Italicized: POV/Flashbacks/Thoughts/Spell
Bold: Monster
POV: Leon S. Kennedy | September 29th, 1998
Leon S. Kennedy stepped out of his car at the gas station leading into Racoon City. Mizoil Gas Station. He had been told the week before to not come into the city, being told by Captain Irons himself to stay out of the city and to avoid coming near it. Leon had been disbelieving at first, turning to drinking after being fired without a day on the job. It had all been confusing, but he decided not to think about it as he downed many bottles of liquor, bourbon, and regular beer. After four days of drinking, Leon decided he'd had enough, and began to plan for his trip to Racoon City. His drinking and his haste to leave for the city made things tough between himself and his girlfriend. When he left, she had left him with a short letter telling him that they were over. Leon had then proceeded to stop at a motel, get drunk, and pass out the night before.
When he woke up, it was the evening of September 29th, and he was officially late for his originally planned arrival at Racoon City for his first day at the Racoon Police Department. Leon had jumped into his car, and drove the rest of the trip before realizing he was almost out of gas. This was why he currently stood outside of his car outside of the Mizoil Gas Station, placing the nozzle into the car's tank as he began to slowly fill it with gas. He clicked the grip in place, before stepping away. The entire exterior of the place was run down and trashy, with cars littering the surroundings. Leon could vaguely see a figure lying on the hood of a car, appearing to have...fallen. Leon rushed towards the figure, and found a man. The hood had been caved in from the fall, making Leon confused as to how the man hadn't been turned to paste.
Having checked for a pulse, Leon was surprised to find that the man was alive. He needed to call for an ambulance, but had left his phone at his apartment...with his girlfriend. There would be a phone in the gas station that they could use though, Leon was sure of it. While entering the gas station, Leon took note of the Sheriff's car parked next to the door, the lights on and the doors open. Leon reached behind his back, pulling up his jacket before retrieving his pistol. Slowly moving into the gas station, the sound of glass breaking spread through the building, with Leon spotting a trail of blood moving through the shelves. "Hello? Anybody there!?" Leon called out, raising his pistol as the sound of rustling in the opposing room began. He spotted a man lying by the door, his hand on his abdomen. "You all right!?" Leon asked. The man nodded, gripping the wound. "Don't move...I'll be back for you,"
Stepping into the back room, Leon heard the door slam shut behind him, locking itself behind him as Leon frowned. "Hey! What're you doing!?" Leon called out to the shop owner that had been wounded. At the sound of rustling in the other room, Leon pulled open the door, and found the Sheriff holding a man against the wall, only the man had cuts all over his head and was wriggling, thrashing, and growling. "Officer, you need help?" Leon asked, pointing his pistol at the head of the man being held against the wall with a frown.
"Stay back, sir, I got this," The Sheriff called out, turning his head back to address Leon. In that moment of distraction, the man against the wall, spun around, slamming the Sheriff to the ground. The man growled, leaning down as he grabbed the Sheriff's hair, pulling back the Sheriff's head to reveal his neck. The man leaned down, biting into the Sheriff's neck. "Get off him, right now!" Leon called out as the cannibal slowly rose, facing Leon. "What the fuck!? Freeze! I'll shoot!" Leon opened fire on the man. He shot him in the face three times, the third shot resulting in the head of the cannibal blowing up into a puddle of blood. "What the fuck was that?" He asked, frowning deeply. He had heard of the cannibal killers in the Arklay Mountains, but this was...in the outskirts of the city.
"AHHHHHH!" A female voice screamed from outside of the gas station. Leon spun around, grabbing the door keys off the wall before unlocking the nearby door. He moved through the station, coming face to face with the shopkeeper. Only now his skin was pale and his eyes were yellow. Had he been turned into a cannibal? Was it some sort of mental disease passed on through biting or scratches? Deciding to file that away for later, Leon put three bullets into the shop keeper's face before looping around the toppled over shelves. He barely dodged a shelf being toppled over by another cannibal, before coming up to the door. There, a woman in a red leather jacket and blue jeans ran up to the door. She had bright blue eyes, brown hair that had quickly been tied back into a ponytail, and a necklace. It had two different sized silver feathers, with a blue jewel in the larger feather.
