First I have to point out that I do not own any characters of the Resident
Evil series or situations that take place therein, creatures, towns, ect. Capcom does. I do all
my fanfics for no profit. Just for myself and friends. The only things I own are my original
characters, Jade Brant, and Kyle Corcoran from this fic and the Reptile. That's it. It's just
for fun so take it easy and don't worry about this legal stuff so much, okay?

Sleepy Hollow

by Eve

*This story takes place before Destiny and Fate. It is a side story of Jade's trip to New York
City where she has to go through the town of Sleepy Hollow.

Chapter 1: Midnight Ride

Jade Brant had been driving for hours. It was near midnight and she hadn't stopped for
food since 2 o'clock in the afternoon in some upstate town, Poughkipsee, or something of the
like. Hunger was knawing at her insides and she finally decided to stop at some small resturant
for something to eat. Maybe she would spend the night in a motel in the town. She did not feel
much like driving for the rest of the night and New York City wasn't too far away. 'I'll stop
at the next town I come to.' Jade thought as she drove down the road. In a few short minutes
the sign for a small town came into the view of her headlights. The lettering was done in gold
with a hunter green backround color. She could make out a small figure on a horse on the sign
above the name of the town. When she had driven closer, she saw the name of the town; Sleepy
Hollow. 'That name sounds familiar...' Jade thought as she drove. When she got even closer to
the sign, she could see that the figure on the horse had no head. 'That's right, I remember
hearing that story a long time ago. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Headless Horseman and all
that junk.' She thought as she continued down the road, past the welcoming sign. 'As long as
they have an all night diner and a motel, I'll be just fine.' She thought as the leaves flew
around her car in a gust of Autumn wind.

The car that Jade was driving continued down the road farther until something darted in
front of her car, making it screech to a halt.

"What the hell was that?!" she yelled angrily as she got out of the car.

Jade went to the front of her car to see what it was, but there was nothing there.
Whatever had crossed in front of her car was gone and hadn't even left a dent in her bumper.
Strangely, a thick fog began encircling Jade and her car. Faintly, Jade heard the sound of a
horse in the night air. She shook her head violently.

"Don't be stupid, Brant. There's no such thing as a headless horseman. There might be
zombies, Felines, Tyrants, and Hunters, but there's no such thing as a horseman without a head.
Get a friggin' grip on yourself." she whispered quietly to herself as she walked back to her
car.

Jade got back into her car and started to drive off, still hearing the sound of the horse
in the distance.

A few minutes later Jade arrived at a small all night diner in the town of Sleepy Hollow.
The place was cleverly titled, 'The Headless Horseman.' Jade grunted at the title and went
inside. The diner was empty, save for the waitress behind the counter and a few people in their
own booths. Jade glanced around the place and took a seat at the counter. The waitress walked
over to her and handed her a menu.

"Welcome to the Headless Horseman. Here's a menu." the waitress said.

"Thanks." Jade replied already looking through the menu. 'Mmm...this looks good.' she
thought, 'No, contaminated water and soda, no sour milk. Nothing like Radencroft...oh God, I'm
such an idiot. What the hell was I thinking? I shouldn't have offered to go to New York to keep
an eye on Umbrella. Sure, I need a break but this is ridiculous and stupid. Why didn't I ask if
there was some way to reach them? Arrrg! I'm such an idiot...'

"Are you gonna order or not?" asked the waitress impatiently.

"Umm...yeah. I'll have a bacon cheeseburger and a coke. Thanks." Jade replied.

The waitress grunted in response and turned to the kitchen. When she disappeared into the
back, a man came bursting through the front doors, panting, and face riddled with panic. He ran
up to the counter and grabbed Jade by the collar.

"The Headless Horseman!" he exclaimed.

"You nutcase." Jade replied, "Let go of my jacket. There's no such thing as a headless
horseman."

"No, there is! I saw his victims! Three men! They're heads ripped clean off!" the man
yelled, paniced.

"I thought the headless horseman took the heads of the people he killed." Jade said
annoyed.

"I didn't say I saw the heads! All I saw were their bodies! Their heads were twisted off
and taken away by the headless horseman!" the man exclaimed, his eyes wild with fear.

Jade sat there looking at the man for a moment and then said, "There's no such thing as a
headless horseman. It's just some sick, twisted person killing off people in this town, using
the headless horseman legend as a scapegoat. Don't be ridiculous. Look, I'm a private
investigator from another part of the country. My name's Jade Brant. I'll find out what's going
on here. And it won't be a headless horseman."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You'll find out, you'll realize. There is such a thing
as a headless horseman. He's out there! By the time you find his next victim, you'll know the
truth." he said.

"Yeah, yeah. Headless horseman. Sure. I'll find out what or who is killing these people.
I'll tell you one thing. It's not going to be some ghost from another century." Jade replied
with a sarcastic tone.

At that point, the waitress emerged from the back, carrying a plate with a bacon
cheeseburger on it and in the other hand a glass filled with coke. She set them in front of
Jade and looked at the panic stricken man.

"Joe, what are you doing here? It's past midnight." she said.

"I just saw Billy Tannen, Richard Maynard and Mike Peterson dead with their heads ripped
off!" he yelled.

"Oh my God...how terrible...not again...this is awful...how could you tell it was them?
They didn't have any heads you said." the waitress replied.

"It was their clothes! I know it was them!" he yelled back hysterically.

"Why haven't you gone to the police yet?" the waitress asked.

"This was the closest place I could find open! I had to tell someone!" Joe shouted, his
eyes still wide with terror.

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down, Joe. Go down to the police station and tell them what the hell
happened so we can put an end to this." ordered the waitress.

"Alright, alright! But this woman promised to help!" Joe pointed at Jade still sitting in
her seat next to him, "She said she's a private investigator and she'll find the headless
horseman!"

"Joe, it's not a headless horseman." the waitress said.

"Yes, it is! I know it is!" Joe replied.

"Just go to the police station, Joe...please. You're scaring me." the waitress' tone
became more soft and compassionate.

"Okay, I'm going. Soon, you'll know Stacy. Soon you'll know it's a headless horseman..."
Joe's voice trailed off as he walked out of the diner and towards the police station.

The waitress, Stacy, sighed a sigh of relief as soon as Joe had left. Jade had started
eating during the conversation between Stacy and Joe and was still eating when Stacy went over
to her. Jade didn't stop eating when Stacy asked her a question.

"Did you tell him you were going to find out who did this and that you're a private
investigator?"

"Yeah." Jade took another bite out of her bacon cheeseburger, "I did say that. I'm from
out west. Not too far from the decimated Raccoon City."

"Oohh, that place. Were you ever there?" Stacy asked.

"...once..." Jade hesitantly replied. "If there's something going on here. I'd like to
know about it." Jade quickly wanted to change the subject.

"Well, several people have been murdered around here lately. First, Nancy Williams, then
Stanley Morrison and Casey Stevens and now Billy Tannen, Richard Maynard and Mike Peterson.
It's getting very severe. A lot of people are afraid to leave their houses at night. And some
people, like Joe, believe that the Headless Horseman legend is coming true and he's out to find
heads. Stupid nonsense, but people are believing it. Brutal murders. All of them were found
without their heads. Blood everywhere. Terrible thing..." Stacy explained while filling a
coffee pot.

"Hmm...can you tell me where the police station is?" Jade asked, already getting out her
money to pay for her meal.

"Just down the street and to the right. You can't miss it." Stacy answered.

"And how much do I owe you?" Jade added.

"Umm..." Stacy checked the register, "Six-fifty-five." she finally announced.

Jade put the money on the table, with a tip for Stacy and left the diner. Outside, the
chilled Autumn air forced Jade to button her leather jacket. With the new information she had
and the feeling that she wouldn't be leaving the town that night, Jade began walking to the
police station.

