look as if you are in a rather large hurry, and the air here is stagnant with anxiety, what is going on?"
" One of our friends got kidnapped, and we're following a lead on him." Chad quickly explained.

Desert lifted his head slightly. " Then I had best leave you to your task..." he got cut short when Chad grabbed his arm.

" Can you help us, just for a bit?" Chad asked, determination in his eyes. "The more people the better."

Rochelle and Coach nodded eagerly, Nick crossing his arms with an irritated look, Desert giving him a soft smile. " Don't worry, I'll be gone once it's over." he said, following after Chad, picking the pace up as they headed for the stadium entrance.

--

Nick ground his teeth after he hurried after Coach, aiming his gun at nearly every shadow that was bigger than a table, on edge. He had meant to tell the others while Chad and Sion searched for Ark, and possibly have negotiated his way into them leaving the group behind, but as usual, the cards weren't in his favor. The more attached the others got to the infected, the harder it would be to leave them behind. Already, Ellis looked like he was ready to defend Ark and Sion to the death, and wouldn't listen to reason, he was stupid that way.

Infected were still infected at the end of the day, Ark and Sion were all smiles, but they still had teeth and claws. It made him think back to the day that their world became this hell-hole, and where he had been. Like usual, he had been hard at "work," conning gullible suckers out of their hard earned cash with his silver tongue. It was a bit easy to trick people in the south, he guessed it was mostly due to their trusting nature. After a rather sucessful morning, he was walking down to the local club to enjoy his victory and possibly gamble a couple of wallets in the process when he heard screaming and the sound of chaos.

Some people had been bitten or somehow came into contact with the infection ahead of time, and were attacking people openly in the streets, though Nick hadn't been quite aware of what was going on at the time, the mass hysteria that suddenly occured had him being more or less shoved in the direction of a hotel for evacuation. It had been hectic to say the least, panicked people everywhere gave him one hell of a headache. On the way up, he had bumped into who he would later know as Coach, who had kindly pointed him in the right direction, the two heading up. On the 15th floor, they bumped into Rochelle, who seemed to be dealing with a small form of shock, just hunched over, muttering softly to herself before jumping in surprise when Coach nudged her shoulder.

She had been crying, Nick vaguely remembered, but he couldn't remember if she had ever told them why, Rochelle following them before they bumped into the lively Ellis. Right away, Nick had pegged Ellis for a gullible sap, the kid seemed to look up to someone like him and smile. He could have murdered someone a minute ago, and the kid would say that the person had done something to him first with the right coercing. Throwing him a bone only served to both amuse and annoy, sometimes one or the other.

On the 28th floor, Coach had loudly complained that whoever had thought to make the evacuation center on the roof was an asshole, and Nick soundly agreed with him. By no means was he old, but he was not exactly young either, and those stairs were a bit taxing. Damned if he was going to tell the others though, he made a quick crack about the helicopter possibly being made of chocolate to spur the bigger man into moving, and to this day he was fairly certain Coach wanted to hit him for it. Sadly, his laughter died in his throat when he saw the helicopters flying away, having sighed as he watched the scene, uttering " Looks like there's been a change of plans."

How true.

The words he had said then... it was the same now, there had been a change in plans. Coach and the others were blind to what was going on, and he had to make the dangers known immediately. However, Chad's presence made things difficult, in such a short time, the doctor had managed to become friendly with the others. On a good day, Nick himself could barely get to "tolerable," and regularly scored " begrudgingly tolerated." He could very well end up on his own if he miscalculated, and as much as he hated to admit it, traveling in a group increased his chances of survival.

If it had been possible to travel and survive alone, he would have done so long ago, but it was impossible. The first time he had seen a Tank, he instinctively had moved closer to the others. It was a safety net he had despised, but recognized that it was necessary.
Sighing, he returned to the present day as he saw Chad speaking to Desert about how much time had passed since they last saw him, a somewhat bored look on the man's face, as well as a hint of possible urgency  for the kidnapped individual. Hurrying along took time, and they also had minimal idea as to where they were going, so Chad was just trying to lighten the mood. Nick closed his eyes and rubbed at them to wipe away some of his exhaustion, jolting up when he heard a scream, looking around. " Was that Ellis? Sounded girly enough." he asked, Coach and Rochelle taking off in that direction as fast as they could,Chad already running.