At the sight of Leon's weapon, the woman held up her hands and cried out. "Don't shoot!"
"Get down!" Leon called out as the woman shot down into a crouching position. Leon opened fire on the cannibal behind her, three shots in the head ending its life as the woman peered back at it. "You alright?" Leon asked as the woman got to her feet. She shook her head, motioning towards where Leon had found the unconscious black haired, green eyed man who had fallen from the roof and had somehow survived. Only now the man had gotten to his feet, and his eyes were glowing blue. Yet his skin wasn't pale and his eyes weren't yellow. Was he a cannibal? Or was there something else wrong with him? "Besides him? Yeah, I think so...thanks," The woman replied, pulling out her own gun.
"You can thank me later, when we're safe," Leon said.
"Holy shit," The woman spoke as an entire army of cannibals broke through the fence, slowly trotting towards them. Leon aimed his pistol at the closest one and opened fire, with the woman doing the same as the blue-eyed man drew closer. "Should we worry about him?" The woman asked as the horde drew closer.
"Valentine," The man groaned, seemingly in a haze as he fell to the ground at the woman's feet. She reeled back, kicking him in the face...to no effect. His head jolted to the left a bit at the impact, but other than that he was fine. The man grabbed the woman's leg, causing her to scream as she opened fire on the back of his head. Leon was left with a few choices. Save her and risk them both being eaten by the horde? Focus on the horde and let her handle it? Run to the Sheriff's car and get out of there? His moral compass seemed to reach him as Leon turned and grabbed the woman's shoulder, pointing his gun down at the man as he too opened fire. "R...P...D" the man growled, before Leon found his vision suddenly blurry as he felt himself be pulled into a vortex of some kind. The last thing Leon saw before he hit the ground was the interior of a building and the sounds of growling. He had been bit? Leon couldn't tell, but he didn't have to see as he was knocked unconscious when his head collided with the ground.
POV: Claire Redfield
Claire Redfield slowly opened her eyes, letting out a small groan at the pain in her back and side. She had been minding her own business entering the city. She had ridden her motorcycle through the dismantled Army barricade, and only stopped at the gas station because she needed gas. What she didn't expect to find was a black haired man lying unconscious on a caved-in hood, only for his eyes to open as he jolted up. Claire had been so scared in that moment she forgot all of her training as she sprinted away, forgetting that her gun was in her waistband and her knife was beneath her jacket in its sheath. She had run into the man with the gun, and had thought he was trying to kill her, only for him to save her from one of those...those things that had come after them. And then that man...it had latched onto her, gripping her leg for dear life as if it needed the leg - or her - for something. She had started shooting at the man's head, shocked to see it didn't affect him at all. And then...then she was pulled into this vortex and had slammed into the ground or something else hard enough to knock her unconscious.
And here she was, lying down on what felt like a cot as she groaned in pain. She didn't open her eyes, but slowly let her hand drift beneath her jacket, her hand grazing the necklace that sat on her chest as she felt for her knife. It was still there. Claire pulled it out with lightning speed, opening her eyes as she pointed it outwards. When her eyes recovered from the light, she saw him. The man from the gas station, the one that had saved her. He was unconscious, lying in the cot opposite of her with a man standing over him. It was the man who she had been trying to shoot, the one that had grabbed hold of her. "Get away from him," Claire called out, slowly getting up from the cot, pain shooting through her as she did so.
The man turned around, facing her. He no longer had blue eyes, but had gone back to the emerald green color she had seen when he scared her. They were mesmerizing, the color. She had never met someone with emerald eyes before, but she was disappointed that this was that meeting. With a man no doubt holding them hostage. The man held up his arms in a show of surrender, a genuine smile on his face. "I'm happy to see you are awake. After the incident at the gas station I was worried you may have been infected, or perhaps suffered brain damage due to the trauma you received upon our arrival," The man said. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. And I'll try to answer them to the best of my abilities, but that would work better with a name," He paused, frowning. "I'm...I'm James,"
Claire didn't like his uncertainty at that, her trust being worn thin after learning that her brother Chris had been betrayed and then went missing. It was the only reason she was in this city. "Claire...Claire Redfield," Claire replied. James smiled, nodding as he turned back to work on the man in the cot. The man had a small wound on his abdomen, which seemed to be getting smaller and smaller as James held his hand over it. "What happened to him? Who are you? What are you? And how are you doing that?" Claire asked, referring to James' odd form of healing the man.
