Familiar Evil

by trestwho

Louise's summoning of her familiar was supposed to be the ultimate, final proof that she was truly a mage. But, instead she somehow found herself in a place called Raccoon City on an entirely different world. A world where magic didn't exist, and when that world falls apart, she and the boy who was supposed to be her familiar must fight for their lives against the evil around them.

9. Secure Place

Familiar Evil (Familiar of Zero/Resident Evil)
Chapter 9: Secure Place

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They ran as fast as they could. Away from the soldiers, away from the zombies, away from everything that meant them harm. Despite their legs burning and their lungs begging for relief, they didn't stop. Each crack of gunfire that made them flinch and each moan of a zombie shambling towards them only gave them further motivation to flee, to ignore their bodies' limits as long as possible.

Cutting through an alleyway, gagging as the smell of rotten flesh burned their nostrils, they saw a door in front of them slam open as a pair of bodies fell through onto the ground. Saito and Louise didn't stop, rushing past the bodies as they twitched and pushed themselves back up, staring at them hungrily and letting out raspy groans. Beside them, blocked only by a chain-link fence, were several more zombies. Some were feasting on corpses, others were slamming their bodies against the wires in an attempt to get to them. The fence shook and rattled with each impact, but for the moment it held. There was no telling how long that would last, however, and so they continued to run without giving the undead a second glance.

"Fondateur nous protégé," Louise whispered a prayer to herself in her native language. Gallian, or French as it was known on Earth. Before this nightmare began, she might've felt curious as to why their worlds' languages were so similar to one another, but right now she couldn't care less.

"Jesus Christ!" Saito yelped as an overweight man's body fell out an open window three stories up, landing face first onto the concrete. Loud cracks were heard as bones shattered, some of which were ejected out of the skin. Yet despite the extent of his injuries, the man released a moan and tilted his decayed and partially crushed head up at them, revealing itself to be a zombie. It reached out with its good arm, trying to grab one of their ankles, but both teenagers stepped out of the way before running off. Behind them, the zombie attempted to pull itself across the ground towards them, moaning hungrily all the while.

"Are…are they still after us?!" Louise desperately asked, briefly looking behind her shoulder in the direction they ran from.

They had long since lost track of how much distance they had gained since they started running, nor how long they'd been doing so. If Saito had to guess, they must've ran at least a mile or two, but there was no telling if that would be enough. If they were to stop and catch their breath, they might be simply giving the mercenaries enough time to catch up, take Louise in, and do God knows what to him. Yet, at the same time, a brief look at Louise's face told him that she wouldn't be able to do this for much longer. While she was far from being out of shape, she wasn't an athlete like he was. Even then, he couldn't keep his body exerting itself continuously, and with each passing moment he was finding it harder and harder to continue. It wasn't difficult to realize that their bodies were running entirely off of adrenaline at this point, and eventually that would run out. If either of them were to collapse onto the street it would be game over.

"I don't know. Maybe," Saito admitted, taking a quick look of his surroundings as they exited the alleyway onto a relatively empty street, a dozen zombies shambling aimlessly around them.

Through the open windows of nearby buildings, he could see more of the undead moving about, some standing in place while others slowly slammed their bodies repeatedly against walls and windows. Closer to them on a nearby intersection, kneeling underneath a flickering streetlamp, were three zombies gorging themselves on something. Louise whimpered at the sight of it all, which prompted the trio of zombies closest to them to stop their feast and slowly turn their attention towards them. Their bodies twitched slightly, their skin torn and deathly grey with visibly rotting sections dotting them. Their mouths were covered in blood, dripping off their chins and splattering against the sidewalk. Saito only got a brief look at what they were eating, and to his horror he saw that it was the bodies of a young couple.

As the zombies shambled up to their feet and began walking towards them, Saito gripped Louise's hand and started running away. As they did, Louise fearfully asked, "What are we going to do?!"

"Working on it!" Saito replied, gripping his baseball bat tighter as they ran through the street.

More and more zombies were noticing them, mindlessly abandoning whatever they were doing previously to go after them. It was as though pure, raw hunger was the only thing that drove them, nothing else mattering in the slightest. It made Saito's stomach churn, seeing all these people have their humanity stripped away. Whoever they once were, it was clear that these zombies weren't people anymore.

It was then that Louise tugged his hand and she shouted, "Look, over there!"

She was pointing at a ten-story apartment complex, the front doors open. A few zombies were banging themselves against the brick wall, but overall the entrance looked relatively clear. Realizing what she was suggesting, Saito and Louise sprinted through the gap. The zombies nearby attempted to reach out and grab them, but they were able to slip past, rush up the stairs and through the doors. Quickly turning around, almost losing their footing in the process, they slammed the doors shut. Louise immediately began locking the deadbolts while Saito swiveled his head around to find something to brace the door with. Finding some chairs and a couch nearby, Saito rushed over to grab the chairs and lean them against the door handles. A moment later, he began pushing the sofa towards the door, letting out an exerted groan as he did. Louise quickly rushed over to help push as well, and together they pinned the sofa against the legs of the chairs, preventing them from moving.

Knowing that wasn't enough, Saito and Louise rushed throughout the lobby, throwing everything they could against the door. Potted plants, chairs, more sofas, and even a few shelves that they were able to pry loose. Soon they couldn't even see the door through the pile of miscellaneous items stacked against it. Only then did they let themselves sigh in relief as they took in their moment of safety.

That moment was shattered as they heard a dull thud against the glass. With wide eyes, they watched as a zombie, eyeing them through milky white eyes, banged its upper body against a window. There weren't any cracks yet, but each thud made them flinch and step back.

"Come on," Saito said, taking Louise's hand once again. They turned around and ran down the hallway, not once looking back as the thuds faded into the distance.

"Saito, I…" Louise started, only to stop to breathe heavily. "I…I don't know how much longer…I can keep doing this…"

Saito was breathing heavily too, and he pursed his lips and nodded in reluctant agreement. They could no longer push it away now. Both of them were exhausted, and they needed to find a place to bunker down and get some rest.

"Okay, we, uh, we need to…" Saito began, looking around to try and find some answers to their dilemma. He then spotted the elevators and pointed to them. "We'll take those elevators up and choose the most secure room we can find, lock ourselves in, and just…process things."

