Chapter Text
Ashe’s groans filled the room as Maddie haphazardly dragged her into the operations room, carefully helping her sit against a wall as she moaned in pain, clutching at her shoulder, her uniform a dark crimson. Making sure to shut the doors behind them, Madelynn leans against it briefly, sighing in relief before approaching her comrade.
“Hey, it’s gonna be okay, Ashe. It’s gonna be okay.”
“Maddie…I don’t-”
“No. You are going to be fine.”
She didn’t know if her words brought her friend any sort of comfort, but she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to do her best to ensure her survival. The two were joined at the hip since police academy, and although Ashe was putting on a brave face, Maddie knew she was in a lot of pain. Perhaps if she'd gotten there sooner, Maddie could've prevented the damn zombie from biting her friend and colleague in the first place.
Carding a hand through her hair, Madelynn stands up to take a look at their surroundings; the operations room was an absolute mess, but then again, so was most of the station. She'd run into Lieutenant Branagh what seemed like hours ago, though she hadn’t seen him since she left the lobby to look for survivors, as was his orders. She knew he was injured too, though not the severity. Still, she hoped that when she saw him again, he would still be….him.
It was all a blur. Maddie had been on vacation to compete in a figure skating competition that was happening about three hours away, but when Ashe called her to warn her about what was going on in Raccoon City, she hightailed it back to find the city in ruins, the townspeople overrun and mindless, something making them into what they were now; the half-decomposed, white-eyed, no longer functioning creatures whose only goal was to feast upon the flesh of those still sane enough to comprehend at least part of what was happening.
Maddie barely had enough time to grab her badge from her car before sprinting to the doors of the police station, the zombies hot on her heels. Upon her entry, she’d briefly talked to Marvin, who was clearly injured, but he ordered her to look for any survivors. Thankfully, along the way, she’d found some street clothes in the lost and found: some black denim shorts and a form-fitting tank top in the same color to boot. Just as she’d stopped by the S.T.A.R.S. office to confiscate some of the grenades, firearms, and ammo, the whole police station shook.
Marvin was able to inform her over the radio clipped to the shoulder of her tank top that a helicopter seemed to have crashed into the station, leaving the upper floor of the east wing closed off and unsafe to traverse. From there, she found Ashe toward the back stairwell, getting ganged up on by three of the damned bastards.
And so here they were, in the operations room on the west side, unsure of what to do and no clear direction of where they could go. And given the severity of Ashtyn’s wound, Maddie doubted that they would be able to get through the hall without that godforsaken thing clinging to the ceilings, ready to drop down onto them at a moment’s notice.
Turning back to look at her friend, her gaze softens. Luckily, a quick look around had awarded her with a rag, which she promptly pressed to the wound, instructing Ashe to hold it there.
But suddenly, the hair on the back of her neck stood up as the sound of something scraping on the floor on the other side of the door reached her ears. Panic erupted in her chest as she ran to them, but was too late, slamming her shoulder and fists into the door as she screamed helplessly for whoever was out there to let them out, realizing that the door was blocked by something. Something heavy.
The light pitter-patter of the person’s footsteps faded, leaving the two girls alone, both of them low on ammo.
On the other side of the door, a grin plasters itself onto Brian Irons’ face as he listened to the girls' angry requests. Though her arrival was unexpected, he would not have Maddie or anyone else getting in his way. The girl was far too observant for her own good, and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep up his charade for much longer if he’d let her wander freely about the station. Thankfully, it wasn't something a chair and some heavy books on top of it couldn't solve. She would be zombie bait soon enough.
“Do enjoy your stay, Miss Kingsley,” he says under his breath with a deep chuckle.
Meanwhile…
"Leon, this is Officer Ashtyn Yang. DO NOT come to Raccon City, I repeat: DO NOT come to Raccoon City! We’re….oh my god!"
Gunshots. Then the line went dead.
What the hell was happening down there?
“Jesus…what on Earth was that?” The woman sitting next to him asked, her tone fearful as she listened to the voicemail saved on Leon's phone.
"I honestly wish I knew. That was the only call I got. I was supposed to start last week."
Claire lets out a thoughtful but morbid hum as she takes in what she’d listened to, handing his phone back to him. Though it was by chance, she was lucky to have found him, and that they were heading to the same place.
The man shakes out his dirty blonde hair, being sure to keep a watchful eye on the road ahead. Even though it was dark outside, he knew he couldn’t have been too far from Raccoon City at this rate.
The gas station he’d stopped at when they met was overrun with people, though none of them were even remotely human anymore.
There were people, buildings burning, cars, and all sorts of other debris obstructing the streets. He was lucky he found a way to get even close to the police station! As they got closer, they could hear a voice over a loudspeaker:
“ATTENTION ALL CITIZENS: DUE TO THE CITYWIDE OUTBREAK, YOU ARE ADVISED TO TAKE SHELTER AT THE RACCOON CITY POLICE STATION. FREE FOOD AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES WILL BE PROVIDED TO EVERYONE IN NEED.”
