Thousands Killed as Fire Sweeps Through Mountain Community. Mysterious Illness May Be Involved *
Associated Press
6 October, 1998
NEW YORK, NY – The secluded mountain community of Raccoon City, PA, has officially been declared a disaster area by state and federal officials, as dedicated firefighters continue to wage war against the dying blazes and the death toll continues to rise. It is now estimated that over seven thousand people were killed by the explosive fires that raged through Raccoon in the early hours of Sunday, October 4. It is being called the worst U.S. disaster in terms of lives lost since the industrial age, and as national aid organizations and international press flock to the blockades surrounding the still burning ruins of the city, shocked friends and family of Raccoon citizens have been gathering, waiting for word in nearby Latham.
National Disaster Control (NDC) Director Terrence Chavez, coordinator for the combined efforts of the multiple firefighting and emergency teams, released a statement to the press last night stating that barring unforeseen complications, he expects the last of the flames to be extinguished before midweek – but that it may be months before the origin of the fire is determined, as well as whether or not arson was involved. Said Chavez, "The magnitude of the damage in terms of area alone is going to make finding the answers a great undertaking, but the answers are there. We will get to the bottom of this, whatever it takes."
As of 6 A.M. today, seventy-eight survivors have been found, and their names and conditions withheld; they have been transported to an undisclosed federal facility for observation and/or treatment. Initial reports by HazMat teams suggest that an unknown illness may be responsible for the incredible number of victims, as infected citizens were unable to escape due to the possibly incapacitating sickness. There is the further suggestion that the disease may have included violent psychosis in some of those infected. Members of private and federal disease–control centers have called for extending the quarantine boundaries, and although no official statement has been released, there have been several "leaked" descriptions of physical and biological abnormalities in many of the victims. Said one source, a worker for a federal assessment team, "Some of those people weren't just burned or dead from smoke inhalation. I saw people who'd been killed by gunshot wounds or stabbings, [and] other forms of violence. I saw people who'd obviously been sick, dead, or dying long before the fire ever hit. The fire was bad – terrible – but it's not the only disaster that occurred there, I'd bet money on it."
Raccoon city was in the news earlier this year when a series of unusual murders rocked the community. These were apparently unmotivated slayings, of extreme violence, and several involved cannibalism; already, tentative connections are being made by the local press near Raccoon between the eleven unsolved murders from last summer and the rumors of mass violence prior to the consuming flames.
Mr. Chavez refused to confirm or deny the rumors, saying only that investigations into the tragedy will be thorough…
Terrorist Attack on U.S. Soil
News Weekly
18 October, 1998
WASHINGTON D.C., MD – The disaster of astronomical proportions – fires sweeping the Raccoon Valley, PA and leaving over 7200 people dead – are now pronounced by NDC as "intentional". It is now being deemed the work of terrorists, possibly affiliated with Al–Queda or any number of other organizations in the Middle East. There are many disputes breaking out over in Congress whether or not terrorists are responsible for such an act of violence against the United States, and for what motivation.
All available aid has been sent to the area, and NDC director Terrence Chavez is assuring the public that the situation is "being dealt with." However, he refused to comment on the reports of a serious epidemic that claimed the lives of several thousand individuals in the Raccoon Valley before the fire ever hit. Symptoms of this "Raccoon syndrome" include rapid cell disintegration and a steady loss of mental capacity. Bizarre reports of primitive cannibalism are also trickling in from the local press, but those pertaining to the most serious – and current – cases are being kept extremely hushed.
"This is a serious situation," said President Clinton from the Oval Office yesterday morning, addressing this incident of national concern. "If we let terrorists just come in and knock out the chief cities in our country and then do nothing about it, then the attacks will become frequent and many, many more lives will be lost. This attack will be answered."
"It is a black mark on our Government's record to realize that it took us several weeks to notice that something was wrong in Raccoon," said Chavez, referring to the origin of the disaster in late September. "Only after the city was razed did we finally step in. It is my hope that such blatant disregard for public safety will be avoided in the future." As early as yesterday, police and rescue squads are combing through the still–burning rubble of Raccoon in the hopes of locating any survivors, although the searchers' hopes remain relatively low.
