Outbreak

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Resident Evil Outbreak or any of the characters depicted in this fic.

Author's Note: This fic is sort of my take on the 'Outbreak' scenario from Resident Evil Outbreak. This goes off the idea that the group has more time between the initial outbreak at the bar and their escape and that the eight aren't just random strangers. Also, items from the game might be in different places, some doors that are locked in the game aren't here and most importantly, there's a door to the staff room - I can only pray it all makes sense once you begin reading.

This hints at Alyssa/David, Cindy/Kevin and a little at Jim/Yoko and mentions one-sided George/Cindy and Will/Cindy so if you don't like, don't read and please don't flame.

I hope everyone enjoys and please remember to review.

"Give me another one, Will." Alyssa demanded, slamming her shot glass on the counter.

The bartender shot her a concerned look but relented - it wasn't his job to question.

Someone thought it was what their paycheck depended on though for as Will was filling her glass, the stool beside her became occupied and the man who sat in her company chuckled as he signaled for a glass of his own.

"Rough day at the office?" The man asked, nodding a thanks to Will as his drink was set in front of him.

The young blonde laughed dryly and downed her drink in one gulp, hiccupping before she answered. "Ben Bertolucci stole my promotion right out from under me," she groaned, grabbing the glass from her acquaintance and downing it before he could even protest.

"Maybe he was better qualified," Will suggested weakly, reluctantly pouring her another glass as was demanded by way of a nasty glare and a frustrated gesture.

A jaded and unladylike snort escaped the young reporter as she reached for her new drink. "I've got references and experience coming out of my ass and he's only got a rap sheet as long as my fingernail! That was my promotion and everyone at the paper knows it."

Her companion swiped the drink from her hand before the glass could reach her lips and pointedly ignored the dirty look that was sent his way. "I think you've had enough."

"Look Dad, I'm a grown woman and I say when I've had enough."

A growl escaped the man to her left and Will took that as his cue to leave, David wouldn't be letting her drink anymore tonight, he was sure of it; his work was done.

Will never understood the relationship between the mysterious plumber and the tough as nails reporter and he didn't try to - whatever they had between them obviously worked otherwise they wouldn't have been together for two years. Now the nature of "being together" had never been fully explained but it was obviously worth it or they wouldn't even bother, right?

Shaking his head and moving down the bar, Will caught sight of Officer Ryman attempting to romance Cindy the waitress. He felt a stab of jealousy when he noticed the young blonde blushing as she lightly touched the cop's arm and said something that made the both of them laugh and, looking around the bar, he noticed Doctor Hamilton glaring at them in envy as well.

Not being able to stand the obvious flirting, Will turned away to look over the rest of his customers - make sure they were taken care of and happy.

Jim the subway worker and Yoko the college intern were talking at a corner table - they hadn't come in together, they never did but they always ended up at the same table, conversing quietly. Turning his eyes to the far end of the bar, he saw Mark and Bob sharing dialogue over a couple of beers but they seemed content and he found that there was nothing to do but observe the life around him.

Alyssa and David were now in a heated conversation, no longer discussing the merits of her job experience and the injustice of Ben Bertolucci's promotion but more than likely engaged in their newest acquaintance/friend/lover spat.

Will didn't concern himself with idle gossip but the last he'd heard, straight from the staff room floor, was that Alyssa had invited him to the seasonal party at the paper last week but he'd had to work only to find out later that she'd gone with a fellow employee - a male employee.

The staff room gossips were never wrong.

Word around J's was that he'd flown off the handle and they hadn't spoken civilly since and, from the looks of their little talk, Will didn't find that hard to believe.

His attention was stolen from the quarreling pair as the door swung open and a man came stumbling in. At first glance he looked homeless - clothes torn, face and arms dirty, moving in a sickly manner - but his eyes were what concerned Will. They were glazed, blank and lifeless. That unseeing stare made him uncomfortable and he wanted the man gone.

