The smell of pine was overwhelming and crisp in the air on the morning of September 24th, 1998. The Harley Softail hummed loudly along South Boundary Road as Claire Redfield gazed once more toward Porcupine Mountain and the lush Michigan landscape. The sun had completely crested the horizon and was causing the shadow of the trees to stretch across the still cool asphalt.
The campground she had seen a few miles back had just been waking up when she cruised past. A small boy with an excited grin had waved to her and she had laughed beneath her helmet when she gave him an energetic wave back.
Starting the day with a ride was almost a precursor to the work week now. Claire's shift at Raccoon City Fire Department wouldn't begin for another two hours, but after the last week she had on the ambulance, she was more than certain that she could classify her motorcycle as a therapy animal given the right kind of rhetoric to the paperwork.
The 23-year-old was leaning her bike toward highway 64 for White Pine while she considered her impending shift. Raccoon City had been under the hush of the terrible murders occurring since June. The words 'cannibals' and 'killers' were tossed out by the media as more and more bodies had been discovered near the edge of the Arklay County line. Police Chief Brian Irons had made a few statements alongside Mayor Warren. The usual promises of curfews, and more officers had been signed on under taxpayer money.
People were still dying. Horribly.
From late June to early September, there had been a change in the 911 calls throughout the small town. Raccoon didn't usually have a bustling number of tragedies; most calls had the RFD's medical units responding to typical chest pain complaints, or airway obstructions during the dinner hours.
Recently, there seemed to be unrest in the streets. Fights had been breaking out under the strain of early curfews and very little answers from public officials. J's Bar had called in domestic violence incidents more times in the last week than Claire had seen in the last two years. While police controlled the scene, she had waited alongside her partner in the rig before the scene could be safely cleared. The strained faces were starting to look the same in her community. Sometimes, she saw it in herself when she dared to pay attention.
Claire's thoughts halted when the faint whoop of a siren casted itself out over the roar of the motorcycle's 4-stroke engine. With a glance into her left side mirror, Claire swore loudly in her helmet when she spotted the Raccoon City patrol car behind her.
Her blue eyes were lifting to the landscape once more. White Pine had whipped past in a blur, and the Arklay County line was far behind her. With a squint to her speedometer, Claire understood then that she had been going 60 MPH on Arklay's scenic route; the area they had increased more police presence leading into the city.
Claire slowed her speed to a gentle stop along the side of the road. With a hunch of her shoulders, her boot was whipping the kickstand down and she hit the kill switch with an annoyed tap of her fingers. The crunching of gravel from the cruiser behind her became louder without the sound of the engine clipping her hearing.
Claire dimly heard the door to the patrol car creak open while she leaned down to her saddlebag and snapped open the buckles.
"Hello, ma'am," The officer's voice was muted, and Claire was whipping her helmet visor open to hear him better without turning her attention to him. "Do you know why I stopped you?"
"Because you took an oath that also comes with a quota?" Claire sassed out when her fingers closed over her wallet in her bag.
The silence that followed had guilt falling like a stone in Claire's stomach.
Chris would be so disappointed in her in this moment. She didn't dislike police officers, but she got a little frustrated with the born rivalry that existed between the fire department and the police department. Years before she had been accepted into the academy, the current mayor at the time had listed more funds into RPD than the RFD. The bad blood had been much more visceral then but still existed today like a bad tribute to both professions.
Chris had groaned in mock horror when she had announced her plans to follow the EMS route. He had been proud but in a way that had come with the snappy banter of fire engine hose jokes and something about being a woman on a pole. Claire had tuned him out with a rude hand gesture every time.
With a wince, Claire lifted her head to look up at the officer on her left side. Her breath caught in her throat at the new face staring at her with a raised brow and a small smile pulling at the left side of his mouth.
L. Kennedy glinted on the name badge from the rising sun.
"License and registration, please." Officer Kennedy finally responded then.
"Sorry," Claire uttered as she looked back down at her hand before lifting it to produce both requests. "I thought you were someone else and—" His hand brushed her gloved one as he took the items from her. She cut her words off half from shame and half from shock.
"I'll be right back." He said, not acknowledging the apology quite yet. His eyes were reflecting his amusement before he turned to walk back to his patrol car.
Claire pulled her helmet off and found herself glancing over her shoulder at his retreating form. Her hair tumbled wildly down her shoulders as she took him in.
"Well, fuck me." She whispered softly to herself with raised brows. L. Kennedy was a sight for sore eyes. Rivalry be damned.
