Chapter 3: Take the Lead

"Alright Rebecca, time for lesson number two: Leading. You're the first man in. Umm, woman in. Its your job to secure the area, make sure its safe for entry." Jayde hadn't heard anything overhead and was pretty sure this cabin contained nothing more then a few overpriced lamps and a more comfortable seat reserved for the big wigs willing to pay extra for small luxuries. "If you find the area secure, motion for us to follow. If there's something there to worry about, scream like hell and fire." She nodded at Billy. "Mr. Coen, after you."

She figured it would be best to keep the convict close at hand. If he did try anything funny the first target would be his backside. For a moment her mind flashed to what it would be like to turn his ass back in. The mayor handing her the key to Raccoon City, Wesker shaking her hand and welcoming her as co-captain of Alpha team. She was roughly shaken to her senses as the train jolted into motion. Rebecca had caught herself by clutching onto the railing. Jayde, taken off-guard, had been thrown back into Billy, knocking them both down to the end of the stairs. Both of them tumbling ass-over-elbow, the felon had managed to land squarely on top of her, his head resting on her chest.

"You could have at least bought me dinner first." Jayde threw him off her and jumped to her feet. That's twice today I've nearly concussed myself. Gotta stop this. With a bit of a menacing glance back at her, Billy took his place between the two Bravo members.

Entering the upper-class cabin, Rebecca could smell a small fire burning the curtains across the window. Seated on the other side was an older gentlemen dressed in a dark brown suit. His glasses were slightly askew and already he had taken on the smell of slow human decay. Still, his face looked so inviting. Like a grandfather, this was someone you hoped to save. Slowly, she approached him. "Uhm, sir…are you ok?"

Billy had seen it coming before Rebecca. The man rose from his chair and lunged towards the young S.T.A.R.S member. As he grabbed her and pulled her towards him, Billy took aim and shot. The bullet caught the zombie right below the hairline just before he had sunk his teeth directly into Rebecca's neck.

Jayde was impressed. Pretty good marksmen. If it weren't for his record he'd make a damn good edition to S.T.A.R.S. "We need to find a way out of here and fast." Eying past the others, she spotted a service ladder at the far window. "Obviously, we're not going to make it to the conductor's car through the other cabin's. Maybe there's a way over these things, a hatch that will lead us right to the controls so we can stop this runaway train before it ends us." Who's driving this thing anyways?

Billy made his way to the ladder first. "Hey!" Jayde yelled. "Not so fast."

He turned back with a smirk. "Of course, ladies first." He motioned at Rebecca who ascended first. "Now, age before beauty." he quipped.

"Hahar, that's right. Now get your ass up that ladder before beauty turns you into a beast."

The rain pounded the top of the train and soaking the three through their clothes. Rebecca still lead the way, stopping once to face Jayde. She tried to yell but the wind drowned her out. Jayde pointed at her ears and raised her hands up. Rebecca motioned to the front. At the end of the car there were sparks from what looked to be a power source for the train.

Billy took the lead now, grasping Rebecca by the hand. Apparently, he think I can handle myself. While the two ahead of her moved a bit faster, Jayde knew she had the better balance. Years of being forced into a leotard and prancing on a high beam had instilled that in her. Billy made quick work of examining and repairing the breaker box. Getting close she could barely make out what he was shouting. "Its too the breaks!" Oh, that's good to know.

The three jumped down a hole in the next car over. Nothing here, good. Wait, did the wall just move? Jayde ran her hand down the wall and pulled it back. Her fingers were covered in a slipper mucus. "Leech eggs?" But there aren't any swamps nearby…

"Yeah. They're covering the train." Billy announced casually, as if it were a simple math solution any first grader could solve. Jayde rolled her eyes. "Careful, don't want to ruin those pretty little boots of yours Lucy."

Jayde didn't get it at first until he reached out and swatted her ponytail. Oh, redhead. I Love Lucy. Great, he's a comedian too. "It seems like we're not to far from the conductor's quarters. It should be right below us. I'll take the lead from here. You did good, Rebecca." God, this is like the training mission from hell. "We need to figure out what those things are out there an then…" she was interrupted by a strong his that came from down the hall. Looking to Billy she motioned for them to follow.

She slowly made her way down the hall into what looked like a small bar. Colored glass bottles sat in front of a long mirror, typical of pubs. The hiss came again, even stronger and more chilling than before. "Jayde, I think its coming from above us. " Rebecca lowered her firearm and pointed towards the roof. Jayde quickly looked for a quick exit. Nothing but a hatch at the other side of the room underneath another huge gap in the train's ceiling. Billy ran past her, grabbing a shotgun from behind the bar. Figures. They'd pay hundreds of dollars for fancy lamps but God forbid you steal the booze.

Before she could even spit out Jack Daniels, the roof collapsed right in front of her. But what was beyond the wrecked metal was more than she could ever hope to handle alone. A 12-ft long giant scopion was clicking its claws and scuttling back, its tail curled to strike. Jayde pulled in her head phones and jacked the volume. Time to get the adrenaline going.

With Billy's handy work with the shotgun and a few shots fired off by Rebecca the makeshift team made quick work of the scorpion. "Billy!" Jayde called out, "Aim for its head, now!" He pulled the trigger to nothing but a click. Empty. Shit. Jayde ran at it at pull force, keeping a dead aim on its head. She managed to pull off one shot, but not before its tail swept her to the other side of the car.

Slightly dazed, she laid against the wall. Her back hurt something fierce, and she was pretty sure she'd pulled something in her right arm. Closing her eyes and massaging it, she took a deep breath. When she opened them again, Billy Coen stood in front of her offering her a hand.

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A/N: I didn't realize how much time they spent on the train. But then again, I do remember this as my first RE game and spending like an hour and a half trying to get off the damn thing. Haha. I'm not going to go into the part about the leeches hatching or the part with the hookshot. But this will all make sense in the end, I promise you.