Chapter One: Last Man on Earth?

Claire awoke, she stirred and felt her head for any injuries and discovered a fine knob on her head from where her forehead struck the dash. The young man she met only minutes before stirred next to her and peered up at the rearview mirror of the small police cruiser they had wrecked only seconds before.

"Shit, that guy's gonna ram us!" He yelled, his youthful gaze catching hers.

"Get out now! He yelled to her as he dove out of his seat and the seatbelt whipped behind him. Claire followed suit and swore she felt the rush of wind graze the hairs on her neck as her ponytail flipped up behind her and rolled from the ensuing explosion.

"Claire!" She could hear him calling for her.

"Leon!" She screamed over the roaring flames and shifting metals.

"I'm okay, listen you need to find your way to the police station, you'll be a lot safer!"

"Okay," Claire answered. She agreed the whole town was going insane and the station would be the last safe haven, assuming there was one.

She looked down at the Browning HP nine millimeter handgun she had gotten from the cruiser on her waistband as several more of those things shuffled towards her. It had been a couple years since her brother Chris took her shooting, but she would need to do her best to remember. Claire pressed the magazine release on the weapon and examined it. Thirteen rounds, she expected less, so she figured herself lucky the gun was loaded in the first place.

The gun didn't look standard issue, most Raccoon officers carried nine millimeter Beretta's, hell even her own brother carried a modified version of a Beretta. This was either a backup or personal weapon. Claire caught herself in deep thought and rather than firing her weapon aimlessly at a couple of them she darted off to the side of the street and raced around them.

They were so slow, still, get them in a group or moving all at once and they were dangerous. She learned her lesson plenty in the diner and wouldn't make that mistake again. As she rounded off the corner she realized the street was blocked by a police barricade, strange, it was the first one she'd seen since arriving into town. Maybe things could get worse the further she ventured in?

Claire pushed that though aside and stopped in the middle of the street to see a sign dangling by one chain from its original post.

"Kendo Gun Shop" "Open"

Claire smirked, "Perfect"

Hopefully its empty, I will snag some ammunition and be on my way. Problem solved.

Despite it being so short, she was thankful just to have a plan. She managed two dodge two more shuffling corpses and threw her shoulder into the door frame. Almost immediately she was greeted by a shotgun muzzle.

"Freeze!"

The man was heavyset and his eyes were sunken beneath his face, as if he hadn't slept in days.

"Who are ya? What're you doin here?" He cocked a shell into the shotgun as Claire attempted to explain.

He lowered his weapon, "Ooooh, sorry about that babe…"

The man she could only assume was Kendo, circled the counter.

Claire stepped back instinctively, he creeped her out to say the least the way he gazed down at her as he passed by.

"What's going on in this down," she started as she rested her hand on the gun in her belt.

He was a little too close for comfort.

"Hold on," he turned and locked the door behind her then turned to her once more.

"I ain't got no clue darlin, by the time I noticed something was wrong, the entire city was infested with zombies."

With that Claire turned from him and stepped further into the shop, keeping her eyes on the back of her head in case he made a sudden move.

"Do you have much ammo left? I can pay." She offered.

Kendo shrugged, "Honestly a lot of my good stock is gone, al I have left is my trusty shotgun here, a few lockers or shells in the back with the rest of my supplies. I do believe there are some left over boxes of nines behind the counters, it isn't much. Considering you are as good a shot as you look to the eyes, I'd say it'll buy you a couple nights."

Claire nodded, "Thanks, I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it, I'm not much of a handgun guy anyways."

Claire circled the counter and found three boxes of ammunition behind the counter and pocketed what she could. She didn't mention it to Kendo, but she also found a spare Browning HP magazine. She quickly stuffed it into her pocket.

"Where you headed to now beautiful?" He asked.

"The Police Station, I heard its secure."

Kendo seemed to scoff at her idea, "The police station wasn't much help, they boarded themselves up, some officers skipped town and others who were stupid enough to stay fell to the undead."

"Yeah but if anyone knows a way out, it would be a police officer." Claire argued as she started for the back door.

Kendo stepped forward once more, "H-hey," just then the full body window by the front door of his shop crashed open.

"Shit," Claire said as the first two zombie dove right onto Kendo, Kendo managed to pull the trigger once but the spread only clipped the first of the trio tripping through the window. They moaned as they threw themselves onto him in a heap, like football players going for the tackle.

