Outbreak
Chapter Four: The Stand
The barman had simply laughed, finally realising he was still pulling a pint and putting it on the counter. Before he could see the reaction of the two women Armand had left the bar and gone straight back to the train. Annie followed him soon after, carrying a suitcase in her arms and a backpack on her back. Armand looked down from the back of the train.
"Where are you going?"
"Where do you think I'm going," she replied scathingly, "to get my sample. I'm not going to wait here for my killer to wander over with a gun in his pocket."
"If you go to Raccoon City you'll save him the bother. You're not going, if you want to go on the run get a boat from the dock."
Now the other woman came out of the bar, laden with her own suitcase, "It's ok, "she said, "I've got the food and drinks as long as you've got your clothes right Annie?"
Annie simply glared at her, "I want to look nice if I'm captured, I don't think I'd like jail clothes."
The other woman climbed aboard and grasped Armand's hand in a surprisingly tight grip considering her build, "Jennifer Becker, dead as I am. Let's get going then, where is there a table for the food?"
Somehow, and Armand didn't have a clue how, they both managed to get on board. As much as he'd hate to admit it, he enjoyed the company. He'd been used to Birkin and just Birkin for years now, even when his security team was with him.
Back in Raccoon City, the police were cornered once again. Those that loved the people had fled with them into their houses and barricaded the entire lower floor, while looking out of the windows of the top, hoping to survive a little longer. Those that loved their jobs had fled back to the Police Station, where reports had come in that it was quickly becoming infested. Those that loved the town had created the final barricade at the four way crossroads in the city centre. Those that loved themselves were all already dead.
This was to be the final barricade of Raccoon City, the last stand of its police force.
The final barricade was well defended. All of the cars had been turned onto their sides and positioned so that the barricade was unbreakable. Within this makeshift fort the last of the police force was assembled, as well as the surviving townsfolk cramped into the remaining room. Most of the police were either standing on pipes beneath their cars of on the inside chairs, balanced so that they could lean out of the open windows.
Inside, there was a meeting between a tall and fairly burly man and a policewoman with an extra stripe on her shoulder.
"So what you're saying is," the burly man was saying, "we have to wait and shoot anything we don't like the look of until your rescue comes in?"
"Yes," replied the policewoman factually, "Umbrella has already sent in it's protection evacuation team, we had a radio message from them when they arrived."
The policewoman turned to leave, ignoring the look of blatant disbelief on the man's face. But as she did, her radio drew all attention.
"Sergeant, we are trapped near the police station. We cannot reach it," gunfire began in the background, followed by a tremendous roar that deafened those around it, blasting metallically through the radio, "something's been chasing us down and killing us one by one since we ran. It won't go down! We need orders! Sergeant? Where are you?"
The policewoman pulled the radio closer to her lips and whispered, "I'm sorry," before shutting it off. Assault Rifle in hand she joined the ranks, ignoring all eyes on her. All was quiet, all were waiting.
There were howls in the distance, making everybody shiver, now there was movement. From the shadows came the corpses of three rotten dogs. They bared their teeth, showing chunks of mangled flesh ripped from previous owners. They came forward, with such incredible speed that the gunmen found it hard to keep up.
The first was unwillingly greeting with a point blank Shotgun blast, ripping it to pieces. The others leapt over the overturned cars, growling at each other as one landed on the burly man who's gun had still been at his side. Everybody opened fire, blasting with everything they had until both of the remaining dogs lay motionless on the ground. The man lay motionless, peppered with teeth marks and bullet holes and still with a hand on his unused gun.
The team opened fire towards the east, shooting at the rotting bodies in the distance ambling towards them. The police switched back to attention, ashamed for not watching as they were meant to. The zombies only came from the east, where they were held at bay and for a long time only easterly fire was shot, until that too stopped. More silence, more impatience, more movement.
Now zombies came from the south, moving forwards so slowly it became aggravating, but the team aiming south held fast. They waited, waiting for the right moment to attack. Fire began as the zombies first saw their potential food and those that did were quickly mowed down in the line of incoming fire. The blast ripped through them, hitting them all until they had all fallen to the ground in a heap of broken body parts and a pool of blood. More silence, more impatience, more movement.
Now to the north shots were fired, more zombies were coming forwards, and east again. The air was filled with the pump of rounds into broken bodies, into lost souls. For ten minutes or so the blasts continued until again, the zombies stopped coming. More silence, more impatience, more movement.
