Hello, fellow readers! And welcome to my Halloween Special! I'm really looking forward to this as it includes my personal favorites from my childhood, the Outbreak Files. Being the gateway to Resident Evil, and horror in general for me, it's only fitting I would give it a proper story.
This'll have the scenarios structured into a 'Story Mode'. I'm still deciding on whether or not this'll be just File 1, or include File 2 into the mix. I'll get back to you on that.
So enough stalling, let's dive right in!
Prologue: The Outbreak Begins
It was a typical night at J's Bar, when some uninvited guests came and crashed the party. Our race for survival had only begun...
"Jack's Bar..."
A citizen of Raccoon City finds himself outside one of the more popular bars. Looking through the window, he notices that it wasn't very crowded. There is a big game happening at the stadium, guess most of the regulars are there instead.
Entering the establishment, he sees seven customers total in their seats before feeling nature's call. He quickly asks the only waitress he saw:
"Excuse me, where are the bathrooms?"
She points to two doors at the other end of the place, "Left is the men, right is the women."
"Thank you..." His eyes briefly shift to her name tag, "Cindy."
"You're welcome." She shows a charming smile before going back to work.
As he heads to said bathroom, the TV had the news on. The anchorman mentions the big game that was, in short, cancelled due to an unexpected riot.
"A riot?" The police officer comments upon taking a swig of his drink, "You hear that, Will?"
"Yeah." The bartender answers, polishing a shot glass. "Guess there were some crazy fans today."
The officer then notices something off, "Where's Jack? Thought he was working overtime again."
"He's here, but he went upstairs after opening the place." Will recalls, "Haven't seen him come back down, but he was pretty pale."
The officer was concerned for the guy, "Maybe he got that sickness that's spreading?"
"I hope not." Will admits, "That might be why most of the staff aren't in today."
As the two were conversing, the plumber sat on the end closer to the bathrooms. He starts on his second glass, but knew he shouldn't drink too much. He had work tomorrow, unfortunately. He glances at the man in front of him three seats away, who came in and haven't ordered anything yet. A bit strange to do in a bar, but he isn't gonna complain about it.
The doctor sat quietly and looks around. He sees a subway worker doing a crossword puzzle, sitting at the barrel close to the entrance. The one further away was occupied by a woman in a red suit, who he recognizes as a reporter writing in a notepad. Unfortunately, his mind still wanders back to how the hospital was doing. So many patients, so many lives... maybe he should get a drink or something to calm his nerves.
The security guard, who sat three seats in front of the officer, couldn't help but hear the conversation. Something about a sickness going around? Whatever it was, he shrugs it off before turning to his friend who sits up a bit:
"Did the game start yet?"
The two did come here to watch the game, but he had to break the bad news to him:
"Sorry, a riot cancelled it." A groan came from his friend, "Bob, are you feeling all right?"
"...No. I think I'm sick, Mark." Bob admits, not even making eye contact.
The two then heard a yelp behind them, followed by glass shattering. Turning around, they saw the waitress hold an empty tray as Will asks what happened:
"You all right?"
"Y-Yes." Cindy answers, "I thought I saw something move across the floor..."
"Probably a rat that snuck in here." The officer casually said, taking another swig of his drink.
The small bell above the entrance door rings, signaling someone coming in. Although, the new face wasn't what they were expecting. For one thing:
"Holy shit!"
The subway worker stood up from his seat, getting a strong foul smell invading his nose from the stranger.
The reporter averts her eyes away from her notepad, her eyes stopping on the stranger. She puts it away, as she's not sure what to make of this.
"What a weird customer..." Will mutters.
Figuring it was one of the few homeless men he sees around town, he walks around the bar to speak with him.
"Who is that guy?" Mark mutters, also suspicious of this before seeing Bob start to fall over.
He quickly catches him to keep his friend steady, "Hey, you all right!?"
Cindy wasn't sure what to make of this situation. She watches her co-worker confront the stranger, the latter just standing there as the former addresses him:
"Excuse me, sir?" Only a groan was heard, "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."
The officer notices the security guard being preoccupied, but keeps a close eye on the stranger. Noticing he wasn't budging, he got up from his seat with his right hand hovering over his sidearm. Though when he did, the stranger raises his head that moves the hair away... and reveals his face. The onlookers reel back in shock:
His 'face' was nothing more than a grotesque mess of flesh, drool dripping from the mouth as the man twitches like a nervous tick.
