Best Laid Plans I - The Winged Rat
by Ticklefish
Dedicated To Becki
In a small corner of a once-proud African nation lies an industrial park.
Office buildings, warehouses, factories, depots..all the usual signs of a healthy, productive, successful area. With one exception..there was no success.
After the country's economy collapsed, most of the customers left. Shortly thereafter, most of the companies left too. Now, there was only one building that still had staff in it.
These staff had long since lost their humanity. Under the influence of a man-made virus, they had become little more than crazed, mindless zombies driven by one thing only. Insatiable hunger.
Currently the object of their desire was just the other side of a thin, plywood door..
"How the hell can you say that we're safe?" screamed Sheva. "There are still hundreds of the bloody things out there, they know we're here and the only thing between us and them is this..this..thing I could practically spit through!"
"Don't worry, " said Chris, calming dusting himself off, "it's a door."
"So?"
"Zombies don't do doors."
"You're kidding.."
"Nope, trust me," Chris dropped into one of the chairs scattered around the small conference room, "I've done this sort of thing before."
"But it doesn't even have a lock or anything!"
Chris shrugged.
"Well..if you say so.." Sheva was dubious but decided that the chance to sit down was worth taking a risk for.
Confident that, for the time being at least, they were safe, Chris leaned back and let his eyes lazily drift round the room. His body was tired but his mind was permanently active. Analyzing, considering, weighing up options. Chairs, big table, phone, broken projector, pens, files, a collection of posters..nothing that could really serve as a useful weapon.
For a moment, he toyed with the idea of using the table as a makeshift shield-cum-battering ram but decided against it.
"So any thoughts on what's behind all this? I hardly think a publishing firm were making bioweapons on the side." asked Sheva, her eyes still dubiously watching the door.
"None of our business." came the terse reply. "We've reported it, all we need to do is escape it. Jill will take care of the invest.."
Jill. Jill Valentine. Chris was silent, his thoughts shunted abruptly onto a different track.
Chris had known Jill for a few years now. They had met when they both joined S.T.A.R.S., a special police unit in Raccoon City. They became partners and got on incredibly well, looking out for each other and becoming firm friends. Then Wesker happened.
Albert Wesker, S.T.A.R.S.'s head, betrayed the unit and was responsible for the deaths of all but five of its members. Together, Chris and Jill, now members of the newly-formed BSAA, hunted Wesker down and confronted him. It did not end well. Within moments Chris was left on his own with both Jill and Wesker presumed dead.
Last year Jill returned and, in theory, things were back to normal. But, ever since he had thought she was gone, Chris had had strange, uncertain..feelings, for want of a better word.
While she was 'dead', he could just convince himself that it was pain over losing a partner but now she was alive, he found himself unable to fully describe quite what was going on inside his own head.
It was, Chris contemplated, almost as though he was in...wait..he was missing something. Something important. There was something just now that was important in some way. What was it? Jill? Thoughts of strange angst and emotional pain but no, that wasn't it. Then what..
"Phone!" he yelled, startling Sheva who had been staring intently at the door, still unable to believe that a few millimeters of what was practically cardboard could stop a horde of ravenous zombies.
"I can use the phone to ring Jill and get some backup! That's it!"
"But she's miles away!" exclaimed Sheva, "She'll take forever to get here. We'll never hold out that long!"
But Chris had already lunged over the table, picked up the telephone and started dialing frantically.
"You've reached Jill Valentine's cell phone. If you leave a message, I might get back to you."
Leon stood in the shower.
His jaw set firm as he adjusted the temperature to his exact satisfaction. When it was ice-cold, he allowed himself a small smile.
The water washed over his muscled body. Over his strong arms, his firm stomach, all the way down to his longclaire.
Claire..
"Claire? Wake up, we're here."
Claire's eyes snapped open. In front of her were the kind features of Josh, one of few people who survived last year's 'incident', as the papers called it. Josh was a nice guy who refused to let the massacre of almost his entire team let him down. A skilled pilot and a man who had been very kind to Claire since the day she joined. In ordinary circumstances Claire would have been more than happy to see him but she couldn't help let a small sigh of disappointment escape her lips.
She looked to her side. The other seats in the helicopter were empty.
"She's already gone out to survey the area, "commented Josh, "She's intense, that one."
Claire grunted in assent, got up and started loading herself up with equipment.
A few years back, she had the misfortune to arrive in Raccoon City shortly after a mass infection had taken place, turning most of the population into zombies. She had survived, just about, and had ever since sworn that she would never set foot in a potential danger zone without taking some precautions. Pistol, shotgun, grenade launcher, first aid sprays, a torch, a radio, copious amounts of ammo..all went into various pockets and hold alls. She rattled when she moved but heaven help any creature, zombie or otherwise, who got in her way.
When Claire stepped out of the helicopter, she spotted Jill straight away. She was standing at the edge of the landing pad, looking through binoculars at the valley below. What could be seen of her face looked grim and every aspect of her body radiated tense alertness.
"Everything okay?" ventured Claire.
"Should be. As long as this lot have done their job properly and cleared everything out."
"They do know what they're doing, Jill."
"They'd better."
With that, Jill turned on her heel and headed down the path.
Heaving a deep sigh, Claire shouldered her pack and set off after her.
"You've reached Jill Valen.."
"Dammit! Where is she?"