Author's Disclaimer: All referenced characters, monsters, and locations are copyrighted properties of both Capcom and Konami and this is a respectfully passionate fan work of both their franchises. WARNING: This game story contains scenes of explicit violence, gore and disturbing verbal imagery which may be considered cruel. Parental discretion is advised.
~Chapter 08: Every City Is A Room~
"Ladies and gentleman," began Col. Michaels as the lights in the briefing room dimmed and the projector illuminated the screen behind him. "all of you have been selected to partake in a reconnaissance mission into Raccoon City, which as you can see, has mysteriously reappeared into existence. As all of you may remember, back in September 22nd of 1998, a major outbreak occurred within Raccoon City due to the G-Virus created by an Umbrella virologist named William Birkin which nearly destroyed it's population."
A slideshow of pictures which included gruesome images of horrifying violence and cannibalism came and went during the discussion. Now and again during the slides, Eileen would grip Henry's arm or cover her mouth and look away. The others, however, were by now used the macabre imagery on the projector and silently paid close attention to both the visuals and Col. Michaels. Laura yawned which gained the ire of some of the people in the room, but the briefing went on none the less.
Col. Michaels continued. "For nine days, undead and mutated creatures roamed the streets creating more chaos by spreading the virus deeper into it. To contain the threat of the virus spreading outside the city, the Bacillus Terminate Operation was ordered for sterilization of the city and on the dawn of October 1st, the entire city was obliterated via a nuclear missile being launched into it's center. Nothing remained of it except for a crater with small levels of the virus still existing."
Then slides of the Ground Zero facility displayed, and the colonel continued. "Built shortly after was the Ground Zero facility, originally by Umbrella then after the collapse of the company, was transferred into the United States government control. The facility's purpose was to study the remaining traces of the virus, however, earlier in the year of 2010, secret documentation dating from Umbrella's control of the facility was discovered making reference to something called 'the Dirac Project.' No further information was found in regards to what that project even was, but the government is now willing to acknowledge that it may have had something to do with an incident later that year in which on the anniversary of Raccoon City's destruction…"
Then what Henry referred to as a 'Dirac hole' appeared on the slide. The colonel continued again. "…this replaced the Ground Zero facility as well as the rest of the former city's grounds. For a year, this phenomenon was unexplainable as the hole was immeasurable in it's depth. However, the expert that our Secret Service Agents, Kennedy and Hunnigan, have now recruited has theorized that the Dirac Project may have been an inter dimensional experiment and this massive hole was the result of that. Am I correct in quoting you, Mr. Henry Townshend?"
Henry nervously stood up to answer. "Y-yes sir, you're correct in saying that. I think at some point they accidentally created an event horizon when they may have attempted to continue the experiment after possibly finding the true remnants of the project. I believe that the people that were in that facility may still be alive, though I'm sure it's hard to believe that. And I think somehow that city was brought back in it's place, and that is where they may be."
"I'm glad you said that, Mr. Townshend." said Col. Michaels with a polite nod. "Because this now brings us to the mission at hand."
All the bizarre imagery finally disappeared on the slides and was replaced by a map of Raccoon City. "The mission in which most of you has chosen to accept, is primarily recon. Your Primary Objective is to explore Raccoon City in which you will observe, take pictures, take samples, and find any non hostile inhabitants such as survivors of the Ground Zero facility as well as townspeople that may be alive and would be considered knowledgeable of the city in it's current state. Surviving inhabitants are unlikely, but searching for them is still required. Your Secondary Objective is to find anything additional pertaining to the Dirac Project and return with it so we may do a full investigation into the experiment as well as the nature of the city's impossible existence. Everything understood so far?"
"Yes sir!" everyone, including Hunnigan and Eileen, simultaneously replied.
"Very good." replied the colonel. "Here's the plan: you will be transported via military cargo truck past the Arklay Mountains border in which you will travel to what was known to be once various major hubs of civilian activity such as the City Hall, Raccoon Police Department, and any hospitals or churches you may come across. If there are people still alive in that city, your chances may be better finding them there. Don't worry about getting lost, we will supply all of you with an individual map for your mission. After you have explored these areas, come back and give us your individual reports. Based on that, we will send military in to occupy the city and get it back under control. If this city has indeed come back to us, then there might be chance we can still save it."
Col. Michaels then took in a deep breath and sighed for the next part. "You will be given three days to return alive from the city. In the event none of you return, I regret to say we will have no choice but to attempt another terminate operation of the city…"
"Oh my god…" Eileen said with now glassy eyes as Henry did his best to calm her down.
