Disclaimer: I own nothing Capcom does, blah, blah, blah. E-mail if you want to use characters, blah, blah. I'm going to take over the world, blah, blah...

This chapter has been brought to you by the fine people at Umbrella Inc. Jade: Oh shit, I think I'm gonna lose a sponser soon...

CHAPTER 3: FOR PEACE

When I finally reached the third floor I had stopped swearing and was looking for the apartment. I saw a lot of open doors as I walked down the hall tensed but fortunately no carriers. I guessed they had shambled out the open front door in hopes of finding fresh meat. I passed by one open apartment and saw the chewed up body of a woman laying on the ground surrounded by a pool of blood. I knew that soon she would turn into a zombie and suddenly felt the need to close the door.

As I stepped towards the door a feral looking dog stepped over her body and stared at be with intense eyes.

Hungry eyes.

I lunged for the door knob as rover lunged for me. I got the door before he got me and I slammed it. A thud and a yelp of pain accompanied the slamming of the steel door. Gasping for breath I jerked away from it and waited. The scratching of it's paws penetrated my ears and I could hear it take mad jumps at the door until it's body could no longer take the self-induced pain and collapsed.

I laughed weakly. "Well, wasn't that a good idea." This was wonderful, now dogs were added to my list of fucked up creatures. Shrugging it off I continued to search for the apartment, unaware that I was now running. Not that I'm scared or anything, I just felt I needed the exercise...

Finally the number 38 loomed in my vision surrounded by angels. Or was it just my imagination? I took the key out of my pocket and clicked the door open, easing my way in I held my gun in my hand and checked the apartment for occupants.

"Lucky." I said after I found that there was no one in the apartment other than myself. It was small and had bars over the windows, but I wasn't in the best part of town. "Not that it matters now." I went back to the door and locked it. I stood for a moment and stared at the knob, would a simple lock keep out the undead. Fuck no.

Casually I pushed a large chest in front of the door, all the while telling myself I wasn't becoming paranoid. Once I had finished that simple task I took a longer look around the apartment. After searching all the rooms it became apparent that two people lived here. Probably Sandy and her boyfriend, unless she led a double life as a crossdresser.

My first order of business was to clean up. I entered the bathroom and took a look at myself, I was doing pretty good all things considered. My head started to hurt again so I took a painkiller and took the Band-Aid off my forehead. My gaze wandered to the shower that was situated beside me and turned the hot water on in the shower, praying to the hot water gods. I nearly danced in victory when the shower head let loose it's warm liquid.

Ten seconds flat and I was naked. I eased my sore body into the shower and let the hot water gush over my nude body, cleaning the creature filth off of me. For a while I just stood there enjoying the feeling of the liquid cover me like a silent guardian. Then I took the body wash that was in the shower and dumped most of it onto a wash cloth.

It smelt like strawberry and for a moment I forgot completely about the danger I was in. I hurried to clean my ravished body but found my muscles would not let me move quickly, they cried out for sleep and I mentally told then where to go. I also found some strawberry shampoo and took great pleasure in washing my hair of the blood, grime and monster bits. It smelled really good compared to what I had been forced to smell for the last 14 hours. Herbal Essences, a totally orgasmic experience.

"Time to get out." I sighed, not really wanting to listen to myself. So instead I shaved my legs, nothing beats freshly shaved legs.

* * *

After I had finished showering I got out and tended to my cuts and scrapes. I silently wondered why I thought so deeply about my shower and only one rational explanation came up: fan-service. I looked at the pile of clothes that I had worn before getting in, they were filthy. I took the Ryoko sweater and cleaned it in the sink, hanging it to dry over the shower rod. I was about to start the same process with my other clothes when I realized I was in the apartment of another female. The only articles of my own clothing that a picked up where my bra and panties, no matter how grim the situation I will not wear another woman's underwear.

Once inside Sandy's room I looted her drawer for something to wear. It was a lot warmer in Raccoon City than I first thought it to be so I opted for a black t-shirt and denim shorts. I tried the t-shirt on and it fit like a tattoo and the shorts were extremely comfortable. After the pillaging of her drawers I searched the closet and came up with a pair of knee high black leather kink boots.

"Booya." I may be in the City of the Dead but I sure know how to dress to kill. My stomach growled as I finished buckling the second boot and sent me to the floor in fear. :Well, well. Aren't we jumpy.: I firmly told the little voice in my head to eat shit and went to the kitchen for some food of my own.

* * *

Patting my full stomach, I took a longer look at the apartment. Her boyfriend was in the army by the awards that graced the mantles. I found a utility belt in the closet and was glad to trade it in for the bulky backpack I had lugged around. Painstakingly, I took only the most important items from the bag and put them into the utility belt. I tried it on and kinda felt like Batman.

A deep yawn escaped my lips as I walked into the bedroom and collapsed on the bed. I knew I couldn't fall asleep because of the risk that I wouldn't wake up, but, I told myself it couldn't hurt to just rest my eyes for a few minutes...

* * *

My arms pumped harder and harder. Running didn't seem to work very well but I stubbornly continued. I looked back at my pursuer and I could tell the dark beast was catching up.

