Author's Notes: One of my favorite chapters. I don't know why.

All Dead Attack

(Raccoon City 8 Years Ago)

"There it is!" Claire exclaimed

She was relieved to the see the familiar two-story red brick building. The storefront read "Kendo's Gun & Surplus" in big red letters. It was a family run business established in the 1960's by the Kendo family after moving from Japan. Despite the modern upgrades done to the city in the last couple of years, the building still had the look and feel of a 1950's old-fashioned storefront. The two studio apartments upstairs were renovated shortly after Chris had joined the force.

Leon saw that there were zombies in front of the building. They were becoming a familiar sight; tattered skin, rotting limbs, gaping blackness where their eyes should have been and that god awful moaning.

Leon made a face at the horde of zombies walking around, "And there they are". He shouldn't have been surprised.

"If you found out that the only way to kill the undead was by shooting them in the head where would you go?"

The realization finally hit him that the police station might have a similar situation. For most citizens, it may have been the first place to run to since it represented a place of safety. Leon hadn't considered the possibility that the station might be crawling with corpses. In the back of his mind, he knew he should try to come up with an alternate plan as calmly and rational as he could. For the mean time, he was going to hold on to the hope that there was a mobilized defense team there.

They quickly made their way to the building, bobbing and weaving through the maze of zombies and wreckage. Upon closer examination, they found the store locked up and barred. Claire looked through the window. Despite the lights being on, no one was inside.

Leon looked up at the building. He figured there must be a door to the apartments above. He turned to Claire. "Got keys?"

Claire realized that Chris's apartment keys were in her leather jacket that she left on her motorcycle, in front of the diner where Leon first met her. She gave Leon an "Oh Shit" look.

Leon already knew what that look meant. No time to cry over spilt milk, "We need to find a way inside!"

Claire banged at the store entrance door. "Is anyone there? She then backed up and yelled at the apartments above, Chris it's me Claire!" There were no lights on. There were no signs that anyone, human anyways, heard her.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw one of the zombies lunge towards Claire, "Behind you!" yelled Leon.

Claire felt hands grabbing her shoulders. She grabbed the hands with hers, sidestepped and threw the zombie over her shoulder. She realized that the noise they created had caught their attention. In a matter of seconds a large crowd of them began forming and heading their way.

This was going to turn ugly.

Claire put her back to the alleyway. "There's a back door behind the building. Take the alleyway, I'll cover you."

Leon saw that Claire had taken up a position of an aggressive defense. He debated whether or not splitting up, even if temporarily, was a good idea. It never works in the movies…He hesitated, "Claire I don't think it's a good idea."

"I'm not trying to be a superhero. One of us needs to hold them off. We're not going to make it to the police station without ammo. We need to get inside. Now, go!" yelled Claire

Well, it was worth a shot. At least he warned her.

While Leon made his way through the alley, Claire pulled out the magnum that she took from an undead police officer she killed. It still had a couple bullets in the chamber. Leon had warned her earlier about using it.

"That gun has a lot of power. Be very careful when you shoot It." warned Leon

Claire rolled her eyes at him, 'Whatever rookie' she thought.

She aimed at a zombie guy in front of her and pulled the trigger.

BANG!

She underestimated the power of the magnum. The bullet blew apart the zombie's head, spewing blood and brain matter everywhere. The thundering kickback alone almost threw out her shoulder. She heard Leon from the alleyway asking if she was okay. After she responded, she shoved the magnum into her waistband cursing to herself.

Claire pulled out her sword. She wasn't surprised that it was still going strong after all the zombie's heads she had bashed in. She was thankful for all the kendo training that she received. She gripped the sword as she looked at all the zombies surrounding her. She needed to buy Leon some time to figure out a way inside.

Claire looked at the enormous odds against her. So this is what the Spartans must have felt at the battle of Thermopylae

Claire braced herself against the on-coming onslaught. "Alright you fuckers. You're going to have to work for your dinner."

Leon ran into the alleyway, temporarily leaving Claire to handle the horde.

"If I didn't know any better it seems as if she was enjoying herself"

Leon shot a few of them in the alleyway, clearing the path for Claire to come through. Leon missed the head of one of the zombies. The bullet went through their neck instead. The zombie fell but continued crawling forward, inching its way to Leon's leg.