Louise looked at him for a moment, then nodded. Her legs felt as though they were about to fall out from under her, and her entire body was covered in a layer of sweat. Her throat was dry, and her heart thundered in her chest. There was no telling how much longer she'd last, and taking a rest sounded good right now. At the same time, she wasn't entirely certain she should rest. Falling asleep would leave her utterly defenseless, and if those mercenaries caught up to her, or Founder forbid a zombie got inside their safe room, there wouldn't be anything she could do to defend herself. Still, as her head swayed slightly and her eyelids grew heavier, Louise knew she didn't have much of a choice. Besides, there likely wasn't anywhere in Raccoon City that could be called 'safe' anymore. Safety was now relative.

The two teenagers walked over to the elevators and stood before it. Saito pushed the call button, and they patiently waited as the elevator came down. They stared at the electronic number display above the door, watching it count down from the ninth all the way down to the first. The doors opened with a chime, then they both yelped and stepped back as a zombie stumbled through the now open doors. It groaned and turned towards Louise, reaching out with its arms and picking up its speed, but Saito quickly bashed it in the head with his baseball bat. A loud crack echoed across the hall as the bat connected, sending the zombie headfirst into the wall. As it slumped to the ground, Saito repeatedly struck the zombie again and again, not stopping until the head was partially caved in.

The zombie's body went still, and Saito breathed in and out heavily as he stared at the corpse. Briefly, his eyes shifted towards the bloodstained weapon in his hands, the wood slightly dented and what looked to be bits of bone sticking out of it. For a moment, Saito almost felt the need to hurl, but there was nothing in his stomach to let out. But his eyes never left the corpse, and his body sagged slightly.

"Saito…come on," Louise quietly begged, pulling at Saito's sleeve. This knocked him out of his stupor, and she led him into the open, and empty, elevator. The doors closed behind them, and they tried their best to ignore the pungent smell in the elevator car and the bloodstains on the ground and walls.

"I…I think we should get as high up as possible," Louise suggested. "Seems safer to me."

Saito nodded at that, then pressed the tenth floor button. They felt the elevator lurch slightly as it rose up the shaft. Cheery elevator music could be heard, a wordless tune from a popular song back in the 80s. Normally it would've annoyed Saito, but at the moment he didn't particularly care about its presence. Louise, staring blankly at the wall in front of her, didn't react either. Soon, the elevator stopped and the doors opened, revealing a dark, claustrophobic hallway. None of the lights were on, and not a sound could be heard. An eerie, heavy atmosphere could be felt as Saito and Louise stepped through, weapons tightly held.

They jumped slightly as the doors closed with a chime, then they let out a sigh of embarrassed relief as they realized what it was. Regaining their composure, they chose a direction and began moving at a snail's pace, Saito pulling out his recovered flashlight to guide them.

"So, what are we looking for?" Louise asked, her wand outstretched in front of her, aiming down the hallways and a spell on her lips, ready to cast at a moment's notice.

Truth be told, Saito didn't quite know himself. Now that they were there, it was hard to determine the correct criteria for what made a room relatively safe or not. After a moment, he thought through his answer and nodded to himself.

"We can't be too close to the elevators or the stairs," he began, "but we should be able to get to them quickly if we have to. The less windows the better, but at the same time we need to be connected to a fire escape."

Louise thought it over, humming slightly, then nodded in agreement. She then asked, "How are we going to get in?"

"We'll…find a key, or something. Haven't really thought that through yet," Saito admitted, letting out a small sigh. "I suppose, if we have to, I can kick a door down."

Louise immediately knew that was a horrible idea. Not only would kicking down a door create a lot of noise, potentially attracting any zombies nearby, but more importantly it would prevent them from locking the door back up. As she pondered a way to get past this problem, Louise looked at the wand still held in her hands, then realized she already had the answer.

"Don't worry, I'll handle that," Louise declared. Saito looked at her for a moment, then saw her waving her wand around slightly in a circle. He let out a sigh of relief, happy that he wouldn't have to actually kick a door down, and they continued prowling the halls.

A few of the doors were open or slightly ajar, some broken down from the outside in. Saito and Louise avoided them like the plague, not wanting to deal with anything that might still be inside. Others appeared to be relatively intact, but when Louise attempted to open the locks they were stopped by either strange sounds coming from inside, makeshift barricades preventing them from opening it more than a few inches, or just the fact that the room didn't fit their criteria.

Just as desperation was about to take hold and force them into making a subpar choice, they managed to find an intact room on the far side of the floor. Louise opened the mechanical lock with a cantrip, allowing them to peek inside.

"Hello?" Louise quietly called out, poking her head through the door.

No one responded, prompting the two teenagers to slowly make their way inside. Closing the door behind them but not locking it, they began to scour the apartment. It was small, clearly meant for one person. The only window was in the shared living room and kitchen, with the top of a fire escape just on the other side. Inside the living room was a small couch sitting opposite a tv. In the corner was a nightstand, an antique typewriter on it with a lamp sitting beside it. Next to the couch was a large chest, locked by a padlock, and a bookshelf. A few paintings of flowers and landscapes were the only other pieces of decoration in the otherwise drab apartment. The only other rooms were a bathroom and a small bedroom, neither of which had any windows to speak of.

Taking one last look around, Saito nodded to himself then said, "I think this is the best we're going to get."

Louise nodded too, then replied, "I think you're right. This is as safe a place as any."

"For now, anyway," Saito mumbled, then shook his head clear of those dark thoughts. As he moved to the door, he added, "I'll go ahead and start blocking the door while you close those blinds. We can't have anyone looking in."

"Right," Louise confirmed with another nod, then walked over to the windows.

She pulled on the string, causing the blinds to fold closed, preventing anyone from looking in or out. That being said, she couldn't help but pry two of the folds open slightly to look at the chaotic mess below. Cars were on fire, illuminating the shambling bodies of zombies roaming about. For a brief moment, she saw someone attempt to run through, but they were quickly surrounded by the horde and consumed in a mass of bodies. Louise let out a gasp then removed her fingers. Breathing heavily, she clenched her chest with her left hand while her right held her wand, her eyes wide as she stared blankly at the floor.

"Louise, you okay?" Saito asked, his voice filled with concern.

Louise couldn't look at him for a moment, then she nodded, took in a few deep breaths, and answered, "I'm…fine. I just…"

She then felt a sensation coming from her gut, and her eyes widened while she involuntarily squeezed her legs together. With an embarrassed blush, she quietly said, "I…have to use the restroom."

"Oh," Saito replied, not quite sure how to answer that. He then awkwardly pointed his thumb at the restroom and offered, "I'll keep doing this while you…do your thing."