" I hope he's okay." Desert said, running after Chad, Nick groaning as he ran alongside him. " He'd better be, because I'm going to kill him for making me have to run everywhere." the conman added.
--
" OH MY GOD IT'S COTTON CANDY!" Ellis squealed,  Matthew eagerly nodding in agreement, Sion hitting his head on the wall for the fourth time in less than two minutes. " One- fucking-candy-booth... and they're distracted." he moaned, hitting his head several times. " CAN WE FOCUS?!"

" I am!" Ellis said defensively. " M' just remembering where it is so we can come back later."

"Strategic reasons!" Matthew added, Sion glaring at them. I will not kill them, I will not kill them, I will not kill them...

" Ellis, you are a dead man after this." Nick said, panting as the rest of the group caught up, Desert leaning against the wall with an amused smirk. " Once we reach some form of safety, you are dead."

" Why not now?" Ellis asked, curious as to why Nick would refrain from strangling him on the spot.

" Because I still need your gun arm to get me to safety." Nick said with a cocky smirk. " Once we're safe, then I'll kill you."

" At least he's being honest about it." Coach said dryly. " I'd rather y' not kill the boy now anyways, we still have a missing person out there."

In the meantime, Desert had walked over to Matthew, the two smiling at each other. " Nice to see you, little brother." Desert said softly. " I see you've pulled your hair back again, and you still look as goofy as ever."

Matthew rubbed his neck, smiling. " And I see y' still talking with y' new york accent, when y' gonna drop back into what y' grew up with? It's been a few years, but y' still a southerner, through and through."

Desert shrugged his shoulders. " I'm sure it'll snap back sometime, for now, can you tell me what's going on? Chad brought me up to speed, but I'm afraid that there's a few holes in the story."

"One of their friends got kidnapped, and I'm supposed to be taking them to where I saw them last." Matthew replied. " But... it's at the stadium..."

Desert turned his head, looking at the stadium. " Ugh... the last place I wanted to visit." he said with a hint of disgust, Matthew nodding alongside him. " That being said, on a different note, what are you doing here?"

Matthew shook his head. " Lookin' for y', but let's not go through the why's and how's..." he covered his ears as he heard some loud microphone feedback. " We've got some unwanted company."

Everyone grimaced as some nasty hard rock started to play, Ellis grinding his teeth. " I swear, some people shouldn't be ALLOWED near guitars..." he said, Nick nodding in agreement.
" I can't even understand what that guy's singing!" Rochelle complained, Sion listening to the unearthly wails echoing through the area, growing paler by the second. " If we're going to get Ark and get rescued... we had better start running." he said, voice trembling.
Chad didn't need to figure out why Sion had gotten even paler than usual, a Screamer's wail was capable of calling all infected within a certain range, but one amplified by a microphone... a LOT of infected were heading their way. Shuddering, he hurried alongside others to go into the stadium, hearing pained yelps and howls. " Is that Ark...?"
The whole team made it inside despite the few staff infected throwing themselves in their way, some not knowing what to make of the sight. Ark was tied to a speaker, screaming in pain as the music continued, the singer belting out another garbled note to make everyone cringe. " Damn, that's loud! Someone turn it off!" Nick complained, covering his ears as Sion winced, trying to make sense of the garbled mess.

" So... the gang's all here." a cold voice said, Ark's kidnapper sitting on a nearby bench, arms crossed. " Not much of a show, is it? But, he's the best I could get on such short notice." he moved his head slightly, a bullet hole appearing beside his head as Nick ground his teeth, reloading. " Careful... as we speak, over a hundred infected are flocking to that guy's song... are you sure you want to waste ammunition now?"

Nick stifled a snarl, clicking the new magazine into place. " If it gets this bullshit situation out of my hair, I'd gladly waste a whole clip on your sorry ass."

The guy laughed heartily. " A feisty one, havent seen one like you in a while..." he curled his lips into a small snarl. " I thought they killed all of the stupid ones."

Nick returned the snarl. " I'd say they missed one, you're still roaming around."

" I'd say you're the stupid one... traveling with infected isn't very bright." the man said, folding his hands together.

" What? What infected...?" Ellis said, Rochelle lowering her weapon curiously. The second the words were out of his mouth, the man let out a short laugh which grew into a long one, practically reveling in the sheer amusement. " Oh, you didn't know... did you? The boy I have tied to the speaker, the one standing in the middle... and the two who led you here, they're all infected." he said, pointing to Ark, Sion, Desert and Matthew. " Carriers of the disease that ruined the world you cherished so."

