The Dark Side of the City

A three-part story by Mitsuki Hoshiko

Part One: Her Fears

Prologue: The Business of Life

Disclaimer: I do not own the Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City, or anything in this that had already been defined by the Resident Evil franchise. Those rights belong to Capcom and its respective title owners. I like reviews; they keep me going. But please, constructive criticism only. Flames will be ignored or deleted (if they're particularly annoying).

Inspiration for this (and consequently the dedication of this series) go to Hello Captain, Shak, and the other writers on here who've made me feel so special. This is for you guys. Enjoy!

The logo says it all, really. That little slogan that's given out every time the company's mentioned. "Our business is life itself." Everyone in this city knows it, has heard it a million times on television. But nobody really knew just how right that single line was. Oh yeah, the Umbrella Corporation's in the business of life. Both of bettering it… and ending it.

But I never bought the stories when they first came out. I mean, really, even to a hotshot novelist like me, they sounded like the makings of a crazy fever nightmare. Gangs of people attacking hikers in the Arklay Mountains? Corpses turning up with bite marks on them? All those eerie monsters said to be roaming the hills outside Raccoon? It wasn't exactly the best thing to hear right before going home, let me tell you. Especially when you're three bottles into a booze run and that guy at the bar next to you is looking more handsome with each minute.

Nah, forget I said that. It isn't anything. Just me rambling on again. I tend to do that.

I also tend to forget to introduce myself. Sorry about that. The name's Cassandra Ninde. But I go by Kes; it's an old family nickname that just kinda stuck one day and never came off again. Right now, it's just my non-de plume. My writer's handle. I haven't actually managed to write much, but I'm busy working on my next book.

It's about the RPD. To be specific, the STARS branch of the RPD. They're a tough, rag-tag bunch, so I figured what the heck? Why not write about them? It doesn't hurt that there's always at least one of them hanging around at J's Bar after work. Go on, chat one up the next time you're there. I guarantee that you'll get your ear talked right off your head. That Redfield guy in particular just never seems to shut up.

I never thought much about what I was writing. It was just a cutesy little "true life" story the publishers eat up so much lately. A few interviews, maybe a couple footnotes, and hey presto, I'm knee-deep in money. I was going to interview only the most important ones. The STARS right at the top of the food chain, you know? And none of them's bigger than the leader: Albert Wesker.

Only I didn't know just how big the guy was. And I didn't know that the guy had connections. Connections of the most unsavory sort. Which wound up leading me right to the biggest story of my life.

Yeah, Umbrella's business is life. The perversion of it. And as you're gonna see, that's not all they're up to.