"You want to take a bite out of me?" Leon lifted his leg and brought it swiftly down onto the zombie's head. It stopped moving.

"I don't think so."

Suddenly Leon heard a loud bang. Leon turned around to check on Claire. He could tell that she used the magnum after he specifically told her not to. He knew the kickback would be too much for her, but she didn't want to hear it.

"Stubborn as hell" he thought to himself. "You okay" he yelled behind him.

"Just peachy" Claire managed. She sounded okay, but he could tell she was in pain.

Leon turned and moved forward. They were losing valuable time. If there were supplies and protection in the building then they needed to get in and quick.

It was then he saw a van blocking the alleyway and the view from the other side. Great he muttered. Before he could climb over, he heard something coming from the other side of the van. Leon listened carefully; he knew it didn't sound like zombies. It was a sound of fast movement running on the cement. It sounded like it was more than one. He heard a growl and then something jumping on the van. Leon backed away slowly and aimed his gun.

"What the…"

Leon slowly back away as the dogs ferociously growled at him. They jumped from the van and then slowly started walking towards Leon. As the dogs walked under the street light, Leon was able to get a better look at them.

This isn't right

Leon could tell they were German Shepherds. But they had no fur or skin. Their flesh and muscle were exposed. Saliva and blood dripped from their open mouths. They looked hungry.

"Good doggies…" Leon said. He was careful not to make any sudden movement. "Heal," he said nervously unaware that the zombie whose head he smashed in was directly behind him.

Leon tripped on the body and fell backwards. The dogs saw their opening and attacked.

Leon quickly recovered and opened fire at the two dogs running toward him. The bullets hit their mark; the dogs yelped and whimpered before they dropped on the ground motionless. He looked back towards the van and saw that there was one last dog. It seemed as if it was waiting to attack. Leon aimed and pulled the trigger.

Click.

Out of bullets

"Shit" Leon cursed as the dog pounced and lunged towards Leon.

Claire was holding up okay, but she was going nowhere fast. She looked around at the pile of bodies and severed heads of the undead on the ground. There were so many that the zombies were beginning to trip and fall over them. She slowly backed herself into the alleyway giving her more room.

A zombie maneuvered its way through the bodies towards Claire. She winced at the sight of his wounds. His clothes were bloody as was his face and dark hair. His throat appeared to be ripped out and his arms had multiple bite wounds. She raised the sword ready to strike when recognition suddenly set in.

Can't be….he must have just turned....

It was Robert Kendo the store owner.

Claire was good friends with the gun shop owner. She remembered begging him to sell her his famed "Samurai's Edge" a customized version of the 9 mm Beretta 92 F that was created for the sole use of the S.T.A.R.S. team. It was their standard issue.

I promise I'll put it to good use she remembered telling him.

Come back when you're 18 he told her.

Claire quickly side step and brought the sword swiftly down on his head, slicing the cranium in half. The zombified Kendo fell lifeless. Claire was saddened for a moment, when suddenly an idea came to her.

Wait a minute…

Leon heard the shot come from behind his shoulder. He even felt the momentum of it pass by as it made its way to the dog's head. The dog fell down dead in mid air. Leon turned around and looked at the building across from him.

Nobody was there.

Who shot that?

Leon shook the thought away, Worry about that later. He climbed over the van and located the back door behind the gun shop.

He turned the was locked.

Leon shook his head. You didn't think it was going to be that easy did you?

Claire hoped for a miracle as she crouched down next to his corpse and searched his pockets. Her hand grasped a familiar shape. It was followed by the familiar jingle sound.

Keys!

She ran down the alleyway, not even thinking twice about the fallen dogs she ran past. She climbed over the van and found Leon unsuccessfully trying to ram the door down. He didn't seem surprised to see her.

"What took you so long Redfield? I thought I was going to miss the season premiere of the X-Files?"

She held up the keys. Leon was relieved. "Where did you get those?" He asked.

Claire averted his gaze and unlocked the door. "An old friend gave it to me" she said softly.

Leon placed his hand on her shoulder. "What should I say" he wondered. In the end, he figured saying nothing at all would be fine at this point. Who knows how many times he would have to console her that night.