Resident Evil Recall: Necropolis
Chapter Three: Elza Walker
Freedom… yes, that was a good way to describe what Elza Walker was feeling as she moved her motorcycle from the entrance ramp, onto the highway, where she immediately accelerated. The intensifying wind whipped around the part of her long blonde hair that stuck out from under the half-helmet that she was wearing, and even though this made it a little harder to keep her eyes open at seventy-five miles per hour, the wind also helped to keep her cool.
The twenty three year old had hoped that the temperature would have gone down, since they were moving into late September, but even though it was only about 9:00 AM, the morning sun was beating down upon her. Wearing jeans and a heavy leather jacket, the young woman was finally leaving home, having earned enough money in the local amateur racing circuit to get her start in life.
And that start, she had decided a few years before, year after graduating high school, was going to involve getting a degree in Motorcycle Mechanics so that she could spend her life doing what she loved… although at the time there was no possible way to pay for that education. It had taken five years of motorcycle racing at night, working a crummy waitressing job in the daytime, and basically giving up any hope of a social life… but she had done it.
Now, after being forced to watch all of her old high school friends go off to college, or get married, or whatever, it was Elza's turn. Yes, the poor girl who was always made fun of for having cheap shoes and clothes from Goodwill… had enough money in the bank to pay for a college education. Of course, this didn't mean that she was going to Harvard, or anywhere like that, since she clearly wasn't a millionaire… but at the end of the day, a degree was a degree no matter where it came from… so hers was going to come from Community College.
Thing is, every local college offered different programs, and the closest one that she could find with the program she wanted was about six hours away… in Raccoon City. Her parents didn't like the idea of their daughter moving any further away than down the street, but at twenty three, it was more than time for her to move out, and besides, Elza would be able to save money by living in the dorms on campus.
Her parents had argued that the crime rate in that city was going up, and that there was reports of some kind of rioting before the news broadcasts stopped, but as far as the young woman was concerned, every city had problems like that. The college students in Detroit and Los Angeles had been just fine during the riots that once plagued their cities, and besides, it was only a matter of time before the police handled it, just like they always did.
Hey, there was an idea… maybe after getting her degree, she could get a job as a mechanic for the Raccoon City Police. Of course, if she was going to do that, why not just become a motorcycle cop, herself? Then, not only would she get to work on bikes, but she could drive as fast as she wanted, and throw people in jail… like the jerks who used to make fun of her shoes in high school.
"Mom and dad would just love that." Elza said to herself, chuckling a little. "Officer Elza Walker, motorcycle cop."
Trying not to plan things out too far ahead of herself, the young woman knew that she needed to get the two year degree before she would be able to do anything else… and whether or not she applied to the Police Academy afterwards could be decided later. For now, she was content to cruise down the highway, where traffic really seemed to be thinning out with each exit that she passed.
In fact, after a few hours, there was barely anyone on the road at all, and by the time that noon rolled around, this was starting to make her feel uneasy. Pulling into the next rest area that appeared, the young woman was hoping that there would at least be a few people in the parking lot, but this place was just as deserted as the highway had been. On one hand this was nice, since it meant she wouldn't have to worry about being approached by weirdos while using the bathroom or getting a delicious Mr. Pibb out of the vending machine… it would have been nice if there was someone, anyone around.
With a quick check of the You Are Here map to make sure she was going the right way, Elza tried to focus on her future as she drove the motorcycle back onto the highway. She was about to go to college and make a whole bunch of new friends, who didn't care about what kind of shoes she was wearing, and who knows, maybe she would even find a boyfriend. Yeah… been a while since she had one of those.
The good news was that Raccoon City was only a couple hours away, meaning that she would reach the city by late afternoon if she drove straight through. The bad news was that the most direct routes to Raccoon City were apparently closed for roadwork or something, with several of the northernmost exits being blocked off by traffic tape and barrels. This added another couple hours onto her trip since it now appeared that Elza would have to go almost all the way around the city before finding an exit that was still open.