Chapter 2: It's Only A Legend

The Sleepy Hollow Police Station was considerably smaller than Raccoon City's. It was
only two stories and was made of dark brick. At least it looked dark to Jade. She couldn't tell
in the midnight light. A dull yellow light eminated from the two front windows of the building
and from the doulble glass doors at the top of the front stairs. Jade climbed the stairs of the
building to the glass doors and opened them quickly.

Inside, she opened her leather jacket and looked around for someone that could help her.
Luckily, she had brought her identification so they would not doubt her as for who she is. The
place was oddly quiet. Well, not exactly oddly quiet since it was after midnight. It was
expected that the place would be at least a little quiet. The main room Jade was standing in
had faux leather seats to both sides, against the light blue colored walls. In front was a dark
wooden desk with a police officer reading a magazine behind it. Farther to the left and right
were dark wood doors, leading to other parts of the station. The dull yellow overhead lights
did not mesh well with the light blue coloring of the room and gave it a very artificial,
strange feeling. Jade walked up to the cop behind the desk and tapped him on the shoulder. This
startled the cop and he let out a surprised sound as he finally realized a woman was standing
in front of him.

"Jesus Christ, lady! Don't scare me like that!" He exclaimed, almost angry.

"Sorry, officer. You're reading something scary, aren't you?" Jade asked.

"No, no. It's just that these late nights always play tricks on my mind is all." The cop
replied.

"Oh." Jade's response was, then she added, "I'm Jade Brant from Oregon and I'm a private
investigator. Here are my identifications." She handed the cop several papers and continued,
"I've been hired...well sort of, by this man named Joe-"

"Joe Taylor?" asked the cop.

"I suppose. Are there other Joes?" Jade asked.

"Joe Taylor came in here a few minutes ago yelling that Billy Tannen, Richard Maynard and
Mike Peterson have just been killed. The same way that some others have been lately." the cop
said.

"Yes, that's him. He hired me to find out who is doing this, although he's convinced that
it's the...ahem...Headless Horseman." Jade explained.

"Some people believe in the Headless Horseman, Ms. Brant. Some don't. With the murders
being the way they are, it's more convincing than it used to be." said the cop, taking a sip
from his coffee mug as soon as he had finished his sentence.

"I was wondering if there was someone I could talk to about this case. Someone that might
be able to give me some backround information about the victims. If they have anything in
common...stuff like that. Most likely the cop working on this case." Jade asked, trying to keep
her professionalism.

The cop handed back her indentification papers and pointed down the hallway to the left.
"Go into that room there. You'll find Detective Kyle Corcoran, he's working on the case. He's
with Mr. Taylor right now, getting the information and trying to calm him down somewhat."

"And what about the crime scene? Has anyone been there yet?" asked Jade, looking in the
direction of where the cop had pointed.

"Not to my knowledge, no. But, you should ask Detective Corcoran for all the details."
the cop replied, turning back to his magazine.

"Thank you. I will." Jade said, walking towards the office.

* * * * * *

Detective Kyle Corcoran was a man of average build. Athletic to a certain degree and
looked like he at least kept in shape somewhat. He had bright green eyes and black hair that he
kept very short. He sat at his desk, trying to calm Joe down. It was after midnight, he didn't
need this. He wanted to go home and get some sleep, but at this point, it did not seem like an
option for him.

"I'm telling you Detective, it was the Headless Horseman!" Joe exclaimed.

Obviously, Kyle's attempts at calming Joe down did not work. Kyle was a friendly type of
guy, but was not superstitious and didn't believe in things like the Headless Horseman. He
looked at Joe annoyed, but at the same time, with some compassion.

"Look, Mr. Taylor...I know you've been through a lot in the past few hours and I really
feel for you, but I think you may need some help. Maybe talk to a psychiatrist or something.
You won't be able to help anyone find out who did this until you tell me exactly what happened
and what you saw." Kyle tried to make sure his voice remained calm and compassionate as he
talked.

"I told you, the Horseman got them!" Joe persisted to say the same thing again.

"Mr. Taylor...you're not helping anyone this way. Please...tell me what happened."
cajoled Kyle in a compassionate voice.

"Well...I was walking along Piertin street when I felt this awful chill in the air. I
continued down the street and then started hearing the unearthly noises. Like from some kind of
otherworldly creature. I kept walking, but faster this time until I saw a foot sticking out of
the dirt road nearby. When I got closer I saw that it was Billy, Richard and Mike." Joe told
his story, remaining in a sort of hysterical state.

"How could you tell?" asked Kyle.

"It was the way they dressed and it was the clothes I had seen them in that day. I looked
for their heads, but they were gone. It looked like they had been twisted off violently. Like
the Headless Horseman coming in haste for them..." Joe's voice trailed off as he finished his
story.

Kyle shook his head in response. "There is no such thing as a Headless Horseman, Mr.
Taylor. I'll need you to fill out this form for me..." Kyle handed Joe a piece of paper and a
pen. "And then go home and get some rest. We'll need to question you more in the morning."

Joe took the paper from Kyle and looked at it. Then he stared straight into Kyle's eyes
and said, "You'll believe me, won't you?"

"Just fill out the form, get some rest, and I'll have this whole thing figured out as
soon as possible." Kyle answered, looking back at Joe.

This answer seemed to satisfy Joe enough so that he got up and started towards the door.
At that moment, Jade came throught the office door and bumped directly into Joe. He was
startled by her entrance, but as soon as he saw it was her, he relaxed quite a bit.

"Joe, I'm here to talk to the detective. You did hire me to help, right?" Jade asked him
as soon as he had gotten his composure.

Joe's eyes lit up with hope and he replied, "Yes, yes. I did...I am."

"Y'know...don't worry about money. I'll just do this for you, okay? Just do one thing for
me..." Jade said.

"What?" asked Joe.

"Go home, get some sleep, and let me handle this, alright?" she replied.

Joe stood there, looking at her for a second, then he sighed and answered, "Okay, I'm
going home."

"Good night, Mr. Taylor." Kyle finally said, watching the other two having their
conversation.

"Good night, Detective." Joe replied, then turned to Jade, "Good night, Ms. Brant." Then
he turned and walked out of the office, leaving Jade and Kyle alone.

"I take it that you're Detective Corcoran, right?" Jade asked, moving closer to the
detective's desk.

Kyle motioned for Jade to sit down in the chair Joe had been in. She did so and then he
answered, "My, you are a sharp one, aren't you? Yes, I'm Detective Kyle Corcoran. And you're
Ms. Brant."

Jade smirked at Kyle's small joke and replied, "Yeah, that's me. Jade Brant. I'm from
Oregon."

"Not near that place that was bombed? What was it...Raccoon City?" Kyle asked.

Apprehensively Jade replied, "Yes, I'm from about 100 miles to the north. I used to run
a private investigation, but I decided to move the New York City recently. I stopped for a bite
to eat in the all night diner up the street and Joe then runs in talking about a headless
horseman and more dead people. I sort of...offered my assistance to him."

"Do you always offer free help to people who run into diners hyterically?" asked Kyle.

"No, but it seemed like something that would help him calm down and I'm in no rush to get
the New York." Jade explained.

"Ah, well that certainly explains it." Kyle retorted sarcastically. This made Jade smrik
once more. She liked his sarcastic style of comedy. It was something she could relate to.

"I would like some assistance on this, if you don't mind, Detective. I usually solve the
cases that I'm hired for. Working together might prove useful for everyone. What do you think?"
Jade asked, still smirking.

Kyle looked at the smirking Jade for a moment. Here was a woman who he had never met
before, but was saying they should work together on a case that was puzzling him beyond any
other he had ever encountered. Not only that, but she was also the only person to take his kind
of humor and throw it right back at him. "All right, Ms. Brant. I'll allow you to assist on
this case."

Jade's eyes somewhat lit up as she replied, "Great." For a moment, there was a pause
between the two as they both thought of something to say. Then Jade asked, "What about this
Headless Horseman legend? Why is everyone so worked up about it?"