Said one reporter affiliated with Associated Press, it is being called the "worst U.S. disaster in terms of lives lost since the industrial age". The Raccoon Valley has been effectively blockaded as residents in the immediate vicinity of Raccoon City itself are evacuated and checked for this "Raccoon Sickness" and any other abnormalities.
As far as what actions will commence, President Clinton has not made comment. Cabinet officials are refusing to answer any questions, although it is said that the President plans on recruiting the help of a certain agency that has national popularity, the S.T.A.R.S. Special Tactics And Rescue Service, to aid in the tracking down of the responsible terrorists. The S.T.A.R.S., a privately funded organization, are a branch of special police, skilled in riot control and search–and–rescue operations, but their mission prerogatives also include managing terrorist activity. The organization was in the news recently when a branch of its task force in Raccoon, PA was suspended after a drug–related incident involving a helicopter crash and the resulting deaths of six team members. Incidentally, this team of S.T.A.R.S. had been involved in a multiple homicide investigation this past July in the Raccoon Valley. S.T.A.R.S. Director Marco Palmieri (from S.T.A.R.S. HQ in New York, NY) refused to answer questions concerning the possible relation between this "Raccoon syndrome" and the earlier investigation of the Raccoon murders…
Raccoon S.T.A.R.S. Special Police Team Remains Unaccounted
The World Today
27 October, 1998
PHILADELPHIA, PA – S.T.A.R.S. [Special Tactics And Rescue Service] assistant director Tom Kurtz issued a brief statement addressing the fact that the Raccoon Branch of the S.T.A.R.S. is still unaccounted for as cleanup in the Raccoon Valley, PA continues. Said Kurtz, "We have reason to believe that they were attacked in their homes prior to the bombing of Raccoon by unknowns, but we don't know whether [or not] there were any casualties sustained in their numbers. The fact remains that we have no clue where any of them are now. It was rumored that a number of them have left the United States, but there is no evidence to back this claim. Since Raccoon has been destroyed, we have every reason to believe that they died in either the bombing or the strange epidemic that hit the Raccoon Valley."
The S.T.A.R.S. organization has received notable honors for services to the country over the years although they remain largely unknown. Founded in New York in 1967, the privately funded S.T.A.R.S. organization was originally created as a measure against cult-affiliated terrorism by a group of retired military officials and ex-field operatives from both the CIA and FBI. Under the guidance from former NSDA (National Security and Defense Agency) director Marco Palmieri, the group quickly expanded its services to include everything from hostage negotiation to code breaking to riot control. Working with local police agencies, each branch office of the S.T.A.R.S. is designed to work as a complete unit in itself. **
The Raccoon branch personnel, all of whom were suspended under previously withheld litigations (i.e. drug abuse and questionable mental stability), are now counted as casualties of this disastrous terrorist attack. The deceased members of the Raccoon S.T.A.R.S. team are listed as follows:
Bravo Squad ––Chambers, Rebecca; Sullivan, Kenneth; Speyer, Forest; Aiken, Richard; Marini, Enrico (Captain)
Alpha Squad –– Burton, Barry; Valentine, Jill; Redfield, Christopher; Frost, Joseph; Wesker, Albert (Captain)
Raccoon Valley, Pennsylvania Remains Volatile
The World Today
10 November, 1998
PHILADELPHIA, PA – The NSDA quarantine of the Victory District – as well as the remains of Raccoon City itself – remains ineffective. Cases of this "Raccoon syndrome" are appearing as far as Montgomery and Philadelphia, despite Umbrella Biohazard's best efforts. Diseased survivors of the fire that razed Raccoon to the ground are slipping past police lines, even attacking them. Police have been ordered to kill on sight, to "ensure the safety of the surrounding communities," according to Terrence Chavez, Director of National Disaster Control (NDC).