Louise nodded gratefully, then rushed into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, locking it out of habit. Realizing that Saito was the only person in with her, she quickly unlocked the door. Then she gagged as a putrid smell entered her nose. It didn't take much looking to realize that it was coming from the filled bathtub, the still water so grimy that it was impossible to see to the bottom. She thought about emptying it through the drain, but she didn't want to reach her hand into the disgusting water so she didn't. Wanting to get her business over with quickly, Louise placed her wand on the counter then walked over to the toilet. Lowering her jeans, she sat down on the toilet seat, trying her best to ignore the smell. Louise had no idea what would cause the water to smell that bad, but it was proof enough that it was clearly something in the water that was causing everything.

After a moment, relief began to flow through Louise. It wasn't much, but she no longer felt like she was going to explode. She involuntarily closed her eyes, allowing herself to be lost in the first moment of peace she felt in what seemed like a lifetime yet wasn't even a day. Through the wall, she could hear Saito moving things against the doorway, making sure not to create too much noise. Louise honestly wondered if their makeshift barricade would be enough, but it was better than nothing.

So lost in the moment, she didn't even notice that she had finished. Or, rather, she didn't really care. After running constantly for hours, just sitting down, even with her pants pulled down to her knees and on a toilet seat, was a welcome change of pace. Her eyes, already heavy, began to droop, and her body started to slump forward as exhaustion gripped her.

Then she heard the sound of moving water, and Louise's head shot upright and turned towards the filled bathtub. The water was now rippling, splashing in and out of the tub. Her heartbeat quickened, and she glanced at her wand which was out of reach. Just as she was about to rush over to grab it, the water lurched upward as something rose from the bottom of the tub.

Louise's jaw hung as a naked woman stood fully upright, the water cascading down her body and nearly flooding the floor. But her skin was completely rotten, her muscles wasted away as blood oozed out of open sores. Louise didn't make a sound, silently praying that the zombie wouldn't notice her. But, a moment later, the zombie shakily turned its head to Louise, and let out a raspy moan.

"Saito, SAITO!" Louise shouted fearfully as she fell off the toilet seat, scrambling away on her back as the zombie shambled towards her, arms outstretched.

With the distance between them so short, it didn't take long for the zombie to reach her, where it dropped down with its jaws opened wide. Louise attempted to kick the zombie away, but she might as well have been kicking a brick wall for all the good it did as the zombie pressed her down, then reared its head back to bite down onto her exposed neck.

Just as it did, however, the bathroom door burst open as Saito kicked it in, his baseball bat in hand. As soon as he saw the zombie's jaws connect with her flesh, he saw red and sprinted over. He pulled the zombie off of his friend with all his strength, Louise letting out an involuntary cry of pain as he did, then swung his bat into its face. It fell back onto the ground, where he continued to beat it again and again. But this zombie was tougher, his blows only causing superficial damage to the head. It repeatedly attempted to push itself off the ground, but each blow forced it back down.

Then a recovered Louise broke a towel bar off of its mount, and with a yell she stabbed the aluminum rod into its eye. Only then did the zombie stop moving, and with one last breath and involuntary spasm the undead woman went silent. Both teenagers stared at it for a moment, then Saito look at Louise who looked back at him.

Emotions quickly boiled over, and Louise didn't even care that she wasn't wearing any pants as she tearfully wrapped her friend in a hug, sobbing into his shoulder. Saito hugged her right back, relieved that he was able to get to her in time and cursing himself for missing the zombie's presence during his rounds. He then pulled himself away and noticed the wound on her neck. His eyes widened, and Louise's eyes widened as well as her hand shot up to cover it.

"Oh, Gods…" Louise mumbled, fear clenching her heart as she remembered the fate of Officer Sanchez after he was bit in the neck.

"Let me see, let me see," Saito demanded, pulling her hand away. Whimpering, Louise allowed Saito to shine a light on the wound, silently offering apologies to everyone she could. After a moment, Saito sighed in relief and revealed, "Oh thank God, it's just a bruise. It didn't break the skin."

Louise released a breath she didn't know she was holding, then quickly wrapped Saito again in a tight hug which he returned. She didn't want to be left alone right now, and she continued to cry into his shoulder. After a few moments, they reluctantly pulled away from each other, and Saito's attention immediately went to the bruise on her neck.

"We should," he began, then gulped loudly. "We should probably clean it, just to be safe."

She stared at her friend for a moment, then nodded. She stepped back slightly, and only then did they realize Louise's half-naked state. With an embarrassed blush, Saito turned away and stared out into the living room while Louise hastily put her pants back on.

After that, they made their way to the sofa in the living room. Louise briefly looked at all the chairs, desks, and other heavy objects that Saito had stacked against the door. The TV was there, but clearly Saito didn't have time to move anything else of that weight. He sat her down on the sofa, turning on a nearby lamp to illuminate her skin.

"Tilt your head to the right, please," Saito requested.

With a gulp, Louise did as instructed while Saito pulled out their recovered medical supplies. Taking a cotton swab and dousing it in medical alcohol, he rubbed it against the wound. She hissed in pain and discomfort, but didn't try to stop him. A few moments later, Saito pulled the swab away, then pulled out the last of their crushed herb tablets.

"Take this," Saito said. "Just in case."

"But…what if we need it later?" Louise pointed out, and Saito shook his head.

"You were just bit by a zombie," he reminded her. "I don't care that it didn't break the skin, we're not taking any chances."

Louise pursed her lips, not liking the unsettling implications at all. She gulped again, then asked, "Are…are you sure it'll even help?"

"Sure as Hell won't hurt," Saito pointed out.

Not finding any fault in that logic, Louise took the tablets into her mouth, chewed, then swallowed. Almost immediately the effects made themselves known as the bruise on Louise's neck subsided. It was still there, but far duller than before and the throbbing pain of it was gone. Her throat was even drier now, which Saito quickly alleviated by handing her a full water bottle. As Louise greedily gulped the contents down to satiate her thirst, Saito put what was left of their supplies into the nylon bag they had recovered, then he sat down hard next to Louise. There was only a little bit of water left, and Louise gasped for breath while wiping away the excess from her mouth. She prepared to finish it off, then noticed Saito's presence. A pang of guilt shot through her as she realized how much she had taken, then she held the water bottle up to him. Saito looked at her for a moment, then gratefully took the offering and finished it off.

---

Disposing of the corpse was a messy, yet ultimately simple affair. All they had to do was open a window and toss the body off the fire escape. After a ten-story drop, it splattered across the concrete into a bloody, meaty paste. Saito and Louise didn't spare it much more attention, besides making sure nothing would come their way after making such a scene. A few nearby zombies did wander over to begin feasting on the remains, but otherwise nothing noticed them.