"This is Leon S. Kennedy. Rookie cop that was supposed to report here - the police station - for his first day...yesterday. When we arrived, he landed there -" James motioned to a small spiked fence surrounding the statue in the middle of the Racoon City Police Department's lobby. There was blood on one of the spikes. Dear god. "- and suffered from head trauma, an obvious puncture wound, two broken ribs, and a bit of blood loss. I - James Potter - am in the process of healing him using my unique abilities, which are classified to civilians,"
"So you're with the government? What the hell is happening around here?" Claire asked.
"I am not with the government, Ms. Redfield -"
"Claire," Claire corrected.
James frowned, but nodded. "Claire. I used to work...with Umbrella," He said through gritted teeth, his left fist clenching in anger as his right hand remained over Leon's wound. "Five days ago, an experimental virus developed by William Birkin was released into the city through the sewers after an unfortunate accident resulting in the virus entering the city's water. Over the course of those five days, thousands of individuals have been infected with the T-Virus, becoming what you would identify as 'Zombies', or what I call 'Bioweapons'. The nature of the virus causes it to mutate and evolve over time. Right now its current state only allows it to be transmitted through food, water, as well as through scratches or bites dealt by an infected. However, in roughly four days, the virus will mutate and evolve, allowing it to be transmitted by air,"
"Meaning it can spread faster," Claire said in realization.
"Precisely. The U.S government will be launching an air-strike that will destroy the city on October 1st, in two days. In the meantime, I must find all survivors residing within the city and escort them out. Only then will the city be safe to destroy," James explained.
"But...my brother. His name's Chris Redfield...have you seen him around here?"
"Chris Redfield...S.T.A.R.S operative...leader of Alpha Team. He was sent to the Spencer Mansion after RPD lost contact with Bravo Team. He and the rest of Alpha Team responded to Spencer Mansion, where they uncovered Umbrella's secrets. They returned from the RPD after the mission was over, but were all suspended by Captain Irons, who is currently under Umbrella payroll. Chris Redfield left Racoon City for the European Umbrella installations, hoping to find evidence that he could use in order to bring Umbrella down. S.T.A.R.S operative Brad Vickers was killed by Umbrella mercenary Carlos Oliveira outside. S.T.A.R.S operative Jill Valentine lies in an infected coma within the Racoon City Hospital, and -"
"Valentine? Is that who you were talking about outside the gas station?" Claire asked. She was glad to hear that Chris was outside of the city and was last seen safe. Though she would like to see him in person to see for herself that he was indeed...alive. James frowned once more, rubbing his hands together once he had finished healing Leon. He turned to her, looking Claire in the eyes. She didn't know how to feel about this, but pushed it into the back of her mind and listened as she spoke. "Jill Valentine. We...met. I made a mistake and she was almost killed. I left to avoid doing it again, and my leaving left her at the mercy of an Umbrella B.O.W known as Nemesis. He evolved and infected her,"
"So...she's one of those things?" Claire asked.
"No...she's naturally resistant for some reason. Her body went into a coma trying to fight the injection off, and she's being protected by Carlos and Tyrell within the Hospital as we speak, with Carlos trying to obtain a cure to treat her with," James explained. Claire frowned. The man that had killed a S.T.A.R.S operative was going out of his way to protect someone he was meant to kill? That didn't make sense. As if having read her mind, James spoke. "Carlos and Tyrell were a part of a mercenaries unit working with the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service - or U.B.C.S - and were tasked to lead civilians out of the city. Carlos saved Jill from...from Nemesis, and the two were working together when I met them. Carlos was injured in my mistake and he...well, he led an infected Jill to the hospital,"
"And Vickers?"