He knew how to fill out a uniform too. Bright eyes had looked out from a tasteful haircut that Claire knew not many men could pull off. His features had been boyish, but it was cut with a dimpled chin, high cheek bones, and a sharp gaze that didn't seem to miss much.
Judging from his expression, he had to have a sense of humor. Maybe not for long given the aura of Raccoon lately.
Officer Kevin Ryman had been one of the cops who loved to trample the rivalry between both professions, and he did so with a flourish every time he saw Claire on scene. The flirty cop was nice to look at, but Claire had found it to be a sport to decline his advances in creative ways. It only seemed to make Kevin more interested. Men were weird sometimes.
L. Kennedy was going to be a little harder to deal with if he didn't keep those smiles to himself.
Officer Kennedy was leaned over in the car's seat while he gazed into what Claire knew was his mobile digital terminal.
Claire knew she didn't have much of a record, but he would surely see her RFD status and it made her wince again. She had been stressed this morning with very little sleep and the days had only seemed to be getting longer as civil unrest had made itself more known in the city. It wasn't a good excuse though; she knew the RPD was dealing with the same issues.
L. Kennedy was making his way back toward her after a few more minutes. Claire's hands were curling into the opening of her helmet when he approached.
"Officer Kennedy, I'm—" She began.
"I'll be letting you off with just a warning this time, Ms. Redfield." He interrupted as he looked down at her still sitting form. "Wouldn't want your fire captain to know too much about your early hour affairs."
Claire's eyebrows rose high once more as she took the papers he held out after a moment. L. Kennedy was smiling at her again.
Fuck.
"I—Thank you, Officer Kennedy. I'll watch my speed from now on." She finally said, watching when he leaned back slightly, a hand sliding into one of his pockets while he listened to her.
"I think we have enough going on in the county without one of our best endangering her life on this death trap." L. Kennedy said then, his eyes sparkled with the lure he placed.
"Death trap? What's wrong, Kennedy? Did they not teach you balance for your cager unit?" Claire found herself retorting with the tilt of her head.
L. Kennedy laughed quietly then, and Claire knew she was in trouble.
"My balance is fine. I find my thrills in a much more comfortable setting though." He tilted his head to match hers before he turned slightly toward his car. "You have a good day, Ms. Redfield. Hopefully when I catch you next, it's not at such high speeds."
Claire's mouth was hanging open when he began to walk away.
"Hey!" She called as she twisted her torso back.
L. Kennedy paused and turned back.
"What's your name, officer?" She asked.
"Leon, Leon Kennedy." He said with the same smile. He gave her a little wave. "Good to meet you, Claire."
"Good to meet you too." Claire mumbled to herself as he slid into the patrol car.
"Leon, huh?" She thought as she pulled her helmet back on.
It was a nice name.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in!" Briggs Cheney crooned as Claire pulled up to the Fire Department Bay parking area on Bond Street.
Briggs Cheney was the union representation to the International Association of Fire Fighters for Raccoon City. He was one of the oldest Firefighter Paramedics in both districts that split the city. At 61 years old, he was in top shape and was a walking encyclopedia for anything you wanted to know about the department's history.
Briggs was known to be the biggest gossip when it came to the situation between the RPD and the RFD. He liked to call it investigative work for the IAFF, but Claire knew better.
He was also Claire's partner.
"Look lively Briggs," Claire called as she hauled her bag out of the beat-up Honda Civic Chris had purchased for her in high school. "I heard from Louis over at Taxaco that it was going to storm for the next two days."
Briggs shrugged when he fell into step with her as they headed into the station. His silver white hair fluttered around his face. "I always plan for a moderately dreadful day. Leaves little room for surprises."
Claire rolled her eyes with a smile before she bit into the apple she had snagged from the gas station with the morning paper.
"Did you go out for a ride this morning?" Briggs asked.
"Yep," Claire replied around the bite of her apple. "I love going over to—"
Briggs was doing that smirking thing at her. The quirk of it told her what she needed to know.
"—Great, what did you hear?" Claire demanded then.
"Heard you met the new rookie. Kenly, or was it Kenneth?"
"Kennedy." Claire corrected automatically.
Briggs pushed the door to the station open and Claire sighed when she felt the invisible snare around her neck close.
"Remembered his name, did you? That's interesting. Who's going to tell Kevin that you're spoken for now?" Briggs' green eyes sparkled at his catch.
"Hell, does the captain know I got stopped or not, Briggs?" Claire snarked. She tossed her bag down at the lockers near the front hall bathroom in the station.
"Captain isn't in today. Sick from what I hear; got bit by a critter last night. Wife had to take him to go get a round shots last night at Arklay Memorial." Briggs said from the other room.
