Unmei Force Infection
Leon Chapter 1: Seeking Answers
Inside Ivy University, U.S.A...
Inside one of the university rooms, two people pointed their guns, modified pistols, at a zombified man, who was chewing flesh and muscle off the body of his own victim.
That man, was President Adam Benford, who was infected and turned into a zombie, as his eyes were completely milky-white, and his skin was deathly grey and veiny, as there was the blood of his victim spattered all over his face, and over his broken glasses, and all over his tarnished teeth. His coat was oozed in both blood and flesh of his victims, as he immediately turned towards the duo who were aiming at him, as he let out a gurgling groan, as he slowly got up.
"Stay where you are...!" One of the people warned Adam, who was a male with short brown hair that was parted towards his forehead, dressed in a black military vest over a blue suit, black jeans and shoes, as the zombie president shambled towards them with mouth agape.
When Adam didn't stop, the man's expression became more agitated, as he tightened his grip on the pistol. "Mr President!"
Adam continued to waddle along towards them, moving towards the other member of the duo, who was a mature woman, wearing a striped shirt under her black vest, as well as having utility pouches strapped to her belt, and brown jeans and shoes. She looked quite reluctant to point her gun at Adam, as her grip trembled slightly and she looked quite horrified.
"Don't make me do this..." The man spoke once again, as he eased his finger on the trigger, with his partner doing the same.
However, Adam continued to waddle along, as if he couldn't understand their request, before he immediately lunged for the woman when he was close enough, leaning in to bite her.
"ADAM!" The man shouted, before he finally fired, as the shot pierced through Adam's head with a wet and squishy sound, as the president was knocked onto his side, as the pistol shell clattered on the floor, and didn't get back up at all.
Both of them panted, as they were already on their nerves due to what just happened, as they both approached the now-deceased president, as blood pooled from his latest wound, his blood a tainted red from whatever biological agent turned him into living dead.
"It's all my fault..." The woman told her partner with a guilt-filled tone. "I... I did this."
"What are you talking about?" The man asked back, unable to understand what she was talking about.
The woman immediately holstered her pistol into her waist-bound holster, as she wiped some tears from her eyes. "Tall Oaks Cathedral... I'll explain everything there, Agent Kennedy."
"How do you know my name...?" He asked in response, before there was a ringing sound near them, as he moved his hand to his waist for something, only for his partner to pull out a phone, faster than him.
"Yes?" She asked the caller, as Kennedy, or Leon, came over to look at who was the caller.
"Hunnigan...?" He asked the person on the other side, who was a woman with short braided hair and glasses, and a grey buttoned suit.
"Thank god you're both alright." Hunnigan responded back through the phone.
"How do you two know each other?" Leon asked.
"That's Helena Harper." Hunnigan explained, identifying Leon's partner in the room. "She's been with the Secret Service since last year. I can't tell you how good it is to hear you two are alright. Look, I hate to rush the introductions, but I need a report on the situation."
They both looked at the dead corpse of Adam, before back at Hunnigan on the phone. "I... I just shot the president." Leon admitted.
"What are you-" Hunnigan was about to ask completely shocked.
"He had already been infected by the time we found him." Helena quickly explained. "Leon... Leon did what he had to. He saved my life."
Hunnigan was silent, as her head was bowed in shock. "God help us..." She blurted out. "All right. I'll submit the report. You two just focus on getting the hell out of there. The virus has already spread three miles past the campus perimeter and it's not slowing down. You need to hurry."
"Not before we check out Tall Oaks Cathedral." Helena argued back strongly. "Agent Kennedy's got a lead that might tell us who's responsible for this."
"Leon, is that true?" Hunnigan asked Leon, as Helena looked at Leon with a pleading look.
"...Yeah. I think I might have something." Leon responded back, looking back at Helena.
"Roger that. I'll map out the safest access route." Hunnigan answered back, as she worked on her computer. "Keep your radio on."
The phone then switched off, as Helena immediately pocketed it.
"...I got a lead?" Leon asked with a suspicious tone.
"You will, if you come with me." Helena assured Leon.