"Infected. Turned into a bioweapon when Carlos was forced to eliminate him,"
"And why do I have the feeling you're hiding something?" Claire asked. James raised an eyebrow at this, but shook his head, turning away from her as he set Leon's gun on his chest. James then moved out of the area they were in and moved towards the statue looking down at them. Claire reached into a pocket, pulling out a neatly folded letter that she unfolded and read to herself. 'Dear Claire, First of all, thanks for the letter. Now, if you'll let me get this one thing off my chest: I can't believe you're really gonna do it! I can't believe you're biking all the way to Raccoon City all by yourself! Just to see your brother!? What the hell, girl!? I know Chris means a lot to you, and yeah, you haven't been able to reach him for a month and all, but you're nuts. You know how many perverts and assholes are out there, just waiting for a hot, young college student to come along and take advantage of? It's not safe to travel alone. But your mind's made up, isn't it? Fine, I get it. Just promise you'll call when you get to Racoon City. Don't leave your bestest best friend hanging, OK!? Love ya! P.S.: Your brother may be THE Chris Redfield, and he may have taught you how to fight and use a gun like a banshee, but that doesn't make you INVINCIBLE, so don't get cocky out there! Love, E.W'
"Who's the friend?" James asked, looking down at the letter while Claire frowned. How had he gotten to her side so fast? He was at the statue a second before, all the way up the stairs, and she would have heard him coming down. Shaking her head, Claire folded the letter once more, and placed it into her pocket. "My best friend...Elza. She and I go to R.C.U - Racoon City University -" She added at his confused expression. "We're out for break and we went back to her home in Denver. We were a month into break when I lost contact with Chris, and came decided to come here to look for him with only a few weeks left...but I guess I won't be going back to school anytime soon," Claire explained.
"Hmm...my education was cut short," James spoke, his eyes filled with darkness as he seemed to be lost in thought. Whatever happened to him to get him to work for Umbrella must not have been a willing situation. She felt a bit bad for him. He had probably been kidnapped or something, forced to work for Umbrella, and then had had some sort of mental breakdown. What confused her was what he was. He definitely wasn't fully human, if the full clip of bullets put into the back of his head to no effect said anything. James shook his head, bringing Claire out of her thoughts as they both heard a groan come from the center of the lobby. Leon was awake, and like Claire had immediately grabbed his gun.
"Get away from her," Leon spoke, pointing his gun at James, who shook his head in resignation.
Claire frowned, but spoke. "It's fine, Leon. He's not here to hurt us,"
"Then how the hell did we get here? And why is there blood all over my shirt?" Leon asked, peering down at where his wound used to be.
"I apologize for that, Officer Kennedy. I had a bit of an...episode, back at the gas station. I brought both of you here, but you fell...onto that," James motioned to the spiked fence, and Leon's eyes widened. He looked between the spike and his abdomen, before turning back to James, who continued. "I healed you, of course. Least I could do all things considered. Marvin is readying his workstation in the back if you want to talk with him about evacuation," Leon nodded, and turned to Claire, who gave him a nod to indicate that she would be fine. Taking a deep breath, Leon turned and headed towards the back where Officer Marvin Branagh was located. James explained to Claire that Marvin's infected bite had been there for two days, with him fighting the infection off slowly like Jill, only still conscious. Then went on to explain that he had been able to heal it to the best of James' abilities, but had only bought Marvin another day or two at best.
Claire took a seat at the table in the center of the lobby, with James joining her as she began to ask him questions about both himself and what was happening in Racoon City. He didn't say much about himself, only that he had lived in Britain until he turned sixteen, and came to America. There, he was taken under Umbrella's wing, and turned into a weapon. He tried to play it off as him being trained militarily like she had by Chris, but she knew better. His abilities told her that he was one of those zombies outside only...different. Under control of his abilities or something. She wasn't sure, but decided not to grill him about it due the fact that he seemed extremely uncomfortable with talking about it. And the reasoning for his inability to remember the names of his family or friends was simplified by himself as 'Amnesia'.