The "cannibal virus", which has been revealed to spread primarily through bodily fluids or virus–tainted water, remains untreatable, reducing hosts to mindless shadows of their former selves as their bodies rapidly begin deteriorating. According to experts, the violent and cannibalistic tendencies are due to the rapid loss of brain functionality: says Mark Surrey (Ph.D. in virology, researcher with Umbrella Inc.), "The human mind runs on desire, and despite the fact that these poor people have been reduced to zombies for all intents and purposes, they still have some capacity for understanding their physical needs. The primary necessity is sustenance." Surrey and his HazMat team of researchers have been venturing into the Raccoon ruins to perform firsthand research.
The Biohazard division of Umbrella Inc., which has been working closely with NDC since the beginning of the crisis, was recently given permission to venture into the "hot zone" to begin an investigatory cleanup. These HazMat teams – like Surrey's – have been retrieving evidence on the viral outbreak, the most serious proponent of the disaster. According to Umbrella authorities, the epidemic began perhaps weeks before fire even started, even if symptoms were not immediately apparent. According to Surrey, it was "almost a good thing that the fire hit Raccoon when it did, because most of the virus carriers – for whom we could have done little or nothing – were killed in the blaze. This fact alone has reduced the potential spread of the virus literally by half."
And yet, the threat – and spread – of the epidemic still remain increasingly serious. Umbrella has deemed the atmosphere in Raccoon as "stable", as the airborne strain of the virus has apparently died out, but it remains dangerous in the Valley. Intimate contact with anyone infected is almost a guaranteed infection, as no one so far has shown any type of immunity to this virus. The infected show only aggressive tendencies, preying upon anything and anyone alive or dead. Although many bodies have been brought in for biopsies – all handled by Umbrella's biohazard division – there have been no statements issued as yet on more complex details of this epidemic.
Umbrella Pharmaceutical Announces Construction of New Research Facility
Times
21 December, 1998
CHARLESTON, SC – President of Umbrella Enterprises, Kennedy Hall (57), announced today that construction of a brand new research plant in West Virginia has been approved by zoning commissioners, and the opening stages are to commence on the 19th of January in the new year. "In light of the recent tragedy to hit the Raccoon Valley," said Hall in his speech thanking the FDA and the Board of Health, "the government has sanctioned this project and given us the most generous grant we have ever received in the history of Umbrella Biologics. To honor such a gift, we are devoting this new facility entirely to the study of virology, so as to counter the epidemic in Pennsylvania and to prepare America for any possible type of viral or bacterial outbreak in the future."
This research lab, the twenty-ninth Umbrella plant stateside, is estimated to cost approximately 12.7 million dollars and will not be completed until sometime in June of 2000. Fears of Y2K to be addressed…
Woman Escapes Assault
World News
18 January, 1999
PHILADELPHIA, PA – A normal winter day in Petersville, Pennsylvania: sunny, cold, peaceful. Ms. Josephine May had just gotten back from the grocery store and was unloading the family minivan when she "felt a prickle up my spine and turned to find a man standing there, breathing heavily and swaying back and forth." According to Ms. May, when she demanded to know who the man was, he made no reply, but stared at her "with bloodshot eyes, drooling and gasping like he couldn't breathe." Naturally, Ms. May ran into the house and called local police, but by the time they had arrived, the mysterious man was gone, although Ms. May was sure he couldn't have gone far, considering the state he was in.
This is not the first incident of its kind: dozens of people in Maine, Connecticut, and New Jersey have had encounters with potentially dangerous individuals – none of them in their right minds. Local police have made several arrests, but the men they have taken into custody have been mysteriously released, raising considerable protests from local courts. Many believe that these encounters are being kept hush–hush, and that the police have not yet found the real "culprits", if they can be called as such. Many others are suspicious of a connection between these attacks and the disaster to befall the Raccoon Valley in the summer just last year…
* taken from Resident Evil: Underworld by S. D. Perry
** taken from Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy by S. D. Perry
