After the Horror…
Fire Angel
AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: Most unfortunately, none of the characters in 'After the Horror' belong to me;
they belong to Capcom. This story was just a small idea that I came up with not long ago; as you
can see I write fanfics of all different kinds! This story, btw, is written from the vantage
point that the Claire's first scenario, and Leon's second, were completed. I did this cos I liked
Ada's dying scene better in Leon's second scenario (you should know by now I'm a sucker for
romance…). Hope you enjoy the fan fic! I'm gonna make my old remark now: Any comments can be sent
to rinoa_heartilly86@hotmail.com ^.^ Have fun.
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: I've never played Resident Evil 3, only the first two. This fic is based chiefly
on the events after the second one, so if anything conflicts with the way Resident Evil 3 goes,
well deal with it… I'm hoping to get my hands on it eventually, and when I do, I might write a
sequel to this fic to fix any mistakes I made… or just re-write some of this one…
After the Horror…
PROLOGUE
He was one of the three survivors of the horror that took place in the condemned Raccoon City.
His name: Leon Kennedy. A brave young rookie cop who was caught up in the horror of William
Birkin's G-virus. Spread by rats, the virus had infected the whole of the city before anyone
could blink. Leon, along with a young woman named Claire Redfield, and Sherry Birkin, William's
daughter, had managed to escape the doomed town.
Leon had lost much during his fight for survival. All his friends at the police station were
dead, or still roaming the streets as bloodthirsty zombies. It didn't matter anyway… the police
station had probably gone up in smoke with the Umbrella labs. But Leon had lost more than just
friends. He had lost love.
Her name was Ada Wong. It didn't matter when or how they had met; all that mattered really was
that they eventually fell in love with each other. She was killed in an attempt to save his life
from an Umbrella lab-rat, T-90. After the horror was over, Leon could think only of Ada. He moved
to Los Angeles and joined the police force there to try and get her off of his mind. But it
didn't seem to work. Nothing did. Day in, day out, she was there.
If only he could find a way to move on…
CHAPTER 1
"You are going to have a good time tonight," Leon reminded himself sternly as a taxi pulled up
outside his house. "No thoughts of… Ada." He looked once more in the mirror and straightened his
tuxedo. "I can't believe I actually accepted to go to this thing…"
The previous night, Leon had received a call from Chris Redfield, Claire's older brother.
"It's her birthday," Chris had said. "She hasn't seen you for ages. We were thinking it would be
cool if you'd come and surprise her."
Leon knew Chris was right. He hadn't seen Claire since they had escaped Raccoon City with Sherry.
The last he had heard, she was living a happy life in San Francisco with Chris, Jill Valentine,
and Sherry. Chris had said that the four of them were on vacation to L.A for Claire's birthday,
and that they were staying at Rebecca Chambers' house. That's where he was going.
Leon took one last glance at his reflection and hurried from the house, grabbing a jacket as he
went.
* * * *
"So when is Claire arriving?" Leon asked, looking at his watch. He was at Rebecca Chambers' house
with Chris, Jill and of course, Rebecca. Sherry was with them also, and running around playing
waitress for them.
"She was supposed to get here half an hour ago," Chris replied.
Jill laughed, a small smile on her face.
"Boys, boys. She's a woman. Women take an exceptionally long time to get ready."
At that moment, Sherry came tearing past them, screaming, "She's here, she's
heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!"
Leon laughed and said, "Sherry's still as hyperactive as always."
"She loves Claire," Jill said, shrugging. "They get along like sisters, or best friends."
"Hello, Sherry!" a voice laughed from the doorway.
"Claire," the little girl said fondly.
"Sherry, you'd better let Claire go," Rebecca called. "Otherwise she'll never get her surprise
birthday present!"
"Huh? Now I'm a birthday present?" Leon hissed to Jill, who laughed in reply.
"Come on in, Claire. Happy birthday!" Chris laughed.
Leon watched in silence as Claire emerged into the living room. Her hair was pulled neatly into a
bun, with loose wisps of it floating around her face. She was dressed in a simple black gown, low
cut with a long slit in the side. Her heels clicked against the tiled entrance as she walked.
Leon couldn't contain his amazement. When he had last seen her, she had seemed so… childish,
almost. And now here she was, looking mature, and more beautiful than ever. His eyes strayed to
the low neckline, but he quickly pulled them away. What was he thinking? She was younger than
him… not much younger, but still younger.
Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she saw him. She stopped walking. But after a few
seconds, she regained her composure.
"Hello, Leon," she said quietly. "It's nice to see you."
Leon opened his mouth to respond, but his voice wouldn't work. His heart was pounding against his
ribs.
What is this? he asked himself, confused. Wha… What's going on?
CHAPTER 2
"So where's Barry?" Claire asked Chris. "He is the only person I haven't seen here tonight. I was
hoping he'd come," she pouted.
"I know this is going to sound crazy," Chris said. "But he's in Raccoon City."
"WHAT?!" Leon and Claire screeched at once.
"Is he crazy?!" Leon cried. "There's still zombies alive there!"
At the same time, Claire screeched, "What an idiot! Doesn't he know he could be killed?!"
"He knows," Chris said patiently. "He's on an investigation with some of the LAPD guys. Don't
worry. He'll be fine; he may even come in a little later tonight."
"I don't know," Claire said doubtfully. "He could be-"
"Shut up, Claire," Jill said tolerantly.
"Fine, whatever you say, mother." Claire's voice was coated in
sugar-sweet sarcasm.
"Jill? Chris?" Rebecca said, walking into the living room. "We should probably leave to pick up
that pizza now."
"Oh, okay," Chris said. He and Jill stood up. "Sherry, why don't you come?" he asked.
"But I wanna…" the girl started to protest.
"Sherry, you're coming with us. No buts," Jill said firmly. "Come on, let's go. Claire, Leon?
We'll be back in about half an hour, okay?"
"Okay," Sherry said, pouting.
"Sure," Leon said, nodding. "We'll see you soon."
* * * *
Claire and Leon sat in silence until they heard Chris' car pull out of the drive and take off
down the street.
"Uh… did I mention it was great of you to come?" Claire asked awkwardly, trying to break the
silence.
"Yeah," Leon said. "About a thousand times."
Claire laughed and replied, "Sorry. I just haven't seen you for so long. And…"
"Don't worry. I know how you feel," he said, interrupting her. He turned to look at her. "It's
kinda hard to talk to someone when all they've ever been is… someone that fights alongside of
you."
She smiled at him.
"I'm glad you understand," she said finally. "It's really difficult. I don't know you very well
or anything, and I…"
"Claire," he cut in.
"Yes?" she asked, as he slipped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him.
"Shut up. I'm sick of talking."
"Already?" She looked hurt. "Sorry. Chris is always telling me I talk way too much…"
"It's not that," he said helplessly. "I… oh God, I don't know."
"What?" she asked, squirming a little, almost as if she'd just realised how little space there
was between the two of them.
"Claire, I think…" he halted suddenly, and tilted her chin up so she was looking him in the eye.
"God, you're beautiful… why didn't I see it before?" he whispered, before moving forward and
closing the small gap between their lips.
As their lips touched, he felt his heart start up again, pounding wildly in his chest.
So it is Claire that's doing this to me… he thought. God, I really am attracted to her. I'm in
love with her!
But what about Ada? another part of his brain argued. Don't you still love Ada? Aren't you always
going to love Ada?
"Dammit, Ada is dead!" Leon screamed, yanking himself away from Claire. "She's DEAD!"
"Leon," Claire whispered. "Are… are you okay?"
Leon was panting, sweat dripping down his face.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I… I just need some time to myself, okay? Sorry, Claire."
He stood up abruptly and left the house, leaving Claire in tears behind him.
CHAPTER 3
"Leon, where are you going?" Jill called, stepping out of Chris' car.
"Home," he snapped. "I need to be alone."
"But, Leon…" Chris started.
"Shut the fuck up, okay?" Leon yelled. "Just leave me alone!"
Suddenly, Sherry walked boldly towards the hysterical young man.
"You can't drive home like this," she said firmly. "You'll have to stay here for now. Besides,"
she added, smiling. "We have pizza!"
"Sherry, I'm sorry but I really can't stay," Leon said, more calmly.
"Why not?" she said, jutting her chin out. "Why can't you stay?"
"Well… it's just that there's this thing with-" He was cut off by the roaring noise of a
helicopter as it came hurtling from the sky and crashed into the house.
"What the hell?!" Chris yelled. "That's Barry's helicopter!"
"Something's gone seriously wrong!" Jill cried.
"We have to get in there," Rebecca screamed. She was holding onto Sherry, who was sobbing
hysterically.
"Claire!" she screamed. "Claire's in there!"
Chris and Jill ran to the front door and began to try and pry it open, with no success.
"Leon, we need your help!" Chris yelled. Leon didn't even hear him. His blue eyes were wide open,
and he was staring at the flaming house as if in a trance.
"Leon!" Jill cried, begging. "Please help us!"
"Claire…" he whispered. "Claire… I can't let you die. Not like Ada did… CLAIRE!" he yelled.
Suddenly, he was running. He slammed himself against the door with all his might, and again, and
again.
"Dammit Leon, you'll hurt yourself!" Chris snapped.
Leon's eyes were ablaze. He slammed himself against the door once more… and fell through it. He
was on his feet in an instant, and running through the burning house, Chris and Jill close
behind.
"Claire!" he called frantically. "Claire! Where are you? CLAIRE!"
"I'm in here," he heard her call. "In the - oh my GOD!"
"Claire?! What is it?!" Chris yelled. "What's wrong?!"
"Oh. Fucking. God," they heard her say. "This is not happening. This isn't happening!"
"Claire! What in God's name is going on?! Where are you?!"
"I'm in the living room!" she called. "Oh God, Leon. Hurry!"
In seconds, he was at the living room door. His eyes widened as he took in the sight. The
helicopter was taking up a good half of the room, on fire. The fire was spreading around the room
quickly. Zombies wearing LAPD suits were swarming around the room. Claire was pressed up against
a wall, her eyes wide and staring across to the other side of the room. Leon followed her gaze
and nearly died from the sight. There was another zombie staggering towards her.
It was Barry.
* * * *
"Oh, my God!" Leon yelled. "Oh holy fucking God!" He charged into the room, not even thinking
about the fact he wasn't armed.
"Leon, catch!" a voice yelled from behind him. He spun as Chris threw him a small handgun.
Catching it easily, he turned again and started firing at the hordes of zombies. After wasting a
whole heap of bullets, he lowered the gun and shook his head.
"There's too many of them! Chris, Jill! Can't you help?"
"Yeah sure, Leon!" Jill called. "We're up to our underarms in zombies! We can't even get through
the door…"
"Oh, man!" Leon yelled. "This is insane!" He looked up as Claire screamed for help. Barry was
inches away from her, closing her up against a corner. He stretched out his arms, reaching for
her throat.
"CLAIRE! Fucking hell, run!" Leon screamed. "Get out of here!"
At that moment, a burning piece of the ceiling fell down like a wall between them. He couldn't
see her. Was she okay? Had she escaped from Barry?
"Claire!" he yelled. "Oh my God, Claire! Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine!" she called back. "Leon, I'll meet up with you later! I'm going out the back door!"
"Claire! Where will I find you? How do I know where you're going?"
"Meet me at the railway tracks on the outskirts of the city!" she called. "Nowhere in the city is
safe now! Goodbye, Leon. Good luck!"
"Leon?" Jill called. "What's happening?"
"Just get the hell out of this house and get the cops, guys! The whole city is in danger! We'll
meet up at the railway tracks later."
"But what about you?" Chris yelled. "You're trapped in there."
"Dammit, I'll be fine, you fuckwit! Just get out and I'll meet you later on!"
"All right, Leon. But you'd better take care of yourself!" Jill warned. He listened to the sounds
of their retreating footsteps, and then turned to face Barry.
He was gone.
CHAPTER 4
"Chris, put your foot on it!" Rebecca ordered. The instant Jill and Chris had run out of the
house, the four of them had leapt into Chris' car and sped for the police station.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" he yelled back. He was driving like a madman, weaving all over the
road. Jill was sitting next to him, a gun held tightly in her hand. Sherry was in the back,
curled up against Rebecca.
"Rebecca, is Claire going to be all right?" she asked, looking up at the older girl with
tear-filled eyes.
"I'm sure she'll be fine," Rebecca said firmly. "Sherry, it's late," she said, looking at her
watch. "Why don't you try and sleep?"
"With Chris driving like this?" Jill laughed. "I think not."
"Funny, Jill. Funny," Chris snapped. "If you'd excuse me, I think that now is not a good time for
jokes. Los Angeles has been infected by the G-virus. Barry is a fucking ZOMBIE!"
"Please, Chris. Sherry's only thirteen," Rebecca reminded him softly.
"Look, shut up okay? I'm sorry. I'm scared sh… I mean, scared to death by this whole thing, okay?
We thought the zombie thing was over, and yet here we are, running from a whole horde of them.
Barry is chasing Claire, and Leon is stuck in a room with hundreds of zombies, all inside a house
that is on fire! I think that's a good reason to be slightly hysterical."
No one spoke for the rest of the trip. When they arrived at the police station, the four of them
clambered out of the car and approached the main building cautiously.
"It's too quiet," Chris muttered.
"It is the middle of the night," Jill pointed out.
"Yeah, but it's still not right," Chris said. "There are no lights on. Nothing at all. There are
usually a couple of lights on, for the guys on the night shift. What the hell is going on?"
"I don't know," Jill said, shaking her head. She approached the door and turned the knob. "It's
locked," she announced.
"Okay, that's definitely not right!" Rebecca said. "There's always someone at the police station;
it's never locked! Never!"
"I don't understand," Jill said, moving over to a window and peering through. "It's almost like
it's de - oh, oh my God!" She cried out and leapt back as two gnarled hands smashed through the
glass and reached for her.
"Jill!" Chris yelled, running to her side. "What is it?"
"This place is full of zombies!" Jill said. "No, no, no! This can't be happening to us!"
Rebecca gasped as the main door of the police station burst open and zombies came flooding out.
"Run!" she screamed, scooping Sherry up. "Runrunrunrunrunrun!"
At full speed, the four of them ran from the police station, with the zombies staggering after
them.
* * * *
"Why don't you all just fuck off?!" Leon yelled. He was backed up against a window, zombies
surrounding him. He didn't have enough bullets to take them all out. In fact, he didn't think
he'd have enough bullets to take any of them out. "I can't die," he whispered. "I have to save
Claire! So fuck off already!"
The zombies just kept moving closer and closer, their mouths opening and closing hungrily.
"Man, I didn't want it to come to this," Leon moaned. He clambered quickly onto the windowsill
and laughed at the zombies. "Bye bye."
He flung himself through the window and tumbled out onto the grass in the backyard, glass shards
all around him. He looked back into the living room. The zombies were staring out at him
mournfully. They didn't have enough intelligence to climb out into the garden.
"Now, to find Claire." Leon got quickly to his feet and looked for the back door. If he went back
in there, he could probably find her. But… she had told him to meet her at the railway tracks.
She'd be okay… wouldn't she?
What the fuck are you thinking, Leon? his brain screamed at him. What are you, some type of
idiot? You care about her, dickhead. Go in there and rescue her!
"You're right," Leon said to himself. "I have to save her."
He took a step towards the back door, and suddenly felt a terrible sense of… something. He looked
up, to find himself face to face with Barry.
"Oh. Fuck," he said matter-of-factly.
Barry took a menacing step towards him.
"Uh, Barry… hi," Leon said, backing away. "Please tell me you still have a little bit of sense in
that brain of yours, because I don't have many bullets left, and this is a small garden, and I
really, really don't want to get chomped. I still have to find Claire, you know. And… oh, shit!"
he yelled as he backed into a fence. "Intelligent, Leon," he muttered. "Where the fuck are your
brains?"
Barry took a few more steps forward. There was only a metre of space between them.
"Fuck off," Leon warned. "I mean it, Barry. Fuck. Off. I have a gun, you know," he said, pulling
out the handgun. "There may not be many bullets left, but I'm a good shot. I could put one
straight through your head and kill you. Okay? Fuck off already!"
Barry took another step forward. And another.
"FUCK OFF, you fucking zombie!" Leon screamed. He really didn't want to have to shoot Barry. He
knew he'd have to eventually, but he didn't want to. He was one of the S.T.A.R.S, after all.
Barry took another step forward, and reached out his arms.
"That's it," Leon snapped, whacking Barry's arms away. "You've seriously pissed me off now,
zombie." He raised the gun and fired, point blank at Barry's head.
Click. Click. Clickclickclickclickclick.
"Fucking hell, not now!" Leon yelled in frustration. "I don't have any spare bullets!"
Leon squeezed his eyes shut as Barry lunged towards him…
CHAPTER 5
"LEON!" a voice screamed. Leon opened one eye as a female figure lunged towards Barry, knocking
him to the ground. They wrestled for a moment, the female trying desperately not to get bitten by
the zombie, and the zombie trying desperately to escape being stabbed by the weapon she held in
her hand. Finally, the girl won, stabbing Barry in the side of the neck. He rolled over, moaning
in pain.
She stood up, shaking.
"He's… he's still alive, I think…"
"Claire?!" Leon cried, finally realising whom his saviour was.
"Who else did you think it was?" she asked. He could tell she was trying not to cry. "I told you
I'd be okay, didn't I?"
"Oh Claire, you scared the shit out of me," he whispered.
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her frantically, letting his hands slide over her
tangled mess of hair to the ripped back of her dress.
When he pulled away from her, he had tears in his eyes.
"God, I'm so glad you're alright…"
Suddenly he didn't care about Ada anymore. It was almost as if she was ejected from his mind. He
would always remember her, but… he didn't love her anymore. He was in love with Claire.
Claire, tears in her eyes, pulled him back and made him kiss her again. When they finally
separated, he whispered, "Claire, I…"
"Claire…"
"Barry? Was that you?!" Claire cried, pulling away from Leon and bending down over the zombie.
"Yeah… oh God, my neck hurts."
"Sorry," Claire apologised. "That was the heel of my shoe… I didn't want you to kill Leon…"
"Man… oh man, did I try to? Kill Leon, I mean… God, I'm sorry, rookie… zombie's instincts took
over for a moment… Aah, it hurts… ah man… sorry, so sorry…"
"Barry, snap out of it!" Leon yelled. "C'mon man, wake up!"
"I'm… fine… though… I want… blood…"
"What… what do you mean?" Claire whispered, the blood draining from her face. "I don't
understand."
"The zombie in me… he wants blood. Fresh, delicious… human blood."
He looked at Claire, hunger shining in his eyes.
"Help me…" he begged. "Kill me, so I… don't have this need… to kill for blood… please Claire…
stab the heel into… my neck again… make it quick, okay?"
"Barry, I can't do this!" Claire said. "You can't ask me to kill you! You're my brother's best
friend!"
"I'm a… zombie! I can't live… with all this pain… Claire. You don't understand how it… feels."
"Barry… please don't make me do this," Claire begged, tears running down her face. "Please."
"Claire, turn away," Leon said, sounding stilted. "I'll do it for you, okay? Just don't look."
"Leon, don't…" Claire said. "We can't just kill him."
"Mind your own fucking business, Claire!" Leon yelled. "Just turn away. Turn away, goddammit!
Don't fucking look!"
Claire turned away. Leon winced as he heard her sob loudly.
"Claire, don't cry. This is hard for me to do already. Please don't make it any worse." Gingerly,
he pulled the heel of Claire's shoe from Barry's neck.
"Man, I hate to do this," he apologised.
"I don't like it any more than you do," Barry said with a choked laugh. "It has to be done,
though. Just make it quick, okay rookie?"
"Alright. Barry? I'm sorry, man."
"Me too. Apologise to Chris and Jill for me, okay? It's probably…" he winced in pain as blood
spurted from his neck, "…my fault that the zombies are here. They… followed me onto the copter
and… bit me there, in…fecting me."
"It's okay, Barry. I'll let them know."
Closing his eyes, Leon pulled the heel into the air and stabbed it back down into Barry's neck.
Again and again, until he could be sure that the zombie was dead.
Barry's scream of pain echoed through the strangely quiet night.
* * * *
"So… what now?" Claire asked, her voice quavering. Tears were welling in her eyes; eyes that were
trying to avoid the sight of Barry's rotting body and not succeeding.
"I… God, Claire. I don't know. Fucking hell. I just… I just killed Barry… oh fuck, what have I
done?"
"Leon, you… had to kill Barry. He was a zombie. It was for… the good of mankind. I know it's not
a nice thought, but…"
"Yeah, I… I know. It's just… you know, he was a good guy… Sorry, I know that I'm supposed to be
able to handle stuff like this. I'm a cop, right?"
Claire grabbed him and caught him up in a tight embrace. She ran a hand through his messy hair
and whispered, "It's still hard. I know. But we have to get out of here… Leon, we can mourn for
Barry later. Our first priority is to be safe."
"Yeah… yeah, you're right. We still have to get up to those railway tracks," he said. "We're
meeting the others there."
"Unless they're all zombies by now," she muttered darkly.
"Hey, no fucking way. Don't talk like that, Claire. You can't give up hope, all right? Promise
me."
"Okay, okay. I promise," she sighed, but more tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill down
over her flushed cheeks. He could tell that almost all her hope was gone already.
"Oh, Claire… fucking hell. Please don't cry," he whispered. His heart opened up to her, and
drawing his lips to her own, he kissed her again, gently this time, trying to calm her.
"Leon…" she panted, pulling away from him. "We… we don't have any time for this." She turned
nervously to look at the window, where the zombies were still trying to get out at them. "We have
to get out of here, find everyone."
He sighed and shook his head.
"Yeah. I guess you're right." Taking her hand, he added, "Let's go."
CHAPTER 6
Hand in hand, they walked through the quiet city streets.
"Everything's too quiet," Claire said, shaking her head. "Way too quiet. Do you think the people
of this city have become zombies?"
"Fuck, I hope not."
"Do you have to keep swearing?" she asked. "You never swore a year or so ago."
"Sorry. It's a habit I've picked up, while I've been living here. Things like that happen when
you live in a big city."
"I lived in San Francisco, and that's a big city. I don't swear."
"Whatever, Miss Oh-Fucking-God."
She rolled her eyes and explained, "That was acceptable. I was staring into the eyes of zombie
Barry. I was not swearing for the sake of it, Mister Fuck-I-Hope-Not."
"See? You just swore again!"
"You jerk!" she exclaimed, punching him lightly on the arm. "It was an example; it doesn't
count," she said snootily, sticking her nose up into the air.
"Bullshit," he replied, trying to keep the argument going so they wouldn't have to walk through
silent streets. "I'll bet you fucking swear all the fucking time, just to sound fucking cool.
Fucking hell. I should ask your asshole brother Chris about that."
"Not funny," she replied, but she laughed anyway, saying, "God Leon, you're a dickhead."
"Fucking hell. Thankyou," he said, laughing as hard as she was.
Stopping for a second, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. They didn't see the zombies
that were sneaking around them, forming a circle.
Trapping them.
* * * *
"Chris, wait up!" Jill cried, exasperated. The small group had been running for God knows how
long, even though there were no zombies chasing them. "We're almost back at Rebecca's house."
"Sorry," Chris said, turning around and waiting for everyone to catch up. A minute later,
Rebecca, red in the face and carrying Sherry
piggyback, arrived at the place where they had stopped.
"How about we take it slowly from here?" she asked, panting. "It's very hard to carry a little
girl and keep up with you two at the same time."
"Look, I said sorry, all right?!" Chris yelled.
"Chris, there's no need to get annoyed," Jill said, as the three of them walked up the hill that
Rebecca's house sat on top of. "You've been overly edgy tonight."
"No fucking duh," he snapped. "And don't tell me not to swear; I don't care anymore. I'm sure
Sher's heard it all before."
"He's right," Sherry said sleepily from Rebecca's back. "I've heard swear words of every kind."
"But still…" Jill protested. "I just don't think… ohhhhh," she moaned as they reached the top of
the hill. "Oh my God," she whispered.
"What?" Chris asked loudly. "What is…"
"Shh!" the three girls hissed at once. Jill whispered, "Can't you see them, Chris?"
Chris scanned the area in front of them. A little bit further down the street, maybe ten houses
after the remains of Rebecca's house, were Leon and Claire.
"That's nice," he said nonchalantly. "They're kissing. Can we get on with this now?"
"That's not it!" Jill hissed. "Look around them. In the bushes, behind trees, even standing on
some lawns. Forming a circle around them… can't you see?"
"Holy fucking mother of God!" Chris yelled as he saw the zombies. His yell startled Leon and
Claire, who pulled apart and looking in his direction. Claire waved.
"Oh, hi guys!" Leon called. "We were just stopping for a… break. Care to join us on our journey
outta this shithole?"
Running towards them, Chris saw the zombies start to close in. He wouldn't be able to reach them
in time.
"Leon, Claire, you fucking dickheads!" he screamed. "Are you blind? Fucking hell, look around
you! The zombies are forming a fucking circle around you while you were trying to play fucking
tonsil-hockey!"
Claire's eyes widened as she looked around at the circle of zombies. She froze, beginning to
quake.
"Claire, run!" Leon yelled, dashing through a small gap in the circle. A few of the zombies
turned to face him, backing him up against a fence, and the others closed in on Claire, leaving
her with nowhere to run. She screamed, but at that moment, Chris flung himself into the small
circle of zombies. Ripping his handgun from his pocket, he began to fire at them.
"Rebecca, get Sherry out of here!" Jill screamed. "Get to those stupid mother-fucking railway
tracks! We'll be okay!"
"Alright, Jill!" Rebecca cried. "Don't fall off, Sherry!" she warned, running off into the night.
"Take care!" they heard her call. "Don't let the zombies get you!"
* * * *
Jill was quick to reach Leon's side. Holding tightly onto her handgun, she hit two of the zombies
in the back of the head. They fell to the ground, dying instantly.
"Leon, do something!" she screamed. "There's too many for me to handle all at once!"
"I don't have any bullets left!" he yelled furiously. "I can't do anything!"
In an instant, she ripped a small knife from her boot and flung it at him, yelling, "Here. Use my
knife, then!"
Holding the knife tightly, he advanced towards the zombies, but at that moment, one of them
tackled Jill to the ground.
"Jill!" he roared.
"Forget me, get out of here!" she yelled. "And don't worry about Claire or Chris either, they'll
be okay. Take the knife with you. I'll meet you later."
"What if you…?"
"I will make it," she said forcefully. But as an afterthought, she added, "If I don't, tell Chris
I'm sorry," she replied, grunting as she battled the zombies from the ground.
"I'll do that," he said, nodding. "I'll see you later, Jill."
He turned to run, and out of the corner of his eye he saw three zombies pounce on Claire, biting
her.
"CLAIRE!" he screamed. "Oh my God, Claire!"
"Get out of here!" Jill yelled. "At least one of us has to survive to tell the tale!"
"What about Rebecca and Sherry?" he replied, eyes blazing.
"They might not make it!" she screamed. "Just go! I'll help Claire as soon as I'm up!"
Leon took one last, fervent look at Claire, who was punching, slapping and kicking the zombies,
and wiped away the stray tears that floated down his face.
"Please, please be alright," he begged.
He ran off into the night.
CHAPTER 7
Panting with exhaustion, Rebecca finally pulled herself up onto the hill overlooking the railway
station that sat on the outskirts of the city. She set Sherry down by the tracks, and then fell
down next to her, breathing heavily.
"We made it, Sherry," she said. "We're safe."
Sherry looked up at the lightening sky and said, "It's almost dawn."
"We'll be able to get help from the next train," Rebecca said. "I'm sure that most trains carry
radios; we can radio the nearest police station and ask them to send help."
"When's the next train?" Sherry asked.
"Probably not for another half hour," Rebecca said, sighing.
"So what do we do now?"
Rebecca sighed again, this time in defeat.
"Sherry, all we can do is wait."
* * * *
He'd been walking for almost an hour straight when he heard a voice call, "Leon, wait up!"
He turned on his heel to see Jill running up towards him. In the pale light of the rising sun, he
could see her face was completely flushed. Her short hair was dirty and uncombed. All this was
taken in with a glance, and one thought crossed Leon's mind in an instant…
Claire.
"Where's Claire?" he demanded as soon as Jill reached his side. She hesitated, and he roared,
"Where is she?!"
"Last I saw of her, she was still on the ground, frantically clawing at the zombies," Jill said.
"WHAT?! You said you'd help her!" he screamed, voice filled with fright. "I thought that…"
"Leon, calm down," she said. "Chris told me to leave. He said they'd be all right. He wanted me
to catch up with you and make sure that you were okay."
"But what about Claire?! She's stuck back there with the…"
"SHUT UP!" Jill screamed. Her outburst shocked Leon, and he was quiet for a moment. "Do you think
I don't fucking care about what's happening here? I don't know if you realised this, but Chris
and I… well, let's just say there's something special between us, okay?! I'm as worried about him
as you are about Claire! But I know that we have to make it out alive… so don't give me any of
this bullshit. Any more, and I'm leaving you here on your own. Understood?"
"Sorry," Leon murmured, tears welling in his eyes. He swallowed and looked down at her. "I just…"
"I know how you feel about her, Leon," Jill said, her voice more gentle. "But right now, we have
to focus on making it out of here. Even if it means putting the ones we care about to the backs
of our mind. Let's just thank God that at least they're together. They have more chance of
surviving that way."
She raised her head bravely.
"Now, how about we get out of this zombie town?"
* * * *
The helicopter landed about a hundred metres away from them. Policemen clambered out, one after
the other, and headed towards them, holding up their badges.
"Rebecca Chambers, of the S.T.A.R.S?" the first inquired. "I'm Constable Williams. You requested
our assistance here?"
"Yes, constable. The southern suburban area of this city has been infected by Umbrella's G-virus,
the virus that turns innocent human beings into zombies. I fear that the said virus might have
spread throughout the city. At any cost, we'll have to find all the survivors of the virus and
get them out of here. We might also have to burn down the entire southern area of the city."
Williams raised an eyebrow.
"I gather you want us to do a scout with this helicopter, find the survivors and find out how far
this G-virus of yours has spread."
"Of course," Rebecca said. After a moment, she asked, "Have you heard of the G-virus before,
constable?"
"That was the virus that destroyed Raccoon City, wasn't it? Turned everyone into zombies?"
"Yes sir. If we don't hurry, the same will happen here. Many once innocent people would have to
be killed. Many other lives would be lost. We lost the lives of many, trying to defend Raccoon
Forest, and also the city."
"I understand," Williams said. He turned to the other policemen. "Hear that, men? Jones! Get the
hell in that helicopter and find any survivors! Bring them back here. Understood?"
"Yes, constable!" one of the men yelled.
Rebecca yelled out, "Godspeed to you!" as he climbed into the helicopter and took off.
"You others!" Williams barked at the remainder of the policemen. "Get into that city and find out
just how far the G-virus has spread! Kill any zombies you see, and torch every house along the
way until you reach the area where there are no more zombies!" As an afterthought, he added, "But
if there are people in the houses, send them up here to me, okay?"
As the men walked off into the city, a voice called, "Rebecca!"
"Huh?!" Rebecca cried, running partway down the hill. She smiled as she saw Leon and Jill down
the bottom, panting as they started to climb to the top.
"Jill! Leon!" she said happily. "But… where are Chris and Claire?"
"You… you mean they're not here with you?" Leon asked. His voice was filled with terror.
"No…" Rebecca said. "What happened?"
"We got split up," Jill said miserably as they reached the top of the hill. "The last we saw of
them, they were getting attacked by about ten zombies or something."
"Why didn't you help them?!" Sherry demanded, joining them.
"Chris insisted that we leave," Jill sighed. Bright tears welled in her eyes.
"It's okay, everyone," Williams said. They turned to face him, and he explained, "Don't worry. If
they're out there, my men will find them."
Leon looked down at the southern reaches of the city. The policemen had already started to burn
some of the houses.
"Let's hope you're right," Leon said, tears in his eyes. "God, constable, I certainly am."
EPILOGUE
The helicopter came back many times, and terrified people poured out of it before it took off
again. By the time it was dusk, Jill and Leon were freaking out. Chris and Claire still hadn't
been found, and everyone was thinking that maybe they wouldn't be found at all.
"Leon, we're doing the best we can," Constable Williams had said a million times.
And every time he had said that, Leon had blown up.
"Well your best isn't fucking enough, is it?! Listen, I love Claire, and all she was trying to do
was get out of this fucking city! She is not fucking dead, so don't go writing her off this soon!
If you don't fucking find her, I will. Or I'll fucking die trying!"
And every time that comment was made, Jill would just shake her head quietly, silent tears
pouring down her face.
It was almost midnight when the helicopter came back again. Jones clambered out, shaking his head
sadly.
"The southern reaches are in shambles," he reported. "But there are no more survivors. Sorry,
Leon. Sorry, Jill. Chris and Claire… they're nowhere to be found."
"You… you fuckwit!" Leon screamed, running at Jones and flinging him to the ground. Standing over
him, he yelled, "I'll fucking kill you for this! They're out there; they have to be!"
"Look man, it's too dark now. And I'm out of fuel. But I swear to God, if they were out there, I
woulda seen them, okay?! I did the best I could!" Jones snapped from the ground.
Leon knelt and punched Jones in the face.
"You fucking dickhead," he said. "I don't care how much fuel is in this fucking useless copter.
I'm going out there to find them, seeing as you lot are no fucking good for anything!"
"Leon, there is no fuel left," Jill said, managing the words through her wracking sobs. "You
won't even get it off of the ground."
"Then I'll go by foot. I'm not losing her, not like I lost Ada."
"Leon, don't go!" Sherry shrieked. She was bawling her eyes out. "I don't want to lose you, too!"
"Please, Leon." The quiet, less panicked voice was Rebecca. "It's almost certain that they're
dead. Don't make this worse."
"I'm sorry, Leon, but we did our best," Constable Williams said gently. "Jones did as much as he
could." He gestured to the survivors of the southern suburbs. "There weren't many survivors at
all. Most of these people have probably lost a close friend, or a relative. Maybe even a father,
or a daughter."
"It's just, I just can't bear the thought of her being dead," Leon gave into sobs and slumped to
the ground. "She can't be."
Jill sat down heavily beside him. "At least they died together," she said sadly. "Brother and
sister. May God have mercy on their wandering spirits."
"Whose wandering spirits?" a voice asked. Everyone looked up to see Chris struggling up the hill,
Claire in his arms.
"Claire!" Leon yelped, and leaping up, he pulled Claire from Chris' arms. Spinning her around, he
kissed her frantically, relieved that she was okay. "But… aren't you dead?!" he asked.
Chris laughed as Jill came running to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.
"Yes, actually we're spirits," Claire laughed. "We are here to haunt the two of you, and Rebecca
and Sherry."
"How did you get here?" Leon asked, putting Claire down on the ground. As Williams' flashlight
lit them all up, he saw streaks of blood on her skin and hair, and over her clothes. Her hair was
straggly, and hanging messily around her face. Her dress was ripped and torn, and she wore her
pumps, but only one actually had a heel.
"We managed to fight off the zombies," Chris said. "And then we figured that we'd better hide
out. So we found an empty house and slept there through the morning and afternoon. We raided
their cupboards for food."
"We got ice cream!" Claire said happily. "Imagine, ice cream while you're being chased by
zombies!"
"Then we smelt smoke," Chris said. "The house was on fire."
"Oops," one of the policemen said, and everyone laughed. "Sorry."
"So we hightailed it outta there and came here by the moonlight," he finished happily. "Making it
back to our loved ones who seem to think that we're dead."
Jill laughed, and he leant forward and silenced her with a kiss.
"So, what now?" Sherry asked. "What are we going to do? Where are we going to go?"
"We can stay here," Rebecca said. "In the northern areas of the city, once it's been quarantined,
that is."
"And until then?" Leon asked.
"Until then, come to San Francisco with us," Claire said, spreading her arms wide. "Come and live
with us, Leon. And you too, Rebecca."
Leon smiled and replied, "Of course I'll come with you."
Claire kissed him, whispering, "I love you, Leon."
"Yeah, I know. I love you, too, Claire. I'm just glad I finally realised that."
~Fin~
Fire Angel
AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: Most unfortunately, none of the characters in 'After the Horror' belong to me;
they belong to Capcom. This story was just a small idea that I came up with not long ago; as you
can see I write fanfics of all different kinds! This story, btw, is written from the vantage
point that the Claire's first scenario, and Leon's second, were completed. I did this cos I liked
Ada's dying scene better in Leon's second scenario (you should know by now I'm a sucker for
romance…). Hope you enjoy the fan fic! I'm gonna make my old remark now: Any comments can be sent
to rinoa_heartilly86@hotmail.com ^.^ Have fun.
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: I've never played Resident Evil 3, only the first two. This fic is based chiefly
on the events after the second one, so if anything conflicts with the way Resident Evil 3 goes,
well deal with it… I'm hoping to get my hands on it eventually, and when I do, I might write a
sequel to this fic to fix any mistakes I made… or just re-write some of this one…
After the Horror…
PROLOGUE
He was one of the three survivors of the horror that took place in the condemned Raccoon City.
His name: Leon Kennedy. A brave young rookie cop who was caught up in the horror of William
Birkin's G-virus. Spread by rats, the virus had infected the whole of the city before anyone
could blink. Leon, along with a young woman named Claire Redfield, and Sherry Birkin, William's
daughter, had managed to escape the doomed town.
Leon had lost much during his fight for survival. All his friends at the police station were
dead, or still roaming the streets as bloodthirsty zombies. It didn't matter anyway… the police
station had probably gone up in smoke with the Umbrella labs. But Leon had lost more than just
friends. He had lost love.
Her name was Ada Wong. It didn't matter when or how they had met; all that mattered really was
that they eventually fell in love with each other. She was killed in an attempt to save his life
from an Umbrella lab-rat, T-90. After the horror was over, Leon could think only of Ada. He moved
to Los Angeles and joined the police force there to try and get her off of his mind. But it
didn't seem to work. Nothing did. Day in, day out, she was there.
If only he could find a way to move on…
CHAPTER 1
"You are going to have a good time tonight," Leon reminded himself sternly as a taxi pulled up
outside his house. "No thoughts of… Ada." He looked once more in the mirror and straightened his
tuxedo. "I can't believe I actually accepted to go to this thing…"
The previous night, Leon had received a call from Chris Redfield, Claire's older brother.
"It's her birthday," Chris had said. "She hasn't seen you for ages. We were thinking it would be
cool if you'd come and surprise her."
Leon knew Chris was right. He hadn't seen Claire since they had escaped Raccoon City with Sherry.
The last he had heard, she was living a happy life in San Francisco with Chris, Jill Valentine,
and Sherry. Chris had said that the four of them were on vacation to L.A for Claire's birthday,
and that they were staying at Rebecca Chambers' house. That's where he was going.
Leon took one last glance at his reflection and hurried from the house, grabbing a jacket as he
went.
* * * *
"So when is Claire arriving?" Leon asked, looking at his watch. He was at Rebecca Chambers' house
with Chris, Jill and of course, Rebecca. Sherry was with them also, and running around playing
waitress for them.
"She was supposed to get here half an hour ago," Chris replied.
Jill laughed, a small smile on her face.
"Boys, boys. She's a woman. Women take an exceptionally long time to get ready."
At that moment, Sherry came tearing past them, screaming, "She's here, she's
heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!"
Leon laughed and said, "Sherry's still as hyperactive as always."
"She loves Claire," Jill said, shrugging. "They get along like sisters, or best friends."
"Hello, Sherry!" a voice laughed from the doorway.
"Claire," the little girl said fondly.
"Sherry, you'd better let Claire go," Rebecca called. "Otherwise she'll never get her surprise
birthday present!"
"Huh? Now I'm a birthday present?" Leon hissed to Jill, who laughed in reply.
"Come on in, Claire. Happy birthday!" Chris laughed.
Leon watched in silence as Claire emerged into the living room. Her hair was pulled neatly into a
bun, with loose wisps of it floating around her face. She was dressed in a simple black gown, low
cut with a long slit in the side. Her heels clicked against the tiled entrance as she walked.
Leon couldn't contain his amazement. When he had last seen her, she had seemed so… childish,
almost. And now here she was, looking mature, and more beautiful than ever. His eyes strayed to
the low neckline, but he quickly pulled them away. What was he thinking? She was younger than
him… not much younger, but still younger.
Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she saw him. She stopped walking. But after a few
seconds, she regained her composure.
"Hello, Leon," she said quietly. "It's nice to see you."
Leon opened his mouth to respond, but his voice wouldn't work. His heart was pounding against his
ribs.
What is this? he asked himself, confused. Wha… What's going on?
CHAPTER 2
"So where's Barry?" Claire asked Chris. "He is the only person I haven't seen here tonight. I was
hoping he'd come," she pouted.
"I know this is going to sound crazy," Chris said. "But he's in Raccoon City."
"WHAT?!" Leon and Claire screeched at once.
"Is he crazy?!" Leon cried. "There's still zombies alive there!"
At the same time, Claire screeched, "What an idiot! Doesn't he know he could be killed?!"
"He knows," Chris said patiently. "He's on an investigation with some of the LAPD guys. Don't
worry. He'll be fine; he may even come in a little later tonight."
"I don't know," Claire said doubtfully. "He could be-"
"Shut up, Claire," Jill said tolerantly.
"Fine, whatever you say, mother." Claire's voice was coated in
sugar-sweet sarcasm.
"Jill? Chris?" Rebecca said, walking into the living room. "We should probably leave to pick up
that pizza now."
"Oh, okay," Chris said. He and Jill stood up. "Sherry, why don't you come?" he asked.
"But I wanna…" the girl started to protest.
"Sherry, you're coming with us. No buts," Jill said firmly. "Come on, let's go. Claire, Leon?
We'll be back in about half an hour, okay?"
"Okay," Sherry said, pouting.
"Sure," Leon said, nodding. "We'll see you soon."
* * * *
Claire and Leon sat in silence until they heard Chris' car pull out of the drive and take off
down the street.
"Uh… did I mention it was great of you to come?" Claire asked awkwardly, trying to break the
silence.
"Yeah," Leon said. "About a thousand times."
Claire laughed and replied, "Sorry. I just haven't seen you for so long. And…"
"Don't worry. I know how you feel," he said, interrupting her. He turned to look at her. "It's
kinda hard to talk to someone when all they've ever been is… someone that fights alongside of
you."
She smiled at him.
"I'm glad you understand," she said finally. "It's really difficult. I don't know you very well
or anything, and I…"
"Claire," he cut in.
"Yes?" she asked, as he slipped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him.
"Shut up. I'm sick of talking."
"Already?" She looked hurt. "Sorry. Chris is always telling me I talk way too much…"
"It's not that," he said helplessly. "I… oh God, I don't know."
"What?" she asked, squirming a little, almost as if she'd just realised how little space there
was between the two of them.
"Claire, I think…" he halted suddenly, and tilted her chin up so she was looking him in the eye.
"God, you're beautiful… why didn't I see it before?" he whispered, before moving forward and
closing the small gap between their lips.
As their lips touched, he felt his heart start up again, pounding wildly in his chest.
So it is Claire that's doing this to me… he thought. God, I really am attracted to her. I'm in
love with her!
But what about Ada? another part of his brain argued. Don't you still love Ada? Aren't you always
going to love Ada?
"Dammit, Ada is dead!" Leon screamed, yanking himself away from Claire. "She's DEAD!"
"Leon," Claire whispered. "Are… are you okay?"
Leon was panting, sweat dripping down his face.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I… I just need some time to myself, okay? Sorry, Claire."
He stood up abruptly and left the house, leaving Claire in tears behind him.
CHAPTER 3
"Leon, where are you going?" Jill called, stepping out of Chris' car.
"Home," he snapped. "I need to be alone."
"But, Leon…" Chris started.
"Shut the fuck up, okay?" Leon yelled. "Just leave me alone!"
Suddenly, Sherry walked boldly towards the hysterical young man.
"You can't drive home like this," she said firmly. "You'll have to stay here for now. Besides,"
she added, smiling. "We have pizza!"
"Sherry, I'm sorry but I really can't stay," Leon said, more calmly.
"Why not?" she said, jutting her chin out. "Why can't you stay?"
"Well… it's just that there's this thing with-" He was cut off by the roaring noise of a
helicopter as it came hurtling from the sky and crashed into the house.
"What the hell?!" Chris yelled. "That's Barry's helicopter!"
"Something's gone seriously wrong!" Jill cried.
"We have to get in there," Rebecca screamed. She was holding onto Sherry, who was sobbing
hysterically.
"Claire!" she screamed. "Claire's in there!"
Chris and Jill ran to the front door and began to try and pry it open, with no success.
"Leon, we need your help!" Chris yelled. Leon didn't even hear him. His blue eyes were wide open,
and he was staring at the flaming house as if in a trance.
"Leon!" Jill cried, begging. "Please help us!"
"Claire…" he whispered. "Claire… I can't let you die. Not like Ada did… CLAIRE!" he yelled.
Suddenly, he was running. He slammed himself against the door with all his might, and again, and
again.
"Dammit Leon, you'll hurt yourself!" Chris snapped.
Leon's eyes were ablaze. He slammed himself against the door once more… and fell through it. He
was on his feet in an instant, and running through the burning house, Chris and Jill close
behind.
"Claire!" he called frantically. "Claire! Where are you? CLAIRE!"
"I'm in here," he heard her call. "In the - oh my GOD!"
"Claire?! What is it?!" Chris yelled. "What's wrong?!"
"Oh. Fucking. God," they heard her say. "This is not happening. This isn't happening!"
"Claire! What in God's name is going on?! Where are you?!"
"I'm in the living room!" she called. "Oh God, Leon. Hurry!"
In seconds, he was at the living room door. His eyes widened as he took in the sight. The
helicopter was taking up a good half of the room, on fire. The fire was spreading around the room
quickly. Zombies wearing LAPD suits were swarming around the room. Claire was pressed up against
a wall, her eyes wide and staring across to the other side of the room. Leon followed her gaze
and nearly died from the sight. There was another zombie staggering towards her.
It was Barry.
* * * *
"Oh, my God!" Leon yelled. "Oh holy fucking God!" He charged into the room, not even thinking
about the fact he wasn't armed.
"Leon, catch!" a voice yelled from behind him. He spun as Chris threw him a small handgun.
Catching it easily, he turned again and started firing at the hordes of zombies. After wasting a
whole heap of bullets, he lowered the gun and shook his head.
"There's too many of them! Chris, Jill! Can't you help?"
"Yeah sure, Leon!" Jill called. "We're up to our underarms in zombies! We can't even get through
the door…"
"Oh, man!" Leon yelled. "This is insane!" He looked up as Claire screamed for help. Barry was
inches away from her, closing her up against a corner. He stretched out his arms, reaching for
her throat.
"CLAIRE! Fucking hell, run!" Leon screamed. "Get out of here!"
At that moment, a burning piece of the ceiling fell down like a wall between them. He couldn't
see her. Was she okay? Had she escaped from Barry?
"Claire!" he yelled. "Oh my God, Claire! Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine!" she called back. "Leon, I'll meet up with you later! I'm going out the back door!"
"Claire! Where will I find you? How do I know where you're going?"
"Meet me at the railway tracks on the outskirts of the city!" she called. "Nowhere in the city is
safe now! Goodbye, Leon. Good luck!"
"Leon?" Jill called. "What's happening?"
"Just get the hell out of this house and get the cops, guys! The whole city is in danger! We'll
meet up at the railway tracks later."
"But what about you?" Chris yelled. "You're trapped in there."
"Dammit, I'll be fine, you fuckwit! Just get out and I'll meet you later on!"
"All right, Leon. But you'd better take care of yourself!" Jill warned. He listened to the sounds
of their retreating footsteps, and then turned to face Barry.
He was gone.
CHAPTER 4
"Chris, put your foot on it!" Rebecca ordered. The instant Jill and Chris had run out of the
house, the four of them had leapt into Chris' car and sped for the police station.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" he yelled back. He was driving like a madman, weaving all over the
road. Jill was sitting next to him, a gun held tightly in her hand. Sherry was in the back,
curled up against Rebecca.
"Rebecca, is Claire going to be all right?" she asked, looking up at the older girl with
tear-filled eyes.
"I'm sure she'll be fine," Rebecca said firmly. "Sherry, it's late," she said, looking at her
watch. "Why don't you try and sleep?"
"With Chris driving like this?" Jill laughed. "I think not."
"Funny, Jill. Funny," Chris snapped. "If you'd excuse me, I think that now is not a good time for
jokes. Los Angeles has been infected by the G-virus. Barry is a fucking ZOMBIE!"
"Please, Chris. Sherry's only thirteen," Rebecca reminded him softly.
"Look, shut up okay? I'm sorry. I'm scared sh… I mean, scared to death by this whole thing, okay?
We thought the zombie thing was over, and yet here we are, running from a whole horde of them.
Barry is chasing Claire, and Leon is stuck in a room with hundreds of zombies, all inside a house
that is on fire! I think that's a good reason to be slightly hysterical."
No one spoke for the rest of the trip. When they arrived at the police station, the four of them
clambered out of the car and approached the main building cautiously.
"It's too quiet," Chris muttered.
"It is the middle of the night," Jill pointed out.
"Yeah, but it's still not right," Chris said. "There are no lights on. Nothing at all. There are
usually a couple of lights on, for the guys on the night shift. What the hell is going on?"
"I don't know," Jill said, shaking her head. She approached the door and turned the knob. "It's
locked," she announced.
"Okay, that's definitely not right!" Rebecca said. "There's always someone at the police station;
it's never locked! Never!"
"I don't understand," Jill said, moving over to a window and peering through. "It's almost like
it's de - oh, oh my God!" She cried out and leapt back as two gnarled hands smashed through the
glass and reached for her.
"Jill!" Chris yelled, running to her side. "What is it?"
"This place is full of zombies!" Jill said. "No, no, no! This can't be happening to us!"
Rebecca gasped as the main door of the police station burst open and zombies came flooding out.
"Run!" she screamed, scooping Sherry up. "Runrunrunrunrunrun!"
At full speed, the four of them ran from the police station, with the zombies staggering after
them.
* * * *
"Why don't you all just fuck off?!" Leon yelled. He was backed up against a window, zombies
surrounding him. He didn't have enough bullets to take them all out. In fact, he didn't think
he'd have enough bullets to take any of them out. "I can't die," he whispered. "I have to save
Claire! So fuck off already!"
The zombies just kept moving closer and closer, their mouths opening and closing hungrily.
"Man, I didn't want it to come to this," Leon moaned. He clambered quickly onto the windowsill
and laughed at the zombies. "Bye bye."
He flung himself through the window and tumbled out onto the grass in the backyard, glass shards
all around him. He looked back into the living room. The zombies were staring out at him
mournfully. They didn't have enough intelligence to climb out into the garden.
"Now, to find Claire." Leon got quickly to his feet and looked for the back door. If he went back
in there, he could probably find her. But… she had told him to meet her at the railway tracks.
She'd be okay… wouldn't she?
What the fuck are you thinking, Leon? his brain screamed at him. What are you, some type of
idiot? You care about her, dickhead. Go in there and rescue her!
"You're right," Leon said to himself. "I have to save her."
He took a step towards the back door, and suddenly felt a terrible sense of… something. He looked
up, to find himself face to face with Barry.
"Oh. Fuck," he said matter-of-factly.
Barry took a menacing step towards him.
"Uh, Barry… hi," Leon said, backing away. "Please tell me you still have a little bit of sense in
that brain of yours, because I don't have many bullets left, and this is a small garden, and I
really, really don't want to get chomped. I still have to find Claire, you know. And… oh, shit!"
he yelled as he backed into a fence. "Intelligent, Leon," he muttered. "Where the fuck are your
brains?"
Barry took a few more steps forward. There was only a metre of space between them.
"Fuck off," Leon warned. "I mean it, Barry. Fuck. Off. I have a gun, you know," he said, pulling
out the handgun. "There may not be many bullets left, but I'm a good shot. I could put one
straight through your head and kill you. Okay? Fuck off already!"
Barry took another step forward. And another.
"FUCK OFF, you fucking zombie!" Leon screamed. He really didn't want to have to shoot Barry. He
knew he'd have to eventually, but he didn't want to. He was one of the S.T.A.R.S, after all.
Barry took another step forward, and reached out his arms.
"That's it," Leon snapped, whacking Barry's arms away. "You've seriously pissed me off now,
zombie." He raised the gun and fired, point blank at Barry's head.
Click. Click. Clickclickclickclickclick.
"Fucking hell, not now!" Leon yelled in frustration. "I don't have any spare bullets!"
Leon squeezed his eyes shut as Barry lunged towards him…
CHAPTER 5
"LEON!" a voice screamed. Leon opened one eye as a female figure lunged towards Barry, knocking
him to the ground. They wrestled for a moment, the female trying desperately not to get bitten by
the zombie, and the zombie trying desperately to escape being stabbed by the weapon she held in
her hand. Finally, the girl won, stabbing Barry in the side of the neck. He rolled over, moaning
in pain.
She stood up, shaking.
"He's… he's still alive, I think…"
"Claire?!" Leon cried, finally realising whom his saviour was.
"Who else did you think it was?" she asked. He could tell she was trying not to cry. "I told you
I'd be okay, didn't I?"
"Oh Claire, you scared the shit out of me," he whispered.
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her frantically, letting his hands slide over her
tangled mess of hair to the ripped back of her dress.
When he pulled away from her, he had tears in his eyes.
"God, I'm so glad you're alright…"
Suddenly he didn't care about Ada anymore. It was almost as if she was ejected from his mind. He
would always remember her, but… he didn't love her anymore. He was in love with Claire.
Claire, tears in her eyes, pulled him back and made him kiss her again. When they finally
separated, he whispered, "Claire, I…"
"Claire…"
"Barry? Was that you?!" Claire cried, pulling away from Leon and bending down over the zombie.
"Yeah… oh God, my neck hurts."
"Sorry," Claire apologised. "That was the heel of my shoe… I didn't want you to kill Leon…"
"Man… oh man, did I try to? Kill Leon, I mean… God, I'm sorry, rookie… zombie's instincts took
over for a moment… Aah, it hurts… ah man… sorry, so sorry…"
"Barry, snap out of it!" Leon yelled. "C'mon man, wake up!"
"I'm… fine… though… I want… blood…"
"What… what do you mean?" Claire whispered, the blood draining from her face. "I don't
understand."
"The zombie in me… he wants blood. Fresh, delicious… human blood."
He looked at Claire, hunger shining in his eyes.
"Help me…" he begged. "Kill me, so I… don't have this need… to kill for blood… please Claire…
stab the heel into… my neck again… make it quick, okay?"
"Barry, I can't do this!" Claire said. "You can't ask me to kill you! You're my brother's best
friend!"
"I'm a… zombie! I can't live… with all this pain… Claire. You don't understand how it… feels."
"Barry… please don't make me do this," Claire begged, tears running down her face. "Please."
"Claire, turn away," Leon said, sounding stilted. "I'll do it for you, okay? Just don't look."
"Leon, don't…" Claire said. "We can't just kill him."
"Mind your own fucking business, Claire!" Leon yelled. "Just turn away. Turn away, goddammit!
Don't fucking look!"
Claire turned away. Leon winced as he heard her sob loudly.
"Claire, don't cry. This is hard for me to do already. Please don't make it any worse." Gingerly,
he pulled the heel of Claire's shoe from Barry's neck.
"Man, I hate to do this," he apologised.
"I don't like it any more than you do," Barry said with a choked laugh. "It has to be done,
though. Just make it quick, okay rookie?"
"Alright. Barry? I'm sorry, man."
"Me too. Apologise to Chris and Jill for me, okay? It's probably…" he winced in pain as blood
spurted from his neck, "…my fault that the zombies are here. They… followed me onto the copter
and… bit me there, in…fecting me."
"It's okay, Barry. I'll let them know."
Closing his eyes, Leon pulled the heel into the air and stabbed it back down into Barry's neck.
Again and again, until he could be sure that the zombie was dead.
Barry's scream of pain echoed through the strangely quiet night.
* * * *
"So… what now?" Claire asked, her voice quavering. Tears were welling in her eyes; eyes that were
trying to avoid the sight of Barry's rotting body and not succeeding.
"I… God, Claire. I don't know. Fucking hell. I just… I just killed Barry… oh fuck, what have I
done?"
"Leon, you… had to kill Barry. He was a zombie. It was for… the good of mankind. I know it's not
a nice thought, but…"
"Yeah, I… I know. It's just… you know, he was a good guy… Sorry, I know that I'm supposed to be
able to handle stuff like this. I'm a cop, right?"
Claire grabbed him and caught him up in a tight embrace. She ran a hand through his messy hair
and whispered, "It's still hard. I know. But we have to get out of here… Leon, we can mourn for
Barry later. Our first priority is to be safe."
"Yeah… yeah, you're right. We still have to get up to those railway tracks," he said. "We're
meeting the others there."
"Unless they're all zombies by now," she muttered darkly.
"Hey, no fucking way. Don't talk like that, Claire. You can't give up hope, all right? Promise
me."
"Okay, okay. I promise," she sighed, but more tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill down
over her flushed cheeks. He could tell that almost all her hope was gone already.
"Oh, Claire… fucking hell. Please don't cry," he whispered. His heart opened up to her, and
drawing his lips to her own, he kissed her again, gently this time, trying to calm her.
"Leon…" she panted, pulling away from him. "We… we don't have any time for this." She turned
nervously to look at the window, where the zombies were still trying to get out at them. "We have
to get out of here, find everyone."
He sighed and shook his head.
"Yeah. I guess you're right." Taking her hand, he added, "Let's go."
CHAPTER 6
Hand in hand, they walked through the quiet city streets.
"Everything's too quiet," Claire said, shaking her head. "Way too quiet. Do you think the people
of this city have become zombies?"
"Fuck, I hope not."
"Do you have to keep swearing?" she asked. "You never swore a year or so ago."
"Sorry. It's a habit I've picked up, while I've been living here. Things like that happen when
you live in a big city."
"I lived in San Francisco, and that's a big city. I don't swear."
"Whatever, Miss Oh-Fucking-God."
She rolled her eyes and explained, "That was acceptable. I was staring into the eyes of zombie
Barry. I was not swearing for the sake of it, Mister Fuck-I-Hope-Not."
"See? You just swore again!"
"You jerk!" she exclaimed, punching him lightly on the arm. "It was an example; it doesn't
count," she said snootily, sticking her nose up into the air.
"Bullshit," he replied, trying to keep the argument going so they wouldn't have to walk through
silent streets. "I'll bet you fucking swear all the fucking time, just to sound fucking cool.
Fucking hell. I should ask your asshole brother Chris about that."
"Not funny," she replied, but she laughed anyway, saying, "God Leon, you're a dickhead."
"Fucking hell. Thankyou," he said, laughing as hard as she was.
Stopping for a second, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. They didn't see the zombies
that were sneaking around them, forming a circle.
Trapping them.
* * * *
"Chris, wait up!" Jill cried, exasperated. The small group had been running for God knows how
long, even though there were no zombies chasing them. "We're almost back at Rebecca's house."
"Sorry," Chris said, turning around and waiting for everyone to catch up. A minute later,
Rebecca, red in the face and carrying Sherry
piggyback, arrived at the place where they had stopped.
"How about we take it slowly from here?" she asked, panting. "It's very hard to carry a little
girl and keep up with you two at the same time."
"Look, I said sorry, all right?!" Chris yelled.
"Chris, there's no need to get annoyed," Jill said, as the three of them walked up the hill that
Rebecca's house sat on top of. "You've been overly edgy tonight."
"No fucking duh," he snapped. "And don't tell me not to swear; I don't care anymore. I'm sure
Sher's heard it all before."
"He's right," Sherry said sleepily from Rebecca's back. "I've heard swear words of every kind."
"But still…" Jill protested. "I just don't think… ohhhhh," she moaned as they reached the top of
the hill. "Oh my God," she whispered.
"What?" Chris asked loudly. "What is…"
"Shh!" the three girls hissed at once. Jill whispered, "Can't you see them, Chris?"
Chris scanned the area in front of them. A little bit further down the street, maybe ten houses
after the remains of Rebecca's house, were Leon and Claire.
"That's nice," he said nonchalantly. "They're kissing. Can we get on with this now?"
"That's not it!" Jill hissed. "Look around them. In the bushes, behind trees, even standing on
some lawns. Forming a circle around them… can't you see?"
"Holy fucking mother of God!" Chris yelled as he saw the zombies. His yell startled Leon and
Claire, who pulled apart and looking in his direction. Claire waved.
"Oh, hi guys!" Leon called. "We were just stopping for a… break. Care to join us on our journey
outta this shithole?"
Running towards them, Chris saw the zombies start to close in. He wouldn't be able to reach them
in time.
"Leon, Claire, you fucking dickheads!" he screamed. "Are you blind? Fucking hell, look around
you! The zombies are forming a fucking circle around you while you were trying to play fucking
tonsil-hockey!"
Claire's eyes widened as she looked around at the circle of zombies. She froze, beginning to
quake.
"Claire, run!" Leon yelled, dashing through a small gap in the circle. A few of the zombies
turned to face him, backing him up against a fence, and the others closed in on Claire, leaving
her with nowhere to run. She screamed, but at that moment, Chris flung himself into the small
circle of zombies. Ripping his handgun from his pocket, he began to fire at them.
"Rebecca, get Sherry out of here!" Jill screamed. "Get to those stupid mother-fucking railway
tracks! We'll be okay!"
"Alright, Jill!" Rebecca cried. "Don't fall off, Sherry!" she warned, running off into the night.
"Take care!" they heard her call. "Don't let the zombies get you!"
* * * *
Jill was quick to reach Leon's side. Holding tightly onto her handgun, she hit two of the zombies
in the back of the head. They fell to the ground, dying instantly.
"Leon, do something!" she screamed. "There's too many for me to handle all at once!"
"I don't have any bullets left!" he yelled furiously. "I can't do anything!"
In an instant, she ripped a small knife from her boot and flung it at him, yelling, "Here. Use my
knife, then!"
Holding the knife tightly, he advanced towards the zombies, but at that moment, one of them
tackled Jill to the ground.
"Jill!" he roared.
"Forget me, get out of here!" she yelled. "And don't worry about Claire or Chris either, they'll
be okay. Take the knife with you. I'll meet you later."
"What if you…?"
"I will make it," she said forcefully. But as an afterthought, she added, "If I don't, tell Chris
I'm sorry," she replied, grunting as she battled the zombies from the ground.
"I'll do that," he said, nodding. "I'll see you later, Jill."
He turned to run, and out of the corner of his eye he saw three zombies pounce on Claire, biting
her.
"CLAIRE!" he screamed. "Oh my God, Claire!"
"Get out of here!" Jill yelled. "At least one of us has to survive to tell the tale!"
"What about Rebecca and Sherry?" he replied, eyes blazing.
"They might not make it!" she screamed. "Just go! I'll help Claire as soon as I'm up!"
Leon took one last, fervent look at Claire, who was punching, slapping and kicking the zombies,
and wiped away the stray tears that floated down his face.
"Please, please be alright," he begged.
He ran off into the night.
CHAPTER 7
Panting with exhaustion, Rebecca finally pulled herself up onto the hill overlooking the railway
station that sat on the outskirts of the city. She set Sherry down by the tracks, and then fell
down next to her, breathing heavily.
"We made it, Sherry," she said. "We're safe."
Sherry looked up at the lightening sky and said, "It's almost dawn."
"We'll be able to get help from the next train," Rebecca said. "I'm sure that most trains carry
radios; we can radio the nearest police station and ask them to send help."
"When's the next train?" Sherry asked.
"Probably not for another half hour," Rebecca said, sighing.
"So what do we do now?"
Rebecca sighed again, this time in defeat.
"Sherry, all we can do is wait."
* * * *
He'd been walking for almost an hour straight when he heard a voice call, "Leon, wait up!"
He turned on his heel to see Jill running up towards him. In the pale light of the rising sun, he
could see her face was completely flushed. Her short hair was dirty and uncombed. All this was
taken in with a glance, and one thought crossed Leon's mind in an instant…
Claire.
"Where's Claire?" he demanded as soon as Jill reached his side. She hesitated, and he roared,
"Where is she?!"
"Last I saw of her, she was still on the ground, frantically clawing at the zombies," Jill said.
"WHAT?! You said you'd help her!" he screamed, voice filled with fright. "I thought that…"
"Leon, calm down," she said. "Chris told me to leave. He said they'd be all right. He wanted me
to catch up with you and make sure that you were okay."
"But what about Claire?! She's stuck back there with the…"
"SHUT UP!" Jill screamed. Her outburst shocked Leon, and he was quiet for a moment. "Do you think
I don't fucking care about what's happening here? I don't know if you realised this, but Chris
and I… well, let's just say there's something special between us, okay?! I'm as worried about him
as you are about Claire! But I know that we have to make it out alive… so don't give me any of
this bullshit. Any more, and I'm leaving you here on your own. Understood?"
"Sorry," Leon murmured, tears welling in his eyes. He swallowed and looked down at her. "I just…"
"I know how you feel about her, Leon," Jill said, her voice more gentle. "But right now, we have
to focus on making it out of here. Even if it means putting the ones we care about to the backs
of our mind. Let's just thank God that at least they're together. They have more chance of
surviving that way."
She raised her head bravely.
"Now, how about we get out of this zombie town?"
* * * *
The helicopter landed about a hundred metres away from them. Policemen clambered out, one after
the other, and headed towards them, holding up their badges.
"Rebecca Chambers, of the S.T.A.R.S?" the first inquired. "I'm Constable Williams. You requested
our assistance here?"
"Yes, constable. The southern suburban area of this city has been infected by Umbrella's G-virus,
the virus that turns innocent human beings into zombies. I fear that the said virus might have
spread throughout the city. At any cost, we'll have to find all the survivors of the virus and
get them out of here. We might also have to burn down the entire southern area of the city."
Williams raised an eyebrow.
"I gather you want us to do a scout with this helicopter, find the survivors and find out how far
this G-virus of yours has spread."
"Of course," Rebecca said. After a moment, she asked, "Have you heard of the G-virus before,
constable?"
"That was the virus that destroyed Raccoon City, wasn't it? Turned everyone into zombies?"
"Yes sir. If we don't hurry, the same will happen here. Many once innocent people would have to
be killed. Many other lives would be lost. We lost the lives of many, trying to defend Raccoon
Forest, and also the city."
"I understand," Williams said. He turned to the other policemen. "Hear that, men? Jones! Get the
hell in that helicopter and find any survivors! Bring them back here. Understood?"
"Yes, constable!" one of the men yelled.
Rebecca yelled out, "Godspeed to you!" as he climbed into the helicopter and took off.
"You others!" Williams barked at the remainder of the policemen. "Get into that city and find out
just how far the G-virus has spread! Kill any zombies you see, and torch every house along the
way until you reach the area where there are no more zombies!" As an afterthought, he added, "But
if there are people in the houses, send them up here to me, okay?"
As the men walked off into the city, a voice called, "Rebecca!"
"Huh?!" Rebecca cried, running partway down the hill. She smiled as she saw Leon and Jill down
the bottom, panting as they started to climb to the top.
"Jill! Leon!" she said happily. "But… where are Chris and Claire?"
"You… you mean they're not here with you?" Leon asked. His voice was filled with terror.
"No…" Rebecca said. "What happened?"
"We got split up," Jill said miserably as they reached the top of the hill. "The last we saw of
them, they were getting attacked by about ten zombies or something."
"Why didn't you help them?!" Sherry demanded, joining them.
"Chris insisted that we leave," Jill sighed. Bright tears welled in her eyes.
"It's okay, everyone," Williams said. They turned to face him, and he explained, "Don't worry. If
they're out there, my men will find them."
Leon looked down at the southern reaches of the city. The policemen had already started to burn
some of the houses.
"Let's hope you're right," Leon said, tears in his eyes. "God, constable, I certainly am."
EPILOGUE
The helicopter came back many times, and terrified people poured out of it before it took off
again. By the time it was dusk, Jill and Leon were freaking out. Chris and Claire still hadn't
been found, and everyone was thinking that maybe they wouldn't be found at all.
"Leon, we're doing the best we can," Constable Williams had said a million times.
And every time he had said that, Leon had blown up.
"Well your best isn't fucking enough, is it?! Listen, I love Claire, and all she was trying to do
was get out of this fucking city! She is not fucking dead, so don't go writing her off this soon!
If you don't fucking find her, I will. Or I'll fucking die trying!"
And every time that comment was made, Jill would just shake her head quietly, silent tears
pouring down her face.
It was almost midnight when the helicopter came back again. Jones clambered out, shaking his head
sadly.
"The southern reaches are in shambles," he reported. "But there are no more survivors. Sorry,
Leon. Sorry, Jill. Chris and Claire… they're nowhere to be found."
"You… you fuckwit!" Leon screamed, running at Jones and flinging him to the ground. Standing over
him, he yelled, "I'll fucking kill you for this! They're out there; they have to be!"
"Look man, it's too dark now. And I'm out of fuel. But I swear to God, if they were out there, I
woulda seen them, okay?! I did the best I could!" Jones snapped from the ground.
Leon knelt and punched Jones in the face.
"You fucking dickhead," he said. "I don't care how much fuel is in this fucking useless copter.
I'm going out there to find them, seeing as you lot are no fucking good for anything!"
"Leon, there is no fuel left," Jill said, managing the words through her wracking sobs. "You
won't even get it off of the ground."
"Then I'll go by foot. I'm not losing her, not like I lost Ada."
"Leon, don't go!" Sherry shrieked. She was bawling her eyes out. "I don't want to lose you, too!"
"Please, Leon." The quiet, less panicked voice was Rebecca. "It's almost certain that they're
dead. Don't make this worse."
"I'm sorry, Leon, but we did our best," Constable Williams said gently. "Jones did as much as he
could." He gestured to the survivors of the southern suburbs. "There weren't many survivors at
all. Most of these people have probably lost a close friend, or a relative. Maybe even a father,
or a daughter."
"It's just, I just can't bear the thought of her being dead," Leon gave into sobs and slumped to
the ground. "She can't be."
Jill sat down heavily beside him. "At least they died together," she said sadly. "Brother and
sister. May God have mercy on their wandering spirits."
"Whose wandering spirits?" a voice asked. Everyone looked up to see Chris struggling up the hill,
Claire in his arms.
"Claire!" Leon yelped, and leaping up, he pulled Claire from Chris' arms. Spinning her around, he
kissed her frantically, relieved that she was okay. "But… aren't you dead?!" he asked.
Chris laughed as Jill came running to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.
"Yes, actually we're spirits," Claire laughed. "We are here to haunt the two of you, and Rebecca
and Sherry."
"How did you get here?" Leon asked, putting Claire down on the ground. As Williams' flashlight
lit them all up, he saw streaks of blood on her skin and hair, and over her clothes. Her hair was
straggly, and hanging messily around her face. Her dress was ripped and torn, and she wore her
pumps, but only one actually had a heel.
"We managed to fight off the zombies," Chris said. "And then we figured that we'd better hide
out. So we found an empty house and slept there through the morning and afternoon. We raided
their cupboards for food."
"We got ice cream!" Claire said happily. "Imagine, ice cream while you're being chased by
zombies!"
"Then we smelt smoke," Chris said. "The house was on fire."
"Oops," one of the policemen said, and everyone laughed. "Sorry."
"So we hightailed it outta there and came here by the moonlight," he finished happily. "Making it
back to our loved ones who seem to think that we're dead."
Jill laughed, and he leant forward and silenced her with a kiss.
"So, what now?" Sherry asked. "What are we going to do? Where are we going to go?"
"We can stay here," Rebecca said. "In the northern areas of the city, once it's been quarantined,
that is."
"And until then?" Leon asked.
"Until then, come to San Francisco with us," Claire said, spreading her arms wide. "Come and live
with us, Leon. And you too, Rebecca."
Leon smiled and replied, "Of course I'll come with you."
Claire kissed him, whispering, "I love you, Leon."
"Yeah, I know. I love you, too, Claire. I'm just glad I finally realised that."
~Fin~