"Damn, what was it?" Claire was pushing the door open to the garage.
"Rat, I think. He's not feeling that well today. They're sending us Captain Marquez from station 8 for the shift. Quite a few people have called out in the last few days actually. It's flu season though."
"Fuck, B shift is going to get an earful." Claire griped as she half listened to Briggs. The door to the ambulance was propped open by her hip as she stared into the unstocked rig. "Can you check the meds? I gotta grab some shit."
"So, what did you think of the new officer?"
"Really, Briggs?"
"I always know you're interested when you get defensive." Briggs called out while Claire rummaged through the equipment locker.
She was balancing emesis bins, N95 masks, and various other items when she heard the tones go off for the station.
"Engine 12, Medic 12, respond with other units. Traffic collision with extrication. 4673 Euston Street, map page 42. Respond on TAC 6."
"What else do you need?" Briggs was jumping out from the ambulance and moving toward her.
The door to the garage opened and the C shift for Engine 12 was piling out. They called out to Briggs and Claire in greeting.
"I need 'tracheal tubes, 4.0 and 4.5." Claire answered as she dumped the supplies onto the ambulance bench and reached for her radio. "Medic 12 responding."
"Got it," Briggs tossed her the packs and jogged toward the driver's side of the rig. "I'll drive. You can finish setting us up."
Claire yanked the side door closed and got to organizing the items while Briggs pulled the ambulance out after the engine.
"Don't think you're off the hook, Redfield." Briggs called over the blare of sirens while he drove carefully through the streets.
Claire groaned to herself as she prepped the bins.
"Heard Kennedy was a transfer from New York. Real top-notch scores in the academy. Not sure why he came here, but then again, we did make national news for the murders last month."
Claire stowed the last bag in the overhead compartment while she listened and took one last sweeping glance over the stations.
"Been told he's a nice kid. Got a good disposition for being a big city boy." Briggs continued loudly.
"Briggs, this isn't a dating service. Besides, how would I crush Kevin's spirit if I wasn't single anymore?" Claire finally said as she climbed into the passenger seat next to him. Her eyes went to the Computer Aided Dispatch System that was illuminated between them.
"Bah," Briggs said while pulling his headset on now that Claire was in the front seat. "Kevin would fall into a barrel of titts and come out sucking his own thumb."
The laughter that ensued was one of the reasons why Claire truly loved her partner.
Claire was squeezing the bag-valve mask while Briggs pulled the gurney through the ER bay of Arklay Memorial Hospital.
The ER was in complete disarray. Several other stations sat with their patients on gurneys in the hall; a few of the crew members nodded to the duo as they passed. The nurse's station was filled with folders and the dayshift nurse on duty had her head down with her hand over her forehead as she spoke into the phone. When Claire passed by, she took note of all the blinking lights on the phone's cradle. The nurse had many people on hold.
Several of the curtains around Section A of the ER were closed but Claire could hear the rapid conversations reverberating off the walls while the staff tended to those within.
The intake nurse, Jeremy, was a good friend to Briggs and his eyes lit up slightly when they both wheeled their patient towards him.
"What do we got?" Jeremy said as he led them back to Section B of the ER. The trauma teams were moving back and forth in front of them.
"MVC," Claire said as while continued to squeeze the BVM. "32-year-old female who was in a motor vehicle collision approximately 45 minutes ago. On scene, she was wearing her seatbelt and was the driver. Airbag deployed and while she was conscious. Bystanders on scene didn't think she lost consciousness, but it's not confirmed. She became severely disoriented enroute. Her—"
Briggs was looking over his shoulder when a moaning man lunged for one of the nurses in the backend of the section. Yelling ensued before security was moving into the room and shutting the curtain behind them.
Momentarily distracted, Claire gave the last of the patient's injuries and vitals before Jeremy asked a few follow-up questions.
"Busy today, Jeremy?" Briggs asked.
"Something is in the air." The tired nurse muttered while he helped transfer the woman over to the ER bed. The trauma staff began to crowd them out of the small room.
"How long has it been like this?" Briggs inquired further as he handed over the patient's belongings they had managed to collect in the car.
"Last two days, honestly. Feels like it's been nonstop; we're down a few staff members today. Apparently, there's a bug going around too." Jeremy said with a sigh while he signed off on their paperwork.
"I'll catch you outside, Briggs." Claire called after she situated the leads from the EKG on top of the machine attached to the gurney. When he gave her a small wave, she turned to go back out toward the ambulance bay.
"Redfield," a voice called out to Claire ahead. "Busy on your side of the road too? Who's bringing all the bad luck?"