Cleaning up the spilled blood and gory remains of the zombie being dragged across the carpet was a bigger problem. While they didn't plan on staying in the relative safety of the apartment for long, the last thing they needed was for them to potentially get infected by whatever disease was causing this. Luckily, the previous occupant of the apartment, whom Saito and Louise had presumably just tossed out a window while trying not to retch from the naked, waterlogged flesh, had some cleaning supplies that they were able to quickly use. It was more of a patch job compared to how they cleaned the Hiraga family apartment before everything went to hell, but at the very least it got rid of the smell. The bathtub was also drained, and Saito wished that he would never have to feel the sensation of sticking his arm into the chunky water again for the rest of his life.

After that, the two of them made one final round across the apartment, checking everything for any sign of more hidden zombies. They checked in closets, under the bed, even in small cabinets and tucked-away corners. No stone was left unturned, their fear keeping them up despite their exhaustion closing in from all sides. Finally, when they confirmed that there was no one else with them in the entire apartment, the two teenagers allowed themselves to retreat into the bedroom and collapse onto the bed. They were so exhausted, they fell asleep almost as soon as they touched the mattress, holding each other tight for comfort and safety.

When Louise awoke, her mind was so groggy that at first she didn't quite understand her immediate surroundings. All she knew was that she was being spooned by Saito, her back to his chest, on top of a bed. They weren't even under the covers, having fallen asleep before they had the chance to. For a brief moment, Louise felt that it wasn't that bad, especially when Saito snored softly and involuntarily drew her closer to him. She was even tempted to fall back asleep.

But then the memories of the previous day, and their harrowing escape through the night, came roaring back. The complete collapse of Raccoon City, Umbrella mercenaries breaking into their home, Saito's parents sacrificing themselves to save her and Saito, and the hordes of undead feasting upon the flesh of the living. It wasn't some horrid nightmare, Louise dreadfully realized, and she couldn't help but whimper. Her whimpering woke Saito up with a slight start, and he groggily looked around the room before taking notice of their position. With an embarrassed yelp, he jumped away but still remained on the bed. A furious blush was on his face, one that Louise returned as she slowly turned around to look at him, continuing to lay on her side.

Their embarrassment over how closely they slept together didn't last long, however, as a sullen, forlorn expression returned to Saito's face. He looked around one last time, and he whispered, "Please…please tell me it was all a dream. Please…"

Louise wanted nothing more than to tell him that it was, that they simply fell asleep on his bed and his parents would be waiting for them. That his mother was busy making breakfast while his father got ready to go to work. But that would be a lie, and so she looked down at the bed before shaking her head. Saito stared at her for a few moments, then gulped loudly.

"God…damn it…" Saito cursed, raising a fist slightly before weakly punching the bed. A few sniffles broke out over everything he had lost, and tears pooled at the corners of his eyes.

Then, just before he could completely break down, he felt Louise's arms gently wrap around his shoulders. Surprised, Saito looked to see Louise burying her head into his shoulder. A moment later, Saito returned the hug, then began to cry. He'd been so focused on simply getting out of there alive that he didn't have the time to really process anything. Now that he did, the emotions all surged up with a vengeance. Warm, salty tears and snot fell from his face onto Louise's shoulder, yet neither of them cared.

Both teenagers sat on the bed, hugging each other as though their lives depended on it. They quickly lost track of time, not helped by the lack of a window. Eventually they broke apart, and with a few sniffles they got off the bed and entered the living room. Sunlight shone in through the blinds, but not a sound could be heard besides the faint rumble of the AC unit and the building's ventilation system. For a moment, Saito and Louise stood there, staring at the pile of random objects Saito had braced against the door, then they turned to each other.

"Alright," Saito began, not quite sure where to begin, "we should…probably get something to eat. Then we can…figure out what to do next."

Louise nodded at that, her feeling of hunger punctuated by a low growling of her stomach. As Saito dug into the nylon bag for the leftovers they recovered from the diner, Louise sat herself down on the sofa. It was too big for Saito to move the night before, alongside the chest next to it, giving her a place to collect her thoughts. A few moments later, Saito placed a plastic container holding leftover lasagna into the microwave, then pressed the reheat button. He grabbed both of them a fork from the appropriate drawer. Then, once the food was finished reheating, he carefully pulled it out and carried the steaming dish over to the sofa. Saito sat down next to Louise, giving her one of the forks, and together they began to dig into the food.

It was finished fairly quickly, and neither felt fully satisfied. Louise then asked, "Is there anymore?"

"Yeah," Saito confirmed with a quick nod, "but I get the feeling that food's gonna be hard to come by in the next couple days. Especially safe food. We're going to have to ration what we have and grab whatever we can carry from now on."

"Oh, right," Louise grumbled, scowling to herself. Of course they wouldn't be able to eat to their hearts' content right now. They were in a survival situation, and making sure that they had enough food to last the next few days took precedence over comfort or satisfaction. Once they got out of Raccoon City, then Louise would gorge herself. Didn't mean she had to like it, though.

Nodding reluctantly to herself at her situation, Louise then turned her head towards Saito as she placed her fork into the now empty container. She then asked, "Saito, what are we doing to do? We…we can't stay here."

She gestured with her arms across the room, not just indicating the apartment they took shelter in but the entire city in general. With the zombies out to eat them, and the armed men and women hunting them, hunkering down in Raccoon City to wait it out would be tantamount to suicide. Saito evidently agreed with a nod of his own, then he sighed.

"Honestly, I'm still trying to figure that out," he admitted. "I know I said yesterday, or this morning I guess, that we could find a car and drive our way out of here, or get somebody to evacuate us, but I haven't the faintest idea on how to do either of them."

"Can't we, what was it called, hardwire a car or something? Like they did in all those movies?"

"It's hotwire," Saito corrected, then shook his head, "and no. I wouldn't even begin to know how to do that. We could always try your magic, but…"

"Having an explosion happen inside a car while we're in it probably wouldn't end so well," Louise finished for Saito, figuring where he was going with it. Saito slowly nodded after a moment, and Louise nodded back. She then pulled out her wand and, as she stared at it, said, "To be honest, using those unlocking cantrips last night was the most success I've had in magic my entire life. Almost every other time I tried, it blew up in my face. Funny how it just now clicks for me when my life literally depended on it."

"Well, it certainly made things easier for us, so better late than never," Saito replied, giving his friend a soft smile. He then scrunched his face in curiosity before wondering, "So, that cantrip…what makes you able to cast it but nothing else?"

"I suppose it's because cantrips can be so basic that they don't rely on a normal elemental affinity to function," Louise explained. "They don't even require proper spells to cast. I could say anything, and so long as the intention is there it'll work. For example…"

Louise turned towards the locked chest beside the sofa and aimed her wand at it. She silently prayed to the Founder and the Gods that this wouldn't explode, then she said, "Open."