"I know this may sound disheartening to hear," Col. Michaels said compassionately but sternly. "but we have already lost the first team we had sent in to investigate as well as the first round of encampment guards based around it after it's reappearance. If it is another viral outbreak, or something much worse, we cannot allow it to spread further. But we feel that three days should be sufficient enough time to make a successful search and return home quickly and safely. So please do not worry, Mrs. Townshend. I assure you that your husband is with the best of the best and will be lead by Agent Kennedy, whom you have already met. Him, along with Agent Taylor of the BSAA, Claire Redfield of Terra Save, and our soon to be reformed Ada Wong, are all survivors of the Raccoon City outbreak and already know it's layout. That is why I am faithful in the success in this mission. Also, we will allow you to assist Hunnigan in communications support, though due to our previous experience, I can't guarantee communication will be kept throughout the mission. Please trust me when I say everything will be fine. We have a much better team this time around."
Eileen with great newfound emotional strength, did her best to reserve herself from a breakdown for the sake of both her husband's embarrassment and her own. The colonel continued a final time. "Now does everyone understand the contents of the mission, which all of you have chosen to accept?"
"Yes sir!" everyone responded again.
"And are there any questions?" the colonel asked.
Everyone looked at one another, then they remained silent. After waiting and observing, Col. Michaels said, "All of you will be shown to the depot where your weapons and equipment have been laid out for you. I have been notified ahead of time, Mr. Townshend, that you and your wife have already brought some special equipment with you in advance. You may return to your vehicle to retrieve these items and reunite with your team at the depot. Everyone is dismissed. I think it's time Raccoon City get's their last welcome wagon."
Almost everyone took an hour to get prepared for their mission ahead. While Henry and Eileen, accompanied by a soldier, went back to their vehicle to unpack their equipment, Claire, Ada, and Alex where shown to the weaponry and armor depot to gear up. Leon, D.K., and Laura however, waited outside for them for they were equipped in advance. Leon, as almost always, wore his dark cargo pants and shirt with his trademark bomber jacket, and was armed with a Blacktail handgun and a Benelli M4 Super 90 riot gun. D.K. was armed with a Beretta 92F and Heckler & Koch SL8 semi-auto rifle with scope, and Laura with a M92F handgun and a Benelli M3 riot gun. The weapons Claire chose for herself were a Matilda handgun and a PSG rifle. Ada and Alex were the only ones to change clothes; Alex now wearing a light blue short sleeve button-up with breast pockets and a black tactical belt wrapped around dark blue cargos over combat boots, and Ada, who took the longest due to her obsession with the color red, finally found a crimson shirt with ballistic vest, tight pants, high heel boots, and remaining tactical gear all the rest black. After they were dressed, Alex armed himself with a Chrome Hammer Colt M1911 handgun and an M14 Assault Rifle, and Ada with a FN Five-seveN Punisher handgun, Steyr Mannlicher TMP sub-machine gun, and to her luck, a Hookshot grappling gun. When Henry and Eileen showed up, he was dressed in a light gray cargo jumpsuit with black work boots and black elbow pads over the sleeves and also wore a brown utility belt with a black military assault tracker backpack filled with his remaining items. Visibly, Henry was armed with a M1911A1 handgun, a red handled M48 Kommando Survival Rescue hand axe, a KL609 high voltage stun gun with LED flashlight, and an oddly shaped sword-like blade with a triangular hilt sheathed under his backpack. Everyone else was additionally equipped with walkie-talkie radios, military flashlights and standard combat knives a piece, except for Henry, and D.K. who himself preferred his large MercWorx Goliath tactical blade as a melee weapon.
Once everyone was finally prepared and outside the depot, then came a forest green M35 2½ ton Deuce and a Half military cargo truck with a matching overhead tarp roofing the back bed of the truck. And then, the hard goodbyes. The team stood together for the first time and looked at one another, now differently than what they did before. Everyone was now about to embark on a nightmarish adventure they wished never to relieve again, from the ones who escaped the original virus outbreak to those who survived hellish worlds. They knew fear. But for the first time, they felt a strange sense of comradery for the first time. As if this moment, as much dreaded as it was, was by fate destined to happen. And destined to bring them together to combat whatever evil lay inside the dead city. With the team were the ones not to accompany them inside the city. Hunnigan, Eileen, and the colonel.
"From here," Col. Michaels said, "we now separate. I will accompany Agent Hunnigan and Mrs. Townshend to the encampment where they will begin preparations to be your contacts during the course of your mission. As we drive through the town of Arklay, the convoy carrying Hunnigan, Eileen, and myself will branch off out of town leading on a back road south below Victory Lake. There, we will be stationed to provide you contact support, and if needed, military support. When we separate, your convoy will continue forward past the old Arklay South-West Subway Station down the Raccoon-Arklay Line. From there, decide amongst yourselves where to head first, and may God be with you."