Claire smiled at the medic crew from Station 2 and gave a shrug. "You breaking mirrors with that face over there at the station, Tony?"
"We all can't be blessed with good genetics." Tony laughed as he slapped her shoulder. "Although I was told it was bad luck dispersed over seven years, not seven days."
"No one has that kind of time, Tony. Maybe you should be practicing your radio voice." Claire called over her shoulder while she proceeded out to the bay with quick steps.
"Love you too, Redfield!"
Claire made quick work of getting the gurney back in the ambulance. The Cavi-Wipes were a gift from the Gods when it came to blood. While she restocked their used items, she looked up as more ambulances pulled into the already saturated lot. A few police cruisers had followed in behind the last set of rigs.
She was pulling her gloves off when someone rounded the back ambulance doors.
"Almost didn't recognize you without the death trap."
Claire lifted her head and gazed into the eyes of Officer Leon Kennedy.
"Did I walk too fast across the parking lot, sir?" She felt the words leave her mouth before she considered them.
"Can't keep making exceptions for pretty girls. Might have to cite you this time." Leon retorted with that dangerous smile. He jerked his head over his shoulder before he said, "You guys slammed too? I've been on since 7AM and I've been moved all around town."
Claire was blinking still at the first part of his retort when she shook her head slightly and set the clipboard in her hands on the top of the clean gurney.
"Madness, really. I think I saw half of our stations waiting in the ER just now." She admitted as she pushed her bangs from her eyes.
"Ready to go, Kennedy?" A voice called out behind him. Officer Kevin Ryman came into view soon after.
Claire stifled a groan when Ryman's eyes lit up.
"Just about, wanted to say hello to Ms. Redfield. We met earlier today." Leon said while he kept his eyes on Claire's.
"Can't blame you there," Kevin said with a grin tossed toward Claire. "Hey, Redfield. You going to come celebrate with us down at J's Bar tonight? We're buying rounds for the rookie."
"I'll think about it, Ryman." Claire said as she propped her foot up on the back of the gurney handle.
"Don't mind her, she loses a lot at darts. We'll get her up to speed with a bit of practice." Kevin blew a kiss at Claire before he clapped Leon on the shoulder and turned back toward where Claire assumed their squad car was.
"Partnered with Kevin, huh?" Claire asked before she stood and made her way out the back doors to where Leon still waited. "Careful, he cheats at cards too."
Leon chuckled as he leaned on the ambulance door and looked down at her shorter form. "I'm not much of a betting man, anyway. You going to join us tonight?"
"If I can make it off on time, I suppose I could, Officer Kennedy. The dispatch Gods usually determine my fate. You sure you want your reputation with the fire department to start early? People talk." She said with a teasing tone.
"I think I can handle the consequences." Leon said with a raised brow. The radio at his hip beeped and he was turning down to it. "May have jinxed it with the dispatch talk, Claire."
Claire felt her face warm when he said her first name again and she turned her eyes from him for a moment.
"It was good to see you again. I hope to see you for drinks later." Leon's words drew her eyes back to him. Claire caught his gaze coming back up from the stroll they had taken down her figure. She was certain then he could see the flush on her cheeks.
"If not, maybe I'll just speed through the mountains again." Claire said, trying to quickly recover from being rattled by the rookie. There was something about him that made her want to continue teasing him. Maybe it was the rookie thing.
"Always did love a good chase." Leon replied with ease. He gave her a wink before he turned toward the squad car. "See you later, Claire."
Claire was biting the inside of her cheek as she stared after him like she had the first time she had met him. The teasing definitely wasn't anything to do with the rookie thing.
"Oh, dear," Briggs said beside her. When she turned, he had his hands clasped together at his chest. "What did I miss?"
"Damn it." Claire moaned.
She'd never hear the end of this.
"So, you're going, right?" Briggs asked again after a long day of calls.
They were sitting in their rig near Raccoon Park and eating an early dinner. The sun was peeking through the tall downtown buildings as it made it's decent in the west.
Claire nearly choked on her sandwich and a glob of mayonnaise fell onto her dark blue uniform pants as a result.
"Why do you care so much about my love life, Briggs?" Claire asked with a suspicious look while she used her napkin to wipe up the mess.
"Pretty girl like you should have someone to go home to." Briggs said with a shrug while he stabbed at his salad. "Might take you away from that dangerous hobby of yours too."
Claire rolled her eyes and bit back into her food. Briggs had been giving her shit about her motorcycle since she had been a probationary firefighter.
"He just moved here; he doesn't need me jumping down his throat first thing."