But his explanation of what happened to the city was detailed. It had all started years before with William Birkin and his wife Annette, who worked together to create the G-Virus, a separate entity than the T-Virus - the virus that had infected the city. The virus had been spread through the city via the sewers, getting into the water as thousands became infected. RPD had tried to escort civilians out through the subway, but the power had gone out, and no one was able to get it back online until James had arrived. Jill and Carlos' team had gone onto the train alongside civilians before it was derailed by the Tyrant known as 'Nemesis', someone who was going after both James and Jill. An explosion caused by James had destroyed the entirety of South Avenue, resulting in the injuries of both Jill and Carlos. This led to James leaving them behind, bringing about Jill's infection at the hands of Nemesis.
Claire had answered some of James' questions as well, telling him a bit about herself, making sure not to tell him too much. She trusted him enough for an odd reason, but if there was one thing she'd learned from Chris, it was that she needed to remain vigilant and on guard, especially around those you think you trust. She told him about her growing up with Chris after their parents died, before he too left to join the Air-Force. She had lived with Elza for a few years going to High School until Chris returned and joined S.T.A.R.S. Claire moved onto campus for college, and when she could get back into the city, she would be trained by Chris in hand-to-hand combat as well as in weaponry. She explained that one of her boyfriends had taught her how to pick locks, something she became an expert in as she used alongside Chris' training to use against those that bullied Elza, who wasn't as popular as her as she focused most of her time on her motorcycles as well as racing.
At the boyfriends thing, James seemed to get visibly uncomfortable, something that didn't surprise Claire. From the sounds of it, he had practically grown up with Umbrella, and probably had no time for girlfriends or even friends. Something that made Claire a bit sad. She wouldn't have been able to live through that. No Elza, no Chris, no freedom. She was about to ask him if he had any friends he could remember or if he'd been in any relationships before he left Britain, but they were interrupted when Leon arrived. He was out of his jacket and jeans, and was now in an RPD uniform. The uniform had the following; Black boots, blue tactical pants, black knee guards, a black holster on his thigh, a black belt with a pair of handcuffs, a few pouches, and a radio, a white long-sleeved shirt beneath a blue shirt with the police department logo on the left sleeve, a black tactical vest with 'RPD' on the front, the other end to the radio on his shoulder, black shoulder guards, and black tactical gloves. A flashlight sat in a small holster on the left side of his belt, and his gun sat in his thigh holster. He appeared a bit shaken, but otherwise seemed alright after learning he was physically fine and James wasn't a threat.
"The statue seemed to lie above an entrance to the sewers. There are three medallions around the department that unlock the passage. The sewers lead out of the city," Leon announced.
"But the water holds the virus," Claire pointed out.
"One is only infected by digestion. Contact with the water isn't lethal unless you're in it for too long. At that point, your skin will begin to collect the water, and you will die," James spoke. Claire and Leon turned to him, making him realize how lifeless he had just sounded. James coughed, shaking his head as emotion came back to him. "But as long as you're not in the water for too long you'll be fine," He added.
Leon shook his head, before turning to Claire. "Three medallions. Marvin says they have names, but he didn't know what they -"
"Lion, Unicorn, and Maiden," James interrupted. "The Lion Medallion is located in the Lion Statue up there," Claire and Leon peered up towards the second floor, and saw he was pointing at a Lion's statue beside the Goddess statue. It's paw was on top of a shield, which had a medallion within the center. "That statue contains the Lion Medallion, obtainable through a special code even I don't know," James confessed. Claire raised an eyebrow. He did seem to know a lot, as if he was tied to some sort of greater pool of information. The Unicorn Medallion is located on the second floor through those shutters," He motioned to the shutters that were covered in blood, blood lettering with the words 'Don't Enter. Dead Inside'. "It's located within the lounge, and can be obtained with a similar code," Claire nodded, committing that to memory. The lounge. "And the Maiden Medallion can be found in the West Storage Room on the 3rd floor. It too can be acquired with a code,"
"So...how do we figure out the codes? Are they scratched into the walls or something?" Claire asked, confused. James didn't answer, only frowned as he inclined his head. His eyes narrowed as if he heard or sensed something. After a minute of silence, he turned back to Claire. "No...the codes have been written down, and you can find them somewhere within the police department, most likely on an officer's person. But be warned, the statues aren't as easily accessible as the Lion Statue in this room. The Library - which leads to the Lounge - is currently overrun with Bioweapons, and there are Lickers all over the third floor surrounding the Maiden Statue,"
"What the hell are Lickers?" Leon asked.