Leon then walked over to Adam's body, as he crouched down. "Adam... I'm sorry..." He stated with a solemn tone.
He then got back up, before turning to Helena. "So what's so special about this church? You have some sins to confess?"
"It's hard to explain. If I don't tell you at the cathedral... you may not believe me." Helena answered back.
"You're going to tell me everything once we get to the cathedral. Deal?" Leon told Helena sternly, as he brushed past her to open the door out of the room.
"Deal." Helena nodded, as both of them left the room, only to walk into the sight of two guns aimed at them.
"Hands up..." Richard stated, as the gun in his hand was a standard-issue assault rifle, which had a curved ammo magazine and the standard set of attachments, such as the scope, shoulder-stock, fore-grip and customised muzzle, and dressed in black military outfit, as there were shoulder patches of a grey wolf's head biting onto a golden scale on it. "...Who are you two...?"
Leon almost drew his pistol, as did Helena, but immediately decided against it, due to being held at gun-point with a dangerous weapon like the assault rifle. He then glanced on Richard's side, where Reisen, whose hair was dyed raven-black, and dressed in the same uniform as Richard, was keeping aim at the other duo as well, as she had a pistol with extended-mag and a silencer attached on the barrel.
"I should be asking the same question." Leon retorted back coolly. "What is your intention here?"
"Very funny. I asked first." Richard growled back. "I don't find you quite trustworthy when I heard shots coming your direction. I certainly know that you used that pistol on your waist. So we came over and see what the commotion was, before your damn shot would have attracted more zombies into the mess. So I ask you again, who are you? Do you have a hand for what has happened here?"
Helena shook her head. "No, we have no part in all of this." She answered back. "We are actually here to investigate the cause of this incident ourselves. Now tell us, who are you people, and what is your intention here."
Richard lowered the assault rifle, although the serious expression on his face didn't go away. "Our names aren't important." Richard answered back. "We're merely wandering mercenaries. When the world went to shit, we started looking for ways to thin the zombie swarm, both in terms of numbers and threat in any way possible. Recently got a tip-off that this place might have something to help. Turns out that this tip would come true, since you might be the people I'm looking for. You might actually give me the info I need to further our goals in this world."
Leon didn't respond back to that, although he scowled slightly at Richard.
"Now, your turn." Richard told Leon and Helena. "Who are you people?"
"Agent Harper of the Secret Service, and Agent Leon S. Kennedy of the Division of Secret Services." Helena responded back.
"...At least that doesn't make us enemies." Richard sighed, as his hostility towards the duo evaporated, and Reisen lowered her weapon as well. "So I heard that you're heading for some sort of cathedral in this area, right? Allow us to come with you. A group of two like you would be liable to suffer problems. Since we're working together to put an end to this outbreak, I suggest that we collaborate our efforts. I can assure you that I want an end to this living hell as much as you. And if someone's responsible for this... They'll face justice, in court, or at the barrel of a gun."
Leon and Helena were silent, as they spent some time considering Richard's offer, as it sounded quite suspicious in their view, but considering that Richard didn't look like that he wasn't affiliated with any potential threats, due to the markings on the shoulders of both of them being one that they didn't know, although Leon considering having Hunnigan scan the symbol and see what comes up as a result.
"Alright then." Leon nodded. "Do you have anything to protect yourself?"
"We're mercenaries." Richard dryly responded back, as he immediately pulled out a refined Bowie-knife. "We're prepared for most circumstances while we're deployed out for missions. If you need ammo, holler and we'll give you whatever type that your weapons utilise, although we didn't carry much, to avoid encumberment."
"That would be fine." Helena stated. "Come on, let's go."
The four of them immediately continued down the hallway, as they moved across the campus, sweeping and searching every possible corner for any hidden threats, before they came up on a large set of doors, as they stacked up on it.
"You see one of them, aim for the head. It's your best bet." Leon told Helena.
"And if you see any dead bodies, check their heads. If they haven't got their brains blown out enough, then they might bite you when you don't look." Richard advised Helena as well. "Either way, some of these things are more tenacious than they would seem on the outside, so make sure you properly finished them off."