Setting down the bottle of scotch he'd unknowingly been holding since tending to Alyssa, he walked out from behind the counter and over to the man. "Can I help you?" He questioned timidly - he looked even worse up close.

The man said nothing but let out an agonized groan and lunged forward, grasping Will by the shoulders in an iron grip and pulling him forward. The next thing Will knew, he was on the floor bleeding profusely from the neck with a sick-looking Bob leaning over him, a concerned look on his face, while Mark crouched over the man who'd attacked him. He was also bleeding but it certainly seemed direr than his own situation and, by the gun in Mark's hand, Will could only guess that he'd been forced to shoot him.

"Are you alright?" Bob questioned but Will couldn't find it in him to speak so he just nodded weakly.

Alyssa and Cindy were busy pushing one of the two large, decorative barrels in front of the door to the bar while David and Kevin pulled the other out from the wall and pushed it over and in front of the one by the door.

Will wanted to ask why but he still couldn't find his voice so he just settled for observing.

Bob was unsuccessfully trying to help him to his feet while the good doctor was making his way over to them and Mark stood, still examining the fallen stranger. David and Kevin were taking Alyssa and Cindy back to the bar to calm them down and Jim and Yoko still sat at their table conversing quietly, albeit a little more anxious than before.

At last his eyes tiredly trailed to the large window that made up a good portion of the front wall of the bar and saw that there were at least a dozen more people that looked like the stranger outside and suddenly everything came together.

George and Bob finally managed to get him to his feet and were now leading him over to a table near the bar with Mark in tow.

"So..." Kevin began, looking at Mark expectantly.

"He's dead." The older man confirmed solemnly, shaking his head as he took a seat beside the young cop. "There was obviously something wrong with him though, any fool could see that."

"And what about them?" David inquired gruffly, nodding to the window.

"What about them?" Kevin shot back. "They're obviously a threat."

David rolled his eyes and opened his mouth but before he could speak, a serious of loud thumps came from the window and the group looked up to see the many zombie-like creatures beating on the glass. "We gotta find some way to cover up the window so they can't see us. If they get anymore riled, we could be in serious trouble."

Kevin nodded and stood from his seat at the bar, slowly spinning in place, silently searching the room for something to cover the window with.

"I've got it!"

The sudden exclamation made David jump and turn to glare at Cindy, who paid him no mind.

"We were making some repairs upstairs - there's a pile of eight by tens and two or three nail guns in the staff room."

Alyssa smirked and reached over to pat the younger woman on the back. "That's using your head, Blondie." She laughed snidely, sarcasm mixing with a faint hint of relief.

Cindy, not catching the jibe, smiled and grabbed the other blonde's hand and began dragging her to the stairs that led to the second floor.

Kevin and David both let out a laugh - Kevin at Cindy's enthusiasm, David at the tortured look on Alyssa's face - as the cop turned to Mark. "King and I will go up and help them bring the stuff down, you hold down the fort here."

The war vet nodded and glanced at the window warily as the cop and the plumber followed the girls.

"What about the rest of us?" George questioned, following the two to the stairs.

"Someone needs to watch after Sisqo and the kid," David ground out, quickly losing patience.

Kevin let out an affirmative "yeah" and, at the unsure look on the doctor's face, took his gun from the holster on his hip. "And if Will or Bob even begin to look like one of those freaks, don't hesitate to shoot 'em." He informed, handing his piece over and briefly putting a comforting hand on the older man's shoulder as he gulped loudly before turning to the stairs and motioning for David to follow.

The two men made their way quietly up the stairs, not sure what they'd find but not taking any chances.

David grunted as they arrived at the staff room and found the eight by tens propped up against the wall.

"Well here's the wood," Kevin started, looking around.

David nodded and moved one of the boards with his foot to find a nail gun lying underneath the pile. "And here's the gun but where are the girls?"

"We can find them later; right now we need to get this stuff downstairs before those things break through the window."