Claire felt a tingle up her spine as her eyes tried to register what was happening.

Do something!

Claire lifted the Browning and placed her sights over the shambling creeps and squeezed the trigger once. She lowered the weapon slightly, looking over at them as if expecting them to scatter and run in opposite directions. She expected the one she hit to fly back or drop to the floor. Neither of those things happened, instead the creature tripped backwards, straightened his stance, then continued towards her. His white eyeballs falling back into his head once more and his pale shredded skin reminded her of the cook from the diner.

They wont fall, just like Leon had said! What are you waiting for? Get out of there!

Claire's eyes fell to Kendo's body, still being devoured before her across the shop. The other monsters noticed her and began joining the first one she shot and stretched their arms out towards her. Kendo's ribs were exposed now, he wasn't getting up. Claire hadn't known him, but felt nothing but dread for him, even if he did seem scummy.

Claire lowered her weapon and turned for the back door, she threw it open and slammed the door behind her. She took a moment to take in her surroundings as she heard the monsters pound on the door behind her, their moans muffled by the thick oak. The alleyway was cramped but clear of any creatures, she took a moment to gather herself and holstered her weapon.

What the hell were these things?

Who was she kidding? They shuffled and stumbled around, fed on the living, hell it took that bullet like a piece of wadded up paper. She knew damn well what she was looking at, zombies.

A couple more steps and I would've… she pushed that thought from her head and headed for a set of stairs down the alleyway.

…(a few hours earlier)

Jack shook the iron bars violently watching as the cops watching his cell scattered out of the room. Only Charlie remained and even he had his firearm drawn, the man had sweat glistening on his forehead, clearly he was nervous too.

"Hey!" Jack yelled to him once more.

"Sssh," Charlie said from pursed lips as he listened for noise outside the one exit room.

Jack let his hands free from the bars from three cells down, he was the last cell on the small block. Charlie lifted his 38. Special revolver to the door as he heard rapid footsteps sprinting down the hallway outside. Charlie's radio had been going crazy all night.

First it started with dispatch and cruiser calls from the streets. Then scattered reports of attacks and riots in the streets, citizens were being bitten in attacks from one edge of the city to another. Police seemed to respond when they could, Jack also thought he heard the hospital was on lockdown and the local high school had been turned into a shelter. It sounded like the end was coming, the whole world was being destroyed outside and here he was trapped in a cell with a sweaty old man. Not what he had seen happening.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck nervously, there was no clock in the small room, but they served dinner at 6:00 and the radio calls had only started just before that. Just then the metal door swung open and two officers raced in.

"Charlie we need you outside pronto, they're getting the K-9's and calling in SWAT and the S.T.A.R.S!"

"Then what do they need us for?" Charlie protested.

"We need to setup a perimeter in front of the police station, those things are multiplying!" The youngest officer said.

Jack bolted to the jail cell bars and yelled towards the trio, "What's outside? Can't you at least get me out of here?"

"You stay here," the older officer ordered Jack.

"Sorry kid, Chief's orders, prisoners stay prisoners." Charlie said as he holstered his revolver.

"Here, take this and grab your riot gear." The older officer said as he handed an AR-15 to Charlie, Charlie seemed to hesitate when he saw the blood on the barrel.

"It was one of the SWAT guys' sorry I couldn't find one in the armory."

Charlie grabbed it and checked the safety, "Fine."

They turned to leave the other two officers running out of the room and down the halls, Charlie looked back at Jack. Jack shook his head, as if trying to deter the man from leaving.

"Charlie, please don't leave me here, at least throw me the key man, I'll give you a few minutes then disappear." Jack pleaded, knowing damn well that if Charlie left it was very likely he would be left to starve and die before anything else happened.

Charlie smiled back at him, "Orders are orders kid, listen if things are as bad as they make it seem I will come back. I wont let you die like an animal son."

Charlie sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow and took off in a jog out the door.

"Charlie wait!" Jack yelled, reached out of the iron cage.

Jack felt his mouth open in awe, that was it, he was gone. Jack wanted to believe Charlie was a man of his word, but the radio didn't lie. Two things were going to happen, either everyone in Raccoon City was going to die, or the survivors would be evacuated, either way Jack was going to die.