Hearing this made Kyle sigh exasperatedly. He rolled his eyes a little and began to tell
the legend in a disgusted manner, "In the 1700's there was a school teacher, Ichabod Crane who
was riding home from a party on Halloween. On the way he was supposedly chased by the Headless
Horseman, out for his head. They say that if you cross the bridge in town, the Headless
Horseman cannot pass, but unfortunately for Ichabod, he didn't get there in time. He
disappeared, never to be seen again. It's just a stupid legend, but some of the people around
here are taking it more seriously since the murders."

"Like Joe." Jade added.

"Yes, like Joe. I've got to find out who's doing this so everything can return back to
normal. This chaotic state isn't helping anyone." said Kyle.

"Yeah, finding out who is behind this will certainly help this community. I suggest we
get started. I'd like you to take me to the crime scene, if you don't mind." Jade proposed.

Kyle sighed once more as he got up to get his coat. "All right, Ms. Brant. Let's go to
the crime scene. And remember, it's just a stupid legend."

"Right." replied Jade as she got up and followed Kyle out the door of the office.

Chapter 3: Crime Scene

Not too long later, Kyle and Jade emerged from his police car to the place Joe had
mentioned earlier. Several other police cars were already there, the place taped off by police
banners, and several officers huddled over the scene. Kyle pushed through the group of officers
and stopped in front of a man wearing a black trench coat; the coroner. Following Kyle as best
she could was Jade, looking almost out of place with such informal clothes. Quickly she caught
up to Kyle, who had already started a conversation with the coroner, Walter Harris.

"From what I've just seen, it looks like their heads were ripped clean off by something
strong and somewhat sharp. It doesn't look liked they were cut off after they died, it just
looks like someone came along and pulled them right off the necks. I've never seen anything
like it." stated Walter to Kyle just as Jade was in hearing distance.

"Harris, what kind of weapon do you think did this?" asked Kyle.

Walter looked down at the bodies of the three men, then back to Kyle, puzzled. "Honestly,
I have no idea. This isn't anything I've seen before. It's almost as if someone was strong
enough to rip them off with their bare hands."

"You and I both know there isn't anyone strong enough to do that." Kyle answered.

"Yes, but-" Walter started.

"Excuse me." Jade interjected, trying to get in on the conversation, "Have you thought
about the possibility of it being some sort of animal doing this?"

"Animal? Who the hell are you?" asked Walter, his voice slightly annoyed.

Kyle put a hand on Walter's shoulder to almost tell him that Jade was supposed to be
there. While looking at Jade he said to Walter, "Walter Harris, this is Jade Brant, from
Oregon."

Still eyeing Jade suspiciously Walter asked, "And why the fuck should I care? Why is she
here, Corcoran?"

"Watch your language, Harris. There are ladies present." said Jade with a smirk.

"She's a private investigator from Oregon, on her way to open a new business in
Manhattan." Kyle said.

"And she's not there because...?" asked Walter, visably annoyed.

"Because she was hired by Joe Taylor to find out who's been killing these people. She is
going to assist me on this case." Kyle finally finished.

Jade outstretched her hand to Walter and said, "If it were better circumstances, I'd be
more pleased to meet you."

Reluctantly, Walter outstretched his hand and shook Jade's. He then turned and looked at
Kyle. "Y'know what, Corcoran? She reminds me of you. Same annoying sense of humor."

Kyle shook his head exasperately and replied, "Some people like my humor, Harris. And
appearantly, I'm not the only one out there with the same kind of sense of humor. Now back at
the task at hand, right? What were you saying Ms. Brant?"

"Jade, please." Jade said, and then continued with her theory, "I was saying that it
could be an animal doing these killings and not a human. Some animals are strong enough to rip
heads off."

"But not three men almost at the same time." Walter added.

"What if there were more than one animal? What if it's a pack of animals?" asked Jade.

"What kind of animal could do that?!" demanded Walter, a bit angrily.

Kyle could sense the tension building between the two. It was obvious that Jade was more
stubborn than Kyle and therefore would not bend to Walter's will as Kyle had liked to do. Jade
was much more confrontational than he was. Not wanting this tension to escalate into a fight,
Kyle decided to interject. "Harris, calm down. Since you can't seem to figure out what weapon
was used in these murders, Jade's theory might have some ground to it."

"Shut up, Corcoran. I don't need some outsider coming here and telling me what's going
on." answered Walter, half growling in the process.

"Harris, what do you think it is?" Kyle asked, knowing what Walter would say ahead of
time.

"I don't know, Corcoran! This isn't like anything I've ever seen before! It's not any
weapon that I've ever encountered! I don't know what the fuck it is, all right?!" Walter
exploded in anger and frustration from being unable to figure out what was going on.

"Now, do you think Jade's theory could be true?" asked Kyle, keeping himself calm. Next
to him, Jade smirked, knowing this was just a mind trick Kyle was using to get Walter to admit
Jade's theory could be true.

"....yes, it could. But I don't know what kinda animal could do that." Walter finally
answered, having calmed down a little.

"Don't worry, we'll find that out." Jade said, still smirking and thinking about Kyle's
mind trickery.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, Brant. This is serious business." Walter immediately
snapped.

Her smirk immediately disappeared, her serious expression coming out instead. "I know
this is serious. I've encountered things you wouldn't believe. Things so horrible, you'd think
they came out of a horror movie. Don't tell me that this is serious. I can tell. I'm not some
inexperienced rookie who treats death as something unreal."

"What could you have seen that could've only come out of a horror movie?" asked Walter,
once again eyeing Jade suspiciously.

Jade's face suddenly became a little nervous as her eyes darted around the area quickly.
"You wouldn't believe it so I'm not gonna say...." All of a sudden, something in Jade's mind
clicked. Just as if a light bulb had been turned on in her head. Her eyes widen considerably
and she looked at Kyle, him looking back at her puzzled. "Detective, is there an Umbrella
chemical plant in this town?"

Kyle's expression went from puzzled to extremely confused as he answered her question,
"No, but there's a sales office. Near the old church."

"Sales office? What does it do?" asked Jade.

"It just takes orders from the main chemical plant in Manhattan and ships various
chemicals to it from time to time. They store lots of pharmaseudical supplies in their
storehouse underneath the sales office, I believe." Kyle answered, still confused by Jade's
question.

Hearing this, Jade began running in the opposite direction, towards the police station.
Walter gave Kyle an annoyed, boarderlining angry, glance and Kyle returned it with just a
confused one. Soon Jade was nearly out of sight.

Kyle cleared his throat and yelled after her, "Jade! Where the hell do you think you're
going?!"

"Back to the station! Come on! I've got something to show you!" She yelled back, still
running farther and farther out of sight.

Shrugging at Walter, Kyle began to run after Jade. Walter watched Kyle until he was out
of his sight, he then sighed exasperatedly and turned back to the three dead bodies as the
other officers continued to clean up the crime scene.

Chapter 4: Shocking Revelation

Breathlessly, Jade barged into the police station and made a mad dash for Kyle's office.
About a split second later Kyle barged in, as breathless as Jade was, trying to keep up as best
he could. After he had caught up to Jade and drove back to the station, she had ran ahead of
him, from the parking lot, all the way to Kyle's office. By the time Kyle had gotten inside the
station, Jade had already reached Kyle's office. Kyle's eyes darted quickly around the station,
looking for where she had gone. The door to his office was closing slowly, but a second later
was open fiercely by Kyle as he ran inside. Inside his office was Jade, panting from lack of
air, at his computer. Even though Jade hated computers, and was usually terrible with them, her
typing was extremely fast. With great speed Jade pounded on the keyboard with her fingers
lightly, bringing several things up on Kyle's screen. Exhaustedly, Kyle trudged to the seat
next to Jade and collapsed in it. After several more seconds of Jade's incessant typing, she
leaned back in her seat and turned to Kyle. He looked back at her with a mixture of confusion
and annoyance.

"You know about what happened to Raccoon City, right?" she asked.

