Disclaimer: Resident Evil is property of Capcom, I have no ownership of the franchise in any of its forms.

Chapter 2: Stay Alive

Miserable groans and indistinct pop music filled the halls. Bodies had already started to decay; the odor infested the air. My manager's blood started to dry on my hands so I wiped them on the carpet. How did this happen?

I sat up then peeked over the counter. "And me with no weapons."

"Can you use a gun?" Leon's gaze was locked on the zombies.

"I'm not too bad." He handed me a spare handgun. I looked at his waist holster. "Guess we're sharing ammo?"

"Make 'em count."

"No problem. Any smart ideas on getting out of here?"

"I don't know about smart, but there's a pair of double doors over there. Can you manage?"

"Don't worry, I'll cover your ass."

Leon arched an eyebrow in my direction with a devilish smile I hadn't seen in the games. "Don't get too distracted."

He laughed at the stunned glare I shot at him. Leon stood up; leaped over the counter. Gunshots pierced the air; sent shivers up my spine. Some of the zombies awakened from their wandering; looked in my direction. Instinctively, my gaze focused like a rifle's scope. My heart pumped heated blood through my body. It startled me before my mind had a chance to shift gears to something feral, something lethal. It scared the ever-loving wits out of me.

I jumped over the counter to protect Leon's back. He ran towards the service doors then spun around to cover me. We both rushed into the hall and shoved the doors closed. Zombies pounded on the heavy doors. We pushed hard with our legs. Thankfully, the corridor was carpeted to provide friction. We bounced against the doors because of the relentless punching. I rushed to barricade the doors with racks and boxes sitting by the walls. Their pounding against the doors shook all the boxes. Fortunately, there weren't enough zombies to break through. My heart was beating like a ram against my chest. I ignored the burning sensation in my throat while I tried to steady my breath.

"Nice shooting, Tex." Leon panted and quickly regained his composure.

"Thanks! Guess you're not as distracting as you think." I grinned before I started down the hall.

Leon quickly fell into step with me. "Do you have an exit plan?"

"Sort of, but I have to find someone first."

"Oh, uh boyfriend?"

I curved an eyebrow; looked at his curious gaze. "Eh -no. A friend didn't make it out. What about you?"

"I lost my partner in this chaos."

"Were you just shopping with your partner?"

"Actually no. I- I don't really know how we got here."

"Oh," I swallowed back the lump in my throat. Bloody hell, someone really tore these guys out of the game! Who? Why?

I slowed down when I spotted the security office. When I peered into the window a frigid block settled in my stomach. The white walls were splattered with blood. An officer sat on the chair lifelessly with his throat torn out. My jaw clenched tight, bloody hell. Alex, I'm sorry, mate.

I climbed through the window. Leon's quick hands caught my leg when I set my knee on the counter. A healthy dose of fear ran up my body like an icy shockwave. I flinched; ended up hitting the top of my head on the window. I recoiled from the sharp ebbing of pain in my scalp.

"What?!" I hissed through my teeth.

Leon fought with a smile at the corners of his lips. "I don't think that's really safe. Besides, can't you use the door?"

"I didn't exactly bring a bobby pin with me."

"The door is made of glass. Just break in."

I rolled my eyes then slapped his hand off my thigh. "It'll draw too much attention. Hold on. I got this."

Leon backed up and let me do as I planned. The inside of the cubicle was messier than it seemed at first glance. Visceral fluids and organs stained the floor. I breathed through my mouth to avoid the stench. The taste of rusted iron and gamy flesh invaded my mouth. While I tiptoed inside the cubicle all the carnage on the floor squelched under my boots. I grabbed the guard's radio off his uniform then pressed the speaker button.

"Can anyone hear me? This is Neah Rosewood from the security office, over."

After a minute of static, I finally heard a reply. "This is officer Jefferson. I have a handful of survivors, some wounded. We are locked in storage room five-B with an unidentified number of hostiles right outside, over."

