It's that time of year again when everybody likes to indulge in a bit of horror and here on Deadliest Fiction that's not different. When the zombie apocalypse comes around the military is often slow to mobilise and that leaves it up to ordinary civilians to start the fight against the undead. Today's battle pits two groups of civilian survivors from opposite sides of the Atlantic against each other which I'm sure will make a nice change from battling against the undead hordes.
Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors: Survivors or the Green Flu Virus fighting their way across the south to survive.
vs
Shaun of the Dead Survivors: A group of friends forced to put aside their differences to survive the undead menace.
Who is Deadliest.
Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors[]
The Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors are a mismatched group of people, thrown together in the midsts of a zombie apocalypse. After narrowly missing the helicopter evacuating people from a mall, Nick, Rochelle, Coach and Ellis found themselves having to work together to get to New Orleans and before the military starts their bombing run.
Members[]
| “ | I ain't gonna die waiting on salvation. As long as we still got guns, we gonna fight.
— Coach
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” |
| “ | Kill all sons of bitches. That's my official instructions.
— Ellis
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” |
| “ | We should grab some weapons. I work in the news and the news says we should definitely grab some weapons.
— Rochelle
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” |
| “ | Name's Nick, but don't bother learning it 'cause I ain't sticking around long.
— Nick
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” |
Weapons[]
Shaun of the Dead Survivors[]
The Shaun of the Dead Survivors are a group consisting of Shaun Riley, Liz and their respective friends who banded together after a zombie apocalypse struck England. Shaun and Liz must learn to work together to survive while also trying to rekindle their romance before the end of the world as we know it.
Members[]
| “ | Take car, go to mum's, kill Phil, grab Liz, go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint and wait for all of this to blow over. How's that for a slice of fried gold?
— Shaun
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” |
| “ | Who died and made you fucking king of the zombies?
— Ed
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” |
| “ | If I don't do something, I'm gonna end up in that pub, like those other sad old fuckers, drinking myself to death wondering what the hell happened.
— Liz
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” |
| “ | For a hero, you're quite a hypocrite.
— David
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” |
Weapons[]
X Factors[]
Experience: L4D=67/SOTD=35
Neither of these groups have a whole lot of experience as both are civilian groups forced to survive in an apocalypse. However the L4D Survivors have been working together for at least a couple of days and have faced tougher undead opponents such as Tanks & Witches. The SOTD Survivors on the other hand was only active for half a day at the most and only had to deal with the slow moving Romero Zombies.
Teamwork: L4D=85/SOTD=70
This is a strange one because you'd expect the SOTD Survivors to work together better as they have known each other longer but that is not the case. While Shaun, Ed & Liz are on good terms David drives down their rating significantly due to his dislike of Ed and especially Shaun, which lowers both moral and their effectiveness as a fighting unit. While the L4D Survivors have known each other for far less time their is nowhere near as much strife and they work incredibly effectively as a team and while Nick does fill a similar role to David it's much less antagonistic and it doesn't effect their ability to work as a group.
Leadership: L4D=65/SOTD=75
While this does sort of tie into the teamwork rating I feel that this needs to be a different X Factor as the dynamic is slightly different. While the L4D Survivors do work better as a team in the leadership department their isn't really a defined go to person and while Coach does often fill this role it is not always clear who is actually calling the shots, if anyone is at all. While the SOTD Survivors do still have the same issues with regards to group dynamic Shaun is the much more clearly defined leader and comes up with the plans and takes charge and while David doesn't necessarily agree with him he still mostly follows his plans.
Firearm Skill: L4D=50/SOTD=12
While both of these groups are civilians and have no firearm training to speak of the L4D Survivors are much more comfortable using firearms due to the gun culture of the US and high levels of civilian gun ownership. The SOTD Survivors on the other hand have no experience with firearms whatsoever and it shows during the climax where Shaun can barely even hit a zombie, let alone get a head shot, from a relatively short range.