“This is so unreal,” Claire finally says as she looks out the window.
“You’re telling me. I don’t know what to expect anymore. The police station isn’t much farther, though. They’ll know something.”
A few moments of silence pass before she speaks again, her confidence seeming to falter a bit.
“Yeah, but, what if we’re the only ones? What if there’s no survivors-”
“No, there’s survivors. It’s a big city. There has to be.”
He’d meant to try and comfort the poor girl, as he knew she was looking for her brother, but all he could do was hope that time would prove him right. He had to keep his spirits up, for both their sakes. Whatever was happening to Raccoon City, he was determined to find out what and help whoever he could. It was his duty.
A few more minutes of driving and they’d finally reached a point where they could go no further; cars and trucks were blocking the street to a point where Leon wouldn’t dare even try to get his car through it.
Peering up at the pouring rain pelting his windshield, he sighs despondently.
“Looks like we’re walking from here,” he says, not fond of the idea of getting soaked to the bone, but they were out of other preferable options.
Though when he looks over at Claire, her gaze was locked on a trio of zombies who had happened to be feasting on a corpse until he'd pulled the car pulled up. Now they were staring at them, slowly rising to their full height as bits of flesh and organs dangled from their chins as they did so. With a soft, disgusted grunt, Claire turns to him.
“More like running.”
No sooner had she spoken than zombies had started to pound on the windows and doors of his poor car. Leon quickly puts the vehicle into reverse, slamming onto the pedals to back the car up and crashing it into the nearest one behind him to shake the damn things off.
the poor car had had enough, flames of protest sprouting from the hood and getting higher by the minute. The driver's side door opens and Leon falls out, the pavement providing no cushion to his hands, which he'd stuck out to try and soften the blow. Like a newborn bird, he staggers to his feet, using another nearby and not burning car to support him.
“Claire! Claire, you all right?” He calls out.
When there was no immediate answer, his guts tightened in fear. Straining his hearing through the pouring rain and the groans and gurgles of the creatures approaching him, he finally heard her voice.
“Yeah, I’m okay! How ‘bout you?”
“I’m fine, but we can’t stay here! It’s not safe!”
“Go ahead! I’ll meet you at the station!”
As much as he didn’t want to separate from her, since there was safety in numbers, it was unfortunately necessary. Turning on his heel, he heads for a back alley, passing by several corpses and zombies, though thankfully, they seemed to be rather slow.
When the police station finally came into view, he dared to feel hopeful again. He had no idea what to expect when entering, but for now, it was just nice to have some shelter....and to hopefully get some answers.
Stepping inside the police station, Leon takes a moment to shake the rain from his hair and face before calling out.
“Hello? Is anybody here?”
For a police station, it did seem to look rather strange. He knew it was formerly an art museum, but the architecture and overall structure of the building was untouched, giving it an elegant yet somehow haunting touch.
“You’re safe….for now.” A man says stumbling a little as he approached him. He was a tall, darker-skinned man with a shaved head. The badge on his chest was thankfully clearly visible, but he appeared to be badly wounded.
“I’m Leon Kennedy. I was supposed to start last week, but I got a call saying to stay away. I wish I’d come here sooner.”
“Well you’re here now, Leon. That’s all that matters. Lieutenant Marvin Branagh,” he offers, though he didn’t dare extend a hand in greeting. “Come on. I think we can find you a uniform that’ll fit. You need to be prepared because this place will eat you alive if you’re not.”
Once he was changed, the giant statue seated in the middle of the lobby stairs caught his eye. There was one medallion already inserted into the unit, but it looked like the other two were missing.
“I found a notebook on an officer’s corpse. He believes that there’s a secret tunnel under that statue, and that’ll give you a way out of here.”
“That’s great. We can get you to a hospital.”
“No. No, I am not the priority here, Leon!”
“Lieutenant, I’m not just gonna leave you here-”
“I’m giving you an order, rookie! You save yourself first. I’d come with you, but I’ll just slow you down. Now go. It seems like you’ll need the other two items that will fit into those holes. And, if you'll indulge me, there may be at least one other survivor in here. Officer Kingsley headed into the west wing a few hours ago,” he says, pointing his finger toward the very corridors that Marvin saw the girl leave through before.
But before he could turn to leave, Marvin grabs his elbow. Hesitantly, Leon turns back to the Lieutenant, half-hoping that he’d changed his mind and was going to go with him, though upon seeing his still-seated comrade, he knew it was not the case..
“Leon, whatever you do, don’t make my mistake. You see one of those things – uniform or not – you do not hesitate. You take it out, or you run. Got it?”
Searching his eyes for a moment, Leon eventually nods his head slowly.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Now get going. Time is not on our side.”
As Marvin gingerly seats himself back onto the couch he’d been occupying, the rookie turns toward one of the corridors, muttering under his breath.
“Some first day.”