The officer quickly recovers from the shock, "Will, get back!"
"W-Wha-" The bartender didn't hear him at all, watching the stranger lean back... and lunge!
The whole bar witnesses the brutal scene as this 'man' sinks his teeth into Will's neck!
"Will!" The officer sprung into action, gripping the freak's shoulders and rips him off of the bartender.
The pull was enough to separate the two, but the freak wasn't done as it tries lunging at the officer too.
"Back off!" He was quicker though, kicking the hungry man right out the door.
It was right then, his eyes looked outside. More of those freaks were crossing the street towards the bar, making him slam the door and lock it. The others back away, now seeing said freaks pressing against the windows.
"What the hell is going on!?" The subway man shouts.
A few seconds earlier
"Why are public restrooms usually dirty?" The man comments, looking into one of the mirrors.
He's thankful he has his colorful skin still. The sickness spreading around depicts pale skin, like sickly pale. Not a good look to match his short brown hair and green eyes, much less have it break his health streak at the checkups.
Due to the cold weather, he wears a dark blue denim jacket zipped up over a black t-shirt, green cargo pants, and black sneakers.
He then starts hearing loud voices outside and exits the bathroom to see quite the scene. A man bled on the floor as the officer kicks the culprit out the door.
"What the-" His question is cut short by a scream in the women's restroom. He barely heard it, due to one of the customers yelling out an understandable question.
Quickly taking action, he pulls out his personal pistol and enters the restroom. He sees a young woman, backing away from someone reaching out from a vent below. Guess some pervert was trying to catch a peek, but got stuck.
He was about to call him out before seeing an immediate red flag:
Sickly pale skin.
Remembering the reports he read recently, he instead turns to the woman. "Are you all right, miss?"
She snaps her head towards his direction, "W-Why are you in here!?"
"First, I heard you scream in here. Second, best to leave before he gets out." He quickly answers, which she didn't hesitate to agree:
"A-All right."
The man holds the door open as he briefly introduces himself, "Name's Cole, by the way."
"Y-Yoko." She returns the gesture as the two exit the bathroom.
Present
At this point, the other bar attendants were thinking of what to do. The freaks outside were either pressing up against the large window, or slamming against the door. Seeing the barrels, the officer briefly puts his pistol back in the holster:
"Place the barrels in front of the door!"
He quickly goes to the closest barrel to push, the second one being taken care of by the reporter. As they did this, Cole and Yoko join up with the others, the former asking the plumber nearby the situation:
"What's going on?"
"A riot." The man answers.
Seeing the 'people' press up against the glass outside, hearing the door shaking violently... sounds about right.
He notices the waitress Cindy checking on the bartender, who was bleeding out as he gives her a key. After a brief exchange, he soon passes out before she goes to a door near them. The officer and reporter successfully built a barricade in front of the door, now seeing the hinges starting to break loose.
"Come on, Bob! We gotta go!" Mark insists his friend, getting him up to his feet.
"I-I'll just... slow you down." Bob was rather hesitant to even leave, but Mark wasn't having it.
The subway employee backed away to where the restrooms are, trying to stay calm as the plumber and doctor are near the kitchen. The former sees a butcher knife on the counter, snatching it for protection. Yoko looks around, seeing a scrub brush leaning against the wall and grabs it for protection. They then hear Cindy call out:
"Over here!"
The rest of them saw her open a door, going on ahead while holding it open.
"Make way!" The subway employee sprints ahead, wanting to get out quick.
Cole goes after them, Yoko and the doctor following behind him. The plumber was about to follow, but sees the security guard struggling with his friend. Seeing the officer and reporter watching the barricade, he puts the knife away to go and assist the security guard.
"Thank you very much." Mark was grateful as they made their way to the staff room.
The officer saw them reaching the door and was about to follow, but notices the reporter just staring at the windows.
"We gotta go!" He grabs her arm to get her attention, but she immediately shakes him off:
"Don't touch me!"
"We can't stay, it's too dangerous!" Another slam against the door confirms that, "Come on!"
The reporter had no argument there. The two were the last to leave, just in time as moaning was heard...
From the inside.
Stairs between 1F and 2F
Cindy held the door open as the subway worker enters, who immediately went up the stairs. She then sees the customer she greeted earlier enter, who held a pistol:
"Thanks." He said before noticing the subway worker, "Wait, sir!"