"Got it." Helena answered back, as Leon immediately pushed the door open, as they found themselves on a balcony overseeing a large dining hall, which was prepared for some celebration, with banners and balloon bundles everywhere to be seen, as there was not a single person below them, not even an zombie.
"This was where the reception was gonna be." Leon remarked.
"Funny enough, had shit not went down... The students here would have their damn meals..." Richard said as well.
"You think anyone survived?" Helena asked the others.
"Unlikely. All we found on our way were zombies." Reisen bluntly answered back, as they moved around, with them looking in different directions, guns up.
They soon moved around, as Leon kept his eyes on the scene with a solemn expression. "I can't believe this is happening again. It's just like Raccoon." Leon answered back.
"The Raccoon City Incident... You were one of the survivors." Helena responded back.
"Whoa, back the fuck up. You're a survivor of that hell-hole...!?" Richard exclaimed. "Well... Never thought that I would be finding myself in the company of someone famous like you."
"Yeah... I'll never forget it." Leon answered back, as they continued down another flight of stairs. "We're going to this cathedral of yours, but if you really did have a hand in this... You can kiss your freedom goodbye. Same goes to the both of you mercs."
"Reasonable doubt, Leon." Richard nodded back. "But let's not point fingers until we figure this thing out completely."
When they got down the ground floor, they immediately spotted a humanoid shadow far from them, as Richard and Reisen immediately pointed their weapons at it, causing it to flee towards one of the doors.
"What was that...?" Helena asked.
"Only one way to find out... Let's go!" Leon stated, as the four of them immediately jogged past the tables and chairs, as they followed the shadow into a kitchen, where there was rattling sounds within it, confirming their suspicion that their target ran through the same way they're going. "In the back!"
They soon continued through the kitchen, as they managed to get past several fallen objects in their path, which was knocked down by whoever they were chasing, before they reached a door, where they were certain the person was in.
When they reached the door, Richard immediately forced it open, as Reisen came in, and pointed her gun rapidly in several directions, before she then caught sight of a frightened male staff member, who immediately collapsed on the ground.
"Wait! Don't shoot!" He pleaded, with his hands up, before Leon and Helena came in as well. He then immediately doubled over, as he gagged and coughed violently, causing Leon to move close to him.
"Are you alright?" Leon asked, as he helped lift the staff member to his feet.
"The fog..." The staff member responded back.
"What...?" Helena asked.
"The fog... it came out of nowhere...!" He stated.
"What fog...!?" Richard demanded, as he walked up to the staff member. "Tell me what you know about this-"
Suddenly, there was the sound of distant female screaming, as the staff member reacted immediately, as he immediately ran for the door. "Liz!"
Before he could get far, he was immediately grappled by Richard, with an strong and tight arm around his neck.
"Let me go!" He shouted, before his mouth was covered by Richard's hand.
"Shut up! Do you want to call the zombies in this entire place with you damn voice!?" Richard hissed into the staff member's ear. "I don't know if that was your daughter or someone, but calm the fuck down! You're not doing any favours frantically running around this entire place, when zombies are infesting this place!"
Helena then immediately picks up a phone from the ground, which the staff member dropped, as it had the face of a young woman in red clothing, she then looked at the staff member, who was trying to wriggle and struggle out of Richard's grip on him. Reisen then looks at Helena and the phone, and then back to Leon.
"So... how should we do this? Should we help the man?" Reisen asked him.
"Yeah. Let's find her." Leon stated, as he caught a glimpse of Liz's face from the staff member's phone. Richard immediately let go of the staff member, as he staggered forward, coughing violently again.
"Leon, we don't have the time to-" Helena complained.
"We're making the time." Leon coolly interrupted her.
"Well, this guy will end up stirring the campus, if we let him run around like this." Richard grumbled. "Alright, guy. Stay with us, and walk slowly and carefully. Don't do anything to jeopardise our safety, OK?"
The man nodded, as they left the room, making their way back to the dining hall, before hearing rumbling sounds in the distance.
"What was that sound?" Helena asked Leon, before something clattered on the ground, startling her to turn in the direction of the sound.
"They're scared." Leon answered back.
