Author Note: Hello! Thanks for taking the time to read my first fanfic. Well, second. I don't count the first. Hehe. Please review. I'm really sorry if they're any spelling errors!
Casey
Chapter One
The Beginning
It was a day like no other. Joann had gone to work. Her 'station', a dull and boring place on the first floor of the Raccoon Police Department, was as uneventful as ever. One person, a young man of maybe 22 caught my eye. He came in, clutching his arm. When Joann asked what was wrong he replied that his cousin had gone completely ballistic and took a massive chunk out of his arm. Recently there had been many reports of cannibal like behavior spreading. This was, from her records, the 16th cannibal-like case this week. Several dog attacks had also surfaced; all which had been showing symptoms of rabies. Joann told him she would have an officer drive him to the hospital shortly.
Three hours later Joann heard a blood-curling scream erupt from outside. Joann rushed to the double doors and peered outside from the narrow glass pain that looked out to the courtyard and beyond that the street. At first Joann couldn't see because a crowd of shrieking onlookers was in my way. Then, they backed away, all scattering in several directions. There, standing over one of the RPD's own officers was a man, in his hand was the officer's hand which was detached from the officer's arm. The man brought the hand to his mouth and took a rather large bite out of a finger. A looked away, vomit rising in my throat. Joann had begun to scream for someone to help him but Joann already heard the sirens of an ambulance.
That was a week ago. Today nearly three-fourths of Raccoon City's population had been wiped out from some unknown sickness. Now, along with three others, Joann had found a place of safety. We had taken refuge in an old coffee shop's apartment. It overlooked the dark street. Mindless flesh- eaters wandered in and out of the few remaining streetlights. Light cast out, shadows stretching across the street.
"Joann? You still awake? Your shift is over; you can go sleep now. Randy is still complaining about his arm. We need some kind of medicine, that cut is nasty." Marvin Howard, a retired police officer, told her, a yawn erupting from his mouth. Joann nodded and got up. As she walked to the door Marvin slipped a packet of Advil into her hand.
"You might want to take this, help you sleep." Joann mumbled quick thanks. Marvin was a nice man. He was kind and sweet. But, there was something about him that she didn't like. He had a dark past, she had checked on the computer files at the RPD. Marvin had been arrested once, while on the job, for raping a woman he was supposed to have been taking to jail. She shut the door, Randy and Lydia lying on an air mattress, sleeping soundly, unaware of the oblivious danger in the city.
Joann settled in between them and brought the blanket up to her chin, the September air leaking through the open window. Moans of hunger drifting in, causing Randy and Lydia to stir, and mumbling words of unknown origin. Not wanting them to wake Joann got up and walked over to the window, looking down to the street below. Something stood in the middle of the street, not a zombie, something much more evil. It seemed to have a sleek and slender body but looking closer, its skin looked almost as rough as sandpaper. A long curved claw on the right arm was glittering in the street light, blood shining. Next to him, lying sprawl-legged face down, was a zombie, from the looks of it, it had been decapitated. Joann quickly shut the window, a loud bang; the thing looked her way and had begun to walk toward the coffee shop.
"Marvin, get the guns! Hurry! Something is out there!" Joann yelled, almost immediately Marvin opened the door, shotgun shouldered, both gun holsters had a Desert Eagle in place. In his hand, a grenade launcher. Joann ran over to Randy and Lydia, waking them up. Marvin gave him the grenade launcher, keeping the shotgun holstered for himself. Then he handed the two Desert Eagles to Joann and Lydia.
"Should we stay here or go and attack head on? I wanna wait..." Lydia complained. She was the type that didn't like danger and often stayed while the other three went to search for survivors.
"I second that... I ain't in any condition to go out there. Look." Randy pulled up his sleeve, revealing a swollen bite that had been from something that Lydia had called a hunter. It had long, drooping, arms and a small, amphibian-like head. Its claws, apparently a deathly weapon, had been used against a zombie, slicing the body in half. Two shots with the grenade launcher had brought it down.
Marvin's words interrupted her thoughts, "Lydia, fine, you stay here. Joann and I will go. Come on." Joann was very hesitant about going with him. She wasn't a very good marksman and she didn't do well under pressure. She had often wondered why Marvin insisted to kill anything that wandered out in front of the old coffee shop. She had finally decided to ask.
"Marvin," Joann began. "Why must we kill everything that we see? The only reason I called you was because you said that if we saw anything to call you. I mean, if it doesn't propose a threat then why do we need to get rid of it. We must be the only crazy bastards to actually do this."
Marvin looked at her in disbelief. "Why do you care? It's none of your business. Maybe I just want others to be safe. I've already lost my wife and brother. I don't want to lose anyone else... If anyone is still alive." He avoided eye contact, shifting her view from Joann's eyes to a nearby poster titled, "All You Can Eat Buffet at Sandy's Diner!" Joann grinned at the title. They had been there once to look for survivors but all they had found was bodies that had been mutilated beyond believability. They had reached the bottom of the stairs, the door wide open, wind bellowing in, scattering bits of newspaper and other miscellaneous items in a whirlwind of colors against the dark walls.