SMASH!
"Shit!" The man shouts, falling backwards onto the floor from glass shattering.
Cole quickly leaps up the stairs and holds his gun ready. The subway worker scoots away from a man, who's reaching out through a shattered window. Holding his pistol to him, Cole sees the man's face:
His cheeks were bitten off, revealing rotten torn muscles as he bites furiously and reaches out like a feral beast.
Yoko and the doctor soon caught up to him, seeing what he saw. The latter vocalizes his shock that Cole agrees with, "Dear God..."
This 'man' isn't human in any possible way. It inches closer, leaning more inside as the others back away in fear. The only one with a gun, Cole quickly decides his next action:
BANG!
The 'man' went limp, hanging over the window as blood drips from the hole in its head. Cole lets out a breath he didn't realize he held before issuing an order:
"Get going."
Yoko and the doctor followed it, going on ahead as Cole reaches a hand down towards the subway worker:
"T-Thanks, man." The latter expresses his gratitude while getting pulled up to his feet, "What's your name?"
"Cole. You?"
"Jim."
"Nice to meet you. Meet with the others, upstairs should be safe." The subway agent then went on ahead.
Cole remains in his position to make sure the rest show up. It was a really short wait, seeing the security guard and plumber enter while carrying his friend on their shoulders. Upon reaching the level he's at, the plumber briefly notices the limp body before going up the second flight. Soon after that, he sees the officer and reporter enter before Cindy closes and locks the door behind them. Upon doing so, the rest head upstairs to the staff room.
Staff Room
Yoko and the doctor arrive first, the former keeping her scrub brush close as they reach the lounging area. With no immediate danger in sight, the two take the time to process the turn of events:
"What happened out there?" She asks him.
"I'm not entirely sure. The bartender told a customer to leave, before he was... bitten by the man." The doctor recalls what he saw, "The people on the windows... they looked similar to the attacker."
Yoko was now worried that this is something way worse, but tries to ease her mind by shifting the topic. Fortunately, the doctor was also in the same boat:
"My name is George, by the way."
"Y-Yoko."
Soon after that, Jim runs in and stops to catch his breath as he notices the two. "Good, safety."
"Are you all right?" George asks the man.
"Y-Yeah. Yeah, I think so." Jim answers as he looks back briefly, "What made that guy attack Will like that? Ain't the dude's fault he smelled like a dumpster!"
The little remark helped to ease the heavy tension as more people enter. Mark enters with his friend Bob over his shoulder, the plumber assisting him before placing Bob down against the wall to rest.
As Mark checks on him, the plumber sees the others and gives a simple nod of acknowledgement. He then notices wooden planks leaning near the doorway, giving him an idea before looking around the room for anything to use.
Cindy reaches them soon after, the reporter close behind as the officer and Cole were the last two. Once there, the officer addresses the elephant in the room:
"All right. We may be safe for now, but we're sitting ducks here. Whatever those freaks are, they're out for blood."
"No shit, man." Jim mutters before the officer issues an order:
"First, names for better communication. Second, we search the rooms for any weapons and supplies." He then starts off introductions, "Officer Kevin Ryman, reporting for off-duty duty."
"Cole Lockyer." Cole went second.
"Alyssa Ashcroft." The reporter went after.
"Cindy Lennox." The waitress greets with a small smile.
"Name's Jim Chapman." The subway agent does the same.
"George Hamilton." The doctor formally said.
"Yoko Suzuki." The student was a bit quiet, but audible enough for them to hear.
They turn to the security guards near the wall, the one on his knee overhearing the conversation. "Mark Wilkins. This is my friend, Bob."
The plumber pulls out a nail gun from inside a drawer, soon turning to see the others looking at him:
"David King."
As he starts walking to the wooden planks near the doorway, Kevin then turns to Cindy:
"You know the place. Is there any way to the roof?"
"Yes. That door leads to the liquor room, which connects to the rooftop." She points at the second door away from the doorway entrance as she adds:
"Jack should have the key- Oh no! He doesn't know what's happening!"
Kevin recalls Will mentioning the owner opened today, "I'll go warn him then."
As the officer goes to the office on the opposite end of the room, Cindy remembers her personal items she left in her locker. Not wanting to go alone, she asks the closest person, who happens to be Yoko:
"Excuse me, would you mind accompanying me real quick?"
