Chapter 1
Outbreak
September 23rd
William was dead, or what once was William was dead at least. Now, nothing more than a mass of rippling muscle and tearing tissue, bleeding from every pore on his sweating body… Annette had watched the mutation occur, and it had taken her seconds to realize what her husband had done. He had injected himself with the G-Virus, and in effect had spread the T-Virus into the sewer system. In a few hours, the virus would contaminate every citizen of Raccoon City, the town just a mile above where she now stood.
In the monitor room of the underground lab, Annette placed a phone call to her daughter Sherry and told her to take shelter in the police station. She damned herself afterwards, for putting her daughter in the presence of the foul chief of police, Brian Irons. She had more phone calls to make after the one she placed to her daughter…she had to contact headquarters still, and a few of the branch offices to inform them of what had happened. A large-scale viral outbreak was about to occur.
September 24th"I want an embryo of each bioorganic weapon, and a blood sample of the Tyrant weapon. Do you understand your orders?"
Nicholai Ginovaef stood and listened to his commands and nodded, saluted, and exited Spencer's chambers. As the leading Umbrella supervisor, he had full intentions of completing his mission flawlessly. Gaining embryonic specimens of the bioorganic weapons would be a simple task, however the recovery of Tyrant blood would prove to be more difficult. But he could do it…
Hunk's team that was sent to infiltrate Birkin's labs had been slain. The doctor had injected himself with the G-Virus and attacked the agents, murdering each and every one of them. The task of obtaining the T Virus had become a second priority; if Umbrella could gain the blood of the Tyrant, they could progress their experiments into bio weaponry further…that was his job.
…And he couldn't forget about the money that would come along with it. For only a few days work he would become a millionaire, and with the possibility of his bringing back an elusive STARS member's head on a platter, he could become a multi millionaire with a share in Umbrella's profits in the next quarter. Nicholai knew a bit about the Special Tactics And Rescue Squad, enough to know that they were not to be underestimated. They had been behind the Spencer Estate incident, and they were behind the possible exposure of the G Virus experiments. As a supervisor, it was Nicholai's sworn duty to protect the security of his chosen corporation…Umbrella.
*
"Reports of radioactive material being leaked in the Raccoon City area have been confirmed, and in effect the city has been placed under martial law, and the army has been called in to enforce a severe quarantine. Citizens of Raccoon City are advised to stay in their homes or seek shelter as soon as possible."
Kevin Ryman stared blankly at the television screen, shaking his head and cursing himself for moving to this wretched town in the first place. Martial law? Something serious had happened, they said radioactive material but he didn't buy that for one second. Something in his gut told him there was more going on here than just-
-The waitress shrieked and dropped a glass, shards spilling everywhere and anywhere on the tile floor. Kevin grinned at the attractive blonde and shook his head, turning back to the television screen, which showed armed men putting up roadblocks on the highways leading into the city. Still…he couldn't believe what was happening.
"Turn this up! I need to hear this!"
Kevin didn't bother turning this time. He knew whom the voice belonged to. He had passed her when he walked in, a young woman probably in her twenties who was typing furiously on a laptop. Her nametag read "Alyssa Ashcroft". She was a reporter for the Raccoon City Times, supposedly headed towards the national scene. He knew her type well…always looking for the story, the big break…
"I said turn it up damnit! This is important to some of us, in case you didn't know." Alyssa shrieked, but still the owner of the bar, Jay, didn't move anywhere near the volume controls. Alyssa seemed to become more and more agitated, but didn't bother to argue anymore. Instead she returned to her table and walked briskly passed the waitress, Cindy Lennox, as she quietly cleaned up the broken glass.