The darker man shrugged and bent over, reaching for the wood at their feet before spotting a figure looming just beyond the door. Squinting, he noticed that the figure's face looked rotted and winced as it groaned. "Ryman," he whispered, jerking his head in the direction of the figure, who passed by the door without taking notice of them.

Kevin looked up and turned his head in the direction of David's stare, eyes widening as he caught sight of the shuffling figure in the hall. He slowly reached for the door and brought it closed as quietly as possible, breathing a sigh of relief when no banging started from the other side.

"Considerin' that one of those things is up here, I think we'd better worry about the girls now."

Kevin nodded and immediately started for one of the many doors that lined the stretch of hall leading to the main part of the staff room but David pulled him back. "Not so fast, Boy Wonder," he started in a serious tone. "You left your iron downstairs with the Doc - do you really think it's a good idea to wander around up here without somethin' to defend yourself with?"

David didn't wait for an answer as he made his way further into the room and cautiously looked around. After a moment, he walked over to a long table situated in the middle of everything and picked up a pipe before walking back to Kevin and offering it to him.

"What are you going to do?" The younger man asked, watching as the plumber produced a knife from the belt at his waist and held it up for him to see.

"Never go anywhere without it." He informed with a sneer, motioning to the door Kevin had been ready to enter just moments before. "Be careful and whistle if you find 'em - we'll meet back here."

The two nodded and parted ways as Kevin entered the locker room and David made his way to the owner's room.

"'Lyssa, Blondie?" David called, cautiously moving through the room and back to the balcony.

There was a figure slouched in the furthest corner against the railing and, against his better judgment, he made his way over to it.

He stood in front of the figure for a moment, examining the body as thoroughly as he could without bending down into grasping distance should the figure decide to move. After minutes of silence, he nudged the person's foot with his shoe but the figure did not stir.

The clothes were clean and crisp, the body not rotting like the others so David had to assume that what claimed this person was not what ailed the others or this person was newly afflicted.

Suddenly the body shifted and groaned, prompting a curse from the plumber and causing him to take a step back. When the body moved again, David turned and made his way back to the staff room - no use sticking around and ending up like the others.

"Girls?" Kevin began, taking a step into what looked to be a locker room.

The sound of something shifting against metal on the left side of the room answered him and he immediately honed his attention to that row of lockers.

"Come on, girls - David and I are worried and you know how un-cool it is when we agree. This isn't funny." He playfully reprimanded as he made his way over to where the sound had come from.

Whatever inhabited the lockers moved again and a smirk made its way onto Kevin's face as he zeroed in on which locker was emitting the noise.

"This really isn't the time for games, Cindy..." he laughed, reaching for the handle of the locker and swinging it open.

The sight that greeted him wasn't what he expected and he took a small step back as he came face to face with a rotting body, much like the ones outside.

"You're not Cindy," he deadpanned, slamming the locker door and quickly heading back to the main room.

"Find anything?"

David sounded exhausted and looked even worse as he made his way over to Kevin.

"Nothing but a moving corpse, you?" Kevin sighed as the other man nodded and raked a hand through his hair while tightening his grip on the pipe in his other. "I guess I'll take this door," he stated wearily, gesturing to the drawing room with the pipe.

David silently crossed over to the door across the hall from the room Kevin had just exited and tried the door.

Heavy footsteps signaled Kevin's departure and return and David looked up to see the young man shaking his head in defeat.

"Well this door is locked," he explained with a note of frustration in his tone. "Which either means the girls couldn't get in or somethin' chased 'em in there - and takin' into account 'Lyssa's breakin' and enterin' skills and the fact that there's flesh eatin' zombies runnin' around..."

Kevin let out a disgruntled sound and stepped back as David pocketed his knife and rammed his shoulder into the door - it gave a little but not enough. Five tries later the door swung open and David cautiously entered the room.

No sooner had he stepped through the door did a loud clank ring out and something went whizzing by his shoulder and flew into the wall behind him at an angle, his arm narrowly escaping certain damage.

