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Anew

Prologue: After Her


May 21, 2011 – 21:37

New Ardency, Montana, USA

...- - -...

This was reckless. Horribly, shamefully reckless.

But it wasn't like she had a choice at this point.

Blanketed by the scarce amount of shadow to be found in a sea of cars and floodlights, the woman worked in silence on the door nearest the building's dumpsters, her nostrils flaring every now and then at the smell of rotting hospital food that only compounded her reason for choosing this spot. Every news station, paper, blog and worried pedestrian within a twenty mile radius was here, trying to catch a glimpse of the chaos held within the quarantined building. If there was any spot they wouldn't bother to be around, the one lathered in spoiled milk and old eggs would have to be it.

Luckily enough for Jill Valentine—though "lucky" wasn't a word that could easily be attributed to the situation at hand—the chaos surrounding New Ardency Hospital was held back by a diligent, small town police force. Or collection of police forces, she assumed. Montana wasn't a particularly interesting source of national news most days—or most years. But when the quarantine hit, the news consumed the everydays of anyone who could point out New Ardency on a map like a summer wildfire. Six surrounding schools even cancelled classes today, on account of families' proximity to the quarantine. Sick mothers and uncles and baby cousins were stuck in there now, for nearly a full twenty-four hours thus far. Jill could only imagine what it must've felt like for someone to not know what was happening with her sick relative, or her mother who got stuck with a night shift one night prior. But for the moment, her imagination was held in check.

The new, modern white building stood in silence surrounded by disorganized mobs of impatient civilians, its exterior betraying the chaos that was likely carrying on inside. Windows had sealed themselves in a new age quarantine system, one instituted following the incredible virus outbreaks of which Jill had been all to aware in the past decade or so. However, cutting communications with the outside world wasn't one such fail safe. That happened. People stuck on the outside were oblivious to just what had happened, or was happening on the inside of the ivory, seven story tower. But with Raccoon City still in the minds of residents so close to the incident, it was safe to assume to where the general population's thoughts had jumped. When an entire hospital sealed its doors and windows to prevent anything from coming in or out, the situation was dire indeed.

However, even the newest of defenses had a failure, and Jill was busy working on one such fault. Skilled, pinkish white digits handled the lock picks, digging one long, skinny metallic piece into the keyhole while the other scooped around, trying to click each tiny slab down into place. The brunette, trademark ball cap shielding her eyes, tried not to make a habit of looking over her shoulder, but she couldn't help but check at least once or twice as her muscles twitched with a dangerous excitement, the kind that betrayed the mind that knew how dangerous the situation was. Adrenaline kept the woman on edge as she knelt on the cold concrete, the evening's chill trying to cool the beads of sweat that formed on the base of her neck. It was strange how an act she'd performed under pressure so many times before had suddenly left her in a batch of nerves. But then again, she'd never had such a personal rescue on her shoulders before.

Finally, she heard a final 'click'. Harmless and tiny, it pounded alongside her heartbeat in her ears like a fire alarm, as though its resonating sound would turn every head behind her. Expecting just such a happening, Jill swooped a glance over her surroundings again, leaning just enough to the side to look past the row of dumpsters, low ponytail flipping along her neck like a fluttering feather and nearly startling her into a jump. The skilled operative had never felt so nervous. Not since...

Valentine heaved a sigh without a sound, closing her eyes as she faced the newly unlocked door and mechanically slid her lock picks back into her utility pocket, which hung snugly from her belt. The task at hand was critical. Beyond critical. Every decision she made, every movement she chose, every second she wasted would lead to an ultimate, life-changing conclusion. She couldn't forget that. This may not be Uroboros or an entire Raccoon City, but on a personal level, it was more than either. It was more than the fight for her own life. It was more than worrying about Chris trying to be a superhero. It was more than finding a madman who'd haunted her dreams for over a decade.

It was so much more.

Without backup or proper knowledge of the situation into which she was hurling herself, the BSAA agent stood in a half-bent posture to stay inconspicuous in the shield of darkness and looked over her shoulder one last time as she pushed her weight down into the revolving handle and pulled. No alarm—no audible one, anyway—to her luck. No one had caught notice of her; no one had turned, pointed a finger and yelled for her. At least the mission didn't die right then and there.

Her eyes stuck on the disorganized mob of pedestrians and officers alike, Jill faded inside and let the door shut behind her with another inconsequential click.