Chapter Two
My boots thudded against the concrete after I had let go of the ladder. I turned to Mikhail and saw the color drain out of his face. Time seemed to be moving in slow motion. My ears were ringing from the sound of gunfire and screaming. The Raccoon Police Department were gathered further down the street, and from the looks of it, they weren't doing so well. I blinked, trying to make out what the hell was happening. A tall brick building loomed over us, and beating against its barricaded door was a young woman. She hit at the door frantically as a group of men lurched toward her. I began to approach them when everything went silent in a flash of white. I fell to the ground, feeling the vibrations from the explosion. I looked to my left and saw Mikhail preparing to toss another grenade into the mass of people over that way. My eyes went back to find the woman only to see her being torn apart by the men that had been chasing her. Her blouse was ripped off, exposing her breasts. A hand grasped at her face and tore into her cheek. Blood poured out in rivulets from the wound. One of the men bit into the soft flesh of her stomach and there was no mistaking it- they were eating her alive.
A hand firmly pulled me up from the ground. I twisted violently, thinking it was one of those things.
"Go! Go! Go!" shouted Mikhail as he shoved me away. He threw a grenade, and ran to me, pulling me along down an alley way. I pulled the M-4 assault rifle from where it was slung across my back and held it firmly in my sweating hands. We sprinted down the alley and turned the corner. It was empty; we had left all the chaos behind us.
"This is bullshit! Why would they send us into this mess?" I yelled.
"We're here to clean up after Umbrella, son. It's what we do." Mikhail said in an unearthly calm voice.
As I caught my breath, Rick burst into the alley. He ran over to where we were standing and let out a sigh of relief. Reaching into his vest, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, popped one into his mouth and leaned against one of the buildings to the right of the alley. Mikhail tossed him a match, which he scraped against the bottom of his boot before lighting up.
"Want a smoke, mate?" he asked as he exhaled.
"I quit a year ago," I said.
"We'd better get moving," Mikhail spoke, "We don't know how close those things are."
Suddenly, the boards covering the door which Rick was leaning against flew apart as greedy pale hands clawed at his throat. He gagged and coughed, a stream of blood flowed from his mouth and down his chin and neck. He slammed the lit cigarette down onto one of the hands, but it had no effect on the creature. Mikhail aimed and left a single bullet in Rick's forehead.
"God have mercy on you." He said before we ran further into the alley. We came upon an opening, and recognized a local bar. We didn't wait to see if the monsters were catching up to us, and headed inside. It was empty. A few half-eaten meals sat unattended at the bar, but there were no signs of life. I locked the door we had entered through, although there was no telling whether that would matter against those things. Mikhail examined behind the bar, grabbing a clip of handgun ammo and tossing it to me. He picked up a crinkled postcard from beside a plate of partially eaten steak.
"A clock tower," he said, "Nicholai and Patrick mentioned something about that."
"They've been keeping something from us, haven't they?" I wondered aloud.
Unexpectedly, the back door to the bar flew open. I aimed my rifle steadily at the man who came in. He pointed his pistol at me in return. With his foot, he kicked the door closed, keeping the gun aimed at me all the while. Mikhail cleared his throat, startling the man in the yellow vest. He was obviously a cop or soldier by the looks of his camouflage pants and lace-up boots. His widened eyes fixed on my Umbrella patch and his glare became more menacing.
"You bastards are with Umbrella?" he spat angrily.
"Put the gun down, we're here to help you." Mikhail said calmly.
"Help us? You caused this mess!" the man shouted.
Mikhail examined the man closely,"S.T.A.R.S.?" he asked, "Are you a soldier?"
"Special Tactics and Rescue Service, asshole. We're part of the R.P.D. Wait- stop trying to distract me!"
He now faced Mikhail, gun steadily pointed at his chest. Mikhail's hands were in his pockets. He nodded at me to put my gun down. I bit my tongue but slung the rifle back over my shoulder as instructed.
"We're just mercenaries," I said quietly, "we know nothing about what Umbrella is doing."
"There's something after me, "the man spoke quickly," something big and much worse than any zombie… I need to hide, and I can't have some of Umbrella's fuckin' pets in my way."
Mikhail slowly walked around the hysterical man and stood beside me. His gun never went down. I turned and unlocked the front door, and stepped outside into the cool autumn air. Mikhail lingered in the doorway and glanced back at the man.
"Look for us when you need a way out of here." Mikhail said before closing the door firmly.