"Who said anything about Kennedy?" Briggs' grin had Claire throwing her balled up napkin at him.
"What do you know anyway? You've been out of the dating game since, what, 1972?" Claire retorted with an easy smile.
"1983," Briggs corrected with a mock serious tone. "And my ex-wife would be proud to know that I have been faithful to myself ever since."
"Didn't they used to call you the 'Whore of Babylon' over at Station 7? Something about the meter maid?" Claire tossed her trash into the bag before she looked over at him once more. Rain had begun to patter against their windshield.
"That meter maid had no business looking like she did while she ticketed me. I owned a bicycle at the time, Claire!"
"You breathed life into our part of the whole 'cops are beaters and firefighters are cheaters', Cheney." Claire said in between her giggles. "I can't believe the things I hear about you sometimes."
The radio between them toned.
"Engine 8, Medic 12, respond with other units. Code 10-999. 1004 Good Street., map page 26. Respond on TAC 6."
"Code 10-999?" Claire asked Briggs as she picked up the radio.
"Officer down." Briggs replied, his face fell from the smile he had previously.
"Medic 12 responding." Claire said when she switched to the TAC channel. "That's the college campus. Isn't school canceled right now?"
"Medic 12, please stage at East R.C. Elementary. Officers in route." Dispatch responded.
Traffic was backed up all along Warren Street. Cars were piled along the road as far as Claire could see down the bend. A few people had gotten out of their vehicles and were looking ahead at something neither she nor Briggs could see from their position behind a taller truck. Briggs had shut down the sirens and assessed the road ahead. Engine 8 had gotten stuck further behind them; their rig was too large to make the maneuvers that the ambulance could.
"Sidewalk?" Claire suggested when she pulled her head back in from the open window. Her hair slightly damp from the rain that had become a steady drum.
"No…," Briggs said with a furrowed brow while he looked back down at the Computer Aided Dispatch System. He turned the swivel unit toward her and nodded toward the CAD. "Something else aside from the officer is going on. RPD is on scene now; look at the calls, Claire."
Claire squinted slightly at the screen as her eyes took in the saturated call list from dispatch. There was a total of 307 active calls all within the last four minutes. Claire had never seen it that high and it seemed like calls were being added every other minute.
Unease was growing in her gut when she looked back toward the street. The tiny hairs on her neck were beginning to rise and she considered the last conversation she had with her brother before he had departed town.
Chris was part of the Special Tactics and Rescue Service and he had been sent out sometime in July toward the Arklay mountains. When he had returned, he had left Claire several messages on her house phone. Claire had picked up a double shift the night he had returned and when she called him next, he had been packing and demanded that she come with.
The conversation had been hard to follow at the time. She had called him back right as she had gotten home, and her delirious state had her asking him to repeat himself several times. He had been sparse on the details; there was now an open investigation against the S.T.A.R.S unit and he had been suspended shortly upon his return due to a fight with another officer.
Something about the abandoned Arklay mansion, Umbrella, and an illness that the Alpha Team had discovered. Claire had promised to pack up by the weekend and that had only seemed to frustrate Chris even more. He was talking about leaving for good and Claire had scoffed at the notion. With plans to meet up at Emmy's Diner when she woke, Claire had bid him a good night and hung up.
Chris had soon left with a few other members of the S.T.A.R.S. team after that. Jill had stayed behind, and Claire promised to connect with her for Chris' contact information.
Her brother had been in the United States Air Force and had been dishonorably discharged due to an altercation with his senior officer. Claire knew how hot-headed he could be and often overreacted in specific situations. She had assumed that this was one of those times. When he didn't come back after a few weeks, she began to truly worry. Jill had been pretty closed lipped about the entire situation and only warned Claire to be ready. Being on the medical side of things had assured Claire that she would notice if anything truly ominous was coming. Now she wasn't so sure; now she just felt foolish.
A scream ahead of them snapped Claire out of her musings.
Briggs leaned forward in his seat when a grey Ford Escort deviated from its position in traffic and slammed into Raccoon Cinema ahead. The windshield wipers on the ambulance were doing its best to clear their vision, but it was starting to get dark, and Claire was struggling to make out the people who were running toward the crash at the cinema.
"Medic 12 to dispatch." Briggs hailed into the radio.
Silence followed.
The people near the cinema crash were moving toward the car. The people in the cars closer to Briggs and Claire were opening their doors. One man began to run toward the crash as well.
"Medic 12 to dispatch."
Claire was rolling down her window again and lifting herself up to gaze out into the rainy night. The rain was pounding against the other vehicles around her, but she could still faintly make out the screams coming from ahead.
