The Outbreak Chronicles: Living for Today

Disclaimer: We don't own Resident Evil. We never will, so we'll just say this once.

SB: Hey guys! Just wanted to say how great it is to be in this splintery writing chair again. This is something of a spin-off from the Outbreak Chronicles series, started by sylphstarwind. If you wanna see that first story in this series, go to sylphstarwind's profile, or check the favorites of this profile.

SSW: To see the second part...check out the "stories authored" section of Team Biohazard's profile. Please note that this story will focus more on everyday life for the Outbreak characters rather than on action and Umbrella and such, and it will take place after the second installment of OBC. Now, on with the story!

Chapter One - Their Last Mission

It was happening again. He tried to stop it, to wake himself up, but it didn't work. It never did.

There were so many of them. He looked down from his place the catwalk above her, and saw the panicked look in Yoko's eyes as she fumbled with her magazine, cursing herself for being nervous in such a situation. It was then that David noticed that they were going to be on top of her before she'd even get the chance to aim. Scared and unable to think of anything else, he shot as many as he could from his makeshift sentry point atop the catwalk, not paying attention to anything except for the falling bodies, until he was out of bullets, and there was a semi-clear path to the ladder.

"Hurry!" was all he could manage to say.

She ran for the ladder, and his outstretched hand at the very top. Stepping over the body at it's base, she hurried up the ladder, but she had barely made it a third of the way up before she screamed in pain and surprise, and something out of David's line of vision had knocked her off balance, sending her back to the ground and giving her pursuers a few precious seconds to catch up.

Then he saw it - the body that Yoko had stepped over - it was one of them. It was what pulled her down, and now her ankle was bleeding and she couldn't stand up, as it crawled on top of her and continued to feed, eliciting another terrified and pain-filled scream from her lungs with each bite. And David somehow could only watch, knowing he could do nothing with an empty gun and being so vastly outnumbered. The rest had caught up by now, and David felt his strength leave his legs as he collapsed on the catwalk, not once taking his eyes from the scene below him. And then, there were so many on top of her, he couldn't see her anymore, could only tell she was alive because she still continued to scream. The last sound to escape her lips was a weak gasp, as her hand reached for him amidst the feeding frenzy, before it fell limply onto one of her attackers, then slid to the floor.

"...David..."

"Yoko..."

A hand gently shook his shoulder, a touch he'd come to get used to.

"Yes, David?"

He opened his eyes and looked over, seeing her in the driver's seat. She was alive, though she looked worried. He turned away, staring out the window.

"Sorry. It was just a dream," he said quietly.

"David, I know better than that. You've been having nightmares, haven't you?" Yoko asked in an equally quiet voice.

"It's nothing to worry about...," he said. But, he was worried, and he knew what he had to do. Clearing his throat, he added,

"...This meeting with Trent, it's just a courtesy thing."

Yoko looked confused. "What do you mean?"

David let out a long sigh. She wasn't going to take this well. "We're...going to tell him...thanks for the offer, but no."

"Why are we going to do that?" Yoko asked, putting the slightest emphasis on "we".

"Well, what's the sense in putting ourselves through more danger? I mean, you got shot last time. Do we really need the money that badly?"

"This isn't about the money, David. People need our help. We could help people to survive the outbreak. We could help bring Umbrella down. Isn't that worth the risk?"

He looked down into his lap, sadness and worry in his eyes. "Yoko..."

She glanced over again. "Is something on your mind?"

Another deep sigh. "Yeah, there is. I'm not sure I really want to risk your life again. I might make another stupid mistake, and that's not something I think I could handle..."

Yoko felt a mix of emotions. She smiled ruefully. "David, I know it's dangerous, and I'm touched that you want to protect me, but..."

David interrupted her, trying to sound completely defeated. "If it means that much to you...fine. One more. Just one. Consider it our honeymoon." A semi-confident, semi-worried smile played across his face.

"Thank you, David," she said, pecking him on the cheek as they pulled into the parking lot. That seemed to calm his worries for the time being, but he still couldn't shake the feeling of danger. Then again, he never could, ever since the Raccoon Incident. At least he was bound to sleep better tonight...

.o End of Chapter o.

SB: HOLY SHIT! DID WE JUST START WRITING A NEW STORY? TOGETHER!

SSW: Yeah, yeah. Just hope we can keep it up, and not fail like the last...oh, how many times?

SB: Hmmm... -counts on fingers, then looks down at his shoes- ...Damn, I knew I shoulda worn sandals today... Let's just say, "very many".

SSW: Well, I'm glad I'm a happy and optimistic person. Otherwise, this sort of thing might depress me, or make me want to quit. -Stares off into space-

SB:Yay for optimism! -dances- Wait, I'm forgetting something...

SSW: Asking the readers to review, maybe?

SB: No, that's not it... OH WAIT! That's right! Whatever happened between you and Wesker?

SSW: I'm keeping him in my basement.

SB: -stares-

SSW: I was too mean to him and he ran away, crying?

SB: -continues to stare-

SSW: Oh, fine, don't believe me. Truth is, he still hasn't called me back. I hope that bastard trips over one of his puppies and breaks his neck.

SB: Don't we all... Okay, enough of this! You know the deal! Review! Pwease? -Chibi Face-