"Of course. There was a viral outbreak. Everyone was infected so the president ordered
for the city to be destroyed. It's a real tragedy." he replied, not getting at what Jade was
saying.

"What kind of virus?"

Kyle hesitated. He had heard so many things about Raccoon City on the news, but not one
mention of what virus had actually caused the incident. Hesitantly Kyle answered, "I don't
really know. Influenza, I suppose."

"I'm sorry, but that answer is incorrect. Would you like to try again?" Jade asked,
mocking the tone of a game show host.

"I don't like this game, Jade. What are you trying to tell me? What the hell does this
have to do with the murders?" Kyle was beginning to get very annoyed with Jade's little game
show, not understanding what this had to do with the case.

"There was an Umbrella chemical plant in Raccoon City. And Radencroft." Jade said, her
voice turning more serious.

"Radencroft? Isn't that the town in Belgium that was destroyed by...Raccoon City's
remaining S.T.A.R.S. memebers?" asked Kyle, realizing what he said didn't make much sense.

"Radencroft had an Umbrella chemical plant and was not destroyed by S.T.A.R.S. It was
destroyed by...Umbrella's T-Virus, and myself along with my former partner, Jack Crawford, and
local police officers Ryan Bennett and Evelyn Chase. Raccoon City's last police officer, Leon
Kennedy, assisted in the destruction of the chemical plant, along with the Radencroft
Sanitarium. Dr. Arthur Neubauer was the head of the sanitarium, but was also a doctor for
Umbrella. He was doing insane experiments on his patients, turning them into monsters that
could take the heads off people...just like what's happening here. Albert Wesker, supposedly
dead S.T.A.R.S. captain was alive and working for Umbrella. He shot me in the head..." Jade
pointed to the small scar on her head. "...and in the leg. That's why I sometimes limp a
little. He also shot Officer Bennett in the shoulder, killed his fellow teammates, and
kidnapped my partner and Bennett's partner, shipping them off to the sanitarium's undergound
lab for experimentation. Now, Umbrella is here. It might be just a sales office, but there
could be an underground lab underneath. Wherever Umbrella is, trouble and horror are not far
behind. I hate to be the one to tell you this, and you probably don't believe me, but Umbrella
is creating bio-weapons at the expense of human lives, and creating viruses that turn normal
humans into flesh eating zombies. If you don't believe me, that's fine. But check the facts.
Every single large problem that has happened recently has been in or around a town with and
Umbrella chemical plant in it. The similarities are too hard to deny. Umbrella is an evil
company."

All this information sinked into Kyle's concious mind, flowing in and out rapidly. This
was too much information for him to handle at once. He laughed nervously and looked at Jade,
"That's a great joke. Tell me another one later after we solve the case."

Jade's face remained serious, never faulting for even a second. "This is serious,
Detective Corcoran. Look at every person who has been murdered...they are all employees of
Umbrella's sales office or commute to the chemical plant in Manhattan. It has to be something
that Umbrella is doing."

Kyle looked at her dumbfounded and extremely shocked. The only thing he could choke out
was, "You're serious about this, aren't you?"

"Dead serious. If you don't mind the pun." she replied, with a stern face.

"How am I just supposed to believe that this major international pharmasuetical company
is making bio-weapons and that zombies, out of something like Night of the Living Dead, are
real?" he asked her, looking extremely confused.

"I....don't know. I'm sure it's very hard to believe, coming from some complete
stranger...but look at the facts. You're a detective, you can't deny this. I didn't fake my
occasional limp, or the scar on my head. You can't deny that all these people work for Umbrella,
or that every major disaster incident has involved an Umbrella chemical plant or the Raccoon
City S.T.A.R.S......ugh, I'm repeating myself. Anyways, why would I have a reason to lie to
you, Corcoran? Why?" Jade stared into Kyle's eyes, trying to read his emotions.

For a long moment, Kyle sat there, staring back at Jade, completely confused and
overwhelmed. He did not know what to think. He had known Jade for only a few short hours. All
he knew about this woman was that she was from Oregon, she was a private investigator, had been
hired by Joe Taylor, and had a sense of humor similar to his. Now, she comes along and tells
him that a major international coorperation was making monsters out of a horror movie and had
already killed millions of people and destroyed two cities. How could he just believe this
woman, sitting in front of him, that Umbrella was evil? To him, she was still a stranger, an
unknown. How could he believe her?.....then again....how could he not believe her? Jade was
right; she really did not have a reason to lie to him. He barely knew her, there was no obvious
reason for her to decieve him in any way. The more Kyle mulled over these thoughts, the more
the story seemed to be true. All the facts, albeit small, were gathering together, gaining
merit. They were beginning to become something coherent. A large truth, however hard to believe
it was. At last the long moment was over, Kyle had come to his decision. There was no reason
not to believe Jade's story. She had no real reason to lie and the facts were too numerous to
ignore.

"Jade........I believe you." Kyle slowly said.

Jade exhaled with relief and relaxed a little. "Thank god. I thought you were gonna have
me committed or something. Great. I think that we should get some ammunition, and have
ourselves a look around the sales office."

"I'm not sure I can get a warrant in enough time." Kyle replied, thoughtfully.

"Then forget the warrant. Let's go now. We've gotta stop whatever monsters doing this!"
exclaimed Jade, getting up from her seat quickly.

"Okay, okay! But we've gotta stop at the weapons department for guns first." Kyle added
as he got up from his chair, going to the door.

"Alright. The sooner the better, and the more guns we have, the better. You don't know
what we're going up against and honestly.....neither do I." replied Jade, following Kyle out
the door of his office.

Chapter 5: Loaded

Wayne Bouquet sat, extremely bored, in the weapons department of the Sleepy Hollow Police
Department. Wayne was always made fun of because of his last name, and it bothered him to such
an extent he once beat up a boy in high school for it. He took the night shift so that there
would be less people around. He was not a people person. Maybe that wasn't the correct phrasing,
he would be more of a people person if he did not have quite a mouth on him. He was a smart-ass.
Instead of coming off as sarcastic like Jade or Kyle, he'd come off as egotistical or rude. At
one point, Wayne gave up and decided to just take the night shift, avoid as many people as he
could and just deal with it. The only company that Wayne really needed were right there, all
the guns and ammunition that the weapons department held. To keep his sanity on lonely nights,
Wayne would fool around with the guns, retooling them, making them more powerful. It was
relaxing for him, and outlet for his anger at times. Not too many people had ever came to see
him during his shift, the graveyard shift. Sometimes he would play some music from a nearby
radio as he tooled around with his guns, sometimes he would just do it in silence. At times the
tranquility of the silence, save for the humming of electrical equipment, was soothing. Wayne
had never actually had anyone come see him during his shift. Ever. He'd never served a single
officer. Not that he minded. Keeping it that way would be fine with him. He was comfortable in
his little sanctuary of solitude. Wayne never expected anyone to come see him. That night, he
was incredibly surprised.

The loud footsteps coming down the stairs to the weapons department made hallow echos off
the walls and ceilings, confining the sound inside the building. Just this noise was enough to
make Wayne sharply look up, confused to what was going on. Soon, two shadows came into view of
the double doors to the weapons department, and they were coming fast. Another second later,
both Kyle and Jade were inside the Sleepy Hollow Police Department's weapons department, facing
Wayne's confused and annoyed face. This was the very first time he would have to deal with
people. Something almost new to him that he did not want to face. He looked at them annoyed,
Kyle looking back confused, and Jade looking back determined. Walking briskly, the two walked
up to the desk, Kyle now looking at Wayne intently.

"Uhm..." he started.

"Hey...you're...Wayne...Bouquet, right? I remember you from police training." Kyle said,
pointing a finger knowingly at Wayne.

The next second, Wayne placed the officer's face with a name. That's right, it was Kyle
Corcoran. The guy who took firearms training with him when they were both becoming officers on
the force. Corcoran never pointed the gun in a safe direction and even put the wrong type of
bullets in a gun the first time Wayne had handed him one. Giving Kyle Corcoran a gun seemed
like a bad idea, and then giving some woman he had never met before a gun semed like an even
worse idea. Wayne was now more annoyed repling, "Yeah. Corcoran, right? Kyle Corcoran? What?
You're a detective now?"