"Well, I don't know what you're talking about, but I think that's not a good thing, right?" Richard asked Leon.
Leon didn't respond to his question, before they found that the dining room was dark, with the lights off.
"Who turned the lights off...?" Helena asked, as she immediately activated the flashlights on her hand-gun.
"Stay sharp." Leon warned everyone, as they all activated their flashlights, scanning and looking everywhere.
Halfway through the room, they heard the sound of glass clattering, before they looked up and saw a glass chandelier fall near them, causing them to look up for a moment, before continuing.
When they reached the back door of the hall, they immediately opened it, where they were blown with a mighty gust of wind.
"That's quite a draft!" Leon remarked.
"We need to find her." The staff member told the group.
"And we promised that we did. Just stay close." Reisen assured the staff member.
"Thank you..." He answered back, as they made their way to one of the doors, before the staff member entered another coughing fit, before then walking over and using his key to unlock the door, although the group of four looked worryingly at the staff member, before they followed him into a room with book displays.
They continued through the room, before the staff member immediately stopped again, as he began to gurgle and gasp, as if he was losing his ability to breathe.
"Alright, seriously. Are you even fine...?" Richard asked with a slightly irritated tone. "By the sounds of it, you either has serious bronchitis or lung problems, or you have something else on you, and not the good kind."
"I will be, once I find my daughter." The staff member answered back. "I called her cell, but we got cut off. I know that she's here... somewhere..."
They soon exit through the room, where they find a vintage elevator nearby, and a long corridor in the opposite direction.
"We'll need to get the elevator working again." Leon stated.
"It's locked, but I work here. I've got the keys." The staff member said as well. "Once we're in, we can take my car."
"Thanks for the offer." Richard courteously responded back.
They then heard the sound of a piano being played, causing the staff member to turn towards the corridor.
"Liz? Liz, is that you?" The staff member asked, before he then made his way down, with the group following him. When they reached the end of the corridor, they found a door that had a blood-stained hand-print on it, causing everyone to become tense.
"A bloody hand-print... A zombie or a severely wounded person has been here..." Reisen examined the hand-print.
"We can't take risks." Richard stated, before he then pulled out his bowie knife in a combat stance. "Stand back."
He then slowly opened the door, as the room had a grand piano in it, as well as a large trail of blood, that looked like skid marks, as if someone dragged themselves across the floor. They slowly followed the trail of blood, before a young woman in red clothing jumped out of nowhere, causing everyone to raise their weapons at the ready. She was barely standing on her feet, as her eyes looking quite fatigued, and there was blood on one side of her, before she collapsed on the ground.
Everyone put their weapons down, as Richard examined the girl, noticing that there was a distinct bite wound on her neck, causing Richard to grimace.
"Liz!" The staff member stated, as he rushed over to embrace her.
"Dad... Where are mom and Liam...?" She rasped back.
"They... They already got out." Liz's father told his daughter with a reluctant tone. "They're waiting for us at home."
He then lifted her up, supporting her, while Leon and the others immediately made their way to the elevator.
"How do we get out of this place?" Leon asked, as he looked at Richard, who had a tense expression on his face.
"The underground parking lot." Liz's father responded back, as he carried his weak daughter slowly across the corridor. "The elevator is just up ahead. Hopefully it still works."
They then encountered a series of wooden beams, that have fallen, obstructing their path. Richard and Reisen immediately walked over.
"Let us take care of this one. You get on past." Richard stated, as he and Reisen hefted the beams up for the others to pass through.
"I'm glad that you guys were here." Liz's father gratefully thanked the group.
They then reached the elevator, as Liz's father placed the elevator key into the slot, allowing the elevator doors to open for the others to get in.
Liz's father then laid Liz on the ground, as she was coughing just as violently as his father, with the others watching them closely.
"It's going to be OK, Lizzie." Liz's father attempted to comfort her injured daughter. "You're going to be OK."
Richard immediately glanced at Reisen, before giving her a small gesture, as Reisen immediately put her hands on her gun, ready to fire
When Liz rose her head, her eyes were red, as if the blood in her eyes ruptured. "Dad..." She gasped.
"We're almost there...!" Liz's father exclaimed.