As soon as the words left her mouth, the padlock unlatched and slid open, granting the two teenagers access to its contents. Louise nodded to herself, then kept her wand pointed at the lock and said, "Close."

The padlock clamped itself shut with a click, locking it back up. Louise repeated the process a few more times, changing up the words ever so slightly, and by the third time she unlocked the chest she felt that her point was thoroughly made. Louise turned back to Saito and said, "See?"

Saito stared at the chest for a moment, then looked at Louise. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly and shake his head, then replied, "Well, aren't you just the master of unlocking?"

Despite herself, Louise chuckled at the teasing joke, cherishing this moment of levity in an otherwise nightmarish Hell. Saito then refocused himself and asked, "Okay, so what else can you do that doesn't need an element? Anything that could help us?"

"I…don't know," Louise quietly answered, staring at her wand again. "Most cantrips have an elemental affinity to them. Perhaps…"

She paused to think, combing through her mind for all the years of magical theory tucked away in her memories. Most were completely useless in their situation, but a few could be helpful. Nodding to herself, Louise held her wand out slightly, then said, "Light."

Part of her feared an explosion, much like the last time she attempted to cast this cantrip, but instead a bright orb of blue light emerged at the tip of her wand. Louise and Saito stared at it for a few moments, and the mage couldn't help but let out a small smile. She then shook her head and turned it off before looking at Saito.

"Alright, so you can turn your wand into a flashlight," Saito said, then expectantly looked at her. "Anything else?"

Louise nodded, then replied, "I think I might be able to cast a basic Detect Magic cantrip, but frankly that's not going to be of any use to us. I'm the only mage here, so all I'll be doing is detecting me. Other than that, the only other cantrip I might be able to cast would be telekinesis."

"Telekine…wait, as in moving things with your mind? You could've done that the entire time?" Saito incredulously asked, and Louise gave him a flat stare.

"I didn't know that I could. Every time I tried previously, all I got for my efforts was an explosion," she curtly reminded him. Saito stared at her for a few moments, then sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh, right. Sorry," he apologized, then shook his head again. "Do you want to try it in here?"

Louise considered it for a moment, then nodded. She took another breath, then aimed at her discarded fork. With her left hand opened and raised in front of her, Louise said, "Pull."

Slowly, the fork rose in the air, shaking back and forth as it did before gently being pulled into Louise's waiting hand. It took all of her attention to keep the spell contained, lest she accidentally cause an explosion and draw the horde to them. Once the fork was in her hand, she stopped the spell, then released the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Wow," Saito muttered in amazement. Louise smiled at the quiet praise, then refocused herself. She couldn't allow any distractions, and even the momentous occasion of her magic finally working properly came secondary to the situation they were in. Saito recognized her shift in demeanor as well, then cleared his throat.

"Alright, so you can cause explosions, create light, move small objects with your mind, and lock and unlock things," Saito summarized, pinching his chin and nodding to himself. "That is useful. But…"

"But what?" Louise asked, not quite sure where he was going. Saito looked at her for a moment, then sighed and pulled out his empty Browning Hi-Power.

"Louise, I'm going to be honest here," he began, his voice utterly serious. "If we're going to get out of this alive, you and I are probably going to have to face more of those things. We have to be able to defend ourselves."

"I know," Louise replied, then held up her wand. "If anything gets in our way, I'll just blow them up."

"Yeah, and attract every other zombie nearby to us," Saito pointed out. Louise winced, remembering how bad the situation got when that massive horde of zombies surrounded them, attracted by the sound of her explosions. Saito nodded in understanding, then added, "As much as it pains me to say it, I think you should save your magic for when we absolutely need it. I'm afraid that if you keep spamming it, all we'll end up doing is drawing more to us, and that's the last thing we need."

Louise looked down at her feet, clenching her fists atop her thighs. She ruefully laughed to herself, then muttered, "Of course. The one time my magic is actually useful, it turns out it might only make things worse. How could it be any different?"

"That's not what I'm saying," Saito quickly countered, gently grabbing Louise's shoulder which prompted her to look at him. "All I'm saying is that we need to save it for when it really matters. Our trump card, basically. Does that make sense?"

Louise stared at him for a moment, then nodded in understanding. She then said, "I suppose. But I can't just let you handle everything with an empty gun and a baseball bat."

"I know, which brings me to my second point," Saito declared, then took a deep breath. "Louise, we need to find you a weapon. A knife, hammer, something. If we're lucky, maybe even a gun."

"A gun?" Louise repeated, shooting back slightly. "Saito, I've never fired a gun before in my life. I wouldn't know the first thing to do with one."

"Neither did I before today," he reminded her. "Remember, though; I'm a bit of a gun nut. I'm certain that, whatever we find, I'll be able to help walk you through it. Besides, guns are made to be easy to learn and operate. It's not like we're trying to figure out how to take it apart and put it back together. All we really need to know is how to reload and fire it."

Louise supposed that made sense, and aiming a gun shouldn't be too different than the practice she had with aiming her wand. If anything, the iron sights would make it easier, though on the other hand there was the recoil which she most certainly wasn't used to. Either way, Louise supposed she didn't have much of a choice, and so she nodded in agreement. Saito nodded back, then stood up off the sofa.

"We should probably get going," he said, placing his hands on his hips. "Before we do, though, I want to check around the apartment for anything interesting. We didn't really get a chance to do so last night, and the last thing I want is to leave anything useful behind. Besides, it's not like anyone else is using it…"

Louise sighed as she once again remembered the fate of the woman who lived here. As far as they could tell, the unnamed woman must've gotten into the bath early in the day only for her to be infected by whatever was in the water. There, submerged under the infected water, she died and came back to life as a zombie. That was the theory, at least. It was also possible that something else did her in. Either way, her body eventually came to rest in the bathtub, only to rise again to try and eat Louise. The noblewoman shuddered at the memory and rubbed her hand over the spot on her neck where the zombie bit her.

The memory sparked a thought in her mind, and it made Louise feel sick to her stomach. She didn't want to think about the possibility, wanting to just ignore it completely, but try as she might it wouldn't leave. Like a fly continuously flying around her head, evading all of her attempts to get rid of it, the thought remained and grew more and more incessant the longer it went on. Finally, Louise couldn't handle it anymore, and she hugged herself close.

"Saito," she began as she stood up off the sofa, turning to face her friend. "Whatever happens, I want you to promise me something."