The occupants of the bar were fairly diverse, Kevin noted; a security, the reporter, the bar owner, the single waitress…and himself, still staring blankly at the television monitor. Why was he so fixated on the news? He never was before this, and even though this story affected him greatly, why couldn't he feel any real connection? It was as if he was watching a movie and didn't realize that the movie was his own life…
"What a strange customer…" Jay lifted his head up from the dishes he was drying and started to move towards a man who had entered the bar seconds before. Something about this man caught Kevin's eye as well…
The man stood solidly, his feet planted in the ground, but his body shivering like he had a traumatizing case of pneumonia. Ratted hair and pale white eyes, the man seemed to be drooling and spitting as Jay approached him. Something told Kevin to leap from his seat and hold Jay back, but he couldn't move…he couldn't help but stare…what was wrong with him tonight? He needed to snap out of it before something-
"Gaaahhh!" Jay screamed, blood suddenly erupting from his neck as the 'strange customer' sunk his teeth down into flesh, tearing away tendons and nerves and opening up veins to spill out red blood. Kevin leapt from his seat and grabbed his pistol, but before he could make it to the front of the bar, Jay had already expelled the man from the area, slamming the dead bolt locks tightly into place. He took a few steps back but collapsed, unconscious.
Cindy appeared beside Kevin and knelt beside Jay, shaking him furiously, "Jay, Jay what happened? Oh god, he needs a medical kit… there should be one in the back!" she seemed to be talking aloud to herself, because in that same instant the attractive young female had darted off, disappearing into the shadows that lead into the back wing of the bar.
What the hell was going on? Suddenly that feeling of nonchalant naivety was washed away and replaced with a heavy sense of denial. A man had just taken a chunk out of his friend…and now that same man was waiting outside for them, slamming fists of fury against the glass frame of the door. Kevin knew that the dead bolt locks wouldn't hold for long, so immediately he looked for something to block the soon-to-be-shattered door with.
To his liking, Kevin noticed dual barrels filled with bricks for some renovation Jay was planning. They could work…but he would need help if he wanted to move them alone. There were still two police officers who had taken to the back of the bar somewhere, if he could get them back out in the front area to help him push the barrels, they could block the doorway.
"Alyssa, go find that other cop! I'll stay here and look after Jay!"
The frightened reporter took off into the background, where Cindy was just emerging, holding gauze and sterile cream. She began to tend to Jay when suddenly, to his horror, Kevin noticed more men and women had gathered in front of the bar…something was wrong with them…they all looked just like the man who had attacked Jay.
"Oh my God…" Cindy said softly but still loud enough for Kevin to hear. He turned and saw her back away slowly from Jay, who had risen to his feet, "Jay, what's wrong? What's happening to you?"
The sound of a neck cracking was heard as Jay rolled his head back and forth. His arms began to twitch and Kevin could practically sense that Jay wasn't what he was moments before. The blood had dried into his tan colored shirt, turning it brown and sticky, but the uncleanliness of Jay's attire didn't seem to bother him whatsoever. And in a heartbeat, the man who had once been Cindy's employer turned and attacked her.
She fell backwards and landed on her back and Jay seemed to pounce right on top of her. Kevin jumped forward and grabbed the back of Jay's collar and tossed him aside, taking great care to helping Cindy back to her feet.
"Are you okay?" he asked boldly, and she nodded.
Before they could enjoy any real comfort, Jay had regained his balance and was heading at the couple at an alarming speed. Arms outstretched, mouth wide and teeth glaring, Jay charged at Kevin and Cindy with one thought on his mind.
Without hesitation, Kevin leveled his pistol, aimed, and blasted a hole right between the eyes of the former bar owner.
Time seemed to slow as chunks of gray matter erupted from the back of Jay's head. He stood still for a minute, wobbling back and forth on both of his unsteady legs. Blood poured down his face and past his nose, running into his mouth and down his chin, finally dropping to the floor. Jay took a few more steps forward and collapsed, face first. Blood oozed from his destroyed skull, forming a puddle around where his face lay flat against cold, hard tile.
"Oh god…" Cindy grabbed for Kevin and embraced him, and Kevin didn't know what to do. Slowly hugging her back, he could feel tears welling up in her eyes and then saw them roll down her cheeks.
"Hey! What's going on?"
Kevin turned and saw the other cop and Alyssa standing in the hallway. Just as Kevin went to respond, the glass windows in the front lobby of Jay's Bar erupted in a loud shatter and the undead creatures of the night began pouring into the survivors refuge.
To Be Continued…