Kyle nodded in response, then pointed to Jade. "This is Jade Brant. She's a private
investigator helping me with this case. Joe Taylor hired her."

Wayne sighed exasperatedly. "So...what is it that you want?"

"Some heavy ammunition for a potentially dangerous situation over at the Umbrella Sale's
Office." Jade finally piped in.

Suspiciously, Wayne raised an eyebrow and eyed Jade. "What are you looking for?"

"Some .38's would be perfect." Kyle said.

Surprise crossed Wayne's face, then followed by disgust. ".38's?! You can't even kill a
deer with that. You need 9mms, I tell ya. 9mms."

".44's the calibre for me." Jade commented casually.

Looking at Jade confused Wayne asked, "What, you trying to kill people or elephants?" He
began walking to the back to look for some guns.

Jade paused, thinking, then said, "Well...they could end up as big as an elephant...it's
really hard to say..."

"Huh? What was that? You gonna kill some elephants? Out HERE? Well, you'd have to use .50
calibres for that." Wayne replied from the back, looking around for the .50 calibre bullets.

At this point, Kyle had decided to interject, "Look, we're not going to war, we're just
going to go check something out."

From the back, Wayne, not hearing all that Kyle had said, answered, "War? You want war,
I'll see if I can find me that M-16A5 with drum-based magazine...." He then disappeared farther
into the back room.

Jade looked at Kyle, sternly saying, "Don't be stupid, Corcoran. Might as well be
prepared for war. You don't know what's out there." She then turned her head to the back and
yelled to Wayne, "Hey! Gimme the strongest one you've got! I'm not driving!"

Sarcastically Kyle replied, "I'm gonna go kill me an elephant."

Jade turned back to Kyle again. "You shot who in the what now?"

"You gonna kill an elephant you'll want .44 calibre." Wayne announced loudly from the
back.

"What about .50?" asked Kyle.

In the back Wayne rolled his eyes. Kyle really did not know anything about ammunition and
guns. It was a miracle that he ever made it on the force with such little knowledge. "That's
for whales, buffoon."

"Hey!" Kyle shouted back, defensively.

"Say...you got anything that'll kill a large bio-weapon?" Jade leaned over Wayne's desk
as she yelled to the back.

There was a slight pause as Wayne processed the information. Then he yelled to Jade,
"You're not talking about the Amazing Colossal Man, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Thank god...hang on a second, I'll go check." Wayne then went farther into the room,
completely out of hearing range of Jade and Kyle.

A few minutes later, Wayne returned to the front room, holding a shotgun in his hands. He
held it out for the two to inspect and explained, "Well, we got yer usual 12 gauge Remington.
Or, you can get an o&u Ruger."

"O&U?" asked Jade curiously.

"Over and Under." Wayne replied non chalantly.

"Huh?"

"Forget it." Wayne quickly answered, annoyed.

"Sorry, I skipped the class on ammunition at Private Eye school." Jade said, half
apologetically, half sarcastic. Then adding, "Just gimme a damn powerful gun, dammit."

Wayne nodded his head defeatedly. "All right, all right. .40 calibre Glock 22, 10 round
clip since you're a civilian." Quickly he went into the back, returning a few minutes later
with the Glock 22 in his hand. He handed it to Jade, then asking annoyed, "Happy?"

"Very. Thanks." Jade answered, satisfied as she inspected the Glock 22 in her hands.

"Just gimme a Benelli M3S shotgun, Wayne. I know how to use a shotgun." Kyle said.

Grudingly, Wayne went to the back room again coming out with the M3S mentioned in his
hands. Almost apprehensively he handed it over to Kyle, not really wanting to let it go.
"Remember to pull the trigger when you want to shoot something, Corcoran. And I want the permit
for this stuff before I leave later."

"C'mon, Corcoran." Jade began for the doors, but Kyle stayed at Wayne's desk, looking at
Jade baffled.

"But...I need to insult him back...I'm not done with my witty comebacks yet." he
stammered out.

"Monsters do not wait for witty comebacks." Jade continued to the doors.

"Aww...dammit." Kyle said as he slumpped his shoulders in defeat.

Wayne looked at Kyle annoyed. "Hey, knock it off Corcoran. You were the one that put the
wrong bullets in your gun the first time I gave it to you."

Jade stopped dead in her tracks and turned around to look at Kyle, nearly laughing. "You
did what?"

This made Kyle begin to chuckle nervously, immediately beginning for the doors.
"Hehehehe...let's go, Jade."

"No, no. What did you do?" Jade asked, very curious.

"...nothing." he answered softly.

Smirking, Wayne added, "And you NEVER kept it aimed in a safe direction, Corcoran."

A sudden burst of laughter came from Jade. She quickly put a hand over her mouth to try
to stifle it, almost not making out, "Hahahahah, you sucked at Firearms Training."

All Kyle's reply was a long string of angry grumbles as the two left the weapons
department, leaving Wayne smirking at himself. When the two were gone, even their shadows
unseen to Wayne, he turned his radio on and went back to his guns.

Chapter 6: The Headless Horseman

A chill wind blew across the street that both Kyle and Jade stood upon as their gaze
wandered to the door of the Umbrella sales office, luckily only about a block from the police
station. Jade held her Glock 22 in her hands tightly, almost wishing that she had never stopped
at that diner for dinner. Next to her, Kyle kept processing all the new information that had
been shown to him that night. It was so much to take in and everything was going so fast. His
life would never be the same now; he had to realize that. From now on, he had to change his
entire world view. Everything had changed. Jade had brought about this change, awakened him to
the truth. Now that he was awake, Kyle had to wonder, was he better off asleep?

"Ready?" Jade finally asked, breaking Kyle's train of thought.

"Uhh...uhm...yeah, sure. Ready." Kyle stammered out as a reply.

A nod from Jade signaled for them to move out. She silently ran to the front door and
peered through the glass windows. After looking for a few seconds, Jade turned and ran around
to the back of the building, looking for a back way in; service entrance or something. The
building itself wasn't too big. It looked to be about two stories, set in some dark stone.
Ominous dark windows having the lightposts reflect eerie glows off them. Luck was with them, a
service entrance was right there at the back of the building. No one in sight. Jade snuck up to
the door, followed by Kyle. Without saying a word, Jade looked at Kyle and then to the lock on
the door. As if he understood their unspoken language, that Jade's eyes spoke more than her
words could, Kyle pulled out a police master key and opened the door. Smirking slightly, Jade
walked in silently, followed by Kyle who shut the door quietly.

A sterile looking hallway was the greeting the two met when they were inside the building.
The hall smelled of cleansers and medicine, not unlike a hospital. But there was something else
in the air that wasn't at all like a hospital. Something lurking...something evil. Overhead the
florecent lights gave off a glow to make the entire hallway unfriendly and cold. The light gray
stone walls and light colored linoleum floor didn't help much either. In front of the two was a
door that said "To upstairs" and another hall to the left. Jade began around the corner, Kyle
following closely.

Around the corner was another hallway, just the same as the first, except that it T-ed
off at the end. The two stopped at the intersection and looked at each other.

"Which way?" asked Jade.

Shrugging his shoulders, Kyle glanced down both paths of the hall, each of them ending
with a door. On the left was a door that said 'Mr. Tannen's Office.' The office to one of the
victims. On the right was a door that displayed a sign saying 'Holding Room.' Kyle looked back
at Jade, tilting his head to the right.

"I think heading that way would be a good place to start." he then added.

Jade looked at the door to the right, silently reading the sign. She then nodded and
replied, "Yeah, good idea. Let's go."