Saito looked at her in surprise, then nodded and said, "Okay, yeah. Promise you what?"

"Promise me…" Louise gulped, and tears threatened to spill out. But she managed to maintain her composure, then she ordered, "Promise me…that you won't let me turn into one of those things."

Saito's eyes widened as the nature of her request made itself clear. His mouth suddenly felt dry, and he wanted to refuse. But, at the same time, he knew that he couldn't, not when the alternative was so horrible. So he nodded, then replied, "Okay, only if you make the same promise for me."

Louise looked at Saito for a few moments, her eyes widening as well, then she nodded in reluctant agreement. The two teenagers then wrapped each other in a tight, comforting hug. It lasted only for a moment, but it was enough to calm their spirits somewhat.

With promises made, the two separated and began to search through the apartment, looking for anything of use. While Saito scavenged through the pantry, looking for food to take with them, Louise opened the heavy chest. Most of the items inside were useless for their needs, ranging from folded blankets to thick ringed binders filled with papers. What the binders were for she didn't particularly care, simply placing them aside before moving on. Tossing them might've been easier, but at the same time it felt almost disrespectful to the woman who once lived here, so she tried to move with as much reverence as possible. From the corner of her eye, she saw Saito do the same.

She also found several textbooks for a wide range of topics. Art history, algebra, even computer science. With a heavy heart, Louise realized that this woman must've been a college student, only a few years older than she was. It was far too young, especially to succumb to such a horrific fate, but Louise took a big gulp before moving on towards the bottom of the box. There, much to her surprise, she saw a small metallic box hidden under some books. She pulled it out, inspecting it from all sides to try and get a sense of what it was. Shaking it slightly, Louise could hear objects rustling inside, motivating her to try and open it.

Louise placed the bottom of the case on her lap, then pointed her wand at it and said, "Unlock."

She expected to hear the click of a lock, but nothing happened. Not even an explosion. The box was simply inert. Confused, Louise attempted to cast the cantrip again, only to receive the same result. Now growing irritated, Louise tried again for the third time, and when the spell refused to work she angrily growled and set her wand down hard onto the sofa.

"Stupid thing, why won't you open!" Louise hissed, trying to pry the case open with her bare hands. It was far too tight, however, and so with a grunt she threw it onto the sofa.

"What's wrong?" Saito asked, pausing in his task of storing more food and bottled water for their trek to come over. He quickly saw the case and held it up to his face to get a closer look, and then he asked, "Having trouble opening this?"

"Yes, I am," Louise grumpily admitted. "I tried unlocking it with my magic, but nothing happened. There would've been an explosion if it failed, but it didn't so clearly my magic was trying to open it. Stupid thing…"

"Hmm, that is weird," Saito replied, letting out a small hum as he held the case closer. He then said, "Ah, I think I see the problem."

"What is it?" Louise asked as Saito came back over to her. He then pointed the front of the case towards her, pointing at the ten buttons arranged over the hatch.

"See these?" he began to explain. "This is an electronic lock. It doesn't use tumblers like padlocks and other mechanical locks do. Instead, each button corresponds to a different number from zero to nine, and you need to input the correct combination to open it. Otherwise, you're out of luck."

Louise looked at her friend for a moment then back at the small case. She scrunched up her face in frustration then sighed in defeat. Of course a simple unlocking cantrip wouldn't work on everything, especially something as complicated as an electronic lock. If she had more time to properly learn how those locks operated, perhaps she might be able to devise a variation to allow it, but for now she had to open those kinds of locks the hard way. She let out another sigh, then began randomly pressing buttons on the case.

"That isn't going to work," Saito dryly pointed out as Louise continued to input random combinations. Louise merely grumbled in response as she inputted more, then she let out a grunt as she placed the case back onto the sofa.

"You keep grabbing anything we can use. I'm going to find a way to open this," Louise declared as she got up and started moving towards the bedroom.

"Why?" Saito asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because that case is obviously holding something important," Louise argued. "You don't put something cheap in a case with that good of a lock, and it might be useful."

"I mean, I wouldn't necessarily say this is a good lock," Saito muttered, then shrugged. "Alright, feel free to try, but if you're not done in the next ten minutes we're leaving. I'd rather not stay here any longer than we have to."

Louise nodded in acceptance at that, then moved into the bedroom. She wasn't able to get a good look at it the night before, but much like the rest of the apartment it was remarkably plain. Other than a dresser on the wall in front of the bed and a small nightstand to the side, along with a small closet next to the door she came in from, there wasn't much else to take note of. She immediately began combing through the dresser drawers, hoping to find some clue as to unlock the case. Louise wasn't entirely certain what she should be looking for, but she was confident that she would be able to know what it was when she saw it.

Searching through the drawers turned out to be a fruitless endeavor, with the only things she found being assorted articles of clothing. She then moved towards the closet, which she slid open to peer at the contents inside. Without light coming in from outside, and with the light of the desk lamp not nearly enough, Louise cast a light cantrip to help her see. As with the dresser, only clothes hung on hangers were seen, although she did find a small red backpack filled with school supplies. Louise dumped out the contents onto the closet floor before throwing it onto her back, figuring that it would be useful.

Knowing that she didn't have much time left before they had to leave, Louise moved towards the nightstand. There she found a single drawer, which she opened to find a few assorted papers, pens, and even an ink ribbon for the typewriter in the living room. She ignored it and prepared to move on, then noticed a small black journal underneath the papers. Intrigued, Louise gently pulled the journal out and opened it to the first page, which she immediately recognized as a personal diary belonging to a girl named Samantha Hudgins. She frowned sadly, knowing that this was a personal look into a girl's life that was supposed to be entirely private and not seen by anyone. Even Louise kept a diary, which she was unfortunately forced to leave behind during their flight from the Hiraga's apartment. Reading this one, despite the owner being dead, seemed like she would be violating her privacy. Yet, at the same time, Louise was certain that the clue she needed was inside, and she was compelled to find it.

With a heavy heart, Louise flipped through Samantha's journal and began to read.

Entry 1:

Date: January 1st, 1998

With my last diary filling up, I figured it was time to get a new one. Seemed right, what with the New Year and all. Besides, the old one was practically falling apart at the seams. It did last me seven years, so I suppose that was inevitable. I'm gonna miss that old girl.

Anyway, second semester of my junior year is starting up soon. I'm glad my parents let me stay here in Raccoon City rather than come back to Chicago over winter break, so that'll make it easier for me to transition back into my studies. Plus, I do get to enjoy my own apartment a bit more. Yes, it's cheap and rundown, and my room doesn't have a window for whatever reason, but it's mine! Twenty-years old and already living on my own. Let me tell you, independence is a great feeling. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents but God, they can be so overbearing at times!