From the south, in the direction of the police station, a creature walked forwards. What a creature it was. At first glance it was human, but no human could ever look so destroyed, so wrecked. It's skin seemed purple to an untrained eye, and yet with a closer look it was simple stained with blood. Instead of a right hand it had an array of claws, vicious blades covered in torn intestines, guts and even more blood. They melded with the hand as if they were one. The eyes of this monstrosity were blank, empty, nothing was behind them but an endless sea of torture. But the thing that drew most attention claimed most of it's right shoulder. A single, enhanced and gigantic eye nestled amongst the skin and bone. It turned in it's alcove, watching the barricade before it and emanating an energy that bewildered all that saw it.
"Fire!"
Assault Rifles began their endeavour, striking at all parts of the creature before them, but it did not halt, it did not flinch. It continued forward. A blast ruptured the empty skull of the creature, but to no effect. It kept on going, staring at its prey. As it drew nearer the Shotgunners took aim, it wavered for a moment. The fire stopped.
All eyes were focussed as the creature leaned back. There was a sigh of relief, the a shriek of terror as the creature leaned forward again and from it's dead lips came a roar beyond that of any earthly being. It was a cry so loud it ripped at the earlobes, but at the same time the police could hear the pain within it. Some forgotten soul was trying to escape, but only it's roar could convey it's sorrow and it's pain.
It began forward again.
Without thinking all began to fire, ignoring the other directions. They wanted this thing down but it just kept walking towards them. As it came closer, somebody at the front became desperate and drew a grenade from their belt.
"Fire in the hole!" he cried before diving down from the car into the makeshift square. He was quickly followed before an almighty blast erupted from the grenade. It engulfed the creature in liquid fire, throwing it backwards and sent a car sliding inwards, where it was met with the covered police officers. They pushed it back into position quickly and climbed up, looking out.
Not ten feet away the creature lay motionless but for the twitching of it's human hand. The police watched it, hoping, hoping. More silence, more impatience, move movement.
From the north came a creature, red skinned with a long tongue and ridges all along it's back. It's muscles were open, visible to the naked eye and it's brain sat on it's head, protected only by a thin sheet of bone. The monster began to slowly move forwards, it's ragged breathing constant until it saw what it was looking for. It came forward.
It was upon them before they realised it, leaping straight over their barricade and landing on the chest of a policeman. Guns were fired, but it leapt to one side and swung its jagged arms, slicing through the throat of an unwitting civilian. Fire slowed, people were reloading and it made another attack, diving sideways and jumping forwards it came at head height, letting it's tongue roll out for a slice. It was met with the full force of a Shotgun blast, taking it down. Its brain was smeared across the road.
More shots came, zombies were moving in the east, creeping forwards through the shadows until they were taken down in a rush of bullets. Now more from the north, now more from the east. The city was infested. The police continued to fire valiantly, shooting at anything they could hit until it went down.
In the north, howling came at them, born by the wind into their very hearts. A chill of fear entered the barricade.
"Cover the north!"
All police and civilians came to the north, meeting the oncoming hounds head on. They were taken down as they came, blasting legs from under them or heads right off. There were more than expected, at least a dozen came, but none reached the first barrier. One by one, each dog fell to pieces. A breeze came from the south. No silence, no impatience. All movement.
With a roar a police car flew, crashing into the northern barricade and crushing several officers. What was left turned and were cut through one by one. Gunfire rang out, blast after blast after blast of Shotgun fire but nothing stopped this Behemoth. It continued forward, slicing through officer after officer. It's single eye was focussed.
The sergeant came forward, firing endlessly into this creature as it smashed through another police car, hurling it in a frenzy down the road where a half dozen civilians were running. The creature turned to the sergeant, she stopped firing.
All that could be heard was a useless clicking of the trigger. There was nothing left. The sergeant dropped her gun, pulling from her inside pocket a handgun and pointing it at her own head.
"God forgive me, I could do no more."
She screamed and dropped her gun, turning to face the hands on her back. A zombie fell through the barricade, onto her, pinning her to the ground and biting. She felt her neck rip away from itself, but found the strength to kick back. She crawled, lost until she met an unrotten leg. She clambered up it, crying for help, but at the top, her eyes met the blank ones of her worst fear. Her breath caught in her throat as she felt a zombie clamber onto her back, clawing, scratching until it's teeth were resting in her neck. She felt her liver explode, blood blasting outwards from the four holes in her chest.
The creature rose it's devilish arm, forcing it's impaled prize into the air and brought it down, throwing the mangled corpse from it's grip. Then it moved forward, through the zombies now enjoying their feast.
There was no saving Raccoon City.