Intelligence/Creativity: L4D=70/SOTD=80
While Shaun may have been a bumbling idiot for most of his adult life when it comes to the apocalypse he really steps into his own. Shaun is the one who thinks of imitating the zombies to get past them as well as leading them away from the group when they get surrounded. The SOTD Survivors as a whole also have to make more use of everyday objects as weapons and survive without the aid of firearms. While the L4D Survivors are no stupid per say they don't really show much strategy outside of "spray and pray" and while they do have to come up against more intelligent special infected and work their way around them even then their strategy is basically the same.
Voting System/Notes []
Battle will take place in and around the Winchester Pub.
Only Coach & Shaun will start off with firearms in this match.
In order to be counted in full, votes must be at least 5 lines long or have been done in an edge format.
Anything less than 5 lines but which is competently argued and thought out will be counted as a half vote. I will inform anybody if their vote is considered a half vote and allow them to amend it to bring it up to a full point.
Irrelevant votes will not be counted at all.
I reserve the right to award a vote as half or discount it entirely for reason not mentioned here if I feel it is applicable.
Battle[]
Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors: 
Shaun of the Dead Survivors: 
When the zombie apocalypse happened London was unprepared. Some of those that were not turned initially fled desperately for their lives or barricaded themselves in their homes. They were the lucky ones. Many more people were torn apart and devoured by hordes of the undead or worse consigned to join their groaning, shuffling ranks. And yet despite this devastating the Winchester Pub still stands tall and defiant in the face of armageddon and besides a single boarded up window still looks relatively unscathed. If only the same thing could be said of the people inside....
“How much longer are we going to be stuck in this bloody pub?” David paces the floor incessantly as he complains. “We’ve been here what a week and I don’t see any sign of this rescue you promised would be riding in to save us Shaun!”
“Oh fuck off Four-eyes” comes the reply from Ed.
Shaun stifles a laugh before responding. “I know things haven’t gone quite to plan but the best thing to do now is just stay put and wait for this all to blow over.”
“You say that every day Shaun. But every day nothing changes. We just sit in this dingy building and eating the rapidly dwindling and ever so nutritious supply of pork scratching and crisps.”
“And what do you suggest we do then genius. I don’t see you coming up with any ideas” Shaun snaps.
“We should be going out there and trying to find help. We have the rifle, we have cricket bat and the other weapons we should be doing something more proactive.”
“Don’t be silly David that’s a stupid idea,” Liz says as she walks in from the backroom. “Going out there is suicide with all those zombies walking about.”
“I suppose so” David mumbles.
“There are people out there,” Ed says suddenly. Shaun gets up from his seat and joins Ed at the window with Liz and David following curiously. Ed points to a group of four people wandering down the street.
“Are they zombies?” Liz asks anxiously.
“No they’re definitely people. Look they don’t slouch and shuffle like the others do.”
“Are they military? Maybe they’ve come to save us?”
“If they are military then they aren’t dressed like it. Maybe we should go down there”
“What are you crazy?!” David retorts. “It’s not safe out there. And who knows who they are. They could be bandits or killers.”“I think we should shoot them.” The other three look at David in shock. “What! They could be dangerous. Look one of them is holding a shotgun for fuck’s sake.”
“That doesn’t make them bandits or killers David.” Liz retorts “I agree with Shaun I think we should go down there.”
“Well I’m not going down there” comes the haughty reply from David.
“Well then you don’t have to. We need someone to hold the fort anyway. You can keep an eye on them from the top floor. Take the rifle and if things do go sour then you can catch them by surprise.”
“I thought England was supposed to be a safe haven?” Nick says sarcastically.
“It was until we got here,” Rochelle replies.
“Hell I don’t mind, these zombies are much easier to kill than those green flu sons of bitches back in America. You didn’t even need to smuggle that shotgun onto the chopper Coach.”
“Maybe not,” Coach muses “but I feel a lot more comfortable with a firearm. These English folk would be dealing with this situation much better if more people had guns.”