I'm gonna see if they'll let me stay here over the summer. Already got a job lined up at Emmy's. With the tips I'll earn, I should be able to make enough for both rent and anything else I want.

…

Entry 10

Date: February 15th, 1998

God, school has been killer this semester! I know being a junior's supposed to be hard and all, but you'd think they'd let up. But no, let's just pile on five tests all in the same week. I just know I flunked that calculus test. With everything else I had to study for, I just didn't have time. Didn't help that Professor Mason's a horrible teacher, so I didn't know half the stuff I was supposed to know. I'm pretty sure the rest of the class is the same way. Crossing my fingers I at least got a 70. That'll keep my head afloat if nothing else.

In other news, I finally managed to convince my parents! I'll be staying here in Raccoon City over the summer. I'm so excited. An entire summer, all to myself. No school, no parents looking over my shoulder. Just me and whatever I want to do.

Honestly, I'm feeling pretty good about myself right. Maybe I'll finally muster up the courage to ask Brad out.

…

Entry 12

Date: February 19th, 1998

I feel like an idiot. I finally muster up the courage to ask Brad out, only to find out he already has a girlfriend! He's been dating Susie Romero for the past three months! How did I not notice that?! Ugh, just kill me now.

…

Entry 26

Date: March 28th, 1998

So, interesting thing happened to me today. I was at a party hosted by one of the fraternity houses, don't know which one, when I saw Brad there. Susie wasn't with him, and he and I just started talking. It didn't look like he held asking him out against me, which was a relief. If anything, he seemed amused by it. Susie's reaction wasn't mentioned, but given the jealous looks she sent my way whenever we passed each other on campus it wasn't anything good. The weird thing, though, is that it almost seemed like Brad was…flirting with me. Don't know how I feel about that, especially since he's still dating Susie.

Still, he invited me to have lunch with him tomorrow. Says he wants to clear the air and remove any awkwardness between us. Hopefully it doesn't make anything worse.

…

Entry 45

Date: May 5th, 1998

I can't believe I used to like that bastard! He came onto me during lunch today and tried to kiss me, despite both of us knowing that Susie was his girlfriend. When I told him no, he kept pushing for it while saying things like 'Susie doesn't need to know.' After I refused a few more times, he got angry and started calling me a slut! He wasn't interested in being my friend! He just wanted to get into my pants!

That's when Susie walked in. Turns out she'd been suspecting him of cheating on her for a while with a bunch of other girls behind her back. I was afraid she was going to be angry at me, but instead she tore him a new asshole before breaking up with him. Susie's awesome. We're hanging out later.

In any case, finals are coming up. After that, here comes my last summer vacation. Should really start looking for jobs once I graduate next year. I hear the Umbrella Corporation has a lot of offerings. Maybe they'll have something for a waitress like me? Not a secretary, though, unless the money's good.

…

Entry 52

Date: May 25th, 1998

Today's my birthday! 21 years old, meaning I can now get myself hammered! Susie and the other girls are taking me out to celebrate. We're going to set the town on fire!

Can't help but feel a bit nervous, though. A few days ago, they found a woman's body washed-up on the Marble River's bank in Cedar. The RPD said she was killed by a grizzly bear or something while on a hike. I didn't even know we had grizzly bears here. Either way, we're not going anywhere near the Arklay Forest, so we should be fine.

Time to have to some fun!

…

Entry 53

Date: May 26th, 1998

Everything hurts. I'm never drinking again. Why did I let Johanna talk me into taking shots?

…

Entry 68

Date: June 16th, 1998

Something is going on in the forest. Twenty people have been killed in the past month, and the police don't know what's killing them. At first, they said it was a grizzly, but now it's packs of wild dogs. What is going on?

…

Entry 81

Date: July 14th, 1998

Cannibals. Fucking cannibals. That's what's been killing these people over the past two months. Cultists, too, who take hard drugs before eating people. At the very least, they seem to be focused entirely in the Arklay Mountains, so as long as I don't go over there I should be safe. Not that I could, since the RPD closed all roads into the mountains.

I hear rumors that S.T.A.R.S. is zeroing on whoever these sick bastards are. They'll take them out. God, I wish I could meet them. They're so cool, especially that Jill Valentine. She's, like, the most badass woman I've ever seen. And Chris Redfield? Oof, he's just a hunk all around. Same with Albert Wesker, in a bad boy sort of way. Still hot, though.

…

Entry 85

Date: July 25th, 1998

They're all dead. S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team, most of Alpha team. The only survivors were Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, their pilot Brad Vickers, a girl just a few years younger than me named Rebecca Chambers and some guy named Barry Burton. Everyone else is dead. What the actual fuck happened out there?

…

Entry 92

Date" August 8th, 1998

They disbanded S.T.A.R.S.! Like, completely! Now we're just getting regular S.W.A.T. like the rest of the country! I know Chief Irons said it was due to them losing too many officers to continue functioning, but this doesn't sit right with me. They only got disbanded after the surviving S.T.A.R.S. members started accusing Umbrella of being behind the murders. This is wrong.

My parents asked me to come back to Chicago. Said Raccoon City wasn't safe anymore. Part of me wanted to say yes, but I told them no. What kind of person would I be if I just cut and run at the first sign of trouble? Besides, I already got something to defend myself with. I went to Kendo's Gun Shop the other day. Got myself a pistol, and a fancy case to store it in. Never fired a gun before, but I figure now isn't a bad time to start learning. All I got to do now is remember the password. Should be simple enough. It is my birthday after all.

Louise's eyes widened as she suddenly found the clue she was looking for. Hastily storing the diary into her scavenged backpack and rushing into the living room just as Saito finished storing the rest of the gathered food and water into the nylon bag, Louise propped up the case onto her lap. Looking down at the buttons, Louise ran through the information in her mind.

"Okay, Samantha's birthday was on May 25th," Louise muttered to herself as she inputted 0-5-2-5, then hummed while rubbing her chin. "Her diary said that she turned twenty-one this year, so that would mean she was born in…1977."

She punched in 7-7, and with a click the case unlocked. With bated breath, Louise slowly opened the case, and just as Samantha's diary described it was, indeed, a pistol. But not the same kind as Saito's. Rather, it was a snub nose revolver with a nickel finish and dark wooden grips, along with an exposed hammer. The word "LADYSMITH" was engraved onto the frame. A small box of ammunition was stored with the revolver, with the words "Red Hawk - .38 Special" proudly displayed on the front.