Suddenly, Liz began to convulse, before she then let out a choked breath, as she fell to the ground unresponsive.
"Liz...?" Liz's father said, as he prodded her, expecting an response from her daughter, before the lack of one caused him to finally break, as he cried in sorrow and pain, as he bent down and wept loudly, before it devolved into another round of violent coughing, causing Richard to immediately prepare his knife at the ready.
Before he could immediately make any move, the lights in the elevator began to flicker, before it shorted out with a loud crash.
"The power...!" Helena exclaimed.
"Shit...!" Richard cursed. "Who knows if she's already turned or not...!"
They heard the father coughing, before he then let out a strangled gasp, before the sound of his body hitting the floor could be heard. And then the sound of flesh being chewed, which caused everyone to raise their weapons.
When the lights slowly recovered, the group could see the formerly alive Liz was chewing through his father's neck, before he then raised her bloodshot eyes at the group, before she then screeched, and lunged for Leon.
"Down!" Richard shouted, before he rushed towards the female zombie, before slitting her throat open with a wide swing, causing her to gargle and choke with rotten blood leaking out from the slash wound, before he then slammed the knife right into the centre of her brain, causing her to drop down dead again.
"I... I can't believe this." Helena remarked with a shocked tone.
"Well, get use to it. It's either them or us - and they don't hesitate." Leon responded back, before Richard then turned to him.
"Well, so much for altruism." Richard scoffed with a agitated tone, plucking the military knife out of Liz's corpse. "You didn't notice the signs that she was already turning, didn't you? I saw that damn bite wound on her."
"Then why didn't you kill her on the spot then?" Leon questioned back.
"Call me stupid, but I'm not one to let that old man watch his daughter get chopped in cold blood by me." Richard responded back with a shrug. "And look where that got him. Should have just done it anyway, if she was going to turn inside such a cramped space like this. And the old man was in the same situation, he's got longer, but he was going to turn either way, thanks to the gurgling I heard."
"How much do you know about the zombies?" Leon demanded.
"Enough to know how to survive." Richard retorted back. "I don't blame you for fulfilling that man's request, but you should have just dropped it when the signs appeared. You almost got yourself in a struggle, where you could have been bitten."
Leon didn't respond, before they heard the sounds of zombies on the other side of the elevator.
"I don't think we're alone in here..." Helena stated.
"Helena! Grab your gun." Leon stated.
"No need. I'll deal with this." Richard stated, as he immediately put up his assault rifle, and aimed one eye down the sights.
When the doors opened, there was a small handful of zombies trying to rush into the elevator, before Richard wasted no time shooting every single one of them in the head, as the rifle bursts tore their heads apart, causing the dead bodies to fall in front of them. They found themselves in a underground parking lot, just like Liz's father told them.
"Alright, let's get moving-" Richard told the others, before one of the wounded security guards of the compound staggered towards one of the inactive cars, before slamming into the hood of it unconscious, triggering the car alarm, and causing the nearby zombies to turn their attention towards the group. "Oh, fuck me! Run!"
The group immediately rushed out of the elevator, as Helena and Reisen kicked past any zombies that were directly obstructing their path, before they saw that on the other side of the closed gate, there was a large group of zombies groaning and clawing at them.
"That's our cue to get the hell outta here." Leon stated, as he looked back at the still active car-alarm, which was drawing more and more zombies inside the parking lot.
"I couldn't agree more." Helena nodded.
"Same here." Reisen agreed.
The group then immediately made a turn, before immediately busting into the security room, where they saw screens with footage of several angles and locations in the parking lot, as one of them had a pair of young students trying to get attention through the camera, with one holding up a sign with 'HELP' sprayed on it, and the other moving around and waving his arms. Behind them, a group of zombies slowly approached them, before they swarmed the teenagers, who tried to struggle away from their undead captors.
Leon immediately cocked his pistol, before he made his way to the door. "Let's go." He stated.
"Hold the fuck up, where do you think you're going, Leon!" Richard shouted. "We don't even know where the fuck they are! We are already too late to help them!"