“There’s one of them English pubs over there!” Ellis says pointing his machete at a boarded up building.
“The Winchester ey? Guess they like to name their places after guns then instead of using them. Maybe we should check it out for supplies.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me, I could do with a drink after the shit we’ve been through.”
David watches the group of strangers as they walk down the street. “Can’t believe that idiot is actually going to go down there and try and talk to them,” he mutters. “One of them even has a gun for crying out loud. Oh well at least I’m nice and safe up here.” Just as he says this one of the men points at the pub and David feels a knot of fear in the pit of his stomach. “Oh god they’re coming right this way.” His eyes flicker nervously to the rifle laid up against the wall. “I’m sure as hell not just sitting here waiting for Captain Wow down there to get us all killed.”
Shaun, Ed and Liz stand in the doorway of the Winchester. “Are you sure this is a good idea Shaun?”
“Of course it is what is the worst that can happen” Shaun tries to sound confident but inside he’s not as sure.
“They could kill us.” Shaun glares at Ed who just shrugs his shoulders. “What. You asked what was the worst that could happen.”
“Why would they want to do that? Unless we do something to piss them off.” Right on queue the sound of a gun cocking breaks the uneasy silence. The three of them look up in disbelief.
Suddenly the unmistakable sound of a gunshot echoes through the city. A bullets whistles past Ellis’ head and pings off the railing behind. “What the hell, somebody’s shooting at us.”
“Everybody find some cover,” Coach barks and they split up. Peering over the top of a stationary car Ellis and Nick scan the area looking for the shooter. Another shot rings through the air and the bullet sends splinters spraying out from a fence. “There,” Nick says gesturing to the Winchester where three people are hastily heading through the pub doors. “Is one of them the shooter?”
“No,” Ellis Replies as another gunshot sounds “Judging by the trajectory it’s coming from somewhere up high.” He spots the silhouette of a gunman in the window directly above the doorway. From behind the cover of an overturned pub table Rochelle and Coach have also noticed the shooter.
“Do you think you can return fire with your shotgun Coach?”
“Not from this range no. I need to get closer but there is no chance with that guy covering them. We need a distraction.”
“I think I can help with that.” Rochelle takes out a pipe bomb from her pocket. “Saved this from when we got out of New Orleans. If I can chuck it through the window then it’ll give us the opening we need to get close, maybe even kill the bastard if we’re lucky.”
“That’s not going to work. You’ll need to get really close to be able to throw that through the window and we don’t know if there is anyone else in there with a gun.”
“If there was another guy with a gun then the shots would be more frequent. And judging by how random the spread is I doubt the guy who does have the gun has much of an idea how to aim it. If I run quickly and zigzag I think I can make it close enough to get it through.” Coach sighs in frustration but he can’t deny that the plan is a solid one.
“Okay then Roc but be careful.” Rochelle takes a deep breath and vaults over the table. She runs towards the window, making random jerky movements and running in an unpredictable trajectory. Each time the gun goes off the bullets just seem to miss her and the closer she gets the more panicked the shooting becomes. There is a brief pause, as if the gunman is reloading and Rochelle lights the pipe bomb and hurls it with all her might. It sails through the window and she pumps her fist in satisfaction. However her victory is short lived and as another shot rings out, this one finally finds its mark and she lets out a strangled gargle as the bullet rips through her throat.
“NO, ROCHELLE” the other survivors cry out as they watch Rochelle drop. Disregarding their own safety they run out from behind cover and rush over to her but it’s clear that she’s already dead. They take a moment to silently mourn before their sadness is replaced with burning anger. Coach pumps his shotgun with vengeful vigour and they march towards the pub.