"Okay, I don't know where that is but I think I can help you blokes out. Did firefighters or local police mention an evacuation point to get to? Over."

"The roof, firefighters are scouting for survivors but I hadn't heard from them in about fifteen minutes since then, over."

Shit, of course not. Firefighters aren't trained for this kind of thing.

I sighed; pinched the bridge of my nose. "Is Jacqueline Wulong with you? Over."

"I'm here! I'm right here, Neah! Hurry please!"

"I'm doing my best. Stay safe." I clamped my teeth.

I wasn't usually one for encouraging false hope. However, I was going to make sure the woman survived no matter the cost. I wasn't familiar with all the staff entrances and hallways, so I'd likely need a map. Was there even a map? Avoiding as many undead as possible would be the best course of action. Okay, first thing's first, where in hell was five-B? Leon's scrutinizing look sent warm, fluttering sensations in my gut.

Leon quickly started messing with the radio receiver after I unlocked the office. Is he trying to reach the D.S.O? Can he?

"So, she your girlfriend or something?" he calibrated the dials expertly.

"What?"

"Hey, no judgment here," he raised his hands in surrender and smirked at the unimpressed look on my face.

"No, she's my roommate. She has a daughter so I want to be sure that girl has at least one parent still breathing."

That sobered him up as I expected. "So what's your plan?"

"Find five-B and bust them out. Simple enough, no?"

"Depends on your definition of simple," he sucked his teeth when the radio wouldn't cooperate. "Guess mall cops don't get any of the cool toys."

"Nope! Trying to reach someone?"

"Yeah, I lost my PDA so I can't communicate with my partner."

"Oh," I rocked back and forth on the heels of my boots like a bored child. "So when you say partner… do you mean like… a boyfriend or…?"

Leon looked sheepishly at my smile. "I see you're point," he chuckled. "That is intrusive huh? "

"Ah, it thinks!"

His laugh was so pleasant I had to bite my lip; find a distraction quickly to keep me from swooning. Eventually, I found the damn map of the mall! The general layout of the mall wasn't foreign to me, but most of the security and staff entrances were laid out like a maze. The grid of corridors reminded me of Spencer's mansion to a degree! Unfortunately, some of the doors needed codes or keys to gain access. I snatched a big keyring from Alex's corpse then kept the radio stuffed into my jacket pocket.

"Okay, well, I have a job to do. Nearest exit is that way so, good luck," I offered a two-finger salute and headed on route to the storage room.

Leon quickly held on to my arm. "I'm not letting you go alone. We can look for our people together."

Should've seen this coming. Leon was more than capable of dealing with these monsters, which meant I wouldn't have to rely too much on my 'certain set of skills' to get to Jacky! If I could avoid showing off there would be no need to worry. Well, of course, there was the added bonus of eye candy to enjoy through it all. Though it was evident Leon wouldn't leave a civilian's side, I was still colored pink at the gesture.

"Okay."

Leon stopped to peek around the corner while I tried very hard not to get annoyed, failing with flying colors. He took point as he led us down the staff corridors. Depending on Leon slowed me down significantly, but I wasn't comfortable showing off my true abilities in front of humans. As a matter of fact, I tried anything out of the norm I'd end up with a colossal target on my back again. I'd be useless to everyone anyways. Guess I just have to suck it up. I sighed

Leon turned curiously towards me. "Something wrong?"

"No... kind of frustrated."

"Because of your friend?"

"Sure."

Leon's eyes narrowed. "No. That's not it. What's wrong?"

All I could do was blink at the man like a twit. People usually had a hard time reading me or conceded when I didn't want to talk about something. Ha, who am I kidding? It's Leon S. Kennedy I'm talking about! His warm, considerate stare knotted my stomach. I fought the urge to recoil into myself. He encouraged me with a smile and I had to relent.

"Ever get the feeling you could do more but don't?"

He pursed his lips.

"Nevermind. I confused you," I sighed.

"Feeling inadequate. Like you could've done something more?" He laughed. "All the damn time."