A burst of static caught Claire's attention and she hauled her head back inside the rig.
"Officer down! We—Oh god—"
"Unit 24 requesting assistance! Multiple victims—"
"SWAT Unit 4, we can't get through to—"
Claire was looking over at Briggs with real fear in her eyes. Her fear only grew as the normally calm man gave her the stare right back. He had switched over to TAC 9. The channel they used to communicate with RPD.
Someone knocked on Claire's window and she let out a yelp as she jerked back.
One of the firefighters from Engine 8 was staring at her, his hand was making the 'roll down' gesture. Claire blew out a breath and slammed her fingers on the button in the door.
"Hey!" The firefighter yelled out over the rain. Claire thought his name was Jose, but she wasn't sure. "I don't know what the fuck is going on, but have you heard the TAC channels?"
"Yeah," Briggs was leaning toward Claire's side. "There's another accident up ahead and dispatch isn't responding either."
"This is balls up. We're going to head back to the station—" A man barreled into the firefighter and knocked him into the side of the rig before he could finish.
"Stop!" Claire was flinging her seatbelt off with anger simmering in her blood. She reached for the door handle as she heard the two men scuffling on the ground below.
Briggs' hand snaked out and grabbed her shoulder harshly before she could open the door.
"What are you doing? He's—" Claire was whipping her eyes over to her partner.
Briggs didn't answer and instead threw the rig into reverse. Claire finally caught sight of the movement outside the windshield, and it had her lungs bottoming out. The headlights illuminated the moving forms coming from in between the cars ahead of them.
A group of people, about 15 or 20 deep were moving slowly toward them. The darkness and the rain stole Claire's ability to see their faces clearly, but her brain was beginning to catch up the more and more she stared.
One of the people outside paused to reach into a car ahead of them; the passenger of the car was thrashing wildly. The person on the outside dragged the passenger's arm toward their mouth and took a deep bite. The stumbling figures were getting closer when Claire saw the blood on pale colored clothes. The closest person to the rig was a woman. One of the fingers on her outstretched hands was missing, as was some of the flesh on her face.
The rig slammed back into the car that had been behind them. Briggs was jamming his foot harder on the gas and the weight of the mighty ambulance began to shove the vehicle out of the way behind them.
"Roll up your window!" Briggs commanded in the tone she was used to hearing from her probationary days.
Claire pulled herself out of her daze and hit the button on the door to comply.
"What the heck is going on?!" She uttered as she reached up for the handle above the door.
Briggs was backing the vehicle to the left and back toward where Engine 8 sat. He pulled forward and back down the road with a jerk.
People were running down the sidewalk next to Claire's window when she glanced over at Briggs. His face was hard and his grip on the steering wheel had made his already pale hands seem stark white.
When they pulled up to the engine, Claire was devastated to see the unit empty inside.
"Where did they go?" She whispered.
Something thumped on the back of the ambulance and Briggs was rolling the vehicle forward.
"We need to get back to the station." Briggs said before he swerved around a vehicle that appeared to be abandoned in the road.
Claire was looking back out her window with her hand still clutching the handle above the door. A woman was screaming when she was tackled to the ground on her back. Two people were kneeling over her, tearing at her clothes. One of them leaned down further and blood bloomed down the woman's collar bone when her screams cut short.
"What is this?" Claire looked away from the sight. "Terrorism? A sickness? They're eating people, Briggs!"
"Hey," Briggs took his eyes from the road for a moment and met her eyes. He quickly looked back toward the windshield. "I need you to keep your head, Redfield. I don't know what this is, but given the murders we've been having, I think we have a pretty good idea that something has transferred over to a larger scale."
Claire took a deep breath while she stared at the side of his face.
Briggs slammed on the brakes when he came around to Park Street. The area beyond was blocked by a line of cars. People were streaming back and forth across the street.
"Turn left," Claire said with a steadier voice. "We can get to the police station."
Briggs followed the command and managed to narrowly miss a man who had darted in front of the rig.
Claire jerked her head up as another vehicle was thundering down the road toward them. The headlights winked in and out after the vehicle's flank skidded into the side of the parked vehicles on the street. It was only a hundred feet in front of them when Claire made out the vehicle was a tanker.
"Briggs!" Claire shouted when Briggs veered quickly to the left while the vehicle got close enough to see the shadow of a slumped driver and veered right under the transferring weight.
The back of the tanker slammed into the rig with a scraping swipe. The momentum and weight forcefully turned the ambulance head on into a parked car. Claire flew forward with a scream and slammed into the dash; she had forgotten to put her seatbelt back on.