"Lickers are Bio Organic Weapons created by Umbrella. They have no eyes, but their sense of hearing is impeccable, being able to hear a quill drop within a loud classroom," Claire and Leon exchanged a look at that. Quill? They then turned back to James, who seemed unaware of his usage of the word, both interested in if there was a way to take down one of these 'Lickers'. "Lickers have large exposed brain tissue that makes them more vulnerable to other B.O.W's. Aim for their brain, and you will be able to take them down in a few well placed shots,"
"You keep sounding like you aren't going to help us with this fetch quest of ours," Leon pointed out.
"I'm not needed at the moment. Besides, I have an angry Tyrant after me, and you two will only be put in danger if I follow you around this place," James replied.
"Now what's a Tyrant?" Claire asked. Why couldn't it just be zombies? Now they had to be stealthy around these Lickers, and now there were these Tyrant things after James. James sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair awkwardly, suddenly uncomfortable. "I...well...the Tyrants are like...like super-powered mercenaries that work for Umbrella, tasked with missions. There are six here in Racoon City. Four are dead, but two remain. Nemesis, the one I told you was after Jill and I. And another codenamed 'Mr. X', who was tasked to acquire a sample of G-Virus located beneath the city in an underground Umbrella facility,"
"Wait...so the G-Virus thing you told me about is here in the city and one of those Umbrella things is after it?" Leon asked. "We have to get it before this 'Mr. X' does, or else Umbrella might unleash it on another city," Claire nodded in agreement, only for James to wave it off.
"Mr. X isn't a problem. Compared to me he's small and relatively untrained -" He caught himself, his eyes widening as Leon's hand suddenly shot towards his holster.
"Compared to you? Are you one of those Tyrant things?" Leon asked. James frowned, getting to his feet as he backed away towards the wall. He now seemed very uncomfortable, fidgeting a bit as he rubbed his left arm. "I...well...it's hard to explain,"
"You were turned into one of those things by Umbrella...weren't you?" Claire asked.
"I -" James was cut off by a BOOM! that shook the foundation of the entire building, with James' eyes widening. His eyes then sharpened, going from emerald to dark green. He suddenly expanded, his odd looking outfit expanding with him as he stood over them at over nine feet tall. Claire followed his eyeline, looking up at him in shock as he shrugged. "I guess this answers your question, Officer Kennedy," James said. He reached into the small pouch at his side, and pulled out an entire rifle that matched his increased size. James pulled out a magazine, placing it into the rifle before looking down at them. "They're both here. Nemesis and Mr. X. I'll handle Nemesis, but I don't think I'll be able to juggle them both. If you see either, run. Don't try to fight them, because they will crush your skull without a second thought,"
"So. Claire and I go for the medallions, you hold back this Nemesis, and we'll leave through the sewers while avoiding Mr. X. You got it," Leon spoke. He moved towards the west hallway leading out of the lobby, pulling open the clean shutters to reveal a receptionist room leading out of the area. Claire looked up at James, and found him with his eyes closed firmly shut. His breathing had increased, and he seemed to be...hyperventilating. He was having a panic attack or something. "Are you alright?" At her question, James' eyes shot open, glowing black as he growled down at her. Claire backed away, reaching for her gun as James dropped his, reaching for his head as he led out a roar that shook the floor.
"You need to get out of here," James spoke, his voice shaking and deep as his skin began to bubble. Claire nodded, agreeing as she rushed past him, moving past Officer Branagh as he hid behind a set of curtains, sitting in front of a computer. She rushed up the steps, moving past the Lion's Statue as she moved through the balcony looking over the lobby on the second floor. She looked down at James, whose fists were clenched as he repeatedly punched the ground in what looked like pain. The dust on the ground around him was floating, and his skin now appeared almost orange. Shaking her head, Claire stepped through the closest door, and frowned. There were zombies everywhere, surrounding the bookshelves in the room. She had found the Library.