Reisen looked at the camera feeds, as the zombies already overpowered the teenagers and started feasting on them, causing her to turn to Leon and shake her head slowly.
"You're right." Leon stated with a slightly clipped tone. "Let's get the hell outta here."
They then immediately exited the security room from the other door, as they moved up a flight of stairs, taking them to another wing of the university.
"He said it was some sort of fog." Leon recalled. "If this things spreads in gas form... Then anyone who breathed it in got infected."
"That would mean... everyone on campus." Helena continued the line of thought.
"Well... That's problematic..." Richard hissed.
"Yeah. But then why's it so quiet here?" Leon asked. "I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Get in line." Richard sighed, before he then opened a door, leading into a abandoned lecture room. The group immediately made their way across the room, before Leon accidentally kicked a empty drink can down the room, attracting the zombie in the room, who stood up and limped towards them. However, the moment it did, Reisen shot it down with two shots to the head.
"This room is closed until further notice." Reisen stated, before she lowered her gun, and the others made their way out of the lecture room, into a corridor looking over the university square, where there is a lot of zombies roaming in it.
They then roamed through a series of classrooms, going through them to get past the piles of debris that were blocking the path in the corridor, as they took down any zombies in their way with whatever they had in their own hands, and even managing to collect some items that were strewn on the ground, such as coloured herbs, and ammunition for the handguns.
When they managed to get down to the ground floor again, they stacked up on the door to the square, before Richard smashed it open with a strong kick, as the others rushed out, sprinting across the square, away from the chasing zombies, before they came up on a gate with a electronic lock on it.
"Hunnigan, the gate's locked. Anything you can do?" Leon asked Hunnigan through his phone.
"Sorry, not from here." Hunnigan answered back. "Try the staff building behind the bleachers. I'm guessing that you'll find keys for the gate there."
"Got that." Leon stated, as they immediately turned around and went for the staff building, as they pushed open the doors, into a long corridor, with a door that is locked electronically. "Keep that trigger finger ready. Never know what's around the next corner."
"Got it." Helena nodded, as she went up to the door's controls, as she inputted a series of commands, before the door's light immediately blared red, causing a loud siren to sound off.
"We need to be prepared for zombies...! I can see them from both sides of the corridor!" Reisen alerted everyone, as they took positions on the ends, with their guns ready.
"Hunnigan, the door's locked! There's no way out!" Leon informed Hunnigan.
"I'm on it! Just give me a minute!" Hunnigan responded back, as the sounds of tapping keys could be heard from her side.
Zombies immediately smashed and crawled their way from every single window in the corridor, group by group, as the four survivors gunned down each and every zombie in their way, aiming for head-shots when possible, and using the objects around them, as Richard shot a pressurised fire extinguisher to take down a group of zombies clustered together around it, thinning out the numbers of the horde.
"There's so many! We can't take them all!" Helena shouted, as she downed another zombie with a head-shot.
"Now we know where all the infected were hiding out!" Leon answered back, as he burst a zombie's head with a roundhouse kick.
"Well, that's not to our damn benefit! In fact, that just makes it all the worse!" Richard yelled, as he plunged his knife in the head of a nearby zombie, before kicking them towards a group of approaching zombies, staggering them, and allowing him time to switch to his assault rifle and gun them down.
"I have to agree with my partner." Reisen stated, as she immediately pistol-whipped a zombie hard enough to break their head open, before taking out a set of zombies with rapid shots.
"Any day now, Hunnigan! We gotta get out of here!" Leon shouted to Hunnigan.
"I've almost got it! Hang on!" Hunnigan stated, before the door's light turned green, and the alarm stopped. "It's open! Get out of there, now!"
The group immediately rushed for the door, shoving any zombies in their way away from them, before Richard immediately pulled out a fragmentation grenade,and ripped the pin with his teeth, and dropping it at his feet. As soon as everyone got in, Helena slammed the door hard, although a few zombies managed to jam themselves between the door, before being shot back by the others. Helena immediately slammed the door shut when the zombies were off the door, and placed the wooden board over the door, keeping it securely shut, before the grenade exploded, taking out most of the zombies rushing at the door.
"It's just one surprise after another!" Leon grumbled, before everyone immediately swept through the staff building, before they managed to find a campus keycard in one of them, before they rushed back, only to find that several zombies have already made their way to the staff building's entrance.
"I'll take care of this." Reisen stated, as she slammed a fresh clip into her handgun, before taking out the zombies in front of them.
They then rushed for the campus exit, where Helena slotted the keycard into the gate's reader, causing to rise just enough for the others to squirm under, which the others did, before they encountered security detector gates and machines in their way.
"Let's NOT trigger the damn thing, shall we?" Richard remarked, as they immediately moved over the series of boxes that was blocking the way around the metal detectors, before they pushed past a door to get out of the university, and onto the streets.
"You're almost there! Take a right up ahead!" Hunnigan advised them, as the group did what she said, running down the zombie-infested streets, before they caught side of a intact police car in front of them.
"I think we just found our ride outta here!" Leon remarked, as everyone immediately dived into the car, with Leon on the driver seat. A zombie immediately crawled on top of the car's hood, as it pressed against the glass, trying to break through it. He then looked at the ignition slot, and noticed that there was no keys on it. "Damnit, no keys!"
"Look on the sun visors, it's the oldest trick in the damn book!" Richard advised Leon, who immediately pulled down the one on his side, as there was a set of keys for the car. "Told you! Now get us moving!"
Leon immediately ignited the car, before he then throttled the car forward to shake the zombie off the hood, before he then saw the zombies behind him. "All of you buckled in?"
"What are you, a jester or something? Of course! Worry about the damn zombies than the damn seatbelts!" Richard burst out with outrage.
"Fine, then hold on!" Leon stated, as he immediately whirled the car around in a three-point turn, before driving out of the street, bowling past the group of zombies. "We made if off campus. Now we just need gotta get through town..."
"...Without getting killed." Helena finished off, before a zombie immediately dropped down towards Leon's side of the car, hanging upside-down. "What...!?"
Leon immediately whirled the car into a vigorous swerve, although doing so caused the car to flip across the ground, with Richard muttered expletives each time the car rolled around, until the car stopped, upside-down, as the engine exploded in flames. Everyone immediately crawled out of the car, slightly bruised, but not considerably injured from the experience.
"Fuck...! There goes the damn ride...!" Richard cursed.
"Leon! Helena! Are you two alright?" Hunnigan asked with worry. "And who are the other two voices? Are they survivors as well?"
"Sort of. They seem to be mercenaries on the hunt for the truth behind this outbreak, like us." Leon explained. "So far, they've been considerable help in dealing with the zombies here. And we're all hanging in there. But we need another way to the cathedral."
"Well, I've found an underground route that may be safer." Hunnigan suggested.
"The sewers... great." Leon bemoaned.
"I don't personally mind. Hope you won't mind the damn darkness and stench, Helena." Richard stated, before he then walked over to a manhole, pulling the cover off, and climbing down into it.
The others followed, as they turned their flashlights on again, looking around for anything nearby. They saw a rat crawling across the ground, before they heard the sound of zombie growling coming from a opening on top of them.
"We should hurry." Helena stated with urgency.
"What's the matter? Not a fan of sewers?" Leon asked her.
"I have to agree with Helena. That growling is not good news." Reisen responded back.
"Come on, let's just get to the cathedral, and then I'll tell you everything, Leon." Helena replied back to Leon.
"It's going to be a tough road." Leon stated, with a guilt-filled look on his face.
"Don't worry. We'll be able to handle this, if we can take this carefully." Reisen assured both Leon and Helena.
The group of four then immediately continued down the sewers, as they managed to reach a door that was leading to a subway tunnel.
"Leon, Helena. We'll be out of contact when you're in there." Hunnigan warned Leon and Helena. "I'll still be tracking your movements, but be careful.
"Got that." Leon noted, as they hopped down into the subway tunnel, as they brushed past the zombies loitering around in the tunnels, before they heard the distant sound of a train's horn in the tunnel.
"Train's coming!" Helena alerted everyone, as they all stuck to the side of the tunnel walls, as the train immediately roared past them, crushing all zombies in its tracks, before everyone immediately got off the walls. "How are the trains still running!?"