Yoko sees the others are either preoccupied, or going to investigate the other rooms. No other option available, she agrees:
"OK."
As they went to the locker room, Alyssa and Cole went to the drawing room as Jim went to see if Kevin could need help. This leaves George with Mark and Bob, the doctor noticing something familiar:
"Your friend seems to have similar symptoms."
"What do you mean?" Mark questions.
"I've seen a lot of patients at the hospital with either stomach pains, pale skin, or even severe itches. Mostly the first two."
"...You a doctor or something?"
"I am, yes. Would you mind if I examine him for a moment?"
Mark was hesitant, but allows him to do so. George did a basic check-up procedure, such as checking his heart rate and body heat. It wasn't that long before the doctor had what he needed:
"As I feared... he has them."
Mark grits his teeth, looking at his sick friend in worry. Before he said something though, the two heard a gunshot from one of the rooms.
Locker Room
Cindy and Yoko enter into a room that had two rows of lockers, one on each side of said room. The former quickly went to the locker with a 'Mr. Raccoon' cutout on it, opening it to reveal an herb case and a special bandage to treat bleeding wounds.
"Look around, there should be something useful." Cindy suggests to her partner.
Yoko agrees with the idea. Empty boxes and a couple of chairs laid about near the wall, hearing faint screams from outside the windows down below. Looking at the lockers, they didn't have any actual locks, making it easier to access as she starts at the far left and goes across.
Nothing, a small bottle of 'Anti-Virus' pills, a small diary, and a wooden stick. Not much, but it will have to do. Opening the diary out of curiosity, she reads the recent entry:
"I hate the kids living in the apartment building next door. Almost every day, they sneak in via an accessway on the roof and cause so much trouble.
The day before yesterday, they closed the shutter on the 3rd floor while I wasn't looking. Because of that, I couldn't go to the roof to get a package I needed.
Next thing I knew, I get a good scolding from Jack. This is ridiculous! It wasn't even my fault!
I've lost count of how many times they broke the chain-link fence where the neon sign was. This time however, I welded it so that they will never be able to enter again.
If they break it, I'll sue them for damaging my property. You better watch your butts, kids!"
"Accessway?" Yoko mutters, soon closing it and puts it away.
"Found anything useful?" Cindy asks her, assured now that she has what she needed.
"Yes-" Yoko's answer stops short upon hearing a faint gunshot. The two quickly go to see what happened.
Drawing Room
Cole went first, aiming his pistol around before signaling Alyssa the coast was clear. The reporter immediately starts looking around for anything useful. Looking through a set of drawers, she finds a lighter and a box of .45 rounds. Putting them in her pockets, Cole then calls out:
"Here, it's something."
She sees him hold out an iron pipe to her, which she takes:
"Better than nothing, I guess."
The two then heard glass shatter, seeing that a crow came through the window. Confusion quickly went as they dodge a diving attack from it. Cole holds his gun ready, but the crow was moving rather fast to get a good shot. As it flies down right for him, his finger twitched on the trigger-
SMACK!
Before getting smacked out of the air by Alyssa's new iron pipe. The bird slams against a nearby cabinet, falling onto the ground dead.
"That was good practice." She then notices something as Cole checks to see the bird is indeed dead.
Alyssa takes a closer look at the cabinet it hit, seeing what it contained inside:
"Oh, jackpot!"
She puts away her pipe and tries opening it, only to find that it's locked. Cole notices her pull out a set of lockpicks and uses one on said lock. After only a few seconds, she unlocks it with a big smile on her face:
"Come to mama!"
Opening said cabinet, he now sees why as she pulls out a straight up shotgun with a box of shells! Right before wondering why it was even in there, she casually tosses the pipe to Cole:
"Here. I'm out of space to carry."
He puts his gun away to hold said pipe, "Thanks."
The two then faintly hear a gunshot from another room, going to see what happened.
Owner's Room
Kevin enters the room, seeing it having papers scattered on the floor and a half-finished alcohol bottle on the desk. Looking around, Jack was nowhere in the room:
"Jack?" He calls out, hoping to get a response of some sort.
Jim enters soon after before they heard a low groan, coming from the balcony just outside. The officer kept his gun ready while slowly walking out, turning to where the table and chairs are to see a familiar face.