There was nothing. Jade had expected canisters filled with abominations, experiments of
pure evil lining every wall; filling every inch of the room with sinister evil. After all, the
room was called 'Holding Room'. She figured it would be holding something incriminating. But,
when Jade and Kyle entered the room they found nothing. Just dark wood desks, chairs and
various filing cabinets, single pieces of paper sticking out of the aforementioned filing
cabinets at every angle. Once the light had been turned on, the room filled with an errie
artificial glow. While the place felt ominous, there was nothing there to suggest it.

"Were you expecting to find something, Jade?" Kyle questioned, noticing the puzzled
expression on her face.

"Hell yeah. Something. Anything. A test tube, a syringe, a canister full of a monster.
God, anything! But there's nothing here. I just don't understand." Jade flipped through a pile
of papers, a feeling of disappointment and annoyance in her movements.

Silence crept in, surrounding the two as they inspected the office for evidence. The
ominous feeling was still there, and as the same as the silence, it surrounded them; the place
faintly radiating evil and foul play. Kyle walked over to one of the filing cabinets, casually
inspecting it, his gaze falling to the floor. Shining gray streaks lined the floor next to the
cabinet. As if...as if it had been moved back and forth many times. This caught Kyle's
attention. He began pushing against the cabinet, loud scraping noises accompaning it. The loud
noise warranted Jade's attention. By the time she reached Kyle, why the marks were on the floor
was revealed; a small trap door lay on the floor in front of them.

"This is something." Jade commented, looking down at the door.

Kyle looked at Jade, smirking. "Ladies first then."

Jade rolled her eyes as she pulled on the handle to the small door. It was a heavy door,
several inches of metal revealed when it was opened. A strong dirt ordor eminated from the
darkness below. This confused the two, not expecting that. Jade looked at Kyle then back at the
black hole. Again, knowing this unspoken language, Kyle took his flashlight out.

"Always come prepared." Jade snidely remarked.

"You told me you didn't know what we were going up against. Darkness seemed like
something I could fight." Kyle answered smugly.

With that, Jade began to decend down the steel ladder into the darkness, Kyle following.
Hollow clanging noises was heard all around as the two cautiously decended the lader. A cloud
of dust was brought up by the two landing heavily off the last rung of the ladder, the dust
rising so high that a sneezing attack from Jade commenced for a minute.

Kyle shined the now operating flashlight towards her face. "You allergic to dust or
something?"

"Gee, what do you think?" Jade retorted, with her hand around her nose, trying to keep
the sneezing attack at bay.

"I didn't expect the hallway to have dust in it." commented Kyle, still shining the beam
at Jade's face, which now looked quite under control from the sneezing and slightly annoyed.

Still holding her Glock 22, Jade crossed her arms and answered with an annoyed tone,
"Maybe if you stopped shining that goddamn light in my face and looked around, we could see why
there's dust in here, Hercule."

Kyle scratched his head in response and immediately pointing the bright beam down the
hall, illuminating a small part of it. "Right, right. I hear ya, ma'am."

What the flashlight's beam revealed was the walls were made of old stone, the floors
completely made of dirt. Not what they had expected at all. It smelled not only of dirt, but
faintly of hay. The hall made a turn to the right at the end. Shruging his shoulders, Kyle took
out his handgun and took the lead, Jade following closely. As they rounded the corner, a loud
blast was sounded that cause Kyle to roll to the ground and aim his gun. He waited for a second,
the loud blasting noise returning several times; yet nothing happened to him. Jade walked up to
him and tapped his shoulder, a surprised Kyle staring up at her. Her eyes shined in his light,
as if they had been watering recently, and her nose was slightly red. Small red circles
surrounded her eyes. "It's just me, Kyle. I was sneezing again. I can't help it. There's
something down here I'm allergic to."

Kyle rose to his feet, dusting off the dirt on his clothes and shrugged his shoulders
again. "S'okay, Jade. But you just blew our cover."

"C'mon, man. There's no one in this hall because if there was, they would've been on us
already." Jade replied, her voice now sounding slightly nasaily.

"True, true." Kyle replied, starting to continue down the hallway again.

As the two walked farther down the hallway, enshrouded with darkness; the faint smell of
hay became more pronounced. It became more pungent until their nostrils were invaded with its
scent, the odor of hay completely inside of their noses. As this event happened, what appeared
to be candle light, illuminated a room ahead of them. Jade's sneezing became worse as they
entered the soft yellow candle lit room.

The new dimly lit room was a stable of sorts. Three stalls, all in dark faded wood, stood
to their left, with another three to their right. Each stall had a nameplate on it, painted in
hunter green, the letters standing out in bright gold. It reminded Jade of the sign to Sleepy
Hollow itself. Towards the back was a large hallway, with soft moonlight streaming down into it
at the end. The horse stalls themselves were empty, though it was evident that they had been
there recently.

"Now I know why I've been sneezing so goddamn much." Jade commented.

Kyle turned his head towards Jade and looked at her puzzled. "Why?"

"Hay fever. I'm allergic to hay." she replied, matter of factly.

"Ooooh." Kyle answered while shaking his head in acknowledgement, then adding, "Looks
like Umbrella's been keeping horses here."

Jade looked at one of the nameplates, reading the name silently as 'Daredevil.' She
sighed inwardly, knowing that there really wasn't much there other than some empty stalls.
"Yeah, but why? Why horses? Where's the monsters? Where are the zombies? Where's Albert
Wesker?!" She demanded inbetween another bout of sneezing.

This sudden outburst confused Kyle, him not really knowing why Albert Wesker, a man she
had only mentioned breifly as an evil man, would be there at that moment. At this point, most
of what Jade said didn't make much sense to Kyle. The investigation had turned up nothing but
an underground stable. You can't put anyone in jail for having a stable. "Jade, this is going
nowhere. I think we should get outta here. Now."

The deep brown eyes that Jade had, flashed in infuriated stubborness. She kicked the dirt
angrily and looked around the rest of the stable while ranting, "Sure, there's nothing right
here, in this spot. But who knows what's around the next corner?!" She spotted a small doorway
next to the large hallway, as she continued, "I mean, there could be something right behind
this door! Who knows?!"

Kyle put a hand on his hip in annoyed response and suggested, "Why don't you open the
damn door and find out what's behind it? Geez, Jade, that hay fever goes to your head."

Again, Jade's eyes flashed with anger while she turned the door knob. "Shut up."

Slowly, the door creaked open, it screeching with protest to the force being put against
it. The two poked their heads cautiously inside to see the contents of the room. What they saw
surprised Kyle while Jade's surprise was only mild. The door itself was dark wood, matching
everything in the stable behind them, but behind the door was a small holding room. Gleaming
metal all over the walls, reflective glass chambers lining every wall. A tiny computer had
forced itself a small space at the back wall, the rest were stasis tubes, housing unimaginable
nightmares. Nightmares not even the most frightened child could dream up on a storming night.
However, the pristine, medical, orderly impression of the room had been contradicted by the
stasis tubes all being shattered, glass glittering on the floor in the flourecent light above.
Lime colored liquid from inside the stasis tubes had poured out, making the already slick
floors even more dangerous. Kyle's jaw dropped to the floor at this sight. The stable and this
small holding room being in complete contrast with each other; total opposites. It was amazing
at how he'd been in a room that reminded him of the colonial days a minute ago and now he felt
like he was in the 22nd Century. Such a difference shocked Kyle deeply, though Jade had
recovered quite quickly. She was already inspecting the tiny computer on the far wall while
Kyle's jaw still was hanging towards the floor. It all seemed so natural to her already, that
it seemed no different than riding a bike. How could someone be so used to this kinda drastic
change of environment and to find such a scene within? Kyle was shocked at Jade's nonchalant
attitude towards this whole room. Her hay fever had since subsided and her fingers were making
quick clicking noises at the tiny keyboard.

The tapping of her fingers on keys stopped suddenly, Jade whispering half to herself,
"God, do I wish Jack was here."

Kyle forced his jaw back into a normal position and asked, "Who?"