The world was a haze of smashing glass and sudden shouts.
"Redfield! Get up! Get—" Claire blinked furiously and sat up in her chair after what felt like just a few moments. She had been bent forward over the dash.
With a swipe of her forehead, she blinked down at the blood in confusion before she turned toward Briggs. Her ears were ringing while she tried to make out his thrashing form in the dark of their position in the street. The headlights of the rig were cut short by the black car they had crashed into and the light was casting eerie shadows into the cab. Warm blood was trickling down the left side of her face.
"Redfield!" Briggs shouted again. He was wrestling with a man who had leaned into the broken driver's side window and latched on.
Claire inhaled and shook herself as she took in the teeth in Briggs' arm. Her older partner reared his other arm back and hit the man in the face. Thumps near the side of the ambulance were starting to become louder.
Claire looked down to the side pouch of her chair. The handle of a large Maglite flashlight poked out from the flap. She closed her fingers around the metal and lunged out of her chair. "Here!"
Briggs was snatching the flashlight before he swung it hard down on the snarling man's head. A sickening crunch of bone could be heard over the thumps of the rig and the pouring rain.
The man outside released Briggs' arm and her partner was scrambling away from the window.
More figures were stumbling up to the driver's side.
"Out the back! Go!" Briggs commanded as he gripped the flashlight tightly.
Claire dove into the back and stumbled on her feet. Her head was pounding in pain, but she pressed on and looked at the bag on the top shelf above the gurney. She snatched it down and slung it over her shoulder before she pushed toward the double back doors.
Briggs was panting behind her as he caught up.
"Are you alright?" She uttered, feeling out of breath alongside him.
"We'll find out." Briggs said as he lifted the bleeding arm toward Claire. She winced to see the damage to multiple layers of his dermis. Part of the muscle was visible.
"It's bad out there. Listen, if something happens, I want you to run as fast as you can to the police station. We're close, you only need to cut through a few alleys." Briggs said over the moans that were starting to become louder near the front of the ambulance. He was quickly snagging one of the rolled gauze bandages and winding it around his arm.
"I'm not leaving you, Briggs. Just keep up and let me lead. I have an idea." Claire said with a deep breath.
When he nodded at her silently, she shifted the bag on her shoulder in front of her. The bag was about forty pounds, and the top a section had been created to hold the miniature O2 tank for when they supplied oxygen to patients before transport.
Claire pulled the handle for the door and kicked it open.
Two figures had been shuffling near the back and they turned at the noise. Claire paused while she took in the blank stares, the red colored drool dripping from their mouths, and the injures they shouldn't be walking around with.
They were…
"Say it," Claire's mind seemed to whisper. She grew up a child of creature-features movies after all. "Zombies."
Claire hefted the bag from her chest and stepped forward. With a forward thrust, the oxygen tank on the bag clanged against the face of the closest zombie and it fell back with a wail.
"Come on!" Claire called with a backwards glance at Briggs.
He had a hand over his wound, but he was moving quickly behind her when they began to dart across the road toward an alley tucked into Park Street.
Luckily for them, the zombies didn't seem to be moving fast, but there were still people screaming through the streets. One woman in a torn business suit was wailing as she rounded the corner in a stumbling run. She had lost one of her heels and in her panic, she hadn't cared to kick the other shoe off to give her a better foundation.
"Please help me!" She screamed when she ran toward Briggs and Claire.
"This way!" Briggs was motioning around the crowd of people that were shambling toward them from the rig.
The woman slammed into Briggs in her hysteria. She was sobbing and pulling at his button up uniform shirt.
"Shoot them! Shoot them!" She barked.
RFD and RPD had made a slight error when they had created the uniforms outside of one another. Both departments had chosen a dark blue for their uniforms. With the badges and the utility belts between the two, Claire and Briggs had often been mistaken for police officers when they showed up on scene. The gurney was usually a good way for people to make the second assessment though.
"I'm not a cop, hey, stop—" Briggs was trying to push her hands away as she clawed at him frantically.
The shuffling mob was getting closer.
Claire was standing at the opening of the alley while she watched the woman continue to shout and tear at Briggs. The woman was in near shock and was no longer listening.
Claire lifted the bag and used the softer side of the pack to knock into the woman with force.
The woman let out a scream and tumbled sideways onto the wet asphalt. Claire was pulling Briggs behind her before she scrambled forward to try and get the woman up.
Briggs was hauling his arm around Claire's middle and pulling her back when the mob converged on the woman. The hysteric woman was still screaming and thrashing on the ground.
"Help me! Help me!"
"We have to go." Briggs said near Claire's side.