“I can’t believe that colossal twat actually started shooting at those people” Shaun shouts angrily as he storms towards the stairs leading to the top floor. “You two stay down here.” He takes the stairs two at a time, the sound of gunshots a constant. Just as he reaches the top there is a huge bang and the floor rocks, making Shaun stumble. “What the fuck was that.” He bursts through the door to the room David was in to find it a dishevelled mess. David lies slumped over the table and his jacket is torn to shreds, splashed with the crimson red of blood . However Shaun is far more concerned with the Winchester which has been broken in two by the explosion. Solemnly he makes his way back down the stairs.
“Well, what did that prick say?” Ed asks.
“He didn’t say anything Ed, he’s dead.” Liz takes a step back in shock but Ed merely shrugs his shoulders.
“What about the rifle?”
“Fucking broken as well. Looks like somebody set a bomb off up there.”
“Do you think it was those people he was shooting at?”
“Probably. But if we’re lucky he didn’t hurt anyone and we can just talk about this calmly and peac--”
Coach gives the pub doors an almighty kick and they crash open with a bang. The three brits have barely any time to react before he starts firing off shotgun shells, shattering glasses around the pub and spilling alcohol all over the place. In his vengeful anger however his accuracy is poor and the three manage to scramble behind the cover of the bar. Growling angrily he starts to reload his now empty shotgun as Nick and Ellis enter the pub behind him.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Ed exclaims “Guess he must’ve hit one of them after all.”
“What the hell are we supposed to do now Shaun?” Liz hisses
“We’ll have to try and escape round the back.”
“There’s no way that’s going to work that guy will shoot us if we try to make a move!”
“Well what do you suggest then!? If we don’t then he’ll come back here and kill us anyway.”
“What we need is a distraction.”
“Already working on it.” Shaun and Liz look over at Ed who is pushing a bar rag down the neck of a Jack Daniels bottle.
“Ed what the fuck are you doing?!” They both say at once.
“I’m making a Molotov.”
“Are you stupid that’ll light the whole place up?”
“Well have you got any better ideas?” Shaun looks at him blankly and sighs.
“Oh alright then,” he says exasperated and a mischievous grin breaks out of Ed’s face. He lights the end of the rag with his lighter and stands up to throw it. Unfortunately he picks the worst possible moment as Coach has just loaded up the last round into his shotgun. Pumping it aggressively he fires off a shot which hits Ed square in the chest and blasts a hole through his torso. The sheer force of the shot sends him catapulting back into the bar, dropping the Molotov as he does. Shaun lets out a cry of anguish and snatches up Molotov, hurling it over the bar and into a patch of alcohol. The result is almost instantaneous and the flames blaze a trail across the spilled booze, splitting Nick and Coach off from Ellis. Nick suddenly starts hopping about madly and the flames leap onto his clothing and he is soon rolling about on the floor screaming as the fire engulfs him. Coach reaches out for him but the sheer heat from the flames drives him back and he can do little but watch as his friend is burnt to a crisp.
Behind the bar, Shaun crawls over to his friend as he lies gasping on the floor. “No Ed, not like this. This wasn’t how this was supposed to end.” Ed just about manages reach out his hand to clasp Shaun’s before his last ragged breath leaves him and his head slumps forward.. Shaun blinks back the tears and nudges his head against Ed’s before letting go.
“I’m so sorry Shaun.” Liz wipes the tears away from her own eyes and squeezes his shoulder comfortingly.
“I’m not letting those fucking bastards get away with this.”
Ellis looks in horror at Nick’s charred corpse. Spying movement out of the corner of his eye he spots the remaining two people behind the bar trying to sneak out of the back. “Goddamit! Coach I’m going after those sons of bitches,” he shouts over the raging inferno and darts off after them. Coach tries to join him but the flames are too fierce and he is forced to exit the pub out of one of the windows. Ellis vaults over the bar and crashes through the door leading to the back, hearing the loud clumping of people going up stairs. He follows and finds himself going down a narrow hallway and entering a large party hosting room at the end. With a cry of anger Shaun rushes at him but Ellis easily steps out of the way and his momentum carries him forward. Liz is right behind him and swings her axe at Ellis’ throat and it whirls narrowly past his windpipe. Gripping the machete further up the blade and taking a step forward and thrusts the tip of the machete into Liz’s stomach.
Her whole body jolts and she hunches over as he drags the machete out. However instead of collapsing she straightens up and delivers a powerful headbutt which rocks Ellis back. Ripping the off the bottom of her shirt she creates a makeshift bandage and ties it around the wound to stop the bleeding before picking up her axe. Shaun goes to help her but as he passes the door something cracks against his jaw and his vision goes blurry as he stumbles away. Coach shakes his hand, panting heavily at the exertion of having to rush up those stairs and slowly unhooks the Baseball Bat from his belt. By now Shaun has recovered from the punch and so when Coach swings the baseball bat at him he is able to block it with his own melee weapon. The two they begin to trade blows, using their respective bats as swords to fend each other away.
Meanwhile Ellis is on the back foot against Liz. Her wild axe swings may not be incredibly accurate but they are still enough to prevent him from doing anything other than dodging the relentless attacks. One such downwards swing grazes his arm drawing blood and another clatters the machete out of his hands. This seems to galvanise Liz and her attacks become even more frenzied and are steadily getting closer and closer to actually hitting Ellis. Trying to avoid one particularly speedy swing he trips over a chair which is sprawled on the floor and hits the ground. He spots a Crowbar lying nearby and snatches it up. Liz tries to finish him off while he’s down but he easily dodges the attack which leaves the axe embedded in the floorboards. Standing up he swings the crowbar with all his might and it cracks against her jaw, shattering her cheekbone and sending her hurtling to the floor. There is a sickening crack and her neck cracks off the knocked over chair, snapping and killing her instantly.
“LIZ” cries Shaun in anguish as his girlfriend hits the deck. He steps forwards; body slams Coach into a nearby wall and begins viciously beating him with the cricket bat. Ellis rushes over to help him and Shaun turns to face him swinging the Cricket Bat and whacking it against his jaw. He follows this up by jabbing Ellis in the face and then sweeping his legs out from underneath him. Dropping the bat, he removed the axe from where it is stuck in the floor and brings it down on Ellis with all his might, shattering his collarbone and leaving his right arm dangling uselessly. Ellis shrieks in agony and clutches at his injured shoulder as Shaun winds up for another attack, this time raising the axe above his head to finish his downed opponent off for good. Knowing he cannot fight back, Ellis waits for the inevitable.
Just as it seems as though all hope is lost a bloody figure rises behind Shaun. Gripping him round the waist in a bear hug the figure lifts him up into the air and throws him down with a thundering crash. It takes Ellis a moment to realise that the figure is in fact Coach, his face and clothes are so bloody from his earlier beating and his face is so badly damaged that he looks like he’s joined the ranks of the undead himself. Shaun is hunched over in a crawl groaning in pain and Coach uses his baseball bat to draw out an invisible line of aim. Taking a deep breath in he brings the full weight of the baseball bat down on Shaun’s head, shattering his skull and leaves brain matter and blood splattered all over the floor of the Winchester.
Coach slumps over in exhaustion, breathing heavily, hand to his chest. It takes a few minutes of rest before he is able to go over to his own remaining ally. “Hey Ellis, are you okay man.”
“Naw. That son of a bitch got me good, I think this arm is done for,” comes the reply from Ellis each word coming through gritted teeth.
“Aw hell that looks nasty. But don’t you worry young-un we’ll be able to get that fixed up.” Coach helps Ellis up and together the two limp out of the Winchester Pub.
Winner: Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors
Final Verdict []
While roughly even in terms of weaponry what allowed the L4D2 Survivors to win was their better teamwork, greater experience and the fact they were more comfortable with firearms than their English counterparts. The SOTD survivors spent more time bickering with each other than fighting and struggled to deal with the slow moving Romero Zombies. The L4D2 Suvivors faced much tougher undead opponents and survived them more comfortably as well.