"I mentioned him earlier. He was my partner in my private eye business. Best computer
hacker I know. Could type faster than people could think, and was great at getting access codes
to anything. But, I ain't nearly as good at it as he was...is. If he were here he'd have found
out everything by now. I'm just no good with these damn electronic devices. Not my thing. I was
just wishing he was here now. He's a great partner...and a friend." Jade answered, her head
still bowed to the tiny computer screen.

Walking over to Jade, Kyle questioned, "Have you found anything out?"

She shook her head defeatedly. "Not without the access codes. Jack could figure them out
easily, but I can't. All I can tell is that the things kept on the right are called 'lickers'
and the ones on the left are called 'reptiles.' Yeah, reptile can mean a whole buncha things,
but with Umbrella, it's not a regular kinda reptile. As for licker..." Jade scratched her head
in confusion and continued, "You got me. I don't know what they could be."

A glance to the stasis tubes revealed to Kyle that they had been broken from the inside,
meaning whatever those things were, they were powerful. "Looks like they got out themselves,
with no help from this computer."

Jade turned to look at the stasis tubes and nodded. "Hell yeah. And that means they're
out somewhere...killing people...." Her voice slowly trailed off as she began to concentrate
deeply.

"Jade, what is it?" Kyle asked, interested.

"I'm not sure if this is what happened, but I have a feeling that we've found the
Headless Horseman that Joe's been ranting on about tonight." She replied, slowly.

Kyle's expression went skeptical while he said, "What do you mean? There's no Headless
Horseman here."

"Maybe not here..." Jade started, but trailed off as she walked out of the room. A
confused Kyle quickly followed to keep up.

The confused detective found the mysterious woman at the end of the long hallway next to
the room, staring out into the night sky. Pearly moonlight from the moon shone down on her,
giving Jade a enigmatic look, a mystery, a puzzle. Stars above her shone like diamonds;
glittering and twinkling in oblivious contentment. Cool Autumn winds blew across her glowing
frame, her hair coming to life in the wind; the strands each twirling and flying in a dance
unto themselves. Branches of a nearby tree framed the moon in its own grasp; a captive of a
dying tree. The woods ahead looked unfriendly, ominous, evil. From out of nowhere, a screech
from something unearthly carried over the winds to Jade and finally Kyle as he caught up to her.
The screech was then accompanied by a few more, soon becoming a chorus of some evil song with
no words. Jade's hand pointed towards the woods, her voice dead serious with the words that
followed. "They may not be here, but they're...out there. Those are the Headless Horseman."

Chapter 7: Showdown

In the moonlight, Kyle only barely noticed they were near the church...which meant...they
were heading into the infamous Western Woods. Why they hadn't torn down the woods was something
Kyle had written off as stupid superstition. People saying the Horseman was killed there, and
came from that very place to get the heads of the living, not something he had ever believed;
and he didn't plan to. Still, there was no doubt that the place eminated evil from every
orafice. Every inch of it radiating ill intention, malice, and wicked life. All the trees there
barely ever bore any leaves, which didn't help the look of the woods much. Knarled branches
reaching to the heavens for repent, never recieving their plea. Some twisted outwards towards
the path, ready to grab and hold onto anyone who dared enter. Kyle had not ever believed
in the Headless Horseman, and still didn't, but he would not deny that the place gave him a bad
feeling in the pit of his stomach. He did not want to enter the Western Woods, but had the
feeling that his entry to the place would be inevitable.

"Jade, I don't think we should go in there." Kyle nervously remarked.

With her undying determination in her voice, Jade asked, "Why not?"

Kyle pointed to the twisted woods. "That's the Western Woods. No one goes in there. Of
course, those who believe in the Headless Horseman definitely don't step foot even this close
to it. The others that don't believe don't go in there because...well, look at the damn place!
It's not inviting and evil just oozes outta it."

Brushing some hair out of her face, Jade looked towards the woods. "So...I guess that
means you're not coming with me in there, huh?"

"Well...I...uhh...I don't like the look of the place and...." Kyle managed to nervously
stammer out.

"You wanna find the killer, you gotta go in there with me. I'm sure that anything that's
in there can be handled with your M3S and my Glock 22, okay? I don't like the place much myself,
but I'm not gonna let whatever's out there hurt anyone else. And I don't think you wanna let
them do it either." explained Jade calmly.

Once again, Jade was right, which made Kyle wonder if she was ever wrong. He didn't have
the time to think about it, he had to decide what he was going to do now. The decision that
would seal his fate for the rest of his life. "Okay, I'm coming. Let's go." He finally answered.

Nodding her head, Jade started walking. "Okay. Just be ready for anything. They must have
the ability to take someone's head off in an instant. Gotta stay on your toes."

Kyle smirked, "Now's not a good times to lose one's head."

Jade laughed slightly, silently glad that he had decided to come and his sense of humor
was still intact. "Indeed it wouldn't. Let's dispose of the bad head jokes for a little while.
I don't plan on having anyone else's head roll tonight."

Silence came over the two again for a while, disturbed by only the rustling of leaves in
the wind. Slowly, they made their way into the woods, following a small path. Jade's instincts
were telling her something was very wrong there. It was too quiet, the screeching had since
halted, and not a cricket, or anything else was making a noise. Just the leaves in the wind.
No, there was something off, extremely unbalanced. Jade felt that something was watching them,
monitoring their every move. Waiting....waiting for the right moment to strike. Kyle felt this
terrible gut feeling too, now becoming truly frightened for the first time in his life. He
didn't know what kind of nightmare would jump down from the trees and try to kill him, and a
great deal of him did not want to find out what it looked like. Branches above them suddenly
groaned under the weight of something. The two quickly aimed their guns high up into the tree,
but whatever had been there was already onto another tree. Fog had now settled in the woods,
making their visibility decrease greatly.

"Oh, great. This is just what we need. Tim Burton atmosphere." Jade sarcastically grunted.

Kyle kept his shotgun aimed above him. "Could be worse. Could be George Romero."

This made Jade chuckle a little bit, replying. "I suppose you're right."

Another set of groaning branches made the two aim their guns at another tree, but yet
again being too slow to find what it was. However, this time, the noise was immediately
accompanied by a screech coming from a nearby tree. The two spun in its direction, disgusted by
the sight they saw.

Climbing upsidedown on the tree was what looked like a man, but inside out. There was no
skull, just brain matter protruding digustingly from its head. It glistened in the moonlight,
covered with some translucent goo. Sharp tallons were dug into the tree's body as the thing
climbed downward. The thing opened its mouth, revealing an army of sharp teeth, lead by a
siliva covered tongue that seemed to stretch forever. From its mouth came a unearthly screech,
followed by the screeches of its cousins. The two stood back to back, noticing that they were
now surrounded by these monsters, something from a monster movie that would give you bad dreams.

"Y'know, I'd be just guessing here...but I think these things are Lickers." Kyle
nervously commented.

"Yeah...so that makes those things the Reptiles." Jade replied, pointing towards the top
of the trees.

From above a screeching hiss was heard, followed by a few others. What Jade had pointed
out was three lizard-like creatures, except that they sort of resembled humans too. Their legs,
arms and torso shaped like a humans, though sharp claws were present instead of finger and
toenails. Its head was that of a lizard, evil reptilian eyes scaling the two down. From inside
its mouth came an equally large tongue, thought it looked faster than the Licker's. A long
sharp, spiked tail hung from the back of the Reptiles, looking strong and painful to be hit by.
Rough, greenish-yellow scales covered the entire body of the Reptiles, making it look even more
menacing. By Jade's count, they were outnumbered; 6 to 2. Not good odds by her opinion. But, it
wasn't like it was something Jade could change. So the 6 monstrosities eyed down their two
human opponents, screeching in a pleased manner. The two seemed like easy prey for such
accomplished hunters. However, those creatures had another thing coming.

"You take the Lickers, I'll go for the Reptiles." Jade ordered.

"Wait, since when do you take charge?" demanded Kyle.