However, said familiar face was hunched over with his skin rather pale. Empty glasses litter the small tabletop and concrete floor below, clearly showing signs of drinking. His gut had a bad feeling, but he's honestly hoping it's wrong:
"...Jack?"
The hunched figure gets up to his feet, his arms limp on his sides as his head pulls back...
To reveal a sickly pale monstrosity staring back.
Kevin readies his gun, aiming directly at the enemy as his mind processes what he's seeing. Jim stood at the doorway of the balcony, seeing the monster and begins to freak out:
"H-Holy shit!"
"Jack, you better be joking!" Kevin tries to reason with his friend, "Now's not the time to mess around!"
His word fell on dead ears, the man limping towards the officer. Its mouth hung open, groaning as it shuffles towards the officer:
"Jack! Last chance!"
The monster stops... before lunging at him!
BANG!
His aim hits its mark. The creature falls motionless, the bullet hitting dead between its eyes. Kevin lowers his gun, his eyes staying on the corpse before hearing a scream. Looking over the railing, he sees the streets littered with more of those monsters as a few citizens ran for their lives.
Jim soon felt his shoe brush something, looking down to see a key with a blue tag. Most likely what the owner dropped. Just in case, he puts it in his pocket as soon as George enters the room:
"What happened?"
"T-The owner was one of those... things!" Jim answers, pointing at what he means.
George sees the dead body on the balcony, which makes him wonder:
"What's happening to everyone..."
Kevin turns back as Cindy arrives, "I heard a gun, what-" She then gasps upon reaching the balcony, "Jack! No!"
"He's gone, replaced by... that." He kept his tone even, but obviously not proud of it. Going back inside, he remembers something upon looking at the desk:
"Didn't he keep a gun or two here?"
"Y-Yes." Cindy answers, holding back some tears. "He should have his personal gun in the main drawer."
Kevin goes to open it, only to find it locked. It's rather confusing, since the drawer itself has no lock. "How does this work?"
Jim notices what he means, "Maybe he presses a switch?"
"Never heard of drawers like that."
The officer continues examining it further as Jim looks around for any sort of switch. His eyes stops on the portrait with a name plate under it, but the strange part was the hole placed right above said plate:
"What's with this?" Seeing an empty alcohol bottle nearby, he compares their sizes before placing it inside. A click was heard before Kevin opens the drawer:
"Got it!"
Opening it, he sees two handguns and a revolver. He pockets the revolver first as David enters, who got the picture upon seeing the owner dead. Kevin sees the plumber and hands him one of the handguns:
"Here. Better than a knife."
"Thanks." David accepts it, putting it on his belt as Kevin grabs the other one:
"Jim, you know how to shoot?"
"B-Basketballs, not bullets!" He exclaims.
"You ever played at an arcade? You know, the ones with the guns?"
"A-A couple of times."
"Similar concept, aim and shoot." He hands him the gun before remembering something, "The key! What did it look like, Cindy?"
"It has a blue tag." She answers.
"Blue?" Jim then reaches into his pockets, pulling out said key he picked up:
"You mean this?"
"Yes!" Cindy confirms.
"Good job, Jim!" Kevin takes it before leading the way back to the staff room.
Staff Room
The others were waiting to hear what happened, when they hear a loud noise from the sealed-off doorway. The monsters have caught up, now about to break down the nailed-up boards. Kevin quickly goes to the door to unlock it, leaving those who have guns to stand between the survivors and the danger.
"Got it! Let's go!" The officer orders, holding it open for the others.
Mark goes to help Bob with David assisting, the three going first as the others watch the boards dent more and more. Cindy was flabbergasted when she sees a familiar face among the monsters:
"Will..." It was the bartender, who died from his neck bite earlier.
George, Yoko, Jim and Cindy hurried themselves upstairs, leaving Cole and Alyssa to cover them. Seeing the boards about to break, the two follow soon after with Kevin slamming the door shut behind them. Locking it with the same key, he tosses it away before sprinting up the steps.
Upon reaching the top, all he heard was the boards shattering as he enters the liquor room.
And done! All right, not a bad start! This was gonna be much longer, but I decided to cut the chapter short to post it in time. I wanted to work on this during the month, but one thing got in the way:
Sora got announced for Smash! I wanted to celebrate that, hence the KH stories I've been doing.
Still, I want to post the first chapter in October at least. Later chapters will come periodically, so don't worry about it being once a year.
With that said, thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter!