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{{Quote|Now this is a'far as Virgil goes, but y'all can make it to the bridge from here.|Virgil}}
  
{{Quote|Now this is a'far as Virgil goes, but y'all can make it to the bridge from here.|Virgil}}
   
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Virgil is a character appearing in ''Left 4 Dead 2''. He has a Cajun accent and is first heard in [[Swamp Fever]]. He left a radio behind at the plantation to see if there would be any more passing Survivors and after hearing voices on the radio, proceeds to pick them up. After the Survivors fend off a large Infected attack, he blows up the gate with a rocket-propelled grenade and gets the Survivors to safety. Later on, in [[Hard Rain]], he drops the Survivors off at [[Ducatel]] to search for fuel, and after they get some fuel, finally drops them off at a dock during [[The Parish]]. Then, Virgil left to continue rescuing survivors.
 +
Virgil is a character appearing in ''Left 4 Dead 2''. He has a Cajun accent and is first heard in [[Swamp Fever]]. He left a radio behind at the plantation to see if there would be any more passing Survivors and after hearing voices on the radio, proceeds to pick them up. After the Survivors fend off a large Infected attack, he blows up the gate with a rocket-propelled grenade and gets the Survivors to safety. Later on, in [[Hard Rain]], he drops the Survivors off at [[Ducatel]] to search for fuel, and after they get some, finally drops them off at a dock during [[The Parish]]. Then, Virgil left to continue rescuing survivors.
   
−
It's possible that he's immune to the Green Flu and is aware of his immunity to it, as he confirmately remained alive for a long time after having contact with the main characters, who are likely to be [[carriers]]. Furthermore, he comments that he is now a widower after his wife was killed by an Infected bite, which may mean that he had direct contact with the Infected as well.
 +
It's possible that he's immune to the Green Flu and is aware of his immunity to it, as he is confirmed to have remained alive for a long time after having contact with the main characters, who are likely to be [[carriers]]. Furthermore, he comments that he is now a widower after his wife was killed by an Infected bite, which may mean that he had direct contact with the Infected as well.
   
 
His boat is named the ''Lagniappe'', a reference to the Louisiana custom of the same name, meaning a small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of purchase. There is a joke on the Steam forums that states that Virgil is a talking boat. This "theory" is substantiated by Chet Faliszek who stated that "Virgil is not a Man" when someone asked why Virgil existed during the "Last Man on Earth" Mutations.<ref>http://img718.imageshack.us/i/capturefm.jpg/</ref>
  
His boat is named the ''Lagniappe'', a reference to the Louisiana custom of the same name, meaning a small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of purchase. There is a joke on the Steam forums that states that Virgil is a talking boat. This "theory" is substantiated by Chet Faliszek who stated that "Virgil is not a Man" when someone asked why Virgil existed during the "Last Man on Earth" Mutations.<ref>http://img718.imageshack.us/i/capturefm.jpg/</ref>

Revision as of 22:52, 1 September 2019

Left4dead 2012-03-11 19-23-10-1234

News Chopper 5's earlier pick-up.

Among the characters involved with the Left 4 Dead series are a number of Non-Playable Characters that help—or, in some cases, hinder—the Survivors along the way. Often, they are either a roadblock forcing a Crescendo Event or they are a "good Samaritan" providing the Survivors with a ride to safety. Some of these characters become Infected (such as the Church Guy), are killed (such as the News Chopper 5 pilot), can be presumed dead as they are never seen again (such as the C-130 plane pilot), or continue to survive the apocalypse (such as Virgil and Whitaker).

In-Game characters

These characters are encountered within both the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the Left 4 Dead series.

The Church Guy

"Better safe than sorry…better safe than sorry…"
―The Church Guy

The Church Guy is a mentally unstable man who is never actually seen until he turns Infected, found in chapter three of the Death Toll campaign, The Church. He is afraid of the Infection, locking himself in the safe room that the Survivors must reach. It is later revealed that he was bitten by a Survivor who claimed to be immune, yet became an Infected; as a result, he suffers from extreme paranoia of Survivors, coupled with the growing insanity caused by the Infection. After waiting for an hour, he assumes that he is immune. Ultimately, it turns out the Church Guy isn't immune after all; he will change into either a Hunter, Smoker, or Boomer.

He repeatedly says "Better safe than sorry", and causes a Crescendo Event where he rings the church bell to attract a Horde to kill the Survivors, apparently viewing this as a way for them to "prove their immunity/humanity". After the event, the safe room door can be opened and a Special Infected will emerge, providing a conclusion to his change. The Infected he will change into can be foretold by listening to the Church Guy starting to growl (Hunter), cough (Smoker), or gurgle (Boomer) before the door is opened. After opening the door and ascending to the second floor of the safe room, the Survivors can see that the Church Guy has written his motto all over a wall, over 180 times.

The Church Guy's audio clips can be heard here.

Notes

  • His voice actor, Nathan Vetterlein, also voiced the Scout from Valve's Team Fortress 2.[1]
  • The Survivor who Infected him was a male, judging by the audio files.[2] However, a corpse of a female slumped against the wall in the safe room can be seen; it does not appear to be a Common Infected, but a body that spawns to set the mood like the dead soldiers on the roof of Mercy Hospital.
  • Despite ongoing rumors and popular belief of a slim chance of it occurring, he will never turn into a Tank after the Crescendo Event. According to the left4dead/scripts/population.txt file, it appears that there is a 50% chance of a Boomer appearing, and 25% each of either a Smoker or a Hunter appearing. No mention of the Tank or the Witch are included in this file, making it clear that there is no chance of the Church Guy becoming a Tank unless there is a server-side mod in use. He will never transform into a Witch, as Witches are only created from women. Alteration of the population.txt file to force the Church Guy to transform into a Tank or a Witch can create very strange results, thus verifying the fact that the Church Guy will never spawn as a Tank.
    • On the Left 4 Dead 2 port of Death Toll, he will not turn into a Jockey, a Charger or a Spitter either. He can only turn on the L4D2 renditions of the Boomer/Hunter/Smoker.

Whitaker

Whitaker

Whitaker as seen in-game.

WhitakerComic

Whitaker as seen in a Valve advertisement.

"Now I've barricaded myself on the roof with ample provisions… but in my haste, I forgot cola!"
―Whitaker

Whitaker is a 60-year-old survivor[3] who owns a gun store located in front of Liberty Mall in the Dead Center campaign. By the time the Survivors arrive at his gun store, he has already barricaded himself "on the roof" with large amounts of ammunition and provisions.

When the Survivors enter his store, he is contacted over an intercom and offers to clear a roadblock that is preventing The Survivors from reaching the mall, on the condition that they go to the nearby Save 4 Less supermarket and fetch him a six-pack of Cola. A Crescendo Event is triggered when the Survivors enter the supermarket and set off the burglar alarm. Once the cola has been deposited in the delivery tray in his safe room door, Whitaker launches a missile at a flammable truck near the roadblock, destroying it and allowing the Survivors to continue to the mall.

Notes

  • Some players believe Whitaker may be using a rocket launcher or rocket-propelled grenade because it has a different sound effect from the Grenade Launcher featured in the game, and its projectile trails a line of smoke to its target.
  • Originally, Whitaker was supposed to provide covering fire to the Survivors during their trip to the supermarket (a concept reprised in The Passing Finale).[4]
  • The Fallen Survivor Uncommon Infected model uses an Infected version of his model.
  • Whitaker is very similar to the character Andy from the 2004 film Dawn of the Dead. They are both apocalypse survivors who own barricaded gun stores and stayed on the roof but lack 'important' supplies (food for Andy, Cola for Whitaker).
  • Whitaker is voiced by Dayton Callie.
  • When the Survivors talk with Whitaker, he seems to be aware that they want to go to the mall, even though they had never met before. A theory to explain this is that he assumed the Survivors were trying to reach the mall and CEDA for evacuation.

In-game vehicle NPCs

Crashing Plane

Plane Crash (Runway Finale)

The plane short before blowing up.

At the beginning of Runway Finale, a civilian plane will try to land on the airport and crash, apparently leaving no survivors. Judging by the amateurish way the plane is turned before crashing, one can assume that someone with little experience piloted it, or possibly something on board disturbed the pilot during the landing.

This plane is different from the others during Dead Air and The Swamp: it is blue with white stripes, while every single other plane is white and orange. It suggests that this plane belonged to another airline.

It is worth to note that during the level the sound of the plane crashing does not draw Infected, but the sound of a fuel pump starting up will. This plot inconsistency never was addressed by Valve or the developers.

Leaving Choppers

At the beginning of The Hotel, a CH-53 Sea Stallion (the same type of chopper used by Papa Gator) can be seen leaving The Vannah hotel. It's unconfirmed if Papa Gator and/or Rescue 7 themselves participated in this evacuation.

The introduction of the game and the official TV spot show that, actually, there were other helicopters on nearby buildings leaving as well, suggesting more evacuations going on the town. It should be noted that the TV spot version of the scene is slightly different from the introduction, showing only two CH-53 while the introduction shows four.

Unknown Bus Driver

Bus NPC (The Passing)

The bus.

During The Underground, the tour bus of the Midnight Riders can be briefly seen driving around on an unreachable street. Judging by the graffiti throughout Dark Carnival, it is possible that this bus was transporting evacuated survivors of Whispering Oaks rather than the Midnight Riders themselves.

Unfortunately, there is no way for the survivors to draw the attention of the bus; it's unknown if the occupants either didn't notice them or refused to stop the bus and help. If an infected comes across the bus it will simply run over them, and when the survivors spot the bus they comment that they may be "seeing things" not believing on what they just saw.

Military Jets

Numerous times during The Parish campaign, two F/A-18C Hornets military jets can be seen bombing buildings and streets of New Orleans, apparently trying to slow down the spreading of the infection and/or kill the greatest number of infected as possible. Some dialogue of Rescue 7 also imply that they were looking for surviving carriers as well to order rescue, and that they are piloted by Rescue 7 members.

The first time they are seen is at the very beginning of The Waterfront, which the survivors will note and assume as a good signal that the military is still here. Their last known action is blowing up the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

On the E3 2009 teaser, a third jet can be briefly seen, but only two will appear simultaneously during the game.

Evacuation Personnel

During the finale of every campaign, other than Dead Center, The Passing, The Sacrifice, and Crash Course, a Survivor in a vehicle must arrive to rescue the four main characters from their evacuation point. These Survivors are never seen and have no active or dynamic role in gameplay. These Survivors include the helicopter pilot from No Mercy, the boat drivers (John and Amanda Slater) from Death Toll, the C-130 pilot from Dead Air, and the APC driver from Blood Harvest. In every case, players communicate with them via radio. In Blood Harvest, verbal exchanges between two military evacuation personnel are heard on the radio once the mic is keyed.

Each rescuer has separate motives for rescuing the Survivors:

  • The helicopter pilot in No Mercy can appear to be affiliated with either the military or CEDA with a role of evacuating civilians to an unknown safe zone. However, since he flies the News Chopper 5, it can equally be assumed he was simply a former news pilot evacuating civilians out of good will. If this is the case, he was part of a fairly large news network considering there are advertising posters for the helicopter in The Subway.
  • John and Amanda Slater (the boat pilots) are civilians hoping to gain additional firepower as they escape from Riverside.
  • The C-130 pilot appears to be stranded at the airport due to a lack of fuel, fearing leaving his plane and exposing himself to the Infected. His voice actor is Gary Schwartz, who voiced the Heavy and Demoman in Team Fortress 2.
  • The APC driver in Blood Harvest, Lieutenant Mora, is a member of the U.S. military who was ordered to evacuate the Survivors to an unknown (but presumably the northern) safe zone. His voice actor is David Scully.
  • The helicopter pilot in Dark Carnival is never directly contacted but presumably looks for Survivors for the same reasons as the helicopter pilot in No Mercy, with whom he shares the same character model.
  • Virgil is a boat owner who presumably picks up the Survivors out of a combination of kindness, potential loneliness, and expediency based on his need to get fuel from the mainland.
  • The military helicopter pilot in The Parish has been expressly tasked with orders to pick up the Survivors if they make it to his aircraft before the bridge is bombed and destroyed. He is never seen and he is separated from the passenger compartment of his helicopter by a rigid bulkhead.

News Chopper 5 Pilot

Chopperpilot 1

The Pilot alive

Deadpilot 1

Dead Helicopter Pilot

The Chopper pilot is seen in the intro video to Left 4 Dead, and in the start of No Mercy, he tells anyone who can hear him to proceed to Mercy Hospital where they can contact him with a radio and he will pick them up and bring them to an unknown location. During the rescue at the top of Mercy Hospital, he will engage in communication with the Survivors, where he will reveal he had an "incident", implying he attempted another rescue earlier but was attacked by the Infected.

Unfortunately for the Survivors who are rescued and taken to apparent safety, the pilot is Infected, turns into an Infected mid-flight, and is shot by Zoey, forcing a crash landing. The Survivors, being Carriers of the Infection, may be the reason the News Chopper 5 pilot became Infected as stated in The Sacrifice comic or he may have been Infected during his street pickup as he stated in the Rooftop Finale.

Although his cap appears to have associations with the United States Marine Corps possibly showing a military background, his civilian clothing may also indicate he is currently not affiliated with them. The headphones he wears are Aero-X Orbital 2000's.

His voice actor is Dennis Bateman, who also voiced the Spy and Pyro in Team Fortress 2.

John Slater and Amanda Slater

Slater boat

Saint Lidia II, with the Slaters inside.

John Slater and Amanda Slater are a couple with a troubled marriage, who managed to survive by staying with supplies on their boat, named Saint Lidia II. They are stationed near Riverside Park, with John intending to rescue some survivors with firearms while Amanda urges him to abandon the idea and think only of themselves. It seems that their marriage was troubled even before the apocalypse, as they have arguments often. John mentions that Amanda "was against buying the boat too," when said boat became crucial to their survival later.

The Survivors contact John Slater by radio at the end of the Death Toll campaign. He and his wife pick up the Survivors in their boat and get them away from Riverside. John Slater's motives are evidently those of self-interest and survival because he makes it clear that he is expressly interested in hearing from "anyone out there with firearms". This point is reinforced when, according to the comic, the Survivors were later thrown off the boat and left for dead. Judging by his dialogue, however, it seems that he was genuinely intending to keep the Survivors and have them as "security guards" for the boat, so another possibility is that Amanda nagged him, insisting to kick them off.

It's ambiguous if John and/or Amanda managed to survive upon arrival in Georgia. Two copies of their boat (the Saint Lidia II) can be found in The Sacrifice: one is partially sunk and the other is floating safe and sound next to its sunken sister ship. This probably was a visual programming shortcut by the developers. Also, during the The Sacrifice campaign, Bill constantly explains his desire to escape in a sailboat by arguing that he doesn't want to stop "every fifteen minutes" to refuel a motorized boat; this could allude to the Survivors being forced to search for fuel by the Slaters during their time together.

John's voice actor is John Patrick Lowrie, who voiced the male Citizens and Resistance Rebels from Half-Life 2 and the Sniper from Team Fortress 2. Amanda is never heard during the game, thus having no voice actress.

Plane Pilot

C-130 Pilot

The plane with him inside.

He is the plane pilot that evacuates the Survivors out of Newburg in the Dead Air campaign. According to his audio, he fears leaving his C-130 plane to fuel it himself after his co-pilot was killed trying to do so.

In the comic, Francis mentions the plane later crashed. It is unknown why this happened or what became of the pilot. There is a chance that, because the Survivors have been identified as Carriers, they could have unintentionally Infected the pilot without realizing it. Another possibility is that the crash was purely accidental and he died in it. Even if he survived, it is possible that he was not immune to the Green Flu and became a zombie.

Originally, rather than crashing, the pilot would land successfully (albeit damaging the plane) thus starting the cut campaign Dam It.  However, it is still unknown what happened to him originally, as the leftovers of said campaign don't make it clear. Also, his co-pilot was named Terry, but this was cut from the dialogue for unknown reasons.

The pilot is voiced by Gary Schwartz who also voices the Heavy and Demoman in Team Fortress 2.

Rescue 9

Rescue 9

Rescue 9 (Blood Harvest Rescue Driver), drawn by Michael Avon Oeming.