"You do?"

Leon's brilliant smile somehow put me at ease. "Is it that hard to believe?"

Ah, the Boy Scout with a Superman complex. I nodded like a damn toddler. "Yeah! From you, yeah. You probably give your all. You shouldn't feel inadequate."

"How much did this friend tell you about me exactly?"

I smiled and tried to hide the heat in my face by staring at my feet. If Leon knew my 'friend' is a damn PS3, ha!

He cleared his throat. "So uh, are we on the right path?"

I pulled out the map and Leon followed the route I pointed out. "According to the map, yes. Five-B is at the west end of the mall. We're going to have to leave the safety of these corridors to get there."

"Sounds fun."

"Yes. Exhilarating," I grumbled.

The corridors were stark white with gray-speckled carpets. Aside from the bloody mess back at the security office, the halls were meticulous. Thuds of our boots against the carpet filled the silence during our walk. My heart beat quickly against my chest. It was disconcerting how I was able to detect Leon's heart-rate match mine and the saltine musk in his sandalwood and soapy scent. After three years of playing the role of a fragile human, I still hadn't gotten used to ignoring my senses. Now and then I'd slip since those abnormalities would often save my sorry ass. Ironic that those abnormalities would be my undoing if I wasn't careful. Finally, we arrived at the exit. Leon halted my steps to crack the door open and assess our situation.

He nodded. "Stay close."

I curved a brow and stepped forward into an empty hall, save for the torn cadavers of shoppers. Glass and mangled display dummies littered the floor. It was eerily quiet and the chill of the functioning AC slipped under my jacket to cool my skin. There wasn't a soul to be seen.

I took a deep breath and quickly regretted it from the influx of putrid flesh gracing my taste buds. "This doesn't sit well with me."

"Yeah, it is pretty silent."

"So, I figure we have about two or four hours before rescue choppers arrive, that is if they are known for superb response times. We better haul ass."

"How'd you figure that?"

"Why else would firefighters make the roof the evacuation point? If this incident isn't isolated to the mall, my best guess, we won't see any rescue choppers for about seventy hours."

Leon shot a confused look at me. "Is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?"

"Like what?"

"Have you been in situations like this before?"

All I could offer was a smirk and continued to walk forward. I maneuvered quietly away from puddles of blood and bodies. When I spotted the limp forms of children my stomach tightened. My throat went dry. I wasn't a stranger to the sight of young corpses but it never got easier. As we walked forward, the twitch of one of the youngsters made my heart thrum irregularly. My body grew cold. Leon and I spun slowly to be sure we weren't imagining things.

The body of a boy no older than four started to convulse. The twitching escalated to violent thrashing. His belly stretched unnaturally. I nearly gagged from the sound of skin tearing and the squish of ruptured organs. I reflexively gripped Leon's sleeve when my knees went weak. Please don't tell me this child died the way I think he did.

A creature with a shrieking laugh tore through the stomach. It emerged six feet tall, with lumpy skin covered in viscera. It had no eyes, only a serrated mouth stretched across its face. The monster laughed as if it took pleasure it managed to desecrate the poor child. Soon the rest of the bodies began to thrash similarly. My body went from ice to a raging furnace. I wasn't alone.

Leon raised his weapon with a livid focus and marched towards the first Rasklapanje, his gun blazing. The bullets barely affected the monster and it attempted to grab him. I pulled Leon back by his windbreaker. The Rasklapanje gripped my face instead. Its fingertips squeezed my head painfully and the floor vanished from beneath my feet. It hauled me up by the face and tossed me onto my back. Gunfire was loud and consistent like booming fireworks. The Rasklapanje lumbered over to me and tried to pin me still. Leon finally rushed over and put all his weight into a flying roundhouse kick. The monster dismantled on impact and sent its limbs after Leon. I looked to the other Rasklapanje as they stalked towards me.

"Lovely," I muttered and rose to my feet. "Now how shall I go about this?"