"Help!" I screamed, my voice ragged. "Anyone, help." My body was slowing down and would soon rebel against any movement what-so-ever. But I couldn't stop, I had to escape. Flashes from window sills were at the edge of my vision. I took a risk and looked at one. My hot blood went frozen as I sighted a person in the window.

:A zombie.: It stared back at me through cold white eyes. More white than a thousand savage winter storms put together. It's piercing gaze held mine and time stopped. Suspended in mid-leap, I stared back at the creature. It's lips began to move and I could see it mouth 'Die.' I still couldn't move and the carrier repeated it's silent cry.

Time stared again and I faltered as my foot hit the ground but I didn't fall. A chant rose to meet my ears while I ran for dear life.

"Die."

"Die."

"Die!"

"DIE!"

More joined in every time the word was sounded again. I knew it to be the voices of the undead. Their speech ripping at my ears, tearing at my heart. The voices soon became all that I could hear, drowning out everything else.

Suddenly I slammed into something very hard. I fell back dazed and confused. After my head stopped spinning I looked at a brick wall, that was what I had crashed into. The zombie primal chant rose a tone in agony and I couldn't get up, only clutch my ears in pain.

"Stop!" I screamed at the top of my abused lungs. "Stop! Please stop!" My cries fell upon deaf ears as I cried on my knees.

A bloodthirsty howl sounded the only warning I had before claws tore through me. I stared dumbly at the beastial talons coming out of my abdomen, clutching onto the ending of them. They lifted me off the ground and into the air, a satisfied growl lingering in the air behind me.

"No..." My word following the blood that dripped from my mouth. My heartbeat was in sync with the zombies savage song. "NO!"

* * *

"NO!!!!!!!!!" I sat straight up in the bed screaming in fear. My body quivered and my heart raced. Cold sweat ran down my temples, pooling then dripping off my chin. I sat like that for a long time, how long I'm not even sure now, immersed in primal fear and terror. The sound of my own shuddering breathes was the only thing to comfort me, how sad. My body gave a final convulse and I snapped back into reality.

A nightmare. A horrible nightmare. :But,: I thought as a stared with morbidity at the bed beneath me, :It was so real. I could feel the talons slice into my body, leaving me savaged.:

"Shit." I had fallen asleep. It was dark in the room and probably even darker outside. I looked over at a clock I'd seen before drifting off and it flashed 12:00 over and over at me. The dirty bastard was of no use to me. Anger began to mix with the fear and left me feeling filled to the brim with adrenaline.

"Get some fresh air." I told, no commanded, myself. I walked over to the barred window and opened it, letting an undead smelling breeze in. The smell was disgusting but it broke me out of the state I was in and let me think a little more clearly.

First, I had to plan where I was going next. I leaned as far as the bars would allow me and looked up and down the street. A deadite (thank you Army of Darkness) in a strange uniform walked down the street facing me with an almost uncanny sense of direction. I would have lingered on the zombie had I not seen a glint come from the building I had spent my morning on.

:An Umbrella building.: I thought sourly. It spanned nearly the entire half of the street, the glint came from about a quarter way down. Atop it I could see a M16 assault riffle.

And thank the gods! It was attached to a live human! Given that the building wasn't that far away I could see the man fairly easily in the shining moonlight. He was in his late-forties or early fifties, had light hair, and from what I could tell he looked Russian. It astonished me to see that he wore the same uniform as the carrier. The strong-looking sniper aimed his rifle at the deadite and I could swear he grinned. My eyes shot to the zombie and I realized with cold panic that it wasn't dead at all.

"Oh my fucking lord." I never considered myself religious in any way but my words seemed appropriate at the time. "He's alive." Couldn't the man see that! He was closer than I was! I gathered air in my lungs and prepared to scream out a warning to the man-

-BAM!

Any cry I had died pathetically in my throat as the bullet embedded itself into the man's upper body. The sniper had shot the man in the stomach in cold blood. The man dashed around the corner and staggered off holding his bleeding torso into the night. The rooftop sniper looked pissed for a moment then a sadistic grin came over his face. He practically bounced down the stairs as he went to ground level to presumably stalk his prey, all the while his smirk growing. I caught a glimpse of the logo on his back.

:U.B.C.S.:

I ducked against the wall beside the window lest he see me. :U.B.C.S.: I thought frantically. :What the fuck does that mean!?! Why had he killed his own man!? Was U.B.C.S. responsible for the clean-up of any survivors that could turn witnesses? But if that were so why had he shot another member?: This was too much. Way too much. At first I thought I'd only have to watch out for the undead mutations roaming the city.

Now I had to fear humans as well.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Oh la la. Things seem to be spicing up for Tequila. What will happen next? Bet ya want to know who the sniper and victim were? Wait for the next chapter! Or read page 90 to 92 in Resident Evil: Nemesis by S.D. Perry. I'm trying to keep my story as close to being able to have happened during RE2 and RE3 so tell me if I've gotten anything mixed up so far (don't worry about the Gun Shop owner, it was a different shop then what Claire and Leon were in). Reviews are much appreciated!