"There was no one at the controls... Zombie express." Leon reasoned.
"Damn.. Then we might have to deal with more trains while we walk through here." Richard groaned.
As they made their way through the tunnels, they were assaulted by zombie and zombified dogs, as they had to take care of the dogs with quick reflexes, who were nimble enough to close the distance between them in mere seconds.
Just as soon as Richard managed to catch a zombie dog with a downwards kick, before crushing the downed dog's head with a hard stomp, he then heard the sound of another train coming. "TRAIN!" He yelled, before he immediately backed onto the tunnel wall.
Everyone immediately dodged the train, as it took out the zombies approaching them, before they continued on, down through a passage leading to another set of subway tunnels, when Helena's and Leon's flashlights were dying out, the light flickering on and off at times.
"Great... How that's for timing?" Leon grumbled.
"Mine's out too. I'm almost blind here." Helena said as well.
"Let me and my partner illuminate the way then." Richard offered, as he spotted a crawling zombie under his feet, to which he stomped its head into paste, before continuing down into the other subway tunnel, where there was light. However, there was also plenty of zombies in their way as well, as well as two train tracks.
"Not my lucky day." Leon sighed.
"If you call this lucky, then I don't want to know what you have to deal with on a normal day in your work." Richard shuddered, before he then fired his assault rifle to thin out the horde a little, before a train came towards them, causing the group to move to the other track, as most of the remaining horde were pulverised by the moving train.
Leaving the few zombies remaining alone, they continued down, until they encountered a broken down train, which was blocking the path ahead. Richard immediately climbed up on the platform, before jostling the only available door to get in, only for it to be locked.
"Damn... It's locked." Richard growled.
"We're not getting that open." Leon stated.
"I want to have a look around in there. Boost me up on top." Helena told Leon.
"Just don't leave me behind." Leon responded back, as he boosted Helena onto the top of the train, before she then dropped down into the carriage through one of the open hatches, before there was the dying cries of a zombie and gunfire from Helena, before the lock on the train's door was undone, allowing the others to come into the nonfunctional train.
They checked it carriage by carriage, before they managed to reach the end of the train, where there was a open door for them to get out into the subway tunnel again. Continuing along the tunnel, they reached another platform, except the path to the surface was locked behind a shutter door, and there was another nonfunctional train in the platform, except it looked better than the one they went through.
When they made for the shutter door, they heard a crashing sound, which caused them to turn around, as a group of zombies was on the platform, shambling towards them. And Richard caught sight of a plump woman in a pink dress running towards the door, as she slammed her hands on the glass.
"Hey! Hey! I need you to open this door! Hurry!" She begged. "I have to save Peter! Please!"
While Leon and Helena gunned down the zombies, Richard and Reisen immediately went to the doors, as they pulled them open with their combined strength.
"We'll never get to the cathedral at this rate." Helena muttered, before she then immediately scrambled for the shutter door's control. "Wait, no! Don't open that!"
"Goddamnit, why does every single damn survivor we meet has a death wish or something!?" Richard fumed, before he aimed his assault rifle towards the shutter door, ready for whatever zombie horde was going to come out of it.
"Oh god, Peter! Peter, hang on! I'm coming!" The ignorant woman shouted, as the shutter doors slowly raised up, before she was then jumped on by several zombies, as they bit and tore at her, as she screamed and shrieked in agony. The others immediately opened fire, as they took out the horde, before they could get close, or finish their meal on the woman.
As the group brushed past, Richard took one last glance at the bitten and mutilated corpse of the woman, before shaking his head with solemn eyes. They then continued up through the station, before they reached the gate that would take them up to the surface.
"Good, you made it. You can reach the street level from there." Hunnigan reported to them.
"What are conditions up there?" Leon asked back.
"It's gotten pretty bad. 'Hell on Earth' isn't much of a stretch." Hunnigan answered.
"Well, ready to start preparing for having to deal with just as many zombies in groups above us?" Richard asked Leon and Helena.
"Yeah." Leon nodded, before he then kicked the gate open, as they immediately entered through it, making their way to the streets.