"Well I'll be," Saito muttered, looking over her shoulder. "That's a Smith and Wesson Model 36. Used to be the standard police gun until they switched to semi-automatic pistols. Looks to be a LadySmith variant, too, which honestly is perfect for you. Just our luck."

"Yeah, lucky me," Louise whispered, gently pulling the gun out.

She then sighed, remembering that this gun was supposed to protect Samantha, only to be completely useless against the disease that finally did her in. You couldn't exactly shoot a disease, but you could shoot the things said disease turned people into, Louise realized. With another sigh, Louise turned her head up to Saito, holding the empty gun up to him.

"How do I load this?" Louise asked, and Saito nodded.

"It's really easy. All you gotta do is unlock this latch," Saito said, pressing a small button on the side of the revolver. The cylinder swung out to the side, exposing five empty slots. "Then, once you have it open, you just take the bullets, slide them in, and push the cylinder back."

Louise nodded, then carefully began to insert the .38 rounds into the slots. Once all five were filled, she gently pushed the cylinder back into the frame, then rested the loaded weapon onto her lap.

Saito nodded at her, then pointed to another button on the frame and added, "Looks like it's been customized a bit. That button's the safety. Might want to have it on when you're not using it. The last thing you want to do is accidentally shoot yourself."

Louise looked at the weapon in her lap, then quickly moved to push the safety on. Being careful not to point the weapon at herself or Saito, she then gathered the rest of the bullets and held them up to him.

"Here, for yours," Louise offered, but to her surprise Saito shook his head.

"No, that's not going to work," he explained. "My pistol uses 9mm bullets. Your revolver uses .38 Special. Neither of our guns can use the other."

"Oh," Louise replied, then looked at her gun and asked, "Then, shouldn't we get guns that use the same type of ammo?"

"We can try to keep a lookout for them, but I don't think we're in any position to be picky about whatever weapons we might find. Plus that'd probably have us run out of bullets sooner," Saito argued. "Besides, 9mm and .38 Special are some of the most common types of ammunition out there, especially for handguns. So long as we keep searching, and conserve what ammo we got, we should be able to find enough for both of us."

Louise supposed that made sense, although she had a feeling that there was another reason behind Saito's point. Namely, she was completely unfamiliar with guns. Saito at least had grown up in a society that both acknowledged and even glorified them, to an almost excessive degree in her opinion, and was an avid student of firearms and military history, so he understood the basics right off the bat. The most advanced type of firearm Louise was familiar with before bringing herself to Raccoon City was a single-shot, muzzleloading musket, and even then she had summarily dismissed those weapons as merely tools for commoners. She wouldn't have the faintest idea of how to handle a more modern gun, and at least a revolver was easy enough to get the gist of.

Nodding to herself and Saito, Louise stood up and stuffed her liberated revolver into her pocket. She then stashed the other five bullets into a pouch on her red jacket before hoisting the backpack over her shoulder. Realizing that they now had extra storage space, Saito and Louise quickly gathered what he was previously forced to leave behind and filled her backpack up with more food and water. Unfortunately, Samantha didn't have any medical supplies, nor anything to safely carry a knife around without risk of hurting themselves, so they would have to find more out in the city. Knowing that they couldn't do anything else, the two teenagers walked over to the window, took one last glimpse of their temporary safe room, then opened the window to climb down the fire escape.

[~][~]

Hello everyone. Here's the latest chapter of Familiar Evil! Special thanks to NaanContributor and Jesse K for their help in bringing this chapter to life. I know it's a bit late for a lot of us, but I figured you guys would want to see the chapter as soon as possible.

A bit slower paced than the previous chapter, but that's by design. After all, that's what safe rooms are for in Resident Evil. They provide a temporary respite from the horrors outside. Yet, as we can see, no where in Raccoon City is truly safe, but both of our heroes understand that intimately now as they attempt to flee the city. We also learn more of what Louise's capabilities are with her magic, and she even has a gun of her own. She'll probably have to learn how to use it quickly.

To respond to you guys, I'm really glad you all really like the story so far. The creeping tension behind the slice-of-life early chapters, the shift into proper horror when the outbreak started. It means a lot to me that my first foray into the horror genre has been so successful. Funny thing is, outside of certain exceptions like Resident Evil I wouldn't say that I'm a horror fan. I'm more of a Resident Evil fan, along with all the other works that inspired it like Alien, Terminator, Predator. Stuff like that. You can expect to see more influences from those kinds of stories, alongside classic Resident Evil, than your run of the mill horror staples as I feel that's more interesting. To me, at least.

As you can see with the typewriters, I am including them...to a certain extent. In this case, decoration. I even included a classic ink ribbon as a homage to the original game's save mechanics where you had to use consumable ink ribbons just to save the game. Never quite understood why anyone thought that was a good idea, but I do admit it helps sell the survival horror aspect they were going for.

Regarding the Halkegenia rescue team, the earliest they're arriving is on September 28th. It's September 25th right now in the story, meaning Saito and Louise have to survive a minimum of three days on their own before her mother's team even has the possibility of reuniting. That's not even including the fact that Raccoon City is getting nuked on October 1st. Needless to say, they're going to both be going through absolute Hell and will be under a time crunch.

With other RE characters, as mentioned before expect more of cameos than major inclusions into the story. This is a parallel sequence of events to RE2 and RE3, meant to compliment but not override what the others went through. With Echo Six, you guys will have to wait and see whether they're included in the story like Wolfpack.

Also, yes. The movies that Saito and Louise watched during the slice-of-life segments were meant to be foreshadowing of events to come. None more blatant than The Terminator. I mean, have you checked the character tags of this story?

Regarding the slow start of the story, that was indeed intentional. Originally, my plan was to get to the action earlier. But, due to a combination of me thinking more about it and my old computer crashing on me and making me lose 8k words of a scene where Saito and his family went up to the Kendo Gun Shop, I realized that spreading the slice-of-life out more had a lot of advantages. Namely, making sure you guys actually care by showing you all just how the life before the outbreak was so important. Had I gone with the original plan and had the break-in happen on Chapter 4 or 5, you guys wouldn't have cared about Saito's parents sacrificing themselves. I mean, sure you would've cared for Saito's sake, but not about Satoshi and Sakura themselves. I had to properly build them up, not to mention build a strong rapport between Louise and the Hiraga family and Earth in general. That way, when it all goes to Hell, you feel the pain more. Also, Harry Potter hasn't hit the States yet. Won't for a few more months in real-life.

Let us know what you guys think, and I hope you enjoy. Also, any additions to the TV Tropes page would be greatly appreciated. See you all next time!