Oh, no. That thing is in. It could be anywhere... Joann's thoughts raced through her mind, Marvin seemed to be thinking the same as well. Joann loaded her gun, Marvin doing the same. Joann had gotten fairly good with a gun. She was nearly as good as Marvin. The tables of the coffee shop lie on one side of the room, something had knocked them over there. Zombies that had been previously lying on the floor were now gone, puddles of blood the only recognition that something had once been there.
"Marvin, did it do this? We didn't even hear anything. Surely we would have heard something." Joann looked around, glancing around for any sign of where the creature had gone. Then she noticed that from behind the serving counter a rustling sound she had not noticed before. She motioned for Marvin to follow her. Marvin then held out his hand, he went first, leaning forward glancing over the counter. His eyes grew wide, his face a pale chalky color; his hands began to tremble.
"Marvin, what is it? Are you all right? Marvin?" She stepped forward, gun ready. Behind the counter, crouched over a zombie was the monster. Up closer the monster was much more grisly and evil. It looked up at them, basically not even seeing them. He turned to his meal. It tore chunks from the zombie. Blood splattered on to its naked, sexless body. The body absorbed the blood, soaking in like a sponge. The thing grew ever so slightly larger, more muscular. It rapidly finished off the zombie.
Marvin cocked the shotgun; the monster looked up, smelling fresh meat.
Rapid gunfire interrupted her thoughts. It seemed that they were battling something downstairs. Randy held the grenade launcher in his hands, ready to go down for back up. Shouts of pain from Marvin, screams of shock from Joanna told Randy and she needed to help them. Lydia pulled out her gun from her pants waistband. They took the stairs down; dreading what would be at the bottom.
Why isn't it dying?? It's not even flinching! Joanna screamed silently. Marvin was reloading, signaling for her to fire at him. Bam, bam, bam! Shots entered the monster's body, blood pouring freely out. One of the things' arms, the one with the claw on it, swung upward and down crashing just inches from Joanna's feet. Oh my god. That could have been me!
"Marvin, it's not even feeling any of this! We need to get-" The monster's claw met its mark. Marvin cried out in pain as the claw easily sliced through his arm, the arm fell the shotgun along with it. Joanna screamed, already hearing Lydia and Randy's foot steps coming down the stairs. She didn't know what to do, she screamed, a long endless high- pitched noise. She heard a male voice scream, "Duck!" She dropped to the floor, Marvin's twitching body beside her. His elbow profusely bled. Blood pour out; he would die soon if he didn't get help. Fire from a grenade launcher and from a Desert Eagle rang parts of the monster splattered on to her clothes and her bare arms and legs, burning like acid. The monster roared in pain. Joanna allowed herself to take a quick glance and saw that the monster was melting, literally melting. Pieces of flesh dripped of like wax dripping from a candle. His head was even ablaze, making the comparison even more real. The monster finally fell to the floor. It was dead. Their troubles were over. For now at least. Lydia and Randy rushed over to Marvin, whom lies withering in pain. He lie there staring at his detached arm. He must have been it total shock.
"He needs medical attention! Do you think someone is at the hospital? He's going to die if we don't get him help!" Joanna shouted. Her words seem to sink in. Randy looked around for something to stop the bleeding with. He saw a tablecloth in the seat of a chair and immediately snatched it, ripping it in half wrapping the stub of where the arm once was. Bleed soaked it almost at once. Randy then picked him up, his muscles straining,. He then told Lydia to pick up Marvin's arm. Lydia gave him a look of disgust but did it anyways. She wrapped the still bleeding arm in the remainder of the tablecloth.
"All right people move out." Randy called. They went out the door; Lydia and Joanna first followed by Randy who was holding Marvin. The dark streets smelled of rancid feces, urine, and blood. Zombie wandered by, their long bony fingers stretching out trying to grasp the fresh meat that had ventured out to the streets. Building after building, car after car, their chance of finding a place to stay after taking Marvin to the hospital seemed to be slimming. They had only killed three carriers, all of which had been female in white, blood stained lab coats. Traveling in heels wasn't doing Joanna any good. She had not found any shoes in the café that she could wear so she had been stuck with her heels. Her feet were aching.
"Randy, I need a break. My feet are killing me." Joanna said. Randy stopped his breathing heavy. Lydia looked a bit relieved at the news. She let out a long sigh and began to weep silently, tears sliding down her dirty cheek. This ordeal had probably been the toughest on Lydia. She had lost not only her one and only child but also a life, one that she had just recently reinvented.
"Lydia, we'll get out of here. I promise you. I don't care how many frickin' zombies are out there. We'll kill them all if we have to." Joanna reassured her, hoping her words would be of some comfort. Lydia looked up at her and attempted a feeble smile, and mouthed, "Thanks". Randy looked over at Marvin who was sliding in and out of conscious. He mumbled words that meant nothing to them. Randy pulled out a map that he had put into his pocket.
"Well, if this is right than we're... about ten minutes from the hospital." Randy got up and pulled Marvin up and then he began walking, yelling for them to come on. Joann helped Lydia up. The streets were littered with bodies of carriers and victims along with crashed vehicles and fires from riots that had taken place earlier. They finally reached the hospital. It had once been white. Now it was red and black. Fires erupted from several of the top floor windows.
"You ready? There's bound to be trouble inside." Randy asked, shifting Marvin's body.
"Yeah, let's roll."