He turned and looked at the wall to find a nail embedded deep in the sheetrock before spinning around to find Alyssa standing halfway up the stairs, holding a nail gun out like a weapon with Cindy cowering behind her, backed as far into the wooden door at the top of the stairwell as possible.

A sigh of relief escaped the pretty reporter and she lowered the nail gun as Cindy rushed down the stairs, launching herself at Kevin, who had come to stand beside David somewhere in all the excitement.

"Those things, they..." She sobbed, head falling to his shoulder as he brought his arms up around her.

"I know but its okay." Kevin assured leading Cindy back into the staff room, giving Alyssa and David a little bit of privacy.

Silence reigned as the two looked at each other - Alyssa just happy to see him while David swiftly checked her over for injuries.

"You okay," he inquired softly, taking notice of a gash across the left side of her face, resting right above her cheekbone.

The blonde nodded indifferently, her mask quickly slipping back into place as she walked down the steps and made to skirt around him. A strong hand shot out and gently gripped her wrist as David brought her back around to face him, pushing her against the wall and trapping her there with his arms.

"It's okay to be scared, you know," he informed, husky voice tinged with fatigue and concern.

Blue eyes looked up at him blankly for a moment before their owner nodded and let her head drop forward. A well placed hand lifted her face but her eyes wouldn't meet his and he had to bend down to achieve the eye contact he wanted.

"I'm here now," he assured gruffly, voice taking on a rough quality as he took in her reluctance to talk to him. "I'm not goin' to let anythin' happen to you - you know that, don't you?"

Her only response was another nod and he sighed at her lack of cooperation. She never liked to show weakness to anyone but he was different, or at least he'd thought so.

After a moment or so of staring at each other in silence, David finally grunted and began to move away from her - he couldn't help her if she wouldn't let him in. A weak grip on his arm stopped his retreat and he looked back to see fearful and suspiciously shiny eyes staring up at him. "Please don't leave me..."

His arms immediately came about her and she instantly melted into him, body fitting against his perfectly. Sure their personalities clashed and they fought a lot but this - the times when they were both on the same page - made it all worth it.

Someone cleared their throat from behind the two and David shifted a little so that he could see Kevin, never once letting Alyssa out of his hold.

"I hate to break this up but we really need to get back downstairs."

"We should take care of that little problem in the hall first," David reminded, using one hand to fish out his knife and offer it to Kevin.

The young cop nodded and once again left the two as he made his way out to the hall - minutes later he returned with a bloodied knife and a smile. "All taken care of."

The plumber let out an affirmative sound and reluctantly released Alyssa before leading her back into the staff room. "Let's get that stuff downstairs," he sighed, pulling the other nail gun from under the pile of wood and passing it back to Cindy as he and Kevin stacked as many boards as they dared and hauled them onto their shoulders, sharing the load.

"I'll back out," Kevin started. "Then we'll turn around in the hall and you go down first."

With that the four began their descent back down to the bar but just as they reached the landing of the stairs, the window broke sending glass everywhere and David reeled back as a slab of glass found its way into his arm. A zombie appeared in the destruction, reaching through the window for him as he stumbled against the wall, sending the pile he and Kevin supported off-balance.

Alyssa rushed forward before anyone else could react and shot a nail through the left temple of the undead figure; he disappeared, falling back from the force rather than from pain.

"Are you okay?" She asked, turning to David and briefly sending a concerned look in Kevin's direction as he struggled to regain his hold on the boards.

David grunted, straightening himself and the pile before turning to the blond. "I'm fine, you two just stay back until Ryman and I check everything out in the bar."

Alyssa looked as though she was about to protest but the sound of glass breaking in the bar cut her off. A chorus of moans followed soon after and David turned and cast a wary look at the door.

"Sounds like things are about to get interesting."

It's honestly quite ridiculous how long this took me to finish. I believe I began writing this around a year or two ago but it took me forever to end - nothing seemed to fit - but I'm finally pretty happy with it. I hope ya'll enjoy it as well, reviews are welcome.

-Pandora.