Eileen then walked up to Henry, her smile shining more than her tears. She remembered how nerdy he acted all those years before when she first met him at South Ashfield Heights. He had changed so much since then, especially being one of the only victims to stand up to Sullivan and try to save everyone. Even herself. She still remembered how after it was all over, he was there in her hospital room with flowers in his hand. Anyone else would have spent a week recovering as far way as possible. For as long as she knew him, he always displayed unconditional compassion for everyone around him. She thought it strange at first that someone could be this nice to any stranger he would meet, and she often wondered where this trait of his personality had come from? But then she would remind herself that she wouldn't have been alive had it not been for it. She was so thankful to have him in her life. And she knew that now was the moment she could no longer be selfish about keeping him just to herself.
"You know, Henry." she began, with mock sheepishness. "I always liked a man in uniform."
"Eileen…" Henry began, but no other words could come to him other than, "I'm sorry."
Eileen smile ran for miles across her bright face. "…I'm not."
She wrapped her arms around Henry, and the two if them kissed as if tomorrow would never come again. For a moment, nothing around them existed; nor Heaven or Hell. They kissed for as long as time allowed them to. Finally, Eileen broke the kiss and ran her fingers through his shabby hair and gently gripped it along with his ears as she stared at his chest; her forehead touching his lips.
"I'll never be sorry for being your neighbor." she said, her smile still there. "I know your not going to die. Because if you do, I'll never forgive you."
Henry gently lifted her gaze back to meet his, a smirk of admiration played across his face. He said, "A city is a lot bigger than a room."
And nothing further was said. He joined his teammates, except Leon and D.K., in piling into the cargo truck, but they never took each other's eyes of one another. Henry wondered at that moment if a person's spirit could follow a person for the rest of that person's life after death. If he died, and he were allowed to follow her, he would haunt her peacefully. And then he knew the answer to his question, and that horrifying answer was Walter Sullivan. This had now become dangerous thinking, so now he concentrated everything on surviving. His duty to her was not finished yet. And as far as he knew it, it never would be.
After the original driver stepped out with a salute, D.K returned it and took his place at the wheel. Leon Kennedy then entered the passenger side of the vehicle. Everyone was now accounted for and they waited as Col. Michaels' vehicle with it's occupants to head first out of Fort Arklay and into town. Once they took the lead, D.K. drove his team behind them. The realization of his team had hit them that now there was no going back now. They drove 13 miles downtown in Arklay, then the right turn signal came on the colonel's convoy ahead. And then, they were gone.
The Omega Team was now on their own and was now preparing to pass the subway station that once connected under the road and lead into Raccoon City. Everyone felt that it was very eerie that the station itself still existed. They knew before, after the destruction, it no longer connected to anything. Now with the city coming back, they wondered if those tunnels came back too? And they felt more comfortable knowing that they didn't have to use those dark tunnels to enter the city. If something was in the city, something was down there too, they were sure. They passed it and two miles down the road, now out of the town, they finally came to the border check point surrounded by soldiers where it was under heavy military guard. All along the border were tripwire and guards every yard apart from one another along it's length.
"I wonder if this is what everyone feels like when they die and know they're about to go to Hell?" D.K. said as he turned to look at Leon. "I really fucking hate that city."
"You and me both, D.K." said Leon in response. "You and me both…"
The cargo truck came to a halt in front of the guards. One of them jogged up to the driver side window. "Are you the new crew going in?"
"Yes." replied D.K., matter-of-factly. "We are on a field trip into the city to go to the Raccoon City Zoo. These kids wanted to see the elephants and maybe tear up some shit while they check out the gift shop while they're at it."
The guard chuckled, "Fair enough. Can't say I wish I were coming with you. Good luck to you guys in there!"
"Thank you." D.K. said. "Keep everything safe on the outside."
The guard shouted for the others to make way. The soldiers nodded in response and lifted their barricades to allow the vehicle through. Once clear, the convoy drove past the guards as they place the barricades back behind them. Now laying before them was an additional 15 miles of empty highway. Beyond that was trees and mountains. And beyond that, fog shrouded buildings that towered into the heavens. Except in this city, the Omega Team would find that no angels existed here.
Author's Note: Sorry that it has taken me so many chapters to finally get to the "meat" of this story. I wanted to introduce all of my main characters with enough pacing to get all their appearances explained. We're doing 3 RE and 3 SH protagonists plus an original character to join them into it. Leon is the head RE character and Laura will be the head SH. I considered "another main character" from the same game for her role instead, but I feel it won't be a problem seeing as even Asuka "had a limit." I'll try to make more soon…