"Finally." She grumbled, unheard against the wind. "At least the construction workers must be happy."
Apparently, this exit was the back way into the city, and by back way, she meant so far back that the whole of the Arklay Mountains stood between her and what was to be her new home. It was a good thing that her motorcycle got so many miles to the gallon, because it had already been a long trip, and there didn't seem to be many options for service stations as she headed up into the heavily forested mountains.
Well, okay, there were a few road signs along the way for places such as Stoneville and Arklay Village, but having been a city girl her whole life, Elza didn't really feel comfortable with the idea of going to some backwoods place where they thought everyone had a purdy mouth and whatnot. So she kept going, although truth be told, she might have veered off to try and get a room at The Arklay Resort… if she had the extra money, that is.
The sun continued to move across the sky at about the same rate that the young woman moved through the mountains, but eventually she reached the peak of the never ending slope, catching a glimpse of Raccoon City off in the distance, before starting back down through the trees. Yes, the trip had taken a few hours extra, but as the slopes of the Arklay Mountains began to level off, Elza sighed with relief, knowing that her trip was coming close to an end… and good thing too, because her rear was starting to get really sore.
After getting past the foothills and exiting the forest, the young woman had expected a serious increase in the amount of traffic that she would have to deal with, especially since she was now passing into the suburban outskirts of the city… but there was nothing. The slight uneasiness that she had felt back at the rest area was now turning into full blown anxiety, prompting her to take a detour down a side street in order to make sure that she wasn't crazy.
Her father's favorite TV show had been The Twilight Zone, and there was an episode that Elza remembered watching with him called 'Where is Everybody?' about a guy who is completely alone in a small town, and this detour was to see if she could see any signs of life inside of the houses that she was passing. Thankfully, there were lights on inside most of the windows, and she could even see a few people moving around in front of whitened television screens.
"Jesus, get a grip, Elza." She scolded herself, slowing to turn the bike around. "Today is just one of those really slow days."
Maybe it was some kind of a city-wide holiday or something, where literally everyone had the day off from work, which… didn't make any sense at all. Either way, this could all be sorted out once she was inside the more urban part of the city, so the young woman got back onto the main road, and was just turning to resume her journey, when she saw something that stopped her thoughts.
"Help!" A woman screamed, crying as she stumbled down the side of the road. "Help me!"
At first Elza had thought that the woman was wearing a red shirt, but as she pulled over to investigate, she saw that it had once been a white shirt, and that it was simply covered with blood. The woman was sobbing and nearly in hysterics, holding one hand at the base of her neck, where she appeared to have some kind of stab wound. Still trying to flag the young woman down, even though she had stopped, the woman was trying to yell something to her, but due to coughing and heavy breathing, Elza just couldn't understand her.
What she could understand, however, was that this woman had been hurt, and needed to get to the hospital. Regardless of how her wound had happened, Elza knew that the motorcycle was the fastest way to get there, so she told the woman to get on the back of the bike and try to hold on as best she could, since who even knew how long it would take for an ambulance to get there?
"No… other way." The woman said, much more weakly once they started off. "Go… other way."
"I'm sorry, I'm new to the city." Elza replied, trying to go faster without shaking her off. "I don't know all the shortcuts yet, but I'll get you to the hospital, don't worry."
Suddenly the woman started trying to grab at her, almost like she was trying to grab the handlebars, while also shaking as if she were starting to go into a seizure. This poor woman was probably hysterical from whatever attacked her and the blood loss probably wasn't helping, however her struggles slowly became weaker until she finally calmed down enough for the young woman to drive regularly again.
"It's okay, I know you're scared and someone hurt you." Elza said, trying to comfort her. "Just hold on, and we'll be there soon."
The woman didn't answer, instead just hanging onto her limply as they reached the first part of the more urban areas of Raccoon City. It was tempting to stop and check on the poor woman, but again, the hospital was the best place for her, so Elza accelerated when she saw the first hospital sign, hoping that not only would she be able to get this poor woman the help she needed, but also that whoever did this to her wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else.