Jade already aimed her Glock 22 up at the first Reptile. "Just aim for their heads. Don't
argue."

"Who am I to argue with a lady?" Kyle answered, mostly to himself.

Gunfire from Jade's Glock 22 echoed throughout the entire woods, shocking the rest of the
creatures, especially the Reptile she hit. Two blasts to the abdomen, black ooze coming out
from it. An angry, painful yell came from the monster, then it suddenly jumping down to Jade's
level. She fired once again, this time hitting it in the head. Brain matter, black ooze, skull
fragments all flew everywhere. The corpse of the once Reptile falling to the ground, black
blood oozing around it. From nearby another Reptile screamed in anger, charging for Jade. It
was too fast for her, and she was soon pinned by the creature. Hissing hungrily, the Reptile
dug a claw into Jade's shoulder. Wincing, and letting out a small cry of pain, Jade kicked
thecreature as hard as she could. Taken aback by this, the Reptile stopped long enough for Jade
to aim her Glock 22 at the creature's head and pulling the trigger. This time, the brain matter,
black ooze, and skull fragments all showered her face. Spitting in digust, Jade wiped off as
much of the Reptile's remains as she could.

This had been the first time Kyle had ever had to face something like this. Something so
unusual, something so evil. While fighting, Kyle had to push down the urge to vomit in disgust
at what Umbrella had done. Jade had been right again. Yet again. He was facinated at how
correct this woman was, but had no time to dwell on it as the first Licker let its tongue lash
out at him. Instincts kicking in, Kyle dove and rolled to his right. He quickly recovered,
pumped, and fired the shotgun at the creature. The shot had hit it in the stomach, something
that would have kill any normal man. But this wasn't normal. With amazing resiliance, the
Licker jumped back up and hissed in pain. Shaking off his surprise, Kyle took aim and shot
again. The blast hit the Licker again in the chest, crimson blood exploding from inside of it,
poisioning the ground with its unholy existence. The creature went into a violent spasm,
kicking and screaming in agony, until it slowly died down to a halt. One down, two to go.
Another Licker let out an angry hiss in response to its dead cousin, the abomination leaping
for Kyle with a deadly hand outstretched to slice him. Kyle fell backwards, kicking the Licker
in the abdomen and thrusting it past him. Not expecting this, the Licker screamed in protested
as it fell to the ground. Quickly running, Kyle reached the Licker before it had been able to
get up. As fast as he possibly could, Kyle aimed the shotgun at the creature's chest and fired.
An explosion of blood and gore rose up quickly, the life leaving the monster that never should
have had life at all. Two down, one to go. The last Licker was infuriated with its brethren
fallen by a mere human. It led out a loud shriek and lept for the murderer of its cousins. Kyle
aimed his shotgun quickly, ready to shoot, but was surprised by Jade's Glock 22 fire being
pumped into the creature. Gushes of blood flew from the Licker's interior as she fired, only a
little life left in the monster. Before Jade could fire her last shot, Kyle pumped the shotgun
and fired, hitting the Licker in the head. Brain matter flew upwards, once again covering
Jade's face. Disgustedly, she wiped it off once again.

"Sorry about that. You look quite a mess now." Kyle humorously remarked.

Jade rolled her eyes as she continued to wipe the gore from her face. "Ha ha. How would
you like it if you were covered in blood and gore from these awful things?"

"Good point."

"I think this solves the case, but you're gonna have one helluva time with the
paperwork." Jade said, still wiping gore off her face.

Kyle shrugged. "I'll make something up. I knew I'd have to lie about something sometime."

Jade chuckled in response as she began glancing around the area. The fog was still around,
hanging heavily around them like a blanket. Moonlight from above gave off a mysterious glow
that didn't help the atmosphere one bit. Out of the corner of her eye, Jade noticed something
moving fast. What was it? A tail. A tail of a Reptile. She had forgotten the last Reptile!
Where had it been hiding?! Jade made an attempt to warn Kyle. "Kyle, look sharp! There's a-"

Suddenly, Jade was talking to Kyle's body, sans head. His head being quickly snapped up
the remaining Reptile, the monster licking its mouth pleased. Awful crunching noises eminated
from the creature, with just a small hint of a gooshing sound with it. A fire within Jade's
soul now burned, turning itself into a raging inferno. They had killed him. Umbrella had killed
another innocent soul. Someone she had come to know that night, someone she had actually come
to really like an appreciate. Everything they could have done together to stop Umbrella had
been taken in a flash. In an instant the future of Kyle Corcoran had been stolen and would
never be given back. Jade could not stand this. Not Kyle. It was wrong. Not Kyle. She could not
handle this. As if a branched had snapped, Jade screamed loudly, letting off several shots at
the Reptile. The unholy demon screamed in angered agony, jumping at her with its remaining
strength. It fell short of her, but was able to slice her leg. Now with blood oozing from two
wounds, Jade's anger grew more. Before the creature could get up, Jade unloaded the rest of her
rounds into the creature. Killing it a million deaths. For her, it could never die enough.
There were no amount of deaths that would make this situation right. The fight against Umbrella
had lost yet another valuable asset, and Jade had lost a new friend. Sorrow overcame her soul,
and she collapsed to the fog enshrouded ground. Slowly blood oozed from her wounds, pooling on
the ground, mixing with the pool of the Reptiles blood. Sitting in this pool of blood, Jade
dropped her gun an stared up at the sky. Maybe she was searching for some answer to why this
had to happen. Why Kyle? Why hadn't someone stopped Umbrella already? Why her? Anger at herself
for letting her guard down, and extreme sorrow for losing Kyle, eventually broke down Jade so
far that she began to cry. Warm tears streaming down her face as she kept searching the
expansive heavens for an answer.

"WHYY?!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, afterwards collapsing into a sobbing mess
in her lap.

The twinkling diamonds of the sky and the pearly moon gave no answer to her question,
leaving the question hanging in the air. Jade staying in this cold pool of blood, now mixing
with her own tears for a good few minutes, only faintly hearing the calling of a horse in the
distance. Through her sobbing she only could grasp fragments. They hadn't found the horses
while they were out there. What were the horses for? At that point, Jade Brant didn't care. The
evil laughter and neighing of the horse could wait for someone else. Even if there was a
Headless Horseman, it didn't matter. Jade had found hers, and it had taken one last life. The
laughter of an apparition in the distance, coupled with the cries of the horse, were carried
away in the wind, along with Jade's tearful sobs.

Epilogue: Obituary

Taken from the Sleepy Hollow Tribune:

"DETECTIVE OF THE SLEEPY HOLLOW POLICE FOUND DEAD IN WESTERN WOODS

Body of Dectective Kyle Corcoran of the Sleepy Hollow police department was found early
this morning by a church member who had wandered into the Western Woods. Corcoran had been
working on the now dubbed 'Headless Horseman' case of the deaths of several Umbrella workers
this town. Detective Corcoran had been found decapitated, his only identification his badge
still on him. Officer Wayne Bouquet had been the last to see Detective Corcoran alive,
commenting that he was with a woman at the time. The woman, identified by Officer Bouquet,
Coroner Walter Harris, and civilian Joe Taylor, as Jade Brant was assisting Detective Corcoran
on his investigation. She had been hired by Mr. Taylor to solve the case of recent decapitation
deaths. Ms. Brant was not found, and is presumed to be dead in the same manner as he was. Since
the discovery of Dectective Corcoran's body, the mysterious deaths in town have ceased to a
halt. All that can be pieced together is that Detective Corcoran and Ms. Brant had found the
killers and put them to justice, but the bodies have yet to be found. The investigation for the
bodies of the killers and Ms. Brant will continue when possible. For now there are no plans for
a funeral for Ms. Brant. Mysteriously, the car she had driven into town with is missing and
police are still looking for it. Detective Corcoran's funeral is scheduled for this Saturday at
the Old Sleepy Hollow Church. For now the case is appearantly closed, but at the cost of one
of our finest."

The End