CHAPTER 1

Locke awoke in his apartment, lying on his bed. He looked over at his clock only to be blinded by the light which shone through his window. Eyes now clenched he rolled back over and looked at his cell phone. 7:27 it displayed. 'Shit, I've gotta get going...' he thought as he arose from his place of slumber and moved sluggishly into the bathroom. Despite it being eighty degrees outside the bathroom was still terribly cold. As his feet touched the linoleum floor his entire body shivered. He could tell that today was going to be a very long day.

After preforming his morning ritual and eating anything he could scrounge up in the kitchen Locke got in his car and departed from his home in the suburbs. Locke was currently en route to his high school, Raccoon City High School. He was a senior there and was going to graduate two months from now in May. His phone vibrated from the cup holder. Locke wasn't too fond of texting while driving but when he checked his phone it was from his best friend Anthony. Sighing, Locke opened the text and pulled into the parking lot of his school.

"Hey dude where the fuck are you, Sosa isn't here today so 1st n 2nd periods are free"

Locke laughed slightly at this. He loved the first half of his day because he and a few of the other AP students had a mentor ship program where they could research and do an analysis of any subject they chose. Locke got out of his convertible and started to head towards his classroom.

RCHS had a strange layout. It was composed of eight square-ish buildings placed in the shape of an octagon. Each of the buildings was about twenty feet apart from the other creating a somewhat enclosed middle courtyard area where students could hang out for lunch. The courtyard was filled with trees and grass making the scene very peaceful. Each building had its own dedication to one particular thing. There was the cafeteria, gym, the science wing which had to be separate from the other classes due to hazardous chemicals, the AP wing and the other four buildings were filled with general classrooms.

Locke made his way into the AP wing and went up the steep staircase and into room 104-B. He turned the handle which was cold to the touch for some odd reason and entered the room.

"Eyy, bout fuckin' time dude." Anthony said from one of the tables that were scattered around the room.

Locke took a seat next to his friend and looked around the classroom.

"Uh, where the hell is everyone?" Locke said looking around only seeing four other students sitting around in the class.

"Dunno," the blond said to Locke "seven people missing today. It's a bit odd."

"Yeah.." replied Locke. The green eyed student looked around the class seeing his friends he's known since childhood. Ryan, who was a bit younger than everyone because he skipped third grade. He was a pretty neat guy who always offered good conversation and good ideas due to his creativity. Lidia, a girl with dark hair and fair skin. Her eyes were green, the same as Locke's though hers had more depth to them so to speak. She was probably the smartest person that anybody in the room knew and was incredible in science. Alyssa, a shorter brunette who was very athletic and did multiple sports. Locke never really liked her due to how stuck up and dramatic she was. Locke looked at the last man sitting in the room. Locke hadn't known this guy for too long because this man transferred from another city at the beginning of the year. What he did know was that the mans name was John and was eighteen, like Locke. John was a man of a larger build proving to be very strong and muscular. He was also very smart from what Locke has seen.

Anthony spoke up breaking Locke's concentration on the others in the room.

"There were a lot of kids looking sick today.." Anthony said somewhat concerned.

"Yeah, I hear the hospitals are getting overflowed with patients lately." Locke responded.

"Hope its nothing too bad" Anthony said in a worried tone. Locke knew that Anthony worried about things like this.

"I'm sure everything will be alright" Locke said in attempt to calm his friend. He looked down and saw Anthony's leg twitching a bit under the table.

The duo were sitting at the table, both unwilling to create a conversation due to the awkward silence that overtook them. There was some whispering between Lidia and John when they both walked over to the table Locke and Anthony were sitting at. They both took a seat, Lidia sitting across from Locke and John next to her.

"So what's up?" the dark haired girl asked Locke.

"Nothing really, just kind of tired." replied the young man.

"What do you guys think about everyone being gone? Think those creatures got 'em?" the girl asked sticking her tongue out obviously joking. She could tell that this was something she should not have brought up after seeing Anthony tense up a bit and give a slight shudder.

"It's nothing. Just the flu or something" John said, also seeing Anthony's reaction and trying to reassure him that everything is okay. Locke nodded in agreement and Anthony looked up a bit feeling a bit more relieved.

"So..." Lidia said trying to change the subject. "Everyone's going to that ski thing up in the mountains for honor students, right?"

"Yeah," Locke replied quickly "I've already got my shit ready for this weekend. I think the next two days are going to take forever though.." he said with a bit of sadness in his voice. Locke was excited for the ski trip that he was going to with his friends on Friday. It was only Wednesday so he knew he still had some time to wait but he was just restless. Locke loved to snowboard and just be away from the house. He found that it got lonely at times in a cold dark house. He had no parents, no bothers, no sisters, nobody. He didn't like talking about what happened to his parents and everybody he knew knew not to ask him about it. All he wanted to do was just go up to a cabin with about thirty other people and have fun.

"I've got my stuff all ready" said Anthony who was quick to jump on the subject change. "Plus we'll be far away from Raccoon."

"Its only up in north Arklay.." said John who was being practical about the situation.

Raccoon City was surrounded by mountains on each side except for the west. John knew that Anthony was worried about all the weird shit going on in the south Arklay mountains and saw that going north was a good thing. It was only about an eighty mile distance between the two mountain ridges but to Anthony, it was like a vast ocean separating him from the evil that is happening in south Arklay.

"I know," replied the blond "but it's better than being here in the city."

"True." Lidia replied quickly.

The bell rang for the class to end. After what had seemed like a short time the period was over and everyone had to go to their classes and actually do some work. The bells continued to ring until everyone had left the school complex and was headed home. Locke had gotten home after going out to eat with Anthony and Lidia at a pizza place located near the school. They all had fun going around in Locke's mustang. The weather was nice enough to keep the top down. Locke had enjoyed his day and finally got home around eight. This was later than his usual time.

He drove up to his driveway and opened the garage, the sound of the metallic barrier moving along the treads filled the quiet night. He drove in and parked the car and the light of the sunset left his face when he became covered by the garage. Locke got out and walked to his room, exhausted. He flopped on his bed, the springs making small squeaky noises that would not have been audible if it weren't for this quietness that filled the air. The quiet bothered Locke for some reason. It reminded him that he was alone and to quell this feeling he grabbed a small remote he left on his nightstand and pressed the play arrow and instantly the house was filled with music.

Music helped Locke in his struggle that was life. He found comfort in it. It was soothing. Every note that was played, every tone that was heard, every beat that followed filled him with a sense of joy. It was a strange part of his life that he didn't truly discover until his parents had died.

He laid back in his bed removing his clothing and slipping under the covers in nothing but his boxers. His head hit the pillow and he was overcome by sleep.