Rescue 9 is not just one person but a platoon of soldiers who respond to the Survivors when they communicate via radio. Rescue 9 sends out an Armored Personnel Carrier to pick up the Survivors at the end of the Blood Harvest campaign. The Sacrifice comic reveals Rescue 9 brought the Survivors to Millhaven instead of the Echo Safe Zone to find a cure to the Infection. In addition, the comic reveals one of the soldiers in the APC was Lt. Mora, who personally drove so he could witness the Infected for himself.

The soldier on the radio is voiced by David Scully.

Due to some of the unused lines, one could think the farmhouse was supposed to be blown up after the truck picked up the Survivors.

Unknown Chopper Pilot

Helicopter Pilot (Dark Carnival)

The pilot himself.

During their passage through Whispering Oaks, the survivors will come across a chopper pilot flying over the park, presumably looking for survivors. It's unknown if the pilot is a CEDA operative, a U.S. soldier, or just an ordinary civilian trying to help. The survivors then manage to turn on the pyrotechnic show of the Midnight Riders in order to draw his attention. However, in mid-flight, it turns out that he was infected, with Nick killing him when he began to turn.

Contrary to the other NPCs, his background and the way he was infected are completely unknown: he has just a few lines of dialogue calling the survivors to the chopper when he arrives. The fact that he was piloting a UH-1 Huey further suggests that he is a civilian, maybe even the same pilot who took the Midnight Riders off the park.

Virgil

Virgil (Parish)

Virgil's boat with him inside.

"Now this is a'far as Virgil goes, but y'all can make it to the bridge from here."
―Virgil

Virgil is a character appearing in Left 4 Dead 2. He has a Cajun accent and is first heard in Swamp Fever. He left a radio behind at the plantation to see if there would be any more passing Survivors and after hearing voices on the radio, proceeds to pick them up. After the Survivors fend off a large Infected attack, he blows up the gate with a rocket-propelled grenade and gets the Survivors to safety. Later on, in Hard Rain, he drops the Survivors off at Ducatel to search for fuel, and after they get some, finally drops them off at a dock during The Parish. Then, Virgil left to continue rescuing survivors.

It's possible that he's immune to the Green Flu and is aware of his immunity to it, as he is confirmed to have remained alive for a long time after having contact with the main characters, who are likely to be carriers. Furthermore, he comments that he is now a widower after his wife was killed by an Infected bite, which may mean that he had direct contact with the Infected as well.

His boat is named the Lagniappe, a reference to the Louisiana custom of the same name, meaning a small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of purchase. There is a joke on the Steam forums that states that Virgil is a talking boat. This "theory" is substantiated by Chet Faliszek who stated that "Virgil is not a Man" when someone asked why Virgil existed during the "Last Man on Earth" Mutations.[5]

Virgil is voiced by Randall Newsome

Papa Gator and Rescue 7

In the start of The Bridge in The Parish, two soldiers can be heard speaking over the radio. They are known by their codenames "Papa Gator" and "Rescue 7". After the Survivors grab the radio from the dead soldier to get their attention, they realize the Survivors could be potential carriers, but regardless take them in, with Rescue 7 stating that he is/they are properly equipped to deal with carriers when they arrive.

Based on their dialogue, Papa Gator was the last rescue leaving New Orleans and was just waiting some minutes before leaving. It is presumable that Rescue 7 is an entire team of soldiers just like Rescue 9, and that they sent Papa Gator specifically to rescue carriers: the Rescue 7 officer will clearly warn Papa Gator not to attack targets that may be carriers mistaken with the infected. This further demonstrates that the military is concerned into rescuing the max amount of carries as possible in order to study their immunity.

They are voiced by Bob Gunter and Bill Huggins.


Custom Campaign Survivors

Custom-created Survivors or NPCs are created by the community for their custom campaigns and not by Valve. It should be noted that Cold Stream was officially released by Valve but is community-made as well.

Chopper Pilot from Cold Stream

Helicopter Pilot (Cold Stream)

The pilot in-game.

On the final level of Cold Stream, Cut-throat Creek, the survivors find themselves in a fenced woodland area with a storage building. Inside the storage, there is a radio that they use to call a nearby chopper. The pilot them heads to a forestry technical service depot that was taken over by CEDA as a processing facility, where they are successfully rescued.

Contrary to other rescue personnel, the pilot reuses lines from other characters and the same models from No Mercy's pilot. Since Cold Stream is not part of Left 4 Dead canon and never was officially continued, it's unknown what happens with the pilot and the survivors after the pickup.

Crazy Ron

"Well this here is Crazy Ron riding the night train. Any Survivors still out there got your ears on, well I'm your last fucking hope…"
―Crazy Ron

Featured in both Suicide Blitz and Suicide Blitz 2, Crazy Ron is a Survivor who drives a train all around Fort Harris County searching and aiding any other Survivors within the city to get to the Fort Harris County Stadium for evacuation. He can be heard throughout both campaigns blowing the horn of the train and will contact any other Survivors by radio. However, there are some other Survivors who hate and don't trust him due to his absence when promising aid, which leads to the death of their teammates while waiting for him to show up (as stated in some Graffiti).

Crazy Ron is voiced by the campaign's creator, R.T. Frisk, who also provides the elevator voice in the first map, as well as additional voices.

Other unseen characters in Suicide Blitz 1 and 2 include:

  • The soldier talking to command at the Fort Harris County stadium, voiced by Dani Cox.
  • A pilot in generic banter, voiced by Steve Antash
  • The older commander on the radio, voiced by R.A. Frisk
  • The finale radio pilot, voiced by Gabriel "ilcannibal" Fayerweather

Nondescript Survivors

See also: Graffiti

As well as the eight playable Survivors, there are also known to be many more uninfected humans fighting the Infected and trying to escape the area that the twelve campaigns take place in. All except the chopper pilot and Whitaker remain unseen and most are unnamed; however, they are evident by graffiti left around most of the chapters, mainly in the safe rooms. The safe rooms themselves are proof of other Survivors, as they are created before the playable Survivors get to them, which implies that other humans have created the safe rooms to give other Survivors a place to rest and stock up on ammo. Also, mostly in city chapters, gunfire can be heard in the background.

In some graffiti, it is also stated that there were more Survivors who were immune; whether they're immune or not, however, is not mentioned.

The Survivor's perceived relative scarcity of other nondescript human Survivors is hinted at in Left 4 Dead 2's The Passing campaign, which features a sexual innuendo dialog between Nick and Rochelle wherein Nick implies that she cannot afford to be choosy as there are "only about ten men" left on Earth.

Keith

FallenSurvivor

Sometimes, Ellis mistakes the Fallen Survivor for Keith.

A friend of Ellis. He is often mentioned in stories Ellis tells while in a safe room. If Ellis' stories are to be believed, Keith has suffered from third-degree burns over a major percentage of his body twice (95% making fireworks, 90% deep frying turkey), lost two fingers and a thumb to frostbite, broke both of his legs after driving his car off a cliff, been stabbed by "a guy dressed up like a ghost", was tear-gassed by the police (the effects of which lasted for a year), snuck a paintball gun on a roller coaster, got attacked by an alligator, bombed by the military (among the bombs, Ellis claims, were nerve gas and cluster bombs), (nearly) drowned in the Tunnel of Love, has done time in prison, got cut up by his own "bumper-car" lawnmower leaving him with wounds over 90% of his body, got cement paved over him in a sewer after falling down an open manhole, lived in a graveyard for a year after getting kicked out of his house, invented several types of soft drink, hung spit on the overhang in the Tunnel of Love, fell off a roller coaster onto the tracks with the ride still going, got a tattoo on his forehead saying "I'm a moron" for a dare, winning $200, ate three pounds of raw chicken (the in-game subtitles say catfish), he no longer recognizes his brother Paul and lost sensation in his right foot because of the three pounds of chicken, attempted to build a house out of mud, was attacked by owls, turned a recreation of Colonial times into a raccoon fight in his backyard, pretended to be homeless, had a water balloon fight with balloons full of urine, drove across a river without using the bridge, married a couple, and would have even gotten married himself, had he not ran away from his wedding.

It is likely that Valve simply added Keith as comedic relief in the serious game. At one point during Hard Rain, Ellis even confuses the Survivors fighting their way through the burning hotel in Dead Center for something that happened to Keith. It is unknown if Keith is still alive and/or uninfected or even real. If Keith is real and is indeed alive, it is very possible that he is fighting the Horde, seeing as so many incidents failed to kill him. However, in certain cut lines, Ellis states that Keith was evacuated, claiming he was the first on a helicopter.

There are two pieces of graffiti that make mention of a "Keith", but don't specify if this is the same man that Ellis is friends with: One piece of graffiti in The Lighthouse reads, "My name is Keith Marshall (new line) And I'm going to die here", which, if this is the Keith that Ellis is friends with, could mean that Keith has made it to the lighthouse, but he has given up hope. Seeing as The Lighthouse is in Left 4 Dead, and seeing as Left 4 Dead 2, in which Ellis talks about Keith, takes place a week after the start of Left 4 Dead, he could have already died. There is also graffiti written that reads "Keith: Waited 3 days at the meeting spot after we got separated. I can't wait anymore. Meet me at Mercy Hospital — Krista"

After contacting Gabe Newell, asking if Keith is actually real, he answered saying, "Keith isn't imaginary, except, well, it is a video game, so it's all imaginary".[6]

Ellis sometimes mistakes the Fallen Survivor for Keith, but then notices he isn't Keith.

A full listing of stories concerning Keith by Ellis can be found here.

Jacob

Sometimes when Rochelle is in low health, she briefly mentions a man by the name of Jacob saying to herself: "Girl, you should've stayed with Jacob!". Jacob might be a close friend to Rochelle, a boyfriend, a family member or an acquaintance from her old place of work. The line implies that she was with him at the time of the infection before meeting the others, got separated from him, voluntarily or otherwise, and doesn't know what happened to him, but believes he may have made it to safety without her.

Rochelle also has a similar line: "Girl, you shoulda stayed at home…". This may mean Jacob was someone living with her at the time of the infection and she got separated from him when she left for Savannah. Another possibility is that Jacob was a CEDA agent that Rochelle meet before the situation went out of control; Rochelle's profile photo shows her with uninfected CEDA agents on the background. Jacob could also be the person who took the photo and/or an assistant from the news station she worked at.

Distant Survivors

In the campaigns Dead Air, No Mercy, Crash Course, and sometimes at the end of The Town (as well as the main menu), occasionally, a distant gunshot, explosion, or gun burst may be heard. It can only be assumed that these are other Survivors fighting off the Infected. As they are infrequent, however, it is likely that few of them survived, or simply moved out of hearing range. Not to say that none of them do, as, from The Sewer, looking very closely at the roof of Mercy Hospital in the distance, a white helicopter (different from the red, white, and blue chopper used by the Survivors) can be seen flying in and out, hinting at more than one evacuation.

The News Chopper 5 pilot will also sometimes comment to the Survivors "Looks like you're gonna be my final run.", further indicating that he had been saving other Survivors from the rooftop. As this may be true, in Crash Course, Francis and Zoey fight constantly over the dead pilot. He can be heard saying he had an "incident", and that maybe he is trying to help them get away as far as he can before transforming into an Infected. He seems aware that he is going to die. His lines were to be used in the game, but was omitted because it left players with a bitter taste after their victory. The Survivors do argue about it in the Crash Course DLC, however.

It should also be noted that the pilot's model seems to be in Left 4 Dead 2 taking the Survivors from the finale of Dark Carnival and eventually crashing, as in Crash Course.

Chicago Ted

Teds Message

Chicago Ted's graffiti message

Chicago Ted is an unseen character who claims that "No Zombie Is Safe From Chicago Ted", the name may be a reference to Ted Phillips, the president and CEO of the Chicago Bears in 1999.

Chicago Ted has also gained a Chuck Norris-style reputation among players being featured on modded maps and in low complexity humor.

The Midnight Riders

See main article: Midnight Riders

The Midnight Riders are a Southern rock band who were supposed to play in Whispering Oaks Amusement park, but due to the Infection, they had to cancel, so they were picked up by a helicopter. Their status is unknown but the pilot was fine (at that time) so one can assume they were when they were dropped off. They are mentioned several times throughout Dark Carnival but never encountered, though one can occasionally see their tour bus speeding by in The Underground.

They have their own webpage which can be found here.

Angels of Death

Graffiti alleys 06

The Angels' trademark graffiti (Crash Course)

The Angels of Death are a group of Survivors who appear to be rather successful, and very proud of their accomplishments. They appear through graffiti twice in the Left 4 Dead series, once in Crash Course and once in The Sacrifice, each time drawing a collection of customized skulls labeled with the members' names. Originally, there were seven members (Brenda, Jerry, Chris, Phil, Sean, Brock, and Jason), but during the course of the next week, they collected an eighth member (Jaime), making them the largest known group of Survivors.

Like the original Survivors, they probably started out in the greater Philadelphia area, as their first set of graffiti can be found in Whitney County, and over the course of the Infection, have traveled at least as far south as Rayford, Georgia. In Whitney County, they marked 600 tally marks, presumably representing the Infected they killed while

Angels of Death (The Sacrifice)

The Angel's trademark graffiti (The Sacrifice)

held up at that point. In Rayford, they make the claim that they are "clearing the way" for other Survivors, killing every Infected they come across — though this does not explain why there are still numerously Infected in both campaigns other Survivors cross.

Their cockiness does not seem to be taken well by other Survivors. In Whitney County, their graffiti is commented on by others writing "Sick Bastards" and "World coming to an end and they are drawing pictures".

Characters from The Sacrifice comic

The following characters are only encountered within the Left 4 Dead comic released with The Sacrifice

Ray

Ray2

Ray on the phone to Louis.

Ray was a fellow co-worker and friend of Louis at a business called "Franklin Brothers" in Philadelphia PA, until two days after the first Infection. Ray decides to call in sick to work much to Louis' dismay, claiming he does not want to go to work because of the rapidly spreading Infection and would rather stay home than risk getting exposed to the Green Flu. His fate is unknown.

Wade and Carolyn

Wade Carolyn

Wade and Carolyn arguing over Zoey's lack of interest in school.

Wade and Carolyn are Zoey's parents, who are either divorced or separated. Zoey was living with her father at an apartment near her college for one semester, while Carolyn lives at their family home with a man named Kevin. Her mother is upset that she wants to quit college after just one semester, while her father is more easygoing and thinks she would do well in the family business in the police force.

Unfortunately, Carolyn is bitten by an intruder, turns into an Infected and ends up attacking Wade, who shoots Carolyn. Wade reminds Zoey of all the zombie films they watched when she was younger where the protagonists have to shoot someone before they turned, which she does after their final words of love with each other. Zoey is horrified to learn later on from the military Doctor that the Carrier gene runs on the father's side, meaning that her father is in fact, immune, and that his death is unnecessary.

Sandra

Sandra

Sandra taking Francis to the back room at the bar.

Sandra was Francis' girlfriend, seen at a bar with him and his friends. Francis doesn't seem to know her that well, as he keeps calling her "Becky". She ends up turning into an Infected while she and Francis are kissing in a back room at the bar, vomiting on his vest and biting his neck. She goes to finish him off but is shot by Francis' friend Duke.

It is quite possible that Francis, being a carrier, was the one who infected her: she is not shown with symptoms of the Green Flu before Francis kisses her, and saliva is heavily hinted to be a vector of the disease. If it is true, Sandra is the only known character to have been infected by a carrier, while the other possibilities (the C-130 pilot, the chopper pilots, etc) are just speculation.

Duke, Danny and Francis' gang

Dannyandduke

Danny (left) and Duke (right).

Duke and Danny were friends of Francis who were with him and Sandra in a bar at the time the infected began to take over the streets. When Francis' lover Sandra turned into an Infected and he didn't realize that she was about to kill him, Duke shot and killed her with a shotgun.

Duke may be considered one of the more conscious-minded characters, albeit extremely paranoid: he is aware that the Green Flu is not really an influenza and that it is spreading fast. He wears a Midnight Riders T-shirt and appears to believe in government conspiracies as well, stating that heroin, satellites and cell phones were somehow always meant to lead up to the zombie apocalypse.

Danny was the only other one to aid Duke in carrying the Jukebox to the rooftop of the bar and join in with their gang in the shooting spree. He is more quiet than Duke, and, at first, he seems to be genuinely worried about what is happening, but later he can be seen smiling while shooting the zombies with the rest of the gang.

It seems that, along with Duke and Danny, there were other three or so unnamed members of Francis' gang on the bar. They are last seen making a stand at the rooftop, and their fate is unknown. The most likely is that they were not immune to the infection, and eventually became zombies. Based by Francis' tatoos, it seems that the gang is named "Hell's Legion", but there is no confirmation.

Major Everly

Everly

Everly discussing the extraction report with Mora.

The man in charge of Millhaven, Major Everly does not believe in the Special Infected's various abilities, nor in their existence, and refuses to believe the Infected are capable of climbing the twenty-foot walls surrounding Millhaven, and the existence of Smokers and Hunters that can easily destroy the formation of the guards. Major Everly is eventually overthrown by Lt. Mora after the Lieutenant sounds the alarm and storms into the Major's office with two other soldiers from his platoon. While Mora and his soldiers attempted to make their way out of the facility, Everly rallied those soldiers still loyal to him to attempt an evacuation via helicopters. Unfortunately, the rampaging Tank that killed Mora attacked Everly's helicopter as it was departing from the base and threw it at the Survivors, causing it to explode and kill all of its passengers.

It is interesting to note that during Mora's mutiny by sounding the siren, Everly asked if Mora knew what he was doing. Just before this, Zoey and Bill were informing the Doctor that the Infected were, in fact, drawn to sound. A tad more than speculation concludes that it is possible Everly knew more of the predicament than he was letting on. This is supported by his ignorance pertaining to the fact that HQ had been compromised for the last six days and never disclosing to his men, choosing to simply dismiss Mora's initial concerns.

Mora

Lt. Mora taking order over Major Everly.

Lt. Mora

A paranoid soldier of low rank who is concerned about the safety of Millhaven under the leadership of Major Everly, as well as believing that Carriers and Infected are as risky as each other. Lt. Mora personally took part in the rescue mission of Bill, Francis, Louis, and Zoey in order to witness the Infected for himself, especially the Special Infected. Lt. Mora believes so many Carriers in Millhaven is a bad thing, and overthrows Major Everly due to disagreements on the safety of the military outpost as well as refusing to risk his platoon in a supposedly "unsafe" outpost, or for Carriers who might as well be on the Infected's side.

During the events of Part 3, Lt. Mora fought alongside his soldiers, ensuring all of them gets to safety before he does so; however, an Infected manages to tear off his gas mask before he could get himself to safety. His soldiers refuse to help him, as he is now compromised, and decide to leave him for dead, much to his anger. After barely surviving a horde of Infected, he confronts the Survivors, who appear like monsters to his eyes; it is unknown if this is due to the Infection or just as a result of his dazed state. Francis comically convinces him that everything is Louis' fault, but before he can attack, Bill punches him and then his head was knocked off by a Tank, before it grabs Major Evenly's helicopter and kills him as well as the four continue to the train station.

Sergeant Downey

Sergeant Downey

Sergeant Downey.

Sergeant Downey was Lt. Mora's confidant at Millhaven, much like Sergeant Hendricks. At the moment the protagonists had reached Daughtery Farm and called Rescue 9, he was discussing with Lt. Mora about the safety of Millhaven. Unlike Lt. Mora, Sgt. Downey doesn't believe that the army must get rid of the carries because of the danger of spreading the infection, and he doesn't share Lt. Mora's belief that the carries should not be treated as innocent citizens and fellow humans.

Probably because of his disagreement with Lt. Mora, he was not one of the soldiers recruited to overthrow Major Everly. In fact, he is not seen or mentioned at all during the fall of Millhaven, so it's possible that he left the base in the two days before it.

Sergeant Hendricks and his team

Hendricks

Hencricks and his team.

Sergeant Hendricks was one of the military soldiers of Millhaven who rebelled themselves, along with Lt. Mora, and decided to just flee the base rather than staying and trying to defend it. After Lt. Mora had is mask pulled, it seems that Hendricks became the one in charge of the team, and left Lt. Mora to die in order to keep their own safety.

Should be noted, Hendricks and the three soldiers with him (Pena, Brooks and Davis) are the only characters introduced on The Sacrifice comic with real chances of having survived Millhaven's downfall. The last time he is seen, he is with his fellow soldiers on a safe spot, looking for a vehicle so they can reach the Safe Zone Echo.

Jeff and Annie

Jeff Annie

Jeff (left) and Annie (right) watching Francis as his threats are muffled through the door.

Soldiers who guard Louis and Francis' cell at Millhaven. Louis explains to them the various Special Infected, which they know nothing of (the only exception being Lt. Mora giving them the name of the Smoker). When the compound is attacked by Infected, Jeff and Annie follow Louis' instructions in avoiding a Witch, which they repay by freeing the two Survivors from the cell and taking them to the armory to get firearms. They encounter a soldier-turned-Boomer, which Jeff shoots at initially, but is thrown off-balance by Louis while Francis dispatches it. Jeff then arms Louis with a pistol, while Francis takes one off the now-dead Boomer.

Jeff and Annie allow Louis to take point due to his superior knowledge of the Infected. During Part 3, both of them along with the doctor follow the Survivors, thus making them the only few Survivors making it out of Millhaven alive. Nearing to an end, Jeff and Annie decide to leave for another choke point, stating that their gas masks might eventually fail. In page 126 of The Sacrifice comic two soldiers can be seen making a dash to the train but it is unknown who they are. A soldier that shares very close resemblance to Annie was last seen being attacked by the Infected with her mask being ripped off at the end of Part 3 and it is extremely likely that this was her (Same hair color, same armor, and same gasmask). Jeff is not seen in detail at any point after the scene of them holding out against a large horde, but is presumed dead. However, there is a chance, albeit small, that Jeff survived. On the final page of Part 3 you can see the corpse of The Doctor, a soldier's corpse being pounded by a tank, a corpse of a soldier which is shown from the back and the head of a soldier who's gasmask resembles Jeff's very closely but it is possible that this is another soldier's mask as the mask that Jeff wears is commonly used among the military.

The Doctor

Doc

The doctor as he explains that there is no cure for the Infection.

A doctor at Millhaven, who collects saliva from Zoey in an attempt to find a cure. He is pessimistic about his chances, and states that the Army will kill him when they realize he can't stop the Infection, as he is a carrier. He offers to help Bill and Zoey escape from Millhaven, providing they can get him out as well. He accompanied the Survivors from Part 2 to Part 3, and attempted to tag along with the Survivors to head down to the south. However, he failed to get on the train before Bill started it up. His final moments show him being pounced by a Hunter while reaching out just inches from the train's door until the Infected swarm him. Zoey, wanting to help him, tells Bill to stop the train. Bill, however, ignores her, and obviously, the Doctor did not survive (Killed off-screen). As a consequence, Zoey detests Bill for this action (as seen at the beginning of The Sacrifice)

Rivera

Rivera

Rivera presenting the wounds on Zoey's wrist for The Doctor to see.

A soldier guarding Zoey and Bill while they are tested at Millhaven. He outraged Bill and Zoey when he threatened her at gunpoint, so Bill distracted him while Zoey hits him with it. His gas mask being dislodged in the struggle, Rivera entered a state of panic, fearing Infection from Zoey and begging her not to approach him. His fate is unknown as he is carried off by another soldier who arrives on the scene when the Doctor shouts out "Rivera's down!". His ultimate fate is unknown, presumed to be dead as the military was known for taking no chances with those possibly Infected.

Jim and Nate

Jim and Nate

Jim (left) and Nate (right)

Jim and Nate were two soldiers tasked into guarding one of Millhaven's walls. They were aware of Lt. Mora's plans of overthrowing Major Everly, and were grafeful to him. Ironically, they are also the first ones to die when Lt. Mora sounds the alarm. Nate is pounced by a Hunter mere seconds after the alarm began sounding, and Jim is pulled by a Smoker before he can do anything to save his comrade.

Notes

  • Regardless, playing as a infected or a survivor, it is extremely impossible to kill a NPC.
  • On Left 4 Dead: Survivors, every single NPC character got a new voice actor, even the original Survivors during The Passing.
  • Chicago Ted's graffiti is based off found by Erik Wolpaw and Sean "Seanbaby" Reilly.
  • The helicopter pilots in the No Mercy and Dark Carnival campaign and Whitaker in the Dead Center campaign (using noclip) are the only Survivors who players can actually see alive in person (not counting the "Church Guy" who is never actually witnessed until becoming Infected).
    • The helicopter pilot at the end of the Dark Carnival campaign uses the same model as the one in No Mercy of the original Left 4 Dead and coincidentally befalls the same fate.
    • Helicopter pilots becoming Infected in mid-flight appears to be a running gag in Left 4 Dead games. However, it is not clear what happened to the military chopper in The Parish, as it was made to transport carriers of the infection, so there isn't much chance of the pilot sharing his colleagues' fate.
  • Virgil and John/Amanda Slater are currently the only Survivors in the Left 4 Dead series to actually accompany the main Survivors in the game without falling victim to the Infection like No Mercy's helicopter pilot. They are, coincidentally, all boat captains.
    • The character Virgil is a possible reference to Virgil of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, an Italian poet that guided Dante through Hell and Purgatory. Virgil of Left 4 Dead 2 provides a similar role in guiding the Survivors from one area to another.
Whitaker blog

Whitaker as he appears in the Team Fortress 2 blog post.

  • Whitaker had a letter written from his perspective on Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 Price Slashes at 66% during The Sacrifice's release. The Message is found here. According to it, he's been the number one seller of "bullet related merchandise" for the past twelve years, approximately since 1998.
    • Whitaker also makes a cameo in a blog post announcing the Team Fortress 2 update releasing Ellis' hat and the Frying Pan as unlockable content.[7]
    • Whitaker's in-game appearance is vastly different than how he is portrayed in the recent artwork. Though it's possible the in-game model was merely a placeholder as usually the player's not supposed to see him in person. The fact that his model is just a clean version of the Fallen Survivor gives more proof of his model being a placeholder.
  • With the release of Death Toll for Left 4 Dead 2, the Church Guy still retains his fate of turning into a male Boomer, Hunter or Smoker.
  • The name Carolyn, from Zoey's mother, is also featured in Valve's other game, Portal 2 which plays an important role in GLaDOS's backstory. However, Valve's choices on both names are purely coincidental.
    • In Left 4 Dead, Carolyn is spelled with a "y" and has no "e". In Portal 2 it is spelled with an "i" and has an "e".
  • You can't shoot or kill the pilot in the No Mercy or Dark Carnival finales. This is likely for balancing reasons. The fact that the helicopter crashed after the death of the pilot suggests that none of the Survivors know how to fly a helicopter as in real life it's still possible to throw out the dead pilot and take control of the helicopter. If the pilot can be killed during the finale, this effectively ruins game balance, as nobody can escape because the pilot's gone.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2008/11/11/the-rps- electronic-wireless-show-episode-6/#more-4980
  2. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h1PjXFaQLI
  3. ↑ Whitaker sound files, conversation06.wav: "I've been on this world 60 years, ma'am…"
  4. ↑ game_sounds_whitaker, DefendChatter07.wav: "I'll cover you! Go!"
  5. ↑ http://img718.imageshack.us/i/capturefm.jpg/
  6. ↑ http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Quotes/ShrugOfGod
  7. ↑ http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=4441&p=1
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