Rochelle and Coach turned to look at Sion, who hid his face and looked away from them, Desert and Matthew's glares never ceasing. " What a night of comedy this is! I think my sides will split from the dramatic irony in the air, a bunch of survivors relying on the protection of some filthy animals!"

" Hey! We're not animals! We still can think and act for ourselves!" Matthew shouted angrily, wincing when the man gave him a look. " You be quiet, infected. The likes of your kind only serve to ruin our lives, or at least what we've got left. How long will it be before you infect that group with your disease? Kill one of them in a fit of anger? Simply leave him behind to die? You say that you're still human on the inside...your mind is just as sick as your body."

Ellis looked over at Sion, worry etched into his face. " Sion... the guy's just playing us... right? You're not one of the things we've been running from, are ya?"

" He is." Nick said bluntly, eyes still trained on the man, waiting for a good shot, ignoring the others' small gasps. " But... right now we had better prepare ourselves. Stealing your job for a moment, Ro', Today's forecast: Shitstorm." he said, watching the infected crawling over the ledges, snarling and growling.

Desert shoved Matthew in Ark's direction, the two splitting up. Matthew went after the screamer on the stage, Desert was aiming for the man on the bench,  snapping everyone out of their confusion as the horde closed in. Unable to actually believe that Sion and Ark were infected, Ellis ran after Matthew, lifting his tire iron and swinging it into the nearest infected like a golf club, knocking it over with a bloodied skull as Rochelle grabbed Coach's arm.

" Think later, survive now." she said, gesturing to the sound booth at the top of the seats. " Let's pull the curtains on this performance." Coach nodded as well, gathering up a discarded baseball bat and starting to clear the way.  Nick was stuck with Chad and Sion, the two  fighting the horde that was flooding in from the entrances, a clown infected bringing several friends with him, Chad hitting him in the nose with his fist, trying to find his discarded gun. Sion had nothing to say except for the occasional yelps, Nick not speaking to him either. For now, everyone was focused on survival.

--

" Damn, where are they all coming from?!" Ellis snapped, swinging his tire iron like a pro, caving in another infected's head before sweeping the legs out from another, bringing his favorite weapon down on it's head.

" I really don' know!" Matthew replied from somewhere nearby, kicking one infected in the gut, wincing as another clawed at his arm, grabbing it and swinging it onto the ground. " Must've been on the other side of th' place." he said, gritting his teeth as he punched one in the face. " Y' got another weapon on y' somewhere? This punching them till they keel over ain' workin'."

Ellis fumbled around until he found a regular pistol, tossing it over to him, Matthew scooping it up and checking the ammunition on it before firing it into an infected's head, grimacing. " I hate pistols..." he grumbled, firing again. " Ain't a hell of a lotta shots an' not much power neither." Ellis sadly had to agree, swinging his weapon again, managing to scramble on the stage. His eyes widened as he came face to face with a badly mutated one, followed by a messy belch and a wave of green.

" AWW HELL NO!" Ellis screeched, covered in the foul smelling vomit. " I HATE BOOMERS!" he struggled to wipe off the putrid liquid, shaking his head as he got quickly pulled into the horde, Matthew running to help him. In all the confusion, Ellis slapped Matthew's hand away, but the man was undeterred, reaching into the horde again and wrenched an infected away from Ellis, tugging sharply.

Once he had managed to pull Ellis from the horde, he closed his mouth, making a hacking noise before spitting what looked like a ball of liquid at the horde, those covered and those standing in the liquid screeching and trying to either keep reaching them or roll around in regular dirt. Matthew winced and wiped at his lips quickly, spitting some excess bile into the dirt, hacking softly.

" Yer a Spitter?! But... bu... all the ones we seen before are female!" Ellis said, stunned. Matthew grimaced as he looked at Ellis.  " Acid reflux." he said simply, pulling Ellis to his feet. Ellis silently nodded, shaking off the last residual bile. He picked up his fallen weapon again and lunged for the stage again, scrambling onto it and finding a discarded guitar, picking it up and swinging it into the nearest speaker, damaging it as Matthew pulled another one loose, the screamer up on stage sounding irate.

" Hey man, you don't ruin the show jus' cause you don' like it!" he snapped, dyed electric blue hair flopping around in a mohawk, his pierced tongue and ears gleaming in the light of the stage. " Now get off, I'm about to sing my biggest hit!"