Claire was letting out a low moan of horror as the front part of the mob was crashing to their knees. Bloody hands were tearing at the woman with what could only be described as hungry moans.
"Now, Redfield!"
Claire clutched the bag tightly as she spun around from the woman. She stumbled ahead of Briggs and tried to make sense of the world when the woman's screams were suddenly cut off behind them. The chorus of moans bounced off the walls and the sounds chased the duo down the alley while they ran.
Claire's arms were getting tired, and she could hear Briggs wheezing behind her. It may have been due to his ever-growing age or the partial run they maintained but Claire knew him to be in superior shape. When she looked back at him from the basketball court that laid behind some apartments on Park Street, she noted his paling and sweating face.
"Almost there, Briggs." She whispered with a tight voice.
"Right—" Briggs gasped in between his words. "—behind you, Redfield."
The sounds of gunfire made itself known the closer they came to the police station. Claire had knocked a zombie down near the basketball courts but so far, they hadn't seen that many in the alley yet.
As Claire stared out into the street that led out to the police station, she could see a crowd of shuffling figures swaying toward the noise.
A stray bullet struck the brick wall a few feet from them, and Claire ducked back, pushing Briggs behind her further.
"We can't go in through the front. Whoever is out there is just firing into the mob." Claire said as she checked behind them.
"Waste of ammunition if you ask me." Briggs muttered.
Claire threw him a look.
"You're bleeding." Briggs said softly, his eyes on her forehead.
"Hit my head on the dash." Claire said as she grabbed his good arm and lead him back to the tri-junction of the alley they had come from. "We need to head toward the back of the station. We can get in through the parking garage."
"Should have put you in football with how you throw weight around." Briggs chuckled despite their situation.
Claire let out a soft breath. "I got that woman killed, Briggs."
"And I left that firefighter to die on the street when I stopped you from getting out of the rig." Briggs said after a pause. "You also saved my life, Claire."
Claire glanced back at Briggs while they pushed through the next alley. He met her eyes and gave her a sharp nod. "We'll talk about it when it's safe, but I would have been dead alongside her if you hadn't done what you did."
"Yeah," Claire said softly when she turned back to the alley and lifted the bag slightly in her arms. "Do no harm, right?"
"I think we may be released from those oaths tonight. Clear your mind, Claire; this isn't your normal week anymore."
Claire huffed and stepped out toward the back street that led them toward the side of the police department. The gunshots were merging with the sound of the rain.
Briggs and Claire stuck to the shadows as best they could. The hedges surrounding the police department acted as a decent cover while they traveled the length of the building toward Flower Street.
The sloping dip down into the parking garage was slippery from the rain. A white car was idling near the entrance to the structure and Claire slowed her steps as she reached back to pull Briggs up beside her.
The white car was thankfully empty but the blood on the driver's side door was striking against the white paint. Claire swallowed a sound creeping up her throat and led them both through the area of the parking lot.
Multiple squad cars were still parked in the spaces of the lot. A few of the trunks had been popped and left wide open. Claire noted the missing shotguns and tactical bags she knew the officers usually kept back there.
"Good call on the police station. Would prefer firearms over axes right now." Briggs said in a steady voice beside her.
Claire nodded quietly and made toward the door she knew would lead them inside. She was just starting to feel better about their situation when a scream caught their attention from beyond the door. A gunshot followed soon after and suddenly Claire was no longer certain on how safe they'd actually be.
A/N: This was supposed to be a one-shot, but as per usual, I can't seem to help myself. I wasn't kind to Leon in my first story I published; I think this is me making it up to him and sincerely just showing the CLeon fandom some love. Let me know what you think! Thank you for reading!
The More You Know:
Emesis Bins - Kidney-shaped containers that are used to collect the vomit
N95 Masks - Mask designed to achieve a very close facial fit and very efficient filtration of airborne particles
Endotracheal tubes - Placed between the vocal cords through the trachea. It serves to provide oxygen and inhaled gases to the lungs and protects the lungs from contamination, such as gastric contents or blood
BVM (Bag-Mouth-Valve) - Manual resuscitators and a self-inflating bulb that produces a breath for an altered patient who's unable to breathe adequately on their own.
EKG -Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) records the electrical signal from the heart to check for different heart conditions
Staging - To keep EMS providers safe until police secure a violent or potentially violent scene. EMS crews will wait in a different area until scene is declared safe.
CAD - Computer Aided Dispatch System - utilized by police, firefighters, EMTs, dispatchers, call-takers, and 911 operators to prioritize and record incident calls, identify the status and location of responders in the field, and effectively dispatch responder personnel
