Leon S. Kennedy was showing Claire how to load the M79 grenade launcher in his hands.

"You slide the lever over to open the chamber," the young police officer stated. His gloved hand demonstrated and the gun broke apart. "Slide the round in and close it. The safety will go on by itself, so be sure to turn it off." Leon closed the launcher and held it against his shoulder. "Hold it tightly against your shoulder, or else you'll be thrown back. Do NOT use it within 100 yards, or you'll get hurt." He handed it to Claire, who took it with a trembling hand.

Leon was sitting on a trashed desk in the Raccoon City Police Department. His face and uniform was speckled with blood. Luckily, he found Claire just before she was attacked by the townspeople. Leon himself had been attacked. Only, the townspeople of Raccoon City weren't normal. They were all dead, Leon was sure of it. He had seen the decomposing flesh falling off their bodies as they approached him. No living person could survive the bullets he shot into them again and again. He and Claire had escaped by gunning through the groups of undead. Their pistols weren't enough to stop them all. He had no choice but to give a dangerous weapon like a grenade launcher to an inexperienced civilian. They would need the firepower, and his hands would be full with the shotgun propped against the desk.

Leon was worried about Claire. The young girl sat on a chair in front of him, staring at the grenade launcher he had given her. He thought that she might break down under the circumstances, but she stayed strong, even though she still showed fear.

She had said she came to find her brother, Chris, but they had arrived at the RPD to find it ransacked, void of any life, except the undead wandering its halls. They had found one living human, an officer of the city, who helped them get to the S.T.A.R.S office where they now sat.

"About two months ago, there was this incident involving zombies located in the outskirts of this city," the cop said. He was badly injured, suffering from numerous bites and cuts, and losing blood. "Chris and the other S.T.A.R.S members discovered that Umbrella was behind everything." Umbrella was a massive pharmaceutical corporation that had its products in everything, ranging from aspirin, to high-tech computers and software. It ruled the stock market, and had an iron grip on society.

"No one believed them," the cop had continued. "Not longer after that, all this started to happen." He gave them his key to unlock the RPD's doors. Leon and Claire didn't find Chris, but they did find his diary. There was mention of what happened on the S.T.A.R.S' last mission. Something involving a virus called the T-virus. Apparently he escaped with several of his comrades and went to Europe. He wrote that he did it to protect Claire.

Claire read the last line on the last entry again:

"Please forgive me Claire…"

Claire woke with a start. She was lying face down on the cell floor. She heard a muffled roar, then a muted explosion. Something was happening outside. More roars, followed by explosions echoed above her. They were getting closer.

"I must be underground, judging by the sound," she thought as she raised her body up by her arms. The room shook slightly from whatever was going on. Then the lights went out. The single bulb hanging from the ceiling didn't provide much light anyway. It must have been night, because the room was pitch black save for the moonlight coming through a single window. The explosions faded away. There was no sound at all, save for a leaky pipe somewhere. Claire rose to her feet. Her body was starting to regain its feeling after her forced nap. She was now aware of the dull ache in the back of her head. She raised her hand to her head and felt a crusty substance. She looked in the dark and saw little black specks.

"Dried blood," she conclude and wiped it off on her jeans. A new ache drew her attention away from her head. A sharp pain was nagging from just below her shoulder, the side she was laying on when she woke. She opened the pocket on her vest and pulled out the source: the lucky family lighter, given to her by Chris.

"How did they miss this?" she wondered. "They frisked me thoroughly when we left." Claire didn't have time to ponder an answer. She heard a new sound over the leaky pipe. It was slow, uneven footsteps, steadily growing louder. Her eyes darted back and forth, trying to locate them. Her icy blue eyes had dilated, and were steadily growing adjusted to the gloom. They located the source: a door that had been left ajar. A figure was coming through it, slouched over and clutching it's side. Remembering that haunting silhouette from Raccoon city, Claire let out a shuddering breath through her lips. Trying to be quiet as possible, she backed away from the cell bars, sinking further into the shadow. The figure stopped at the cell door and began to fiddle with the locking mechanism.

Slowly, Claire thumbed open the lighter in her hand. It made an audible 'click' as the hinge stretched. Claire slid the thumbwheel, and the wick ignited, bathing Claire, the figure, and the cell in a bright yellow light. Claire gasped and shrank back.

The figure was the Latin American man who captured her in Paris