" Concerts canceled, neighbors are complainin'." Ellis growled, balling up his fist and swinging it, eyes widening when the Screamer blocked it, throwing his own punch. No stranger to fighting though, Ellis started to fight with the Screamer on stage, the two brawling as Matthew moved past them, tearing at the cabling keeping Ark tied to the speaker. The Hunter was unconscious, having passed out a while ago, slumping forward when he was freed, Matthew gently catching him and setting him down. " There y' go... we're gonna get y' outta here."

" Go to hell!" the Screamer screeched, swiping at Ellis. " Show me how it's done!" Ellis snapped right back, tackling him to the ground, grunting when he got kicked to the side, the two rolling on the stage as Matthew looked up at the sky, grimacing at how gloomy it was before leaving Ellis to his own devices, needing to get Ark to a more secure spot. Setting Ark down, he called up to the booth where Rochelle and Coach were fighting off the horde.

" Set up the concert, it'll call th' heli to come t' us!"

--

" Set up the concert, he said." Rochelle relayed the message to Coach, who hadn't been paying that much attention, swinging her axe into an infected's head. Coach tilted his head, looking at the sound studio. " They took out some of the equipment on the stage, it won't be enough to call the helicopter, won't be loud enough." he said, shaking his head.

" C'mon Coach, you're doubting the Midnight Riders? Largest lightshow in the business? Don't give up just yet!" Rochelle encouraged. " They took out some of the sound set, doesn't mean the fireworks won't still light!"

Coach cheered up upon thinking of that. " You're right, baby girl... come on, we've got a concert to throw, let's get out of here and make the Midnight Riders proud!"
--

Ellis had broken free of the Screamer after punching his lights out, scrambling over to where Ark had been put, trying to wake him, the Screamer getting to his feet, stumbling around with one hand on his head, pointing accusingly at Matthew. " I don't get it, how come you're on the humans side?! They want all of us dead, why are you trying to help scum like them?

Matthew stood up, glaring at the Screamer. " Cause I was a human too, why shouldn't I help them find a cure so I can go back to m' old life?" his glare darkened when the Screamer laughed at him. " Hah! You think they'll do that for you if you help them? You're stupider than I thought! They'll be friendly to you as  long as you earn your keep, but you aren't their friend, you're just a tool that they'll pitch away in a heartbeat once they don't need it or if you become a liability!" he barked.

Matthew growled and grabbed his throat, lifting him off the ground, the Screamer's short legs dangling in place, studded boots kicking about. " Gugh... you really do earn your name...you and your brother." he gasped, Matthew slamming him against the wall. The Screamer winced before opening his mouth and screeching right in Matthew's ears, the male Spitter dropping him as he covered his ears, trying to stop the ringing in his head, the punk screamer scampering away, Ellis's shots missing it completely.

" Let him go... we have more important things to worry about." Matthew spat, kneeling to try and wake Ark. " We took out so much of the sound equipment... we may not be able to make enough noise to bring the pilot here..."

" No, but we got one hell of a light show." Coach's voice came over the loudspeakers. " Ya'll set up down there, we got a concert to throw!"

" Let's get this party started!" Ellis cheered, Matthew nodding eagerly as the two ran about, setting up fireworks, a rather annoyed Nick climbing up onto the stage. " Hey, Nick! Where ya been?" Ellis said cheerfully. " Man, ya shoulda seen it, first I got into a fist fight with that guy wailin on stage, and then he-"

"He got away." Nick hissed, picking up a guitar and testing the swing, Chad and Sion coming up behind him, Sion moving to try and wake up Ark. " Don't bother, he won't be up for an hour at the least." Nick said, feeling somewhat satisfied with the guitar.

" Who got away?" Matthew asked, having been too into his own battle to remember what everyone else was doing. " The man who started all of this mess." Desert sighed, shaking his head. " He had a female companion with a motorcycle waiting. I'm amazed she still had gas that was good, but the two drove off after she threw a molotov to keep us from getting close." Chad let out an annoyed huff, sighing as he knelt beside Ark, checking his ears to make sure he was okay. " The Screamer?" he asked softly.

" Injured, but got away." Ellis reported, then trying to recount his epic battle with it, starting up into the prologue as Nick tapped the microphone. " Think we can still make this work?" he said, looking back at the others. Ellis nodded eagerly, dancing in place. " Yeah, and you can sing to the music and everythin', Nick!"

Nick glared at him. " Who do you think I am, Hugh Dillon? Not a chance."
--
End Chapter 33